Chapter 5

"Daddy! Stop!" Rebecca cried in frustration as she watched her father pacing back and forth in the living room.

The vampire halted in mid-stride and looked at his daughter. "Bothering you, pet?" She nodded vigorously. "Sorry." Spike took a seat beside Rebecca on the couch, but he was still distracted. Tonight Tara was doing the locater spell.

"Let's play!" Rebecca exclaimed eagerly.

"Alright. What do you fancy playing?"

Rebecca was silent for a moment. "Hmm…let's play…" She tapped her finger thoughtfully on her chin. "Dress up!"

"Oh bloody hell. No. No way, kiddo. I'm drawing the line. No dress up. Pick something else."

She frowned, but pondered on other games they could play. "Teach me how to fight!"

"Aren't you a bit small for that?" Spike said, though inside he was beaming with pride. Rebecca was a real chip off the old block.

"Puh-leeaassee!" she was begging.

"Fine, fine. I'll teach you a couple tricks. I guess it's never too early to start learning the basics." He smiled to himself thoughtfully. "You'll be a right proper fighter when you're all grown up. Might even give the slayer a run for her money. But until you learn proper, you run alright? Or go for his jewels."

"Jewels?"

"Nevermind. Come on."

"Can I have a stake? Like Buffy's?" Rebecca asked as Spike led her into the basement.

"No. No weapons. Especially pointy wooden ones."

Rebecca sighed in disappointment but didn't put up an argument. She watched quietly as Spike pushed the fold out bed back into the sofa to clear a space for them. He grabbed his pillow and sat it up against the side of the couch.

"That's gonna be your dummy. That's the head, then that's the torso, then those are his legs," Spike pointed out the areas of the pillow. He turned Rebecca to face the 'dummy'. "Now, keep your feet spread. It'll help you balance. You always have to keep your balance cause if you fall, he could get the advantage."

"But he's a pillow."

Spike sighed. "Yea. He's a pillow now. But someday he won't be." Rebecca looked confused but obeyed her father and spread her feet and scowled menacingly at the pillow. "Don't lock your knees. Keep them slightly bent. Yea…there you go."

Rebecca stepped forward and punched the pillow. It sagged and fell to the floor. "Yey! I killed it, killed it, killed it!" she sang as she danced around the room.

Spike chuckled at the scene. But he had to resist the urge to clue the little girl into the fact that while she was doing her victory dance, her opponent could very well have gotten up and caught her off her guard. But she was just a little girl, he reminded himself. There was plenty of time to teach her everything she needed to know.

But he wanted to teach her everything right then so she could defend herself from things like him that went 'bump' in the night. It scared him more than he would admit that one day she might be a snack for one of his kind. Flashes of some of his kills appeared in his mind and he shuddered.

But he pushed the images from his mind and returned his attention to Rebecca. "That was good, noodle. Come here, let me see your fist. You want to ball it like this…with your fingers over your thumb…that's right." He sat the pillow back up on it's end. "Try again."

Once more the pillow fell to the floor under the child's punch and she looked up at her father for assurance that she'd done it right. "Good. You're getting the hang of this. Want to try again?" She nodded and waited as Spike pulled the 'dummy' upright.

He knelt down beside her and positioned her feet for her best balance. He gently poked the back of her knee to remind her not to lock it, and pulled her shoulder's back so that her spine was straight. "Now hold your arms like this…protect your face and your stomach. Now when you punch, pull your arm back like this…not too far…yea. Go for it."

"Spike! What are you doing?" Buffy demanded from the top of the steps.

"She wanted to learn to fight!"

"She's five!"

"So? She lives in Sunnydale, pet. Best if she starts learning now how to defend herself."

"She should learn how to run like any sensible human."

"My girl's not going to run," Spike declared, puffed up and proud.

"Your pride is going to get her killed," Buffy said. But she isghed as she realized the futility of this argument and changed the subject. "I just got back from Tara's," she said quietly.

Spike froze. "Rebecca. Go upstairs," he ordered.

"But I-"

"No buts! Just go upstairs." The vampire and slayer waited as the little girl stomped up the stairs and slammed to door behind her. Spike was sure that if he had breath, it'd be caught in his chest now. "Did the spell go alright?" Buffy nodded. "And?"

"She's alive."

*****

The robed figure followed the woman through the woods, his heavy footsteps slow and even in contrast to the woman's hurried stumbling yet he kept up with her well.

"This way, Enuji. It's in this clearing just up ahead," she woman called behind her as she fought through the masses of tangled vines that crossed her path. Enuji nodded stoically and continued to trudge after her silently.

When they came into the clearing, the woman led her companion to the tiny mud and stone hut. She fumbled with her key ring and when she found the proper key, used it to unlock the door.

Inside the hut it was very dim- lit only by a small oil lamp that cast eerie shadows on the bare walls. It was dreadfully cold. A figure knelt, shivering violently on the cold stone floor, her arms bound above her head by long chains. Enuji eyed her distastefully.

"She is badly hurt," he observed.

"Yes. The mob, you see, was intent on burning her at the stake. When we found her, they were about to light the fire."

"What did you do with the villagers?"

"A simple spell." She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "A glamour. They all think they watched her burn."

"When really you brought her back here."

"Yes. So some of the wounds- those around her hands and feet- are from the mob. The rest are ours."

"I am surprised she's lasted this long."

"We've been keeping her alive." She handed a small vile of black liquid to the man. He took it and inspected it with satisfaction.

"Wise. We can't have her dying on us. Not without knowing where the creature is. Hanna, how long have you been giving her this?" he asked, handing the vile back over.

"Two weeks- as long as we've had her."

"You do realize the effects if you continue to use it much longer don't you?"

"Yes. Yes. It's why we've called you. We can't keep giving her this potion but she'll die without it. She's been hurt too badly to survive very long without assistance. But we must know where the child is so we can destroy it. Can you help us?"

Enuji knelt down beside the figure. He took a handfull of her black hair and jerked her head up to look at him. Her brown eyes were clouded and distant but they flickered with fear at the sight of him.

"Yes…you know who I am don't you Katerina? You remember from your coven's teachings. You know what I can do." He grinned, showing rows of jagged teeth. "Do you want to make it easy for yourself? Just tell me now where the girl is and save yourself the pain?"

There was a faint movement in her lips and Enuji bent his head closer to hers. He let out an enraged cry when Katerina spit in his face. "Fine!" he raged. "We'll do it the hard way!" He glared at the figure on the floor. "And I'll love it."

TBC….