The Seventh SlayerBy Kantayra
Chapter Fourteen“Aha!” Ajaya exclaimed in delight, dotting the final ‘i’ with her pencil. “It’s done!”
Isabelle watched her, mildly bemused. “Do you have idea how incredibly nerdy that is?” she gestured to the chart Ajaya had just completed.
“Laugh all you want,” Ajaya mock-pouted, “but when this chart reveals the identity of the traitor, I’m going to make you eat your words.”
“Yeah, sure,” Isabelle scoffed.
“Clear organization is the best way to pursue logical reasoning,” Ajaya lectured.
“So?” Isabelle shrugged. “Who is it?”
Ajaya’s elated mood deflated. “I have no idea,” she admitted. “Everyone’s got points in their favor and points against them…well, almost everyone.”
“Almost?” Isabelle looked at the chart curiously.
“I couldn’t find anything against Monica,” she admitted.
“So, can we cross her out then?” Isabelle asked.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea yet,” Ajaya frowned. “We don’t have enough information. In fact, the only thing we have to go on is that you’re pretty sure it’s someone you know…”
“The dream definitely had that feel,” Isabelle agreed. “Like if I could just rip off the mask, there’d be someone I knew underneath.”
“Which means the list is pretty much limited to the people involved with the last mission,” Ajaya commented. “Anything else you can remember? Gender? ‘Cause that one would be really helpful…”
“Completely neuter attacker,” Isabelle sighed. “I have no clue whether it was a man or a woman.”
“Well, then,” Ajaya rolled up her sleeves, “we’re just going to have to narrow it down the old fashioned way.” She handed Isabelle a list of names and questions.
“ ‘Old-fashioned way’?” Isabelle raised an eyebrow.
“Undercover investigation,” Ajaya rubbed her hands together enthusiastically…
* * *
“So, Ajaya,” Fletcher spared her a little smile when he handed her a cup of tea, “how are you feeling this morning?”
“Better,” Ajaya smiled as well and took a sip.
He looked at her over the rims of his glasses. “So soon?” he asked speculatively.
She shrugged. “I’m not about to host Sanity Fair any time soon,” she conceded, “but some of the things you said about looking at humans and demons in the same way… They kind of sank in.”
“I’m delighted to hear that,” he said. “Quite frequently Slayers are…preconditioned to look down upon all demons. It’s generally something they have to work very hard at to overcome.”
Ajaya nodded. “Isabelle will have a tough time, I think.”
“Council raised Slayers are always the worst,” Fletcher agreed. “Their Watchers pound the good vs. evil dichotomy into their brains incessantly.”
“You don’t think there’s good and evil?” Ajaya asked curiously.
Fletcher shook his head. “Perhaps in some very rare circumstances,” he conceded, “but in general, no. Everyone tends to act in a way beneficial to them and consistent with their worldview. Demons aren’t evil, per se; they just don’t view the killing of humans as fundamentally wrong. Which, given the fact that many species of demons feed upon humans, makes a certain amount of sense. I certainly don’t consider myself evil because I feed upon cattle.”
“Isn’t that a rather…unusual perspective for a former Watcher to have?” Ajaya pointed out.
Fletcher chuckled slightly. “Oh, the Watchers’ Council and I have many differences,” he clarified. “It’s partially to blame for why they threw me out.”
“Doesn’t seem like such a great loss,” Ajaya commented off-handedly. “It seems like you’re better off here.”
“Quite,” Fletcher agreed. “Although right now…”
“Yeah, it’s tough,” Ajaya agreed. “I’m really sorry about what happened here. I bet you knew everyone who died…”
“I did,” Fletcher said blankly, obviously trying to fight back the emotions that were threatening to break through to the surface.
“Any idea what went wrong with the security system?” Ajaya found a way to gather information and distract Fletcher from his grief at the same time.
He sighed. “Somebody turned the automatic response system off.” He shook his head. “Whoever did it must be feeling terrible right about now…if they even know.”
“That’s pretty easy to do then?” Ajaya asked.
He nodded. “A lot of the routine computer maintenance requires that system be deactivated. I suspect that someone simply forgot to turn it back on,” he said thoughtfully.
“And you really don’t know who it was?” she pressed.
“There are no records,” he explained. “The general access code is all that it takes to deactivate the system. No way of tracking down who it was… I do hope they come forward. A mistake like this is always most difficult to deal with when you’re on your own…”
* * *
“He awake?” Isabelle demanded when Buffy opened the door.
She nodded and let Isabelle in. “Bedroom,” she gestured to the adjoining room.
Isabelle walked in to find Spike practically mummified with bandages lying back on the bed with one hand cuffed to the headboard.
“I wasn’t interrupting anything kinky, was I?” Isabelle joked.
“No,” Buffy smiled slightly, “just my attempts at keeping an overly stubborn vampire in bed until he recovers.”
“Could turn into somethin’ kinky, if you wanted it to,” Spike leered at them both lasciviously. “Both of you…”
“You need rest,” Buffy informed him sternly.
Spike shrugged. “To what do I owe the honor of such a lovely visitor?” he asked Isabelle in a voice that was a few notes more upper class than his usual London drawl.
“Searching for signs of life,” Isabelle teased.
“Won’t find any here,” he quipped right back at her. “Been dead for over 150 years.”
“I take it by the irritating levels of sarcasm that he’ll be all right then?” Isabelle addressed Buffy.
“’ey!” Spike protested.
“He’ll be fine,” Buffy pointedly ignored her lover’s protest.
“Bossy, self-centered chits,” Spike grumbled under his breath.
“Nice place you’ve got here,” Isabelle joined in the fun of ignoring Spike.
“Thanks,” Buffy said, giggling slightly at the murderous look in her mate’s eyes. “It’s not ours, though.”
“No?” Isabelle asked curiously.
“We’re got a little place in the Colorado Rockies,” Buffy explained. “Fletcher just lets us use one of the guest suites whenever we’re here.”
“Which is practically always,” Spike complained.
“Hush,” Buffy ordered him. “You need to sleep.”
“Can’t do that with you bints here chatterin’ away with your shrill l’il voices now, can I?” he sulked.
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Fine, we’ll take it to the living room,” she sighed. “Now sleep.”
Isabelle and Buffy burst out into giggles at the swearing that wafted through the bedroom door behind them.
“He’s so much fun to baby,” Buffy said gleefully. “Nothing else pisses him off more.”
“He sure has got pouting down to an art,” Isabelle snickered.
Buffy rolled her eyes. “He has such double standards. Of course, he absolutely loves to baby me…”
“How very guy-ish,” Isabelle agreed sympathetically.
“Diving into the action before I get a chance,” Buffy nodded solemnly, “such a show off…”
“He’s got this whole ‘look how cool and bad I am’ thing going on,” Isabelle concurred.
Buffy shrugged. “It’s kind of sexy,” she said with a fond smile. “Very annoying…but sexy. As I’m sure you’ve noticed.”
“Yeah, well…eep!” Isabelle’s face turned bright red when she realized that just been caught fantasizing about Spike in front of his mate. “I-I mean…” she stuttered.
Buffy laughed. “Don’t worry about it,” she insisted. “I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Oh?”
“He’s got this thing about Slayers,” Buffy rolled her eyes. “I suppose I started it… Well, anyway, he likes to flirt with them.”
“You don’t get jealous?” Isabelle said in disbelief.
Buffy shrugged. “I know he loves me,” she said sincerely. “Plus,” a wicked smile crossed over her lips, “I haven’t stopped flirting with hot vampires, either, so I guess we’re even.”
“That’s cool,” Isabelle nodded. “Hey, I’d better be…” She gestured to the door.
“Go on,” Buffy said. “I’ll keep him undusted if I have to stake him to do it.”
Isabelle laughed. “Oh, by the way,” she said from the doorway. “I’ve been trying to find Nicky, but he’s not in his room. Do you know where his girlfriend lives?”
“Nicky has a girlfriend?!” Buffy exclaimed in disbelief.
Isabelle nodded hesitantly. “I thought I heard…” she began. “Maybe I was wrong, though.”
“If Nicky had a girlfriend,” Buffy said assuredly, “I would definitely know about it.”
“Well, thanks then,” Isabelle said, before closing the door behind her…
* * *
“Most of the trick will be getting the information we need out of people without them knowing what we’re up to,” Ajaya explained. “It will require a great deal of subtlety.”
“Sure,” Isabelle shrugged disinterestedly.“I can do subtlety…”
* * *
“Hey, Alex,” Isabelle walked into the game room.
“Yeah?” he looked up from the shot he had lined up on the pool table.
“Are you complete and utter scum that double-crossed everyone by betraying SCBI to the Watcher’s Council?” she asked matter-of-factly.
“What?” he said in disbelief. Then, his expression darkened when the meaning of her words stuck home. “How dare you—!” he began.
“Never mind,” she cut him off with her sweetest smile. “I should have known you’d be too hotheaded to give any answers.” And with that, she stalked out.
“Irritating kid,” he grumbled to himself, rolling his eyes for the benefit of the two vampires that had been their conversation with interest…
* * *
“Did you hear that?” Ajaya repeated. “Subtlety. It’s the only way we’ll get these people to tell us the truth about their friends and family.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Isabelle looked bored.
* * *
“Wow,” Ajaya shook her head. “You’ve been doing this since you were fourteen?!”
Dawn shrugged and took another sip of her tea. “That’s what you get when your sister’s the Slayer.”
“Must’ve been tough,” Ajaya smiled sympathetically. “I mean, I bet you wanted out all the time.”
Dawn laughed. “Actually,” she leaned in conspiratorially, “I wanted in. All I ever really wanted to be was a demon hunter. Buffy used to try to keep me out of the action, but eventually even she had to give in.”
“So, then, SCBI’s like your dream come true?” Ajaya commented.
“Pretty much,” Dawn agreed.
“And your kids and grandkids get to continue in the family business,” Ajaya smiled. “I bet Monica wanted to be a demon hunter all her life, too.”
“No,” Dawn shook her head, “she’s actually only been with us for three years now.”
“Three?” Ajaya said in disbelief. “But she’s second-in-command and all…”
“She advanced very quickly,” Dawn nodded proudly. “She’d never had any combat training before.”
“How’d she manage that?” Ajaya asked curiously. “I mean, growing up around all of you…”
“She didn’t really get to spend any time with us before she joined up,” Dawn answered.
Ajaya raised a curious eyebrow.
“My eldest son, William,” Dawn began, “had this obsession with having a normal life. He estranged himself from the rest of the family shortly after he married. I’d only actually seen Monica twice when she was very young before she showed up on our doorstep three years back.”
“Why’d she do that?” Ajaya inquired.
Dawn frowned. “She’d been bitten by a were-jaguar. She was afraid to tell her father, so she ran away. He hasn’t tried to contact us yet.”
“But you told him, right?”
“Monica finally did,” Dawn nodded. “I’m not really on speaking terms with my son. I don’t even know his number.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ajaya said thoughtfully…
* * *
“The hardest thing for me to figure out,” Ajaya commented, “is why anyone who has family here would want to do it.”
“Avoid annoying reunions?” Isabelle joked.
“We’ll have to find out what other passions they have, what could possibly be worth putting their loved ones at risk…”
* * *
“Oh, hi, Ajaya,” Aida said, opening the door at the sound of the knock. “Please, come in.”
“Thanks,” Ajaya flashed her a grateful smile.
“So,” Aida said, attempting to force back the tears that were so obviously in her eyes, “what can I do for you?”
“Actually,” Ajaya said, “I kind of wanted to check up on Lily, see how she’s doing…”
“That’s sweet of you,” Aida sighed. “She’s still a bit…out of it,” she confessed.
“Can’t you and Willow just cure her?” Ajaya wondered. “A bit of magic and Tada!”
Aida grimaced. “Healing spells involve redirecting life force,” she explained. “It’s too close to dark magic for us to even try it…especially Willow.”
“Oh?” Ajaya raised an inquiring eyebrow.
“Willow has to stay off anything approaching dark magic for life,” Aida explained. “Some nasty addiction problems when she was younger…”
“I’m sorry,” Ajaya blushed. “I didn’t know.”
“That’s all right,” the old Witch assured her. “She made the right choice, turned down the Council’s offer of absolute power and everything.” Aida gave her a conspiratorial wink. “She’s actually quite proud of the story. I’m amazed she hasn’t cornered you and made you little to it in excruciating detail, complete with sound effects.”
Ajaya laughed with her.
“I does mean that Lily will just have to heal on her own time, though,” Aida reflected sadly.
“Lucky thing she wasn’t in the medical wing,” Ajaya commented off-handedly.
Aida nodded. “I’ll say,” she agreed. “I said she just needed to be back in her own room for a good rest… Thank the Goddess she agreed with me!”
“Is she awake?” Ajaya asked.
“Yes,” Aida said, “but she’s not seeing anyone outside of me and Willow at present. She needs to build her strength and all…” She gave Ajaya an apologetic smile.
“That’s cool,” Ajaya hastily insisted. “You’ll tell her I stopped by, though?”
“Of course,” Aida agreed.
“And…” Ajaya couldn’t come up with a good segue, so she just chose to switch topics, “how are you doing?”
“Been better,” Aida admitted. “This is all so terrible. So many people we’ve known for so long…”
“How long have you been here?” Ajaya asked curiously.
“Oh…nearly thirty years now, I think,” Aida tried to recall. “I ran the magic school for quite some time before that, though. Will finally managed to talk me into the merger.”
“How’s that working out?” Ajaya inquired.
Aida sighed. “Well, we’re kind of more in the background now,” she admitted. “Demon hunting takes precedence over education…but it also gives students the rare opportunity to work with actual demons. Unfortunately, it’s a lot more dangerous…”
“But the students are kept out of the lines of fire, right?” Ajaya’s brow furrowed.
“If they want,” Aida shrugged. “Those that want to go ahead and join up…” She trailed off.
“Can’t be so bad,” Ajaya pressed.
Aida shook her head and forced a wry smile. “I’m probably not the most objective person on this topic as of late,” she replied. “One of my top students died in combat last year…”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ajaya said apologetically.
“He had great potential as a Warlock,” Aida agreed, “and then…he was just gone. And now after what’s happened to Lily…” She shook her head. “I’m beginning to think of moving the school back out again. Especially after this last attack.”
“At least the students were out on break at the time,” Ajaya said thoughtfully.
“Thank the Goddess again,” Aida agreed…
* * *
“Hey, Isabelle,” Willow looked up from the computer monitor in front of her.
“Hey,” Isabelle smiled. “How’s the arm?”
“Better,” Willow touched the bandages and winced slightly.
“Watch it,” Isabelle advised. “You’ll just make things worse.”
“I know,” Willow sighed. “I know better than to try to use it.” She flashed Isabelle a conspiratorial grin. “Doesn’t meant I won’t, though.”
Isabelle laughed. “Anything I can do to help?” she volunteered.
“Well, you could help me connect all these cables,” Willow gestured to the tangled mass at her feet. “It’s kinda impossible with one arm.”
“No prob,” Isabelle began hooking the wires up in the way indicated. “What are you doing, anyway?”
“Putting failsafes into the security system,” Willow explained, “so that this can never happen again…”
“Probably a good idea,” Isabelle agreed soberly. “So,” she said in a brighter tone, “can I ask you something completely and utterly shallow?”
“Go ahead,” Willow chuckled slightly. “I think I need some shallowness after all the life-threatening peril.”
“Spike and Buffy,” Isabelle began. “How long have they been together?”
“Ugh,” Willow struggled with her memory. “Fifty-four years?” she asked herself. “Fifty-four years,” she finally nodded in agreement. “They’ve known each other for a little over sixty, though.”
“It wasn’t love at first sight then?” Isabelle grabbed a wire stripper to try to get the connection to work.
Willow laughed. “Oh no,” she giggled, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, “more like hate at first sight…”
“Huh?” Isabelle looked up.
“They were archenemies for a while,” Willow explained. “Slayer, vampire, that sort of thing. Plus, Spike used to have this little obsession with killing Slayers…”
Isabelle’s eyes widened with surprise and alarm.
“He’s over it now,” Willow brushed aside her concern with a wave of her hand. “But, oh, were they a match made in hell…” she said fondly.
“So, what happened?” Isabelle asked curiously.
“Much fighting, and hurt, and frantic kissing, and hurt, and cheating on each other, and more hurt,” Willow sighed. “And then one day, Buffy’d finally had enough and set out on an all-out campaign to seduce him back to her side forever… They’ve been together ever since.”
“So, she was the aggressor?” Isabelle clarified.
Willow shook her head. “They kind of switched back and forth in that role over a few years. In the end, though… Buffy was really the one that finally had to cave in.”
“He’s hot,” Isabelle shrugged. “What’s there not to cave in over?”
Willow threw her head back with laughter. “I see someone else has been taken in by our local Big Bad’s charm,” she teased.
“Be still my beating heart,” Isabelle said over theatrically, clasping her hands over her heart.
“It would be if you’d met him a century back,” Willow joked…
* * *
“And even though some people may seen perfectly innocent,” Ajaya continued, “there could still be things about them that we don’t know. Try to draw them out on lies and weaknesses. See if the picture they portray of themselves is consistent with what everyone else says.”
“Jeez, I get it already,” Isabelle rolled her eyes. “Can’t we just get to work?”
* * *
“Yo,” Isabelle announced as she walked into the garage, taking in the feet that protruded from underneath one of the vehicles there.
“Oh, hello,” Simon rolled out from under the hovercar to look at her. “Isabelle, is it?”
“It is indeed,” Isabelle agreed, hoping up onto a nearby counter.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” Simon inquired curiously.
“Actually,” Isabelle took up a pipe wrench from the tool rack and played with it, “I was kinda hoping you could give me the low-down on the Scoobies.”
“Low-down?” Simon cracked a small smile.
“I figured I should get hip to the local lingo,” Isabelle explained, shrugging. “Anyway, I wanted the inside perspective on what it’s like growing up with these people from someone who doesn’t have any ulterior motives for wanting me to stay. Ajaya mentioned you.”
“Who says I don’t have any ulterior motives?” Simon teased lightly. “Keeping around a pretty, young girl who likes to hang out in the garage…”
Isabelle flashed him her best flirtatious smile. “And gets very turned on when people tell her the truth,” she joked back.
He laughed. “What do you want to know?” he asked.
“Is this whole thing legit?” she asked curiously, snapping her gum.
“As far as I can tell,” Simon shrugged. “I suppose they could always be planning to sell me off to the slave market when I turn forty.” He winked at her.
Isabelle laughed. “So, on the up and up then? Everything’s hunky-dory, and…”
“It’s all kosher,” Simon provided. “Things are pretty much as they seem,” he responded seriously. “The people here generally pretty straightforward about what they want from you.”
“They’re very cool,” Isabelle agreed. “The action’s nice, too. But you probably don’t get to see much of that…” she prodded.
“Thankfully,” Simon shuttered slightly.
“You don’t like doing your part for the good fight?” Isabelle asked curiously.
“I do do my part,” Simon insisted. “This place would fall apart without me.”
“Still, it sucks that you don’t get in on more of the fun,” she commented.
“ ‘Fun’?” he said in disbelief. “You consider running around killing things fun?”
She shrugged. “I’m a Slayer. It’s what I do.”
He turned back to his work, and Isabelle had the sneaking suspicion she’d said something to piss him off.
“That the new Tiger D?” she gestured to a motorcycle in back.
Simon flashed her a broad grin. “A beaut, isn’t she? Customized her myself.”
“Really?” Isabelle batted her eyelashes at him playfully. “Don’t suppose I could…take a ride…?”
* * *
“So,” Ajaya commented off-handedly, “it was probably lots of fun growing up here, huh?”
Monica smiled nostalgically and nodded.
“What with all the demons and vampires and witches,” Ajaya pressed, her brow furrowed slightly.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Monica agreed. “I’m sure you’ll love it.”
“Yeah,” Ajaya giggled nervously and hoped it sounded like mirth…
* * *
“Finally, try to draw out as much information as you can,” Ajaya said. “It may be difficult, but we have to learn everything about our suspects as we can.”
Isabelle looked at her askance. “Are you done lecturing yet?” she teased.
* * *
Ajaya slid into the chair across from Xeris and set her plate down before her. He didn’t respond to her presence in any way, instead focusing intently upon another one of those strange Jell-O mold things. She watched the unusual form of sustenance change color several times while she consumed her sandwich.
“Does that…taste good?” she finally felt compelled to ask.
Xeris looked up at her in surprise. “I did not know that you were here,” he said in a solemn tone that might have passed for apologetic.
“No big,” Ajaya brushed it off. “You were busy occupied with…that thing.”
“Yes,” Xeris nodded and then returned to his practice of catching the little marshmallowy things within it with his tongue.
“So, er…does it taste good?” Ajaya repeated her question.
“I already answered that,” he informed her coolly.
“No, you didn’t,” Ajaya frowned.
“I did. I said ‘yes’,” he explained simply.
“Oh,” Ajaya mentally regrouped to plan her attack another way. She didn’t seem to be thinking along the same wavelengths as the Velik Demon at all. “So,” she turned to the sympathetic tactic, “how are all those Velik Demons that were trapped in the warehouse?”
“Fine,” Xeris responded dully. His tongue flicked out to catch a glowing purple thingy.
“That’s good…” Ajaya added hesitantly. “I was really sorry to hear about that nurse that died.”
“Yes,” Xeris agreed.
Ajaya sighed and debated giving up. She obviously wasn’t getting anywhere.
Xeris abruptly looked up at her. “I’m sorry,” he began, “were you trying to start a conversation?”
“Uh…yes,” Ajaya nodded in disbelief.
He frowned slightly. “It’s so difficult to tell with you humans,” he shrugged.
“It is?” Ajaya asked incredulously.
“You are so…indirect,” Xeris said, frustrated. “You never just come out and say what you mean.”
“Sorry,” Ajaya said sheepishly.
“You wish to discuss something?” Xeris inquired, good-naturedly enough.
“Well, yeah,” Ajaya agreed readily, “how about how you came to work for SCBI?”
Xeris nodded gravely. “Four thousand years ago in a dimension three removed from this one, the T’Liff defeated the Veliks in a great battle,” he began.
Ajaya propped her head up on one elbow. She had the feeling this was going to be a long story…
* * *
“Ah, the elusive Nicky,” Isabelle said, coming up behind the blond vampire and tapping him on the shoulder.
“How you holding up?” he asked, giving her a welcoming smile. “And don’t call me ‘Nicky’,” he tacked on out of habit.
Isabelle shrugged. “All right, considering.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, removing the water from the kettle as it boiled. He quickly poured it into his mug.
“Vampires drink coffee?!” Isabelle asked incredulously.
Nicolas frowned. “A bad habit I picked up from Spike,” he said sheepishly.
“People seem a lot better today,” Isabelle commented, sitting on the countertop.
“We’ve gotten pretty resilent over the years,” he shrugged, taking a sip. “Nothing like this has ever happened before, though…”
“It’s terrible,” Isabelle agreed.
“Truly.”
“You must be pretty freaked,” she commented, swinging her feet back and forth in the air.
“Oh?” he looked at her curiously.
“You were almost dust,” she clarified. “If you’d been in the drawing room when the windows went…”
He nodded soberly. “Good thing I’d just woken up,” he agreed.
“Things like that are creepy,” Isabelle shivered, “knowing you could’ve been dead if something had gone just slightly differently…”
“It’s best not to dwell on it,” Nicolas agreed.
“I guess,” Isabelle shrugged.
Nicolas sensed her somber mood and decided to lighten things up a bit. “So, have you found the single vamp for you yet?” he teased.
“Nope,” Isabelle flashed him a mock-seductive grin. “You’re absolutely sure you’re not available…?”
“Sorry,” he smiled back.
“Who is she?” Isabelle demanded. “I’ll defeat her in manly…er, womanly combat for you.”
“Not telling,” Nicolas said with a sly smile.
“C’mon, please?” Isabelle implored him.
“My lips are sealed,” he insisted.
“You’re no fun at all,” she pouted…
* * *
“You’re late,” Isabelle commented when Ajaya finally returned to their room.
“A word of advise,” Ajaya responded, “never, never get Xeris started talking. He never shuts up. I just spent the last four hours hearing every single detail of his life, his ancestors’ lives, his people’s lives…”
“So, do you know if he did it?” Isabelle inquired.
“Not sure yet,” Ajaya frowned. “Let’s put together everything we found out and then see what we’ve got…”
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