"You see, the witch who lived in this house was rather fond of Slayers. Fell in love with one, even. They lived together in this house for many years."
The Shadow didn't realize exactly who Kennedy was. Kennedy knew she should be trying to come up with a way to use the fact to her advantage, but it was difficult to think at all through the pain.
One thought, however, did manage to come to the forefront of her mind. O herdeiro da feiticeira, or whatever it had been that the vampire had said. Fuck her rusty Portugese. The witch's heir. And if the witch was Willow, that meant. . . .
They were going to kill Madelyn.
Faith simply stood under his stare. She was discomfited, but damn if she was going to show it.
At last, the Immortal spoke. "She has come for the magic of your friend the witch. Willow Rosenberg, I believe her name was? She believes she can raise the ambient energy resident in Sao Paulo. To do so she will need a Slayer. Your lover will be ideal."
"And then?"
The Immortal looked at her as if she were a schoolgirl who had answered a question wrong. "L'Ombra is going to torture your lover, hoping to anger that part of the witch's spirit which remains in the place. Once that power is awakened, she hopes to control it. And then she will attempt to use it to gain control of the rest of the witch's power."
"You mean . . . ?"
The Immortal nodded. "Do not think I am without concern for my daughter's welfare, Slayer. I came here to Brazil in an effort to prevent l'Ombra's plans. But now that she has captured a Slayer, there will be no stalling her. In all likelihood they have already begun the ritual. They will be performing it in your friend's old house, where the energies will be most strongly concentrated. You know where that is?"
Faith nodded even though she didn't. "The other Slayers will know," she said, already turning to leave. No time could be wasted.
"La fortuna buona, la mia ragazza," the Immortal said softly as she left. "Per amore di mia figlia, la mia fortuna buona a lei. Good luck, Faith."
Kennedy wasn't sure if it was just a trick of her shivering and her vision blurring, or if the house was shaking. When the Shadow looked up, however, she realized that it was an objective phenomenon.
"The witch is angered," the Shadow said, a large smile on her face. "It is almost time." She hit Kennedy in the jaw, then again, then again. The bone wasn't broken, but it wouldn't certainly leave one hell of a bruise. Monster swelling.
The shaking got stronger. "Willow?" asked Kennedy. Already the swelling was beginning, making it difficult to talk.
"Oh," said the Shadow. "So you know of her. That is even better." She stepped back and raised her hands to the sky. "Power of vengeance, strength from anger, I bind thee to my will. Let—"
And then panic broke out behind the Shadow. It was painful for Kennedy to lift her head to see beyond, but then it was painful for her to leave her head where it was too, so she did her best to raise her body. She watched as Faith entered the room, followed by two of the Slayers she had trained when she had lived in Brazil. Dust trailed in their wake.
Vamps rushed towards the Slayers, meleeing with them. Judicious blows from their stakes lowered the vamp count in the room.
"Fools!" shouted the Shadow. "Hold your ground! We must finish the ceremony!"
"I don't think so," said Faith, staking another vamp. "I think I'm going to take my girlfriend and then we're going to get out of here."
"Faith," Kennedy called out, her voice hoarse and her jaw screaming out in pain. "They're going to kill Madelyn."
"Hush, love," Faith said, blocking another vampire attack. "We're not going to let it get that far. This ends here."
Presumably having given up on ever getting to finish her ritual, the Shadow turned to Faith and the other Slayers. Entering the combat, she pushed two vampires out of her way to get closer to Faith, easily blocking two of the Slayers attacks and then backhanding her into the wall.
One of the other Slayers moved in to fight back the Shadow while Faith pulled herself to her feet, while the other used the distraction to slip over to Kennedy and cut her bonds. Not that it was anything but an empty gestured, as Kennedy was far too injured to be able to fight herself, but she appreciated being free.
The Slayer facing off against the Shadow was on the losing side of the battle, but Faith quickly moved back in, creating more of an even match. The two Slayers concerned themselves with the still considerable number of vampires, even as the Shadow grabbed Faith by the neck and pushed her against the wall. "You were a fool to think you could stop me," she said. "And once I gain the power to seek, there will be no one left at all who will be able to stop her."
And it was in that moment, as the Slayers were busy fighting vamps and Faith was pushed against the wall, that Kennedy watched a knife-the knife, the same knife she had unwrapped in the alley earlier that day—flew from the wall and lodged itself in the back of the Shadow's throat. The Shadow paused, took a step back, and then the knife slid around her neck, decapitating her. Dust.
"Well," said Faith as she easily staked two of the remaining
"It wasn't Willow," said Kennedy as the Slayers watched the remains of the old house be engulfed in flames. They had doused the entire structure in gasoline, then threw a match in one of the windows. "Not really. All that power has passed onto Madelyn. It was more of a poltergeist, born of the strength of all the emotions Willow had while we lived in that house."
"Does it matter?" asked Faith. "It was shaped by Willow's feelings, her love for you. Even seven years after Willow's death, that love lives on. It saved all our lives."
Kennedy nodded. Her wounds were bandaged, and since most of them were superficial, intended to cause pain rather than inflict actual damage, her Slayer healing should have them mostly under control in a couple of days. As it was she lay, propped up against a tree, watching her old house burn to the ground.
After a few strokes of the Swiss Army knife, the tears had flowed from Kennedy's eyes freely. Apparently Slayer tear ducts could hold an awfully large amount of liquid, though, for she could still feel the tears stream down her face. "Faith?" she asked. "Hold me?"
Faith found a clean spot on her forehead and kissed it, then wrapped an arm around Kennedy. "I'm here," she said. "I'm here."
And Kennedy smiled, and let unconsciousness take her as she lay in her lover's arms.