Buffy rubbed her eyes and refocused them on the pages of the watcher's diary that lay on the table in front of her.
"Spike," Buffy said.
"Yeah love."
"Are the words supposed to be blurry?"
"I don't think so. Tired baby?" Spike asked.
Buffy yawned, "How'd you guess?"
"We can go in a minute, let me just talk to Giles. I'll give him the phone number of our hotel room and we'll arrange a time to meet tomorrow," Spike said.
"Kay," Buffy answered, leaning down on the table and using her arms as a pillow. Spike kissed the top of her hair gently and went into Giles' office where the watcher sat, nursing a cup of tea.
"Anything?" Spike asked.
"I'm afraid not. It seems that all people who have met Malcah have perished. I found a paragraph on her in Vampire's of the 1800s, but it just made reference to the fact that she had caused mayhem in Asia. There was no reference to her wielding any sort of great power besides that of an ordinary vampire." Giles answered.
"No magic, you mean?"
"None. She's just your typical vampire."
"Only she's not. I can feel it Giles. This vampire has powers beyond those that any vampire on earth today can even invoke. Maybe not magic, but something." Spike ran a hand through his hair. "Buffy's tired so I'm going to take her back to the hotel. I'll leave our phone number on the table outside. Give me a call if you find anything."
"I will," Giles replied. He touched the Vampire's arm gently as Spike rose. "Don't worry, we'll keep her safe."
Spike gave the Watcher a tight smile. "I never doubted it."
Buffy awoke the next morning to the shrill ring of the telephone. She groped around the nightstand until her hand came in contact with the receiver.
"'Lo," Buffy said groggily.
"Rise and shine Slayer," Spike sing-songed.
"Go away," Buffy moaned.
"I'm at the library. Giles found a text that makes reference to the source of Malcah's power. It seems that-"
"The library? What are you doing there?" Buffy asked, her mind having trouble grasping any of what Spike had just said.
"I left in the middle of the night. I left you a note telling you to meet me at the library when you woke up," Spike explained.
"Spike, it's like seven o'clock in the-"
"It's one o'clock in the afternoon love," Spike cut in.
"Oh. Meet you in the library in an hour," Buffy said, resigning herself to the fact that she would have to get up.
"Okay, see you then," Spike said. He whispered softly into the telephone, "I love you."
Buffy smile against the telephone, "If you really loved me you'd let me sleep."
"See you in an hour love," Spike responded before hanging up the phone.
"Did you tell her what we found?" Giles asked, coming into his office.
"I didn't have the heart to. I don't want to worry her. I'd rather talk about it when she gets here."
"I'm sure she'll be fine. If she's as good as you say she is-"
"She is," Spike insisted.
"Then don't worry. We'll do more research and we'll fight Malcah.
"I know, I know." Spike ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to look at the weapons your have in the back. Call me when Buffy gets here."
Giles nodded and sat down by his desk, hunched over a thick text entirely devoted to the secrets that vampire hunters had collected: secrets that included facts about traditional vampire rituals, ceremonies, oaths and training manuals.
"What are you looking at?" Buffy asked. Giles jumped up from his chair and turned to face the slayer.
"Buffy! I didn't see you," Giles said.
"Obviously," Buffy replied. "Everything okay?"
"Yes. I've just…well, I've discovered some troubling news about Malcah."
"Anything I should know?" The Slayer asked.
"Not yet. Spike's in back looking at weapons. I'm sure he'll be eager to train with you." Giles answered.
"Okay. Call if you need anything. I guess we'll be in the room in back," Buffy said before turning on her heel and heading towards the back room.
"Spike, you in here?" Buffy asked, walking into the room in back of the library where Giles kept his extra weapons. "Spike, Giles said you were here so if you're planning on jumping out from behind me and attacking me you-" Buffy was interrupted when Spike landed on top of her, pressing her shoulders and cheek into the few training mats that were on the floor.
"Somebody wasn't watching their back," Spike taunted as Buffy wriggled underneath him, trying to get free.
"Well, I wasn't really expecting a surprise attack," The Slayer admitted.
Spike chuckled, "I think that's the nature of a surprise attack love."
Buffy pouted. "The surprise attacks that you're used to maybe."
Spike rolled off the Slayer, the feel of her hot body wiggling under his too much for him to bear.
"Should we train?" Spike asked, rising and helping Buffy to her feet.
"I guess. Did you find any good weapons?" Buffy asked.
Spike pointed to a chest in the corner. "There are weapons in there. Stakes, holy water, broad axes, two swords, and some odds and ends."
"Ooh, can we play with swords?" Buffy asked, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of a new weapon to "play with."
"Not right now. According to the minimal information we've found Malcah wields no power other than that of an ordinary vampire. It's just that she's a fighter unlike any other. She's mastered many fighting techniques. More than she should have been able to based on her age and lineage."
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.
"Vampires strength comes from various sources. The more blood they're given when sired the stronger they are right away. A minion would be given only enough blood for them to rise again. Not enough to tie them to their sire or make them feel a connection to the other vampires they're living with. A minion is meant only to be a loyal worker. It's rare that they live long enough to achieve any sort of status. A fledgling would be given more blood than a minion. Enough to have them feel a slight connection with their sire. Fledglings are meant to be loyal servants. They usually separate from their sire after anywhere from twenty to fifty years," Spike explained.
"Why?" Buffy asked.
"Well, a childe is meant to become a master vampire one day. When they rise they are given enough blood to make them strong. They have all the culture of their line. So a fledgling does not have that. Therefore, once strong enough they'll go out on their own and attempt to start a vampire clan," Spike explained.
Buffy sat down on the floor and at Spike's indication began doing push ups. "So, Malcah was a childe?"
"Yes. She was sired by The Master."
Buffy's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Who's The Master?"
"He was one of the first vampires ever to walk this earth. He died years ago but while alive he only sired three childer; Malcah, Lorraine and Darla. They went on to begin three of the most prestigious vampire clans," Spike said.
"You've mentioned Darla before," Buffy said, pausing in her pushup routine.
"Yes. She sired Angelus who was my sire. The Master only sired females. He believed that females were stronger than males and that one day it would be a female who would destroy the world and bring vampires to complete power," Spike explained.
Buffy smile, "For an evil guy he certainly seems okay to me."
Spike rolled his eyes good-naturedly, "I thought you'd like that." Spike's smile turned to a frown. "The truth of the matter is that Malcah has power because of being a direct descendent from The Master's line, but she also has some other source of power."
"And you're sure it's not something magical. I mean, what if she has some sort of spell to combine her powers with the powers that another vampire wielded. Like if she was combining her powers with The Master's, or with Darla and Lorraine's."
"The council, made no indication in any of their books to a spell. Giles and I think that she has some sort of vampire guide book," Spike explained.
Buffy stretched her arms out, knowing that tomorrow morning they would be sore. Then she lay on her back and began doing crunches. "Where is this guide book?"
"It was lost over a hundred years ago. At least, that's what most vampires believed. However, Malcah may have managed to get her hands on it. I don't know much about its history but I'll ask Giles to look into it." Spike said.
"So we find it," Buffy suggested. Spike looked at her, confusion marring his features. "Malcah must have known she was going to be captured someday. She probably wanted to protect the book and its secrets, keep it in the family and all that. She must have hidden it somewhere. If we can find it before she wakes up we might have found the key to defeating her."
Spike knelt next to the Slayer and she stopped doing crunches for a moment. "Baby, I think you might be a genius."
"Might," she teased gently. Spike closed his eyes and leaned toward Buffy's pursed lips, surprised when she clasped her hands at the nape of his neck and pulled Spike's lips down to hers.
Miles below the floor of Sunnydale High School's library Malcah turned over in her enchanted slumber…fidgeted slightly…and then began snoring…