Chapter Eight – Memories of the Way We Were
"Hey baby, what has you so tense?" Kennedy walked up behind Willow and began massaging her shoulders while Willow continued to examine a small animal figurine.
"I just don't get it," Willow said. "All the Slayers can sense these barriers, but I can't. Neither can any of my students or the other mages we work with. I've tried every detection spell I know and a few I don't. I've even tried the back door and looked for the masking spell that has to be around the barrier instead of the barrier itself. Nothing, zilch, nada."
"What's Dawn say?"
"She just nods her head and says it all fits. I swear this whole thing is some kind of elaborate prank so she can get back at me for beating her at chess while she was growing up," Willow sounded exasperated.
"Come on, don't you think you're being a little paranoid," Kennedy teased back.
"We're talking about Dawn Summers. Do I have to remind you what she pulled on Giles last year?"
"Good point. It's been really nice knowing you Willow."
"Hey there buster, nice to know you care."
"I love you," Kennedy leaned in to give Willow a peck on the cheek. "But I'm not dumb enough to get between Dawn and a potential mark. So what are you working on now?"
"The stuff we bought from Buckland's. Most of what they sell is just junk, but there are a lot of items that have been charmed in some way. I've been working on accessing the magic for the past couple of days," Willow tapped the figurine in front of her. "I think this is supposed to be a Hippogriff. The last reported sighting of one was over 200 hundred years ago." Willow gently brushed her hand across the figurine's head. "I can feel magic inside. It feels different."
"What do mean honey?"
"It feels like the magic has been pushed into it. Kinda forced," she replied, "Mathew says it feels like the same kind of magic used to kill that guard. It sticks out like a sore thumb. Most of the magical artifacts we've encountered over the years don't give off such an obvious signature. Most only respond to specific spells or people otherwise they're inert. Even the Scythe, for all its power, can only be felt by the Slayers or people who are very sensitive to magic. And then it's only when it's touched. Some of these I could feel from halfway across the room. And believe me, these things don't have anywhere near the power of the Scythe."
"Maybe that's why these people hide behind those barriers," Kennedy theorized. "Because their magic sticks out so much."
"Maybe," Willow mused. "But that presents a different problem. Whoever created those barriers knows a lot about how to conceal magic. I mean a lot. Whatever spell they used is a piece of beauty. Whoever created these charms is sloppy and probably doesn't know a thing about magic beyond creating these charms."
"Maybe Dawn will finally let us in on her pet theory soon."
"Goddess I hope so. I can only take so much running into a brick wall."
---
Dawn Summers had her own frustrations. Over the past couple of weeks the Slayers located several other spots around London isolated by the mysterious mystical barriers. They had to pass close to the shop or the other entrance Faye had found before they got a sense of what they were looking for. But once a Slayer got the scent the barriers became easy to find. The concealment spells clearly did not take into account the Slayer. That fit in with Dawn's theory about the about their origin.
The two largest barriers were within a few blocks of the Antique store. The entrance to one spot seemed to be a phone booth. Faye mentioned that somebody obviously watched too many episodes of Get Smart while growing up. Dawn didn't get it.
The frustrating part was how the Council could have overlooked all this fifteen years ago. Missing the connection to the group D'Karsh belonged to she could understand. While the Watchers maintained perhaps the finest library in the world on the subjects of demons and vampires, their information on the supernatural world beyond those subjects was just not as good.
The various groups that practiced in the field were secretive and getting information out of them was not easy. She made the connection because in the process of restructuring the research department she and Willow made a concerted effort to shore up the sections on mages and magic. They also worked with outside groups to get copies of materials or at least reference lists. Dawn's pet project was working on a supernatural inter-library loan system.
The information on D'Karsh was among the new material Willow had brought in. Fifteen years ago that link could not have been made. But the thefts and murders should have been noticed and investigated.
"Ms Summers," one the research staff knocked on the open door to her office.
"Yes Linda, have you found anything yet?"
"I think so, but I don't understand it."
"What do you mean?" Dawn asked.
"Well," she looked around nervously. "I took your advice and applied the search programs Ms Rosenberg wrote to the entire database, not just the books we've scanned into the system so far."
"Ok and what spit out."
"There is a notation in the AP files about a purchase from Buckland's a few days after the murder of Mr. Holmes. It seems one of our field operatives was investigating and made the connection to Buckland's."
"That's great," Dawn was excited. "Who was it, we need to interview them now."
Linda stared down at the floor then tossed a printout on the desk. "It was me. I made the purchase. Ms Summers I swear I don't remember anything about investigating the Holmes murder or going to Buckland's."
"It's ok Linda," Dawn motioned to the chair in front of her desk, "Take a seat. Do you still have your case notes from that time?"
"Yes and I looked through them before coming in here. There's nothing there about the Holmes murder. However there are some gaps I can't explain," she stopped and frowned in concentration. "When I try to remember what I was doing then, it's all just a blur."
Dawn was lost in thought. "Of course, I'm an idiot! Their so obsessed with secrecy they'd have multiple layers of security," Dawn picked up the phone on her desk and quickly punched in an extension. "Kennedy, put Willow on. Willow, it's Dawn. I need you get down to research now. I'll explain when you get here."
----
Giles was having a bad day. He mused on how much easier life was when his principle concern was thwarting the next apocalypse. Now he was running a multinational organization dedicated to stopping evil. His life revolved budgets, personnel movement, silly Council politics and other 'fun' subjects.
"Who would have thought you'd end up here Ripper," Giles mumbled to himself as he tried to figure out the best way to upgrade the Indonesian facilities. Xander had put together a solid proposal along with a surprisingly affordable budget (once he'd removed Faith's requests for a dance club and full bar). But it would take at least eight months to get it up and running after construction began and they couldn't start that for at least four months. They needed room to move at least one additional team down to Indonesian now and they just didn't have it.
Giles looked up in relief at the sound of knocking at his door. "Come in."
"Hey Giles," Dawn came in followed closely by Willow. "You're going to need an extra set of glasses because I'm pretty sure you're going to polish the current lenses away."
Giles was just reaching up to pull his glasses off. He stopped short and glared at Dawn. Then proceeded to take off his glasses and lightly polish the lenses. "What is it now?"
"Willow, you want to tell him."
"Tell me what?"
Willow took a seat and looked directly at Giles. "At least four people in the research department had their memories either altered or partially erased with magic."
"Dear Lord. Are you certain?"
"I examined them myself Giles. It's same sloppy magic used to charm those trinkets and kill that guard," Willow began fidgeting in her seat. "It was brute force, no consideration for the damage they could do. Magic used on the mind is the most delicate kind of magic. You don't just casually toss around memory charms. It's wrong."
Dawn reached out and took Willow's hand, "Willow, breath," she mentally kicked herself for not thinking about how Willow might react to such spells. She was too excited about finding a reason why the Council didn't investigate the murders. She should have called in one the other Wicca stationed in London.
Giles waited for Willow to calm down. He noticed Dawn's reaction and decided he wouldn't need to talk to her later. She obviously figured out her mistake on her own. He turned his attention back to Willow. Painful memories or not, there were questions that needed to be asked.
"Willow, do you think you can remove the spell? Restore their memories," he spoke in a calm voice.
"I'm ok guys, it's just," she stopped and looked at the wall. She took a deep breath and turned back to Giles. "I don't know. I doubt it. The spells were put on them over a decade ago, their minds will have already filled in the gaps and made their own connections. Memories can be very fluid. After this long, removing the spell would probably do a lot of damage and there is no guarantee they'll actually remember what happened."
"I understand," Giles turned his attention back to Dawn. "I assume this is all related to your project."
"Yes," Dawn answered. "My guess is the research department did notice the thefts and field agents took it upon themselves to investigate. In the process they got close to something they shouldn't have and someone wiped their memories in order to keep their secrets."
"Dawn, I've given you a great deal of latitude in this matter, but I think the time for coyness is at an end. I don't care how wild your theory is or how incomplete the research. We need to know everything now."
"You're right Giles," Dawn nodded. "Let's get everybody together in the conference room in twenty minutes. It will go faster if I only have to explain this once and I need to grab my notes."
"Very well, twenty minutes. I expect this to be good."
"Believe me Giles. If I'm guessing right this will seriously blow your mind."