Conciliation
Cordelia's shriek surprised Angel. He had found, in his years of helping humanity, that evil liked to take the summer off, to give the warriors on both sides a chance to calm down, heal their wounds, prepare for the battles of winter, fall and spring. Hell, it had been three weeks since Cordelia's last vision. He jumped out of bed and skirted the sunlight that flowed into portions of her apartment to find her and cradle her until she came out of the vision.
He picked her up and brought her into the kitchen. Wordlessly, he sat a pad of paper and a pencil in front of her. While she held her head, he poured her a glass of juice and found the prescription painkillers she'd been hoarding for just such occasions. She swallowed the pills and the juice silently. Angel started to get a little worried. Usually Cordelia would have blistered his ears with complaints by now. Instead she just looked into his eyes with a look of infinite sadness.
"Buffy. She's being held by a vampire. I'm not sure where, but she's in pain."
Angel was immediately on the phone, dialing up Giles. He counted six rings before the ex-Watcher finally picked up. Angel didn't bother with introductions. "Giles, what's going on?"
"Buffy went on patrol last night and didn't report back. We found Riley knocked out in the cemetery a half-hour ago. He just came to and told us about the ambush. I was actually about to call you."
"I'll be there as soon as I can." He threw Cordelia the keys and pulled on a shirt. "It's the trunk for me. We're headed to Sunnydale." He scratched a note out to Wesley, and headed for the car.
~*~
Angel knocked on Giles' door. His back ached: the trunk was no place to spend a two hour car ride. However, it was the quickest way to get here. Giles opened the door, his face drawn tight in the twilight. He admitted Angel and Cordelia in wordlessly.
The whole Scooby Gang was there. Xander and Anya had books draped on their laps. Willow and her new girlfriend There was something I didn't see coming. What's her name, Tara? had their eyes focused in rapt attention on a computer screen. And there, in the far corner of the room, pacing in frustration, was one Riley Finn.
Xander spoke up first. "So, Dead-boy. Do you think you and I can pull off the rescue one more time?" The tone was joking, but Angel saw a dead seriousness and utter anxiety in the boy's eyes. He allowed his mouth to quirk slightly.
"Maybe, White Knight." He turned his gaze back to Giles. "Do you know anything more since I called?"
Another familiar, vaguely comforting gesture: Giles took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We sent Spike off to go beat up Willy the Snitch just before you arrived."
"Spike?" Angel's last memory of Spike was of being brutally tortured at the vampire's behest. Then he remembered some vague story about a chip in Spike's head. "Are you sure you can trust him?"
"No. But, he was the only one who could get information out of Willy."
Angel swallowed for a moment. "Is there anything in the Codex?"
"I hadn't thought to check, actually. Do you think there would be?"
"There was a prophecy in it the last time she died. If she was going to die again, I think there might be a prophecy." The words were cold and bitter on his tongue, but he was too far in shock for euphemism. All of the color drained out of Willow's face, and both Giles and Xander were taken aback. Even Cordelia was a little stunned.
Riley reacted in anger. "Oh, this is just what we needed. A vampire to freak everyone out."
Angel ignored him, but softened his tone to Giles. "Giles, please, check the Codex. We need to know if this is severe life and death stuff." He walked to the shelves and unerringly picked out the Codex from the several dusty volumes on the bookcase. He began leafing through the tome.
"I'm going to go on patrol, see if there's any word on the street." Angel turned away, but Riley stopped him.
"I'm going with you." Angel allowed his gaze to run over the boy before finally meeting his eyes.
"Buffy's life could very well be at stake, and you're going to play cowboy? I am going into the seamy demon underbelly of Sunnydale, and you don't exactly look the part." He saw the look of determination on Riley's face and relented. "Fine. Come along. But there'll be some places you won't be able to get into. Don't say I didn't warn you." Angel stalked out. Riley paused only a few moments before following him out the door.
Anya stared as the pair left. "Primal male jealousy. I like it." The rest of the Scoobies gave her odd looks before returning to their research.
~*~
"So, Finn, what exactly happened when you and Buffy were ambushed last night?" If the kid insisted on coming along, at least Angel could pump him for information.
"We were doing a standard patrol in the cemetery, things had been pretty quiet, it was only a little before dawn. Then a bunch of vampires surrounded us. She dusted about six of them before they finally overpowered us. I woke up in Giles' living room." Riley was having minor difficulty keeping up with Angel's pace.
Angel quirked an eyebrow. He remembered what one of Buffy's "quiet night" patrols could be like. He didn't mention it. Instead, he took a jibe. "She took out six?"
He almost chuckled at the defensive reply. "I got one. She's a little bit stronger than me."
"Tell me about it." Before Riley could respond, Angel continued. "More than four vampires in on an attack at the same time, that's a raiding party. That indicates a master vampire." That meant trouble. "Sonovabitch."
"You the expert on that subject, not me, Angel." Riley pronounced his name like he was spitting out bile. Angel paid him little mind. There were so few master vampires left around. Most of them preferred to haunt Europe and Asia, although he'd personally sired the two masters who haunted Australia, and he knew the eight bastards who vied for control of Africa. There had been perhaps seven true masters in the Western Hemisphere. The Master himself was dead, as was Kakistos. Angel and Spike no longer were in the game. Drusilla... that was a possibility, but leaving Riley alive wouldn't have been her style. Angel was well acquainted with Santiago, and knew he would loathe leaving his villa outside of Lima. That left one truly vicious vampire.
"Nimue." He sighed.
"That an old friend of yours?"
Angel spared him a smile. "Another of my ex's, in fact. Over two hundred years, they collect. It's Nimue, I'll bet. Which means we're in a world of trouble."
"How are you so sure?" Riley was instantly suspicious. Angel calmly explained his logic. The boy looked at him askew. "What do you mean there were only seven master vampires? Buffy's been slaying them for years."
Angel was beginning to lose his patience. "If you commandos had bothered to read on the lore, you'd know how rare a master vampire is. Most vampires are fools, and they're also a fractious bunch. Some of them are more intelligent, more powerful. But a select few are master vampires, leader vampires, who live longer than any of the others, kill more, are more vicious."
"Of course, you were one of them."
He flashed Riley an evil grin. "Of course. My sire was one, her sire was one, and I personally sired four of them. Most of the masters living are my blood kin." Angel caught a glimpse of platinum hair. Speak of the devil. "Spike!' he called out.
The younger vampire wheeled around. Their gazes met. Simultaneously they spoke. "Nimue." A half-century of working together overrode the past three years of strife, torture, and abuse.
Spike nodded. "Just got it out of Willy the Snitch. She's holed up in some of those caves up in the hills-"
"Near the stream, sounds like her m.o." Angel finished. Spike nodded and took a drag off of his cigarette.
"What's Captain America doing here? There's not much he can do in a fight against Nimue."
Angel shook his head. "There isn't. I only just figured out it was her. Take him back to Giles. Tell them I went to the caves, I'm going to get Buffy out." Spike nodded and started back on his walk to Giles'. Riley, however, argued.
"No way. I'm not going to go sit while Buffy's in trouble. I'm going to the caves with you."
"Finn, you are only a liability in this fight. If you come with me, you will probably get yourself and maybe Buffy dead."
Riley met his gaze. "I've faced the big bad before."
Angel snapped. "Not like Nimue you haven't. Nimue's more than a thousand years old. Before she was turned she was a great Celtic sorceress. Her powers have only grown since then. She will kill you if you give her the chance." Riley failed to back down.
Behind them, Spike coughed. "Well, Captain America, if you're not scared of her, I am, and I've got the wrinklies to admit it. I'm going back to the Scooby headquarters. You want to follow the great poof to your certain death, that's fine with me." He stalked off. Riley didn't to join him.
Angel glared at the boy. "I take no responsibility for what happens to you. I'm saving Buffy, not you." He started hiking the other way, towards the caves. Towards Buffy. I pray I'm not too late. Somehow, he knew that as of yet, he wasn't. He would've known if Buffy was dead, would've known it in his heart.