Everything either belongs to Joss or it should, no infringement is intended and no profit is to be made. When you get right down to it I'm not really worth suing anyway unless you want a share of an underpaid civil servants wages and it just wouldn't be worth the hassle trust me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
30 kilometres North-East of Gonaïves – Haiti – March 2005
At the edge of the forest looking away from the small village that surrounded a single large mansion Amy noted the tall Croatian beside her had fished out the crucifix hanging on a chain around his neck and was now offering a short silent prayer, mouthing the words in his own language. 'Whatever gets you through the day I suppose' she observed before turning to the other mercenary who was scooping out the area with a set of binoculars. 'You a believer too?' she asked.
'Believer yes, follower no' Ashton replied, lowering his binoculars. 'I didn't used to believe at all but when you know that crosses burn vampires and you can exorcise demons it's hard not to think there's something in it' he said.
'Help's to believe in something' Amy opined.
'You're a pagan right?' Ashton queried, 'I mean with the witch thing' he added.
'Yes' Amy confirmed, 'mostly I call upon Hecate which is more useful than you might think here' she told him. 'Hecate is goddess of the crossroads, of the boundaries between light and dark which is why you can call upon her to do good or evil' she explained then smiled. 'That gives me an edge here' she added.
'Why?' Ashton queried.
'Kalfu is associated with the crossroads between good an evil too' Amy explained, 'and there's no way that Hecate is going to let some Voodoo spirit have his follower beat one of hers' she told him 'Matter of pride' she said with a grin, 'the goddess has a Rep to protect' she told him. 'It's not that different, voodoo and witchcraft, most practitioners are good but you can use it for evil if you want, it's down to the individual.'
'Let's hope you're right about taking this guy' Ashton told her, 'I'm about as much use in a magic fight as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest' he said, then paused. 'I've been considering the Pagan stuff though' he admitted.
'No offence but you don't seem the Wicca type' Amy replied.
'No I mean the stuff I've heard from Medousa or Anya' Ashton told her, 'I mean I'd be in sweet with the God's of War and there's a hell of a lot more chance of me getting into Valhalla than Heaven' he said.
'You serious?' Amy asked in surprise.
'Hey now I know there's such a thing as a soul I've got to make sure it ends up somewhere I want it to be when I bite the big one' Ashton replied.
'You could repent your sins and embrace the church' Perković suggested, making the sign of the cross and putting his crucifix away again.
'It's just not me' Ashton replied. 'Okay it looks like the information we beat out of that sentry was true' he said. 'Fucking amateurs' he said with derision, shaking his head in professional disgust at the sloppy way the scattered guards were positioned, trained and equipped. 'The big boss isn't home but the girl's in there, and so is the voodoo guy.'
'I'll deal with the Bokor' Amy said confidently, making ready to channel her powers. 'Just remember that I'm not bullet-proof so you deal with the jerks with the guns.'
Ashton chambered a round in his G3 Assault rifle, it was an older design but it was accurate, reliable and fired a nice big cartridge. 'We're good at what we do' he stated.
'So am I' Amy told him, looking him in the eyes as hers began to swim with a dark cloud that grew from the iris until her whole eye was dark as night.
'Shit and I thought watching Harmony vamp-out to brush her teeth in the morning was disturbing' Ashton said with a grimace.
Amy blinked a few times, her view of the world had shifted, it had more clarity, edges were sharper now as she looked around with increased acuity of vision. The visual stimulus almost as intoxicating as the magicks now flowing through her, making her one with the goddess and the world around her. 'So if your soul is so important to you now why are you dating a girl that doesn't have one?' she asked. 'I went to school with her, you're not with her for her sparkling conversation.'
'I like evil blonds' Ashton replied as Perković chambered a round in his own rifle, looking through its telescopic sight. 'So what are you doing later?' he asked with a wink.
'The more dark magicks I use the darker my hair gets' Amy told him with a smirk, 'so the more evil the less blond I am.'
'Well that's just a fucking travesty' Ashton declared with heartfelt sincerity. 'So let's go do bad things for a good cause' he said more brightly. 'All the fun, and only one third the guilt afterwards' he told Amy, like he was trying to sell her something.
'Low Calorie Diet Evil' Amy responded, 'I like it' she said, 'I've been needing some stress relief' she added.
Perković looked from one to the other and sighed sadly to himself, the worst thing was he suspected this was about as close to being the good guys as they were ever going to get.
Hyperion Hotel – Los Angeles – March 2005
Harmony smiled at the young well-dressed couple who had just walked into the Hotel with what was presumably their daughter, a little girl of perhaps six or seven who looked good enough to eat, not that Harmony did that sort of thing any more but she still liked to look. 'Angel Investigations' she said brightly, 'we help the hopeless' she added almost chiming the words.
The man couldn't help but smile back, Harmony had a quite infectious peppy enthusiasm about her which had remained despite her being turned, personality traits like that were too ingrained for the mere absence of a soul to effect them. 'Hello' he said in a New England accent. 'I'm afraid we didn't know how to humbly request an audience in advance but is it possible that my family and I might be granted the privilege of basking in the presence of the God-King Illyria?' he asked.
Harmony narrowed her eyes. 'Who are you and how do you know Illyria?' she asked.
'We are unworthy followers of the Shaper of Things' the man replied and to Harmon's surprise he pulled the shirt he was wearing up out of his slacks and revealed a very poorly stitched operation scar with misshapen lumps evident under the skin. 'See I wear her sacraments close to my heart as the old texts detailed' he told her.
'Ouchie' Harmony responded. 'Couldn't afford a decent cosmetic surgeon?' she asked.
'I did it myself' the man replied. 'Without anaesthetic' he added proudly.
Harmony grimaced. 'And I thought my parents dragging me to church Sunday mornings was bad' she said. 'You really lucked out when it came to religion' she told him earnestly. 'Okay I'll see if Her Blueness will see you' she agreed, reaching for the telephone. 'I don't think she's got anything scheduled for today, she's probably playing computer games or something.'
'Computer games?' the woman repeated, speaking up for the first time.
'Yeah, she's like a total addict' Harmony replied, starting to dial Illyria's room, if she wasn't there she's try the second extension they'd put up for her on the roof.
Angel opened his office door and stuck his head out. 'Clients?' he asked.
'Just Illyria worshippers boss' Harmony replied, getting no answer from Illyria's room and trying the roof.
The vampire detective looked at the family askance then groaned. 'Oh wonderful' he said sardonically, 'just what we needed' he complained and taking a step back closed his door.
As Harmony started to talk on the telephone the families attention was caught by a strikingly pale dark-haired women in a flowing dress who walked into the lobby from a side door and who immediately smiled and made a bee-line towards them. 'Hello little girl' she said to the child, 'what's your name?' she asked before stopping dead in her tracks, looking up at the balcony above and pouting when she saw another young woman glaring down at her, body tensed for action.
'Better make yourself scarce before Dana decides you need to be beaten up' Harmony advised Drusilla sagely as she put down the telephone. 'Illyria, God-King of the Primordium,
Shaper of Things grants you audience' she told the visitors, giving them her full title as instructed. 'She's just going to save her game and find Enyo' she added.
'Did you hear that honey' the woman told her daughter, 'we get to meet the God-Princess too' she said.
'Is she pretty?' the little girl asked.
'We will bathe in their glory' her father replied. 'Are we dressed okay?' he asked Harmony nervously.
'I wouldn't have let you wear that tie with that shirt but you should see how scruffy Wesley usually is' Harmony replied as Drusilla disappeared again.
'Wesley?' the man asked.
'My Consort' Illyria explained walking down the stairs in her armour and natural colouration.
'God-King!' the man exclaimed dropping to the ground on his knees looking at the floor averting his eyes, his wife doing likewise.
'Prostrate yourself sweetheart like we showed you' the woman whispered to the little girl who hadn't moved.
'You're pretty and blue' the girl told Illyria when she reached the end of the staircase.
'Yes I am' Illyria agreed, cocking her head to the side and regarding the trio with mild interest. 'You are worshippers of mine?' she verified.
'We are God-King' the man confirmed, still not looking at her. 'The numbers are small but growing as word that you once again walk the Earth spreads' he told her. 'Your servant Knox has been spreading the word of your greatness to others' he said.
'Yes I heard about the website' Illyria replied, it was starting to get a reasonable number of hits per day according to Knox. 'Why have you come here?' she asked, 'do you wish to make a request?' she queried.
'Oh no God-King' the man replied. 'We wished to offer you a sacrifice worthy of your magnificence.'
Illyria crossed her arms. 'Devotion is welcome' she told him. 'What did you intend to offer me?' she asked.
'The life of our first born' the man replied, voice trembling slightly.
The Old One's eyes widened. 'Are you insane?' she asked eventually, looking at the little girl in an appalled fashion 'Who do you think you are? Abraham?' she asked rhetorically.
'But... but your temple of Vahla ha'nesh has a sacrificial altar' the woman spluttered. 'We thought...'
'The altar is for enemy prisoners and those of my servants who failed me' Illyria explained, 'I did not ask my followers to offer up their children like the Wolf, Ram and Hart or the likes of that neurotic bitch Yeska' she declared. 'A sane deity or monarch rules through the trust of their people not merely by fear' she continued, 'why give them a reason to doubt your worthiness to rule?'
'We assumed...' the man said.
'Be grateful you did not sacrifice your child before coming to see me or else I would have killed you for your crime' Illyria interrupted. 'I command you to be good loving, devoted parents from this point on' she ordered. 'And get off the floor' she added, 'you are making the place look untidy.'
The man and woman practically leapt to their feet, still nervously averting their gaze. 'How then can we serve you?' the man asked.
'For a start you can relay the message that I am not some psychopath demanding the ritual sacrifice of children' Illyria replied curtly. 'I have decided to be the protector of your race not another leech upon it like so many powerful demons are' she continued.
'We will spread your word' the woman responded, then paused. 'You are not what we were expecting' she admitted.
'Do not make the mistake of thinking my Mother is not still a mighty warrior capable of striking fear into the hearts of our enemies' another voice interrupted as Enyo entered the Lobby, coming up from the basement where she had been checking the Hotel's arsenal of weapons. 'She is merely less one-dimensional and self-serving than you apparently thought.'
'My daughter, the God-Princess Enyo, Warrior of the Slayer Legions and Heir to the Covenant' Illyria announced.
'You're pretty, red and blue' the little girl told Enyo.
'Yes I am' Enyo agreed. 'Would you like an ice-cream?' she asked, taking a suggestion from Rebecca.
'Yes please' the little girl replied happily.
Enyo raised her hand, became a blur of speed that streaked towards the kitchen and returned a split second later snapping back into sharp focus with a chocolate ice-cream sandwich which she handed the girl.
'You're fast!' the girl exclaimed.
'And we don't gyp you with manna instead of tasty treats' Enyo replied, dropping to one knee so she was closer to eye-level with the girl. 'Are you a good little girl who says her prayers to Illyria every night?' she asked.
'Yes' the girl replied.
'If you write them down and post them here instead I'll make sure my Mother reads them' Enyo promised.
'If this is going to lead to a wish-list of presents do not think that because my armour is red I bear any relation to Santa Claus' Illyria spoke up. 'Look me in the eyes' she ordered the girls parents. 'If you are loyal followers I will protect and reward you' she vowed, tell others of the joy and contentment to be found as a disciple of the God-King Illyria.'
'Just don't knock on peoples doors because that's really annoying' Harmony piped up.
'For once the half-breed makes a valid point' Illyria agreed.
'Half-breed?' the woman queried.
'I'm a vampire' Harmony explained, 'but don't worry I don't drink human blood any more because that's a sacking and staking offence under company rules' she added.
'You have vampire worshippers?' the man asked, 'well of course you do' he continued, 'all would wish to follow where you lead.'
'No I'm salaried' Harmony told him, 'my folks were Presbyterians but I'm not big with the Christianity now myself, what with the burning' she explained, 'Hey do Jewish vampires burn when they touch a Star of David?' she asked curiously. 'I'll check that on google' she announced starting to tap on her computer.
Illyria looked thoughtful. 'I will show you my temple of Vahla ha'nesh' she announced grandly. 'It has seen better days but keep in mind it was built when the best available shellfish for a beach barbeque were trilobites not shrimp.'
Enyo stood up again after tenderly stroking the little girls hair. 'Trilobites?' she asked. 'What did those taste like?' she asked.
'Needed tabasco but I never knew that until I possessed Fred' Illyria replied regretfully, 'and while we're on the subject, if I could make a Dimetrodon enchilda we could put Taco Bell out of business overnight' she stated with certainty.
30 kilometres North-East of Gonaïves – Haiti – March 2005
Amy couldn't help but be impressed by the mercenaries sheer ruthlessness as they simply gunned down anything that got in their way. She also noted that despite what you see in movies you really can't hit anything if you fire a rifle from the hip especially when your idea of aiming is to point the barrel of your weapon in roughly the right direction and close your eyes firing off an entire clip at once the recoil pulling the muzzle towards the sky as some of the Haitian's seemed to be doing in a state of sheer panic.
The panic was of course being aided and abetted by Amy who getting into the spirit of the occasion was casting illusions and fear spells around as she went. The already superstitious locals were easy prey to some flashy tricks and Amy had the skills to do a lot more than frighten some poor peasants with the most rudimentary educations and training.
Another guard slumped to the ground as Ashton put two rounds through his chest, they were so damn inept he was starting to think that if anything he'd over-planned this operation rather than gone off half-cocked which is what he might have thought he'd done facing a more competent foe. The element of surprise backed up by the mystical magic show and the occasional grenade had simply caused the guard's to fall apart with no semblance of order apparent among them as they fired wildly, only succeeding in attracting the attention of Perković who clinically dispatched them with his sniper rifle one at a time giving covering-fire to Ashton who was leading the tiny but surprisingly successful assault force.
'This is fun how much do they pay you to do this?' Amy asked, causing Ashton to nearly jump out of his skin, she had asked it telepathically which came as something of a surprise.
'More than I'd ask for' Ashton replied feeling very weird about it.
'You just need to think it' Amy told him. 'I could link you up with Janko but if he thinks in his own language we won't understand him, I don't do instantaneous translations' she explained.
'Leave the man his delusions some chick can't see into his head' Ashton thought back.
'Ooh I sense power' Amy thought, 'someone is calling upon the Loa.'
'How much power?' Ashton asked, firing a short burst as much designed to keep the level of confusion up as anything else.
'Lots' Amy answered, 'this Bokor is deep into the arts, strong with the spirits' she said.
'Sure you can take him?' Ashton checked.
'Please!' Amy responded, somehow managing to snort derision telepathically. 'You're talking to the only human walking this Earth that Darth Rosenberg is careful around' she declared.
As the firing died down, the people of the village having fled into the jungle along with several guards, the door to the mansion opened and a figure shuffled out, eyes glazed and pale as death despite being a black Haitian.
'Zombie' a real one, he's trying to spook us' Amy advised. 'You get fake zombies too here' she explained, people who are just drugged to make them slow-witted and suggestible' she continued. 'That thing is actually dead, like your girlfriend... only even dumber.'
'Hey!' Ashton objected.
'Dare you match yourself against he that can call upon Baron Samedi to rise the dead in his defence?' a deep voice rumbled from inside the mansion. Despite the fact it was broad daylight in the tropics a chill wind blew through the village and it seemed to Ashton and Perković that ice had formed in their bones.
'Ooh melodramatic' Amy responded walking towards the Mansion. 'I can put on a big scary
voice too if you want' she said, 'but I prefer to be just scary' she added.
'Keep her covered Jan' Ashton called out.
The zombie continued to shuffle forwards and was joined by two others, one looking very much the worse for wear as it must have had some time to decompose before it was raised. It really couldn't have been hygienic to keep it inside Amy decided. 'We want the slayer, that's all we want' she said.
'You're overconfident for a little white girl' a middle-aged man dressed in a black tuxedo and dark glasses wearing a white top hat declared following the zombies out of the mansion.
'Is this supposed to be role play?' Amy asked loudly, 'because if I knew we were supposed to come dressed like our sponsors I'd be wearing a white robe.'
'I sense the power in you' the Bokar Sorceror declared.
'Only as much as I wanted you to sense' Amy told him and spreading her arms wide she levitated off the ground with lightning flashing around her, the smell of ozone in the air as her hair shifted to jet black. 'Do you like the real me?' she asked. 'Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna I call upon your power to come to me' she thundered.
'Fucking hell' Ashton swore, even he could feel the mystical energy flowing from the girl.
The blood drained from the Bokors face as his eyes widened in terror. 'What are you?' he asked.
'Power' Amy replied, hell if he could do melodrama she could as well she decided. 'Do you wish to test your pathetic skills against the instrument of the goddess Hecate?' she asked, 'do you think your pretenders to dominion over the crossroads can match her?' she asked. 'You call upon spirits, I am in league with gods!' she declared, voice reverberating with the energies around her. Damn she was going to sound croaky tomorrow she decided.
'I am sworn to the service of my patron' the Bokor told her. 'I cannot...'
Amy slammed him backwards into the mansion wall next to the door with a surge of telekinetic force, the impact hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Oh yeah, I'm bad, she thought to herself happily.
'Kill her' the Bokor ordered and the three zombies moved to obey but had barely travelled any distance before a shot rang out blowing the brains of the first out of the back of its head, the undead creature collapsing to the ground in a strangely slow slump.
'Awesome' Ashton called out, 'put me in a shopping mall with plenty of ammo and a couple of hot girls and Dawn of the Dead is a much cooler film' he declared before two more shots rang out in quick succession dropping the other two zombies. 'That's just showing off Jan' the mercenary stated with a frown.
'Kill her?' Amy said, growling slightly. 'Did you order those pathetic creatures to kill me?' she asked with fury.
'Oh she's pissed now voodoo-boy' Ashton said, shaking his head disparagingly. 'Smooth move.'
'You'll kill me anyway' the Bokor stated.
'What makes you so sure?' Amy asked, then narrowed her eyes. 'What did you do to the girl?' she asked suspiciously.
'My patron's orders...' the Bokor said, his voice trailing off.
Amy used a spell Willow had taught her plus overwhelming mystical force to look into his mind, his will was already broken or she could not have managed it. 'The slayers will hunt your precious patron to the ends of the Earth' she told him. 'We can kill you quick if you want' she offered, 'they won't' she advised.
'Do it' the Bokor told her.
'You can kill him or I will' Amy told Ashton, the mercenary immediately taking aim and firing a single shot which took the life of the voodoo sorcerer.
'So why did I just off the guy in the sharp suit?' Ashton asked curiously as he lowered his rifle.
Amy settled to the ground and released her hold on the magicks, closing her eyes as a wave of nausea resulted from doing so. 'The girl is upstairs, you wait here' she said simply.
'What's going on?' Ashton wanted to know.
Amy turned to face him. 'Do you know what a vampire or demon would pay to screw a slayer?' she queried, 'What a man who owned one could ask in return, be that currency money or power?' she asked rhetorically. 'Just use some drugs and magic to keep her docile so she doesn't kill the client and pimp her out' she said. 'Slayers heal fast too so they get to beat her half to death afterwards as a bonus.'
Ashton blinked. 'Oh shit' he said quietly.
'And people say the demons are evil' Amy observed, 'they've got nothing on some of us humans' she opined.
Note from the Author:
Pretty dark at the end there I suppose but I could se it happening easily enough given the other things people do.
This fanfic runs on reviews.
