11
The events of the day were still spinning before her, so fast they were a blur. She had gone all but incognito the year, living an almost normal life in Haven—which was the most ironic place where she could have found it. In a completely abnormal, demon-infested town, she, a Slayer, felt right at home. Where she wasn't special, wasn't even noticed. Where she worked like any person, kept to herself, paid her rent. Roomed with a soulless demon, and their four cats. But she had gotten by. Though she had far much too time in her own head, remembering things she'd wish she could just forget. Her hand, pressed to her aching neck, dropped, resting on her left breast, the red 'V' she had tattooed over her heart. It was nice to have forgotten, even just for a little while. She had been so swept up in everything, she'd barely had time to think. What bothered her though, was she had missed it. The adrenaline in her veins, her heart beating so quickly that it was a thrum, the way her breath was rough in her mouth, like it was now. Although that was more a side-effect from Kennedy's crushing grip than anything else. And it had hurt, being knocked to the wall, the breath pushed from her. But she felt more alive than she had in over a year. And though her short time being the Slayers meant she had been in one fight to another, it was excitable, infecting her.
She stepped quickly out of the hotel, thankful to be out in the cooler air, taking in the deep breaths to soothe her throat. She settled down on the cold, stone steps, running her fingers through the strands of hair that had fallen out of the bun. Still. She couldn't wait to go back to her apartment, to Haven, where she could hide away. This shouldn't revive her passion for the Slayer life, but remind her how dangerous it was. She'd lost enough living it, she deserved as long as break as she wanted. There were others to carry the mantle. And they were rather vivacious in reminding her how she wasn't wanted—or trusted. Kennedy had jumped on her like a lion to elk, leaving Jade bewildered. She still didn't have much of the story, except that the child was a relative of someone Willow cared about. Someone who was likely dead, and who Willow still loved dearly. Which explained Kennedy's prolific anger. Jade had guessed that the two women were dating, the touches, the looks. And the defensiveness. Jade touched her throat. She was pale, naturally, and with a grip like that, she had no doubt it would bruise—if it hadn't already. At least it would heal quickly enough. The mark that Buffy had left on her face had already begun to fade from the spectacular rainbow it had started out as, at least it didn't hurt as badly. She felt it tenderly, but the pain was hardly a tingle. Her torso, yes, that was still agonizing, but she could manage the pain. High pain tolerance—out of practice.
"You know, it's different having you around." Drawled a voice from behind her. She looked up to see the towering man, dressed in black, looking down at her. He was breathtaking, she admitted grudgingly, looking imposing, as the duster jacket fluttered behind him. Then it was endearing, as the taller man lowered himself, sprawling down on the steps next to her, a few feet—thankfully—between them. He did it casually, easily, resting on his elbow, his knee pointed to the sky, which had darkened considerably. "Usually I'm the odd man out. Most wanted. Big bad. But I mean, you've only been around them less than a day, and you've already gotten into two fights. You even had Willow wanting to pick your brain. That takes serious talent."
Jade glanced at him, a small smile curling her lip of its own volition. She couldn't take him seriously, and he wasn't trying to be cruel, there was a sarcastic, humorous underlying to his tone. "I do what I can." She shrugged. He was pulling his cigarettes from his jacket, putting one to his lips and offering another to her. She accepted it with a grateful nod, holding it between her fingers as he lit the smokes with his lighter. There was a moment of silence as they exhaled twin puffs of smoke, and Jade was grateful for the distraction of a cigarette. She wasn't highly addicted, but she liked in moments of stress, and this counted as one.
"You weren't even trying to be," Spike spoke after a moment, imperious. "That's the sad part. You've gone along like a little puppy dog, wanting to fit in and be all helpful and appreciated. Maybe even offer back rubs."
Jade narrowed her eyes, and Spike raised his eyebrows, challenging her, to see if she'd bite.
"We talking about me, or you? Seems to me as soon as Buffy is around, that describes you perfectly." She held her breath, waiting for his expression change to a deep scowl. From his position on the stairs, he had been looking up at her, and she waited for him to turn away, for shadows to warp his expression, but to his surprise, he laughed.
"Bravo. That's the first time you've gotten right snippy with me. Starting to think you were a Spock."
"The race is called Vulcan. And they're built on logic. I have emotions." Jade stuck a loose curl behind her ear. Despite missing out completely on Next Generation, she loved Star Trek, and his reference, however obscure, tickled her with warmth, despite the fact she should have been more defensive. He was criticising her, after all.
"Could have fooled me. You don't act like anything, show anything. All stone-faced, like a rock."
"I have plenty—"
"All the time Miss High and Mighty was shoving you into the wall with her hand around her neck you just let her. And don't say it didn't make you angry, because it did."
"You think I should have hit her back?"
"You let them walk all over you. Oh please, yes, let me help. Let me convince you I'm good with my words while you're strangling me." His tone hit a falsetto, mocking her.
"I highly doubt I could win against another Slayer right now."
"Didn't stop you from fighting Buffy."
There was a silence, two more puffs of smoke. "Is that the problem, that I fought Buffy?"
"God, no." He chuckled again. "She bloody well needs someone to knock her down a peg from time to time, the fact that you might have bruised her doesn't bother me one bit. But you stood up to Buffy, and not to Kennedy."
"I wasn't exactly 'standing up'. I fought Buffy because I wouldn't have been allowed to come here otherwise. Kennedy was just muscling me around."
"You stood up because it involved something else; the little kiddies. When it concerned just you, no, please, pummel me all you like." He raised his hands and waved them in mock surrender.
"Figured it all out, did you?" Jade asked, in her same level tone. He wasn't wrong, though it hadn't really seemed like a difference at the time. She was vastly outnumbered, even if she had tried to muscle Kennedy off of her, it would have likely made things worse. So she hadn't even tried, and she had the lattice-like bruises across her throat to prove it. Still, Spike's observations bothered her. He acted the big brute, all fight and no thinking, but he was perceptive.
"Oh, yeah. Piece of cake." The comment bothered her, that she had been figured out in a second, but she reminded herself that he didn't know anything. And what did it matter. He was just a vampire, allied with the Slayers or not, his loyalties would undeniably leave him with them, while she had tried very hard to escape it, and soon as the mission was done, she'd leave it again. Back to Haven, where she was safe.
He was looking so smug, so sure of himself, that Jade decided to level the tables her own. She crushed the rest of the cigarette beneath her heel, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. "Do you fancy yourself all insightful because you have a soul of your own?"
His eyes widened, sucking in air with shock. "Bloody hell!" He said with a surprised expression, his mouth open slightly. "How'd you figure that."
"You're hanging out with Slayers."
"Fair enough, that."
"I think I knew. When I pushed you out of the way. Suspected maybe, in the back of my mind, and that was enough."
He narrowed his eyes. "Well I was thinking of carrying around a big sign 'Hey I have a soul', but apparently I don't need it."
"No, it was just something else my roommate said."
"The broad I play poker with?"
"That's her. She's a demon without a soul, and she's particularly obsessed with getting one. The reason she lives in Haven—the reason most do is because of the obscurity. As you probably know. Hard to find people in there, like searching through a Bermuda triangle. Anyway, she hides out there because she doesn't have a soul, and she can detect whether or not others have them. It was just something she muttered about you once. That you had something she didn't."
"And you took that to mean I had a soul? Maybe she was just talking about parts."
"No," Jade said with a whiff of amusement. "That is, I'm pretty sure she could grow one if she wanted to. Her race is good at changing their shape, to look like humans, might not stop at a particular race."
"Well, that's just barmy. Maybe I'll just ignore the 'sex me' eyes, then. Don't need anything extra in the bedroom."
Jade laughed a little at his appalled expression, warily watching it change to a more contemplative one.
"That's pretty dangerous company you keep yourself with. A demon without a soul." Spike remarked.
"There's worse company," Jade replied quietly, glancing away from him. She grunted a little under her breath as she leaned back, pains in her torso reminding her that she wasn't quite healed. A couple days at least, a week at most to be in perfect condition again.
She was enjoying the silence that encompassed them for a time, that the two of them had nothing to say, nor needed to, when there was a clatter of footsteps behind them. Spike noticed first, as he turned to look behind them, Jade followed his gaze. It was a Slayer, one of the ones that had been researching with Kennedy and Willow, if Jade was right. She hadn't paid them much heed, they were so quiet. They hadn't looked up from their books until Kennedy had smacked her into the wall, and even then, they hadn't said a word. But it was one of them now, young, maybe a year younger than Jade, Asian with long flowing black hair. Her expression was calm, but her eyes were bright, energetic.
"There's been a meeting called. We've found out the right hell dimension. If you wouldn't mind," Her urgency gave way to politeness, and she shot them a nervous smile. Spike rose to his feet in one graceful flourish, whereas Jade was slower, biting back a wince as she followed him into the building.
The atmosphere had changed in the space of the time since they had been gone, which couldn't have been more than a half hour. There were more people standing in the lobby, weapons set out on the tables and couches. Kennedy, Buffy and Willow were talking urgently to each other, near the entrance to the conference room, and Spike took a b-line to them that Jade followed, coming up to hear Willow speaking.
"And I'll go now, teleport to the coven. We'll raise the portal for you here."
"How many can go through?" Buffy was asking.
"As many as you want. But, we can only charm twelve of the necklaces I was telling you about. It'll take too much magic to do more."
"Charm twelve whatsits?" Spike asked, to which Jade was grateful. She doubted they'd answer her anything if she tried to interrupt, and being even as quiet as she was being now, Kennedy had noticed her immediately, narrowing her eyes at her, twin black pools filled with suspicion.
"These servants of the Order, they wield powerful magics. Like you said, Spike, you couldn't get close to them. There's a spell, that can imbue talismans, in our case, necklaces with an kind of anti-magic aura. Any direct magic aimed at the user should be negated."
"Direct magic?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, they can still enchant a rock to fly at your head, but anything—the telekinesis, it should stop that."
"Willow, that's a lot of shoulds." Buffy started, which Kennedy replied with a sharp glare.
"It's better than just going in there to get tossed around. Especially if they've already completed the ritual, killed the children and become uber-powerful." Kennedy snapped.
"Drained." Jade said.
Kennedy's head twirled back towards her. "Excuse me?"
"Drained. They're going to drain the children of their blood." She didn't blink as Kennedy's face twisted into an unfriendly smile.
"Oh, they let you know that, did they?"
"Dreamed it." Jade returned impassively.
"Enough. And Willow, you and the coven can't come with us? We just have to go in, hoping the necklaces work?" Buffy interrupted with a commanding tone.
"We have to pool our power to open the portal. And then imbue the necklaces. Once we activate the talismans, the anti-magic will only work so long, I just. I don't quite know how it'll work in the other dimension. They could activate all at once. One by one, or not at all."
"Or turn us all into ponies." Spike sighed.
Ignoring him, Buffy turned to Willow. "And the portal is two ways? We can use it to get back?"
Willow nodded. "We'll keep it open, Buffy. And if it closes, Kennedy will let me know." She looked at her girlfriend, whose expression softened. A telepathic communication, one of magic's uses. Jade didn't envy them. She didn't want anyone in her head.
"Alright. Go, then. We'll get ready, while you open the portal." Buffy ordered. Willow nodded, and in a pop, she was gone, similar to Lythia'l when the demon teleported. Jade never got tired of seeing it, and at another time, she'd envy it. Buffy turned towards a chest, opening it and starting to pull jeweled necklaces from it. She put one around her head, handing one to Kennedy, and then to Spike.
"The last time you gave me a necklace, luv, I died." Spike reminded her. The blonde stopped for a moment, her expression softening. Instead of a witty comeback, her voice was soft when she replied.
"I remember." For some reason, her sweet remark perturbed Jade. Buffy hadn't seemed to care much for Spike one way or another, whereas Spike's affection was easily apparent. But it looked like there was some requited warmth there, bothering Jade. She pushed it out of her mind as Buffy's green gaze landed on her next, waiting, a necklace in hand, but not yet offered. Buffy asked the question silently, raising an eyebrow.
"I can help." Jade said, simply. She couldn't see Spike where she stood. Would he think her weak, because she was asking instead of telling? She didn't want to beg, but she had to be there. Had to help. Had to face Fyora again, felt it in her heart of hearts. If she just wanted Fyora to look her in the eye as she died for her betrayal, or because she wanted an explanation, Jade didn't know. But she had to find out. She held Buffy's eyes without blinking, her breath tight in her chest.
Buffy's gaze flickered down to Jade's abdomen, where she knew the wounds were, up to the neck, where Kennedy had left a mark, and Jade's jaw, where Buffy had left her own. "Are you sure? You won't just get in the way?"
"I know those kids. And it might do them good to see a familiar face."
"If you betray us…I'll kill you." Buffy promised.
Jade nodded. "I won't." She heard Kennedy's scoff, but she ignored the other woman. "Let me do this. Please."
She held Buffy's scrutiny for another long moment, silence pulsing through them, and even Spike was quiet. Finally, slowly Buffy extended the necklace, resting it in Jade's palm. "Let's go be heroes."
