"What coordinates did he check?" Dean asked.
"A dozen or so, scattered across the Midwest. But there was one coordinate he checked three times." Bobby Singer paused. "Lawrence, Kansas. The address of an old house."
Dean and Sam froze at the same time.
That was their childhood home. After Mary died, John had taken them away, and they had rarely returned.
"What was he doing there?" Sam's voice tightened.
"Don't know," Bobby Singer said. "But I just got a report from the outer patrols. High-intensity angelic energy fluctuations were detected near the Lawrence coordinates. A portal may have opened."
Castiel's expression changed. "Raphael."
Outside Lawrence, Kansas.
A house looked much the same as it had over twenty years ago. It had two stories, its white exterior paint peeling in places, and only rusted chains remained of the porch swing.
The oak tree in the yard had grown taller, and dead leaves blanketed the lawn.
Dean parked two blocks away. The three of them got out and approached through the alley.
"The energy reading is high." Sam looked at the detector in his hand, its needle trembling at the edge of the red zone. "There's more than one angel. At least five, all inside the house."
Dean drew the demon-killing blade. The phoenix coating on it had been reapplied, but the lingering dark red glow flickered in the dimness like breathing.
"Cass, can you tell who they are?" he asked quietly.
Castiel closed his eyes to sense them, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter. "Raphael is definitely there, along with Uriel. At least two high-ranking angels. Their energy fields are chaotic. They're arguing about something."
"What about Adam?"
"He's in the house. Still alive, but his consciousness is very weak. It may have been suppressed."
They circled around to the backyard.