~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 31~
Spike tipped his head to one side and stared the little witch who was walking, back and forth, back and forth. She was making him dizzy. If it were not for the way that his spin was still tingling from the ceremony Red had unwittingly performed Spike would have said something to her. Actually he might very well have done something more than say something but he was slightly worried that then she would overreact and accidentally blow him to pieces with the power he could now sense. Pissing the little witch off might not be such a good idea still...
“Do you really feel better pacing up and down like that pet?” he asked. She bit her bottom lip and stopped walking before looking down at him.
“What am I going to do? The Elders will have my head for this!”
He sniggered finding it impossible to do otherwise. “I sorta doubt that. Besides they would have to find you first.”
She fell onto the chair opposite him and nodded frantically. “That’s right, unless, unless that is they’ve managed to track down where all the power went.” She stood up and began to pace again.
If the little chit doesn’t sit down in a moment I’m going to snap.
“Willow luv calm down.” He tried to keep his voice as soothing as possible but she didn’t seem to want to be soothed.
The witch paused and Spike saw her eyes focus on the door. Before he realised what she was doing the witch had started to walk to towards it. “I have to leave,” she announced reaching for the door handle. With vampiric speed Spike placed himself between her and the door.
“And just where are you going to go pet?” he asked, lowering his eyes so they directly looked into hers; doubt glimmered across them and the young woman took a step backwards. He couldn’t tell whether it was in fear or whether she was just rethinking her decision.
"I don't know."
“Then you aren’t going alone.” Okay, where the fuck did that come from? Spike thought.
“What?!” Willow screeched. “You can’t do that!”
“And who the bloody hell says so Red?” he demanded.
“I do and you can’t do anything about it!”
“No but I can bloody follow you around until you give in and if you think that you can wait until daylight then it’ll take me all of ten minutes to get in touch with some demons who can track you through the day!”
"But... but... but..."
“No buts now shut up. You’ll need me to help you out. Travelling on your own would not be a smart thing at this time. Not considering all the people who are looking for you. Agreed?” The witch nodded. “Good. Now start packing.”
~Part: 32~
“Try to relax!” Eric snapped in irritation. The dark haired youth, perhaps two or three years younger than himself, scowled and fidgeted once again with the white dress skirt that Eric had leant to him. For what seemed to be the millionth time since they had set out on this ridiculous escapade Xander reached up and tried to loosen the collar. Eric’s arm reacted quickly and halted the progress of his companions.
“Do I have to wear this thing? Its so uncomfortable!”
Aware that the two slayers’ eyes were watching from their chosen hiding positions Eric dropped his hand away from its grasp on Xander’s arm. “Look,” he snarled. “Its bad enough that I have to do this to start with. I couldn’t care less for you but that does not mean I’m willing to ruin my reputation by having you look like you just climbed out of a clothing bin full of rejects from a shanty town. Got it?”
Xander appeared taken back before giving a sarcastic grin. “You sound way too much like one of my ex-girlfriends for comfort man.”
Eric scowled again. “When we get in here try not to say too much. I’ll try and pass you off as an out of town cousin. That should explain some… some of your mannerisms.” The demon gave a brief indication towards the bar. “They’ll kill you in a second if they suspect anything so do try and be a good little actor.”
"Hey I can be as demony as the next guy."
“Don’t even think about trying to be ‘demony’,” Eric said quickly. “You’re weird enough to start with.” He started down the steps with Xander following so closely it was almost worrying.
“This place sure isn’t like Willie’s,” the Sunnydaler said as they entered. Eric dismissed the comment and made his way to the bar where he sat down on a stool. Xander sat by his side and leant on the bar while trying to appear unshaken by the sight of so many demons just sitting around drinking and chatting.
“Duncan my man,” Eric said giving the bartender a high five.
“Hey Eric. How you doing?” He placed a glass of Eric’s unusual drink before him and turned to Xander.
“Just a beer,” the human said, Duncan nodded and moved to get it.
“So what brings you down here. I would have thought that you’d be down the club tonight?”
“Well normally I would be but my little witch has gone walk about and I thought that I should probably look for her.”
"Willow?" Duncan asked.
“Of course Willow!” He replied with a laugh. “How many witches do you think I have on the go?” Duncan matched his laugh.
“With you I never know Eric!” He placed a bowl of peanuts between his two customers and his face suddenly turned serious. “If I were you though I’d forget about her for a while. There’s some bad business going on with her at the minute.”
“Are you sure we’re talking about the same Willow here? I know all about the Elders business and I don’t really care about that.”
“No, no man,” Duncan interrupted with a shake of his head. “As if you’d have to be worried about that. No I’m talking about her new friends.”
Duncan lowered his head and leaned forwards. Eric did the same wondering what could be so important that he wouldn’t want anyone else to hear. “Is he all right?” Duncan asked jerking his head towards Xander.
“Sure,” Eric answered.
“I feel bad about telling you this but I figure that you should know, you know, just in case she’s in some kind of trouble.”
Eric shifted on his seat. “You’re getting me all nervous man. I really can’t see Willow getting into anything bad.”
“I know, I know. I wouldn’t either. For a human she’s a really good person but when I saw her talking to that vamp last night… Well you know vampires…”
Eric nodded as if he understood but his mind was reeling. “Can you tell me who it was? Its important I find her.”
“If you’re sure man. You know what vamps are like – if she’s got involved with one then they’re really possessive. I’d hate to see you turn up with your throat ripped out.”
The demon raised his eyebrow at the bartender. “This vampire would be tough enough to take on me?” Duncan nodded.
"That and then some."
“Wow. So who was it?”
A nervous look passed over Duncan’s face. He leaned even closer. “He was old, felt powerful and very confident. Walked in here like he owned the place and sat right next to her. They already knew each other Eric.”
“What makes you think that?” Xander asked.
“She let him walk her out of here easy as that when all that she had to do was shout and I would have stepped in.” He shrugged. “The Willow I know wouldn’t walk off with someone unless she felt safe.”
Xander agreed reluctantly.
“You know who it was don’t you?” Eric asked taking in his fellow demon’s stance.
Duncan nodded. "The new master."
Eric tensed. "Can you be sure?"
“You know who it was don’t you?” Eric asked taking in his fellow demon’s stance.
“Well when you put it that way…” Eric stood up and reached for his wallet. “Thanks Duncan.”
"Are you going to go look for her?"
"I-I don't know."
"Well if you do be careful."
Eric smiled. “Sure, thanks.” He walked out with Xander following. They were nearly half way down the street before the two slayers appeared in front of them.
“What did you find?” Buffy asked after taking in the look on Xander’s face.
"Willow was in there last night getting very drunk with a vampire," Eric answered.
“A vampire?” the blonde slayer asked. “Are you sure? Willow’s a Sunnydaler born and bred, they generally don’t sit down and have a glass or two with the local vamp population. Maybe it wasn’t Willow.”
“It was her all right,” the demon interrupted. “Duncan, the bartender, recognised her.”
"Well then there must be some other explanation," the slayer reasoned.
"It sounded like Spike," Xander said. "The bartender mentioned the words master, vampire and bleached blonde. Sound like anyone we know?"
“Spike!” Buffy hissed. “What the hell does he think he’s playing at? I thought he’d have more sense than to go after Wills.”
“Wait a mo’ Buffy,” Cara said. “We should scout Spike’s place first and see if we can find out exactly whats going on.”
Buffy glared at her before reluctantly agreeing. "But then I get to stake him right?"
~Part: 33~
Spike watched in fascination as the witch’s mouth opened wider and wider in a yawn. He placed the Styrofoam cup of coffee between the books she had scattered all over the floor around where she was laid on her stomach. There was a pencil in hand and a legal pad by her side.
"Thanks," she mumbled. "That was nice of you."
"Nice pet?"
"In a demony type of way of course. Hey its not poisoned is it?"
“If I wanted to kill you then I wouldn’t use poison would I?”
"Oh yeah, point taken."
Spike sat down on the motel bed and clenched his hands together. He was bored but there was no way that he was going to leave the little witch here alone without him to protect her. It wasn’t safe for her to be out on her own anymore and until he was certain that she was safe, and more importantly no longer a danger to him, then there was no way he was going to let her out of his sight.
There was a resounding crunch as Willow arched her back.
"Perhaps you ought to get some sleep pet," he suggested.
She looked over her shoulder at him. "but you just brought me coffee," she objected.
"You're exhausted and you're not going to find anything while you're feeling that way."
"But..."
"But nothing."
She frowned then nodded. “I guess.” Willow stood giving Spike a perfect view of her arse in the tight denim shorts she was wearing. The vampire pushed the invading thoughts that gave him away and out of his mind as she passed him and walked into the bathroom. That would not be a good idea. Kinky, uncontrollable, passionate sex with the little red headed witch was definitely not a good thing.
A few minutes later Willow appeared in the bathroom door wearing baggy night shorts and a t-shirt.
"Are you sure that window won't open?" she asked walking over to the bed and lifting up the covers.
"Nope. Sorry. There's no way even I can open those babies."
Spike sat among the piles of books and picked one up. After a moment a curious voice spoke up from the direction of the bed. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to have a go at looking through these books and things. Don’t worry I’ll put ‘em back exactly as I found them.”
“Oh, thank you."
"No worries pet."
There was a pause of silence while Willow adjusted her position on the bed. “Just make sure you do. Put them back in the right place that is. There are some really interesting things in that book just to your left.”
“Sure pet,” Spike answered the sleepy voice. He looked back at the bed and saw she was already asleep. The vampire chuckled to himself. He was getting stuck in rooms where she was sleeping a lot lately.
His attention turned back to the books as they littered the floor in front of him. Some Scooby gang habits must never die he thought. After all, the first thing the witch had thought about was which books she was going to need to solve this ‘case’. Still, it hadn’t come up with many things so far – just small pieces if information about this warrior sect of witches called the House of Blood and one of two references to the Order of Trixian.
Out of the corner of his eye Spike saw the red head’s laptop. It would be much quicker to search for information that way. He knew Willow had wanted to wait until she felt she had exhausted the books before resorting to the internet. Once again checking that she was asleep Spike moved over to the table and quietly switched on the computer. After finding his way past her password Spike connected up to the internet and went to the witch’s favourites list. Sure enough there was several unconventional sites for finding various goulies and ghosties.
Spike typed in ‘House of Blood’ and waited for the search engine to bring up its results.
“The death of the fabled House of Blood…” he read.
Several hours later Spike jumped as a warm hand touched him on the shoulder. “What?” he asked darting out of the chair and into a standing position.
“Did you find anything?” Willow asked nervously.
Spike ran his hand through his hair and tried to relax.
“Sorry pet, you made me jump is all. There’s some very interesting stuff out there and I found out some information about what your demon is supposed to be able to do. It isn’t very pretty.”
A frown appeared on Willow’s face. “He’s not my demon,” she replied defensively with a pout.
“Of course not pet. Anyway perhaps you should have a look at what I found while you were asleep and while I get some.” He sat her down on the chair he had recently vacated and moved over to the bed. “Remember, no going out alone pet. There’s some food in the bag I brought in last night but I think the coffee will be cold by now.”
“Oh, okay,” the witch replied. “I’ll just do this then.”
~Part: 34~
Althea felt her skin tingle around her already tense body. This house gave her the creeps. From the corner of her eye she could spot yet another vampire sneaking around the outside of the room. Plus there was the feeling of magic still vibrating in the brickwork. She really didn’t like it here one bit.
The blonde witch excused herself from Meredith’s side and walked slowly through the house following the prickling feeling, as it grew stronger. Althea went out in to the garden and waited until the people she felt to appear.
“I would never have expected you to associate with such… people Eric,” she said trying not to sound too bitter.
“Well I didn’t exactly have a choice,” the demon replied stepping forwards.
“Ah.” She twiddled her fingers in the air. “Maybe I can do something about that.”
Eric laughed and shook his head. “No that’s okay. Actually we’re looking for Willow.”
Althea felt her body tense, betraying her emotions. “Who isn’t?” she managed in an offhand manner.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” the small blonde slayer, Buffy asked.
“How did you know she was here?” the witch responded recovering her composure.
"You answer first," the slayer said.
“I don’t have to do anything you say slayer!” she hissed making the confident slayer flinch in surprise. “As you are a friend of Willow’s I shall warn you of this – you are in great danger by being here. It shall not be long before the Elders also sense you as I did.”
“Fine, tell me where Willow is and we’ll leave.”
“She’s not here anymore. We don’t know where she is and Eric, don’t go looking for her, it could be detrimental to your health.”
“What? Why?” the demon asked before Buffy had chance to.
Althea glanced back and forth between him and the slayer. “Late last night someone tried to perform a very dangerous ritual and succeeded. It was Willow. There is no question about that. Her energy signature was all over it.” She paused unsure of how much she should let on to. “The Elders have decided that what she had done is unforgivable. They have punished her once and that doesn’t seem to have made any difference so they… they have decided to hand down the ultimate punishment. They’ve sentenced her to death.”
“You’re going to kill her because of a spell?!” Buffy nearly shouted in outrage.
“What she had done is perhaps the biggest betrayal of the Elders for a hundred years!”
“And you’re going to sit back and let them do it? I thought Willow was your friend.”
“Buffy,” Eric interrupted. The slayer was becoming more and more irritated and he didn’t want her starting a fight. Not here. “Althea can’t do anything. She’s not powerful enough.”
The slayer turned to glare at Eric.
"Its true," was all he said in response to her accusing eyes.
“The Elders are out for blood on this one. All the Houses except for one or two minor ones are united on this slayer. They want her dead.”
Buffy indicated towards the house. "What's going on here?"
“This is the place that we identified as being the source of the ritual.”
“Spike must have forced Willow into doing the ritual,” the slayer reasoned. “I want to see him.”
“He’s not here either,” Althea said as the slayer began to head in the direction of the house. “His minions believe that they left together.”
"Do they know where he's gone?"
“No but that won’t stop the Elders from finding her. I hope you find her before we do. Willow is a friend after all.”
The slayer eyed her suspiciously then headed back off into the shadows.
“Be careful Eric,” she said as he turned to follow. The demon nodded, then turned and hurried after the blonde slayer.
~Part: 35~
Willow stared in horror at what she was reading and hoped that whoever had written up this information had got it wrong – or at least had been exaggerating. Oh please, please, please be exaggerating. I can’t deal with so much blood on my hands.
The red head stretched out her arms above her head and blinked to clear her eyes. She’d dressed quickly after having woken up, eaten breakfast and then spent the rest of the day sitting in front of her computer following links from one site to another until she had almost lost track of just what she had read. She almost wished that she had at some points. The demon was awful. It didn’t go after humans like she had expected it to but nearly everything else in the world instead. Vampires, witches, warlocks, other demons, monsters of all descriptions… It didn’t seem to matter. Anyone who had even the tiniest ounce of magic in their veins was in danger and while Willow didn’t mind the idea of vampires and some demons dying she knew that for every one evil being there was a good one with magic. Worse was the way that they died. It wasn’t quick and certainly not painless. Flitrix would rip the essence right out of it’s victims bodies so that they were mindless shells but not before driving them insane and cutting their still beating hearts from their bodies. Willow shuddered at the thought. She knew she would do whatever it would take to stop the demon from rising even if it meant killing herself to do so.
It filled her with horror but more so with dread. The few remained texts describing the ritual that she had been able to find had not been much use. Again and again it seemed that she was mentioned in one form or another. Some described her as a creator while others labelled her as a destroyer. Willow did not wish to be either.
Half of her wished that the Elders had not ordered the destruction of all the details pertaining to the rite after the fall of her house. The other half was glad. At least this way it was more likely than not that she would be unable to do what was necessary to bring forth Flitrix. There was some hope in that.
In his sleep the vampire murmured something incoherent drawing the young woman’s attention to the bed where he lay. His handsome form twitched twice and then fell still once again. Willow had to wonder what the master vampire was dreaming of at moments like this. Whatever it was didn’t seem to be very pleasant. After waking from a similar episode earlier on in the day Spike had snarled at her questioning stare before stalking into the bathroom and not reappearing for half an hour.
Slowly Willow became aware that the object of her avid attention had opened his eyes and was staring back at her. A blush rose rapidly to her cheeks and she knew that she had been caught in her silent contemplation. The witch tried to repress her embarrassment knowing that having been caught blushing was only making her complexion grow a brighter shade of red. Spike watched with amused eyes glistening.
Under her watchful eye the vampire stood and stretched out, arching his back as a cat might. Soundlessly he crossed the room without saying a word and picked through the pockets of his duster until he came across a pack of cigarettes. Willow blanched a little at the idea of being stuck in the room while he smoked one of the disgusting things. She toyed with the idea of asking him not to smoke but dismissed the thought when she saw the moody look on his face. Obviously Spike was not a morning, wait evening, person although he probably wasn’t a morning person either now that she thought about it.
“Some people need coffee when they wake up, I need a smoke,” Spike said finally as he took a drag and inhaled it deeply.
“Oh,” she said trying to sound as if she understood. For not the first time her stomach rumbled loudly. Willow glanced at the clock. “Spike, I’m really hungry and there’s nothing left from what you bought before. Besides I think I’m going to go crazy if I spend anymore time in this room.”
“Nah pet, it’d take more than a few hours in a room, even one as small as this, before you’d go nuts.”
“Spike…” The words came out as more of a whine than she had intended but she saw that the vampire was reconsidering his earlier decision.
“Alright luv, we can get out for a while and you can tell me about what you’ve found while I’ve been in the land of nod while we’re at it.”
“The land of what?” she asked with a shy giggle.
“Asleep pet, I meant asleep.”
"Okay."
"Besides, I need to feed as well."
Willow felt her heart drop like a lead weight. Why did he have to go and mention that? The feeling of worry mixed with fear that she had felt before came back with vengeance.
“Y-you are not killing anyone while I’m around,” she stuttered.
“Pet I already did kill someone, last night.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it Spike.” He took one look at the pained expression on her face and relented.
“Fine I won’t kill anyone. I’ll just drain them a bit, okay?” He added a smile and waited for some response from the little witch. Eventually she nodded and eagerly stood from the table and grabbed her light jacket from a hanger in the wardrobe. Together they headed out into the muggy city air that even managed to feel refreshing after the dry air conditioning.
The first stop of the evening was a small Italian restaurant that Willow had spotted when they had arrived at the motel. It took all her time to convince Spike that she actually needed a proper meal and not just the snack food that he had been filling her with before she managed to get him through the door. The vampire wrinkled his nose in disgust at the delicious smell emanating from the restaurant as they entered and leaned over to the smaller red head. “I never did like eating Italian,” he said making it clear that he didn’t mean a big bowl of pasta.
After a quick meal Willow waited in the restaurant while Spike went out to feed and sipped on her cup of coffee. Within half an hour the vampire returned looking decidedly revitalised.
“I’ve been thinking,” Spike said as he sat down across from her. “We need to find out some more on where the modern day version of this Order of Trixion are based and what they’re up to. That way we can move on them before they move on us, well you actually but at the moment that seems to amount to the same thing.”
“Okay, how are you going to do that? I don’t exactly see them advertising.”
Spike smiled wryly. “That pet, is where you’re going to come in useful.”
~Part: 36~
“You what!” Kieran’s voice reached new levels as the apparently young man who stood before him cringed and tried to back away only to be stopped by the equally imposing presence of Farmer. The older of the other two men in the room slammed his fist down on the desk drawing Emmett’s attention back to him.
“It wasn’t my fault your Grace. I swear it wasn’t my fault. One minute she was there and then the vampire took off with her. The next thing I knew his lair was crawling with witches – even the Elders were there.”
“I don’t want excuses Emmett! I want you to do something about it. We need the witch or have you forgot that in your stupidity? And to let her go off with a vampire of all things! I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s laying dead somewhere rotting away all because of you. Do you know how long the Order has been waiting for one such as her to come along?”
Emmett wanted to fall into himself. He’d never been this close to Platter when the man was in a bad mood before. The ancient priest, leader of the order for nearly four hundred year, was pissed and he was very pissed at him and only him. Emmett wanted to shout that it was not his fault, well not entirely but his voice just came out as a foolish sounding croak.
“Get out of my sight idiot!” Kieran growled eventually becoming so fed up with waiting for the man to say something that he could barely stop himself from incinerating him where he stood. He was amused to watch the younger man hurry from the room to save himself from Platter’s rage.
Kieran rubbed his temples and wondered where it had all started to go wrong. The slayer, that was it. If it hadn’t been for the slayer, if only the stupid girl had stayed in Sunnydale where she had belonged… He hadn’t counted on the Council of Watcher’s actually turning up at last minute to save the day.
There was always something in the way to stop the Order from achieving its rightful place as leaders and rulers. Why couldn’t people see that the world would be better once Flitrix had risen? Kieran sighed and turned to Farmer who had been waiting patiently for him to sort his thoughts.
Rising from his chair the older man walked into a small room that was adjoined to his larger office and indicated for Farmer to follow. “You should have kept a closer eye on Emmett, Farmer. I think you should quit that job you have at the library and concentrate on this business more,” he said.
“If you say so your Grace,” the other man answered silently rejoining at the news.
“I do. In future don’t give too much responsibility to Emmett. We shall reassess his position in the Order once the ritual has been completed.” The two men knelt down on opposite sides of a low table made of the yellowing bones of demons. The cover was made of rowan wood for protection and around the outside a simple protection spell was cast to keep the forces within it at bay.
“Would it not be better to simply kill him? It would ensure that it is impossible for him to make anymore mistakes your Grace.” Farmer picked up the golden orb from its pedestal before him and held it up to eye level as Kieran did the same thing. He closed his eyes and reached out to touch the edge of the shield protecting them and reassure himself that it was indeed still there.
“Perhaps… No, we shall need all the help we can assemble once the battles begin.” The High Priest opened his eyes to display the brilliant golden sheen that had come over them. They were mirrored a moment later by Farmer’s own eyes.
“Flitrix our Lord,
Bringer of the New Eden,
Immortal and most worthy of all Gods,
We await your presence in reverence and request your aid!”
Both men removed their hands from the orbs that continued to float in mid air. At first it seemed that nothing would happen and even in Kieran’s cold heart there blossomed panic that he had somehow offended the powerful demon that they now called upon. It faded away to insignificance as a glow appeared over the table and the ghostly image, so gruesome that it turned Farmer’s stomach and filled him with joy all at the same time flickered there, painfully weak.
“What hast thou brought me my child?” the crackling, hoarse voice of the demon said in whispering quiet. Soon my Lord, Kieran thought, soon you shall be strong once more.
“Behold the crumbled bone of your weakling enemies who will bow their heads in fear!” Kieran and Farmer answered both tossing a handful of white powder onto the table and into the glowing light of Flitrix’s manifestation. The image before them grew stronger and the air shimmered as the demon savoured the bones and the power that accompanied them.
“You offering is sufficient,” Flitrix said. “For what reason hast thou called me here?”
“The witch that we would use for your calling has disappeared Lord,” Kieran answered nervously. “We would be eternally grateful if you could use you power and knowledge to lead us to her.”
The demon’s featured shifted in anger for a moment before he nodded. His own visage was suddenly replaced by that of a red headed woman walking towards a restaurant on the arm of the peroxide blonde vampire that Kieran had heard referred to as Spike. The High Priests upper lip lifted in a sneer at the sight of the pair crossing the parking lot in front of a motel and entering the restaurant together. He just caught the name before it faded from view and Flitrix again became visible.
“Thank you Lord.”
“Find the witch and bring her here,” Flitrix said. “I grow tired of waiting.”
“Y-yes Lord,” Kieran answered even when the demon’s image had disappeared. He turned to Farmer. “Well do it then!” he snapped.
~Part: 37~
Giles was fuming. Buffy swore that she could actually see steam and smoke and stuff coming out of his ears as he paced up and down in front of her occasionally pausing in soundless exasperation.
“How could you?” he said finally throwing his arms up in uncharacteristic despair. “What if something had happened to you Buffy? I’ve been worried sick since you decided to take off. Jonathan very nearly had a collapse.”
“Well that might a bit of an exaggeration Rupert,” the other watcher began to say but was quickly shot down by the look on his old friend’s face. “Yes collapsing. I was about to collapse – apparently.”
“But Giles we had to act quickly,” the older slayer said.
“I suppose you didn’t even have to time to put your head around the door and tell us where you were going? Buffy, you were gone for a whole day. What on earth were you doing? Besides looking for Willow that is and not finding her.”
“We did find her – sort of anyway,” Buffy answered uncomfortably.
“Oh?” the ex-watcher asked suddenly. He was secretly pleased by this show of initiative from the young woman but the feeling was definitely countermanded by his annoyance at her running off and not telling him where she was going or when she was going to be back. Still, how could he have expected anything less from her?
“Well after Eric took us to that bar and we found out that Willow had left it with Spike the night before we went over to the blonde idiot’s place its self it look for him. Unfortunately there were no one there but about nine million witches wandering around looking for Willow. So we talked to that Althea chick and she basically told us to get lost all the while saying that the witches were gonna kill Willow because she apparently performed some big illegal ritual or something…”
“Excuse me?” Jonathan interrupted. “Did you say that Willow performed a ritual?”
“Yup. That’s what that Althea said anyway.”
Jonathan glanced aside and moved away to get his notes. “Is it something important?” Cara asked her watcher.
“It may very will be,” he said leafing through the sheets and coming up with the one particular sheet that he had been looking for.
“Well duh it’s the reason that they’re gonna kill her isn’t it!” Buffy exclaimed missing the point of what had passed between them.
“No, I believe there may be another reason that the ritual is important. While Giles and myself were hunting through the information that we found about the House of Blood we came across a ritual that was supposed to be performed before a member of the House could reach their full power.”
“It would certainly explain why so many witches would converge on where Willow was meant to be staying,” Giles said quickly, catching on to where the other man was headed with his train of thought. “If she performed the ritual there then there must still be an enormous amount of magical power surrounding the place. A ritual that is supposed to need that much power would undoubtedly be forbidden to any but the most powerful witches, these Elders perhaps, and added to the fact that the House itself is not supposed to practice anymore… Well, yes, certainly I can see why the ritual would be of importance.”
“So Wills is now some super-powered witch?” Xander asked letting the information sink in.
“I suppose that you could put it that way,” Giles answered. “Actually I think we should count it very worrying news. Not only has she disappeared with a vampire that we know it be extremely dangerous she now has the Elders chasing her and also the Order of Trixian.”
“Which is why me finding her is the best thing possible!” the slayer summarised. “Its nine-ish now which means Spike’ll be up and about so I say that we go find him.”
“And just how do you plan on doing that?” Jonathan asked sceptically. He didn’t like the effect that this slayer was having on Cara but he had to admit that some of her tactics had so far proved to be useful. Indeed he was half hoping that the younger slayer would pick up on some of those better practises while they were in America.
Buffy glanced aside at Cara. “Oh just a little vampire persuasion,” the older girl replied. She stood from her position on the bed and grabbed her light jacket and shoved a stake into her waistband. Determinedly she headed towards the door. Just as she was about to step out into the hallway she turned. “Coming?” she asked the others.
~Part: 38~
“So this is my plan pet,” Spike said as they sat across from each other in the restaurant. “You’re going to perform one of those little magical spells that you’re so good at and don’t tell me that you don’t know how because I know and you know that you do. That little demonstration that you gave me the other day was more than enough proof for me and it happens that when I found out you were living in this here city I did a little bit of investigating and found some stuff out about you and your witchy status.”
Willow absently played with her cup that was half full of coffee and tried not to be too startled by Spike’s revelation. “Well, maybe I know a couple of things that might help,” she stuttered. “What did you have in mind?”
“What I was thinking was that we need to track these people, this Order of Trixian, down before they manage to track us down. I’m pretty sure that they don’t know where we are at the minute but if you’re as valuable to them as I think that you are then that won’t remain the case for long.”
The witch nodded her agreement. “I know a couple of spells that could be used to locate the Order. You know for some reason I never thought of going looking for them. I had it stuck in my head to wait until they found me and then fight.”
Spike grinned, pleased that the red head approved his idea. “What’s the point of fighting on their terms luv? Lets take the fight to them.”
“Um, right, although I’m not too keen on the fighting idea.”
“What did you think you were going to do with them pet? Have a nice tea party? If you did then you’re crazier than Dru ever was. At least she recognised an enemy when she saw one.”
“Hey! I so do know the enemy when I’m looking at them,” Willow replied cringing at the unconscious comparison that the vampire had made between her and his ex-lover. “I just don’t like violence.”
“You’re the best friend of a slayer and you don’t like violence?” he asked cynically.
“Buffy doesn’t even like violence,” she answered dryly.
Spike snorted out laughter. “Of course not pet. If you say so although I’ve got a few memories that tell me different.”
“Like what? Actually I don’t want to know. Can we get back to the point?”
“And what would that be pet?”
Willow took a large gulp of her coffee and set it back down on the tabletop. “This spell, I’m going to need a few special ingredients to cast it that I just don’t have with me so we’re going to have to go shopping.”
“Why does this sound like it’s going to cost me money?” Spike asked.
“Because it probably will,” she replied with a smile.
~Part: 39~
When the vampire had seen the girl just walking along on her own he’d immediately thought of his master’s phrase ‘walking Happy Meal’. He’d strolled up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder calmly only to find himself promptly dumped on the ground with her straddling his chest and holding a nasty looking stake. She grinned down at him ridiculously with dark hair falling all around her face and suddenly he wondered exactly what he had let himself in for.
Snapping out of his shock-induced daze the vampire struggled to get her off of him and take control of the situation. It wasn’t working; the more he struggled the more control she seemed to have. Eventually he gave up.
“Hi,” she said. “We’re going to have a little talk.”
“And what if I don’t have anything to say?”
A pretty face appeared over his captors shoulder. The blonde girl sighed. “Don’t you guys have anything new to say? It’s always the same thing! I’ve been doing this job since I was fifteen and I haven’t heard an original line come out of a vampire’s mouth yet.”
Another face, one of a young man appeared this time. “Hey sister’s-in-slayage?” the youth said. “Can we not chit chat with the vampire and just find out what we need to know?”
The vampire felt his eyes widened. These were the slayers?
“Indeed if we could hurry this along then it would be much appreciated.” The vampire couldn’t see the speaker this time.
“Here, here,” another voice added after the other.
“You know you’re actually holding me up with all this talking?” the girl on top of him said. She turned back to him. “Sorry about that – we’re just in a bit of a hurry and vampires all seem to be keeping in doors tonight for some reason. That’s not the point though. I’m looking for information and I think you’re the lucky vamp to give it to me. Get the picture?”
He nodded cautiously.
“To cut a really long story short I’m looking for Spike – where is he?”
It felt like his breath was catching in his throat although he had no breath to catch. The girl sensed his hesitation to answer and leaned down harder on the stake until it actually pierced his skin.
“No don’t!” he gasped in pain. “He was spotted near the Black Buck motel. That’s all I know I swear. Please let me go!”
The slayer smiled down at him. “Thanks,” she said before driving the stake through his heart.
~Part: 40~
It had been uncomfortable inside the shop. Even Spike had felt the tension. For a short moment the vampire had wondered whether it had been a wise idea coming here. He wasn’t entirely sure how effective he might be if it came down to fighting one or two of the customers who roamed the shop casting suspicious glances at Willow. However some of his dark mood lifted when the shopkeeper gave Willow a friendly smile and told her to ask if she needed any assistance. Spike decided that he probably wouldn’t have to come back and kill the chit later.
Still he stood to one side and glared at everyone in sight as Willow moved deftly through the aisles picking up various little bits and pieces. Finally she went up to the counter and said something very quietly to the other woman. The shopkeeper disappeared a moment later appearing with a small pouch. Setting it down on the counter with his little red head’s other purchases she glanced suspiciously at Willow and then at Spike who let a snarl play across his lips. Her gaze was quickly averted and she rung up the bill.
Spike picked up the bag and together they wandered out of the shop and into the night air. “Did you have to do that?” she demanded when they were outside.
“Do what pet?” the vampire asked confused. The look in her eyes told him that she was pissed about something and it was now clear that it was something to do with him but he really had no idea what it would be.
“I think you just managed to make everyone in the shop fear for their lives Spike.”
“Pet that’s what a vampire generally does.”
“I know but… but… oh forget it!”
He grinned at her exasperation and loosely put an arm around her waist. “I know you love me really.”
Willow struggled to loosen his hold on her. “Do not!” she cried out.
“Pet I’m heart broken!”
“Oh just shut up please!” she said finally giving up on trying to get free and sighing deeply while blushing deeply.
Spike squeezed her tighter and grinned. She was so much fun to tease getting all flustered and bothered so easily. “So have you got everything that you need now pet?”
"I think so."
“Good. As soon as you’ve done your little spell we’ll pack up and leave so they can’t track you down at the motel.”
He felt the girl shiver beside him. She tensed and glanced around. “Sure,” she murmured a moment later.
“Willow what is it?”
“N-nothing. I think.”
She paused mid-step. “Okay maybe something,” she said looking around again.
Spike lifted his head and inhaled deeply. There was certainly something out there from the smell of it and… and something else as well - something more familiar. “Slayer,” he hissed.
“Nice to see you too Spike. We gonna fight?” Buffy said walking out of the shadows. Unconsciously the vampire tightened his grip on the redhead as he noticed four other people begin to surround them. He kicked himself realised that the other slayer was among them. How in the name of Sunnyhell was he going to get out of this?
“Well I wasn’t planning on it but I suppose…”
“Spike!” Willow exclaimed and elbowed him in the stomach.
“But pet…” At the look on her face he stopped and turned back to the slayer with a smile. “’Fraid that Red here doesn’t want us to so I guess I’ll have to pass this time. Me and Red have some mojo to cast.” He rejoiced the in shocked look on the other blonde’s face. This could be fun even if he didn’t get to kick the slayer’s arse.
Quickly recovered her composure Buffy turned her attention to her redheaded friend. “Are you okay Wills?” she asked.
“Sure why wouldn’t I be?” Willow replied.
“The fact that you’re standing next to an evil blood sucking vampire?” Xander answered amazed that his friend wasn’t struggling to get away from the bleach blonde.
“Thanks mate,” Spike said. “Nice to know I’m appreciated."
The younger man spluttered something that even Spike didn’t catch with his vampiric hearing.
“Just step away from him Willow and this will all be over in a second,” Buffy said.
Spike watched the slayer begin to circle and realised that the dark haired younger girl on his other side was also doing the same thing. He passed the bag to Willow and readied himself to fight. One slayer would be easy to take on but two would not be a good idea.
“Hey just wait a minute!” the tiny red head said. “Buffy stop it! Giles make her to stop!”
“Calm down Red,” the vampire whispered closely to her ear. “I’ll get away and then come look for you later okay?”
“No it’s not okay. Buffy stop it or I swear I’m going to turn you into a frog! Spike’s done nothing wrong. In fact he’s done everything that he can to make sure that I’m safe.”
The older slayer leapt from her fighting stance and swiped out at Spike with the stake she held as he ducked. In slow motion he watched as Buffy pushed Willow towards the ex-watcher and the other dark haired slayer suddenly spun around to deliver a roundhouse kick to his head. Out of the corner of his eye Willow dumped her purchases on the ground and raised a hand towards the fight with the palm facing outwards. The younger slayer was thrown through the air to where she landed heavily on the ground twenty or so feet away. Using Buffy’s confusion against her Spike punched out catching the girl solidly on the jaw. Buffy rolled and jumped up just as Cara managed to get to her own feet.
“Stop this!” Willow shouted coming to stand in front of Spike, between him and the slayers. The vampire let out a low growl as he saw the two girls glance at each other and then begin to move again.
“Look I don’t know what’s got into you Wills,” Buffy said. “But we’ll fix it as soon as Spike is dust.”
Willow turned to the two watchers with her eyes bright with rage. “Get your slayers under control gentlemen or I may very well do something I shall regret later on!”
“Cara stand down!” Jonathan said suddenly afraid for the safety of his slayer. The dark haired girl glanced at him and then at Buffy whose eyes showed her willingness to disobey whatever order was given in order to get her friend back. Cara took a step back and went to stand by her watcher while Buffy continued to stare with hated filled eyes at the vampire.
“I could just knock you out again Buffy,” the red head said drawing the blonde’s attention to her.
“You’re not Willow,” the slayer, replied with a voice that was filled with uncertainty. The display of power from her friend had greatly shaken her before and it was clear now that the young witch’s power had grown.
Willow sighed. “Yes I am. But I’m the grown up Willow. You haven’t seen me in nearly five years Buffy. I’ve changed. You have to accept that. I don’t need you protection now; you should have just gone home when I told you to.”
“No. I’m the slayer. It’s my duty to fight whatever this thing is. The fight is here and I’m not about to go running off home.”
Some of the fight drained out of Willow and she slumped her shoulders. Absently Spike placed a hand around her waist again and let the little witch lean back against him in her exhaustion. He saw not only the slayer tense at the scene but also the ex-watcher and the moron – what was his name again, something stupid and typically American… Xander – that was it.
"Willow."
She raised her head to look at the ex-watcher who was in obvious distress at the thought of the vampire touching the witch. Spike grinned over her shoulder at him and snuggled Willow closer.
Giles took a step forwards. “Say that we do go back to Sunnydale; have you even any plan as to how you’ll stop the demon from rising?”
“I’ve read through some versions of the ritual that I found,” she said. “It says that they need to perform it as a daughter of the House of Blood. Unfortunately that is now what I am. I have no intention of performing the ritual but I am going to find away to destroy the Order.”
“And if you have no choice but to perform the ritual?” Jonathan asked. “The prophecy that the witch Althea brought us states that you will do so in order to save someone.”
“I’ll kill myself first,” she said simply.
“I can’t let you do that Willow,” Buffy said stepping forwards with a pleading look in her eyes. “Please let us help you.”
Willow seemed to consider this. “I’m not sure that I can Buffy. However I know you and you’re not going to give up if you think something is right so I guess that I’ll have to.” The blonde slayer grinned broadly at what she obviously saw as a victory. “However there will be no staking of Spike. As long as he feels like he wants to help me out then he can and you’re not to go attacking him even with a toothpick.”
“But Willow he’s evil!” the slayer cried.
“See my resolve face?” the red head said. “If you try and hurt him then the deals off.”
The blonde nodded sullenly. “But the moment this is over there’s open season on Spike okay buster?” she said addressing vampire.
“As there will be on slayers,” he replied.
“When you two are finished threatening each other will one of you carry the shopping bag?” Willow asked. “It was getting rather heavy.”
Spike snarled at the slayer before quickly moving off, picking up the
bag and following Willow in the direction of their motel.