Chapter 16 – Bad Hellmouthing

"Lady! Lady!"

The woman didn't even bother to turn around. The vampire stopped running and bowed down respectfully at her back.

"Speak. Is the Slayer dead?" The woman asked, appreciating herself in a full-body mirror.

"No, Lady. We did as you ordered, but she. . ." he stopped talking, fear halting him

She turned around, looking the vampire straight in the eye.

"She escaped?" her voice was like soft velvet, sensual and alluring. But the vampire trembled with fear, he knew what she was capable of.

"Y-y-yes, Lady. She-she...she had help."

"By those pesky friends of her? Twenty-five vampires against what? Three humans and the Slayer?" the voice was still calm, but the eyes were burning.

"Y-yes...I mean, no, Lady. A-a giant man appeared. And a wolf. A giant wolf. They helped the Slayer. Then a woman showed up, a witch, and she killed the rest of them. They didn't stand a chance."

"What?" the voice lost any semblance of control. "A giant man, a wolf and a witch?"

The vampire whimpered under the voice and the glare. "Y-yes, Lady."

"Explain that to me. In detail."

The vampire entered a lengthy explanation, which took longer than the fight itself. He was stalling, in hopes that the Lady's mood would clear a bit, so that he could leave the room in his still undead life. He was going to go back to the beginning when she lifted her hand. He stopped promptly.

"Thank you. You may leave now," she said, shooing him.

He surely wasn't expecting that. The Lady wasn't known for her benevolence against failures and bad news. He turned his back to her and walked quickly to the door.

"Wait," he froze under the order, and turned around. "I forgot one thing."

He didn't even saw her move, only feeling the pain over his chest. He looked down, to the stake protruding from him. He dusted without making another sound.

"I hate bad news."

A man was arriving in another part of town, the same place that He-Man and Faith had cleared a couple of hours ago. He parked his sedan in the street, right in front of the warehouse. He climbed out, looking straight at the smashed front door.

Not good news.

He walked silently to the door, eyes and ears focused on his surroundings. He peeked in, the place was empty.

Really not good news.

Taking courage, the suit entered the warehouse. What he saw surprised him. The place looked as if it had been bombed. There was a hole in the wall to his left that could let a truck in. The piece of wall, with pillar still attached, was twenty feet inside the room, mostly in one piece. And piles of dust. A whole lot of them. Some even imprinted on the walls.

He pulled his cell phone, hitting a number on the speed dial.

"Sir, we have a problem."

Jim Burbanks hated the night shift. Actually, it gave him the creeps. Of course, the money was good and it helped pay the bills, but it was dead. No one seemed to go out at night in this town. The ones who came out were weirdos or gang members. And he didn't understand his boss's almost pathological response regarding crosses. He had at least three in every room in the Happy Burger. Even the front door had one attached to it. The place looked more like a church than a fast-food joint.

Jim once asked about it, and Greg's only response was "You don't want to know. And I hope you never find out."

Even here, in the drive-thru booth, there were at least two, every time. One in the wall at his back and one attached to the glass, pointing out.

Unluckily for Jim, an idiotic kid driving a bike had broken the glass yesterday. Greg had already changed the glass, but the cross had disappeared in the confusion. The manager promised Jim that tomorrow he would replace it with a brand new one, blessed by the priest from his church.

The chime indicating a new client awakened him from his daydreaming. He looked at the camera. A limo. Probably some rich folk coming back from a party. He hoped that the guy would order something easy. He stopped by Randy, and the order popped at his monitor.

Huh? Just a coke? And a Diet one? Doesn't that thing have mini-bars or something? Well, that was easy enough.

He prepped the drink and the straw, delivering it to the black guy dressed in a nice suit.

"Have a nice night, sir," He said.

"Right back at ya," he replied, smiling.

Well, at least he was nice. The limo stood still for a moment more, and he heard the black dude speaking something to someone else inside the limo.

Then the guy jumped off the car again, grabbing him, face distorted like a monster.

Jim would never worry about the night shift. Never again.

- To be continued -

Author's notes: I know, I know, small chapter. It's just to give a taste of the bad guys. Don't worry, next one is going to be big. And the question everyone is asking is gonna be answered. What is Willow's pet, and what it does become? Stay tuned!