"What do you mean, we're looking for Buffy? What happened to her?" Spike exclaimed.
"Buffy and one of the new Slayers, Satsu, were out on patrol. Apparently, they were attacked by the Cult of Set. Satsu managed to evade capture and reported back to us what happened. I doubt they had any interest in her in the first place if she managed to escape them." Giles explained, quietly losing patience as he knew he would have to explain this again once he spoke to Wesley and Angel.
"So, you're saying that if Buffy is still alive, it's a trap?" Spike groaned, internally. He'd dealt with the Cult of Set once before, and wasn't looking forward to another encounter.
The Cult of Set was known for their brutal efficiency, and they were not known for leaving survivors. They were said to have powerful magicks granted to them from the Egyptian gods themselves: the ability to turn into human sized snakes, remove their hearts to avoid staking, and even come back from the dead.
"Um, yes, you're probably right about that," Giles agreed, grimacing at the thought of fighting such an infamous group of vampires.
"So we take the bait then? Die bravely rescuing the damsel in distress?" Spike grinned, anticipating a chance to one-up Angel-not unlike the time when he died to save the world.
"'Cowards die many times before their deaths, The valiant never taste of death but once,'" Giles quoted, looking over at his bookshelf to see his copy of Julius Caesar.
"William Shakespeare never met us lot," Spike mentioned, derisively. "Right, then. I'll inform Wesley of what's goin' on, get us on a jet, meet you in Italy. Sound like a plan?"
"Yes, that sounds good. Please inform Angel when he gets back, also." Giles made sure to include Spike's grand-sire, knowing that they would need all the help they could get. "I've probably never said this before, but thank you, Spike."
"You're bloody welcome, old man."
"Goddess of the soaring moon, grant to me this simple boon. Show to me what I must see, reveal to me that which shall be." Wesley and Giles chanted solemnly. Giles slowly poured water into a silver bowl as Wesley retrieved three drops of fresh black ink and dropped it into the water. "Let me see. Let me see!"
Wesley dipped a small quartz crystal on a leather thong into the mixture and watched as it turned black, absorbing the ink. Careful not to spill any of the water, Wesley carried the quartz over to the map of Europe that he had placed by his side and watched as the crystal gently swayed in the air of its own volition. Just as the spell seemed like it was about to fade, the crystal tore itself from Wesley's grasp and embedded itself in the map in Greece-in a town called Mykonos.
"Oh, thank God she's alive," Giles sighed in relief, taking off his glasses to clean them furiously.
"She's a strong woman, you taught her well. She handles herself extremely well for a girl her age," Wesley complimented.
"Thank you," Giles said as they both got up to tell Spike and Angel what they found.
"She's in Mykonos, Greece," Wesley reiterated for Spike and Angel.
"Time to round up the calvary, eh, Rupes?" Spike jumped to his feet in a seat across the room and stalked towards the door. "No time to waste."
"Actually, Spike," Wesley started, "if Buffy is still alive, that means they need her for something-which means we have some time to figure out what exactly they need her for and what we're up against so we're not going in there blind."
Giles and Angel both nodded, Angel still seated behind Giles' desk and Giles pacing in front of his books, obviously trying to figure out which books were most needed for research.
"We should all take a book," Wesley strode up towards Giles and leaned forward to read the text of the books in front of him. He, along with help from Giles, pulled 4 books off the shelves: The Secrets of Akhu, Libellus Aegypti, Heretical Setite Worship of the 19th Century, and Serpent Magi of the Nile River Valley. Wesley handed out the books, keeping the largest book for himself, and sat down and buried himself in the thick vellum paper.
With one sigh from Spike, everyone sat down to do their research.
