Circle of Slayers~ Assassin

The Circle of Slayers Series Prologue/?

Prologue: Assassin

By Denna at dennaseer@hotmail.com

Rated PG-13

Keywords: Buffy and Spike…what else could there be?

Summary: This is my first novel-length Buffy/Spike fic. I can’t explain too

much, or I’ll give it away. Takes place in Season 6, after "All the Way"

Prologue: Assassin

Rated PG-13

Keywords: Buffy and Spike…what else could there be?

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon. Yadda

yadda yadda.

Summary for Chapter 1: Buffy and Spike must defend themselves from a band of

vampires hell bent on killing them.

Chapter 1: Let the Blood Flow

"Ah…." Buffy sighed as she walked between the tombstones, her pack swinging

lazily at her sides, "This is certainly the life, isn’t it? Staying up late

at night, partying in cemeteries, fighting the forces of darkness."

Spike smiled at the sarcastic twinge in her voice, nodding his head in

agreement, "Wouldn’t have it any other way, pet." He quickened his pace to

walk beside the Slayer, stifling a yawn, "You want a midnight snack, Slayer?

We’ve been walking for hours and there’s no forces of darkness hanging

around that I can see."

Buffy turned around and walked backward as she peered at the moon. Spike

was right. They had been walking for several hours now without much of a

fight. It looked like it was nearly midnight, and though her patrol would be

over in half an hour, she was starting to feel hungry.

"A midnight snack? Though it sounds like a great idea, Spike, I don’t think

there’s any friendly hot dog vendor demons willing to give us free samples."

Spike stopped and looked around for a good resting place. A finely trimmed

tree sat on a small hill, overlooking the cemetery. They could rest and

still look out for vampires.

"Well, unless you want to go out hunting for them, we can go over to that

tree over there. I brought some food." He wandered up the hill and sat down,

digging through his pockets.

"Huh? You carry cookies in your pockets?" Buffy asked, her voice playfully

mocking, "What kind of things do you carry in that coat of yours?"

"Not for you to know, pet." Spike smiled, motioning for her to sit down,

"You’d be surprised. You know, there’s a lot about me you haven’t figured

out yet."

Spike grimaced. He noticed the shy "backing off" look on her face, a clue

for him to shut up. Buffy looked down at the ground for a moment, and with a

sigh, looked down at him like nothing happened.

God, he hated it when she did that. Like what he said didn’t make a bloody

difference. He mentally kicked himself for forgetting his cigarettes and

instead took out his food from his pockets.

"Mmmmm…linty leftovers…" Buffy dropped her small pack of weapons next to

Spike and settled down under the tree.

Spike picked up a piece of sliced beef wrapped in clear wrap from the

ground and handed it to Buffy, "Here, don’t eat until I get the bread."

"The bread?" Buffy asked, "What do you have a keg and a T.V in there, too?

You know Dawson’s Creek is on."

"Oh damn. And it’s the season opener too."

Buffy laughed, a merry chuckle rumbling from her throat. Spike loved it

when she truly smiled, out of sheer merriment. For the longest time she

thought she would never smile after…he didn’t want to think about it. All

that mattered was that she was here with him, and laughing with him

nonetheless. He felt like the luckiest guy in the whole bloody world.

"Hold on a moment, luv." Spike continued fishing through his various

pockets, "It’s good beef. But it won’t taste good without the bread, so just

stay put and don’t eat anything."

"Now, would I do a thing like that?" Buffy asked with an evil grin. She

unwrapped it and pinched off a piece of meat to pop in her mouth.

"You just did. C’mon, pet, leave me some." He pulled out a small Ziploc

full of bread slices and reached inside, taking a slice and handed it to

Buffy. "Don’t make me wrestle it away from you." He threatened in a low

growl as she opened her mouth to take a bite out of it.

She blinked hard, the thought of them ‘wrestling’ making her stop. When she

realized he wasn’t talking about what she was thinking, she try to make up

for her sudden blush with rolling her eyes. She took the slice of bread from

him and plunked some meat on top, "Oh, all right, here."

Spike attempted to hold back his grin when he saw Buffy blush and stumble.

She looked gorgeous when she was flustered; she looked beautiful when she

was angry…she was just so damn good looking either way.

Spike took the offered meat as Buffy prepared herself a little sandwich. He

folded his bread over the meat and took a bite out of it. He leaned back

against the tree trunk, put an arm behind his head and chewed his makeshift

snack.

The calm summer breeze gently flowed over Buffy’s hair, making her seem

like some midnight angel. Spike sighed as he took the moment to study her.

The moonlight played upon her features, desperately reaching for every

perfect contour of her face. Her hazel eyes were bright but deep…and

somewhere beneath the blue-green swirls was an immense weight she kept upon

her shoulders. He was somewhat proud of himself to the fact that she was the

one who she talked to when she had nowhere to go. Over the 2 months she had

been back they had grown closer, more close than they had ever been. But

Spike knew that she just considered him a good friend…. nothing more.

Buffy noticed his eyes on her, but she didn’t move to stop him. His gaze,

which had once been unnerving, even frightening, now filled her with peace.

His stare was not just one of undeniable love, but admiration and

understanding. It was hard to realize that the once famous murderer could

change so much. He seemed so inviting, like he would envelop her like a

blanket. But she knew that he wouldn’t hide her from the world. He

understood her in ways she didn’t understand herself. He didn’t bar the

truth from her or deny her reality. He was there for her. Completely. Buffy

knew that she shouldn’t be so close to him right now, but he was the only

one that could understand her. He didn’t judge her, didn’t look at her like

she wasn’t real. He just took what came to him. He was the only one that

made her feel…alive. ‘That’s dramatic irony for you…’ Buffy thought to

herself.

Buffy half-smiled, moving closer to the tree that Spike sat under, half

leaning against it and against her companion.

Yes, she definitely felt safe here. In a graveyard. Surrounded by vampires

and demons. But this sandwich was really good, and the moon shone upon the

tombstones beautifully, she didn’t have to worry about money right now, and

she had a friend by her side. Unconsciously, she snuggled closer to him.

Spike’s heart nearly beat when Buffy leaned up close to him. He blinked.

Maybe he was dreaming…

"What?" he asked, looking down at her, "Cold?"

"No, just getting comfortable." She finished up her sandwich and licked her

fingers.

Spike smiled. She was comfortable. Comfortable? Around him? Maybe things

weren’t so tense between them after all…

"There are apples in my coat, too." Spike said, trying to cover up his

anxiousness with casual conversation.

"When did you get apples?" Buffy asked, taking his pocket and fishing

through it for the fruit.

"Ahem…" Spike cleared his throat, they were getting pretty close, and Spike

was enjoying every moment of it, "This is California, luv. Apples are

everywhere. I just swiped some from an orchard."

Buffy looked at him oddly.

"What?" he asked, "I can’t be healthy? Just because vampires drink blood

doesn’t mean they can’t eat. I still like the taste of food. Especially

french fries. I could never give up french fries."

Buffy chuckled as she took out a mottled red and yellow apple. A beautiful

smile radiated her face and she looked actually happy for the first time in,

well, since she came back. She bit into the apple with her perfect white

teeth, the juice dripping onto her lips. Spike tried not to stare. God, did

everything she do turn him on? Her lips were now slicked wet with the apple

juice and she mumbled a soft, "Yum."

It took every ounce of willpower Spike had to not just take her in her arms

now and kiss her breath away.

When Buffy finished her apple, she turned around toward Spike throwing the

core onto the grass. She smiled as a black squirrel clambered down from his

hold on the tree, grabbed the fruit and scampered away.

Buffy desperately tried to fight her coming yawn, but she was so tired.

Getting back into routine and battling monsters again was sapping her

strength. She needed to rest but not now. She had work to do…but Spike was

here, maybe he could watch while she napped?

"You mind if I take a little nap?" Buffy asked as laid down, resting her

head on Spike’s thigh. She pushed her small jacket around to cover herself.

Spike was overjoyed in the least. "Of course, luv. Oh, here. Take this."

Spike took off his duster and gently laid it over her form. She relaxed into

him, closing her eyes, a comforted smile on her face.

As the minutes went by, Spike just watched her breathe. In. Out. In. Out.

When she was sleeping, she was positively radiant. Sometimes her eyebrows

would twitch and her lips would move faintly. She was probably dreaming. He

was hoping that she was dreaming about him. Probably not. Though she trusted

him now more than she had ever trusted him before, their life together had

not taken a romantic twist. But they had become friends. In fact, she was

his first real friend in the past 120 or so years he had been a vampire, and

the few he had had as a mortal.

When he knew she was deep in sleep, he tentatively stroked her hair. Her

hair was golden and soft, like an angel’s. It twined around his fingers and

he breathed her in, inhaling deeply. The smell of sweat and blood was on

her, but there was also the innocent smell of roses and vanilla. Buffy’s

scent. She murmured softly and relaxed into him. The warmth of her body was

making him warm as well. When she was this close, it was almost as if his

heart were beating and his blood was rushing.

He gently put his hand on her shoulder, trailing his finger up her neck,

tracing her jugular and pulse. He took untold minutes just staring at the

faint beating of her pulse in her neck. And he wasn’t filled with animal

hunger; he was just filled with longing. For that same heat she had.

He knew that if she woke up, she would yell and scream at him. Tell him

never to touch her again. Shout at him that she could never trust him. Spit

curses at him for even touching her. But he couldn’t help it.

His fingers now went up to the soft skin of her face, outlining her soft

lips, the curve of her cheekbones and the sweep of softness that was her

forehead. She never woke up.

The lazy autumn night, the cool moon shining down, the sound of the breeze

gently shaking the leaves above them, and the feel of Buffy’s warmth on his

body had a soporific effect on the vampire and he found himself dozing. He

tried valiantly to stay awake, this was the only time he could be this close

to Buffy without her yelling or punching him, but he lost the battle.

Buffy’s soft breathing lulled him to sleep like a quiet lullaby.

~

He woke with a start, instantly aware that something was wrong. Glancing up

at the moon, he guessed that nearly an hour had passed since they stopped to

eat. He cast a look about but could see nothing amiss, but all his demonic

senses told him something definitely was up.

Reluctantly, he gently laid a hand on Buffy’s shoulder and shook her, "Wake

up, luv."

She opened her eyes. When she realized how close she was to him she leapt

backward, much to Spike’s disappointed sigh. A blush crept up upon her fair

features.

"Wha-" she said, her voice still tinged with exhaustion.

"Quiet." He said, his voice a low, commanding tone.

Instantly, Buffy was awake. They’d worked together too long for her to not

know that tone of voice.

"What is it?" she asked, sitting up and gathering her pack.

Spike stood up and took his hand for the Slayer to pick it up, but she

declined. Spike knew that she was in business mode. Well, they’d talk about

this later, he guessed.

"Come then," he said, turning back onto the cemetery path and continuing

their interrupted patrol. "Stay close."

Usually Buffy would have had more than a few wisecracks to follow that up.

But this was Buffy and Spike in demon mode, where they worked together or

died. She fell into step with him, trusting his vampiric instincts. She

skillfully scanned the cemetery and when Spike loosened the peace straps on

his blade, she readied her stake.

They walked for about five minutes before the group came into sight. Seven

vampires carrying all sorts of weapons, from crowbars to elaborate swords.

They were talking amongst themselves, making jokes and some even taking a

couple pot shots at each other. Spike’s face hardened and he held out his

hand in front of Buffy.

"Don’t say anything, Slayer. Let me do the talking. Stay close and maybe we

can get by without a fight."

"Spike," Buffy started, "You know I can handle these guys-"

"Just do as I say, Slayer. These aren’t little vampire juniors we’re

talking about ‘ere, these are demon mercenaries. Hardened vampires trained

in fighting with a sword. Most of these guys were probably killers before

they became vampires. I know what you can do, Buffy. We can’t fight them

now."

Buffy lifted an eyebrow, "You do know I’ve killed hell gods, right?"

"Yes, but seven? After a nap? On a full stomach?"

"These are just vampires, Spi-"

"Buffy, please." Spike practically begged, staring down at her. Was it fear

that clouded his eyes? But Buffy knew Spike; he loved a fight more than any

one she knew. He wouldn’t make her stop, if he knew they couldn’t handle it.

"Fine," she agreed reluctantly, but she kept her stake ready just in case.

As they approached, the leader grew quiet. He had an enigmatic smile on his

face as he touched two fingers to his brow in a salute.

"Nice evening," he said to Spike as they came within speaking distance.

Casually, too casually, he rested his hand on his sword hilt. The others

behind him continued their joking, but in a more subdued manner.

Spike nodded slightly, keeping his face grim, "It is."

The blonde vampire kept on walking, hoping that the group would veer to one

side or the other to let him and Buffy pass, but instead they split. Four on

one side, three on the other. Spike rested his hand on his sword hilt and

frowned, alert for any signs of attack.

As he passed the leader, Spike felt a chill and whirled to catch the

black-haired vampire in the act of grabbing for Buffy’s wrist, but he wasn’t

quick enough. The demon grabbed Buffy, who shouted out and kicked him across

the shins. He fell to the ground, but kept the Slayer’s wrist in a tight

hold, sending her careening down to the ground on top of him.

"The aggressive type, eh?" the vampire asked.

"What can I say, I always liked being on top."

The vampire grinned and back flipped, sending him on top of her.

"I’ve got something to say about then, sweetie."

The two kept on fighting, the leader backing Buffy off out of the way of

the crowd of assassins.

Before the other demons had even time to take out their weapons, Spike

whipped his blade out, beheaded one vampire, and wounded a second. The other

four closed in on him, pressing in close and not giving him enough room to

maneuver.

Buffy turned and punched the leader in the face, "You are so dead!"

"Thanks for the report, Captain Obvious." The leader growled.

Buffy yelled and swiftly took out her crossbow, readying her arrow. She

released it at him, but he ducked and drew his sword, pressing in past her

guard.

"You know what I meant, blood breath," Buffy growled. She did a back flip

to get out of the way. He followed relentlessly; it seemed that no matter

where she landed, he was there, hounding her, keeping her off balance and

unable to get any good kicks or punches in.

She cast a quick glance at Spike to see how he was faring, but it almost

cost her life. She slipped and landed heavily on her rump – hard enough to

send a shock up her spine and skull. Lights danced in front of her eyes and

when they cleared, there were still lights, but they were reflected off a

sword blade.

"Don’t even think about it," the black-haired assassin growled, "I can

slice you open before you can blink an eye."

He reached down and jerked her jacket off, which held her stakes and

crossbow.

"Those are mine." Buffy snarled, trying to sit up.

"No," the dark vampire commanded, pressing the sword blade against her

throat, "I think I want you down there."

Giving him a hateful glare, she laid back on her elbows and looked around

for Spike.

The fight was going bad for the mercenaries. Spike had staked the other two

and was busy harrying the ones still standing. They managed to stave off his

blows, but only barely. As Buffy watched, another vampire fell, leaving only

the blonde-haired one.

"Petra!" the leader called, "Get over here and watch the girl. I’ll deal

with him."

Petra jumped back and rushed to his comrade’s side. Spike followed but

stopped as the other stepped over Buffy and prepared to attack him.

"Watch her," the vampire commanded, "If she so much as breathes wrong, slit

her throat."

Spike growled low in his throat. No one would even threaten his slayer. He

would not lose her now. Not ever.

"Right, Radon," the vampire called Petra answered.

Buffy gulped as the cold steel pressed against her throat.

"You just made a horrible mistake, mate." Spike growled, changing into game

face.

He roared in fury and leapt at Radon. Radon brought his sword up and

deflected the blow, but the force behind it drove him to one knee. He

recovered as Spike overextended himself, pushing an elbow into the blonde

vampire’s side. Twisting, Spike jumped to the side, out of slashing range.

"You’re the one that’s making the mistake," Radon snarled wickedly,

"Protecting a slayer? Fighting your one kind?"

"She don’t need protectin’" Spike answered, "It’s you the one that needs

it."

Buffy watched with horrified fascination as the two vampires dueled. Radon

was a close match to Spike’s skills, from his hardened life of fighting and

killing, but he wasn’t going to last forever. Stealing a quick glance at

Petra, Buffy found him watching her with a perverse leer. Biting her lip in

disgust, she looked away. She’d hoped that he would have gotten distracted

by the fight and giver her a chance to jump him. No such luck. She went back

to watching Radon and Spike fight.

"So, this is William the Bloody?" Radon taunted, "The murderer of

murderers? You’re pathetic. You can’t even feed off humans anymore. Some

master vampire you are."

"You know," Spike said, ducking a swipe of Radon’s sword, "Everyone has

been telling me this for the last two years and I’m getting pretty damn sick

of it. So what else are you going to say? The Slayer’s gonna kill me when my

chip is taken out. She doesn’t care about me, you’re a traitor to

demonkind…. blah blah blah. Spare me the lecture so I can kill you."

Radon was reaching the end of his strength and he obviously knew it. He was

fighting uphill with Spike pressing him mercilessly and was rapidly losing

ground. Buffy saw him catch a quick glance to wear his cohort held her,

which nearly got him run through with Spike’s blade. He jumped out of the

way, executed a somersault and landed on the other side of Petra and Buffy.

Spike was right behind, bearing down on Petra. Panicking, Petra rose upwards

to try and intercept Spike’s sword, but the blade sank deep into his

shoulder, slashing through bone and muscle as if they were nothing more than

paper. Buffy found her opening and grabbed her stake and plunged it into

Petra’s chest. Blood spurted over her hands and he slumped to the ground.

Something yanked Buffy off balance and pain lanced through her head. She

screeched as the dark vampire roughly pulled her up against him by her hair

and gave her a rough kiss on the lips. Blood dripped down her bottom lip

when he bit into it.

"Don’t touch her!" Spike shouted, "Or you’ll see the reason why they call

me William the Bloody."

"What?" Radon laughed, "You gonna recite some Shakespeare sonnet to me,

Will? I know all about you."

Spike stopped. All vampires knew one reason why he was called William the

Bloody. For obvious reasons. But not for the real one.

"Who told you this?"

"Let’s just say a little birdie told me." Radon chuckled.

Spike glared at Radon, blade held at the ready. He flexed his fingers,

shifted his weight forward and watched the mercenary for his next move.

"Don’t make me say it again," Spike growled, "Let her go." His voice was

low and dangerous and his brow drew together, making him look like the

vampire every demon had feared not that long ago.

"Uh huh," Radon said, not very impressed. He pushed Buffy to the ground

roughly and before she had time to get up, he put a foot on the Slayer’s

neck, "You come any closer and your little lady friend here takes a nice

long nap. Now step back or I snap her pretty little neck! Do it!"

Glancing down at Buffy, he saw that she more or less had recovered from her

blow. She was watching him, eyes sparkling dangerously and he knew that as

soon as she had the chance, this guy was dust. He took another step back,

hoping to draw the vampire away from her.

"All right, mate. Everything’s right as rain," he said, lowering his sword

but not his guard, "Just don’t hurt her, mate."

Two things happened at once. Radon’s face twisted into a sinister grin and

Buffy’s eyes went wide. Warned, Spike whirled around just as Petra staggered

upwards, raising the stake that had been unsuccessfully used against him

above his head. With a quick horizontal slash, the English vampire

dispatched the outclassed Petra, beheading him swiftly before he turned to

dust. He let his momentum carry him around to face Radon, but found the

assassin had stepped in during the distraction and wasn’t where he had

expected him to be. Unfortunately, that same momentum carried right into the

path of Buffy’s stolen Mr. Pointy as Radon came under Spike’s guard.

Everyone froze. Buffy with her mouth covering her hands and her eyes wide

with horror. Spike stared down at Radon, his face uncomprehending, then

looked at the stake sticking out of his chest. Radon’s face was twisted and

unreadable. When time began again, Radon jerked the stake out and stepped

backward. Spike’s blade dropped from nerveless fingers and he sank to his

knees. His face was contorted in pain and he clutched his chest, his hands

visibly shaking.

"SPIKE!!" Buffy screamed, scrambling to her feet. Radon whirled, picking up

his sword. She fixed him with a look that would have made Death stop in his

tracks and run away.

"See you in hell, you bastard!" Buffy shouted as she took out a stake from

her back pocket that the mercenary had obviously missed and shoved it into

his heart. He slammed against a tree, groaning in pain before he dissolved

into dust.

Buffy didn’t see this however, as she was instantly at Spike’s side. He

knelt there, hands pressed against his chest, blood pouring out between his

fingers.

"S-Spike…?" she whispered fearfully, touching his hair and face.

He looked at her, eyes dulled over with pain. "Buffy," he said weakly. He

raised a hand and tried to cover her hand where it lay on his cheek, instead

all he could do was stare at the blood on it. Raising his eyes to hers, he

whispered, "I…. l-love you." The vampire then collapsed into her arms.

"No!" she screamed as he slid out of her arms and to the ground. She pushed

him onto his back and pressed her hands to his wound, ignoring the blood

that stained his shirt and then seeped out around her hands. She closed her

eyes as the world threatened to go dark around her but told herself she

could throw up later. Right now, Spike needed her.

She breathed slowly. She calmed herself down as she realized that he was

still solid, he wasn’t dust. The stake must have missed his heart by scant

millimeters. But he still needed help. She knew that whatever little medical

knowledge she knew would not be enough. She tried desperately to stop the

bleeding, but her frustration builded as she realized what was happening.

The stake had gone deep though and he seemed on the verge of a second death.

"NO!" she screamed again and clenched her fists on his chest. Closing her

eyes tightly, she willed herself to think clearly and not go into hysterics.

Hysterics would not help Spike now. What he needed was someone who could

heal him. He needed magic. He needed someone like Tara or Willow.

Buffy nodded to herself. She had a plan. Buffy’s house was only a couple

blocks away. Tara and Willow were powerful together; they would be able to

heal Spike. But how could she get him there…

Buffy knew that the only way she could get to her house was to carry

Spike. She lifted him up, using as much strange as she had. She was a small

girl and it was hard to life up a full-grown man like Spike. But she had to.

She didn’t have much of a choice.

With a strangled groan, Buffy started on her way to Revello Drive.

~

In the shadows behind her, a shadow watched the fair Slayer drag the

wounded vampire away from the battlefield. Blood was everywhere and dust

spilled on the ground in several piles.

This was not going as planned. He should have known that Buffy would be

able to handle the assassins. But Spike? Spike had killed six of them,

single-handed! Even he had not seen that coming. His passion for the Slayer

was making him quite a danger to demonkind.

Next time, he would take care of it personally.

Scowling, the shadow lifted its hand, which held a ebony staff with a dark

moonstone embedded at the end. Power flared around the stone, fire spreading

outward. The flames engulfed the recent battlefield, incinerating the dust

of the vampires, including their weapons and anything they held that hadn’t

turned to dust with them. When the flames died down, the shadow was gone.

To be continued....