Chapter 10
"Are we getting close?" Julie asked when Angel paused their search. She tried to look ahead into the darkness, but couldn't see anything. "Is there something there?"
"Can't you sense it? It's really close to us." Angel whispered, searching the darkness for the demon that had been following them for some time now. He was mildly surprised Julie hadn't felt the demon yet.
"I can't open their mind without seeing them or I will open your's as well." Julie explained under her breath. Angel nodded subtly to their right where he had caught a shadow moving.
"Over there." Angel's eyes glowed yellow, but he hadn't fully changed faces yet. Julie's grip on the silver dagger in her pocket tightened as she searched out the beast.
Julie's eyes landed on a hulking form that could barely be seen in the dim lighting the crescent moon offered. She opened her mind, staring at the demon intently. There were no defences set up protecting it's thoughts, and Julie walked into it's brain easily.
"Harmless." Julie sighed after digging through the demon's thoughts. Angel raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "It doesn't know who or what we are. It just thinks it might luck out and score an easy meal."
"That doesn't mean it's harmless." Angel pointed out. Julie shrugged; it could be a lot worse. "I suppose we could just kill it, but that would mean risking giving away our position to anyone else."
"Can you feel anyone else following us?" Julie asked, anxious to continue searching for Alvera Calendar. Angel shook his hesitantly as though he was uncertain. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to check."
Julie closed her eyes and concentrated on reaching out to the minds around her. She opened up Angel's mind to find him worrying about her invasion. She also reopened the demon's mind. Turning away from both strains of thought, she searched for anyone else's thoughts.
"A demon hunter?" Julie mumbled, trying to sort through the harsh thoughts of the other mind. This person—a term used loosely here—seemed to be following the other demon. "No, a bounty hunter."
"What?" Angel hissed, his guard going up. He could vaguely feel someone else, but they were pretty far off. He figured this person didn't matter much to their over all goal. "For?"
"The beast." Julie's eyes opened as she turned back around to face Angel. She maintained contact with the bounty hunter, just in case. "Well, that definitely poses a potential problem."
"I say we move on, and fast." Angel grabbed Julie's wrist, and they were on the move again at a quicker pace this time.
Julie hurried after Angel, but had the strangest urge to kill the beast. It wasn't the first time she had felt this way toward something. She got joy out of foiling other people's plans. That was one thing she hated about herself, but it couldn't be helped.
"The beast is gaining on us." Julie informed Angel as they wove in and out of the trees. Angel was too busy following a scent to pay attention to such things. Julie had kept it's mind open along with the hunter's mind. "It's really hungry."
"Can you tell what kind of demon it is?" Angel asked, not pausing this time to search it out.
"Not yet, but I'm looking." Julie let Angel lead her through the woods while she concentrated on the demon's mind. "It's a Polgara demon."
"I suppose now you really want to kill it." Angel sighed, slowing down.
"I just think we should get it out of the way now instead of waiting for it to try and kill us." Julie pointed out. Though this was one motive, she would never admit to wanting to foil the bounty hunter's plan. "I don't want to take the chance that it might actually be able to sneak up on us, and possibly dust you."
"What do you know about Polgara demons?" Angel turned, and headed in the direction of the demon. He wanted to make sure Julie knew what they were coming up against, so she wasn't surprised during the fight.
"Large but stupid. Bone skewers that come from their wrists." Julie began to list off the traits of the demon they were about to face, ticking them off on her fingers. "Good eyesight. Vicious. Eat a lot. Reptile."
"You got it. Also they are resilient to harm, so be careful." Angel glanced over at Julie, trying to gauge her reaction to what was going on. Her stone hard face gave away nothing, but he noticed she had a dagger in one hand and a taser in the other. "Are you always this prepared for a fight?"
"Usually." Julie's mouth twitched into a smile. She met Angel's gaze. "I suppose it doesn't take you long to be ready."
"Not at all." Angel's face contorted into his vampire form. He also slipped a hunting knife out of his sleeve.
"Don't hesitate to ask for a weapon…I've got plenty." Julie told him. Angel put a finger to her lips to shut her up. They could hear footsteps coming closer fast. "Ready?"
Angel only had time to nod before the Polgara demon appeared through the underbrush. It didn't stop when it noticed Angel and Julie waiting for it. Julie ducked as it swung a bone skewer at her, narrowly missing her head. It tried to stab her with the other spike, but Angel knocked the arm away.
Julie took advantage of the Polgara's attention turning to Angel. She turned on her taser, grabbed the demon's arm, and jabbed the weapon into the beast's armpit. The demon let out a growling yelp, but otherwise seemed unfazed by the shock. It batted the taser away easily, leaving Julie's arm slightly numb.
Angel tried hard to force the Polgara's attention back to him. He figured as long as the demon was engaged with him, Julie would have time to figure out what to do. What Angel didn't count on was the demon being so strong. And those bones jutting from its wrists were becoming harder to dodge.
Julie quickly left the Polgara's line of vision, stepping around to its back. She gave it two quick kicks to the back of the knees, knocking them out. The demon was thrown off kilter for a moment, and Julie took full advantage of that. She plunged her silver dagger into the demon's neck, and twisted the blade. Angel grabbed the Polgara's head, and snapped it off.
"Hey!" Angel's face slipped back to a human visage as he and Julie spun around to face the bounty hunter. He looked angry, but Julie knew why, which gave her a bitter happiness. "What do you think you are doing?"
"Defending ourselves." Angel answered after glancing at Julie. He knew why she wasn't responding. If they needed to lie, it wouldn't come from her.
"You're injured." The hunter looked Julie over, and found that her upper arm had been slashed.
"So I am. Huh." Julie looked down at her arm in surprised. She didn't remember being hurt, but she wasn't concerned; it would heal soon enough. They always did. "No biggy."
"No biggy? That…animal could've taken your arm off." The man said. Julie shrugged again, her lack of concern obviously bothering the bounty hunter. "Actually I'm surprised that it didn't…who are you people?"
"We could ask you the same question." Julie tossed back, avoiding the hunter's question. She was a master of that. She pulled her dagger from the demon's neck, and wiped the goo off the blade on the demon's shoulder. "And we all know this isn't an animal."
"You're her, the Slayer." The bounty hunter's eyes went wide as it dawned on him. Julie smirked, making him nervous.
"Not quite." She told him, and watched him squirm. He was just a human, she could see that now. "So what are you doing all the way out here, and why are you hunting Polgara demons?"
"I was paid to get this one. He has been causing trouble for the people around here." The hunter told them, and Julie could tell he was telling the truth. He looked between Angel and Julie, but then seemed to realize what Angel was. He started to raise the stake in his hand, but Julie's words stopped him.
"Kill him, and you'll be signing your own death warrent." Julie's sharp words seemed to promise. "Come now, Jeff, we don't want to hurt you. We just want to be on our way. We have more pressing matters to deal with else where."
"How did you know my name?" Jeff, the bounty hunter, dropped the stake to the ground in shock.
"You told us it." Angel answered for Julie. He put a hand on Julie's back, and they started to walk away. "Sorry about killing your bounty."
Julie glared at Jeff over her shoulder, making sure that he stayed put. She didn't need him following them. For being a bounty hunter, she expected him to be a little tougher. She wrapped an arm around Angel's waist, and continued to walk away. She kept his mind open so she could keep an eye on him without actually staring him down.
"We're getting close." Angel told her after sniffing the air. That's when Julie realized what he was doing. He was smelling out the Jenny in Alvera, a smell he could probably never forget.
"Angel, are you sure you want to do this?" Julie tried hard to keep the desperation out of her voice. She felt like begging him to not go through with this, and she didn't fully understand why.
"Why are you so bent on me not doing this so suddenly?" Angel looked down at Julie. He wanted badly to understand why she was acting like this now of all times. "Is there something about this that you're not telling me?"
"Not off the top of my head." Julie paused, thinking over everything that she had told him. "Oh. You'll be weak at first, like when the demon first leaves your body, and all the powers that demon gave you leave with it."
"That can be expected, though. How long will it last?" Angel asked. He hoped it wasn't too long, because he didn't want to be a burden or keep the Eye in one place too long.
"I have no idea. According to Alvera it affects each person differently." Julie frowned. She didn't like the way the gypsy had worded it, and she had no idea what exactly that meant. "I have no idea how it will affect you, though."
"We're very close." Angel told her. Julie could tell that they were coming to the edge of the woods. Angel's pace quickened as though he couldn't wait anymore.
"Wait. Angel, are you sure you want to do this?" Julie pulled the vampire to a halt. She forced him to turn and face her. "Are you sure you know what you are giving up if you do this?"
"The need for blood. Having to live in darkness. Always fighting with my inner demon." Angel listed off a few of the bad things about being a vampire. "The list is endless, Julie."
"What about losing your strength, your ability to see better, heightened sense of smell, keen hearing? Have you considered those?" Julie listed off the pros of being a vampire. "You'll lose all those things that make you a good hunter."
"But I'll gain so much more." Angel ran his hands up and down Julie's arms, looking down into her eyes. "I've thought it over, Julie, and decided that it's worth it to lose all the abilities being a vampire offers."
"Okay." Julie sighed, giving in. She knew that she had lost, and that Angel was going to do this no matter what she said. "Just wanted to make sure."
"It'll be fine, Julie." Angel wrapped an around her shoulders, and they were on their way again.
Julie became nervous as they neared a campfire on the open field. No one could be seen around the open flame, and Julie didn't want to check minds. She didn't want to see into Angel's mind, a first for her. But Angel had led her here, so Alvera must be around. Angel gripped Julie's hand tightly, revealing to her that he, too, was nervous.
"We don't…" Julie trailed off as an older woman stepped out of the covered wagon near the fire. The woman didn't seem surprised to see the couple there, which led Julie to think she knew about them.
Alvera eyed them carefully, her gaze never leaving Angel for very long. Julie tensed beside Angel when the gypsy took a step towards them.
"Welcome Angelus."
Buffy gasped as she sat up in bed, holding the sheet to cover her naked body. She looked down in shock at the pale, blonde vampire sleeping next to her. Why hadn't she thought of it before?
"What's the matter, luv?" Spike asked groggily as he began to wake up. He always seemed to wake up at the right moment, sensing that Buffy was awake.
"You're sinless." Buffy couldn't stop staring at her lover. She had known him for years, and in the three years since he had died, he hadn't sinned. Not once. Or at least no worse than Angel had.
"What are you talking about?" Spike rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up faster. Buffy wasn't making any sense at the moment. Before he could get an explanation out of her, though, she was out of bed, dragging the sheet with her and searching for her cell phone.
"Hello?" Julie answered the phone, stepping away from the fire where Angel was talking to Alvera. She didn't go far, afraid to leave the two alone together too long. "Buffy?"
"Spike died." Buffy blurted out as though Julie should understand exactly what that meant.
"What do you mean? I would've felt that. When did that happen?" Julie frowned in confusion and worry. Buffy didn't sound upset about the vampire's death, which seemed out of place to Julie. Even she was feeling slightly panicked and upset about it. "Are you okay?"
"What? No, I don't mean he's dead…well not dust." Buffy shook her head, pulling on a pair of jeans. She glanced over her shoulder at Spike, who was sitting up in bed now. "Spike is very much alive right now, but he died, and you brought him back. Doesn't that mean he is sinless? Pure?"
"I suppose it does." Julie frowned, still not catching on. Though in her defence, she was more than a little distracted with Angel and Alvera and a new curse. "Buffy, what are you getting at?"
"Didn't you say you could see what state a person's soul was in?" Buffy asked. She knew she wasn't doing a very good job of explaining things, but she was too excited to get the right words out. "Well, what state is Spike's in?"
"Innocent, though not completely pure because he is a vampire." Julie gasped as she finally caught on. "You think he could do the job, don't you? Buffy, Angel and I are here with the gypsy right now, and he has agreed to go through with it."
"Angel is needed as a vampire, though." Buffy insisted, and Julie couldn't agree more. Though it would be convenient for Angel to become human, Julie was perfectly okay with him staying a vampire forever. "Spike, though it's nice to have him as a vampire, will be just as good as a human."
"What does Spike think of all this?" Julie asked. Somehow she doubted that the vampire was totally agreeing with all this. She took him to be proud of his demonic side.
"I haven't talked to him yet about it." Buffy looked at Spike again, and knew she was going to have to do a lot of convincing to win him over. "I'm sure he'll agree to it."
"I'll talk it over with Angel, and we'll see what he thinks. Give me a call when you get a definite answer from Spike." Julie told Buffy before shutting off her phone.
"What's this about me agreeing? Agreeing to what?" Spike was wearing a pair of black jeans when Buffy turned back to face him. "Slayer?"
"You're sinless Spike. Your soul is innocent." Buffy couldn't keep the smile off her face. Her heartbeat had quickened when Julie had told her Spike's soul was untainted. "Do you know what that means?"
"That Peaches is safe." Spike sighed. He didn't want to suggest it, but he had already thought of himself as an option. If he was being honest, he loved being a vampire. But he knew he would always do what Buffy asked.
"Really?" Buffy looked up at Spike hopefully "You would do that for me?"
"Of course, luv." Spike tucked her hair behind her ear. He couldn't say no to those big green eyes. "Love's bitch, aren't I?"
"Thank you." Buffy leaned up and kissed Spike softly. She couldn't believe that it had been that easy, but then again this is Spike we are talking about. He never once turned her down, especially when it was this important to her. "I love you."
"Love you, too." Spike smiled. Though he pretty much hated the idea of not being a vampire anymore, he figured it was worth it if Buffy was happy.
"Who was that?" Angel asked when Julie approached the fire. He was sitting on a fallen down log chatting politely with Alvera. He had to admit that being alone with Alvera made him nervous.
"It was Buffy." Julie looked down at her phone, still not able to understand why it had taken them this long to see that they had two men capable of destroying the Eye of the Eden right under their noses. "She's fine, we both just realized something, though."
"What is it, child?" Alvera asked gesturing for Julie to take a seat next to Angel. Angel relaxed slightly when Julie sat between him and Alvera, who sat on a lawn chair beside the log.
"Spike is sinless." Julie said to Angel. She wanted to keep Alvera in the dark about the Eye of Eden. Though she felt she could trust the gypsy with certain things, the Eye wasn't one of them. "Do you still want to go through with this?"
"Is Spike willing to?" Angel sounded doubtful. His grandchilde had made it clear he didn't regret Drusilla for turning him.
"Buffy said she would convince him to." Julie shrugged, shaking her head. "I honestly have no idea. Buffy has a lot of power over Spike, but he is dead set in his ways sometimes."
"Don't I know it." Angel snorted. That's when they both noticed Alvera eyeing them curiously. "Sorry, can we ask you a few questions about this new 'curse'?"
"Of course." Alvera nodded, poking at the ashes at the fire pit's edge. "It's perfectly safe. My ancestors used it to teach demons an unforgettable lesson. It strips the demon of their…well demon. It makes them human, but gives them everlasting life. They never age, much like a vampire doesn't."
"Yes, but in time vampire's do, in a way, age." Angel pointed out. It didn't actually matter to him if he aged or not, he just wanted everything to be laid out.
"That won't happen with this, Angelus." Alvera shook her head. "You won't change one bit unless you choose to change it yourself."
"How long are the demons usually weak for?" Angel hoped it wasn't long. If they could get an average it would help them plan better.
"Could be a day, could be a month." Alvera offered the couple a small shrug. Julie and Angel both groaned inwardly. "It's impossible to tell."
"Are there any other side effects we should know about?" Julie asked, mentally crossing her fingers that there wasn't. "Or risk of death?"
"There is a risk that without the demon, the body won't be able to support itself and will shut down." Alvera told them truthfully. She hurried on when she saw Julie and Angel share a doubting look. "I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, Angelus. Vampires are fine when we do it to them, because they were humans before they were demons. Werewolves are the same."
"What do we have to do to prepare for this?" Angel asked after glancing at Julie. He could tell that she still didn't want him to do this, but there was no turning back now.
"Just show up." Alvera was making this sound too easy.
"Well, we should probably discuss it with the others, but we will be back tomorrow night." Julie clapped her hands together and stood up. Angel nodded as he, too, stood. "Will you be here tomorrow?"
"I'm always around." Alvera nodded cryptically. Julie eyed the gypsy; her mind wasn't giving away much either. "Good night."
"Thank you." Angel nodded, and then disappeared into the night with Julie by his side.