Lorne sat alone in what was left of Caritas. The mess made him depressed, but he did not have the funds to fix up the place. He observed the shot glass silently, not sure if he felt like drinking it.
Well, he thought he was alone. "Come on out, Doll. You don't have to hide back there."
Tecothra descended the last of the stairs. She sat across from the demon, gazing deep into his eyes. "But you are alone. All the time." He looked away in discomfort. It was funny the way she was staring at him so intensely. He was not accustomed to having the tables turned like this. "No one reads you your future. You're just another thing to them. No one bothers to give you a closer look."
"You're doin' a pretty good job, Sweetie." he downed his drink.
"Yeah, well," Tecothra turned her attention away from the forlorn Pylean. "You know, the Powers told me to stay away from you."
"They did?" he questioned. She nodded, a bemused expression on her face. "Why?"
"Couldn't tell ya for sure," she shrugged. "But I'm guessing it's because they foresaw this."
"This, what this?"
"This us, Lorne. I know you can't tear your eyes off me. I don't mean to sound egotistical, I just mean that I've seen you looking at me, reading me all the time."
Lorne looked sheepish. "Well, I - "
"Are you the Reader?" the voice that sliced through the club commanded authority.
Tecothra froze. Lorne gasped at the swift change in her aura. Whatever had happened to her regarding the Scourge, the demon standing behind her was in some way responsible. It made Lorne's blood boil to think she had been hurt.
"I asked you a question, Creature."
Lorne squeezed Tecothra's hand, and tried to give her a reassuring smile to let her know that he was not going to let anything happen to her. He then got up and went to face the Scourge. "I am, yes. What can I do for you?" he asked. His demeanor and tone were unfriendly.
The Scourge scanned the bar fleetingly. "Interesting establishment you have. Could use some interior work, however."
"I'll take that under advisement. Can we skip to the point now?"
"You're rather pushy for a Reader. Can you not tell my point?"
Lorne huffed. "It doesn't work that way, Honey, you have to sing."
The Scourge sneered at the Pylean. "Noktwar, Commander of a Thousand Armies, does not sing."
"Sorry, Pal, but that's the way it works. That's the only way it works."
Tecothra got up, deciding try to get out the back way, before the demon recognized her. Noktwar cocked his head as the woman moved away from them. He took a step forward, but found Lorne in his path.
The Scourge narrowed his eyes at the demon blocking his way. "Why are you protecting her?"
"Because she is a client, and none of your business."
Noktwar resigned himself to letting her go. He certainly did not want her present. The look on Lorne's face made him suspicious, however, so he kept his eyes trained on the retreating figure.
Tecothra passed by shards of broken mirror. The Scourge recognized her face immediately. Out of his pocket, Noktwar produced a weapon that resembled a phaser from 'Star Trek'. His arm shot out, grabbing Lorne's hair at the same time as he shot a blast from the weapon into the wall beside Tecothra.
"Hey, watch the 'do!" Lorne whined, trying to deter Noktwar's attention long enough for Tecothra to make a run for it.
"Another step and the Creature dies." the Scourge hissed. She froze where she stood, one hand on the doorknob. "Long time no see, Tec, though not nearly long enough. We have not forgotten you."
"And I haven't forgotten you, Noktwar." she could fling open the door and run away before he knew what was happening. But she couldn't leave Lorne behind. Noktwar wasn't kidding around when he said he would kill him. In fact, the Scourge never kidded about anything. Summoning some courage, Tecothra forced herself to face the thing she had feared for most of her life.
"This works out nicely for me. As soon as your friend here tells me what I want to know, I'll take you back to our...temporary home. Gratchu will be thrilled to see you again."
A chill ran through her at the Scourge's words. The constant shifting of her emotions was causing Lorne's stomach to churn. Noktwar motioned with the weapon for Tecothra to sit. She kept her eyes locked with Lorne's as she did so. The Scourge shoved the Pylean into the other chair, then pulled one up for himself.
Noktwar shifted his gaze from Lorne to Tecothra then back again. It was so much easier to get what he wanted when both hostages cared for one another. "Really, Tec, I would have expected you to have better taste than a Pylean."
"Wht is that supposed to mean?" Lorne demanded defensively. "Pylea may be a little upside down and even I may not like it very much, but it's - "
"Shut up, Creature!" the Scourge ordered. "I've been to Pylea. There is no reason for anyone to ever visit the dimension twice."
"Hey, that's my patriotic pride you're romping all over."
Noktwar's fist impacted Lorne's nose. The demon cursed with the sudden pain. "You say anything other than words of things to come for me, and I will carve those horns of yours right out of your skull. Get it?"
Lorne nodded, swallowing the protest before it could escape his throat. He liked his horns just where they were.
Tecothra leaned in closer to the Scourge. "So, let's hear it."
"Hear what?" Noktwar demanded.
"You have to sing in order for Lorne to see your future. That's the way his Gift works."
The demon glowered at the woman. The amused raised eyebrow irritated him. Noktwar snorted, then turned to the Pylean. "Can't argue with the Powers."
He racked his brain for some song lyrics. This was no easy task, as Noktwar despised all things musical. The annoying sound permeated the world, whether it be from birds flying overhead, crickets outside the farmhouse at night, or a human humming to itself as it walked down the street. "I can't remember the last song I heard." he mused.
"Well, Sweetie, if the karoake machine hadn't been destroyed, you could read the words off the screen, but alas - "
Lorne's sentence was cut off abruptly as Noktwar got up from his chair and slammed the Pylean's head down onto the table in one swift, fluent motion. "Those horns will make nice paperweights." he thunked Lorne down again for emphasis. "On second thought, I know several Ycletians who would pay top dollar for them." Noktwar flipped part of his weapon around to expose a dagger-length blade.
"No!" Tecothra flew at the Scourge. "Noktwar, he'll tell you what you want to know, but we're not kidding, you have to sing, so just leave him alone!" she latched onto his arm as she spoke hurriedly, so that he could not proceed to "carve" into Lorne's forehead.
Noktwar shoved Tecothra away. She hit her head on the bar, therefore leaving her in a daze. The Scourge held Lorne's head still on the table, and carefully cut into the demon's skin around his horns. The Pylean cried out, and tried to push himself up, but to no avail. Blood poured into his eyes and onto the table. Panic took over, and Lorne fought harder to get free.
Tecothra shook her mind clear, but could not get her motor skills to obey her commands.
Across the room, the girl turned her head to see what all the fuss was about. The monster that liked to sing was screaming now. He was in pain, his face all contorted, and blood...All the blood...
The girl got up from her spot beside the plant. This was wrong, she could feel it somehow. The other monster should not be hurting the monster that liked to sing. Because anything that liked to sing couldn't really be a monster. "Leave him alone!" she shrieked, the power of her resonating voice knocking Noktwar back behind the bar.
Tecothra found her feet, and helped Lorne to his. He pressed his hand against the wound left by the dagger, his expression bleak. "You'll be okay." she hoped she sounded convincing.
The demon managed a weak smile. "Who did that?"
She sought the ghost, and her suspicions were confirmed. "Zoë, your ghost. She saved your life." Tecothra nodded at the spectre appreciatively. "I'll come back to help you, I promise."
Zoë shrugged. "I've been here so long."
"I know," Noktwar groaned behind them. "Come on, let's get out of here before he gets up again." Tecothra urged Lorne. He nodded, feeling woozy. "I'll take you back to the hotel, okay? Hopefully Angel knows someone who can help you."
"I'll hold off Ugly," Zoë stated.
Angel looked up. He looked way, way up. He folded his arms across his chest. "Are you sure this is the only way?" he asked doubtfully. He didn't like the feeling of being so small, so vulnerable, so squishable. The team had initiated the plan to use a shrinking spell on the vampire and Gunn so that they could easily slip inside the place where Cordelia was being held captive by the Scourge. Angel, Gunn, Doyle, and Wesley were hiding in the field behind the barn, shielded by the unkempt grass.
Wesley squinted down at the six-inch tall vampire. The shrinking spell had worked rather well - a rare occasion it seemed, as far as obscure spells went. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that a little louder?" he asked quietly. He did not want to deafen his friend. Angel took a deep breath, then yelled his query as loud as he could. Wesley lowered himself down onto his haunches, "Angel, I am absolutely positive that this is the ony way."
The vampire groaned. Gunn put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, this'll be a piece of cake. All's we gotta do is get in, shrink Cordy, then get out again. No one'll even see us."
"That's what I'm worried about. What if someone steps on us? We'll be dead for sure!"
Doyle spoke up, "Angel, now's not the time fer doubts. Ya had yer chance ta think of a better way - "
"Yeah, yeah, okay, Gunn, let's go." Angel spun on his heel, heading toward the barn.
"You know, it didn't seem so far away when we were bigger." Gunn commented.
"Amen to that," Angel agreed with a chuckle.
"By the time we get there, it'll be mornin'." The vampire stopped and turned, working his jaw. "I'm kidding," Gunn clarified.
"I hope so,"
They trudged on for a good fifteen minutes before they finally made it to the wooden edifice. The two sought out a means of entry. Gunn discovered a hole betwen two boards big enough for them to fit through.
"Good work," Angel said, peering inside. There were two Scourge inside that he could see; one by the door, and one beside a stall that Angel could not see inside of. He guessed Cordelia was there, and hence the guard. "Follow me," he whispered to Gunn. They entered cautiously, and made their way closer to the stall. As they neared, Angel saw Cordelia's unmistakable brown locks through the cracks in the wood. "There she is."
Gunn stood beside the vampire so that he could see, too. "We gotta distract that demon-dude long enough for you to do the spell on her."
"I know." Angel looked around them, but being six inches tall left little room for spontaneity. "Gunn, you run out there and get them to follow you outside. Wes and Doyle can take two of them easily."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Of course I'm sure of that. Why wouldn't I be sure of that?"
"Well, Doyle's been dead for two years. Are you sure he's, you know, all right?"
"Doyle's fine, Gunn. Look, can we not talk about this now? We're kinda s'posed to be rescuing someone." he jerked his thumb at Cordelia.
Above them, a Scourge peered down over the edge of the hayloft. Curious as to their purpose here, he jumped down, landing right behind them. Angel and Gunn stumbled on the shaky ground, then whirled to see their foe.
"Run!" Angel yelled, and the two squeezed through the opening in the boards. He repeated the words to the shrinking spell that he had memorized on the drive over.
Gunn ran up in front of Cordelia's face, as she shrank. "Cordy, let's go! Now!"
"What the hell - "
"Nevermind!" Angel grabbed her arm, and the three of them fled the two Scourge who were now chasing after them.
Gunn and Cordelia made it to the back of the barn, where Gunn and Angel had made their entrance. The vampire was not so lucky. He was cornered at the front of the barn, with nowhere to squeeze through to the outside.
The third Scourge, Denattar rounded the barn just in time to catch a glimpse of the escaping humans before they disappeared into the long grass. Doyle tapped Wesley on the shoulder when he saw the demon appraoching. "I think something didn't quite go as planned."
The other sighed, his query rhetorical, "When does it ever?"