3000, several minutes later
"Richard."
Richard, the half-Torakal demon, appears in actual size in the living area of the cabin. Of course, he's not physically present because we are just calling him. He's wearing an old-fashioned white apron on his tall form, and a jaunty, mismatched hat caps his head. His long tail swirls around him like a cat's tail with a mind of its own as he juggles a large pan and spoon in his hands.
"Buffy, I haven't heard from you in a while," Richard says in his usual happy-go-lucky manner. He swipes his hat off, uncovering tousled curls. "And Spike. And Reyni." He gives a little bow to Reyni.
I laugh in spite of the grave news I have to share. Richard always has always had the ability to make me smile. "I didn't know anyone cooked anymore with the advent and perfection of the food dispensers."
"Guess I'm sort of into more primitive forms of art." He grins, setting the pan and spoon aside so that they disappear from view. He props himself against a cabinet and crosses his arms. "What can I do for you?"
"Have you heard anything about a new uprising in the demon world?"
Because Richard is no longer working with slayers, he has somehow wedged himself halfway back into the demon world. He remains a valuable source of information for Spike and I when we come across something that looks like trouble.
A concentrated look crosses over his face, and he's silent for a minute, his tail the only body part moving. "No. Actually, I haven't. Why?"
Spike's voice rises from behind me, "Buffy and Reyni ran across a Council-picked Doig'ash demon tonight. The demon's dead, but he carried a vid message about the slayer and destiny, and it came with a set of location coordinates."
Richard's eyes brightened. "Hmmm. That's interesting."
"Yeah," Spike continues, "Real interesting. The vamp who delivered the message was real interesting, too."
"Who?"
"She has red hair now, but we think it was Lydia," I supply, sitting forward in my chair.
"Lydia?" Richard sounds surprised. "I haven't heard a thing about her since the battle with Nabald's crew."
"Seems she might have been one of the vamps who escaped."
Reyni interrupts, "Umm. Who's Lydia?"
I glance back at her. "Lydia was a vampire in Nabald's faction when Spike and I infiltrated. That was about three hundred twenty-five years ago. She didn't like Spike and I very much."
"Pet, she was jealous of you," Spike mentions, raising his eyebrows at me.
"Really?" Reyni is intrigued.
"No," I respond insistently. "She just didn't trust us."
"No, love, she came onto me. I rejected her."
I fire an unspoken message into his mind, "What? When?" The low throb of rage fills my body. Why is he telling me this? "How come you didn't tell me?" I ask aloud.
Spike shrugs. "Knew your temper. Didn't need you flying off the handle and blowing our cover."
Allowing a little golden glow to come through in my eyes, I shoot daggers at the vampire across from me. "Bastard," I growl into his mind. He blanches slightly at the name-calling that only he can hear, and Reyni's eyes widen. She's seen us fight before, and she knows what to expect. Although she usually leaves the room when she senses the other shoe about to be dropped, now she's stuck because she doesn't want to be impolite to Richard.
"Don't look at me like that. You know it's true," Spike retorts but less strongly than normal. He knows better than to banter with me too much in front of guests.
Swallowing my anger and making a mental note to address the issue later. . . not much later, I return my gaze to Richard who is watching with a half-embarrassed, half-amused smile. "Sorry."
Richard seems to be fairly amused as if he expects displays of temper from us. "It's okay. What do you need me to do?"
I nod. "Keep your ear to the demon world. Listen for any rumors about what might be going on. . . with vamps and for any news on somebody being after the slayer."
"After Reyni?"
Frowning uncertainly, I reply, "I'm not sure."
Coming to my side, Spike places his hand firmly on my shoulder. I resist the urge to shrug his touch away. "Would you mind checking the coordinates for us, too, mate? On our little retreat here, we have minimal technology."
"Okay. . . give me an hour. I'll get a quick picture of what's going down. And then, I'll do a more thorough search for info later." Richard winks at Reyni. "Reyni, try not to worry. We'll help you figure this out."
Then, he is gone as if he had never been present.
Throwing off Spike's hand as rudely as possible, I am on my feet and whirl to confront him. "What the hell was that about?" I ignore the flicker of panic that crosses Reyni's face.
The corners of Spike's mouth threaten to lift. "What, pet?"
I advance on my lover, and he takes a step back. "You know very well what."
"The thing about Lydia?" he asks in a small voice that's tinged with amusement. . . amusement that pisses me off even more.
"Yeah! The *thing* about Lydia."
"What about it?"
"You know damn well what!" I repeat and glare, my skin tingling more with each phrase he utters. How does he know how to push all the right buttons, and why do I still let him push them after all this time? I know the answer, but at the moment, I don't like it. "I don't like that you kept that from me!"
"What?" I say nothing but plant my hands on my hips. Spike attempts to look helpless. In reality, he's loving every minute of his act. "The thing about Lydia coming on to me?"
"Duh!" I roll my eyes.
"I explained my reasoning when we were talking with Richard," he states calmly.
"Not well enough!"
"What do you mean?"
I want to hit him, but I restrain myself. . . .no small feat for me when I'm angry. "What exactly happened? Tell me from the beginning." Okay, that sounds firm but not too aggressive.
"But it happened over three hundred and twenty-five years ago," he protests.
"Pffff! What's that to us? Tell me everything. Now." I am standing on tiptoe with my face inches from his, my toes digging into the thick carpet and every muscle alert.
"Okay, okay." He places his hands on my upper arms, and I allow him to force me down. I cross my arms, waiting impatiently. "It happened when you were out that one day, you know, the day you came back with all the blood from Joyger's messenger?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Well, Nabald said I was free to take advantage of the other females among the group. He offered me the pick of his little harem. Had them all parade in front of me one at a time, wearing next to nothing."
"What?!" Nabald better be glad he is already dead.
"Yeah. When it was Lydia's turn, Nabald got called away for a minute."
"Yeah, right. Conveniently."
"Will you let me finish the story, pet? Then, you can make all the comments you want."
Sticking out my bottom lip, I pout but remain silent.
A faint beeping noise echoes in our heads. Someone's trying to call us back. Spike and I don't move, but a frozen Reyni gains her bearings and heads into the other room to respond to the call.
Spike continues, "Well, she approached me. . . "
"Let me guess, all flirtatious. Did she take her clothes off?"
Now Spike is getting annoyed with my interruptions; I can read his frustration in the way he holds his body. He sighs, "No, pet, she didn't. But she did try to kiss me."
"What?!" Lydia is dead if I ever find her. "And what did you do?" I demand.
"Pushed her off of me. What do you think I bloody did?!"
"Oh." My heart lifts; my arms relax. I need to hear that he was noble.
"Yeah. And she didn't take too kindly to it either. She asked me what was wrong with me."
Now that I know what happened, I'm merely curious. "What did you say?"
"I told her that I loved you, that I was committed to you." Guiltily, I reach out to stroke his arm. He flinches away, which is a reaction I deserve. "Thought you trusted me, love."
My stomach aching, I reply, "I-I do."
"Got a funny way of showing it." He refuses to meet my eyes with his.
Holding my elbows in my palms, I whisper, "I get jealous about that kind of thing, I guess. Don't want anyone else to have you. It just hurt that you didn't tell me then."
Spike can't stand to know I hurt, and his arms encircle me tightly. I relax gratefully against his familiar form, laying my head and palms against his chest. "Oh, pet, I know." After a few seconds, he adds, "Now you know why I didn't want to tell you at the time. Knew you'd react like this."
I laugh, letting loose the pressure in my body. "Guess you're right as usual. How come you're usually right?" I prop my chin against his body and stare up at him with a smile.
He shrugs. "Dunno. Just know whom I'm dealing with I suppose."
A thought suddenly pops into my mind. "Is that why she made the comment about getting a room when I got back with the blood?"
He smiles widely, flashing teeth. "Yeah."
Bending over me, he kisses my collarbone and moves up my throat until he reaches my mouth. My body sends a rush of tingles dancing over my skin. However, before he can kiss me good and proper on the mouth, Reyni interrupts our moment.
"Hate to interfere with the makeup session, but Richard just talked with me about those location coordinates." She sounds more worried than amused.
Spike and I break away, but he keeps his arm around my waist. "What did he say?" I ask, trying to brush off the desire that ripples through me.
"Well, apparently, it wasn't too hard for him to figure out cause it's the location of an international news broadcast." Reyni looks too tired for her age.
"Really."
"Yeah, apparently, there are bodies."
"Bodies?" Spike queries. "How many? Human or demon? When?"
"Over two hundred. Human. It happened tonight. Apparently, there was some kind of magic involved."
"Damn." The use of magic worries me because it might mean someone really powerful was involved. "We'd better check it out before the sun comes up."
"Richard."
Richard, the half-Torakal demon, appears in actual size in the living area of the cabin. Of course, he's not physically present because we are just calling him. He's wearing an old-fashioned white apron on his tall form, and a jaunty, mismatched hat caps his head. His long tail swirls around him like a cat's tail with a mind of its own as he juggles a large pan and spoon in his hands.
"Buffy, I haven't heard from you in a while," Richard says in his usual happy-go-lucky manner. He swipes his hat off, uncovering tousled curls. "And Spike. And Reyni." He gives a little bow to Reyni.
I laugh in spite of the grave news I have to share. Richard always has always had the ability to make me smile. "I didn't know anyone cooked anymore with the advent and perfection of the food dispensers."
"Guess I'm sort of into more primitive forms of art." He grins, setting the pan and spoon aside so that they disappear from view. He props himself against a cabinet and crosses his arms. "What can I do for you?"
"Have you heard anything about a new uprising in the demon world?"
Because Richard is no longer working with slayers, he has somehow wedged himself halfway back into the demon world. He remains a valuable source of information for Spike and I when we come across something that looks like trouble.
A concentrated look crosses over his face, and he's silent for a minute, his tail the only body part moving. "No. Actually, I haven't. Why?"
Spike's voice rises from behind me, "Buffy and Reyni ran across a Council-picked Doig'ash demon tonight. The demon's dead, but he carried a vid message about the slayer and destiny, and it came with a set of location coordinates."
Richard's eyes brightened. "Hmmm. That's interesting."
"Yeah," Spike continues, "Real interesting. The vamp who delivered the message was real interesting, too."
"Who?"
"She has red hair now, but we think it was Lydia," I supply, sitting forward in my chair.
"Lydia?" Richard sounds surprised. "I haven't heard a thing about her since the battle with Nabald's crew."
"Seems she might have been one of the vamps who escaped."
Reyni interrupts, "Umm. Who's Lydia?"
I glance back at her. "Lydia was a vampire in Nabald's faction when Spike and I infiltrated. That was about three hundred twenty-five years ago. She didn't like Spike and I very much."
"Pet, she was jealous of you," Spike mentions, raising his eyebrows at me.
"Really?" Reyni is intrigued.
"No," I respond insistently. "She just didn't trust us."
"No, love, she came onto me. I rejected her."
I fire an unspoken message into his mind, "What? When?" The low throb of rage fills my body. Why is he telling me this? "How come you didn't tell me?" I ask aloud.
Spike shrugs. "Knew your temper. Didn't need you flying off the handle and blowing our cover."
Allowing a little golden glow to come through in my eyes, I shoot daggers at the vampire across from me. "Bastard," I growl into his mind. He blanches slightly at the name-calling that only he can hear, and Reyni's eyes widen. She's seen us fight before, and she knows what to expect. Although she usually leaves the room when she senses the other shoe about to be dropped, now she's stuck because she doesn't want to be impolite to Richard.
"Don't look at me like that. You know it's true," Spike retorts but less strongly than normal. He knows better than to banter with me too much in front of guests.
Swallowing my anger and making a mental note to address the issue later. . . not much later, I return my gaze to Richard who is watching with a half-embarrassed, half-amused smile. "Sorry."
Richard seems to be fairly amused as if he expects displays of temper from us. "It's okay. What do you need me to do?"
I nod. "Keep your ear to the demon world. Listen for any rumors about what might be going on. . . with vamps and for any news on somebody being after the slayer."
"After Reyni?"
Frowning uncertainly, I reply, "I'm not sure."
Coming to my side, Spike places his hand firmly on my shoulder. I resist the urge to shrug his touch away. "Would you mind checking the coordinates for us, too, mate? On our little retreat here, we have minimal technology."
"Okay. . . give me an hour. I'll get a quick picture of what's going down. And then, I'll do a more thorough search for info later." Richard winks at Reyni. "Reyni, try not to worry. We'll help you figure this out."
Then, he is gone as if he had never been present.
Throwing off Spike's hand as rudely as possible, I am on my feet and whirl to confront him. "What the hell was that about?" I ignore the flicker of panic that crosses Reyni's face.
The corners of Spike's mouth threaten to lift. "What, pet?"
I advance on my lover, and he takes a step back. "You know very well what."
"The thing about Lydia?" he asks in a small voice that's tinged with amusement. . . amusement that pisses me off even more.
"Yeah! The *thing* about Lydia."
"What about it?"
"You know damn well what!" I repeat and glare, my skin tingling more with each phrase he utters. How does he know how to push all the right buttons, and why do I still let him push them after all this time? I know the answer, but at the moment, I don't like it. "I don't like that you kept that from me!"
"What?" I say nothing but plant my hands on my hips. Spike attempts to look helpless. In reality, he's loving every minute of his act. "The thing about Lydia coming on to me?"
"Duh!" I roll my eyes.
"I explained my reasoning when we were talking with Richard," he states calmly.
"Not well enough!"
"What do you mean?"
I want to hit him, but I restrain myself. . . .no small feat for me when I'm angry. "What exactly happened? Tell me from the beginning." Okay, that sounds firm but not too aggressive.
"But it happened over three hundred and twenty-five years ago," he protests.
"Pffff! What's that to us? Tell me everything. Now." I am standing on tiptoe with my face inches from his, my toes digging into the thick carpet and every muscle alert.
"Okay, okay." He places his hands on my upper arms, and I allow him to force me down. I cross my arms, waiting impatiently. "It happened when you were out that one day, you know, the day you came back with all the blood from Joyger's messenger?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Well, Nabald said I was free to take advantage of the other females among the group. He offered me the pick of his little harem. Had them all parade in front of me one at a time, wearing next to nothing."
"What?!" Nabald better be glad he is already dead.
"Yeah. When it was Lydia's turn, Nabald got called away for a minute."
"Yeah, right. Conveniently."
"Will you let me finish the story, pet? Then, you can make all the comments you want."
Sticking out my bottom lip, I pout but remain silent.
A faint beeping noise echoes in our heads. Someone's trying to call us back. Spike and I don't move, but a frozen Reyni gains her bearings and heads into the other room to respond to the call.
Spike continues, "Well, she approached me. . . "
"Let me guess, all flirtatious. Did she take her clothes off?"
Now Spike is getting annoyed with my interruptions; I can read his frustration in the way he holds his body. He sighs, "No, pet, she didn't. But she did try to kiss me."
"What?!" Lydia is dead if I ever find her. "And what did you do?" I demand.
"Pushed her off of me. What do you think I bloody did?!"
"Oh." My heart lifts; my arms relax. I need to hear that he was noble.
"Yeah. And she didn't take too kindly to it either. She asked me what was wrong with me."
Now that I know what happened, I'm merely curious. "What did you say?"
"I told her that I loved you, that I was committed to you." Guiltily, I reach out to stroke his arm. He flinches away, which is a reaction I deserve. "Thought you trusted me, love."
My stomach aching, I reply, "I-I do."
"Got a funny way of showing it." He refuses to meet my eyes with his.
Holding my elbows in my palms, I whisper, "I get jealous about that kind of thing, I guess. Don't want anyone else to have you. It just hurt that you didn't tell me then."
Spike can't stand to know I hurt, and his arms encircle me tightly. I relax gratefully against his familiar form, laying my head and palms against his chest. "Oh, pet, I know." After a few seconds, he adds, "Now you know why I didn't want to tell you at the time. Knew you'd react like this."
I laugh, letting loose the pressure in my body. "Guess you're right as usual. How come you're usually right?" I prop my chin against his body and stare up at him with a smile.
He shrugs. "Dunno. Just know whom I'm dealing with I suppose."
A thought suddenly pops into my mind. "Is that why she made the comment about getting a room when I got back with the blood?"
He smiles widely, flashing teeth. "Yeah."
Bending over me, he kisses my collarbone and moves up my throat until he reaches my mouth. My body sends a rush of tingles dancing over my skin. However, before he can kiss me good and proper on the mouth, Reyni interrupts our moment.
"Hate to interfere with the makeup session, but Richard just talked with me about those location coordinates." She sounds more worried than amused.
Spike and I break away, but he keeps his arm around my waist. "What did he say?" I ask, trying to brush off the desire that ripples through me.
"Well, apparently, it wasn't too hard for him to figure out cause it's the location of an international news broadcast." Reyni looks too tired for her age.
"Really."
"Yeah, apparently, there are bodies."
"Bodies?" Spike queries. "How many? Human or demon? When?"
"Over two hundred. Human. It happened tonight. Apparently, there was some kind of magic involved."
"Damn." The use of magic worries me because it might mean someone really powerful was involved. "We'd better check it out before the sun comes up."