by Spikesdeb & SpikesKat

Chapter 2

~*~*~*~*~

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore… 

 

Edgar Allen Poe
The Raven

~*~*~*~*~ 

The needle scraped his skin over and over in a distinct pattern; he was delighted as he flinched at the stinging pain, egging him on to revel and glory in the mark being permanently etched on his arm.  An evil, maniacal light came into his eyes and he took another hit of the drugs that were free-flowing in the dank room, his body relaxing as it zinged swiftly through his system. 

As he was marked with the sign of his master, those around him worshiped the demon, their hands rested on symbols marking the round table as they chanted words of praise and devotion.  Occasionally, he would join in, the words tumbling from his lips by rote –such an eager and studious pupil.  

“Time to sleep,” the man taunted, the candle held before him flickered shadows to play about his face, casting a devilish glow to his features.  He had to suppress his urge to smirk in response.  He thought he looked sinister, but he had nothing on Ripper.  Ripper surpassed them all in his desire to be evil… 

~*~ 

He was pulled from sleep, his body sitting up in a trance-like state, lured from his bed by some unseen force.  Rising from his bed, clad in his blue striped pajamas, Giles made his way downstairs and slipped silently from the building, not bothering with shoes, or even to lock the door. 

He walked onward, drawn by some force greater than his will.  As he made his way in the early morning hours, he was left untouched by the creatures of the night.  Some had been tempted to feast on a defenseless man who was crazy enough to walk alone at night – but the aura of evil radiating from him repelled even them.  He was clearly in the thrall of a being more powerful than they. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Giles walked in the door and down the corridor leading to the open room of the morgue.  His bare feet made no sound on the linoleum flooring as he approached the refrigeration units that housed Sunnydale’s latest casualties.  His eyes focused on the closed doors, ignoring the sterile surroundings.  Walking around a metal autopsy table, he paused unerringly before the fourth unit from the left.  His hand lifted towards the lever, his eyes gazing vacantly ahead as he seized the handle and pulled the door open. 

He allowed the door to open wide, revealing the contents.  Hands slid the bed out on its rollers, exposing the shrouded body.  He pulled the white cover from the corpse’s face and upper torso.  Neither noticing nor caring about the bruises that marred the form before him, Giles’ hand hovered over the dead man until it came to rest above his master’s mark. 

His hand fisted around the black tattoo; his body jerked spasmodically as the demon leapt from the dead form of his former colleague and came to reside deep within him.  He looked around, the yellow, cat-like eyes taking in his surrounds before he one again sealed the man within his metal tomb and quietly slipped from the room. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Bearing the black, tattooed sign of their master, the five young adults finally circled the round table.  High on the best acid, their bodies undulated to the music as the chanting increased in pitch and volume.  Cries for Eyghon burst forth as the chanting increased the lust in the participants.  Often, one would break off to grab another, groping their willing partner – be it male or female – as lust overtook them. 

Gasps and moans filled the air, already heady with a mix of marijuana, incense, and candles that littered the room in random disarray.   

“Eyghon!” 

“EYGHON!!” 

The frenetic shrieking of their master’s name grew louder and louder, until in a clap of thunder, he stood before them, his red stare taking in his loyal subjects. 

~*~ 

Ring. 

Ring. 

It was the third ring that finally woke Giles.  The phone continued its annoying sound as he sat up and glanced around his bedroom.   

“Oh, bugger off,” he muttered towards the irritating contraption, its continuous jangling resounding in his ears. 

Realizing that the noise wouldn’t stop until he answered it, Giles leaned over the table and snatched the receiver off the hook. 

“What!” he practically hollered into the phone. 

Buffy’s voice came over the connection. “Giles?” 

“Yeah…Buffy…what do you want?” 

If she thought his speech and manner towards her seemed strange, she didn’t say anything.   

“It’s that guy…Ethan…I caught him snooping around the library here,” she replied. 

“Ethan, you say?” 

“Yeah, that guy from Halloween…the one responsible for the costume changes…” 

“Hmmm…good work, Buffy.  I’ll get dressed and be right over.” 

“Get dressed?  It’s almost noon…” she got out, but all she heard was the dial tone in her ear.  Apparently, Giles had hung up on her.  She pulled the receiver away from her ear and stared at it for a moment in confusion.  Her watcher was really acting weird. 

~*~ 

Ripper glanced down at the blue pinstriped cotton pajamas he wore.  His pulled the shirt away from his body, wondering why he was wearing his father’s clothes.   

‘Since when do I wear pajamas?’ 

He quickly unbuttoned the top, practically ripping the bloody thing apart in his haste to remove the offending garment.  The pajama bottoms soon joined the small heap on the floor.  Naked, he moved to the full-length mirror that hung on one wall. 

He eyed his reflection in the mirror, taking note of the lack of definition his body bore.  Since when had he slacked off and got pudgy?  Rolling his eyes and mentally implementing an exercise plan, he pushed the closet door aside and inspected the contents. 

“Bloody hell,” he muttered, “I’ve turned into an old git!” 

Disgustedly, he eyed the tweed and twill articles that made up his wardrobe.  ‘Add clothes shopping to the list of things to do at once!’  

Grabbing the least stodgy items, he quickly dressed.  He found his keys amidst the piles of books and papers cluttering the desk and made his way to the courtyard outside his condo, glancing at his keys as he tried to determine which car could possibly be his.  Ripper eyed the light blue two-seater monstrosity and groaned. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Ripper stepped inside the library and took in the scene before him.  Ethan, his old partner in the dark arts, sat tied to a chair in the middle of the room.  The Scoobies were hovering at the counter.  His slayer stood near Ethan, attempting to gain information from the man. 

His eyes swept to the other side of the room and lit on Jenny.  Now there was a fine piece of skirt.  His eyes flashed yellow, momentarily overcome as the demon within surged.  His gaze raked her body from head to toe; she’d make a fine addition to his “members only” club. 

“Ripper,” Ethan snarked from his tied-up position on the chair. 

“Ethan.  I seem to remember telling you to get out of town,” Ripper voiced, assuming the cultured British voice from long past.   

He needed the others to believe he was still Giles.  Later, much later, he’d let Ethan in on his plans.  For now, he kept quiet.  For all his apparent evilness, Ethan had nothing on Ripper.  He crossed the room and fisted both hands in the front of the bound man’s shirt. 

“Why are you here?” he questioned; he couldn’t quite keep the Ripper menace out of his voice, and Ethan’s head lifted sharply, his gaze locking on Giles.   

Trying to distract Ethan, Ripper shoved him, the force knocking the other man backwards to crash on the floor.  The distinct sound of bones breaking sounded just a moment before Buffy’s protests and the Scoobies shocked exclamations rent the air. 

The blow was just what Ethan needed to free himself. 

While Buffy was busy hemming and hawing over Giles’ behavior, Ethan slipped free from his loose bindings and shoved Jenny out of his way – knocking her hard into a bookcase – as he hurtled out of the library through the double doors.   

Concern for Jenny overruled chasing after the other man.  Ripper was the first by her side, playing up his part of the worried librarian for his audience.  Holding her body close to his, he murmured solicitous words to the slightly dazed woman.  She mumbled her assent that she was fine, just shaken. 

Ripper offered to see her home and she agreed.  With a few words to his slayer and her friends to lock up and go home, he led Jenny out into the hallway. 

“What’s with Giles?” Xander asked once they were alone in the library.  “I’ve never seen him act that way before.” 

“I don’t know, but I’m damn sure gonna find out.  There’s something wrong with him. He’s been acting weird lately. First, he ditches me at the hospital.  Then the whole drunk Giles scene from last night.” 

Determination in her stride, Buffy stalked from the library.   

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