Chapter 16
By Schehrezade
Many Many Thanks to Megan for her betaing
Italics - thoughts
“Well, well, well. Looks like someone has been a very naughty girl,” Spike drawled as he jumped off the bonnet of the now destroyed Desoto, his duster flying up dramatically. He landed on the fallen debris with a thump, his Doc Martins sending up a puff of dust as he gave his girl a mournful pat of farewell. He’d wanted to hotwire a car and nick it, but one look at the expression on the Slayer’s face had put paid to that idea. Instead he had whimpered slightly over the death of his trusted steed and then bravely reminded himself of the fun he and Dru had had in the 1980s, in London, ram-raiding shops up and down the Kings Road. Cranking the volume up on the radio, he howled at the top of his lungs and aimed for the magic shop.
Jenny vamped out while running towards her captive and stepped in front of Giles’s battered and torn form, almost protectively. She eyed the eldest of her line with contempt; he was a freak now, an aberration of vampiric nature. “You reek of the Slayer, insipid whiney little thing that she is.” Her lip curled in disgust. “God, how could you screw her of all things?” Jenny’s face was a mask of malice and cruelty.
“Extinguish,” she muttered almost instinctively, instantly dowsing the flames that licked around the sides of the Desoto.
“Hey, rude much,” Buffy exclaimed as she stared anxiously over at Giles, trying to see if he was alive. Despite his attempt at betraying her with Dalton, she still cared, just maybe not as much as before. But she did cared. Buffy eyed the leather-clad body of her former teacher. “Scheesh! Dominatrix wannabe, ” she sneered.
“Yeah, wot of it? Could say you reek of Peaches, but I’m too much of gent to do that—” Spike’s glittering eyes widened in mock surprise. “Oh no, I said it…gonna smack me, bitch?” He curled his tongue against the back of his teeth and his face fell into the familiar lines of his smirk. “Bet you were right disappointed with the shag tho’, weren’t you? Peaches was never one for stamina. Hell, from what Dru screamed in my ear over and over, size really does count.” Spike tilted his head and shot a smug look at Jenny, his thumbs looped in the waistband of his jeans, his lean fingers framing the large bulge with a cocky smirk painted on his lips.
“Hardly. Wouldn’t want to touch you, traitor!” she snarled around her fangs; her amber eyes were shot through with black lines. The untamed power coursing within her voluptuous frame was almost tangible. Behind her Giles shifted restlessly; he could feel the magicks pouring off the demon that wore his lost love’s face. It was calling to a part of him he had long since thought suppressed under the piles of tweed that he had consciously coated himself in a vain attempt to forget his past. He’d been defiant earlier, but blood loss, sorrow and the lure of dark magicks was starting to wear him down. It would be so easy to give in to her. To lose himself in her and her wickedness. It just sang to his long suppressed desires.
Jenny’s eyes darted to the back of the shop.
Spike took a step forward, “Now none of that, missy. We’re here to have a nice bit of a rough and tumble, save that git behind you and rip your head off.”
He’d misinterpreted her look. Spike moved fluidly forward, seemingly oblivious of the fledgings that were appearing at the smashed storefront. The master vampire knew his mate had his back, something he’d never experienced before in his unlife and he had to admit he liked it.
“As if you could scare me into running, you foul aberration,” Jenny spat, her contempt and disgust for him pouring off her. She rubbed her hands together and began to mutter under her breath in Romany. Giles began to twist against his bonds as he recognised the words.
Buffy growled at the vampiress, her eyes turning a deep crimson. Her fury at the insults being thrown at her mate filled her. It made her fingers and toes tingle in anticipation of the ass kicking her erstwhile teacher was going to get. What shreds of sorrow that had lingered in her heart over the techo-pagan’s demise were gone with one look at the bloodied form of her Watcher.
There was a clatter of broken glass as one of the vampires tried to sneak up on her. Buffy whirled and fired an arrow unerringly into her would be attacker’s heart. “One down…” she quipped as she fired and then reloaded the bow within seconds, her newly amplified strength causing her hands to move in a blur. For about thirty seconds all that could be hear was a whoosh and a thud as the arrows found their homes in the dead hearts of Jenny’s troops.
“That’s enough,” Jenny howled and slowly began to rise up into the air, scarlet ribbons of electricity crackling at her fingertips. With each arrow her position of power was diminished and the former techno-pagan was still waiting for her surprise package to be delivered.
“Spike, I told you she’d do matrixy stuff. No fair. I want to do that,” Buffy shouted over the wind that Jenny’s power had unleashed. She teasingly stuck her lower lip out in her infamous pout; one that she knew brought Spike to his knees.
“Holy Hell…” Spike yelped and dodged the bolt of magic that the now incensed vampiress fired at him. He slammed into the wall with a grunt and watched in dismay as the bolt fired a hole through the hood of his now defunct baby. “Right, you sodding bint. That takes the biscuit.” He roared and with a feral grin, lunged straight at the whirling figure of the latest addition to the family. Only to stop mid stride, he froze in his tracks and then growled at the sight of Giles’s face as it twisted into an ugly smile.
‘Dru was right… Ripper’s coming out to play’. He’d wanted to spare Buffy this, but now it was too late. On the drive over Buffy had filled him in on her Watcher’s colourful past and despite himself he had been impressed with the stuffed shirt. Shades of the Ripper had been evident when his girl’s Watcher had tried to off him earlier on.
He hadn’t appreciated just how much of a threat that persona was. Until now.
*********
The house on Revello drive was silent, it’s owner fast asleep and healing. Down the hallway lay Kendra. She was curled up on her side, a twisted stake held loosely in one hand as she lay there staring at the wall. Even injured and exhausted the Slayer’s training was still firmly in place.
Kendra pressed her fingers over the covered wound on her throat and tried not to scream aloud. She focused on her old exercises and began to do deep breathing exercises to calm her nerves. She’d gotten complacent, being around the blond vampire, and had let her guard lapse. Now she was marked by one of the beasts and she was shamed.
So caught up in her misery, Kendra didn’t hear the anxious whispered voices coming from downstairs, or the back door clicking shut.
********
Buffy grunted as her opponent’s claws managed to catch her on the forearm as they fought. She had been battling for what seemed like hours. The fact was it was only minutes, but she was tired. She wanted to curl up with Spike and sleep for days, safe in his embrace. She also wanted to check on her mom and Kendra. The last thing she wanted to be doing was fighting for her life and staging yet another rescue of one of her friends. Despite fighting furiously with vampires—her attention focused on dusting and moving onto the next one—she was very aware of her mate and the battle he fought. Buffy was aching to help, but knew that she had to deal with the flunkies before kicking Jenny’s ass up and down Main Street. ‘What the hell had Angelus been thinking?’
Without breaking her stride, she flipped onto her hands and the pushed off, sailing over the head of one of the remaining vamps and staking him through the back as she landed. The howling minion crumbled to ash in front of her and Buffy smiled. Turning to leap through the remains of the shop front, Buffy was intent on drawing the fight out of the cramped space and onto Main Street. She needed room to manoeuvre and also wanted to give Spike as much ground as he needed to engage the supercharged magical vampiress. Her ploy succeeded and the remaining vampires followed her out with shouts of glee. All of them intent on bagging their first Slayer and none of them realising the trap they were running into, the six vampires slid to a halt and stared around in confusion.
The street was deserted.
Buffy held her breath as she balanced precariously on the windowsill of the apartment above the shop, pressing her palms flat against the window frame to balance herself. She reached for the second crossbow hooked over her shoulder and fired off two shots. The intent Slayer knew she had to make each shot count; surprise was the only element in her favour, and if she could cull two more vamps from the herd then it brought her opponents into manageable proportions.
Grimly ignoring the sounds of magical battle in the shop and the grunts of pain from her mate, Buffy watched the two largest vamps dust in seconds. Tossing the crossbow at the head of one of the remaining minions she leapt down from her perch, landing with a thud on the sidewalk. Two stakes dropped from her coat sleeves into her waiting hands and she launched herself at the vamps. Buffy took a deep breath and began to kick and punch at them, her limbs moving so fast that even the far superior eyesight of her opponents failed to see them.
*****
“Come on, if you think you’re ‘ard enough,” Spike bellowed as he dodged another bolt of lightening that sprang from Jenny’s clawed hands. He was hoping that all the magic she was lobbing at him would soon drain her of juice then he could go in for the kill. Flipping backwards to avoid yet another ball of flames that she’d conjured and thrown at his head, Spike landed on his back. He rolled onto his side to avoid the next bolt of lightening Jenny fired at him. He was really starting to get bored with this. ‘Whatever happened to fists and fangs? Now it’s chargrilled Spike with a side order of dead Desoto?’ he thought grumpily.
Spike’s shoulders jerked and he fell forward as one of her fireballs caught him square between them; he rolled quickly to put out the fire. “Oi, watch the duster you rancid bitch!” He leapt to his feet with a roar and spun to face the surprising tableau of the Watcher staggering over to his captor, his ragged trousers revealing more than the vampire had ever wanted to know about the git.
“Jenny luv, come ‘ere and give us a snuggle.”
Momentarily distracted, Jenny looked over at Giles, her face filled with confusion at the rough sounding accent that was coming out of his mouth, his cultured clipped tones long gone as he finally let Ripper out to play. “Giles?” she breathed.
The blood soaked man chuckled harshly. “Hardly luv. Let’s just say that the tea drinking pansy decided to give up and I’ve come out to play.”
“Ripper.” Spike’s cold tones cut across the stunned silence that had followed Giles’s announcement.
“Yeah mate.” Ripper gave him a smarmy smile as he limped closer to the turned gypsy, intent on rejoining his lost love.
“Oh balls.” Spike gathered his strength and readied for attack. But then froze and watched in disgust as Jenny pulled the man into her cold embrace and began to run her soft pink tongue along a cut she’d left on his cheek earlier. She began to salaciously clean the blood off Ripper’s face, purrs erupting from her throat. One slender pale hand slide down between their embracing bodies and began to massage Ripper’s cock.
“Nice moves, ducks, but let’s get rid of the trash before I shag the stuffing out of you,” Ripper crooned as he rocked his hips against hers in an hypnotic motion, promising her pleasures of what was to come. Giving her a taste of what she craved, he dipped his head and caught her lips in a deep kiss. His tongue deftly avoiding her fangs and toyed with hers, dipping in and out of her mouth in a leisurely pace. The actions mimicking the movements of his hips against her mound. A groan of sheer pleasure escaped from Jenny. Spike grimaced at the scents of arousal that flooded the decimated magic shop.
Spike glanced over his shoulder, checking that Buffy was busy and couldn’t see her Watcher’s fall from grace and descent into the arms of the demon that inhabited Jenny’s body. He allowed himself a second of pride as he watched her tiny form moving faultlessly in battle, each movement an art form. His distraction made him miss the subtle movement of Ripper’s free hand.
“Oh Ripper, we’re going to have sooo much fun. The Hellmouth will be our playground,” Jenny whispered against his lips, her evil eyes offering him so many promises of wickedness that he nearly faltered in his path.
“Sounds lovely, Jenny Wren. Pity I can’t let you play.” With that Giles rammed the piece of wood he’d managed to grab from the debris into her chest. “I’m so sorry, Jenny my love.” Tears filled his eyes and Giles sagged backwards, the last of his energy spent on killing his fallen sweetheart. He staggered slightly, the anguish of loss overwhelming his entire being; all he wanted to do was curl up and die. To weep and rail at the gods for the hand that had been dealt him and Jenny. He wanted to crawl into a bottle of whiskey and never come out.
“Ow…” Jenny whimpered. She stared down at the shard of wood in her body. Rage filled her, she’d been had and she’d fallen for his act. “You bastard, this hurts.” She glared over at the slumped form of Giles, malevolence in every line of her being. She teetered slightly on her high heels; one hand tracing around the edges of the wound. Pulling her hand away, Jenny stared at the blood on her fingertips. “What is it about the men who screw me wanting to make me bleed and die?” she asked rhetorically as the pain from the stake made her face even more ashen. Jenny’s black shot golden eyes filled with ire and her full red lips curled into a sneer. The promise of unenduring pain in her eyes, the vampiress raised her hands.
Giles realised his charade had failed on a monumental level and took his lumps like the soldier he was. He watched dispassionately as an arc of electrical fire from her clawed hands shot towards his torso. His last conscious thoughts were of relief that he’d not been turned by his former love. Instead, he could die and his soul would remain unsullied by the evil of the vampire’s lure.
“And stay down,” Jenny roared as she kicked Giles in the ribs. His body slid towards the backdoor and halted.
“Giles?” Spike concentrated on the slumped form and then allowed a sliver of relief to fill him. He could sense the man’s heartbeat-- it was faint but steady. He was down for the count but had at least managed to hurt the bitch. Spike eyed the stake that was protruding from Jenny’s chest with a satisfied smile.
“That bastard,” she exclaimed. Her back arched backwards as if to avoid the piece of wood that Giles had tried to stake her with. It had caught against her ribs and in his weakened state, he’d missed the heart. “I’ll kill him, then wait till he rises and torture him over and over for this,” she promised in an angry tone. She punctuated each word with a petulant kick to the wall. Gingerly, Jenny clasped the improvised stake and eased it out of her torso, swiftly tossing it away as if it were soaked in holy water. She clamped her hand to the wound, trying to staunch the flow of blood. Her beautiful face was a mask of pain as she paled even more.
Spike took advantage of her momentary weakness and launched himself at her black clad form. Fangs bared and hands fisted he attacked. No quarter given, he beat her face over and over, swiftly changing it from the beautiful mask that she wore to conceal the evil beneath to a mashed bloody pulp. He reached up with one hand caught her by the throat, triumph filling his entire being, erroneously thinking that the new balance Dru had referred to had matched his strength to hers. His hand hovered over her dead heart, ready to rip it out.
“Time to die, bitch,” he hissed, spittle escaping around his fangs and hitting Jenny in the face once more for pure pleasure.
“Don’t think so, Willie.” To his utter shock, her face began to shift and heal in seconds. Stunned by the quick healing, he was caught unawares by her knee. She drove it upwards like a pile driver and slammed it into his unprotected crotch.
Spike dropped to his knees with a whimper, his hands cupping his groin as he stared up through watering blue eyes at the triumphant Jenny. Her face was healed, her lush pale beauty returned in moments, the combination of vampire and gypsy magic making her a formidable foe.
“Buffy,” he wheezed.
Jenny smoothed her hair back from her face with a giggle. “You seriously think I can be killed by the likes of you?”
Spike opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the shriek that erupted from his opponent. “Ahhh, there you are! I’ve been waiting for you. What took you so long?” Jenny demanded crisply as she stared in the direction of the back door. “Now the fun can really begin,” she giggled, the sound incongruous in the situation they were all in.
In the background he could hear Buffy fighting and quipping her way to victory, but his attention was focused on Jenny. He needed to regroup; he had to kill her before she got to Buffy. Staggering to his feet, ignoring the lances of pain radiating from his groin, Spike braced himself for another fight.
“Hey, don’t even try it buster.” Jenny pointed at Spike and frowned angrily. “You’re spoiling my surprise for the Slayer.” She let lose another bolt of magic and Spike twisted his body out of the way and watched dispassionately as it set fire to one of the few remaining bookshelves.
There was a faint scuffling noise that he barely picked up over the sounds of Buffy’s battle and the crackle of flames. Spike ignored it and focused instead on the demented vampiress. He really hated his grandsire for creating such an abomination. It was bad enough what Peaches had done to Dru before and after turning her. But this was beyond the pale, turning a gypsy; despite all the warnings Bat face had given the entire family.
Running towards Jenny, Spike jolted to a halt pausing mid swing, surprised at the sudden change in his opponent. She’d gone from blasting him into next week to stillness. The malicious glee in her gleaming eyes gave him pause. He took a cautious look around the now destroyed shop and his eyes widened at the sight of the two figures that were dimly lit with moonlight.
They stood still framed in the now shattered backdoor, a tragic tableau. “Not good,” he muttered. Spike shifted and began to move towards the two figures, intent of saving at least one. He knew without a shadow of doubt that this would break his mate; he had to at least save one, salvage something from the mess that the bint cackling behind him had created.
He leapt over Giles’s unconscious form without even a downward glance. All his attention was focused on the fluttering heartbeat of the girl clawing at the arm of her captor.
“You turned him? Why on earth would you turn the whelp?” Spike stared aghast at the sight of the newest member of the Aurelius clan. “This won’t do at all. How could you dilute our bloodline with that?” He jerked his thumb at the now seething fledgling. “Pathetic…”
“Excellent. You found her. Bring her to me, boy,” Jenny ordered, ignoring Spike’s demands. Her fingers flexed in anticipation. She’d revised her initial plan of turning the girl. Instead, she was going to use her as a battery to amp up her power.
Spike’s shoulders slumped as he heard Buffy clamber back into the shop.
“Xander, no…” Buffy whispered her eyes filling with tears. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry…” she gasped. The diminutive blonde stood there, horror etching deep lines down the sides of her mouth. She had aged a century in seconds. The stricken Slayer stumbled against the Desoto, caught from behind by the single remaining vampire she’d been fighting. Elbowing him off without a backward glance, Buffy straightened and whirled, efficiently staking the falling vampire with a sob. The ache of pain that filled her chest was overwhelming her. ‘Xander was a vamp. It was her fault. If they hadn’t fought over Spike then he’d have been around and she could’ve protected him.’
Xander’s lopsided grin was distorted around his fangs, a mockery of his usually gentle smile. He pressed his fingers tighter into Willow’s throat, making very sure that she couldn’t say a word. His sire had warned him that he had to keep Willow from spell casting. Xander gazed in sycophantic adoration at the face of his salvation and initiation into the darkness. “Mistress.” He bobbed his head as his tongue darted out to lick at his fangs, a nervous habit that was starting to irritate Jenny.
“ ‘ike…” Willow choked out, her face turning purple from the lack of oxygen. She shook like a leaf, terrified out of her wits. Her Xander-shaped friend had tricked her out of the Summers’ house. Not realising that he was a vampire, she’d been so excited to see him and leapt at the chance to talk as he asked her. He’d offered what she realised now to be false promises of re-igniting his friendship with Buffy, but when she’d stepped over the threshold, Xander had vamped out and grabbed her. He’d been too fast and too strong. She’d struggled all the way here, tears pouring down her face at the awful words he’d spat at her. Mocking her innocence, looks and telling her that even when he’d been alive he’d thought she was a loser. Each vitriolic word broke her a little more as he continued to belittle her and inform her of the pain Jenny was going to inflict on her scrawny assed body.
“Wills, no.” Buffy took a step towards her, then froze in place at the sight of Xander’s fangs scraping over the pale freckled skin on Willow’s throat. Buffy stared hopelessly at Willow, their eyes silently communicating their despair over the new events.
“Boy, bring her to me and stop toying with her,” Jenny ordered with a snap of her fingers.
“Whelp, don’t you frigging well move an inch or I’ll tear off your head with my bare hands,” Spike warned. He could sense Buffy’s distress over her friend’s predicaments-- one lost to the darkness and the other in pain and terrified. He had started to develop a soft spot for Red, but the boy had caused no end of grief for his mate and to be honest, he really didn’t feel anything but satisfaction that he’d been vamped. Now he could kill the sod and not have to explain himself to the Slayer. He’d hurt her over and over and now it was payback time. Spike mentally rubbed his hands together, ready to tan the twitching fledge’s hide.
“Xander, if you ever want to see me naked again, you will bring that pathetic geek over here to me now,” Jenny ordered.
Spike, Buffy and Willow all blanched at the mental images of Xander’s turned teacher seducing him.
“I am, mistress—” The newly turned vampire lisped around his fangs and slowly began to sidle towards his sire, the one who had intitated him into the sexual frenzy of vampiric sex and then sank her fangs into his willing throat and drained him dry as she rode him into submission.
When he’d first seen her in the Bronze the other night, all dressed up in any male teen’s wet dream-- black leather and stilettos, with her breasts thrust upwards by a corset — he hadn’t even questioned why. He’d let her seduce him without any attempt to stop her. She’d fulfilled all his fantasies in that torrid night of sexual debauchery. Now he was stronger and more powerful than he’d ever been and more importantly, he wasn’t a loser anymore.
His hormones and dick had led him to his death.
“Good boy,” Jenny crooned; she swayed again on her feet. The wound in her chest was nearly healed, but, the magical fight had drastically weakened her and her body was working overtime to heal itself. She needed Willow’s power to rejuvenate herself. She could almost taste the sweetness of her powerful and virginal blood. Willow’s power was untapped and unused, simmering under the surface of her strawberry sweetness. Just waiting to be corrupted and used to achieve her control over the Hellmouth and the death of the Slayer and her mate. “You’ll get an extra special treat tonight. I’ll let you be on top, maybe even let you have a nibbled,” she added lasciviously, knowing that her words would sicken the Slayer and give her a slight advantage.
Xander gulped. The whispered promise of more sex made him shake. He ground his erection into Willow’s soft backside, desperate for any friction. Once he’d become a vampire, she’d played with his willing body for hours, bringing him to heights of pleasure he had no idea existed before handing him over to the minions to play with. A small part of him had secretly enjoyed the attentions of the male vampires, allowing himself to be dominated by them all and then in turn dominating them. He’d had no idea that when you became a vampire sex with both males and females was just plain fun, and he wanted more of it all. If it meant turning Willow over to be vamped, then so be it. At least he’d get laid again, something he’d been positive as a human would never happen to him. He would do anything to slide in between Jenny’s juicy thighs again, anything.
“No!” Buffy shrieked and launched herself at Jenny, only to be driven back by a wave of magic. She flew backwards and was caught by Spike. Turning her head, Buffy called out to Xander, trying to reason with him. “Xander, please don’t do this…its Willow. You’ve been best friends since kindergarten…don’t, please,” she begged futilely as Xander ignored her and moved towards the monster that had killed him.
“You okay?” Spike hissed. Having been on the receiving end of Jenny’s magics he was worried that Buffy had been injured.
“Okay?” Buffy’s voice pitched high in surprise. “Does this look okay? Giles all squished and bleeding, Xander a vamp and Willow—” She trailed off with a sob.
“Right, sorry pet. You ready?” Spike brushed his lips over her temple and then set her onto her feet.
“Yeah,” Buffy growled back at him. She turned her tear filled eyes at him in gratitude. Revenge filled her heart; she was determined to stake Jenny for what she’d done to Giles and Xander, if it was the last thing she did.
“Three…two…one…”
With that, both of them launched themselves at Xander and Willow, Buffy pausing momentarily to grab Giles’s slumped form and toss him out of the smashed window onto the street. She tried to ignore the twinge of guilt at the pain she was inflicting on him, focussing instead on saving him. She knew that they could fix a few bruises later, but if they left him on the shop floor then Giles would die in the ensuing battle.
Xander’s betraying arms were empty. In their momentary distraction the brunette vampire had thrown Willow at Jenny and then turned to face them with a malicious smile.
“Good, fledge,” Jenny cackled. Her hands cupped Willow’s face as the redhead struggled fruitlessly, the strength of her former computer teacher being too much for her.
“Please…no…” the terrified redhead begged as Jenny dug her sharp fingernails into her face. Thin lines of blood trickled down Willow’s quivering cheeks, painting her skin in scarlet trails. Her sneakered feet kicked pathetically in the air as she dangled from the vampire’s hands, her thin hands clamped on Jenny’s wrists trying to pry herself loose.
To no avail.
“Oh yes,” Jenny retorted and then slowly began to drain the untapped magics out of her erstwhile pupil. She flicked her eyes from Xander to the door, silently communicating her orders too him.
Xander flew backwards and escaped out of the rear door, running into the night, following the silent command of his sire. He was pursued closely by a very determined Buffy, stake in had and heart in her throat. She didn’t want to do this, stake a friend, even if he had been a schmuck to her recently. But she would. Xander was gone and in his goofy place was a vampire with no soul, no conscience and no remorse for his actions. The intent Slayer was unaware that she’d fallen for his trick and left Spike alone to face Jenny, in danger and without backup.
Spike slammed into an invisible wall, and pressed his hands against the protection barrier that Jenny had erected around her and Willow’s slowly weakening form. “Come on…this is cheating. Lemme in,” he entreated, his focus on Red and her slowing heartbeat. It fluttered against her ribcage like a trapped bird, erratic in its diminishing strength.
“Naaah, not yet. Where’s the fun in that?” Jenny taunted from the safety of her protection spell, her strength growing as Willow’s waned. Not only was Jenny drawing on her magics, but also her life-force, and it was revitalizing the vampire. Infusing her with more power and strength than was imaginable. She was becoming more than a vampire with gypsy magicks, she was becoming a formidable strength to be reckoned with. Soon no one would be able to stop her.
“Bollocks.” Spike’s fingers clawed at the barrier and he pressed against it in despair. “Red luv, fight her. Don’t let her do this to you. You’re stronger than her, better than her, a real tough bird…come on,” he cajoled, his focus on the scrap of a teenager whose eyes were turning milky. Her eyelids were drifting shut as Jenny’s magical vampirism pulled the last of her essence from her.
Spike cocked his head and listened to Willow’s faltering heartbeat with growing dismay.
He’d failed Red and worst of all, he’d failed Buffy.
His mind veered away from the worries that had infused it on first sighting Xander with Willow trapped in his embrace. He was worried sick about Joyce and to a lesser extent the robo-Slayer they’d left at home healing and recovering, supposedly watched over by the girl now struggling to keep her heart beating. What scene of devastation would greet them on their return to Revello Drive?
“Spike, I can’t—” Willow whispered weakly. “Too strong—”
Thud…
Thud…
Thud…
Thud…
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