A bruise blossoming and wilting on her cheek, Christina pulled Angel swiftly into a hard, tight, feverish cold embrace. Thought and anger melted from his mind like ice under a Saharan sun as she poured emotions he hardly cared to name into an all-consuming kiss. He returned it with equal measure, lust rising in him like mercury.
Christina pulled away suddenly. Viciously. The uppercut she landed on his chin pushed him backward, stumbling, flailing over cumbersome furniture. More than a few pieces were already broken.
Shaking his head Angel rubbed his aching jaw. He'd been expecting that about as much as he had the kiss. If it meant something, he didn't care. Rushing her like an angered lion he threw his entire body weight onto her forcing her back and down hard on the floor. Dead bodies didn't bounce either.
Dazed she reacted with instincts he'd borne in her and vaulted his weight off herself. In the moments between her recovery and his, she was inside his defenses having decided long ago that a change in fighting style was in order. She used to hate such close fighting, prefering to go in, strike quickly then get out and recover. New stratagems were always best though.
It was like hitting a punching bag. Angel was hard and heavy and thick and took a lot of punishment. He yanked on the dangling chain of her heavy silver and amber choker pulling her away from his body. This infuriated her. No more holding back. No more mercy or taking their past into consideration.
The makeshift leash slid painfully from his grasp as Christina wrenched it from him, ignoring the pain it caused her. This was what it had all been leading up too. That one moment, that one perfect shot that would end this pointless fight started over trivial matters because one of them or maybe both of them had this irrational need to prove, of the two siblings, who was the better, who better deserved the unswerving loyalty of the clan and who was the better vampire: the one that had lived two lifetimes as both vampire and human or the one who had lived her sole human existence as the destoyer of what she was.
It was a strange way of glorying in his body, destroying it sinew by sinew, but she was. She revelled in his pain, in the muscles she forced into flashy displays beneath his clothing. It was odd indeed. There were less painful ways of manipulating flesh, his flesh. But none were so full of being, so full of self; he knew she was there.
Angelus crumpled to the floor. A swift quick jab. That was what he had taught her, wasn't it? It wasn't always the big punches, the roundhouses, that felled an opponent. Sometimes it was all the little jabs, the swift little punches that weren't always felt, that came down like an avalanche -- delicate, pretty six-pointed fluffy white death.
Vaguely Christina listened as a vampire or other collected on the winnings he'd made from her victory. What she wouldn't give for a warm body in her arms, or better, blood straight from the font of her sire. She laughed to herself. She'd have to be near death for that to happen.
"So I guess this means you won, Mom?"
Christina looked at her daughter and childe, "Are you upset?"
Grace, called Honey, shrugged. "Doesn't really matter to me, does it?"
Dragging her hands through her daughters curling, wavy hair as they passed each other in the hall Christina walked on. "I suppose not," she said to herself. "I suppose not."
She could do without seeing anyone right now. "Ajax!" The vampire snapped to attention from where he lounged in a low couch. "I'm going to the armory and don't wish to be disturbed. See that the word gets around. The only people allowed in are food or those who think they'll be able to handle the consequences."
Within ten minutes the entire house knew that Mistress Gemini was having one of her "peaces" and not to be bothered on pain of death. Painful death.
"I SAID" the throwing stars were off their wall display and across the room in the time it took for her to hear the door creak open ". . . I don't want to be disturbed." It was Spike's pet human. A first as far as Gemini knew. She'd just nicked the girl's shoulder, sheared off a small section of hair and barely missed slicing her face. Hmm, she'd have to work on her aim later. "Foolish little girl," she said softly, dangerously, "to disturb my peace. You should leave before I decide to work on my aim now."
The human sputtered, outraged. "You . . . You! How could you?! You nearly cut my face!"
"I know. Stay longer and I'll rectify the problem."
"Who do you think you are? Don't you know I belong to Spike?"
Gemini laughed. "I am Lady here, make no mistake. Run along now," she said, her voice dropping to a deadly growl, "before I make a snack of you."
The girl's eyes widened in terror. "Spike's gonna hear about this." Sliding along the wall she cut herself again across the shoulders as she scampered out of the room. Christina, too deep in her own thoughts to care about the haughtiness of one meal, turned back to the wall, the incident all ready nearly gone.
Someone knocked on the heavy oaken doors. She'd made nearly a full circuit of the room and was close enough to turn the doorknob if she wanted. "Who is it?" she asked blandly.
The vampire messenger trembled. It was the calm they all feared, not the rage. "Kendal, mistress. Spike . . . S-Spike wants to see you, mistress."
She opened the door. The vampire cringed, ready to have his throat ripped out or something equally dramatic. "Tell him I'll be there in moments. Thank you."
"You wanted to see me, Sire?"
Spike turned to his eldest -- and if pressed he would add dearest -- childe. "Kitten, my pet here has quite the tale to tell," his voice all glittering steel. "Says you were brooding in the armory."
"I was."
"She says you chucked throwing stars at her when she came in, without asking who she was or why she might want you."
"I did."
"And do you have a good explanation why you threw throwing stars at my pet when she walked into the armory, a place she is allowed as much access to as anyone else?"
For the first time Christina acknowledged the pale girl, whose name she had never bothered to learn, simpering at Spike's feet. Of course she had heard the heartbeat, but why deign to recognize such a creature existed when he was going to kill her anyway?
"She disturbed my peace."
Spike rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. "Well, you should have told me that right off, Luv," he looked down at his slave. Yanking her up by the chain attached to her collar he continued, "I could have handed you over to Kitten straight off and ended this whole bloody mess." He shoved the girl at his childe. "Have fun, Kitten."
"But . . .but," the slave sputtered.
Laughing, Spike said, "If she'll attack me, her bloody maker, what chance do you think you have? A snowball knows it has a better chance of surviving hell than disturbing one of Gem's 'peaces'. Apparently you're dumber than that. God," he said, awed at his sudden insight, "even Harmony knew better. Someone dumber than Harm."
"I could just kill her for you now," Christina offered dispassionately.
Spike shook his head, sauntering over to her as the slave struggled against the and leash held firmly in the Black vampire's hand, "And miss hearing her scream? No no, Kitten." He nuzzled her, "You know how much I enjoy your handiwork." Christina laughed.
"I'll make a prezzie for you, Daddy." The words was so like Druscilla, but the voice...the voice was all cold rationality. Cold frightening rationality.