Chapter 4: First Impressions
His legs were about to give out, but Alexandro kept pushing, trying to put an even greater distance between himself and his pursuers. Finally, he collapsed on the grass, panting heavily. He put his ear to the ground and listened for footsteps, but heard nothingsave for his own rapid breathing and the scared beating of his heart. Whoever they were they weren't too close, but Alexandro knew he should not linger. He got up and started once again down the mountain. The slash wound on his side was oozing blood and dull pain from the dislocated shoulder radiated throughout his body. He has always been the lucky one. They have made a good living robbing dig sites, his brother and him. Their gang has grown so large that often they didn't even have to sneak around. The mortified scientists and their diggers would simply let them take whatever they wanted. Not today. Rodrigo alone must have shot a dozen of those robbed fanatics before they carved him up with their strange curved blades. Alexandro ran before they could overwhelm him. His friends' curses and cries for mercy were soon drowned out by the monotonous shuffle of the robed posse behind him. They probably lost him as he took the shortcut through the caves and now all of his hopes lay with the stone tablet he was hiding underneath his shirt. The money that Englishman promised them should be enough to set him up nicely across the border. He certainly isn't safe anywhere near here. Something told him that his pursuers had an above average dedication to their work. Perhaps it was their gouged out eyes, sawed off noses, and sown in mouths. Alexandro shuddered at the thought and quickly made a cross. Suddenly he stopped. Ahead of him sat a large man. Barely five and a half feet tall he must have weighed at least two hundred pounds. His massive shoulders complemented by a large belly and thick, as the tree stump he was sitting on, legs made him look like a giant cube of human flesh on top of which sat a big round head with a very short buzz haircut.
"Hey there, muchacho," the man spoke mixing bad English with even worse Spanish. "How did the work go today? Exciting, no?" Alexandro looked around examining his options.
"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously. The man smiled.
"I, mi amigo, am your chance of getting out of this shit alive."
"That's a pretty big chance I seem to have," the thief smiled back.
The large man smiled even wider.
"I'm not big," he said pulling a sawed off shotgun out of the recess of his coat, "I'm fat." Alexandro body collapsed on the ground among the scattered pieces of his skull. The man walked over to the corpse and pulled out the tablet.
"Got it!" he shouted. Another man emerged from the bushes. In a complete contrast to his partner he was tall and wafer thin.
"Do you have to make so much noise?" he asked, annoyed.
"What's the matter, Marty boy? Is the big bad Brit afraid of a few little Harbingers?" teased the fat man. Martin motioned him to come closer and handed him his night vision binoculars.
"Over there, by the waterfall, do you see her?" he asked pointing into the darkness.
"Oh yeah! Good eye, English. Tits seven, ass is at least an eight."
"Brains eleven. That's Willow Rosenberg, the source of our current problems," said the Englishman nervously scratching his long, sharp nose.
"Ah, that one. Right," Yozh nodded still looking through the binoculars. "What is she doing here?"
"Same thing we are, I'm afraid. The first dig site is just a few hundred meters away."
"You think she heard the shot?"
"No, she didn't react. The noise from the water must have drowned it out. This is most undesirable," Martin continued frustrated, "She's going to discover It, and whether she lives or dies, this entire mountain will be crawling with slayers and their ilk, and we'll never find that bloody temple!"
"We may already have," Yozh cut off his rant. "Go back to the jeep and test the tablet. Use the satellite phone to call Leshii. Give him all the latest, including the witch. I'll track her. Are your batteries charged?"
"I charge them every morning just as you instructed, " said the Englishman showing Yozh the green light on his handset.
"Great, " smiled the gangster grabbing it out of his hand and sticking his in its place. "Charge mine when you get to the car. Check in every two hours. Go!" Martin disappeared into the darkness as Yozh set down on the cliff and peered through the binoculars. "Oh, yeah," he smiled looking down the slope. "That's right, baby, pick that rock up. Very nice. Nice sweater you got there, too. Definitely gets cold this high in the mountains. Maybe you should jump up and down a little to warm up..."
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She must have walked through this door three dozen times by now, but this morning the restaurant seemed eerie unfamiliar. The dining area was dark with barely any sun getting through the heavy curtains. There were two candles lit on the table at the front where Dawn sat. The rest were empty except for two silhouettes in the far corner somehow getting by with no light at all. Dawn smiled an awkward smile as Buffy came in and waved her over. As soon as she sat down a waiter put down a soda and a pizza in front of her.
"Four cheeses. Extra portion of each, you favorite, " said Dawn still smiling tensely.
"I thought Dino's was closed on Mondays," said Buffy switching her glances from Dawn to the kitchen, to the figures at the far table. Something wasn't quite right here.
"Not this Monday. How have things been going?"
"You tell me. Where have you been?"
"Yes, I did get here last night. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I had an interview of sorts. Didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure if I got the job"
Buffy raised her glass as if to drink, but what she wanted was a view of the back of the room without turning her head. There must be a reason Dawn was so nervously dragging out her vowels.
"I take it you did," she said taking a small sip from her "surveillance" glass.
Dawn just smiled in response.
"What kind of job is it?"
"I start out as an assistant. Learn the business, probably do some fieldwork, too. If all goes well, I should get into management very quickly, " the girl swiftly stuttered through the sentence.
"And what kind of business is it?"
"I'll be working for Leshii."
Thank God. For a while there she thought it was something serious.
"You brought me here to tell me you've decided to become a mobster?" Buffy smiled sarcastically, "Don't you think it's a rather big step? Perhaps you should brush up on your shoplifting skills first, then maybe hit a liquor store or two, before you get into pimping and racket?"
"I'm serious. I called you here to say goodbye. I'm leaving for Kiev this afternoon."
"No you're not," The smile was gone now. "Are you kidding me? You aren't going anywhere! I know I've been told to give you space. I know you hate me, you blame me for what happened, but..."
"No! No, no, no!" Dawn reached across the table taking Buffy's hands, "It's not you I hate, it's not you I blame, I love you, Buffy! There are just things I need to know, things you can't teach me and Leshii can"
"He has nothing to teach you! He's nothing but a murderer!"
"Well, so am I!" Dawn blurted out. She didn't plan it, but so what? She watched her sister's shocked expression blinking back at her, mouth slightly agape. Might as well be now, perhaps it will make it easier for her to let her go. "Those men in the house," Dawn continued, pulling each sentence out of herself as though a tooth. "Leshii didn't kill them, he just tied them up."
"What are you saying?" Buffy's brain simply refused to process the incoming information. "No, you didn't... It doesn't matter... You were in shock... A momentary..."
"It wasn't 'momentary'! I wanted blood and he made it easy for me. He left just the two of us with them," the volume of Dawn's voice kept getting lower as did her gaze. "He didn't put her there just to teach, but to take the blame," she almost whispered now staring at her plate. "Even if one of his men would blab, you'd assume all that mess the work of the sadistic little vampire. But I know which part was mine. I got the blood I wanted and a lot more with it. I have to go, Buffy. I have to find out who I am."
"You are not anybody! You are the choices you make, and this is the wrong choice, and I'm not letting you make it!"
Dawn lifted up her head and looked Buffy straight in the eyes.
"You can't stop me," she said in a suddenly even, deliberate tone.
"Oh, yes I can!" The Slayer grabbed Dawn by her forearm, pulling her from the chair, and turned toward the exit. Between her and the door stood Leshii; slightly behind him was Zemfira.
"You are a valuable client, miss Summers," the gangster spoke, "But where I come from customers are not always right. Especially when they manhandle my people."
"Out of my way," Buffy said menacingly.
"No"
Buffy let go Dawn's arm and threw a right punch at Leshii's head. It did not land. With surprising quickness and strength the Russian grabbed her arm and, spinning, sent her crashing into the tables all the way on the other side of the room. Buffy jumped up, grabbing a broken table leg.
"Nice. I guess this explains the romantic atmosphere." She picked up the table top with her left and threw it at the side window. The light rushed into the restaurant, sending Zemfira cowering into a dark corner. Leshii stood motionless.
"I may be a poor excuse for a human being, but I'm not a vampire."
"Fine by me. I'll just use this to bash your brains in then," said Buffy taking a step towards her opponent. It is at that moment she realized her feet weren't touching the floor.
"Adhaesi!" the witch hissed from the corner. A powerful force pulled Buffy into the far wall, her arms and legs sticking to the brick as though glued. Zemfira stood up, her vampire face still slightly smoldering from the exposure to the sun. She slowly extended two fingers of her left hand until they were leveled with her pitch black eyes.
"Conflare!" The pulling force increased and Buffy felt her body sinking into the brick until only her face remained outside the wall.
"You are still my client, miss Summers," Leshii spoke again. "And I would hate to see our relationship deteriorate. But if you persist in attacking members of my organization, I will be forced to mark yours for extermination," he turned to Dawn who was helping Zemfira wrap herself in a full body cloak, "Are we set?"
"Yes," Dawn replied. She stood up and took one step towards her sister, "Good or bad this is my choice. Don't try to find me; you'll only get people hurt. When I'm ready to come back I will"
Buffy said nothing as the three of them walked out the door. Her face contorted from extreme strain as she tore her right arm out of the wall, then her left. The torso and the legs followed. The Slayer ran out of the restaurant as the mutilated wall continued to shake and crumble behind her. Dawn and Leshii were nowhere to be seen. She turned left and headed towards her apartment, pushing through the crowd of gawkers that came running to look at the pile of wood, glass, and brick which was once called Dino's Pizzeria.
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Buffy paced around her sister's room occasionally throwing her glance at the monitor. Normally Dawn moved the videoconferencing setup to the living room, but the last thing Buffy wanted to worry about was properly reconnecting all those wires.
"No!" she shouted at the screen. "I said 'eleven', 'twelve', this one is at least fifteen!"
"I'm sorry, Buffy," said Giles somewhat frustrated himself, "You get to be my age and any woman under thirty might as well be twelve. What about this one?" He put up another book illustration before the camera on his end.
"That's it!"
"Zemfira. She's over twenty twelve year olds. Hasn't been sighted since the first World War. At least not as of nineteen sixty seven," he added flipping to the back cover.
"Do you think Willow can take her?"
"I'm sure we have more than a few witches capable of the task."
"Excellent. We need leads on Leshii's hideout in Kiev from your MI-6 contacts. Dawn said they were flying there, so if we teleport ahead of them we'll have a huge surprise advantage"
"To do what exactly?"
"To get Dawn back, what do you think?!"
"Buffy, Dawn wasn't kidnapped; she left of her own free will"
"She's a traumatized seventeen year-old, she has no free will!"
"What I mean is that she is no immediate danger. In fact the only danger I foresee at the moment is the one coming from a half-cocked rescue attempt."
"I have to get her out of there!"
"And we will get her out," said Giles putting as much emphasis as possible on the 'will', "but not by starting a war. Leshii means what says. If you try to take Dawn he will retaliate. Harshly"
"We'll deal with it," Buffy waved him off impatiently.
"Leshii is not a demon. We are not equipped to deal with his kind of threat and we shouldn't have to. The First is the real danger here and Leshii is a potential ally. Dawn saw that. She found something at the archives; there's a whole shelf of documents missing. This 'joining the mob' might very well not be what it seems. You haven't been able to get Leshii to even admit he knows what the First is, but Dawn found a way inside. This an opportunity..."
"I don't care about any of that! I want my sister back!"
"We don't know what has happened just now, Buffy. We don't know what's involved and until we do any knee-jerk reaction is going to hurt Dawn, not help her. We'll keep an eye on her. The first sign of danger and we will act, I promise you, but not now. Not until we know more. Take a few hours to cool down and you'll see that I'm right."
Buffy swept the monitor and the camera off the desk, ending the conversation. Willow, Willow, why aren't you picking up your phone? Buffy sat at the bottom of the staircase staring at her handset, as it once again played the witch's cheerful voice mail greeting. Giles is right, there's nothing for her to do, but wait. And wait, and wait. She jumped up and burst through the building door onto the street, wincing as the sun hit her eyes. Everything is wrong. What she wouldn't give for a moonless night, a stake, and a dozen vampires right now. Forget the stake, she would just rip their heads off with her bare hands. Anything, but wait. And wait, and wait.
It was only two in the afternoon, but Mortimer has already finished his breakfast. He's been waking up unusually early this entire week. The excitement of courting the Slayer was definitely affecting his routine. He even started reading morning newspaper again to pass the extra time, something he hasn't done since the year it was invented. He was just about to wrap up the international news section when a loud, insistent banging came on the front door.
"That's odd," Mortimer thought, "How could anybody be knocking without ringing the bell at the gate first? What, did they just jump over the four meter wall? Wait a minute..."
"I got it!" he shouted, waving off the butler who was about to unlock the door. He stopped at the full length mirror in the corridor, adjusted his hair and robe, and then leisurely opened the right half of the large oak entryway.
"Buffy, " he smiled at his visitor, "To what do I owe-oh!" he shouted as the two-handed push sent him flying the entire length of the corridor and straight onto a living room couch. Half a second later Buffy landed on top of him, covering his open in utter bewilderment mouth with hers. The hard kiss lasted a full twenty seconds before she broke it off and looked quizzically into his eyes.
"... the pleasure, " Mortimer exhaled, finally finishing his sentence
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The night was almost over, but Willow hardly noticed. She was moving practically on autopilot, spewing out appropriate spells and incantations necessary for the search at hand, while the largest share of her formidable mind was devoted to rehashing the events of the last twelve hours in a continuous and heart wrenching loop...
She has almost finished packing when Buffy returned to the apartment from another one of her 'not-dates' with the Immortal. Willow even thought she caught a whiff of alcohol.
"Packing in the middle of the night," said Buffy noticing the fullness of her bag. "Can't be good news."
"Sure it can. I found our mystery caster."
"Didn't you say the spell link was too weak to narrow it beyond South America?"
"We got lucky. I isolated the spell signature, which is like a caster's fingerprint only we didn't have a database to compare it to. So then I decided to perform this regressive locator incantation that," Willow stopped mid-sentenced as she saw Buffy's eyes start glazing over, "Made me get carried away with the magic-babble again. Basically I sent word to all the covens out there to start sampling any evil magic they find and I just got a good match on a plague that's destroying lama grazing pastures near Santa Lucia in Peru."
"Lama grazing? O the nefarious fiend!" Buffy laughed plunking herself into the comfy armchair. She was definitely buzzed.
"It's not funny, miss 'free mid-town apartment and expense account', " said Willow slightly miffed that the response she elicited was more giggly than congratulatory. "It affects livelihoods of real people. Little Indian children are going to bed hungry!"
"Ha! You called them Indians instead of Native Americans!"
"These are different Indians."
"They aren't native?"
"No, they aren't American. No, wait. They are. Sort of. Native South Americans? No, that doesn't sound right. Nuts! This is going to bug me all day now."
Buffy laughter turned hysterical prompting a very disapproving head shake.
"Do you want me to teleport you to bed?"
"I can walk, I'm not that drunk. I mean I'm not drunk. At all."
"Sure, the three of me, we believe you, but the pinkish elephant has been voicing some concerns."
"I'm totally fine," Buffy got off the chair and gave her friend a hug. "Materialize safe, Will, and call me when you find something."
"Will do," the witch smiled back. She pulled her bag in close and sprinkled a bit of bright powder on herself and the luggage. A short incantation later she was in the middle of her living room half a world away. The beautiful view of Rio de Janeiro at sunset that greeted her through the large window contrasted greatly with not so beautiful view of two girls making out on the couch that greeted her as she turned around. She stepped towards them, completely forgetting that her bag has materialized in the same direction. The sound of the fall alerted the couple. Seeing the shocked face of her girlfriend, Kennedy rolled off Linda as the blonde jumped to the floor and started frantically searching for her top. Willow stood up and staggered towards the door.
"No," she thought, stopping abruptly, "I'm not sixteen anymore and I'm not going to run away to cry in a bathroom stall." She turned around and stepped forward.
"So what is this, Kennedy, teaching the students how to get 'a head' in this world?"
"Is that what you are mad about?" Kennedy moved towards Willow as well. "That it's one of the students?"
"What else? Am I supposed to be jealous of this dimwitted slut?"
"Hey!" Linda objected from the floor. "I'm right here!"
"You are sleeping with one our charges! Do I have to tell you how many levels of wrong that is?!" Willow continued raving.
"First of all, I wasn't sleeping with her and second, who are you to lecture me on teaching ethics, you just called your student a dimwitted slut!"
"She knows she is a dimwitted slut!"
"I'm still here!" Linda shouted, still on all fours.
"And why are you still here?" snarled Willow.
"Uhm... well... Uhm.. I can't find my panties," mumbled Linda, looking up at the witch, a little frightened.
"You didn't have any panties," groaned Kennedy.
"Oh, right... He-he... Got to run now," said the skinny blonde and flew out the door faster than a speeding bullet. Willow did not turn, her large dark eyes continued to stare Kennedy in the face as though trying to drill a hole in her forehead.
"Alright," said the redhead. "Now that the average IQ in this room went up forty points, are you going to give me an explanation of what's going on?"
"It wasn't serious," Kennedy sat back on the couch. "I just wanted... I don't know.."
"Wanted what? A fresh body? It certainly wasn't her conversation ability. Well? I'm really curious, what exactly does she have besides disproportionally large breasts?"
Kennedy looked up at Willow. Things that were so murky these past few months have suddenly become crisp and obvious.
"Nothing. She is as plain as a copper penny. That's what I needed. Someone who's very clear on the role I'm playing in her life, even if it is just sex."
"I have no idea what the heck that means, but you're not pinning this on me, missy!"
"What I mean, Willow, is that I'm tired of waiting for you to decide where to stick me in your busy schedule. I feel like an accessory here! Sure I was fun and exciting to play with in the beginning. And you needed me, still do, sometimes. To tell you how wonderful you are, how strong, how smart. You don't love me, never did. I'm just a crutch you used to get over Tara and.."
"Don't you bring her into this!" The witch grew more furious by the minute.
"You brought her into this!" Kennedy jumped up, gesturing wildly, her index finger practically poking Willow in the face. "She never left! I feel like there's three of us in this apartment all the time! So Tara was your first girlfriend, you loved her and she died. It's tragic, but it's the past. I'm here now and all you do is look at me with her eyes, comparing me to her, judging me. Well, I've had enough! It's over." She walked past her now ex-girlfriend to the door. For a brief moment Willow just stood there utterly confused.
"Wait a minute!" she turned around, "I catch you cheating and YOU break up with ME?!"
"Quite an interesting turn of events, isn't it?" smirked Kennedy, "I'll sleep at the girl's dorm."
"Oh yeah... Well... Don't screw them all at once, leave some for tomorrow!" Willow shouted down the stairwell, but her comeback went unacknowledged. Whether she heard it or not Kennedy was gone. Willow slammed the door shut and walked back to the living room couch. She sat down and quickly jumped up: Kennedy and Linda were just making out on it.
"I should disintegrate it," she thought, "or, maybe, donate it to charity." It's at that moment Willow realized it wasn't the breakup that was upsetting her the most; it was still Kennedy's indiscretion. She felt cheated, not heartbroken. Like little bolts of lightning the thoughts shot through her mind. Was Kennedy right? Was she nothing more than my rebound gal? What does that say about me? Why am I sitting on the stupid couch again? She angrily jumped off once more and turned to the pile of stuffed stitched leather. Her mouth opened to utter the destructive spell, but no words came out. This won't help. Magic is never helpful. If she took a plane like a normal human being she wouldn't have caught Kennedy by surprise. Even now, magic denies her the comfort she desperately wants. "I told you so" Buffy would never say it, of course, but she will think it. Her connection to her best friend has become so strong that even over the phone the surface thoughts were as clear as the digitized vocals. She sat back down and gently petted the cushion. Abusing an innocent piece of fine furniture is definitely not the way to relieve her pain. There's a reason she left Rome. There's something out here worthy of her wrath.
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Whatever it was, it was close. She has been tracking the trail of withered grass since yesterday evening. She has found three separate spell epicenters already and somewhere around here was the fourth. The dearth of sound was eerie. No birds, no animals, not even insects. The little six-legged critters were making their way back to the other sites, so their absence here meant she was getting much warmer. Willow floated onto the plateau. Three miles in diameter it was a top of a huge stone cylinder seemingly curved out of the mountain range. The rock faces were absolutely flat for almost the entire circumference save for the narrow connection to the rest of the range that housed a steep pathway probably broken in by livestock. Cutting across the field of tall yellowing grass dozens of tiny streams and brooks streaked and crisscrossed until finally merging towards the eastern edge to collapse as a large waterfall onto the valley thousands of feet bellow. The noise of the falling water and soft gasps of wind, normally so soothing, just seemed to accentuate the lack of any living sound. The witch sniffled uncomfortably. The whole place reeked of death. She thought about getting a bird's eye view of the plateau first, but it was hardly worth the effort since it had only one distinguishable feature, a small hill smack in the middle. Hovering slightly above the tips of the grass blades Willow pushed off with her left foot and slid toward the hillside. Right, then left, just as she skated in the Sunnydale arena with Buffy. Only this time she wasn't falling every five feet despite moving five times as fast. At close range the hill seemed even less remarkable than from a distance, but completing her first circle around it, Willow realized that its base is square, with the sides about the same size as its height. This can't be a natural formation. Suddenly she stomped with her right foot as hard as she could, turning roughly as she stopped on a dime.
"Commonstrare!" she cried out. The hillside in front of her cracked and shattered like a mirror. The shards of the crushed glamor spell dissipated in the air revealing a large dark entrance into the depth of the earthy structure.
The long and narrow passage was slightly angled downward seemingly delving deep into the mountain. Actually it might not have been that long. The hillside containing the entrance was opposite the current position of the sun and the meagerness of light made the descent seem endless. Willow took out a handful of golden powder out of her pouch.
"Sekhmet, Goddess, make my way," she whispered as she flung it into the air. The grains separated, and glowing ever brighter, rushed forward, lining up along the walls like tiny little floating torches. Stepping more confidently now Willow moved further down the passage until it opened up into a large cave. There was another tunnel there going steeper into the mountain. This one was likely dug recently as wooden supports were propping up the ceiling. She looked behind her. The tunnel she walked was perfectly straight and she could still see the white spot of the entrance a little more than eight hundred feet away. They must have been waiting for her to turn her back. The Bringers poured out of the far tunnel to pounce on the unsuspecting witch. Willow didn't even bother facing them. Each one of the tiny torches floating along the walls rushed towards the attackers, incinerating itself and its target upon contact. For a minute it became so bright Willow had to shield her eyes. As the fires drew down the cave reverted to semi-darkness with only a handful of lights remaining.
"Bravo!" the echo carried the exclamation.
Willow took her hand off to see a large shape blocking the tunnel exit.
"Nice touch with the 'make' instead of 'light'. Torches and sentries for the price of one. You are here to see me, I presume."
Willow didn't answer but a slight wave of her hand sent the remaining lights towards the figure.
"I would love to see what you are made of, girl, but not here. I've got too much time invested in this dig, and while I'd like to think my design is good enough to withstand our upcoming ramble, I have little confidence in guys with no eyes building to spec." With that the shadow retreated into the light of the plateau.
"You don't really expect me to follow you, do you?" said Willow in a quiet voice meant more for herself than her opponent. A snap of her fingers and she materialized on top of the mound getting a good look at her enemy standing in wait about thirty feet outside the tunnel entrance. Remotely resembling a centaur, the Creature's skin was gray and smooth. Its lower body was about the size of a rhinoceros with four slightly longer legs with two claws on each hoof, and a long thick tail swirling about. The upper body had two sets of arms. Its head sitting on top of a long neck was human shaped, only larger. The Creature's face was strangely familiar. The strange part was that there was no face. The front of the head was completely smooth like the rest of Its body. It had an almost watery appearance with tiny ripples running from top to bottom. Or, perhaps, it was just the way it reflected the sunlight. The entire concoction seemed so awkward, so unnatural, yet Willow could not shake the feeling that she has seen It before.
"Questions, comments?" asked the Creature finally getting bored of watching the witch watch It. Despite the distance between them and waterfall not far away, the Creature's voice carried perfectly without being a shout. Witty banter while slaying was Buffy's trademark; Willow never felt the need to humor her enemies, especially now.
"You'll pay for what you did to Dawn"
"Straight to revenge, then," nodded the Creature understandingly. "No wonder you were offered Anya's job. You would have made a great Vengeance Demon. You could have had a unique niche clientèle. You know, the one where they take personal abuse with good humor, but rip the skin of those who hurt the ones they love. That said, what happened didn't actually hurt Dawn. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
"This will kill you."
The ball of fire flew out of her palm growing exponentially as it rushed towards its target. The Creature made no move to escape as the flames completely engulfed Its form. The column of fire burned ever hotter, rising almost a hundred feet tall, then swiftly came crushing down, breaking into hundreds of tiny orange streams radiating into the expanse of the plateau. The Creature stood unharmed, not even a singe on Its massive gray body.
"Wow, you totally barbecued that dead rabbit over there. Going redneck, are we?" the mouth made a brief appearance to form a derisive grin. It pushed off with Its hind legs, aiming the jump at Willow, but the witch was quick to react.
"Tar, thicken! " she shouted, suspending her enemy in mid-air.
"Shatter!" hissed the Creature and dropped to the ground a few meters from her. "Now that wasn't at all original," It smirked and pounced on the girl. Willow stood silently as the Creature clawed and punched at the defensive barrier.
"You are not just going to stand there, are you? I must say this is not the excitement I looked forward to. Come on, girl! Let's rock!"
"If you say so," said Willow letting go of a fifteen ton boulder she was positioning above Its head. The force of the impact took off a slice of the hill sending down a raging river of debris.
"This wasn't nearly as funny as you think it was," came from behind her. Willow turned to see the Creature dusting Itself off, not a scratch on It. "You almost collapsed the excavation tunnels. I asked you nicely to please be careful." The end of the sentence was swallowed up by a powerful gust of wind that punched the Creature in the chest, knocking It back. It tried to move forward again, but the wind kept getting stronger. The currents seemed to flow around the witch, just slightly fluttering her long red hair, pressing with all their power against the Creature that dug in with all of Its four hoofed legs trying to maintain Its position.
"Dodge this!" Willow shouted as a huge bolt of lightening struck the Creature in the head. The electric current swirled about Its body, down Its neck, onto Its limbs, and right before it went into the ground a second bolt came down from the blackened sky. Again and again. The wind swirling about at hurricane speeds has formed a visible wall around the plateau rising up all the way to the storm clouds that have completely blocked out the sun. The ten square kilometer area around the hilltop has plunged into utter darkness with two figures, one small another enormous, briefly carved out of the void by periodic flashes of light. Finally the wind died down. The clouds dissipated, but the Creature stood just as it had, its face sporting a deliberately bored expression.
"I think I'm supposed to say 'oh, that tickles!', only it didn't. Honestly, Willow, I didn't feel a thing. Are you sure you're trying hard enough? This is not High School P.E, you know, there's no doctor's note for slacking. And as a matter of record I did not teleport out of the way of that mudslide. I teleported from underneath so as not to get the dirt under my fingernails digging myself out. I mean, look at these babies," It extended all four of Its hands toward Willow. "I doubt there are more than two or three Korean manicurists in all of Brooklyn willing to take these on." Suddenly the Creature clapped Its hands. A giant fissure opened up right under Willow and a fountain of magma shot into the air. The girl fell backwards on the ground, her hair and clothes slightly singed and two burn blisters popped on her left hand.
"Uh-oh. I don't think that protection spell is holding as well as it used to. Perhaps you shouldn't have expended so much energy."
No use wasting it on verbal comebacks, then. Willow thrust both of her hands forward sending the Creature flying into the air. The witch floated off the ground herself and darted ahead pushing It across the plateau, then off the cliff, down the waterfall, and into the lake below it. She hovered above the edge for a few minutes, her face contorting in strain as she tried to keep her enemy from rising to the surface. Suddenly a column of water erupted out of the lake knocking Willow back a good three hundred meters, all the way to the foot of the hill where the battle started. The crest of the giant wave lapped the burned grass gently bringing the Creature to the ground.
"Brrrrrrrrrr," It shook Its massive body the way so many dogs do. "You know, Willow, this daily bathing thing you Americans, are so obsessed about is not for everyone. You are thorough though, I give you that. You tried all four elements. Got anything to show for it besides a nose bleed?"
"Everyone can be killed," said the witch hoarsely as she slowly caught her breath.
"True, but, ironic as it may be, it cannot be by your hand. You don't believe me. That's fine. Let's try a few more things, if you like. What was it that worked for your clique before? A big explosion? No, that's fire, we've covered that. Pulling out a uranium power core? Please, even if I had one, you can't even break the skin. Hitting me on the head with a magic troll hammer a couple dozen times? No, that baby's at Buffy's. Oh, I know! You can talk to me! Perhaps I don't really want to kill you. Perhaps all I need is a nice chat with a friend to get over my personal trauma!"
"What the..."
"What is that rusty sound? Oh, I think it's gears in your head finally turning! Come on, little hamster, you can do it! Spin that wheel!"
"Impossible..."
"You don't give yourself enough credit, Willow. Didn't your girlfriend used to say you can do anything? I don't mean that sex toy you have in Rio. I mean your real girlfriend, the one rotting away with a bullet hole in her chest."
"Shut up!" The fury of the witch's shriek seemed to shake the very mountain beneath her. Out of her outstretched palms escaped a river of pure destruction, vaporizing everything in its path, trees, rocks, even the air itself. This time the Creature didn't wait. It plunged two hands into the black stream that tried to swallow It and seemingly ripped it apart, breaking the spell and sending exhausted Willow collapsing onto her knees.
"You are right, " It spoke in a voice no longer mocking, but frighteningly menacing. "I talk a lot. Old habits die hard it seems. You are clearly too tired for me to drag this out much longer. Let it be finished." Its long tail coiled into a strike position above the girl's head and swiftly came crushing down. It sliced through the crouching figure and hit the ground hard. The broken apparition wavered for a second, then disappeared. The Creature growled in angry disappointment. The witch was too weak to cast instantaneous teleportation, so she covered her clumsy escape with glamor.
"I keep talking too much," It spoke to no one in particular. "Damn this villainous cliché! I just can't help it. It's even more fun when you can actually do what you say!"
"Is she gone?" A man emerged from the cave. He was dressed in a Coptic priest clothes with a large silver cross hanging around his neck just below his long silver beard. His head was covered by the traditional high black hat.
"Yes, o brave Fedocious," replied the Creature. "The blasphemous witch has fled. No doubt in anticipation of an awesome demonstration of valor on your part."
"I had to remain inside to make sure the tunnels are not collapsed by your battle."
"Sure you did."
"I fail to see the problem. The witch does not posses the power to harm you."
"No, but together we could have harmed her. Now she knows and lives. That means we are going to have visitors very soon."
"Should I summon more Brothers to protect the excavation?"
"No, bring forth more Harbingers. Dig up every square inch of these caves. The mausoleum is here, I can smell it!"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The sun was beginning to set. The rays, unfiltered by the curtains, were coloring the living room in an unfamiliar way. The overturned sofa and various bits, that at one point comprised two cocktail tables and a bar, completed the decor. Mortimer slowly got up from the floor, rubbing his sore shoulder.
"You really got this angry sex thing down, haven't you?" he said examining the carnage around him. He looked over to the Slayer. Buffy still lay on the floor, her nude body half covered by the torn off curtains. She seemed completely lost in her own thoughts, hearing and seeing nothing except the slight sway of the chandelier that her eyes were following as if hypnotized. He sat down next to her and slowly brushed her hair from her forehead.
"Something happened, didn't it? Can I help?"
"Leshii took Dawn," Buffy's voice was quiet, almost detached.
"My God," Mortimer jumped back up to his feet. "What does he want? The Scythe again?"
"No, it's not like that," Buffy continued calmly in the same horizontal position, just slightly lifting herself on her elbows. "She left with him. My sister is a Russian mobster."
"I'm so sorry," was all that came to his mind. Buffy was acting so strange he had no idea what she was expecting him to do. It's been a long time since a woman had him stumped like that and he was enjoying the thrill greatly.
"I'm not stupid," Buffy spoke suddenly irritated and sitting up. "I could tell she was suppressing. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I thought I'd catch her stealing again, or sleeping with some asshole, or even doing coke in the bathroom! I was ready, but not for this! 'So your child is a mafia hit man.' That wasn't one of the brochures. In Italy, of all places, you'd think they'd have it."
"This might not be as bleak as you think," said Mortimer, getting a better handle on why Buffy was here. She didn't come to him looking for action. Dawn-related action that is. Whatever that's going to be, it's not happening soon. She needed comfort and having provided one kind of it already, he should try for the other kind as well. "The side trip to London she just took cannot be a coincidence. Dawn was trying to get more involved, that's what the Moscow trip was all about. Perhaps she's just took it a step further. An ill-advised step, certainly, but well-intentioned."
"That's what Giles thinks, " said Buffy laying back down.
"There you go."
"Oh, please," up she went again. "You, men, with your retarded rational reasoning! She doesn't know what she's doing. What she thinks, what she says, it doesn't matter. Something broke inside her and she doesn't know how to fix it, so she's grasping. Anything, anybody. Except me. I wasn't there to save her that time and she doesn't trust me anymore. I doubt she trusts him either, she probably feels she has no choice."
"You are being too hard on yourself. From what I know I don't see anything..."
"I'm not basing this on anything," she interrupted impatiently. "Call it a parent's instinct."
So much for providing the other kind of comfort. Over the centuries Mortimer has learned the value of silence and the situation clearly called for it. He put his arm around her and gently guided Buffy's head to his shoulder.
"Do you think it's possible he works with the First?" she spoke again after a long pause.
"Leshii?"
"He's strong. Not Caleb strong, but much stronger than a human should be."
"No, that's different," Mortimer mumbled adjusting her hair. "It has nothing to do with the First."
Buffy pulled her head away. For a while there she had forgotten who she was with. She grabbed the curtain covering herself.
"Go on," she said with a stern look.
"To tell the truth, it's only a theory, and I hate to give uncorroborated information," Mortimer replied slyly as they drifted into familiar patterns.
"Just spill it already!"
"Back to angry sex, are we?"
Buffy chuckled, giving him a friendly shove.
"Talk now."
"Alright, alright. About a hundred fifty years ago," he began as he got up and started gathering Buffy's clothes, "there was this doctor named Povane. Actually, he wasn't so much a doctor as a sadist who kept really good notes. Really good evil notes. A few pages and you quickly understand why the Senior Partners used his blood to consecrate Wolfram&Hart's Los Angeles office. A good deal of these notes was devoted to his study of people's adaptation to extreme pain. He found children in early puberty acquired a greatly increased tolerance over time and, in rare cases, a prolonged and steady exposure seemed to create a permanent change."
"Adrenalin," Buffy nodded. "It dulls the pain, but also increases strength. You think Leshii is on a permanent high."
"To be sure no one has ever got a urine sample from him," Mortimer continued, giving Buffy a surprised look. Apparently three semesters of college go a long way in California. "However, it's a well known fact that he has been tortured by 3M for over three weeks."
"Who?"
"3M. Moscow Mummifying Maniac. Not the Post-it maker."
"Right. But it can't last that long, the adrenalin fix," she grabbed her pants out of the pile the Immortal handed her. "There was this military program and this friend of mine..," she pulled them on both legs at once.
"Boyfriend of yours, agent Riley Finn," Mortimer interjected.
"Of course you would know that. Creepy, but not unexpected. Anyway, he almost died from that implant that increased his adrenalin production."
"Perhaps because Leshii's body chemistry was altered naturally, relatively speaking, his tolerance is greater. There's really no way for us to know," Mortimer shrugged.
"Maybe he'll keel over tomorrow and Dawn will come home," she sighed hopefully.
"I'll drink to that. How about it? I got rum and tequila."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It was Dawn's first time in a private jet. Giles, who has raked in an untold number of hours on every imaginable airline, had sparred with Willow a number of times over getting one for the Council. The disagreement was not so much about the money as the environmental impact. "Teleportation is the safest, cheapest, and cleanest way to travel," she would say, "If you have to use a planet killing, people crashing machine, go with professionals." The last word was always left to Buffy, and her sister would invariably nix the idea for fear of loosing an excuse to keep her travel to a minimum. Leshii's plane was not particularly posh. It was divided into two cabins. The small one, apparently for private use, was empty now as Leshii sat with Dawn and Zemfira in a small booth next to the entrance. The rest of the gang, eight in number, took up two larger booths. The tables were filled with cards and liquor even before the plane took off. Their table was boringly empty. Dawn kept trying to think of a conversation topic, but her thoughts were consistently thrown into disarray by the strange, malignant stare Zemfira was giving her for the last half hour. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore.
"What? What did I do?"
The vampire responded with a contemptuous snort.
"You made her confront the Slayer. It's about time you got over your phobia," said Leshii without looking at either of the women he addressed.
"I'm not afraid of the Slayer," Zemfira answered even more indignant. "She's just a bad omen."
"Yes," Dawn smiled, "I heard something about vampires meeting Vampire Slayers and then ending up staked immediately after, but I'm sure it's just a coincidence."
"You are just so funny."
"I think I am"
"For your information," Zemfira was growing impatient, "Every Slayer I've met before has ended up dead!"
"Well, duh! You are what, three hundred?"
As the few of the gangsters who understood English cracked up loudly in the booth behind her Zemfira lost it completely. She grabbed Dawn by the collar and pulled her across the table to within an inch of her vamped out face.
"That's right!" she growled. "I'm a two hundred and eighty six year old vampire, not some little girl here for your teasing amusement!" She dropped her face first on the table and scattered into an empty booth on the other side of the plane.
"Great job," Dawn mumbled to herself. "Make an enemy you first day, why don't you." Zemfira was right. Her childish appearance made it too easy to forget what a powerful and dangerous creature she was. She looked over to Leshii who continued staring in the heavily tinted window completely uninterested by the commotion around him.
"I'll go talk to her," said Dawn and getting no reaction, stood up and walked over to the sulking vampire.
"I'm sorry," she said lightly touching the little girl's shoulder. "I didn't mean to make fun of your concerns." Interpreting lack of punching as a sign of encouragement, Dawn sat down next to her.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
The question was greeted by a familiar snort.
"So now you want to share?"
"I didn't mean to be a spaz," Dawn continued her patching work, "I like you. You were all nice to me in Rome. Didn't feed off me or anything."
"Orders," Zemfira's voice was still grumpy, but she was clearly coming around. "If Leshii noticed bite marks on you I'd be in so much shit."
"I was already bloody all over, you didn't need to bite. You bathed and bandaged me. That was very nice of you."
"To be perfectly honest, I did lick you a little when you were unconscious. The hands! Just the hands, I swear," Zemfira added quickly seeing Dawn's eyes bulge out. "You taste strange. Very powerful, but not like a witch."
"My sister's a Slayer. Must be something genetic," said Dawn not sure herself if this was a lie or not. Was it really the Key the vampire sensed?
"So that's what a Slayer tastes like, " said Zemfira taking the explanation at face value, "I see the attraction."
"I thought you said you killed a few?"
"One. A hex from fifty miles away. I thought it'd be safer that way. It wasn't."
"So what happened?"
The little vampire sighed. Looking at her pouting face Dawn imagined she looked very much similar when her mom asked her how her first day at Sunnydale Junior High went. Of course her travails began with accidentally pushing the most popular girl in class into a freshly painted wall, not killing a Slayer.
"Her Watcher, that's what happened," Zemfira began reluctantly. "They couldn't give her the usual polite English chap in the middle of the World War, so the Turkish twat lucked out with a beylerbey of Antioch."
"I see. Ottoman nobility does tend to take things personally."
"We weren't afraid of the beylerbey. Our coven was so powerful we could have taken on the Sultan if we had to. Only the bastard wasn't stupid. He realized that we can always get to him before he gets to us, so he willed all his fortune to the order Taraka. For the uninformed it's..."
"An assassins guild," Dawn finished the sentence for her. "So they had even more powerful witches?"
"No," answered Zemfira giving her a semi-respectful glance. "Witch hunters."
"Which I assume are more than just people hunting witches." She started out well with the whole Order of Taraka knowledge and she thought putting her question in this manner would make her appear less ignorant. She was wrong.
"Do you even know how magic works?" said Zemfira trying to cram as much condescension as could possibly fit into a seven word sentence.
"That's a trick question. Nobody knows how magic works; otherwise it would have been science," Dawn responded not taking anything lying down.
"You're such a nerd," Zemfira rolled her eyes.
The standard High School comeback proved surprisingly effective. Satisfied she had finally shut the pesky teenager up, the child vampire continued in a measured, superior tone.
"Okay, here's an example that will work for you. It's like this Internet thing. A gigantic network of power. Some are connected better, some worse. With a better connection you can send out lot, but you can receive a lot, too."
"Why 'but'? It's 'and'."
"It's a metaphor, dummy, remember? With magic you want the traffic just one way. Most of the time"
"So witch hunters are like hackers?"
"No, they are the backward dolts who aren't plugged in at all."
"Magic immunity," Dawn nodded understandingly. "Cool. How do you get that?"
"You're born that way. Everybody's level of reception is predetermined. You can learn spells and you can practice, but your limits are set at birth."
"But you can cast spell on object around them, can't you?"
Zemfira made an uncertain wavy gesture with her left hand.
"Not really. Nothing with immediate contact. Can't take away their clothes or their weapons, or open a chasm right under their feet. I can float a boulder above their head and let go. At the time it hits, the gravity is what's doing the work, so it's fine."
"Still sounds like you got the better deal."
"You don't get it!" Zemfira slapped both hands on the booth table. "It's not about the actual fight; it's trying to make it there! See, you can't cast a locator spell for witch hunters, can't mind sweep," the vampire's little hands were flying all over the place as she gesticulated wildly. "They walk through any barrier, or force field! They trigger no alarms. Can't hide easily either, they ignore all illusions, see right through glamor. And that's important because they know who they are looking for and you don't. Take witchcraft from a witch, all you are left with is a normal person. Pretty easy killing one of those"
"And yet you survived. Good for you," said Dawn as honestly and supportive as she could. A little suck up here and there can go a long way.
"Survived is the operative word here. Not lived, survived. The only one of our coven. Crawling through sewers for eighty years, feeding off rats and stray dogs. Until finally, my ship came in," she smiled widely in Leshii direction.
"Leshii took care of your problem."
"Wiped out all seven clans to the last infant."
"Infant?"
"Magic predisposition is hereditary. Doesn't mean your kids will be immune if you are, but it's a lot more likely, and higher than usual level of resistance is pretty much guaranteed. Witch hunters join the Assassin's Order in bunches. Murdering warlocks as a family. Very wholesome"
"And Leshii just killed them all?" Why should this shock her? She read his file. Still, she didn't like hearing this.
"He likes to say that it was natural selection. Rapid extinction caused by narrow specialization. Unlike me they couldn't adapt to being the hunted," Zemfira giggled not noticing the creeping sourness in Dawn's voice.
"How clever"
"I'm going to get some blood from the kitchen. You want ice or no ice?"
"Ice. And no blood! Fanta. Fanta with ice and two sugars."
As soon as Zemfira disappeared into the back of the plane Dawn quickly returned to her original seat across from Leshii. The gangster was sitting in the same pose she left him over twenty minutes ago, staring blankly out the window.
"Hi," she said somewhat loudly to get his attention. "Don't mean to interrupt, but as a member of this fine organization I feel obligated to point out a possible problem that you may not be aware of."
That got his attention.
"You found a problem I'm not aware of?"
Dawn wasn't sure if the slight sprinkle of sarcasm she felt in his tone was actually there or simply expected.
"It happens to be in an area I'm sure I know a lot more than you do, so, yes. You know those witch hunters you exterminated for Zemfira?" she whispered now mindful of a vampire's exceptional hearing. "You didn't kill all of them, did you? Because that would be bad."
"Why would that be bad?"
"Because," she leaned in closer, lowering her voice even more. "I'm not a big believer in vampire loyalty or gratitude. Without an outside threat, sooner or later, she'll turn on you. It doesn't matter how much you helped her before."
"I don't need witch hunters to keep Zemfira in line," The normal volume of his voice indicated Leshii meant what he said.
"You are a real badass with guns, there's no argument. Only this is magic, another subject I feel I'll need to consult a lot on. A witch as powerful as Zemfira isn't threatened by any kind of weapons you are used to."
"She's threatened by me."
"You?" Dawn bristled. "What can you do to her?"
"A lot more than she can do to me."
Now she gets it.
"You are one of those midi-chlorian deficients, aren't you? It's a Star Wars reference," she added as she got no reaction to her joke. "Star Wars? It's a movie? Six of them actually. Well, five so far. Well, six, if you count that horrible Christmas special."
"You're overdoing it," Leshii cut off her babbling.
"I know. I'm really nervous. Just trying to fit in"
"No, you're not," Leshii turned back to the window. "If you were trying to fit in you'd sit with the men. Sitting here makes you stand out. It's fine. If you were really here to spy on me you wouldn't make it this obvious. Which begs the question why are you here?"
That was probably a rhetorical question, but she answered it anyway.
"You were there, you heard what I said."
"I heard. Doesn't mean I believed. Doesn't mean she believed either."
"Whatever. If you want to be paranoid that's your prerogative, but as long as we are speaking of believing, I don't believe there's an ocean in between Italy and Ukraine."
"There's been a change of plans."
"No kidding. So, where are we heading now?"
Leshii paused seemingly calculating how much he should say.
"We'll be going to South America first."
"Why, do you need to pick up some coke?" Dawn noticed his hesitation and tried to liven things up a little.
"We don't trade in drugs."
"I know, I was joking again," she sighed, frustrated. Apparently direct is the way to go. "So why are we going there?"
Silence
"What, you are not going to tell me?"
"No."
Wherever they were going, it was important, more important than Kiev. Lighthearted humor is clearly not Leshii's thing. Perhaps some logical reasoning will work here. It did get her inside.
"I came here to work for you. I can't do that if you are not going to tell me what I'm supposed to do," she took a stab in that direction.
"Here's something you can do, don't talk to me for the rest of the flight."
Dawn wanted to say something else, but that particular shade of blankness on Leshii's face told her she better not. She sat there silently, unsure of what to do next. When she saw Zemfira coming from the kitchen with two glasses she walked back to her booth.
"Told you to get lost, didn't he?" she said with a wry smile.
"I don't get it," Dawn suckled on the Fanta straw. "I'm really good at chit-chat. That's what everyone likes the most about me."
"He's Leshii. He doesn't do chit-chat."
"What does he do?"
"He tortures and kills people. That's what everyone likes the most about him."
Dawn set down her glass and leaned back in her chair. This was going to be a long flight.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The truck was slowly making its way up the trail. They've been bouncing up and down on their seats for over four hours and if Willow wasn't so absorbed in her thoughts she would have thrown up at least twice by now. There were three of them in the cabin. Naturally, she had to be there to show the way, and, as the irony would have it, Linda was the only one with the skills to drive a flatbed up the mountain roads. Where could an over-privileged Buenos Aires nightclub rat, like her, learn that? Plain as a copper penny. Ha! Of course, penny has been mostly zinc since 1982. A lot does Kennedy know.
Kennedy was the third person inside. Situated between her new girlfriend and her ex, she felt about as comfortable as the eleven slayers riding in the back combined. She has been trying the entire trip to get her nerve up to start a conversation, but the glare in the witch's eyes has burned every inane topic out of her mind. Judging by the way Willow started to shift anxiously in her seat they were getting close. Time to say something was running out so Kennedy bit the bullet and started with the first thing that popped into her head.
"Are you doing alright?" she asked marveling herself at the degree of lameness of that question. The look from Willow clearly seconded that opinion. "You don't seem okay. I don't know, it's just..."
"In the last thirty or so hours I caught my girlfriend cheating, I got my ass handed to me by some frankencamel, and I have slept for a total of an hour and a half! No, Kennedy, I'm not okay!"
"What I mean is you seem concerned. Are you sure you have recovered enough? The expedition seems rushed. Maybe we should break camp somewhere, go after It in the morning. You'll get your sleep and…"
"It might not be there in the morning!" Willow shouted. "I'm fine," she continued much calmer. "That's why we're driving up here instead of teleporting. To save my strength and give me additional recovery time. Nothing is being rushed, we have a good plan."
"Yes," Kennedy nodded. "You'll cast a binding spell that will paralyze It and prevent It from doing magic. Then, all I have to do is chop up the defenseless little beasty."
"That's right."
"So why did you insist on bringing the entire special ops team along?"
"Just in case, " Willow replied, keeping her eyes deliberately on the road ahead.
"In case your spell doesn't work or in case you've figured it wrong and It can't be killed by a slayer either?"
"Let's just say that as much as I want you dead right now I don't want you to get hurt, alright?"
"Alright," said Kennedy not sure if she wanted to continue. So far her effort has been in vain. The tension did not dissipate. If anything it was turning into misgivings.
"Why would It be vulnerable to just slayers anyway?" Linda joined in. This four hour ride was probably the longest time she has ever gone without saying something and even this poorly going conversation was welcome.
"It's complicated," Willow replied grudgingly not sharing her enthusiasm, "I don't have time to explain. Especially to you. And I told you to speak Portuguese to me."
"You were just speaking English!"
"It was a private conversation. You were talking shop, and you know the rule: everyone speaks the language of the host country."
"Well, it's a stupid rule! Almost everyone in the club speaks Spanish. Why can't Brazilian girls just learn that?"
"Because our office is in Rio, not Buenos Aires! Paris of South America, my tiny butt! There's more to being European than being snooty and closed-minded."
Kennedy was straining her mind trying to quickly diffuse the escalating fight, when Linda's imperfect English skills provided the necessary respite.
"I'm not snooty!" she shouted back at Willow, "And I'm very open and not minded at all!
The witch bursting into laughter was not the reaction she expected.
"What? What did I say?" she turned to Kennedy who covered her face with her hands in utter embarrassment.
"You're awesome, Linda," said Willow calming down. "A quality laugh is exactly what I needed right now. We're here," she added suddenly grim.
Linda parked the truck about a hundred feet from the hill. The sun sets quickly in the mountains and the plateau was almost completely shrouded in darkness. The girls disembarked. Those with one-handed weapons grabbed flashlights and the slayers loosely lined themselves up for a quick inspection. Kennedy disbursed a few pats and pep phrases across her team, but her eyes were kept on Willow who as putting the finishing touches to her spell mixture.
"Are we all set there?" She asked carefully applying the resulting lotion to her slightly trembling left hand.
"We are ready, " Kennedy plainly answered.
"Keep behind me, then."
Willow stepped into the tunnel for the second time. The slayers followed in a two by two formation.
"Did I say something stupid again? In the car?" Linda whispered pitifully to Kennedy. "I always say something stupid."
"It's alright. It's Willow. She can make anyone feel stupid if she wants to."
"She used to make me feel smart. I've been learning things from her. That never happened to me in school before. How long is she going to stay mad?"
"Inside, probably for a while. As far as picking on you, Willow is too nice to keep it up for long. Killing this Thing should help. There's something about It that got her riled."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
As they entered the cave, Kennedy, Linda, and Marisol moved in front of Willow who was already whispering the initial part of the incantation. The witch didn't want to waste her strength on a sentry spell and the slayers would take of care of another Bringer ambush. The flashlights went on. The Creature was there alone. Laying in front of the excavation tunnel It seemed to be asleep.
"Defixium acuro!" Willow shouted the end of the spell.
"Mirror, " answered the Creature lazily. The air around It wobbled and Willow collapsed to the ground. Her body began to seize and her mouth jerked as she gasped for air.
"Willow!" Kennedy cried out. She dropped her weapon and grabbed the girl trying to stop her convulsions.
The Creature rose to Its feet and rumbled leisurely towards the witch. Its head was now sporting a full face. Androgynous, almost angelic, it was marred by a most hideous grin. Willow has stopped seizing and was now completely limp in her ex-girlfriend's arms, her breathing barely audible.
"Pull her head back, Kennedy, " the Creature spoke. "Or she'll choke on her own saliva. I have to hand it to you, Willow, there's no way I could conjure up a binding spell this powerful. Goodness, even your throat muscles are paralyzed. Not enough for you to bind my magic abilities, you extended the paralysis factor to take away the very power of speech. No way to even try a counter spell. Always so thorough. You have covered every facet of the spell to perfection. Except for being a victim of it. So, ladies, what's plan B?"
"Fire!" was the answer. Six crossbows went off sending their missiles on Kennedy's command just as she jammed her spear into the Creature's upper body taking her best guess on where the heart would be. The blade did not penetrate the skin, but the force of the impact snapped the staff in the slayer's hands. The grin never left the Creature's face as the arrows bounced off Its body just as harmlessly as the spear. A swift sweep of Its two right arms sent still stunned Kennedy flying into the wall opposite to the cave entrance.
"Good guess with the slayers," It addressed Willow again, "Close, but no cake. I'll go on a limb now and say you don't have a plan C." The slayers were still in formation, but it was more a display of inertia than steadfastness. There indeed was no plan C, but there was an opening. Despite a clear advantage the Creature would not attack. It seemed to obsessively concentrate on degrading their paralyzed professor, as though the rest of them weren't even worth killing. They could run, but that meant leaving behind Willow and Kennedy, who has just started coming to after being thrown head first into the wall.
"Marisol? " Isidore whispered, lightly elbowing the teacher's assistant to get her attention.
"What?" the startled girl replied, as the answer dawned on her: she's the most senior person left. "Retreat. Get Willow and Kennedy, then retreat," she added quickly. "We need a distraction."
"Distraction coming right up," said Isidore, dropped her axe and ran straight into the Creature. Perhaps still caught up in Its harassment of the fallen witch, It made no move until the slayer jumped on Its back and landed a hard punch to the base of the neck. Taking a few steps back It started spinning and reaching with all four of Its arms trying to dislodge the enemy laying a beating to Its spine. The plan seemed to be working. Willow was already in Linda's arms, and Luisa has almost made her way to Kennedy. The Creature's tail has now joined in the attack on Isidore. Realizing she would not be able to continue dodging for much longer, she jumped off, but her jump was mistimed. Concentrating too much on avoiding the hands Isidore didn't pay much attention to the speed of the spin and though back on the ground, she was now trapped between the wall of the cave and her Enemy. Quickly running out of options she pulled out a dagger and jumped as high as she could. Squeezing her knees around the Creature's neck she jammed the dagger straight into the eye with all her strength. With a loud clank the blade bounced off as though from a steel wall. The force of the impact twisted the slayer's wrist making her drop the weapon.
"Impressive, isn't it?" cackled the Creature as It grabbed the girl's legs with Its upper arms and pulled, ripping the left at the waist. It threw the lifeless body to the ground and proceeded to stuff the leg into Its grossly stretched out jaw as the slayers cried out in shock and anger.
"Hunger is an amazing thing," the Creature spoke to Willow as the silhouette of Its horrific meal traveled down Its long neck. "I've been eating practically non-stop all this time and yet I can never seem to get my fill. Oh, don't look so scared, my little ingberlach1, I'm leaving you for dessert." With that It rushed at the slayers.
"Retreat, retreat!" Kennedy shouted, grimacing in pain, as Luisa was helping her to her feet.
"What do you mean, 'retreat'?" the Creature roared angrily. "I just said I was hungry, doesn't anybody listen?" It thrust Its hand forward. The red lightning momentarily danced between Its digits, then escaped from the tip of the middle claw towards the cave entrance just as one of the slayers was about to ran through it. She hit her head hard on the invisible barrier and tumbled down the narrow passage. The girl behind her began to frantically punch and kick at the force field as the other slayers stopped in their tracks, looking lost and mortified. The Creature didn't move either. Its gaze kept jumping from one girl to the next, looking them up and down intently. The entire cave filled to the brim with frightful silence only broken by barely audible whimpering coming from Isidore as the last of life trickled out of her mutilated body.
"Oh, the dilemma that Americans face every Thanksgiving. What do you think, Willow, dark meat or white meat?"
"Luisa," Kennedy tapped the shoulder of the curly haired seventeen year old. "Get ready."
"To do what?" the girl stuttered, "Our weapons are useless!"
"Maybe, but we aren't." In two quick jumps Kennedy covered the distance between her and the Creature and, grabbing with both hands, pulled one of Its hind legs from under It. The surprise of the assault more than the lost footing caused the Creature to loose Its balance and fall on Its side.
"Everybody, pin It!" Kennedy shouted. "Limb by limb!"
The slayers piled on.
"Oh, I know this game!" The Creature laughed, writhing under the heap of bodies. "Left foot green, Kennedy, right hand yellow!"
With hideous hollering It twisted Its neck and ripped into Luisa's shoulder with Its teeth. The girl cried out in pain and let go of the bottom right arm, but another slayer quickly took her place.
"Bitch!" cried Linda locking her legs around the Creature's neck. She grabbed the huge head and pressed the top against her chest, jamming the jaw shut with her hands.
"Marisol!" Kennedy shouted. "Don't just stand there, grab the axe and work the wall! The force field ends at the edge!" She looked over to Luisa who sat on the ground white as a ghost. Her eyes and lips were shut tightly as she pressed her hand hard on her wound to slow the bleeding.
"It's going to be okay," Kennedy said softly, "You just hold on."
The girl opened her eyes and a pained grin spread across her face.
"It's going to be okay if you just hold on," she muttered in between the quick, wheezing breaths.
"So, what's the plan?" asking Linda looking hopefully towards the exit where Marisol and Elvera were hacking feverishly at the stone. "Once they are done we let go and run for it?"
"Nobody's running!" barked Kennedy. "There's satellite phone in the truck. We're bringing in Lucha, and Tamara, and every damn witch and warlock in this hemisphere! This Thing killed Isidore and I plan to go mesoamerican on Its ass!"
Ten hours passed. Or was it only ten minutes? Linda tried keeping time by the hammering of Marisol's axe, but she quickly lost count.
"It's getting cold, " a slayer holding the bottom right arm finally broke the silence.
"It's like a desert here, " answered Kennedy very supportive of the distracting small talk idea. "As soon as the sun goes down, it gets really cold, really fast."
"No! This Thing, It's freezing!" The girl was starting to get panicky.
Kennedy felt it, too. The Creature's entire body was growing colder by the second. The slayers started to feel their muscles seize.
"Don't let go!" Kennedy yelled, "Don't let go!" It was no use. Whatever their will, the laws of physics prevailed and the Creature tore Its limbs out of the weakening grip of Its captors. The pile up began anew, but this time surprise wasn't on their side. Moreover, the Enemy was no longer satisfied with showing off Its invulnerability. It wished to display the full strength and speed of Its massive form. The fight lasted only a few minutes. Three minutes filled with the sound of crunching bones. The site of blood simmering in the beam of a dropped flashlight. As the slayer attack fizzled the Creature galloped towards the exit where Elvera was almost through the hole. Pushing Marisol into the wall with one hand It grabbed the escaping slayer by her feet with another two and pulled her back in. Grabbing her upper body with the other two arms It bit into the girl's midsection ripping her in half. The fountain of blood gushed in all directions covering the walls, the ceiling, and Marisol who went completely limb from either the concussion or the horror unfolding before her eyes. The Creature grabbed her and threw her down the passage, satisfied with letting her simply roll towards her comrades.
"Enough with the appetizers, " It spoke leisurely walking towards the slayers. "It's time for a real dish. Something that still has a functioning brain." It picked up an abandoned spear from the cave floor. "Kennedy kabob! Sounds delicious, don't you think? Come on out, girl. I'm going to stick this in you and eat you. I know what you think, Willow," A few of the flashlights scattered about were still on, providing just enough light to make out a cruel smirk taking up a good half of the canvas of the Creature's face. "She likes it in the other order, but, hey, today is the day for experimenting!"
"Linda," Kennedy quietly addressed the disheveled girl next to her. "Take Willow and head down that passage," she pointed to the excavation tunnel, "As far down as you can. Just hide. We might be able to buy enough time for the binding spell to wear out."
"Kennedy..."
"Do as I say," she cut her off. As the Creature came closer, the slayers instinctively backed to the far wall. Kennedy stood pat, automatically coming one on one with her enemy. She walked over to pick up Linda's mace, one of over a dozen slayer weapons now littering the cave. The Creature made no move to stop her. It seemed to derive a lot more pleasure from the fear and despair of Its prey than from an actual kill, and so was more than willing to prolong the experience, especially since the outcome was not in doubt. Suddenly Its face contorted in a grimace of disappointment.
"Damn it to hell," It groaned turning towards the exit passage. A large energy ball came out of nowhere, splattering against the Creature's chest. The splatter, morphed into ropes that snaked across every part of Its body, binding Its limbs. Through Its angry roar came the sound of people running in from the outside. Spot lights tore through the semi darkness, blinding the slayers. After half a minute of struggle the Creature finally gained an upper hand, tearing through the animated binds and throwing them towards the lights. Dropping to the ground the pile morphed into what looked like a little girl. As her eyes were beginning to adjust Kennedy was able to make out the silhouettes of half a dozen or so men running into the cave. The Creature made a sweeping motion with Its hand in their directions. The invisible force dropped them to the ground except for one propping himself with a cane. With his other hand he raised what appeared to be short two-barrel rifle and fired. The shotgun shells crushed against their target releasing dozens of green glowing pellets. For a second they seem to barrow beneath the skin and then expelled. The Creature's roar grew louder, as It grimaced and staggered in obvious pain. The rest of attackers were back on their feet. The cripple barked out an order in an unknown language and the men unleashed a hail of bullets from their weapons. Most of the fire was aimed high, but Kennedy saw one or two stray bullets hit her girls.
"Down, down!" Kennedy tried yelling over the noise and motioning with her hands, "On the ground! Move to me!"
The Creature writhed in agony as more and more oddly glowing bullets made the prolonged contact with Its skin. The fire grew denser and more indiscriminate as a short fat man with a machine gun joined the fray.
"Whoever can walk, grab someone who can't, and go! Go!" Kennedy's voice has already turned hoarse, but she kept squeezing the last juices out of her vocal chords. "Linda, grab Luisa, I got Willow. Marisol, keep it low! Everyone, low to the ground and move it!" The slayers ran past the shooters who paid no attention to them. Their firing has turned strategic as the Creature, seemingly weakened and disoriented, was being maneuvered into a corner. The little girl who attacked It earlier was now unwrapping green glowing blades meant for close combat. Kill weapons? For a moment she paused at the cave's exit, then changed her mind. This battle was over and it wasn't even her battle anymore. Her fight, still ahead, was for the lives of her wounded girls. She turned and ran after the rest of the slayers. Her head resting on Kennedy's shoulder, barely conscious Willow was the only one of them who saw the Creature snap Its fingers and disappear into the smoke of a blue teleportation aura.
1A small cake traditionally served by European Jews
