Chapter Four

Buffy and Rasul stared at one another. Her with thoughts and options running through her mind and him waiting to see what she'd do. She was still close to the exit, should she run? Would he try and stop her? Would the other guards join him? There'd be a huge mess if that were the case.

"Isn't she supposed to be at the mayor's house or something?" Buffy asked, buying time as she turned the situation over in her head again and again.

"She's postponed going until she saw you."

"Because she wants to thank me," Buffy said, dubiously. She actually would have accepted this reasoning readily had it been any other vampire to come retrieve her. Sophie-Anne must have sent Rasul because he mentioned knowing her, but it had backfired. Since Buffy had seen him the night before, relaxed and mischievous, she could tell something was wrong now by his stiff, serious expression.

When he didn't answer, she heaved a sigh. "Fine let's go see her," Buffy said.

Sophie-Anne was influential, and Buffy had a feeling her reach was far. Even if running away did appeal to her, she'd probably be constantly harassed by vamps on the "queen's" behalf until she came in. It wasn't like she could leave town either, not until she figured out a way to get home and if the graveyard she'd landed in was the same place she needed to leave from.

Rasul nodded and turned away, leading her further into the compound. Silence stretched between them and for the first time Buffy noticed that there were no sounds at all within the walled estate. No birds, no cicadas, no crickets. Just the distant sound of passing cars on the street, their sound muffled by the high walls. Buffy wondered if she was the only living thing there, the only one breathing, the only one with a heartbeat.

Soon they stepped out of the trees and the building came into view. It was… not what she'd expected.

"Did someone on acid do the decorating out here?" She asked, stopping to get a good look at it. Rasul, breaking his staid attitude, gave a tiny little snort of either amusement or agreement.

The place was plain ugly. A big, three story rectangle, the windows were covered in panels painted hideously in gold, purple and green. You'd think someone with Sophie-Anne's money would have something a little more visually appealing. Buffy knew if she was rich, she'd be more than willing to give a big chunk of her fortune not to live in something that looked like Willy Wonka picked out the color scheme.

Inside, the décor was much more tame. Neutral colors and boring paintings hung on the walls of the hallway. Vampires roamed the halls and Buffy could feel herself tensing the further into the building they got. There were iso many/i in there, her Slayer senses were prickling uncomfortably.

They took an elevator up to the third floor and, despite the situation, Buffy cracked a grin at the elevator music. When the doors opened, they went halfway down the hall and stopped in front of a door. Rasul hesitated and Buffy noticed that she wasn't the only one that was anxious. His hand flexed at his side once before coming up to knock. He didn't wait for permission to enter, just pushed the door open and motioned for Buffy to go in. She did so after a moments hesitation and was glad to feel him enter behind her, though she wasn't sure why.

The room wasn't very big but it was lavishly decorated. The look was a little too Queen's mansion for Buffy's taste though. Lots of delicate things and British-y looking patterns. Small golden lamps sat on tables in the corners, lighting the room in a soft yellow glow. She supposed it was meant to make it look warm and inviting. She wasn't feeling it. That probably had more to do with the company than the decoration though.

Sophie-Anne, still dressed in her green gown, was sitting with her feet pulled up on a chaise, the dress trailing over the front. Her eyes were on Buffy as soon as she stepped foot in the room. The focus and intensity directed at her was disconcerting, but the fact it was coming from such a young face made it even more so. Now that Buffy was closer to her, she could swear that she was no more than sixteen when she'd been changed.

The short guy with the white-blond hair she'd glimpsed the back of earlier was standing beside Sophie-Anne. Dressed in an impeccable tux, he shouldn't have looked as intimidating as he did considering his soft round face and the fact he didn't look much older than Sophie-Anne. Still, his flat blue gaze gave her the heebie-jeebies. To the far ends of the room, on her right and on her left, stood two huge dudes. Both had long brown hair, pulled back in ponytails, scarred faces, and thick beards. They both also carried an impressive array of knives and an axe apiece.

"Rasul, please introduce your… friend," Sophie-Anne said, her eyes never leaving Buffy. Her lightly accented voice was calm and bland, definitely not the voice of the teenager she seemed to be.

"This is Buffy," he said, his voice smooth and confident, not showing an ounce of the tension she felt radiating off of him. "I met her in a bar last night. She's new in town. Never met a vampire before."

"Is that so," Sophie-Anne said. Her staring was getting out of hand. After a beat she went on. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Buffy. I am Sophie-Anne. This," she said, gesturing to the tuxedoed vampire beside her, "is Andre."

"And the Doublemint twins?" She asked, nodding to the two giants.

"Sigebert and Wybert."

The silence stretched out between them again and Sophie-Anne continued to stare. Buffy, who was getting bored and irritated, was about to say something when the vampire finally spoke.

"You were out with this human last night and you didn't notice she was… different?" Sophie-Anne asked, finally tearing her eyes from Buffy to look at Rasul.

"Of course she was different, that's why I liked her," Rasul said, giving a ghost of the smile he'd had yesterday. For the first time Buffy realized his attitude might have been because he was worried about her.

"You said she'd never encountered a vampire before, but she was unafraid," Sophie-Anne went on, a statement, not a question. "Even now, there is no fear."

"No," Rasul answered slowly. "She wasn't scared. It made her interesting. Her curiosity was genuine."

Fed up, Buffy flung her hands in the air. "'She' is right here! Rude much?"

All eyes went to her, but it was Sophie-Anne's weighty gaze that made her want to squirm.

"Let's cut to the chase then, shall we? While I thank you for your intervention earlier, I couldn't help but notice you move differently than any human I've seen before. More graceful, quicker. Tell me, Buffy, why is that?"

"I don't know what you mean," she said, giving a shrug and trying to look confused and innocent.

"You don't…" Sophie-Anne said the words blandly - no disbelief or annoyance. If anything, she looked bored. "So, you're nothing special? My eyes and senses were simply deceiving me? Is that your claim?"

"Yep, pretty much," Buffy said with a head bob.

Sophie-Anne stared at her for a moment and no one moved. Only Buffy breathed.

Finally she gave a tiny shrug and tilted her head to look up at Andre.

"Kill her."

Buffy didn't even get a chance to voice her disbelief at the order before Andre was on her.

So fast

Way faster than a normal vamp. There was no time to dodge, it was more of just the beginnings of a dodge that saved her head. His hand came so close his knuckles actually brushed her cheek, like a lover's caress. His fingers tangled in her hair as his hand sailed by, ripping some out in the process.

Now she was pissed.

"Nobody messes with my hair," she growled.

Lightning quick, Andre had shifted his weight to compensate for the missed hit and was bringing a leg up to kick her. She stepped in close, knowing she didn't have time to back out of range. Her move seemed to surprise him. Even more so, when his ineffectual kick landed on her hip with barely a grunt from her. Her arm shot out, her elbow and the outside of her forearm catching him squarely in his shocked face and causing him to stumble back a few steps.

She was lucky he'd still underestimated her despite what Sophie-Anne had been saying. She hadn't been prepared for how fast he was, and the way her hip was singing despite the kick not landing solidly told her they were stronger than her vamps back home too. Her senses told her that none of the other vampires had moved. At least not yet. She needed to end this quick, before they joined the fray.

Mind focused, she was ready for him this time when he came at her. He was still faster, but she was better trained. He practically telegraphed what he was going to do next, her sharp eyes reading his intentions easily. She was able to sidestep his fist this time, moving before he'd actually swung to give herself time to get out of the way. As his hand sailed by, she grabbed hold and pulled hard, yanking him off balance before dropping and swiping his legs out from under him. As he fell, she slid her hand to her boot while she was crouched and pulled Mr. Pointy from his hiding place. She gave him an experimental twirl, making sure she had a good grip and prayed that a stake to the heart was a universal, uh… multiversal, rule for killing vamps.

"Stop!" For the first time, Buffy heard an emotion in Sophie-Anne's voice - whether it was panic or excitement, she couldn't tell. Nor did she care. She brought the stake down.

A hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her just before the stake could puncture Andre's chest. Glancing up, Buffy saw it was Rasul, wide eyed, and his arm shaking with the strain of holding Buffy's arm.

Buffy hesitated, still not really wanting to hurt Rasul despite the fact that he'd led her into the lion's den.

"Nothing special, hmm?" Sophie-Anne said, sounding a little breathless.

That was when Buffy realized she'd been played. Jerking her arm away from Rasul, she stood up, wondering if Andre would have really killed her if she'd failed this test or whatever it was.

"You said you'd never seen a vampire before," Rasul said, his voice slightly accusatory.

Her hand shot out before she really had time to think it over, punching him right in the nose.

"Jerk! You were just going to stand there and let him kill me! I thought we were friends!" She huffed and crossed her arms. "And I wasn't lying, I really hadn't ever seen anything like you before."

"Then why are you carrying around a stake," he asked, his voice muffled as he held a hand to his bleeding nose.

"I might've been thinking about going to some of those vampire bars you mentioned…" She said, not really lying but not telling the whole truth either. No way was she telling them she was a designated vampire killer from another world.

"I told you that was dangerous," he said, his brows tilting down angrily.

"Stake-y protection," she said, waving the piece of wood in his face.

"Where did you learn to fight like that? How are you able to move so quickly? You smell human…" Andre rattled off. He was pale, well, paler, and back beside Sophie-Anne even though Buffy hadn't even heard him get up.

"Ew, with the smelling," Buffy said with a lip curl.

"Answer the question, please," Sophie-Anne ordered more than asked. If Buffy thought her gaze had been intense before, it was nothing compared to now.

"I'm… kind of a protector where I'm from," she said vaguely, tucking the stake back into her boot.

"And that is?"

Buffy remained silent. If Sophie-Anne thought she was just going to blurt out all her secrets, she was sadly mistaken.

When she realized she wasn't going to answer, she shrugged. "It matters not. What is important is that you're obviously not doing that anymore. You smell as if you slept outside last night and haven't bathed in a few days."

Buffy's mouth fell open in outrage. "Are you saying I stink?"

"I'm saying I think we can be of use to each other," she said, though Buffy was sure she saw the ghost of a smile flash across her face.

"Useful how?" She asked warily.

"I could use someone of your… talents."

"You're offering me a job?" Buffy asked in shock.

"Yes."

"Doing what exactly…"

"There are many places a vampire can't go. You can. A human girl can go places, do things, hear things that are meant to be secret because you are underestimated."

"So, you want me to be like a spy?"

"Yes, among other things. I have many tasks I believe you'd be suited for."

"If you're talking assassinations, I'll tell you right now I'm not cool with that. I don't kill people."

"What about vampires?"

That stopped Buffy short, she wasn't sure how to answer that. Would she sound like a bigot if she said yes? Would she actually be okay with killing random vampires because Sophie-Anne asked? Because she was being paid? No, she wasn't okay with that at all.

"I won't kill anyone just because you ask or pay me," she said. She kept back that she'd be okay with staking a vamp if her own life was at risk, or if she felt they were truly evil, or if they were a danger to someone. She might not have said it, but she could see in Sophie-Anne's calculating gaze that she understood that perfectly.

Buffy took a moment to mourn the fact that here was someone offering to pay her to kill vampires. Why couldn't this have happened at home during the Double Meat Palace era?

"I think we can work around that stipulation," Sophie-Anne said, getting to her feet. "I have a party to be getting to. We can meet tomorrow night and talk details. I'll have someone set you up with a place to stay for the night. If all works out, I'll arrange a permanent residence for you."

She swept out the door before Buffy could get another word out. She blinked at the room, suddenly empty except for her and Rasul. His earlier tension had melted away, leaving him closer to the guy she'd met the night before.

"This is going to be fun," he said, grinning unabashedly.

"Don't make me punch you again," she huffed.

He laughed and went out into the hall where she could hear him talking about hotels with someone. She tuned him out and wondered what the hell she was doing. Was she seriously going to take a job from a vampire? She did need money… And she was already fantasizing about the shower and blow dryer in the pigeon free hotel room. Besides, how hard could spying on some vamps be? And she could always look for a way home in-between working. This would give her an in to the supernatural community, it would actually make it easier to find a way home.

As Rasul called to her and told her he'd take her to the hotel room they'd arranged, she ignored the little part of her that was excited about all this, that really couldn't care less if she got home anytime soon.