Deer Ashly,

Qe pasa, gurl? Youd be so prood of me hear. I'm takeing my art to a hole new leval! I think Im relly capptooring the pane and sufering of are genurashin!

Yur freind,

Clodia

After the nasty altercation I had with Stacey in the morning, it was a relief to get back to work. It didn't take me too long to finish off the Plagueings (as we were calling our open sore stirrup pants), and when I was done I had the entire rest of the day to work on my commission for Drusilla.

This amulet was like nothing I had ever done. It made the other work I was doing look like the daycare students' arts and crafts projects (or what they'd look like if Kristy ever let them stop drilling long enough to do arts and crafts).

I had decided to work in papier mache. It's a medium I use a lot, but that's okay because it's so versatile. A lot of times I find mache work goes pretty quickly, but this had taken me hours and hours. Precision was really important to me.

That morning, though, I had started to worry. The papier mache was done, but I hadn't even started the colors yet, and Drusilla was coming to collect it at moonrise tomorrow. I had been planning on using a lime green and orange puff paint motif, but looking at it, that didn't seem right. It needed something . . . something special.

My mind raced. Should I add some elegance with the daycare girls' Pretty, Pretty Princess gems? Or maybe break out the black and white sequins for a jazzy twenties feel?

No, none of it felt quite right. I let out a sigh. I didn't like what I was going to have to do, but I didn't have a choice. It was time for my last resort.

I was going to the library.

I took the long way around, stopping by the cafeteria for a mid-morning Twizzlers pick-me-up. I'll tell you, it never fails to amaze me how versatile Twizzlers are. By the time I reached the library, the sugar and artificial coloring coursing through my veins had lightened even the prospect of doing several hours of book research (although I still shuddered at the thought).

Unfolding the picture Drusilla had given me, I pushed open the door.

As soon as I saw what was inside, I jumped in surprise. There was a whole group of people having a meeting! I mean, I knew Mary Anne had been doing research (ick), but it hadn't occurred to me that she actually spent all her time in the library (double ick).

"What are you doing here?" Mary Anne asked me, her eyes widening with surprise. She, Jessi, Giles, Angel, Spike and some people I didn't know were sitting at a conference table in the center of a room.

Wait a minute. This was perfect – play my cards right and I wouldn't have to do any research at all! I passed her the picture. She gave it a cursory glance before passing it around the table.

"I have an extremely important artistic commission and I need historic color data points to triangulate the, umm, project," I stated proudly. There! I sounded just like Janine. That should get me some research help.

Giles removed his glasses and wiped them on his shirt. "I beg your pardon?" he asked me, wearing the same dazed expression I do when Janine talks to me. It was working!

Jessi, on the other hand, just looked suspicious. "You guys do remember that all her clients are evil, don't you?" Jessi always had been judgmental. Man, she had spent weeks taking cracks at us all for being involved in that Little Miss Stoneybrook pageant. Jealousy, I call it.

I didn't get a chance to respond because Spike jumped out of his chair with a yelp as soon as the photo reached him. He passed it to Angel, who cradled his head in his hands.

"What?" asked several people in unison.

"It's bloody Drusilla," Spike groaned.

"Didn't we kill her at some point?" asked a redhead cheerfully

"We must have," put in the man with an eye patch (ooh, I want one) sitting next to her, "I mean, she showed up off-and-on for years."

"Last time I saw her," Spike said, glaring at Angel, "she was heading down your way."

"Umm," Angel tried to avoid making eye contact with the many sets of eyes that were suddenly focused on him. "I might, uh, have let her eat a bunch of lawyers and then escape. I was kind of having a bad week."

"Somehow, shock escapes me," Giles said with a roll of his eyes. "How do you know Drusilla is involved anyhow?"

"This was her favorite necklace," Spike said nostalgically, staring off into the distance, "I gave it to her for Christmas back in '83. We spent it in London."

"Of course," Angel added, smirking at Spike, "it didn't become her favorite necklace until after she smeared it with the blood of that chimney sweep I gave her."

Blood. Of course! That's what all my decorative schemes had been missing!

"What happened to it?" asked Mary Anne interestedly.

Spike glared at Angel. "Twenty years later, soul boy here stole it, melted it down, and then gave the gold to orphans. It was disgusting."

"This is all very fascinating," Giles broke in, "but if this is Drusilla. . ."

"It definitely is," I said, feeling that I probably owed them in exchange for the blood tip, "at least, that's what she told me her name was. Long hair, ornate dress, doesn't make much sense. . ."

"That's her," said everyone at once, except Jessi who muttered "I told you all her clients were evil." I ignored her.

"Well, then," Giles continued, "it appears that she is the one behind this plot to steal your soul, Angel."

"We always did have a connection, I thought," Angel told Spike.

"Oh please, she's probably taking my soul too," Spike said irritatedly. "We did spend over a hundred years together, you know."

"Well, are you missing any personal items?" asked the redhead.

He coughed. "Just, umm, a bottle of . . .uh."

"Out with it," snapped Giles.

"Umm. Hair bleach." Several people giggle, and Spike spun his head trying to glare at all of them. Giles continued:

"That would certainly, do it, yes."

"She's picking up the necklace at tomorrow," I said, "if you're done with me here, I really need to go back and finish it." They had been very helpful, but realistic blood splatters are neither quick nor easy.

Giles stretched out his hand and fixed me with a look. I sighed, and handed him the necklace. And Clem had told me we were getting paid in Russian Longhairs for this one too (I'm not sure why Russian currency is so valuable, but he was so happy that it must be.)

I heard the door open and glanced behind me. Stacey had slipped in and taken the closest available seat to Angel. She smiled toothily at him and he edged his chair away.

"I know this one!" exclaimed eye patch guy. "We'll nab her when she comes for the necklace. Right?" He looked around, waiting for others to agree.

"Not so easy, Xan," sighed the redhead. "The night before the full moon is best for a spell like this. She'll probably do it tonight and pick the necklace up as a prize. An icky, blood stained prize." She grimaced, "On the bright side, it's a close range spell – she has to be on the grounds somewhere."

"Alright," said Giles, standing up and pointing at the redhead, "Willow, you get your department started on a magical counteraction." She nodded and left the room, Jessi following behind her. "Faith, I want Slayers patrolling the grounds and the perimeter."

"What about these two?" asked Faith, pointing at Spike and Angel, "As much fun as I had last time Angel's soul went AWOL. . ."

"Good point," Giles nodded at her, "We must have a securely locking cage somewhere."

"We could use the one at my place," Angel volunteered, "I put it in for when my girlfriend comes to visit." A general snicker broke out. "Hey, stop that, I mean because she's a werewolf. . ."

His voice trailed off. At the mention of a "girlfriend," Stacey had burst into tears and fled from the room. Mary Anne and I exchanged glances. It was bound to happen sooner or later, but Stacey was my best friend and I knew I should be there for her.

"I'll go after her," I volunteered, then stopped, "Umm, Mr. Giles, can I have that necklace back?"

"Very well," he handed it to me, "But for God's sake, stay away from Drusilla."

He didn't have to tell me twice. I was an artist not a fighter. As I left to find Stacey, I heard the others begin what promised to be a long argument about the best way to lock up Angel and Spike.