Senga: Part 5
"Right. An' you're a ghost then?" Asked Senga, bravely peering around her fathers protective girth. The figure of Tara, floating serenely less than a meter away.
"So they tell me. I was told I'd be able to touch things if I concentrated. May I?" Senga's father mutely nodded as Tara reached for the tv remote control. Focussing all of her will power, she pushed the button to switch the tv on.
"This BBC news 24. Reports are coming in that hastily staged peace talks in the middle east have ended abruptly with Israeli delegates declaring the new leaders of the Palestinian Authority to be Anti Semite. The representatives from Palestine responded by simply stating that God's true children shall inherit the Earth." Tara's finger hit the button again.
"Ugh, the news is still far too depressing." She looked up at the others in the room. Senga, her father and Jean all looked agog at the apparition. "Oh. Sorry, I still look weird huh?" Another mute nod from Senga's father, echoed, again silently, by nods from Senga and the now rocking on her feet Jean. Trying desperately to keep it together. Whatever it was. "Well, I've been sent by the Powers that be, to help you defeat Azazeal. Something big is coming in the world, I'm not sure what, but they want as many of the big players on the opposite team taken out right now as possible. Azazeal is one of their heavy hitters, but you Senga, have what it takes to take him down."
"Aye right. Ah know ah want tae take the shite doon, but I still huvnae a scooby how tae. As far as we can tell, the bawbag is indestructible." Jean had decided that Tara didn't pose a threat and had stepped from behind her father and now stood close enough to pass her hand through Tara's ethereal form. Tara looked down at Senga's hand passing through her abdomen. Senga looked up, "Uhm, sorry, it's just, your the first ghost ah've ever met."
"It's fine. Just a little weird. It's the first time I've been dead." Tara laughed lightly at her own joke. "My friend Buffy would probably have some advice for me on how to handle it. She's died twice you know? She's also a slayer, just like you." Tara smiled as a look of confusion crossed Senga's face, "I'll tell you about her another time. Right now, we've got a big bad to worry about. You had a plan, to attack on two fronts? Here on the Earthly plane and on the spirit plane as well?"
"Aye, it was an idea fae some ex Watcher called Wesley?" Jean commented, as she gradually regained her composure.
"Ah yes, Wesley. he's a good man. I hope he's still fighting the good fight." Tara turned away towards the window. It'll be dawn soon. If we're going to do this, then we'd better get ready. His guards will be useless in the daylight, so we'll have the best chance of attacking his physical form then. Come with me Senga, we need to get you trained on how to reach the Spirit plane, then we can coach your father and your friend here on how to destroy Azazeal's body." Tara's spirit form slowly drifted towards the door. Senga was about to follow when Jean pulled her aside and whispered something to her. Senga's eyes widened, then narrowed, as she followed Tara from the room.
Dawn had come and gone, some hours ago, but the Glaswegian army of good guys (as Jean had taken to calling the group) was ready to go. "Right miss Ghostie, how do we find this toerag?" Senga's father asked, as he pulled the largest of the knives from the kitchen drawer.
"Oh, I know exactly where he is. There's a void, not far from here. No light can escape it. No power can stop it." Tara seemed to drift away momentarily, until she was brought back by Senga's reply.
"Except us!" The newest slayer hefted a baseball bat around her head. They didn't expect any trouble from Azazeal's vampire bodyguards, but Senga knew it was always best to be prepared. "Everybody ready?" Senga asked as she looked around her living room. Her father and Jean both nodded, resolute looks fixed on their faces. Tara smiled and nodded. "Right then, lead on Tara."
The group were on the street in moments. Senga was slightly disturbed by the realisation that noone else could see Tara, only the small band of would be heroes.
A few minutes later the group had arrived at a door, the flat was only 3 tenament buildings away from Senga's own building, that fact disturbed her to no end. Knowing that the creature had been this close to her, possibly for some time. So close, yet completely unknown. Glasgow's community spirit had gone down the tubes years ago. But her dad still spoke of times when everybody knew their neighbours, and people looked out for each other, and most of all, the infamous days where you could leave your front door open without fear of burglary. These days, those ideas seemed like halcyon memories from a long gone world. Senga was snapped from her reverie by Tara "This is it. It's inside here."
"Righto." Senga replied, as with one swift kick (much to her own surprise more than anyone elses) the door flew open, practically knocked from it's hinges. Senga strode unflinchingly into the flat, checking room by room for any signs of habitation. It was in the bedroom to the rear of the property that she found it. An honest to God demon, horns and all. "Fuck's sake!"
Tara entered the room behind Senga. "That's it's mortal form Senga. From the fact that he's not moving, we can assume that he's on the spirit plane." Tara seemed to shimmer, and fade slightly, before reappearing at the opposite end of the room. "It's time."
Senga turned to her father and her best friend. "If anything happens, do what you can. Any trouble that you dont' think you can handle, get out of here an' don't look back." She looked into the eyes of her father, as he silently pleaded with her not to go through with this. Senga smiled at him as she touched his face. The most tender gesture she had made towards him in many years. They both knew that one night of attention was not enough to make up for years of neglect, but it was a good place to start.
Senga turned her attention to her dearest friend. "Go get the shitebag Senga. Gie him a kick in the Goolies fae me." She smiled despite the concern etched in her features. Senga smiled back as she turned around to face the physical form of her adversary. She circled the demon, taking a measure of the creature. She didn't like the idea of it waking up with her father and Jean in the room, but they knew, if it woke up, then Senga had failed, and they were to run as though their lives depended on it, which it probably would do in those circumstances.
Senga faced the creature and lowered herself to the ground. She sat crosslegged in front of Azazeal and began to speak, slowly, it was something she had only learned this morning, a spell.
"Erigo meus phasmatis, solo meus Animus."
"Letalis crusta, inerto haud magis."
As she finished the final word, her head lolled forward as her spirit was gone. Tara had also vanished, and all hell broke loose in the bedroom.
"Senga, no, get away while you can." The plaintive cry, in a voice so familiar roused Senga from her, had she been sleeping? Was she still sleeping. She could tell that her eyes were open, she moved her hand in front of her face, just to be sure though. She saw her hand as clear as day, but beyond that, there was a fog.
"Mum? Where are you?" Senga cried out.
"Somewhere close by Senga. You will join her soon." The voice of Azazeal was so close, Senga would swear he was standing next to her. "Welcome to my world my child."
"Welcome to my world of pain ya bastard!" Senga cried as she swung out with her elbow, at the point she felt sure would connect with the creature. It struck nothing.
"You have no body here Senga. You cannot physically harm me here, nor can I physically harm you. Your family on the other hand..."
The Bedroom.
It started with a knocking. Then a thunderous crash, as fists smashed through the floorboards, and vampiric faces came into view. Jean and Senga's father backed away towards the door, only to be stopped by the sound of more crashes coming from the other rooms in the flat. It was a trap.
The Spirit plane.
"Tara, you have to wake up now." Senga's mother shook the witches form. "Tara, you have to do it now." Tara's eyes flickered open and then she was gone.
"Ah know fine how it works here." Senga shouted, it's mind o'er matter up here innit?" She turned as she spoke. "An' ah don't mind, an' you don't matter." She let fly with another punch. This one connecting with something, something that was pained by the sensation.
"Good move Senga, it has been millenia since someone has actually hurt me in my realm, bravo."
"Oh, ah'll hit ye in yer realm awright." Senga retorted as she let out a hefty kick to the point where she anticipated the prone Azazeal would have fallen. She felt a satisfying impact and heard another gasp of pain from Azazeal.
The Bedroom.
Backed against a wall Jean and Senga's father fought bravely, but futilely. They were outnumbered ten to one. Out of the corner of her eye Jean could see Tara's ghost form reappear, hover over Senga's body briefly then vanish. Senga's eyes opened and a light glowed in them as she let out a loud call. "Willow! I need you. Bring help"
A hotel room, near Glasgow airport.
"Yeah, they didn't want to know. The father's a drunk, he pretty much told Giles and I where to go, he was ready to give us a map to help us get there too. " Willow paused as on the other end of the call, Faith brought her up to speed on events at the Academy. "Seattle? No, I've not heard anything. The coven were sure? Well, OK, we'll head out there when I get..." Willow stopped as something struck her mind, "baby?"
There was a flash of light in the hotel room as Faith appeared, holding a telephone receiver to her ear "Did you just call me baby? What the fu.."
"Did I hear Faith? Did you have her on speaker phone Willow?" Asked Giles appeared from the small bathroom, but Willow and Faith were both gone.