Title: Eye of the Fates (Part Four - The Evil Within)
Author: Nimue
Rating: PG -13
Pairing Buffy/Spike. Most major characters included.
Feedback: Yes, please
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox...
Just Borrowing. (with, of course, the exception of Emma, who belongs to
Buffy and Spike)
Summary: Dawn is caught in an incident at the school. Buffy is called to
assist. What they find will change the course of their lives and the lives
of those they love.
Eye of the Fates
"An accident?" Buffy repeated, her heart slowly sinking into her stomach. Thoughts of scolding Dawn for skipping class were now far from her mind. An accident, she repeated in her head. An accident. Dawn. The concept tore through her head like a hurricane.
Spike felt a jolt as the words left Buffy's lips. Like his mind split in two, letting Buffy's fear fill him. He tossed the pillow to the floor sitting bolt upright, listening intently as Buffy tried to speak. Emma stirred at his sudden movement, but he stroked her soft, blonde hair, settling her back to sleep.
"At the school," the intense, female voice responded. It was clear as a bell. Not the hastened speech of fear, nor the casual tones of conversation. Crisp. Concise.
"Is.. is Dawn OK?" Buffy stuttered. Spike swung his legs over the side of the bed, reaching for his jeans, changing as he listened to one side of what was a conversation he never hoped to hear.
"Yes, she seems to be alright. But she mentioned that you ... well, you might be able to shed some light on the situation." The voice fluctuated, as if it realized that its tone did not match its intent. Like it was learning as it went.
"Me?"
"Could you come by, please?" The woman said in what sounded like quiet desperation. It learned quickly.
"Uh, yeah," Buffy answered. "Sure."
"Thank you."
"I.. we'll be right there."
*****
"Did she say anything else, Pet?" Spike asked as he drove towards the school. Had to think about upgrading the vehicle. Not that they really ever drove anywhere, but the car seat didn't quite mesh with the deSoto. Even if they had managed to replace the windows.
"No," Buffy answered. "Just that there was some sort of...accident. And that Dawn told her we might be able to make sense of it." She paused for a long moment. "You sure that bringing Emma was a good idea?"
"Couldn't reach Willow and Tara. Even Harris and Anya seem to have buggered off. Can't exactly leave her alone. Safer with us anyway."
"Probably right," she agreed. "I just don't want her..."
"If it's gruesome, Pet, we can leave her with Dawn, alright?" Spike said, reaching over to touch her hand. Immediately, Buffy settled. Her heart still pounded in her chest, but she felt as if she wasn't alone. That was good today. She needed to not be alone.
"OK."
The car slowed, sliding to the curb in front of the school. It looked deserted. They got out, freeing Emma who was still mostly asleep, and headed for the double doors. The doors seemed smaller now, even though Buffy was no bigger Guess fear will do that to you, she thought.
As they walked up the long sidewalk, a voice chimed up from the parking lot to their right. "Hey. Wait up."
Willow trotted up the sidewalk, a look of confusion and concern on her pale features. Tara jogged behind her, with Xander and Anya alighting from his dinged car at the edge of the curb.
"Willow?" Buffy asked, staring oddly at the group before her.
"Buffy...hi," Willow answered "What are you doing here? I mean..."
"The school called me, and ... what are you doing here?" Buffy asked, the strangeness of the situation buzzing the back of her skull. Something wasn't right. Something.
Spike stood silent, watching them trickle up the walk, wondering, trying to fit it together in his head. There was no reason, from what the woman had told Buffy, for them to be here as well. No reason to call the cavalry. There was more to it than they knew. Still, sometimes you cannot know what you're up against until it looks you in the eye.
"They called me out of class and said you.. that they couldn't find you. I... I guess that Dawn listed us as emergency contacts," Willow answered. "I called Tara and we headed down here."
"That's strange," Anya said as she and Xander walked up to the group. "She called the Magic Box as Dawn's place of gainful employment and asked if we knew how to find you," she continued, nodding at Buffy. "She said she couldn't get in touch with her guardian."
"Ahn called me on the site and I thought we'd better come down," Xander added, an arm loosely wrapped around Anya.
"Who is they? Who is she?" Buffy asked.
"I think she said her name was Mrs. Tufts," Willow answered.
"Yes," Anya agreed. "Tufts. Hunh. Funny name."
"Was that the woman that called the house, Pet?" Spike asked, casting an uneasy glance at Buffy.
"Yeah," Buffy answered. "That's what she said."
"We should go find Dawn," Tara interrupted. "The woman said something about an accident."
Spike looked at the doors warily. "Don't think things are quite right here."
"No offense, watcher boy, but don't you think that whatever's wrong is nothing compared to getting to Dawn?" Xander huffed, walking towards the door.
"I'm just saying," Spike began, trying to control his tone, but coming off snarky none the less, "that we should not all follow your lead and be stupid sodding gits. Maybe we need to be a little careful."
"Look, *Spike*, " Xander began, approaching the Vampire, fury flushing his face.
"Xander stop," Buffy said, holding out her hand and pressing it hard to his shoulder. "Spike's right. We need to be cautious. There should be tons of kids here now and there's no one. Not to mention, this Tufts woman didn't need to call us all here, but she did. Do you know why?"
Xander stared at her, blinking. Every day she moved a little further away. Every day the dream that this... thing... with Spike was temporary and just a nightmare became less and less real. He thought he'd got it through his head when Emma was born. But he supposed when you fell head over heels for someone, it never truly went away. "Buff, I." Xander sighed. No energy for this. If he wanted to argue, he could do it at home. "Maybe you're right," he conceded.
"Well, " Spike began. "Think we're about to find out."
*****
"Miss Summers?" That crisp, woman's voice assaulted her as soon as she stepped into the corridor. Mrs. Tufts was a small woman, non-descript. Dark hair, graying around the edges. Dark eyes. Pale skin. She was angular and seemed like someone had drawn her in front of them.
"Buffy," she said, holding out her hand. "This is Sp..illiam." It came out as Buffy Word Salad.
"William," Spike corrected, politely offering his hand. She shook, sending an odd feeling coursing up his arm. Like static electricity. Spike avoided shuddering, as it would not have made much of an impression on Dawn's teacher if he shook like a dog and wiped his palm on his jeans.
"Nice to meet you," the woman said, studying Buffy as she shifted Emma from one hip to the other. " I see you all made it," Mrs. Tufts continued, peering around the couple to the rest of them.
"Yes," Buffy said curtly. "Was there a reason for calling us all? Did you have trouble getting through to me?"
"Better safe than sorry," the woman chimed, piercing Buffy with her dark eyes. There was something unreal about her. Like a cartoon.
"You said that there'd been an accident?" Spike said, trying to avert Mrs. Tuft's gaze from his family. "Where's Ni..Dawn?" Looks like Word Salad is contagious, Buffy thought.
"Right this way," the woman said. For some reason, Spike was reminded of a comedy movie a few years back. Young Frankenstien. Igor saying "Walk this way." He was tempted to hunch over and drag his leg behind the lady before Buffy kicked him in the shin and brought him back to the present.
"Seems pretty empty," Buffy commented as they walked down the corridor. The uneasy feeling was spreading through Spike like wildfire. The scene almost seemed surreal.
"We sent the students home," Mrs. Tuft's answered, stopping at the door to the gymnasium. "It's in there," she muttered, pointing at the door.
"Where is Dawn?" Spike asked again.
"Inside," Mrs. Tufts answered, flatly. Spike's uneasy feeling was growing, multiplying itself by Buffy's.
"Could you ask her to come out first? Rather not take the tot in," Spike asked, nodding at the doors.
"Oh, it's nothing like that. But I'd be happy to watch her, if you'd like," the dark woman said, holding out her arms.
"No!" they both snapped in unison.
"Thank you," Buffy added. "Dawn ... is in there?"
"Yes," Mrs. Tufts said, her arms flopping back to her sides in disappointment.
"You just left her alone in there?" Buffy continued, a look of aggravation mixed with fear crossing her face.
"She said she *wanted* to stay," Mrs. Tufts replied.
"Not a bloody good excuse for leaving her," Spike growled, annoyed with Tufts' incompetence.
The woman shrugged in reply, as if her vocabulary failed her. She stared at them, her gaze fixed on Emma. Spike watched the woman, trying to suss out what it was that was driving him nearly insane about her. He stepped in front of Buffy, blocking Mrs. Tufts' line of sight.
"I'm not sure I understand why you left the girl alone if she's been in some sort of accident," Spike began, his posture, his tone, becoming more aggressive by the moment. Buffy tugged the sleeve of his shirt, turning his attention back to her.
"Let's just get this over with," Buffy said, starting toward the gym. "I just want to get Dawn and go home." Spike glared at the woman, then grabbed the door before Buffy could reach it, swinging it open on its creaking hinges.
*****
It took a moment to review it all. The gym was almost dark. There was just enough light filtering through the windows to make out the odd pattern painted on the floor. Dawn sat on the bottom rung of the bleachers, her head in her hands, staring at the symbol as if she hoped its meaning would pop into her head like the answers on her history test.
"Dawn?" Buffy asked, worry in her voice, rushing across the room to the girl. Spike watched her, assuring himself that Dawn was indeed all right, then walked over to the marking on the floor. The rest followed Buffy.
"Everything OK, Dawnie?" Willow asked, brushing the teens from her cheeks and pushing it behind her ear.
"Yeah. Fine. What are you doing here?" Dawn asked, looking at Buffy, but addressing them all.
Buffy looked at her sister strangely. Obviously, the stories had been different for all of them. "Mrs. Tufts, your teacher called and told us that there'd been an accident and you needed us here," Buffy stuttered, shifting the sleepy baby onto the other hip.
"Who's Mrs. Tufts?" Dawn asked, her face contorted with confusion, her head wagging from person to person, trying to follow the conversation and figure out why any of them were standing there.
"From the school. Dark hair, bout this tall," Xander answered, gesturing to a height roughly equal to Buffy's.
"I don't know any Mrs. Tufts," Dawn said, still lost in confusion.
"It's a big school, Dawnie. Maybe she's one of those office administrator types," Tara concluded, smiling reassuringly at the teen.
"Trust me, I've been to the office enough times that..." Dawn stuttered, "...but not lately..."
"And you weren't in an accident?" Buffy asked, furrowing her brow, visually assessing her sister's condition.
"No," Dawn answered simply. "I was in lit class. The teacher got a note and called me to the front of the room and told me that I was needed in the gym. Didn't look like he knew why. Seemed weird, but this is Sunnydale, right, so I went. When I opened the doors, everything got all wonky and it seemed like the world disappeared. I got dizzy so I sat down and that's when I saw the thing on the floor. Then you were here." Dawn finished, babbling in confusion, trying to figure out just what *had* happened in the last half an hour of her life.
"Blood," Spike called, as he knelt at the edge of the symbol.
"Bloody, hunh?" Buffy asked, her face almost frozen in a mask of confusion. Not sure where Spike's comment fit in the reality of the situation.
"No," Spike enunciated, smirking at her. "Blood. The floor? The symbol?" he said, gesturing at the space below him and staring at the lot of them as if they were thick. The remaining six, plus Emma, tentatively walked over, studying the macabre painting on the floor.
It was a deep cherry colour, roughly the size of a smallish car. The design was strange, knotted, almost spiraling through itself. But if you looked at it from exactly the right angel, Buffy noticed, it looked like three eyes at the points of a triangle. It seemed...familiar... in a One sort of creepy way, but the name or the purpose escaped her. Buffy walked to where Spike knelt, letting her knees press against his back. He reached behind him with one hand, stroking her calf, reassuring himself that she was there.
"What kind of blood?" Willow asked, shyly. "I mean, since you are kind of the resident expert." They had spread themselves out in a ring around the pattern, all turning and craning their heads trying to look at it in some way that would make it make sense.
"Human," Spike answered, standing back up. Buffy stayed pressed close against his back.
"There's a lot of blood... for a human," Anya answered.
"Could be several," Spike added, wiping his hands on his jeans and leaning back just enough to feel Buffy pressed against his back. To feel Emma's chubby palm grabbing at his shirt. For some reason, contact seemed essential. Like the world might crack if he could not feel them there.
"Do you know what the symbol means?" Tara asked.
"Looks familiar," Spike commented, "Don't know if I've seen it this go round. You, Pet?"
"Same. Like it's in here someplace, but no idea," Buffy answered, shaking her head, clinging to Emma, pressing to Spike. The same feeling crept through her. They needed to stay close. Their power lay in each other.
"Will?" Xander piped in. "Looks all magic-y."
"It's Celtic," Willow answered, carefully inspecting the symbol. "Definitely magic. Not looking too happyish what with the human sacrifice."
"Well," Buffy said, feeling a wave of uneasiness assault her, creeping like vines twining around her. "I vote for the getting out of Dodge and figuring out the what it is and who dunnits someplace else."
"Think I'm with the Buffster," Xander agreed, pointing at Buffy.
"You're always with the Buffster," Anya shot back, annoyed.
"Wait!" Dawn exclaimed. They all turned their heads toward the teenager from their places around the circle. "Look!" she continued, stepping over the periphery and into the circle of blood. "There's something in the middle. See it. .. shining?"
"Nibs! No!" Spike blurted, stepping forward towards the edge of the mark. Just as his first muscle twitched into action, as Dawn leaned down in the center, something in Buffy snapped and fear shot through her as if someone had just jammed a gun to her temple.
"Spike!" Buffy reached forward with her one free hand and grabbed the back of his jeans, yanking him as hard as she could, knocking herself and Emma off balance in the process. Spike reeled backwards from the force of Buffy's pull and the push of some unseen power forcing him away from the symbol. He stumbled but managed to grab Buffy and break her fall onto the wooden floor. Dawn leaned down and grabbed hold of the shiny object in the center. Four sets of eyes looked with worry over at the heap on the ground, the baby crying quietly, startled awake. The fifth, the hub of the wheel, stood deadly still.
Spike heard a sharp crack, then a bright beam of light shot from the object, consuming Dawn in a sea of white. Buffy jumped up, trying to leave Emma with Spike and rush at her sister, but the same unseen force stopped her in her tracks, repelling her back to the floor. She clapped her hands over Emma's eyes, squinting against the horrible brightness. The glow spread, creeping up Dawn's hands, her arms, her shoulders, her neck. Another loud crack and a primal scream from the younger Summers prompted Spike back into motion. He scrambled to gain purchase on the slippery floor, but the hub turned its head, eyes glowing, knocking him back to the floor a few feet away. Then it turned its gaze on Buffy and Emma.
"No," Spike shouted, clambering on his knees towards Buffy.
"Spike?" Buffy asked, reaching towards him, the shock of what was happening to her sister dampening her senses. Spike grabbed Buffy, pulling her close, sandwiching Emma between them. His forehead touching Buffy's. Their hands clasping together. Buffy felt them shift as if passing through a velvet doorway. The noise faded, as if they had escaped to ether while their shells remained tangled in the floor.
Buffy heard the second scream as if it were a million miles away. She could see Dawn as if through a fog, the teen's hands spread open, mouth agape, spinning in the center of the wheel. The light had consumed her, escaping in beams from her eyes, deflecting off the others until they too were consumed in the sickly harsh light. Their eyes all glowing, all staring at the twirling hub. Buffy turned away, letting herself fall back into Spike, feeling Emma pressed so deep into her that it was almost as if the child was back in her womb. As if the physical had almost melted and they had returned to their natural state. One continuous entity swirling through itself. The sound, the screaming, reached an ear splitting crescendo, even from their perspective, and Buffy buried her head in Spike's shoulder unable to move, even to scream. Spike pressed his hands over her ears, trying to dull the horrible sound. Quell the fear that consumed them both.
Suddenly, it was deadly quiet.
Buffy was lying on the gym floor, Spike covering her. Emma was silent between them. Slowly, Spike craned his head, looking back over his shoulder. He moved carefully from his girls, trying to assess if it was safe. Trying to see what had happened. What they had been saved from and that they had been unable to prevent. What lay before them was more than either of them could bear.
All five lay breathless on the floor.
To be contd.
Eye of the Fates
"An accident?" Buffy repeated, her heart slowly sinking into her stomach. Thoughts of scolding Dawn for skipping class were now far from her mind. An accident, she repeated in her head. An accident. Dawn. The concept tore through her head like a hurricane.
Spike felt a jolt as the words left Buffy's lips. Like his mind split in two, letting Buffy's fear fill him. He tossed the pillow to the floor sitting bolt upright, listening intently as Buffy tried to speak. Emma stirred at his sudden movement, but he stroked her soft, blonde hair, settling her back to sleep.
"At the school," the intense, female voice responded. It was clear as a bell. Not the hastened speech of fear, nor the casual tones of conversation. Crisp. Concise.
"Is.. is Dawn OK?" Buffy stuttered. Spike swung his legs over the side of the bed, reaching for his jeans, changing as he listened to one side of what was a conversation he never hoped to hear.
"Yes, she seems to be alright. But she mentioned that you ... well, you might be able to shed some light on the situation." The voice fluctuated, as if it realized that its tone did not match its intent. Like it was learning as it went.
"Me?"
"Could you come by, please?" The woman said in what sounded like quiet desperation. It learned quickly.
"Uh, yeah," Buffy answered. "Sure."
"Thank you."
"I.. we'll be right there."
*****
"Did she say anything else, Pet?" Spike asked as he drove towards the school. Had to think about upgrading the vehicle. Not that they really ever drove anywhere, but the car seat didn't quite mesh with the deSoto. Even if they had managed to replace the windows.
"No," Buffy answered. "Just that there was some sort of...accident. And that Dawn told her we might be able to make sense of it." She paused for a long moment. "You sure that bringing Emma was a good idea?"
"Couldn't reach Willow and Tara. Even Harris and Anya seem to have buggered off. Can't exactly leave her alone. Safer with us anyway."
"Probably right," she agreed. "I just don't want her..."
"If it's gruesome, Pet, we can leave her with Dawn, alright?" Spike said, reaching over to touch her hand. Immediately, Buffy settled. Her heart still pounded in her chest, but she felt as if she wasn't alone. That was good today. She needed to not be alone.
"OK."
The car slowed, sliding to the curb in front of the school. It looked deserted. They got out, freeing Emma who was still mostly asleep, and headed for the double doors. The doors seemed smaller now, even though Buffy was no bigger Guess fear will do that to you, she thought.
As they walked up the long sidewalk, a voice chimed up from the parking lot to their right. "Hey. Wait up."
Willow trotted up the sidewalk, a look of confusion and concern on her pale features. Tara jogged behind her, with Xander and Anya alighting from his dinged car at the edge of the curb.
"Willow?" Buffy asked, staring oddly at the group before her.
"Buffy...hi," Willow answered "What are you doing here? I mean..."
"The school called me, and ... what are you doing here?" Buffy asked, the strangeness of the situation buzzing the back of her skull. Something wasn't right. Something.
Spike stood silent, watching them trickle up the walk, wondering, trying to fit it together in his head. There was no reason, from what the woman had told Buffy, for them to be here as well. No reason to call the cavalry. There was more to it than they knew. Still, sometimes you cannot know what you're up against until it looks you in the eye.
"They called me out of class and said you.. that they couldn't find you. I... I guess that Dawn listed us as emergency contacts," Willow answered. "I called Tara and we headed down here."
"That's strange," Anya said as she and Xander walked up to the group. "She called the Magic Box as Dawn's place of gainful employment and asked if we knew how to find you," she continued, nodding at Buffy. "She said she couldn't get in touch with her guardian."
"Ahn called me on the site and I thought we'd better come down," Xander added, an arm loosely wrapped around Anya.
"Who is they? Who is she?" Buffy asked.
"I think she said her name was Mrs. Tufts," Willow answered.
"Yes," Anya agreed. "Tufts. Hunh. Funny name."
"Was that the woman that called the house, Pet?" Spike asked, casting an uneasy glance at Buffy.
"Yeah," Buffy answered. "That's what she said."
"We should go find Dawn," Tara interrupted. "The woman said something about an accident."
Spike looked at the doors warily. "Don't think things are quite right here."
"No offense, watcher boy, but don't you think that whatever's wrong is nothing compared to getting to Dawn?" Xander huffed, walking towards the door.
"I'm just saying," Spike began, trying to control his tone, but coming off snarky none the less, "that we should not all follow your lead and be stupid sodding gits. Maybe we need to be a little careful."
"Look, *Spike*, " Xander began, approaching the Vampire, fury flushing his face.
"Xander stop," Buffy said, holding out her hand and pressing it hard to his shoulder. "Spike's right. We need to be cautious. There should be tons of kids here now and there's no one. Not to mention, this Tufts woman didn't need to call us all here, but she did. Do you know why?"
Xander stared at her, blinking. Every day she moved a little further away. Every day the dream that this... thing... with Spike was temporary and just a nightmare became less and less real. He thought he'd got it through his head when Emma was born. But he supposed when you fell head over heels for someone, it never truly went away. "Buff, I." Xander sighed. No energy for this. If he wanted to argue, he could do it at home. "Maybe you're right," he conceded.
"Well, " Spike began. "Think we're about to find out."
*****
"Miss Summers?" That crisp, woman's voice assaulted her as soon as she stepped into the corridor. Mrs. Tufts was a small woman, non-descript. Dark hair, graying around the edges. Dark eyes. Pale skin. She was angular and seemed like someone had drawn her in front of them.
"Buffy," she said, holding out her hand. "This is Sp..illiam." It came out as Buffy Word Salad.
"William," Spike corrected, politely offering his hand. She shook, sending an odd feeling coursing up his arm. Like static electricity. Spike avoided shuddering, as it would not have made much of an impression on Dawn's teacher if he shook like a dog and wiped his palm on his jeans.
"Nice to meet you," the woman said, studying Buffy as she shifted Emma from one hip to the other. " I see you all made it," Mrs. Tufts continued, peering around the couple to the rest of them.
"Yes," Buffy said curtly. "Was there a reason for calling us all? Did you have trouble getting through to me?"
"Better safe than sorry," the woman chimed, piercing Buffy with her dark eyes. There was something unreal about her. Like a cartoon.
"You said that there'd been an accident?" Spike said, trying to avert Mrs. Tuft's gaze from his family. "Where's Ni..Dawn?" Looks like Word Salad is contagious, Buffy thought.
"Right this way," the woman said. For some reason, Spike was reminded of a comedy movie a few years back. Young Frankenstien. Igor saying "Walk this way." He was tempted to hunch over and drag his leg behind the lady before Buffy kicked him in the shin and brought him back to the present.
"Seems pretty empty," Buffy commented as they walked down the corridor. The uneasy feeling was spreading through Spike like wildfire. The scene almost seemed surreal.
"We sent the students home," Mrs. Tuft's answered, stopping at the door to the gymnasium. "It's in there," she muttered, pointing at the door.
"Where is Dawn?" Spike asked again.
"Inside," Mrs. Tufts answered, flatly. Spike's uneasy feeling was growing, multiplying itself by Buffy's.
"Could you ask her to come out first? Rather not take the tot in," Spike asked, nodding at the doors.
"Oh, it's nothing like that. But I'd be happy to watch her, if you'd like," the dark woman said, holding out her arms.
"No!" they both snapped in unison.
"Thank you," Buffy added. "Dawn ... is in there?"
"Yes," Mrs. Tufts said, her arms flopping back to her sides in disappointment.
"You just left her alone in there?" Buffy continued, a look of aggravation mixed with fear crossing her face.
"She said she *wanted* to stay," Mrs. Tufts replied.
"Not a bloody good excuse for leaving her," Spike growled, annoyed with Tufts' incompetence.
The woman shrugged in reply, as if her vocabulary failed her. She stared at them, her gaze fixed on Emma. Spike watched the woman, trying to suss out what it was that was driving him nearly insane about her. He stepped in front of Buffy, blocking Mrs. Tufts' line of sight.
"I'm not sure I understand why you left the girl alone if she's been in some sort of accident," Spike began, his posture, his tone, becoming more aggressive by the moment. Buffy tugged the sleeve of his shirt, turning his attention back to her.
"Let's just get this over with," Buffy said, starting toward the gym. "I just want to get Dawn and go home." Spike glared at the woman, then grabbed the door before Buffy could reach it, swinging it open on its creaking hinges.
*****
It took a moment to review it all. The gym was almost dark. There was just enough light filtering through the windows to make out the odd pattern painted on the floor. Dawn sat on the bottom rung of the bleachers, her head in her hands, staring at the symbol as if she hoped its meaning would pop into her head like the answers on her history test.
"Dawn?" Buffy asked, worry in her voice, rushing across the room to the girl. Spike watched her, assuring himself that Dawn was indeed all right, then walked over to the marking on the floor. The rest followed Buffy.
"Everything OK, Dawnie?" Willow asked, brushing the teens from her cheeks and pushing it behind her ear.
"Yeah. Fine. What are you doing here?" Dawn asked, looking at Buffy, but addressing them all.
Buffy looked at her sister strangely. Obviously, the stories had been different for all of them. "Mrs. Tufts, your teacher called and told us that there'd been an accident and you needed us here," Buffy stuttered, shifting the sleepy baby onto the other hip.
"Who's Mrs. Tufts?" Dawn asked, her face contorted with confusion, her head wagging from person to person, trying to follow the conversation and figure out why any of them were standing there.
"From the school. Dark hair, bout this tall," Xander answered, gesturing to a height roughly equal to Buffy's.
"I don't know any Mrs. Tufts," Dawn said, still lost in confusion.
"It's a big school, Dawnie. Maybe she's one of those office administrator types," Tara concluded, smiling reassuringly at the teen.
"Trust me, I've been to the office enough times that..." Dawn stuttered, "...but not lately..."
"And you weren't in an accident?" Buffy asked, furrowing her brow, visually assessing her sister's condition.
"No," Dawn answered simply. "I was in lit class. The teacher got a note and called me to the front of the room and told me that I was needed in the gym. Didn't look like he knew why. Seemed weird, but this is Sunnydale, right, so I went. When I opened the doors, everything got all wonky and it seemed like the world disappeared. I got dizzy so I sat down and that's when I saw the thing on the floor. Then you were here." Dawn finished, babbling in confusion, trying to figure out just what *had* happened in the last half an hour of her life.
"Blood," Spike called, as he knelt at the edge of the symbol.
"Bloody, hunh?" Buffy asked, her face almost frozen in a mask of confusion. Not sure where Spike's comment fit in the reality of the situation.
"No," Spike enunciated, smirking at her. "Blood. The floor? The symbol?" he said, gesturing at the space below him and staring at the lot of them as if they were thick. The remaining six, plus Emma, tentatively walked over, studying the macabre painting on the floor.
It was a deep cherry colour, roughly the size of a smallish car. The design was strange, knotted, almost spiraling through itself. But if you looked at it from exactly the right angel, Buffy noticed, it looked like three eyes at the points of a triangle. It seemed...familiar... in a One sort of creepy way, but the name or the purpose escaped her. Buffy walked to where Spike knelt, letting her knees press against his back. He reached behind him with one hand, stroking her calf, reassuring himself that she was there.
"What kind of blood?" Willow asked, shyly. "I mean, since you are kind of the resident expert." They had spread themselves out in a ring around the pattern, all turning and craning their heads trying to look at it in some way that would make it make sense.
"Human," Spike answered, standing back up. Buffy stayed pressed close against his back.
"There's a lot of blood... for a human," Anya answered.
"Could be several," Spike added, wiping his hands on his jeans and leaning back just enough to feel Buffy pressed against his back. To feel Emma's chubby palm grabbing at his shirt. For some reason, contact seemed essential. Like the world might crack if he could not feel them there.
"Do you know what the symbol means?" Tara asked.
"Looks familiar," Spike commented, "Don't know if I've seen it this go round. You, Pet?"
"Same. Like it's in here someplace, but no idea," Buffy answered, shaking her head, clinging to Emma, pressing to Spike. The same feeling crept through her. They needed to stay close. Their power lay in each other.
"Will?" Xander piped in. "Looks all magic-y."
"It's Celtic," Willow answered, carefully inspecting the symbol. "Definitely magic. Not looking too happyish what with the human sacrifice."
"Well," Buffy said, feeling a wave of uneasiness assault her, creeping like vines twining around her. "I vote for the getting out of Dodge and figuring out the what it is and who dunnits someplace else."
"Think I'm with the Buffster," Xander agreed, pointing at Buffy.
"You're always with the Buffster," Anya shot back, annoyed.
"Wait!" Dawn exclaimed. They all turned their heads toward the teenager from their places around the circle. "Look!" she continued, stepping over the periphery and into the circle of blood. "There's something in the middle. See it. .. shining?"
"Nibs! No!" Spike blurted, stepping forward towards the edge of the mark. Just as his first muscle twitched into action, as Dawn leaned down in the center, something in Buffy snapped and fear shot through her as if someone had just jammed a gun to her temple.
"Spike!" Buffy reached forward with her one free hand and grabbed the back of his jeans, yanking him as hard as she could, knocking herself and Emma off balance in the process. Spike reeled backwards from the force of Buffy's pull and the push of some unseen power forcing him away from the symbol. He stumbled but managed to grab Buffy and break her fall onto the wooden floor. Dawn leaned down and grabbed hold of the shiny object in the center. Four sets of eyes looked with worry over at the heap on the ground, the baby crying quietly, startled awake. The fifth, the hub of the wheel, stood deadly still.
Spike heard a sharp crack, then a bright beam of light shot from the object, consuming Dawn in a sea of white. Buffy jumped up, trying to leave Emma with Spike and rush at her sister, but the same unseen force stopped her in her tracks, repelling her back to the floor. She clapped her hands over Emma's eyes, squinting against the horrible brightness. The glow spread, creeping up Dawn's hands, her arms, her shoulders, her neck. Another loud crack and a primal scream from the younger Summers prompted Spike back into motion. He scrambled to gain purchase on the slippery floor, but the hub turned its head, eyes glowing, knocking him back to the floor a few feet away. Then it turned its gaze on Buffy and Emma.
"No," Spike shouted, clambering on his knees towards Buffy.
"Spike?" Buffy asked, reaching towards him, the shock of what was happening to her sister dampening her senses. Spike grabbed Buffy, pulling her close, sandwiching Emma between them. His forehead touching Buffy's. Their hands clasping together. Buffy felt them shift as if passing through a velvet doorway. The noise faded, as if they had escaped to ether while their shells remained tangled in the floor.
Buffy heard the second scream as if it were a million miles away. She could see Dawn as if through a fog, the teen's hands spread open, mouth agape, spinning in the center of the wheel. The light had consumed her, escaping in beams from her eyes, deflecting off the others until they too were consumed in the sickly harsh light. Their eyes all glowing, all staring at the twirling hub. Buffy turned away, letting herself fall back into Spike, feeling Emma pressed so deep into her that it was almost as if the child was back in her womb. As if the physical had almost melted and they had returned to their natural state. One continuous entity swirling through itself. The sound, the screaming, reached an ear splitting crescendo, even from their perspective, and Buffy buried her head in Spike's shoulder unable to move, even to scream. Spike pressed his hands over her ears, trying to dull the horrible sound. Quell the fear that consumed them both.
Suddenly, it was deadly quiet.
Buffy was lying on the gym floor, Spike covering her. Emma was silent between them. Slowly, Spike craned his head, looking back over his shoulder. He moved carefully from his girls, trying to assess if it was safe. Trying to see what had happened. What they had been saved from and that they had been unable to prevent. What lay before them was more than either of them could bear.
All five lay breathless on the floor.
To be contd.