Blood Tears 9 - Double D
"You say he said they were called Darla and Drusilla?"
To the Watcher it looked as if Faith was about to faint. "Do you know them?" he asked gently.
"Oh I know 'em all right," she said bitterly. "After Angelus and I sired Spike, he would often complain on the nights Angelus wouldn't allow him to join us. After a while Angelus got sick of his moaning and one night in 1842, we stole onto a Virginian plantation, killed the family and made Darla for Spike," the vampiress faltered. "Then after I got my soul back, I was desperate to belong so I chased after Angelus and begged him to take me back. Instead he was disgusted by the 'taint' of a soul and gave me to Darla and Drusilla, who he'd turned to keep Spike company after he'd taken Darla to replace me, to 'play with'." Faith's voice began to tremble. "Darla had always hated me because I was Angelus' favourite and now she got her revenge. Every morning they'd whip me then pour holy water into my wounds or cut me with knives with consecrated blades. In the afternoon, they'd put on gloves and press crucifixes into my naked body. At night, Spike and Angelus would watch as Darla and Drusilla forced themselves on me." The vampiress shuddered. "But worse of all was what they would do once a week. They wouldn't feed me, except once a week they'd bring a small child into my cell for me to drink from. I refused for the first two weeks, but by the third I was just so hungry."
"Why didn't you try and escape?" asked Buffy, her face pale.
The vampiress shrugged and smiled painfully. "This was less than a year after I'd got my soul back I was still in shock, still in my deepest depression. I believed what they were doing to me was what I deserved."
Giles' heart ached for the woman stood before him, nobody, whatever their crimes, deserved that. Even by vampire standards it sounded horrific. And young Xander was in their hands, the Watcher shuddered. "How did you escape?"
"Escape?" Faith laughed hollowly. "I didn't, not really. After two months Angelus got bored of both the town and torturing me. They discussed various ways of killing me, always in front of me, Darla's particular favourite involved stealing a life-sized cross from a local church and crucifying me face-first on it. Fortunately Angelus rejected that as impractical and decided instead to tie up my hands and feet together behind my back and dump me on the outskirts of town the night they left the town for the sun to take care of. Luckily, I wasn't as weak as they thought and I was able to get loose and drag myself back to the cellar where they'd held me. I stayed there for a few days feeding on the rats that lived there to get my strength back before leaving."
Giles felt physically sick. Looking around the hushed library he saw that his young charges were in as bad or worse shape. Willow looked to be in near hysterics while the usually stoic Oz was attempting to comfort her even as he looked like he was struggling not to vomit. Cordelia and Amy had, for a moment at least, forgotten their mutual enmity to cling together as if letting go would mean giving into the horror written across their faces. Buffy though, looked pale but determined. The Watcher knew he could rely on his Slayer.
He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Jenny gazing calmly down at him. "You'll save him Rupert," she whispered. "I know you will."
After giving his girlfriend a grateful smile, the Watcher turned to Amy. "Amy, can you tell us where Xander is now?"
The Wicca hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. "He's in the harbour district, in an old fish market," she said quietly.
"Good, well done Amy," the Watcher praised. "And well done Cordelia, it was quick thinking on your part in such fraught circumstances." The Watcher smiled slightly at the pleased expression on the cheerleader's face. "Now this is what we will do."
* * *
"So this is the boy who's stolen Faith's heart? I thought he'd be more impressive," Angelus said with a smirk.
Xander swallowed hard. He decided he'd never felt this scared, even on the night he'd crawled through the Master's tunnels to save Buffy. "Hey, that goes double for you."
Angelus snarled in fury before smashing a right hand into his stomach. Gasping in pain, he threw up his dinner and fell to his knees. The vampire crouched beside him and whispered menacingly in his ear. "After we've finished torturing you, maybe I'll castrate and turn you. The first dickless vampire how would you like that?"
It was an effort to push away the gnawing terror consuming him but Xander managed to lift his head and stare defiantly at his tormentor. "And there was me thinking that was you."
Angelus let out an enraged bellow before kicking him savagely in the ribs. The force of the blow lifted him off the ground and sent him flying through the air to land in a heap twenty feet away. His entire body now screaming with pain, he only dimly heard Angelus' growled command. "Take him girls. Have your fun, but don't kill him."
* * *
"Why do you have to be the one who goes in the back way to rescue Xander?"
Faith struggled to keep hold of her temper. She knew that Buffy's petulance was fuelled by her shared concern for Xander. "Two reasons. One, your friends work better as a unit with you than with me. Secondly, Angelus would sense a Slayer as soon as you attempted to enter the building."
"Wouldn't he sense you too, being one of his children?"
Faith grimaced at the Watcher's question. She'd have to stop underestimating him. "That's possible," she admitted reluctantly. "But with all the other children around, he might miss me. He'd never miss a Slayer."
The Watcher nodded soberly. "Very well, we'll do it your way Faith."
"Giles -."
"No Buffy," Giles said firmly. "There's another reason isn't there?"
She closed her eyes for a second before nodding slowly. "Yes. I can't fight Angelus."
"What do you mean?" Buffy demanded angrily. "He's kidnapped Xander!"
"I know," Faith felt tears of frustration forming in her eyes. She wanted to kill her sire but she couldn't.
"Buffy," it was Giles' gentle voice. "The link between sire & childe is an extremely powerful one. It is very rare for a childe to kill their sire and the majority of the vampires that have done so, have been driven insane by the act."
"Oh." Faith felt a warm hand on her arm. To her surprise it belonged to a resolved and sympathetic looking Buffy. "Between us, we'll save him."
* * *
Angelus' head snapped up as the door crashed open. A cold smirk twisted his usually handsome face as he watched the scene before him unfold.
The Slayer was first to enter. She was a whirlwind of violence as she tore into his minions. She was better and more beautiful than any Slayer he'd faced. Truly a worthy opponent, he'd savour her death.
Next came a trio of beautiful woman brandishing water pistols followed by an orange-haired youth carrying a crossbow. The master vampire had to fight back a laugh as he watched their tactics. The girls would fire their water pistols, obviously containing holy water, into the faces of his minions. When they were blinded by pain, the young man would coolly fire a bolt into their hearts. Innovative, he liked that.
Last to enter the fray was a man in his early forties, obviously the Watcher, accompanied by an attractive younger woman, both expertly brandishing wooden swords. Suddenly the smile left his face, he grabbed at his right-hand man's elbow. "Spike! We need to get the brat now!"
"Why?" The bleached-blond vampire continued to avidly watch the pitched battle in front of them.
"Faith, where's Faith?"
Realisation flooded the younger vampire's face. "Oh bloody hell," he muttered before following his sire into the tunnels beneath the fish market.
* * *
Xander's anguished screams tore at Faith's heart even as they guided through the winding catacombs beneath the disused fish emporium. Getting in had been easy, she'd swayed up to the guards at the back of the building, pretending to be the entertainment sent by Angelus before effortlessly dispatching them. Taking advantage of the disturbance at the front of the building, she'd quickly found an entrance to the tunnels.
She was closer now, could feel the presence of Darla and Drusilla. She just hoped they were too involved in their torturing to notice her presence. She crept up to the door of the room where they held Xander, wincing slightly at the sound of his laboured breathing. Raising her foot she slammed it into the door, sending it crashing open, before stepping into the shadowy chamber beyond.
The scene that greeted her turned her stomach. A barely conscious Xander was hung by his arms from the centre of the ceiling. From her position by the door Faith could see that his back was a bloody mess thanks to the whip that Drusilla held in her hand, while his front was covered in bruises and welts. His trousers were pulled round his ankles and his legs had been slashed repeatedly with a hunting knife that Darla held.
The vampiress felt a cold rage engulf her. Snarling, she drew the flare- gun in her belt and fired at Drusilla. Faith smirked as the insane vampiress exploded in flames, stepping aside she allowed the shrieking inferno to run past her and out of the room. "One down and one to go," she taunted as she turned the gun towards a mouth-agape Darla. "One of the few things I ever liked about you was your cowardice. I need to conserve my ammo, so this is your lucky day. Go."
The blonde didn't hesitate, she ran out of the door as if the hounds of hell were chasing her. The threat gone, Faith hurried over to Xander and, grabbing a chair, she climbed up and gently released the moaning youth from his bonds.
"Oh Xand, don't worry sweetie it's all over. I'm here now," she muttered as she gently stroked his hair and brushed his forehead with her lips. She inspected his wounds more closely as she carefully dressed him. None of the cuts on his legs looked serious in themselves but all together and with the resulting blood loss, she realised the room stunk of it, could end up causing problems. He looked to have a couple of cracked ribs and his back, Faith winced, Drusilla had been swinging the whip with venom.
Pulling the dazed youth to his feet she grimaced at his groans. "I'm sorry Xand," she whispered as she leaned the young man against her and helped him into the darkened corridor.
Encumbered by Xander's weight and weakened condition, the vampires could only make slow progress. As she finally made her way up the slope leading back to the surface, she sensed the presence of her sire. "Angelus," she moaned in half-terror, half-desire.
"So good of you to come visit." The handsome powerfully-built vampire stepped out of the shadows ahead of her, followed by a sneering Spike. The large vampire's tone hardened. "Now snap his neck for me."
So strong was the compulsion to obey, Faith half-turned towards the dazed boy, but one look at his battered face was enough to turn her back towards the vampire. "No, I won't do it," she said, her voice trembling.
Angelus' face darkened. "Then drop him and run for your life. If you're lucky you might get away." The vampire stepped forward only to stop at the sound of a gun cocking. "Shoot me? I'm your sire, you can't shoot me."
"For him, I can." Her teeth clenched with the effort, Faith kept the gun steady. "These flares burn vampires real well. Ask Drusilla, if you can find her ashes."
"Bitch."
Angelus stopped Spike's advance with a glance. "You love him? The vampiress and the boy!" The vampire laughed mockingly. "This is just too precious!" Angelus turned to a now scowling Spike. "There'll be plenty of time to deal with her later, she'll suffer before we've finished but now we're leaving."
"Is it true?"
Faith glanced at Xander in surprise. She was sure that blood loss would have driven him into unconsciousness by now. "Is what true?"
"D.do you love me?"
She was saved from answering by the sound of approaching footsteps and the familiar scents of Giles, B and the others. Forcing a smile, she leaned over and kissed the boy on the cheek. "Hush," she said quietly. "You need to rest now." Fortunately for her he'd already fallen into oblivion. She just hoped his sleep wasn't plagued with nightmares of what had been done to him.
"You say he said they were called Darla and Drusilla?"
To the Watcher it looked as if Faith was about to faint. "Do you know them?" he asked gently.
"Oh I know 'em all right," she said bitterly. "After Angelus and I sired Spike, he would often complain on the nights Angelus wouldn't allow him to join us. After a while Angelus got sick of his moaning and one night in 1842, we stole onto a Virginian plantation, killed the family and made Darla for Spike," the vampiress faltered. "Then after I got my soul back, I was desperate to belong so I chased after Angelus and begged him to take me back. Instead he was disgusted by the 'taint' of a soul and gave me to Darla and Drusilla, who he'd turned to keep Spike company after he'd taken Darla to replace me, to 'play with'." Faith's voice began to tremble. "Darla had always hated me because I was Angelus' favourite and now she got her revenge. Every morning they'd whip me then pour holy water into my wounds or cut me with knives with consecrated blades. In the afternoon, they'd put on gloves and press crucifixes into my naked body. At night, Spike and Angelus would watch as Darla and Drusilla forced themselves on me." The vampiress shuddered. "But worse of all was what they would do once a week. They wouldn't feed me, except once a week they'd bring a small child into my cell for me to drink from. I refused for the first two weeks, but by the third I was just so hungry."
"Why didn't you try and escape?" asked Buffy, her face pale.
The vampiress shrugged and smiled painfully. "This was less than a year after I'd got my soul back I was still in shock, still in my deepest depression. I believed what they were doing to me was what I deserved."
Giles' heart ached for the woman stood before him, nobody, whatever their crimes, deserved that. Even by vampire standards it sounded horrific. And young Xander was in their hands, the Watcher shuddered. "How did you escape?"
"Escape?" Faith laughed hollowly. "I didn't, not really. After two months Angelus got bored of both the town and torturing me. They discussed various ways of killing me, always in front of me, Darla's particular favourite involved stealing a life-sized cross from a local church and crucifying me face-first on it. Fortunately Angelus rejected that as impractical and decided instead to tie up my hands and feet together behind my back and dump me on the outskirts of town the night they left the town for the sun to take care of. Luckily, I wasn't as weak as they thought and I was able to get loose and drag myself back to the cellar where they'd held me. I stayed there for a few days feeding on the rats that lived there to get my strength back before leaving."
Giles felt physically sick. Looking around the hushed library he saw that his young charges were in as bad or worse shape. Willow looked to be in near hysterics while the usually stoic Oz was attempting to comfort her even as he looked like he was struggling not to vomit. Cordelia and Amy had, for a moment at least, forgotten their mutual enmity to cling together as if letting go would mean giving into the horror written across their faces. Buffy though, looked pale but determined. The Watcher knew he could rely on his Slayer.
He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Jenny gazing calmly down at him. "You'll save him Rupert," she whispered. "I know you will."
After giving his girlfriend a grateful smile, the Watcher turned to Amy. "Amy, can you tell us where Xander is now?"
The Wicca hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. "He's in the harbour district, in an old fish market," she said quietly.
"Good, well done Amy," the Watcher praised. "And well done Cordelia, it was quick thinking on your part in such fraught circumstances." The Watcher smiled slightly at the pleased expression on the cheerleader's face. "Now this is what we will do."
* * *
"So this is the boy who's stolen Faith's heart? I thought he'd be more impressive," Angelus said with a smirk.
Xander swallowed hard. He decided he'd never felt this scared, even on the night he'd crawled through the Master's tunnels to save Buffy. "Hey, that goes double for you."
Angelus snarled in fury before smashing a right hand into his stomach. Gasping in pain, he threw up his dinner and fell to his knees. The vampire crouched beside him and whispered menacingly in his ear. "After we've finished torturing you, maybe I'll castrate and turn you. The first dickless vampire how would you like that?"
It was an effort to push away the gnawing terror consuming him but Xander managed to lift his head and stare defiantly at his tormentor. "And there was me thinking that was you."
Angelus let out an enraged bellow before kicking him savagely in the ribs. The force of the blow lifted him off the ground and sent him flying through the air to land in a heap twenty feet away. His entire body now screaming with pain, he only dimly heard Angelus' growled command. "Take him girls. Have your fun, but don't kill him."
* * *
"Why do you have to be the one who goes in the back way to rescue Xander?"
Faith struggled to keep hold of her temper. She knew that Buffy's petulance was fuelled by her shared concern for Xander. "Two reasons. One, your friends work better as a unit with you than with me. Secondly, Angelus would sense a Slayer as soon as you attempted to enter the building."
"Wouldn't he sense you too, being one of his children?"
Faith grimaced at the Watcher's question. She'd have to stop underestimating him. "That's possible," she admitted reluctantly. "But with all the other children around, he might miss me. He'd never miss a Slayer."
The Watcher nodded soberly. "Very well, we'll do it your way Faith."
"Giles -."
"No Buffy," Giles said firmly. "There's another reason isn't there?"
She closed her eyes for a second before nodding slowly. "Yes. I can't fight Angelus."
"What do you mean?" Buffy demanded angrily. "He's kidnapped Xander!"
"I know," Faith felt tears of frustration forming in her eyes. She wanted to kill her sire but she couldn't.
"Buffy," it was Giles' gentle voice. "The link between sire & childe is an extremely powerful one. It is very rare for a childe to kill their sire and the majority of the vampires that have done so, have been driven insane by the act."
"Oh." Faith felt a warm hand on her arm. To her surprise it belonged to a resolved and sympathetic looking Buffy. "Between us, we'll save him."
* * *
Angelus' head snapped up as the door crashed open. A cold smirk twisted his usually handsome face as he watched the scene before him unfold.
The Slayer was first to enter. She was a whirlwind of violence as she tore into his minions. She was better and more beautiful than any Slayer he'd faced. Truly a worthy opponent, he'd savour her death.
Next came a trio of beautiful woman brandishing water pistols followed by an orange-haired youth carrying a crossbow. The master vampire had to fight back a laugh as he watched their tactics. The girls would fire their water pistols, obviously containing holy water, into the faces of his minions. When they were blinded by pain, the young man would coolly fire a bolt into their hearts. Innovative, he liked that.
Last to enter the fray was a man in his early forties, obviously the Watcher, accompanied by an attractive younger woman, both expertly brandishing wooden swords. Suddenly the smile left his face, he grabbed at his right-hand man's elbow. "Spike! We need to get the brat now!"
"Why?" The bleached-blond vampire continued to avidly watch the pitched battle in front of them.
"Faith, where's Faith?"
Realisation flooded the younger vampire's face. "Oh bloody hell," he muttered before following his sire into the tunnels beneath the fish market.
* * *
Xander's anguished screams tore at Faith's heart even as they guided through the winding catacombs beneath the disused fish emporium. Getting in had been easy, she'd swayed up to the guards at the back of the building, pretending to be the entertainment sent by Angelus before effortlessly dispatching them. Taking advantage of the disturbance at the front of the building, she'd quickly found an entrance to the tunnels.
She was closer now, could feel the presence of Darla and Drusilla. She just hoped they were too involved in their torturing to notice her presence. She crept up to the door of the room where they held Xander, wincing slightly at the sound of his laboured breathing. Raising her foot she slammed it into the door, sending it crashing open, before stepping into the shadowy chamber beyond.
The scene that greeted her turned her stomach. A barely conscious Xander was hung by his arms from the centre of the ceiling. From her position by the door Faith could see that his back was a bloody mess thanks to the whip that Drusilla held in her hand, while his front was covered in bruises and welts. His trousers were pulled round his ankles and his legs had been slashed repeatedly with a hunting knife that Darla held.
The vampiress felt a cold rage engulf her. Snarling, she drew the flare- gun in her belt and fired at Drusilla. Faith smirked as the insane vampiress exploded in flames, stepping aside she allowed the shrieking inferno to run past her and out of the room. "One down and one to go," she taunted as she turned the gun towards a mouth-agape Darla. "One of the few things I ever liked about you was your cowardice. I need to conserve my ammo, so this is your lucky day. Go."
The blonde didn't hesitate, she ran out of the door as if the hounds of hell were chasing her. The threat gone, Faith hurried over to Xander and, grabbing a chair, she climbed up and gently released the moaning youth from his bonds.
"Oh Xand, don't worry sweetie it's all over. I'm here now," she muttered as she gently stroked his hair and brushed his forehead with her lips. She inspected his wounds more closely as she carefully dressed him. None of the cuts on his legs looked serious in themselves but all together and with the resulting blood loss, she realised the room stunk of it, could end up causing problems. He looked to have a couple of cracked ribs and his back, Faith winced, Drusilla had been swinging the whip with venom.
Pulling the dazed youth to his feet she grimaced at his groans. "I'm sorry Xand," she whispered as she leaned the young man against her and helped him into the darkened corridor.
Encumbered by Xander's weight and weakened condition, the vampires could only make slow progress. As she finally made her way up the slope leading back to the surface, she sensed the presence of her sire. "Angelus," she moaned in half-terror, half-desire.
"So good of you to come visit." The handsome powerfully-built vampire stepped out of the shadows ahead of her, followed by a sneering Spike. The large vampire's tone hardened. "Now snap his neck for me."
So strong was the compulsion to obey, Faith half-turned towards the dazed boy, but one look at his battered face was enough to turn her back towards the vampire. "No, I won't do it," she said, her voice trembling.
Angelus' face darkened. "Then drop him and run for your life. If you're lucky you might get away." The vampire stepped forward only to stop at the sound of a gun cocking. "Shoot me? I'm your sire, you can't shoot me."
"For him, I can." Her teeth clenched with the effort, Faith kept the gun steady. "These flares burn vampires real well. Ask Drusilla, if you can find her ashes."
"Bitch."
Angelus stopped Spike's advance with a glance. "You love him? The vampiress and the boy!" The vampire laughed mockingly. "This is just too precious!" Angelus turned to a now scowling Spike. "There'll be plenty of time to deal with her later, she'll suffer before we've finished but now we're leaving."
"Is it true?"
Faith glanced at Xander in surprise. She was sure that blood loss would have driven him into unconsciousness by now. "Is what true?"
"D.do you love me?"
She was saved from answering by the sound of approaching footsteps and the familiar scents of Giles, B and the others. Forcing a smile, she leaned over and kissed the boy on the cheek. "Hush," she said quietly. "You need to rest now." Fortunately for her he'd already fallen into oblivion. She just hoped his sleep wasn't plagued with nightmares of what had been done to him.