Chapter 2 "Wake up, time to die"
David lifted his head from the kill, letting the body of the British Watcher fall to the floor. Around the room the rest of the Pack were feeding.
Marco had done well in subduing the redheaded witch. ~But that's Marco, always ready for a challenge.~ David thought to himself, ~No one expects it because he's so small, but he can fight like a wildcat when he wants to.~ David absently traced the long-healed scars on his arm, souvenirs from the first time he had challenged Marco for a kill. David had barely come out on top.
Dwayne had also done well for himself, ~But Dwayne just has to LOOK at a girl to have her swooning in his arms.~ David smiled., as usual, Paul had taken what was left, although the lanky boy had put up a fight.
Across the room Angelus and Spike had the Slayer sandwiched between them, draining her excruciatingly slowly.
Damon, watching voyeuristically from the corner, could smell her fear. It was so palpable that he could almost taste it. David appeared next to him, "Is it true what they say about the blood of a Slayer being an aphrodisiac?"
Damon laughed, "I don't know, but I'll tell you one thing. Those two will certainly be sleeping well come sunrise."
David grinned at the implications of the remark, "You mean to tell me."
"I'm not telling you anything that you wouldn't see if you just looked"
The Slayer died with a final violent shudder. Spike drew back, relaxing into his human features. Angelus held on a moment longer, then straightened, letting the Slayer's corpse fall in a heap at his feet, "God, I'd forgotten how good that tasted." Spike looked over at him, a half smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, "Liam."
"What?"
"You're still." Spike trailed off, waving his fingers vaguely in front of Angel's face.
Angel shook his head, reverting to a more human face, "Better?"
"Well I don't know about 'better' but certainly more frightening."
Marco sidled up to David, the hardware on his jacket jangling, "Well, that was fun. What're we going to do now?"
David smiled, "Let's ride. You want to come Damon?"
Damon shook his head, "Love to, but I should be getting home."
Tansy snapped awake, her predator's senses practically buzzing, there was someone nearby who could be a threat, "Damon." She smiled. She listened closely, not breathing, the kitchen door closed softly
She slunk down the stairs, she heard Damon making his way through the kitchen, she saw him as he entered the living room. When he got close enough she pounced him, growling playfully.
After a moment he pinned her to the floor in the gap between the sofa and the coffee table, he smiled down at her, "Looks like someone's glad to see me."
Tansy smiled lopsidedly, "Why is it that whenever you split town, someone tries to kill me?"
Damon drew back, "What? Again?"
Tansy nodded and rolled her head to the side, revealing the silvery web of scars down her neck. Damon traced them lightly with his fingertips, "Scars? What happened?"
Tansy shrugged, sliding out from under Damon and sitting up, "Not sure. Best we can figure is that there's someone in town stronger than me, they clouded my mind so I'd forget that I sensed them, and the scars are from some sort of witchblade. Duncan and Louis are doing research."
Duncan looked up from the well-worn book he was reading, "Of course. Why didn't I think of looking in the Library Records first?"
Louis looked across the table at him, "Library Records?"
Duncan nodded, "The Order of Librarians, founded by Lucinda Carmichael eight-hundred some odd years ago. She decided to catalogue all the demons and immortals and the like that she could. The Library Records are still the most complete anywhere."
"What did you find?
Duncan flipped back a few pages, "Triste Witches, doesn't matter which clan really, since they all use the same spells, some of whom are Vampire Hunters, all use heavily magiced daggers. 'those that survive an encounter with a Triste Blade, are marked by faint silver scars.' That's what Tansy has." Louis rubbed his eyes, out of habit, not really because they were tired, "So who would be strong enough to cloud Tansy's mind?"
Duncan shook his head, "The only person I can think of is her Sire, and if Kael's in town, we're all in a world of trouble."
The figure perched in the oak tree watching Tansy and Damon through the window smiled, "Enjoy it while you can young'uns. Next time we meet, only one of us is walking away." His blue eyes narrowed as he smiled slowly.
The next night Lestat and Louis came over for a visit. Stefan was out hunting at the time. Damon and Lestat immediately began regaling each other with stories of their conquests since the last time they'd seen each other.
Louis looked at Tansy, his eyes pleading for quiet. She smiled at him and they slipped out to the porch. Once outside, Tansy smiled again and took Louis' arm, "Let's go for a walk?"
Louis nodded, "Sounds good. I missed you."
Tansy chuckled, "What? Is it THAT hard to keep Lestat out of trouble?"
Louis smiled faintly, "Lestat can take care of himself. It's." He stopped short as Tansy's head snapped up, nostrils flared, "Kael." She hissed.
"Very good." A figure slid from the shadows, applauding softly, "But then again, you always were a bright one."
Louis eyed the stronger Immortal warily, "And you are?"
Kael smiled slowly at Louis, "I'm the girl's sire."
Tansy closed her fingers around Kael's throat, "You so much as twitch, and I crush your windpipe."
Louis blinked at her, "Tansy, what are you doing?"
Tansy smiled slowly, never taking her eyes from Kael's, "I'm running on instinct. He can't read my mind that way."
Kael chuckled softly, "True, very true. But I can predict what you're going to do next."
"Really?" Kael chuckled again, keeping his eyes locked with Tansy's. After a moment, she smiled slowly, "It's too late to try and pull a mindjob, you've already revealed your presence."
Kael choked as Tansy's fingers tightened. He was too surprised to fight back, to react even. Tansy smiled, fangs peeking out over her lower lip, "You always knew one of us would kill you, didn't you Kael, me or Lilith." She stroked his cheek lightly, mockingly, her smile widening. She yanked Kael's head to the side roughly and tore into his barely pulsing jugular.
Louis watched in shock as Tansy tore hungrily into Kael's throat. She was going to kill her Sire. The very idea made Louis sick, "Tansy." He tried to say more, but couldn't manage more than a stunned head shake.
Tansy drew away, her mouth stained the deep burgundy of Immortal blood. She licked her teeth and thrust the body of her creator at Louis, "Have a drink before it's colder Louis. You look like you could use it."
Louis could only shake his head again, "How could you?" He finally managed to ask, stunned.
"Krishna got sloshed Louis! You're like a starving man refusing a feast, I can feel your need all the way over here."
He shuddered, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, "No." he eventually croaked.
Tansy half smiled and stuck out her bottom lip, "At least come get a taste?" She wheedled.. Louis was suddenly standing right beside her, "I never could refuse your pout."
Tansy smirked and kissed him suddenly, her tongue flicking dangerously close to the points of his fangs.
He didn't let her stay in control for long. He had almost forgotten the cloying taste of Immortal blood. He'd almost forgotten how much he really liked it.
Tansy was fighting for dominance again. He didn't let her have it. He snaked an arm around his waist, pulling her close and bit her lower lip lightly, not quite hard enough to draw blood.
Tansy pulled away, "We can't do this Louis, not here."
"Why not?" He asked before pulling her into another kiss. She ran her hand up the back of his neck and twined her fingers in his hair, gently preventing him from pulling away. ~Fine.~ She projected into his mind, ~If you're going to be so damned insistent, you're going to face the consequences.~ She stopped restraining herself and let the change happen. Her fangs lengthened, nicking Louis' lip in the process. Her muscles strengthened and her senses exploded. She shoved Louis against the wall, raking his arms in the process. Shredding sleeves and skin with her now-clawed fingers.
~This is what you're asking for Louis. Is this really a fire you want to play with?~
Louis enjoyed the mixed pleasure and pain of Tansy's fanged kiss for a moment longer before he forced himself to pull away, "Not tonight."
Tansy retreated, "Didn't think so." She relaxed into her human form, then leaned up to kiss his temple, "Goodnight my poor fragile Louis. Maybe we'll play with fire some other time. She turned and walked off towards the Café Transylvania.
Louis wanted to call her back, physically ached to. But he knew that if he did, one of them would end up getting hurt.
He knew it wouldn't be Tansy.
David lifted his head from the kill, letting the body of the British Watcher fall to the floor. Around the room the rest of the Pack were feeding.
Marco had done well in subduing the redheaded witch. ~But that's Marco, always ready for a challenge.~ David thought to himself, ~No one expects it because he's so small, but he can fight like a wildcat when he wants to.~ David absently traced the long-healed scars on his arm, souvenirs from the first time he had challenged Marco for a kill. David had barely come out on top.
Dwayne had also done well for himself, ~But Dwayne just has to LOOK at a girl to have her swooning in his arms.~ David smiled., as usual, Paul had taken what was left, although the lanky boy had put up a fight.
Across the room Angelus and Spike had the Slayer sandwiched between them, draining her excruciatingly slowly.
Damon, watching voyeuristically from the corner, could smell her fear. It was so palpable that he could almost taste it. David appeared next to him, "Is it true what they say about the blood of a Slayer being an aphrodisiac?"
Damon laughed, "I don't know, but I'll tell you one thing. Those two will certainly be sleeping well come sunrise."
David grinned at the implications of the remark, "You mean to tell me."
"I'm not telling you anything that you wouldn't see if you just looked"
The Slayer died with a final violent shudder. Spike drew back, relaxing into his human features. Angelus held on a moment longer, then straightened, letting the Slayer's corpse fall in a heap at his feet, "God, I'd forgotten how good that tasted." Spike looked over at him, a half smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, "Liam."
"What?"
"You're still." Spike trailed off, waving his fingers vaguely in front of Angel's face.
Angel shook his head, reverting to a more human face, "Better?"
"Well I don't know about 'better' but certainly more frightening."
Marco sidled up to David, the hardware on his jacket jangling, "Well, that was fun. What're we going to do now?"
David smiled, "Let's ride. You want to come Damon?"
Damon shook his head, "Love to, but I should be getting home."
Tansy snapped awake, her predator's senses practically buzzing, there was someone nearby who could be a threat, "Damon." She smiled. She listened closely, not breathing, the kitchen door closed softly
She slunk down the stairs, she heard Damon making his way through the kitchen, she saw him as he entered the living room. When he got close enough she pounced him, growling playfully.
After a moment he pinned her to the floor in the gap between the sofa and the coffee table, he smiled down at her, "Looks like someone's glad to see me."
Tansy smiled lopsidedly, "Why is it that whenever you split town, someone tries to kill me?"
Damon drew back, "What? Again?"
Tansy nodded and rolled her head to the side, revealing the silvery web of scars down her neck. Damon traced them lightly with his fingertips, "Scars? What happened?"
Tansy shrugged, sliding out from under Damon and sitting up, "Not sure. Best we can figure is that there's someone in town stronger than me, they clouded my mind so I'd forget that I sensed them, and the scars are from some sort of witchblade. Duncan and Louis are doing research."
Duncan looked up from the well-worn book he was reading, "Of course. Why didn't I think of looking in the Library Records first?"
Louis looked across the table at him, "Library Records?"
Duncan nodded, "The Order of Librarians, founded by Lucinda Carmichael eight-hundred some odd years ago. She decided to catalogue all the demons and immortals and the like that she could. The Library Records are still the most complete anywhere."
"What did you find?
Duncan flipped back a few pages, "Triste Witches, doesn't matter which clan really, since they all use the same spells, some of whom are Vampire Hunters, all use heavily magiced daggers. 'those that survive an encounter with a Triste Blade, are marked by faint silver scars.' That's what Tansy has." Louis rubbed his eyes, out of habit, not really because they were tired, "So who would be strong enough to cloud Tansy's mind?"
Duncan shook his head, "The only person I can think of is her Sire, and if Kael's in town, we're all in a world of trouble."
The figure perched in the oak tree watching Tansy and Damon through the window smiled, "Enjoy it while you can young'uns. Next time we meet, only one of us is walking away." His blue eyes narrowed as he smiled slowly.
The next night Lestat and Louis came over for a visit. Stefan was out hunting at the time. Damon and Lestat immediately began regaling each other with stories of their conquests since the last time they'd seen each other.
Louis looked at Tansy, his eyes pleading for quiet. She smiled at him and they slipped out to the porch. Once outside, Tansy smiled again and took Louis' arm, "Let's go for a walk?"
Louis nodded, "Sounds good. I missed you."
Tansy chuckled, "What? Is it THAT hard to keep Lestat out of trouble?"
Louis smiled faintly, "Lestat can take care of himself. It's." He stopped short as Tansy's head snapped up, nostrils flared, "Kael." She hissed.
"Very good." A figure slid from the shadows, applauding softly, "But then again, you always were a bright one."
Louis eyed the stronger Immortal warily, "And you are?"
Kael smiled slowly at Louis, "I'm the girl's sire."
Tansy closed her fingers around Kael's throat, "You so much as twitch, and I crush your windpipe."
Louis blinked at her, "Tansy, what are you doing?"
Tansy smiled slowly, never taking her eyes from Kael's, "I'm running on instinct. He can't read my mind that way."
Kael chuckled softly, "True, very true. But I can predict what you're going to do next."
"Really?" Kael chuckled again, keeping his eyes locked with Tansy's. After a moment, she smiled slowly, "It's too late to try and pull a mindjob, you've already revealed your presence."
Kael choked as Tansy's fingers tightened. He was too surprised to fight back, to react even. Tansy smiled, fangs peeking out over her lower lip, "You always knew one of us would kill you, didn't you Kael, me or Lilith." She stroked his cheek lightly, mockingly, her smile widening. She yanked Kael's head to the side roughly and tore into his barely pulsing jugular.
Louis watched in shock as Tansy tore hungrily into Kael's throat. She was going to kill her Sire. The very idea made Louis sick, "Tansy." He tried to say more, but couldn't manage more than a stunned head shake.
Tansy drew away, her mouth stained the deep burgundy of Immortal blood. She licked her teeth and thrust the body of her creator at Louis, "Have a drink before it's colder Louis. You look like you could use it."
Louis could only shake his head again, "How could you?" He finally managed to ask, stunned.
"Krishna got sloshed Louis! You're like a starving man refusing a feast, I can feel your need all the way over here."
He shuddered, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, "No." he eventually croaked.
Tansy half smiled and stuck out her bottom lip, "At least come get a taste?" She wheedled.. Louis was suddenly standing right beside her, "I never could refuse your pout."
Tansy smirked and kissed him suddenly, her tongue flicking dangerously close to the points of his fangs.
He didn't let her stay in control for long. He had almost forgotten the cloying taste of Immortal blood. He'd almost forgotten how much he really liked it.
Tansy was fighting for dominance again. He didn't let her have it. He snaked an arm around his waist, pulling her close and bit her lower lip lightly, not quite hard enough to draw blood.
Tansy pulled away, "We can't do this Louis, not here."
"Why not?" He asked before pulling her into another kiss. She ran her hand up the back of his neck and twined her fingers in his hair, gently preventing him from pulling away. ~Fine.~ She projected into his mind, ~If you're going to be so damned insistent, you're going to face the consequences.~ She stopped restraining herself and let the change happen. Her fangs lengthened, nicking Louis' lip in the process. Her muscles strengthened and her senses exploded. She shoved Louis against the wall, raking his arms in the process. Shredding sleeves and skin with her now-clawed fingers.
~This is what you're asking for Louis. Is this really a fire you want to play with?~
Louis enjoyed the mixed pleasure and pain of Tansy's fanged kiss for a moment longer before he forced himself to pull away, "Not tonight."
Tansy retreated, "Didn't think so." She relaxed into her human form, then leaned up to kiss his temple, "Goodnight my poor fragile Louis. Maybe we'll play with fire some other time. She turned and walked off towards the Café Transylvania.
Louis wanted to call her back, physically ached to. But he knew that if he did, one of them would end up getting hurt.
He knew it wouldn't be Tansy.
