Title: Abandoned, chapter 10
Author: Jennifer Campbell
Fandom: Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
Spoilers: Through "Tabula Rasa"
Pairing: Spike/Buffy
Rating: R -- for language and nongraphic sex
Disclaimers: Not mine. Belong to Joss.
Author's notes: Again, thank you for the feedback. It means a lot to me. You guys are great!

#

They came for him at sunrise, when his muscles were quivering, and the vines against his back cut like razors. He felt raw. Every bit of his body ached, and all he could see was the thin line of death creeping toward him -- the line between sunlight and shadow.

For hours he had had no company at all except the stars, which ignored him thoroughly and then went to hide behind a thick veil of dark clouds that soon would bring rain. After that, all he had was himself, and his thoughts, which naturally turned to Buffy. He wanted to see her one last time, before they tortured him to death, or let the sun kill him, or whatever diabolical plan they had in mind. He wanted to see her, and tell her ... tell her what? That he loved her, certainly.

Their time together had been bad. Oh, so very, very bad. Two years of foreplay, followed by a few desperate kisses, and one stolen night. He had hurt her in so many ways over the years, and she had hurt him back. Yet through it all, he still felt for her. It was impure, tainted and lustful. But it was love.

Then came the sunrise, when the clouds turned from black to gray, and an edge of dim light sliced across the stone wall above him. He craned back his neck to watch it creep down, inching closer, promising an agonizing death. Before it could reach him, though, three figures entered the courtyard, hooded under deep cloaks. They unchained his shackles. Spike's useless muscles clenched as his arms dropped, and he would have fallen if one of the anonymous figures hadn't caught him under his armpits. They dragged him inside, away from the hideous light.

The three shed their cloaks at the door, and one carried a stake. Two other guards joined them, similarly armed. They needn't have worried. Spike could hardly force his arms and legs to stop shaking. Hours on the wall, dangling by his cuffed wrists, had taken their toll.

No one spoke, but one gestured for him to stand up. Spike didn't even try, partly from his distain for them (and anyone who would challenge the Slayer) and partly from his physical weakness. Two vampires grabbed his arms and started walking, with the others following behind. He wondered, as they dragged him across dusty tiled floors, what new torture the Big Man had in mind. More bodily torments, perhaps, or maybe the Big Man would now resort to magic.

Strange. They had left him outside for hours, and no one had come to ask about Buffy, or what information he had given her. For one so anxious to know how much Buffy knew, the Big Man certainly was playing it cool.

They reached the stairs, and Spike had recovered enough to pull himself up, step by agonizing step. He refused to touch the railings, or lean on his captors. He wouldn't give them that satisfaction. With every moment, he felt more in control of his body. A few more minutes, and he would be strong enough for another dash toward the exit -- assuming he lived that long.

The Big Man sat at his familiar place beside the fire. Spike's captors threw him at their leader's feet and circled behind him like a wall. With the Big Man in front, and a crowd of vampires behind, he could see no hole for escape. That meant he would have to play along. For now.

"William, I trust you slept well," the Big Man said, as though he were greeting his best friend. "Are you willing to talk now?"

Spike said nothing.

"That's what I thought." The Big Man sighed. "It is strange that a vampire, famed for his unusually ruthless and violent nature, would become so loyally attached to a Slayer. You've killed two, haven't you? Yet you befriend this one. What is so special about her?"

Still, Spike didn't speak. He glared in a way that had made even the toughest of demons cringe, but the Big Man didn't so much as blink.

"I could use my magic to kill you, or make you talk, but I prefer to save myself for tonight. I will need my energy then." He nodded behind Spike. "Or I could have one of them stake you. But ... you know I won't do that. Yes, I can see in your eyes that you know, but not why. I have a better use for you than death, William."

"What's that?" Spike asked, his voice weak and hoarse to his own ears.

The Big Man smiled. "Bait."

#

The Scoobies had been at the books for hours. Xander had called in sick to work, Willow had skipped her classes, and Anya, with great reluctance and many complaints about lost money, had agreed to close the magic shop for a few hours. Buffy still forced her sister to go to school, despite Dawn's sulking. But now Dawn had gotten out of class for the day and had rejoined the team, and still they had found nothing to hint at the impending apocalypse.

"This is useless!" Xander said, slamming shut yet another dusty old book. "You know, it's times like this I really wish Giles was here. Cause without him, we're never going to find anything on this ... this du Lark guy."

"Du Lac," Willow corrected, without looking up from her volume.

"How do we know that Spike was telling the truth about this guy?" Xander asked. "We don't know if du Lac actually even exists. Maybe Spike is just leading us on some wild goose chase. I mean, he's a vampire and hence not big with the honesty."

"Xander," Willow warned gently, with a pointed glance at Buffy, who sat on the stairs, staring at nothing, chin propped up in her hands. She didn't look to have heard Xander's comment.

"Sorry. It's just ... I mean ..." He shrugged. "I don't know what I mean. But I still think we could be spending our time more productively."

From Xander's side, Anya piped up. "But Willow's heard of this guy. Right? He really does exist."

"Right," Willow said. "I know we're run across him before. I just can't remember where."

"You keep looking then," Xander said. "But I need a break."

He got up, stretched his arms overhead, and went over to join Buffy. She didn't acknowledge him as he sat beside her. Her eyes were red and puffy, like she hadn't slept in a while, and her hair, usually immaculate, was unbrushed. She also had neglected to put on any make-up that morning.

"Hey, Buff," he said gently. "How are you doing?"

Her head snapped up, as though she were waking from a dream, and she gave Xander a blank stare before answering. "Fine. I'm fine."

"Come on, Buffy. After all these years, I know you better than that. You're not fine. You haven't been fine for weeks. Something big is going on with you, but you can't just keep it all inside." With no response, Xander laid a hand on Buffy's shoulder. "If you need to talk to someone, I'm here for you. You know that. Right?"

She worried at her lower lip and didn't respond. Xander followed her gaze, past the round table, to Dawn, who was at a shelf, busy hunting for yet another book. He put the pieces together.

"You ... talked to Dawn. Whatever it is, you told her?"

Buffy quickly looked away. After a pause, she said, "Yeah."

It made sense, with Buffy and Dawn being sisters and all, and it was good that Buffy felt comfortable enough to talk to someone. Still, Xander couldn't help but feel a little hurt. He and Willow were her closest, most trusted friends. They had shared everything, for years. Now with her refusal to confide, Buffy had built a wall between them -- a big, tall one, with barbed wire across the top. If she wanted to hide behind her wall, though, he could do nothing to change that.

"Fine," Xander said, resigned. "I guess, if I'm not needed over here, then I'll go back to the books."

Before he could stand, he felt a small but strong hand on his arm.

"Xander, wait. I'm sorry. I --" Buffy bit her lip again. "I'm just having trouble figuring out what I want, or what I should do, or ... or any of it. It's hard to talk when I don't even know what to say."

"It's about Spike," he guessed, and she drew back in surprise. "Not that hard to figure out. You started acting different after he left." He paused to gather courage, to ask the question that had been bugging him for weeks. "Do you ... love him?"

At that, her eyes started to water, and she looked at him plainly, with the most unguarded expression he had seen in months. "Maybe. I don't know." A tear fell down her cheek, and words began to rush out. "Before you say anything, Xander, I already know that you wouldn't approve. You didn't like Angel, and he had a soul. Spike doesn't even have that, but --"

"Buffy," Xander said, cutting her off. "Whatever you want, you have my support. I know that sounds strange coming from me, but I decided it last night. I decided that, well, I just want you to do whatever will make you happy. You deserve that ... to be happy." He quirked a smile. "Who am I to judge, anyway? I'm about to marry an ex-vengeance demon."

She laughed through her tears, and pulled him into a bear hug. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear.

#

"I found him!" Willow exclaimed, and the others crowded around her. "Look here, he's in this book on vampire magics. It says here that du Lac mostly specialized in spells on vampire restoration, bringing a weak vampire back to full strength. That sort of thing."

"Drusilla," Buffy said, shaking her head. "That was the spell Spike and Drusilla used, the one where they tried to kill Angel."

"I knew I'd heard that name before," Willow said smugly.

Anya said, "But what does it say about opening the Hellmouth? Anything at all?"

Willow flipped through a few more pages, then stopped and pointed. "Here. It's a spell to bring hell to earth, which can only be performed once every hundred years or so, and has something to do with the alignment of the planets. If what Spike says is right, then the conditions will be right tonight. The spell itself involves a focal point -- one person to channel all the energy through -- and at least a hundred vampires. The more vampires, the more powerful the spell. ... Oh, and a sacrificial blood-letting."

"There's always a sacrificial blood-letting," Dawn muttered, and Buffy squeezed her shoulder.

"So how do I stop it?" Buffy asked.

"You have to disrupt the focal point."

"Sounds simple enough."

"Not really," Anya said. "I mean, first you have to get to the focal point vamp, who will probably be in the middle of all the other vampires. And considering the number of vamps you've been staking recently, I'm guessing there's going to be a lot more than a hundred of 'em at this thing."

"A hundred vampires?" Dawn asked, astonished. "How do you fight a hundred vampires? They'd just swarm around and kill you before you hardly got in the room."

"We need a plan," Xander said. "And fast. It's only a few hours to sunset, and I'm guessing they're not going to wait long to start the party."

"Here's what we do," Buffy said. "Xander and Anya, you start working on ways to take out mass numbers of vampires -- that means fire, holy water, whatever you can get your hands on. Willow, I know that you're doing your best to stay away from magic, but I think you're going to have to abandon that for one night. We're going to need protection that lasts long enough for me to take out the leader."

Willow got wide-eyed, like a cornered rabbit. "I don't know Buffy. I mean, I'm kinda out of practice on that sort of thing. Remember what happened at the crypt? One spell knocked me out, and it wasn't even that tough of a spell. What you're asking for ... it's big."

"What about Tara then?" Xander offered, then gave Willow a sympathetic look. "I know that you and her aren't on the best of terms right now, but she could ... you know ... do the magic thing. Help us out."

Willow shook her head. "She's not strong enough for this."

"Besides," Dawn added. "She's out of town. Visiting her aunt in Chicago over Christmas." The others looked at her in surprise, and Dawn shrugged meekly. "We've been keeping in touch."

"That settles it then, Wil," Buffy said. "I'm sorry, but it's going to have to be you."

"And what about me?" Dawn asked, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet.

"You are going home to do your homework."

"What?! We need to stop the world from ending, and you're sending me home to do algebra? No way am I doing that!"

"I don't want you to be in danger--"

It's not like I haven't been in danger before, Buffy."

"I know," Buffy said gently. "But if you're there, then I'll be worrying about you. And I need to be able to focus completely on stopping the bad guys. Do you understand? The most helpful thing you can do is go home and be safe."

Dawn snorted. "Fine. But I don't like it."

"All right, then," Buffy said to them all. "Everyone knows their tasks, and we're on a deadline. Let's get to work."

#

TBC ...