Title: A Passing Shadow: Book II: Trick of the Light: Chapter 7
Author: VicNoir
Rating: R
Disclaimers, etc.: please see previous chapters.
So that's how I found myself in the alley behind the shop just after sundown. Was a mite nervous, as I hadn't laid eyes on the Slayer in almost a week, and I hadn't a soddin' clue what was expected of me. Research? Since when did that lot ask the likes o' me to do research?
Yeah, all right, so I know a few demon languages. And a few non-demon ones as well, but my Latin's rusty at best an' I always found Greek too bleedin' contrary in its conjugation...
Not the point, though. They'd called me in, they wanted my help--an' it beat sittin' 'round the crypt waitin' for the love of my unlife to show up an' stomp on my poncy git of a heart again.
So. I'm standin' in the alley, having a final smoke, when I hear voices through the back door-Red an' her bird, the sweet-natured one that used to read Donne t'me before the lights came back on...the one with the nice tits whose name I can never quite recall.
Tara. Right. Like from that flick with the bint who chased some poufter that didn't love her through the length of your Civil War. Never understood why she wouldn't just take what that other bloke was offerin'--good money, great sex and no guilt for not bein' a paragon of virtue.
An' again, I digress.
Seems Red an' her bird were havin' a bit of a go. Raised voices an' shrill accusations-pretty amusing, under different circumstances. Then the door banged open, an'...the one that isn't Red...Tara, right... shot out into the alley, an' headed straight for the corner, and leveled a kick at a trash bin. Then she stood there pantin' an' twitchin', an' givin' off little sparks that made the hairs on the back of me neck stand up an' sing.
"Here, now-what's all this?" Tossed my fag away an' walked up to her cautious an' slow-like. She'd always struck me as bein' a lot more powerful than she looked...still waters an' an all that rot...so I wasn't for makin' any quick moves whilst she was seemin' like she could fry the asphalt with a funny look.
"Spike! What are you-I mean, I d-didn't see you there."
"Reckon you didn't, luv."
"I... I... " She sputtered on some, hid her face in her hands, an' burst out bawlin'.
Felt at a bit of a loss right then. Don't get much call to comfort damsels in distress anymore... not since me an' Dru parted ways. An' generally speakin', all it took to distract HER was a nice, messy kill an' a round of 'connect the blood spatters' to finish off the evenin'. Good times.
"Ahhh....pet? Somethin' I can help with or...?"
"No...no, I'm sorry. It's just-Willow wants to--she... and I..."
"I... errrr...is this kind of an... ahhh... intimate kind of...errr..." Crikey. I was turnin' into the soddin' Watcher right where I stood, an' it was bloody terrifyin'.
"No! It's not that. It's...it's...I promised not to tell... but what if..." She took a deep breath and shook herself hard, which made her tits bounce 'round a bit, an' that was pleasant enough... yeah, I know, I'm a blighter, what of it?
"Willow's found another translation of that prophetic text. It contradicts the Council's interpretation. She's afraid to tell Giles-afraid he'll show it to the Council. Because Willow thinks the Council is actually... she thinks..."
"Red thinks the Council's out to finish the Slayer, don't she?"
She nodded, an' sorta hugged herself, as if the very thought of it gave her a chill. Have to admit, it wasn't good news, but I can't say I was too surprised. Bloody Council an' their bloody control issues-willin' t'bet they were glad to hear 'bout the Slayer takin' the plunge, an' right pissed off to discover that she'd crawled back outta her grave. Couldn't ever quite get a grip on our girl... couldn't bend her to their will, and now they saw their chance...
"Why don't Red trust the Watcher, then?"
She flinched away from me, an' I realized that I might've gotten a bit fangy an' grrr-thinkin' of Buffy bein' threatened by that pack o' sac-less wonders made me a mite testy. I shook off the bumpies an' took better hold of myself.
"It...it's not that she doesn't trust him so much as... well... he DID go back there without even telling us why... He never even warned Buffy."
"But Will can't be thinkin' he's in league with them witless wankers-"
"Oh, no, of course not... she's just... she's..."
"Got some doubts regardin' Rupert's judgment, does she?"
She looked at me like a puppy that'd had its nose whomped with the business end of fly swatter, an' nodded.
"The meeting's about to start, Spike. I should get in there. I... I promised Willow I wouldn't say anything about what she found, so you can't--"
"She don't even plan on tellin' the Slayer?"
"Eventually... I mean, she just wants some more time to figure out what it all means."
"But time's one thing we've not got a great lot of... An' Will knows it too-or she bloody well ought to."
Right then, Red poked her head out the door. Her face had that hard look it gets when she's made up her mind about something, and it got harder when she spied me an' her bird havin' a bit of private convo.
"Come on, you guys, we're starting."
I followed the two of 'em into the building an' took up a spot in the corner, as far away from the Slayer as I could get. She didn't look at me. Uppity bint.
I sat there, playin' with a fag I didn't dare light, for nearly half an hour. Watched Harris stuff his face with pastry, an' listened to the lot of 'em go 'round about 'tactics' and 'probable courses of action in the event of a large-scale strike by the nether forces'... Rupert can be a right trotting ponce when he gets those great squishy frontal lobes of his a'flexin'. By the time Willow piped up, offerin' to hit the books an' have a go at a stronger protection spell for the shop and the house on Revello, I'd reached my limit.
"Sounds lovely, pet. An' while you're at it, why don't you see if you can't scare up a new lead or two, eh? Somethin' enlightening--maybe on the order of a different translation for this bloody prophecy that's got us all arse over tits?"
Red's face was a picture. Almost funny, it was. And then the Watcher started in.
"Spike, I hardly think it will benefit us to waste precious time searching for differing interpretations of the prophecy. After all, the one we're working with comes directly from the Council, and one can hardly expect to do better than-"
"Right. 'Cause the Council wouldn't ever feed us anythin' that wasn't bang on, would they?" I turned to Red, then. Her face was the same shade as her hair, an' her eyes were sparkin' warning shots in my direction. "What d'you think, Will? Would the hallowed Watcher's Council, bane of all boogedies, an' very best mate and supporter of our Slayer here, ever have one over on us? A bit o' fun, a jolly prank... just to see if they could make the Slayer go away again... p'raps permanently this time?"
The Watcher'd whipped his specs off an' was workin' up a fine head o' steam, but before he could open his gob he shot a glance at Willow, an' something in her expression stopped him cold.
"Go on, then, Red. Tell it. It's time." I met her witchy, gonna-turn-you-into-something-small-and-slimy look head on, and she dropped her eyes.
"Ummm...Giles? I was going to say something. I just wanted to make sure I was reading it correctly. I HAD to make sure. You understand, right?" Then I felt bad, 'cause she was getting' all teary and the other witch-Tara-went over and laid her hand on Red's arm, an' Red shook it off without even lookin' up.
Harris woke up from his sugar coma about then. "OK, wait a minute. What's Evil Dead saying? The Council's been telling us stuff that's not so big with the true? And how would he know, anyway?"
An' then it became a right balls-up.
Rupert was accusin' Red of holding out on him, Red was defendin' herself, and both were gettin' louder to be heard above the din. The other witch was crying, but at least she was quiet about it. Harris was blusterin' on about what he'd do to me if I was lying, and his little demon bird was tryin' to snatch the donut out of his hand before he could he could smear the jam that was runnin' down his arm. And then I turned an' faced the Slayer, who hadn't made a peep in more than five minutes.
She was sittin' on the sofa, her head back an' her eyes shut tight. For half a mo', I thought she was sleeping. Then she opened those big green Gila monsters of hers an' looked around the room at her nearest and dearest. She looked at me, an' nodded, once.
I stuck the tips of two fingers in my mouth an' let out with a real ear-splitter. They all shut up an' glared at me until the Slayer cleared her throat. Then they turned an' glared at her.
"So... Willow, how about if you tell me what the REAL prophecy has to say? Or did you and Giles want to arm wrestle, or something? 'Cause I can wait."
There was a long silence that wasn't really silent, 'cause Red's little witchy-bird was sobbin' an' snifflin' there in the corner. When she realized that we could hear her, she bolted out the back door. Red never even turned to look. I wonder about her sometimes. She'll learn soon enough about throwin' away things you can't afford to lose, I reckon.
At that moment, though, she had her head buried in one of the larger tomes she'd lugged with her, showing the Watcher what she'd come up with. When I looked close at his face, I could see that he still wasn't best-pleased with how things were playin' out. But given his history with those wankers that employed him, I guessed it wouldn't take an army from hell with the Council's logo on their chests to make him believe what we were sayin'.
"See? Right here. It references Matthew 16:19...'And I will give
unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' But then, down here, it repeats it, but see how this symbol is used over the word for heaven? It's the opposing symbol. It turns the word into its opposite."
"Yes... yes, I see it. But how does it...? I mean, what can it possibly refer to?" Then Rupert had himself a little fit an' banged the book shut, nearly catching Red's fingers while he was at it. She jumped a bit, but then stuck out her chin.
"Well, I don't know yet. But I think it's worth looking at, especially since the stuff the Council sent us didn't even mention-"
"Please, Willow. I can't believe you'd even entertain the notion that the Council could-she's their SLAYER, for God's sake."
And that's when Harris's bird joined in, an' at that moment an' ever after, my opinion of Demon Girl shifted.
"Is she? Is she really? Because it seems to me that Buffy hasn't been THEIR slayer in a really long time. She doesn't follow orders. She has a lousy attitude. She keeps coming back from the dead. Frankly, if I were the Council, I might want to get rid of her, too."
Harris, of course, moved right in to shut her up. "Anya, honey, this isn't really-"
"Shut up, Xander." That was Buffy. And sweet music to my ears, might I add. "You were saying, Anya?"
"It's just that you're a lousy employee. If I were your boss, I'd fire you. And if I couldn't fire you--"
"OK, Anya, that's enough. Time to go home now." Harris had her by the arm an' was draggin' her toward the door.
"Let go of me!" She pulled herself away and turned to face Willow. "And one other thing. If you think about it, that translation makes perfect sense. You loosed Buffy on earth, didn't you? You grabbed her out of wherever she was and brought her back here. And when you loose something on earth, you loose it in hell too. At least, according to that prophecy, you do. So I guess that means that there's a Slayer wandering around in hell right this minute. And that's probably not such a good thing, is it? Since hell is pretty pissed off at us right now?"
Demon Girl was right, of course. It all made bloody perfect sense.
Author: VicNoir
Rating: R
Disclaimers, etc.: please see previous chapters.
So that's how I found myself in the alley behind the shop just after sundown. Was a mite nervous, as I hadn't laid eyes on the Slayer in almost a week, and I hadn't a soddin' clue what was expected of me. Research? Since when did that lot ask the likes o' me to do research?
Yeah, all right, so I know a few demon languages. And a few non-demon ones as well, but my Latin's rusty at best an' I always found Greek too bleedin' contrary in its conjugation...
Not the point, though. They'd called me in, they wanted my help--an' it beat sittin' 'round the crypt waitin' for the love of my unlife to show up an' stomp on my poncy git of a heart again.
So. I'm standin' in the alley, having a final smoke, when I hear voices through the back door-Red an' her bird, the sweet-natured one that used to read Donne t'me before the lights came back on...the one with the nice tits whose name I can never quite recall.
Tara. Right. Like from that flick with the bint who chased some poufter that didn't love her through the length of your Civil War. Never understood why she wouldn't just take what that other bloke was offerin'--good money, great sex and no guilt for not bein' a paragon of virtue.
An' again, I digress.
Seems Red an' her bird were havin' a bit of a go. Raised voices an' shrill accusations-pretty amusing, under different circumstances. Then the door banged open, an'...the one that isn't Red...Tara, right... shot out into the alley, an' headed straight for the corner, and leveled a kick at a trash bin. Then she stood there pantin' an' twitchin', an' givin' off little sparks that made the hairs on the back of me neck stand up an' sing.
"Here, now-what's all this?" Tossed my fag away an' walked up to her cautious an' slow-like. She'd always struck me as bein' a lot more powerful than she looked...still waters an' an all that rot...so I wasn't for makin' any quick moves whilst she was seemin' like she could fry the asphalt with a funny look.
"Spike! What are you-I mean, I d-didn't see you there."
"Reckon you didn't, luv."
"I... I... " She sputtered on some, hid her face in her hands, an' burst out bawlin'.
Felt at a bit of a loss right then. Don't get much call to comfort damsels in distress anymore... not since me an' Dru parted ways. An' generally speakin', all it took to distract HER was a nice, messy kill an' a round of 'connect the blood spatters' to finish off the evenin'. Good times.
"Ahhh....pet? Somethin' I can help with or...?"
"No...no, I'm sorry. It's just-Willow wants to--she... and I..."
"I... errrr...is this kind of an... ahhh... intimate kind of...errr..." Crikey. I was turnin' into the soddin' Watcher right where I stood, an' it was bloody terrifyin'.
"No! It's not that. It's...it's...I promised not to tell... but what if..." She took a deep breath and shook herself hard, which made her tits bounce 'round a bit, an' that was pleasant enough... yeah, I know, I'm a blighter, what of it?
"Willow's found another translation of that prophetic text. It contradicts the Council's interpretation. She's afraid to tell Giles-afraid he'll show it to the Council. Because Willow thinks the Council is actually... she thinks..."
"Red thinks the Council's out to finish the Slayer, don't she?"
She nodded, an' sorta hugged herself, as if the very thought of it gave her a chill. Have to admit, it wasn't good news, but I can't say I was too surprised. Bloody Council an' their bloody control issues-willin' t'bet they were glad to hear 'bout the Slayer takin' the plunge, an' right pissed off to discover that she'd crawled back outta her grave. Couldn't ever quite get a grip on our girl... couldn't bend her to their will, and now they saw their chance...
"Why don't Red trust the Watcher, then?"
She flinched away from me, an' I realized that I might've gotten a bit fangy an' grrr-thinkin' of Buffy bein' threatened by that pack o' sac-less wonders made me a mite testy. I shook off the bumpies an' took better hold of myself.
"It...it's not that she doesn't trust him so much as... well... he DID go back there without even telling us why... He never even warned Buffy."
"But Will can't be thinkin' he's in league with them witless wankers-"
"Oh, no, of course not... she's just... she's..."
"Got some doubts regardin' Rupert's judgment, does she?"
She looked at me like a puppy that'd had its nose whomped with the business end of fly swatter, an' nodded.
"The meeting's about to start, Spike. I should get in there. I... I promised Willow I wouldn't say anything about what she found, so you can't--"
"She don't even plan on tellin' the Slayer?"
"Eventually... I mean, she just wants some more time to figure out what it all means."
"But time's one thing we've not got a great lot of... An' Will knows it too-or she bloody well ought to."
Right then, Red poked her head out the door. Her face had that hard look it gets when she's made up her mind about something, and it got harder when she spied me an' her bird havin' a bit of private convo.
"Come on, you guys, we're starting."
I followed the two of 'em into the building an' took up a spot in the corner, as far away from the Slayer as I could get. She didn't look at me. Uppity bint.
I sat there, playin' with a fag I didn't dare light, for nearly half an hour. Watched Harris stuff his face with pastry, an' listened to the lot of 'em go 'round about 'tactics' and 'probable courses of action in the event of a large-scale strike by the nether forces'... Rupert can be a right trotting ponce when he gets those great squishy frontal lobes of his a'flexin'. By the time Willow piped up, offerin' to hit the books an' have a go at a stronger protection spell for the shop and the house on Revello, I'd reached my limit.
"Sounds lovely, pet. An' while you're at it, why don't you see if you can't scare up a new lead or two, eh? Somethin' enlightening--maybe on the order of a different translation for this bloody prophecy that's got us all arse over tits?"
Red's face was a picture. Almost funny, it was. And then the Watcher started in.
"Spike, I hardly think it will benefit us to waste precious time searching for differing interpretations of the prophecy. After all, the one we're working with comes directly from the Council, and one can hardly expect to do better than-"
"Right. 'Cause the Council wouldn't ever feed us anythin' that wasn't bang on, would they?" I turned to Red, then. Her face was the same shade as her hair, an' her eyes were sparkin' warning shots in my direction. "What d'you think, Will? Would the hallowed Watcher's Council, bane of all boogedies, an' very best mate and supporter of our Slayer here, ever have one over on us? A bit o' fun, a jolly prank... just to see if they could make the Slayer go away again... p'raps permanently this time?"
The Watcher'd whipped his specs off an' was workin' up a fine head o' steam, but before he could open his gob he shot a glance at Willow, an' something in her expression stopped him cold.
"Go on, then, Red. Tell it. It's time." I met her witchy, gonna-turn-you-into-something-small-and-slimy look head on, and she dropped her eyes.
"Ummm...Giles? I was going to say something. I just wanted to make sure I was reading it correctly. I HAD to make sure. You understand, right?" Then I felt bad, 'cause she was getting' all teary and the other witch-Tara-went over and laid her hand on Red's arm, an' Red shook it off without even lookin' up.
Harris woke up from his sugar coma about then. "OK, wait a minute. What's Evil Dead saying? The Council's been telling us stuff that's not so big with the true? And how would he know, anyway?"
An' then it became a right balls-up.
Rupert was accusin' Red of holding out on him, Red was defendin' herself, and both were gettin' louder to be heard above the din. The other witch was crying, but at least she was quiet about it. Harris was blusterin' on about what he'd do to me if I was lying, and his little demon bird was tryin' to snatch the donut out of his hand before he could he could smear the jam that was runnin' down his arm. And then I turned an' faced the Slayer, who hadn't made a peep in more than five minutes.
She was sittin' on the sofa, her head back an' her eyes shut tight. For half a mo', I thought she was sleeping. Then she opened those big green Gila monsters of hers an' looked around the room at her nearest and dearest. She looked at me, an' nodded, once.
I stuck the tips of two fingers in my mouth an' let out with a real ear-splitter. They all shut up an' glared at me until the Slayer cleared her throat. Then they turned an' glared at her.
"So... Willow, how about if you tell me what the REAL prophecy has to say? Or did you and Giles want to arm wrestle, or something? 'Cause I can wait."
There was a long silence that wasn't really silent, 'cause Red's little witchy-bird was sobbin' an' snifflin' there in the corner. When she realized that we could hear her, she bolted out the back door. Red never even turned to look. I wonder about her sometimes. She'll learn soon enough about throwin' away things you can't afford to lose, I reckon.
At that moment, though, she had her head buried in one of the larger tomes she'd lugged with her, showing the Watcher what she'd come up with. When I looked close at his face, I could see that he still wasn't best-pleased with how things were playin' out. But given his history with those wankers that employed him, I guessed it wouldn't take an army from hell with the Council's logo on their chests to make him believe what we were sayin'.
"See? Right here. It references Matthew 16:19...'And I will give
unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' But then, down here, it repeats it, but see how this symbol is used over the word for heaven? It's the opposing symbol. It turns the word into its opposite."
"Yes... yes, I see it. But how does it...? I mean, what can it possibly refer to?" Then Rupert had himself a little fit an' banged the book shut, nearly catching Red's fingers while he was at it. She jumped a bit, but then stuck out her chin.
"Well, I don't know yet. But I think it's worth looking at, especially since the stuff the Council sent us didn't even mention-"
"Please, Willow. I can't believe you'd even entertain the notion that the Council could-she's their SLAYER, for God's sake."
And that's when Harris's bird joined in, an' at that moment an' ever after, my opinion of Demon Girl shifted.
"Is she? Is she really? Because it seems to me that Buffy hasn't been THEIR slayer in a really long time. She doesn't follow orders. She has a lousy attitude. She keeps coming back from the dead. Frankly, if I were the Council, I might want to get rid of her, too."
Harris, of course, moved right in to shut her up. "Anya, honey, this isn't really-"
"Shut up, Xander." That was Buffy. And sweet music to my ears, might I add. "You were saying, Anya?"
"It's just that you're a lousy employee. If I were your boss, I'd fire you. And if I couldn't fire you--"
"OK, Anya, that's enough. Time to go home now." Harris had her by the arm an' was draggin' her toward the door.
"Let go of me!" She pulled herself away and turned to face Willow. "And one other thing. If you think about it, that translation makes perfect sense. You loosed Buffy on earth, didn't you? You grabbed her out of wherever she was and brought her back here. And when you loose something on earth, you loose it in hell too. At least, according to that prophecy, you do. So I guess that means that there's a Slayer wandering around in hell right this minute. And that's probably not such a good thing, is it? Since hell is pretty pissed off at us right now?"
Demon Girl was right, of course. It all made bloody perfect sense.