Mastery
by ComedyofErrors
Chapter 14
Alexa was in a fantastic mood. She hadn't gotten much sleep this morning after Buffy left the dining room to try her new trick. Alexa had been worried that the Master would not appreciate her interference in his business with his Childe. Master Spike could be temperamental, and even though he obviously loved the fledgling, he might accidentally hurt her feelings. It required a lot of courage for a girl to give her first blow-job, so he'd probably scar Buffy more deeply by rejection than by allowing her to continue. Alexa smiled. Judging by the sounds that made their way to the ground floor, Buffy's efforts had been well received. Not that she'd been eavesdropping. It wasn't her fault that the Master and Mistress made such...enthusiastic sounds.
When Alexa got back to her room, she'd woken Jacob for a little fun of their own in celebration of the new couple. Jacob cautioned her that if the Master found out what assistance she rendered, he might disapprove. Alexa doubted the Master would object to her slight assistance in causing him pleasure, but she had the perfect defense if he did. After all, he did tell Buffy that she could ask the minions anything.
Alexa stood in the kitchen drinking a fresh mug of blood with Jacob while she mused. Suddenly they heard a rattle of keys at the front door. They walked to the living room, arriving in time to see their half-B'aste ally locking the door behind him. Morrie dropped the bag containing his ceremonial robes by the sofa and sank down on one of the cushions. He opened his eyes when he heard movement off to the side. Alexa and Jacob had come to investigate his less than stealthy entrance.
Alexa sat down beside him on the sofa, and Jacob took the chair opposite them. Alexa took in Morrie's appearance. He smelled of dozens of different demons, alcohol, and veal. His right tennis shoe was untied and his shirt was on backwards, though she didn't think he cared. He looked like he was about to slide off the sofa from exhaustion. "So I take it you had fun at the feast?"
Morrie laughed and nodded. The Rites of Jeura was a twice-yearly ceremony held at Bale-ste Nara Kier's court that celebrated the successes of the B'aste for the last six months. In other words, it was a chance for everybody and their business partners to eat too much and get drunk together. It was a seven-hour blast that Morrie thoroughly enjoyed, but as the Matriarch's kit, he had duties to perform. "Oh, you know. There was the usual hand-shaking. Talking with Mother's friends about how much I've grown, how they knew me when I was only knee-high to a Labdmar, and yada, yada, yada.
"Then there was the dance. We spent four hours alone on traditional dances. And I had to dance with every single eligible bachelorette - multiple times - because I'm the last eligible kit of the Matriarch."
Jacob snorted. "Oh, yes, lovely demons throwing themselves at you. I feel your pain." Alexa shot him a dark look. "Not that I would want that to happen to me because I'm perfectly happy with my own thoroughly gorgeous love." She smiled in approval at his save.
Alexa turned back to Morrie. "Any discussion of Master Spike and Mistress Buffy?"
"Plenty. Everyone asked about them. Angelus has been searching for his AWOL childer, and that has everybody interested in all the juicy details of their escape, their life together, and their future plans. And they all know I'm in Master Spike's employ. Are they up yet? I have some news they need to hear." Morrie rubbed his eyes, willing them to stay open.
Alexa grinned. "I'll go check, but it shouldn't be much longer. They were up a little later than usual. Doing some deep thinking, if you get my meaning."
Morrie smirked. "Finally. They've been mooning at each other all week."
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Buffy sighed contentedly. It was good to wake up with the person you fell asleep with. Big confidence booster. She nuzzled the firm chest that pillowed her head, eliciting a soft purr from the vampire beneath her. She smiled. Vampire purring was not something mentioned in Giles' books. It pleased her that she could make Spike do something as innocent and playful as purr. And it was damn sexy.
She sat up slightly. She was still straddling his hips. Hmm. Now whatever could they do this morning... Buffy ran her hands over his hips in light strokes, then leaned her head down to kiss his collar. Spike moaned and opened his eyes. Buffy smiled widely. "Good morning."
Spike grinned. "Good morning Goldilocks." He pulled himself into a sitting position against the bed frame with Buffy in his lap. He put his hands on her shoulders and brought her forward for a tender kiss. She kissed back with ardor and wriggled her hips against his. He let out a groan. "Better stop that."
Buffy pouted at him. "Why? I mean, not real experienced here, but I think you kinda like this." She put a hand between her legs and prodded the hardening flesh beneath her.
Spike growled softly. He grabbed her searching hand and pulled it up to rest on his shoulder. "'Cause you're gonna make a mess and I'd be the only one that had fun."
"But I wanna play." She began to nibble at his neck around the bite she'd placed there the night before. Spike licked his lips and began to kiss her cheek while she continued at his neck.
There was a knock at the door. Buffy stilled. She looked to her Sire who grimaced. "Who is it?"
"Alexa, Master," a disembodied voice replied.
Spike shifted Buffy off his lap and onto the bed beside him. She put her head on his shoulder while one of her hands began to explore his chest. "What's wrong Alexa?"
"Morrie has news of Angelus that he feels you should hear."
Spike felt Buffy stiffen at the sound of that name. He rubbed her arm to reassure her. "Okay, we'll be down in about twenty minutes."
"Yes, Master." Buffy and Spike heard the retreating footsteps of the minion.
Buffy frowned. "He's always there to ruin things."
Spike looked at his anxious childe. He caught her chin and held it so that she would look him in the eyes. "He won't be after we dust him."
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Buffy found herself downstairs in the dining room an hour later, wishing that she could just restart the day. Maybe if she could wake up again in Spike's arms, she wouldn't feel so nervous about what was coming next.
After Alexa left, they'd gotten out of bed for a quick shower together. Not the kind of shower you're supposed to be able to have with your boyfriend, though. Just a quick scrub to get the sex smell off. Buffy figured the minions already knew what went on last night, but she didn't want to advertise it and neither did Spike. It was something special and private between the two of them, in defiance of what they escaped when they left the Mansion. To Buffy, it was a promise of what would be theirs in the future, if they succeeded. When they succeeded.
Buffy saw that the minions were assembled when they made it down to the table. Mugs of blood were waiting for her and Spike. They drank while listening to Morrie detail Angelus's search for them during the past few days. He'd been looking in trashy places that were typical hideouts for vampires. He must not have counted on her Sire finding a house of his own. But she knew he'd figure it out soon. Then he'd find listings for houses bought recently in Sunnydale. He'd find them. He'd kill her Sire and burn down her home.
Buffy felt a surge of anger, not fear as she would have expected. She was furious at the thought that he might try to capture her again, but she wasn't afraid of what he'd do. There was no pain Angelus could cause her that she hadn't already felt. He'd killed her, ripping Buffy away from her family and loved ones as surely as if he'd killed them instead. He had tortured her and tormented her Sire. He'd forced her to kill. And now he was going to kill her? Ha. The Angel of Death was slipping.
She felt no guilt about the little boy. He was going to die. His death was ordered the minute he was captured. She had just made it faster than it would have been if another vampire had done it.
"We need to find him and dust him before he finds us. This needs to end." Buffy was glad that she sounded as determined as she was. She saw Spike looking at her. He looked proud. She gave him a little half smile, which he returned.
Spike nodded, glad that she was involving herself. There was another little bit of that independence he relished. She was becoming more and more like the slayer he knew she could be. "You're right kitten. But our problem is numbers. He won't ever be on his own, and we don't have enough people to take on him and his minions."
Morrie looked around the table at the assembled demons. "The B'aste as a whole aren't sufficiently trained to fight. The rest of the demons in this town are afraid of opposing him. Many of them support Master Spike in theory, but they aren't willing to risk their necks against a monster like Angelus."
Buffy swallowed nervously. "Then we need people who are willing. People who hate him as much as we do." She knew exactly where to find them.
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Rupert Giles stared out the window as he drank his tea. He found himself doing it often. He was waiting for something he couldn't describe. This week had passed quickly and without incident. He knew that Angelus's spies watched them, but he kept the children and Joyce inside the house and together. There had been no attacks. And still he knew that this was the calm before the storm. It couldn't end here.
They all knew it. Joyce went to the gallery every day and continued to practice with her crossbow every night. Cordelia, Willow, and Oz went to school and to visit Xander in the hospital. They came back to the Summers' house and did their homework. At the same time, they kept the weapons clean and sharp.
Even Xander seemed to sense something. He'd awoken three days ago surrounded by his friends and parents. He'd smiled and tried to keep everyone's spirits high. Imagine, a boy burned from head to knee still having the presence of mind to joke with his loved ones. Courageous, without a doubt. He waved aside tears, the apologies of the Scoobies, and their self-recriminations. Ripper and Xander both knew that to some extent each of the other children and Joyce felt responsible for what had happened, because they'd all had a hand in the raid.
Foolishness of course. Giles had never apologized and Xander wouldn't have accepted it if he had. They had all known the risks. Xander, for one, had no regrets except that he wouldn't get a chance to be in the final battle against Angelus.
Angelus. He had sent them a little message that fateful night; one which fortunately only Joyce and he had seen. Joyce had found it the next evening, wedged next to the front door. A video tape, starring Buffy. It was a short clip, probably copied from a longer original of which Angelus was immensely proud. It opened with the former slayer cradling a small child in her lap. She then lifted him up and broke his neck. The clip ended as the crowd of vampires around her applauded.
Giles had resigned himself when Buffy first disappeared to the possibility of having to kill her. It seemed a more likely necessity now, having witnessed her embracing her vampire nature in spite of her soul.
His heart tried to tell him about extenuating circumstances. The shortness of the film itself suggested that what came before on the tape would have compromised the brutality of the images. Angelus no doubt forced the scenario on her.
But did it really matter? A slayer's one and only job was to protect the innocent. To stand between them and the creatures of the night. If Buffy had still possessed the same morals she had on the night she left for that last patrol, she would never have killed that child. If he was marked to die, it could have been at someone else's hand. Hers would have remained clean.
The telephone rang. He reached over and answered it. "Summers residence."
Buffy hesitated a moment, standing beside the pay phone. Spike put a supporting hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath. This was her idea, she'd see it through. "Hello Giles."
Giles dropped his tea. The china shattered, the shards flying everywhere.
*****
Thanks for reading. I know this is a short transitional chapter, but I'm about to leave town for the week and I don't have the time to write more. The finish is only four or five chapters away. Thanks for sticking with me! More next week. Thanks to Linda, my beta.
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