Ruby couldn't get used to it. The glasses scorched with holy fire let her see Castiel's wings. They were a rich black and spanned about six feet when he stretched them out. They were full with long feathers. Ruby couldn't look away from their beauty.

"Are you sure they said Crowley?"  Castiel asked.  He seemed troubled. 

Ruby closed her mouth then answered.  "Yes, Cas.  Why?  Who is Crowley?"  Ruby asked. 

"He's the king of Hell, previously the king of the crossroads."

"Huh," Ruby said, not really seeing the importance of it. "Let's just gank this hellhound and move on, please."

Sam cleared his throat. "Okay, so here's the plan. Cas and I stay outside looking for it tonight. You stay in here with the family. If you see it, you call us. Cas managed to scrounge up two more angel blades which can kill a hellhound." Sam handed Ruby the long blade.

Ruby wanted to go out with Sam and Castiel, but she knew Sam wouldn't let her. She decided not to argue. She just took the blade and hugged Sam, telling him she loved him.

She walked back to where the Cassidys were, staying behind the door so they couldn't see her. She needed to keep an eye on them, but also look out for the hellhound. Ruby could have snuck out, but she thought that was a betrayal of Sam's trust. Normally, she probably would have just done it, but she was having a good day.

Incidentally, it paid off. She wasn't there for long before the hound came. But, unfortunately, she didn't see it coming. It burst through the window in the other room. Ruby ran in, but she was too late. It already gravely injured Margot. There was so much chaos. Alice and Noah were hunching over Margot. Cindy was already out the door.

Ruby didn't see the thing at first. It was behind Alice. It was huge and muscled. It's fur was pitch black and it's eyes glinted red. "Alice, move!" Ruby screamed as she ran toward it. It leapt on top of Ruby. She pushed back its head with the back of her arm. It was snapping at her, its teeth only a couple of inches away from her face.

Ruby' arm was pinned beneath her. She struggled against it. The thing was too strong. Finally, she freed her arm. She stabbed the hellhound in the gut, and pulled the blade forward with all her strength. It cut through the beast and soaked her in black blood. The hound whined and she shoved the dead weight off her.

Ruby just laid on the ground, breathing heavily for a minute. Before she knew it, Sam was there. "Ruby?" He extended his arm to help her up.

Ruby addressed Cas, who was standing next to Sam, "Will you look after them?" She jerked her head toward Alice and Noah. "Help them if they need it and answer the questions. Well, use discretion. They might not want to hear everything. I have to do the spell."

She and Sam walked outside, onto the porch. "Dammit, Ruby. I wish it wasn't you. We have no idea what's going to happen, what this might do to you."

"I'm ready, Sam. I can do this." Despite what she said, Ruby took a shaky breath. She read the spell off a sticky note. The Enochian sounded choppy, but also nice. No sooner had she said the last word then fiery pain shot up her arms. She fell on her knees and looked down at her forearms. They were glowing; she could see the outlines of her veins. She clenched her fists and groaned.

It ended suddenly. Ruby collapsed against the side of the house, breathing heavily. The pain had been so strong. She felt the ghost of it. She was afraid to move; afraid that the pain would come back.

Sam was next to her. His hands were hovering over her. He didn't want to touch her in case something happened. "Ruby? What just...? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she breathed. "I need a minute." She lifted her arm. Her hand was visibly shaking. She didn't want to admit it, but she was terrified. Thankfully, her arms didn't hurt at all anymore. "I'm good," she said, but her voice cracked. "It hurt so bad, but I'm fine now." She started to stand up, but he put his hand on her shoulder.

"We'll let Cas be the judge of that." He walked inside. Ruby took off the glasses and set them down next to her. Sam came back with Castiel a minute later. She noticed he'd taken off his glasses too. She was a little disappointed b

Ruby sighed. She hated how Sam stood above her, his arms crossed with a brooding look on his face. It made her feel like a child.

Cas squatted down in front of her and put two fingers on her forehead, closing his eyes. He seemed to take longer than usual this time. "There's something different about you," he said, eyes still closed, "but I can't see exactly what it is." He opened his eyes, and took his hand away. "Whatever it is is very minor. You should be fine other than the cuts."

Ruby looked down. She must have landed on glass from the broken window. There were small cuts all over her, some of them even had tiny pieces of glass in them. Then there was the matter of sticky, black blood all over her. She chuckled nervously. "I'm a mess." She ran a hand through her ratty hair. "Yeah, you can fix the cuts."

"So, she's good?" Sam asked.

"Like I said, Sam, I'm fine."

"For now, at least," Cas said ominously.