Night Falls
Notes: Thanks for the reviews and, as always, keep them coming. I intend to start wrapping this up, barring any unexpected creative detours. And never fear, I have an idea for another Buffy, Faith, and zombies story brewing in my head.
Previously:
Hailey nodded and focused her eyes on the dying man's face. She could see his eyes staring back at her, twinkling cruelly. Sighing heavily, she moved her finger to the trigger of the gun pointed at Caleb's head. "Rest in peace," she whispered and squeezed.
Chapter Forty-Three:"Close your eyes," Giles said softly. Willow breathed a cleansing sigh and followed his instructions. She sat on the desert floor in a meditative position with her palms resting lightly in her lap. The sun was slowly sinking in the sky, burning intensely red and blinding. The sand was soft underneath of her and a light breeze stirred her hair. "You are sitting on the desert floor," Giles continued. "Man was created in the desert from the dust of the world. Long after man's time in this world has ended, his bones will crumble and form new dust to cover the world in an age of aridity. From whence we came, we shall return, this is the most important lesson of all."
A renegade sunbeam reached across the desert and struck Willow, shining on her eyelids in a fiery crimson light. Already, she could feel the heat of the desert relenting and passing into the chill of night. "You are connected to everything in this world. You are but a fractal, mirroring the very image of the universe itself. Just as the veins in a leaf mirror the veins of a tree, you are the image of Truth." Willow let Giles' words wash over her. Focusing inward, she centered herself, finding a place of calm and peace. She remembered the complete lack of control that falling to black magic had produced in her mind and soul. She never wanted to feel so lost again.
She suspected that Giles brought her out into the desert to work on her magics because he knew something that she did not. Perhaps her skills would be necessary in battling the First. The thought of fighting such a great evil scared Willow more than she cared to admit. Her soul still felt the lingering effects of the darkness that had invaded her not all that long ago. She imagined that she would always feel some effect from her misuse of magics. Though she was afraid, she also knew that she had to conquer her fears. Her friends needed her and she did not want disappoint them. She thought of Hailey, of the confidence and belief in the witch's abilities that the other girl possessed.
"We all share the same blood. We share the same bodies. Everything in this world is connected. Magic is a deeply spiritual calling. The elements necessary to successfully wield it are all connected. They are connected to you, to me, and to everyone. Allow that connection to grow. Allow it to flourish and it will grow in you a beautiful and blessed thing," Giles continued, pacing back and forth in front of the meditating witch. Hailey had briefly related her conversation with the Coven to him before he and the others had left for their trip. Though he had doubts about the plan, he knew that Hailey was right in one aspect – they needed more than a group of trained and eager teenage girls to defeat the First Evil.
Giles believed in Willow's abilities, though he also believed that anyone, despite his or her good will and heart, could be tempted and swayed by evil. He had seen Willow fall to the darkest of magics like an addict desperately seeking a fix. Willow was a powerful witch, perhaps one of the most powerful, but he was not certain that she should ever practice such potent magics again. The Coven seemed to have confidence in her, as did Hailey. Giles bore his own reservations, but respected their beliefs. If Hailey wanted him to train her, to teach her stillness, than he would, even if he did not believe that Willow could learn. "White and black magic are connected. They come from the same source – the same power. To wield one is to wield the other unwittingly. You must have control. You must have dominance. You must believe in the goodness in your heart," he said earnestly. "Fall to no trick. Believe no lie. And white magic will prevail. It is connected to the good in you and to the good in this world. There is more good in this world than evil."
Giles' words slowly began to fade from Willow's consciousness as she fell deeper and deeper into meditation. The desert faded. The sun ceased to burn in the sky. The wakening stars fell back into slumber. She found herself totally alone in complete and utter darkness. A white ball of light slowly began to grow in her mind. It filled her with a serenity that she had never known. She let it wrap her in its embrace and her heart was filled with joy. She had been afraid to let the magic back into her heart; but as the light of goodness filled her, she realized that the magic had never left. It would always be a part of her. She allowed black magic to overcome her in a time of grief and despair, but that was not the magic that came naturally to her.
Giles stopped speaking, watching the witch sitting in front of him intently. The sun sank below the horizon as the moon steadily rose. The stars began to peek through the darkness of the coming night, illuminating the sky with millions of tiny lights. Vaguely, Giles heard the call of a coyote singing in the desert. Suddenly, Willow's eyes snapped open, blank, unseeing, and devoid of any color save the purest of white. Giles stared into her eyes in amazement and surprise. "Willow…" he murmured, stepping forward warily. Slowly the white was replaced by the emerald green that he was accustomed to seeing. Willow shook her head and looked up at him dazedly.
"What happened?" She asked, glancing around. "It's night time?"
"Yes," Giles replied slowly. "Your eyes…"
"There was this light," Willow interrupted as Giles helped her to her feet. "It surrounded me. I felt it go in me."
"What light?" Giles asked confusedly.
"This white light. It was beautiful," she murmured. Giles smiled. Perhaps he had underestimated the girl. "Was that supposed to happen?"
Giles shook his head, lost for words as they walked back to the camp. "I have no idea," he finally said.
………………………….
"I don't think this is going to work," Hailey said pessimistically as Faith paced back and forth in front of the open trunk of Giles' car. "It's too small."
"It is a wee, little thing," Spike agreed.
"Do you have any better ideas?" Faith asked, throwing up her hands in defeat.
Hailey and Spike stood silently, mulling over Faith's question. They had all agreed that even though Caleb was a monstrous man in life, he deserved a decent burial in death, as he had not always been so evil. Hailey had initially proposed staking up his head in the front yard, but that idea was quickly voted down as no one believed that the neighbors would enjoy their new lawn ornament. Even though they wanted to prove to the First that they were a force to be reckoned with, none found it necessary to provoke the entity into action.
"No," they both finally said in unison.
"Let's cram him in," Hailey said, sighing. She and Faith lifted the dead man and swung him into the trunk. Giles' car was made for speed and appearance, not for hauling dead bodies.
"Damn him and his midlife crisis," Faith groaned.
"Well," Hailey replied, "we just have to move him around a bit." Finally, after contorting Caleb's body like a gymnast, they were able to close the trunk lid.
"Giles is going to kill us when he finds out that we stuffed a dead body in his trunk," Faith muttered.
"Who said he ever has to find out?" Spike offered.
"He'll be able to smell it," Hailey countered.
"We'll just have to clean it until you can't tell anymore," Spike clarified. "Are we ready?"
"No," Faith said, pointing at Hailey. "You have to change your clothes. If we're pulled over and you're all bloody, even the stupidest cop in Sunnydale is gonna know that something's up."
"Alright," Hailey said, glancing down at her ruined clothes. "Get the car started. I'll be right down."
Hailey walked back into the house, throwing a glance into the living room as she moved towards the stairs. The room had been trashed during the course of her fight with Caleb. "Xander's gonna have a lot of work coming to him," she murmured. Continuing up the stairs, she entered the room she shared with Willow and moved over to the closet. She stripped off her soiled clothes and dumped them in the trashcan. Pulling on a new pair of black jeans, she glanced up, and studied herself in the mirror.
She looked older than she had before she left New Mexico. Her eyes seemed deeper and darker. Her dark hair hung loosely about her face, which was stained with blood. A scar remained on her stomach where Caleb had impaled her on a spike. She did not know if that scar would ever fade; perhaps even Slayer healing had its limits. She ran her bandaged fingers lightly over the scar, remembering the feeling of cool metal sliding through her skin.
"Well, that's a nasty looking wound, isn't it?" Caleb asked, smiling as he appeared behind her in the mirror. Hailey started in fear, but remembered that the preacher was dead and lying in the trunk of Giles' car.
"I guess you know that you're boy's dead now, huh?" She asked, turning around to face the First.
"I served my purpose," the First answered through Caleb's voice. "You must think you've won a great victory."
"Haven't we?" Hailey asked, grabbing a white tank top from the closet and slipping it on, hiding the scar from sight.
"Not really," Caleb said smugly.
"No?" Hailey taunted.
"I was just the beginning," Caleb replied. "The First is the end of all things."
"You coming?" Hailey heard Faith yell from the bottom of the stairs.
"I'll be right there," Hailey yelled back.
"You should go, you're friends are waiting," Caleb said, motioning to the door with a nod of his head.
"I guess I'll be seeing you then?" Hailey asked as Caleb smiled and disappeared from sight. The room was oddly empty without him. Hailey looked over at the nightstand and saw a picture of Willow and she that Andrew had taken without them knowing. She wished that Willow was there with her now. Sighing, she left the room, quickly entered the bathroom to wash her face, and continued down the stairs. Faith was waiting for her.
"Everything okay?" The younger Slayer asked expectantly.
"I have some things to talk to you guys about," Hailey replied. "Important things."
"Okay," Faith said nodding. "We have a little problem of our own."
"What's that?" Hailey asked.
"Are you good to drive?" She responded.
"Well, my head kinda hurts from hitting the weapons chest," Hailey said. "Why?"
"Spike it just a little bit drunk and I don't legally have a license," Faith replied. "If we get pulled over and either one of us is driving, they'll search the car."
"Fine," Hailey said. "I'll drive. But if I start weaving, someone else has to do it."
"Deal," Faith said, smiling. Spike was waiting for them in the car, cramped grumpily in the backseat. Hailey slid into the driver's seat and stuck the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life as she turned it. "So what did you want to talk to us about?" Faith asked.
"Caleb," Hailey said as she pulled out onto the road, "was just the beginning."
"What do you mean?" Spike asked.
"I had a dream the other night," Hailey replied.
"A Slayer dream," Faith said knowingly. Hailey nodded.
"Where am I going?" She asked, looking over at Faith.
"Somewhere outside of town…where no one will see us digging," the dark haired girl replied.
"I dreamt about the First. It was gathering around it an army of Turok-Han vampires," Hailey continued. "I know where they are."
"Where?" Faith asked curiously.
"Underneath the high school," Hailey answered. "In the Hellmouth."
"We need to go after them," Spike said.
"We can't," Faith interrupted. "We don't have the man power."
"Even if we did," Hailey added, "it would be risky."
"I take it you have a plan then, sheriff?" Faith asked. Hailey smiled knowingly.
"I spoke with the Coven. They think that we could pull off a spell to turn all of the Potentials into Slayers," Hailey answered.
"Temporarily?" Spike asked.
"No," Hailey said, meeting his eyes in the rearview mirror, "permanently."
"So what are we waiting for?" Faith asked.
"I haven't told anyone else but you two," Hailey said. "The Coven is sending members to help with the spell. But it mostly hinges on Willow."
"Willow, who might I remind you, is afraid to float a pencil," Spike muttered.
"Giles is working with her in the desert," Hailey said. "She can do this."
"Are you sure?" Faith asked, looking steadily at Hailey.
"I'm sure," Hailey replied.
"Sure enough to risk all of our lives?" Faith countered.
"Yes," Hailey said, looking over at her and holding her gaze.
"Okay," Faith replied and Hailey shifted her eyes back to the road. "Then we're behind you one hundred percent."
"What do you need?" Spike asked.
"Buffy's support for one," Hailey replied. "I don't know if she'll like the idea."
"Why not?" Spike asked.
"Being one girl in all of the world chosen to do something is a damn cool thing," Faith said softly. "A hard thing to want to give up."
"Yes," Hailey said, "it is."
"I'll talk to her," Faith volunteered.
"Giles isn't going to like this either," Spike said. "Screwing with destinies and all of that."
"I'll talk to him," Hailey said. "I can convince him."
"So what do you need me to do?" Spike questioned.
"I need you to figure out how to get into the Hellmouth without attracting a whole lot of attention," Hailey said.
"That's going to be difficult," Spike noted.
"I'm sure you'll find a way," Hailey said, smiling.
"What about the vineyard?" Faith asked.
"What about it?" Hailey said.
"Shouldn't we check it out, now that Caleb is dead?" She furthered. "There might be something useful there."
"After we're done burying him," Hailey replied, "we'll go to the vineyard and see if our crazy preacher was hiding anything important."
"I don't know why," Faith commented distantly, "but I think he was."