"Good evening, Buffy," greeted Giles when she answered the summons of her front doorbell. Twilight had just given way to full darkness and the young woman was gently highlighted by the porch light. He quickly perused the recovery of the teen's recent injuries. She had arrived at his flat last evening along with her police and vampire escorts. Both humans had appeared frightened and exhausted, on top of being in physical pain. He had been horrified at her injuries but thrilled that she survived her harrowing encounter with the Fly and his family.
"You are looking much better but I think it was an excellent idea to remain home from school today. From the bruises remaining on your face, the administration would have been less than helpful. Most likely suspect some sort of abuse at home. Even after a day of healing, the bruising still looks quite horrid."
"Why thanks, Giles. Glad to know I should be wearing a bag over my head," she grumbled.
"Oh... that isn't what I... that is you look lovely as usual... uh... that is..."
"It's okay. I get what you mean and realize you don't mean it in an icky way."
The teen stepped back and motioned her former watcher into the foyer. He entered without the verbal invitation which helped ensure a longer life when living on a hellmouth. As he entered, Buffy snagged a couple of the books from the huge pile in Rupert's arms. He then followed her into the dining room.
"I am not sure I understand why you wanted to meet here instead of the library," Giles commented as he set his burden on the table. The teen placed the other tomes beside his smaller pile. "There wouldn't have been any students or faculty to see your injuries. Only those in the know would, well, know."
"That would be my fault, Rupes," answered Spike from his position at the other end of the room. The vampire slouched in the wooden chair with his legs stretched to take up the maximum amount of space that his lean body would allow. His leather duster lay folded over the back of the chair back. The former Watcher felt more than a bit disturbed at how at home the notorious vampire appeared in the Summer's home.
"Buffy, there is a vampire in your dining room," Giles observed with concern.
Technically, there are two," Buffy cheerfully replied as if the additional vampire made the situation all better.
From behind her, Anya and Cordelia exited the kitchen discussing some fashion disaster combination that one of the teachers wore today. They each carried a bowl piled high with snacks. Behind them, Dalton followed with a tray which contained a tea pot, cups, cream, sugar, and lemon wedges as well as a variety of cold drinks. Xander brought up the rear of the food parade with a huge plate piled high with a bunch of sandwiches that he had just finished preparing.
"YO! G-Man! Welcome to the Buffster's Brain Bash," Xander greeted loudly. He slammed his contribution onto the center of the table with little regard for the sound or mess. Grabbing one of the ham and cheese sandwiches that he made with extra everything, the teen dropped into the open seat beside Willow. He chomped a bite while waiting for the expected scolding from one of the few grown up males in his life he actually respected and liked.
Giles rubbed his forehead over his glasses as if he was already developing a headache. All of the students, and Xander especially, often made him fear developing a migraine disorder. The British man never realized that the teens often clamored for his attention because they sorely lacked the parental attention they desired.
"I previously asked you not to call me that," he reminded the young man. The librarian took stock of the room which was filled well beyond its comfortable capacity. Cordy and Anya took seats on two high stools that were dragged from the kitchen and placed off to the side of the room. Like a reigning king, Spike retained ownership of the one end of the table. Drusilla sat beside him at an angle. Beside her, Oz listened to the former vampire describe the mud and muck that stained her pretty dress at Woodstock. Spike chuckled at the memory and added his own recollection of snacking on a flower child and spending hours on a secondary high.
"That's awful," Willow accused from her seat on Giles' end of the table. "How could you?"
"Can you say vampire?" the bleached blond scoffed.
Giles frowned.
"There were only three deaths recorded at Woodstock. Two drug related and one a strange tractor accident," the former Watcher shared. "I have never heard anything even hinting at vampire activity at the event."
"Of course not. That many happy meals just wandering around stoned and sleep deprived? Was a virtual smorgasbord. No need to kill anyone. Just keep a rolling sampling running for hours on end. No lasting effects beside a little anemia."
"How did you keep from dusting during the day?" Oz questioned as he tried to work the logistics in his mind.
Spike chuckled.
"VW vans aren't just good for horny teens," he offered. "Some dark curtains, a mattress and some sweet company makes for an enjoyable little daylight get-away. Could still enjoy the music. Even got to hear Hendrix close out the event despite being well into Monday morning before he finally got to play. It was far from the worst place Dru and I slept away a couple days."
Anya and Cordelia snickered while Oz nodded in understanding and a touch of musician envy.
"Yes. Quite fascinating, but not, I believe, why we are here," stated Giles as he tried to gain some semblance of control over the stroll down vampire memory lane.
"We're just waiting for Ms. Calendar yet and then we can get started," Buffy replied as she grabbed a can of Diet Coke and a handful of Cheetos. She took the open seat across from Drusilla and within arms reach of Spike. It seemed that no one else wanted to sit quite so close to the unrepentant vampire.
Almost on cue, the doorbell rang. After tossing a puffed cheese snack into the air and catching it in her mouth, Buffy went to answer the call. As she passed into the foyer, a Cheeto bounced off Xander's nose and hit a startled Willow.
"So unfair," the junior lamented as he sheepishly snagged the snack from his best friends lap. He plopped it directly into his mouth without another try. "Slayers have an unfair advantage."
Spike snorted as he grabbed one of the orange snacks from Buffy's pile. He tossed it twice as high as Buffy's trick and captured it easily with his tongue. He smirked at the annoyed teen as he leaned back into his chair in petty triumph.
"Show off," grumbled Harris as his best friend covered her mouth to catch the giggle that threatened to escape. She didn't want to hurt his feelings but the petty one-up-manship seemed strange in a vampire who was over a hundred years old. She would have thought maturity would have lessened the childish behavior.
"Well, guess we have all arrived. Antonio won't be here. He had to take a sick day from work and is re-cooping at his apartment," Buffy offered as she showed Ms. Calendar into the room and motioned her towards the seat on the corner from Giles' place and beside Oz.
When Buffy resumed her seat, Rupert again asked why they were not meeting at the library.
"The library may have your books but it certainly isn't a very secure location," Spike replied. "It's a wonder you're all alive. Meeting in the open where any little beast-y could have a nibble."
Dru chimed in with a sing-song voice. "Nibble, nibble like a mouse. Who's that nibbling on my house?"
She giggled then added more seriously. "Grandfather is so very angry at Our William. All the Daughter's Dollies needed safe keeping."
"Yeah... what she said," Buffy confirmed. "The Fly was sure to tell the Master that Spike helped save us from being dinner last night. He won't be winning any bad guy popularity contests any time soon. I figured that since mom is still out of town on business then home seemed the safest option. No invite, no vamps. Well, present company excluded."
Giles nodded in understanding and perfect agreement. He fleetingly wondered why he had not thought of that danger associated with meeting in the library. Despite having to defend themselves a number of times in the school, they still seemed to congregate there for after hours research and planning. He vowed to put a stop to the practice immediately despite realizing that it most likely mean they would transition to meeting at his flat.
"So why are we here?" the former Watcher questioned as he fixed himself a cup of tea. The rich brew pleased his palette. It was obvious Buffy had not brewed it. He would have to compliment whoever prepared it once their meeting was finished.
Unaware of Rupert's wandering thoughts, Buffy explained that Willow suggested a meeting of the minds to make sure that everyone had the same information. The redhead hoped that if everyone shared the bits and pieces of their understanding of the current situation with both the Master and Buffy's status as the daughter, then they might be better prepared for danger. Willow had also hoped that Spike might even have a little more insight into the parts of Drusilla's ramblings that they didn't understand since their little meeting in the library on Monday morning was not as fruitful as they had desired. In fact, the students feared they were more confused than they were before taking her input into consideration.
"Excellent idea Willow," Ms. Calendar offered as she settled into her seat and pulled out her rather battered orange folder. With her pen at the ready, she looked down the table expectantly. Everyone else did the same thing. The room remained eerily silent as each individual glanced at the faces of each other person present. No one said anything.
"Well, this is getting us nowhere," Anya stated succinctly when she became fed up with no one offering any input. "Perhaps we could start with a recap for those of us who came to the party late?"
"We could start with the prophesy stuff," Buffy suggested with a pleading look at Giles.
"Of course. The prophesy..."
Ms. Calendar handed him her typed page with Brother Luca's message. After a quiet thank you, Giles read the prophesy aloud.
"Angels watch and Demons do but The Daughter shall do instead of watch. Grace returned. The Fatling discarded. With Judgement, the Cat, gifted the first for The Mother, the last for The Father and seven for the Stains. Darkness takes me; may God have mercy on my soul. This was Brother Luca's last message that Ms. Calendar was able to..."
"Here now," Spike interrupted. "This Brother Luca chap wouldn't happen to have been Italian, would he?"
"Yes, he is," Jenny confirmed.
"From Cortona?"
The computer teacher nodded.
"Ugh..." the vampire grumbled as he wiped his hand over his face. "Was, not is. He was definitely more than a bit touched. Me and Dru met up with him. The whole Angels watch thing. Was part of a conversation we had. There was this stone angel figure above us on a building. It was a whole..." Spike looked a bit apprehensively as he glanced at Buffy. He hated to admit that Dru ate one of their clues.
"We get it," Buffy stressed. She really didn't want to hear the rest of his story since she had a good idea how it ended. She might be willing to accept the possible potential in being friends with Spike but reminders of his vicious, recent past would not help matters. "Skip the gory details and I will skip the retaliatory staking."
"Skip to the end," quoted Xander in his best fake prince voice. Oz smirked and Willow smacked her best friend lightly in the chest.
"Anyway," Spike continued after rolling his eyes at the teens. Although he would have appreciated Oz's ever growing Monty Python joke quote about Buffy's death, he did not recognize the one Xander shared. He refocused on the matter at hand. "When I first met him, he asked me if I was the wolf. Then a couple other animals. Don't remember what they were but then he finally decided that I was the fatling. Or at least I was until he said that the word tilted and..."
"Choices and chosen," Dru whispered. She looked across the table with eyes that only seemed to see the former Slayer. "Muddled and puddled and my gift to Our William."
"Huh?" Buffy replied with a perplexed expression and a tilt of her head. Despite Drusilla living in her house, the teen still had a hard time understanding about half of what she said.
"Aw, Poodle..." Spike muttered as he stood to pace for a moment. He stopped behind Drusilla and wrapped his arms around her shoulders while pressing his forehead to the top of her head. Ignoring his audience, he breathed deeply before lifting his head. "I think Dru has been seeing a bunch of stuff that could or would have happened. In her own way, she might be trying to find the best path for us all to follow."
"Are we talking different realities? Does one of them have falling donuts instead of rain? I could totally go for a world that rained donuts."
"I somehow doubt Drusilla plans to give T-rex a cold, Xan," Buffy chided before reaching across the table to place her fingers over the English woman's shaking hands.
"I love little pussy, Her coat is so warm, And if I don't hurt her, She'll do me no harm. So I'll not pull her tail, Or drive her away, But pussy and I Together will play. She will sit by my side, And I'll give her some food, And she'll like me because I'm gentle and good."
Buffy smiled softly.
"Yes Dru. The kitty likes you," the teen offered as the figurative light bulb flickered above her head. She glanced to Oz. "Doggie collars and yarn for kitties."
Oz nodded. He gently pressed his hand against his slowly healing werewolf bite while he silently wished he had gotten that little scrap of insight before being attacked by a hairy monster that might have infected him with a severe reaction to the full moon.
"Oh! Oh! A thought!" Willow suddenly shared as she bounced in her chair in her own little seat dance. She squeaked nervously when everyone turned their attention to her.
"Um... yeah... wasn't there a bunch of animals in the doom and gloom stuff when Brother Luca was shedding light on Buffy's prophesy in the Pergamum Codex?"
Ms. Calendar confirmed the it had something to do with a portend pulled from Isaiah.
"Isaiah 11:6," Offered Giles as he recalled the exact passage. "The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf, and lion and the fatling together, and the little child to lead them."
"Great... now you have the animals," Cordy complained. "At this rate we might know what is what by Christmas... of next year."
She turned to Anya and asked why she was even there. The former vengeance demon reminded the cheerleader that she didn't know how to drive. For some reason, Anya's selfish explanation seemed perfectly acceptable to Cordelia. It followed her kind of logic.
The two girls realized that everyone else in the room was staring at them. Unlike Willow, these two did not mind the attention except for the fact that it further stalled the brain storming process. Cordelia waved her hand dismissively and told them to get back to work. From his corner by the kitchen doorway, Dalton snickered into his hand but then became self conscious when folks glanced in his direction. Isaiah shared more in common with Willow. He quietly apologized and ducked his head in hopes of avoiding censure.
Feeling that everyone was skittering far off track, Giles called for everyone's attention. He established the speculation that if Buffy was the cat in the second prophesy then it would stand that she might be the leopard in the first one.
"Dru is the lamb," Spike offered as he glared at Oz who he assumed was the wolf given the dog collar Drusilla insisted needed given as a gift. The vamp did not appreciate the connotations that went with that pairing though.
Xander volunteered to be the kid if Buffy was the leopard. Everyone broke into small conversations about who they thought was who in the portend. Willow pouted that there were not enough parts to play for everyone involved which led to Xander repeating his desire to be the baby goat. Giles once again attempted to redirect the focus to a more productive discussion but no one seemed to listen to his blustering.
"Wouldn't it behoove us to focus on what the cat is being gifted and who the Mother, Father and Stains are?" Dalton offered timidly although he never expected anyone to pay him any attention.
"HEY!" Buffy yelled over the hubbub. "Book Vamp has a good suggestion."
Her statement was punctuated by a fire siren sounding in the distance. It was perfectly timed as if she had hit the buzzer on a game show before blurting out her answer. Moving on before anyone else could jump back into their discussions, Buffy asked Drusilla if she had any hints for the rest of the prophesy. The dark haired woman closed her eyes and gently pulled on a piece of her hair. She hummed a soft tune for a few seconds before opening her eyes when Spike gently unwound her tresses from her fingers before she became upset. If that happened, she would most likely start screaming and flailing in a bid to untangle herself.
"Mother and Daughter," She whispered. She then crossed herself as if in prayer while murmuring Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
"So is the first gift simply confirmation of Buffy's return from the cusp of death?" Jenny asked.
When Giles verbally prodded Drusilla to see if she could agree or disagree with the speculation, the former vampire covered her ears and started to rock in her seat. Faster than anyone other than Buffy could even hope to move, Spike scooped his distressed love into his arms. Her chair clattered to the floor as he started whispering soothing words into her ear. Meeting Buffy's gaze and ignoring everyone else he saw as superfluous, William informed the teen that they were not getting anything else from Drusilla now or in the new future. He had seen this pattern enough times in the past to know that she would soon be incoherent and possibly inconsolable until she finally exhausted herself and fell asleep.
When Buffy nodded in understanding, Spike swept from the room. He could be heard stomping up the steps as he took Drusilla to the bedroom Joyce had given to the former vampire.
Giles pulled his glasses from his face. He tapped them gently against his hip.
"Well, I believe that might signal the end of this... er... brain storming session," he proposed. Although they hadn't gotten as much accomplished as he expected, they did seem on the right path. Hopefully, they would be able to focus on the Master and his minions the next time that they met. "I am fairly certain the Grace returns is merely in reference to Buffy's return. Unless anyone else might have an idea of what the Stains are."
"I am unsure about the Stains but the Grace might also be linked with Drusilla's resurrection," Anya offered cheerfully.
Giles dutifully thanked her for the suggestion and Anya preened with the praise. She smiled brilliantly at the librarian as she reminded everyone that she was always interested in helping because she was a normal, helpful type teenager.
"She's still weird," Xander whispered to Willow before shrugging. "But at least she is nicer than Cordy."
"I heard that Xander Harris," snapped Cordelia.
As the two classmates slipped into the expected snarky exchange, Dalton cautiously approached Oz. The vampire slid a book onto the table so that it rested in front of him. The timid vampire figured that the mellow teenager was his safest bet for sharing. Most of the others at the table scared him a lot. Some of them were too loud and others made him worry about possible dusting. He might be a coward but he was an intelligent coward.
Oz noticed that the book was opened to a well worn page and was written in a language he definitely didn't recognize. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head as if to ask why Dalton was giving him the book.
"What's that?" Buffy asked as she leaned over the table to look at the book. Elbows on the table, she scanned the gobble-d-gook that she stood no chance of understanding. The Entity didn't give her language skills any type of boast when it resurrected her. She was still only scraping by in English class and miserably failing her French elective.
Scared of the former Slayer and the possible repercussions of telling her about the passage, Dalton stepped back and attempted to hide himself behind Oz. The short teen did not make for very good cover but he was better than nothing.
"You know, B-Vamp, you really need to get over this overdone fear," Buffy chided as she slid the strange book towards Giles whose attention was duly captured by the sight of the old tome. "You keep bagging it and you have no reason to fear my stake."
Isiah still did not appear convinced.
"Hmm, Aromanian?" Giles questioned although he was pretty sure that he was correct. His fingers skimmed across the page as he silently worked at translating the text. He was a bit out of practice but was pretty sure that he understood the over all context of the writing. "The Trial of Cyperion?"
"Rite not trial," corrected Isiah automatically. Timid might be his base tendency but he couldn't stand to have translation treated any way other than with perfection.
"Ah yes... well then, why do you find this rite important?
"The Master plans to use it as a way to release himself."
His simple statement grabbed everyone's attention. They dropped their bickering session and crowded around Giles.
With worry visibly evident, Giles scanned the page as quickly as possible. Horrified, he lifted his head and demanded if the Order had all the components and a spell caster.
"Unfortunately, yes," Dalton whispered. He was positive his assistance in discovering the ritual and securing some of the needed requirements would definitely warrant a painful death. Pessimism was alive and running rampant in his psyche.
"The ritual is linked to a lunar cycle?" asked Rupert.
Again, Isiah nodded nervously
"The new moon occurs in about two weeks," the librarian commented. He had been paying particular attention to lunar cycles and issues in the last two days as he sought information about Oz's possible acquisition of a werewolf curse.
"That gives us time to prepare," Buffy stated with an unexpected bit of pep in her voice. She laid her hand on Dalton's arm and smiled encouragingly. "Thanks, Dalton!"
Although utterly amazed that he wasn't being punished, the vampire returned the smile with a small one of his own. His muscles relaxed as relief flooded his system. It was the best Isiah had felt in ages. In fact, it might be the first time he felt truly at ease since becoming a vampire. He pushed his glasses more firmly into place.
"I can help look for a way to stop the rite," he offered and was tickled when he received nothing but encouragement from the offer. His grin grew a bit more. He always appreciated an excuse to dig through old books. As he started to speculate on possible places to begin, Dalton realized that he might actually like being one of the so called white hats. His smile grew just a bit more at that discovery. He always did want a place to fit. How would he have every expected to finally find that elusive place as a vampire in the company of a large collection of vampire slayers. The irony offered nothing but amusement.
"I completed the addresses and contact information. Once the bank has the final compilation, they will begin issuing the cashier checks. I have the letter prepared on behalf of the Council and ready to be printed on their letterhead to accompany the checks." confirmed Lawson as he pushed back from the table where he had finally finished sorting through decades of slayers and potentials and linking them with any family who still existed. "Even with sending a mil to each of the families of the murdered slayers and a quarter to each family with a potential who was taken from their households, we still have money remaining."
Eubha hummed softly in thought as she absently pushed pages around the table. When she felt a tiny prick like static electricity, her finger stopped on one of the sheets. She pulled it loose and quickly scanned the information.
"Who would have thought that a Slayer would have a kid?" she wondered in amazement. "Wasn't even born before she was called. Impressive. She carried and delivered him while still performing her duty. Send this one, Robin Wood, a full million. He lost his mother after all."
She paused.
"He was raised by his mother's watcher after she died."
The fae snorted.
"Not your normal kind of watcher either. He helped her escape the council after her pregnancy became known and she was subjected to something they called Tento di Cruciamentum."
Having learned a bit about her vampire lover thus recognizing his expression of confusion, Eubha explained. "It's a horrid bit of an idea. A true test of torture. Slayers who reach the age of maturity are stripped of their powers, locked away, and pitted against the harshest vampire the Council could lay their hands upon. The death rate is, as expected, quite high."
"If you ask me, seems counter-productive. These girls seem to be called between fourteen and sixteen so if they make it to eighteen, they must be better than average, right?"
Eubha nodded as she slid onto Sam's lap. She danced her fingers through his dark hair. An affectionate smile crossed her lips as she leaned close and nipped lightly at the top of his ear. With a chuckle at his little flinch of surprise, the fae continued with her explanation. She went on to describe how the older a slayer becomes, the more self assured and commanding their personalities normally develop. As they mature, they start making their own decisions and not blindly taking their Watcher's words as gospel. It was so much easier to dispose of the emerging adult slayer and start over with another more easily influenced child.
Lawson could not believe the stupidity and arrogance of the Watcher's Council. Losing experienced soldiers to replace with green recruits was not how you win a war. There was a reason the Navy normally promoted seamen based on merit. They wanted to keep the best enlisted and fighting for their victory.
Sam reached around the gorgeous creature in his lap and shuffled through the papers again.
"Crowley. Think the gentleman who raised the Slayers kid is still alive."
He pulled a sheet free.
"Yep, still alive. Well, barely. He is in a nursing home in Beverly Hills. We could send him some money too. Share a bit more of the wealth. Think there are a couple other ex-Watchers who were cut and burned by the Council when they were found lacking in pulling the party line."
Nodding, Eubha snagged the paper from Sam's hand. She tossed it over her shoulder. Shifting on his lap, the fae teased her pointer finger slowly down his chest. Although the vampire's body showed its appreciation of the attention, his eyes flickered back towards the table and the seemingly endless work this campaign entailed. There were still so many details to handle.
The fae growled lowly and reached for the vamp's chin. She forcefully shifted his attention back to her face.
"You really are quite driven for a blood sucker," she observed.
He shrugged.
"Guess I just like having a mission to pursue."
Eubha stood. Her whole body shivered and energy gathered around her. It beat in time with her heart. Her floor length hair appeared to grow in reverse. As it shortened, the hair lightened to a blond so pale it was practically white. Curves shifted and she lost some of her willowy height. Her skin darkened to a healthy tan to go with the new beach bunny appearance.
"Hmm, perhaps you would prefer to pursue a bit of something new at the moment?" She enticed as she stepped backwards towards the hallway and possible escape. She squealed in excitement as Lawson shifted his own face. The work on the table lay forgotten. Fangs and ridges in place, the vampire chuckled before standing to chase the now fleeing fae.
The beauty made it down the hallway and partway up the stairway before she was swept into the demon's arms. Instead of clutching her to his chest in a romantic manner, Sam tossed her roughly over his shoulder and bounded up the remained steps. Entering the first bedroom on the floor, he tossed the fae onto the bed. She didn't even have time to bounce twice before he loomed over his victim. He snarled in her face as his hands began divesting her of clothes. Buttons popped and material shredded under demon claws. Eubha hissed at the cuts and scratches Sam left behind in his haste. The tang of blood scented lightly in the air as the fae grappled with the vamp's belt and then his button and zipper. As her hand finally reached its destination, Eubha screamed as Sam sunk fangs into her neck.
Her blood had barely touched his tongue when she violently tossed him across the room. He slammed against the wall and raised his hand to his lips. He found the fae's blood dripping down his chin. His game face shifted. A riot of emotions bombarded him as he met the intense gaze of his momentary victim. The fae pressed her hand against the oozing bite.
"What was..." Eubha started only to have her eyes roll up into her skull. She began to shake uncontrollably and collapsed lifelessly onto the bed.
Across the room, Sam's eyes likewise rolled as his muscles started to seize. He dropped roughly to the ground.
As their bodies were wracked with muscle spasms, their minds shared a vision.
Together the pair stood in an alley. They were assaulted with the odor of rotten food, unclean bodies and feces. In the distance, traffic sounds and a police siren could be heard. Tucked between two huge piles of trash, a wrinkled old woman huddled under a newspaper. She curled into fetal position and pulled the open newspaper over her head like a child hides under a blanket. The newspaper shook as the woman underneath cried.
"I'm no one," she repeated between sobs.
The scene slowly faded to darkness.
The fae and vampire opened their eyes. They groaned in unison.
"What the hell was that?" Lawson grumbled as he gingerly pushed himself into a sitting position. The room swam and he leaned against the support of the wall. He closed his eyes and moaned.
On the bed, Eubha pushed herself into a similar position against the headboard.
"That was a warning," the fae answered.
"Warning of what? Not to bite you?"
"No. Although I recommend you not do that again without warning me first. I am not dinner. Dessert, fine. The main course, absolutely not."
"Anyway, the warning was two fold. First, we need to be done with our campaign against the Council within six months. Second, we will need to relocate to Los Angeles."
Sam opened his eyes but quickly closed them again as even the dull filtered light from outside the closed curtains just made the migraine worse. Despite the agony in his head, the vamp couldn't help but share his skepticism. "How did you get to those conclusions from that bit of whatever it was?"
"Practice, my dear little vampire," she replied confidently even though the fae felt every bit as wretched as he did. "The newspaper was the Los Angeles Times and it was dated for June 12 of next year."
"Well color me impressed. I didn't notice any of those details."
The vampire crawled across the floor and painfully leveled himself onto the mattress.
"Think you might open the curtains for me. I suspect dusting would have to hurt less than this does."
"Such a drama queen," scolded Eubha as she shifted to lay more comfortably on the bed. She winced when slowly healing skin protested the change in position.
"Sorry about that," her bed mate offered as his fingers brushed over the bloody, ruined tatters of her shirt.
"No worries," she slurred sleepily as she shifted her head to rest on Sam's stilled chest. Without another word, the woman slipped into a deeply recuperative slumber. Visions always took a toll on her and sharing it unfortunately didn't lesson the effects any. Lawson listened to the gentle slowing of Eubha's breathing. A strange warmth that he would almost want to call contentment settled over his body. Taking a moment to enjoy the foreign feeling, Sam smiled softly. He pressed a soft kiss onto the top of his companion's head before joining her in sleep.
The Master glared at the teen vampire who smartly didn't approach too closely when he reported that they did not find Spike or Dalton at the latter vampire's cramped apartment. Eric watched as the Master stormed around his magical prison screaming and generally acting like a three year old in the midst of a tantrum. Rocks flew and shattered against the wall. Ancient relics, the trappings of the Order of Aurelius, crumbled under the onslaught. The violence didn't end even when Eric attempted to placate the elderly vampire with the details of the flaming ruin that remained as the the only reminder of Dalton's home. Unappeased, Heinrich ranted about the likelihood of the turncoat vampires and their white hatted allies ruining his chance to escape.
"I can help with that," offered a weakened voice before its owner fell into a fit of coughing.
The Master froze for a moment before turning to assess his prisoner. He steepled his long claws and danced his fingertips against each other as he considered the unexpected offer.
"Why would you help me?" he cautiously inquired as he approached the pale, shaking shadow. Ethan shifted so that he was resting better against the rocky wall before meeting the evil demon's gaze. The British man ached with hunger and dehydration. He desperately dreamed of a shower and change of clothes as well as the escape of his shackles.
"Contrary to popular belief, I don't have a death wish," Rayne whispered with a voice grown gravelly from poor conditions and lack of recent use.
His vampire captor crouched in front of the prisoner.
"What do you propose?"
"You need a distraction. Something simple but powerful enough to keep them busy at the crucial moment. I can deliver that with the proper incentive."
"What do you want?" the Master questioned suspiciously. He could not imagine there was anything he could offer his prisoner besides the temporary promise of his pitiful life.
As expected, Ethan requested exactly that. He didn't want to die in this damp cavern on the mouth of hell. Heinrich grinned evilly.
"I could be persuaded to provide you the opportunity of escape," he offered freely. It made no difference to him. Once the Hellmouth opened, the entire world would be slowly annihilated. The Master doubted even a powerful sorcerer could make much of a difference in stemming the tide of destruction that would wash outward after his release.
"Agreed. Now what do you need to make your little distraction a reality?"
He considered two different spells which might serve the desired purpose. The mage listed a number of items. Some would be needed to for the actual spell he proposed but others were to help him regain his strength. He would need to be in better health if they ever expected him to properly perform both spells so close together in time. Eagerly, the Master agreed to all his demands. Setting the new plan of action in motion, he sent forth Eric and a number of the Fly's children to collect the requested items.
Giddy at his returned promise of escape, the Master slung himself onto the cracked remains of a throne that had miraculously survived the ancient vampire's often destructive fits.
"Fool," hissed another voice. For once, this prisoner's disgust targeted someone other than Nest.
"SILENCE CURR!" shouted the Master as he tore a piece of rock from the wall and flung it at the chained form.
Angel flinched as his shackles prevented him from avoiding the blow from the stone. He wiped the blood from the his forehead but kept his attention on Ethan.
"You can't trust him," the souled vampire warned.
Rayne snorted.
"I don't have much of a choice, now do I?"
Chapter End Notes:
Xander quotes from the Princess Bride (1987) and takes the raining donuts from Treehouse of Horror V (Time and Punishment, 1994 Simpson's Halloween special)
