Chapter 3: A New Hope

*Jenny Calendar POV*

I pulled my camera from my purse and aimed it at my Starbucks cup in the sand. The ocean breeze forced my long hair into my face. I closed my eyes, putting my camera back into my purse, and took a deep breath. I fixed my hair into one long braid over my shoulder.

"I have worked too hard today not to get this damn photo." I vented into the wind.

Opening my eyes, I pulled my camera from my purse and tried again. The colorful lights from the sunset bounced around the waves. My cup was off-center to the dark pinks and greens that intermingled in the sky.

"Perfect."

I moved the photo from my camera onto my Instagram account via Bluetooth, and I made sure to tag ThankYourBarista for this coffee. We were partnering up this week to try and expand our influence. Our project was to raise money for art programs in the Los Angeles County school district. ThankYourBarista was known on social media for his artwork on his Starbucks cups, and I was known on Instagram for my dark photography. My personal goal was to use this project to increase my followers by 2000, and I had already exceeded it with one day left into our partnership. It was clear to me that ThankYourBarista and I would have to work together again.

He's been making a living off of his Instagram account for years. I'm only five years into it and still learning, but I find collaborations to be the most educational for my success.

I was trying to take a beach selfie when my phone began to vibrate. I froze for a brief moment. No one ever called me. It was instantaneous for my body to jump into alert mode, as it must be an emergency. I looked at my screen, but the glare was too intense for me to see who it was. I turned my back to the sun and, to my surprise, saw the name Edward Charles lighting up my screen. Maybe it was a butt dial? I pressed the talk button and hesitated to pull the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Calendar? Is that you?" His voice was hushed, but even in his hushed tone, I could hear the sound of an old familiar friend.

"Charles?" My voice cracked.

"I-I'm sorry for being so..." He stopped.

I pushed my lips together. I didn't know how to have this conversation either. It had been so long.

"I'm sorry it's late."

"It's okay. I know you're probably on Watcher time." I joked. I regretted it immediately when he didn't even give a courtesy laugh. It was an uncomfortable conversation. It was what had driven us apart. Old memories flooded through my mind. "Why are you calling?"

"I would like to catch up."

"I'm not coming back." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

I could hear him take a deep breath, "I know. I promise. I would just like to see you."

I never trusted the Watcher's Council. If he was calling me now, they probably knew where I was. But why did they want me back?

I had grown accustomed to the nighttime breeze of Hermosa Beach, but the chills invaded my body anyway.

He continued, "You were right… about everything."

I know I was right.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I would just like to talk. I don't know if this connection is safe, can we meet in person? You name the place where ever you feel safe Calendar, and I'll meet you there."

"Look, I'm not exactly in the mother country..."

"I know. I-I mean, I follow you on Instagram. Just name the place and -"

"The Poop Deck."

"What?"

"The Poop Deck. You're the Watcher. Figure it out and be there. I won't stay there long."

"Understood."

The connection ended, and selfie mode popped back up on my phone. I looked terrified, so I closed my screen. The sand moved with my feet as I walked straight ahead to the bar. I tagged it in my last photo. He should be able to find it. The demons that ran the joint were powerful, and they owed me a favor. They were like my family. I kept them safe when the wrong people came knocking during their kitten poker hours, and I know they would keep me safe if I asked. I felt safe here. I always have.

I sat at a barstool facing the ocean and ordered a beer. I watched people and their dogs pass by as the beach turned dark, and its nightlife began to flourish. I tried to calculate the last time I had seen Edward.

Edward watched nervously behind him as he walked across the sandy path to the bar. He was so long and skinny. He looked the same, just so much older. His hair had darkened with age and was less of a curly mess on his head than it had been. He saw me through the window, and we both paused to recognize each other. He kept his face clean, but the outline of facial hair he could grow outlined his jaw. We should both be turning 30 this year.

Twenty years. I haven't seen Charles's face in twenty years.

I pressed my hand against my cheek to stop a tear from falling. A bicyclist almost ran him over on the path, so he hurried inside. I laughed, and his grin mimicked mine. My cousin Clem was the bouncer tonight. He was a sizeable fleshy demon that got a lot of attention from the locals. He looked the part of a big tough bouncer, but he was indeed a teddy bear. Clem I.D.'d Charles at the door and looked over at me for permission to let him in. I nodded, and Clem stepped aside. Charles stared at Clem in awe, and I had to get up and drag him away from the door.

"You are aware that is a demon, correct?"

I dragged him over to his seat while he kept his eyes on Clem.

"And?" Charles turned to look at me with a solemn expression. I rolled my eyes at him, "Sorry I don't have the same rigid ways of looking at demons like your Council does. He's like a cousin to me."

"A cousin?"

"Don't forget… I'm part demon too, Charles." My patience was wearing thin, "That's why I left. The Watcher's Council would never have accepted me."

He nodded, looking back at me with sadness in his eyes. "I know. I remember."

He reached out for my hand and held it in his. We used to be best friends, and this small gesture didn't feel foreign to me. My hands remembered his, and I squeezed it back. It had been long since I've had a human friend.

I remember the last time Charles held my hand just like this.

My dad slammed a large glass vase in the living room and shouted at my mom. Charles and I could over-hear them from upstairs. They didn't know we were home.

"Our daughter is part Keres demon?! You slept with a Keres demon?!"

"I didn't know he was a Keres demon."

My dad laughed. It was an evil laugh, but I could feel his pain.

My parents had been worried because they said my eyes change color when I'm sad. To be honest, I wasn't surprised when they brought a dark magic warlock home to examine me. A part of me had never fit in. I was much more drawn to the darker parts of human existence. Pain and suffering were beautiful emotions to me. No one else seemed to agree. I guess they got news back from the warlock. I was a part-demon.

"I don't even know what problem to unravel first." He shouted. Tears fell from my eyes, but I couldn't make a sound. If he knew I was home, he would stop, but I needed to know more. "Good luck getting that demon into the Watcher's Council now. They will kill her as soon as they find out."

"She didn't want to go anyway." She said quickly, "She cried to me yesterday when I told her about the Slayer. She kept saying it was wrong. She has been refusing to go to the academy because she's scared. Could you imagine? How embarrassing! She acts like they are the monsters. Ha! But, if the Council found out we hid this from them, they will be sure to kill us too."

"I can't believe you've dragged me into this!" His hands never left his face as he shouted, "I worked so hard to be where I am in the Council, and you had to be a whore and bring that little bitch into the world. You both are going to mess it all up for me."

My whole body shivered in fear. Those were my parents, and they loved me. Why were they suddenly acting like I was a whole different person? I was the Jenny I always was. I didn't know I was a demon. It wasn't my fault.

Charles grabbed my hands and looked at me. I wanted him to make it all go away. Charles didn't think I was different, and I wanted everyone to see me that way too.

"We have to kill her. It's the only way we can get out of this."

The moment these words left my mother's lips, my life was never the same.

I couldn't breathe. Charles dragged me away from the balcony of the stairs and into my room. I stood frozen, where he left me when his hands left mine. He shuffled around the room. I stood in a daze. I refused to believe those were my parents. I wanted to believe they were possessed. But it wasn't them who were evil. It was me.

"Come on, Jenny. We're going now."

Charles never called me Jenny. He retook my hand. My backpack was on his back, and my stuff scattered around the room. We were ten years old when we jumped off my roof and ran to our secret treehouse on the river. Charles didn't care that I was a demon. He was my best friend and just cared that I was alive. Every time I cried, he held my hands.

I looked down at our hands now and felt safe. Charles protected me. I didn't know who this man was now, but my heart trusted him. I looked back into his eyes, and I tried to stay alert, but I could only see the ten-year-old boy that save my life. If the Watcher's Council came here to kill me, this would be their perfect moment. I felt safe.

"Jenny don't be afraid." He said slowly, as he rubbed his fingers over my hands, "I would never hurt you."

"I know." I cried. I grasped onto his hands tighter until I could feel his pulse. His pulse was as nervous as mine. There was so much to say, but I couldn't get any words out. Instead, I sat there and cried into his shoulder for longer than I care to admit. He held me.

When my sobs calmed down, I pulled away from him and took a long drink from my beer. I placed my mug slowly back onto the table and finally said, "Why didn't you come with me?"

"Come with me."

I had been living in the treehouse for a few months. My parents didn't try hard to look for me. Charles told me that they just told everyone I had died, and they even paid for a funeral. My father is in prison now for the murder of my mother, not long after my fake funeral. I had no one left. It was Charles who kept bringing me food, and it was Charles that convinced me that although part of me has demon blood, I wasn't a monster.

"What if we told the Council you are alive?"

"You heard my parents. They'll kill me."

He shook his head, "I can't believe the council would be so mean."

"I do." I said, tossing a rock across the river. I felt it in my bones. There was so much about the Council that didn't sit right with me. "Charles, I need to run, and I can't live in this treehouse forever."

"I know."

"Come with me." I turned to him, and his eyes were wide with fear. "Please."

"No." He said flatly. "I'm destined to be a Watcher. My family has protected generations of Slayers. It's important work, and I'm going to be next. I want to protect the Slayer. I feel it in my bones. It's my destiny."

"I can't believe you!" I shouted at him, "Do you want to work for a group of people that would kill me?"

"Jenny… I've told you, the Council is good people! They would never kill a good person. I'm sorry about what has happened to you but-"

"Leave!" I cried at him. I picked up a rock at threw it at his legs. He danced around it, so I picked up some more, "Don't come back!" I shouted louder I tossed the rocks at his legs, "I'm leaving tonight and never coming back!" He gave me one last desperate look before turning away.

He came back later that night as I was about to leave. My spirits lifted. He was going to go with me. He walked over toward me, keeping his eyes down. He put a wad of cash and a burner phone in my hands. He didn't say anything or explain where he got it. He just handed it over to me and turned away. It took me a moment to realize he wasn't coming with me. I didn't let myself cry.

"Fine! I don't need you anyway, Charles!"

But I didn't know how to survive without him.

I've wanted to be mad at him, but I couldn't be. He had done so much to protect me, and I couldn't ask him for more. But now he's just shown up, and I feel like I'm ten years old again with too much on my shoulders.

"I didn't leave with you because I wasn't as smart as you."

I laughed.

"Tell me about your life here..." He said softly, "I want to know everything. The last message you sent me was that you were safe. I haven't heard from you since. And yet, you never changed your number?"

"I couldn't." I admitted, "Part of me was always hoping you would call again."

The waiter came over and brought me another beer. She took Charles's drink order and walked away again.

"Well… I made it to New York. I remembered a story about a slayer that used to live there. I was so lost. But I thought if I couldn't work with the Watcher's Council, I would find my own way to help the Slayer." I smiled, remembering my childish dreams. "I lured a bunch of vampires into an alley next to a nightclub, and I was planning to take them out."

"Ambitious."

"Very. I just thought my demon side would take over when I needed it. I wanted to learn what I was. I was dumb. The loose skinned demons found me and saved my life. I never knew demons could be caring and gentle. The Council never let me believe that was possible. But they took me in. Gave me a home." I smiled, "They are my real parents."

I looked over at Charles, who was just looking over at the ocean, not giving anything away. So I continued.

"They moved us over to California because it freaked them out when I told them a Slayer had been through New York. Plus, I was bugging them that I wanted to go to Disneyland and they had family that lived out along the ocean. They bought a photo development store in Beverly Hills and raised me in it until that went out of business. I learned a lot about photography. I even build custom cameras, which is the secret to my success. And now I'm a savvy social media influencer."

"So, did you like Disneyland?"

"We all did."

"You went together?!" He sounded shocked.

"We got a few funny looks. But my parents were pros at blending in. They taught me how to blend in to stay safe. Going to Disneyland, it was the best trip we ever had."

Charles leaned back in his chair with a great huff. It was a lot to absorb for a Watcher. I'm sure so much of my life went against his teachings. I gave him his time to absorb it. But it was my life, and I've learned not to apologize for any of it.

"I think I have one photo of my old toad. But your photos…I've followed you on Instagram for a while. They are amazing."

"Thank you. I use my photography as a way to protect my family, keeping them hidden with the appearance of a normal life. So I've had a lot of practice with a camera. Plus snap chat filters make it so easy now."

"I guess you're doing well if you're making a living off of Instagram." He chuckled, "I didn't realize you would be such a millennial."

I smiled. I wanted to laugh with him, but it dawned on me he came here for a reason.

"Charles…"

He heard the sadness in my voice, "You want to know why I'm here."

My heart fluttered in anticipation.

"There is a new slayer. Her name is Buffy, and she is incredible." He started, "She was one of the potentials the Council never found. She grew up outside of our traditions and customs."

"Are you her watcher?"

"What? Oh, no. I'm not. But her current Watcher is a little unorthodox. He has allowed her to live a semi-normal life along with her slayer duties. She goes to high school, and she has friends."

I almost choked on my beer.

"The Council hadn't intervened before now because there was a prophecy that she was to die soon. But the prophecy came to pass, and she lived. The Council is kicking themselves for overlooking her until now. They plan to force her into a strict training regimen that they felt should have been enforced from the beginning. She has been resistant. Mr. Traver's is very impatient. If she doesn't fully turn herself over to them in two weeks, he will kill her mother."

I fumed frozen in my seat. I couldn't stand to look at Charles. I knew the Council was rotten, and he was one of them. "Does her watcher know?"

"I have no idea." He admitted, "I've left the Watchers Council for good."

"What?!" I shouted a little too loudly. The other patrons in the bar looked over in our direction. I put my head down to shield from their glares.

"They've gone too far if they are willing to kill an innocent woman to make Buffy submit to them. I've seen them do so much in the last few years, and so much of it I wanted to believe was for a greater good. But mostly, I feel ashamed. Because I realized you were always right. And I should have left with you."

Rage was fulling me. I survived on my own without Charles and felt that these apologies were far too late. Tears filled my eyes, but I wouldn't let them fall. I looked at him, "Is that why you're here? To say sorry?"

"Yes. And no." He paused to lean back into his seat. "I'm here to recruit you."

I laughed.

He ignored me and continued, "I think it's about time to knock the Watcher's Council a peg or two, don't you? Times have changed. Now someone needs to step in to protect the Slayers from the Watcher's Council."

"Sounds dangerous."

"It is." He nodded, "Which is why I am aligning myself with some powerful allies. I've got a team, each one with a grudge against the Council. To be honest, so far, it's been a lot of fun. We could use you."

"Are you crazy?! The Watcher's Council has been in place for thousands of years. Their resources are unlimited. What you want is impossible."

"But we have something that they will never have..."

I rolled my eyes. I wasn't in the mood for some meaningful, uplifting kumbaya. I shook my head A took the last remaining sip of my drink.

He leaned into my side, "Don't you want to guess?"

"No."

"Demons."

My drink sprayed across our table from my lips. Charles laughed at me while I quickly grabbed napkins to clean up my mess.

"Demons?" I choked, "You are willing to work with demons?!"

"Well, I'm trying to recruit you, aren't I?" He said too smugly.

"I don't count."

He pulled a business card out of his inner pocket and put it on the table. "Someone showed me that not all demons are inherently bad."

Edward Charles

Guardians of the Occult

I held the card in my fingers.

"We could use you, Calendar." He smiled. "You've inspired me to take a stand. It only feels right if you were out there with me, being a part of that change."

I looked back at Charles the moment I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

"I'm in."

A passion vibrated through me. It was as if this was the chance I've been waiting for my whole life. It felt impossible, but it also felt right.

"Perfect." He put some cash on the table. He stood from his seat and adjusted his jacket. "In that case, Sunnydale High School is looking for a photography teacher. I think that's where you could blend in nicely. You have an interview tomorrow."

I scoffed at him, "You planned this out, didn't you? What if I said no?"

He paused to think about it, "It would have been awful. I would have lost my car."

I shook my head in confusion, "You bet a car on me?"

"And you didn't let me down."

"You're an idiot!"

"Are you kidding?" He smiled confidently, "I happen to be the new owner of a porcelain vase from China's Yuan Dynasty. It's quite rare and extraordinary."

I replied sarcastically. "Congratulations!"

"I'll text you the details of your interview. You'll meet the team soon."

And he left. I watched him walk away wondering about the precarious relationship he had with his car. Was it regularly used as betting collateral or was he so certain that I'd sign on? A new feeling of hope overwhelmed me as I slipped the business card into my pocket. It was time for my usual nightly patrol and it felt like a good night to slay a vamp.