Tara was not surprised this time to find herself on the first step in dark stairs. She was back in the first place she had visited thanks to the spell.
Faith was still slightly ahead of her, higher in the stairs, mostly concealed in the feeble light. The only thing Tara could clearly see was that Faith was way taller than in her others memories. Here, she was probably an adult or at least a teenager. She appeared to wear leather pants and jacket but Tara wasn't real sure.
The slayer kept looking upstairs and did not appear to be certain of what she was doing or where she was going.
"Faith, where are we?"
Faith did not answer this time either. And Tara almost rolled her eyes when she scene blurred once more to finally disappear.
***
For the third time, Tara found herself in the little living room of the flat where Faith had once grown up. But this time was way different from the previous times. It was broad daylight outside as Tara could see through the small window; and several persons were standing in the room.
Faith's mother was one of them. In the back of the room, she paced with a cigarette in her hand. Her hair was longer and dirtier than the last time Tara saw her and her face was puffy and bright red. Her jaw was clenched and a dark glimmer of anger shone in her tired eyes.
The floor was strewn with pieces of filth but this time, most of the empty bottles of alcohol were put on the small table.
Another woman and a man were present in the room too. They both were strictly dressed and something about them had Tara think they were probably members of some sort of administration. They were silently standing in the middle of the living room, apparently waiting for something, but closely watching Mrs. Lehane from the corner of their eyes.
Tara looked around: Faith was nowhere to be seen.
The sound of footsteps coming from the hallway made Tara turn toward the door. Another woman appeared in the doorway.
"We're ready," she announced simply.
Behind her, stood little Faith. She was slightly older than last time but just as thin and pale. She was wearing an old pair of blue jeans and a not-so-white sweater too big for her. She carried a little backpack on her right shoulder and kept her head down, obviously not daring to look at her mother.
Mrs. Lehane for her part came to life suddenly when she caught sight of her daughter.
"You! Worthless piece of shit!" she yelled her favorite insult at her daughter, heading menacingly toward her.
The man and the woman in the living room came to life as well to block her way.
"Mrs. Lehane, just be quiet! Don't move from here." The man ordered in a quiet but firm voice.
"Oh, what'd you think?" Faith's mother mockingly exclaimed. "You think I want her? You think I want to prevent you from taking her from me? You're so wrong my little boy!"
The man did not take the offense and just took care to prevent the woman to step closer to the hallway's door.
"I don't care about her!" Mrs. Lehane went on with her rambling monologue. "You can take her away! You're doing me a favor actually! You're getting me rid off her!"
She was nevertheless trying to move toward Faith and the man in the room had to seize her by her shoulders to hold her in place.
Tara's attention drifted away from Mrs. Lehane to land on her daughter. Faith still did not look at her mother. But Tara could feel her emotions like they were hers. Fear was still there. But unlike the previous time, little Faith was not only scared. Fear was melted with more violent feelings: anger and hatred. Faith hated her mother. Tara could feel it as clearly as if Faith had just loudly said it.
"You should try not to make your case worse Mrs. Lehane," warned the woman in the living room. "Just stay calm and be quiet."
But the mother was not willing to comply and drop the matter that easily.
"Are you happy now?" she yelled, addressing Faith directly. "Putting your own mother into trouble! You should be ashamed of yourself! After everything I waste for your worthless little ass!"
"Mrs. Lehane!" The man said in a warning voice, pushing gently the woman a little more away from the living room door.
"We're on our way Lexington," informed the woman who was in the lobby with Faith.
Lexington – the man in the living room – turned to his colleague and nodded.
"Right Baldwin, I'll be downstairs in a minute."
Baldwin nodded as well, then she gently pushed Faith toward the door of the flat. Faith glanced one last time at her mother and went out of the flat without a word. The woman in the living room followed them silently.
Tara finally headed for the hallway too and saw the brunette girl taking slowly the stairs with the woman at her side trying to comfort her. In the background, the blonde witch could hear Mrs. Lehane still rattling insults off, despite Lexington's best efforts to have her being quiet.
Tara wanted to take the stairs as well to follow Faith and the two women outside the building. But as she put her right foot on the first step, her surroundings blurred and vanished again.
***
Tara was half-surprised to record she was not back in the dark stairs as she expected. On the contrary, the room she found herself in now was bathed in a sweet sunlight.
She was in a little office, mostly occupied by a large desk and rows of shelves. On one side of the desk was sitting a man in his forties, with dark hair and gray eyes. He was wearing a black suit, a white shirt and a gray tie. And he looked really upset.
In front of him, a girl was casually slumped on a chair, her feet crossed on the desk, everything in her stance intending to tell she perfectly did not care about whatever was going on.
Tara recognized Faith in a glance. Her dark locks fell on her shoulders in a messy way; she wore a pair of worn blue jeans and a pair of dark leather boots. Her red top was slightly too small for her.
"Miss Lehane, I already told you to get your feet off my desk and to sit up!" the man exclaimed impatiently. "You're not at the foster care here!"
Faith smirked bitterly at this and Tara moved to have a better view of the girl. A few years had probably passed since that day when the social workers had taken her away from her mother and she was probably around thirteen now.
"Y'know they tell me I'm not in high school when I'm doing that there?" Faith mockingly asked.
The man looked slightly taken aback for a brief instant, but as Faith finally complied to put her feet back to the floor, he brushed the matter off with a wave of his hand.
"Well, I guess you know why you're here?" he asked.
Faith crossed her arms over her chest and did her best to pretend she had no idea and that she did not care anyway.
"Things are pretty much clear now Miss Lehane," the man resumed. "This is your third fight within a month, the…"
"He started it!" Faith protested vehemently. "It wasn't my fault!"
"If I listen to you, it is NEVER your fault," the man emphasized. "But you broke three of his ribs. Nothing gives you the right to… And it is not funny!" He added severely, standing in front of the brunette.
Faith hadn't helped a smile at the mention of the broken ribs but she suppressed it immediately at the man's tone.
He sat back in his chair, and went on:
"Plus, several teachers let me know they haven't even seen you during their classes for the whole semester. And the few of them you honored with your presence reported that you never handed in any homework. So…"
"I can't work at the foster care!" Faith tried to explain, a sullen look on her face.
"I guess you can't," replied the man in a tone making clear he did not believe it at all.
"I can't work, it's not my fault!" Faith insisted.
"Just listen to me now, miss Lehane," the man interrupted in a calm voice. "This is your last chance. And I mean it. I want you on your best behavior from that precise moment. Next time I hear any kind of bad news where you're involved, you're fired. Is that clear? Am I clear?"
Faith did not answer and looked away from the man. Tara could feel the brunette was angry and was doing her best to contain her anger. This felt unfair to Faith and she did not seem to be able to find the right words to explain her case.
"It's unfair." Was all she was able to whisper, too low for the man to hear.
"Am I clear?" he repeated firmly.
Faith did not look at him but she slowly nodded.
"Good," he approved. "I hope not to see you in a while, get out of here now."
He did not need to tell her twice. Faith rushed out without a word or a glance for the man and slammed the door behind her.
Tara followed her out the room and along several corridors. Faith walked quickly, her hands in her jeans pockets, furious and desperate at the same time.
"Faith," Tara quietly said. "Why don't you try to explain why this is unfair? If you don't explain, he can't…"
Surprisingly enough, Faith shrugged and answered, interrupting Tara.
"It doesn't matter," she said. "Even if I was smart enough to make out a full sentence, I'd be wrong anyway."
"Why is that?" Tara frowned.
"I'm from the wrong side." Faith dejectedly said.
But Tara didn't get the chance to ask what she meant. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, a group of three boys, slightly older than Faith, blocked their way.
"Hey Lehane," one of them mockingly exclaimed. "You fired?"
"You'd wish," Faith mumbled, walking straight between the boys, shoving one of them to clear her way.
"You're not?" replied the same boy, arching an eyebrow in surprise. "How come you're not?"
They quickly followed her, passed her to stand in her way again.
"You're in a hurry or what? Don't have time to explain how you did to convince him to keep you?"
Faith stopped and crossed her arms over her chest but didn't answer.
"Let me guess," the other one went on. "Did you have him pity you over your fancy clothing?"
He gestured to Faith's top and snorted with disgust. Tara saw her clench her fists and felt anger rising.
"Look at you Lehane!" he resumed after a second eying Faith from head to toes. "I'm sure your mother gave you this top for your tenth birthday! What do you think guys?"
"Shut up Millard!" Faith snapped as the other boys sniggered.
Either he didn't hear, or he pretended she did not even speak because he went on, ignoring Faith's threatening tone.
"And those jeans! Look at those jeans!" He snickered. "Stole them from a hobo?"
"Shut up Millard!" Faith hissed between clenched teeth. "Leave me alone!"
She pushed him aside but it only made the boy called Millard laugh and grab her shoulder to take her in place.
"I'm sure you've got a few minutes Lehane," he said in a harsh voice. "It's not like you've got someone waiting for you at home. Or any home at all."
Faith turned round sharply and faced him, her eyes blazing.
"Angry?" he went on mockingly. "What are you going to do?" he asked, stepping closer. "Hit me maybe?"
Millard moved nearer Faith with a mocking smile. She stepped back to put some distance between him and her but he stepped forward again until Faith hit the wall behind her.
"So, you're going to hit me Lehane?" asked the boy once more. "Or maybe something else?"
He moved even closer until almost pressing his body against the teenage girl's one and Tara felt a wave of disgust coming to her mouth.
"Don't touch me Millard!" Faith cried out, pushing him away.
The boys sniggered and the Millard boy moved closer again despite Faith's threatening and hysterical tone.
"But I heard you like that to be touched…" he whispered, faking a sweet voice.
Tara saw Faith clench her fists even more tightly than previously and felt her anger turn to fury. There was a floating moment of silence and uncertainty during which Faith tried to master her rage while her opponent was patiently waiting for her to fail as he pressed his body against hers even more.
"Hey guys!" A new cheerful feminine voice exclaimed.
Tara saw two teenage girls appearing at the corner of the corridor, smiling happily at the boys. As they got closer, their smile turned to a grimace when they recognized Faith.
"What are you doing? Are you talking to her?" the taller girl asked in a disgusted voice.
She stared at Faith from head to toes and arched a questioning eyebrow at Millard. He had an embarrassed little laugh and shrugged.
"Well, we were just trying to figure out how she did not to be fired." He explained.
The girl stared at Faith again, this time openly appalled. Then she looked away from her to turn to Millard and took his hand. She pulled him behind her and started to walk away without a glance for the brunette. The whole group followed as well, leaving Faith alone.
"What else did you expect from that little tramp?" Faith heard the girl asking the others in an obvious tone.
The brunette looked at them getting out, obviously shared between the burning desire to run after them and make them pay for their words and the urgent need to run away from here. The second choice got the better over the first and Faith finally turned on her heels. A few moments later, she was in the schoolyard. She crossed it at a quick pace, without a glance for the many students gathered there. Every of them looked curiously or amusingly at her but none of them tried to stop her to talk to her. They just looked her pass, sometimes whispered a few words in her back, before resuming their previous tasks.
"Faith!" Tara called after her. "Where are you going?"
But the teenager did not answer and hurried to get out of the school. Tara felt her need to be alone and stopped in front of the high school without thinking. Before she could decide whether or not she would follow the brunette, the choice was removed from her as her surroundings blurred and disappeared.
***
The dark stairs. Again. Tara sighed and started to wonder what all this meant. If this meant something at all.
"Faith!" she called the brunette ahead of her.
The slayer did not answer and Tara rolled her eyes. She started to climb the stairs, ready for the scene to blur and disappear once more.
But it did not.
Tara blinked in surprise and hurried to take the stairs two at a time to reach Faith. Just as she did, the slayer started to climb the stairs as well, this time for real. She stopped at the second floor and went successively to both doors on that floor to read the names on the doorbells. She slightly shook her head each time and finally took the stairs once more to go to the third floor.
As Tara reached it in turn, the feebly lit floor blurred and vanished.
***
"Lehane!"
Tara jumped as she recovered and was welcomed by the angry shouting of Faith's lastname.
"What?" came the equally angry reply.
Tara turned around to take sight of her surroundings. She was in some sort of dormitory as several bunk beds were filling the room she found herself in. The window was open and Tara could see the weather was beautiful outside. It was probably the end of the spring or the beginning of the summer. A loud music played in the room and Tara thought that the man yelling Faith's name had to shout really very loud for her to hear. In the back of the room, two teenage girls were sitting on the same bed and giggling together in a low voice. Faith for her part was lying on the bottom bed of the closest bunk beds to the door. She pushed herself up on her elbows upon hearing her name and waited for the man who called her to appear in the doorway. It did not take him a long time.
He was middle-sized, probably in his forties, balding, so large that he just fitted through the door. His fat face was even redder than usual, either from his anger or his quick climbing of the stairs and running to Faith's room. Or maybe both.
"What's up?" Faith asked in a casual voice, playing surprise although Tara thought the brunette perfectly knew what the problem was.
"This!" the man yelled, waving a piece of paper under Faith's nose, not paying attention that other girls were watching the scene. "You've been fired from high school!"
"Oh, this," Faith said, good-naturally.
She lay back on the bed, as if the matter was now closed. Tara waited for the man to be taken aback by her reaction, but he was not. He was obviously used to the brunette's attitude.
"You knew?" he asked.
But without giving her time to answer, he went on:
"Of course you knew!" he exclaimed angrily. "And have you thought about telling me or someone else here?"
"Why woulda done that?" Faith asked sarcastically.
"Oh, let me guess!" exclaimed the other in the same tone. "To let me know??"
Faith scoffed at him.
"Who cares anyway!"
"Oh, yeah, you're right, I don't care!" he angrily answered. "But you have to let me know of what happen at school!"
"Y'know now," Faith answered casually.
"Lehane, stop with this!" the man warned.
He crumpled the letter in his hand and threw the resulting ball of paper at Faith. She rose on her elbows at once, obviously upset with the ball of paper bouncing off her face.
"What do you plan to do with your life?" the man went on. "D'you think this can go on forever? Fights in high school, fights here, and fights wherever you go! And you just can't get some average grades! There's nothing useful you can do! You've been fired from everywhere and everything you've done! All you do is strolling around half-dressed! Look at you! Is this a decent clothing for a girl your age?"
He vaguely gestured at her, getting redder and redder with each word.
"Last time I checked, you liked this!" Faith replied bitterly and angrily, finally sitting up, revealing for Tara her indeed way too short tank top.
The man nearly choked and became even redder if that was possible.
"Shut up Lehane!" He yelled. "It's time you learn a little respect! No outing for you until we figure out what to do with you! I want you locked here thinking about all this!"
"What?" Faith exclaimed. "There's no way I'm gonna stick here for the whole days and nights!"
"You'll do what you're told at last!"
"I so won't!" Faith said, standing now angrily in front of the man. "I so won't!"
"I'm not giving you a choice kid," the man replied, in a calmer tone this time. "I'm sick and tired of you doing stupid things. As long as you're living here, you'll do what I say you do. Is that clear?"
Faith clenched her teeth and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him defiantly.
"Then I'm outta here." Came her reply in a chilly voice.
"Oh yeah! Stop with that crap!" The man snorted. "You've got nowhere to go!"
"I don't care!" Faith spat, her temper higher and higher. "Here or nowhere, that's all the same!"
She suddenly rushed to the door and the man tried to seize her as she passed before him but she was too quick.
"Lehane!" He yelled angrily. "You better calm down! You're acting like a psycho!"
A door slammed in the distance and the man's words slowly faded away in Tara's ears as the scene vanished once more.
***
Tara looked around her to see where she had arrived this time. She was in the street. It was night but she was not cold. It was a nice night, the sky was clear and millions of stars could be perceived above the lights of the city.
Faith was quickly walking along the sidewalk, wearing a pair of black leather pants and a gray sleeveless tank top. A woman was on her heels, trying to follow her pace. From what Tara could see, the woman was probably in her early forties. She had brown and curly hair, green eyes and her skin was pale and delicate. Her pretty shirt and gray trousers perfectly contrasted with Faith's outfit.
"Will you ever stop following me?" Faith asked, annoyed. "I promise you'll get tired of this before me."
"I would not be so sure if I were you," the woman chuckled. "I am a very patient person, which is, I believe, not your case."
"How woulda know?" Faith shrugged. "You don't even know me."
"Oh, I know you better than you think Faith."
The brunette stopped dead in her tracks and turned to the woman, narrowing her eyes at her.
"How'd'you know my name?" she asked sharply.
"If you would let me…" the woman began to answer.
But Faith probably thought it was better to make some impression and added:
"You better spill 'cause I can beat you pretty hard to have my answer. Believe me, you don't want to see how strong I am. Don't trust my look." She said menacingly.
But her threats did not have the effect she expected at all: the woman started to laugh quietly, genuinely amused.
"What's so damn funny?" Faith angrily demanded.
"I'm sorry," the woman explained. "But I am perfectly aware of how strong you are. I even know you are so strong since very recently. Aren't you?"
Faith looked puzzled and the woman took advantage of the girl's surprise to make her point.
"I can explain where this super strength comes from. There is a point to it. You've got a higher purpose in your life than…"
But Faith stopped listening and resumed suddenly her walk.
"Faith, please listen to me!" the woman pleaded softly.
"Stop your bullshit," the brunette replied icily. "Don't waste my time."
"Like you've been so bloody busy lately!" The woman exclaimed. "I know what you have been doing," she went on, following Faith again. "It is more than three weeks now that you have been living like this on the streets, all alone. You perfectly know it cannot go on. What are your plans for your precious time?"
Faith stopped suddenly again and the woman almost bumped into her.
"Okay," the brunette said. "Y'know what? I just figure I'll go back to the foster care. I'll get some thrashing, stay inside pretending to think about how bad I've been behaving. And when I'll turn eighteen, I'll get kicked out and it will be it all over again. 'cept if I can convince some guy to give me what I need. I'm pretty good in that department."
Faith crossed her arms over her chest and looked furiously at the stranger.
"Happy now?" she concluded.
"I think I've got better plans for your future. Really."
Faith rolled her eyes and opened her arms in front of her in a dramatic gesture.
"And why is that? Who the hell are you? Are you fucking Santa Claus to offer me a future?"
"I'm afraid I am not Santa Claus," the woman chuckled. "I am a Watcher. From the Watcher council."
"A what?" Faith asked in a bewildered tone.
"I am your Watcher actually."
"My Watcher?" Faith repeated, stressing the word my.
"You are a slayer and I am your Watcher," the woman went on. "My…"
"Now you're sounding like my high school principal!" the brunette exclaimed.
The woman giggled softly but nevertheless went on:
"I am miss Sara Marple. I am a Watcher, which means my job is to watch over a slayer. You actually."
She paused, watching carefully Faith's reaction. As the girl appeared to wait for her to go on, Sara recited:
"Into each generation a slayer is born. One girl in all the world. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the slayer."
Faith's eyes widened at the words and dismissed them with a wave.
"Okay, you're fucking kidding me!" she hissed angrily. "Vampires! D'you think I'm stupid or what?"
She did not wait for an answer and turned on her heels, leaving with great strides. Sara Marple crossed her arms and inhaled deeply.
"Faith!" she called. "I'm telling you the truth."
"Oh yeah! Vampires are real! If you really think it's true, you need to see someone!" the brunette exclaimed in an ironic tone, turning round to face miss Marple and stepping back away from her. "Really, pal, think about it!"
Sara Marple smiled and started to follow Faith once again.
"What if I can prove it to you?" she asked.
"But you can't!"
"Okay, here what I am offering you," Sara Marple went on. "To show you my good will, I take you for dinner in the restaurant you want. I pay you the meal you want."
Faith stopped and stared at the woman with a look on her face telling her she had her full attention. Miss Marple smiled and closed the distance between them before going on.
"So, you will have a real meal like you have not in days. And then when you're full, you will have a walk with me and I will show you I'm telling the truth. If I'm not, you would have won a free dinner and it's all. What do you think?"
Faith eyed the woman from head to toes, obviously weighting her possible strength. After a few seconds, she finally made up her mind.
"That's a deal," she said in a wavering tone. "I guess I'm not taking any risk. And if you're a liar, I could still beat the crap out of you."
"Deal," Sara Marple chuckled. "Let's have a dinner."
***
The scene shifted delicately this time and Tara saw the woman, the girl and the street slowly vanishing and in their place appeared a whole new décor.
Tara saw miss Marple and Faith appearing again in front of her, in another place. They were now in what looked like a gym and Faith was seemingly training under Sara Marple's attentive watch, the woman sitting a few feet from the brunette.
"So, there's another one?" Faith asked, hitting hard a punching bag hanging from the ceiling.
"Yes, there's another slayer," Sara replied quietly. "I thought you listened to my answer the previous fifty-six times you asked."
Faith chuckled at this, while adding some kicks along to her punches.
"How'd you say her name was?" the brunette went on. "Something weird, like Bunny or something."
"Buffy Summers," Sara said. "She has been active for three years already, which is most impressive I have to say, especially for a slayer living on a hellmouth such as Sunnydale."
"How come there're two of us?" Faith followed her train of thoughts. "You said there's one and only one in each generation."
Sara rolled her eyes but nevertheless decided to answer the brunette's question.
"She drowned. Someone made her come back. But she was dead for a minute or so. Enough for the next slayer to be called."
"Which is me." Faith stated, rather proudly.
"No, actually," miss Marple set the brunette right. "Another slayer was called before you. Her name was Kendra if I recalled this correctly. You have been called when she died."
"Oh," whispered Faith, turning to her Watcher, to be almost knocked by the punching bag coming back to her.
"I will do everything in my power to make you the longest slayer to live." Sara said with a smile.
Faith nodded and returned immediately to punching the bag.
"I will be, I feel I'm made for this gig!" the slayer exclaimed, her previous enthusiasm returned.
Her efforts on the bag intensified and went wilder than previously.
"It will be fun to meet her, what'd you think?" she asked between two blows.
"Maybe, we will have the opportunity to go to Sunnydale to meet her and her Watcher. Maybe after the retreat. We'll see."
"When is this retreat again?" Faith asked, stopping to hit the bag again.
Tara could feel her tense, despite her efforts to hide it.
"It's in weeks, Faith. It's just a few days." Sara Marple answered. "And I will come back. You don't have to worry. I wont let you down." She added, clearing the unsaid concerns of her slayer.
"I'm not worried," Faith protested, trying to sound both hurt and casual.
She started to hit the bag again, with more strength than previously, almost in an angry-way.
"So, I'll get to meet Buffy, huh?" she insisted.
"Probably," Sara answered. "But now, stop with all the questions. You need to be more focused during your training sessions. And control your strength."
Miss Marple stood and came closer to Faith, a severe look on her face, clearly telling the brunette it was time to work seriously now.
"'Kay miss S," Faith answered with a chuckle.
"And for God's sake, stop calling me miss S. It's either miss Marple or Sara. But no miss S."
"'kay miss S," the slayer replied, grinning.
The scene then blurred and the last thing Tara saw, was Sara Marple rolling her eyes before the scene vanished out of sight.
***
Tara was now in a bedroom softly lit by a bedside lamp. The room had probably been some kind of office before because a desk was pushed in one corner and almost all the walls were covered with bookshelves. The bed stuck against the wall under the window was narrow but it was obvious no bigger bed would have fit in the room.
The blonde witch recognized Sara Marple's figure kneeling near the bed where another figure lay. She knew it was Faith but stepped closer to take a view of the brunette. Despite the warmth in the room, the slayer was mostly hidden under several layers of blankets. She shivered from time to time and her face was tired and paler than usual.
"You should drink this," Miss Marple said, handing Faith a cup of a steaming beverage.
"What's this?" Faith asked in a defiant tone.
Sara laughed lightly and pushed the cup further toward the slayer.
"Take it. It's not dangerous, it's a medicine I made for you," the Watcher insisted.
Faith grabbed the cup and sat up a little before smelling the liquid at Sara's great amusement.
"I added some vanilla for the taste," she explained. "I knew you wouldn't drink otherwise."
Faith chuckled and mouthed a thanks before taking a sip in the cup. She grimaced but nevertheless went on drinking as Sara Marple arched a severe eyebrow at her.
"You sure you added vanilla?" Faith playfully asked.
"Looks like you're feeling better," Sara remarked, taking the empty cup Faith gave her back.
"Yeah, I am," groaned Faith. "Minimal pain, minimal cold." She snorted.
"Don't worry, with your slayer healing, you will be okay in a day or two."
"What was this demon by the way? I thought I was supposed to kill demons of the blood-sucking sort! This one certainly didn't look like it!"
"There are a lot of different types of demons Faith, I'll teach you to recognize them."
"How?"
"See all the books in here?" Sara asked, motioning to the shelves around them. "All of them are about demons."
"You mean I'll have to read books?" Faith grimaced.
"You know Faith, that's what books are made for." Sara answered with a sweet smile. "To be read." She clarified.
"Well, what about you recognize 'em and I kill 'em? Sounds like a better plan to me."
Sara's smile grew wider but she shook her head.
"You never know what can happen. My job is to do my best to prepare you for whatever you can meet. And it includes learning from books."
Faith pouted but smiled back at her Watcher. The woman turned round and leaned over the floor where Tara saw her picking something.
"Oh, while I was out, I grabbed these for you," she said.
She handed Faith a set of comic books.
"Books more suitable for you I suppose," she grinned. "I thought you could use some entertainment while you have to stay in bed."
Faith took carefully the books from Sara, as they were the most precious things she ever held. She looked between the comics and her Watcher, and her mouth opened but she was obviously at a loss for words. Sara smiled and then pulled the blankets up to Faith's chin and stood.
"You shouldn't read them now anyway," she said. "Time to sleep now, you're still a little feverish. You need a good night sleep to recover."
Faith nodded and lay back on the mattress, the comics still her hand. Miss Marple switched off the light and headed for the door.
"Have a good night, Faith," she said.
"Hey, Sara," Faith tentatively called as the woman was about to get out.
"Yes?"
"Well, thank you," Faith whispered in a wavering tone. "For the books I mean." She paused. "For everything."
"You're welcome," Sara answered.
And she was out. Tara waited for the trademark blur preceding the end of each scene to appear. But nothing happened. She just stayed there, in the dark room, listening to Faith's breathing. She knew the slayer was not sleeping, she could feel her emotions running high, mixed with a great amount of tiredness. For a moment, she dreaded to be trapped in this particular memory with no idea of how to escape.
She sighed with relief when she heard footsteps in the corridor. A second after, Sara appeared again in the doorway. She stepped in silently, careful not to wake up Faith. She went to the bedside table and picked up the cup she had forgotten before. She glanced at Faith's figure, now only lit by the moon through the window. She saw that the slayer was still holding the comics and took them delicately from her hand before putting them on the floor. She appeared to hesitate for a fleeting moment. Finally she sat on the edge of the bed near the brunette. She lightly put her hand on Faith's forehead to check her temperature.
She nodded in inner approval and stayed some seconds there, just staring at the girl with her hand on her forehead. Then, she absent-mindedly started to stroke her hair gently. The slayer did not move, though Tara knew she just pretended to sleep. It lasted a few minutes and Tara was torn by a strange mix of feelings: her own fondness at the scene in front of her and the furious desire to cry along with the will to contain those tears she knew were Faith's.
Sara finally stood and left again, just whispering as she exited the room.
"She's a good kid."
In her bed, Faith did not move. And Tara waited a long moment in the dark, alone with the brunette until she finally fell asleep and the scene vanished at last.
***
There would be no sweetness of that kind in this new scene, Tara knew at once, when she found herself surrounded by a group of vampires in what looked like a deserted mansion. Two of them were firmly holding Faith between them, with her hands in her back. Her nose was bleeding, her face was bruised, and her hair was untidy and stuck to her cheeks with a mixture of blood and sweat. She looked terrified but nevertheless tried to struggle to escape the vampires holding her captive.
A few feet from her stood two other vampires. One of them was black and was casually watching the scene while the other was…ugly, deformed and one-eyed, his missing eye obviously the result of a recent wound. He looked so monstrous that Tara let escape a gasp of disgust when her glance landed on his face.
At his feet, lay the figure of a woman. She also had been beaten up, blood oozing from a bite on her neck and from various wounds on her arms. Tara would think she was dead if it was not for the convulsions shaking her body. She slowly looked up and Tara saw her face, bruised, scratched and teary. It was Sara Marple as Tara had already guessed.
"What did you think?" asked the terrifying voice of the hideous vampire above miss Marple, addressing both the woman and Faith in front of him. "You thought I'd let you get away with that?" he pointed at his missing eye.
He leaned forward and grabbed the Watcher's shirt to get her up. She tried to stand proudly in front of him but her legs were failing her and she hang miserably at arm's length.
"Think again," went on the vampire.
He suddenly raised his free hand and drove a wooden stake he was holding directly through Sara's right eye without warning. A cry of agony mixed with Faith's shouting pierced Tara's ears and she closed her eyes at the sight.
When she opened them again, miss Marple lay at the vampire's feet, her hands covering her face, her body shaking with heart-breaking sobs.
"Kakistos is not one you can defy without consequences," the vampire said menacingly. "You took my eye, slayer and I take hers. Just before yours."
He strode over miss Marple's body and headed toward Faith who was still struggling to get free, her terrified eyes riveted to the tall vampire.
"No, not her…" protested miss Marple's weak voice. "Leave her alone… Not…not her…"
Kakistos stopped and turned round to the Watcher. The woman was trying to sit up, one of her hand still covering her wounded face.
"Isn't that sweet?" asked Kakistos ironically.
He came back to the Watcher and looked down at her, a cruel smile playing on his lips.
"You're right, dear Watcher," he said. "Let's do it in the right order. Let's start with the brave mother-like trying to protect her poor child. Watcher/Slayer, what a fascinating relationship!"
He gestured to the black vampire who had just remained still until then. This one nodded his head to Kakistos in understanding and went to Sara. He carelessly grabbed her and put her to her feet but she was barely standing.
Kakistos then gestured in the same fashion to the vampires holding Faith and one of them immediately released her to come to help his black friend to hold miss Marple up, facing her slayer.
Faith did not even register there was just one vampire left to keep her still, her eyes wide-open, her mouth and her legs trembling, staring at her wounded Watcher, panic rising to higher level in her.
"No…" she mouthed.
"Look at this, slayer," Kakistos said, turning to the brunette. "This is the rehearsal. Then, will come the show. And you'll get the main role."
"No," Faith weakly repeated.
Kakistos turned back to miss Marple and Tara saw the Watcher trying to fix her remaining eye on her slayer. She whispered something Tara could not make out, as well as Faith.
"Let's take care of you, Watcher," Kakistos announced, licking his lips. "This will be such a pleasure. Open your eyes wide, kid," he added, addressing Faith.
He raised his hand above Sara and suddenly, everything went black for Tara. She could not see anything anymore. She was just surrounded by blackness, but she heard such terrifying screaming that she felt all her hairs suddenly erecting and her heart constricting violently in her chest.
Then the screaming was almost immediately followed by miss Marple's terribly weak voice.
"Faith…" her voice sounded like a desperate rattle. "Su-sunnydale, go to Sunnydale… Get help… get Bu…"
Her voice faded away, while at the same time, the sound of something loudly cracking came to Tara's ears. The blonde violently shook, only able to imagine what she could not see.
Two mixed screaming rang this time, one of agony Tara knew was Sara's and one of terror, rage and pain that was Faith's.
It was followed by muffled sounds of a confused battle, quick footsteps, labored breathing and finally Kakistos' hysterical laugh.
"Too late, poor useless powerless Slayer!" he exclaimed gleefully. "Look at this, girl!"
Blackness dissolved then but the scene around remained slightly blurred and imprecise. Tara could not clearly make out what Kakistos was showing Faith - something long, viscid, dripping - but she felt loathing and repulsion more powerful than any she ever felt before mounting in her and was so close to throw up she put her hands over her mouth, just in case. The emotions were running so high she felt dizzy for a moment and had a hard time to focus on whatever was going on.
Next thing she knew, she was running along Faith in a dark corridor, barely seeing where they were going. She heard footsteps behind and Kakistos' furious screams.
"Catch her again! And I want her alive!"
Tara could feel a surge of panic twisting the already terrified Faith. But it was fear that had Faith running so fast, despite her wounds and her pain. Faith's mother must have terrified her daughter but this was another kind of dread. If Tara did not know the girl had survived this frightening night, right now, she would be genuinely concerned by the brunette's survival.
She was wondering how Faith had escaped her chasers when the reply to the unanswered question appeared in front of her in the form of a window. Faith did not even blink or waver and jumped with her hands raised in front of her in a protective stance to throw herself out of the window without a second thought.
Tara felt herself falling and just before she hit the ground, everything vanished.