Snapshots of Eternity
by Slinkyspychokit


Chapter 5: The Protector and Warrior
beta'd by Oracleholly


Three nights he'd been following her throughout the ancient city. Always staying in the shadows, he kept her in his sights while remaining far enough off her radar to go undetected. Several times he'd taken to the rooftops; running along uneven slopes and crumbling walls as silently as a mouse wearing felt slippers. What he remembered most about the rogue Slayer was that the girl danced to her own tune and made her own rules. She was a real tough as nails, ball-busting bitch who took what she wanted and to hell with anybody else. Her body was her weapon, and she used it well, trading sex for power and laughing outright at those gullible enough to buy whatever they thought she was selling. Faith's voluptuous curves, bedroom eyes and smokey voice enthralled men and women alike, keeping them oblivious to the enormous metaphorical blade she had trained on their unprotected backs.

Spike couldn't help but smirk at his spot on assessment of the dark Slayer. The polar opposite of his exquisite golden girl. Spike was man enough to admit that, had he met Faith first, it would no doubt have been lust at first sight. She personified what he'd once believed to be the perfect woman. Violence and hedonism wrapped in an incredibly sexy little package capable of making a bloke beg for any small scrap she deigned to throw from her table.

And to think Harris lost his virginity between her well toned thighs. Wonder if the Whelp fainted halfway through the ride of his bloody life.

The sounds of a scuffle drifted to Spike's ears from an alley, and he took to the roof of a nearby building to get a better look. He arrived just in time to see her take down some scaly thing, which turned into a bubbling puddle upon death. The rogue Slayer covered her nose and mouth, turning a bit green around the gills as the extremely foul odor permeated the alley. Luckily for Spike, he could simply choose not to inhale. Seconds later, Faith burst from the shadows and set off in a light jog to distance herself from the smell of decomposing demon, seemingly oblivious to the master vampire following her via the close buildings lining the quiet strata.

A scream split through the quiet night, and Faith put on an extra burst of speed, moving through the streets and alleys in a blur too fast for the average human to see. In just a few moments, she rounded a final corner and came upon the patio of a closed cafe. She stopped and folded her arms over her chest as she took in the sight of a woman held tightly in a pair of undead arms while the vampire attached to those arms was busy getting his feed on.

"Let her go," Faith sighed in what could only sound like a very bored tone.

Incredulous amber eyes looked up from his dinner. "What?!"

Faith sauntered closer, a staked clasped loosely in her right hand. "Look, Claudio-"

"Ricardo," the leech informed her as he lowered the corpse to an iron chair.

"Whatever," Faith shrugged. "The point is… I don't care if you nibble on the groupies or the weres. I made that truce with David so that this shit stopped happening. Bad business for you guys goin' out and slaughtering the masses."

Ricardo held his hands up and did his best to look innocent despite the incriminating evidence sprawled in an ungainly heap not two feet away. "I wasn't gonna kill her, Slayer! I promise!"

Faith's eyes widened with feigned shock. "Wait! You were, what? Just havin' a little snack before bed? Quick slip, nip and sip before gettin' yourself all tucked in for the day?"

"It was an accident? Um, the devil made me do it? Aliens?" whimpered Ricardo.

Faith sighed again. Twirling the stake in her right hand, she shook her head in disappointment even as her left hand aimed and fired the mini crossbow she'd been holding behind her thigh. Once Ricardo exploded in a shower of ashes, Faith tucked away her weapons before moving to the corpse to check for a pulse she knew wasn't there. Blank eyes stared at her in accusation. Faith closed those eyes with gentleness as she thought over the grim task of informing David that she'd had to dust one of his minions.

Damn vampires. Offer them a taste and they suck you dry. Or break your heart and steal your soul, Faith thought as she ran her fingers through the luxurious hair she'd recently dyed the color of a good merlot.

The wind carried a familiar scent to her nose, and Faith found herself smiling. The fact that he still followed her after three long nights surprised her. From what she'd heard, William the Bloody had never been known for his patience. Especially where Slayers were concerned.

Glancing briefly at the dead woman in the chair, Faith sighed once more and continued on her way. The sun would be up in a few hours, but now she needed to go see David. Perhaps there she might figure out why the hell the platinum haired vampire was tailing her throughout Rome.

******

Night Haven was still packed by the time Faith arrived. No matter how many times she'd been to this club, it never ceased to surprise her just how many vampires could be gathered in one place without a massacre in the works. But, David had pulled it off. With over four hundred years experience, David placed business ahead of any petty vampire squabbles, and in doing so built an entire underground city for his people.

Night Haven was David’s favorite venture in his underworld. While the cover of the ‘Haven’ was a Goth club, vampires and weres played by the rules. No killing of innocents was permitted, so the vamps had to content themselves with bagged blood, were-animal or willing donors. Breaking those rules brought unwanted attention to the community. Now that there was an entire slew of Slayers, ten - plus the Guardian, herself- settled in Rome, David had no intention of violating the truce he'd made with Faith and the Council of Watchers. A violation of the truce would hurt business, meaning less money in his bank accounts; the mere thought of it rankled his sensibility.

In exchange, David was allowed to conduct his business anyway he chose. As long as the bodies didn't start piling up, Faith didn't give a damn what David did. Then, again, Faith didn't care about much these days.

Slipping through the crowd with ease, Faith was already sliding off her thigh length leather coat as she hit the iron stairs that would carry her up to David's private lounge. Dante, a bulging, no neck thug wearing a suit that probably cost more than Faith's prized Ninja, blocked her way. "I'm so not in the mood," she warned the mook.

"Like I give a shit." Dante hissed. "Weapons. Now."

Faith sneered and handed over her crossbow, two stakes, and a set of brass knuckles she had painted a matte black so they would not catch a glint of light at the wrong moment. Dante seemed satisfied that she had surrendered everything, so he didn't pat her down. Stupid Dante was clueless about the many knives and throwing stars she had concealed in various places. "Happy?" she smiled sweetly at the henchvamp.

"Watch your tongue, human," Dante snarled. "David isn't always going to be around to ensure it's not ripped from your skull."

"You wanna throw down, big guy?"

"ENOUGH!" David thundered from his seat. Still smiling that saccharine smile belying just how badly she wanted to tear into the overgrown bully, Faith blew Dante a kiss and sauntered to the empty chair at David's table.

David ranked as one of the hottest guys she'd ever laid eyes on, living or undead. And considering she'd been in the presence of the two very virile Aurelian males, Angelus and William the Bloody, David’s appeal placed him in very good company. She offered up her sultriest smile while she roamed her eyes over his chiseled face and long glossy hair, which he kept pulled in a que at the base of his skull. Her eyes focused on the his wide, sensual mouth that had been the object of many a fantasy over the past six months they'd been acquainted.

David cleared his throat and smiled knowingly as his nostrils flared. She knew he knew his effect on her libido just like she knew he was harboring quite a few fantasies of his own. Now though was not the time to indulge. Instead of getting distracted by the undeniable attraction they felt for each other, she picked up his glass of scotch and drank it down in one gulp. "I can't decide what it is with the big baby," she commented with a nod toward Dante's back. "Does he hate me cause I'm human, a Slayer or because he wants to fuck me?"

"Pick one," David shrugged. "Results will remain unchanged."

Faith nodded and set the empty glass back on the table. "Dusted Ricardo. Found him feeding not too far from here. Just thought you should know."

As a sudden jolt hit her system, Faith went utterly rigid as every fiber of her being shouted at her to return to the Guardian's side. She swore ripely knowing she had no choice but to obey.

Outside on the street, Spike took off at a dead run as panic coursed through his link from Buffy, telling him something was very wrong.


// Chap 6
// Back to Chap 4
// Back to Fic Index