SUMMARY: A demon summoner makes his mark on Sunnydale, while the shadowy figure makes his presence known to Buffy and her gang. But whose side is he really on?
DISCLAIMER: Okay, obviously anything you recognize, I don't own. Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and all related characters, etc. doesn't belong to me. I'm just borrowing them. I don't any of the song lyrics, either. What I do own is the plot and events of these specific stories, and any characters you don't recognize.
ARCHIVE: Just ask, please.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is Book Two in my "Strange Place to Live" series. This means it takes place in my parallel universe that diverges from the show prior to "Helpless." The previous story was Coming Home. I really recommend you read that first, but if you don't want to, just know that Angel is human. My apologies to Orin for the use of his name, but hey, I think it's a neat name. Special thanks to my brother, for saying, "Just finish it already!"
SPOILERS: I started writing this series before Helpless, so Giles was never fired. However, I did know Angel was going to be leaving, and I assumed Faith would be somehow written out. No real spoilers, though.
FEEDBACK: Any comments are not only welcome, but begged for.

Prologue

"You can celebrate, gifts are never late
You just learn to wait for sudden gifts of fate"
~Sudden Gift of Fate
Mary Chapin Carpenter

Monday Afternoon
Crawford St. Mansion

The mansion, usually a dark and somber place, a house of the dead, was filled with life and light like never before. Laughter and cheerful conversation over music playing on the radio in the background were as foreign to this place as the bowls of potato chips and other snack food arrayed on the table. It was a small party, a welcome home party, and the guest of honor could only blink in confusion.

Sitting on his couch, watching Mrs. Summers chat amicably with Willow, and Xander occasionally joining in with witty comments, Angel could only be amazed at what was taking place. He had returned to Sunnydale only days before and had no plans at the time for an extended stay. Then, an encounter in an alley with a young man who cast unfamiliar magic, and Angel awoke a day later in Sunnydale Hospital. Suddenly, he was alive, human again. He no longer needed to drink blood or hide from sunrises. And Buffy's friends - his friends - had worked together to make his old home livable for when he got out of the hospital. It had all happened so fast, and Angel half feared it would turn out to be a cruel dream. After all, if things appear too good to be true . . ..

A hand on his shoulder startled Angel out of his reverie. "Hey," Buffy said leaning towards him. "Penny for your thoughts."

Angel looked at her in surprise. "I'm just amazed you did all this for me," he said, uncomfortable with the sudden attention from everyone in the room.

"It was Willow's idea," Oz proclaimed.

Willow smiled.

"Thank you," Angel said simply and sincerely, "Thank you all."

No one spoke for a moment, then Giles cleared his throat. "That was their gift to you," he explained. "Mine was more . . . in my realm of expertise."

"He stared at books and left the heavy lifting to us," explained Xander.

"Well, yes, indeed," Giles said. "First I was checking on ownership of the house and related issues, which it turns out was unnecessary. Then I was trying to get a clearer idea of what happened to you. As usual, it seems, I could find no previously recorded events that relate. And," he paused for a moment, "I also looked into . . . what you asked me to look into."

Angel nodded and waited expectantly for Giles to continue. He had asked Giles only yesterday what being human again would mean in regards to his soul and his curse. How terrible it would be if he was truly human and was still not allowed his happiness.

Giles appeared uncomfortable. Finally he said, "My research was inconclusive. I can tell you that I found no record of a human ever spontaneously losing their soul. And I do believe that you are truly human. But everything about this situation is completely unique. There is no record of anything like your . . . complex situation."

"I'm sorry," Giles said finally. "I just can't say with any certainty. I can tell you what my research has led me to believe . . . but I can not tell you the final fate of the demon."

Angel hung his head and sighed. He'd tried not to get his hopes up, tried to foresee everything that could go wrong. He'd told himself that it couldn't be so miraculously easy, happily ever after. Even so, he'd been hoping he was wrong. Now he'd have to take it a day at a time and hope for the best.

"Perhaps I can help."

A male voice broke through the silence, causing everyone to glance up in surprise. In the doorway stood a young man with light brown hair, piercing blue eyes, and a sense of power. He was also vaguely familiar. Angel stared at the uninvited visitor. Then, as the man was about to speak again, realization came.

"You!" Angel cried in surprised anger.

The man - the chanter, Angel's shadowy attacker - looked his direction and nearly jumped in surprise. His eyes went wide, then narrowed in anger as well, as he cried "You!" in return.

And chaos ensued.

Part One

"Everyone's got to face down their demons
Maybe today
You could put the past away"
~Jumper

Monday Afternoon
Angel's Mansion

"I heard someone mention a demon?"

At least, that was what he was going to say when he had the full attention of the Slayer and her friends. They all turned and faced him as he made his presence known. He was just opening his mouth to speak again when another beat him to it.

"You!"

His attention was drawn to the one who spoke, a young man slightly older than himself seated next to the Slayer. The man was staring at him with an expression of shocked anger. He looked vaguely familiar. When he realized why he stared in surprise, then grew angry as well. He didn't usually remember the vampires he fought, but he remembered those that got away. "You!" he cried.

He was about to wonder why he had not sensed a demon in the house when he suddenly found himself pinned painfully against the wall, an angry Slayer in his face.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she demanded.

The Hunter tried to play it cool. "Believe it or not, Slayer," he said as calmly as he could, "I came to ask for your help."

"Yeah, well, I'm not in the habit of helping the other team."

"I'm not on the 'other team!'"

For a moment no one said anything. Then, "Okay, I'm confused," muttered a young, dark haired man.

The Slayer did not loosen her grip, however, though she did seem slightly confused as well. The Hunter took a moment to realize that this was not the time for games and continued. "My name is Kenneth," he began again. "I'm a demon hunter."

Still she did not let him go. "You attacked one of my friends!"

"He's a vampire!" Kenneth yelled back in frustration. Then he remembered what else was odd about this situation. He had not sensed a demon in the home . . . because there was no demon in the home. The vampire - the one that had gotten away - no longer *felt* like a vampire. Instead, the man still sitting on the couch felt like . . . the faint echo of a vampire, and only if Kenneth concentrated really hard. It was like sensing the shadow of a demon when the demon was long gone. "Was a vampire?" muttered the Hunter, looking at all in slight confusion.

An older man, her Watcher, Kenneth assumed, stepped forward. "Buffy, let him go," he said. Reluctantly, she did so.

"Perhaps I could start over?" Kenneth said when she did so.

"That would be best," the Watcher said. "Please forgive us, but there seems to have been a misunderstanding. Perhaps you could convince us of your veracity to avoid another incident."

Kenneth looked back and forth between the patient Watcher, the still angry Slayer, and other distrustful faces all around, and tried to explain everything. "I arrived in Sunnydale several nights ago. I'm following a demon summoner by the name of Orin, as my first . . . mission, as it were, without my mentor."

"I'm sorry," interrupted the Watcher, "but your mentor's name?"

The Hunter nodded. Perhaps the Watcher would recognize it. "Kinsey O'Brien."

"Really?" said the Watcher, brightening. "Didn't he get rid of that snake demon in Cleveland several years ago?"

"I think so," replied Kenneth. "It was before I met him."

"How is he these days?"

Kenneth frowned. "He's dead," he said softly. "One of Orin's pet demons got him."

"Oh."

"So, that's what I'm doing here," Kenneth said after a moment. "I followed him to Sunnydale and to his lair outside of town. But I'm vastly out numbered, so I need your help."

The Watcher nodded. "Yes, well, perhaps-"

"Excuse me!" the Slayer, Buffy interrupted. "You may be convinced that this guy means well, but I'm not. Someone explain why I should trust him."

"Buffy, he's a demon hunter," said Giles. "His mentor was well respected -"

"Yeah, well, good, great, fine. I'm glad you like his resume', Giles, but that means nothing to me," Buffy said, sounding exasperated. "It's not that I don't trust you, but couldn't he have gotten that information from somewhere else?"

As Giles pondered how to convince his Slayer, Kenneth came upon another solution. "Perhaps I could prove myself?" he said, and continued to say what he'd meant to say in the first place. "I heard someone mention a demon."

"Well, yes, um . . ." the Watcher started.

"That would be my demon, Hunter," said another softly. It was the vampire - the not-vampire - still sitting on the couch. He stood slowly and walked to stand next to the Slayer. "We were trying to figure out what happened - what you did, actually."

Buffy stared at Kenneth, a touch of anger still showing in her eyes, then looked at the . . . man who stood next to her. The man placed a hand on her shoulder, and she smiled very slightly at him. Then she looked back at Kenneth, no longer angry, but simply expectant. It was a tiny exchange, but Kenneth suddenly understood something.*Oh God,* he thought. *I'm stuck between Romeo and Juliet. Only I attacked Romeo, and Juliet is homicidal instead of suicidal!*

Kenneth knew his only way out of this was a full explanation. Perhaps once that was done she would trust him. And, with any luck, help him. "It was a spell," he began to explain. "A demon-weakening spell. It incapacitates a target demon so that it can be killed. It works well for me against vampires because it'll keep them down long enough for me to either stake them or for the sunlight to catch them." Nervous under the scrutiny of everyone, he concluded in a mutter, "I was interrupted."

"Obviously," Buffy replied sarcastically.

Kenneth looked between the not-vampire and the Slayer and said, "This is not supposed to be the result. This has never happened before."

The Watcher nodded. "Yes, we'd already discussed that. Angel . . . has always been an exception to the rules."

"Then what were you trying to find out?"

"What happened to the demon," Angel answered. "Whether it's truly gone and I'm truly human, or . . .." His voice trailed off.

The demon hunter looked between the watcher and Angel. "I could find out," he said hesitantly, "if you'll allow me."

"What would you have to do?" Giles asked.

"It's a spell, magic of sorts. Just a chant, no other preparation needed. It needs to be quiet, so I can concentrate, and that's it." He waited for a response.

"And you don't need anything else?"

Kenneth shook his head. "That's it. It's really a method for me to focus. And if I find anything left of the demon once I've started, I can get rid of it."

"Is there any danger to me?" asked Angel softly.

"There shouldn't be," replied Kenneth. "I mean, I don't sense the demon now, so you're surviving without it. The worst I can see happening is that you might loose any vampiric advantages you still have. Like being stronger and healing faster than a normal human."

"Whoa, excuse me!" interrupted Buffy. "Are you really talking about letting him do this? Look what he did the last time!"

"Buffy," Angel interrupted gently, "everything he's done has been good thus far. Because of him I've seen my first sunlight in almost 250 years." He smiled. "I want to do this."

Once everyone was in agreement, Kenneth sat next to Angel on the couch. The gathering, which had been boisterous prior to the Hunter's arrival, fell silent. In little more than a whisper, he began to chant. It wasn't so much a spell as a way for Kenneth to concentrate on a single person. He could have used the spell to focus on any person in the room and find out about their closest encounters with demons and magic. It was a variation on this sense that enabled him to recognize a demon from a distance and had let him recognize Buffy as the Slayer. This was just much more specific.

Kenneth knew somewhat what he would encounter when he focused on Angel. Over two centuries of vampirism had left its mark like a dark stain. Like he had already sensed, there was no demon present. There was a fragment remaining, however, a residue, and who knew what effect it could have over time. Kenneth could get rid of it rather easily, now that he'd been allowed in.

He had to be careful, though. There was magic here. A closer look explained part of how this was possible. This vampire had a soul, given by a fragile spell, strange old magic unfamiliar to Kenneth. While getting rid of the remains of the demon, Kenneth had to be careful of such existing magic. He didn't mess with souls, and he knew the Slayer wouldn't forgive him if he screwed anything up. Actually, he was pretty sure she'd cause him some serious bodily harm.

Several minutes later, Kenneth emerged from his trance-like state. A moment later Angel opened his eyes and sighed. "Did . . . it work?" he asked.

"The demon is gone," Kenneth assured. "Some of its effects may linger for a while, but nothing that can cause any harm."

The tension in the room lifted and people began to speak again. As Kenneth watched, the party he had interrupted resumed of its own accord. The Slayer smiled at him for a moment, her past animosity forgotten, then moved to Angel's side. She smiled at the ex-vampire and kissed him gently on the cheek. He smiled slightly in response, but it faded quickly. He seemed preoccupied.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.

"Well, it's not that I want to sound ungrateful," he said, "and I'm glad to know for sure that the demon is gone, it's just . . .."

Buffy nodded. "We still don't know about the curse."

Kenneth looked at the pair in confusion. "Um, excuse me?" he said, drawing their attention back to him, "but, what curse?"

The party fell quiet once again. Everyone looked expectantly at the demon hunter and Angel. It was Buffy who finally spoke. "Surely you've figured out by now that Angel is . . . was . . . different from other vampires because he has a soul."

"Yeah, I noticed," commented Kenneth. "That doesn't strike me as much of a curse."

"It is when it requires that I suffer for my past," Angel explained. "A moment of true happiness and I loose my soul."

Kenneth looked at them both and smiled. Now he knew he had them. "You don't need to worry about that happening," he said.

"Huh?"

The demon hunter shrugged. "When I was getting rid of the last of the demon, I noticed the curse. I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't accidentally break it, so I . . . cast another spell, of sorts. There will be no more soul losing."

As he watched, several faces all around broke into smiles. The Watcher and the adult woman grinned slightly and the other young woman got a dreamy look in her eyes. Kenneth turned to look at the Slayer again, but her attention was clearly elsewhere. She and the ex-vampire smiled at each other, and didn't appear that they'd be paying attention to anyone else soon.

Instead, Kenneth stood and faced the Watcher. "So," he said, "do I get your help now?"

Part Two

"The world has come calling and it's bleeding at my door
Am I supposed to turn away or is this what I'm here for?"
~Someone Keeps Calling My Name
Harry Chapin

Monday night
Giles' House

The gathering at Giles' home that evening was a strange one. Not that they ever had a normal gathering, Willow reflected, but this one was a touch stranger than usual. Like one of their "usual" gatherings, the majority of those there were staring at strange, dusty tomes searching for clues to defeating their latest enemy. Everyone had gathered in Giles' living room, making their way through every strange old book Giles thought might be relevant. The pile of books they were discarding was growing as the pile of donuts next to it was shrinking.

Willow glanced up from her own confusing text to look at everyone else. Oz sat next to her, still trying to get through another one of the books. Xander was nodding off across the room. Neither Buffy nor Angel were getting much done, as they were concentrating more on each other than any of the books. Every once in a while Buffy would turn a page. It was sweet in a romantic sort of a way, but also rather funny to watch. Giles was talking to their new friend, Kenneth, who was telling him about being a demon hunter while mixing up some strange herbs in a bowl.

Oz stopped his reading and added the book to the reject pile. "Hey," he said to Willow, "how's your book going?"

Willow sighed. "It's not." She spoke up then. "There's nothing here, Giles!" she said.

Buffy looked up from her book as well. "Nothing over here!" she declared. "Have we found *anything*?"

"Well," Giles said, "we know that this Orin is planning to use the . . . demonic magnetism of the Hellmouth to call stronger and more powerful demons than he'd usually be able to call and control."

"So, if we don't do something we're going to have a demonic army on our hands," muttered Buffy. "Fun and games in Sunnydale."

Kenneth looked up from his smelly herbs. "We do know where he is, that's a plus," he said. "And he's waiting for something. The thing is, until we find out what that something is, we'll have great difficulty stopping him."

Suddenly Xander snapped to full wakefulness. "Ooh, ooh, I've got something! Here Giles, demon summoner stuff. Demon armies . . .."

"Give it here, Xander," Giles said, taking the book from him. "Well, this is certainly interesting," he said, reading quickly. He handed the book to Kenneth.

The demon hunter regarded the book seriously. "Huh," he said, "well, that certainly explains it."

"What?" Buffy demanded. "Come on, if you want me to help you defeat this guy you've got to tell me what's going on."

Giles paused to adjust his glasses and said, "It seems that two nights from now the conditions will be perfect for him to . . . open a portal of sorts through which he can bring a true demon army. It seems you were correct, Buffy."

"Oh, thrill. I just love being correct," she replied sarcastically.

"Well, there is something good here," said Kenneth. "We can defeat him, with some luck and good planning."

The gathering looked at him expectantly.

"Orin's work requires a focus stone, a large crystal through which he channels his magic. When he starts the ritual and the portal begins to open . . . if we can interrupt his spell before he completes it, the magic should destroy him for us. Smash the focus stone, and Orin and his pet demons will be pulled through the collapsing portal . . . to nowhere."

"And the catch is?"

"The catch is that Orin already has a significant cadre of lesser demons and vampires. We'll have to get past them to stop him. And we have to time it right or we'll still have to fight all the demons," Kenneth explained.

"So," said Willow, "it looks like you need all the help you can get."

"Yes," said Giles. "And fortunately we have two days to plan. Willow, could you find the plans to their . . . lair so that we can plan our approach?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll look on my computer tonight. You want me to bring the information tomorrow?"

"I suppose that would be best. There's nothing else we can accomplish here tonight."

"Oh, good," Angel said softly with a yawn. Willow didn't think he'd meant for anyone to hear him. Buffy looked at him and laughed slightly. "What?"

"Now you're sounding like the rest of us."

Angel smiled, then yawned again. "Sorry," he said. "I just got out of the hospital this morning, my sleep schedule's all off, and it's been a long day. I'm tired."

"Are we done here, Giles?" Buffy asked. "I'm not good at the research part anyway, I still need to patrol, and I'd like to walk Angel home."

Everyone looked at Giles expectantly, who nodded. "We all should get some rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow. I'll see all of you in the morning."

With that everyone began to disperse. Buffy and Angel left first after helping put some of Giles books away. Xander was cleaning up the last of the uneaten donuts. Kenneth was putting away his herbs when Willow approached him.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," the demon hunter replied without looking up.

"You know, I don't think we were introduced earlier," she said. "I'm Willow, by the way."

The demon hunter looked up, smiling slightly. "Nice to meet you, Willow," he said. "I'm Kenneth . . . but you already knew that." He laughed slightly. "Sorry, I'm tired."

"Yeah, we all are," Willow acknowledged. "By the way, what were you doing?"

"Hmm?"

"With the herbs," Willow clarified. When Kenneth didn't answer at first she said, "You're the new guy in town, I'm just trying to make conversation, and I didn't recognize any of the herbs you were using."

"You do magic?" asked Kenneth curiously.

"Some," replied Willow with a smile. "I'm working on it. When it works it's really helpful to everyone. When it doesn't . . .." Willow looked closer at the bag of herbs Kenneth was putting away. "Preparing for some sort of anti-demon spell?"

"Sort of," replied Kenneth. "I use it to detect demons. Sort of a demon locator."

"Wow, that would be useful around here. Does it work for vampires too?"

"Yes, but it'll detect more pure demons first," Kenneth explained. "That's how I found Orin's lair."

"Do . . . you think you could teach me?"

Kenneth looked at her seriously, and Willow got the impression he was looking through her. "You have quite a gift for someone not born to witchcraft. You've cast powerful magic before," he said seriously. "I can teach you," he said.

"Really?" Willow grinned.

"Really," Kenneth replied with a smile. "Now, I've never taught anyone before, but there's a first time for anything, right?"

"Right," Willow replied, still smiling. "Listen, I've got to go. See you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow, Willow."

Willow joined Oz in the van, smiling. Tomorrow, a new magic lesson. Finally, someone would be teaching her something they could all really, really use.

Go to Part 3