Authors Notes: Yes, this is an OC fic. Also it is a future fic. I do not own any of the characters except for mine.



I'd love to say things went smoothly after meeting with the lady. But it didn't. I followed the address in the purse and ended up at a huge mansion. It was abandoned. Except for Kory. She stayed there forever. She was a ghost. In the early 70's her son committed suicide in the mansion.



The first night I spent there, I sat down and had a coffee with her. She was very beautiful. Her dark skin shone and her black hair was plaited beautifully. She spoke with a thick Cajun accent.



`Chile, she gave you her gift non?'



`I guess you can call this a gift. Haven't got to use it much. Not really sure what to do. Not really from this world you know. I mean, how will these people know how to find me? Know that I'm taking after this woman. And who was this woman?'



Questions plagued my mind. I didn't have responsibility like this on my planet. Everything was nice and simple. We didn't have ladies in dark alleys telling you to save people. Heck, I don't think we even had dark alleys.



`She was Dawn. Her sister Buffy, was de Slayer. Buffy saved the world a lot, but she couldn't save herself. In the end, da poor ting died of depression. She couldn't take da world anymore, saw to much death. Dawn saw eet also, she wasn't going to stand to de side though. She invoked de spirits to open her soul. So anyone who needed to, could come in. Whores, druggies, rogues and thieves who just want a chance, or a friend.'



`Why?'



`Even de loneliest person in dis world wants a friend at one time.'



That's when I felt it. The death. The sadness. The loneliness. It engulfed me totally. Kory reached out her ghostly hand and placed it on mine.



`And no one wants to die alone.' I whispered that. Kory heard and nodded.



"Yes girl, dats it. Da loneliest thing in da world is to die alone.'



I squeezed her hand, Kory had died alone.



`Come child. We'll get dis place cleaned up. Beds have already been delivered.'



It was while cleaning up with Kory that I found everything out. Dawn had opened a place similar to this before hand but the religious people in the community burnt it down. Dawn ran the whole house by herself, except for Kory and a vampire with a soul named Spike. People and demons came to Dawn like a moth does a light. The door to her house was never locked, and for the most part it remained in good shape. Kory said this was due to Spike.



From what Kory said, Spike had been in love with Dawn's sister, Buffy. It was a very strange story. A vampire falling in love with a Slayer. She could never love him the way he needed, but Dawn could. But Dawn was his little nibblet. He couldn't love her like that, so he protected her. He'd always protect her, I could feel it in Kory's voice as she told the tale. Or so he thought, the image of Dawn lying in an alley flashed through my mind. N, he didn't protect her this time.



`Where is this Spike fellow at?' I asked Kory.



She shrugged. `He'll find his way here soon enough. Like I did. We are also moths. Child. And your light shines brighter than Dawns ever did. `



`What about Dawn? Won't he be upset when he finds out?'



` He already knows. Can't you feel dat anger darlin'? He knows alright. He'll be here in a few days dear.'



`I.Won't he be angry with me? I'm taking Dawn's place.'



`Lilly-Anne childe, the light shines brighter than Dawn's. He'll understand and he will protect.'



She was looking at my wrist when she said that. That's when I noticed it. A tattoo. Well I think it was a tattoo. A large black candle with a silver flame on the inside of my arm. It looked to be glowing.



And then she whispered. `And they will come. Lawd, they will come.'

~*~



Things went smoothly from then on I guess. I read a lot during the day. Learning what I could. Psychology, meditation, Buddhism, computers...whatever I could find. During the nights they came. Whores, abuse victims, alcoholics , demons and vampires. At times I didn't know what to think. I never what to think, but I never questioned either.



Until he came. Spike. His face was gaunt, but hauntingly beautiful. Bleached blonde hair was slicked back, and I could tell that he had the sexiest grin alive, er.dead. But it was the hungry look in his eyes that caught my attention. Hunger and pain. I just stared at him, I felt like I was drowning in his pain, his eyes. His Hell. His everything...

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