Chapter Twenty-Five
Henry led Spike and Wesley down a narrow flight of stairs that looked like it hadn't been used in at least a century. The steps carved out of heavy stone blocks were covered in thick dust that swallowed every sound their shoes would have normally made and Wesley was grateful for it. It wouldn't do to alert anyone (or anything) down here to their presence.
When the three of them had reached the end of the stairs Wesley held up his torch to lighten up their surroundings. But the flame dissolved into thick darkness only a few feet away, it seemed that whatever magics the Watchers had cast down here to protect their secret library, it prevented even the strongest of lights from penetrating the dark.
Wesley could actually feel the strong magic surrounding them, it slowly crept up his body, found its way through his clothes to cover his bare skin in electricity and tickled every nerve ending. He felt the hairs on his arms starting to stand on end and threw a quick look at Spike to see if the vampire was equally effected by it.
"You feel that, too?" Spike's voice held a nervous edge and Wesley took a step closer to his lover to put a calming hand to his back.
"Yes, its…" he broke off when a sharp lightning bolt shot out from his fingertips to where he'd nearly come in contact with Spike's leather-clad back. "Wow!"
"What the hell was that?" Spike asked bewildered.
"I don't know. The spell must somehow be triggered by proximity," Wesley replied and then, softer, added: "Did I hurt you?"
"Na, it's nothing, luv," Spike shrugged. "Felt a bit like what I remember from the chip firing."
"Sorry," Wesley shot him a brief smile before he turned around to where Henry was standing, waiting silently for them to follow him into the depth of the cellar.
"Come on," he urged huskily. "This way!"
Henry led them through endless tunnels carved out of heavy stone covered in moss and other moist plants Wesley couldn't identify. Not that he cared at all. He kept his eyes trained on the other human's back, feeling Spike's soothing presence behind him, careful not to come in too close contact again. He wouldn't want for the magically induced electric sparks to shoot off again.
The silent trio rounded a corner and Henry stopped in front of a thick wooden door with no handle or lock.
"This is it," he provided unnecessarily in a hushed voice.
Spike shot him a dismayed glare that clearly said 'Duh!' but remained silent. Wesley eyed the closed door warily, handed his torch to Spike and then pulled a small book from his pocket.
"So how are we gonna get inside?" Spike asked eventually.
"I'm already on it," Wesley answered and began muttering something from the book.
"Wesley, are you sure…" Henry started but a determined 'Shhht' from Spike shut him up quickly. The vampire had seen Wesley work his mojo many times in the past (or… make that the future) and he knew Wes needed to concentrate to get this right.
He listened to Wesley's softly intoned words and kept his gaze trained on the door. And, sure enough, after a while the wood seemed to waver and blur and become more and more translucent until suddenly it vanished completely. At the same time the magic electricity surrounding them seemed to disappear, too.
"You did it," Henry sounded pleasantly surprised and Spike wanted to smack him over the head for once again stating the obvious. Or for doubting Wesley, he wasn't so sure at the moment.
He didn't though but sufficed himself with another glare in Henry's stunned face before he set out to cross the threshold into the dark, cave-like space that had opened up before them.
Wesley and Henry followed the torch's glow in silence.
The room they entered wasn't overly big, and although the walls were covered in bookshelves holding heavy tomes Wesley knew instantly that this couldn't be the Archive. It was more like an ante-chamber, maybe a secret space to hold the rarest or most dangerous books.
He noticed Henry had walked up to the edge of one shelf and was now cautiously peeking around. Then he turned back and whispered: "Everything seems to be clear out there though I don't know if there's some sort of watch by the main door."
"How far to the main door?" Spike wanted to know at once.
"This secret passage is at the farthest end and the main entrance is all the way across the Archive. So it should be at least five chains in between."
"Five chains?" Spike's eyebrow rose, impressed. "That'd be like, what… 300 feet? A room this large and all full of books?"
"Something like that," Henry gave back with a shrug and disappeared around the corner of the bookshelf.
Spike looked back at Wesley and smirked: "Now I get how he could have spend five months down here going through all this stuff and still not be done cataloguing everything."
"Yes," Wesley smiled back and followed Henry into the main room, "I've heard the Watcher's Council's Archive to be quite…"
He stopped to take in their new surroundings and his eyes grew big at the sight of thousands of bookshelves packed to the brim with books, tomes, scrolls and papers of all sorts. He was in heaven!
"Extensive," Wesley finished when he'd gotten his throat to work again.
And extensive it was indeed. Even Spike was impressed by the enormous room carved out of the same stone than the tunnel had been. The ceiling was high and golden chandeliers hung from sturdy chains. They illuminated the endless rows of bookshelves. He noticed a heavy-looking steel door at the very opposite side and also a thick red carpet on the ground that swallowed every footstep. It was free of dust and Spike wondered for a moment who would care enough for it to be kept this clean all the time.
Somehow he couldn't picture those stuffy Watchers swinging a vacuum cleaner during their free-time. They'd probably hired someone to do it, or perhaps they kept a few Chenkwoj Demons chained up somewhere to use as slaves. They fed off dust and dirt, you know? Yeah, Spike thought, that sounded more up those wankers' alley.
Spike's eyes had followed Henry who was quickly making his way over to the far side of the spacious Archive. Then he turned to Wesley again and, noticing his lover's transfixed gaze, his face lit up in a genuine smile. Wesley must feel in paradise here, surrounded by what was possibly the largest and most valuable collection of bound knowledge in the world.
Spike shook his head, amused and equally affectionate.
"Oi, don't get all excited now, bookworm. We didn't come here to gloss and dream, you know?"
Spike nudged Wesley's side and was pleased to notice no electricity was shooting off from their proximity. Earlier, when contact had become suddenly impossible thanks to the sodding magic around, Spike had abruptly realized how used he'd gotten to even the most casual of Wesley's touches. It had made him miss the contact even more.
So now that he once again could, Spike pulled Wesley close and buried his face in the crook of his lover's neck. Wesley shifted his head and whispered: "We didn't come here for this either so… don't get all excited now, Spike!"
The vampire didn't seem to care that much for he tightened his grip on Wesley and began to pull him back the way they'd come. Back into the small ante-chamber.
"Spike," Wesley tried to stop his feet from moving. "Spike, we can't." He threw a quick look over his shoulder. "Henry… he's…"
"Sod Henry," Spike growled and pulled him forwards again. "He's all the way down there so he's not gonna notice a thing. And sod the bloody prophecy as well for that matter. It can wait but I can't."
"Spike, I'm serious." Wesley managed to untangle his form from Spike's body. "This is not the time for…"
"This is exactly the time, Wes!" Spike growled. "We're running out of time here. And I need to give you something, you know… something powerful enough to remember me."
Wesley frowned. "What do you mean, remember…?"
"You know," Spike hurried to say, "after this…" he gestured around with his hand and continued, eyes suddenly downcast and sincere: "For when I'm not around anymore. Figured that if I give you… this, it would be more than whatever mojo… that it wouldn't… oh hell, you know, that you wouldn't forget. Me. Us."
Wesley eyed his lover silently, not sure what to make of this sudden change in demeanour. Could it be that Spike had somehow guessed what Wesley had feared all along? That he somehow knew what would happen after they'd send him back to his own time? That the time would right itself and these two weeks they'd had together would be erased as if they'd never happened?
"Spike, look at me!" Wesley placed a tentative hand onto the vampire's shoulder. When their eyes finally met Wesley put all his feelings, all the love and affection he felt for him, into his voice: "The time I've spent with you, every second of it will make me remember you and what we have. It won't be the sex that I'll be missing." His hand came to rest over the vampire's non-beating heart. Wesley's other hand cupped Spike's cheek and his thumb grazed his lips. Wesley tried a small smile and failed.
"I will be missing you, Spike, not the sex. Every day for the rest of my life I will be missing you. Because I love you! And I won't need any kind of reminder because… I know the feelings I have for you will stay with me for the rest of my life. Even if…"
Spike gulped around a painful lump that had suddenly settled in his tight throat. "Even if I won't? Is that what you mean?"
Wesley leaned forward and captured Spike's lips in a deep kiss. "Yes," he breathed into his lover's mouth.
But what he'd really meant but wouldn't dare to voice out loud was: 'Even if I won't remember any of this. Won't remember loving you. Somewhere deep down I know this love will stay with me forever, even if it will be gone from my mind.'
"I will remember you, Spike. I promise," Wesley choked out when he came up for air once again.
"And I promise, luv," Spike replied while stopping a tear from rolling down Wesley's cheek, "I promise that as soon as I'm back home I will make you remember."
A hesitant cough suddenly reached the couple from the other side of the bookshelf and made them look over. "And I promise," they heard Henry say, "that I would never dare to be interrupting if it wasn't important. But I located the case and… I would truly love to show it to you, Spike."
Spike emerged from the small passage between the bookshelves, Wesley on his heels. "So, where is my case then? Let's see if I'm the One you watchers have been waiting for… the One to unravel the mystery!"
Both humans simply rolled their eyes before Henry motioned for them to follow him through the spacious Archive. He led them towards a niche in the wall where he'd found the ancient artefact earlier.
"Let's see if you're the chosen one," Henry agreed in a whisper and watched Spike's face when he took his first look at the wooden case that was presumed to hold the key to the vampire's destiny.
TBC