Chapter 3:
"The only reason we were able to identify Mr. Wood," the Sheriff was explaining to the unusual group gathered in his office, "was because we found his wallet. The only thing we have not figured out yet is why, or for that matter how, he was involved with Ms. Romanov, a wanted fugitive."
"Who?" Buffy blurted out before she could stop herself.
"Jessenia Elena Faith Romanov, an escaped prisoner from California." He replied, stumbling over the name.
"No wonder she never told us her full name." Xander whispered to Willow. "And I thought mine was a mouthful." The comment earned him a jab in the ribs as the young witch leaned forward to listen.
"Ms. Romanov's finger prints were all over the vehicle we found at the site, so we imagine that she must have hitched a ride with Mr. Wood and then she killed him. Her whereabouts are not know right now, and seeing as he died several months ago, I'm not holding out on her still being around.
"We would like to see where you found him. "Giles told the man, "And maybe if we could take a look at his things as well, see if anything is missing?"
"Of course. I'll take you out there myself."
As the Sheriff stood, leaving the room, Giles held Willow back, wanting to speak to her and motioning to the others to keep the man occupied while he did, receiving a slight nod in reply. As he let them get further ahead, he turned to the Wiccan.
"Do you think you can...." He started to say.
"Hack the coroner report? No problem." She told him. After seven years of working together, she could pretty much tell what he was thinking. "I also want to check the area were they found him, see if I can sense anything."
"Yes, well, I'll leave you to it then." The Englishman said, losing his train of thought as he was derailed by the witch.
***
Almost two hours later, having left the main road and traveled into the desert on a winding path, passing scrub bushes and cactuses, they finally pulled to a stop, the six people gratefully got out, the two Slayers almost bolting, from the car. They found themselves surrounded by distant cliffs that seemed to shimmer in the afternoon The heat was rising from the ground, penetrating even the tough soles of Xanders boots.
"We found him laying by the remains of a fire." The sheriff stated, pointing down the slope. "His tent and truck were both over by that small group of scrub trees."
Looking to where he was pointing, the group split, Buffy Kennedy and Willow heading for the small circle of stones the, the Sheriff leading Xander and Giles to the trees. Stopping and looking at the bare ground, Xander could almost picture how it had looked when it had been erected. The tent would have faced the slope, leaving a view of the fire circle below, and the truck parked by the tree's, leaving it close enough to get to in a hurry if need be. Scanning the ground, his eye was drawn to something, and stepping closer, he looked down, puzzled.
Giles turned, having caught movement out of the corner of his sight, and followed the younger man to see what had drawn his attention. Kneeling down, he looked at the sand filled depression, noticing the same thing. A silent question ran through his mind as he stood and looked down to where his slayer was with the other two woman. Why was there two fire pits?
Back down below, Willow stopped the two Slayers from getting to close. Already too many people had contaminated the area, and she wanted to look herself before the energy of the two messed it up even more. Closing her eyes, she reached out, feeling the energy, memorizing it. Satisfied, she let the other go, knowing that what she needed to do could not be done unless they could distract the Sheriff; it would be to hard to explain otherwise.
As Buffy moved closer, she could feel something almost familiar about this, a forgotten memory nibbling at her mind, just out of reach. Shrugging it off, she started walking around until a cold shiver worked its way down her back, bringing goosebumps even in the hot dry air.
"Did you feel that?" she asked her companions
"What?" Kennedy asked. Her brown eye's scanning her surroundings warily as she moved to stand next to the older woman. As she did, she too felt a chill, almost like a warning, setting off her senses.
"Will, we need to check this area your way." the blonde told the redhead. "Did you bring your stuff with you?"
"Not what I really need." The wiccan told her, having felt something as well from the younger Slayer as she had moved over to her best friend's side. Her connection with all the new called Slayers allowed her to feel some of what they did when she was near them, but with Kennedy it was strongest, both through her continued closeness, and there bond as lovers.
"We need to go back to town, come out here tonight with out the local boy scouts." Buffy told her, hooking her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the Sheriff, feeling his eyes watching them as they spoke. Walking back to the car, Buffy moved to talk to Giles while Xander distracted the sheriff. . "Something else is going on her." The blonde told the man she thought of as her father. "Kennedy and I both have a wiggy feeling about this."
"What type of 'wiggy'"? Giles asked, looking over to where the Hampton Slayer was talking with the others. Catching her eye, he saw her nod her head slightly, indicating that she heard and agreed with Buffy.
"I don't know, but this place is making my skin craw. I mean, it's day time, and there is no place for any creepies to hid, but I can feel them."
Seeing the others getting into the Sheriff's vehicle, Giles and Buffy followed suit, tabling the discussion until they returned to their hotel. Hopefully, once there, Willow would be able to get the report from the coroners office. He hated to think that Faith had done this, but they had no proof other then knowing she had been with Robin. If she had, they would be the one's to deal with her, if not... Well, either way, they needed to find her.
***
"Is she ready?"
"Yes." The cloaked figure standing behind the kneeling Slayer said, "She but awaits your commands Master."
"Leave us!"
As he watched the other figure leave, he looked down on the bowed head of his creation, a cruel smile tugging at his lips as he surveyed his handy work. The once defiant woman had been transformed into what the Slayer was meant to be. Humanity replaced by pure predator, the perfect killing thing, agile, strong, living only to kill the creatures that haunted the dark places that man feared to tread.
Grabbing her chin, he pulled her face up and looked into her eyes, seeing the bloodlust dwelling there, but also fear, fear that he alone could instill in this creature he owned, body and soul. As he released her, her eyes dropped once more to the floor, not daring to look at her creator. Her body was his, his magic alone would she serve, killing those he wished, drawing their power, their strength, into his.
It was time to take her to the circle, let the others think what they will, he alone would know the truth, for his servant would be her final test. If she could kill him, she would be sent forth to seek they others out, and he had no doubts that she would succeed
"Come." He commanded, striding from the room, the Slayer following him wordlessly.
Blood. Anger. Hunt. Kill. Weak. The creature before her was nothing, an evil thing that she will destroy, as her instincts told her to. The Slayer was free, released to do what she was meant to, kill those things that crawled from the pits, demons, fiends. She could smell the blood, taste its fear as she circled it, keeping just out of range.
She remembered the scent. This was the one that had held her, the tormentor, the one who took pleasure in inflicting pain. Now, it would die. No one else would fall to it, not if she could help it. She was Slayer, strong, created to kill it's kind. Vampire!
"She is toying with this one."
"He was the one who tamed her for us. There is hatred there."
"She shows emotion. WE did not agree to this."
"Hatred of her enemy's only. He is after all, a vampire."
"What about when we send her after her real prey?"
"She will view them as the enemy as well."
Just then, a loud scream pierced the air, and turning back to the fight before them, they saw their creation rip the arm off the bloody thing that had once been a vampire. It turned its yellow eyes to them, pleading for them to call her off, but even as he locked eye's with his master, he felt something tearing, and the last thing he saw as his mind turned to dust was his own body, laying on the ground, for she had pull his head off with her bare hands.
Standing there, her chest heaving as she took deep breaths, her arms coated with the blood of the vampire, she raised her hands, looking at them, a feral glint in her eyes, she traced the faint blue lines the mystical flames had left on the dark designs twisting and turning on the bare flesh.
They watched as the marks seemed to illuminate, and could feel the slight increase as the power of the creature was drawn into the vessel that housed their own power. Power that had been stolen from them by the others. As the dim glow faded, She turned to face them, the black mask that surrounded her eyes making the blue glow of her eyes as they faded back to normal seem all that much brighter.
"Bring the weapon. It is time to retake our place."
***
"I got it." Willow said as she barged into Giles and Xander's room, waving a sheaf of papers clutched in her hand, with Kennedy right behind her,.
"Oh, you got the newest issue of Wicked Woman?" the one time zeppo leered at his long time friend, earning him a glare.
"I'm not sure what happened yet," she went on, ignoring his comment, "but I do know that there is no way anything human, Slayer or not, could have killed him."
"What does it say?" Giles's quiet voice asked from his corner of the room.
Looking down, Willow started reading the report, mumbling bits out loud. "Male. Six feet tall. African-American. Ah, here. The remains were found scattered in a twenty foot radius, and as of yet we still missing several bones, most notably the smaller bones of the hands and feet. Those were assumedly eating by what ever had been feasting on the body and will not be found."
Not noticing the slightly green tinge that was forming of the faces of the three in the room, Willow's mutterings faded as she read farther, her own stomach starting to let her know the topic was not one for polite conversation.
"'While the larger bone's remain intact, it is evident that the body had been there for some time and that large predators, most likely coyotes, had been gnawing on it. We managed to recover the skull, and after careful examination, we determined that death was caused by a blow of a yet unknown weapon. A circular hole, approximately five centimeters in diameter, was located in the frontal lobe of the skull. The most unusual aspect is the wound itself, for the edges are smooth, and there is no trace of the missing section..'."
"So, we are looking for some kind of brain eating monster?" Xander asked, trying and failing to lighten the mood. Each of them having the same thought; if something killed Robin, and it was not Faith, was she dead as well?
"Are we sure she was still with him?" Kennedy piped in, worry causing her brow to wrinkle as she thought of the Dark Slayer.
"They did find her prints. But maybe she left before he died."
"She was with him." Buffy's voice drew there attention to the door as she entered, a bag slung over her shoulder. "Her stuff was still in truck when they found it."
***
Her name was Alyssa Delont, she was seventeen years old, and she was all but dead. The doctor was surprised she was even still alive. She had multiply broken bones, internal injuries, and a severe skull fracture, not to mention the countless bruises and lacerations. What puzzled the doctor the most was the strange blue mark on her chest, the imprint of a hand still showing around it, almost like a scorch mark.
***
"The only reason we were able to identify Mr. Wood," the Sheriff was explaining to the unusual group gathered in his office, "was because we found his wallet. The only thing we have not figured out yet is why, or for that matter how, he was involved with Ms. Romanov, a wanted fugitive."
"Who?" Buffy blurted out before she could stop herself.
"Jessenia Elena Faith Romanov, an escaped prisoner from California." He replied, stumbling over the name.
"No wonder she never told us her full name." Xander whispered to Willow. "And I thought mine was a mouthful." The comment earned him a jab in the ribs as the young witch leaned forward to listen.
"Ms. Romanov's finger prints were all over the vehicle we found at the site, so we imagine that she must have hitched a ride with Mr. Wood and then she killed him. Her whereabouts are not know right now, and seeing as he died several months ago, I'm not holding out on her still being around.
"We would like to see where you found him. "Giles told the man, "And maybe if we could take a look at his things as well, see if anything is missing?"
"Of course. I'll take you out there myself."
As the Sheriff stood, leaving the room, Giles held Willow back, wanting to speak to her and motioning to the others to keep the man occupied while he did, receiving a slight nod in reply. As he let them get further ahead, he turned to the Wiccan.
"Do you think you can...." He started to say.
"Hack the coroner report? No problem." She told him. After seven years of working together, she could pretty much tell what he was thinking. "I also want to check the area were they found him, see if I can sense anything."
"Yes, well, I'll leave you to it then." The Englishman said, losing his train of thought as he was derailed by the witch.
***
Almost two hours later, having left the main road and traveled into the desert on a winding path, passing scrub bushes and cactuses, they finally pulled to a stop, the six people gratefully got out, the two Slayers almost bolting, from the car. They found themselves surrounded by distant cliffs that seemed to shimmer in the afternoon The heat was rising from the ground, penetrating even the tough soles of Xanders boots.
"We found him laying by the remains of a fire." The sheriff stated, pointing down the slope. "His tent and truck were both over by that small group of scrub trees."
Looking to where he was pointing, the group split, Buffy Kennedy and Willow heading for the small circle of stones the, the Sheriff leading Xander and Giles to the trees. Stopping and looking at the bare ground, Xander could almost picture how it had looked when it had been erected. The tent would have faced the slope, leaving a view of the fire circle below, and the truck parked by the tree's, leaving it close enough to get to in a hurry if need be. Scanning the ground, his eye was drawn to something, and stepping closer, he looked down, puzzled.
Giles turned, having caught movement out of the corner of his sight, and followed the younger man to see what had drawn his attention. Kneeling down, he looked at the sand filled depression, noticing the same thing. A silent question ran through his mind as he stood and looked down to where his slayer was with the other two woman. Why was there two fire pits?
Back down below, Willow stopped the two Slayers from getting to close. Already too many people had contaminated the area, and she wanted to look herself before the energy of the two messed it up even more. Closing her eyes, she reached out, feeling the energy, memorizing it. Satisfied, she let the other go, knowing that what she needed to do could not be done unless they could distract the Sheriff; it would be to hard to explain otherwise.
As Buffy moved closer, she could feel something almost familiar about this, a forgotten memory nibbling at her mind, just out of reach. Shrugging it off, she started walking around until a cold shiver worked its way down her back, bringing goosebumps even in the hot dry air.
"Did you feel that?" she asked her companions
"What?" Kennedy asked. Her brown eye's scanning her surroundings warily as she moved to stand next to the older woman. As she did, she too felt a chill, almost like a warning, setting off her senses.
"Will, we need to check this area your way." the blonde told the redhead. "Did you bring your stuff with you?"
"Not what I really need." The wiccan told her, having felt something as well from the younger Slayer as she had moved over to her best friend's side. Her connection with all the new called Slayers allowed her to feel some of what they did when she was near them, but with Kennedy it was strongest, both through her continued closeness, and there bond as lovers.
"We need to go back to town, come out here tonight with out the local boy scouts." Buffy told her, hooking her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the Sheriff, feeling his eyes watching them as they spoke. Walking back to the car, Buffy moved to talk to Giles while Xander distracted the sheriff. . "Something else is going on her." The blonde told the man she thought of as her father. "Kennedy and I both have a wiggy feeling about this."
"What type of 'wiggy'"? Giles asked, looking over to where the Hampton Slayer was talking with the others. Catching her eye, he saw her nod her head slightly, indicating that she heard and agreed with Buffy.
"I don't know, but this place is making my skin craw. I mean, it's day time, and there is no place for any creepies to hid, but I can feel them."
Seeing the others getting into the Sheriff's vehicle, Giles and Buffy followed suit, tabling the discussion until they returned to their hotel. Hopefully, once there, Willow would be able to get the report from the coroners office. He hated to think that Faith had done this, but they had no proof other then knowing she had been with Robin. If she had, they would be the one's to deal with her, if not... Well, either way, they needed to find her.
***
"Is she ready?"
"Yes." The cloaked figure standing behind the kneeling Slayer said, "She but awaits your commands Master."
"Leave us!"
As he watched the other figure leave, he looked down on the bowed head of his creation, a cruel smile tugging at his lips as he surveyed his handy work. The once defiant woman had been transformed into what the Slayer was meant to be. Humanity replaced by pure predator, the perfect killing thing, agile, strong, living only to kill the creatures that haunted the dark places that man feared to tread.
Grabbing her chin, he pulled her face up and looked into her eyes, seeing the bloodlust dwelling there, but also fear, fear that he alone could instill in this creature he owned, body and soul. As he released her, her eyes dropped once more to the floor, not daring to look at her creator. Her body was his, his magic alone would she serve, killing those he wished, drawing their power, their strength, into his.
It was time to take her to the circle, let the others think what they will, he alone would know the truth, for his servant would be her final test. If she could kill him, she would be sent forth to seek they others out, and he had no doubts that she would succeed
"Come." He commanded, striding from the room, the Slayer following him wordlessly.
Blood. Anger. Hunt. Kill. Weak. The creature before her was nothing, an evil thing that she will destroy, as her instincts told her to. The Slayer was free, released to do what she was meant to, kill those things that crawled from the pits, demons, fiends. She could smell the blood, taste its fear as she circled it, keeping just out of range.
She remembered the scent. This was the one that had held her, the tormentor, the one who took pleasure in inflicting pain. Now, it would die. No one else would fall to it, not if she could help it. She was Slayer, strong, created to kill it's kind. Vampire!
"She is toying with this one."
"He was the one who tamed her for us. There is hatred there."
"She shows emotion. WE did not agree to this."
"Hatred of her enemy's only. He is after all, a vampire."
"What about when we send her after her real prey?"
"She will view them as the enemy as well."
Just then, a loud scream pierced the air, and turning back to the fight before them, they saw their creation rip the arm off the bloody thing that had once been a vampire. It turned its yellow eyes to them, pleading for them to call her off, but even as he locked eye's with his master, he felt something tearing, and the last thing he saw as his mind turned to dust was his own body, laying on the ground, for she had pull his head off with her bare hands.
Standing there, her chest heaving as she took deep breaths, her arms coated with the blood of the vampire, she raised her hands, looking at them, a feral glint in her eyes, she traced the faint blue lines the mystical flames had left on the dark designs twisting and turning on the bare flesh.
They watched as the marks seemed to illuminate, and could feel the slight increase as the power of the creature was drawn into the vessel that housed their own power. Power that had been stolen from them by the others. As the dim glow faded, She turned to face them, the black mask that surrounded her eyes making the blue glow of her eyes as they faded back to normal seem all that much brighter.
"Bring the weapon. It is time to retake our place."
***
"I got it." Willow said as she barged into Giles and Xander's room, waving a sheaf of papers clutched in her hand, with Kennedy right behind her,.
"Oh, you got the newest issue of Wicked Woman?" the one time zeppo leered at his long time friend, earning him a glare.
"I'm not sure what happened yet," she went on, ignoring his comment, "but I do know that there is no way anything human, Slayer or not, could have killed him."
"What does it say?" Giles's quiet voice asked from his corner of the room.
Looking down, Willow started reading the report, mumbling bits out loud. "Male. Six feet tall. African-American. Ah, here. The remains were found scattered in a twenty foot radius, and as of yet we still missing several bones, most notably the smaller bones of the hands and feet. Those were assumedly eating by what ever had been feasting on the body and will not be found."
Not noticing the slightly green tinge that was forming of the faces of the three in the room, Willow's mutterings faded as she read farther, her own stomach starting to let her know the topic was not one for polite conversation.
"'While the larger bone's remain intact, it is evident that the body had been there for some time and that large predators, most likely coyotes, had been gnawing on it. We managed to recover the skull, and after careful examination, we determined that death was caused by a blow of a yet unknown weapon. A circular hole, approximately five centimeters in diameter, was located in the frontal lobe of the skull. The most unusual aspect is the wound itself, for the edges are smooth, and there is no trace of the missing section..'."
"So, we are looking for some kind of brain eating monster?" Xander asked, trying and failing to lighten the mood. Each of them having the same thought; if something killed Robin, and it was not Faith, was she dead as well?
"Are we sure she was still with him?" Kennedy piped in, worry causing her brow to wrinkle as she thought of the Dark Slayer.
"They did find her prints. But maybe she left before he died."
"She was with him." Buffy's voice drew there attention to the door as she entered, a bag slung over her shoulder. "Her stuff was still in truck when they found it."
***
Her name was Alyssa Delont, she was seventeen years old, and she was all but dead. The doctor was surprised she was even still alive. She had multiply broken bones, internal injuries, and a severe skull fracture, not to mention the countless bruises and lacerations. What puzzled the doctor the most was the strange blue mark on her chest, the imprint of a hand still showing around it, almost like a scorch mark.
***