CHAPTER FOUR
Happy. That's what she felt and it was a feeling she'd almost forgotten what it felt like. She watched the sun as it set over the water and she turned to Faith, smiling as strong arms easily found their way around her. Happy and in love, that was what she felt and it made her feel so free and so alive.
But still, something felt off. Something felt wrong and she couldn't quite put her finger on just what it was. It made the hair on the back of her neck prickle, a similar feeling to the pang in her gut whenever there were vampires or demons nearby. And strangely enough, she felt that too, but it was far too faint to raise alarm. Too faint to need to ask Faith if she felt it too.
She looked out over the calm water, watching the sun as it set, the brilliant hues of red filling the sky, bouncing off the turquoise blue water. It was almost mesmerizing. It almost didn't feel real and the scene before her looked like something out of a dream. She looked over at a big white yacht that was anchored about half a mile away.
"How long has that boat been out there?" She asked as she turned to look at Faith.
"What boat, B?"
"That one," Buffy replied as she subtly pointed to where she was looking.
Faith shrugged and leaned in to kiss Buffy lightly on the lips. "Don't know. It's just a boat."
"But why is it there?"
"Who cares? Probably just passing by or something and decided to anchor for the night. We're in the Caribbean sea, there's gonna be lots of boats and shit, private island or not."
Buffy sighed, trying to leave the issue alone, but it didn't feel right at all. But her thoughts were quickly dissolved with the feel of Faith's hands sliding under the white sundress she'd picked up at a shop near the airport. Faith's fingers trailed over the edge of the panties she'd hastily put on after the long afternoon they'd had breaking in the bed. Just thinking about how passionate and erotic it had been turned her on beyond belief. It had never been like that between them before, but she definitely wasn't complaining. It was new and different and it really showed her how much Faith truly did love her.
As if she ever really questioned that, yet she still wondered how, after all those years, all those sporadic bursts of days where they'd be together, and the weeks and months where they weren't, could Faith fall in love with her too? Faith always said she never did love, never did commitment or relationships, but isn't that what they'd been sharing for the last five years, even if it wasn't in the traditional sense?
When she was with Faith, she felt more like herself, not her old self or who she'd become, but the one she'd been searching for for a long, long time. They'd gone from being lovers to something more in just a matter of days and even though they were thousands of miles from the place that Faith called home, she loved how different things were becoming between them and she couldn't wait to see what came next.
Was Faith thinking those same thoughts? Was she thinking not just about what would happen in the days that would come, but down the road? She'd learned very quickly that Faith, despite the bravado, the façade, the tough personality she hid behind, that she was very much a romantic at heart and longed for love, just like everyone else did. Faith wasn't a selfish lover either and she loved that about her. She loved a lot of things about her and even there, on an island in paradise, she was finding lots of other things that she loved about Faith.
Including her insatiable libido and the fact that Faith just couldn't keep her hands to herself. She definitely wasn't complaining, she loved being with Faith, and if she thought back to before things had unfolded between them, she knew she'd never once thought about being with another woman or Faith in particular. She'd never even played with that thought, but when it happened the first time, she hadn't been afraid of the unknown, she embraced it.
It made her feel again, it made her feel alive. Truly alive.
Buffy leaned in and captured Faith's lips with her own in a passionate kiss. Her bare feet sunk in the soft sand as she held on to Faith tight. Faith's hands smoothed over her skin, fingers tugging at her panties, slipping just under the edge of them before lifting Buffy up off her feet. Buffy broke away from Faith's lips and wrapped her legs around her hips, smiling down at her as Faith carried her to the house.
"Think I've enjoyed the sunset long enough," Faith whispered huskily.
"Mmm," Buffy moaned as Faith's lips found their way to her neck, licking and sucking, gently nibbling at the skin just below her ear. "You are completely insatiable, Faith."
Faith laughed against her skin as she stepped inside the open doorway. The soft, gentle breeze blew the white, almost sheer drapes around them as Buffy slid down Faith's body before placing her feet firmly on the floor.
"Never spent more than a day with you, B," Faith said as she traced her fingers over Buffy's shoulders. "Always wondered what it'd be like, just you and me, nobody else around for miles."
"Almost makes you wish you'd never have to leave such a place."
"Almost," Faith sighed. "We're going back, Buffy."
"I know—I didn't mean it like that," Buffy said quickly as the words Faith said back in London echoed through her mind. Words that sounded more of a threat, that she'd lose Faith if she tried to get her to stay for longer than a week. "If you ever feel like you need to get away from things every once in a while, we can always come back down here, just you and me."
"I'd like that, but we'll see, B. You know that being a slayer, life just doesn't stop," Faith replied and she frowned as she stepped around Buffy and headed for the small kitchen. "But it's been, I dunno, nice to kind of get away from it all for a little while."
Buffy watched her as she pulled out a bottle of wine from the fridge and searched through the drawers for the corkscrew. She grunted in frustration and gripped on to the edge of the counter and hung her head low. Buffy walked into the kitchen and over to the table by the other set of doors that were always left open and plucked the corkscrew from the piles of empty, dirty dishes they'd left there from dinner. She walked up behind Faith and ran a hand up her tense arm. She placed a soft kiss on her shoulder before she reached around and placed the corkscrew in one of Faith's hands.
"It was on the table," Buffy whispered. "I left it there when we opened that bottle we had at dinner."
Faith chuckled as she turned around and wrapped her arms around Buffy, the corkscrew and the bottle of wine suddenly forgotten as their lips met in a heated kiss. Buffy pushed her up against the counter, her hands roaming, grasping wherever she could touch. She gasped as Faith's hands slipped under the edge of her dress and she roughly yanked down her panties as she spun Buffy around and slammed her against the counter.
Eager, desperate hands slid between Buffy's legs and she lifted her left leg and wrapped it around Faith's hip, deepening the kiss as Faith's skillful fingers slipped over her with practiced ease. She gasped and moaned as Faith deftly slid two fingers inside of her, moving them slowly, burying them to the hilt every time. She parted from Faith's lips, groaning as Faith lifted her up on to the counter and spread her legs, her lips going straight back to Buffy's as the full, unopened bottle of wine teetered and then fell to the floor, smashing the instant that it hit, but neither cared, neither barely noticed. They were far too lost in one another to care about anything else.
The yacht rocked slightly against the gentle waves and he stood on the top deck, watching the little island much like he'd done for most of the day. His face was hidden beneath the shadows of the hood pulled up over his head and he cleared his throat as he turned to the man faithfully standing at his side.
"It is time."
"But, sir, we lack reinforcements. Ever since the slayer killed—"
"I think a little surprise visit is long overdue and well in order, no?"
"Mr. Yareli—"
"Stay behind if you must, Josef. I shall pay our two slayers a surprise visit. No need to worry. If they are successful say if they choose to attack," Tarek chuckled as he pulled down his hood. "I always come back."
"Al—always, sir?"
Tarek nodded his head slowly and turned his attention back to the small island. "You're still quite new, I keep forgetting," he said and he turned to Josef again. "Have you thought of my proposition?"
"I have," Josef nodded nervously. "Must I give you your answer now, sir, or—"
"Ah, it can wait," Tarek replied, waving him off as he walked down the short flight of stairs and to the back of the deck. "Josef, do check on the captain. I would quite like to eat upon my return and I like my food to beg for its life as I do."
"Yes, sir."
Tarek watched Josef disappear inside before he reached for the delicate looking crossbow that sat on the bench seat. Plucking out a single arrow, he touched the tip with his finger, grinning as it pierced through his skin easily. He wouldn't need anything more than just one arrow to send his message across. It wasn't meant for one or the other, their death would come in time.
He hopped into the small rubber boat and untied the ropes quickly. The motor ran quiet as he pulled the cord and he licked over his lips as he steered the boat towards the small island. He had plans to eradicate the entire slayer line, saving the original Chosen one's for the very last. He liked to play games, sadistic, drawn out games. He lived for the lust of the chase and the burn of the fight. There was nothing like fighting a slayer and Buffy had been the first who caught him off guard, staked him for the first time in over five hundred years.
Magic flowed through his undead veins, magic that kept him immortal, indestructible. Magic that could be used to control, to conquer, to induce fear. Chuckling, he pulled his hood back over his head as the boat reached the sandy beach. He quickly shut off the motor and climbed out, pulling the boat up on the beach and out of the water. He grabbed his crossbow with his single arrow and quietly approached the house, moving around to the back where he could hear the two slayer's otherwise preoccupied with one another.
Which made his surprise visit that much better, that much more unexpected if they didn't sense his subtle approach. It was perfect and it made the magic inside of him crackle as the delight filled his very lack of soul.
The soft light flooded out the open doors and onto the deck and the sounds of moaning could be heard more clearly as he took each step across the wooden desk lightly and quietly. As the two slayers came into view, a sly grin curled over his lips and he loaded the arrow into the small crossbow and aimed for the wall just above the blonde haired slayers head.
"Mors erit. Et sanguis in manibus reddam tibi," he whispered before releasing the arrow, watching the tip glow red as it sailed quietly through the air and inside the house.
Tarek stayed hidden in the shadows, watching as the arrow sunk deep into the wall, his message flowing out against the wall with his blood. The two slayers gasped as they backed away from the wall, watching the words as they magically soaked through the plaster, one letter at a time, and he could almost taste the fear in the blonde haired slayer and the rage in the other.
The one he was so eager to meet. The one he'd heard such great things of, how evil had tinged her soul and how the darkness still lived inside of her, buried needlessly beyond walls that came from her need to find redemption.
Maybe he wouldn't kill her at all. He could have much better use for a slayer of her stature. But she was lost to love, to the good over evil. It was nothing a little magic couldn't change. Chuckling, he stepped forward. It was time for his little surprise to come to fruition.
Faith panted heavily as she stared at the words written on the wall. Her Latin was rusty, really rusty, but she recognized it as just that. She turned to Buffy, who had lost all color in her face and she reached for the arrow imbedded in the plaster wall. She pulled it out and within seconds it disintegrated in her hand and blood pooled in her palm, blood that was cold and sticky.
"What the hell?" Faith muttered under her breath as Buffy shook her head.
"It can't be."
"What is it, Buffy?" Faith asked as she stared into Buffy's eyes, eyes that were wide and full of fear and shock, eyes that weren't looking at her, but over her shoulder at something else. Someone else. Turning around, Faith looked at the hooded figure lingering in the open doorway, his face hidden beyond the shadows of the hood, but even she could see the eyes as they glowed dimly. "Who the hell are you?"
"Such insolence," he said lowly, his accent unrecognizable and very heavy. "Have all manners been lost in this day and age? How unfortunate and disappointing this world has become."
"Take one more step, buddy, and you're in for a world of pain. Get out," Faith said through clenched teeth and she grabbed the butcher knife out of the blood and gripped it tight. "Not gonna ask you twice."
Whoever this guy was, he clearly had Buffy trembling in fear. She could tell from the tight yet trembling grip that Buffy had on her shoulders as she stood behind her. All Faith knew was he'd interrupted them, invaded their privacy, set foot where he was not welcome. And she wasn't happy. She was pissed.
"Faith—"
"Who the hell are you?" Faith asked as he stepped fully inside. She watched as he pulled back his hood and saw the grin curl over his lips. "If you're so up on the up about manners, asshole, you should know that it's impolite to enter without being invited."
"I don't need an invitation to a place where I am welcome."
"Think you've got a few wires crossed there—"
"Faith, that's him," Buffy whispered from behind her.
"Who?"
"Tarek."
"Huh?" Faith blinked and she turned her attention back to their intruder.
He stepped a little bit closer, stopping short as he was just an arms length away. "Your fear is refreshing, Miss. Summers. I quite like the taste of it. It's delicious," he sneered and Faith shrugged Buffy's hands off her shoulders, growing increasingly impatient as her nerves stood on an edge. "And you, Miss. Lehane, your anger tastes even better than I ever imagined it would."
"You know who we are, but I don't know who the hell you are," Faith said and she struggled against Buffy who was trying to pull her back. "So, make with the introductions, Mr. Manners."
"I am Tarek Yareli," he said slowly, extending a hand to Faith's, who refused the gesture.
"Is that supposed to mean something to me?"
"It will."
"Faith—"
"Don't care who you are, Tarek Yareli, but you're—"
"In for a world of pain, as you said, yes," he finished for her, further firing up the burning anger she was feeling. She suspiciously eyed his left hand that had been behind his back since he entered the kitchen and he chuckled lowly as he pulled his hand out from behind his back, producing an unloaded crossbow. "Aren't you curious about my message?"
"Don't give a fuck about your message right now," Faith growled. "I want you out and off this fucking island. I told you I ain't gonna ask twice!"
"Ah, but you have," he laughed again.
"What's your problem, asshole?"
"Faith, don't—"
"Don't what, B? Huh? Who the hell is this guy anyway? You know him?"
"He's the vampire I staked in London, the one who sent that gang of vampires after me. The ones you—you saved me from," she whispered, her voice trembling as she tried to use Faith as a cover. Faith, not having any of it, yanked herself free of Buffy's hold. "Faith, I staked him. Don't you understand? He's supposed to be dust."
Faith blinked and suddenly it made sense why Buffy was so afraid of him. Buffy was never afraid of anything, not vampires or demons or anything else she came face to face with. Tarek Yareli wasn't just a vampire, he was something else entirely and she watched as the soft blue light crackled from his fingertips as he rubbed them together. Magic. Of course it had to be magic.
"Tornar-se visível," Buffy whispered and Faith felt the spell the shaman in Brazil had cast upon her dissipate from all around her.
"Buffy—"
"I had to. We need her to—"
"You think your red-headed witch can help you fight me?" Tarek laughed and Faith used that moment to catch him off guard, swiping at him with the knife she knew was useless against him.
The tip of the butcher's knife barely nicked his arm and he grabbed on to Faith's wrist, twisting her arm around quickly and hard. She yelled out in pain, not expecting him to be as strong as he was and she let go of the knife, tears stinging her eyes as he twisted harder, her arm on the verge of breaking. She reeled her left hand back and punched him hard in the stomach, giving her just enough precious seconds to tear away from his tight hold and the vice-like grip he'd had on her wrist. Shaking off her throbbing arm and the pain that came with it, she backed away, looking for something to use against him. Behind her, Buffy was chanting softly and Faith knew she was no doubt trying to reach out to Willow using what little magic she'd picked up over the years.
Tarek lunged for her and she thrust an open palm forwards and into his nose. She moved quickly to get away from him and to keep him from going after Buffy. Yet, as he wiped the blood that trickled out of his nose and laughed, Faith had a feeling he wasn't there to fight.
"What game you playing at, Tarek?" Faith asked as he started to back up towards the open doorway. "Came all this way to do what? Send us a message written in blood we can't even read. What's the point in that, huh?"
"I thought you didn't care what the message says?" Tarek said, his tone teasing. Mocking.
Faith stepped forward and quickly leaned down to pick up the knife she'd had before. Killing him wasn't an option. Buffy said herself she'd staked him back in London and if that was the case, how could he come back from being dust? What kind of magic was he working with? He was wrong about one thing, they did need Willow's help and not in the way he was thinking.
She flicked her attention back to Buffy for a moment and she just stood there, silent and unmoving. With a heavy sigh, she spun back around and roundhouse kicked Tarek out the back door. She went right after him, her bare feet thudding softly against the wooden deck and she grabbed the front of his jacket and yanked him to his feet.
"What are you really doing here?"
"You do not know, do you?" Tarek replied and he shoved Faith away from him. "So lost in your own little world with your lover that you have no idea how many have been lost in just a few short days, do you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"All those pretty little girls," Tarek chuckled dryly and he licked over his lips as he pulled his hood back up, his face now hidden beyond shadows again. "Picked them off far too easily if I say so myself. One by one, each will fall until all that is left is you and your lover. Shall I let her watch you die or do you want to save her the heartbreak and die last, Slayer? Which shall it be?"
Her heart was racing so fast she could hear it loudly in her head, her ears ringing as the rage flooded through her. She gripped on to the handle of the knife tighter and she lunged for him, diving out to tackle him to the ground and at the very last second, that fraction of a second before impact, an arrow whizzed just past her shoulder and pierced his chest.
Faith fell to the ground and watched as he turned to dust with that eerily creepy smile curled over his lips. She coughed as she scrambled to get back up on her feet and she spun around to see Buffy standing in the doorway, the crossbow still held up and aiming where Tarek had just been standing. Her hands were shaking as Faith approached her and she gently took the crossbow out of her hands.
"B, what'd you go and do that for? I had him!"
"I wanted him gone," she whispered. "He'll come back like last time, but I—"
Faith dropped the crossbow, the one that Tarek had brought along to shoot that magic arrow into the wall and wrapped her arms around Buffy. She had no idea what had just happened or what the hell was really going on. And she felt so guilty for taking off with Buffy, holing up on an island in paradise when there was clearly something big unfolded that they were both completely unaware of.
"What's got you so spooked about him, B?"
"I killed him in London. We fought for a while and he was the hardest kill I've had in a long time. I should've know there was magic behind his power, his strength. I didn't think that he—that he'd come back. How can he come back? He was gone, he was dust, Faith."
"Shit, I ain't got a clue. Must be some kind of a spell or something," Faith said quietly as she backed away from Buffy and ran her fingers through her hair. "We gotta get off this island, B."
Willow groaned, the throbbing pain in her head distracting her from her work. She idly reached for her cup of tea and sipped it slowly, the liquid still too hot. Always too hot or cold, never in between. She'd been holed up in her office all afternoon, not researching, but sorting through the piles of paperwork she'd neglected for days on an end. Status reports that needed to be signed off, patrol rosters that needed to be finalized before the start of the next week, class changes and requests for transfers from some senior slayers, not just in Cleveland, but elsewhere.
"Honey, are you still working?" Kennedy asked as she stepped into her office. She frowned when Willow just blankly stared at her before she picked up the last sheet of paperwork. "It's after nine, Will. Come home with me?"
"I need to finish."
"Can't it wait until the morning?"
"No."
"Are you still upset for what I—"
"No, it's over and done with now, Kennedy and I—" Willow gasped as she was hit by a dizzy spell. "Whoa, spinny."
"Will?" Kennedy rushed to her side and caught her as she slipped out of her chair. "What's wrong, honey? Willow? What just happened?"
"I—I don't know. Just felt dizzy all of a sudden, like I was about to faint."
"You kind of did for a second."
Willow laughed weakly and allowed Kennedy to take her over to the couch to lie down. She closed her eyes and couldn't help but smile as Kennedy placed a pillow gently under her head. And then she was hit by a voice, specifically Buffy's voice and it wasn't just her imagining it. Buffy was reaching out for her and even though she couldn't make out what she was trying to say, she knew that she was in trouble. She and Faith were in trouble and they needed her help.
Willow opened her eyes and stared at Kennedy for a moment. She was too weak to do the teleporting spell she had yet to perfect, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from trying. The problem she had was that Kennedy would stop her if she knew what she was doing. Even then, the thought of trying to use it to get to wherever Buffy and Faith were, it made her tummy rumbly. As much as she wanted to do it, she knew she shouldn't. A simple locator spell would be easier and safer.
"What's going through that head of yours?" Kennedy asked softly as she ran a finger over Willow's furrowed brow.
"Buffy was reaching out to me."
"Are you sure?"
Willow nodded. "A hundred percent sure. I think Tarek found them."
"What makes you think that?"
"He sent a text to Faith's phone intended for me. There was a—a picture of the two of them on a beach somewhere. He said that they were next."
"Why would he send it to Faith's phone?"
"I don't know, Kenny! He's playing a game, he has to be. I think he's trying to screw us around, make us even more confused than we already are. If he's found them…oh Goddess, what if something has happened to them? To Faith?"
"What do you want to do?" Kennedy asked as Willow sat up slowly. "Honey?"
"I need a map."
"What good is a locator spell going to be? You tried that before and it didn't work because—"
"Kennedy, please, can you just find me a map? I just need to know they're not dead."
Kennedy sighed and searched through the drawers in Willow's desk for a map while Willow moved to get up from the couch slowly, her head still feeling light and fuzzy. She grabbed what she needed out of her cabinet full of magical supplies and watched as Kennedy laid the map down in the middle of the floor. She stepped back while Willow concentrated. She closed her eyes and threw the sand on top of the map and waited.
A few seconds passed before two very dim dots appeared south of Puerto Rico. Two. She sighed in relief as she used her foot to brush the sand off the map before it started to burn. She felt like laughing, like crying, like celebrating. She was feeling too many things at once, but she knew that relief she was feeling would be short-lived.
Until Faith was home and brought Buffy back with her, she'd be on edge, just as they all had been for the last five years Buffy had been gone.