CHAPTER EIGHT

"I still can't get a hold of Justine," Lindsey said as they piled their luggage into one of the two SUV's they rented.

"Maybe she's out or they won't let her answer." Buffy had a bad feeling about this. She knew it wasn't something so innocuous. Nothing in her life was ever so simple.

"Or I made a mistake in thinking Eve would trust me to change my mind," Lindsey said, dragging a hand through his hair.

"If they think you and Justine betrayed them." Gunn's lips thinned. "This can be bad."

"Maybe we should try and call the hospitals just in case," Willow said, an apologetic look on her face.

"There's not many out here. It shouldn't take long," Lindsey said.

A call to 411 gave him the short list of numbers. Lindsey started with Black Hills Regional. "Hello, yes, I'm calling to see if my cousin, Justine Cooper was brought into the emergency room tonight? I have reason to believe she might have been in an accident...she is?"

At the questioning upswing in Lindsey's voice, Buffy felt her knees go weak. Angel took hold of Connor's arm, steadying him.

"When was she brought in? How is she?...I see, where was the accident? What about her daughter, Sorcha? A three year old...there was no child in the car? All right, thank you. I'll be there soon to be with her." Lindsey flipped his phone shut.

"What happened?" Angel snapped before Lindsey could gather his thoughts.

"Justine was in a severe car accident. She's in surgery right now," Lindsey replied.

Buffy grabbed his arm, shaking him. "But Sorcha wasn't with her?"

"No child in the car," Lindsey reiterated.

"Where is my daughter?"

Buffy's eyes snapped over to Connor. His body shook. He sounded so broken. She didn't think he'd survive intact much longer.

"We know it was not by chance that Justine was in a wreck just hours after we put this plan into motion," Wes said. "It's likely that Sorcha is with Eve and Ethan."

"So where do we start looking?" Cordelia asked.

"Lindsey, they told you where the accident was," Angel said and Lindsey nodded. "We start looking there. If Justine was running, she probably had Sorcha with her."

"Shouldn't some of us check out Justine's place in case they went back there or if she didn't have the kid?" Gunn glanced over at Angel.

"Could be a bloody waste of time," Spike replied, slipping a cigarette between his lips.

"Not necessarily. There are only two direct ways down to Hot Springs, the interstate and the long scenic way. Thing is, Justine wrecked on the scenic road but she was closer to Hot Springs than to Rapid City. It would probably be quicker to fly like bats out of hell down 79 and then cut through Hot Springs, check out her house then go to the crash site. It's longer but the highway is faster."

"Couldn't we push it down the scenic trail?" Willow asked.

"Only if we want to end up over the hill. Tourist RV's won't be in the way in the dark...maybe, but if we do, then we'll be stuck for miles unable to pass. The scenic road cuts through the Hills, hair pin turns, narrow dangerous roads. There's only so fast you can go especially in Roll-over mobiles like the Suvies," Lindsey said. "And like I said, she crashed closer to Hot Springs. If we take the highway, we can get there faster. We have no idea which way Ethan and Eve would have gone if they were even at the crash site. But if they were, Angel, Spike and Connor can track them from there."

"We'll go the highway." Angel's voice brooked no argument. Buffy wasn't sure she agreed but had to concede Lindsey had a point. He had explained on the plane that he had vacationed in the Black Hills several times and he seemed to know the area. "We don't have time to lose too much of the night. Spike and I only have so many hours before we become useless to you."

Buffy herded Lindsey into the SUV with her, Angel, Willow, and Connor while Wes, Gunn, Spike, and Cordy took the other. Lindsey made Angel give up the driver's seat, which he did with ill-grace. However, he knew Lindsey at least knew where he was going, in theory and Buffy knew the lawyer wasn't going to skimp on speed, not with them in the car to push him, should he be having a change of heart.

"Is Justine going to die?" Connor asked as Lindsey threaded through Rapid City towards S-79.

"Don't know. She was lifeflighted in. The nurse wouldn't tell me more, not without proof I'm family," Lindsey said.

"Then Sorcha could be hurt." Connor curled up on himself as much as the seatbelt would let him.

Buffy reached over and took his hand, pulling him against her in the back seat. Angel looked back at them, pain in his eyes. "They don't want her hurt, Connor. They need her alive and healthy. Ethan probably has magic that insured her safety. That's why Eve hired him."

"But we don't know that. Your dream isn't coming true. Justine won't be going to Quor-Toth with Sorcha and Lindsey," Connor said, his voice thin, stretched, ready to break. "If that's changed, for all we know they no longer want her."

"I doubt that," Angel said. "They want her and that alone will keep her safe for now. We have to think positively."

Buffy saw Connor was in no condition to do that. She pressed his cheek against her shoulder, stroking his arm as Lindsey left the outskirts of the city behind.

"Your friend said she cast a spell that makes the Suvies invisible to radar," Lindsey said. "Here's hoping she's right."

The engine roared and they rocketed toward Hot Springs, Wes's SUV drafting along behind them.

Sorcha's knees hurt and bled from where she had fallen and scraped them. Her fingers were raw from climbing the rough rocky trail but she knew she couldn't stop. Aunt Buffy hadn't wanted her to watch the big girls train with her but Sorcha was sneaky. Granny Emma, who watched her at school, was always so busy with other kids or too tired and Sorcha knew how to sneak out and watch Aunt Buffy. She heard about ignoring pain and always keep going. It hadn't ever made sense until now.

It was like the practices she did when she got to wear her karate outfit, only for real. She knew bits of branch and rocks were her friends. The older people couldn't keep up with her. She was faster and she kept throwing the rocks and sticks when they got close. She was always good at that, too good. Aunt Buffy didn't like her throwing things but Sorcha knew this was the right thing to do.

Night was coming. It was scary. Sorcha didn't fear the dark but she was alone and there were strange smells and sounds in the woods. She ran until she came to the end of the bluff. She closed her eyes, trying not to look down. It was too far, too many sharp scary rocks. She turned and saw the bare rocks with lots of hidey-holes. She had to just get to it. They were so high up and she could hear the old people trying to climb after her. Their breathing was hard and panting like Aunt Buffy after she trained the older girls.

Sorcha loped away from the edge of the bluff, wending in and out of the pine trees. She tried to jump for the high-up ledge and missed. She jogged back down the wooded path and saw the man not too far away. His eyes were dark and scary. Sorcha took a running leap at the ledge. Her fingers caught it, the rough stone biting into her skin. She whimpered and pulled herself up. She peeled off her backpack and wedged herself back into a hidey hole. There were more rocks and she grabbed one.

"Did you see that jump?" Ethan wheezed.

"She's a freak. Why do you think Wolfram and Hart wants her, Ethan?" Eve turned on him. "Get her down."

"How do you propose I do that?" His eyes narrowed. "Grow wings?"

"You're the wizard," Eve snarled. "Don't tell me you don't have some sort of spell."

Sorcha heard the cross tone in the woman's voice. She wanted to hit her with a stone but she knew she couldn't waste it, not until they got closer.

"I'm better with potions and complicated spells. I'm not good with the gesture and say a magic word," Ethan said contritely. "There's one...but that might bring the rocks down on top of us."

"Well, we've got to do something." Eve tried to see if she could climb up and Sorcha hit her with a rock. Eve fell. "Little bitch."

"I'll see what I can work up. Help me find the ingredients for the spell," Ethan said.

Sorcha watched them go. She knew they wouldn't go far. She was safer where she was than trying to run. They couldn't reach her here. She opened her backpack and took out the white buffalo. She snagged the water and snack bars and began to eat. She hugged the buffalo to her with one hand as she sucked at the water. She tried very hard not to cry. She knew Aunt Buffy and Daddy would come for her. They had to.

She shivered. It was getting cool and she didn't have a jacket. Things howled in the night. She didn't know what they were. She pressed back into the rock then smiled a little, seeing two familiar faces sitting with her on the rocks. Both her grandmothers spent lots of time with her. Sorcha knew they were dead. That didn't matter. They visited often, even more now that Aunt Buffy and Aunt Willow didn't get all upset when she mentioned them. Mommy visited, too, but she spent a lot of time with Aunt Buffy and Daddy, trying to tell them things but they couldn't hear her, not like Sorcha could. She knew Mommy was trying to tell them now where Sorcha was but she didn't think they'd hear her. Still, they would come. They would find her. She'd just stay safe in the rocks with her grannies and if the bad people came again, she'd just toss more rocks at them until they went away again.

Angel wasn't surprised that there were no clues at Justine's other than Sorcha had been there but they had already knew that. Maybe he shouldn't have insisted on going there first. At least now they had three of Justine's heavy blankets in the back of the SUV, in case the sun rose and he and Spike needed to shelter under them.

They were flying through Wind Cave Park, still under Willow's spell to make them invisible to the police. It was a bit flatter here, easier to make good time, and he knew they were going in the right direction. He couldn't say how, since there was no way of picking Sorcha's scent out of the air. She would have been merely riding in the car, not imprinting on the place.

"Buffalo!" Buffy shrieked and Lindsey slammed on the brakes, jerking the wheel.

The SUV's wheels hit the berm but they scooted around the huge animals that had claimed the highway as their own. As they slowed down, shaken by nearly slamming into the buffalos, Angel caught Sorcha's scent.

"Stop here!" He was out of the SUV even before it came to a full stop. Buffy was on his heels. "Look there, a car went off the road here."

"Sorcha was here," Connor said, jumping out of the SUV. "The car... here, glass and metal everywhere. I smell blood."

"Justine's," Angel said, even though he couldn't tell if it was hers alone. Connor didn't need to know that. The look on Spike's face told Angel he was on the same page. Angel whirled, hearing something coming up behind him. A black and white dog limped up to Willow who squatted down, cooing at it.

"Awww, poor baby, are you hurt?" She held out a hand and it sniffed her, then licked the offered appendage.

Spike sniffed. "The mutt's Justine's. I can smell her and the kid all over the beast."

"She must have been in the wreck, too." Buffy peered into the darkness. "Where do we go from here?"

"That way." Connor pointed north along the road, the direction they had already been headed in.

"You sound so sure." Cordelia shivered, unaccustomed to the coolness of a South Dakota evening.

"I am," he replied, grimly.

"How?" Buffy looked at him curiously.

"Mom says she knows where Sorcha is," Connor said, going back into the SUV.

"Um, son, your mother isn't here." Angel glanced between Buffy and Connor nervously.

"You're wrong. I'm not delusional. Mom talks to me a lot," Connor replied, his eyes narrowing.

"I think you're making a case for being delusion, kiddo," Spike said.

"No, he's not. Sorcha has seen her, too." Buffy put a hand on Connor's back. "I thought she was just making up seeing Grandma Darla and Grandma Joyce, to make herself feel better about not having any grandmothers. Sorcha knew Mom, of course from pictures, so her telling us what Grandma Joyce looked like didn't mean much Then she saw a Watcher's diary with a photo of Darla. Sorcha pointed right to it and said, "That's grandma.' We've all seen ghosts before. Cordy, you had a ghost roommate. If Connor says Darla's giving him directions, I say we believe him."

"That's good enough for me," Angel said, hoping Buffy was right, that his son wasn't having a hallucination. North made sense at any rate. It led back to Rapid City and the airport and freedom.

They piled back into the SUV's, Willow taking Justine's dog, and they headed north.