Halfrek's power center dangled from Faith's neck as she trailed Lilah's car.
Flying wasn't the best way to keep hidden, but after four-no, five days now-of Amy and Halfrek being missing, she desperately needed some fun to distract her. So here she was slipping through the twilit zone above the streetlights. Spiderman was right; people never looked up unless you made a spectacle of yourself.
Harmony said-and Faith saw no reason to doubt her-that Amy had made a stupid wish for power and immortality. She was probably sealed inside the jewel for all eternity, but every so often Faith realized she was rubbing the gemstone as if it would conjure Amy like a genie.
No luck so far. Faith reached back with one hand to find the holster on her hip. It was way past time to stop playing softball with Lilah. No jail could hold Faith anyway, and if she was wrong about that...well, it was worth it. She pulled out a revolver-not Kate's, one she had nicked, and-
Sand began to trickle from the amulet. In seconds the leak went from a tiny, feeble sprinkling to a powerful gust that sprayed grit in all directions. She couldn't see a damn thing! She tried squinting against the sand; there was still a chance.
A body solidified in front of her, shrieked in Amy's voice, and dropped. Reflexively, Faith's hands shot out and clutched hold of her, and Amy shrieked again, wrapped her arms around Faith's neck, and planted a kiss on her lips.
Chapter 34-Unreal City
For a moment Faith was almost startled enough to drop her. Then she zoomed upwards-people would have heard that-until she reached rooftop level.
"Did I just do that?" Amy squeaked. "Sorry. I was, um...startled."
"I wasn't complaining," Faith said. "You could just go with it and see what happens. I won't bite...unless you ask me to." It'd been way too long, and if anything Amy was hotter than she remembered. Not just that she was back to her proper youthful self, but she looked firmer, and a little rounder, and...Faith couldn't place what had changed about her face. Something subtle but good.
"Ick," Amy muttered, scratching. "I've got sand all in my clothes." Sure enough, silvery grit was leaking out of her shirt, her pants, everywhere.
Still, what kind of response was she expecting? "Only one thing to do about that."
Amy blushed faintly. "Well, then get me home?"
"Sunnydale's a long way. We'll get you some clothes. Wanna shake these out for now?" If Kate didn't have the money, nicking some would be simple.
"In midair?"
Faith laughed. "Let's find a place to land." Why did she feel giddy like this? Amy was cool, sure, and good-looking too, but at most she'd be another fling. That was how it worked. You screwed and you split, or else you screwed, you fought, and then you split. "Beach okay?"
Amy raised her eyebrows. "Hey, that kiss was just...gratitude. I swear. Also I thought you might be Superman."
"Okay, Lois. So being grateful means you slip me some tongue? I'll definitely remember that." It was the slayage thing. She'd been going for the kill when Amy materialized.
"Um...I don't have a beach towel?" Yeah, real grateful there.
"Want, take..." Faith dropped low, landing in an alley behind a closed store. "...have. Back in five."
Sure enough, Amy was still waiting when Faith got back. "Extra large. Trust me, I know about sand. Stuff gets all over. Oh. And you look like a size-"
"Faith!"
"You'd rather skinnydip? Whatever floats your boat." Faith plopped the towel down in Amy's arms with the swimsuits wrapped inside, grabbed her around the waist, and was off again. "Look, I swear, if it's just 'gratitude', we can just swim. I got enough on my conscience." She'd have to break out the toys again tonight, but she wasn't gonna repeat her performance with Xander.
Amy was silent for several long minutes as they soared toward the beach. "Halfrek says the world could be ending and I'm being stupid."
This time the kiss was distracting enough that Faith scraped the side of a brick wall.
Sam kicked off and bounced effortlessly to her feet, trailing streamers of flame. "Shoat!"
Shoat's head jerked back as Holtz's bullet struck her temple. Blood and brains fountained from the exit wound. Sam clenched her teeth and kept quiet. She'd pay him back with interest.
The eruption of red-grey goo reversed itself, flowing backward into Shoat's skull. Fragments of bone resealed the gap. Shoat stuck out her tongue at the old man and returned fire.
"Interesting," was all Holtz said. Another shot echoed across the warehouse, followed by a third as Kate's bullet knocked his from the air.
"Wasn't expecting that," Kate murmured. Why...? Oh. There was a rack of natural gas canisters near him, not quite empty. Sam fired off her rifle at it, the shot trailing a streamer of orange flame.
First a whump! Followed by a thunderous rumble as the cans exploded one at a time, spraying fire and metal shards in all directions. Holtz was forced to dive to the floor, not having mastered this invulnerability business. And Shoat, by way of contrast, came charging towards him, screaming, firing her rifle as if it had infinite ammo.
Holtz cried out but managed to slither behind a crate, from which point he was able to target Shoat again. She'd left herself wide open.
Sam leapt into the air, swinging her rifle down to target the hunter in midair. He raised a bloody arm and flung a knife at her. Military grade. Good steel. Headed straight for her side. This was why you didn't leap screaming at your enemy; there was no way to dodge. She twisted, and the knife grazed her shirt, leaving a neat little cut. She touched down on three points atop a table, only skidding a little.
Holtz's lips thinned. She'd pissed him off. Hell, she'd have been ticked about that herself.
Kate's revolver fired again. The bullet struck Holtz center mass, caught by his vest-and flung him backwards to crash into a crate! Momentum did not work that way!
Shoat finally seemed to realize what she was doing. Her face reddening, she slipped behind some stacks of metal shelves. Holtz was already rising. He grimaced at the damaged vest and tore it off. Now!
Sam hurled herself forward, but as she did so, a blinding golden light flared around Holtz, forcing her to throw a hand over her eyes. The light cleared just in time for her to see a figure clad in riot gear, only made in shades of white and gold rather than the standard black. Holtz brought up an arm holding a shield, clear save for the brilliant sunburst emblem, and batted her aside.
Sam rolled to a stop against the wall. Goddamn, he was powerful! He knew what he was doing, and whatever he didn't know he was learning fast. Faith had better be finishing the job and getting back here. Three on one, and he was kicking their asses.
Drusilla tittered and clapped. It was good to remember that she saw and understood twice as much as she let on. Mad or not, she was a devil.
Sarah Holtz watched the little box on the wall. Papa was doing well. But was he doing good? The other people in the moving picture seemed to have demonic powers, sure enough, but then Papa also had powers she had never seen him use before now. Satan also could be an angel of light, and the Lilah woman's actions were diabolical for certain. She could not not cheer for Papa, but should she hope for him to win? Or to escape?
If Satan casts out Satan, she recited, then he is divided against himself and his kingdom has an end.
Dark magic had brought her back from death. But how was a power that slew demons and raised the dead dark? Papa might not approve of such reasonings, but he had done his best to raise her to think. Satan deluded; enlightenment was from God. In this strange new world, her best hope was knowledge.
One of the women fighting Papa suddenly became a bear. That didn't sound like a godly thing. But it was certainly not godly for Lilah to transform Sarah back into a demon and threaten her father by holding a stake to her heart.
Perhaps neither side served God, not by their own will at least. Then to set them at each other's throats would weaken Satan and serve God.
Drusilla turned to look at her and drew a finger across her lips. Did she know Sarah's thoughts?
That would be a great problem to overcome indeed.
Amy finally sat up. She was sweaty, but weirdly not nearly so exhausted as she ought to be. From the look of her, Faith wasn't even that; she was barely perspiring at all.
"You're glowing," Faith said with a frown.
"I'm what?"
"You've got a...little hole on your forehead with a little green flame. Like an eye. Shoat glows. Kate glows. Sam glows. How come I don't glow?"
Amy flung out her hands. "What kind of a time is it for that question?"
Faith sighed and started pulling on her bikini top. "It's getting late and I was supposed to be killing Lilah Morgan before she gets elected President."
"And you, uh...skipped out on that so we could screw?" Amy tried really hard to sound disapproving. Didn't work.
"I was about to do it when you dropped in," Faith grumbled. "We still have a few months. Hell, looks like you're one of us now. Wanna join in?"
"Er...I have no idea what I'm doing?" If she had powers now, what were they?
"Best way to find out," Faith said, handing over Amy's suit, "is jump in the deep end." She stood and offered Amy her hand.
Amy shrugged, took it, and stood. Faith grabbed her around the waist, this time groping her ass. "Up, up, and away!"
"Hey! Not dressed yet!"
Faith only laughed.
Kate still felt like herself. Maybe she wasn't really a werebear, at least not in the sense she'd thought. Some of the powers she'd used didn't seem...were-ish...anyway. She wasn't a Slayer, or what Sam or Shoat were either. Was there maybe an infinite variety of powers in whatever storehouse Lilah had found?
Not really the time for philosophical questions. She went down on all fours and barreled into Holtz, wishing she could see his face clearly. Was he surprised by this, or did he already know she could transform?
Too bad it wasn't her time of the month. Two days ago the aura that enhanced her strength had become something else, something she wasn't sure of the use for. It swallowed her in light so she couldn't be recognized, but was that what it was for?
Close in like this there wasn't much room for the others to attack. Kate savaged Holtz through the riot gear and hoped they wouldn't need to.
She hoped in vain. Holtz pierced her side with another one of those knives, leaving her gasping for breath. Maybe he'd got a lung. Were they even able to beat him in a straight-up fight? Msybe there was some other level they could best him on. What did Lilah have on him to get him to work for her? He seemed like a religious man, and while that sometimes made for problems, Lilah was clearly on the side of hell.
A burst of flame shot past, singeing her fur. It was good having someone to watch her back, at least. Holtz grunted and stabbed at her again.
Damn it, where's Faith when you need her?
"...so it was like every nightmare I've ever had all rolled up in one. Even if you'd been awful in the sack...and you definitely weren't...I needed the grounding. So, um...thanks."
"Geez...it was nothing. I mean I..." Faith trailed off uncomfortably, leaving Amy convinced that she was trying not to say it was just a fling. The Slayer had literally saved her life, and while it was maybe too soon to worry about love and all that mushy bit, she'd done it by forging a supernatural connection between them. Amy could hear not just what Faith said, but some of what she didn't.
"Faith...even if you don't want to be involved with me...I know you're one of the good guys. I believe in you, okay? So don't start in about taking advantage or not being able to have a relationship. I promise, it's okay."
Faith flew on in silence for a few monents. "You mentioned Halfrek. She in there?"
Amy decided there was no point trying to hide the truth. "Yeah. She's here with me. She can't do anything but talk to me. But yeah, she was ok with it...us, I mean."
Faith frowned and Amy thought she might be about to say that, no, she wasn't ok with Halfrek. Before either of them could speak, the bundle of clothes started beeping. "Shit! Phone!" She began fumbling through the bundle.
"Here," Amy said, and pulled out the cell phone.
"Talk to 'em," Faith warned. "I gotta keep one arm out. Dunno why, but I do."
"Um. Hi...Shoat? You what? Crap! Faith, forget Lilah! We've got to get across town!" Faith started to ask, so Amy explained. "Holtz! It's that demon hunter Holtz!"
"Damn it," Faith grumbled. "What's he got against us?"
Holtz gave the bear a mighty shove and rolled it off him, its wounds seeping blood. One down. Not the most dangerous.
The fire-wielder was now surrounded by a burning aura. She was running low on energy, but closing with her would be painful. The necromancer child either was keeping her zombies in reserve or she had none here. She was the most dangerous. He could feel some distant...kinship with her, as if they had once been the same kind, perhaps known one another.
The necromancer screamed something incoherent and probably blasphemous. Once she might have reminded him of his lost little girl, but against all odds Sarah had been returned to him. Her weapon should have been out of ammunition, but he had realized long since that she ran out only if she chose. The burning woman conjured a clip in a burst of flame and changed her weapon out. Less efficient, but still effective.
Before the girl could open fire again, Holtz shot the burning woman in the arm. So far that one had acted with a military discipline, though a bit lax as he saw it. He believed he could kill her more easily, but he needed the girl distracted. She had proven very difficult to injure.
Indeed, the necromancer screamed at him once more. She was, after all, but a child. Holtz lifted his rifle. He would keep firing until she fell.
High above, a huge windowpane shattered, showering glass everywhere. That would be the Slayer named Faith. He had never heard of a Slayer who could fly, but once in Bavaria he had known one who could move so quickly as to be invisible. She'd been very helpful.
Faith was the one the necromancer had called, which made her a traitor to the cause. He need have no qualms about killing her.
"Goddess Hecate, work thy will-" A witch! The rogue Slayer was working with a witch? Disgusting! Hastily Holtz scanned the room and spotted a swirl of silver lights like blowing sand. "Before thee let-" Holtz opened fire, one rapid shot after another. The last thing he needed was to be transformed into vermin. The witch dove for cover, not finishing her spell. Still, her presence was a problem.
Holtz quickly scanned the room. The necromancer was crouched over the bear-woman's body. The fire-soldier seemed to be binding her wounds. He could not see the witch, but he knew she was behind a pile of crates. Where was the Slayer?
She came charging down from the ceiling, tearing a dangling lamp free. The cord remained attached, doubtless intentionally. Faith slashed a ragged length of metal along it, removing the coating. That...made no sense. Why?
But he had best not let her do whatever she was planning. He lifted his weapon again. "The last thing I wanted to see-" she began, as he shot her twice in the chest. She deflected the first with the lamp, but the second struck home. Strange. If she were truly running out of energy, why didn't she glow? And what about him did she not want to see?
A crate slammed into his chest, flinging him backwards. The lamp cord rose, shooting sparks like lightning. It must be the witch, but where was she? Ripples of light and force radiated from behind another stack of boxes. There.
Too many unknown factors were entering the situation, however. Slayers healed quickly, as might these others, and he had not yet had time to finish them off. Holtz fired a burst into the stack of crates as he calculated a path to the nearest door.
The witch flung the lamp cord at him, but it was stopped short of him by its remaining moorings, and he took the moment to dash through the exit. He might need help to finish them all; at the least he would have to separate them. A crate struck the door behind him. They were hurt, at least. If he returned soon, he might be able to take advantage.
"Shit," Faith snarled. "He's getting away." But they were all injured except Amy, and Kate was barely breathing. Asshole. Riot gear was not something she liked to see these days.
"Anyone know first aid?" Shoat's tone suggested barely-controlled panic. Something had suddenly changed about her relationship to Kate in the last couple of days. "We need to get her to the hospital!"
"She's a bear," Sam pointed out reasonably. "We'd need a vet. Kate, can you hear us? Change back if you can."
Silver light flickered around Kate. She didn't transform, but her wounds glimmered and sealed over. With a great heave she pushed herself to all fours and shook herself. Only then did she revert to her human shape. "Sorry," she murmured. "I was running low on energy, decided to play possum, and greyed out. Now I see why." She tugged on her bloodsoaked shirt, then patted Shoat's head. "Sorry, kiddo. I didn't mean to scare you."
Shoat winced, then steeled herself and hugged Kate. Faith hissed through her teeth-the last time Shoat had hugged anyone there'd been a burst of black fire that burned Shoat's arms-but nothing happened. Weird.
Amy hovered nervously in the background until Faith grabbed her by the arm and pulled her closer. "You saved the day, Ames. I don't wanna hear anymore about not knowing how to use your powers."
"Um...still kinda don't," Amy pointed out before Kate cut her off.
"Good to see you back, but Faith, are we going to hear good news about Lilah on the morning news?"
Faith hung her head. "Got distracted when Amy materialized outta nowhere. Spoiled my shot anyway."
Sam groaned. "Well, we keep trying. We've got to get her soon."
"No hard feelings about the shot," Faith said hastily. "Or afterwards. We probably couldn't have found her again anyway." Amy stared at her feet despite the reassurance.
"We need to get patched up," Sam said as if to fill the silence. "Anyone think they should go to the hospital?"
"Faith, you've got a bullet in your chest," Amy said. "You-"
"I'm the Slayer, I'll heal. Anyway what do I tell them?"
"Gang members on PCP," Amy said firmly.
"Does that really work in Sunnydale?" Kate asked with a frown.
"All the time," Amy insisted. "It'll work once here. We should all get looked at just in case. But especially Faith."
Faith tried to heave a big fake sigh, which turned into a coughing fit. "Fine," she wheezed. "If I gotta."
"So," the demon said. "We have a solution to your parasite problem." Sarah listened, but kept her eyes squinted shut. She was supposed to be sleeping.
"Shoot," Lilah said.
"Oh, nothing so crude. The company has a holding cell ready for you."
"A what? Did I hear you propose to lock me up?" Lilah said acidly.
"Not at all. You'll have the key and be living a nice suburban lifestyle. At the rate of about one month per day of real time. Campaign reporters will be told you have the flu."
"But I still have to shove the little monster out of me?" Lilah bared her teeth at that as if she were a vampire showing its fangs.
"Perhaps not," Mara said. "Some of the prophecies related to Darla's baby may no longer be valid, but they do say 'there will be no birth'. My guess is we can set you up with a proper Caesarian section and then we dump the kid in a nice uncomfy hell dimension to die. No problem at all."
Lilah grinned broadly this time. "Sounds like a plan."
Sarah didn't think they had noticed the strange motes of light outside the window in the slightest.
On South Sepulveda Boulevard in the small hours the breeze blew cold and stank of decay. Clouds clotted the night sky and turned the moon red. Blood sputtered in a lone leaky sink and screensavers flickered with spectral images.
In the cemetery, old graves shuddered and yawned, and just beyond the fence a shadow became something more: a hole into nothing and nowhere, which shat out a figure in darkness, folded in on itself, and was gone. A pair of headlights sputtered out rather than illuninate the new arrival.
Weeping Raiton Cast Aside studied her surroundings and strode off into the early, misty gloom. The Neverborn's siren call told her all she needed to know.