Facing Death (Part 4 of 7)
Over the thundering noise of screams and the clash of weapons, I could hear bits of Willow's frantic call to the powers. Spike had managed to join them on the roof and, as the rest of us fought through the hundreds blocking our path, in snatches I saw Spike and Giles working as a team. Giles was in full Ripper mode as his blade swept around, glinting in the moonlight as it smote death among the enemy. Periodically, a flare of magic would pour from him and several of the Hellspawn would cry out and fall back into the growing numbers surrounding the building. Spike, Spike was so covered with blood that as he spun from one opponent to another it flew off of him, like water from a dog shaking itself after it gets wet.
The Last Apocalypse
by A. L. Harris
Part 4
I woke up to an electronic rendition of "You Sexy Thing" by Hot Chocolate emerging from my cell phone. Dawn had chosen that song, over my strenuous objections. Now, as I fumbled my way off of Father Murry's couch and stumbled to the coat rack where the cell phone nestled in my jacket's pocket, I once again cursed that choice under my breath. One of these days, I was going to change it…just as soon as I figured out how.
"What?" I snapped into the mouthpiece.
"Xander, that was rude. And I always figured you for a morning person, too," said the dulcet tones of Angelus.
Shit. Angelus was calling me. On my cell phone, that only a few people had the number for.
"How'd you get this number?"
"A little birdie told me…well, screamed it actually."
My blood ran cold at the possibilities. Let the birdie be Leon, let the birdie be Leon, I silently repeated to myself.
"Funny thing, too. I know she's really a ball of energy, but her taste? Just like Buffy's."
Dawn! My legs buckled under me and I sank to the floor; my world was breaking into a thousand tiny pieces as that monster continued to speak.
"And her skin, so soft. Damn, but those monks did good work, didn't they? But you probably already know that."
With shaky fingers, I pressed the button to disconnect, then leaned over and began to noisily retch until my stomach was empty. From what seemed like a far distance, I could hear footsteps enter the room. I felt my hand being lifted and the cell phone, ringing again, was forced into it. I stared blankly at Father Murry who was now squatting down next to me.
"You need to answer it, son."
I turned to the ringing phone gripped tightly in my hand, and anger swept through me, heating me, burning my soul.
"You're going to wish you were back in hell," I growled into the mouthpiece.
Angelus laughed. He'd probably always laughed at his victims in the past and it had most likely frightened them. Me, it strengthened. I stood up, my throat still raw and burning from vomiting, and I felt the power of hate fill me.
"Xander! Are you planning to kill me?" Angelus asked with mock surprise.
"No. You won't die. Vampires die from beheading, sunlight, and a stake in the heart. The way I figure it, that leaves me with a hell of a lot of things I can do to you. And keep doing to you for a long time."
"Well, if you have everything all planned out…I guess I don't need to keep Dawn alive anymore."
She was alive! Dawn was alive! For a moment, I couldn't see, hear, or feel anything. My mind was too occupied with the thought that I hadn't lost her. I hadn't lost Dawn.
"Xander? Xander, you still there?"
I wrenched myself back to the situation at hand. Taking a breath, I tried to speak steadily into the phone.
"What…what do you want?" I asked.
"You know what I want."
"Dru. You want Drusilla."
"Give the boy a gold star. You have Drusilla. I have Dawn. Thought we might come to a little arrangement."
"Go on."
"The Nitaka Warehouse, at the docks, at midnight," said Angelus.
"No deal," I replied.
"No deal? You forget, we've dealt…I'm holding all the aces."
"Despite what you may believe, I'm not an idiot. If I go into that warehouse, I'll die. Dawn will die."
"Fine. You name a place."
Angelus was beginning to sound irritated with me. Not good.
"The High Life nightclub, the one on top of the B of A building."
"You want that many innocent bystanders, Xander?"
"We'll meet at four in the morning. It'll be empty by then."
"Hmmm, sunrise is at six. It might be cutting it a little close, but it's not like we're going to have a nice long chat, right?"
"Angelus," I took a deep breath before continuing. "Dawn had better stay alive."
"Oh, she will be…unless I catch a whiff of soldiers around you."
With mutual suspicion, we hung up.
I needed to change my clothes and shower. I needed to clean up the mess I'd just made on the floor. I needed to get a plan together. Instead, still holding the phone, I stared at Father Murry, who hovered worriedly nearby, and said the only thought that kept pounding through my brain.
"Angelus has Dawn."
* * * * *
Fred and I stood on the front lawn, where broken glass sparkled in the sunlight like morning dew. Splattered across the grass were dark splotches of demon blood. On the outer edge, where my magical barriers ended, were occasional clumps of dust. Dawn had fought back. Hard.
I'd redesigned the house with fewer windows, all of which were smaller and set higher in the wall than normal, so that it was highly defensible. These windows were shattered, bursting outward when Dawn must have fired her weapons through them. Inside, the floor was littered with shell casings and abandoned weapons, a few guns, two Xander specials, a gore covered sword, and an axe among them. The front and back door still held; the spells on them were the strongest I'd found. It hadn't mattered. They'd torn a hole in the fucking wall to get to her. We entered my home through that same hole.
Turning to Fred, whose large expressive eyes were scanning the remains of my living room, I asked her what I had to know.
"Who do I kill?"
The demons had taken their dead away, but Fred bent and examined the flesh and blood that remained on the sword Dawn must've used to hack at them in a last, futile effort to stay free.
"Shegoul," Fred answered finally, rising back to a stand. "The skin is grayish-green and the blood purplish. That eliminates all but a few. Of the demons types remaining, only the Shegoul and Kimlets could have broken through the magical barriers you placed around the property."
"And since Kimlets are two feet tall and about as vicious as sheep..."
She nodded.
"Right. It has to be the Shegoul. They're probably still smarting from you killing three of their kin a month ago in the skid row area."
"The homeless shelter's sign read 'Free Meals' That didn't apply to them," I said.
"Nevertheless, it probably made it easier for Angelus to recruit them."
I cleared some rubble from the couch and motioned for Fred to sit. I couldn't calm myself down enough to do the same, though. Instead, I paced, now and then brushing off a pillow, righting an end table, picking up shards of my life as I moved across the room.
"Fred, I'm going to need some help on this one."
"You know I'll do whatever I can," she offered.
Turning, I stared hard at her.
"Not just your help, but the help of that little club you have going."
She started to protest, but I held up my hand to stop her.
"Fred, I know what you're doing. Sometimes I've wondered if you knew what you were doing, but hey, I'm not one to talk. You've got a group together, old friends of Gunn, some new recruits. Maybe even a few students of yours that showed some promise."
Folding her arms across her chest, she glared at me.
"How long have you known?"
"Since from almost the beginning. I was supposed to think that Maggory's bloodthirsty vampire clan all spontaneously combusted? And you might want to ask Holcomb and Ivy how they found their way to your little sewing circle."
We stared at one another. We'd been friends for a long time, but now we were once more judging, reevaluating anew, figuring out how much we trusted each other. She took a deep breath and let it out in a rush.
"Fine. We'll help you…on one condition. You can't kill Angelus."
"Fred!"
"I mean it, Xander. I won't let you kill him. I've been researching and I'm pretty sure that I'm close to finding a way to get Angel back."
I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall. How could she still cling to that hope? Angel was gone. Just as gone as those we'd buried. Opening my eyes, I spotted the lamp, the lamp Dawn had considered throwing at me, on the floor near my feet. Still avoiding Fred's gaze, I picked the lamp up and examined it. Somehow, despite all the rampaging and violence that had gone on the night before, it was intact. Holding it, I raised my eyes and looked at Fred.
"If Angelus survives tonight, if Dawn survives tonight, then I'll give him a chance to leave town. I won't kill him."
"You promise?"
"Yes, I promise."
She smiled and I gave her a weak one in return. Standing, she turned to go, and I ushered her to the hole in the wall where we'd entered. While she walked outside into the sunlight, towards my car, I remained inside. Lifting my arm, I smashed the lamp onto the floor.
TBC
