THE PRIEST'S REVENGE
BY DANIELLE FRANCES DUCREST
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Mutant Enemy, Fox, Warner Brothers Studios, Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar Television, Joss Whedon, and David Greenwalt. I make no money off of this, and no copyright infringement was intended.
Spoilers: Takes place after "Something Blue", with spoilers for that episode. For more information on the series, visit my page at http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/TheTruthIsOutThere/vamps/buffy.html.
PROLOGUE
The priest bent over the harlot, an old, ancient spell book in his left hand, red paint coating the other. The only clothing he'd allowed her to keep was her bra and her skirt. Using the paint, he drew cuneiform symbols around her belly button.
The prostitute gazed up at the priest, fear in her eyes. If the priest hadn't put a spell on her to keep every muscle in her body immobile, he was sure she'd scream.
"I am sorry," the priest said. His Brittish ancient was thick. "But the only way for the spell to work is if I spill the blood of a wanton young girl that has been privy to the ways of men. But your death will not be in vain." The priest shrugged. "You'll only help me to kill the slayer. She's what you would consider one of the good guys." He smiled. "Then again, you'd consider me a bad guy, wouldn't you? Good guys fight the bad guys, I suppose. And oh, do I abhor the slayer and the watcher council."
Finished drawing the archetypes, the priest washed his hands in a basin and stood back. Lit candles were placed at key points around the warehouse's quay. The priest knew the owner, and knew that no one, supernatural or otherwise, would interfere. That was fine with the priest.
He reached down and grappled the sacrificial knife from the concrete asphalt. As he stood back up, he glanced out the building at the night sky. There had been enough omens to ensure this was the right star alignment for this spell.
He lifted the knife up high and reading from the book, cried, "Oh great Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld! Grant me what I wish! Take the sacrifice I make, cast her soul with those of the other thousands dead, and let me have my revenge. Endow me with the power to overcome the slayer and her watcher, so they may be destroyed forever and never again fight against your minions of hell."
The candles flared, lighting the entire warehouse in every nook and cranny, leaving no shadows. The priest knew this was a sign the goddess had heard, and so he raised the knife above the harlot's belly button and plunged it into her stomach.
PART ONE
Buffy and Xander, after sharing a dance at the Bronze, made their way through the throng to the table where Willow and Anya sat. They sat down just as the band's lead singer started another verse of an up-beat rock song.
Anya handed them some cups of coffee. "Hi, guys," she greeted them. She smiled at Xander. Considering that the ex-demon had been mortal for only a year, Buffy figured the eleven hundred and twenty-year-old was doing well.
"Hey, guys," Buffy accepted the cup and sat down next to Willow.
Xander, sitting down next to Anya, turned to Willow, "So, Will, you said you were thinking about joining a wicca group on campus?"
Willow didn't hear Xander. She was gazing at the empty stage, at the place where Oz usually stood when Dingoes Ate My Baby had a gig there. She sighed.
Buffy regarded the teen witch with concern. It had been fate, or destiny, that had brought her to Sunnydale. But it hadn't just affected her. Her friends had been introduced to world of the undead because of her, and they'd had to face lots of challenges and a few apocalypses in the last three years.
If it hadn't been for Buffy, Oz and Willow may not have even met, and Oz wouldn't have found about vampires. Since the teen werewolf left, Willow had been down. A recent lament made her try to drown her sorrows with beer. When that didn't work, the young witch had cast a spell that would have her will be done. She thought it hadn't worked, but it was actually hurting her friends. Xander became a demon magnet, attracting demons no matter where he went. Giles, Buffy's watcher, could no longer see, and Buffy and Spike had started planning a wedding, all because of the spell. Buffy shivered every time she envisioned her mortal enemy's lips against her own. She couldn't really blame Willow, though. Her friend had acted out of hurt, and Buffy could relate.
Since then, Willow had tried to cheer up, but it was hard. Buffy could sympathize. She could never have the relationship with Angel both of them wanted, and Parker had dumped her after they had made love. She hoped her relationship with Riley would turn out okay.
Willow sighed again and stood up. "I'm going back to our dorm. See you later."
Buffy stood up. "I'll go with you. Then I'm going to patrol." She wanted to make sure Willow actually made it home safely. It was night, and because Buffy was the slayer, she was qualified to handle whatever was out there. She worried about all her friends that way, but tonight, she was even more worried about Willow. A few weeks ago, lost in her grief, Willow had almost gotten run over by a car. Buffy didn't want anything like that happening again.
Willow shrugged. "Okay."
Xander stood up, too. "We'd better head off, too."
Anya stood up next to him. "Yeah. I want to go home, too. Perhaps we could have sexual intercourse."
Xander, shocked and embarrassed, looked at her.
The priest, after blowing out all the candles, walked back over to the dead harlot and removed the knife. The spell had gone smoothly. It wouldn't take long for it to go into effect in the watcher. As for the slayer, the effects would take longer, maybe a day or two. He would have to follow the Slayer at a distance until the girl showed signs of weakness. Then it would be a simple task to overcome her and cast the other spell. As for her watcher, or former watcher, Rupert Giles, he didn't need to cast another spell to get rid of him.
The priest smiled. At last, the council would pay for rejecting him.
PART TWO
Buffy's patrol expanded across most of Sunnydale, including all thirteen of its graveyards and the parks vampires frequent. Following a scream in Weatherly Park, she left the path and run into the woods.
Close to the brick wall lining the park, she found a group of three vampires harassing a young couple. The couples' clothes were rumpled from sitting on the grass, and Buffy guessed they'd been necking when the vampires surrounded them.
Buffy had come as soundlessly as she could, so the vampires were unaware of her approach. To save the couple, though, she'd have to lose her advantage.
"Hey!" Buffy called. "Getting desert? You should cut back, or you may have a weight problem."
The head vampire, on the far side of the couple, waved at one of his minions. "Get her."
The vampire minion advanced on Buffy. Even as the slayer pulled out a stake, the vampire did not look worried. His hubristric attitude would be his undoing.
The vampire lunged at her, Buffy sidestepped, and the vampire fell into the bush.
Before Buffy could stake him, however, the other minion grabbed her arms from behind. Buffy bent forward, thrusting one leg before the other, and pulled. She successfully flipped the vampire over her back and on top of the other vampire, which was starting to get up. She staked the second vampire, then the first one got up and faced her. Buffy punched him, sending him back into the bush.
Angry now, the vampire jumped up and rushed at her. Buffy simply brought her stake forward and let the vampire impale itself on the point. A look of shock crossed the minion of hell's face before he turned to dust.
She turned to face the other vampire. The vampire released his captives, and the couple, with one last look and her and the vampire leader, ran off.
The leader looked very afraid. "You're the slayer," he guessed.
"Yep," Buffy said.
The leader turned, ran the few remaining feet to the wall, and clambered up it.
Buffy ran after him and paused at the wall, feeling her back. It hurt a lot. The vampire she flipped had been too heavy. Wait, what was she talking about? She was the slayer, she was supposed to be strong enough to take on any vampire.
She didn't have time to contemplate this, because the vamp leader was close to the top of the wall already. She had to stop him.
She turned her back to the wall, deciding to use her slayer abilities to jump up to the top of the wall and back-flip over it. She jumped and did just that.
The vampire was already running down the sidewalk lining the street. Buffy ran after him and caught up to him at a dead-end alley.
A few feet away from the wall, the vampire turned to face her. It was a brief battle, but Buffy won in the end. The dust had yet to settle after she left the alley behind.
Her back didn't hurt as much as before, but the ache was still there. It should have been gone by now. Her slayer abilities also allowed her to heal faster.
She should tell this to Giles. It may not be anything, and Buffy hoped it wasn't. She didn't have high hopes, though. All manner of things could and have happened on the Hellmouth, and most of them hadn't been very pleasant. She hoped this time it wouldn't be as bad.
Giles sat on his couch, looking through his books.
"Hello?" Spike called from his chair across the room. The vampire was tied up again. Even if the commandos had done something to the blond vampire that kept him from harming people, Giles didn't feel like taking any chances. Spike had come to Giles' house after escaping, looking for a place to hide from the commandos. While he was a captive, the commandos had put something in his brain that, when he tried to hurt any living thing, he'd experience pain. Because their arch-nemesis was more or less neutral, Giles thought it would be wrong to kill him. So here he was, tied up in Giles' apartment, being a nescience.
"How about feeding me? Hungry vampire over here."
Fed up with the neutral vampire, Giles went to his fridge and pulled out a packet of blood.
"Feeding time! You know, I just feel so grateful…well, not really."
Giles got a mug from a cabinet. In his kitchen archway, Giles paused.
"Well, are you going to feed me or not?" Spike asked.
Giles threw the packet at Spike. It hit the vampire's head before falling to the floor.
Giles went back into the kitchen to pour some tea into the mug. "Bon Appetite."
"Hey!" Spike cried. "That's no way to treat a guest!"
Giles snorted. "You? A guest? Not bloody likely."
Xander walked through the door. "Hey, Giles." He said, heading for the couch.
"What? Not going to say anything to your bad pal Spike?" Spike asked.
Giles and Xander ignored him. "What brings you here, Xander?"
Xander shrugged. "I thought I'd stop by, see if Buffy was here. Thought it would be wise to get some protection, you know, with the commandos and everything." He also hoped, with the Slayer's help, to figure out some way to lighten Willow's mood. He decided not to mention that at the moment, especially in Spike's presence.
"Well, if you decide to sojourn here," Giles said while picking up his tea mug and heading for the archway, "I thought I'd do some reading up on the being that made Anya into a demon a millennia ago, Ta'hoffren. Perhaps you could-" In the archway, Giles doubled over in pain, spilling his coffee onto his carpet.
"Giles?" Xander went over to the ex-watcher's side. Giles fell to his knees on the ground and started breathing heavily. He cried out.
Xander helped the watcher over to the couch and touched his forehead. Giles was burning up.
The front door opened, and Buffy stepped in. Taking in the scene quickly, she ran over to Giles' side. "Giles?" Receiving no answer, she turned to Xander. "What happened?"
Xander looked down at the older man. Giles' brow was creased with sweat. "Don't know. He was fine one minute, then the next…"
Buffy went to the kitchen, got a wet cloth, and placed it on her ex-watcher's forehead. "Call 911," she told Xander. Xander walked over to the phone.
"And just what are they going to do?" Spike asked. "It's obviously supernatural. Unless the medical field has decided to switch practices, I don't think they can help you."
"Call Willow and Anya," Buffy said. "They may know something."
Xander complied, turning back to the phone.
Buffy smiled at Spike. "Thanks, Spike."
Spike's face fell when he realized he'd just helped the very people he hated. Buffy smiled and turned back to Giles. It was immediately replaced by worry at the sight of her watcher out cold, sweating and breathing heavily.
Spike didn't see it, however. He scowled at the Slayer's back.
The priest watched from the window. A broad smile was on his face. Everything was going perfectly. It was only a matter of time before his enemies were gone.
PART THREE
"Here's something," Willow said. She was sitting in a chair near Giles. Anya and Buffy stood near the ex-watcher. Anya had recognized Giles' disease and was treating him accordingly, while Willow and Xander were looking for a reversal spell.
"What is it?" Buffy asked, coming over to Willow.
"This hierophant says that, about a thousand years ago in Europe, a small village was overcome with a disease with the same symptoms as Giles'. It has a different name than the one Anya knows. The symptoms are sweating, heavy breathing, fever, sharp pains in the brain. Some of them would wake from their fever for moments at a time, speak of a prophetic dream they'd had, then fall back into a stupor."
"You think Giles is having a prophetic dream right now?" Xander asked. Giles had started to mumble. "Anya, can you make out what he's saying?"
Her ear near his mouth, the ex-demon shook her head. "No. It's just gibberish."
Buffy sighed. "Is there a way to reverse it?"
Willow nodded. "There's something about a man who was passing through the village, a sage, that worshipped the old Uruk gods. He prayed to them to reach into the firmaments and give him the power to overcome this evil, and they gave him an answer in the form of a spell. There was a violent storm, or tempest, that night, but the next morning, the villagers were fine. The sage was gone, though. I guess he must have left during the night."
"Does it give any specifics for the spell?"
Willow shook her head. "Not in this section. I'll keep looking, though."
Buffy sighed and began to pace. She hoped they could figure out who did this soon. She was a girl of action. She wanted to help her ex-watcher, but without knowing what to do, she wouldn't be a very big help.
She thought about her backache. It was gone already, and she'd dismissed it as unimportant. Giles was at stake. His safety was more important.
"Hey, people!" Spike called. They'd moved him to the bathroom and left him tied up in the bathtub. "Hungry vampire here!"
Deciding that yelling at Spike would make her feel better, Buffy headed for the bathroom.
PART FOUR
Buffy walked out of class and headed for the student lounge, frustrated. She'd sneezed during one of her classes. Normally, this would have been okay, except the teacher was writing on the blackboard. Buffy's sneeze had surprised the poor lady, and she'd almost hit her head on the desk when she lost her balance.
She didn't know what was wrong with her. But what frustrated her most was that she had no way of changing that.
They'd found nothing more about the spell last night while researching. Buffy was going to meet Willow at the student lounge and see if the young witch had come up with something since then. Buffy certainly hoped so.
She found Willow on one of the couches. She was reading the book from which she'd gotten the information about the sage the night before. Buffy was a little relieved. Willow had been so depressed over the last few weeks, Buffy didn't think it could be lifted. But after they defeated this thing, she had no doubt that Willow would sink back into that depression. Buffy hoped she wouldn't sink any farther than she had been before.
"Hey," Buffy greeted her and sat down.
"Hey, Buffy," Willow said.
"Any luck?"
Willow shook her head. She looked about as frustrated as Buffy felt. "No, it doesn't mention anything about it in the rest of the book."
She slammed the ancient text shut, sending dust flying. Some of it headed for Buffy's nose. She fought not to sneeze.
Willow continued, "I'll go on the Internet and see if there's any sites that mention the sage and the village."
"Great," Buffy managed before she started coughing violently.
Concerned, her friend asked, "Buffy, are you okay?"
Buffy shrugged. "I've been sneezing all day. And yesterday on patrol, my back hurt a lot."
"Perhaps you should go back to our dorm. You can copy my notes."
"No, it's okay. If it gets any worse, I'll go. But I'd better go to Psyche."
Willow grimaced. "Are you sure you want to? I'd skip Professor Walsch's class any day."
"Yeah, but I'll just get on her bad side if I skip class. If I'm not on her bad side already, that is."
"You want to see Riley, huh?"
Riley was one of Professor Walsch's assistant teachers at UC-Sunnydale. Riley had seemed interested in her, and Buffy hoped a relationship with him would go smoothly without any big surprises.
She smiled. "Yeah." She saw Willow's hurt look. Buffy knew she was thinking about Oz. She decided to change the subject. "How's Giles? Any word?"
"I called Giles' place earlier. Xander and Anya said he was still in a fever. Spike's the only person, or undead person, that's getting on their nerves."
"I can understand that." She glanced at the clock. "Well, I'd better go. See you in Psych." She sneezed.
"Buffy, are you sure you don't want to go back to the dorm?"
"Positive," Buffy said, although her confidence was slipping. She didn't want Willow to know that, however. "See ya."
Willow still looked concerned. "Bye."
PART FIVE
That night, nothing had come up. So Buffy went patrolling. She was feeling much better than before. At least her sinuses didn't feel so awful and her headache was gone. The cough had gotten less violent, too. Her Slayer powers must have been kicking in, finally.
She decided to make two passes in Weatherly Park that night. The first pass produced nothing. But during the second pass, she heard a scream.
Following it, she ran down the path to the basketball court. She saw several players backing away from the far-left corner of the court. Finally, they took off running.
Buffy saw what had frightened them. It was a male vampire. He had a teenager, probably one of the players, caught in his chokehold. The vampire had transformed and now bared his fangs at the poor guy. He bent down toward his neck, and the teen started screaming and squirmed more violently.
"Hey!" Buffy called.
The vampire looked up from his meal. "Slayer," he hissed.
So he knows who I am,
Buffy thought. That doesn't make him any less of a dunce.The vampire threw the teen onto the concert asphalt. The teen scrambled up and ran away.
"I've been waiting for you, Slayer," the vampire said.
"Oh, really?"
The two began to circle each other. Buffy watched him warily, stake in hand. The vampire seemed to be enjoying it. He smiled.
Buffy ran out of patience. "Are we going to fight or what?"
"Actually, no," another voice said.
Keeping one eye on the vampire, Buffy glanced into the woods and saw a dark figure step out. He stepped into the artificial lighting above the basketball court.
He was about five feet eight inches, with graying brown hair and was at least fifty-something.
"Hello, Slayer," the mystery man greeted.
"I did what you wanted," the vampire said. "Now when do I get my pay?"
"Right now, actually," the mystery man replied. Buffy recognized a British Accent similar to Giles' own. "You get to die." He waved his hand and the vampire burst into flames. The vampire ran off screaming, reaching the edge of the court before turning to dust.
Buffy turned to the mystery man and got in a defensive position. "Who are you?"
"Let's just say, I'm an old friend." He laughed.
He took a step toward her. Buffy took a step back and slipped. When she tried to get up, she started coughing again, this time much more violently than before.
The man laughed again. "Feeling bad, Summers? Do you feel weak? Do you feel like all your strength is draining from you?"
Buffy tried to tell him off, but ended up throwing up instead. She felt so sick.
Finally, she managed to stand back up and backed away. "What did you do to me and Giles?"
"I only made you sick. It won't kill you. It'll just make you wish you were dead. But I'd rather not wait until you're as sick as your former watcher. Instead, I want you conscious while you die."
"Been there, done that," Buffy said, trying to sound strong when she felt so weak.
"Yes, you did, didn't you? Another Slayer was called, yes? The first one died, which is such a pity. Kendra really was good at following orders. And Faith, well Faith's in the hospital in a coma, correct? Don't worry. She'll be as dead as you will be in the morning. And I don't even have to go near her. I only need the blood of one Slayer to end the chain of slayers forever."
"What do you mean?"
"You wish to know my evil plan, is that it? Very well. But instead of telling you, I think I'll show you."
He mumbled something in Latin. Buffy stopped moving, paralyzed by the spell. She couldn't move a muscle. Her sickness didn't even seem to bother her anymore.
"Now, follow me, Slayer. We're going to perform a spell that'll stop your or Faith's successor from ever coming into power."
No longer in control of her own limbs, Buffy followed the priest down the path and out of the park.
Willow watched in the shadows as the priest led Buffy away. Her friend was obviously under the man's spell. Willow had cast several spells while she hid, trying to free her friend, but none of them worked. Whoever this man was, he was a very powerful warlock.
Concerned for her friend, Willow had gone to the park, hoping to meet up with Buffy and take her home if Buffy was really sick. She'd just spotted Buffy facing a vampire on the basketball court when the man appeared. Willow had hid right away.
Whoever it was, she couldn't face him alone. But she needed to find out the location of the priest's hiding place.
She followed them through the park woods. They had gotten fifteen yards before the man chanted something and he and Buffy disappeared.
Willow recognized it as an invisibility spell. But she didn't have a counter spell for it, so she couldn't follow them anymore.
She needed to tell the others. She headed for Giles' apartment.
PART SIX
Giles stood before the Watcher Council in London, dressed in his usual tweed. He recognized several of the members, including Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. The council sat at a half-circular table. Their stares made him a little uneasy, but Giles resisted the urge to clean his glasses and stood proud.
"Ian Gidfrey," the council head spoke.
Giles was confused. His name wasn't Gidfrey. A man stepped up and stood to his left. Giles looked at him. The newcomer had brown hair and was shorter than Giles. Giles recognized him immediately.
It was several years ago when Giles first became a watcher. There had been another watcher, Ian. Giles was assigned as a sort-of student to the watcher, who was only a few years older than himself. However, Giles soon discovered that Ian was making human sacrifices to ancient gods, and told the council. The council kicked Ian out without delay.
I'm reliving it,
he realized. It was a dream."Ian Gidfrey," the council head repeated. "In accordance with the evidence that has been presented before us, we believe you are unfit to carry out your duty as a Watcher. You are to turn in any journals or texts originally belonging to the council and leave at once. You will never be accepted into the Watchers again."
Giles remembered Ian turning to him and giving him a look of such hatred he had never seen anything like it since.
But, unlike the actual event, the corners of Ian's mouth turned up into a cruel smile.
The scene changed around them both. They were in Giles' apartment. Giles saw an apparition of himself lying on the sofa, moaning in his fever. Anya tended to him while Xander and Willow researched. There was no sign of Buffy.
"Rupert," Ian whispered.
Giles turned. Standing in his kitchen doorway was Ian. He stood before Buffy, who was lying on the floor, just as sick as the Giles on the couch.
Symbols were painted on her chest. Ian had a knife raised above Buffy's stomach. The Slayer was paralyzed, and could do nothing.
Ian looked up at Giles. He laughed, then brought the knife up higher, preparing to strike.
"No!" Giles cried.
"He's coming around!" Anya called.
Giles woke up. He was just as feverish as before, and it hurt to do anything. He glanced up at Xander, Willow, and Anya, who bent over him.
"Giles? Can you hear me? Giles!"
Giles dimly recognized the voice as Xander. He could feel himself slipping back into unconsciousness. He didn't have much time.
"Check…Watcher Journal," he said. "Ian Gidfrey…"
Everything blackened out.
PART SEVEN
Ian Gidfrey, the priest, shed the invisibility spell as soon as he and Buffy entered his hideout. Someone had tried to break his spells in the park, but as soon as he'd gone invisible, the attacks had stopped. He figured it was the little witch that was in the Slayer's group. She'd have a hard time rescuing Buffy, if the Wicca girl found his hiding place.
He'd led the Slayer to the same warehouse he'd used for the first spell. New boxes replaced old ones, evidence that the owner still used it during the day. However, it was his during the night.
His spell supplies were in a large wooden crate in one corner. Gidfrey sat the Slayer down in the middle of a large clearing, in the same spot the harlot had lain in her few remaining hours of life.
He walked around the warehouse, casting spells that would prevent anyone from trying to get inside. Satisfied that his defense system was strong enough, he returned to the clearing.
He fetched some holy chalk from the crate and began to draw a star on the ground around the girl. He drew symbols above and below each of the star's points, then placed candles on each tip. He didn't light them yet, however. He checked his watch. He had to wait for midnight. He didn't have that long to wait.
"Here's something," Xander announced.
Anya looked over his shoulder at the book in his hands. "What does it say? Does it mention how to reverse the spell?"
When Giles had woken up briefly, they'd immediately started looking for the watcher journal. It seemed the watcher council forgot to take back a few of the journals when they kicked Giles out, because they found it, and Xander started looking through it.
He nodded. "Yeah. It says that twenty years ago, Giles caught Gidfrey making human sacrifices to ancient gods. He told the council, and they kicked him out." He remarked under his breath, "The council actually did something right for once."
"What else does it say?"
"It says that later on Ian had placed a spell on the council, including Giles, although the effects on him weren't as immediate, for some reason. It's identical to what's happening now and to the disease in the village mentioned in that other book." He turned the page. "Here's the reversal spell. Giles found it using the resources the council supplied him with. He reversed the spell and the council rewarded him by promising that he'd get his own Slayer to train."
"What are the ingredients?" Anya asked.
He told her. "For the spell to work, we have to be in close proximity with the person or persons affected by the spell. Well, that should work, 'cause he's right here."
The door opened, and Willow ran in, breathless. "Buffy's been kidnapped!"
"What?" both Xander and Anya asked.
"By who? What happened?" Xander asked.
Willow told them.
Xander checked the book. "Meets the description. It's Gidfrey alright."
"Who?" Willow asked.
Anya and Xander told her what happened.
Xander told her, "Willow, you could check out the Sunnydale hotels, see if he's there."
Willow went to her laptop, which she'd left there overnight, and logged on. Several minutes later, she found him. Triumphantly, she told them, "He's staying at the Sunnydale Motor Lodge," she frowned, "or was. He checked out just a few hours ago."
"We need Giles," Xander handed Willow the watcher journal. "Think you can do this spell, and quickly?"
She looked it over and nodded. "Yeah. Does Giles have any incense?"
"I'm on it," Xander said, jumping up and running up the stairs to Giles' bedroom.
PART EIGHT
The image of his own self lying on his couch in a fever filled Giles' mind, followed by Buffy lying on the floor with Ian standing over her.
"No!" Giles cried out and began running forward, calling for Xander, Anya, and Willow to help him. They didn't hear him. The other Giles lying on the couch seemingly transfixed them.
Giles turned back to Ian and his Slayer, but they were no longer there.
Instead, Giles was staring at some crates. They stood against a tin wall.
He looked around. He was no longer in his apartment. The dream had shifted again to a warehouse down by the docks. Overhead, a skylight displayed the cloudless sky filled with stars.
Giles turned around and looked further down the warehouse. Down an isle, he saw candles glowing. On his guard, he walked in that direction.
He stopped at the end of the isle and peered around the boxes piled there. He saw a large clearing. In the middle of that clearing was Buffy.
Ian appeared, stepping out of the shadows near Giles. He held a spell book and began to chant. Giles was close enough to hear the words. He knew exactly what spell Ian was performing. It filled him with dread.
It wasn't even supposed to exist. Giles, and the rest of the watcher council, had hoped it had been destroyed centuries ago. It was called the Ritual of Reversal. It went against everything the watchers stood for and it would end the Slayer legacy forever.
Giles couldn't let that happen. Rage he hadn't felt since his last confrontation with Ethan Rayne surfaced. He ran out of his hiding place toward Ian, preparing to leap and knock Ian to the ground.
Letting out a fierce war cry, he leapt through the air.
Giles woke with a start, sitting up. He realized his mistake when he felt a sharp pain in his head. His stomach felt queasy.
"Woah, take it easy," Anya said.
Willow and Xander had spell materials around them. They left the materials and walked over to Giles. "How are you, Giles?" Willow asked him.
"Never better," Giles said. He looked at the journal in Willow's hands. "I see you found the Watcher Journal."
"Yeah," Xander said. "But it's not over yet."
He, Willow, and Anya filled Giles in on what happened.
Giles stood up, determined. He felt much better now, and he needed to get his Slayer back.
"Let's go," Giles said.
"Go where?" Anya asked. "Willow says the guy checked out of his hotel room. We don't even know where to look."
"Yes, we do," Giles said. He gave them a brief summary of his dream.
"What do you mean, it'll end the Slayer legacy forever?" Xander asked.
"If the spell is performed," Giles began, "and Buffy and Faith die, there will be no Slayers after them. No one else will be chosen to fight the demons and the forces of darkness. But to do that, he has to have a Slayer's blood."
"He's going to kill Buffy?"
Giles nodded. "That's why we have to stop him. If I know Ian, he'll cast spells to protect the warehouse," he said. "If he's using the same ones he used twenty years ago, I know how to break them, but only a small area at a time. As for the Ritual of Reversal, there are several things we need that I don't have to cast the counter-spell. Xander, I need you to run down to the magic shop and buy a few things."
"What about Spike?" Willow asked.
Giles glanced at his bathroom door. "He can stay here, for all I care."
PART NINE
Xander dumped the new supplies on the grass at their feet and stood back.
"I don't think the store owner will be happy to see me again," Xander said. "He gave me a funny look when I asked for two tons of bile."
"Either that or he's wondering why I didn't stop by," Willow commented. She picked up a book and started flipping through the pages. "What was the spell you wanted me to read, Giles?"
Giles took the book and, after flipping through more pages, stopped and handed the book back. He pointed to a section on the page. "This one. It should break through part of the barrier spells. I want you to cast it on the south side. I'll try to distract him if I can. Anya, I want you to cast the same spell on the west side. Xander, you're with Anya. Anya, Willow, wait at least five minutes before starting your spells. When you get in the warehouse, meet each other and perform the other spell, the spell that should release Buffy from whatever magic has been worked on her."
Ian checked his watch. It was midnight. He lit the candles, then picked up a book lying on top of his crate. Then he opened the crate and took out an incense holder.
Opening it up to a marked page, he stepped up to the north point of the star and began to read. Buffy's back was to him. He waved the incense in the air, and it seeped out, spreading in the air.
"Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld, by the power you have bestowed upon me, I have empowered the Slayer and her Watcher. Now I call you, oh mighty goddess, to witness the coming of the Slayers' spirit." He walked to the nearest point to his left. "It will no longer pass from this girl to another, nor from Faith to another…"
He walked to the south-eastern point of the star. He glanced up at the girl sitting in the middle of the star. She stared straight ahead, and although she wasn't looking at him, he could see fear and anger there.
"…but it will retire, and forever dwell in the depths of hell."
He walked over to south-western point.
"There will be no more slayers. The Watchers will no longer have a purpose, and your minions of hell will rule the world without the chosen one to stop them."
He walked over to the western point, the last one.
"May Buffy Summers and Faith feel your wrath for all eternity in the Underworld and let them know they will never have a successor."
After he left each point, the symbols drawn there lit up. All of them were lit now, and all he needed to do was walk back to the northern point, say a few words in Sumerian, and the spell would be complete.
He turned and began to walk.
A fist met his left cheek.
Crying out, Ian fell, dropping the book and incense holder. The symbols stopped glowing, and the candles blew out, signaling that the spell had been broken.
Still lying on the ground, Ian looked up at his attacker. It was Giles.
"D***," was all he could think to say.
Giles kicked him in the gut, and Ian bent forward. But instead of grabbing his stomach, he locked Giles' legs in a scissor hold and pulled Giles to the floor.
After getting through the barrier, Willow, Anya, and Xander met in the southwest corner of the building. They were close enough to see Buffy sitting immobilized in the center of a large five-pointed star. They could also see Giles and Ian fighting.
"Giles could use some help," Xander commented. "Let's give him some."
Quickly, they performed the spell.
Giles rolled out of Ian's hold and got to his feet. Ian was slower and his face met Giles' foot. Ian fell back on his back. Giles bent over to straddle his former teacher, but Ian kicked him in the place it hurts the most.
In pain, Giles took a few steps back. Ian kicked onto his feet and advanced slowly, smiling.
"Not bad, Rupert," he said. "But you've still got a lot to learn."
"Lesson number one," came a voice to his right. "Good guys always come in packs."
Ian turned and saw Buffy, fully recovered, standing nearby. She kicked him in the stomach, and he soared through the air, falling through a few empty crates.
Buffy appeared over him. She gave him a roundhouse kick in the face. "That was for Giles." She kicked him again. "That was for me."
Ian moaned.
Xander, Willow, and Anya ran out into the clearing. Xander handed Buffy some rope, and she tied up the warlock quickly.
"Now what will we do with him?" Willow asked.
"Hopefully something involving leeches and the absence of a penis," Anya said excitedly.
"You know, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," Buffy said, smiling in anticipation.
Giles cleared his throat. "I'll call the Watcher Council. They'll probably want him when they find out what he did."
Ian was gagged, and they headed out the warehouse. After Ian had been put in Giles' car, Buffy turned to the others.
"Thanks, guys," she said. "I thought I was going to die."
"You didn't, though," Willow said.
"I would also like to say thank you," Giles said.
"No problem," Xander said. "Let's go."
"Yes. We'd better bring Ian to my apartment. I'll make sure the Spell of Reversal is destroyed."
Buffy, Ian, and Giles got in Giles' Citroen and drove off and the others headed down the street.
EPILOGUE
Ian glanced at the Slayer sitting in the seat across from him, then at Giles in the driver's seat. He was very angry. He'd find a way to get back at them some day. It was only a matter of time, but he'd have his revenge.
THE END