Tapping hesitantly on the door, Faith waited for Richard to look up. His desk was covered in paper and piles of file folders. It reminded her of Giles' desk every evening when she'd come in for pre-patrol briefings. Giles had always been buried in paperwork: Watchers' Diary entries, patrol after action reports, and training schedules.
She scowled. This wasn't at all like her time with the Council. This was completely different.
"Be careful, Faith. Your face might freeze like that," Richard teased. He imitated her expression for a second before smiling. "Come on in and close the door, please. I sent everyone home already but you never know who's lurking out there ready to interrupt us again." As Faith made a show of closing - and locking - the door, he continued. "I've ordered dinner for us. It should be here soon. The best pizza in Sunnydale. For now, though..." He broke off suddenly and peered at her. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Faith lied quickly. She sauntered across the room and sat in the same chair as earlier. "What's this job you got for me? I'm ready for action." If it didn't involve beating up on vampires and demons, otherwise known as vampire therapy, she'd have to go hunting later.
Richard wasn't happy with her response. His eyes turned cold for a second, and Faith tensed. "I expect a great deal from you, Faith. Nothing you can't handle, I'm sure. At the top of the list is honesty. Don't ever lie to me."
"Yes, Sir." Faith huddled in the chair, eyes on the worn carpet next to her feet. Her face and neck felt hot. "I'm sorry. I just...ya' know, I didn't want to bother you," she babbled. "You got important things to worry about." Richard was mad at her. Faith had never cared how other people felt about her actions before. But she hated the way he was looking at her, as if he didn't want to know her anymore. As if she'd disappointed him. Her stomach cramped and she shrank farther into the chair.
"There is nothing more important than you, Faith." Richard came around the desk and sat next to her. Gripping Faith's hand, he waited until she glanced uneasily up at him. "You aren't just an employee. I care about you, about what happens to you," he told her earnestly. "It would kill me if anything happened to you. Please don't shut me out or hide things from me."
Faith stared into his eyes. He never looked away. He wasn't lying; people who lied never met your eyes like that. Richard really cared about her. The burn of embarrassment shifted to a warm glow-y feeling in her chest. "I won't do it again, Sir. I really am sorry." It was Faith who dropped her eyes. She couldn't stand to see his reaction as she admitted, "Kinda started thinking about Boston this afternoon, before the whole Slayer thing. Not the best memories, that's all."
"Poor Faith. You've been through so much." Richard squeezed her hand. "How about I give you something better to think about? Something right up your alley?"
That sounded perfect. "Like what?" Faith asked.
"Like hunting a demon for me." Releasing Faith's hand, he leaned back and stretched his legs out in front of the desk. "When I was searching through Allan's things, I found a reference to a demon he did business with. This demon has a collection of very old books, the Books of Ascension. And Allan was going to buy them, use whatever was in those books to kill me and take over Sunnydale. I want you to get them, Faith, before that demon finds someone else with ideas of conquest."
"No problem, Boss." Faith was a loser at many things in life. Stealing some books from a demon wasn't one of them. "You got a name for the demon?"
"The emails were signed by a Skyler. The demon? Or another human minion like Allan? I say demon. The whole thing sounds too shady for most humans." Richard shrugged – then jumped up when someone knocked at the door. "Hold that thought, Faith." Bounding across the room, he grabbed a stack of pizza boxes from the security guard in the hallway and closed the door again. "I wasn't sure what you liked so I got one of everything. Whatever we don't eat tonight will make a perfect late night snack for my favorite Slayer. I'm sure you'll be hungry after tracking down that pesky demon with my books."
"Don't push so hard." Tara tilted her head and Felt the energy Noreen had gathered. "The size of the object you move doesn't matter. A grain of sand weighs the same as an anvil to the mind."
"If you keep straining like that, sweetheart, you'll break something." Eyes twinkling, Tara's mother perched on the battered sofa in one corner of the attic. "You don't have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. A grain of sand weighs the same as an anvil to the mind. If you've Centered yourself correctly…"
"…root yourself to the Earth and extend the energy toward the box. Don't push. The magic will do the work for you," Tara continued, hearing her mother echo the same advice in her memories. She had been just like Noreen at one point. Well, Tara had never set anything accidentally on fire, but she'd wanted to do everything right the first time.
Sweat beaded Noreen's face and she trembled with effort. Letting her eyes droop, Tara peered at the other witch's magic with her Inner Sight. Noreen had cut back on the wall of power she'd gathered. The tendril she extended toward the box several feet away was still too large but wouldn't turn the cardboard into tiny bits of confetti.
With a nod, Tara moved away. She checked on every student, making mental notes of successes and opportunities. Concepts for the next class. Three of the eight witches were far beyond the "beginner" level. Not surprisingly, Amy was the best of the three. And Noreen, fiery mistakes and all, wasn't far behind. "One last thing before we end the session. Make sure you properly ground any remaining energy."
A few of the learners seemed surprised at the reminder; yet everyone carefully returned the unused power to the Earth. With a pleased smile, Tara took down the Warding around the room and dismissed the class.
"Not bad for your first night with the Council." Janna had monitored the class from the sidelines. Monitored. She'd rolled her eyes when she'd explained to Tara that the Council wanted to make sure Melody hadn't made a mistake about Tara's skills.
"I feel like I've single-handedly raised a mountain." Although she had done very little magic, Tara was exhausted. She wanted to sink to the floor and sleep for a week.
Janna threw her head back and laughed. "Really? Didn't you just teach an entire class of newbies that mental lifting doesn't take muscles?"
Of course, Janna had to remember that. "I lied shamelessly," Tara mumbled. "Magical lifting takes tons of magical muscles – and mine are weak and flabby." Glowering at Janna's continued laughter, she sighed and gave up. "Fine. Throw my own words back at me. I just never realized how hard it was to keep eight people all focused on the same thing. All the different personalities and ability levels. Passing the Trial wasn't as difficult."
Linking their arms, Janna pulled her out of the Workroom and locked the door. "I hate to do this to you since you're already so tired. Will says Buffy's back and has something new for us to research. I'm heading to the Library to help. Are you up to joining us?"
"If I fall asleep, promise not to put my hand in a glass of water." Stifling a yawn and thinking longingly of her comfortable bed, Tara followed Janna into the House and up to the third floor. It had to be her imagination, but Tara thought she smelled Faith's distinctive scent of leather and sweat. Unfortunately, Faith wasn't lounging in a chair or sprawled on the expensive Turkish rug in the massive Library.
"Good evening," Giles greeted them from the top of a rolling ladder. He held a large pile of books which he carefully carried down to the floor. "Although Buffy has already briefed me on her latest patrol, I have asked her to share it with the full group. She and Joyce should be here shortly." He flashed a quirky smile, the same one he'd given Tara the night of the Social. "I long ago learned that ignoring her need to eat large quantities of food at the end of a patrol was not in anyone's best interest. Please, make yourself comfortable, my dear, and we shall soon be started."
"He meant to say, 'sit down, Buffy will be back in a minute,'" Willow translated. "It always takes him a long time to get to the point." She curled up against Janna's legs when her bondmate took the same chair Faith had occupied for her study session with Tara.
The chair, and the way Willow nuzzled into Janna, hurt. Tara rubbed at her chest, where the pain emanated. "I understood Mr. Giles perfectly," she defended Giles – and winked at Willow to let her know it was not a rebuke.
"Thank you." Accent more clipped than before, Giles glowered playfully at Willow. "This lot does not appreciate the true Queen's English." With a disdainful sniff, he set the books down on the coffee table in the center of the room.
"We may not talk right, but we eat well," Buffy announced from the door. She breezed in, arms full of snack chip bags. Xander and Joyce followed with trays of drinks and other finger foods. "Welcome to your first research party, Tara. Get ready for excitement like you've never known and will never want to go through again."
Xander snickered. "She's not wrong. I've been doing this for two years, and it never gets any better."
"And yet you're still here, aren't you?" Willow stuck her tongue out at him.
"Good Lord. Children, please. I would prefer Tara not run away on her first official night with us," Giles snapped.
"Sorry, Giles," Willow, Xander, and Buffy responded in stereo.
Tara hid a grin at Giles' pained sigh. He was so funny, and Buffy and her friends played on his emotions perfectly. "Before I grow any older, would you please tell everyone what you found this evening?"
"Sure, Giles." Buffy dropped onto the love seat, and Xander (of course) took the spot right next to her. There might have been space to push a piece of paper between them. "I'd cleared a nest out of the Smithson crypt over in Restfield when this demon pops out from behind a tombstone. Just as I was about to behead him, he squeals and holds up his hand. Says he's been looking for me."
Even though it was her first night researching, Tara was fairly certain that wasn't normal.
"What did he look like, Buffy? I mean, did you recognize him?" Willow was already reaching for one of the books Giles had put on the table.
"It looked like a demon, Will. A horny demon." Buffy covered her face with both hands as Xander and Willow both hooted with laughter. Tara pressed her lips together to avoid joining in. "I meant the demon had horns on his head and a really bad beard," she grumbled when she finally reemerged from her hands. "He wanted to sell me some books."
"He was an encyclopedia salesman?" Joyce asked. "I thought they stopped making those when the Internet grew so popular."
"Yes, Mom. That's it. He wanted to sell me the complete A to Z collection from 1970. It was a special disco edition." Buffy threw up her hands. "Everyone's a comedian. If you'd let me finish, maybe you wouldn't have to ask so many questions." Buffy's narrow-eyed look dared anyone to comment.
They didn't.
"He said he'd give something called the Books of Ascension to me for five thousand dollars," Buffy finished. "
"That's a lot of money for some books." Willow opened the tome she'd taken and began flicking through the yellowed pages. "Ascension. It sounds familiar; I just can't remember from where."
Reaching across the table, Tara grabbed a book, too. She didn't know how these research gatherings worked. It was a fair bet, though, that hunting through the books was a big part of the process. Of course, there was no table of contents or index. Tara rubbed her eyes. No wonder Faith and Buffy ended up in brawls over the books. Tara gave serious thought to tackling Janna and going a few rounds to avoid reading each and every page.
"The price tag wasn't the weirdest part of the conversation," Buffy added as Tara resignedly started researching. "I mean, demons selling books isn't an every-night thing. But a demon selling books that he says the Mayor might want?"
Tara lost all interest in searching for references to the Ascension.
"Maybe he meant Allan Finch. He was working with Balthazar." Janna stroked her hand through Willow's hair, tickling the tips of her ears every so often and grinning when Willow jerked away and glared. "Could the books have something to do Balthazar's plan to use the amulet?"
"I still have a hook into the City Hall mainframe," Willow said. "Want me to dig around? It won't be hard to find those emails the Mayor said he had. That might give us more information."
Janna's stroking hand lifted in order to tap Willow firmly on the back of the head. "And land you in a federal prison for computer hacking."
"We…we could ask Faith?" Tara flinched when everyone looked at her. She hadn't meant to say anything out loud. "I mean, she works for the Mayor. She'd have plenty of opportunity to find out about the emails. And the books, too."
"Normally, Tara, that would be a very shrewd maneuver. I do not believe that Faith would welcome any overtures at this time. Her departure was less than amicable," Giles told her quietly. "And I believe, because of what has happened since Faith's arrive in Sunnydale, her loyalties are completely with the Mayor."
What Giles said made sense. Tara slumped back in her chair. "Right. I'm s-sorry."
"Doamnă, I don't think we have any choice." Willow got up on her knees and placed her hands pleadingly on Janna's knees. "I promise I won't leave anything for the Mayor or his staff to find. City Hall isn't big on cyber security. They never noticed when I hacked in the first time. I'll be in and out in no time."
Everyone pretended to be hard at work researching while Janna and Willow squared off. Tara flicked blindly through the book on her lap. They had to have answers. They had to know how the demon and the books were connected to the Mayor. What if there was something dangerous in those books? If the Mayor got the books, would that put Faith in danger? Tara reached for her bondlink again and nearly screamed when it remained blocked.
Tara was so intent on the bond she jumped when Willow stood up and grabbed her laptop from a backpack near the door. "Give me a few minutes to get in." Willow was flushed and her eyes sparkled with excitement.
"We will concentrate on old-fashioned research while you begin, Willow." Giles picked up a new book and opened it. Then he waited until the rest of the group followed suit.
Tara lost track of the different names of demons, rituals, and apocalyptic events she viewed in book after book. Several times, she started to nod off – and then someone would shift or drop a book and she snapped awake.
Finally, when Tara was about to apologize and leave, Willow announced, "I've got something." She didn't continue, though. She merely stared at the laptop in silence.
"Do I need to encourage you to speak up, dragă?" Janna asked.
"No!" Willow immediately turned her attention back to the waiting group. "I just…it doesn't make any sense, Janna. I found the emails. Lots of emails. Most of them between Deputy Mayor Finch and a vampire named Vincent. Plans to use the amulet to bring Balthazar back to full power. I guess he's been a little less than he wanted since he supposedly died."
The flood of information was too quick for Tara. She struggled to make sense of what Willow had found and connect it to the Books of Ascension.
"Will," Buffy interrupted. "Cliffs Notes, please."
Tara wanted to hug her when Willow scowled and then acquiesced. "Anyway, I found the emails. There was only one reference to the Books of Ascension. Nothing about what they do or why the Mayor would want them."
"So we have nothing." Tara resisted the urge to cry and pulled another book from the table. The tall stack had shrunk to just a few final tomes. They were nearly out of places to find answers. Maybe they'd have to try Faith, after all. At least it would give her a reason to ask Faith out on a date.
"Oh, no. I do have something," Willow disagreed. "Just not anything about the Books. When I started reading the emails, I thought there was something funny about them. I checked the access and server logs. Those emails weren't written by Deputy Mayor Finch. In fact, they weren't even created until after he died."