The Seventh SlayerBy Kantayra
Chapter NineteenAjaya was ravenous by the time they returned home – or, at least, to the temporary home they were borrowing from the Devonshire branch of SCBI while they cleaned up the loose ends of their attack on the Watcher’s Council.
It was a medium-sized two-storey brick building with not nearly enough space to host the two squads that had been left there. Fortunately, they didn’t plan on staying for more than a few days while Fletcher fixed up the paperwork with the British government…and hopefully tracked down the Watchers that had escaped.
Fortunately, Monica was just as starved as she and Isabelle were and led them directly to the kitchen. It wasn’t really more than a standard-sized kitchen in your everyday home, and it got to be pretty damn funny watching virtually all of Beta and Gamma Squads trying to cram into the little room, all seeking the fridge simultaneously.
Jeren finally called for a halt to the chaos, his antennae twitching deep blue in irritation. Complicated instructions for obtaining food in an orderly manner followed, and Ajaya, Isabelle, and Monica slipped out of the crowded kitchen, having already built their sandwiches.
They sat in the large sitting room that had been labeled the ‘women’s dorm’ during their stay and occasionally helped with rolling out the seemingly endless supply of sleeping bags Alex brought in between eating and discussing the mission.
“Promise you won’t tell anyone this?” Monica leaned into them conspiratorially, casting a nervous glance over to where Spike and Alex were arguing about something in the hallway.
“Zipped lips,” Isabelle agreed, making the gesture.
Ajaya nodded as well.
“We did a count of all the Watchers we captured,” Monica began, “and it wasn’t even half of what we expected.”
“The Watchers were not all there, then?” Ajaya inquired, her brow furrowing slightly.
Monica nodded grimly. “What we got was mostly just the hired help. The core of the Council, they all got away…”
Isabelle and Ajaya exchanged a furtive look, both thinking the exact same thought: the traitor…
* * *
“What do we do?”
It had taken Ajaya and Isabelle almost a day to find some time to talk alone together, and they’d been growing progressively more tense as every time they tried to discuss their suspicions, another suspect would just ‘happen’ to enter the room. They knew they were growing a bit paranoid, but it was hard knowing that someone in the small house might be planning their demise right now…
“We have to find out who it is,” Ajaya insisted, glancing nervously about.
“And we had so much success with that earlier…” Isabelle retorted sarcastically, fingers idly playing with a lock of auburn-highlighted hair.
“I’m hoping our weakness is our enemy’s weakness,” Ajaya said.
Isabelle gave her a classic ‘huh?’ look.
“The traitor will be having as much difficulty trying to contact the Watchers as we are trying to plan,” Ajaya explained.
“Unless it’s one of the Witches, who are living it up in the comfy, spacious mansion back in New York,” Isabelle countered.
Ajaya frowned. “We have to check on them,” she decided, “make sure they’re not up to anything…”
“Yeah,” Isabelle sighed, “we’ll just take off and say ‘bye, guys, we’re off to accuse your friends of mass murder…’ That’ll go over real well…”
Ajaya rolled her eyes. “No,” she said in annoyance, “I’ll manage to hook a ride with Dawn next time she comes over, tell her I left my science project back in New York, and—”
“Ha!” Isabelle exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger in Ajaya’s direction. “I knew it! This is all just a clever scheme to get your homework done!”
Ajaya couldn’t help but laugh. “You got me,” she confessed. “This whole thing was just a diabolic plan to distract attention from myself while I worked on my engineering project.”
Isabelle gave her a mock-suspicious look. “Wouldn’t put it past you,” she teased.
“Right,” Ajaya giggled slightly, “so I’ll go back and make sure our Wiccan friends aren’t up to something…”
“…While I manage to simultaneously follow everyone, making sure they’re not sending secret messages to the Watcher’s Council. Sure, no problem, I can be in fifteen places at once.”
“Just don’t let anyone be alone for too long,” Ajaya advised. “It shouldn’t be too hard given how we’re all packed together like sardines and all… Plus, you’ve got all of Gamma Squad to help you.”
“What? You want me to tell them about the traitor?” Isabelle asked in disbelief.
“No, of course not,” Ajaya shook her head, “but we’re pretty sure they’re not involved, so you don’t really have to worry about them. And you can use them to make sure that no one in Beta Team’s alone…”
“Tyler,” Isabelle said in a mock-sweet voice, fluttering her eyelashes, “can you help me find Xeris? Pretty please?”
Ajaya laughed at the way Isabelle had gotten the easily-enamoured human under her thumb in less than an hour. “You’re getting the idea,” she agreed. “And, while I’m gone,” she added as an afterthought, “why don’t you try to really question Alex?
Isabelle rolled her eyes. “Do I have to?” she whined. “He’s just going to scream at me like a big baby.”
Ajaya gave her a stern look.
“Oh, fine… And you’re not going to get so buried in your books that you forget about frantic, little ol’ me?” Isabelle demanded.
“Promise,” Ajaya agreed. “I’ll try to take off as soon as possible. Hopefully, I’ll be back by this evening.”
“Good luck,” Isabelle said quickly when she heard someone open the door to the basement laundry room.
“You, too,” Ajaya agreed, giving Alex a quick little smile as she bounded up the stairs past him…
* * *
Hitching the ride with Dawn had been easy, especially since she really was eager to finish up her project despite Isabelle’s teasing.
She frowned when she realized that she only had another week and a half before the new semester started. Getting involved in firefights sure took up a lot of valuable study time. She might have to amend her schedule to graduate in two years and move it up to two and a half. That wouldn’t cut into her grand plans too much since she was already two years ahead, and she could keep up the slaying while she was at it…
It struck her odd for a moment that it didn’t even occur to her to give this lifestyle up anymore. Actually, to tell the truth, she had never had more fun in all her life. For the first time ever she had a good friend, she was comfortable in social situations, she was finding herself to be a competent leader and fighter, she actually had a purpose in life… The list just went on and on. She absentmindedly wondered when being the Slayer was something she wanted to do, rather than something that had been forced upon her.
Her mind came back to focus on the topic at hand when she reach her and Isabelle’s room, however. The metal grates that covered the window were now up and some of the debris had bee cleared up; apparently things were getting back to normal at SCBI HQ.
She quickly grabbed her project, a few data pads she needed for reference, and checked under her bed to make sure that their suspects chart hadn’t been found. It was still hidden securely among the bedsprings.
With that, she made her way up the stairs to Willow and Aida’s suite, hoping that Lily was still there. She considered it a great personal failure that she hadn’t managed to interrogate Lily earlier and fully intended to remedy the situation.
There was no response to her soft knock. She knocked again, a bit more loudly this time. Still no answer. She looked back and forth down the hallway to make sure no one was watching before she tried the knob. It turned easily in her hand, and she slipped inside, shutting the door softly behind her.
The living room of the suite was empty, and she quickly affirmed that the kitchenette and Willow and Aida’s room were as well.
That left one door unopened – the one the Witches wouldn’t let her enter before…
Slowly, she turned the knob, feeling a telltale click that indicated the door was locked. She paused for a minute, debating the pros and cons of breaking through the lock. There would be no way to cover up that someone had broken in, but it was about time that the mystery that was Lily’s disappearance was solved…
Her hand returned to the knob, and with a super-strong twist, the door opened.
Ajaya looked inside the room for the first time and gasped…
* * *
“Washing the mud out of your uniform?” Alex inquired casually as he set down his own laundry bag, together with a small book bag.
“I’m still going to kill Spike for pushing me into that puddle,” she agreed, getting up from her position atop the vacant washer and sitting down on the opposite end of the old sofa from his book-bag. “What’s your excuse?” she asked curiously.
“In order to maximize the value of laundry detergent, as well as save on buying excessive clothing, it’s necessary to do laundry exactly every two and a half weeks,” he informed her.
She gave him an odd look.
“Someone I knew once calculated it all out for me,” he explained sheepishly.
“And you brought your laundry with you in order to keep the schedule?” Isabelle asked in disbelief.
He had the decency to blush. “It’s sort of…in memory…”
“Of that other Slayer?” Isabelle asked curiously. “What was her name?”
“Nina,” Alex said in a weak whisper. Then his voice returned to normal again. “No, it was my mother.”
“You still follow your mother’s laundry instructions?” Isabelle couldn’t help but tease. “How cute…”
He scowled at her. “I’ll have you know that only a fool would question Mom’s financial advice,” he said smugly. “It’s been over a year since she…left and her investments are still paying off.”
“Huh,” Isabelle commented, “guess who didn’t get the commonsense in the family.”
Alex’ brows lowered into a scowl, but to Isabelle’s surprise, he didn’t blow up at her. Instead, he turned back to the washer, shoving the rest of his clothes inside and setting the machine. “Mom had enough commonsense for all of us,” he said simply.
Isabelle blinked at him in confusion for a minute. This wasn’t the Alex she’d deeply regretted getting to know for the past week. His reactions were unexpected and made her oddly uncomfortable.
He turned back to look at her. “Sorry.”
And now Isabelle knew that an alien imposter had taken over Alex’ body. “W-What?” she stammered, completely dumbfounded by his behavior.
“Right before the Watchers attacked,” he clarified. “You were right. I was out of line. There was really no way you could have known…”
“Damn straight, I was right,” Isabelle scowled, coming back to herself once more. “Where do you get off yelling at complete strangers like that, anyway?” she demanded.
His eyes narrowed. “Oh, like you have any idea of what I went through when they died,” he retorted.
“People you love die, sadness and loss, yadda-yadda-yadda,” she shrugged. “It’s not you have a monopoly on grief or anything.”
“I’ll have you know—!” His face turned bright red again before he cut himself off mid-rant. “I was trying to apologize,” he finally said in a quiet, sulky voice.
Isabelle suddenly felt guilty. “Er, yeah…sorry about that. Apology accepted and all,” she added nervously. Then she sighed in frustration. “This is the most dysfunctional conversation ever,” she decided. “Do you want me to just go? ‘Cause it would be a hell of a lot easier…”
Alex looked up at her in surprise, then quickly looked away again, staring intently at his bag as he dug through it. “Uh, sure,” he agreed, “if you want to, I mean…”
He sounded strangely hurt. Isabelle studied him intently with her hands on her hips. “All right,” she finally declared, “who are you, and what have you done with Alex?”
He flashed her an annoyed look and then proceeded to ignore her, flipping through the book in his lap.
Isabelle couldn’t resist the urge to peek over his shoulder and see what it was. After all, it wasn’t all that common to see actual books anymore now that most everything was digital…
“Pictures?” she asked in surprise.
He looked up at her, startled, obviously having assumed that she’d left him alone. “Yeah?” he countered defensively. “What of it?”
“Why do have hard copies?” she inquired. “Major weirdness.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, heaven forbid anyone should keep anything real anymore, anything they can actually hold onto…” he grumbled under his breath, obviously beginning a long-practiced rant.
“Jeez,” Isabelle snapped her gum, “you sound like you’re from the twentieth century or something…”
“I am,” he retorted before pausing to think for a second. “Well, almost,” he amended.
Isabelle laughed. “Yeah, right,” she retorted. “You’re like what? Twenty-five?”
“Fifty-four.”
Isabelle snorted in disbelief. “Just how stupid do you think I am?” she asked sarcastically.
“You really want me to answer that?” he retorted. “But seriously, fifty-four as of last October.”
“Uh-huh,” Isabelle crossed her arms in front of her, a ‘no way am I falling for this’ look on her face.
“Look,” Alex said in exasperation, flipping through the picture book in his lap. “Here.” He presented a picture to her.
She cocked her head to see a young Alex – twelve, tops – sitting between a man and a woman he bore a striking resemblance to, blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. Right in the center of the cake, written in bright blue frosting, was the number 26.
She looked back up at him skeptically. “No way,” she insisted.
“I’m half Vengeance Demon,” he explained. “I only age at about half the rate of normal humans. My sisters, too.”
“You’re not kidding me?” Isabelle began hesitantly.
“Cross my heart,” he said with a bemused, lop-sided grin. It brought out the resemblance to the older man in the photo even more.
She nodded absentmindedly. “Those your parents?” she asked casually.
“That’s them,” he agreed, looking at the picture nostalgically.
“Can I see?” she asked nervously.
He gestured for her to sit beside him…
* * *
Ajaya stood perfectly still in surprise and horror for a second before she cautiously entered the room, shutting the door softly behind her. Slowly, almost as if in a trance, she walked over to the sight before her and gasped…
Lily lay in the direct center of the bed, amidst several machines, each making their own little beeping noises. Several needles were in her arms, attached to various medications, and little air hoses had been inserted into her nose.
But all of this was standard hospital patient stuff. What truly terrified Ajaya was the young Witch’s physical appearance. Her skin was white as a sheet, and her lips were tinged slightly blue. Her skin hung loose on her frame, not as if she had merely grown thin, but as if something was draining her from the inside out.
Occasional little black sparks flashed across her skin just before it sank further into her emaciated form.
Ajaya took a shaky step back. This Lily was so different from the strong woman who’d fought by her side against the Magic Drinkers that she would barely have even recognized her. She had never imagined that Lily could really be this weakened from the attack. After all, Magic Drinkers were just supposed to temporarily zap your powers, right?
Ajaya must have made some sound then because Lily’s eyes fluttered slowly open, her vision obviously foggy at first.
“Mom?” she whispered in a weak voice.
“Th-They’re not here,” Ajaya said softly. “It’s just me, Ajaya. Do you want me to get them?”
Lily managed a small smile. “No, that’s OK. I was just wondering…”
“Yeah?” Ajaya reached forward and squeezed Lily’s hand, desperate to offer the ailing Witch some comfort, slight though it was.
“Th-The spell they’re working on for me,” she said, obviously growing tired again. “Let me know when it’s done…”
Her grip on Ajaya’s hand loosened as she drifted back off into sleep. Ajaya gave her one last smile before turning and slowly walking out of the room.
She froze at the door when she saw that it was open again and both Willow and Aida waited outside, looking at her suspiciously.
“Sorry,” she said nervously, stepping out of Lily’s room and shutting the door softly behind her. “I-I didn’t know she was that bad…”
Willow and Aida exchanged a quick look, and then Aida went in to go check on Lily while Willow gestured for Ajaya to sit in the armchair opposite her.
Ajaya fidgeted nervously for a minute, not knowing how to explain what she was doing here.
“No one knows she’s that bad,” Willow finally said, her voice sounding far wearier than Ajaya had ever heard it.
“Wh-What happened?” Ajaya finally ventured to ask.
“The Magic Drinkers,” Willow said soberly. “The Watchers…did something to them. Whatever it was, the drain on Lily’s powers is continuous. A-At first, her powers just weren’t returning, but then…” She broke off abruptly and bit back a tear.
“It’s killing her,” Ajaya realized.
Willow nodded. “Draining her life now, instead of just her magic.”
Ajaya frowned. “They didn’t hurt me,” she commented. “I mean, one of them zapped me, but I’m fine.”
“It’s still only dangerous to magic users,” Willow agreed. “We got the body of one of the ones the Watchers had with them when they attacked… We’re working on a cure.”
Ajaya nodded slowly. “A spell?”
“It’s hard,” Willow agreed. “Most of the magic we try just gets sucked up by the, er…infection. But we’re getting there.”
“She’s sleeping.”
They both turned to look at Aida who had just reentered the room.
Willow nodded slowly.
“We don’t want anyone to know that she’s like this,” Aida explained softly to Ajaya. “Not until we find the cure. If the other members of the Coven found out…”
“A lot of them aren’t that brave,” Willow clarified, “and we don’t want to publicly announce it yet. It could destroy the school…”
“The school will be destroyed anyway if the Magic Drinkers get a hold of them,” Ajaya pointed out.
Aida nodded. “If we haven’t found a counterspell by the end of break, I fully intend to shut the school down for next semester. But until then…there’s a chance we could avoid all the troubles.”
“I understand,” Ajaya agreed.
“You won’t tell anyone?” Willow inquired.
“I won’t,” Ajaya assured them, “but I hope you find that spell soon. ‘Cause, honestly, Lily doesn’t look like she’s going to be able to hold out for that much longer…”
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