Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Previously:

"Now, somewhere is that head of yours is the information I want," Glory said, her ruby lips curling up in a smile that chilled Kara to the bone. "And either way, I'm gonna get it. So be a good little puppy and tell me what I want to know."

........

"Found her," Willow said suddenly. "Come on, she's living in one of the old mansions." After gathering a few weapons, the four Scoobies hurried out of the shop, heading towards Glory's mansion.

Chapter Eighteen:

The cabin was burning. Kara could smell it clearly in her dreams, the thick, heavy scent of smoke pervading everything in the room. Her eyes fluttered open and all she could see was red. Flames were dancing around her, inches from her face, creeping closer and closer to her body. She sat up, coughing from the smoke, her eyes watering. Looking over, she saw Spike just waking up, hitting at the flames covering his legs. Then she heard the screams.

Mason was a few feet away, writhing on the cabin floor as flames shot through every inch of his body. Scrambling to her feet, Kara tried to reach him, but Spike hauled her backwards, his strong arms like a steel vice around her waist. "It's too late now, pet," he whispered in her ear. Sobs tore through her body and she collapsed against him as the boy stopped moving. The only sound she could hear was the crackling of the fire and the snapping of the cabin about to fall around them. "We've got to go," Spike said, taking her hand in his and covering his nose and mouth with his arm.

Then he ran, pulling her along behind him. They ran straight through the flames and out of the front door of the cabin, screeching to a halt at the sight in front of them. Hundreds of demons stood with torches, slobber dripping out of their mouths and their eyes red and beady with excitement. Spike stepped forward, blocking Kara with his body. "Listen to me," he said, turning his head slightly to look back at her. "I want you to run."

"What? No, I can't leave you here," Kara whispered back harshly. The cold night air was a startling contrast to the heat of the fire inside and the tears on her cheeks nearly froze against her skin.

"I made a promise to keep you alive a very long time ago. I'm not going back on it. Run...now!" Spike yelled, pushing her away from him.

Kara looked at him one last time before turning and running as fast as she could through the forest. She didn't stop running for days and long after the demons had given up the chase, she could still hear their harsh cries and the clanging of their weapons as they ran. She finally stopped when she reached an old road, the black pavement cracked and overgrown with weeds. She was standing between two cornfields and the sun was shining brightly overhead. Closing her eyes, she imagined a world where she could hear laughter in the fields and birds chirping. Opening her eyes, she started walking.

..........................................

"Come on, open your eyes," Glory said as if talking to a child. Kara's head rolled back and her eyes fluttered open, unfocused and unseeing. "That's better. Well, kiddo, you've got some balls, I'll give you that much. I didn't know a human was capable of enduring such agony," Glory said as she sat down on a red chaise lounge and propped her high heeled feet up. "And as fun as all this torture has been, I gotta say, I'm getting a wee bit bored. You know, it's like there's only so much I can do before I start getting repetitive," Glory said, inspecting her nails with a fierce intensity.

"Go to hell," Kara muttered, blood bubbling out from between her lips and dripping down her chin.

"Well, duh. That's the whole idea. And if you tell me where my key is," Glory said, rising to her feet and advancing, "I can."

Kara smiled, her lips cracked and bleeding. Shifting her eyes down to the fallen goddess in front of her, she started laughing. White, hot pain shot through her broken ribs and tattered skin, and she thought for a moment that she would die, but she couldn't stop laughing. Glory stared at her completely incredulous. "What the hell are you doing?" She asked, her voice rising in anger. "You're laughing. At me. You're laughing at me? What are you, retarded?" Glory shouted angrily.

Raising her hand, Glory stretched her fingers out, curling them into a fist as they began to glow with fire. "Whatever you do to me...I'll never tell you anything," Kara whispered, watching her intently.

"Oh, we'll see about that," Glory said and smiled. Then she shoved her fist deep into Kara's stomach, flames shooting out of each of her fingers. A piercing scream filled the mansion in a howl of such agony that the walls and the very earth trembled.

................................

"Okay, so here's the plan," Callum said as he, Xander, and the two witches ducked out of sight behind the iron gate that led to Glory's mansion. "Xander and I don't have a Popsicle's chance in hell of even getting close to Glory. But, you two have enough power between you to distract her at least. Then Xander and me will take out the crusty, little minions and free Kara. Once we're done, we'll all run like the blazes and get the bloody hell up out of there," Callum said, clutching his sword so tightly his knuckles were turning white.

"Okay, we can do this," Xander said nervously. Taking a deep breath, he tried, to no avail, to calm down. "We're superheroes. One bitchy god doesn't have anything on us, right?"

"Well...," Willow started only to have Tara shake her head, effectively cutting her off.

"Right," Tara affirmed.

"Alright. Let's go then," Callum said, slipping through the gate with Xander following closely behind them.

"What do you mean right? We don't stand a chance," Willow said, the panic evident in her voice as she looked over at her girlfriend. Tara simply smiled at her.

"No need to let them know that," she said and, taking Willow's hand, hurried after their friends.

They heard Kara's scream as they neared the front door. It froze them in their tracks, reverberating deep into the marrow of their bones. "Oh God," Willow whispered, clutching Tara's hand tighter. The very sound made her sick.

"We have to hurry," Callum declared. Xander looked over at him. Callum's blue eyes were shining with such intensity that Xander almost had to look away. There was an energy about him, a glow of power that Xander hadn't noticed before. He was beginning to see why the Powers that Be chose to send Callum back with Kara. There was a warrior in him.

Kicking in the door, Callum, Xander, Tara, and Willow rushed inside to find the foyer completely empty. "Okay, well that was a bit of a let down," Xander muttered as they crept over to the stairs, slowly ascending.

"Look," Tara said, pointing up to one of the rooms. "The lights are on."

Callum nodded, heading towards the room. The door was ajar and he could feel a presence behind it that was clearly Kara. Raising his sword, he paused as the group assembled around him. "On three," he whispered. Then raising one of his hands, he slowly counted down. At one, Willow and Tara released a burst of energy that shattered the door, sending it flying off its hinges.

Glory turned toward the disturbance, surprised to see the foursome standing before her. "Don't we have any security around here?" She asked, glaring back at her minions.

"Wouldn't matter if you did," Callum said as the group fanned out into the room. "We'd still kick your ass." He charged a group of Glory's minions as Willow and Tara threw all of their magic into freezing Glory in place.

Xander and Callum fought fiercely, their swords slashing through everything in sight. Finally, when the last minion fell, Callum rushed over to Kara, breaking through the chains that bound her to the pole. She fell in a heap into his arms, lolling between consciousness and oblivion. "Hold on," he whispered, handing Xander his sword as he picked her up, holding her close to his body.

Moving toward Willow and Tara, they all turned and threw one last look at Glory before fleeing the mansion. Once they were gone, the magic wore off. Falling forward slightly, Glory caught herself and surveyed the room. The bodies of her fallen minions lay scattered about the room, their blood staining her plush carpet. Growling, she muttered, "Oh, you're so gonna pay for this."

Note: Thanks for all the reviews. Keep 'em coming. Don't know if this chapter was a bit too blood thirsty or not, but that's just what came out.