Chapter Two

Giles had booked them into a small chain hotel in Cwmbran, a market town just over half an hour north of Cardiff. A stark contrast of ugly shopping centres from the 60s and more traditional streets set in stunning countryside, it was a convenient centre close to the location where they were supposed to pick up the artifact. Satsu took a kind of eager delight at the two elder slayers' inability to get their tongues round some of the Welsh place names but at a pout from Buffy she explained some of the basics.

The hotel itself was pleasant enough and the staff were very friendly as they showed the three to their rooms; Satsu on her own and the two others in a shared room next door. The three women ended their day eating in the pub attached to the hotel, all now being familiar with the decent fare known as 'good British pub grub' from their stays in Scotland and London.

The next day they were supposed to meet their Welsh contact, a local vicar in a smaller village just under ten minutes' drive away. Following Giles' direction to the letter they easily found Reverend Morgan's house. However, there was no answer to their repeated knocks at the door and no sign of life once they had circled the house. When the threesome ventured across to the church where the man worked, and assumingly where the artifact was located, all they found was a cold stark building stripped of all decoration, broken windows, smashed pews and a very distressed verger. The young man told them this was how he had found the church this morning and when he'd gone to report to Reverend Morgan, the man was nowhere to be found.

Buffy sat on a bench outside the church her hand reaching out in comfort to the stranger. Both Faith and Satsu stood poised, ready to spring into action and waiting on the blonde. The young man thanked Buffy then looked at her with curiosity. "Why was it you were supposed to be meeting with Reverend Morgan?"

"He'd told a friend of ours that he had come across an object of interest. We were simply here to pick it up. But it looks like it's been taken along with everything else." The man, who had introduced himself as Euan, creased his brow at the thought of whomever had desecrated the church. Meeting Buffy's green-eyes gaze, he shook his head. "I can't think of anything in our little church that's worth smashing windows and taking everything else for. Or worth crossing the Atlantic for, for that matter if you don't mind me saying." Buffy sighed. "Our friend said it was just a small thing. Nothing big or fancy. It's just that…" She paused, assessing the man's trustworthiness and how much to tell him. Glancing up at Faith she raised an eyebrow in silent question. The brunette merely shrugged as if to say 'your call'.

Turning back to the stranger, she cocked her head and gave him a reassuring smile. "It's just that, my friends and I represent a group who ensures the safety of other people. And part of that is to make sure certain…objects don't fall into the wrong hands. The item we were sent to pick up from the reverend was one such object." She paused to sweep her eyes over their surroundings. Even in daylight, the details of this supposed simple job were making her more wary by the minute. The young man looked up at her with widened eyes. "You're her?" The three women exchanged worried glances. "We're friends," Buffy said softly. He gripped her hand. "If your friend is a Mr Giles, then I know you're much more than that. The reverend Morgan went to school with Mr Giles; he spoke of him late at night when we were tidying out the church. He spoke of his… calling. And of the girl."

"Mr Giles has got a big mouth." Buffy looked up at Faith who had spoken for the first time since they'd encountered Euan. "Well, someone has," Buffy murmured. She looked back at the tired looking verger. "It doesn't matter now. It's out there. Plus, things are different now, right?" She took his hand and held his gaze for a moment, showing she trusted him. "In these late night conversations, did Reverend Morgan ever talk about something called the Tooth of Arawn?" Panic immediately flowed over Euan's face. "Arawn? No. Never…" He stood suddenly, triggering the two dark haired slayers into a fighting stance. Buffy held out her hand to stand the other slayers down and reached out towards the clearly affected man, trying not to spook him any further. "You've heard of it though?" He shook his head, as if in disbelief. "No. No, no. No. It can't be. Gareth… Reverend Morgan. He wouldn't surely." He backed away, his eyes wild. Deciding that they must not let him bolt, Buffy firmly grabbed his wrist, her supernaturally strong grip keeping him still for the moment. "Tell us about the Tooth," she said in a low voice, authority flowing from her. "It's not… I've honestly never heard of it. But Arawn… He's… This is childhood myth. Fairy stories."

"Well, the fact of my existence should tell you that not all of your fairy stories are to be ignored. Those conversations; didn't Reverend Morgan basically tell you that everything you were scared of, that might be under your bed is real." Euan shook his head again, and flopped back down on the bench, a defeated look on his face. "He…He showed me the scar on his neck. A bite." He looked up at her and his gaze brushed her throat. "Kind of like that," he whispered, nodding at Angel's mark on her. "Your Mr Giles was the one who saved him. That's what he said. And that's why he believed everything that he said. But this…" Faith was losing patience and stepped in closer with menace. "Whatever it is, it's real. Look around you. Your church was ransacked. And not for some mere trifle. Tell us." The man snatched his hand away from the brunette slayer. Some steel in him after all, Buffy mused to herself. "Arawn is the lord of the underworld. Or rather the Otherworld. The land beyond death."

"Like Hades?" Faith said with a snarl. She had heard enough about Hades from Bo to know that he was a distinctly unpleasant individual and did not relish encountering anyone like him. But then again, by all accounts Hades was gone forever. And the blonde slayer beside her had already bested a god. Euan shook his head at her question. "Not quite like Hades. Much less malevolent. But not less dangerous for being so. None of the old British gods are to be trifled with. Especially Arawn. And if what you're looking for is something of his… you're going to need back up. But I swear, I don't know anything about any tooth, or anything else of value being kept in our church. If Reverend Morgan had it, he hid it well and told no-one except your friend." Buffy stood sharply and cocked her head at Satsu, signalling the younger slayer to watch over their new charge. She pulled Faith aside, far enough away that their two companions wouldn't hear what was said. "I'm going to kill Giles. One slayer job my ass. We need to find out more about this tooth thingy before we go all guns blazing into whatever hornets' nest has been stirred up here."

"Well, I suppose it's a good job your fan club turned up to join us then." Buffy narrowed her eyes at Faith's barb towards Satsu. "What's that supposed to mean?" Faith shrugged her arm out of the blonde's grip. "Nothing. It's nothing. Are we done here?" Buffy's frown deepened as she watched her girlfriend turn away back to the verger. Faith's behaviour was just the latest example of a grumpy mood she'd had since they landed in Wales and it was starting to irritate Buffy. The older Slayer huffed in frustration and determined to get to the bottom of whatever had got under her lover's skin. But that would be later. For now, she had to deal with a panicked civilian and a missing artefact.

She walked back to the bench where Euan was now sitting, muttering to himself. Kneeling in front of him and taking his hand she held his gaze for a moment and smiled gently. Her kindness won over his panic for a moment and she felt his tension ease. "Do you have somewhere safe to stay? Preferably not alone?" He nodded. "Good. My friends here are going to go with you and make sure you get there. I'm going to look around here a bit more and we're going to find out a bit more about this artefact. And we'll find your friend."

So saying, the blonde Slayer stood and tipped her head to her companions who both followed her instructions without question. She watched as Faith and the Japanese Slayer herded the man to the hire car Giles had paid for and took a sigh of relief as the three drove away. She sat for a moment on the bench, gathering her strength then took out her 'phone. Shooting off a text to Giles and another to Willow she put it back in her pocket and tipped her head back, closing her eyes. She hoped they could come back with more information about the Tooth so she would know what it was she was against.

And then there was the little matter of a conversation she knew she must have with her girlfriend. A conversation that turned out to be not so little after all.