We claim to be just and upright. No wrath from us will come stealthily to the one who holds out clean hands, and he will go through life unharmed; but whoever sins and hides his blood-stained hands, as avengers of bloodshed we appear against him to the end, presenting ourselves as upright witnesses for the dead.
Aeschylus, (310), The Erinyes
Chapter 8: The Eumeides
Willow had laid it all out.
At first she hadn't known where to begin, even how to address the women before her. Letting intuition guide her she related the tale. She told them of Constance's arrival, her game, her demise and return, and mostly of her deceit. All of it was before them now and Willow could only guess at what they would do.
Through out it all they had remained motionless, but their eyes had shown their interest. Even the snakes that weaved in and out within their hair seemed to stop and listen. To stare at her.
For eons it seemed they stared showing no signs of speaking. They had asked no questions and now only seemed to contemplate. The longer it took the worse Willow began to feel about the whole situation. She tried hard to fend off her feelings of uncertainty but they continuously crept in.
"We have decided," the multi-toned voice boomed, emitting from Alecto's mouth and startling Willow out of her thoughts.
Willow held her breath waiting for 'them' to continue.
"We will lift the curse."
Her relieve was stupendous. Willow let out a huge sigh and beamed at the woman before her.
"Thank you so…"
"Silence!"
Willow stopped immediately. She'd forgotten where she was and who she was dealing with in her excitement.
"Before we do this you must be certain. You must be certain it is what you really want."
She was shocked they were even bothering to ask. Of course it was what she wanted, why else would she be here. Why else would she have gone through this?
"No one can see all ends," Alecto said in her voice alone as if Willow's thought had been spoken aloud. "You believe now that what you are doing is right, but if you could see…"
"Sister!" Megaera snapped, "Hold your tongue."
"You can not interfere," Tisiphone added almost as if she didn't care either way.
After a brief pause, the three again spoke as one.
"Are you certain then?"
"Yes," Willow said without regard to the ominous warning Alecto had tried giving her.
"Then let what was once done be undone."
****
Xander woke with a start. His heart was racing and he couldn't remember where he was or what he'd been dreaming. Maybe he hadn't been dreaming at all. All he knew was that something was wrong. He felt different.
"What is it?"
Xander was surprised to see her but not really.
Buffy sat up beside him and gently touched his arm.
"Was it a nightmare? Are you okay?"
He hadn't known how long she'd been beside him. Checking the clock he saw it was just past 3am. She had crept in not to long ago and had decided not to wake him.
"Xander?" Buffy asked, her voice growing worried.
"I'm…I'm…"
He didn't know. Something was definitely wrong and he couldn't place what.
"Do you want me to get Giles?" she asked flipping on the light.
Xander shook his head. Not Giles. It wasn't Giles.
"Willow," he mumbled. It set alarms off in his head.
"What about her?
Do you want to call her?"
Like a wave it washed over him. Jumping
up out of the bed he raced towards the door.
Buffy was almost too startled to follow him. He'd moved so quickly.
Gone so quickly, all the while saying "No!" over and over.
She followed him out the door, down the hall and up the stairs to Giles' room. Without knocking he threw the door open and started shouting at Giles' to wake up. It nearly gave the man a heart attack.
"Xander what is it?" Giles shouted back at him. It was the only way he could be heard.
"Willow!" he yelled.
"What about Willow? Xander, is she hurt?" Buffy asked trying to calm him.
"No," he said again, but his voice wasn't as loud or urgent as it had been before.
"What then? What is it?" she asked, forcibly sitting him at the edge of the bed.
"She's done it.
She lifted the curse."
"What?" Giles asked clearly surprised.
He had already gotten his robe and glasses on.
"She…she…"
Xander stopped, took a deep breath and tried to continue.
"She lifted it. I don't know how…"
"That's… that's amazing," Buffy cut in too excited to notice Xander's frustrated look.
"How could she have done it," Giles said, his voice a mixture of awe and joy, "incredible."
"No!" Xander said standing and forcing the two to step back, "She shouldn't have done it. Don't you… can't…"
He couldn't form the words. He couldn't get it out fast enough. Xander's mind was racing. There wasn't time for this. They had to act now.
"Constance," he finally spit out, "she'll come back now. Right now. She's been waiting. This is what…"
He could feel it even now. That's what had awoken him. Her presence. Back in his head and as strong as ever. Maybe stronger. The fog had lifted and he could feel her now.
Giles and Buffy were at a loss. They stood still watching the turmoil behind his eyes.
"Are you certain?" Giles asked slowly.
Xander didn't trust himself to answer and just threw a look that undeniably spoke his opinion.
"Of course," Giles nodded, "We could… no… wait…"
Xander and Buffy watched as Giles mentally debated himself over their course of action.
"I'm not sure what we can do," he admitted.
****
The next several minutes were lost in confusion. Giles had hustled them downstairs to get Willow on the phone. Once they did the confusion was that much greater.
Willow had been too excited to listen at first, had in fact been on the brink of calling them to confirm it had all been true. After several minutes of back and forth between the two, it was decided that despite the late hour Tara and Willow should join them.
During this exchange Buffy had watched intently while Xander had slipped off to the window.
Constance had waited for this. Wanted this. Somehow she had known this would happen.
"Xander?" Buffy asked softly from behind, "You alright?"
Xander didn't face her. He didn't answer her. He just kept looking out into the darkness.
"We'll figure it out. Giles and Willow will find some spell or charm to block her. This time we know she's coming. It'll be different."
"It'll be different," he repeated slowly.
Buffy took it as an encouraging sign from him and nodded in agreement.
"It will," she said again.
"You're right," he said turning to face her, "because she's already here."
****
At six minutes to four a.m. the streets were deserted.
Occasionally a stray cat roamed the alleys behind the shops that lined the streets of Sunnydale, but as if instinct had driven them away, tonight not a single one was to be found.
Despite it's odd crimes and gang related violence Sunnydale had done well for itself. There were café and theaters, a mall and a couple of movie theaters. There was even an art gallery. And of course what Californian town would be complete without a local occult shop.
The Magic Box had been a fixture in the town for several years and had gone through several owners. The neighboring shops were pleased with the latest owner, a seemingly mild mannered Englishman who didn't seem to attract the same 'element' the previous owners had drawn.
Business was good for everyone.
That is, business was good.
At five minutes to four a.m. the streets resounded with a sound like thunder.
The Magic Box and everything within a five hundred foot radius was completely destroyed.
The police would later claim that a gas line had erupted causing the catastrophe, but those in Sunnydale who tended notice the 'strange' occurrences never believed it.
Nothing was burned. Nothing was blackened. There was no crater. It didn't look natural and it didn't look man-made. It was just empty.
For five hundred feet in all directions, a perfect circle, there was nothing but dirt.
And at the center, where the Magic Box use to be, was another perfect circle, this one a foot in radius.
Inside the circle was a strange writing no one knew had seen before or sense.
That and a woman.
****
A/N: Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. This chapter is shorter then I usually write and it also took forever to do. I can only blame two weddings, a homecoming, a holiday and three sicknesses. That and writers block. Likely, I'll revise this chapter. I really just wanted to get something written and out again to keep me motivated.
Also, The Eumeides means the Kindly Ones and was also what the Furies were occasionally referred to as.