I don't deserve her. Looking at her, my crimson-haired goddess, I know I don't deserve her. She looks so beautiful, almost ethereal. Fragile, but with an inner core of strength people rarely notice. Innocent, but full of weary knowledge. A walking contradiction. I love her. I've gone soft, next thing I know, I'll be brooding like Peaches. That's scary. But, I don't care. She's my light. And I might lose her tonight. We're about to go into yet another fight. To look at Death itself in the face, and survive. To save the world.
******
We're now standing in front of another warehouse. The whole bloody town seems to be full of those. So, this is were our latest fiend was hiding. It's pretty ironic, you know? Being on the other side of the tracks, so to speak. I'm a friggin' whitehat now. But, I'd do anything for her. And if I actually have to talk to the slayer, so be it.
The watcher was telling the slayer somethin' about tactics. Go in. Kill the bastard. How's that for bloody tactics? Seems tactic enough to me.
I saw Willow looking at Anya, that cute worried frown of hers creasing her brow. But, no wonder, that demon girl looked ready to drop. Willow looked up at me, and I nodded, an unspoken agreement. Her 'resolve face' slid firmly into place, and she approached Anya.
"Are you sure you want to go in?" I heard her ask, a concerned half-smile in her face. I loved that smile.
Anya looked up, her eyes hard and unreadable. "That bastard sent the vampire that killed Xander." she told her.
And it was enough, nodding Willow walked away. She then came to me, and I saw the concern in her eyes. I knew that it was reflected in mine.
"Don't worry, pet. It's just a Chaos demon, we'll get him in no time" I told her.
She looked at me, and I saw her doubt in my words. " Will we? I've got a bad feeling about this." she confessed.
I felt my demon stirs up, it was enraged. Nobody would hurt my mate. Nobody. I grabbed her then, hugging her against me. Wanting to reassure myself that she was there. That she wasn't just a figment of my imagination.
"I'd die before letting anyone hurt you,” I said. And I meant that. I meant that with all my being.
She looked at me, unshed tears glimmering in her eyes. "I love you" she told me.
If my heart had a beat, it would have skipped one right then. I leaned down, pressing my lips against hers in a soft kiss. I felt her wrap her arms around my neck, and I hugged her even tighter. I would've died a happy man right there.
"Everything will be fine, you'll see" I told her.
I tried to smile, but it came off more like a grimace. And my words rang hollow, even in my ears.
She nodded, gathering herself for what lay ahead. "It has to be" she told me. But, I could hear the doubt in her voice.
Right then, a sudden feeling swept through me. I didn't want to let her go. I wanted to keep her close to me for all eternity, by my side, to never let her go. Most of all, I wanted to get the hell out of there. But, this was a fight that we couldn't get out of. We had to save the world.
******
The slayer was dead. Right before my very eyes. Just as she was about to slice his head off with the blessed sword, he snapped her neck. The sound was horrible. A wet sound, like the twisting of a newborn twig.
I was enraged. That bastard had killed one of my worthiest opponents, and my love's best friend. With renewed strength, I picked up the fallen sword, and cut off his head before he even knew that I had moved.
His laugh echoed horribly in my head. And then everything went up in flames.
*******
I was beginning to get very desperate. I couldn't find Willow anywhere, and the blasted place was burning like a bloody inferno. We were going to die if we didn't get out of there.
Fast. Lately, I'd begun to hate the fact that I was a vampire, but I couldn't be more grateful right now. The smoke that hung thick in the air couldn't hurt my dead lungs. But it could hurt Willow. I had to find her.
All of sudden, I spotted her slight frame, slumped in a corner. I saw the blood-matted hair and the slightly glazed look in her eyes. She was hurt, and I had to get her out of there. I ran over to her, and draped my leather coat over her, to protect her from the fire’s heat. Carefully, I picked her up. A careful perusal revealed no more injuries, but the smoke could hurt her. I looked around, searching for an exit.
I heard a slight creak, reacting instinctively I ran farther up the wall. A flaming pillar crashed to the floor. Right were we had been standing. And the flames rose even higher.
********
With renewed strength that rose out of desperation, I opened a window. It groaned under the strain. I carefully climbed through, careful not to bump Willow’s head against the frame. She was looking even paler, and I was very worried. She looked at me, and I clearly read the horror in her eyes. I glanced at where her gaze lay, and it was bloody hard to keep from spewing the O-Positive I had for dinner.
*********
The watcher and that demon girl were dead. And from the looks of it, they had suffered horribly before they finally did die. Their mangled bodies lay on the grass. What kind of sick bastard did something like this?
I turned, so that I blocked Willow’s view of that
horrible scene, and carefully lowered her to the ground. I brushed a few
tendrils off her
forehead.
“Luv, Everything’ll be fine. You’ll-“ I saw her eyes widen a second too late.
I felt the vampire approach us a second too late.
I failed to protect her a second too late.
And then, there was darkness.
*********
The earth is flat. Those who fall off don’t
return.
The earth is round. All things reveal
Themselves to men only gradually.
****