Her actions drew loud hisses and grumbles from the crowd. "What? You wanted the polite Slayer? B's in Europe or somewhere." Faith examined her blade, waiting, muscles tensed. She didn't have to wait long. A tall demon in a poorly fitted cuirass and greaves rushed her. Wanting to work on the troop's morale, Faith smirked and stood her ground. When the sword-wielding vamp was a mere two steps away, Faith moved to the left, pivoting sharply on her right foot. Her spatha flashed in the arena's mage light as she brought it down in a tight arch. Using both hands on the short, squat blade, Faith drove it into the gap between the recruit's neck and the curved, hardened leather shoulder piece of his armour.
Screaming, he fell to his knees. Faith ripped the blade free, flinching only slightly at the sight of the blood-covered weapon. Faith felt her Slayer very close to the surface. Releasing the tight control she normally maintained, she gave the primal force an opening. Power and bloodlust surged. Faith threw back her head and screamed a challenge as her blade flicked out, slicing through the vampire's neck. Seconds later, his ashes floated to the sandy floor.
She spun to face the assembled recruits and officers. Yellow eyes and fangs were in abundance.
Pausanias stepped onto the sand. "You're here to train, not decimate the ranks of my army," he growled. His own sword was still sheathed; however, a weathered hand gripped the hilt tightly.
Flushed and shaking from the raw energy of the Slayer, Faith grinned ferally. "I may work for your side, Soldier Boy, but I'm still a Slayer. As far as I'm concerned, the only good vamp is a dead one."
The grizzled soldier returned her smile. "What you think or feel is irrelevant. You train; you stay. Kill another recruit, and you don't get to come back."
For a minute, Faith got lost in the Slayer's need to kill. She growled, taking a quick step in Pausanias' direction. Before she crossed the line and swung at him, an image of Phoebe drifted through her mind. She'd promised not to take any unnecessary risks. Faith ignored the Slayer's howl of rage and dropped her weapon to her side. "Fair enough. If all the recruits are as stupid as that last one, though, I ain't responsible for what happens."
Nodding brusquely, Pausanias acknowledged Faith's comment. He gestured to three of the soldiers. "Slayer, these are some of my lieutenants. They'll work with you." His yellow eyes gleamed. "Perhaps we'll have a chance to step into the arena together when our work here is completed."
Faith's skin chilled at his look. Pausanias was far beyond the run of the mill vampires she normally faced. "Count on it." She gave the Slayer more freedom, and Pausanias' eyes widened. Knowing her own eyes showed the orange glow of her ancestors, Faith held his gaze. "No need to wait for the end. You never know what might happen along the way. Any time you want some schooling, give me a call."
Phoebe tossed her keys on the table by the door. "Anybody home?" she called out.
"We're in the attic," Piper's faint voice replied.
Still jittery from her encounter with Faith, Phoebe sprinted up the stairs. She rocketed through the doorway, and stopped abruptly. "Whoa! Who turned out the lights?" Heavy blankets covered every inch of glass in the large, open room. Without the sunlight, it looked like a cave.
"Sunlight plus Angel equals a big pile of dust," Willow remarked absently. She hunched over a pile of books, peering at the pages by the glow of candlelight.
Phoebe wandered over and dropped to the floor. "Sorry." She glanced at the vampire and shrugged. "I forgot about that." Fingertips tapping an impatient rhythm against her thigh, she glanced at the other three people in the room. "Any luck?"
"Yes and no." Phoebe glared at Piper, not happy with the vague response. "Well, it's true," Piper continued, throwing her hands in the air at the look she received. "We have a few ideas about the Dark Mistress. We're tracking down any reference that looks good."
"That covers the yes." Phoebe grabbed the Book of Shadows from the floor and flipped through it. Yellow, blue, and green sticky notes marked several of the pages. "What's the no part?"
Willow stopped pouring over her texts. "We can't find anything on a ritual like you saw in your vision."
It took a second for that to sink in. "Nothing?" she asked. Scrambling to her feet, Phoebe began pacing the darkened room. "How can there be nothing? I mean, it looked major. The Elders are involved. They even brought Faith in to help. We've got to be missing something." The bitter taste of fear coated her tongue.
"Don't panic yet." Angel smiled slightly from his spot on the couch. The shadows gave his face a sinister cast, and Phoebe shivered. Faith and the Elders obviously trusted him, but they'd never had much luck allying with the Other Side.
"Good advice, but it's my girlfriend who's undercover and going in blind." Phoebe clenched her fists, sucking in a deep breath. She had to calm down. This wasn't helping. "You said you had some ideas about the Dark Mistress. Want to share?" That was better. She was thinking again, even if it was a struggle.
Willow sat up with a sigh. Rubbing the back of her neck, she looked at Angel. "You want to take this one?"
He frowned before nodding. "Yeah, I'll start us off." Leaning forward, Angel rested his elbows on his knees and started intently at the floor. "We think the Dark Mistress may be my Sire."
"OK." Phoebe waited impatiently for more. It didn't come. "That's not an explanation, Angel. That's a sound bite," she snapped. "What's the rest of the story?"
"Darla's dead." He looked up, meeting Phoebe's angry eyes.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Phoebe considered that. "Wait a minute. If Darla's a vampire, isn't she dead by definition?" She was missing something, some key piece of information.
"True. However, Darla was dusted a few years ago." Angel looked away, and Phoebe figured she was getting only a portion of the truth. "She's gone. We're trying to see if she's been resurrected or if, somehow, she wasn't actually killed in the first place."
"Have you found anything?" Phoebe directed her question to Willow. The redhead sat in the middle of a huge pile of books. She was apparently the Head Researcher.
Willow shook her head. "No. At least, nothing useful." She grimaced. "Resurrection is way hard. You don't just do the spell without leaving traces. I haven't been able to find any reference to a mystical fireworks display anywhere that would match the power needed to bring her back."
"And the she's not dead theory?" Phoebe reminded herself to stay calm. Screaming at Willow wasn't going to help the situation.
"We're…still working on that," Willow mumbled.
Piper must have realized how close Phoebe was to snapping. She closed her book with a thud and sprang to her feet. "I do have info on Pausanias, though." She smiled brightly at the room. "Anyone want to hear it?"
"Sure." Willow eyed Phoebe and scooted across the floor away from imminent danger.
"Um," now in the spotlight, Piper hesitated over her meager facts, "he was a Spartan general in the fifth century." She tapped her fingers on the cover of the book in front of her. "Very impressive with the fighting and did some time as a politician, too."
Angel sat back, rubbing his face with both hands. "Fifth century? He's probably part of the original Phalanx that got Turned."
"Is that good or bad?" Phoebe asked. She watched Angel intently, muscles tight and heart pounding. They desperately needed some good news.
"Probably bad." Angel shrugged. "He's a twenty-five hundred year old military man in charge of an army of vamps. I can't see how any of that is good.
Faith tossed the sword in the air, watching it tumble end over end, before snatching it by the hilt. Smirking at the three vampires groaning on the sand, she spun around slowly. Over the last few hours, the recruits had been replaced by more experienced soldiers. It had been hard to count while sparring. Still, Faith's mental tally ran over three hundred. It was time to gather some information.
"Thanks for the workout, boys. Hope you're back on your feet and ready the next time I'm in town." She kept the short sword as she walked toward Pausanias. The Recruiter stood on a raised platform to one side of the arena. His yellowed eyes watched the training intently. Faith approached the dais with sweating palms. The fighting had been fabulous. She was far less certain about the sleuthing.
Before Faith reached the platform, Pausanias turned in her direction and jumped onto the arena floor. He smiled slightly. "Slayer, a nice display of talent."
In spite of her knowledge that this demon was an enemy, Faith preened at the praise. "Thanks. I do my best." She flashed her dimples. "The new kids were a lot better than that first group." Riding a wave of self confidence from his admiration, Faith ignored the fear souring her stomach and pressed, "What's the deal? It looks like you've already got, what, two or three hundred decent soldiers. Why waste your time training more?"
Pausanias grimaced at the question. "Normally, we keep a training facility and work with the recruits outside of our current contract. This is a unique situation."
Faith grunted, her mind racing. There were more of them at a separate location? "Must be. Can't be often you work with a Slayer." She winked at Pausanias. Hoping she wasn't pushing too hard, she let her eyes roam over the activity in the arena. "I'm gonna be looking for a daily workout. This place is a little too visible for me. Would your other place be better?"
"Our winter quarters are in Greece, Slayer." He laughed at her snort. "I think our employer needs you closer to the action."
"Yeah, got me some courting to do." Faith rocked on her heels, resisting the urge to wipe her sweating palms on her pants. "Too bad. I'll just have to be careful sneaking in here. When's the best time for me to stop in?"
Pausanias moved so they were facing each other. "You are very skilled at individual combat, Slayer."
Faith smirked. "Thanks. I like what I do, ya know?"
"Indeed. Warriors are a breed apart." Pausanias paused, yellow eyes examining her closely. "If you are willing, perhaps we might exchange knowledge. The Army has never been about self, only about comrades. We fight as a unit. As you have noticed, we do poorly when not part of a square or shield line."
"I don't know what the hell a square is, Soldier Boy, but I'd be glad to do a little sharing." Faith grinned, fear replaced by excitement. Hell, yeah, she'd be happy to learn new ways to fight. "Just tell me the when and the where."
Extending his arm, Pausanias placed his forearm against Faith's and clasped his hand around her arm just below the elbow. "Excellent, Slayer. Consider yourself promoted to lieutenant. We'll introduce you to army life tomorrow. Be here at sunrise."