PART SEVEN:
By the time Willow had reached the bottom of the ladder, the vampires had disappeared into the gloom. Silently cursing the vampires' speed, Willow quickly worked the light spell, the words tripping off her tongue with ease. Soon, a small blue ball of light was floating, just above head height, a few feet in front of her.
Clutching her stake, the redhead began to make her way down the sewer, following the little green speck of light that showed the way the vampires had been. She wrinkled her nose at the smell that was coming from one of the side sewers, and hurried past, not looking into the opening as she did so.
A pair of amber eyes followed Willow's hurried walk as she, and her blue witchlight, melded with the gloom.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Uh, Angel, are you sure this is a good idea?" Nareia asked, her voice wavering slightly.
They were nearing an opening in the sewer system; all three of them could feel it. They could sense the presences not too far away – the presence of a large number of vampires.
"Yeah, mate. I don't fancy walking into a lair of vampires either," Spike added softly.
Angel looked at them both, and then back towards where the lair was. "We have to get in there," he stressed.
Nareia looked puzzled, "Why? I hate to be impertinent…" Spike snorted, and stifled a laugh, "…but can't we just go and tell everyone we know where Buffy and Giles are holding up now?"
Angel shook his head, "No, we have to know what they're up to."
"Look, mate, how are we going to get in there without being recognised? We're not exactly incognito in the vampire world, even if the Slayer and her Watcher didn't know us."
Angel glanced back at the two other vampires, and then back up the sewer tunnel they had come down, "I have an idea."
"Oh, bloody hell," they groaned in unison, albeit quietly.
"What? It's not like all my ideas are crazy?" Angel sounded put out.
Nareia sighed, "Ok, then, let's hear it."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Willow continued down the dank sewer, the green spark guiding her. The blue witchlight cast a warming glow over her, and she felt safe. Until, that is, the green spark went out.
Willow gasped, and looked round. She could see nothing beyond the circle of light cast by her spell. "Who's there?" she called out shakily, her hand gripping the wooden stake.
"Your worst nightmare," a voice came from behind and whispered in her ear. Willow didn't have time to cry out before a hand clamped over her mouth. Another grabbed her wrist, and twisted it until the stake fell, useless, to the ground. Images of Angelus raced through her mind, but her fears of it being him were dispelled when the voice came again, "Now come with me, little one, I have a surprise for you."
Willow gulped, but didn't fight. She knew things would hurt more if she did. So, instead, she stumbled along the sewer, with her attacker attached to her arm. "You should probably turn that off," he growled, waving at the blue light with his remaining hand. "I can see perfectly well without it." It was then that Willow knew her attacker was a vampire. She was relieved, in a way. At least she knew what she was dealing with.
Willow was dragged along for what seemed like an eternity, but was actually only a few minutes, and then was shoved unceremoniously into a dingy, candlelit room. "Look what I found slinking around the tunnels," her captor grinned evilly.
"Well, this is a new development," another vampire answered. "We should show her to Ripper."
Willow looked up at the mention of Giles's old name. She swallowed nervously. Looking round, she could see that, off to one side, was a stout iron door, which was currently standing open, but would be hard to break down if it was shut. The redhead could just see a group of people through the door, most of them vamped out, cheering at something in front of them. Willow shuddered when she thought about what could amuse vampires.
Suddenly, her already bruised arm was grabbed again, and she was dragged out, through the door, and pushed to the front of the crowd. What she saw in front of her shocked her to the core.
"Hey, Ripper!" the vampire who was holding her called out. The man in front of her, who was standing over the plump figure of Sunnydale's Chief of Police, a stake in his hand, looked up from his kill. When he saw the shocked but furious redhead in the vampire's arms, an evil grin spread across his face.
"Willow."
~*~*~*~*~*~
"That is possibly the most bloody idiotic plan I have ever heard in the whole of my unlife," Nareia whispered fiercely.
Spike eyed her with a sly smile, "I don't know, pet, if you act like that, it'll work perfectly."
Nareia growled at him, and turned back to Angel, "You can't be serious. Say you aren't serious."
Angel grimaced under the force of Nareia's anger, "Nareia, it's the only way we'll get in there."
Then Spike frowned, "What about the wee one, here? Won't she be recognised? I mean, she's got a bit of a reputation herself."
Nareia perked up at Spike's comment, and then the scowl returned to her face, "No. All the vampires who found out what I was are currently dust piles. Except you two, of course," she added. She heaved a huge sigh, "You knew damn well I would do it, Angel."
Angel looked at her angry, but resigned face, and grinned slightly. "Well, you always liked acting," he explained, shrugging. "We just have to hope that Giles and Buffy don't know enough about you to be convinced that you can be bad."
Nareia then smiled slyly, "Oh, don't worry about that. I'll show them how bad I can be."
Spike squeezed Nareia's waist as they moved off, towards the lair, "I can't wait for that, pet."
"Just don't distract me," Nareia told him, winking.
She led Spike and Angel through the broken door, and into the round room, where the scene that they had had in the vision was being acted out in front of them. Giles was in the arena, fighting a chubby Chief of Police. If the circumstances had been different, Nareia would have enjoyed the show. Giles was obviously winning, moving easily, while the policeman was lurching about, dripping sweat.
The vampires' perusal of the room was interrupted by the ex-Deputy Mayor, who approached them with venom in his eyes. "What are you doing here, Spike? And bringing your souled sire with you? And who's this, your new Dru?" he sneered.
Before Spike could answer, Nareia had her hand around the Deputy Mayor's neck. "They're with me," she growled, and her eyes flashed amber. "Why don't you get your pansy ass out of the way, otherwise I might set Angelus on you? I think he might enjoy that, he gets ratty after his soul's been released."
The hapless vampire's eyes bulged as Nareia's grip tightened, and they flittered between Spike, who was standing menacingly by Nareia's shoulder, to Angel, who smiled sadistically back at him.
The ex-Deputy Mayor tried to say something, but the vampiress's hand at his throat restricted his speech somewhat. Nareia tipped her head sideways, "Was there something you wanted to say?" Her victim nodded slightly. "Hmm, could it be you want to accommodate my every wish?" He nodded again quickly. "Good, I was hoping that was the answer. In that case, I think you should get out of my way," The ex-Deputy Mayor smiled uneasily, and nodded for the third time.
"Say hi to Hell for me," Angel told him, just before Nareia hit him on the head with her left hand. The blow, combined with her hold in his throat, broke his neck. His eyes widened as he realised what had happened, and then Nareia was wiping dust off her black trousers.
Spike grinned, "You've got to admit, that was fun."
Angel and Nareia looked at each other, and then smiled. "Yeah, it could have been classed as that," Nareia agreed. She then frowned. "It also appears that not all of them are immortal," she commented, pointing at the pile of dust at her feet.
"You can feel the difference, some of them are cursed, and some are normal vampires," Angel answered.
"So, what are they up to?" Spike asked, looking around him curiously.
Nareia shook her head, "I don't understand, there must be something more to it than a bloody gladiator fight."
Angel stiffened beside her. "What? What is it?" she asked the dark vampire.
"Willow."
Spike and Nareia turned, and saw that Giles had staked the now stunned Chief of Police, and his gaze was now fixed on something by the railing. It was the redheaded witch.
"Shit," Nareia and Spike muttered together.
"What is she doing here?" Nareia added.
"We have to get to her, before Giles does," Angel stated, and walked off towards her quickly.
Spike growled, and followed him quickly, with Nareia trying to keep up with him. She was stopped by a particularly gruesome-looking vampire, who grabbed her arm, and drooled on her, vamping out as he asked, "What are you doing here by yourself, pretty one?"
Nareia shrugged, and smiled at him. He returned the smile with one of his own, exposing none too clean fangs. "I don't know, I'm getting bored. I need something fun to do. I know, how 'bout this?"
She grasped his arm, and he looked shocked, until Nareia flashed him another smile. He relaxed, until Nareia casually twisted his arm behind his back, until she heard the bone pop, "Now, that was fun," she grinned.
She dropped his broken arm, and began to walk off after Spike and Angel, when someone else reached for her. "What now?" she growled angrily.
"You hurt my friend," her new attacker pointed to the vampire she had the encounter with. "We don't like that!" Ten more vampires came up to stand behind him.
Nareia rolled her eyes at the playground attitude, and inwardly winced, but maintained her outward calm. "Well, he wasn't playing nice," she answered, somewhat petulantly, just before her right fist connected with the first vampire's head, snapping it back. She followed up with another blow from her left fist, and the vampire fell to his knees, before exploding into dust, his neck broken.
The ten other vampires looked at their friend in shock, and then turned in the diminutive vampire that stood before them. All of them closed in on Nareia with vicious grins on their faces. They knew that she couldn't take them all at once. And they knew that she knew that.
Spike looked round when he felt fear flicker through his mind. He saw Nareia dust the first vampire, and be closed in upon by the remaining three. "Shit," he growled, his face changing as he ran over to where Nareia was currently being beaten up.
Spike growled again as he leapt into the fray, warning the remaining male vampires of his arrival, just before he broke the neck of the one that was holding Nareia down. Nareia leapt to her feet, gave Spike a grateful look, and quickly staked the vampire that was about to jump on him from behind. The last, having seen his fellow vamps turn into dust piles, took one look at Nareia and Spike, still vamped out, and turned tail and ran.
Spike's faced became human again, and he growled after him, "Don't mess with my girl again."
The vampiress's face returned to its human form as well, and Nareia's eyebrows rose, "Your girl?"
Spike grinned at her, and scooped her up in his strong arms, "You know it, and I know it, pet." His mouth swooped down to capture Nareia's in a devastating kiss.
"Now, come on, we have to help the poof," he said, as he broke off the kiss quickly, and dropped the petite vampire on her feet. He grabbed her hand, and they headed to where they had last seen Angel and Willow.
They were stopped by six vampires, one of whom was the one that had run away. "Just where do you think you are going?" he asked.
Nareia stepped forward, letting go of Spike's hand, "I'm going to find Angelus. I suggest you step out of the way, now!"
"I don't think that's going to happen," another said. "Your friend, Angelus, was caught trying to rescue Ripper's favourite witch. He's being punished right now." The vampire pointed to the arena below.
Spike and Nareia looked down into it, to see Buffy standing there with a stake in her hand, looking murderous. There was a commotion from the entrance to the pit. Someone was being dragged struggling into the arena. Nareia drew in an unneeded breath, and Spike's hand found hers and grasped it tight. It was Angel.
