Chapter Three

"Are you sure you got the address right?" Jaime asked, looking at the various crosses, amulets and skulls(!) in the front window.

"This is the place," Steve told her. "Checked the address three times."

"Eew - gives me the heebie-jeebies!"

"Jaime, we don't have to do this -"

"I know. But something tells me we should listen to this girl. Maybe she knows something we don't. You're the one who always used to tell me to trust my gut."

Steve grinned at her. "Something I taught you actually stuck?"

"Steve, you taught me more than anyone else in the world, and not just about work."

"Past tense, huh?" he said lightly.

"I hope not. C'mon - let's go in before I lose my nerve."

Several large bells above the door clanged loudly as they walked in. Books of all sizes lined two of the walls, and various glass cases displayed powders, talismans and spooky-looking knick-knacks. A teen-age girl, pretty in a 'blonde bimbo' sort of way, hurried to meet them.

"Oh...hello, new people. I'm Anya. Will you be looking or buying?"

"We're here to see..." Steve glanced at Jaime; was he actually saying this? "...Buffy."

"Oh! Yes! I'm supposed to tell you to wait. She thought of someone else who might help you. She'll be back soon. And I'm supposed to introduce you to Giles. I'll get him." Instead of going to find this 'Giles' person, Anya stood her ground, took a deep breath and hollered: "Giles!" She smiled at Jaime and Steve. "He'll be right up."

A bookish, tweed-clad man in his 30's soon joined them. "Anya, what have I told you about shouting in the store?"

"Sorry." Anya retreated behind a counter.

"I do apologize. She's new. I'm Rupert Giles. Everyone calls me Giles."

After introductions and the obligatory handshakes, Giles led them into a large back room. It looked like a gym/office/museum, all in one. A large table, chairs and a desk occupied one corner, and gym mats covered most of the floor. Jaime looked at the walls, shuddered, and moved closer to Steve. Every imaginable medieval weapon hung on pegs on the wall: a crossbow, morning star, mace, sword, several axes and a few more that Jaime couldn't identify. Steve's arm snaked protectively around her waist. What had they gotten themselves into?

Giles eyed Steve and Jaime as carefully as they were eyeing him. "Buffy tells me you work for the government."

They'd never come out and told her that. "Why would she think that?" Jaime asked.

"She's unusually perceptive for her age," Giles explained. "She is correct, is she not? Never mind. You don't have to answer. I assume you are attempting to find the one the papers are calling the Vampire Killer?"

"Yes," Jaime confirmed.

"You're in precisely the right place if you're seeking information about vampires. You see -"

"I'm sorry," Steve interrupted, "but we're trying to catch a killer; one who claimed two more victims overnight. We don't have time for myths and ghost stories."

"Good. Because I don't know any. However, if you are discounting vampires as a myth, you couldn't be more wrong."

Steve was extremely skeptical, but Jaime was growing more and more frightened. "Excuse me?" she whispered.

Giles was deathly serious. "The stories you may have heard and the romanticism associated with them are pure fiction, of course. But vampires themselves truly do exist, and I'd lay odds that the killer you're seeking is one of them. They are very dangerous, with hearts blackened by pure evil - with the exception of one, whom you'll be meeting shortly. Depending on your point of view, he was either blessed or cursed with a soul, and Buffy and I believe he can help you."

"One of them," Jaime said quietly. "Do you mean she's bringing us a vampire?"

Buffy's voice echoed through the store as she came toward them. "Giles, I'm back." She saw Jaime and Steve and smiled as if they were old buddies. "Hi! I wasn't sure if you'd really come, but I'm glad you did. My friend is certain he can help you. So can I."

"Where is this friend?" Steve asked.

"He can't be outside when the sun is shining, but I told him about you and he's waiting to meet you at his place."

"I don't think that's a good idea - we don't know this person," Steve told her.

"Well, if you wanna wait 'til tonight -"

"We don't have time. Where is 'his place'?"

Buffy was still smiling. "It's not far. We can walk there, if you want. He lives in the old mausoleum at the back of the cemetery."

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