Right after last chapter, still during the "Storyteller episode."
Chapter 11
Slowly I started walking out of the alley. The cool air felt nice compared to the heat of the club. It was quiet here, which made it easy to hear the vampires come out and stalk towards me, as if they were supposed to be tough and frightening.
I wasn't facing them, but just from listening I knew where they were. I continued walking slowly, letting them catch up to me. One of them reached out to grab me, I hesitated mid step for just a second, getting him to move faster. I waited until his hand was on my shoulder before I grabbed it, pulling him up and over me, then letting go so he could fall onto the ground. I grabbed a random piece of wood that had been dropped on the ground and staked the guy. It was too simple, Amanda probably could have taken him if she knew he was coming.
I stood up slowly, turning to the other vamp as I brushed my hair out of my face. "If you really want to fight we can go for it, but I'm really not interested in you, so you can still leave." The vampire hesitated a moment, his eyes going from the stake to me, then back to the stake.
He ran.
Smirking I threw the stake back down. There was plenty of wood littering the place that if I needed another it would be easy to find.
Right on time Zeke walked out of the club. He didn't even glance at the running vampire, his attention was focused on me.
"This was easier then I thought it would be," He stated. "I see you walk in with a bunch of girls, unexpected. Then I barely threaten them and you decide to come with me. Must be my lucky day."
I shrugged. "Perhaps. Then again something might happen to turn the tides, who knows?"
Zeke just smiled, nodding his head in the direction we were going. "Come on, Boss is going to want to know about this."
I followed him, easily catching up. "So, is he in Sunnydale, too?" I asked, this time I was looking for information.
Zeke spared me a quick glance before answering. "Not yet, but I don't have a phone on me." He seamed almost eager as we walked along. I hadn't known he would be so happy about catching me. At least someone was having a good time in all of this.
Thoughts of the girls partying came to me head. I glanced back at the club, wondering if they would be okay. Had Zeke ordered them all killed? If he did, could they fight the vampires that would attack? Kennedy thought the girls were ready. Maybe she'd have to test that theory.
"Don't worry," Zeke said, noticing me looking. "None of Boss's vamps will hurt them tonight." I turned back to where we were going, not as sure as he was.
None of the Boss's vamps. That wasn't saying much. Sure, he had a lot working for him, but Sunnydale had a lot period. The girls weren't safe, but there was nothing I could do about it. Not now at least.
Boy Buffy was going to kill me when I got back. The thought made me smile. Chances are I wouldn't be back, and even if I was, I'd be dead.
Of course, she would still kill me. But the thought was still funny, too.
"What?" Zeke asked.
I shook my head. "Nothing, nothing at all."
He continued to look at me for a few more seconds. "You're a horrible liar."
"Nah, I'm actually getting quite good at it," I stated happily.
He shrugged. "If you say so. Actually, now that I think about it you've always been kind of good," he said as if just remembering.
"I wasn't bad," I agreed.
He smirked at me. "You say it like it's some great skill."
I grinned. "Bull shitting people will get you everywhere. How do you think I got through high school?"
He laughed at that, shaking his head. "Don't have a clue. I know you didn't do any homework, that's for sure. What'd you do, suck up to teachers?"
Shaking my head I gave him a 'yeah right' glance. "Hell no. I'm all for the not sucking up thing. I just didn't have a clue what I was talking about most of the time, but managed to act as if I knew everything there was to know. Beside, I'm a good guesser."
He grinned. "I'm a better one."
"Maybe," I said with a shrug. That was one topic that wasn't worth fighting over.
We settled into a silence, but it was a comfortable one. None of that feeling too uncomfortable to talk stuff going on, we just didn't feel like saying much. If we actually did start talking there was a risk that we might have to be serious and remember our friendly squabbling was actually because of something not so friendly. For the time being I liked the illusion.
Soon we entered the nicer part of town. You know the place with all the big houses where the really rich people live? We stopped in front of one of the bigger house and Zeke pressed a buzzer on the gate that kept us out. I took a good look at the house. It was almost a mansion. I hadn't known that Sunnydale had places this nice.
A camera on the gate swiveled around to face us. We stared up at it, or at least I did. I wasn't sure where Zeke was looking, he had the glasses after all. Personally I thought that was cheating, but hey, who said we had to play fair?
Back to the point: The gate opened and we went inside.
For a moment I got a bad feeling. One of those saying that I was walking into something that I couldn't get out of. This was way over my head and I should keep it that way. I should turn and leave, I could probably get away. I didn't even know if Zeke would chase me. He might, but he might not. Either way, it wouldn't work. If I got away then he'd kill the girls. If I didn't, he'd know I was scared. And that was the honest truth, I hadn't let myself think about it until now, but I was terrified. We weren't friends, we couldn't afford to be. I was here to die, and he was delivering me to the executioner.
I had to pause for a moment to swallow that feeling. It wouldn't help. Zeke glanced back at me, as if to ask what was wrong. I shook my head and kept going. Tough as nails vampire slayer, that was me. I would stand up to the bad guys, exchange comments, be a smart ass. I had to. If they actually tried to kill me. I'd deal with it then.
Zeke led me across the driveway. It was a long one, ending nicely right in front of the house before curving back the other way so that the cars could leave. Zeke ignored the big doors in the front and took me around the side of the house to a smaller, less noticeable door. Another camera watched us walk in.
We entered a hallway, which was at the moment empty. He led me through the hallways. It was like a maze, but he never hesitated. While I was getting lost he knew exactly where we were. I suppose he meant it to be that way. No chance of me getting out if I didn't even know what part of the house we were in. We'd gone down several flights of stairs and I was fairly certain that we were a ways underground.
Finally we entered a room, leaving the maze behind. It was a bedroom of sorts, though if you ignored the bed it could also have been a living room or office. There were couches, a TV, a computer, several shelves of books. . . It was a large room. There was one thing I didn't like in here. A vampire.
She was lying on one of the couches, and if I hadn't known better I would have thought she was asleep. She was newly dead though, and still had a sense of aliveness about her. It would fade, but at the moment it was there. It told me she was awake, listening, waiting, trying to see what we would do.
I took a moment to study her. She was where I black robe, it looked fuzzy and soft, probably very comfortable. Her hair had been dyed black and was long and strait, her skin a pale white. She was trying to hard to be the classic vampire, and it showed, but she was still beautiful, in an undead sort of way. It would have been better if she didn't have to try.
"Who's the new girl?" I asked, half way to teasing Zeke.
He just grinned at me, not saying anything. He never was one to talk about his love life, probably because love wasn't involved. A lot of lust, but never love. This girl would be gone in a week, and she was probably so full of herself that she didn't even realize it.
"Make yourself at home," He said. "Don't want you leaving this room. You might get into trouble."
I smirked. "Who me? Never."
"Uh-huh. Right," he muttered. "Just don't do anything stupid, and I mean it when I say stay in here." He said that last thing firmly.
Nodding I took a few steps in to get a better look around. I picked up on a few things that Zeke liked, including the computer which I recognized as his. "This is your room, right?"
"Yep, you get a couch to sleep on, sorry."
I shrugged. "No problem, just curious." Again a glanced at the girl. "Tell her to get up, would ya? She's starting to get annoying."
Zeke chuckled. "She's not doing anything, how can she be annoying?"
"Because she's not doing anything." I said it like it should explain everything. Zeke just shook his head, but I got the feeling he understood to some extent. That was better then nothing. Regardless of whether or not he did, he still walked over to the girl.
"Hey, Vicky, get up," I wouldn't go so far as to say he sounded like he cared for her, he didn't, but there was some sort of affection in his voice. Maybe he liked her more then most of the girls he slept with. Maybe she was just good in bed.
In any case Vicky sat up. She opened hazel eyes to stare at me. Actually it was more of a glare. There was something very territorial about it. I couldn't help but laugh, I think she thought I was laughing at her. Her eyes narrowed, definitely a glare.
"Who's she?" she asked. Her voice actually sounded sweet, she was staring daggers at me, but when talking to Zeke she managed to sound nice. I almost laughed again.
Zeke ignored the tension coming from Vicky, instead he just answered her question. "This is my friend Liz. Don't hurt her." It wasn't a request, it was an order. Vicky just nodded. He turned to me. "Liz, this is Veronica. She's going to be in her a lot."
I shrugged. I didn't care. She could be here whenever she wanted as long as she didn't try to do anything annoying, like talking to me. Yeah, that was definitely out of the question. I could just imagine the conversations. She seamed like the type of person who'd ask a lot of stupid questions.
"Why is she here?" Vicky wined, pouting at Zeke. Definitely not someone I wanted to talk to.
Zeke was being patient with her. "Because if I put her anywhere else she'll get killed, and I really don't want that. Don't worry, she won't get in the way." Get in the way of what? I didn't think I wanted to know, and I knew Zeke wouldn't answer if I asked. Anything that would go on between the two of them would happen elsewhere. I knew that so I didn't feel the need to start up a conversation about it.
Vicky was still pouting, but Zeke had gotten back up and walked back over to me. "I need to go for a few minutes and make a phone call, don't do anything stupid," he glanced at Vicky, "either of you." Then he left.
Instantly Veronica's appearance changed. She was no longer a sweet little girl, but instead a pissed off vampire who really wanted to tear my head off. She was even close to looking scary, but just not quite.
She thought I was going after her man. I wanted to laugh again, but didn't bother. She'd probably attack, and then I'd have to fight her, and Zeke would want to know what happened. If I killed her I don't think he would have bought the self defense story, even if it was true. So instead I looked bored, giving her a look that clearly said I wasn't interested in anything she had to say.
She didn't care what I was interested in. "So you're Zeke's new 'friend'?" she said friend as if it was a bad thing.
I shook my head. "No, to both meanings. I've known Zeke longer than you've been alive, and we've never slept together. So don't worry, he's all yours." Why do they never believe it when I tell them that?
Vicky stood at her full height, close to 5'9", as she tried to look intimidating. She stalked towards me, taking long strides until she was only a foot away. I wanted her to back up, she was in my space, but she wouldn't, and neither would I. That would show I was afraid of her, and I wasn't.
"I don't believe you," She growled into my face, her breath smelt faintly of blood.
My nose wrinkled. "That's fine. Get a breath mint and stay out of my face." With that I pushed past her, actually shoving her aside. See, not scared, I touched her and everything. I didn't have to look back to know she was surprised.
Vicky reached for me, gripping my shoulder hard. If I hadn't been a Slayer she might actually be doing damage. She intended to, so she didn't really know who I was. Shrugging her off I pulled away as if she was just another human, I heard her gasp in surprise but ignored it as I walked to the computer.
Turning the screen on I checked to see if it was hooked up online. It was, but you needed a password to do anything. As a matter of fact you needed a password to do almost everything. Sighing I gave up trying to get into programs and sat back in the chair, twirling it around so that I could face the room.
Standing to the side was Vicky. She was glaring at me and looking all offended, as if people weren't supposed to ignore her. I considered skimming the book shelves, but there probably wasn't anything I felt like reading right now. Zeke wouldn't have left anything important anyway.
"You're that Slayer chick Zeke keeps talking about, aren't you?" Vicky asked, and for the first time she didn't sound like she was trying to insult me.
I faced her, not sure if it was the fact that she was making an effort not to be a bitch or if I was just bored. Either way, I was actually going to talk to her. Scary thought, that one.
With a nod I answered. "Yeah, I'd imagine so."
Her eyes narrowed again. "What does that mean?"
"It means that I haven't been the one talking to him for the last few months and there happens to be three Slayers at the moment. While it's most likely he's been talking about me, it could be otherwise," I explained, talking as if she was a kindergartener. She was looking mad again, maybe I should stop.
"Elisabeth, right?" she asked. I nodded. "I hear you two were real close." Back to the territorial thing.
"Yeah, real close, I talked to him and everything." She didn't appreciate my sarcasm, but I had already told her that nothing was going on. It was her choice to believe me or not.
Again she walked up to me, staring down at me now sense I was sitting. I looked up at her, not bothering to stand. "It would be so easy to-" Someone opened the door and she stopped. I smirked at her. I knew of several things that she might have said.
Now I did get to my feet, this time to see who had showed up. Zeke walked back in, he glanced at the two of us for a second. I didn't have to glance back to know Vicky was looking sweet again.
Zeke's eyes stayed on Vicky. He wasn't looking happy. Something was bothering him. "Get out," Zeke said simply. Another order.
Vicky walked past me, glancing at me with a shrug as if she had to explain something to me. Smiling she paused for half a second, right in front of Zeke, then she kept walking until she was out of the room.
"Well, don't you have her wrapped around your finger," I said.
Nodding he answered. "It helps." There was a tone to his voice saying he wasn't in the mood for joking or goofing off. That was fine, I could get to the point.
"I need to use your computer."
There was no surprise in his expression. "Why?"
"I don't want Buffy or Spike to come looking for me. I need to send out a message."
He nodded. "Fine, who to?"
I thought for a moment. I knew Willow's e-mail, but I wanted someone to cover for me, some way to keep the charade going. Who did I know who wouldn't ask questions? No one. But if they couldn't get a hold of me then it didn't matter. With that in mind I decided.
"My watchers, I know Todd's e-mail."
He nodded. "Give me a second." He sat down at the computer and got me through the necessary passwords to move around freely online. Then got up and motioned me towards. "It's all you."
"Thanks."
He looked over my shoulder as I went to yahoo and typed in my screen name and password. The e-mail was simple and short. It said that I was going to be gone awhile, that it had to do with Alucard but I would be fine. Just in case, though, if they see me make sure I'm not the first and don't invite me into any houses. I asked him to cover for me with Buffy and the scoobies, then I hit the send button. Message sent, I was now safely stuck with the vampires. How very comforting.
Once again I swirled in the chair to face the room. "So what's the news?" I wondered.
With a sigh he sat back. "Nothing good," he started. "Can you believe it? Boss doesn't trust you. He's worried about you killing all of us and running away. I assured him you wouldn't do that, but hey, he is after all the boss." I nodded, wanting him to continue, he seemed to want me to say something, but he didn't want to wait. So he kept talking. "To get to the point. He wants you locked up. I believe his exact words were 'put her in the vault,' or something like that."
My head felt as if something grabbed it then pulled, really, really hard. There was a jolt, but only a mental one. It actually felt strange that I wasn't moving while my head was in such an upheaval.
The vault. Where had I heard that? The strangest feeling came over me. It was so familiar yet it wasn't part of this world, this life.
What the hell did that mean? Words were coming to my head and it didn't make sense. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was everything. I didn't know, nor did I care. Zeke had been talking about locking me up. That was important, what they called the place wasn't. Besides, there wasn't anything in common between the two, other than the name. Of that I was sure.
By some twist of fate my head came back to me. I don't think the whole thing took more than three seconds. Zeke hadn't noticed, and I suppose he was waiting for me to say something again.
"The vault? Doesn't sound too pleasant," I said while standing up.
Zeke shrugged. "Most people don't like it. But you're not going to be tortured so it shouldn't be too bad." He said it like it was perfectly normal to torture people. As a matter of fact, it seemed as if it was awkward that I was going there and wouldn't be tortured. I'd be the odd one out. In this case I was happy about it.
Both of us left the room without saying much else. We were kind of out of things to say. I was going to some place called the vault where they normally tortured people. He couldn't get me out of it. Everything was quite simple. Riight.
And if it was at all possible he led me down more stairs. How deep could this place go? Apparently very deep. We had to be down at least six floors already, and every one further down seemed to take a leap back in time. We went from the age of light blubs to torches. I even caught sight a few vampires in armor. Actual armor.
That struck me as odd, but I didn't mention it. Why should I criticize a vampire's style? I'm sure they had a perfectly good reason for what they wore. Maybe it was a costume party and I hadn't gotten the memo. Unlikely, but possible, everything was possible when it came to vampires.
This point has been constantly proven, right now being an example. I had just walked into a dungeon. Bricks and all, it looked, felt and smelt old, musty, damp and had the soft sent of blood beneath it all. My guess was it had been here for a couple hundred years. How that was I didn't want to know, but this was the real deal, and I was wondering how I fit into the picture.
And of course, Zeke was there to show me. He escorted me to one of the cells right in the middle of the room. The door opened to what was thankfully a somewhat modern and comfortable room. While I could see that it had once been another cell, probably identical to the rest, they had updated sense then.
Now I had a bed, twin size and it even had sheets and a blanket. I realized now how that was a good thing, it was cold in here. There was also a toilet in the back along with toilet paper. A dungeon with plumbing, who'd have thought?
Following me inside Zeke examined it. "Not the best place to stay, but it beat the other cells. I'll bring you a few books later so that you have something to do. I don't know how long you'll be here, probably around a week."
I turned back to him. "A week? Little long don't you think?"
"Sorry, not my choice."
"I know, but you're right, not the best place to stay."
"It could be worse."
Yeah. I could be dead. "Right then, I'll take it."
Chuckling Zeke shook his head. "Yes, you do that. I have to make sure the flunkies aren't getting into trouble. I'm the only one with the key to this room, so if someone else comes in, kill them." He dropped a stake on the ground and left.
I watched as he shut the door, hearing the lock move into place.
How long would I be stuck here? Would he come back? And if someone else came in, could I deal with them?
Quickly I picked up the stake. It gave me some comfort. One stake couldn't keep me safe forever, not when I was trapped in a dungeon basement six to ten stories under the earth. Made me wonder if there was an elevator. Surly if they had plumbing they could put in a quicker way to the top. But that would be convenient, and an easier way for humans to outrun them. No, there wouldn't be any elevators.
I walked up to the door. It had those bars you could see threw, so I had a small box showing me the outside. Nothing was out there to look at.
With a sigh I sat down to try to sleep, not knowing any other way to get rid of the time. Unfortunately I wasn't tired, far from it. If anything I was anxious, wanting to move. That nap really was working against me now. I had plenty of sleep to keep me moving while being trapped in a small room.
I tried to sleep anyway, lying with my eyes closed. It didn't work.
I sat waiting for a long time. I wasn't sure how long. There weren't any clocks here. The clocks might reassure the prisoners, at least let them know something. This place was designed to intimidate, no clocks allowed.
After a long time, or at least it felt like a long time, I heard noise outside my cell. I got up to look out the little barred window. There were people out there. From the little I could see it looked like someone was dragging a body through the cell block. Well, two people were dragging it while three other people stood around them, guarding.
I couldn't see any of them well enough to identify them, and I wasn't sure if the body was dead or not. There was a lot of blood though. It was one of the people tortured. The guards dragged the body over a bump and the person groaned.
So he was alive. I was assuming it was male because he just sort of sounded like a guy. I couldn't tell for sure, I wasn't a groan expert, but I thought he did. That would have to be close enough.
They tossed the body into a cell not far from mine before leaving. I could hear their clinking armor as they walked away. I think one of them had a sword. Now I was curious where the group had come from, where this place had come from.
Just a few more questions that would remain unanswered.
Suddenly I was tired, more emotionally the physically, but whatever worked tonight was fine with me. Once again I laid down on the bed, wrapping myself in the blankets as if they could protect me. Then I forced myself to sleep.
~
*You're here because there's no one else.*
No one else? What do you mean?
*You're the only one who's left to hear me, to listen to my warnings.*
Who are you?
*You.*
You make no sense, or was that me who made no sense? It seemed that I was talking to myself, but it was a different me. A different part, some separate segment that I had forgotten about. Not that I could forget anything here. Memory was all around me, just waiting to be called on.
What is it you wanted to tell me?
*So many things. We don't have time for them all. I would rather show you.*
Show me? I see. What is it you want to show me?
*Your past. Your death.*
I just stood there, not sure what to say.
My death? Even as I thought it the memories were coming back. They all blurred together, as if there was more than one, but as I focused it changed to just one. One death that was all too clear.
"Airaei," the same voice I had heard at the beginning, but this time with a picture.
He looked younger then more recent memories, or so I thought. I couldn't remember the recent ones so I wasn't sure. His hair was jet black, soft and strait. I remembered running my hands through his hair. It felt as soft as it looked. The man's eyes were emerald green, bright and shinny, full of emotions. It was a very human thing, but he was human, or he should have been human. The memory felt uncertain.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. I sounded scarred, or only nervous. He shouldn't be here, it was dangerous for him. If they found him here again. . . They wouldn't be happy.
"I wanted to see you again," He whispered softly, pulling me close. I went into his arms willingly. "If they find us, we are only training," I knew the lie wouldn't work, but it was a nice comfort to imagine it would.
But it was still a lie. Knowing that I pulled back, shaking my head. "No. You can't be here." I didn't want to say it, but I had to.
"Airaei, please," There was a note to his voice that made me feel uncomfortable. That had never happened before, he had always been safety, a way to escape. Normally I would have looked into it, but things had been going wrong for so long. . .
"Then let us at least be training." I stated. "Then at least it won't be a lie."
The man smiled, it lit up his face. I loved to see him smile.
He reached for two swords, I'm not sure where they were from, I couldn't see where we were. It didn't seem to be important to the memory. He tossed me a sword, I caught it with ease, twirling it a few times just to warm up a little.
Neither of us had to tell the other we were ready. We were so used to training together that we just knew. There was no warm up fight, not easy blows before we worked up to the real fight. No, today something was different. He seemed rushed, excited. We both started at lightning fast speeds, I matched him blow for blow.
I didn't notice at first when he went past his own speed. While he was strong and fast for a human, he wasn't that fast. And some part of me knew it. Right at the beginning of the fight I knew something was wrong. I just wouldn't let myself believe it.
I knew this fight. I had seen it both as Elisabeth and as Airaei, even if Elisabeth's fight had only been a reenactment, and had ended differently, but I knew when each move would be made, each parry and thrust. I waited, tense, for the climax, what I knew was coming, and what I couldn't remember of what happened next.
We came to the scene I was waiting for.
He was stronger now, I knew something was wrong, he held every advantage. This didn't happen, it was impossible. I knew without a doubt that he was gone, that whoever I was fighting wasn't who he used to be. Perhaps he was a vampire, I wasn't sure, it didn't matter. I had to kill him.
But I couldn't. I stared into his eyes, and knew he wasn't real, but I couldn't kill him.
I had to stop thinking, to rely on instinct. For a moment, just one moment, he slipped up, there was a hole, no way for him to move his sword back in time. I swung mine down on top of him, it would have sliced his scull, but he caught it, his bare hand stopping it at such an angle that it barely cut his flesh.
I stood in shock, not because of his amazing speed or that he stopped what should have been the killing blow. No, that meant nothing to me right now, because when I looked at him, he wasn't human. He was the undead, a vampire in true form.
There were a few seconds that seemed to last an internity while I stared into his wrinkled face, terror gripping me. I blinked and he was human, just like that, but no human could look like he did, at least no sane one. He was grinning, and not in a good way. He looked like he wanted to hurt someone. Like he wanted to hurt me.
He drove his sword into my chest, right beside the heart but not into it. He didn't want to kill me-yet. At this moment if he pulled the sword out I could live. Being both Lerian and a Slayer gave me supper fast healing powers. In an hour I'd be all patched up. A part of me kept expecting him to pull the sword out, to say it was all a joke. He didn't.
No, instead he leaned against me, catching me before I could fall to the ground. He only needed one arm to hold me up and used his free hand to hold my face so that I couldn't look away from him. All the while he was grinning at me sadistically.
Carefully, without hurting me further he pulled me into him, kissing me so softly, mocking me. It wasn't the real him. I was letting a demon kiss me and I knew it, but I wouldn't stop it. My mind was working too slow, I couldn't stop him from killing me, and he knew it.
His mouth kissed its way to my neck where his tongue searched for the larger vain. He found it, but didn't bite right away, instead he sucked softly for a moment before pulling back to tell me one last thing.
"Nothing personal. I'm just here to do what the Boss says," Then his teeth sunk into my neck, ripping my throat out as he struggled to get every last drop of blood. I was dead almost instantly.
My memory wavered a moment, and for just a second it became clearer, I could see things besides just faces, such as the surroundings. They were in an open three sided room, the fourth side being open to a courtyard. Marble pillars lined the walls, making me feel as if I was someone wealthy.
The man looked like he had just walked out of the movie Gladiator. He could have been a Roman foot soldier, or merely a guard. I didn't know enough history to tell for sure. But he was a vampire, and if he was still alive he was very, very old.
I couldn't remember who he was, not even his name. I was stuck in a chamber of memories and the ones I wanted wouldn't even come to me.
*Not yet.*
The voice echoed in my mind, I strained to hear something else. The words just continued to repeat themselves.
*Not yet.*
~
Maria: Okay, I'm first going to say that you should read gidgetgirl's review, because most of what I'm saying is what she said. Now for my arguments. . . The TV show never says that Faith has to be the one to die, I know, I've watched almost every episode. So your rule is just a theory, one I considered before writing this fic and decided that until proven I'm going to it. Yeah, that's about all. . . glad you think the story is cool, if you're still reading it I'd love to hear any other thoughts you have, so review again!
Gidgetgirl: I swear you read my mind, that's exactly what I wanted to tell her. You put it perfectly, so perfectly that you left me without much to say. *shrugs* thanks for reading, hope you're liking it.
Beyond the silence: Hello, glad you're liking it. Interactions are a bit of a problem, it's nice to know you like them. As for how long the stories going to be, I've been thinking about it. Basically I'm trying to keep it to one chapter per episode. That doesn't always work, like in this chapter. The next one should work out, I hope. It's during "Lies My Parents Told Me." After that I think there's five more episodes. So, that's at least five chapters, probably another one or two at the end to fit in the ending, and a chapter about Alucard, if I don't put that into one of the episode chapters. It all depends on what's coming next. Chapter twelve should be up soon, I just have to edit it. After that there's "Dirty Girls" starting it tomorrow. If I finish it and have it up before next Tuesday then I've caught up to the series. If that happens I can't predict what's coming next, I just sort of have to wait for the episodes, or branch off and make my own endings. I know how I want my part of the story to end, but I'm trying to work it in.
Anyway, that was a long answer, so I think I'll leave it at that. If you have any more questions please ask.
~Rave
Chapter 11
Slowly I started walking out of the alley. The cool air felt nice compared to the heat of the club. It was quiet here, which made it easy to hear the vampires come out and stalk towards me, as if they were supposed to be tough and frightening.
I wasn't facing them, but just from listening I knew where they were. I continued walking slowly, letting them catch up to me. One of them reached out to grab me, I hesitated mid step for just a second, getting him to move faster. I waited until his hand was on my shoulder before I grabbed it, pulling him up and over me, then letting go so he could fall onto the ground. I grabbed a random piece of wood that had been dropped on the ground and staked the guy. It was too simple, Amanda probably could have taken him if she knew he was coming.
I stood up slowly, turning to the other vamp as I brushed my hair out of my face. "If you really want to fight we can go for it, but I'm really not interested in you, so you can still leave." The vampire hesitated a moment, his eyes going from the stake to me, then back to the stake.
He ran.
Smirking I threw the stake back down. There was plenty of wood littering the place that if I needed another it would be easy to find.
Right on time Zeke walked out of the club. He didn't even glance at the running vampire, his attention was focused on me.
"This was easier then I thought it would be," He stated. "I see you walk in with a bunch of girls, unexpected. Then I barely threaten them and you decide to come with me. Must be my lucky day."
I shrugged. "Perhaps. Then again something might happen to turn the tides, who knows?"
Zeke just smiled, nodding his head in the direction we were going. "Come on, Boss is going to want to know about this."
I followed him, easily catching up. "So, is he in Sunnydale, too?" I asked, this time I was looking for information.
Zeke spared me a quick glance before answering. "Not yet, but I don't have a phone on me." He seamed almost eager as we walked along. I hadn't known he would be so happy about catching me. At least someone was having a good time in all of this.
Thoughts of the girls partying came to me head. I glanced back at the club, wondering if they would be okay. Had Zeke ordered them all killed? If he did, could they fight the vampires that would attack? Kennedy thought the girls were ready. Maybe she'd have to test that theory.
"Don't worry," Zeke said, noticing me looking. "None of Boss's vamps will hurt them tonight." I turned back to where we were going, not as sure as he was.
None of the Boss's vamps. That wasn't saying much. Sure, he had a lot working for him, but Sunnydale had a lot period. The girls weren't safe, but there was nothing I could do about it. Not now at least.
Boy Buffy was going to kill me when I got back. The thought made me smile. Chances are I wouldn't be back, and even if I was, I'd be dead.
Of course, she would still kill me. But the thought was still funny, too.
"What?" Zeke asked.
I shook my head. "Nothing, nothing at all."
He continued to look at me for a few more seconds. "You're a horrible liar."
"Nah, I'm actually getting quite good at it," I stated happily.
He shrugged. "If you say so. Actually, now that I think about it you've always been kind of good," he said as if just remembering.
"I wasn't bad," I agreed.
He smirked at me. "You say it like it's some great skill."
I grinned. "Bull shitting people will get you everywhere. How do you think I got through high school?"
He laughed at that, shaking his head. "Don't have a clue. I know you didn't do any homework, that's for sure. What'd you do, suck up to teachers?"
Shaking my head I gave him a 'yeah right' glance. "Hell no. I'm all for the not sucking up thing. I just didn't have a clue what I was talking about most of the time, but managed to act as if I knew everything there was to know. Beside, I'm a good guesser."
He grinned. "I'm a better one."
"Maybe," I said with a shrug. That was one topic that wasn't worth fighting over.
We settled into a silence, but it was a comfortable one. None of that feeling too uncomfortable to talk stuff going on, we just didn't feel like saying much. If we actually did start talking there was a risk that we might have to be serious and remember our friendly squabbling was actually because of something not so friendly. For the time being I liked the illusion.
Soon we entered the nicer part of town. You know the place with all the big houses where the really rich people live? We stopped in front of one of the bigger house and Zeke pressed a buzzer on the gate that kept us out. I took a good look at the house. It was almost a mansion. I hadn't known that Sunnydale had places this nice.
A camera on the gate swiveled around to face us. We stared up at it, or at least I did. I wasn't sure where Zeke was looking, he had the glasses after all. Personally I thought that was cheating, but hey, who said we had to play fair?
Back to the point: The gate opened and we went inside.
For a moment I got a bad feeling. One of those saying that I was walking into something that I couldn't get out of. This was way over my head and I should keep it that way. I should turn and leave, I could probably get away. I didn't even know if Zeke would chase me. He might, but he might not. Either way, it wouldn't work. If I got away then he'd kill the girls. If I didn't, he'd know I was scared. And that was the honest truth, I hadn't let myself think about it until now, but I was terrified. We weren't friends, we couldn't afford to be. I was here to die, and he was delivering me to the executioner.
I had to pause for a moment to swallow that feeling. It wouldn't help. Zeke glanced back at me, as if to ask what was wrong. I shook my head and kept going. Tough as nails vampire slayer, that was me. I would stand up to the bad guys, exchange comments, be a smart ass. I had to. If they actually tried to kill me. I'd deal with it then.
Zeke led me across the driveway. It was a long one, ending nicely right in front of the house before curving back the other way so that the cars could leave. Zeke ignored the big doors in the front and took me around the side of the house to a smaller, less noticeable door. Another camera watched us walk in.
We entered a hallway, which was at the moment empty. He led me through the hallways. It was like a maze, but he never hesitated. While I was getting lost he knew exactly where we were. I suppose he meant it to be that way. No chance of me getting out if I didn't even know what part of the house we were in. We'd gone down several flights of stairs and I was fairly certain that we were a ways underground.
Finally we entered a room, leaving the maze behind. It was a bedroom of sorts, though if you ignored the bed it could also have been a living room or office. There were couches, a TV, a computer, several shelves of books. . . It was a large room. There was one thing I didn't like in here. A vampire.
She was lying on one of the couches, and if I hadn't known better I would have thought she was asleep. She was newly dead though, and still had a sense of aliveness about her. It would fade, but at the moment it was there. It told me she was awake, listening, waiting, trying to see what we would do.
I took a moment to study her. She was where I black robe, it looked fuzzy and soft, probably very comfortable. Her hair had been dyed black and was long and strait, her skin a pale white. She was trying to hard to be the classic vampire, and it showed, but she was still beautiful, in an undead sort of way. It would have been better if she didn't have to try.
"Who's the new girl?" I asked, half way to teasing Zeke.
He just grinned at me, not saying anything. He never was one to talk about his love life, probably because love wasn't involved. A lot of lust, but never love. This girl would be gone in a week, and she was probably so full of herself that she didn't even realize it.
"Make yourself at home," He said. "Don't want you leaving this room. You might get into trouble."
I smirked. "Who me? Never."
"Uh-huh. Right," he muttered. "Just don't do anything stupid, and I mean it when I say stay in here." He said that last thing firmly.
Nodding I took a few steps in to get a better look around. I picked up on a few things that Zeke liked, including the computer which I recognized as his. "This is your room, right?"
"Yep, you get a couch to sleep on, sorry."
I shrugged. "No problem, just curious." Again a glanced at the girl. "Tell her to get up, would ya? She's starting to get annoying."
Zeke chuckled. "She's not doing anything, how can she be annoying?"
"Because she's not doing anything." I said it like it should explain everything. Zeke just shook his head, but I got the feeling he understood to some extent. That was better then nothing. Regardless of whether or not he did, he still walked over to the girl.
"Hey, Vicky, get up," I wouldn't go so far as to say he sounded like he cared for her, he didn't, but there was some sort of affection in his voice. Maybe he liked her more then most of the girls he slept with. Maybe she was just good in bed.
In any case Vicky sat up. She opened hazel eyes to stare at me. Actually it was more of a glare. There was something very territorial about it. I couldn't help but laugh, I think she thought I was laughing at her. Her eyes narrowed, definitely a glare.
"Who's she?" she asked. Her voice actually sounded sweet, she was staring daggers at me, but when talking to Zeke she managed to sound nice. I almost laughed again.
Zeke ignored the tension coming from Vicky, instead he just answered her question. "This is my friend Liz. Don't hurt her." It wasn't a request, it was an order. Vicky just nodded. He turned to me. "Liz, this is Veronica. She's going to be in her a lot."
I shrugged. I didn't care. She could be here whenever she wanted as long as she didn't try to do anything annoying, like talking to me. Yeah, that was definitely out of the question. I could just imagine the conversations. She seamed like the type of person who'd ask a lot of stupid questions.
"Why is she here?" Vicky wined, pouting at Zeke. Definitely not someone I wanted to talk to.
Zeke was being patient with her. "Because if I put her anywhere else she'll get killed, and I really don't want that. Don't worry, she won't get in the way." Get in the way of what? I didn't think I wanted to know, and I knew Zeke wouldn't answer if I asked. Anything that would go on between the two of them would happen elsewhere. I knew that so I didn't feel the need to start up a conversation about it.
Vicky was still pouting, but Zeke had gotten back up and walked back over to me. "I need to go for a few minutes and make a phone call, don't do anything stupid," he glanced at Vicky, "either of you." Then he left.
Instantly Veronica's appearance changed. She was no longer a sweet little girl, but instead a pissed off vampire who really wanted to tear my head off. She was even close to looking scary, but just not quite.
She thought I was going after her man. I wanted to laugh again, but didn't bother. She'd probably attack, and then I'd have to fight her, and Zeke would want to know what happened. If I killed her I don't think he would have bought the self defense story, even if it was true. So instead I looked bored, giving her a look that clearly said I wasn't interested in anything she had to say.
She didn't care what I was interested in. "So you're Zeke's new 'friend'?" she said friend as if it was a bad thing.
I shook my head. "No, to both meanings. I've known Zeke longer than you've been alive, and we've never slept together. So don't worry, he's all yours." Why do they never believe it when I tell them that?
Vicky stood at her full height, close to 5'9", as she tried to look intimidating. She stalked towards me, taking long strides until she was only a foot away. I wanted her to back up, she was in my space, but she wouldn't, and neither would I. That would show I was afraid of her, and I wasn't.
"I don't believe you," She growled into my face, her breath smelt faintly of blood.
My nose wrinkled. "That's fine. Get a breath mint and stay out of my face." With that I pushed past her, actually shoving her aside. See, not scared, I touched her and everything. I didn't have to look back to know she was surprised.
Vicky reached for me, gripping my shoulder hard. If I hadn't been a Slayer she might actually be doing damage. She intended to, so she didn't really know who I was. Shrugging her off I pulled away as if she was just another human, I heard her gasp in surprise but ignored it as I walked to the computer.
Turning the screen on I checked to see if it was hooked up online. It was, but you needed a password to do anything. As a matter of fact you needed a password to do almost everything. Sighing I gave up trying to get into programs and sat back in the chair, twirling it around so that I could face the room.
Standing to the side was Vicky. She was glaring at me and looking all offended, as if people weren't supposed to ignore her. I considered skimming the book shelves, but there probably wasn't anything I felt like reading right now. Zeke wouldn't have left anything important anyway.
"You're that Slayer chick Zeke keeps talking about, aren't you?" Vicky asked, and for the first time she didn't sound like she was trying to insult me.
I faced her, not sure if it was the fact that she was making an effort not to be a bitch or if I was just bored. Either way, I was actually going to talk to her. Scary thought, that one.
With a nod I answered. "Yeah, I'd imagine so."
Her eyes narrowed again. "What does that mean?"
"It means that I haven't been the one talking to him for the last few months and there happens to be three Slayers at the moment. While it's most likely he's been talking about me, it could be otherwise," I explained, talking as if she was a kindergartener. She was looking mad again, maybe I should stop.
"Elisabeth, right?" she asked. I nodded. "I hear you two were real close." Back to the territorial thing.
"Yeah, real close, I talked to him and everything." She didn't appreciate my sarcasm, but I had already told her that nothing was going on. It was her choice to believe me or not.
Again she walked up to me, staring down at me now sense I was sitting. I looked up at her, not bothering to stand. "It would be so easy to-" Someone opened the door and she stopped. I smirked at her. I knew of several things that she might have said.
Now I did get to my feet, this time to see who had showed up. Zeke walked back in, he glanced at the two of us for a second. I didn't have to glance back to know Vicky was looking sweet again.
Zeke's eyes stayed on Vicky. He wasn't looking happy. Something was bothering him. "Get out," Zeke said simply. Another order.
Vicky walked past me, glancing at me with a shrug as if she had to explain something to me. Smiling she paused for half a second, right in front of Zeke, then she kept walking until she was out of the room.
"Well, don't you have her wrapped around your finger," I said.
Nodding he answered. "It helps." There was a tone to his voice saying he wasn't in the mood for joking or goofing off. That was fine, I could get to the point.
"I need to use your computer."
There was no surprise in his expression. "Why?"
"I don't want Buffy or Spike to come looking for me. I need to send out a message."
He nodded. "Fine, who to?"
I thought for a moment. I knew Willow's e-mail, but I wanted someone to cover for me, some way to keep the charade going. Who did I know who wouldn't ask questions? No one. But if they couldn't get a hold of me then it didn't matter. With that in mind I decided.
"My watchers, I know Todd's e-mail."
He nodded. "Give me a second." He sat down at the computer and got me through the necessary passwords to move around freely online. Then got up and motioned me towards. "It's all you."
"Thanks."
He looked over my shoulder as I went to yahoo and typed in my screen name and password. The e-mail was simple and short. It said that I was going to be gone awhile, that it had to do with Alucard but I would be fine. Just in case, though, if they see me make sure I'm not the first and don't invite me into any houses. I asked him to cover for me with Buffy and the scoobies, then I hit the send button. Message sent, I was now safely stuck with the vampires. How very comforting.
Once again I swirled in the chair to face the room. "So what's the news?" I wondered.
With a sigh he sat back. "Nothing good," he started. "Can you believe it? Boss doesn't trust you. He's worried about you killing all of us and running away. I assured him you wouldn't do that, but hey, he is after all the boss." I nodded, wanting him to continue, he seemed to want me to say something, but he didn't want to wait. So he kept talking. "To get to the point. He wants you locked up. I believe his exact words were 'put her in the vault,' or something like that."
My head felt as if something grabbed it then pulled, really, really hard. There was a jolt, but only a mental one. It actually felt strange that I wasn't moving while my head was in such an upheaval.
The vault. Where had I heard that? The strangest feeling came over me. It was so familiar yet it wasn't part of this world, this life.
What the hell did that mean? Words were coming to my head and it didn't make sense. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was everything. I didn't know, nor did I care. Zeke had been talking about locking me up. That was important, what they called the place wasn't. Besides, there wasn't anything in common between the two, other than the name. Of that I was sure.
By some twist of fate my head came back to me. I don't think the whole thing took more than three seconds. Zeke hadn't noticed, and I suppose he was waiting for me to say something again.
"The vault? Doesn't sound too pleasant," I said while standing up.
Zeke shrugged. "Most people don't like it. But you're not going to be tortured so it shouldn't be too bad." He said it like it was perfectly normal to torture people. As a matter of fact, it seemed as if it was awkward that I was going there and wouldn't be tortured. I'd be the odd one out. In this case I was happy about it.
Both of us left the room without saying much else. We were kind of out of things to say. I was going to some place called the vault where they normally tortured people. He couldn't get me out of it. Everything was quite simple. Riight.
And if it was at all possible he led me down more stairs. How deep could this place go? Apparently very deep. We had to be down at least six floors already, and every one further down seemed to take a leap back in time. We went from the age of light blubs to torches. I even caught sight a few vampires in armor. Actual armor.
That struck me as odd, but I didn't mention it. Why should I criticize a vampire's style? I'm sure they had a perfectly good reason for what they wore. Maybe it was a costume party and I hadn't gotten the memo. Unlikely, but possible, everything was possible when it came to vampires.
This point has been constantly proven, right now being an example. I had just walked into a dungeon. Bricks and all, it looked, felt and smelt old, musty, damp and had the soft sent of blood beneath it all. My guess was it had been here for a couple hundred years. How that was I didn't want to know, but this was the real deal, and I was wondering how I fit into the picture.
And of course, Zeke was there to show me. He escorted me to one of the cells right in the middle of the room. The door opened to what was thankfully a somewhat modern and comfortable room. While I could see that it had once been another cell, probably identical to the rest, they had updated sense then.
Now I had a bed, twin size and it even had sheets and a blanket. I realized now how that was a good thing, it was cold in here. There was also a toilet in the back along with toilet paper. A dungeon with plumbing, who'd have thought?
Following me inside Zeke examined it. "Not the best place to stay, but it beat the other cells. I'll bring you a few books later so that you have something to do. I don't know how long you'll be here, probably around a week."
I turned back to him. "A week? Little long don't you think?"
"Sorry, not my choice."
"I know, but you're right, not the best place to stay."
"It could be worse."
Yeah. I could be dead. "Right then, I'll take it."
Chuckling Zeke shook his head. "Yes, you do that. I have to make sure the flunkies aren't getting into trouble. I'm the only one with the key to this room, so if someone else comes in, kill them." He dropped a stake on the ground and left.
I watched as he shut the door, hearing the lock move into place.
How long would I be stuck here? Would he come back? And if someone else came in, could I deal with them?
Quickly I picked up the stake. It gave me some comfort. One stake couldn't keep me safe forever, not when I was trapped in a dungeon basement six to ten stories under the earth. Made me wonder if there was an elevator. Surly if they had plumbing they could put in a quicker way to the top. But that would be convenient, and an easier way for humans to outrun them. No, there wouldn't be any elevators.
I walked up to the door. It had those bars you could see threw, so I had a small box showing me the outside. Nothing was out there to look at.
With a sigh I sat down to try to sleep, not knowing any other way to get rid of the time. Unfortunately I wasn't tired, far from it. If anything I was anxious, wanting to move. That nap really was working against me now. I had plenty of sleep to keep me moving while being trapped in a small room.
I tried to sleep anyway, lying with my eyes closed. It didn't work.
I sat waiting for a long time. I wasn't sure how long. There weren't any clocks here. The clocks might reassure the prisoners, at least let them know something. This place was designed to intimidate, no clocks allowed.
After a long time, or at least it felt like a long time, I heard noise outside my cell. I got up to look out the little barred window. There were people out there. From the little I could see it looked like someone was dragging a body through the cell block. Well, two people were dragging it while three other people stood around them, guarding.
I couldn't see any of them well enough to identify them, and I wasn't sure if the body was dead or not. There was a lot of blood though. It was one of the people tortured. The guards dragged the body over a bump and the person groaned.
So he was alive. I was assuming it was male because he just sort of sounded like a guy. I couldn't tell for sure, I wasn't a groan expert, but I thought he did. That would have to be close enough.
They tossed the body into a cell not far from mine before leaving. I could hear their clinking armor as they walked away. I think one of them had a sword. Now I was curious where the group had come from, where this place had come from.
Just a few more questions that would remain unanswered.
Suddenly I was tired, more emotionally the physically, but whatever worked tonight was fine with me. Once again I laid down on the bed, wrapping myself in the blankets as if they could protect me. Then I forced myself to sleep.
~
*You're here because there's no one else.*
No one else? What do you mean?
*You're the only one who's left to hear me, to listen to my warnings.*
Who are you?
*You.*
You make no sense, or was that me who made no sense? It seemed that I was talking to myself, but it was a different me. A different part, some separate segment that I had forgotten about. Not that I could forget anything here. Memory was all around me, just waiting to be called on.
What is it you wanted to tell me?
*So many things. We don't have time for them all. I would rather show you.*
Show me? I see. What is it you want to show me?
*Your past. Your death.*
I just stood there, not sure what to say.
My death? Even as I thought it the memories were coming back. They all blurred together, as if there was more than one, but as I focused it changed to just one. One death that was all too clear.
"Airaei," the same voice I had heard at the beginning, but this time with a picture.
He looked younger then more recent memories, or so I thought. I couldn't remember the recent ones so I wasn't sure. His hair was jet black, soft and strait. I remembered running my hands through his hair. It felt as soft as it looked. The man's eyes were emerald green, bright and shinny, full of emotions. It was a very human thing, but he was human, or he should have been human. The memory felt uncertain.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. I sounded scarred, or only nervous. He shouldn't be here, it was dangerous for him. If they found him here again. . . They wouldn't be happy.
"I wanted to see you again," He whispered softly, pulling me close. I went into his arms willingly. "If they find us, we are only training," I knew the lie wouldn't work, but it was a nice comfort to imagine it would.
But it was still a lie. Knowing that I pulled back, shaking my head. "No. You can't be here." I didn't want to say it, but I had to.
"Airaei, please," There was a note to his voice that made me feel uncomfortable. That had never happened before, he had always been safety, a way to escape. Normally I would have looked into it, but things had been going wrong for so long. . .
"Then let us at least be training." I stated. "Then at least it won't be a lie."
The man smiled, it lit up his face. I loved to see him smile.
He reached for two swords, I'm not sure where they were from, I couldn't see where we were. It didn't seem to be important to the memory. He tossed me a sword, I caught it with ease, twirling it a few times just to warm up a little.
Neither of us had to tell the other we were ready. We were so used to training together that we just knew. There was no warm up fight, not easy blows before we worked up to the real fight. No, today something was different. He seemed rushed, excited. We both started at lightning fast speeds, I matched him blow for blow.
I didn't notice at first when he went past his own speed. While he was strong and fast for a human, he wasn't that fast. And some part of me knew it. Right at the beginning of the fight I knew something was wrong. I just wouldn't let myself believe it.
I knew this fight. I had seen it both as Elisabeth and as Airaei, even if Elisabeth's fight had only been a reenactment, and had ended differently, but I knew when each move would be made, each parry and thrust. I waited, tense, for the climax, what I knew was coming, and what I couldn't remember of what happened next.
We came to the scene I was waiting for.
He was stronger now, I knew something was wrong, he held every advantage. This didn't happen, it was impossible. I knew without a doubt that he was gone, that whoever I was fighting wasn't who he used to be. Perhaps he was a vampire, I wasn't sure, it didn't matter. I had to kill him.
But I couldn't. I stared into his eyes, and knew he wasn't real, but I couldn't kill him.
I had to stop thinking, to rely on instinct. For a moment, just one moment, he slipped up, there was a hole, no way for him to move his sword back in time. I swung mine down on top of him, it would have sliced his scull, but he caught it, his bare hand stopping it at such an angle that it barely cut his flesh.
I stood in shock, not because of his amazing speed or that he stopped what should have been the killing blow. No, that meant nothing to me right now, because when I looked at him, he wasn't human. He was the undead, a vampire in true form.
There were a few seconds that seemed to last an internity while I stared into his wrinkled face, terror gripping me. I blinked and he was human, just like that, but no human could look like he did, at least no sane one. He was grinning, and not in a good way. He looked like he wanted to hurt someone. Like he wanted to hurt me.
He drove his sword into my chest, right beside the heart but not into it. He didn't want to kill me-yet. At this moment if he pulled the sword out I could live. Being both Lerian and a Slayer gave me supper fast healing powers. In an hour I'd be all patched up. A part of me kept expecting him to pull the sword out, to say it was all a joke. He didn't.
No, instead he leaned against me, catching me before I could fall to the ground. He only needed one arm to hold me up and used his free hand to hold my face so that I couldn't look away from him. All the while he was grinning at me sadistically.
Carefully, without hurting me further he pulled me into him, kissing me so softly, mocking me. It wasn't the real him. I was letting a demon kiss me and I knew it, but I wouldn't stop it. My mind was working too slow, I couldn't stop him from killing me, and he knew it.
His mouth kissed its way to my neck where his tongue searched for the larger vain. He found it, but didn't bite right away, instead he sucked softly for a moment before pulling back to tell me one last thing.
"Nothing personal. I'm just here to do what the Boss says," Then his teeth sunk into my neck, ripping my throat out as he struggled to get every last drop of blood. I was dead almost instantly.
My memory wavered a moment, and for just a second it became clearer, I could see things besides just faces, such as the surroundings. They were in an open three sided room, the fourth side being open to a courtyard. Marble pillars lined the walls, making me feel as if I was someone wealthy.
The man looked like he had just walked out of the movie Gladiator. He could have been a Roman foot soldier, or merely a guard. I didn't know enough history to tell for sure. But he was a vampire, and if he was still alive he was very, very old.
I couldn't remember who he was, not even his name. I was stuck in a chamber of memories and the ones I wanted wouldn't even come to me.
*Not yet.*
The voice echoed in my mind, I strained to hear something else. The words just continued to repeat themselves.
*Not yet.*
~
Maria: Okay, I'm first going to say that you should read gidgetgirl's review, because most of what I'm saying is what she said. Now for my arguments. . . The TV show never says that Faith has to be the one to die, I know, I've watched almost every episode. So your rule is just a theory, one I considered before writing this fic and decided that until proven I'm going to it. Yeah, that's about all. . . glad you think the story is cool, if you're still reading it I'd love to hear any other thoughts you have, so review again!
Gidgetgirl: I swear you read my mind, that's exactly what I wanted to tell her. You put it perfectly, so perfectly that you left me without much to say. *shrugs* thanks for reading, hope you're liking it.
Beyond the silence: Hello, glad you're liking it. Interactions are a bit of a problem, it's nice to know you like them. As for how long the stories going to be, I've been thinking about it. Basically I'm trying to keep it to one chapter per episode. That doesn't always work, like in this chapter. The next one should work out, I hope. It's during "Lies My Parents Told Me." After that I think there's five more episodes. So, that's at least five chapters, probably another one or two at the end to fit in the ending, and a chapter about Alucard, if I don't put that into one of the episode chapters. It all depends on what's coming next. Chapter twelve should be up soon, I just have to edit it. After that there's "Dirty Girls" starting it tomorrow. If I finish it and have it up before next Tuesday then I've caught up to the series. If that happens I can't predict what's coming next, I just sort of have to wait for the episodes, or branch off and make my own endings. I know how I want my part of the story to end, but I'm trying to work it in.
Anyway, that was a long answer, so I think I'll leave it at that. If you have any more questions please ask.
~Rave