CHAPTER FOUR
Buffy stared into Giles' window. All the lights were on and he was slumped over on his desk. The upstairs window was open and a frisson of fear trickled through her. "I don't like this, Angel. Me and Faith figured open windows was how the killer was getting in."
"Let's just knock first before we think its anything more than Giles falling asleep over some dull research," Angel said placatingly.
Buffy bobbed her head, feeling foolish. "You're right. Seeing Faith shook up kinda got me going. She's not easy to shake."
"Neither are you." Angel rapped on the door and Giles startled awake.
He came to the door, rubbing his eyes. "Buffy, Angel, what time is it?"
"After midnight. Sorry to wake you." Buffy pushed past him and stopped dead. Xander was asleep, a book on his head, lying on the couch. Willow was draped over a chair, looking confused as to where she was. "Guess it must have been a really boring research party."
"My word, I didn't realize...this does not look good," Giles said, looking at the drowsy teens.
"I've seen worse," Buffy said, despite the fact Willow's hair was all over the place and Giles had book face from sleeping on his desk.
"It looks highly improper for an unattached older man to have teenagers in his flat this late after midnight," Giles fretted.
"It's after midnight?" Xander asked, under the book over his face.
"Afraid so," Angel said.
"Don't worry, Giles," Willow sat up, rubbing her kinked neck. "I told my parents I'd be staying with Buffy."
"It's not like the first time we've been here late. If your neighbors noticed, they would have reported you as a perv when you first got here," Buffy said, brightly.
Giles looked at her sourly. "What brings you two here so late?"
Buffy sat on the couch next to Xander and she started to tell Giles everything Faith had told her and what happened afterwards. Giles kept nodding his head, thumbing through some of the books on his desk as she talked. A knock sounded on the door just as Buffy was wrapping up the tale.
Giles got up and let Faith in. She looked agitated.
"Did you find anything?" Buffy asked, almost hoping for Faith's sake she hadn't. She could tell Faith had liked this guy and Faith never seemed to see men as anything other than a Playstation.
Faith shook her head. "I checked the trash but nothing. I couldn't get close to the house. He had all the lights on like he was expecting intruders or maybe for us to come back. Sure as hell didn't go to sleep for someone who claimed he was tired. If he killed someone in that bathroom, he has to know I saw him. I just don't get how he got rid of the guts so fast. He didn't have that much time to clean up the evidence from when I left and when we came back."
"I'm not convinced he did kill anyone in that room," Giles said.
Faith's jaw tightened. "I didn't imagine the guts in the tub, Giles."
"I'm not suggesting you did." Giles held up a placating hand. "Think back, Faith, do you remember if all the organs were there?"
Faith flopped down on the floor. "I dunno. I didn't count them and I'm not sure I could name them all anyhow but there were guts and a stomach and lungs and the heart. I'm sure of that. The whole tub was full." She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes.
"And Romulus is from Oklahoma?" Giles pressed.
Faith dropped her hands. "I guess so. Everyone keeps asking that. Why is that so important?"
Buffy could hear the irritation in Faith's voice. "Because of what Angel remembered."
"Yeah, Dead Boy pulls something out of his brain from before any of us were born including this Rom guy, and we spend the night hitting the books," Xander grumbled.
"It was fun," Willow protested, "though this book was a snooze." She nudged the book that had sent her into the land of dreams.
"It was a good lead. The reason I'm asking all these questions, Faith, is this." Giles offered up a book, open to a page with an owl on it. "I don't think that Romulus is the same killer as the one Angel remembered but he is the same sort of killer. He is American Indian, yes?"
"Native American," Willow corrected.
"Rom just calls himself a Skin," Faith said. "Seminole."
"Isn't that a Florida football team?" Xander asked then, off the looks of his friends, he shrugged. "What? They are, aren't they? Florida's a long way from Oklahoma."
"The Seminoles were displaced into southern Florida and into Oklahoma," Giles said. "There is a type of a dark witch, for a lack of a better term, called a Stikini."
Faith gave him a funny look. "Aren't Stikini's those nipple-cover-only bikini tops that you glue on?"
Giles' eyes widened. "I wouldn't know."
"I'm pretty sure it is," Faith insisted.
"It doesn't matter, Faith. The important thing is that the Seminole Stikinis are able to transform into owls and fly into peoples homes," Giles said.
"Do they tear out people's hearts?" Faith looked nervous. "I just don't see Rom doing that. I mean, he's a nice guy."
"Unfortunately, Faith, the Stikini do in fact extract the heart of their sleeping victims," Giles said apology in his blue eyes.
"Through the mouth?" Buffy asked and he nodded.
"But that wouldn't explain the guts I saw in Rom's tub," Faith put in, not quite ready to believed.
"Actually it does." Angel brandished the book Giles had offered. "The Stikini literally vomit out their entire insides, which makes them light enough to fly and somehow able to shape shift into owls."
"Okay that just buried the needle on my gross-me-out-o-meter," Xander said, shoving dark curls off his forehead.
"Ditto," Willow said, looking queasy.
"But what do they want with the hearts?" Buffy wished she hadn't asked.
"They eat them," Giles said. "And draw magical strength from them."
"That's even grosser," Xander said.
"How do we kill him?" Faith's voice and eyes were flat, frightening Buffy. She could see the tears hiding behind Faith's shield as it dropped into place. Buffy had been there before. Granted, she knew Faith didn't love Rom, probably not even a little, but still it hurt to kill someone you saw as a friend.
"There are herbs that will kill him. Owl feathers are also necessary," Giles said. "We need to do this while he's separate from his organs or else it won't work."
"But how would we know that?" Willow asked.
"I set him up," Faith said, her voice still dead.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Concern glowed in Giles' blue eyes.
She nodded. "It has to be me. I'm the one who saw the organs. If Rom doesn't know it for sure, he definitely suspects it. He told me he'd be gone for a few days. That had to be his way of getting me out of the house so I wouldn't see what I saw. I've interrupted that. He's gotta be thinking 'what does she know?' 'Is she gonna go to the cops?'" Faith pursed her lips. "He's gonna have to kill me."
"Faith's got a point," Angel said. "I don't like setting up anyone as bait but Romulus will very likely target her next, regardless of what we do. He might even come after me and Buffy since we were both in that house."
"He'll get a rude surprise if he goes for your heart," Xander said and Buffy elbowed him.
Angel ignored the slight. "There's a chance he might even know I don't have a beating heart. This book doesn't really say much about a Stikini's powers but if he's attuned to human hearts he might know what I am."
Buffy's eyes narrowed. "And he'll be even more desperate to stop us."
"I've got a plan but it's kinda risky, well at least to your mom's place," Faith said, and Buffy scowled.
"What are you going to do to my home?"
"Look, Rom won't try to kill me at the hotel, too many witnesses," Faith said. "He'll invite me over and try to kill me, if that's his plan. Or if he doesn't want to risk me telling anyone I'm heading to his place, which would force him to talk to the cops when I go missing, he'll want to do it somewhere else. I could call him tomorrow, sound all hinky about what I was doing there tonight and tell him I'm alone at your place, Buffy."
"We already did tell him Mom was out of town." Buffy mulled over what Faith was saying. "But would he come if he thinks you're not alone?"
"All the other victims lived alone," Willow offered.
"Maybe he would come even if I'm not alone since he might want to kill us both. But I could tell him you and Angel are out on a date. If he thinks I'm alone and vulnerable, he might take the bait," Faith said. "I doubt he knows we're Slayers."
"And he'd have to puke his guts out first, right?" Buffy grimaced. "And he'll be the vulnerable one."
"Only you won't be alone," Xander said.
"And we'll be armed with owl feathers...and I never thought I'd be saying that," Buffy said.
"It's actually a good plan. We all should get a little sleep," Giles said. "I can work on getting the herbs ready in the morning."
"Where are we gonna find owl feathers?" Faith asked.
"Magic shop," Willow piped up. "I know they have them. Turkey and owl feathers are like the substitute for eagle feathers now that they're illegal to have. I can get some and any herbs Giles needs."
"Good." Buffy got up. "Faith, you want to sleep in the spare room? I don't think you should go back to that hotel alone."
Faith's eyes hardened and Buffy thought she'd say no then she saw a crack in the younger Slayer's armor. She was really hurting over being betrayed by a killer and Buffy knew exactly how that felt. "Thanks."
As they headed for home, Buffy wondered what Faith would do when she helped to kill Romulus. She wasn't sure there was anything she could do to help.