BUFFY
THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
INNER
LIGHT
Part Nine
The Debt
Marcus'
head swam as his mind slowly began to awaken from the fog that had engulfed it.
So that was unconsciousness. It had been rather pleasant actually. He groaned
groggily and opened his eyes. He was staring at a ceiling. The pain was still
excruciating surprisingly enough but he could feel it subsiding. Slowly he
tried to sit up then decided maybe sitting up wasn't such a good idea as fresh
wave of pain shot through him. It was the first time he had really experienced
such intense physical agony and although it was intriguing he had no desire to
prolong this little exercise.
"Try
not to move." Came a voice he recognised all too well.
"Buffy?"
he moaned as the room began to spin from the fresh pain.
"Yes?"
she said.
"Where
am I?"
"Giles'
bedroom. It's the only private place we could bring you."
"Did
we win."
"Sure
did." Came her disembodied voice.
"That's
good." He said. Strangely enough he was telling the truth. The last thing he
had expected when placing Buffy on that dais was that he wouldn't find himself
regretting it. In a long existence full of regrets it came as something of a
refreshing change. This certainly was a day of firsts.
"What
about King?" he asked.
"Trapped
in what's left of the temple." She said happily. There was a brief pause. "What
are you?" she asked.
"What
do you mean?" Marcus said, a little taken aback.
"I
mean what are you? A stake through the heart will kill a vampire. It could even
kill a person. From what I see you were impaled on one and it still didn't kill
you. In fact the wound is already beginning to close. So I ask again. What are
you?"
"It's
a long story Buffy." Marcus coughed. "And it is a private matter that I do not
discuss."
"I
think you owe me a little explanation after everything we've just been through.
So c'mon Marcus. What's the dirt on you and you're past."
"Please
Buffy," he begged softly, "That is my business and I do not wish to talk about
it." He heard her sigh.
"I
thought after all this I might get some answers about you." She paused then
spoke again, sounding disappointed. "I guess I was wrong." The sound of
receding footsteps made Marcus think. Could he trust her with his past? When he
was a child his true nature had been discovered. Believing him to be a creation
of the devil his mother had been stoned to death for being a heretic and he had
been driven from his home by an angry mob. Since then he had kept what he was
secret from the world out of fear of what would happen. But these were better
times than the ones he had kept a secret from and Buffy was a good woman. She
had risked so much to help him, even her own life. Didn't he at least owe her
this one thing? The sound of the bedroom door creaking open jolted him from his
thoughts.
"Buffy."
He said.
"What
now?" she said sounding annoyed with him.
"A
long time ago there was a woman." He said. "All she wanted from life was a son.
When a witch came to her home the woman angered her. The witch cursed this
woman saying she would never have her hearts desire. Neither the witch nor this
woman knew that the woman was with child. The unborn baby died in the womb but
for a reason no one could understand the child continued to grow. It was born
sometime later, a dead child that grew like the living around it. The boy
existed for many years never knowing how different he was to those around him
until he was one day trampled on by an angry horse. Any normal person would
have been crippled or even killed by the animal, but the boy was walking again
within hours. Fearful of a thing they did not understand the people he lived
among declared him a spawn of the devil and stoned both the child and his
mother. The mother died but the boy was already dead. The stones did not hurt
him and when his former friends realised this they cast him from their home
never to return. I've spent my entire existence since that day wandering the
world, looking for a way to regain the life I never had."
"You're
telling me you're immortal?" said Buffy.
"Not
exactly." He said. "Immortal implies that I cannot die which simply isn't true
as I already have done."
"So
that's why you wanted the temple. Why did you want to live again? There are
people who would risk their souls to have what you have. Believe me, I know
some of them."
"I
wanted to live so that I could die again Buffy." Marcus sighed. "I have existed
for eight hundred years, and I can remember each and every moment of those
years as clearly as if it was happening right now. You have no idea how
exhausting it is. I long to forget things, to take delight in the food I eat,
to feel the rush of adrenaline on a roller coaster and to know that one day it
could all end. You take so much for granted Buffy but in doing so you forget
the very things that make people so special."
"Maybe,"
said Buffy thoughtfully "you should stop thinking about what you don't have and
start thinking about what you do have. Life isn't all about tasting a
cheeseburger and forgetting what you spent last weekend doing. There's more to
it than that. Give living a shot sometime then call me." He couldn't see her
but he was sure she was smiling. "I'll still be here."
*****
Buffy
backed into the door to Giles' room, pushing it open with her backside while
carrying a big tray of freshly prepared food. Even dead guys would like to eat
in the morning, especially after being stabbed through the heart by a sharp
chunk of wood. Marcus' tale had been something she hadn't expected but she felt
a little happier knowing about it. It actually answered quite a lot of questions
like why his blood was poisonous to vampires. It was basically the same as food
poisoning, just slightly more severe. Kind of like taking a bite out of an
eight hundred year old chunk of meat. That train of thought was actually quite
disgusting so she decided to leave it by the way side. There was a bright side
to all the events of the past few days though. At least she had got up on time
for once.
"Wakey,
wakey," she crooned as she backed into the room and began to turn as she did
so. "It's time for breakfa…" her voice trailed off as she caught sight of the
bed. Marcus was gone and from the looks of things he hadn't left in a hurry.
The bed was made and a note lay on the pillow. Slowly the Slayer moved across
the room and laid the tray down on the bedside table before picking up the
note. It read, 'Buffy, when you left last night I did a lot of thinking. I
decided maybe you were right. Didn't want to wake you and the others downstairs
so I left this note for you. Maybe I'll call by again someday to visit if I
ever need tips on living again. Thank you and the others for everything you
have done. One last thing, please don't wait around for me, I've got a lot of
living to do.' As she read the note Buffy began to smile.
"Life."
She sighed wistfully.