The Blue Room

Chapter 5

She was beautiful. As she came closer Oz was able to smell the sweet aroma that wafted gently off of her shimmering body. She came closer. Closer. She was kneeling in front of him, her piercing blue eyes searching his very being. Oz at first felt so calm, and then he saw the glistening fangs moving towards his neck. He felt the points prick the skin just under his ear, and all he could think to do was close his eyes and wait for death. But death never came. At the sound of the vampire's amused laughter Oz opened an eye, then both eyes to look at her. She smiled warmly at him, sending a shiver down his spine.

"Oooh...come now, why would I kill someone as special as you are?" She said in a sweet voice. "I've invited you here tonight, because you have something I want."

Oz narrowed his eyes. "I don't have any–"

"Shh, shh, shh..." The vampire whispered, running her hands up his shirt and feeling his chest with a look of intention. Oz was begging to fall under her spell for a second time when a voice spoke loudly and purposefully from the dark corner.

"Kate? Kate! You don't want to be near him." Oz gave a smug smile. He detected a hint of jealousy in the man's voice.

"Why don't I want to be near him?" Kate replied in an even voice, suddenly looking dark and dangerous.

"He's a werewolf. It could happen any minute now, I'd keep my distance if I were–"

"You brought me a werewolf on the full moon?" She stood and walked the width of the room to tower over the little man. Oz noticed only now that the man's wrists were bound. His light brown hair was unkept, and his clothes were caked with mud and debris. He looked up at her in both terror and awe. He'd loved her so much, once.

"I-I-I got what you asked for, did-didn't I? He's the one, I-I've tracked it. He has the sight. I can't help what he is or-or when we were able to capture him. He is who he is. He's the one you wanted." The man trembled under the dark siren's gaze. After a moment she knelt down beside him and gave him a kiss. He took it greedily, closing his eyes and breathing in her essence. When she'd pulled away she untied the man's bonds and stood again.

"He's the one I wanted." She sighed. "I have to go out again for a while. I'm sure our guest is hungry. If he tries anything," She continued, offering the man a gun. "Shoot him."

The man cradled the revolver. "Silver?"

"One of them is, for emergency. Fire them all." Kate smiled a dark smile. "You know I'm always prepared for anything." At these words the man cringed, as though trying to suppress a painful memory. The vampire put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll be back soon. And after all this is finished, I'll give you your reward, Lindsay. I promise." She kissed him again and then walked into the dark and out of sight.

As she left the room she took her glimmer with her, and the room again became black. Had Oz been able to see, he might have noticed the color drain from Lindsay's face at the word 'reward', for what Lindsay wanted more than anything was his love back. But in her place this–thing–threatened to make him into nothing more than a shell. A receptacle for his inner evil. And if he helped her in her plan, and it succeeded, that would be his fate. And she called it a reward. And so, Kate could never find the girl. Her plan must fail, and she cannot know it is due to his deliberate mistake. And even as Lindsay is running his reasons for betrayal through his head, Wesley and Gunn are doing the same thing.

"Wes, man, are you crazy? We can't just leave her here! What if–"

"Yes, Charles, I know the risks. But we have no other option. I can't fight the demon alone, incase you've skipped a minor detail, I'm missing an arm!"

"So then let me go! You can stay and watch over Fred, and call me if something–"

"You couldn't take care of yourself."

"What's that sposta mean?"

"I think you know exactly what it means! You need my help!"

"I never needed nobody's help!"

"If it weren't for me you'd be dead!"

"Shut up, English!"

"Thanks to me–"

"SHUT UP!"

Wesley stood down, but continued to glare at Gunn. "It's not my fault she's dead."

Without warning, Gunn launched himself towards Wesley, pinning him to the ground and throwing punch after punch into his face. Wesley dodged two, took four, and returned one, before kneeing his opponent between the legs, forcing him to roll over onto the floor moaning in pain and annoyance. Wesley took this opportunity to kick Gunn as hard as he could in the stomach, leaving him choking and gasping for air. Wesley felt the blood trickle down his chin as it flowed freely from his nose. He raised his hand to wipe it away, and as he did Gunn regained himself and lunged again. In one quick movement Wesley dodged Gunn's attack and returned it with a hard blow. Gunn recovered and sent a flying kick into Wesley's jaw, causing him to fall, barely conscious onto the floor. Their fight was interrupted by Fred's sudden shriek of pain. Both men jumped at the sudden sound and hurried to her side, Wesley still trying to fight off the nausea that came along with being kicked in the face.

"Oh God!" Fred cried. "Oh God, it's coming! It's coming here! After you!" Fred gasped before falling again out of consciousness.

Gunn stood straight. "Then let's go say hello." He made for the door. "Wes, come on!"

"Fred..."

"Man, we have to stop it before it reaches here. If we go now it's helping Fred, not hurting her. If we don't do anything it could kill everyone in the building. Now let's go!" Without another word Gunn ran out the door. Wesley gave one last paining look at Fred's sad form before turning and leaving for battle.

Author's Note: Again, a very short chapter. I didn't feel the need to draw it out. A lot of things are quietly being unveiled at this point. If you didn't catch them I might suggest reviewing past chapters. If you did, good for you! Many of my readers seem to just be confused with my "I'm not telling: Neener, neener, neener!" method of writing. Perhaps I'm more suited to write mysteries. Anyhow, I'm enjoying writing this story and I hope you are enjoying reading it. Please let me know by reviewing.

Thanks Moonjava for your reviews. I hope you are enjoying the story, and I'm excited to show you where it's going. Your reviews mean a lot to me. Thank you. The next chapter should be up soon.