Chapter 3:
One of the things Dawn enjoyed most about her new home was the covered patio that opened off the kitchen. It overlooked the high walled backyard with the gardens Adanar lovingly tended. On the patio were tubs of herbs and an old honeysuckle vine wound its way thickly through the wrought iron balustrade. It was an oasis of sweet scents in the stale chemical L. A. smog that passed for air. The office didn't open until noon so Dawn and Adanar had gotten into the habit of having a leisurely brunch, listening to the radio and reading the papers until it was time for work. Occasionally Gunn joined them and provided fresh croissants to add to the fresh fruit and cheese platters and coffee that were their favoured breakfast fare.
This morning it was just the two of them and Dawn wasn't at all surprised. She smiled to herself as she pictured Gunn's reactions to her prank and decided it was a shame that she would have to wait the way she had to wait for Spike's the previous evening.
"So what have you arranged for Gunn?"
Adanar had caught her smile and understood the reason for it.
"I filled some gelatine caps with really cheap scented oil and stuck them in his shower head. He's gonna smell like a whore house on a Saturday night."
Adanar smiled but shook his head,
"As long as he doesn't destroy our bathroom trying to remove it as Spike did that glitter."
The Ganaru loved cleanliness and order and Spike had left a trail of water, sodden towels and glitter on every possible surface. He'd even used one of Dawn's lipsticks to scrawl 'Death to Dawn' and 'I'll get you, Bit!' on the mirror. Although she'd offered to clean up the mess Adanar insisted on doing it and she let him, knowing that he found it hard to believe anyone else could match his expectations.
"Sorry about that. Spike always kept his crypt very clean and tidy and he should have remembered I'm messy and that you would have to be the one to clean our place."
He waved the apology away, amused by her inventiveness,
"Oh I didn't really mind. He did look most incredibly funny all sparkly and angry. I wonder how long it will take for him to remove all of it?"
"Ooh days I expect. That stuff seems to breed almost. He'll be… Oh."
Her tone changed suddenly and he looked up to see her face grow pale but the three faint lines on her cheek that were all that remained of her self inflicted scars reddened, a sure sign of anger.
"What is it?"
She looked up from the paper to answer him in a flat voice,
"They found a child in the sewers. She'd been skinned. Do we know any demon types with that particular habit?"
"Not from memory. But Angel was going to research it. He and Gunn found her last night but I asked them to wait until today to tell you. You were so happy, you see."
He said as she frowned.
Dawn sighed,
"We can't work like that; keeping secrets. I understand why you did it and I love that you care so much, but life's a bitch and she gets off the chain a lot. That's just the way it is, there's no protection from reality."
He nodded and she smiled, saying in the gentle tone she reserved for him alone,
"But it was a kind thought, my friend. Thank you."
She frowned again and asked,
"You gave up the chance to get back to Ganarid because I told you this world was worth saving but now you've seen how much evil there is here, do you wish you hadn't sacrificed the portal device?"
Adanar thought about it while he peeled an orange.
"No; Angel, Spike and Gunn were worth the device. So are Buffy, Giles and Willow. There is evil in every world Dawn, even Ganarid and besides I have no way of telling how much time has past there. I find myself liking this world, so there's no need for you to worry. It is worth fighting for and I am a fighter now."
"But you are still going to that shelter with Father Mathew this evening? Healing is what you love most and there are a lot of creatures out there who can't afford or aren't able to find any sort of medical help."
If Dawn had been able, she would have kept Adanar too busy with healing to fight.
"Oh yes. Gunn's going to join us; the woman who runs the shelter is an old friend of his and he will be able to vouch for my good intentions. So I hope he isn't so overly fragrant as to not want to come with us."
He commented with a laugh.
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"Your after shave's on the nose mate. 'Attar of bloody roses' or whatever isn't all that manly. You thinkin' of batting for the other side now?"
Spike's grin was evil and Gunn glared back.
"So where's little Miss Vengeance hiding? I want to know how she managed to get into my apartment! And you can get that grin off your face too Angel!"
"I'm more interested in knowing how she managed to ensure you'd dowse yourself in that stuff."
The dark haired vamp said without trying to hide his smile. He had to hand it to Dawn; she had a deft hand at getting even with style.
"She put it in my shower head. The rotten sneak must have used something that melted in the hot water. I scrubbed myself raw but couldn't get it all off. You guys sure she didn't come back from hell all evil?"
The two vamps looked at each other, grinned and spoke together,
"Bit's always had a mean streak."
"Dawn was a fiend as a child; always up to some mischief."
"Is it surprising? What kind of example was I set? Look at the critter's my sister hung out with. Jeez Gunn, that stuff didn't stink that much when I chose it! Leastways I don't think so. Must have been whatever you used trying to get it off."
Dawn sniffed and crinkled her nose in disgust.
"You must have bought the nastiest concoction ever produced! And how did you get into my place? All the keys are accounted for."
He glared at the smiling girl.
"The super remembered me from when you were in hospital so I told him you'd left your key at home and wanted me to pick it up for you. Pleasant guy, but has no idea when it comes to security. Anyway you have got most of it off, I can barely smell it."
He didn't know whether to believe her or not and turned to Adanar for confirmation; lying didn't appear to be a Ganaru trait. Adanar nodded and Gunn seemed to be somewhat appeased. Noticing that Spike still wore a sprinkle of glitter, he realised that he'd got off relatively lightly; Dawn must of known that he'd be able to scrub the cheap scent off without too much effort. Father Mathew arrived soon after and he, Gunn and Adanar left for the shelter.
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Spike rubbed his eyes, stretched, grabbed a few pages of print out and headed for Dawn's office. He hated research but Angel had a call from Nina to remind him it was a full moon and he'd left to collect her for an overnight stay inthe room in his basement apartment he'd had reinforced for the purpose of containing her werewolf persona. Glancing at the clock on Dawn's desk, the blond vamp thought that 'if they aren't back soon Peaches is gonna be in need of a nice strong leash for dog-girl.'
He was grinning to himself as he asked,
"I got five demon species, only two I reckon are possible, and two cults. Kinda surprisin' that given what this city manages to attract. Must be more loonies per mile in L.A. than in any other city when you think about it."
"You're probably right there. Are your two demons the Krell and the Serquia?"
Dawn glanced at her screen.
"Great minds think alike, Niblet. My cults are the 'Order of Canis Minor' and the 'Inner Circle of Boab'."
She smiled,
"What can I say; fools never differ. I guess we start checking them out tomorrow. At least, Gunn and I get the woof-woof boys and the devil wannabes. You and Angel get the warty-skins and the ones that look like demented sea urchins."
"Demented what?"
Angel asked as he came to the door. He had waited and made sure that Nina in her werewolf form could neither escape from the 'safe' room nor hurt herself in any way before joining them.
"Sea Urchins. Those things that look like spiky slugs and put you right off of Sushi."
Dawn told him. She yawned before pushing her chair back and standing.
"How do you want your caffeine pet, hot or cold?"
Spike wanted to know, handing Angel his print outs.
"Here Peaches, me and Bit came up with the same list of suspects. Dog.. Nina all set for the night?"
Damn it was hard trying to be polite all the bloody time! A guy could even say it was downright un-natural!
"Hot please Spike. Hey Angel I've been wondering; when Father Mathew came by last night did he say how he knew Adanar was a healer?"
The thought had occurred to her earlier and not left her mind.
Spike waited in the door way for Angel to answer, he hadn't talked to the priest because he was creating mayhem in Dawn and Adanar's bathroom. He and the Ganaru had become good friends over the past four months and if the Big Guy was in trouble, he wanted to know. There was a lengthy pause and the dark haired vamp's expression grew evermore confused.
He answered slowly,
"I don't think he did. Maybe someone told him? Who has Adanar been treating?"
"That's just it; apart from you and Gunn he's only seen that Kernot with the broken arm and the little Dan girl with the scald. I'd be real surprised if either of them went to his church. So how did he know?"
She tried to hide her worry; it was probably nothing but her protective side coming out whenever Adanar was concerned.
Angel tried to allay her fears by saying lightly,
"Gunn must have told Anne how Adanar has been helping him heal. Ask him when they get back. You two take a break and I'll go through these and try and get some idea of where we should start. Oh, let me know if you can here Nina from out back; I think the sound-proofing should be enough but if it isn't I will have to re-think it."
But when Gunn and Adanar returned a little later and Angel put the question to them, neither could remember the priest saying where his knowledge come from and Gunn had not mentioned the healer to Anne.
"You can't trust these religious buggers. Last one I came across was that wanker Caleb who went around with his mates killing Potentials and he had to be taken out with the Slayer's magic slice-n-dice and even she found it a tough job!"
Was Spike's appraisal of the situation and he resolved to ask the bloody God-botherer where he got his information from at the very first opportunity.