Part 15

Willow silently followed Rupert down the hallway that led to the room holding Xander's body. Her mind was whirling with all the information that Nimue had given her as her feet automatically followed Rupert. She had insisted on being there when Xander received his soul. She wanted to see how Rupert did it without the Orb of Thesulah.

Rupert's eyes kept straying toward Willow. She hadn't said much since the incident with the mirror. She had reassured them all that she was fine and she had insisted on going with him when he gave Xander his soul despite his protests that he thought she had been through enough in one night.

The first rays of the sun lit the inner courtyard as Rupert held the door open for Willow. Willow stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Angel and Darla sitting on a bench in the courtyard. Willow wasn't sure she would ever get over the sight of two vampires enjoying the early morning sun.

Darla smiled over at Willow as she saw her enter the courtyard. "You have the same look on your face that Rupert did the first time he saw us in the sun."

"I gotta ask. Who was the first to experiment with it to make sure it worked and you guys didn't go poof?"

"William." Angel said with a slight smile. "There was a house in Europe that had this glass installed and it was rumored to be vamp proof. But no one that we knew had actually tried it. There were drinks and then bets placed and of course William cockily said that he would take a walk through the garden."

Darla started chuckling at the memory. "If I'd had a heart it would have stopped beating when I saw William take his first step into the light. He stuck his foot into the rays and smoke didn't rise. You should have seen his cocky smile as he strutted through the garden."

Willow smiled at the image of her Spike with his trademark smirk strolling through a sun filled garden room.

"The mirror safe?" Angel asked.

"Yes, there was minimal damage and we were able to put up stronger barriers around it."

"Stronger?" Darla quirked an eyebrow.

Rupert nodded, "It seems the rumors were true."

Darla and Angel both stiffened. "My God, it truly is Merlin's Mirror?"

"No one outside this mansion can know that. Even the Council. If it ever got back to Ethan . . .well I shudder to think what would happen."

"What about the representative that's coming tomorrow . . .or I guess later today? Won't they want to take it to a safer place?"

"There's no place safer than with Rupert and the Council knows that." Darla answered Willow. "The Council and the Coven knew the only person that was more powerful than Ethan was Rupert and as an added bonus he has knowledge of how Ethan thinks."

Rupert smiled wryly. "Not something I want to be known for, knowing how Ethan's mind works."

"On your way to Xander?" Angel asked.

Willow nodded. "I want to watch how Rupert gives permanent souls without using the Orb of Thesulah. The Angel in my dimension was cursed with a soul from a gypsy clan and it's not permanent. If I can somehow communicate to my friends I'd like to be able to tell them about this spell."

Angel grimaced. Willow had told him about his counterpart and the return of Angelus when she was in high school. He didn't even want to think what life would be like with the threat of Angelus' return. It was much better to have his demon blended with his soul. Each a counterbalance to the other.

"It'll still be a struggle for him and Xander won't be exactly like the Xander you remember. He'll have a blood lust when he first awakens that can't be helped but with Rupert giving him his soul at the very beginning he won't be as controlled by his demon as he would be if he'd been a vampire for a while before the soul."

Rupert took Willow's hand when he saw her try to repress another yawn. "Come on, I'll do the spell and then we can rest. It's been an exciting night to say the least."

Willow waved goodbye to Angel and Darla as she followed Rupert out of the courtyard.

William, Dru and Jesse looked up when Willow entered the room. Willow quickly made her way over to Jesse and engulfed him in a warm hug. The two held each other as they looked over at Xander's body.

"You doing okay?" Willow whispered.

"I'll be doing better once I know the spell worked and he's okay."

Rupert centered himself. It wasn't that it was a difficult spell or that it took a lot out of him but with experiencing the magick of the ancients and Avalon he was feeling the effects of the night.

Feeling his connection begin to strengthen Rupert raised his hands palms up. The air around him crackled causing the hair on Willow's arm to stand on end.

"Not of the dead, nor of the living. I call upon Janus to bring about this new beginning. Create a new creature where darkness and light shall dwell as one."

A white glow appeared around Rupert's hands and then traveled toward Xander's body. The body began to glow a brilliant white, which caused the others to cover their eyes. Rupert gave a loud gasp as the soul traveled through him and then re-entered Xander's body.

Seeing Xander's body begin to twitch and move Willow released Jesse and made a lunge toward Xander. Dru grabbed Willow before she could reach him, "It's all right, love. The demon is just fighting the inevitable. He's not in pain."

Willow stared wide-eyed as Xander's body slowly stopped moving and then finally came to rest. The light surrounding him softly began to fade and Rupert lowered his arms.

"Buffy told me that when I re-souled Angel he sort of gasped and then it was like waking up from a dream. There was no white light or struggle. Is it always like that?"

Rupert nodded as he caught his breath. "You returned the soul. This spell calls on Janus to merge soul and demon. Takes more energy, hence the light show."

Dru ran her hands over Xander's body closing her eyes, "I feel the darkness melting into the light." She opened her eyes and turned to Jesse and Willow, "I know you want to be here when he wakes up but there are some things that we must teach the newest member of our family that you can't be a part of. I'm sorry."

Willow rested her head on Jesse's shoulder, "We'll be a distraction won't we?"

William nodded, "You'll confuse him. Not on purpose but his demon will want to attack and drain you as a reminder of his humanity but his soul will want to protect you. So, until he can balance the two it's best to stay away."

Dru saw the tears begin to form in Willow's eyes, "It is just for one day, lovey. He'll be able to control it sooner than we could since he's starting with it."

Willow leaned down to kiss Xander's cheek before leaving with Jesse and Rupert.