Monday: 10:30 p.m.
At the crime scene, a hint of a breeze stirred Buffy's hair as she got out of the car. She scrutinized the scene carefully, noting if there were any new changes to the place. She stood silently for a minute breathing in the rich scent of decay, blood, and chemicals as the breeze continued to swirl its warmth as it rustled in the trees.
"What are you looking for?" asked Victor, following her gaze.
"I don't know, yet," said Buffy walking over to the chalk outline of the body they had taken away. "I will see it, when I see it."
"What did you see earlier?" he asked curiously.
"It wasn't so much as what I saw, but what I sensed," she said frowning.
"Magic, right?" he asked. To him, it's very intriguing, the idea of magic. The supernatural world hadn't existed for him until he had been bitten by a werewolf. When he had said something about it to Buffy, he was told that people didn't want to acknowledge things that they didn't want to see. All this time, he had been living with all manner of beings and he hadn't seen it. He shook his head bemusedly. He wouldn't be surprised to find out that aliens existed, too.
"Yes," Buffy said quietly. "But it was more," she said puzzled, remembering the exact moment she had smelled the scent. She stopped suddenly, tensing. She sniffed the air like a wild animal.
"What is it?" asked Victor looking around wearily. Following her example, he stopped and scented the air. He could sense that he and Buffy were not alone. 'Vampire,' he mouthed.
Buffy nodded absentmindedly. She recognized the preternatural signature. She wheeled around and pulled the figure out of the shadows, grabbing it by the throat, forcing the body into a tree. The figure gasped and she immediately eased her grip, but didn't let go. "What are doing here?" she demanded.
Cash shrugged. "It's a free country," he acknowledged. "I can go anywhere I want to," he said, with a half smirk on his face.
Buffy's eyes narrowed warningly at him, and with one hand, she casually threw him to the ground.
His grin widened. "Hello, my queen," Cash said.
"You still haven't told me what you are doing here," Buffy said.
The smile dropped off his face. Suddenly Cash was serious. "Julian sent me to investigate the murder."
"What!" Buffy exclaimed irate. "How dare he! This is my case." Since the day Buffy had married Julian, he had wanted to wrap her in a cocoon. He had given her bodyguards, but after saving her own bodyguards several times from countless dangers, he had seen that it was pointless to continue giving her them. However, that did not stop Julian from trying to protect her. Buffy always told him that she was the Slayer and she didn't need protection, but to make Julian feel better and also to give Buffy the illusion of privacy, Buffy continued to have guards.
Cash shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed heavily, "We both know that Kindred are killing these young men. And this one happened to be in San Francisco. That made it the prince's business," he said casually walking up to Buffy to stand in her personal space.
"No, it's my business," Buffy retorted, glaring at him. "Julian needs to stay out of this," she said shoving him aside.
"You know he won't stay out of it," Cash insisted with growing impatience.
"You know he's concerned about you."
Buffy placed her hands belligerently on her hips, "I have been fighting vampires since the age of fifteen. How dare he try to direct my life."
Cash rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Preaching to the choir here," he said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "You have to tell him that."
"I will do just that," Buffy said tersely. She open the metaphysical link between her and Julian. 'Julian,' she called.
Julian Luna was in his office conducting minor business with a Ventrue Kindred when he felt the probing of Buffy's intrusion in his mind. He paused in mid instruction.
"Prince Julian," the Kindred called. "Is something wrong?"
Julian shook his head absentmindedly, and focused on the man in front of him. "That is all Phillip," he said. "Let me know how everything works out."
"Yes, my prince," Phillip babbled, confused. Julian had been upbraiding him because of a mistake he had made earlier. A mistake that had cost the Ventrue thousands of dollars. Julian Luna was a ruthless man; he did not take mistakes lightly, but he just dismissed Phillip without a second glance. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Phillip rushed out of the room, shutting the door quickly behind him.
'Julian?' Buffy called though clenched teeth. 'Why is Cash at my crime scene?' She could see Julian sitting in a chair in his home office. Even after all of these years, talking to Julian like this was unnerving, but she was getting used to it.
Waves of anger slammed through the metaphysical link. Julian winced. 'Calm down Lissa, it's just a precaution.'
'Precaution? For what? How many times do I have to tell you that I can take care of myself?' she retorted.
'I know you can,' he said softly. 'You are my wife, my queen. I don't want anything to happen to you,' Julian said sighingHe was sitting in his chair, staring at an empty wall, his feet resting on the corner of his desk. If anyone chose that moment to enter his office, they would believe he was crazy talking to an obviously empty room. 'Darling, someone is out there killing mortals, and I cannot allow the masquerade to be broken. This is my city. I won't tolerate someone using my city as a killing field.'
The anger suddenly flowed out of Buffy. Why was she fighting Julian? She didn't mind the help she might get. And if this case was swiftly taken care of, then it would be much better. Her thoughts suddenly switched from the case to going home to cuddle with Julian. And with that thought in mind, she sent Julian several provocative images of what she wanted him to do to her and what she wanted to do to him.
On the other side of city, Julian Luna moaned as he found himself bombarded with erotic images. His trousers' front tightened. 'Darling, stop that,' he said with a groan.
Buffy giggled.
Victor and Cash looked at her askance.
Ignoring both men, Buffy continued to send Julian erotic images.
Julian shuddered. 'Lissa, you need a spanking. How dare you rile me up when you are not here to take care of it," Julian said with amusement in his voice.
'I've been bad; I need a spanking,' she admitted, giggling again. She could sense the frustration she had stirred up inside of him.
'Lissa!' he groaned, crossing his legs. 'Please stop! I sent Cash there to help; he will not get into your way. He's a resource, use him.'
'Mmm,' she said continuing to send waves of erotic thoughts towards him.
"Are you listening," he said, moaning aloud.
'Yes," she said with a sigh. 'Cash is here to help me; he's a resource. See,' she said, 'I heard you.'
'Good. I love you Lissa,' he said adjusting himself surreptitiously.
'I love you too,' she said and closed the link between them. She turned towards Cash, who was busy not staring at her. Buffy blushed. She knew that both Cash and Victor couldn't read her mind, but the shocking images she had sent Julian replayed in her mind, making her feel like a child caught stealing candy at a store. It made her feel exposed. "What do you know?" she asked, angry with herself for feeling embarrassed.
Cash looked at her for a second, noting the reddened cheeks. He smiled briefly. He had no idea what Julian and Buffy had talked about, but the flush on her cheeks told an interesting story. He wasn't much taller than Buffy, but as a Gangrel Kindred, he was tough and street smart. The play of muscles in his arms belied his wiry stature.
When he was embraced years ago by Stevie Ray, he had never thought that life as Kindred would be so challenging or rewarding. He was a punk playing at being a soldier in a war no one could win. Disillusioned, he made new friends with a different kind of warriors. Never once had he looked back. Kindred were his family now. But of course there were some family members he didn't acknowledge ever. After Stevie Ray's sudden death, Cash had to take over his job as lead bodyguard to Julian Luna, but over the years, he had become as indispensable as Stevie Ray.
"Not much," Cash said, with a grimace. He was Julian's lieutenant, and it was his job to find these killers that were terrorizing the city. With so many informants around the city, no one was saying anything. "I know that you found another victim. This is fifth one, correct?"
"Yeah," said Buffy, a cold knot forming in the pit of her stomach. "My spider sense is working over time. This is a bad one; I can feel it in the air."
"This new victim was killed by Kindred," Cash said, his voice a lifeless monotone. He didn't wear his emotions on his sleeves, but the idea of Kindred killing innocent people made him so mad. It wasn't just about the breaking of the traditions.
"Tell us something we don't know," Buffy said in disgust. She couldn't relax. It was as if her skin was on fire. Something about this place was making her itch. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"How about this," he said with a placatory gesture. "The word on the street is there's a new heavy in town and Julian asked me to check this out."
"What!" Buffy said taken aback. It was news to her. For the last couple of weeks, she had noticed that Julian was preoccupied, but she had chalked it up as business. She walked Cash a few feet away, giving them a measure of privacy. "Is it something we need to worry about," she asked concerned. "How about Julian? Is he worried?"
Cash hesitated for a second. He knew that Julian didn't talk Kindred business with Buffy because she was a Slayer. Some of the things Julian had to do as the Prince of the city were hidden from Buffy. But Cash suspected that Buffy knew and understood, because Buffy's Slayer essence was created from demons. He shrugged negligently. "He hasn't said anything, but you know Julian, he likes to play things close to the vest."
Buffy nodded, frowning slightly.
"Lissa," Cash said, resting a hand on her shoulders. "Please don't worry; Julian can handle it."
"Okay," Buffy said, managing a tremulous smile. She turned her face away from Cash as she fought to control her warring emotions. She knew that Julian hid stuff from her. A part of her understood that. He was a vampire and she was Slayer. But they were married; they should communicate, especially if someone new was threatening their happiness.
"Are you okay?" Victor asked quietly, walking over.
Buffy took another deep breath and nodded.
"So what we are going to do?" asked Victor. He sounded so matter-of-fact.
She had to stay focused, Buffy thought. She and Julian could work it out, when she reached home. "We are going to re-interview the roommate and check around the campus to see if anyone saw this mystery girlfriend. And Cash will continue to do whatever he was doing," she said.
"Yes, mon capitaine," Cash said with a mock salute as he walked over to his bike hidden in the trees.
Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed. "Victor? What was I saying before we got interrupted by Cash?"
"That you had smelled magic earlier," Victor said with a puzzled frown.
"Oh yes," Buffy said, her face grew pensive. "Maybe I can still trace the signature."
"How?" Victor demanded, one eyebrow raised quizzically.
Buffy sighed. "Come on," she said inviting him closer. "Close your eyes. What do you see?"
"I don't see anything," he said deprecatingly. "My eyes are closed," he said, opening them to look at her.
Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Buffy said, "Use your other senses."
"Yes, sensei," Victor said mockingly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, closing off his senses of hearing, taste, and touch until he focused on one thing: smell. "I smell the earth, the trees, blood, and death."
"No! No!" Buffy said grabbing him, frustration in her reach. "You are werewolf," she said, shaking the two hundred and sixty-five pound man, as if he were a rag doll. "You were born of magic. See with your mind's eye, smell with something besides your nose. See what I see," she said, her voice smooth, insistent.
Suddenly the mist cleared and it was as if Victor had been blind before, but now could see. Everything was vivid. He could even see the small fur and the skeletal veins of the leaves from where he stood.
"Now tell me what you see," Buffy demanded, watching Victor's face go blank while he focused.
Surprised, he said, "I see something that looks like dust particles."
"Yes," said Buffy excited. "That's magic!"
"Magic?" he asked doubtfully. He thought it should look different. "Well, if this is magic, then someone was using heavy magic today, right here."
Victor could hear a rasp of excitement in Buffy's voice as she continued to ask him questions, but her voice echoed as if coming from a long tunnel.
"Can you see which direction it's coming from?" she asked.
"No, not yet," he said, studying the particles around him. He closed his eyes tighter, blocking out extraneous noises as he meandered around the clearing, following an invisible line that only he could see. "The person stood here." All of sudden he stopped as if he crashed into a wall. "What the…?"
"What is it?" Buffy asked, quickly focusing her own inner eye.
"It's a wall," said Victor bewildered.
"Wall?" Buffy questioned. She reached out with her metaphysical sight and her hand brushed something... it was solid. Physically the wall wasn't there, but psychically, she could feel it, an obstacle. It kept them from going further.
"Yeah!" said Victor, alarm sounded in his voice.
"See if you can go around it," Buffy said anxiously.
He hesitated, but with a look of determination on his face, he marched up to the invisible structure. "No, I can't," he said, trying to feel his way around it. "It's too wide," he muttered. At the edge of the wall, the same scent he had smelled earlier began to affect him. The scent was growing stronger almost cloying. He choked, and he began coughing. "No," he cried out, as dizziness descended on him. He put out his hands to steady himself but touched an empty space. The walls were no longer there. He flayed his arms trying to maintain his balance as his eyes shot open. He was relieved. For the last ten to fifteen minutes, he had been psychically walking; although physically, he hadn't moved an inch. He was still standing a few inches from Buffy in the very same spot they were before.
"What was it?" Buffy asked concerned, seeing the panic on Victor's face.
"I don't know what it was," he said nervously. For the first time in years, he was uneasy. "It was the most cloying, sickly sweet smell. It was overpowering. Thick. Vaporous. It wrapped itself around me, choking me. It seemed like it had a life of its own." He shivered in remembrance.
Buffy touched him, reading his mind and seeing with her mind's eye whatever he had seen and smelled. She stiffened in shock. She knew what it was.
"It was almost like…," said Victor hesitating. He didn't want to appear foolish. He looked at Buffy, who watched him without any sort of recrimination or judgment, as he tried to identify the smell in terms of everyday life. He smacked his lips several times as if trying to remember the taste and feel of the smell. Suddenly a light bulb went off in his head. He finally remembered the smell. It was the smell of too many roses in a closed room. "Roses!" he shouted, happy that he at last found the answer.
Buffy heaved a sigh and closed her eyes as if to escape from the inerrable truth. There's only one thing she knows of that can be described like the scent of roses and that was 'evil.' "It's evil," she said calmly, not willing to show him that she was scared. But it showed on her face, just for a fleeting moment.
"Evil?" asked Victor askance. "I didn't know that evil has a scent."
"Have you heard of the term, 'it smells like evil'?" Buffy asked, grimacing.
"Yeah," said Victor, puzzled. "But I thought it was one of those useless sayings."
"Most sayings are grounded in truth, but whoever first coined that phrase in this instance wasn't kidding. The smell, it's very distinct," Buffy said, her face growing pensive.
"This is bad, isn't it?" he asked, noting the emotion on her face and the things she wasn't telling him.
That is an understatement, she muttered to herself. "Yeah, this is bad," she said aloud.