Chapter 6
~*~*~*~*~
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me- filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door-
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;-
This it is, and nothing more."
Edgar Allen Poe
The Raven
~*~*~*~*~
Buffy
couldn’t wait for the day to end. It’d
started off badly when she’d wrenched her shoulder trying to move the dresser.
Usually it would have been a one-finger deal to retrieve the earring from
behind it, but today she hadn’t been able to move it at all.
Then there was the drudgery of book carrying.
How did normal people cope with lugging the weight of books around with
them? It was impossible!
All
in all, by the time she dragged her weary carcass into class she was severely
drained and wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep.
It was only the fact that Xander kept nudging her that allowed her to
listen to any words of wisdom at all. What
the hell was a xylem anyway? And
why did she have to draw one?
Things
got worse when she did the usual library visit-age after school; Giles was
beyond weird, Willow was withdrawn and Xander was annoyingly perky.
There hadn’t been any monster infestation for an age and she was aching
for a good slay. Except, she
didn’t think she’d have the strength to wield a stake.
This stupid flu bug really had a hold of her.
Still, once her Slayer healing kicked in, she’d be back at full
strength. Watch out Sunnydale when
that happened…
Also,
there was something a little ‘off’ about Willow. She’d reacted to a taunt from Cordelia with unusual
venom and Buffy was almost sure she’d seen a flash in her eyes. As long as it wasn’t hyena possession…because that just
made her skin crawl. Maybe it was
just that time of the month. When
she’d asked her was she okay, Willow had almost snarled at her in reply. Feeling hurt that her best friend seemed to be angry with her
for no reason, Buffy had spoken to Giles to see if he’d noticed anything odd.
“Well,
other than the fact that – as usual – you assumed Willow will help you,
without bothering to check first, no – not really.
Don’t worry Buffy, she’s just feeling taken for granted.
She’ll come round. I mean really – what else does Willow have to do?”
Buffy
had smiled weakly in response. Although
she was upset that Willow didn’t feel comfortable talking to her about her
feelings, part of her was annoyed with the redhead. It’s not as if she’d asked her to keep helping, in fact
at first had said that she absolutely shouldn’t – nor Xander. The choice had been hers, so if she was changing her mind
now…well, let her. She didn’t
need her. She was the Slayer, one
girl in all the world blah, blah, blah.
Except
that right now, sitting on the steps to gather her strength before she headed
home, she really didn’t feel particularly Slayer-like.
Hot and cold at the same time, aching bones and no energy, this flu bug
had better shift soon or Sunnydale’s demons would be throwing a party.
Still, time to slay. Better
make the effort.
She
hadn’t asked Willow to come with this evening; of course it was the usual
thing that she’d go home and then meet up with Willow and Xander somewhere
along the way before heading out to slaughter the demon population, probably
taking in the Bronze before or after…sometimes even during. But she’d deliberately not mentioned anything to Willow
when they parted and her friend didn’t seem interested anyway. Xander was absent, having skipped the rest of school after
Biology class to go to some stupid comic book convention.
Well
she didn’t need them, easier without really.
The slayer was supposed to be alone.
Except, why did it hurt her so much?
Heaving
her aching body to her feet she trudged home to get ready to slay.
~*~*~*~*~
“Evenin’,
Red. Good day at school with all
those deadbeats? Brought me a snack
at all?”
“No,
Spike. I couldn’t care less about
your diet. I’m here for Drusilla.
And shouldn’t you be meeting Ripper now?
You know, for the plan?”
“I’m
just off – keep your knickers on! And
it’s my plan remember, I know what I’m doin’.
Bloody women, you always think you know best.”
“That’s
because we do. Where is she?”
“Dru?
She’s giving Miss Edith her tea and whatnot, or talking to the buggerin’
stars. Your guess is as good as
mine. She’s in the bedroom.”
Willow
swept past him, causing the vampire to assess her afresh.
Gone was the shy and meek student, who jumped at her own shadow.
In her place was a strong and assured woman, certain of her own power and
daring anybody to mess with her; daring him.
“Not
bloody likely,” he muttered under his breath “I like my head just where it
is, on my neck, thank you very much.”
He
grabbed his duster, shrugging it on as he swept out the door to disappear into
the night and his meeting with Ripper.
Willow
ignored the muttering and carried on towards the basement of the factory to find
her accomplice.
“Drusilla?
Drusilla?”
“Oooh
-- have you come to join the party? Miss
Edith’s been whispering naughty words and now she will have no cake.
Would you like her cake?”
Willow
stared at the deranged vampire who was sitting cross-legged on the bed
surrounded by china dolls in various stages of dismemberment.
Miss Edith, she presumed, was the one whose head had been ripped
completely from its body. Interesting.
“Drusilla,
we’re going out, remember? We
have tasks to complete, mayhem to create. You
do remember?”
“Oh!
The Slayer! We’re going to
hurt her…oh, yes please. I like that game.
I remember. Do you hear
that, Miss Edith? Mummy’s going
out to play.”
The
gleeful look on Drusilla’s face was disturbing. She had the wide, trusting eyes of a child and the ivory pale
features of a noble lady. But
behind that visage was a deranged and vicious killer.
Willow found the entire package strangely alluring and had a sudden urge
to touch the vampire, kiss her, bite her.
Drusilla
turned to her, eyes closed as she swayed from side to side.
“I can feel you, inside my head…but you want to be inside my
body…don’t you?” Her eyes
opened suddenly, fixing Willow with her intense gaze, before dropping her lashes
to peep coyly from beneath them. She
held out a pale hand, Willow grasped it before she could think further and
helped her to her feet. Drusilla
kept hold of her hand as she smoothed her long, white dress with the other.
“Shall
we go and play now? Then we
can tell Miss Edith all about it later.”
She bit her bottom lip between her white, even teeth and her face creased
up into a beaming smile. Releasing Willow’s hand she turned to walk away then
stopped and walked back to press a brief, cool kiss on her lips. The contact shot through Willow’s body like an electric
shock, her eyes darkening as Drusilla danced away from her. The feeling was intoxicating and she would have more.
But later, after the Slayer had been dealt with.
It was time to pay a visit to Xander.
Giggling
and girlish, the vampire skipped after the witch, out of the factory and towards
their pre-arranged meeting with Xander Harris.
~*~*~*~*~
“Ripper?
You in here?”
“In
the back, Spike, and keep it down a bit -- it’s Mr. Giles while we’re in the
school. And what are you doing
here, we’re supposed to meet at the top of Revello Drive?”
“Got
bored. You want one?” Spike
offered, sitting on the counter and lighting up a cigarette.
“No,
thanks. And mind the books.
These occult references are vital, don’t need them getting singed.”
“You
ready or what? I’m itching for
some action -- can’t wait to get my hands and… other bits…on her
goodies.”
Ripper
fixed him with a steely glare. “Spike,
cool it – for fuck’s sake. We’re
doing this professionally. I’ll
sort something else if you can’t handle it.”
Spike
snorted. “Oh, please!
Like your bloody Slayer’s a match for me.
I’ve drained two of ‘em, mate, or did you forget.
It’s just she’s so…juicy and ripe.
Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.
Never crossed your unsullied mind, eh?”
“Not
my type. Too bloody pure of mind
and spirit; wouldn’t want to be OD’ing on that anytime soon.
No. But later maybe, once
she’s seen the light... or should that be the dark?
The
vampire smirked, not if he had anything to do with it.
Once Buffy Summers was messing with the dark side, he’d kill anybody
else who laid a finger on her. Her
torture was his to administer and he wouldn’t be needing help from anyone.
The
librarian settled his spectacles back on his nose and gathered up his awful
tweed jacket. Noting Spike’s
smirk, he spoke darkly, “Shut up, Spike.
This may be the worst suit you’ve ever seen, but it’s got long
pockets, plenty of room to hide the necessities to wipe the smile off your face.
Just watch it!”
Spike
shrugged, he had better things to do than taunt the former Watcher.
Like killing a Slayer…He slid off the counter and followed Ripper out
of the library and into the night.
When
they reached Revello Drive, Ripper let himself in with the key that Joyce had
given him earlier, in case of emergencies whilst she was out of town.
Both of them swept through the door, Spike having confirmed to Ripper
that the place was empty. Buffy would be out on her nightly slay, but the homecoming
would be something out of the ordinary. Spike
stifled a laugh of pure delight as he strolled through the home of the Slayer,
picking up her scent everywhere he walked.
He amused himself by fingering the panties in her drawers and kicking
stuffed toys around the bedroom, sneering at the boy band posters adorning the
walls. Such innocence prickled at
his skin and made him itch. He
couldn’t wait to put paid to all that purity and turn the Slayer to the dark
side.
The
ringing of the phone jerked him back to reality and he hurtled down the stairs
to listen in on the conversation. He
caught Willow’s voice on the other end and smiled as he heard Drusilla cooing
and singing in the background.
Ripper
replaced the receiver. “They’ve
got Xander.”