Sacrifice

Part I

She comes too with pain filling her. She looks down at her chest and sees branches jutting thru her. That last blast wave must have thrown her into a tree. Struggling to look around she sees Xander. He is wandering the battlefield drunkenly. She knows with the amount of blood pumping from his severed arm, he won't live much longer. She counts that a small blessing since his ruined face could never be restored. She chooses to believe he is still trying to fight rather than just stumbling aimlessly. Next she locates Buffy. She has dragged her broken body to where Dawn lies and is covering Dawn's face so she cannot see what is coming for them. It looks like she is whispering comforting words to Dawn. This breaks her heart because Buffy cannot see that Dawn is already dead. A clash of blades draws he attention. Faith is still fighting. She has acquired one of their swords and is trading blows with three of them. Faith fights well but it is not enough. She closes her eyes so as to not to see Faith cut down but she has no way to block out Faith's screams. The slayers made a good stand but really they knew they couldn't win.

Willow wakes with a start. She feels a weight on her and fights a moment of panic before realizing it is just her lover's arm. She adjusts her self to slide more into her lover's sleeping embrace. Her mind races while trying to cope with her dream. She has been a witch long enough to know it was no ordinary dream. This was a foretelling.

She spends the rest of the night trying to figure out what to do. Just before dawn an idea occurs to her.

The next morning after Buffy has left Willow heads to the research department. They tell her they don't have the book she is looking for but they think Giles has a copy in the Watcher's Archive. Willow is glad they are so young. They have no idea what the book she seeks holds.

She takes one of the cars to the Watcher's Archive. She is not surprised to see Giles waiting for her in the main hall. She knew Giles would have had the research staff alert him if anyone asked for certain books. She hopes she won't have to hurt him too badly.

Giles faces her to say "You can't have the book. It is too dangerous. No matter what you saw. You can't risk it. I won't let you."

"You taught me that all magic has a price. I have to pay this one. I have to do this." Willow replies.

"This is no minor magic! Even if you succeed, you may doom us all. You remember what happened last time someone tried this. Are you saying you can match their power?" Giles replies in his teacher knows best voice.

"You don't understand. You didn't see. But maybe you should." she fires back. She grabs his arm and shows him her vision. The sheer horror of it is more than he is prepared for. He collapses into a chair staring blankly at the wall. His mind still trapped in her vision. She hates herself for doing that to Giles but now he might understand. Besides she couldn't let him stop her.

It takes her an hour to break the wards but in the end the book is hers. She kisses the still unconscious Giles on the forehead and teleports to her next stop.

She appears just outside the main doors. It is a bright sunny day in LA and she takes a brief moment to enjoy it. England is always so gloomy. She misses the California sun. Unable to spare more time, she heads into the building.

The lobby of Wolfram & Hart is not as impressive as she expected but she can feel the evil surrounding her. A pleasant blond one appears at her side.

"Hi. I am Lilah. What brings the famous Willow Rosenberg to our humble law firm." she inquires.

"I want the book." Willow replies not wanting to spend one minute more than necessary here. She can feel the evil of this place calling to her darkself.

"We have many books. You" Lilah tries to reply pleasantly but Willow traps her in a spell cage.

Willow glares at her and states "They may own your soul but I can still play with it. Now let's cut the small talk and get me the book."

Ignoring the cage, Lilah asks "Why should we help you? What is in it for us? Thanks to your spell there are slayers everywhere. Evil is definitely on the run."

A dark smile crosses Willow's lips as she replies "Which is why business has been so good for you. With so many slayers out there, more beings have had to turn to you to survive. More souls have exchanged hands since my spell than since the beginning of time. Now, we both know the longer I stand here, the more likely I could slip. If that happens, hell will seem like paradise compared to this lobby."

Lilah didn't think she could still feel fear in her current state but this Willow frightens her. She knows Willow has the power to back up her threats and must be very desperate to be here asking for the book. Mentally consulting with her bosses a decision is made. "Right this way" Lilah tells Willow.

Deep in the heart of the Wolfram & Hart building, Lilah leads Willow past the zombie guards, thru extra-dimensional hallway, thru layer upon layer of wards, past all the conventional lasers, spike traps, and even a dragon to reach one small room. The door to this room is covered in runes which move as if alive. Lilah stops to ask "Are you sure?"

"Just get on with it" Willow snaps.

Lilah speaks a word of power from a language that was lost before the time of dinosaurs. The ancient door opens and reveals an unimpressive book. Willow picks up the book and places it in her bag.

Lilah raises her eyebrow but makes no comment. She does not like the idea of that book in circulation but the senior partners get what they want. She takes Willow back to the Lobby. There she wishes her well and watches her walk out.

With both books in her possession, Willow is confident that she can pull this off. She teleports to her private sanctuary to read.

After several hours of comparing the notes of the deceased senior partner with the ancient text of Merlin, she is able to confirm her theory. The price is high but she will gladly pay it to save her friends. The summoning ritual is surprisingly simple. It doesn't even require a special time of day. Aware that a binding circle will just be seen as an insult she decides to use an unorthodox place to perform her summoning. She teleports to Tara's gravesite. This way if it goes wrong she can lie here next to her. She does love Buffy but Tara will always be her greatest love. If she must spend eternity next to someone, she wants it to be Tara.

Saying the simple incantation, Willow draws the power necessary. Her whole body is on fire but pain is the easy part of this spell. The pain is to ensure only the truly serious could summon him. With a flash, he appears. He hovers above the ground held up by the slow beat of his great wings. Now the hard part: the bargain.

In voice like thunder The Lord of Dragons declares "I must say I am surprised and impressed Willow Rosenberg. The few beings to have met me and survived before would never dare summon me."

"I suspect you know why I summoned you." Willow replies.

"Judgment Day must come sometime. The best I can do it is delay its arrival a few more centuries" The Lord of Dragons informs her.

"It is long enough for my friends to have found their peace. Everything they have endured, that is the least they deserve. Now tell me your price." Willow responds.

"As you wish. My price is simple: You. You will be mine in everyway I require. This is not simply your soul that others settle for. You must give yourself to me fully and freely for all time. I will accept nothing less." The Lord of Dragons states.

"Done" Willow says without an ounce of hesitation.