CHAPTER SEVEN

Her head had been pounding since she'd left Headquarters, the meeting dissipating shortly after learning that Tarek had contacted Willow on her cell phone. It had her mind swimming with thoughts, thoughts she wasn't sure what to make of them.

Why would he have contacted Willow that way? Why her phone and how did he even know it was in Willow's possession? She was growing suspicious, yet hadn't voiced her concerns during the meeting. There was someone that wasn't playing on their side, that was for sure. How else would Tarek know that Willow had her phone or even her number? Each and every person at Headquarters was a suspect in her mind. It was just a matter of figuring out who would be able to pass off as a convincing double-agent. Things just weren't adding up.

It'd been Giles who told her after he ended the meeting to go home and get some rest, to leave the researching up to the research team, himself and Willow. It made it sound like she was the muscle, not the brains. On any normal day, she wouldn't have had a problem with it, but this day in particular, it rubbed her the wrong way. The vibes she'd been feeling with the Scooby gang felt eerily similar to a time she'd almost forgotten about, back to her first months in Sunnydale when they didn't exactly let her in with open arms. Or trust her.

She'd violated the trust she'd earned over the years by lying, by keeping what she had with Buffy a secret from all of them. She knew that a day like this would come when things started between her and Buffy, she knew it was inevitable, but to go through it, even just for a few short hours, it'd taken a toll on her emotional stability.

No wonder Buffy wasn't ready to face any of them yet. She was starting to truly understand where she was coming from and how she felt about coming back to her friends, her family. It was unnerving to say the least. She'd felt like she'd been put in a cage and cornered like some kind of an animal when Dawn attacked her verbally. She could only imagine how much worse it'd be for Buffy and she hated just thinking about the things—Dawn especially—would say to her. How they'd attack her without realizing they were backing her up into a corner, caging her.

Faith sighed loudly and flicked her cigarette to the ground and walked across the parking lot to her apartment building. The rain started back up again as she reached the back door and fumbled with her keys. Her head was killing her and the rain wasn't helping much with that either. Maybe it had been better that she left. Staying would've been worse, yet it depended on one's individual definition of worse after the afternoon she'd just had.

With every flight of stairs she climbed, the faint sounds of Disturbed's Indestructible album could be heard coming from beyond her apartment door. It just made her smile, she wasn't sure why, but it just did. It made her temporarily forget everything else but what just lay beyond the door. She slipped her key into the lock and opened the door slowly, grinning widely as she was treated to the sight of Buffy in one of her old Nine Inch Nails t-shirt's and a pair of lacy black panties, dancing around the living room with a bottle of beer in her hand.

This was the Buffy she knew, not the Buffy that the other's did. This was the Buffy she'd fallen in love with, not the one she'd used to be. Faith shrugged out of her jacket as she shut the door and locked it, the music flowing through her body, making her want to dance her way over to Buffy, surprising her. She dropped her damp jacket on the chair near the door and kicked off her boots. She smiled to herself as she ran her fingers through her damp hair and sauntered her way over to where Buffy was moving to the beat of the music with her eyes closed.

She wrapped her arms around Buffy from behind, pressing her body close as she matched Buffy's rhythm to the driving opening beats of Deceiver. She smoothed her palms over Buffy's hips, her fingers slipping under the hem of her t-shirt to touch the soft, warm skin underneath.

"Hey," Faith whispered into her ear, groaning as Buffy ground her ass into her pelvis in time to the music. "Having fun, B?"

"Mmm, I am now," she purred as she turned her head to capture Faith's lips in a lazy yet hungry kiss. "How did it go?"

"Don't wanna talk about it."

Buffy turned in her arms and Faith took the bottle of beer out of her hand and chugged what was left of it. "That bad?" Buffy asked, frowning as Faith moved away from her to place the empty bottle on the coffee table. Buffy used that moment to reach down for the remote to the CD player and turned the music down. "What happened, Faith?"

"Can we just not talk about it right now, B?" Faith sighed as she let go of Buffy and sat down heavily on the couch. "It was a fucking disaster, okay?"

Buffy ran her fingers through her hair and moved to straddle Faith's legs, a move that had Faith's breath hitching in her chest. She licked over her lips as her hands easily found their way to Buffy's bare thighs, sliding them up slowly, feeling Buffy respond to the simple touch. Their eyes searched each other's for a moment before Buffy cupped Faith's face, pulling her in for a deep, passionate kiss.

Whenever she was with Buffy, it was far too easy to forget the rest of the world and all that was in it. But she needed it after the last few hours she'd had, she needed it far more than she wanted to admit, even to herself.

"Come here," Faith groaned against Buffy's lips as she rose to her feet, taking Buffy with her as she stood. "Just make me forget."

"Always."


Willow hadn't been home in days, or had it been a week? She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. She wanted to go home, but going home meant having to face Kennedy, having to sleep in their bed together when all she wanted was to be alone. All her emotions that had been piling up over the years had finally came crashing down all around her. She was a mess. She didn't need to be told, she already knew.

The meeting with Faith had been a disaster. She was so angry with Dawn for backing down on her word that she wouldn't bring up Buffy. Dawn had taken off, tried to see Buffy only to be stopped by Faith. Dawn attacking Faith had been the final straw and she should've seen it coming before it'd happened, she should've seen Faith practically flying across the table to grab Dawn. Her heart had leapt into her throat in that moment and even though she knew that Faith would never intentionally hurt Dawn, she wasn't so sure in those seconds before Kennedy grabbed a hold of Faith, stopping her from wrapping her hands around Dawn's neck.

Willow felt guilty, like it was partially her fault for what had happened between Dawn and Faith. Everyone was on edge and she'd be lying if she said she didn't know that Faith was more on edge than anyone else. For five years she held onto a secret, lied, betrayed their trust, their friendship. Willow could sympathize with her even though nobody else could, but what Faith had done wasn't right and it wasn't okay.

But Faith was her friend, her best friend, despite the lies and the secrets that had come up to the surface in the past week. Faith needed people on her side, not against her right now. Willow was on her side, but she wasn't at the same time. She was at war with the voices in her head, the voices that told her not to trust Faith, that she was stupid for ever believing she could trust her in the first place. She knew that wasn't entirely true and she couldn't look at the last five years that Faith had been there with them and not see that she had been loyal, that she could be trusted. The thing with Buffy was different. Wasn't it?

A soft knock on her closed office door made her lift her head up. She sighed as she stood up from the couch and walked over to unlock the door, not surprised to find Kennedy waiting on the other side with Dawn.

"We need to talk," Kennedy said and Willow simply shrugged as she held the door open for them. "And Dawn wants to apologize."

"It's not me she needs to apologize to."

"Faith made it perfectly clear she doesn't want any of us showing up at her place," Kennedy replied and Dawn lingered in the doorway, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "Honey, please tell me you're not staying here again tonight?"

"I—"

"I want you to come home," Kennedy whispered. Pleaded. "It's been almost a week since you've been home. This couch can't be that comfortable."

"It's okay."

Kennedy frowned as she took Willow's hands in hers. "Is it something I've done? Something I've said that has made you not want to come home? Or is it this whole thing with Buffy?"

Willow frowned again and pulled her hands free. "It's nothing you've said or done," she said softly and she could already see the frustration mounting in Kennedy's eyes before she forced herself to look away. "I'm just not feeling like…me lately. I just—with Faith lying about Buffy and now with Tarek in the picture, it's just too much."

For the first time in a long time, she allowed Kennedy to gingerly wrap her arms around her and hold her. Her body shook as she tried to hold back the tears. Her emotions were all over the place lately and she felt so out of control. It wasn't like her to get like this. This wasn't at all normal for her. And yet, when Dawn came over and wrapped her arms around both of them, Willow finally let the tears fall, too tired, too emotionally distraught to fight them any longer. They stood there for a while, just holding on to each other, only pulling away when Willow wiped her eyes on Kennedy's shoulder.

"I shouldn't have went off on her like that," Dawn frowned. "I feel so horrible. I hate this."

"It's okay, Dawnie—"

"No, it's not okay, Willow! I don't know why I got so mad at Faith. I just—I can't understand why Buffy doesn't want to see any of us."

"She's not ready," Willow said softly and she smoothed Dawn's hair, just as she'd done years ago whenever she got upset. "I don't know why either, but we need to be patient right now."

"I just—I miss her so much."

"We all do."

"Why would Faith lie to us about her? I don't understand. She knew how hard you were looking for Buffy and she knew—"

"There could be a lot of reasons, Dawnie," Willow said gently, not wanting to stir up a platitude of emotions after all that had happened throughout the day. "Love could be one of the reasons. We don't know what kind of relationship they have together and there really is no way for any of us to understand the things they've been through or the reasons why secrets were kept and that the lies were being fed for so long. All we can do is just wait until they're both ready to explain and answer our questions. What we cannot do is what happened this afternoon between you and Faith. Imagine if that had been Buffy…"

Even Willow knew that if it had been Buffy in Faith's place earlier, none of them would ever see her again. Maybe not even Faith. She could see the guilt in Dawn's eyes and she reached for her phone and handed it to Dawn.

"Call her," she said as Dawn shakily took the phone from her. "Call her and apologize. She'll pick up the phone when she sees that it's my phone and not yours."

"Thank you."

Willow smiled at Dawn and sighed as Kennedy wrapped her arms around her from behind. She relaxed in her girlfriend's warm embrace. Maybe she was ready to go home now. She missed the warmth and the strength she felt when she was held by Kennedy. She missed waking up in her arms and the way Kennedy's hair smelled in the morning. Things had been rough between them for a while and she should've fixed things a long time ago, made everything all right again.

"I think I want to come home tonight, Kenny."

"Yeah?" Kennedy smiled and she kissed Willow's cheek gently. "Are you sure?"

"Hey, you were the one who came in here asking me to come home and now that I want to, you're—"

"Just making sure," Kennedy chuckled quietly.

"Hey Faith, it's me," Dawn said into the phone as she paced the floor. "No, please don't hang up. I feel so bad about the way I went off on you earlier. You didn't deserve that and I'm sorry, Faith. I'm so sorry."

Willow and Kennedy watched as Dawn's face went from worried to delighted as she switched the phone to her other ear.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise," she chuckled and she looked over at them and grinned. "What? There is no way I am going to—fine, fine! If that's what it takes for you to forgive me then I'll do it."

"Do what?" Kennedy asked Willow and she shrugged, smiling as she could almost feel the relief coming from Dawn as she chattered excitedly on the phone with Faith.

"She wants to talk to you," Dawn said as she handed the phone to Willow. "Not sure why, she just asked me to give the phone to you."

Willow stepped out of Kennedy's warm embrace and held the phone up to her ear. "Hi, Faith, so what is it that you're getting Dawnie to do to make it up to you? It better not be bad. It's bad, isn't it?" Willow laughed and Dawn just rolled her eyes.

"Hello, Willow," Buffy said quietly.

"Buffy…?"


The hallway was quiet and dim, but Nadia poked her head around the corner, making sure she wasn't going to be caught ditching patrol. It wouldn't be the first time, but if she got caught—and she never got caught—she knew there'd be severe consequences that would follow. But, her mind was elsewhere and had been for most of the day. Taking a deep breath, she sprinted down the hallway to her room and quietly shut the door behind her. She let out a sigh of relief as she locked the door and kept the lights off as she made her way over to the window and opened it.

"I have been waiting," Josef whispered as he climbed into the room. "I thought someone would catch me sitting on the roof and—"

"Well, nobody caught you, so chill out," Nadia replied and she shut the window. "What's so important that we could talk about this over the phone?"

"I couldn't risk having him overhear us speaking," Josef replied and he sat down on the bed as Nadia turned on the bedside lamp. "He's otherwise preoccupied with Angel tonight."

"Doing what?"

"Drinking, I suppose."

"He's doesn't suspect a thing?" Nadia asked and Josef shook his head no. "Good. Let's keep it that way for as long as possible."

"I'm not sure how long we will get away with this," Josef said and he sounded nervous. Too nervous. It made Nadia feel nervous too. "If he finds out we've conspired against him, we'll be dead before we can even try to run."

"And what did you tell him about the proposition he made you?"

"That I'd be much more useful as a human, than as a vampire sired by him."

Nadia giggled. "I hope you made it sound convincing, brother."

Josef grinned. "Can you believe he thinks I'm a wanker? I do say this is my best role yet," he said as he rose from the bed. "Josef, the obedient, loyal wanker and right hand man of the most powerful vampire in the world. It's just a shame I cannot put it on my résumé."

"Are you still stuck on that whole wanting to be an actor crap?"

"But I am an actor, little sister," Josef chuckled and he ducked out of the way of a flying fist meant to be a playful punch to his shoulder. "A very convincing one, may I add."

"Probably not as convincing as Angel is," Nadia replied and Josef shook his head no. "That's what I thought."

"I didn't come here for friendly, playful sibling banter, Nadia," Josef said, the tone of his voice all seriousness and business. "Where is it?"

Nadia cleared her throat and she lifted up her mattress. Hidden away in the part she'd cut out of the box-spring, was the very book that Willow and the research team needed. The very book that had everything they'd ever need to know about Tarek Yareli, his history, his followers, a detailed account of his quick descent into madness nearly five hundred years ago. The very book she'd slipped out of the research room the day that Tarek Yareli killed the London squad. The very book that the moment she'd taken it, brought her deep into her brother's mission.

Josef took the book from her and pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket. "Keep this safe for me," he said as he slipped the paper inside the front cover and handed the book back to her. "When I come for it, I fully expect you to still be in possession of it. It's important that you keep it safe and hidden until then."

"What is it?"

"Part of the spell," Josef replied and he nervously checked his watch. "I must get back before he notices I am gone."

"What spell?" Nadia asked, grabbing onto the back of his suit jacket before he could open the window. "The spell that he used to become—"

"Impervious, even to death, yes," Josef nodded. "It is only one part, Nadia. There are still three more that I need to find. It is just unfortunate he's so very focused on the game. If not for the Chosen Two, I would've had more time in Ireland to search for another part of the spell."

"What is he doing to do next?"

"Stay out of trouble, little sister," Josef said, frowning as he opened the window.

"Josef!" Nadia grabbed at him again, desperate for an answer. "What is he going to do next?"

"Whatever I tell him to," he replied quietly. "He already has a plan, no thanks to me. Angel masquerading as Angelus is delaying it, but it won't be for very long. Tarek is not a stupid man. He'll figure out that Angel still has his soul sooner or later. We must make sure it is the latter. For our sake and for Angel's as well."

He tried to slip out the window, but Nadia grabbed a hold of him, using her slayer strength to keep him from leaving. "What are you going to do? He isn't going to kill anyone else, is he?"

"Not as of yet," Josef shook his head no. "I suggested a spell that he could do, one that would aid him in the games he likes to play. The less you know right now, the better."

Nadia clenched her jaw as she slammed Josef hard against the windowsill. "You're going to tell me everything," she glowered and she swore she felt him tremble as she held on to his throat with one hand. "What spell did you suggest?"

"A—a summoning," he stammered and she eased her hold on him a little, mainly just so he could breathe. "A summoning spell to bring forth a demon species from another dimension. The very same one that when we were very young children, I used to bring forth those faeries you always dreamt of. Do you remember that, little sister? You couldn't have been more than three years old at the time."

"Those faeries almost killed our family! It's because you did that spell, we spent years in and out of foster homes. Our lives were ruined because of those things! Are you out of your mind?"

"Perhaps I am," he chuckled and he pushed her away from him. "Do not ever lay a hand on me again, or I promise that you'll regret it."

"You don't scare me," Nadia hissed through clenched teeth. "He's gotten to you, hasn't he? He's gotten inside your head and you're forgetting why you joined his side in the first place."

Josef smirked as he straightened out his jacket. "We all have our own agendas we follow, Nadia. You need to stick to yours. Stay close with the others and report to me if they find anything on Tarek that we've tried to conceal from them. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand," Nadia said, swallowing hard as she watched Josef slip outside and hurry down the roof to the edge. She stuck her head out the window and watched as he floated down the thirty feet to the ground like a feather and then he was off, quickly disappearing into the shadows of the night.

Unlike her older brother, she didn't have an ounce of magic in her body. Josef, however, had always been a powerful warlock, choosing to not use his powers after the demon faerie incident which ripped their family apart. He'd chosen to seek out Tarek Yareli once learning of the power the vampire possessed, looking to find his own immortality, yet not before he killed Tarek once and for all. He couldn't do that on his own. He needed Willow, but even Nadia knew that Willow wouldn't help him if she knew his reasons, his thirst for immortality without losing his soul.

Everything changed when Buffy staked him in London and ever since then, Nadia had been working with her brother to protect the slayers all over the world. Seeking out Angel had been her doing, and she did it because she'd started to fear the worst, that Josef no longer cared about protecting her or the slayers all over the world, that all he cared about was finding the very same spell that Tarek Yareli had used to seal his fate, impervious to harm and to death.

She'd gotten herself into a huge mess and nobody at Headquarters even had a clue. Willow didn't know, Faith was too busy trying to dig herself out of the hole she'd dug herself in with Buffy, and nobody else really seemed to notice her. She couldn't even talk to Dawn or any of the other slayers. She definitely couldn't talk to Mr. Giles either. Nobody would understand why she'd done what she did, why she lied about who she really was all those years since the coven had found her and brought her to Cleveland. Aside from Josef, she had no family, and outside of the slayer organization, she had no friends. She did, however, have another ally, one that had originally suggested she get in contact with Angel. One that was thousands of miles away across the ocean, but one that had become not just an ally, but a dear, close friend of hers.

Sighing loudly, she closed her window and picked up the phone off the nightstand. She dialed a number she'd most recently memorized and waited as the call went through.

"Ufficio a Roma, questo è Gina. Come posso aiutarla?" The woman on the other line answered, speaking rapid Italian that Nadia barely could understand.

"I need to speak to Andrew Wells, please."

"Un momento," she replied and Nadia heard the click as her call was being transferred.

"You've reached the office of Andrew Wells, Head Watcher of the Rome offices. I can't come to the phone right now, so kindly leave a message and I'll get back to you."

Nadia groaned and sucked in a deep breath as she listened to the translation of the message and waited for the beep. "Andrew, it's me. Nadia, um, Yareli. I think we have a big problem with Josef. I need you to—"

"Nadia?" Andrew asked as he picked up the phone and she sighed in relief. "What do you need me to do?"

Her mouth grew dry as she tried to find the words she wanted to say, words she needed to say, words that failed to register in her mind. She'd panicked before she called Andrew, yet he was the only person in the world who knew who she really was and her very distant relation to Tarek Yareli.

"I need your help finding the rest of the spell," she whispered finally. "I want to find it before Josef does and I want to kill them both."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said, spoken with such clarity, such sureness, it rocked her very soul. "I'm sure. I want Josef and Tarek dead. They've ruined my life enough as it is. I won't let them do it to anyone else. I can't."

"You know what this means, don't you?"

"Yes," she whispered, her hands trembling. "I have to tell them. I have to tell them everything."