Fallen AngelsBy Kristi
Rituals
@--Buffy--@
I don’t sleep for very long. Nightmares keep waking me up. I get up and take a shower. I’m still sore from the night before. I let the steam work its way into my bones and loosen everything up. I leave my hair long and loose. I know it gives the enemy a handhold, but somehow I feel better going to a big battle with pretty hair. Silly, I know.
I put on what I affectionately call my armor, dark red leather pants, a black sleeveless shirt and black boots with big chunky heels. I’m walking down the stairs when Faith and Giles come in.
“Hey, B, you’re looking good. Ready to do this thing?” Faith asks by way of greeting.
I nod. “What’s the plan Angel? Do we know where they are going to open the portal?”
“Wes has found some information. I’ll let him tell you.” Angel deferred to Wes.
“I believe they will open it on Wolfram and Hart grounds. It’s safe and it’s the perfect place. The magical energies there are astounding, second only to a Hellmouth. Wolfram and Hart is built on deconsecrated consecrated ground.”
“Splainy, please.” I say.
“When the LA branch was built, their seers recommended a site where there was already a Spanish mission. They couldn’t very well build an evil building on holy ground so they had to deconsecrate it. They sacrificed a man named Matthias Pavayne. In his time he was known as ‘The Reaper’. He was a doctor. He performed unnecessary surgeries on his patients, the sort of surgeries that kill people.” Wes explained.
“So the law firm is built on the blood of psycho?” I say.
“Precisely.”
“This just gets better and better.” I grumble.
We are interrupted by Lorne coming into the hotel, with a contingent of demons behind him.
“Angelcakes, I’ve brought your army.”
@--Angel--@
“Ok, we’ve only got one shot at this. We’ve got a good idea from the blueprints Willow found, but we don’t know exactly where this ceremony is going to take place. I need you all to give us as much time as possible. Here’s the plan.” I stood before the demons Lorne had gathered and gave them a summary of what I hoped we would be able to pull off.
I don’t know where Lorne found them all on such a short notice but there were at least 40 demons of all different sizes and varieties. I had him be sure to include several vampires so that the alarms in the building would already be set off when I walked in. I didn’t trust any of them as far as I could throw them, which actually in same cases was pretty far, but they were all I had and I wasn’t going to break my promise to Buffy. I would save her sister.
I left the army in the lobby and motioned to Buffy, Wes, Giles, Faith and Willow. We went into Wes’ office and shut the door.
“Okay, you’ve all heard the plan. What do you think?’ I asked.
“It’s a good plan. I wish I knew more about where we were going, but it’s the best shot we’re going to get on such short notice.” Buffy said. A kind of calm acceptance had come into her voice. I knew she had pushed Buffy back and what stood before me was all slayer.
“Remember, we want Xander, Gunn and Cordy back safe also, but we’ve got to prevent the opening of the portal first. If that portal opens, the chances are a lot higher that some of us aren’t going to make it out of this alive and that’s not acceptable.” I meet Buffy’s eyes when I say that. She turns her head and looks down at the ground.
“Is everyone clear on that?” I rest my eyes on every person in the office briefly. They all nod. “Okay, let’s go then.”
@--Dawn--@
I open my eyes and everything around me is fuzzy. I move to rub my eyes, hoping that will clear the picture up a little bit. I can’t move my arm. I look to the side and down I’m bound by the wrists and ankles to some sort of alter and boy does this seem familiar.
I’m in a really huge cavern type room. The floor is carved with runes. There are gray, wrinkled monk demons chanting over a tall stone statue of a demon. Lilah is standing next me.
“Dawn, I really was hoping you’d wake up for this part. Of course those guys have been chanting in Latin long enough for even Acathla over there to wake up. We’re getting close now though. It’s exciting really, I’ve never been to a ritual that opened up a portal.” Lilah chatters as if this is the most normal setting in the world.
“Do you ever get tired of hearing your own voice?” I snap.
Lilah smiles and it’s eerie. “You’ve been to a portal opening before though, as I recall. Sneaky little slayer figured out how to save you though, lucky for us. It’s such a shame they had to bring her back. Although, when it first happened, we had hoped she’d release Angelus for us. We hadn’t counted on Angel’s nobility and determinedness to hold onto that pesky soul.”
“She’s going to save me this time, you know.”
“She’s probably going to try. You know she and Angel broke in here last night. They really couldn’t accomplish anything, other then smashing some doors and windows. I’ve always wondered why everything has to be so violent with Angel and Slayers.
The demon monks had finished chanting and one was now walking toward me.
Lilah glanced at her watch. “And here we are, ready to begin, right on time.”