Chapter Ten
Returning from the school to the mansion, Kia strode around in furious strides. The floorboards began to creak dangerously and a few pieces of plaster fell from the ceiling. Lysan looked worriedly at the crumbling walls.
"Boss.These old building aren't built for.."
She whipped around and snarled at him, her eyes glowing fiercely. Lysan put both hands in the air and backed away.
"Sorry.sorry.. Didn't mean to call you boss."
Kia rolled her eyes, folded her arms and stared at Lysan with a hot scowl. All his parts where still in tact, he was lucky and yet he continued to slip into this disrespect. Wondering which area of flesh to gouge out, she heard a loud banging coming from one of the rooms to the side. Animalistic howls in barely human tones erupted and rang out through the old building. The banging became louder and more rhythmic. The noise grew so intense that Lysan had to cover his ears.
"Have they been fed?" Kia snapped at him.
He looked at her quizzically and signified he couldn't hear her. She ripped one of his hands from his ear, almost taking it from the wrist in the process.
"Have they been fed?"
"Yeah. We brought them Burger King."
"My poor babies. They don't like being cooped up in here. They want to savage human flesh and taste the pain of falling blood."
Kia looked thoughtfully towards the door, cocking her head to one side. Her hair spilled over her face. Lysan wanted to brush it away but he didn't dare step any closer than he was to her. He hoisted himself up onto one of the boxes of abandoned belongings.
"They've been cranky for a while," Lysan added.
"It's that damn Slayer," she growled, digging her nails into her palms. Small trickles of blood began to run down her hands and drip on the floor. Lysan restrained himself from jumping down and licking the drops from the floor. He could sense the power that was in that blood. Closing his eyes, he breathed in the intoxicating vapours that emitted from those tiny red splashes.
"Let them out," Kia said in a low tone.
The sound of her voice brought him back to the world. He blinked.
"What?"
"Let. Them. Out. Do it, now!"
Lysan hopped down from the box and slowly approached the door. He looked to Kia to check it was still the order. She nodded to him. With a gulp, he put his hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly. The door creaked open and revealed the dark room. The figures were difficult to make out in the dim light. He could hear them, their heavy breathing and shuffling. When they saw the cracks of light coming through the door, at first they whimpered and shyed away. Then one pair of wide eyes, the whites glowing and almost translucent, flew up. As the first bolted for the light, the others followed. Stalking around the room, they looked at Kia. Grinning, she started to clap.
"I think they're ready," she said in a sing song voice.
Kia snapped her fingers and the savages headed for the main door in frenzy, tumbling and scattering over each other, clawing at the door. Eventually the heavy oak gave way and they were set loose onto the streets. Their grunts and howls could be heard as they charged towards the town.
"Hey.. Wait a minute. You guys still haven't told us what this Sonnet Sword thing is yet," said Xander. "Or why you didn't want to come to Buffy."
Rhett sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. He looked to Buffy and the others and then to Piper.
"We'll wait outside. Call when you're done," he said and left the van with Piper.
Everett closed the van door and made sure they were out of earshot. He leaned in close as he spoke to Buffy and the others.
"When Figure Moon grew more powerful, we had to flee with the Sonnet Sun and locate the Slayer. Piper, she's the Sonnet sun. Pure magick, given form. Very powerful. Kiathlica wants to merge that power with her own. It would make her unstoppable. There's no other way known of defeating her than using the Sonnet's power. This world would be destroyed, tortured. It doesn't matter to her. She can move on to others dimensions, move between the walls, as she is magick also. Don't worry, Piper knows. That's not the reason he's taken her out. Rhett didn't want to involve you because he's in love with her. Your part in this causes him, all of us, great pain."
"Why? What do I do?" Buffy asked in a small voice.
"Because they are linked, the Sonnet's power can be used to quell Kiathlica's. However, she can't exist in her form and also in pure magickal form. That inner power has to be released."
He lowered his head and spoke in a barely audible whisper.
"You have to kill her."
Buffy stared at him in a blank silence. Slowly, she began to shake her head. It seemed unreal, too much to process.
"I can't.I can't kill a human," she stammered.
"She's not human," Everett said quietly, his head still lowered. "We have to keep telling ourselves that."
A thumping on the van door interrupted them. Everett pulled it open and Rhett dived in, pulling in Piper behind him. In the distance, guttural growls and moans could be heard.
"Drive," Rhett panted.
Bryn put his foot down and the van jerked into motion.
"What's going on?" asked Buffy.
"Kiathlica. Or rather her friends."
Buffy looked out of the back window of the van. Two girls were running behind the vehicle, chased by salivating, wild-eyed demons. They ran with a hunched gait, those in the back occasionally pausing to inspect the scents on the air. One of the girls began to lag behind. The creatures didn't miss the opportunity. Three of them lunged at her with high pitched, sickening cries, bowling her to the floor.
"Stop the van!" Buffy cried.
"No, no way! Keep going," Rhett ordered.
"Fine, then I'll have to do this the hard way," she said as she pulled open the door to the van.
Perching at the opening, she jumped down onto the road. The speed at which the van had been moving didn't allow her to get her footing. Buffy flailed and fell, spinning on the rough surface of the road. Dazed, she saw the others accelerate away, leaving only tire marks. The remaining beasts hurtled past Buffy and in pursuit of the van.
Buffy clambered to her feet. Fiery grazes burned on her right hand. She could feel the bruises forming on her face and her shoulder could really do with an ice pack. The girl screamed, snapping Buffy back into the situation. The three were tearing at the girl's hair and clothes, catching the flesh. At the sight of the first flow of blood, one of the creatures licked it off in short, rapid strokes. Screaming, the girl tried to fight them off, to no avail.
"Hey, don't you know it's rude to play with your food."
All three heads snapped up to look at her. The girl scrambled to her feet and took off with her friend. Buffy could see that they weren't demons at all. They were human. Savages. She recognised one as Darryl Hayes, the man that had been reported missing first in the papers. Their skin was ruddy and scratched, hair a ravaged tangle littered with leaves and debris. He ran at Buffy. A sharp kick to the face halted that attack. One of the others grabbed the leg she was standing on, knocking her to the floor. This female savage leaned over Buffy's face.
"Wow.. Need a breath mint much?"
Buffy head butted the female. Blood spurted from the female's nose. Whimpering, she came for Buffy again, the remaining male circling carefully. The female spit the blood from her mouth at the Slayer. Repulsed, Buffy hopped back and cartwheeled to the side neatly, moving behind the female. Buffy grabbed her and whacked her head into a lamppost. The female groaned then slumped to the floor. The last one let out a bestial battle cry and leapt onto Buffy's back, his teeth ripping the back of her neck. She whirled around, trying to dislodge him but he gripped her harder with his talon like nails. The man started to suck at the wound on the back of her neck, wrapping his legs around Buffy to get a tighter hold upon her. One of his hands moved round to her chest, the sharp nails cleaving a split in her top. He started slashing at the skin near her heart, panting madly. With an awesome shrug of her shoulders, Buffy managed to flip the man off her. There was a screech as the van came into view. It reversed quickly, knocking the man down and pulling him underneath. A bone- shattering crunch coupled with squeals hit the air.
"Get in!" someone yelled to Buffy.
She didn't have to be told twice. She jumped in as the van started to move forwards. Piper wedged a bunch of tissues together and started to mop up the wounds on her neck and front.
"Ok, what the hell was that?" asked Xander.
"Kia. Her army. That's what she does to people. She takes the goodness out of them, makes them savages. All they want to do is kill. It proves as a good distraction while she takes care of the real evil."
The van slammed into something, hurling them all forwards. Willow fell into the front, along with Rhett. His head hit the steering wheel. Buffy's head hit the glass of the back window. The door to the van started to creak and bend. Then it was ripped off completely.
"Evil. Is that what you call me now?"
Smiling sweetly at Piper, Kiathlica looked at those gathered in the van. Brushing grit from the road off her clothes, she grabbed Piper's hand.
"This game of hide and seek is over."
Returning from the school to the mansion, Kia strode around in furious strides. The floorboards began to creak dangerously and a few pieces of plaster fell from the ceiling. Lysan looked worriedly at the crumbling walls.
"Boss.These old building aren't built for.."
She whipped around and snarled at him, her eyes glowing fiercely. Lysan put both hands in the air and backed away.
"Sorry.sorry.. Didn't mean to call you boss."
Kia rolled her eyes, folded her arms and stared at Lysan with a hot scowl. All his parts where still in tact, he was lucky and yet he continued to slip into this disrespect. Wondering which area of flesh to gouge out, she heard a loud banging coming from one of the rooms to the side. Animalistic howls in barely human tones erupted and rang out through the old building. The banging became louder and more rhythmic. The noise grew so intense that Lysan had to cover his ears.
"Have they been fed?" Kia snapped at him.
He looked at her quizzically and signified he couldn't hear her. She ripped one of his hands from his ear, almost taking it from the wrist in the process.
"Have they been fed?"
"Yeah. We brought them Burger King."
"My poor babies. They don't like being cooped up in here. They want to savage human flesh and taste the pain of falling blood."
Kia looked thoughtfully towards the door, cocking her head to one side. Her hair spilled over her face. Lysan wanted to brush it away but he didn't dare step any closer than he was to her. He hoisted himself up onto one of the boxes of abandoned belongings.
"They've been cranky for a while," Lysan added.
"It's that damn Slayer," she growled, digging her nails into her palms. Small trickles of blood began to run down her hands and drip on the floor. Lysan restrained himself from jumping down and licking the drops from the floor. He could sense the power that was in that blood. Closing his eyes, he breathed in the intoxicating vapours that emitted from those tiny red splashes.
"Let them out," Kia said in a low tone.
The sound of her voice brought him back to the world. He blinked.
"What?"
"Let. Them. Out. Do it, now!"
Lysan hopped down from the box and slowly approached the door. He looked to Kia to check it was still the order. She nodded to him. With a gulp, he put his hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly. The door creaked open and revealed the dark room. The figures were difficult to make out in the dim light. He could hear them, their heavy breathing and shuffling. When they saw the cracks of light coming through the door, at first they whimpered and shyed away. Then one pair of wide eyes, the whites glowing and almost translucent, flew up. As the first bolted for the light, the others followed. Stalking around the room, they looked at Kia. Grinning, she started to clap.
"I think they're ready," she said in a sing song voice.
Kia snapped her fingers and the savages headed for the main door in frenzy, tumbling and scattering over each other, clawing at the door. Eventually the heavy oak gave way and they were set loose onto the streets. Their grunts and howls could be heard as they charged towards the town.
"Hey.. Wait a minute. You guys still haven't told us what this Sonnet Sword thing is yet," said Xander. "Or why you didn't want to come to Buffy."
Rhett sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. He looked to Buffy and the others and then to Piper.
"We'll wait outside. Call when you're done," he said and left the van with Piper.
Everett closed the van door and made sure they were out of earshot. He leaned in close as he spoke to Buffy and the others.
"When Figure Moon grew more powerful, we had to flee with the Sonnet Sun and locate the Slayer. Piper, she's the Sonnet sun. Pure magick, given form. Very powerful. Kiathlica wants to merge that power with her own. It would make her unstoppable. There's no other way known of defeating her than using the Sonnet's power. This world would be destroyed, tortured. It doesn't matter to her. She can move on to others dimensions, move between the walls, as she is magick also. Don't worry, Piper knows. That's not the reason he's taken her out. Rhett didn't want to involve you because he's in love with her. Your part in this causes him, all of us, great pain."
"Why? What do I do?" Buffy asked in a small voice.
"Because they are linked, the Sonnet's power can be used to quell Kiathlica's. However, she can't exist in her form and also in pure magickal form. That inner power has to be released."
He lowered his head and spoke in a barely audible whisper.
"You have to kill her."
Buffy stared at him in a blank silence. Slowly, she began to shake her head. It seemed unreal, too much to process.
"I can't.I can't kill a human," she stammered.
"She's not human," Everett said quietly, his head still lowered. "We have to keep telling ourselves that."
A thumping on the van door interrupted them. Everett pulled it open and Rhett dived in, pulling in Piper behind him. In the distance, guttural growls and moans could be heard.
"Drive," Rhett panted.
Bryn put his foot down and the van jerked into motion.
"What's going on?" asked Buffy.
"Kiathlica. Or rather her friends."
Buffy looked out of the back window of the van. Two girls were running behind the vehicle, chased by salivating, wild-eyed demons. They ran with a hunched gait, those in the back occasionally pausing to inspect the scents on the air. One of the girls began to lag behind. The creatures didn't miss the opportunity. Three of them lunged at her with high pitched, sickening cries, bowling her to the floor.
"Stop the van!" Buffy cried.
"No, no way! Keep going," Rhett ordered.
"Fine, then I'll have to do this the hard way," she said as she pulled open the door to the van.
Perching at the opening, she jumped down onto the road. The speed at which the van had been moving didn't allow her to get her footing. Buffy flailed and fell, spinning on the rough surface of the road. Dazed, she saw the others accelerate away, leaving only tire marks. The remaining beasts hurtled past Buffy and in pursuit of the van.
Buffy clambered to her feet. Fiery grazes burned on her right hand. She could feel the bruises forming on her face and her shoulder could really do with an ice pack. The girl screamed, snapping Buffy back into the situation. The three were tearing at the girl's hair and clothes, catching the flesh. At the sight of the first flow of blood, one of the creatures licked it off in short, rapid strokes. Screaming, the girl tried to fight them off, to no avail.
"Hey, don't you know it's rude to play with your food."
All three heads snapped up to look at her. The girl scrambled to her feet and took off with her friend. Buffy could see that they weren't demons at all. They were human. Savages. She recognised one as Darryl Hayes, the man that had been reported missing first in the papers. Their skin was ruddy and scratched, hair a ravaged tangle littered with leaves and debris. He ran at Buffy. A sharp kick to the face halted that attack. One of the others grabbed the leg she was standing on, knocking her to the floor. This female savage leaned over Buffy's face.
"Wow.. Need a breath mint much?"
Buffy head butted the female. Blood spurted from the female's nose. Whimpering, she came for Buffy again, the remaining male circling carefully. The female spit the blood from her mouth at the Slayer. Repulsed, Buffy hopped back and cartwheeled to the side neatly, moving behind the female. Buffy grabbed her and whacked her head into a lamppost. The female groaned then slumped to the floor. The last one let out a bestial battle cry and leapt onto Buffy's back, his teeth ripping the back of her neck. She whirled around, trying to dislodge him but he gripped her harder with his talon like nails. The man started to suck at the wound on the back of her neck, wrapping his legs around Buffy to get a tighter hold upon her. One of his hands moved round to her chest, the sharp nails cleaving a split in her top. He started slashing at the skin near her heart, panting madly. With an awesome shrug of her shoulders, Buffy managed to flip the man off her. There was a screech as the van came into view. It reversed quickly, knocking the man down and pulling him underneath. A bone- shattering crunch coupled with squeals hit the air.
"Get in!" someone yelled to Buffy.
She didn't have to be told twice. She jumped in as the van started to move forwards. Piper wedged a bunch of tissues together and started to mop up the wounds on her neck and front.
"Ok, what the hell was that?" asked Xander.
"Kia. Her army. That's what she does to people. She takes the goodness out of them, makes them savages. All they want to do is kill. It proves as a good distraction while she takes care of the real evil."
The van slammed into something, hurling them all forwards. Willow fell into the front, along with Rhett. His head hit the steering wheel. Buffy's head hit the glass of the back window. The door to the van started to creak and bend. Then it was ripped off completely.
"Evil. Is that what you call me now?"
Smiling sweetly at Piper, Kiathlica looked at those gathered in the van. Brushing grit from the road off her clothes, she grabbed Piper's hand.
"This game of hide and seek is over."