Chapter 31 - Glasgow, 10 July 2004
It's been days, and nothing's happened. I feel like I'm going stir-crazy. Most of the time's been spent in the cramped Council office, searching through books, or online. The one good thing about Giles turning up like he did is the fact that we've now got a couple of wireless laptops up there in addition to the desktop that Gus had. We're scouring the Council archives from here, collating information from London and elsewhere, trying to find some link, some hint that will enable us to find the other Slayers.
The most startling bit of news is the presence of Angel in London. He and Giles were both in Cleveland when they heard about my kidnap and subsequent escape, and it seems that Giles took the opportunity to bury the years of animosity he's borne Angel and offer him a job - temporarily at least. That's why he's in London. For now, he's responsible for Philip since he's had more experience with the Senior Partners than anyone else there. I don't know what Giles' eventual plan will be, but I can't see Angel wanting to move away from LA permanently. It is 'his town' after all.
Giles did imply that Angel was shocked to find that Spike was not only alive but currently in the same city as I was. I've actually been half expecting him to call and berate me or something … I don't know. He knew that there wasn't going to be anything other than friendship between us, but the news that Spike's back on the scene is probably going to unsettle him.
Anyway, Giles giving Angel a job? My first reaction when I heard the news was absolute incredulity. I mean, after the hard time he's given Spike, to just go and offer Angel a job like that? I know, he offered Spike a job too, but it had strings attached, and I don't think Angel's has. It seems so unfair. Of course, the reason for the unfairness was quickly pointed out. Angel's human; Spike isn't. Giles still sees things in a much more black and white way than I do, and, while he's been civil to Spike since his conversation with Moira, that's all he's been. He's been distant from me, though, but that's probably for the best. He's going to have to be a damn sight more than civil to Spike before I'm happy with him.
Spike? What do I say about him? That hug downstairs, with Dawn was … warm. It was almost like coming home in the days when I'd hear Mom's voice coming from the kitchen, calling out to me. We've spent a lot of the last couple of days together, but, apart from feeling more comfortable with him than I can ever remember, it's been all about the work. Everyone's been involved, including Dawn, although Moira seems to be working on her own rather than as part of the group. I don't even know if Giles knows what she's up to. She's been great in other ways, too, taking Dawn out most days to do something other than research. Dawn's become really fond of her, and I know she'll miss her badly when we go back home.
I check my watch, noting that it's mid-morning, and I haven't seen Spike yet today. He's been well enough these past couple of days that he's been in the office doing his fair share of the research. I don't remember him being this involved before, but then, there's a lot about him I didn't notice, or at least, interpreted in the worst possible light.
When he comes in, Giles is on the phone, and Gus and I are knee deep in some faxed documents that have recently arrived from someone in Tunisia. Ok, I haven't exactly been giving it my full attention, what with thinking over the past few days, but it's not exactly riveting. I don't pretend to understand much of it, even though there's an English translation. It's all about portal opening, and it's pretty specialised.
"Gus, do you understand any of this?" I ask as Spike comes to look over my shoulder.
"What? It's in English. It's not a very elegant translation, but it's adequate."
"No, I mean the English. All this opening portals stuff seems to be extremely complicated."
"It is. You've got to have a great deal of power, and the concentration involved in opening a portal to a particular dimension is beyond all but the most focussed minds. I can't say I've ever tried it, although I have heard that incantations to one or two minor demons can be successful."
Giles puts the phone down, but he's obviously heard the exchange.
"You're right, Buffy. Opening portals isn't something to be played with. If you don't know what you're doing, it can all go horribly wrong, and using demons to do it for you is playing with fire."
There's been something niggling at me all along here, but for the first time, it crystallises, and I voice my feeling.
"Ok. But you said Philip wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer."
"Not the words I used, but yes, I wouldn't say he's among the brightest Watchers on the payroll."
"Then how did he do it? How did he open the portal to let the Fyarls take me through? ow HOr did someone else open it?"
"I don't know," he says thoughtfully. "I had assumed that the portal was opened from the other end, but now that I consider it, that would be extremely expensive from an energy point of view. If the Fyarls had been later than expected, …"
"There wasn't anybody there," Spike chips in. "If it wasn't done from the other end, then it had to be him. And if he was, …" He claps a hand on my shoulder. "How was he doing it?"
"I don't see that it matters," Giles bristles. "What is the relevance of his ability to open a portal to one particular dimension when our current business is finding the locations of the missing Slayers?"
"Maybe nothing," I agree. "But it's a missing piece. We're getting nowhere with any of this." I lift the pile of paper in front of me and let it fall back to the desk to make my point. "There's got to be a better way."
Giles sighs wearily. To be honest, I don't know where his hotel is, but I don't think he's using it for much more than an occasional change of clothes. He's here when I come up in the morning, and still here when I go back downstairs to sleep. "You're right," he concedes with a barely stifled yawn. "It's worth finding out. I'll call Angel and get him to ask Philip."
"Will that compromise him?" Gus seems concerned.
"No more than necessary. Using his Wolfram and Hart experience, Angel is using some psychics to remain in contact with Philip. They're also hidden from the Senior Partners, but they're just a call away from Angel. Of course, if Philip doesn't feel like co-operating, we can always threaten to send someone around to his door."
He lifts the phone beside him and starts to dial.
Spike's been behind me during that exchange, and I can feel that he's excited about something, but somehow, I don't think it's got anything to do with Philip.
"What's up?" I ask, turning towards him. All sign of injury is gone. There's not even any visible bruising, and he's back to standing on his toes as if he's ready to pounce at any moment.
"Feel like some exercise?"
Now, there are many possible interpretations of that question, and some of them sound much more inviting than others.
"What do you have in mind?" I ask, warily.
"Well, I've been offered this job. Shouldn't take too long. I could probably do it on my own, but it'd be better with back up."
"Job? What sort of job?"
"Pack of Fyarls. They've moved into some Bloxar territory. You'd even get to do some sightseeing, since it's out by Loch Lomond."
"How many?"
"Don't know for sure, so we'd have to do some snooping first. Packs of those don't tend to be too big, though. I reckon it's because they don't get on with anyone too well - even their own kind."
"You up to it?"
"Yeah. Wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think so. Last thing I want is for you to show me up." His grin is back to the way I remember it – cocky and sure of himself.
"Don't you think there's something more important going on here?" Giles sounds irritable as he puts the phone down again.
"Because we're just making such progress with all this research."
I smile at Spike's tone, because it's measured to cause maximum irritation.
"Spike's right. We're not getting anywhere here, and if I don't get a chance to flex my muscles soon, I'm going to start breaking furniture. Seriously, a Slayer with nothing to slay is a cranky Slayer."
"And if you get hurt?"
"I spent years going out every night, risking my life every time. Why is this different?"
"Because you used to go out to protect people. And now, when we've got Slayers in need of rescue, you're thinking about risking your life to save some demons."
"Spike, Bloxar demons. What're they like?"
"Harmless unless you're an insect or a fish."
"That true, Giles?"
"I don't think I'm familiar with the species. I've heard the name, but there's not much known about them."
"That's probably because they aren't a threat to humans," Spike surmises. "Probably don't even register on the Council's radar. Might even get some information. Fyarls moving in like that - there might be a connection to Morag."
I glance at Giles, but he's looking resigned. I suspect there'll be no chance to get him back to anything like normal until we've rescued all the Slayers.
"So, when do you want to do it?" I turn back to Spike.
"Thought we'd drive up there this afternoon, have a bit of a look around. We'll have to park the car and take off into the hills for a bit, but we can't do that until it's getting dark. Be a good idea to wear some sensible shoes. The directions I asked for arrived in the post this morning, and they look pretty clear. In the dark, they probably won't see us coming anyway. Should work out fine."
"I'll have to change."
"You look fine to me, well, apart from the shoes."
"And if I put on what you call 'sensible shoes' then I'll need shorter pants than these. And it'd be better if they weren't jeans if we're going marching about a damp hillside. Once they get wet, they flap around your ankles and it's all icky. I'm sure I've got something that'll dry out quicker, but I'll have to make sure it's clean."
"Because you couldn't possibly slay in dirty trousers, now could you?
I grin at him. I enjoy the banter, and it's actually better when it's done good-naturedly than when it was full of dislike.
I run downstairs, pausing in the kitchen to make sure it's ok with Moira for me to leave Dawn. I explain what we're doing, and she smiles.
"About time you got to do something together. Probably the best sort of thing too, given your history."
"You wouldn't be match-making?" I tease.
"If it's taken you this long to work that out, I'm going to have to be much more blatant about it."
"Does Spike know?"
"Spike? I don't honestly know. He knows I wanted him to contact you all along of course, but whether he realises the full extent of my ambition? I doubt it. His expectations for himself are so low that I don't think he can imagine someone else wanting something for him."
"And what if we don't want it?"
"Well, if you don't, then it won't happen. I just want to make sure that it can happen if you do want it."
I turn to go into the bedroom, but on a whim, I turn back to where she's standing at the worktop, apparently cutting vegetables. Her hands are still, and she's got her head cocked to one side.
"You're listening to what's happening upstairs, aren't you?"
"Of course I am. How else can I find out what's happening? I mean, you tell me some things, but I won't know if I can help if I don't know everything, now will I?"
I smile at that, and get a surprisingly mischievous grin in return.
Spike takes a roundabout route to get where we're going, around lochs and up hills and down dales. The day is dry, but as it gets later, it becomes more overcast. He stops at a hotel overlooking Loch Ard where we can both get out of the car without dodging sunshine, and we share a lovely meal at a table overlooking the loch. Dusk is approaching when Spike finally pulls the car into a car park on a road above Loch Lomond. Even in the failing light, everything's so green, and the water below is still and shimmering in the remaining sunlight. Instead of hurrying me along, Spike lets me drink it in for a few minutes before consulting his map.
"Is this where the monster lives?" I ask. It all seems so open and bright. It's hard to imagine a monster as part of this.
"No, Pet. That's Loch Ness you're thinking of. That'd be why she's called Nessie. Loch Ness is a way north of here - too far to go today. I've never been myself, but we could go and take a look when this is all over, if you'd like."
"I would," I agree, and I really mean it. This afternoon's been a real treat. Just being out and about with him, chatting, listening to what's happened to him since Sunnydale, has been so special. I turn to look at him, and the temptation to grab him and kiss him is so overwhelming that I force myself to get out of the car instead. The sun's very low already, and between that and the cloud cover, Spike should be ok.
Apparently without considering the sunlight, Spike gets out the other side. I suppose he's been a vampire long enough that he's a pretty good judge of light levels, but it makes me shiver just thinking about the risk.
We walk for about a mile, most of it uphill, before we reach a point that's well-sheltered by low, brushy bushes and overlooking a small valley. We crouch down, and Spike scans the distance.
"See over there," he says at last. "On the left, where the hill rises steeply?"
I look where he's pointing. There's a hole in the ground and part of the grassy bank.
"That's the lair the Bloxars used to use. They've been forced to move to another one about a mile away. The entrance you see apparently takes you into a steep incline that leads to a cave system. Go far enough, and there's access to the loch."
"What do you think?" I ask. "Should we just go up to them, taunt them a bit and see what they do, or did you have another plan?"
"I'd like to watch for a bit. I'd have expected to see some sign of life - they're not exactly known for hiding, are Fyarls. They're not especially anxious for humans to spot them, but this time of day, there're probably not many people about."
We stay still and quiet but Spike, rather disconcertingly, starts sniffing the air.
"What is it?"
"That smell," he answers. "Just got it there, when the wind changed direction. Putrid. There's something dead over there."
With that, he's off at a fast pace, and I'm running in his wake. He goes straight for the entrance, and disappears inside. When I catch up, he's looking at the body of a Fyarl demon. At least, I think it's one body, but it might be more. Whatever it is, it's been ripped to pieces.
