~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 51~
Emmett was growing tired. Nothing seemed to be going his way. After escorting the witch into the hall for the ceremony he had gone to collect the slayer only to find the girl’s cell door standing open and the room beyond empty. Now he had at least twenty men searching all over the building and was praying to Flitrix that they found the blonde before she was needed in the ritual.
Hearing pounding footsteps coming in his direction the priest turned to see one of his men running towards him. The man halted just before he came to the senior member of the Order and bowed his head slightly. “We found her,” he said breathlessly.
“Where?” Emmett asked impatiently.
“The fourth floor, near the Chapel of Guardians.”
Emmett smiled. “We needn’t rush then. The Guardians will take care of her and then we can retrieve her. Is there anyway sign of how she managed to escape the cell yet?”
“There… there is a vampire with her Emmett. The one who was with the witch when we found her.”
The other man winced as a flow of swearing erupted from Emmett’s lips. He hadn’t counted on the vampire’s presence. This changed everything. What was a slayer doing working with a vampire anyway? Emmett tried to remember everything that he had been told about this particular girl. Over the years that he had been alive he had occasionally met slayers by accident. One had ever tried to stake him for some reason he had never managed to figure out. He supposed that their nature was just too volatile and this one seemed to be one of the worst ones.
“We have to hurry,” he said. “They can’t be allowed to escape the building. Not with the completion of the ritual so close at hand.” Not waiting for a reply Emmett set off at a sprint in the direction of the chapel.
The door to the chapel lay open and from inside came the faint sounds of fighting that gradually grew louder the nearer they came. Without pausing Emmett rounded the corner and entered, almost immediately tripping and falling flat on his face. In horror he sat up and realised that the thing to cause his fall appeared to be the body of a Guardian. There was blood dribbling from one side of the giant man’s mouth. Turning he saw the yet another Guardian slumped against the far wall with a disturbingly peaceful look upon his face. The remaining two men fought against the slayer and another man who the priest recognised as Spike, the vampire master.
Emmett struggled to his feet and readied himself to create an energy blast. The power welled up inside him and he realised that he was going to have to make a choice of who to focus the blast on. There were two threats in the room and one of him. The only other man capable of directing the energy was collapsed in one of the throne like chairs that adorned the room, his eyes flat and lifeless in death.
Time slowed as he watched the vampire tear at the throat of the Guardian that he was fighting against with his fangs. Blood sprayed from the wound and the giant man crumpled to his knees, clutching at his neck. The vampire raised his head as Emmett’s outstretched hand came up to face him. Their eyes met for the briefest second and then the demon was gone. The priest looked around but saw no sign of the creature so he turned his attention to the remaining fight in the room where the slayer had just kicked the Guardian she was engaged in battle with across the room. Without hesitating Emmett released the energy in her direction and was satisfied to see the young woman take flight and knock herself unconscious against the wall.
“Collect her,” he ordered the nervous looking man who had accompanied him. One look from Emmett sent him scurrying across towards the blonde. “Is he dead?” Emmett asked the remaining Guardian and pointing at the other who still lay slumped on the floor.
The Guardian pulled himself back up to his full height and shook his head at the priest. “He lives.”
“Wake him and bring him to the hall. We shall need to guard to slayer in case the vampire makes another attempt to aid her escape.” The giant nodded in agreement and moved off to where the other lay.
Together with the man who carried the slayer Emmett turned out of the chapel and headed in the direction of the hall. Hopefully he would be just in time to hand the slayer over. If he wasn’t then this was certainly his last night on earth.
~Part: 52~
Spike swore as he saw the slayer go down. No doubt he would get blamed for this. It wasn’t his fault that the girl didn’t know when to run. Not that he really cared what they all thought but the other slayer would probably want to have his hide if Buffy went and got killed.
He watched as one of the Order blokes picked the girl up and walked from the room leaving the last giant desperately trying to wake up his friend. Silently Spike pulled himself out from his hiding place and crept up on the guy. The vampire took hold of the giant’s hair and slammed his head against the wall. A grin showed on the vampire’s lips as the other man slumped to the floor next to his friend.
Next step was to find the slayer. It wasn’t hard; he simply had to follow the distinct scent of slayer blood that left his demon howling for a taste.
Spike wasn’t surprised to find that the men weren’t taking the slayer back to her cell. There was the disturbing tingle to the air around him that he had noticed. It felt more than a little like when Dru used to cast her spells or when the little redheaded witch had performed her magic at his lair. A shiver went down his spine.
In the distance the vampire could now hear chanting and he guessed that they were getting close to their final destination. Down a long corridor he could see what looked to be a large hall filled with men dressed in the same crimson robes that he had seen others about the building wearing. As the now conscious but weak slayer was dragged into the hall by the two men who had carted her off Spike hung back and tried to figure out what to do.
There was a stairwell off to one side that looked promising but he was reluctant to stray too far from where he knew the slayer was being taken. The stairs might take him to a decent vantage point but they might also take him too far away from the blonde to be of any use when the fighting started. Not that he wanted to be blasted with one of those energy things that the man had used on the girl.
Making his decision Spike left the main corridor and mounted the stairs. It was a short climb for the vampire up to a landing, below which the main hall could be seen. The scene was disturbing to say the least. From where he was standing Spike could see the slayer had been tied to a large stone alter, with her arms and legs spread out star shape. Glorying for a moment at the position that his mortal enemy had been left in Spike realised in horror that something was horridly wrong with what he was seeing.
While he had expected to see the slayer all tied up he had not expected to see glorious looking Red standing over her on some type of podium appearing for all the world like nothing was amiss. What was worse was that the magic that he had sensed in the building seemed to be coming from the little witch who had a dazed expression on her face as if she didn’t quite know what was going on. His eye widened as he saw her silently lift a smoking pot of something high into the air and bein to make symbols with it, muttering words as she did.
Spike struggled to find the Cara and the others in the crowd below. Surely they could have found their way to this room by now, everyone else seemed to have been headed here after all. A flicker of movement in the corner of his vision drew the vampire to where he saw the whelp hiding. By his side was a perfectly still slayer. Her eyes were intently watching the ceremony that was being performed before her. In that instant Spike realised that the young slayer had decided that Red was fair game. He was beginning to wonder himself what the little witch was up to. It actually looked like she was going to perform the ritual and raise the bloody demon.
While he watched the slayer’s body tensed and her eye’s widened in surprise. Spike followed her line of sight and drew in an unneeded breath. Where there had only been rough stone before there was now a glowing set of eyes glaring out over the hall. Even as Spike realised what was happening the enormous statue began to shudder with energy.
This was not good. This was not good at all.
~Part: 53~
Giles was under the very distinct impression that Jonathan was staring at him from beneath the hooded crimson robes that they both now wore. They stood among an alarmingly large crowd that had gathered in the hall around them. At first the plan to infiltrate the Order by disguising themselves had seemed magnificent but now looking at the size of the crowd Giles had to wonder whether he hadn’t been more than a little out of his mind at the time. Everywhere he looked there were members of the Order and even more to his horror, Buffy was tied to what looked like some sacrificial altar over which a very strange looking Willow was standing. He had never seen such an expression on the features of the young woman before and knew that it could not bode well.
Very suddenly the room was growing even fuller and Giles immediately recognised that these newly arrived people were not from the Order merely by the style of their dress. To his horror he realised that these newcomers were nothing less than witches. They stormed the great hall in droves and began to engage in battle with the many members of the Order who were gathered there. Caught in the middle of the fighting Jonathan and Giles struggled to force their way through the crowds and towards the front of the room in the hopes of retrieving the fallen blonde slayer and the redheaded witch. Arriving by the altar to which his student was tied Giles discovered that she was weakly struggling to release herself from the bonds that held her. However before he could reach out and help the young woman a dark shadow fell across his path and the ex-watcher found his path blocked by men of the Order.
It was at that moment it occurred to him that something else was seriously wrong in the hall. Where he would have expected magnificent displays of power from both sides the only truly powerful magic being used seemed to be controlled by the priests of the Order with very few exceptions. Turning on his heals to survey the scene more clearly from his slightly elevated position Giles spotted the blonde witch, Althea desperately trying to hold back an advancing group of magic wielding priests while a larger group of witches cowered behind her. Around him there were other similar clusters of witches with one or two of their kind standing just before them in an effort to protect the others.
It was painfully clear now to Giles that the few remaining witches were failing in their attempts. Even as he watched one middle-aged man fell beneath the advance of the Order and with him the defensive wall he had been erecting with the help of another. Before his eyes another fell and then another until only the young Althea and a woman with a mane of long greying hair hung on. Finally the blonde collapsed in exhaustion and only moments later the other woman fell too.
“Lady Meredith!” one woman screamed and rushed forwards to where the greying woman laid using tired arms to push herself up into a sitting position. The Elder witch accepted the other woman’s help until her was on her feet and then pushed her away and turned to face perhaps the most ancient looking man that Giles had ever laid eyes on.
“You will not succeed,” she declared with amazing authority in her voice under the circumstances. “No demon lord with rule this realm!”
“But Lady Meredith,” the old man answered with mirth evident in his tone. “Look around you. Your people are defeated and one of your own kind stands ready to destroy you all.”
“That girl is not one of ours!” the woman spat venomously at him. “Nor shall she ever be as far as I am concerned and I am sure that my brothers and sisters on the council will agree with me this day.”
“Either way, you must now realise it is your day that is done in this realm. This night you will die and your entire foul race will be doomed to do so too.”
For the first time the Elder seemed to truly take in her surroundings. Defeat showed in her stance and a tremble of doubt passed through her. Hate filled eyes settled on the figure of Willow who was still poised in her trance like manner holding tightly onto a long bladed knife. Tears suddenly filled the young red heads eyes as she met the gaze of the Elder witch.
“I’m sorry,” Willow said in the perfect calm of the room and raised the knife high before driving it down into her own stomach.
Giles was aware of his own horrified scream and that of the Elder witch in addition to several others around the room. Behind it all he seemed to hear the triumphant shouts of others as a thin trickle of blood from the dying witch ran down between the enormous slabs of white stone until it eventually landed upon the forehead of the massive statue in uneven drips.
In that instant the ex-watcher understood everything. His slayer had been merely a decoy to distract Willow from her true purpose – to be the sacrifice. Despite her last minute hopeful attempt at preventing the ritual from being completed she had inadvertently caused its completion with her own blood.
“Come forth Lord Flitrix!” the old man screamed. “Come forth and enjoy thy feast!”
Understanding began to flood through the room as gigantic quantities of energy poured forth from every direction. Caught in the whirlwind of power Giles resisted the urge to run and panic as the witches had now resorted to. A hand caught him on the arm and the ex-watcher turned to find himself facing the ice blue eyes of a fully vamped Spike.
“Get the slayer,” the master vampire ordered. “Red’s still alive. I’m going to try and reach her and then we’ll get out of here.”
“What of Cara and Xander?” Jonathan asked.
“The boy’s already trying to get through to the witch and I don’t know where the other slayer is. We’ll have to leave her.”
“I can’t!” Jonathan exclaimed.
“You don’t have a choice if you want to get out alive. The demon’s just about to break free. We don’t have time to argue.”
Even as he spoke the words a low rumbling began to vibrate across the floor from the direction of the stone idol of Flitrix. The light from its glowing eyes expanded and enveloped the entire figure, dancing across the carved flesh until visible cracks began to appear in the surface. Every being in the room paused as the thunderous sounded of solid stone breaking and crumbling with explosive force rang out throughout the hall. Splinters and shards of rock flew in every direction and Giles found himself thrown to the ground and quickly covered with the cold body of the vampire only to find himself free of the weight only moments later. When he next looked up the ex-watcher found his eyes immediately drawn to the form of the ancient High Priest whose newly glowing eyes surveyed the hall as the demon changed his body making it larger, quicker and stronger.
The demon and its host smiled.
** ** ** **
Spike broke the bonds for the two watchers and then left them to deal with the slayer while he ran to catch up with the whelp. The boy was already halfway up the stairs when the vampire reached him. Together they continued until they came to the top and could see the slight form of Willow lying on the floor.
“Wait here,” Spike said and stepped in front of Xander.
“No way, not with all that blood around you may be tempted to have a snack or something.”
“You better bloody well wait here mate or you’ll find out first hand what it means to become a vampire snack got it?”
Xander backed up a little in surprise. “I-I… Just don’t hurt her okay?”
“The longer you keep me here chatting the more hurt she’s getting so shut up!” He turned his back on the young man and crossed to where the witch had fallen.
She looked surprisingly radiate for someone who was dying Spike thought as he approached her prone body. If it hadn’t been for the patch of blood so dark it appeared black on her red gown and the way that the dagger protruded from her stomach along with the scent of death that was already washing over her then he would have been tempted to say that she was merely sleeping. With trembling hands he reached down to touch the young red head.
“Spike?” she muttered.
“Its me pet. I can’t believe you’re awake.”
“I need to fight.”
“You’re in no state to fight anything let alone that big horrible thing that’s making mince meat of the witches.”
“No,” she answered. Spike felt a hand grasp his. ”I need to fight.”
The vampire let out a cry of anguish as pain shot though his body. Falling to the ground he was aware that the witch had not released her grip on him. Spike let his demon face come rushing forwards and take control. He roared and yanked on his arm to get away from her but whatever the witch was doing to him it had drained his strength.
“I’m sorry,” Willow said as she knelt over him. The dagger had been removed and the wound to her stomach didn’t seem to be troubling the witch in the slightest. “I had to do it Spike. You’ll be okay in a few minutes. I just borrowed your strength.” The witch helped him into a sitting position.
“What are you going to do?”
“The Order missed something in their translation of the ritual to call forth Flitrix. I’m going to put it to good use.”
“Be careful pet.”
Willow smiled brightly. “I will be.”
~Part: 54~
Buffy pushed herself up from the flat surface of the altar and leapt onto her feet. The slayer took a few moments to steady herself. “Giles get everyone out of here. I need to stop this demon.”
“There is no way that I am leaving you in here Buffy,” her watcher answered angrily.
“Just get Xander and Jonathan and go!” she ordered. “Where’s Cara?”
“She already looks to have engaged the demon in battle,” Giles said. “The last I saw of Xander he was going to collect Willow with Spike.”
“I’m afraid that we may very well not be able to escape just yet,” Jonathan interrupted. “There appears to be some kind of spell on the doors to prevent anyone from getting away.”
“Damn,” the slayer cursed. “Well stay back and let me and Cara try to take this thing down. Oh and if you see Spike then tell him to get his butt over here and help.”
The slayer stalked off towards the demon grabbing a double-headed axe from a fallen priest. Meeting the eyes of her sister slayer Buffy quickly swapped position with the girl and sprang forwards holding the axe high. Her blow was deflected easily by the demon as it raised its arm and grabbed grasped her wrist in a bone shattering grip. Buffy cried out and slammed the heal of her hand up under the host’s chin. For the briefest second Flitrix’s head flew backwards before rebounding and hitting the blonde slayer on the top of her head. As Buffy cried out in surprise Cara darted in and swept her legs behind the demon’s knees knocking him to the ground. The dark haired slayer rolled quickly to one side and darted to her feet as the blonde did the same, lightly holding her crushed wrist.
Buffy didn’t see the demon even move. One moment he was flat on his back on the floor and the next he was stood only feet away from the two slayers as if nothing had ever happened. The demon turned his grinning face on the two girls. “You have served your purposes now slayers. Why do you persist and fight that which you cannot possibly win?”
“Cos it’s a slayer’s job to fight and I never give up on anything,” Buffy answered before falling into a roll and grabbing the axe from where it had fallen. “And you aren’t going to change that mister.” Working in unison the two began to attack the host whose stature had amazingly grown since the demon had inhabited it.
Tiredness began to seep over Buffy’s body as every move she made was countered by the demon. In desperation she dropped the axe once again and let lose a rapid flow of punches directly into the stomach of the host. On hearing the explosive snots of air that escaped the body at her actions the small blonde slayer felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. Suddenly a crimson clad arm connected her shoulder sending her spinning away while the demon turned his attention onto Cara who had leapt onto his back and had been attempting to slit the host’s neck.
There was a dramatic cracking sound as Cara’s arm broke and she was dragged from the demon’s back around so that the he could face her. The tall dark haired slayer struggled against the demon’s hold on her body as he drew her closer. Buffy watched as the demon paused and then dropped Cara to the ground before turning to face the altar where she had been tied, his eyes wide in surprise.
The blonde slayer felt her own eyes widen slightly at the sight that greeted her from the high altar. Her red headed friend who was supposedly dead was floating several feet up into the air, her hands clasped tightly before her stained red robes and a glowing white light surrounding her entire body. The shimmering figure appeared to glide forwards a few steps towards the speechless demon with a small smile lighting on her face and in her eyes that had turned into two white burning flames.
“You didn’t honestly think it would be that easy did you Flitrix?” a musical lilting voice said quietly and calmly from Willow’s lips. A low growl escaped the host’s lips as he began to stalk towards the witch leaving the two slayers behind forgotten.
“Why aren’t you dead?” the demon demanded.
“Your little priests appear to have missed something in their translations demon. They realised that I had to die but they did not bother to see what happened to me after that point. It seems like a most unpardonable mistake in my opinion but then I don’t really care seeing as it has worked to my advantage.”
“What mistake?”
Willow tilted her head slightly. “Why the one where it says that I shall live again of course. Granted at first even I did not understand but I do now. I gave you life Flitrix and I will take it away.”
“You have not the strength to fight me witch!” Flitrix hissed.
“Are you sure of that? Look at all that has gone wrong demon. How can you be sure of anything?”
“I can be sure that I can kill you!” he shouted and ran with inhuman speed at the witch. Willow gracefully raised one hand into the air and mumbled a few words that even Buffy could not hear. The white light around the red head grew stronger and as the demon hit her it he was propelled backwards through the air.
Buffy saw the smile on her friend’s lips grow wider. “You never counted on having to fight your creator did you Flitrix?” Willow said. “Perhaps you don’t have the power.”
The demon hauled itself to its feet, eyes shinning in anger and face contorted into only the mildest semblance to what it had been before. Absently it lifted up Buffy’s fallen war axe and once again began to stalk towards the witch. Quickly the slayer pulled herself upwards and reached out to try and take the weapon from the advancing demon. As she did so she felt a hand touch her on the shoulder and turned to find herself faced with the greying witch she had seen fighting.
“Leave it,” Meredith said quietly. “This is their battle not yours.”
“But…”
“Listen to me slayer, you’ve played your part now sit back and watch the show.”
“Willow doesn’t stand a chance against an armed demon,” Buffy hissed growing annoyed.
“Just watch,” the woman answered and pointed in the direction of where the red headed witch was still floating. Reluctantly the slayer gave up and faced where her friend was calmly standing still as if a seven foot demon stalking towards you with a one of the hugest double headed axes that Buffy had ever seen was an every day occurrence. Her eyes widened as the slight red head extended her arm and stared at her open hand. After a second there was a flash of that same white light and where before there had been nothing the hilt of a sword began to form. Slowly the light stretched and before an amazed slayer a sword was created.
“The House of Blood was created long before you can even imagine Flitrix. Our purpose has not been to merely bring you here; it is to protect. Somewhere along the way that knowledge was lost to the council of Elders but not to the House itself. I cannot let you win.”
“Oh, I can make it very easy on you witch,” the demon replied and swung the axe. There was a clanging of steel and a flare of magic as the axe met the sword on Willow’s quick block. The young witch spun, robes flaring and caught the host’s hip with her two handed grip. Stumbling the demon fell to his knees and onto his back before flipping up onto his feet, narrowly avoiding Willow’s heavy blade.
Buffy watched in amazement as her best friend handled the long blade with a skill that it had taken her years to achieve. Deftly she small witch swung the sword blocking every move that Flitrix made with the enormous war axe while making aggressive thrusts of her own. Absently the slayer was aware that there was other movement around her outside the scene of the two fighting.
The witches had begun to stir themselves again, spurred on by the sight of Willow fighting for them. Many had picked up weapons from the ground and were trying to break out of the hall while fighting with the priests of the Order and attempting to help their fallen friends. Buffy snapped into action as she saw that even with her broken arm Cara was making an effort to help and a decidedly shaky looking Spike was busy throwing one of those stupid giant warriors they had encountered before across the room. There was no way on earth that she was going to be out done by Spike of all people.
~Part: 55~
Willow wasn’t thinking anymore. It had felt awful drawing energy from Spike and she was perfectly aware that he would no doubt be in a terrible mood with her later when they got through this. If they got through this that was. However that didn’t seem very important when faced with an overgrown demon who was determined to kill you.
Standing up to the demon seemed so natural. She was Willow Rosenberg, Sunnydaler, slayerette and witch and she was not going to let some demon ruin her world. Each movement flowed with skill and power. Every blow she struck to the host’s body was perfectly timed and her blocks were expert. From the corner of her eye she caught sight of Buffy grabbing hold of a priest who had been about to try and strike her down and silently thanked the slayer. She did not need others interfering in this battle.
The witch quickly sidestepped a halfhearted attempt from Flitrix feeling grateful that the demon seemed unaccustomed to using the axe that he was using. Willow guessed that anyone would be a little rusty after a few thousand years of waiting around.
To her amazement Flitrix stumbled after her footwork and landed heavy leaving his flank open to her attack. Using the momentary advantage she had over him Willow spun and sank the blade of her sword deep into the demon’s gut. As the thrust slide home the red headed witch only just remembered to concentrate her energy into the weapon making it come to light with the pure, ancient magic within her. The creature howled in pain and closed its hands around the shinning blade protruding from its gut. With all her strength Willow wretched the sword away, wincing at the disgusting noise it made. For the final time the young witch raised the blade high above her head.
“Demon of my blood, Shadow of my light,” she chanted. “Life born of my life, Heed my call and obey my word. I cast thee back with blood, with light, with life!” Willow screamed the last words and brought the razor sharp edge of the sword she had created down on the back of the host’s neck, severing his spinal cord and sending his head flying in one direction and his lifeless body in another. Energy rushed from the body transforming it back into that of the wizened old man. The red head nearly choked as she felt it circle around her in a whirlwind of light and magic until it finally plunged back into her body. An abrupt scream loosened itself from her lips and she collapsed to the ground feeling once again complete. Under the onslaught of power Willow felt her eyes droop shut and consciousness slip away.
~Part: 56~
“Willow?” a gentle voice asked. Breathless the young witch rolled onto her back.
“Oh Goddess…” she murmured. “Am I dead?”
“That’s in dispute at the present time,” a much harsher and very familiar voice replied in place of the other. Willow’s eyes flew open and she found herself being stared at by seven very stern faces.
“Did someone stake Spike or is he just not here?” she asked pulling her wits together.
“I’m over here luv, they don’t seem to want to let me near you for some reason. I keep telling them that I feel fine now and that you’re apparently alright too but they don’t want to listen.”
The red head pushed herself up into a sitting position and moved Xander aside with a wave so she could see Spike who was sitting in a chair against the wall. “What is it with you being in the same room as me when I’m unconscious and should I get worried?” the witch asked.
“I don’t know pet, do you think we should take it as a sign?” he answered wriggling eyebrows at her suggestively.
“Hey Mister don’t even think about it or you’ll have an up close and personal interview with Mr Pointy,” Buffy threatened.
“Cool it slayer,” Spike laughed. “I won’t touch Red, well not unless she wants me to…”
“Okay really shut up now Fang Face,” Xander interrupted with a nervous laugh.
“This is all very pleasant,” Meredith said with a slight sneer playing on her lips. “But I really think that it is inappropriate at this moment. Two Elders died last night Willow. I think that you owe us some explanations.”
Willow felt herself blanch a little under the woman’s scrutiny.
“It would seem to me that Willow is still tired,” Giles stuttered out. “Perhaps it would be better to wait until the morning and let her get some more rest.” Meredith turned her ice gaze on the man and he visibly shrank back.
“Leave it Giles. I would rather do this now,” the red head answered. “I had no choice Meredith. As an Elder you should know that there is no way to escape the fulfilment of a prophecy. I thought that I had found a loop hole but it only managed to make matters worse.”
“I believe that we all noticed that,” the older woman answered dryly.
“The fact was,” she said ignoring the comment. “The fact was that I needed to die so that Flitrix could be destroyed. If I had used Buffy as the sacrifice then there would have been no tie to earth for the demon and so there would have been no stopping it. It was the tie that made the demon weak enough. When I died I realised that.”
“Hold on a moment you actually did die?” Buffy asked in amazement.
“It was necessary. A lot of the House of Blood’s history has been forgotten Buffy or just simply misunderstood. After I had completed that ritual at Spike’s lair many things came back to me. When the House was first created it took the best talents it could find in warrior witches and combined them to make a powerful force responsible for defending and protecting the other Houses and their secrets. However in time some of the other Houses began to fear the power that the House of Blood was beginning to have over them and dismissed House members from their service. One of the powers that they feared was the ability to cheat death. It was rare but possible under certain circumstances.”
“I was one of the circumstances wasn’t I pet?” Spike asked.
“You or a slayer. Well a master vampire or a slayer. You fitted the bill perfectly.”
“I must admit I’m a trifle confused,” Jonathan said. “What did Spike have to do with anything?”
Meredith sighed. “She needed the vampire’s strength to bring herself back completely. I would have thought that was obvious even to a watcher.” The Elder managed to avoid seeing the annoyed look that the man gave her in return. “I must say Willow that, despite your irresponsible actions, there were several members of the council who were very impressed with you. They had agreed that you should be reinstated to your former status.”
“Isn’t that just a bit ridiculous?” Buffy asked. At the puzzled looks she received in return the slayer sighed and rolled her eyes. “Aren’t these House thingies important and everything?”
“They’re responsible for ensuring that everything runs smoothly,” Meredith answered.
“Than don’t you think that Willow should be more important now?”
The Elder stared at the young blonde with eyes wide in astonishment. “You have no idea what you’re talking about girl,” she spat. “Such a decision cannot be made so easily. There are many things to take into consideration…”
“I don’t see why,” the slayer answered. “Willow has to be head of this House thingy because she’s the last one left and all these Houses seem to be pretty important to you so the way I see it she should be too.” Willow watched nervously as her friend stared down the Elder witch. She was amazed to see the older woman break eye contact first and pull herself up to her full height in an effort to recover some dignity.
“I shall have to discuss this with the others,” she said finally. Pausing at the door she turned back to the others in the room. “Althea you will come with me now. I expect the rest of you to leave my home as soon as you can and that includes you vampire.” The witch gave a cruel little smile. “The other masters are waiting to talk with you I believe.” There was an audible groan from Spike.
Althea leaned in closer and kissed Willow on the cheek. “I’ll try to get her to go easy on you,” the blonde witch said quietly. “You shocked quite a few people Willow Rosenberg. Perhaps some of them will see sense now.”
The red head smiled at her friend. “Somehow I don’t think so if Meredith gets her way.”
“That’s why I’m going along,” Althea confirmed. She wiggled her fingers in the air. “They listen one way or the other.”
“You wouldn’t!” Willow exclaimed with a laugh.
“Well maybe not but I don’t think I’ll just sit there and take it this time. We’d all be dead if it wasn’t for you Willow.” She received a hug of gratitude from her friend.
“You’d better hurry along before Meredith gets annoyed and comes looking for you.” The blonde nodded and headed out of the door that the other witch had left by.
“Are you going to be in trouble Spike?” Willow asked turning to the blonde vampire. He levered himself out of the chair he was sat in and approached her bed carefully avoiding both slayers and an overprotective Xander who still wasn’t comfortable with the idea that his friend was chummy with a vampire.
“Probably, but when am I not?”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, pet. Like I’ve said before – they never really liked me very much in the first place anyway.”
“Who does?” Buffy muttered under her breath. Willow shot her a look and the slayer held her hands up defensively.
“Don’t mind Buffy,” Willow told the vampire. “She’s still got her stick up her ass about the fact I killed the demon and she didn’t get to.” Spike grinned at the outraged expression on Buffy’s face.
“I do not!” the blonde screeched. Taking in the vampire’s smile of triumph the blonde reached behind her back and pulled out a stake. “Get out of here blondie before I break house rule and dust you.”
“Buffy please don’t threaten my friends,” Willow said placing a hand on top of the slayer’s wrist and removing the tightly clenched stake.
“Your want?” she asks clearly shocked.
“Well he is. I mean, he did help out an awful lot and I probably would be dead permanently if it wasn’t for him.”
“So does that mean that if the other masters decide they want me out of the way I can sic you on ‘em luv?”
“Spike that’s not even funny,” the red head warned.
“I wasn’t trying to be funny pet.” He pulled a cigarette out of thin air and stuck it between his lips before lighting it. “I’d better go face the music. I’ll see you around Red. If you need something or someone taking care of in a way that might be better dealt with by my talents then just let me know okay? I figure I owe you something for saving the world and all that.”
“Thank you Spike,” she answered appreciating the gesture.
“And you slayer,” he said pointing at Buffy. “And you Cara, just try and keep out of the way of my minions. Kill any others you see if you want though. You’ll probably be helping me against the others. I didn’t say that by the way.”
“Sure Spike,” Cara answered before the blonde slayer could reply.
Spike grinned at the younger slayer and then turned to the older. “You could take lessons in civility from this one slayer,” he said before quickly ducking out of the door before the blonde had chance to retrieve her stake.
~Part: 57~
Buffy was watching her best friend carefully for any sign that the girl was suddenly going to stumble fall. The red headed witch still wasn’t very confident on her feet after her mammoth battle with Flitrix even if two days had passed since it happen. The slayer guessed that even if her friend did have her own super powers of a sort there was nothing there to compare to slayer healing.
The last two days of the slayer’s life had been awe-inspiring. Along with the others who had accompanied her to New York she had been introduced to what it truly meant to be a witch in Willow’s world. She had been there when the council of Elders had finally decided to reinstate the House of Blood to their original role within the council with Willow as the first representative for over three hundred years. The look on the face of her friend had been more than enough to make Buffy happy for her. Then after she had been there when more witches than the slayer had even seen in one place had flocked around her friend congratulating her and even when the head of the House of Sight had given the red head a full apology for the actions of his House over the years which Willow had accepted graciously. Buffy had never seen the young witch happier.
“I’m gonna start missing you all over again bestest bud,” Xander said wrapping his childhood friend in a tight hug. “Sure you don’t feel like coming back to Sunnydale with us?”
“For the four millionth time no Xander but you’re welcome to come and visit anytime.”
“The invitation is open both ways Willow,” Giles said also hugging the petite witch. He looked up at Buffy and seeing the expression in the blonde’s eyes put a hand on Xander’s shoulder and propelled him away from the two women despite the youth’s protests to where Cara and Jonathan stood waiting politely after saying their goodbyes.
“Don’t cry Buffy,” Willow said putting an arm around her friend’s waist.
“I’m not goin’ to,” the slayer answered unsuccessfully holding back tears. She quickly brought a tissue up to her eyes and angrily wiped the droplets of water away. “Damn it! I really didn’t want to do this.”
“I promise that I won’t let us lose contact like before,” the witch said.
“It wasn’t just you Wills. I played a pretty big part too if I remember rightly.” Her friend gave a little smile. “You will be okay won’t you?”
“Of course I will. I the all new super witch aren’t I?”
Buffy shuck her head grinning. “You know what I mean… Promise me that if Spike hassles you too much you’ll let me come stake him?”
“If Spike hassles me then I’ll have him mailed to you with a little sticker saying ‘stake me’ on it,” Willow replied in a lighthearted voice. “But I really don’t think that he will.”
“Ha! This is Spike we’re talking about!”
It was Willow’s turn to shake her head. “I think you’d better go or you’re going to miss your flight. Giles looks like he’s about to have a fit.”
Buffy glanced back over her shoulder at her watcher. She hugged the small witch. “Keep safe.”
“I will. You too.”
She nodded feeling the tears rise again. “I’ll call you when we get back.”
“Buffy!” Giles called.
“I’m coming already! Bye, I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too. Bye Buffy.”