Chapter Five

"I have to tell Giles." Angel staggered to the elevator. His right shoulder slammed into the left wall from his momentum. He pushed the three and waited anxiously to reach the floor. He could feel his body healing itself. One of the few perks of being a vampire.

Angel walked down the hallway to Buffy's apartment. Her door was still open. His mind flashed back to the boxer throwing him against the wall and watching Buffy get taken away.

Angel entered the apartment and started to head towards the phone when he heard something move. From the kitchen a five foot nine vampire showed itself. He was dressed in the same attire as the other three vamps, a black suit with a white shirt and black tie.

"Not a follower?" Angel asked.

"I stay behind in case someone shows up after we do our business. So I guess this is your lucky day." The vampire sauntered towards him.

"I've been having a lot of those lately." Angel grabbed a cushion off the couch and threw it at him He tossed it aside and realized Angel disappeared from his vision. He looked around carefully.

Angel came from his left, landing a punch to his jaw. Angel swung twice at him, but he just leaned back to avoid them. He grabbed Angel and threw him to the ground. He pulled back his arm, ready to punch. Angel snatched the pillow and rolled out of the way. "I don't think Buffy would appreciate holes in her kitchen floor." Angel jerked his knee up to the vamp's face.

The vampire grabbed the pillow and tossed it at Angel. He jumped to avoid it, and landed a kick to his right jaw. The vamp fell to his left knee and Angel kicked him three more times before he recovered. The vampire blocked the fourth kick and threw an upper cut to Angel's chin. Angel fell on his back. The vamp picked him up by his shoulder and backhand punched him in the face. Then he wrapped both hands around his throat and tossed him onto the dining room table. It collapsed from his momentum. Luckily it was wooden and didn't dust him in the crossfire. Angel grabbed a stake and held it in place as the vamp went in to grab his neck.

Angel stood up and dusted himself off. "Luckily, my luck wears out after a few punches." He walked over to Buffy's phone and tried finding Giles's number. After a few wrong buttons and a ring tone from the X-Files, he finally reached it. He pressed 'SEND' and waited, only getting a busy tone. "Come on Giles. What can be more urgent than this?"

"No, I don't want any magazines.... I don't think my sex life has anything to do with-... Most certainly not!... I do not wish to have a subscription to Single's Magazine, thank you." Giles hung up the phone. "Little twerp." He was picking up the rest of the books that were consuming his desk. They didn't provide much information; not that he knew what to look for. He was still waiting for a call from Buffy. She was supposed to get some information.

Giles needed to go see Kennedy in the Training Hall. Willow usually helps her but she was off in Germany fighting a Goranchin Demon. He grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and put it on. He headed out the door and was about to shut it when his phone rang. He debated whether to get it or not.

Finally, on the fifth ring, Giles walked back in and picked up the receiver. "Hello?... Angel. Have you figured anything out? Any information?..." Giles slowly sat in his chair. Angel kept saying Giles's name on the other line. "When?... For who?... Lenity....I'll see what I can find and call you back." He hung up the phone.

Giles looked at the bindings of the books, trying to find the right one. He pulled out two different books. He looked through the first and put it down. One hundred eighty pages later, he found Lenity in the second.

Kennedy knocked on the door and then opened it. "Giles, we had a training date remember?" Giles didn't respond. "Giles?" She walked towards him, not sure what else to do. "Giles, what's wrong?"

"Lenity's taken Buffy." He kept searching, gradually getting closer to the book.

"Who's that? Oh, is that the vamp who has Spike?"

Giles nodded, still inspecting. His face did not look happy when he found the information he needed. "Oh no."

"What?" Kennedy walked to his desk.

"Lenity needs to marry in order to retrieve his powers. Apparently they were taken from him by the Noridin in the early eighteen hundreds."

"Who's Noridin?"

"She was Dracula's first wife. He apparently tried sleeping with her and to punish him she took his powers away. Then he could only get them back by showing his love toward another woman."

"So he's going to marry Buffy?" Kennedy asked, a little confused. "What is he planning on doing with his power?"

"He will make the dark consume the light, allowing him passage in a world of obscurity," Giles read.

Kennedy let things settle in her head before she attempted to understand this. "He's going to create an eclipse that will last forever once he marries Buffy?" Giles's face became more terrifying. "Now what?"

"Before they marry, they need to share the same form."

Kennedy's mouth dropped. "He needs to sire Buffy."