CHAPTER SIX

I'm not dead, Faith thought for the hundredth time since the beating. She had surfaced from the lake of unconsciousness several times, driven up by pain. She still hurt but not as much as before. Thank whatever for Slayer healing abilities.

For the first time, she stayed awake long enough to take stock of her surroundings. She wasn't in her bed or a hospital. The room was subtly masculine. She tried to get up but couldn't. Everything spun and she had been tucked in so tight she could barely move. She settled back down then tried to untuck the sheets. The care with which she had been put to bed was astonishing and the sheets had been turned into something just short of bondage. She glanced into the shadows, sensing she wasn't alone. Spike sat in a chair, watching her intently.

"Staring problem?"

Spike shifted on the chair, looking uncomfortable. "No, jus' taking stock of your wounds—how you feeling?"

She tugged at the stubborn sheet then smiled weakly. "Like a hostage."

He levered himself up and slowly crossed over to her to help free her from the bedding. "Fair enough. Just featured you'd still be sore."

She was, more than she would ever admit to. She wasn't about to show that much weakness to anyone. "I'm good. Better than when you dragged me in here, and apparently still breathin' so, can't really complain."

"You were tossing about all night, you sleep okay?" He fell back into his chair.

Faith tried not to make a face. Had Spike been there watching her all night long? She wasn't sure if she should be creeped out by or grateful for his concern. He must have been retucking her in all night, trying to make her comfortable. "Not really, pain kind'a an intrusion on the whole sleep concept. What's with you and the twenty questions anyway?"

"Just concerned is all. You want me to get a doctor for you? They could give you something for pain," Spike said.

"No, I can handle it." Faith sat up, willing the room to steady.

"Was it the kid?" Spike asked.

"Oh, yeah. The fucker hits like a vampire, Spike." Faith canted her eyes over at him. "What the hell is he that he can do that?"

"I don't know."

"He killed Lorne before I even knew he was there. He had a real hard on for demon killing." Faith probed her swollen face.

"Lorne's alive," Spike broke in.

Faith's brow furrowed. "The kid cut his head off."

Spike tried to push an errant curl back into his slicked back doo. Faith wondered what he'd look like without a ton of gel in his hair. "Doesn't kill his kind."

Faith mulled that one. "Good to know. Where were you?"

He gave her a hurt look and Faith realized he thought she was criticizing him. "Breaking up the ritual murders."

"So, we were wrong. The kid didn't do it."

"I wouldn't say that." Spike shrugged. "Daniel was there with more kids who were doing the killing. I couldn't tell if he just happened by or if he's their Fagan."

"Huh?"

"Their leader." Spike smirked. "Never read 'Oliver Twist'?"

"Reading ain't my thing," Faith said. "Did you stop them from killing more kids?"

"One victim got away. They already had one stung up and drained. Looks like the kids are possessed by a demon of some sort."

"That might explain how Steven, that's what Daniel called him, can hit like a fucking truck." Faith stretched slowly, feeling all the bruises. She decided to keep the fact the kid looked somehow familiar to herself. "Did you at least bring Daniel in?"

Spike frowned. "He got away."

"You're sure having trouble with one old man." Faith grinned wickedly.

"I have my reasons." Spike bristled.

"Let's hear them. I mean, you can see my excuse for letting Steven go again and I'll confess I'm embarrassed that I got my ass kicked by Scrawny Boy."

Spike snorted and stood up slowly. "I'll show you." He undid his zip and yanked down his pants revealing a cross mark blistered and burnt into him. The short arm of it had fried away a good portion of his pubic hair and the long arm had left half his penis looking like it had been tossed on the griddle.

"Oooo, ouch." She winced.

"Spike! Is Faith here?" Angel's voice boomed as the vampire let himself in. "Fred said you didn't take her back to her room."

Angel came into the room and froze, seeing Spike exposing himself to Faith. His eyes widened a bit and a subtly amused expression tried to settle onto his face at the sight of the burn.

"This is thanks to your buddy Daniel." Spike gingerly rearranged himself then zipped up. "Oh, that's right, you don't know him."

"No but I'll send him a 'congratulations on a job well done' card." Angel tried not to laugh and failed.

"Oh, you're a riot." Spike flipped him a two-fingered salute. "How'd you like a cross shoved down your pants?"

"Angel, does the name Steven mean anything to you?" Faith interjected. Her head hurt too much to deal with them bickering.

He sobered immensely. "No."

She didn't believed him. She was sure her eyes told him as much. "Why are you protecting him?"

"I'm not," Angel said, his voice soft, almost pained.

"Angel, you're losing your touch. I don't doubt you used to lie better. I'm with Spike. You know them and I want you to think about who you're hurting by protecting them. Me, Spike and Lorne damn near got killed out there." Faith snarled and Angel dropped his head. Faith curled her lip. "God, I sound like Buffy."

"Spike said the kid might not be involved with the killings," Angel said as if that mattered. "He's killing demons, not humans."

"Even so, Angel, how long before he makes a mistake and kills an innocent?" Faith asked, her eyes filled with dread. "You know how easy it is to do. I've been down that road and I wasn't anywhere near as fucked up nuts as that kid. He's a time bomb."

"Daniel had a taser and I'm not sure he's carrying that for any vampires he stumbles on to," Spike said. "Bet it'll drop that kid as fast as it dropped me."

Faith saw the pain in Angel's eyes at the idea. She wanted to pursue it but decided that Angel might not open up as long as Spike was around. Men didn't like to show each other weakness.

"Why were you looking for me, Angel?" Faith rubbed her sore neck.

"Fred brought this up from the infirmary." He held out an 'air-cast' ankle brace. "The doctor said that you had a badly sprained ankle. No knowing how fast your Slayer healing will repair that. This is supposed to help."

"I'm fine." She got up, took a step, felt the 'ground glass feeling' in the joint, winced and flopped down. She held out a hand to Angel and he dropped the brace in it. She put the cushioned plastic struts against her ankle and velcroed it on. She got up. "That feels better, thanks."

"No problem. Spike, Wesley would like to see you. He thinks he has found some likely candidates for the wraith-demons you saw last night."

"Guess that's my cue to hobble off," Spike said, heading for the door, walking like a cowboy.

"Poor guy. You almost feel sorry for him." Faith smiled weakly and Angel snorted. "Oh, come on, tell me you aren't in sympathy pain."

"Can't help it." He shrugged his uneven shoulders. "It's a natural male reaction."

"So you laugh at it and hurt at the same time?" Faith gave him a querulous look. "Dawn's right, you are all defective."

Angel's brow beetled. "Dawn said that?"

"She's spending too much time with Xander and Andrew. Those two could make any woman despair. I think she's seeing my method of 'use and lose before they drive you nuts' is a good plan."

"Another reason Buffy sent you across the pond." Angel smirked. "And as for the other reason, did you have another dream?"

"What do you care? You don't seem to be interested in staying alive," Faith snapped.

Angel rubbed at his face, scratching off some of the dead flesh. "That's not true. We get trapped in the past sometimes."

"Keeping secrets, Angel?" Faith asked.

"Sometimes they're necessary, Faith. I'm not trying to put anyone in danger." Angel shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Maybe not but you are and that's shit."

Angel looked away. "It's not open for debate, Faith. If you don't like it you can go back to England with the rest."

Faith stood there open-mouthed, watching him stalk off. She hobbled after him and grabbed him in the hall. He forced her back with an expression on his face she wished she could have elicited when she tried to make him kill her.

"Don't push it, Faith."

"Screw you, Angel. You'd best make a choice. Decide to help or I take what I know to the others."

"And what is it you think you know?" Angel's voice was so cold Faith nearly took a step back.

She gritted her teeth, giving him her own frigid look. "I know enough to get the others wondering and digging into it. So does Spike."

"Working with Spike now, Faith? I would have thought you'd lost the taste for that kind of dirt with the Mayor." His eyes went positively glacial.

For a moment Faith was speechless, acid churning in her stomach. She had always known Angel had a temper. She had sensed it, had seen glimmers of it. She hated it. Her hand hit his face before she could stop herself then she spun and walked away. "And to think I came here to save you. Spike's right, you aren't the Angel we knew. You're no one I want to know."

"Faith, wait! I'm sorry."

She didn't look back. She might stop if she did. She heard the sincerity in his voice but words sliced and a 'sorry' didn't always staunch the blood flow. She heard him call out another apology, but all she noticed was that part of his burnt skin had stuck to her hand and was dangling from her fingers. Shaking it free, she by-passed the elevator and stormed down the staircase.

Faith vented her rage in a dizzying run down the stairs. She ignored the flames in her ankle and the pain of her throat as she gulped air to fuel her mad dash. She just let the pent up energy and anger pound through her body and into the steps. Faith didn't stop at the level of Wes' office. She burned past it, kept running until she ran out of steps.

Faith stumbled for the fire door but was so light headed, vertigo screwed her straight into the ground. She curled up, back to the wall, feeling tears in her eyes. Only babies cry. She heard her mother's voice snap in her head but she wept anyway.

Men never treated her fairly. She learned at an early age men could be monsters, that they took what they wanted and didn't care who they hurt. She could count on one hand the number of men who had ever been decent to her, who tried to help without asking for much in return.

Angel topped that list. She knew he had faults and weaknesses like any man but she was ill-prepared to have him be so cruel to her. She was just learning to open up and trust men and this was her reward.

Just once she'd like a good relationship with a guy. Faith knew she and Robin were doomed. They both knew it. It had already gone platonic. Robin wanted her to go into counseling for sexual addiction, wanted her to learn to love herself, telling her that three quarters of sexual addicts had been sexually abused as kids. He'd been principal long enough to see the signs in his kids. He could see them in her. She wouldn't; tell him he was right. She couldn't see herself twelve stepping it, crying about how she wanted to stop hurting herself and making embarrassing confessions to people she'd hurt. Maybe she needed to fall further before that was an option or maybe she really liked her life like this. She did appreciate that Robin cared enough to sacrifice what they might have had to try and help her be a better person. He already had.

And no matter what, she didn't want Angel for a lover. He was her best friend. He was the only one who cared enough to try and save her in her darkest times, the only one to come visit her in jail, the only one to believe she could be redeemed. He was her white knight and she wasn't ready for him to be as imperfect as he had just been.

Through the tears, Faith laughed. White knight? Where had that girlie girl shit came from? She was grateful for it because it cut through the crying like a sissy crap. Faith wiped her face, waited a little while so her eyes wouldn't be so red and swollen then got up. The ankle Steven had tried to rearrange felt fat inside the air cast so Faith opted to ride up the elevator to Wes' office. Angel had joined Spike and Wes as Spike paged through a mound of arcane encyclopedias like mug shots. Between the 'No, no, I'm bored's,' Spike kept tossing looks over at Angel who was drumming a lighter on the table when he wasn't twirling it between his long fingers nervously.

Faith recognized it as Spike's and saw Wes had no ashtrays. Isn't it policy, no smoking? Probably since California is a leader in today's liberal fascism. Does that make any sense? Faith's brow beetled as she thought about it. Can't smoke, eat meat and be persecuted unless you were on Atkins' diet to clog your arteries with animal fat, wear leather shoes and people try to destroy them, drive a Suvie and have some eco terrorist set it on fire. Liberal Greenies telling you how you're fucking up the earth and Conservatives telling you how you're going to hell. Where did free will go? Faith shook her head to clear it. That was prison thought, those deep musings to wile away the boring hours, ideas to engage cellmates in something just to be starting shit.

"How many wraith type demons are there?" Spike moaned.

"With our luck, thousands," Angel said, scratching at his healing holy water burns. Faith wished he wouldn't as a large part of his scalp was wiggling around grotesquely. Under his fingers, it pulled free and flapped down over his ear.

"Oh, that's so gross." Faith looked away.

"Sorry." Angel managed a sheepish look through the burns. "It's itchy."

"Can't you go to the infirmary and have the doctor clean that mess up?" Faith shuddered.

"It is disconcerting," Wes said.

"Sorry." Angel shoved his hands in his pocket to keep from scratching. "I just want to see if this comes to something. Did you see the demons, Faith?"

"All I saw were angry blue eyes and ninety pounds of fury," Faith replied.

"Hey, I think we got something in here." Spike tapped a picture. "That looks like the bleeders I saw."

Wes took the book from Spike. "The Ays. They are a type of Dev."

"What?" Faith broke in.

"Immortal spirits, the Armenian were the first to document them. Some of the Dev are beneficial spirits."

"And these Ays guys aren't, right?" Faith leaned back on her chair. "Cut to it, Wes. You're as bad as Giles."

Wes pursed his lips then dived back into it. "The Ays can possess humans and those possessed either go insane or can become an Ays themselves. I suppose being contained inside a human body keeps them safe from Fred's demonic sensors, which perform poorly with vampire detection as well."

"So, how do I kill them?" Faith asked.

"It's not as easy as that, Faith. It has no form until it binds with a human. The blood rituals the possessed are performing may be to make the possession permanent, or more likely is just a bunch of nonsense they've been told pleases the demon and have no idea they're in danger of being taken whole," Wes speculated, paging through another tome.

"Why would anyone want to have a demon in them?" Faith made a face. "I was creeped out about how the whole Slayer thing is some kind of twisted demonic energy."

"Buffy said Giles claimed being possessed was an incredible high," Angel put in.

"He'd know how?" Spike asked.

"When he was Faith's age, more or less, he and his buddies used to induce possession of a demon called Eyghon."

"Why?" Faith's dark eyes took over her face.

"Um." Angel looked like he wanted to blush. "For orgies."

Faith grinned and Spike made a noise like he had swallowed his tongue.

"I knew Giles had to have been something in his prime," Faith crowed.

"Ol' Rupert would have made a great vampire," Spike said.

"I wouldn't let him hear you say that," Wes said. "And in the mean time I'll try to find a way to banish the Ays. It would be prudent to try to bring in Daniel and Steven if at all possible. Someone had to introduce the boys to the idea of allowing a demon to use them. We know Daniel has been on hand twice at the murder scenes so he's the logical beginning point."

Faith could tell Angel didn't like that but he conceded Wes' point.

"I should get down to the infirmary," Angel said. "And have them help me get this dead skin off."

"No kidding because it's damn gruesome." Faith shivered.

"There are benefits of not being able to see yourself," Spike said. "In his case, that's always good what with the ugliness factor."

"I haven't forgotten how handsome I am," Angel returned. "Darla selected me for my face."

"I thought it was because you were stupid," Spike shot back.

"That, too, as she'd loudly tell the world when she was mad at me." Angel rolled his eyes. "Faith, maybe you should let the doctors look at you again."

Faith saw the echo of 'I'm sorry' in his eyes. "Sure whatever."

Spike joined her as she followed Angel out of Wes' office. Angel spotted Eve going into her office.

"I'll meet you at the infirmary later," he said and went into her office without knocking.

"Damn, he's acting weird," Faith said.

Spike pressed his fingers to her lips then hustled her over to a door. "Kala's off today." He punched the sequence into the number lock and the door opened.

"What are we doing?" Faith whispered.

"We can hear what they're saying from here," Spike said, stretching out on the couch.

Faith had to get closer to the wall but she distinctly hear Angel say, "What in the hell is going on, Eve? This was never part of the deal."

"Are you sure? Lilah said you were in such a hurry you barely looked at the contract."

"I looked at it enough to know I didn't agree to resurrecting the dead or snapping the minds of teenagers."

"Ask what you really want to know, Angel. Is your precious boy murdering teenagers and drinking their blood?"

"One would assume any of Angel's boys would be doing that," Faith murmured.

"I'm not asking, Eve, because I know Connor isn't doing this," Angel said.

"Are you so sure?"

"Positive."

"Who's Connor?" Faith whispered to Spike who shrugged.

"How did you do it? Did you reverse the spell as soon as I was granted one visitation? Did you take the time I spent in Sunnydale to yank him back here and do whatever it is you did to him?"

"Angel, even if we did do anything to him, what makes you think that we'd tell you?" Faith could hear the superior purr in Eve's voice. Faith knew that was all the wrong tone of voice to take and she could tell Spike knew it, too. She heard Eve making a gagging noise.

"Because I'll crush your windpipe then tear this place apart to find out what I want to know if you don't. That's the good thing about Wolfram and Hart. There's always a paper trail."

Faith heard Eve gurgling. She jumped up, her muscles twinging but before Faith could get to the door, Spike yanked her down on the couch with him. He was as lean and hard as she remembered him the last time they had been this close.

"He'll kill her if we don't stop him," Faith protested.

Spike shook his head. "No, he won't and no big loss if he does. We've done a little killing of staff that broke the rules."

Faith's mouth dropped. Had it been human staff? Demonic? Did she want to know? Spike put his fingers over her lips again. Faith heard Eve take a deep gasp. Angel must have let her go. "Tell me or do you want to chance you can call security before I can kill you?"

"Nothing was done to him here," Eve rasped out. "Nothing you do to me will change that."

"Only Wolfram and Hart would drag a psychotic kidnaper back from the grave and put him back in charge of his victim."

"Daniel has been reunited with his son, Angel." The taunt had returned to Eve's voice.

"Connor was never Holtz's son," Angel's voice was thick with rage.

"For all but one year of the boy's life, Holtz was his sole provider and foster father. Whether you like it or not, there's a bond there and Daniel is the best person to look over him."

Faith heard the snarl and knew Angel had to be in vamp face.

"If I find you had anything to do with this, Eve, they will find your body and you'll be appalled at what's been done to it as an example to others as to what happens to those who betray me."

"He sounds serious," Faith said, her lips at Spike's ear.

"He is."

Faith listened to the door slam open and Angel's heavy footsteps up the hall. She started to get up but Spike held her firm. He shook his head and she realized he had a point. If she went after him now Angel would know she had been spying on him. They waited until the hall was quite and there were no signs Eve might come out before they left Kala's office. His hand on her elbow, Spike led her to the stairwell.

"Now what?" Faith asked.

"We hope Peaches is right." Spike ran a hand up her arm.

"How so?"

"That there's a paper trail. If there is, it'll be in one of two places, Eve's office or the lab. I'll take the lab," Spike said.

"Great, leave me with the bitch." Faith frowned.

"I visit Fred a lot. No one will think twice about me being there. You have no reason to be in the lab and you don't know your way around it," Spike said.

"You've convinced me."

"Good. Go to the infirmary first or Angel will wonder why you didn't."

Faith nodded. Spike caught her chin and tipped her head up. She had never realized before how short he was, barely bigger than her. In the bad light of the stairwell, she noticed how pretty his eyes were. She could see why B had fallen for his puppy-dog eyes. He shocked her by kissing her forehead.

"I'm glad you're okay...more or less," he said.

"Hey, at least no one burned off my naughty parts." She grinned.

"Lucky girl. I'll head for the lab. Meet me back at my room when you've done what you need to," Spike said.

"'Kay, why did you take me to your room in the first place?"

"My bed is nicer, bigger, better for you than that hard-ass thing in your visiting suite. Feather-tic mattress cover, king-sized, silk sheets," Spike said.

"No delicate doilies here." Faith smirked.

Spike gave her the two-fingered salute and headed off. Faith went for the infirmary, hating that she was right about Angel knowing what was going on and keeping her in the dark. She was hating just about everything right now, except maybe for Spike and that was so wrong.