Gifts 7/?
After Oz and Xander returned from the morgue and reported their findings to Giles and Willow, the small group sat deep in thought.
"What difference does Kathy being a demon make?" Xander wondered.
Giles sighed. "It could make quite a lot, or possibly none at all. Most of the demons we encounter here on the Hellmouth are evil. However, neutral and good demons also exist. Kathy could well have been one of the latter kinds. The fact that she was attending college and acting as a human lends credence to that theory. Still, we don't have any definitive proof."
"So we need to figure out what type of demon she was," Willow guessed.
"Correct." Giles turned to Xander and Oz. "You say her body was decomposing. We know that it took at least several hours for the body to revert to demon form, and the decomposition then proceeded in an extremely rapid manner. I'll see if this information is enough to operate on."
While Giles selected a volume from his vast book collection, Willow filled in Oz and Xander on their progress in researching the ring and dagger Buffy had received, finishing with, "The ring is definitely enchanted but we're not sure how yet so there's still a big question mark there. As for the dagger, we found a sketch of it in a weapons book. It's one of a kind and it's called the Dagger of Ridana. It was made by a South-American based race of warrior demons called the Erlock."
Giles cleared his throat. "I believe I've found what we were looking for. This section about the Mok'tagar demon describes Kathy perfectly. Also, do you recall the strange dreams Buffy had? They're part of a ritual relating to this demon. Apparently, Kathy had been attempting to steal Buffy's soul during the night. Hence, the dreams."
"So, Kathy was a bad demon," Oz summarized.
"Yes, most definitely very bad," Giles confirmed. "We should count our blessings that she was killed before she could do any irreversible harm to Buffy."
Willow wrinkled her brow. "Then if Kathy was evil and it's good that she's dead, whoever killed her was being helpful."
"Which doesn't equate with what we know about Sunday and her gang," Xander objected. "Why would they try to kill Buffy and steal from her, and then help her out?"
"Because Sunday had nothing to do with Kathy's death!" Willow exclaimed. "Remember Buffy's secret admirer?"
Giles nodded. "Yes, we do keep coming back to this individual. It's possible we may have misjudged him. We need to provide Buffy with this new information."
"She hasn't reported back from campus yet?" Oz asked.
"No, and she's been gone rather a long while. Can you three look for her? Be sure to stay together--we can't let our guard down yet."
"Okay." Willow stood up, then hesitated. "What about you, Giles? If we leave, you'll be all alone."
He waved them off. "Don't worry about me. I'll take all necessary precautions. Just find Buffy and pool your knowledge to see if that helps."
*****
The abandoned Phi Theta house contained no fresh signs of Sunday and her gang. In no particular hurry to rendezvous with the others, Buffy took advantage of the daylight and scoured the nearby woods for any other possible hideaway, but came up empty. Apparently, the vamps had selected a new, secure home she would have to find the hard way. Putting aside the hunt for the moment, Buffy turned and cut through the woods on her way back to the campus. She was most of the way there when a tingling sensation ran down her spine. It was the same feeling she'd had several nights ago, when she'd been out walking with Willow and Xander. She hadn't figured out what had caused the feeling, but whatever it was, it was close again.
"Who's there?" she called. "I'm sick of this hide-and-seek garbage. Just show yourself and let's get this over with."
Her response was a rustling in the bushes to her right. Seconds later, a familiar figure stepped into her path. "Slayer. Long time, no see."
Buffy stared. The intruder was a very familiar, very unwelcome platinum-haired vampire. "Spike? What are you doing here instead of in South America with your ho? She leave you again for another slimy demon?"
Spike shook his head. "Nah, I'm here to see you."
"How did I get so lucky..." Buffy's voice trailed off as a horrible realization struck her. "It was *you*. *You* killed Kathy and you've been stalking me."
"Wasn't like that, luv. I mean, yeah, I did in your little friend, but you ought to be thanking me for that. You don't know what she really was."
"I'm thinking an innocent victim? And what are you doing out and about during the day, anyway? I know it's nice and shady under the trees but if you set even one foot in the wrong spot, you're dust." Buffy edged closer and noted that Spike had carefully positioned himself in a sheltered spot. All she had to do was either stake him or drag him into a handy patch of sunlight and the entire nightmare would be over.
As she crept forward, Spike retreated a few steps. "None of that, now. I didn't come here to fight you."
"That's too bad, because few things would give me more pleasure than kicking your ass." Buffy lunged at Spike and punched him in the jaw, sending him reeling.
He made a quick recovery and took up a defensive position. "Will you just listen to me? I want to tell you something, is all."
Buffy snorted. "Yeah, right. Nothing I want to hear, I'm sure. I knew I should have staked you last year when I had the chance." Without giving Spike another opportunity to plead his pathetic case, she launched an attack.
Surprisingly, Spike fell back under her fierce blows, doing far more parrying than striking out. From her previous fights with him, Buffy knew this approach was unusual. Of course, since Spike had come out on the losing end of all their battles to date, he must have decided to adopt new tactics. He was probably trying to confuse her and throw her off her game. Well, she wasn't going to fall for one of his lame tricks.
Buffy redoubled her efforts, finally sending Spike to the ground with a leg sweep. She swiftly pinned him down and grabbed a stray stick that was approximately the size of her usual vamp-dusting weapon. Before Spike could squirm away from her yet again, Buffy rammed the makeshift stake directly into his heart.
Things look bad for Spike, but keep reading....