Chapter III

A key jiggled in the lock to the apartment. Rhona's enhanced vampire hearing picked it up, but she was so absorbed in feeding on Xander, the noise did not register in her mind. The surprised yell did, though. It was all the warning Rhona needed.

She brought her fangs away from Xander's neck and spun to face the intruder. She kept Xander between them as a human shield. Rhona's reflexes – Slayer enhanced by vampire – kept her from getting dusted. A stake landed in Xander's left upper arm as Rhona spun them around. A fraction of a second sooner and it would have been in Rhona's heart.

Rhona saw who threw the stake and she smiled. She was not supposed to kill the Slayer tonight. But that was only Buffy the Mistress was worried about. Nobody had said anything about Faith.

"I don't know who you are, or how you got in here, but you picked the wrong man to feed off of," Faith said.

"You know who I am," Rhona replied. "Come on, take a guess."

Faith responded by taking out another stake from her waistband, "I guess you're dust."

"Wrong," Rhona shook her head. She let her vampire features fade. Faith gasped with shock. "That's right, it's me, Rhona."

"How?"

"It doesn't matter." She tossed Xander aside, "All that matters is I'm going to kill you, too."

With matching roars, the two women leaped across the space separating them. Landing, Faith kicked out with her right foot, hitting Rhona in the stomach. She let out a grunt, but otherwise ignored the blow.

Rhona grabbed Faith around both wrists, thereby negating the threat of the wooden stake in Faith's right hand. The Slayer tried to wrestle her hands free, but Rhona held on.

Forcing her arms apart, Rhona head-butted Faith three times. The first impact broke her nose. Blood spurted onto both women. The second hit snapped her head back, causing painful whiplash. The third head-butt blurred Faith's vision and made her knees buckle.

Rhona squeezed Faith's wrists. They both heard the bones cracking. Faith let out a scream of pain and dropped the stake. Rhona's smile grew wider. She brought her knee up into Faith's gut, hard and fast. Faith doubled over from the pain of the impact. As a vampire, Rhona's Slayer strength was multiplied.

Faith wheezed for breath, held up by Rhona's hands encircling her wrists. Rhona drove her knee into Faith's stomach four more times, in quick and brutal succession.

She stepped back and twisted her torso to swing Faith. The taller woman's feet left the floor and Rhona increased the speed and strength of the move. The result was Faith smashing into the archway between the living room and the entranceway left ribs-first with a bone-crunching thud that dented both wall and Slayer.

Faith slid down the archway and fell into a tangled heap on the floor. Every inch of her arms felt on fire. Her neck and face were numb with pain. The ribs on her left side felt broken and her organs felt liquefied. She coughed once and spit up bloody mucus.

She managed to get to her hands and knees. The pressure on her injured wrists shot white-hot lances of pain up her arms, increasing the burning sensation. Rhona stepped forward and kicked Faith in her uninjured side. The force of the blow lifted Faith off the floor half a foot, sent her into the archway again, and broke several ribs on the right side. Hitting the archway again injured her left ribs further.

As Faith lay huddled on the floor, cradling both sides, Rhona stood gloating. Her smile was a mix between grim and satisfied.

"You know, I'd give anything to see Buffy's face when she finds her friend and another Slayer sucked dry by a vampire."

"Then get on with the sucking," Faith said through gritted teeth. "And stop with the pointless gloating all ready."

"What is it with bad guys?" Xander said from Rhona's left. "As soon as they go bad, do they develop a gloat gene?"

Rhona looked at Xander. He was swaying on his feet, one hand held up to his neck to stop the flow of blood. The other hand was around a large cross. Rhona let out a hiss of pain and took a step back.

Xander took a step forward.

Rhona took another step back.

They continued like this until Rhona was out in the hall. The most frustrating part for the new vampire was the fact that if Xander was just a little closer, she could swat the cross away and attack. He must have known this, because he kept the distance between them constant.

When Rhona was backed-up into the hallway, Xander slammed the door shut. She pounced forward to find it dead-bolted shut. Growling in frustration and realizing she was being compelled to leave and meet Cedric, Rhona kicked a hole in Xander's door. She turned on her heel and left.

Xander collapsed on his haunches, exhausted. Faith stood, grimacing in pain. She made her way to the phone, painful step by painful step. Every movement sent tremors of agony from her ribs to the rest of her body. She picked up the phone and dialed Willow and Kennedy's number. Her hands barely worked, the damage done to her wrists being so extensive. She tried to keep the pain out of her voice when she spoke.

"Kennedy, it's me, Faith… Yeah, I know what I'm interrupting. Or at least I have a good idea. No pictures, please. So stop your heavy breathing and listen… I don't care. Xander and I just got attacked… We're in bad shape. Come get us… We're at the apartment. Have Willow bring stuff for an anti-invitation spell… Okay, see you then… Yeah, bye."

Faith hung up the phone. She looked at Xander. He unbolted the door, leaving the handle locked, took three steps into the apartment and passed out. Faith gritted her teeth and started to make her way to Xander. She was going to get him into the bed. A wave of intense pain wracked her body, followed by a wave of dizziness. Just before she blacked out, Faith prayed Rhona would not come back or she would find them very easy pickings, indeed.

Amanda reached down to grab Dawn and pulled back with a snarl of pain. On her face, where Dawn slapped her, was a cross, branded to her cheek. While Beemers howled with laughter at Amanda's discomfort, Dawn rolled out from under her and scrambled away.

"Good going," Beemers managed to say through wheezing laughter. "But you're letting her get away."

Amanda let out a frustrated growl and stalked after Dawn, who by now was on her feet and running. Amanda picked up her pace to a trot and soon, overcame the human.

Amanda jumped in front of Dawn. The teenager came skittering to a stop.

"That was a neat trick, hiding the cross in your palm like that," Amanda said. "Not very nice, but neat."

"Nice for me."

"True, but it's not something you can pull off twice."

Amanda lunged for Dawn, but jumped back when she was hit with a stream of holy water. She let out another snarl of pain, this one mixed with frustration as well. Dawn was turning out to be too much trouble.

Dawn took the time given her by Amanda's pain to turn and run into the park, away from the vampire. Xander's apartment was only a block away from this park. If she could make it there, and if he was home, she would be safe.

Beemers went back to his meal. He picked up Cody and sank his fangs in his neck. Most vampires had their favorite type of human to feed off of. Some preferred children. Others sought virgins. While others preferred to hunt and kill members of the opposite sex.

Beemers liked to feed off jocks. High school athletes were his favorite, due to their youth and, as a general rule, lack of drugs saturating their blood. Let others feed off little girls and virgins, Beemers stuck to athletes who had more blood of a higher quality than most others did.

Beemers finished his meal and discarded the body. He was sated, now he could help Amanda with her first kill. Stupid kid could not even dispatch a little girl. What a joke, and a former Slayer, too.

He took one step in her direction when he felt a pain in the left side of his back and chest. Looking down, he saw the point of a stake sticking out of his torso. His head came up with a look of disbelief. Before he could say anything, he crumbled into dust.

Buffy stepped through the pile of ash and looked down at his victim. She saw him begin feeding and rushed over to stop him from killing the boy. Obviously he was fast or began before Buffy noticed him. She hated being seconds late.

Her look of remorse and disgust turned to horror as she saw the name embroidered on the letterman jacket. She stood and began scanning area.

"Dawn! Dawn!"

She took off down the path, heading right for Amanda.

Amanda heard Buffy's voice as she called out for Dawn. Suppressing a growl, she ducked behind some bushes as the blonde Slayer ran past her. Buffy stopped suddenly and stooped down. Amanda wanted nothing better than to jump out from her hiding place and attack Buffy. She could not; something compelled her to stay hidden, to avoid confrontation. She watched as Buffy picked something up, whispered "Dawn" and ran on.

Amanda stepped out from behind the bushes and looked to where Buffy was going. That was the general direction Dawn had been heading in. No doubt the two had the same location in mind; Dawn for sanctuary, Buffy to find her little sister. It was no use going that way.

Amanda looked back the way Buffy had come from. That was where Beemers was feeding on that kid. He was more than likely a pile of ash by now. Amanda's stomach rumbled and, without another thought for Beemers, she turned from the park and made her way to the street. She would find a meal that would not fight back. Then she would go home.

Dawn got to Xander's apartment to find Willow and Kennedy banging on the door. Her eyebrows rose in surprise. From what she had overheard of Buffy and Willow's phone conversation earlier today, those two had definite romantic plans for tonight.

"Willow! Kennedy!" she shouted out. She ran up to the pair. "What's going on? Why aren't you two home, you know, being couple-y?"

"Dawn, oh thank God it's you," Willow said when Dawn got closer. "Do you have that spare key to Xander's he gave you?"

"Yeah."

"We need it."

"What for?"

"Just let us use it!" Willow snapped.

Dawn jumped a little at her tone, but dug into her purse for the key Xander had given her for emergency use. "Emergency" meaning things at the Summers' house getting too tense. She held out the key and Willow snatched it from her. The redhead spun on her heel and jammed the key into the lock impatiently.

Kennedy leaned close to Dawn and whispered, "Don't worry about it. Willow's just worried about Xander. And I'm a little worried about Faith."

"Faith can take care of herself," Willow spat. "Xander, on the other hand…"

Dawn was about to ask what was going on when Willow unlocked the door and opened it. All three women gasped in shock. Xander lay in the entranceway, a small puddle of blood leaking from his neck. No one could tell if he was breathing.

Faith leaned against the wall in the living room, her face puffed and bruised, blood dribbling out of her mouth and down her chin. Her clothing was torn and bloodied, and her breathing was shallow and pained.

Willow was the first to snap out of her shocked state. With a strangled yelp, she jumped into the apartment, falling to her knees to check on Xander. She felt his neck, finding a weak and erratic pulse.

"Ohmigod, Kennedy call 9-1-1!"

Kennedy scuttled around Willow and grabbed the phone. As she dialed, Dawn walked into the apartment with a dazed look on her face. She took in the tableau before her, not really comprehending what was going on.

"Those are vampire wounds," she murmured to no one in particular. "How did Xander get vampire wounds inside his apartment?"

"And how did Faith get so beat up?" Kennedy asked. She was looking over the scene, having heard Dawn with her advanced Slayer hearing.

"Who cares!" Willow snapped. "Is the ambulance on its way?"

"Yes," Kennedy answered. "They'll be here in five minutes."

"Five minutes?" Willow screamed. "Xander could be dead in five minutes."

"Hey, that's what they told me," Kennedy snapped back.

"What the hell happened here?"

The three women in the apartment turned to see Buffy in the doorway. Her mouth was open, aghast in horror. She looked at her two wounded friends, her sister whose missing date was now lying dead in a park, her fellow Slayer, and her best friend. This was totally wrong on so many levels.

"What happened to Xander?" she asked.

"He got hurt," Dawn said in a tiny voice.

Willow began to sob uncontrollably. She slumped over Xander, hugging herself and rocking back and forth. Kennedy sat next to her, gathering the redhead in a comforting hug.

Buffy hated hospitals. Nothing good ever happened in them. She had only one good memory connected with a hospital, killing a demon that fed on sick children, and that was marred by making herself so feverishly sick she could hardly walk for three days.

Now one of her bestest best buds was in the Intensive Care Unit. So was a fellow Slayer. Faith was not one of Buffy's best friends, their spotted history was in the way, but she was steadily getting there.

Xander received a blood transfusion. Now he was on a saline drip and a bunch of therapies Buffy could not even begin to pronounce, just to make sure he was okay.

The doctors were surprised Faith was not dead. The damage inflicted on her was massive. All her organs were injured. Her liver, spleen, and stomach were bruised. Her appendix burst, prompting emergency surgery. Her gallbladder and small intestine were operated on to minimize swelling. The doctors said more surgery might be needed. Faith was barely alive; her Slayer's healing overtaxed for the moment. She was on a morphine drip along with a batch of drugs that, surprise, Buffy could not pronounce.

Buffy was standing outside Xander's room. A glass wall kept her separated from her friend. With two steps to her left, she could look in on Faith, as well. Silently, she kept vigil on them. Which was how Willow found her mid-morning.

"The doctors said he lost a lot of blood, almost three pints. But he got here just in time." Willow stepped to the glass wall, side-by-side with Buffy.

"Vampires tend to do that to people," Buffy's tone was low. With the last word, her voice cracked.

"A few more seconds of being drained, or a couple more minutes without medical attention and he'd be–"

"Dead. I know."

Both women sniffled and fought back tears. They stood in silence for a few minutes.

"What happened?" Buffy asked quietly.

"I don't know for sure," Willow answered. "Faith called and told Kennedy to come to their apartment. She said they'd been attacked. It sounded urgent to Kennedy. We got there and found them the way you saw them. We called 9-1-1."

"There's got to be more to it than that," Buffy said. "Why would Xander, or Faith even, invite a vampire into their apartment? And what kind of vampire could hurt Faith that way?"

"What about that Henry guy she and Kennedy fought the other day. He cleaned their clocks pretty good."

"But they wouldn't have let him in."

"Unless he beat up Faith and forced Xander to invite him in," Willow offered.

"That could be what happened," Buffy conceded. "I don't know, though. Something just doesn't add up about all this." She sidestepped until she could see both Xander and Faith by merely turning her head.

Two of her friends almost killed by a vampire in their own home. Dawn and her date attacked, her date dying. Buffy added it up and did not like what she saw. There were no such things as coincidences. Whatever happened last night was the beginning of something bad. She turned her head to regard Willow.

"Where's Dawn?"

"She's in the lounge down the hall with Kennedy."

Buffy nodded and walked past Willow. Her own footsteps echoed hollowly in her ears. Her mind was fogged over with fear and worry for her friends, but she just knew, with a nagging feeling of surety in her gut, something was going on. She had to talk to Dawn to find out what happened to her last night. Maybe the pieces would start to fall into place. She hoped they would.

She entered the lounge, Willow right behind her. Buffy's gaze swept the room, coming to rest on her sister. Dawn sat with a Styrofoam cup in her hand, staring into the black liquid sadly.

Buffy walked over to her, squatted down, and hugged her tight. Dawn put the cup of coffee down and hugged Buffy back. Then the younger Summers began to cry. Buffy made soothing noises and stroked her hair.

"Thank God," Kennedy whispered to Willow. "She's been almost catatonic since we got here."

"She just needs to let it all out. Whatever else happened to her last night must have been bad."

Dawn hiccupped a few times. She pulled back from Buffy, wiped her face with the back of her hands and tried to smile. Buffy put her hand on Dawn's shoulder.

"It was bad, all right," Dawn said through the last of her tears. "First Cody, then Xander and Faith."

"What happened Dawn?" Buffy asked as gently as she could.

"Cody and I were walking to the party–"

"Through the park?" Willow blurted.

"It's a shortcut," Dawn said automatically. "Anyway, we were going through the park when we were attacked by two vampires. One was a short man, the other was a woman." She stopped and looked at Buffy, "It was Amanda, the potential-turned-Slayer who helped you beat down the First."

"Are you sure?" Kennedy asked. Buffy sat looking like she just got kicked in the stomach by a mule.

"Absolutely sure," Dawn replied. "No mistaking her face and voice, is there?"

"Not after living with her a couple months," Kennedy affirmed.

"So, what happened?" Willow asked.

"The guy grabbed Cody. Amanda came after me," she motioned to Buffy. "I had that cross you made me wear and a bottle of holy water in my purse. I guess I must've surprised her or something. But I got away and ran to Xander's. That's when…"

She trailed off and began crying again. Buffy hugged her close, murmuring soft soothing noises and stroking her hair again. She looked over her sister's head at Willow. The two friends shared a look that was equal parts sadness, anger, and determination.

After holding Dawn for a minute, Buffy pulled back. She smiled and patted her little sister on the shoulder. She was about to get up and take Willow with her into another room to figure out a plan, when an orderly approached them.

"Ms. Rosenberg?"

"Yes."

"Mr. Harris is awake and he insists on seeing you."

"Thank you."

Without another word, the four young women left the lounge and made their way to Xander's room. His eyes were glassed over a little, but he smiled broadly when he saw them. He motioned for them to come closer. When they surrounded the bed, he spoke.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to conk out soon," he began. "So please listen without interrupting. The vampire that attacked me and Faith was Rhona. You know, the short black potential who lived with us back in Sunnydale for a while. She came in–"

"Are you sure?" Buffy cut him off.

"Yes," his voice came out as a whisper. He could not fight the drugs anymore, and fell back to sleep.

"So, that's two Slayers going around as vampires in one night," Kennedy said.

"In one city," Willow added. "A city they weren't supposed to be in."

"Something's definitely up," Buffy stated.

"The question is: what?" Kennedy said.

Amanda and Rhona both stood in front of the Mistress' throne. Meekly chastised looks were plastered on their faces. They kept their heads down, not daring to look up. Behind them, arranged in a semi-circle, were the rest of the Mistress' children.

It was mid-afternoon and the Mistress herself was seated on her throne. Her tail was coiled on the seat with her torso leaning against the back. Her claws rhythmically clicked the armrests as she regarded her youngest children.

"So you, Amanda, go hunting and are burned by a little girl?" she spoke softly. "Not once, but twice. And you, Rhona, thwarted by a simple cross, held by a near-dead human? I am truly disappointed in the both of you."

"Mistress I–" Rhona began.

"Silence! You will stay here, in this building and you both will train. You will both hone your abilities and powers until I am satisfied. Then you can venture forth into the night."

"But–" Rhona tried again.

"Enough! You shall train with Clare and Scott. As you know already, their training is intense. Perhaps you will be able to go out and not be so pathetic when they are done with you."

Rhona and Amanda nodded. The cross-shaped brand on Amanda's cheek was an ugly pink, nearly healed. The splatter marks from the holy water were all but gone. She was chastised enough that she took whatever punishment assigned her. The two former Slayers followed Clare and Scott out of the throne room.

When the four were out of the room and the door shut behind them, the Mistress turned to her family.

"Lucinda, where is Beemers?"

"Amanda told me the Slayer got him." Lucinda said with a hitch in her voice. She and Beemers had been lovers for the past forty years.

"Slayers," the Mistress spat the word. "A burr in my foot through the ages." She shrugged her shoulders, "Proverbial, of course."

She smiled. Her children chuckled.

"Horace!" she called out.

"Yes, Mistress," he stepped forward as she singled him out.

"Have you found the mine, yet?"

"Yes, Mistress," he answered. "The Rowling Salt Mine. I had to torture a few lesser vampires from around here to find that out, but I did it."

His smile showed just how much he did not regret resorting to torture. Knowing Horace, he most likely started out with torturing. Ah, no loss. Any vampire not in her clan or of her descendents was expendable. In fact, the Mistress was known for letting her children kill all vampires not related to them in any area they moved to. This went against conventional vampire custom, but when you were as old as the Mistress was, you did what you damn well pleased; you were custom.

"Good," she said. "Take half of my children with you tonight and begin your little project. But do not attract the attention of these Slayers."

"Yes, Mistress," he bowed low. "As you command, so shall it be."

"Of course," she waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.

Horace began to gather up the work force he wanted for the night. Not surprising, he chose Lucinda and Cedric first, sneering as he motioned for them to move along.

"One way or another I shall be free of this Slayer," the Mistress said. "And I shall be free of her soon."

When the workforce began to troop out, the Mistress lifted her head and looked at those departing.

"Lucinda! Henry! Cedric!"

The three named vampires stopped and turned to face her. Horace stayed at his spot near the door.

"Find three others to replace them tonight," the Mistress addressed Horace. "They can go tomorrow night." She looked at three of her favorite children and smiled, "I have other tasks for them to perform tonight."

"Yes, Mistress." The petulant tone in his voice spoiled Horace's obedience.

"Five gets my last piece out," Kennedy said. "And one, two, three gets this one home. Your move."

Inside Xander's room Kennedy and Willow were playing Parcheesi. Well, Kennedy was playing; Willow was staring into the space just above Xander's head most of the time.

"Willow."

"Huh?"

"It's your turn."

"Oh, right." Willow picked up the dice and put them in the rolling tube. She rattled the dice in the cardboard container, but dropped her hand to the table listlessly without throwing them.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried."

"I know, but Xander's fine. He'll pull through. The doctors said he's out of danger, now."

"But I still worry," Willow said. "I mean…"

"Of course you're still worried," Kennedy said when Willow trailed off. She got up and hugged her girlfriend close. "He's your friend. That's why we're here. If you weren't worried, you wouldn't be the Willow I love."

They held each other for a few moments. Willow pulled back and looked at Xander. A small, sad smile formed on her lips.

"He looks so peaceful," she said.

"He's going to be okay. It's Faith I'm worried about."

"What about Faith?" Xander asked in a scratchy voice. "Is she okay?"

"Xander! You're awake!" Willow exclaimed. She jumped up from her seat and rushed to give him a hug.

"Seems so," he said. "Easy, Will, I still need to breathe."

"I was so worried," Willow said as she stepped back. "Don't you ever die on me, Alexander LaVelle Harris!"

"I'll try to keep that in mind," he replied with a smile. His face grew serious, "What's wrong with Faith?"

"She's in a bad way," Kennedy said when Willow was reluctant to answer.

"How bad?"

"She nearly died," Willow whispered. She knew that Xander felt deeply for Faith, more so than he would admit to anyone.

"She's next door," Kennedy added. "They had to operate on her and she's still recovering."

"But Slayer healing–"

"Barely kept her alive long enough to get her here," Kennedy cut in.

"Son of a bitch!" Xander cursed.

"I agree," Buffy said as she joined them. She gave Xander a hug. "Only, in this case, it was just a bitch, right?"

"Right," he looked perplexed. "Did I tell you it was Rhona?"

"This morning."

"I did? Wow, I must have been out of it."

"So it wasn't her?"

"No, it was," he said. "I mean, I must've been out of it to not remember telling you who put two big bite marks in my neck." He motioned between himself and Buffy enthusiastically, "Hey! Now we're matching."

"Believe me, I wish we weren't," Buffy said.

"Xander!"

Dawn came running to his side. She held him close in a bear hug. A very happy smile split her features.

"Okay, got to take it easy on hospital-bed-ridden-guy," Xander said with a grunt.

"Sorry," she let go and backed up with a sheepish look. "When I saw … I just … I got so scared."

"Hey, if I saw me on the floor, bleeding from the neck, I'd get scared, too." Xander thought about what he just said, "Of course I'd be scared. I'd be freaking out, 'cause I'd be dead!"

"Don't talk like that," Willow scolded. "You may be doing better, but you're not out of the woods, yet."

"Yeah, you don't have super healing powers to replenish your blood," Kennedy pointed out.

"Yeah, so you just rest," Buffy said. She squeezed his hand once. "Don't worry, we'll take care of this."

"What are you going to do?"

"Me and Kennedy are going to find them, and dust them."

"Pretty simple, really."

In the gym area of the old Marcincko Mental Hospital, Clare and Scott were putting Rhona and Amanda through their paces. The two older vampires were attacking the two former Slayers with everything they had. Clare and Scott would call out ways the girls could improve their technique as their fists and feet flew. Sweat rolled out all four vampire's skin.

With a roar, Rhona tackled Scott. The pair rolled on the ground, scratching, punching, and kicking.

Amanda feinted a punch, dropped to one knee, and performed a leg-sweep on Clare. The short blonde fell onto her back, the wind knocked out of her. Amanda pounced, landing on Clare, pinning her down.

"Good," Clare said. "Very good. Now let me up."

Amanda considered ignoring the request. After leaving the throne room, she found her chastised spirit leaving her quickly. Still, disobeying a direct order from Clare right now probably ranked up there in the not-too-smart meter.

Amanda jumped to her feet and put out a hand to help Clare up. The blonde took the offered hand, and Amanda hoisted her to her feet.

Scott and Rhona joined them, each holding a weapon. Scott was wielding a long-bladed knife, nearly a sword. Rhona had a small ax with a blade big enough to decapitate someone.

Clare took the ax from Rhona. She and Scott faced the two former Slayers.

"You two have improved considerably since this morning. Now let's see how you do with weapons," Clare said.

"Once more, we fight," Scott said as they advanced.

"Whoa, we're un-armed here," Amanda said. She and Rhona backed away, their hands held up in front of them.

"Take our weapons, and you won't be," Clare stated flatly.

The vampire went flying into the wall, bouncing off of it and falling with a thud on the pavement. Kennedy stalked up to his prone form.

"Oh, come on, I've known Halbrin demons that could take more of a pummeling than you."

The vampire jumped to his feet, trying to take Kennedy by surprise. She rolled her eyes and backhanded him into the wall. Before he could slump down, she pinned him against the wall by the throat.

"Now, are you going to tell me what I need to know, or am I going to need to get violent?"

The vampire's eyes bulged with disbelief. His lip was split, his knee hyper-extended, and his right eye blackened. If this was not violent, he did not want to see what was.

"I'd tell her if I were you," Buffy said as she joined them. "'Cause I'm getting seriously cranky and I won't be so nice."

"Okay, I've heard things," he said. Kennedy let up on the pressure to his throat, but only slightly.

"What things?" she asked.

"There's a new vampire clan in town."

"Don't you mean vampire gang?" Buffy asked.

"No, I mean clan. They're so tight-knit; it's like they're a family. I've never seen anything like it."

"So you've seen it, not just heard of it," Kennedy said.

"Well, I've seen a few of them around. But I don't get too close. Word is, they kill vampires that don't belong to them."

"Where can we find them?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know." When Kennedy applied pressure to his throat, he gasped, "Honest, I don't know! Even if I did, you don't want to mess with them."

"Ahw, isn't it sweet when a vampire shows concern for a Slayer?" Kennedy asked with sarcasm. She loosened her hold, but her face became blank. "Why don't we want to mess with them?"

"Because, they're all Master vampires."

Buffy barked out a laugh. "You're kidding, right? A whole clan of Master vampires?"

"Masters don't generally hang out together," Kennedy said. "It's a whole power and trust issue."

"Hey, I told you, I seen 'em."

"And you can tell a Master vampire on sight?" Kennedy asked incredulously.

"All vampires can, if they try. Look, I'm a fairly young vampire, so I don't know a lot about all the myths and legends and whatnot within the vampire community. But after Bane showed up, I started doing some digging. A buddy of mine even went to Europe to find some elders."

"And?" Buffy prompted.

"And we found some pretty spooky stuff."

"Such as?" Buffy was starting to lose her patience.

"Well, there's Bane. Then there's this vampire Lord who's so strong, whoever she sires instantly becomes a Master vampire."

"Really?" Kennedy asked.

"Yeah. But, she's so strong, she rules over them and controls them so it's like they don't have wills of their own."

"So, a clan of Master vampires would belong to her," Buffy concluded.

"And she'd be with them."

"Anything else about her?" Kennedy asked.

"There is nothing else." Kennedy increased the pressure, and he yelped, "I swear!"

"I believe him," Buffy said.

"Me, too," Kennedy agreed.

"What about two Slayers turned into vampires?" Buffy asked. "I'm sure you heard about that, right?"

"If there was two Slayers who are now vampires, my money is they're with her."

"But you don't know." Kennedy was frustrated.

"No. No one knows what goes on with those guys."

"Okay," Kennedy let him down and turned away.

He began brushing his clothes off.

"Oh, you don't happen to know this vampire Lord's name, do you?" Buffy asked.

He looked up. "She calls herself the Mistress."

"You're kidding? Like the Master?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah. Only he got the idea from her."

"But you don't know what her real name is?" Kennedy asked.

"Nope. Can't help you there."

"Then what good are you?" Buffy asked. She stepped forward and plunged a stake into his heart. She turned away and began walking with Kennedy.

"That's the ninth vamp we've dusted tonight after getting them to talk," Buffy said. "He was the most informative."

"And we still don't know jack."

"What say we head back to the hospital to check on Xander and Faith?"

"I say that's a good idea," Kennedy replied. "After a quick stop to pick up some research material."

In the old Marcincko Mental Hospital, Amanda entered a patient room behind Clare. Both women looked worse for wear, with gashes in their clothing and cuts and bruises marking their skin. The Mistress was right; Scott and Clare's training was intense, both for the trainee and the trainer. But, those who trained with Scott and Clare learned their lessons fast, and learned them well; they survived more fights than those who refused to go through the grueling conditioning.

The battle training was over. Now the two young vampires were being taught to use different aspects of their powers. Scott took Rhona and Clare took Amanda, since it was best for them to try their powers separately.

Inside the room were four fresh corpses. Each corpse was in a different corner of the room. They were drained, for the most part. Each had a small amount of blood that dribbled out of the puncture wounds in their neck, creating a pool of blood in the center of the floor. Clare pointed to the pool of blood, then at the bodies.

"I want you to tell me if the line of blood leading up to each body belongs to that corpse, or not," she said.

"What?"

"Start at the pool of blood. You should be able to see and smell the difference in each person's blood. Follow one path to a body, and see if that body was the owner of that blood."

"You're joking."

"No," Clare's voice was even. "It's a simple thing to do for a vampire of your power. As a Slayer, you were above most vampires, becoming one of us made you even more powerful. Being sired by the Mistress, you can be a Lord in less than a century."

"A Lord?" The previous day, Cedric told she and Rhona about the Mistress, which meant he had to explain the difference between a Master and a Lord.

"Yes," Clare confirmed. "But to do so, you must utilize all your powers. This is one of them. Try it. I can do it easily."

Amanda gave her a dubious look. Clare's eyebrows rose and she motioned for the younger woman to go ahead. Amanda took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

Xander and Dawn were playing Parcheesi when Kennedy and Buffy showed up. Xander had a healthy flush to his cheeks, and was laughing with Dawn when the two Slayers entered the room. Buffy threw her coat over one of the chairs before sitting down in it.

"Oh good, more players," he said with a big smile. "Now someone else can let Dawn win."

"No thanks," Buffy said with a smile of her own. "I don't like Parcheesi. Bad memories."

"I was beating you fair and square," Dawn told Xander.

"Ahw, I can't fool you," Xander replied. "Board games aren't my thing. Everybody beats me at them."

"Where's Willow?" Kennedy asked.

"She's visiting Faith," Dawn answered. "She isn't awake yet, but Willow wanted to be there in case she did wake up."

"Last time Faith was in a hospital, she was in a coma. Willow doesn't want her to wake up alone and confused," Xander added.

"That's a good idea," Buffy said.

"Leave it to Willow," Kennedy agreed. She hefted the books in her hands, "Well, I'm going to check on my girl. Maybe we'll get some research done."

"Or maybe you'll get some smoochies in." Buffy teased.

Kennedy had the good grace to blush before exiting. Dawn and Xander chuckled at her non-verbal admission. Buffy crowed with laughter.

"So, what's new on the home front?" Xander asked, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "Dusted vampires who used to be Slayers, or what?"

"Or what," Buffy's smile was gone instantly.

"How about your fact-finding mission?" Dawn asked. "Find anything out?"

"Only that the vampires in this town don't know anything," Buffy replied.

"Nothing?" Dawn asked.

"Well, they all know there's a big group of Master vampires in town. They all think they're following this really old chick, and that she's the last vampire Lord. But they don't know her name, don't know where they are, and only THINK that Rhona and Amanda are a part of this big group."

"So what's the plan, now?"

"Well, if that Henry guy is one of those vampires, and if they're all like him, we've got a big problem."

"Plus Amanda and Rhona," Dawn said.

"Exactly."

"So what are you going to do?" Dawn asked.

"Get some coffee," Buffy answered. "It's going to be a long night."

"Get me some, too," Dawn said. "But could you go to the Starbucks down the street? This hospital stuff is nasty."

"I think I can do that," Buffy smiled. "I don't like hospital coffee, either."

Buffy got up and gave Xander a hug, "I'm so glad you're okay. You don't know how much."

"Thanks, Buff."

Buffy turned to leave. Behind her, Xander grabbed the bedside table, drawing it close.

"You ready to play another round of Parcheesi?" he asked Dawn. "The royal game of Indiana."

"India," she corrected him.

"Hm?"

"The royal game of India."

"Oh, right," Xander's tone was embarrassed.

Buffy laughed while she walked out, forgetting her coat.

Willow and Kennedy pulled apart for some much-needed air. They smiled goofily at each other.

"So, things went well?" Willow asked.

"Not so much, no."

"Then why the kiss?"

"Because I like you."

"Oh. Well yeah."

"We did get a name," Kennedy said. "Or more like a title. That's why I grabbed these books. We can do some research, see if we can find out who this Lord is."

"A Lord?"

"Yup."

"Well, if she's anything like Bane, I'm going for re-enforcement's." Willow stood, "I saw a Coke machine down the hall, you want one?"

"No, but you go ahead."

"I will," she gave Kennedy a kiss on the forehead and left the room.

Willow spotted Buffy down the hall, waiting for an elevator. She waved to her best friend, who returned the gesture. Willow turned to go down the hall in the opposite direction.

Buffy could not believe how slow the elevators were. There were two making their way up, but this was only the third floor. Finally, an elevator coming down opened. She stepped inside nodding politely to the other passengers as one of the elevators coming up reached the third floor.

Cedric, Lucinda, and Henry stepped out of the elevator as Buffy's closed. Henry looked around while Cedric and Lucinda spoke in moderately quiet voices.

"The Ik'lawce? How'd you get such an honor?"

"I don't know."

"And why did she have me and Henry witness it? Why not have all her children present?"

"Because some would be jealous," Henry said. "We're not. At least I'm not. Are you?"

"No," Lucinda replied. "Shocked, but not jealous."

"Yeah, well I received the Ik'lawce. Which means I'm a free Master."

"And soon, a Lord," Lucinda pointed out.

"Then how come I don't feel different?"

"Maybe you won't till tomorrow night," Henry suggested.

"Maybe," Cedric agreed. He looked at the signs on the wall indicating room numbers. He turned to his left and started walking. "It's this way."

"How do you know?" Lucinda asked.

"Would you trust me just this once? I am your senior."

"Only by a few decades. And what's that between friends?"

"The difference between needing a stake or a beheading to finish you off," Henry commented. "And I'm senior to both of you. Now, stop bickering."

Cedric gave Lucinda a withering look. "I checked the directory, remember? Humans are so efficient. Makes our job easier."

"Good thing, too," Henry said. "We've been to enough hospitals tonight."

"You just want your shot at one of those Slayers," Lucinda said.

"Of course."

"This is it," Cedric said. He pointed. "This room is the man Rhona tried to drain last night. That room there is the injured Slayer."

"Ooh, can I have her?" Henry asked.

"I thought you wanted a healthy Slayer," Cedric said.

"I just want a Slayer's blood. Nothing like it."

"Go ahead."

Henry's face morphed. Cedric and Lucinda followed suit. They reached for their respective doors.

Willow had her bottle of Coke in one hand, unscrewing the top with the other. She came around the corner, glanced up, and saw three vampires in the hallway. No, three vampires about to enter Xander's room.

She jumped forward, "Xander! Kennedy! There's vampires in the hall!"

The three vampires looked up. Henry had the doorknob turned all ready, so he simply barged into the room.

And came face-to-face with a very shocked Kennedy. He smiled. This was the Slayer from the other night he wanted to taste. Now he had his chance.

Kennedy recovered from her shock while Henry was still smiling over his chance to kill a Slayer. She reached forward, grabbed him by his jacket, and jumped backward. She knew from first-hand and painful experience that he was a wily one. She would not give him the chance to maneuver around her.

Her jump took her to the window. She spun on her heel and shoved with all her strength. Henry went flying through the window, but not before grabbing Kennedy and taking her with him.

Kennedy and Henry blew out of the hospital window, launched several yards out from the building before falling. Henry brought her close, elbowing her in the face and kneeing her in the gut and chest.

Kennedy responded by head-butting him twice. Looking at their trajectory, she made a hasty plan.

She pulled Henry close, ignoring his blows. The way they were falling, they would pass right by that fence, there. Just before passing it, Kennedy shoved Henry away from her as hard as she could.

He went flying toward the fence, right where Kennedy wanted him. He crashed through the chain link, but that was not what Kennedy was worried about. Luck was with her and she did get what she wanted. Henry's head was above the fencing, and he was decapitated by the razor wire topping the fence.

That was when Kennedy's luck ran out. Her landing was broken by a visitor's car. She smashed into the roof, folding the metal around her body. She hit with such force, though, that she bounced off the car and landed in the grass in front of the hospital.

She hit the ground spread-eagle. Her right arm was impaled on a six-inch high ornamental iron wrought fence. The pointed ends of the iron pickets pierced her wrist, her palm, and her forearm just below the elbow.

Kennedy passed out.

Cedric let go of the handle he was holding and moved to intercept Willow. Lucinda decided to kill the boy and finish the job they were assigned.

Xander and Dawn saw the doorknob moving. Then the door began to open. Dawn launched herself at the door. It slammed shut. She heard a growl, and the door banged against her, hard. She yelped.

Xander thudded against the door, shutting it once more. There was another growl and another shove from the other side of the door.

"Chair!" Xander yelled at Dawn.

She grabbed one of the chairs, the one with Buffy's coat still hanging from it, and wedged it under the door handle after Xander shoved it shut.

"Xander you shouldn't–"

"That thing gets in here and we both die," he panted. He shook his head slightly to clear it.

Another growl was all the warning they had before the vampire's hand came bursting through the door. Both humans jumped back a little from the shock. Xander fell over.

When Dawn bent to check on him, her head got too close to the door and the vampire got a fistful of Dawn's hair. Dawn screamed in pain and tried to pry the fingers out of her hair.

Lucinda grimaced in frustration, more at herself than the situation. Why was she wasting time trying to punch through the door when she could just knock it down?

Shaking her head ruefully, she released the hair she held and withdrew her arm. She looked at the door, deciding on where to hit it to make it fall down. Choosing the top, she wound up to strike.

There was a stabbing pain in her back, followed by one in her chest. She looked down to see a stake jutting out from just above her breasts, where her heart was. She looked up at Cedric, feeding on that redhead. That was the last thing she saw as she crumbled to dust.

Cedric moved like quicksilver. Before Willow knew he was there, he was behind her. She tried to move, but he stilled her with a long stroke of her scalp. He put one arm around her waist and the other on her shoulder. He leaned to whisper in her ear.

"Give your neck to me."

Willow obeyed instantly, tilting her head away from his. Cedric smiled. Maybe he could not feel the effects of the Ik'lawce, but they were there.

He snarled and brought his fangs down into the creamy flesh of her neck. Then he heard the sound of someone dusting a vampire. He looked up and saw a petite blonde holding a stake. But no Lucinda. He pulled his fangs out from the redhead and growled.

"Forgot my jacket," the blonde said. "Get away from my friend."

"Lucinda…" Cedric let go of Willow. She dropped like a rag doll. He took a step forward. "You die now."

The blonde brandished her stake and stood in a defensive stance. "Age before beauty."

Cedric considered her. The look in her eyes was pure fury. Only a fool faced a truly pissed-off Slayer. And Cedric was no fool. He would avenge Lucinda later.

"Another time," he said. He turned and sprinted down the hall.

Buffy dropped her guard and ran to Willow. Checking for a pulse, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Dawn!"

"Yeah?"

"Call the nurses! Willow's hurt bad!"