~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 11~
"What's the Kat'la?" Buffy asked in a hoarse voice. When Anya had uttered that word Giles had gone pale while Angel and Spike visibly flinched.
"Umm, ahh. yes it's a game, a game of sorts," Giles answered as he staggered into the nearest seat.
"What kind of game, what is she up against?" Giles had buried his head in his hands and did not look up to answering so Spike answered for him.
"It's kind of like the gladiator games the Romans used to play, except she wont be pitted against other animals but humans and demons or both. It's a huge source of entertainment and gambling in the demon world. They have to constantly replace the fighters though because most of them don't last long."
"Why Willow though," Dawn, whom most had forgotten was in the room, inquired, "Willow's not a fighter, it would have made more sense to take Buffy."
"Actually, no it wouldn't have," Giles looked up as he answered, "Willow is an excellent fighter as she proved when she took on Buffy after Tara was killed. The spell she used only gave her strength to match Buffy. The skill was all her own. Add that to her intelligence and her proficiency in magic and Willow is a formidable opponent if properly trained."
"What makes it worse is that we already know Willow is capable of murder," Angel added. "Whoever took her will use that to their advantage."
"So what your basically saying is that some demon had Willow kidnapped so that they could include her in this really twisted game," Dawn said with an incredulous stare.
"Then we'll just have to track down this demon, I'll slay and we'll bring Willow back before any real harm can be done."
"Weren't you listening at all?" Xander nearly growled at Buffy. The others gave him a shocked look while Anya tightened her hold on his hand to offer him some kind of comfort.
"We," he said pointing in turn at Buffy, Dawn, Giles and Anya, "can't save her. This isn't going to be the typical run to the rescue of one of our own. All we can do is offer support and resources. They," Xander jabbed a finger in Angel and Spike's direction, "are the only ones that can get Willow."
"Besides," Anya piped up, "this isn't going to happen quickly. If we're lucky we'll be able to find her in a couple of months, then send Angel and Spike to bring her back. Who's going to guard the Hellmouth during that time?"
"But-"
"No Buffy, no buts," a wary looking Giles cut her off. "They're right. The game is only held every few months in a remote location. It's not like they're going to send any of us an invitation to it so we'll have to track down where it's being held not to mention creating a plausible cover story for Spike and Angel. Even then it may take Angel and Spike a while to infiltrate into the place Willow's being held and get her since a frontal assault probably wont be an option. Besides the Powers already dictated that they have to find her and we can't go against them."
Buffy's shoulders sagged, "I know, I know, it's just. hard. My best friend's been kidnapped and there isn't a single thing I can do about it and Now your telling me that I'll have to wait MONTHS to find her. I don't know if I can do that."
Angel looked her in the eyes, "You'll have to. What other choice do we have?"
~Part: 12~
"Let's start with my mark shall we and I know exactly where I want to leave it."
Willow couldn't see Deimos since he was behind her but she could sense the knife hovering just above the skin on her right shoulder blade. She felt the knife carve into her flesh and bit down on the inside of her cheek resisting the urge to scream. Once again, she realized that something was wrong. She'd had deep cuts before but she'd never been so aware of them. She could distinguish every nerve ending as it screamed at her that it was experiencing pain. Also, rather than fading into a constant throb it stayed with her as if it had just happened.
"I know that busy little mind of yours has realized by now that something is off. Might I just say that for a human you have a remarkable acute mind? Well I figure I'll save you some time and explain to you why you're hypersensitive to all stimuli. You're that way, because I want you that way." Deimos continued to carve as he explained. "See by my nature I've got this neat little trick I can do. I can alter any emotion or any of your five senses however high or low that I want them. So for example a little pinch," Willow gasped as he pinched her nipple, "can feel ten times worse if I chose." And it did. It felt like he'd pierced it with a needle and the pain wasn't letting up. "Or it can feel ten times better." Suddenly it felt pleasurable. Like a lover had nibbled on it and she felt it shoot straight to her core. She nearly came from that alone despite the pain of him carving into her shoulder. "I'll let you contemplate the possibilities while I finish marking you. After all, I don't want to get distracted. I might mess up and have to start over."
In an effort to get past the pain, Willow took his suggestion and thought about how that could be used to his advantage. It made one hell of a way to punish someone, not to mention a form of intimidation. She quickly realized that that was why she'd been so terrified when she'd first seen him. He'd amplified her fear until she couldn't control it. For a moment her mind grasped at some hazy idea about the pleasure part of his abilities but the pain in her shoulder distracted her as he made a particularly deep cut.
Deimos stepped back for a moment to admire his work. He'd carved a burning willow tree with ashes flying out of the flames. It appeared to be held in the palm of a hand with three claws protruding from it back. His mark that identified her as his property. He'd chosen the willow tree because of her name, Salix meant willow. The flames and ashes were there because of what her new personality was going to be like once she'd gone through the ritual and been trained. He knew exactly what she'd be like. Her emotions would be hidden like the glowing coals in what was thought to be a dead fire but when they were fanned, she'd flare up like the most intense fire and consume everything in her path leaving nothing behind but ashes. Her knew name would be Nion, Ash. She'd be stunning. He couldn't wait to meet her.
~Part: 13~
Deimos stared at Salix in morbid fascination. It'd taken him five days to finally get her to start begging for him to kill her. In the meantime he'd had the most fun he's had in centuries. He had used every form of pain that he knew how to inflict and she'd lasted as long as Eshe had. He was finally going to have a matching pair. The thought filled him with indescribable pleasure.
Willow couldn't focus on the figure in front of her. It wouldn't have mattered if she could because there was too much blood in her eyes. She was in agony and there was no foreseeable end in view. She hadn't been fortunate enough to pass out during the time he'd been torturing her. By the third time the food had come she'd figured it was another one of his tricks like his sense heightening. She hated his ability to heighten pain but more importantly she feared it. He'd used it to keep her acutely aware of every wound he inflicted upon her and sense she couldn't pass out she couldn't escape. By know she was willing to die if it meant an end to what she was feeling and she was willing to beg for it.
After he'd finished carving her shoulder he'd moved to her face. He'd used a jagged knife to carve swirls and sigils all over her cheeks and forehead. Eventually he'd moved further down her body to her breast and he'd started to skin her. Now she new exactly how Warren had felt when she flayed him except Deimos would start at one point then move to another part of her body and start again. When he was done one of her calves and the bottom of her left foot had suffered the same treatment as her breast. After that he'd switched tactics. He'd started cutting her but he varied them from small paper cuts to deep gashes that although incredibly painful, avoided all of her major organs. By then she'd lost her resolve and begun to scream. Eventually she'd screamed herself hoarse and all she could do was moan or groan whenever he gave her a particularly vicious cut. Throughout all of this she could still feel each individual nerve ending signaling her that she was hurt. It was enough to nearly drive her mad but she clung to her sanity. When he'd started breaking bones she'd caved and started begging for death. First he'd broken her wrists by grab her shoulders and pressing down. The manacles wouldn't give and all the pressure was on her wrists and they'd given with a load pop. She'd thought she couldn't scream anymore but when that happened she'd found it within herself to do so. Once she'd started begging him to kill her he'd stopped breaking bones and now she just stared at his outline through glazed eyes waiting to see what he would do next.
"I have a surprise for you," Deimos told her with that smirk on his face. For a moment he regretted cutting up her face so much because she couldn't really see him. He would have loved to see the hatred in her eyes if she could see him smirk. He knew she hated it.
"I don't think you're going to like it much but. let's see shall we."
Reaching forward he dug into a minor slice on the side that he'd given her earlier. He chuckled when she began to scream, he didn't think she'd have it in her. Finding the rib he'd been searching for he snapped it so that it punctured one of her lungs. She immediately stopped screaming since she no longer had enough air to do so. He stood back to watch the show.
Just when she thought it couldn't possibly be anymore painful he'd gone digging for her rib. She'd started screaming again but when she punctured her lung she'd stopped. She couldn't get enough air in and now she could feel blood coming up the back of her throat and coating her tongue. She realized she was choking to death on her own blood and managed a small smile.
"Oh Goddess thank you, no more of this."
Willow felt herself drifting away from her body and looking down she saw exactly what he'd done to her. If it weren't for her hair she wouldn't have recognized herself. But that didn't matter, HE didn't matter, she'd escaped him and he couldn't hurt her anymore. She heard someone calling her name and looking up she saw Tara reaching out towards her. Behind her was an archway and the love pouring out of it was nearly tangible.
"So this is what heaven is like. No wonder Buffy was so mad."
She reached out to her, their fingertips brushed and then a chain wrapped around her wrist. It was glowing a light blue and stung her wrist. Before she could fully comprehend what was happening several more chains had wrapped themselves around her ankle stomach and throat. With her free hand she clawed at them desperate to get away. She was so close to Tara but she couldn't quite reach her because the chains held her back. When they started pulling her way from Tara she went into full panic. She realized they were reeling her in like a fish on a hook and no matter how hard she struggled she couldn't get free. With a wail she watched Tara's retreating form and then suddenly she was back in her body gasping for air. Her wounds were gone but every part of her felt bruised. When she could focus she realized Deimos was again staring at her and smiling.
"From the look on your face I take it that you didn't enjoy my little gift, what a shame," he said with a mock pout, "but you had to find out sometime. Not only is your life mine to do with as I please, but so is your death Salix."
Although Willow remained quiet, her heart wailed.
~Part: 14~
Willow didn't know how long she'd hung there after Deimos left but she guessed that it had probably been a couple of hours. All she could think was that she hurt and there was no way to escape it. Even her death had been taken from her.
"Oh Goddess he owns me."
She was surprised when she realized that she was crying. She didn't think that she had it in her anymore. Her mind was numb and all it registered was that she hurt and she'd been robbed. She was drifting through her sea of pain when it started. Her body began to feel warm and tingle all over and then the tension in her seemed to melt away. All the aches and pains stopped and then she was floating on cloud nine except better. She was on the best rush she'd ever experienced, even better than when she'd been hooked on Rack. This was physically better than seeing Tara again. It was like someone had found every little pleasure spot on her body and was stimulating them all at the same time.
It ended too quickly. One moment she had surpassed heaven and the next she was hitting rock bottom again except it was worse this time because the change was so abrupt. Everything in her ached so much worse now that she knew just what kind of heights it could reach. She whimpered at the lose of that feeling and her soul cried for it. Deimos stepped back into her field of vision.
"I see that you liked that gift better than my other one. I can understand though most people do. So now the question is," he began circling her, "now that you know what I can give you, what are you willing to do to get more?"
He had completed his circle and was standing in front of her again. Willow found the strength to lift her head and look him in the eyes.
"Anything." Short, simple and to the point.
Deimos smiled; she'd just sold him her soul.
~Part: 15~
Willow struggled to remain unconscious. Every inch of her hurt and she didn't want to experience it. As long as she was asleep she could pretend that she was home or at least not feel anything at all. She gradually became aware of the fact that someone was bathing her. She cracked an eye open and quickly shut it again. The room had started spinning and she had to fight to hold off her nausea.
"Keeping your eyes closed would be a good idea from now. That spell healed the wounds but you'll still experience the normal side effects of healing. So just try to relax while I finish cleaning you, then I'll explain a few things."
Willow vaguely recognized the voice of Eshe and decided that taking her advice would be a good idea so she went back to sleep.
When she awoke for the second time, the throb in her body had considerably lessened so she decided to risk opening her eyes.
She found her self staring at the ceiling and turning her head to the right she saw Eshe. She was sitting with her back to the wall, sleeping. Willow went to stand up when Eshe's voice startled her. She didn't even bother to open her eyes.
"I would stand up yet, you've been out for four days without nourishment. I doubt you have the strength to support yourself especially since he worked one hell of a number on you, but then I'm sure you didn't mind considering what you got in return."
Willow's mind flashed back to exactly what she had done in order to get the pleasure Deimos could give her and she scrabbled to a corner of the room and started puking. There wasn't anything in her stomach so she was left dry heaving. She became aware of her surroundings again and realized that Eshe was rubbing small circles on her and making cooing noises.
"I'm sorry. I know that they're bad memories for you but I had to see how you would react. Lesson one kid is to learn to control all outward signs of a reaction. If you intend to survive here you have to be able to control yourself. You can't show anyone weakness, even me."
Willow turned to look at Eshe.
"If I can't show you weakness why are you teaching me? Why aren't you just exploiting them?"
Eshe sighed and then looked Willow in the eyes, "As much as I am your friend, I'm also your enemy." Seeing Willow's confusion she elaborated. "Look Salix, Deimos wants us to be a matched pair. Those are hard enough to find in this place but what makes it harder is that I'm the best the arena has ever seen. He's tried dozens of times to match me and all of the people have died horrible deaths at my hands. I trained them and then I killed them. Now it's your turn. I'm going to teach you everything I can about fighting and killing and trust me that is a lot. When the time comes Deimos will pit us against each other and I'm telling you now, I wont hesitate to pull out every dirty trick in the book to win if that's what it takes. What you did to receive pleasure is nothing compared to what I've done and will do. As much as I like you and care for you, I won't hesitate to kill you in a battle. Unless you prove to be my equal then I'd be willing to lay my life on the line for you. And I can see by the expression on your face that you aren't getting this. Come one lets get some food into you and I'll answer any question you can think to ask. Then we'll start your training."
Willow followed Eshe out of the room and down the hall. Her mind swirled with tons of things she wanted to ask and by the time they'd entered the room with trays of food laid out for them Willow had decided what she wanted to ask her first. They sat on cushions on opposite sides of the table. The room was strewn with pillows to sit on and scarves hung from the walls. It reminded her of a picture she'd once seen of the way a sultan's had been decorated. Surveying the choices in food, Willow picked out some chicken, grapes, cheese and bread. She was relieved when she found that one of the jugs on the table was filled with juice instead of wine. After of few minutes of eating in silence she asked Eshe her first question.
"Why do you keep calling me Salix?"
~Part: 16~
"I call you Salix because it's your name," Eshe told her in a matter of fact tone of voice, "Deimos owns you. Everything about you is his to decide from now till the moment he decides to let you die. It only makes sense that he gives you a name of his choosing. It helps him alienate you from what you used to be so that it is easier for him to mold you into what he wants. He's essentially stripped you of the one thing that was always yours no matter what and first helped define you, your name. Not to mention the name he chooses for you represents some predominant aspect of your personality. For instance, Deimos was a son of Ares whose name meant terror and that was the first thing you felt when looking at him. My name means life. I like to nurture it in others and I was one chipper individual before all of this. Your name means willow and it reflects your ability to adapt to harsh situations like a willow bending in a storm."
As Eshe gave Willow an explanation her eyes flashed purple again.
"Alright, I can understand that so now my next question, why do your eyes flash purple?"
Eshe peered sharply at Willow for a moment and then to her surprise began to laugh.
"Very little gets by you I see, that's a good thing. It'll help you figure out how to match me in the long run. My eyes flash purple because I am summoning some of Kali's personality in order to have the endurance to treat you the way I do."
Willow gave Eshe another confused look. Sighing Eshe put down the piece of chicken she had been eating and fixed Willow with and intense gaze.
"Surviving here is next to fucking impossible but keeping your sanity while doing it just can't be done. Have you ever heard of Janus?" After receiving Willow's negative response she continued.
"Janus was the Roman god of archways and new beginnings. I used a spell called the Janus spell to create Kali, my alter ego. Basically what the spell did was take all of my potential for evil and shape it into a separate person. Deimos named her Kali because she was known as the goddess of death. She would get drunk off the slaughter of her enemies and that's basically what Kali does when she fights. She revels in every moment of it and all of the pain she can inflict. She lives for it, well that and the pleasure."
Eshe shrugged nonchalantly after her explanation and Willow just stared at her in horror.
"How. h-how could you perform that spell on yourself? You created a purely evil being? How could you do that?" Willow had gotten up and began to pace as she questioned Eshe.
"I did it because it was either that or go completely insane, even worse than your friend Spike when he was in the basement or live with even more guilt than Angel. And yes," Eshe looked at Willow's surprised face, "I know all about your friends and what's gone on in your life. I'd have to in order to see if you have the potential to match me. Besides I know how to control her and since I'm still sane there's still a chance for me to find a way to escape, even after all these years."
"But I can't force the spell on anyone so I'm giving you an option. Think hard before you answer because I don't offer this to just anybody, in fact you're the first. Do you want me to perform the spell on you and release your alter ego, whose name is Ash, or do you want to try to handle this on your own and go insane? The choice is yours to make."
With the offer extended Eshe leaned back resting her elbows on some pillows and settled in for a wait.
~Part: 17~
Salix managed not to scream when she hit the wall; however she couldn't manage to hold in a grunt of pain as she rebounded onto the floor. Running on sheer force of will she made herself get up albeit a little unsteadily and favoring her right side. Using the wall for support she peered at Kali through her one good eye. It never ceased to amaze her when her mentor went from being Eshe to Kali. Her entire bearing would change and in less than 3 seconds her eyes would turn a purple so dark that they were black and her body would vibrate with magic. The most unnerving part was that as Kali it didn't matter what she was doing any movement she made was like someone who was hunting. She'd only seen vampires move like they were hunting and they had nothing on Kali. Her moves were so fluid that they were a dance, hence her namesake. Unfortunately for her at this moment Kali was dancing her way towards her and if she didn't let out Ash soon she was going to be dead and that just wasn't an option. She didn't go through all of that training just to lose now. Closing her eye and releasing a breath she let Ash rise to the surface.
'Fuck Salix why couldn't you have let me out sooner'
Dodging the fist aimed at her Ash rolled to the side and away from what she could tell was a very determined Kali if the fist now imbedded in the wall was any indication. She quickly forced a healing spell through her and was momentarily blinded as waves of pain passed through her. She regained her vision just in time to see Kali pull her hand out of the wall. For a moment she wondered why Kali was being so harsh today and then she noticed their audience. It hit her like a ton of bricks.
This was the A'tet, final test. She'd finally ascend from the rank of kala, student, and be Eshe's equal. Now she understood Salix's hesitation. Salix didn't want to hurt the woman who'd come to mean everything to her during their training. She was more than their mentor, she was the mother they had never had, sister, lover and equal. Eshe fulfilled every form of companionship a female could and they'd never even dream of hurting her. Kali was another story though. Salix might not want to hurt either but personally Ash had been itching for a chance to kick Kali's ass. She was dying to prove to the bitch that she was just as good and deserved her respect and finally she could. She didn't waste a moment of her chance.
Spinning to the left to dodge a kicked aimed at her Ash followed through with a blow to the back of Kali's neck. She quickly danced away from her and scanned the floor of their arena. Spotting what she wanted she couldn't help the smile the crept onto her face, this was going to be fun. The Sai seemed to mold to her hands as she summoned them.
A smirk grew on Kali's face when she saw Ash's new toys, "So you want to play, fine then," Kali summoned her weapon of choice, a katana, "but no hold back. I trust that you understand this is for keeps."
Ash only nodded her head. The game began in earnest.
For a while the spectators could barely keep up with their movements and Deimos watched with undivided attention. He found himself leaning forward waiting for the next blow, wondering who would come out on top.
As time went by it was becoming increasingly clear the Ash was gaining the upper hand. She managed to disarm Kali and pin her down with her knees. Her sai was pressed against her throat.
"Do you yield?"
Kali looked Ash in the eyes and for a moment she could swear that she saw pride mixed with disappointment.
"Come on Ash, you know the rules. There is no such thing as yielding here. Finish whatcha started," Kali reverted back to Eshe, "kill us."
"You know there's a chance that he'll just let you die, right?"
Eshe just stared at her.
Ash peered at her for a moment then without hesitation she plunged a sai through her throat and yanked it back out. Blood splattered over her face but she didn't flinch. She watched the light fade out of Eshe's eyes and standing up turned to Deimos.
"I win."
Deimos just smiled, which more like someone baring their teeth.
"Bring her body back with you; I'm not quite ready to let her go. You've proven that you can be remorseless so you get the prize. You are now her equal, and I am the owner of a matched set."
Ash picked up Eshe's body and began the chant to take them home. Inside Salix was screaming in rage and crying in relief at the same time. Ash didn't feel anything but joy. She'd won the prize.
~Part: 18~
(Present)
Spike didn't sleep at all that day. All that he could do was keep replaying the images of Willow fighting and killing those three men, except the announcer had called her Ash. Despite having the resources of Wolfram and Hart at their disposal it had still taken him and his sire three months to track the location of the games to Thailand. They'd come here under the pretense that they were looking to buy fighters from other demons. They had hoped that Willow had been brought to observe and learn from the other fighters maybe even compete in one of the warm up competitions. What they hadn't expected was for her to be the main event.
He'd been stunned by the sight of her but what had really disturbed him was how beautiful she'd looked during the fight. Despite the soul, part of Spike was still a demon and his demon had watched in fascination as it tried to reconcile the vicious predator he'd seen with the perky witch he'd known three months ago and it wasn't working. His demon was intrigued by her and Spike knew that was the first step towards obsession. His mind was just blown away from how different she appeared and he knew his sire was suffering from the same problem. Her being the main attraction also complicated matters. It was much less likely that whoever trained her would be willing to sell her considering how good a fighter she was. Owning her was probably very lucrative which meant that he and his sire were probably going to have to resort to plan B where it was very unlikely that they would survive.
Getting dressed they went to meet Leah, there contact who could get them in touch with Willow's owner. Leah was a Kit'ra demon that Spike had meet during his travels with Dru. He'd saved her life and now she was returning the favor by helping legitimize his cover. She had a human shape but her eyes were pools of orange with hair to match and her skin had a blue tinge to it. She had a lean form and was as tall as Spike. She had contacts all over the demon fighting ring and because of her neutrality among them Willow's owner wouldn't be wary of them because they would have her backing.
Arriving at the house that Leah owned they entered the courtyard and took seats in the chairs near the reflecting pool. She joined them after a few moments.
"So did you find what you were looking for today, William?"
Spike resisted the urge to grit his teeth when she called him William. She knew it annoyed him but she always was the proper type. Dressed in suits all the time and ran her business out of her home.
"Yeah, we found her. She's going by the name Ash and is owned by some guy called Deimos."
An interesting thing about Kit'ra demons is that there skin color reflects what mood they're in. As soon as Spike had said Ash the blue tinge on Leah's skin had started to turn red and by the time he'd finished talking swirls of black were mixed in with it. It was a rather disconcerting sight.
"I take it you've heard of them."
Leah's eyes narrowed, "Heard of them. They make Angelus on a bad day look like the Tooth Fairy." The last part was said in a hiss.
Angel tried not to flinch at her comment as Spike tried to get the image of Angel in a tutu out of his head.
"Deimos is not someone to be trifled with William, neither is Ash for that matter. They are completely ruthless not to mention you'll have to travel to another dimension to get to her. Are you sure forgetting about her isn't an option?"
"No it's not," Angel said deciding to come into the conversation, "We have to get her back. We've been sent by the Powers so we don't really have a choice."
Leah turned her orange eyes on Angel, "In this matter I would seriously reconsider doing as the Powers wish. Deimos is not like the other morons participating in the games. He's absolutely heartless and nearly unstoppable, not to mention cunning. The man killed his own father and his fighters are always the best, either that or insane more often than not though they are both. Also have either of you considered the fact that she may actually WANT to stay?"
Angel broke her gaze and Spike's jaw clinched.
"I see you haven't. Fine, I'll help you get in but after that you're on your own," Leah stood and the tint on her skin began to return to its usual blue. "But think about this, Ash is one of the best fighters in the game and Deimos won't be willing to sell her. Not to mention the fact that she and Kali are matched, you won't be able to get one without the other and chances are they're not going to want to leave. In my opinion you two aren't even in the same league as them. Then again it's your life to throw away as you see fit. Follow me, we'll get your papers and set up your visit to Aurea."
~Part: 19~
Eshe's eyes flew open and she gasped. She could hear her blood pounding through her veins and after a moment the ceiling came into focus. Her throat burned and she grimaced as she tried to work some saliva into her dry mouth. Closing her eyes, she took mental inventory of her body. Salix had only healed her throat with a minimum of magic. All of her other wounds, the cuts and bruises she'd earned during the fight, were still there. She let out a wry chuckle and immediately regretted it when her throat ached in protest. She began the processes of healing the rest of her body, indulging herself and using enough magic to dull the pain as well. While her body healed, her thoughts turned to Salix and Ash.
The predominant part of her was proud of what they both had grown into. They'd learned their lessons well and proved that together they could be ruthless enough to survive. Salix had, consciously or subconsciously, only healed her major wound in preparation for her Awakening, proving to Eshe that she was finally learning to curb her streak of compassion. She'd been kind enough to do the healing herself but not so much that she'd given up too much of her precious allotment of magic. Eshe viciously tapped down on the part of her that was saddened by the changes in Salix. That was the part of her that missed the girl that was Willow and still mourned her death, figuratively speaking.
She felt Kali stir and listened to the train of her thoughts, actually more like emotions. Kali only formed thoughts when she was summoned, otherwise she remained a presence that lurked on the edge of her consciousness. She felt the contempt Kali held for her and Salix. That was nothing unusual; Kali was always going to think of them as weak since they weren't nearly as merciless as she. Eshe recognized a new emotion when it came to Ash though. Respect. Although, once she thought about it she realized she shouldn't be surprised. Kali only respected those that could beat her and Ash had finally proven that she could.
Training her senses back to her surroundings she noticed Salix coming through the door.
"Welcome back from the dead old woman."
Sitting up Eshe rubbed the back of her neck, "Don't call me old, I could still kick your ass if I had to."
Salix raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, maybe you would kick my ass but I can still give you a run for your money."
Salix chuckled but didn't reply. Instead she got to the point of why she was there, "Deimos wants to show us off. Apparently two buyers are looking for fighters and he wants to impress them."
Eshe stared at Salix not even having to voice the next question.
"No, we're not for sale; we're the entertainment."
Sighing, Eshe slid off of the stone slab she'd been sitting on.
"So, how long have I been gone exactly? And how was your prize?"
"Six days of nothing but heightened pleasure, how do you think it was? I felt boneless for weeks afterwards. As for your other question, does it really matter?"
"No, just wanted to think about something else. I don't know if I'm ready to go be 'Miss Happy' right now."
Salix stared at her for a moment and then stepping closer, kissed her. Eshe responded immediately and before long she could feel the blood beginning to rush through her veins again, but this time it was tinged with adrenaline and lust. Salix ran her tongue along the outline of her lips and then broke off the kiss.
"Feeling better?"
"Ummm, much better."
"Good. You'll do fine being 'Miss Happy' and then when we can get some down time I'll finish what I started."
"Let's go then. The sooner we get this done the sooner we can play catch up."
They headed towards the throne room, making one quick detour to change into something more appropriate. Entering the throne room, they saw that Deimos was already seated in his throne and everyone else was in position. They took there places at the steps leading to Deimos' throne with Salix on the right and Eshe on the left. Eyes trained forward they watched as the portal began to open.
Eshe's eyes flashed purple as she smirked.
'Let the games begin.'
~Part: 20~
Spike and Angel looked at the swirling portal and felt a small twinge of trepidation. It'd only taken a few hours for Leah to get their papers ready and plan transportation for them. Leah had given them a brief rundown on Aurea. It was a corrupted world, the sun there wouldn't affect them and time moved differently, but Leah wasn't sure just how differently. She'd also magically marked each of them at the base of their spines. They'd been hesitant until she'd explained that it was so Deimos couldn't use his ability to alter the intensity of emotions against them.
Bringing his mind back to the problem at hand, Spike once again focused his sights on the portal. Growing irritated with his hesitation he decided it would be better if they just got this over with. It wouldn't hurt to rile up the poof in the process either.
With his patented smirk, Spike moved behind Angel and then cracking his neck, he shoved hard. Angel went sprawling into the portal. Turning long enough to give Leah a nod in thanks Spike jumped in after him.
Coming out of the portal Spike managed to tuck and roll, not so easy in a suit, so that he ended up on his feet. He felt Angel's glare on him and seeing him dusting himself off, came to the conclusion that he hadn't been as lucky. Giving Angel a look that said 'What, I can't help it if you're clumsy ya ponce' he turned to survey their surroundings and paused.
They were in what appeared to be a throne room although it was better described as a hall. The ceiling was a high arching vault and everything was shaped from marble with veins of gold and silver snaking through it. Following the path the veins took he saw the fighters lined on either side of him and Angel. There were six all together, three men and three women. They were arranged so that on the left there was only one woman and on the right one man. Hearing Angel gasp he realized that he must have spotted Willow and so ignoring the others he started looking for and found her.
She and another woman were at the top of the steps closest to Deimos and Willow was stunning.
Half of her hair was swept up in a bun at the back of her head and held in place by two sticks while the other half fell in ripples over one shoulder. She wore a choker made of several stands of silver twined together and set with a stone that he thought was obsidian but realized was an emerald when it flashed green. She wore dangling earrings to match and had thick bands of silver around each wrist. What really floored him though was the dress. It was, like the stone and earrings, a dark black that reflected green in the right light. It was sleeveless and had a plunging neckline that ended in a V-form just below her belly button and he was pretty sure it was glued to her breasts to keep it there. It had slits up both sides that ended near her hips and the dress stopped just at her ankles. To finish off the ensemble she had on a strapy pair of four-inch stilettos and black silk stockings with lace at the tops.
The woman next to her was dressed in exactly the same manner except her colors were purple and black and her hair was on the opposite shoulder. Together, they made an interesting pair and Spike realized that the other woman must be the Kali that Leah had mentioned. His perusal of Willow was cut short when he heard someone clearing his throat.
Forcing his eyes further up the steps he saw Deimos for the first time. The two of them measured each other up and Spike couldn't help but think that their plan just got harder. This man ('demon') was not to be taken lightly.
"I see you like my matched set, but then again who doesn't? They are my prizefighters and they took years to train. I would be offended if you didn't admire them."
Something about his words bothered Spike, but he chose to ignore it for the time being. He watched as Deimos stood and began walking towards them. As he descended the steps it occurred to Spike what this greeting was all about. This was a show of power, Demois' very body language spoke of it. Everyone's position spoke of what kind of power they wielded in this place, which meant that Willow only answered to Deimos and perhaps Kali. It also was meant as an attempt to show them their place. They might be guests and potential buyers but they were at the bottom of the pyramid and as such had no more influence than the person above them allowed. Again, their job had just gotten harder.
"Unfortunately for you they are not for sale. But they will serve as your guides through the palace and provide you any sort of," here he paused for effect and raised an eyebrow, "entertainment that you might require. Trust me, it is an honor." Spike believed it was an honor, it's not just anyone that you allow your best fighters to entertain, but he'd trust Deimos about as soon as he'd dress as the Chiquita banana lady and sing the Mickey Mouse club song while standing on a table. In other words it would never happen.
"So which one of you will I be dealing with most often?" Deimos asked looking between the two of them.
"That would be me," Angel stepped forward and shook Deimos' hand being careful to avoid the claws protruding from them, "Angelus."
"Alright Angelus, tomorrow you can begin viewing the goods and start making your selections. Until then my girls, Eshe and Salix," he identified each girl with a wave of his hand, "will attend to any of your needs."
Eshe and Salix descended the stairs and selected their charges. Eshe selected Angel, leaving Spike to Salix. Beckoning to their perspective man they began leading them to their rooms. They came to the end of a hall and Salix and Eshe turned to go in opposing directions.
"Don't worry," Eshe said.
"We don't bite," Salix finished.
"Although thinking about it," Eshe said
"You probably would enjoy it more if we did," Salix said.
Their statements did nothing to relieve either Spike or Angel's wariness, considering neither had turned around to see that they were bothered about being separated, and the way in which they had spoken suggested that one was completing the other's thought.
Giving each other a look that promised they'd talk strategy later, Angel and Spike turned to follow their perspective hosts.
"'Night Eshe", "Goodnight Salix," they said in unison.
Angel and Spike both thought.
'This is definitely going to be interesting'