So lost in her maddening rage, Buffy heard rather than felt the impact to her ribs. But the pain of the blow was not far behind and the slayer rolled off of the demon, putting herself between it and Spike and picking up her discarded weapon in the process. When she wrapped her hands around the hilt of her sword, the agony of where her flesh had touched the monstrosity reasserted itself.

"Hurts, doesn’t it little girl?" the demon asked, its voice like a painful grate against a bed of nails. "The ache you now feel is nothing compared to what I will do to you and yours."

The viciousness of her thoughts shook Buffy but she cast it aside, standing by her silent wishes.

After all, a Slayer's gotta have some aspirations.

When they had come upon the scene not two minutes ago, Jay had frozen when she saw her father, helpless against the giant beast. She had been vaguely aware of her mother shouting something before running, and then Faith doing…something. But it wasn’t until the latter had smacked her that Jay had batted the shock away. By that time Buffy had squared off against the beast and watching her mother wince at some unseen pain had drawn anger from Jay that she had never felt.

That anger was currently directed at the off-balance Algolagniar. Although Jay recognized the danger it represented, her body moved with a fluid grace devoid of any fear. Her strikes were fast and precise, never giving the beast a chance to recuperate, and yet it had not fallen. In fact, if she didn’t know better, Jay would have sworn that Algolagniar's swings were becoming faster with each passing second.

~~~

"CJ, there it is," Dawn said and the young man turned to see the entry gates for Heberly cemetery slightly ajar. Slamming on the brakes, CJ ground the bike to a stop a few feet in from of the gates. He didn’t even get a chance to put his foot to the ground, however, before Dawn was off the bike and pressing past the gate.

"Dawn, wait!" CJ called out as he took off his helmet but by the time he looked up she was gone. The only signs that she had been there was the spinning helmet on the ground and a faint emerald mist that disappeared into the night.

~~~

Severed Ties

The Summers' living room was once more filled with the entire gang, including new additions. For the last hour they had been going over the events from the night before. Giles sat in a kitchen chair, scribbling notes at a furious pitch as the witnesses for last night's scene in the graveyard told their stories.

Buffy, sitting on Spike's lap in the recliner, had just finished her account of things, skimming over the exact details of her dreams from earlier in the day. It had been something she and Spike had discussed in the morning's light, and she had been grateful that he had her back, suggesting she not disclose the visions, especially in front of such a large contingent of people, regardless of their ties to her.

Leaning her head into the crook of her lover's neck, Buffy surveyed the room. Faith and Jay leaned on opposite sides of the room, not unlike they had in the kitchen the day before. Xander kneeled just in front of Faith, and every so often his hand would brush against the brunette slayer's leg. Buffy hid the smile that threatened to surface at the gesture, knowing that Xander was most likely unaware of his behavior and, considering the blush that tinged Faith's cheeks, she was well aware of it.

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, Buffy's eyes wandered across the others. Willow and Tara were huddled on the couch along with Dawn and Cordelia. CJ sat on the arm with his hands tucked neatly in his lap. Every so often he would glance towards her and Spike, and each time, he seemed to scoot just a mite further away. Good, she thought, keep your hands to yourself. It wasn’t that Buffy disliked CJ; in fact, there was something about him that was honest and good. But she was well aware of how danger could draw two people together and things could happen in the heat of the moment that wouldn’t happen otherwise (exhibits A & B: her first times with Angel and Spike). Despite her beliefs that CJ's intentions were all well and good, Buffy had resolved to have a sisterly talk with Dawn before she and CJ went out on their first date, something that Buffy knew was inevitably near.

Speaking of Angel, Buffy thought, and her eyes fell to her former lover. He stood closest to the front door, firmly ensconced in the shadows with his arms crossed as he watched Giles write. His brown eyes drifted to Buffy and, when their gazes met, they both smiled. Although he was still weirded out by the whole Spike cuddleage (and Buffy could admit she wasn’t to keen on his Cordelia lovin'--at least that was what it was, according to Spike) they had started to accept their new relationships, with each other as well as with their new paramours. She wasn't sure if they would ever get over the awkwardness of it all, but they were definitely starting to deal.

Spike's lips on her forehead brought Buffy back to herself and the slayer snuggled deeper into her lover's embrace, oblivious to the others in the room. Buffy still amazed herself that she could be like this with anyone, let alone Spike. Since waking from her coma, Buffy felt that if she wasn’t touching Spike, one of them would drift away, get lost in the red tape of how 'wrong' their relationship truly was. In a way, it reminded her of their brief f engagement during Willow's little soiree with having one's will be done. Regardless of the vehement protests then, they hadn't cared to what the Scoobies thought and it was the same now.

"Still with us, luv?" Spike whispered, and Buffy shivered. The tickle of his breath against her flesh traveled through her body and certain parts of the slayer awakened, pleading for a particular bleached blonde to quench the rising fires.

"Yeah, I'm all with the still being with," she replied breathlessly, and her hand trailed up and down Spike's sides.

"I suggest you not do too much of that, luv," he murmured, " 'less you want your mates to witness an intimate portrayal of how to shag a slayer properly."

"Behave."

"You know you like it when I'm bad to the--" he glanced down at his lap and, with a nearly invisible jiggle of his hips (how he did that, she had no idea) finished, "bone."

But before Buffy could reply with a whimper of desire or admonishment, Giles voice broke through the haze.

"So, is that it?"

"Is what, what?" Buffy said, and lifted her head up. All eyes turned on her, and she was unable to curtail the fiery blush that crept up across her neck and cheeks.

"Is there anything else anyone would like to add concerning the events of last night? Anything left out?"

"Notta thing, Rupes," Spike said, and ran his fingers soothingly across Buffy's spine.

"Well, to be sure, I shall go over this once more. I'll try to keep this brief:

"Spike and Angel ran into this demon, who, according to CJ, goes by the name of Algolagniar. At present, CJ does not recall how he and the demon were acquainted." Giles glanced at CJ.

"That's right," the younger man responded.

"This beast, from what we have surmised, fed off pain; either his or others. The greater the pain, the more his strength grew."

"Kinda like a super saiyan," Xander said, and on everyone's curious gazes, he lowered his head, muttering something about deprived people. Despite the non-sequitor, Buffy smiled. It was something the old Xander would have said and to have him say it now gave her hope that the solemn man she had been around for the last few days would give way to her old friend.

"Even when you three arrived, Buffy, Faith shooting the creature in the eye with an arrow had not the ill effects one would have suspected. In fact, as Faith and Jay attacked, despite it being two slayers, this Algolagniar gained the upper hand.

"That is, until Dawn entered the fray. Now Dawn, unlike the others, you say that when you struck his flesh, you felt no ill effects."

"Correct," the young girl replied, "ill effect-free."

"Even today, you fill no discomfiture?"

"Nope."

"I see. Now, when you stabbed him with the dagger, can you explain again what happened, what you felt, if anything at all."

Buffy watched her sister fidget, one hand playing with her long brown hair while the other picked at her shorts. Although she didn’t quite remember what happened last night, from what Spike said, and Dawn's earlier recollection, it was quite the light show.

"I…it was weird," Dawn said, and Buffy turned her attention back to the young girl. "Spike gave me the dagger last summer. And last night, before I climbed out the window, something told me to bring it."

"Do you know what that was?" Giles asked.

"No…well, yeah, I guess. It was kinda like this thing, you know, when you feel someone's watching you. But instead of something watching me, I felt that something was calling my name. Somehow I knew it was Ms. Sharpie."

"Ms. Sharpie?" several voices called out as one.

Dawn ducked her head sheepishly. "It was Spike's idea."

On the incredulous glares, Spike shifted uncomfortably, moving closer into Buffy. "So? The Slayer's got 'er Mr. Pointy, why can't the 'Bit 'ave something o' her own?"

"It's okay, sweetie," Buffy whispered, and kissed him on the cheek. "And we will talk about arming my little sister like she was Xena."

"Yes, well," Giles said. Readjusting his glasses, he looked back down at the notes. "So you were called to Ms. Shar…the dagger, and took it. Did it also call to you when you were fighting this Algolagniar?"

"I don’t know if it called or anything like that, because I really didn’t think much about it."

"Like it was instinct," Faith supplied.

"Yeah," Dawn said.

"Do you think it was like a slayer's instinct to stake vamps?" Jay asked.

Dawn shrugged. "I don’t know. I guess so."

"And the energy that poured from you and into the demon?"

"That was kind of like instinct, too, but I knew--"

"Knew what?" Willow asked.

"I--I don’t know. It's like I knew that this was the way, the only way to kill it."

"And how do you think you accessed the power?" Tara asked. "Did it happen automatically or did you have to do something?"

"Do something?"

"Yeah," CJ said, "like flex a muscle."

"Or arch an eyebrow," Cordelia said.

"Not to be a smart arse--" Spike started.

"Like that'll ever happen," the seer quipped.

"--but arching an eyebrow? It involves muscles, pet."

"Whatever," the seer snorted and turned her attention back to Dawn. "So? Was it like that?"

"It was…I don’t know. It was more than just knowing, or having a feeling, you know?"

"How do you mean, 'Bit?"

Dawn was silent for a minute. She glanced from Angel to Spike and back again. "Do you guys remember what it was like that first time you…" she trailed off and lowered her eyes. Buffy watched in confusion as Angel turned his head and Spike studied the carpet. It took her several seconds before she understood what Dawn was getting at.

"The first time they--"

"Fed," Angel said, speaking up for the first time since the conversation began.

"Yeah, I remember it," Spike muttered, never lifting his eyes from the floor. " 'S overwhelming, the bloodlust. Your blood boils with need, and you don’t know wha' you want--"

"And yet," Angel chimed in, "you do. It's something that calls to the demon and it knows what is needed."

"So it's like instinct," Buffy said.

"Yes and no," Spike replied.

Buffy saw the two vampires trade glances of understanding before Angel spoke up again. "He means that while it is instinctual on a certain level, it's also something else, something beyond natural and supernatural."

"You know," Cordelia said, "you guys really sound like Wesley with all the crypto-speak. Could you please translate it into English for all us not-creatures-of-the-night?"

"I think that's what they mean," Dawn said. "There's really no way to describe it, or for anyone else to understand it." She looked at Faith, Jay and Buffy in order. "I guess you guys know, sorta. Maybe when you know who's a vampire just by looking."

"Yeah, but that's sorta like the instinct thing," Buffy said, and she heard the uncertainty in her voice.

"But it's something else, too, B," Faith said. "Like a connection--"

"With everything," Jay finished. "I really don’t think I can explain it, though."

"Me neither," Buffy agreed.

"So," Giles said, and turned back to Dawn, "it was something you couldn’t control?"

"I'm not sure. I think it was more that I knew how much I needed and let it go at that."

"Which brings me to my next question," Giles said, and his eyes returned to his notes. "Everyone that was present has said that after Dawn had released this energy, they all had some sort of visions."

Silence slammed through the room and Buffy burrowed further into Spike's embrace. His arms tightened around her and he let out a shaky breath. When Buffy glanced at the others who had been there--Faith, Jay, and Angel--all wore haunted looks. Part of her was relieved that she had not been along in seeing horrors but the other part of her was ashamed to feel that way.

"Now," Giles said, "although all of you have declined to discuss these dreams with me, and I accept your reticence to do so, I must insist that you write them down and give them to me."

"We're not in school, Rupes," Spike said grumpily, " 'S not book report day."

"Be that as it may, Spike, but your visions may prove vital information on what it is that we have to face."

"He's right," Buffy said. She stroked Spike's cheek, settling him before he could explode. Although they had discussed what she had seen, Spike hadn't been so forth coming. And though Buffy was disappointed that he hadn't, she respected his wishes and wouldn’t push. For now, at least. "We can do that, Giles."

"Thank you, Buffy. Now, until I examine what you have to say about the dreams, I cannot be certain as to why Buffy was the only one effected as she was. How do you feel now, Buffy?"

The slayer rolled her eyes, annoyed at the tenth rendition of the same question. "I'm fine guys. Slayer here, remember, not much I haven't been exposed to."

"Yeah, Buff," Xander said, "but we just want to be sure."

"Getting that; got it. Have it wrapped up and folded in my back pocket for later use." She sighed. "I'm fine, okay. Honestly."

Everyone nodded and Giles returned to his notes. When he started talking again Buffy tuned him out, instead focusing her energies on Spike and the calming effect his proximity had on her. Yeah, she told the gang that she was okay, and though they doubted her, only Spike knew the depths of her not-okayness. She knew he wanted to speak up but certain declarations of love coupled with the promises of sexual favors (as well as the less exciting, less glamorous idea of telling 'Watcher man' the absolute truth later) bought her lover's silence. And that was exactly how Buffy wanted it. She wasn't sure if she was ready to tell everyone that she felt that everything she had worked for all these years was about to be torn from her.

I'll deal later, she told herself, and shivered once more. After what she had seen, and what now resonated in her bones, Buffy knew that dealing was the furthest stretch from the truth. There was no 'dealing' with what she say, what she now felt--merely surviving it. And as tough as she was, Buffy Summers had the distinct feeling that after all was said and done, surviving would be the last thing that she wanted.

~~~

"So," CJ said, and glanced over at Dawn, "is this how you guys spend all your afternoons?"

"Nope," she said, and ran her fingers against the concrete steps they sat on, "usually we save the deep apocalypse talk for the evening. Cuts down on the insomnia."

"Ah, I see." CJ's eyes fell back to the evening beginning to unveil itself over Revello Drive. The rest of the afternoon had been spent with Giles going over the accounts for last night while the others had written down their individual experiences for the Watcher to evaluate. He and Dawn had spent the time conversing with Willow, Tara, and Cordelia. Although the latter had been quite blunt, the two Wiccas had made up for the discomfort the seer had created. Still, said unease was nothing compared to the willies that slithered up his back each time he glanced at cold blue eyes that watched his every movement. Other than the purple giant that kicked his ass the night before, CJ had rarely been afraid of anything in his life, but the unwavering gaze from the platinum blonde had unnerved the night vigilante more than he cared to admit.

"Your sister's boyfriend is scary." Okay, so admitting it to Dawn was a little different.

"Who, Spike?" Dawn waved her hand carelessly in front of her. "Spike's a pussy cat." On CJ's incredulous glare, she shrugged. "Okay, so he can be a bit terrifying."

"Terrifying? Dawn, sweetie, I've been fighting demons for the last seven years. I've gotten my ass kicked plenty of times, one of which happened to be last night, and I don’t know if I've ever seen eyes that 'grrrrrrrrrr' before."

Dawn lowered her head and CJ noticed the faint tint of blush that crept up her cheeks.

"Hey," he said, and grabbed her chin between his fingers, turning her face towards him. "What's up?"

"You…it, it was nothing."

"Dawn…"

"So you've been fighting demons since you were twelve?" she asked, and though he knew she was changing the subject, he'd let it go for now. Besides, this had been something he had wanted to tell her from the start.

"Yeah. Born in New Jersey, moved to Cleveland when I was eleven. Saw my first vamp the third week there, killed my first two months later."

"So, were you living out some type of kid fantasy?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, were you insane? Twelve years old and going after a vampire."

"You could say that," CJ said. "I don’t know, I guess it was just instinct. I knew what to do and I did it."

"But why did you take that chance? I would have been packing it in the opposite direction."

CJ shrugged. "I don’t know, just felt like something I was supposed to do."

"So, did you have any backup up or were you Joe Solo?"

"Never been one to work with others, so yeah, I went by myself."

"You are an idiot, you know that, don’t you. If you weren't so cute I'd…" Dawn covered her mouth when she realized what she had said. CJ couldn’t help but smirk.

"So you think I'm cute, huh?" He watched at the embarrassment gave way to defiance and stifled the laughter that was formulating in his chest.

"So, hey, yeah, what--why did you guys move to Sunnydale?" The once friendly atmosphere dissipated and CJ felt the bitterness of the past creep back into his soul.

"CJ?" Dawn asked, and touched his arm. The young man pulled away instinctively. The hurt look in Dawn's eyes had an immediate effect, and CJ pulled her hand in his.

"Sorry, D," he said, "it's not you that I--it's just something I don’t like talking about."

"Hey, no big," she said cheerfully but her voice said quite the opposite. "You don’t have to tell me--"

"My mother died a little over a year ago. No, she didn’t die, she was murdered." He heard the gasp next to him but couldn’t face her. The pain and guilt at finding his mother's violated corpse was something that never went away. And CJ knew that one look into Dawn's brilliant obsidian eyes and he would break down just as he did when he had told Aunt Jackie.

"Was it…was it…" Dawn stuttered.

"Vampires? Yes and no."

"What do you mean?"

"Unlike what I've seen here, the human criminal element takes advantage of what they are provided. Demons are often hired as private muscle. They'd do a bit of torturing for the humans, get the message across. I was getting pretty close to finding out who was giving the orders on one of the major cartels, if you will. Guess they wanted to send me a message."

"They had your mother killed," Dawn whispered, and there was no missing the horror in her words.

"Not…not right away," he said, hating that his voice was faltering. "They did…other things to her first and--and made sure I'd find the body."

"CJ…" Dawn said and moved to give him a hug. Shaking his head, CJ stood and put some distance between them.

"I'm sorry, Dawn, but I can't let you do that."

"Why not?"

"Because," he said, and inhaled deeply, "if I do, then I won't be able to stop crying."

He watched Dawn lower her head, her dark hair falling over her face. Cursing his insensitivity, CJ bent down in front of Dawn and lifted her chin up. Tears shimmered in her eyes, and he thought he saw traces of an emerald glow in the irises. His gaze was quickly distracted, however, drawn to her quivering lips. Taking a moment to control his conflicting emotions, CJ cupped Dawn's cheek and brushed his lips across hers.

The effect was immediate for both of them. A warmth that defied all logic surged through CJ, washing away the painful memories of the past. He ran his hand through Dawn's hair, pulling her closer when her moan punctuated the entrance of his tongue into her mouth and one hand caressed the velvety flesh of her leg. Everything inside of him screamed to take her; it was as if his very life depended on this young girl in front of him.

As the thoughts of his desires took form in his mind, CJ's hands became more insistent. They roved over her back and hips, bunching her shirt out of the way. He was in need to touch her, all of her, at once. Falling to his knees, he nudged her legs apart, and pulled her against his chest. She jumped, and for a brief moment CJ thought he had hurt her; but when she wrapped her arms around his neck, he knew that wasn't the case. Besides…

The sound of the voice in his ears was enough to bring CJ back to his senses. He pushed Dawn away gently and held her at arms' length. Her black pupils had dilated, and her eyes were nothing but giant pools of lust. Taking several steadying breaths, CJ cleared his throat to speak.

"Wow," Dawn said.

CJ laughed dryly. "Yeah, wow."

"Of course, I think that deserved a little bit more than 'wow', don’t you?"

"Umm, I'd say that's an affirmative. That was past wow in a major way."

"You can say that again."

"I would," he said, "but the lack of blood flow to my brain has simplified my abilities to express the wow-ness of that."

"Lack of blood fl--" Dawn's eyes bulged and she glanced down at his lap, quickly covering her face at the discovery. "Ohmygod, tell me I did not just see that."

Some of CJ's poise returned at Dawn's embarrassment and he peeled her hands away from her face. "Hey, baby, don’t hide. Nothing to be ashamed of."

"So say you," she mumbled, but her lips curved into the beginnings of a smile.

"Seriously though, I didn’t mean to be so forward with the…well, with the everything."

"Ah, no big," Dawn said. "What girl doesn’t like to be ravaged on her front porch while her sister, extremely overprotective best friend, and sister's friends are inside."

CJ sighed. "I really hope that Spike doesn’t decide to come out here right now."

"Well, if you're so worried, then maybe you should, I don’t know, step away from between my…" she trailed off, and glanced down.

"Oh, yeah, sure," he said, and stood. He turned his back to her and adjusted his jeans.

"Better?"

"Much," he said and faced her again. CJ basked in the smile that Dawn gave him but he didn’t miss the question in her eyes. Not wanting to ruin things with inadequate words, he ignored her silent query and enveloped her in a hug.

"I think I better go."

Dawn pouted. "Already?"

"Yeah. Aunt Jackie's probably worried about me, even if I did call her this morning. You know how family gets sometimes."

"Tell me about." Dawn lowered her gaze, intently studying her sneakers as they kicked at several invisible pebbles. "So, are you gonna be around any time soon?"

"Probably not for a few days," he said, and on her downcast face, he amended, "but I will call. And maybe we could go out next weekend."

CJ's heart sped up at the naked hope that shone from Dawn's face. "Really?"

"Yeah, really. That is, if you want to."

"If I want to? Of course I--" she trailed off and slipped on a mask of indifference. "I mean, I guess that would be okay."

"Just okay?" he teased.

"Well, really can't comment on it until the day comes, now can I?"

"I guess." He glanced at his watch. "Well, I best get goin'."

"Yeah."

"I'll probably stay in tonight, hang out with my aunt."

"Well, Ms. Dawn Summers will no doubt be getting the lecture on sneaking out and jumping on the backs of grotesque demons without sister's permission."

"They really can't say much. You did save the day."

"Shows you don’t know my sister."

"Will Spike be in on it, too?"

"No doubt. But I can handle him. One Summers' pout and he'll crack. Unfortunately, that particular weapon works not on big sis, or British man with glasses."

"It could always be worse."

"How?"

"You could have a scary ass vampire watching you from the door, with murder written in his eyes."

"Huh?" CJ nudged his head in the direction of the steps, and when Dawn turned around, she gasped at the menacing glare Spike was giving CJ.

"Spike? What are you doing?" Dawn shrieked.

"Just about to ask you the same thing, 'Bit."

"We were just talkin'," CJ said, and offered the vampire his most friendly smile.

"Don’t think I was talkin' to you, sir. And besides, my nose tells me different."

"Huh?" CJ asked, miffed, but by Dawn's horrified expression, she knew exactly what Spike meant.

"Well, don’t you have to get home to your aunt?" Dawn asked hurriedly, pushing CJ towards the driveway. "I'll be she's worried sick about you. Shame on you, CJ for not getting there sooner. Make sure you tell her you're sorry and get some rest while you're at it, too. Bye bye!" she finished excitedly. She glanced over her shoulder and then whispered, "Call me tomorrow," before running up the steps and past the vampire.

CJ's eyes locked on the vampire's unreadable gaze and shivered. Yesterday he had not been afraid of this man, even when he found that Spike was indeed a vampire. But there was something about those blue eyes that held a love for Dawn and Buffy that CJ had rarely seen. And while he didn’t know too much about Spike's history, CJ did know that if he did anything to hurt Dawn, Spike would be on his ass quick, fast, and in a hurry. Knowing that whatever retributions Spike would take out on him would be done out of love and not cruelty was the scariest thing of all.

Shaking the thoughts aside, CJ started the bike and backed out of the driveway. He gave Spike a perfunctory salute before gunning the engine, and zipping down the street. His ride home was uneventful, filled with thoughts of Dawn's warm body in his arms and the knot that formed in his stomach every time he saw her. There was something magnetic about that girl, something he couldn’t put his finger on. He had felt it today, and he had sure as hell felt it last night when light had poured through the cemetery. He hadn't told anyone but, in one instant, all the questions CJ ever had, about himself and his attraction to Dawn had been answered with a crystal clarity. He had known what she had done for him, and why. He knew it all.

It sucked balls that mere seconds after all that knowledge had been gained it had disappeared, leaving the young man at square one.

It didn’t matter, he thought as he pulled into his aunt's driveway. It would eventually come back to him. All he had to do was wait. And CJ could be a patient man, as long as something warranted it.

Finding out where all the déjà vu's of his life had come from was number two on the waiting list. Number one, of course, was seeing where this thing with Dawn went.

And that was something he was dying to find out.

~~~

She lay in his arms, her supernatural warmth bathing his cold flesh until it nearly resembled normal body temperature. Her hair splayed across his chest in a curly rainbow of blue, purple, red, green and orange. Every so often, she would exhale, spilling unnecessary breaths against him. It was so human that, at times Gabriel forgot just what Morrigann was.

The vampiric warlock brushed his fingertips against the raised wings of her back, and he watched as they fettered restlessly under his caress. Morrigann mumbled contentedly in her sleep and Gabriel chuckled. Sleep, just as her many other human gestures, always cast Morrigann in a different light. She was like a child when she rested, often times pouting when the covers were removed, or the simple peace that claimed her lovely face as she slept. Never had he ever seen her so disarmed awake. It was in her nature to be the seducer and every waking moment she carried a part of that, even in the most innocent of displays.

"You are lovely, my dear," he whispered, and the succubus cuddled further into his embrace. Yes, Morrigann was beautiful; more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen. It was a preternatural magnificence, one that would have all but the strongest willed humans bowing at her feet. And though the sheer sight of her was enough to bring most into her servitude, a sample of her blood to any creature would tie it to her for as long as she wished. It had been this reason that Gabriel had forbade the others to bed her. Oh, she was more than willing to offer herself, especially to the stoic Frost, yet Gabriel felt no jealousy. True, she was his lover and they both shared a love of power, but that was where the ties ended. He was not some sniveling mate that would become enraged at his woman's infidelity. Gabriel understood all too clearly that to have such an emotional tie to someone would only lead to one's downfall. Seth was a perfect example of that.

Seth. Still, after this time, the thought of his wayward Childe caused a pang of grief to resonate within Gabriel. Seth had been the strongest vampire to ever walk the Earth, granted the eternal kiss by Gabriel himself. Seth had remained loyal throughout, many times questioning but never straying too far from his master's will. Oh, Gabriel knew that imbuing one such as Seth the power of near invulnerability was risky; if he had so desired Gabriel had no doubt that Seth could have raised an army against him to grasp control of the world that Gabriel now owned. But he never did. Seth kept his aspirations to more direct things such as blood and torture…and Emerald.

The dark-haired man shivered at the thought of his Empress. True, they were not lovers in the physical sense but the power they shared went beyond all carnal sensations. That was not to say that Gabriel did not wonder what it would be like to embrace her in all senses of the word but he knew that she would never capitulate. As much as Emerald tried to hide it, Gabriel was no fool. She was just as in love with Seth as he was with her. The first time she had brought the still human Seth before him, Gabriel knew that they were lovers. And though their trysts were greatly reduced once Seth had been turned, every so often Emerald would retire to her chamber, reeking of sex and…and love. It had been for this reason that Gabriel often sent his chief lieutenant to the farthest reaches of the land. Gabriel still could not fathom why he had felt his first twinges of jealousy at his Childe for the ability to hold the love of someone so great as…

"Emerald!" Gabriel yelled, and spasmed in the bed. He was vaguely aware of a now fully alert Morrigann searching the room for intruders, but most of his attention was drawn to the pulsating link that tore into him as it ignored all precepts of temporal limitations. He watched as the creature was consumed, invaded by the green essence of the One. It ripped Algolagniar to shreds, rending demon heart, muscle, and even conscience into nothing but particles of dust and ash. It was unlike anything Gabriel had ever seen, and though the true display of it was frightening, the understanding of what had occurred wrested the fear to the ground. Yes…

"Gabriel, Gabriel," a distant voice said, and his head rocked to the side as a hand slapped him across the face. He heard his name again and the unmistakable windup of another blow aimed for his jaw. He caught Morrigann's hand reflexively and forced his eyes open. He was unable to focus on her in detail but could make out the apprehension that radiated from her flesh.

He raised a tentative hand to her face and caressed the sweet curve of her jaw line. The smile that split his face was tinged with an edge of insanity, he knew, but it also contained the knowledge that soon, all would be his.

"The tear has been procured. Algolagniar did not fail."

Morrigann smiled and the curve of her upturned lips brought a shiver of anticipation to Gabriel. "Then it is almost time."

"Yes," he said, and his other hand found her waist, "it is." Without warning, he slung her to her back and parted her legs. Morrigann gasped as he entered her in one violent thrust.

"More," she pled as he moved into her like a piston, "please, more."

"Oh you will have the more that you crave, my succubus," he said in jagged gasps, "and so shall I."

All other words were forgotten, and the two creatures of the night lost themselves in the carnal pleasures of the flesh.

Next: First Date…

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