12
Dylan and Brandon had reached the edge of Sunnydale, driving past the parking lot of the local Doublemeat Palace franchise. Dylan was still behind the wheel of the convertible. The cell phone on his belt sounded. He pulled it out and looked at the screen.
He sounded puzzled. "It's from Kelly?
"I'll talk to her," said Brandon, "while you keep your eyes on the road."
"Right."
Dylan handed him the cell phone.
Brandon pressed the answer button and put the phone to his ear.
"Hi Kelly. It's Brandon."
"Good. With what I've got to say, I'm glad you're not the one who's driving."
"What is it Kell?
"Well, you see...Valerie's here, with me, in the Motel room."
He asked Dylan, "Do you want to pull over and stop for a moment?"
Dylan did as he asked.
When the car had stopped, Brandon told him, "Valerie's in the Motel room with Kelly."
"Valerie?"
"Yeah. She just happened to be staying in the room next to ours. They're adjoining rooms, and she came through the adjoining doors."
Dylan asked, "Does Kelly want us to come back?"
Brandon repeated the question to her.
"No. I'm safe with her now. She can't hurt me and I can't hurt her. She wants our help."
Brandon told Dylan, "Valerie wants our help."
Dylan sighed with exasperation. He reached over, and Brandon handed him the phone.
Then Dylan spoke into the device. "Put her on, Kelly."
He heard Valerie's voice. "Hi Dylan."
"What he hell do you mean you want our help? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go looking for help, from this 'Vampire Slayer', and send her after you?"
"If you send her after me, she'll be coming after Kelly too."
"Right. Okay, tell me. What do you want anyway?"
Dylan listened, then he looked over at Brandon.
"Valerie wants us to help keep her out of Hell."
Brandon beckoned and Dylan handed him the phone.
"Valerie listen carefully." Brandon told her, "If you want to stay out of Hell, then repent you sinner."
She told him, "That's what I've been telling myself, since I became undead."
"Then I suggest you take your own advice."
He handed the cell phone back to Dylan, who clicked it off.
Back in the motel room, Valerie handed the cell phone back to Kelly. Then she pointed at the plastic cooler.
"Have you got blood in there?"
Kelly nodded, "Pigs' blood in plastic containers, and cans that are said to contain the 'good stuff'."
"Are they the cans that were in the fridge in my office?"
"Yes. Unfortunately we had to break the lock off with a hammer to get to them. We'll pay you for a new one."
"That's okay. Just one thing, Kelly." Valerie told her, "The cans are mine. I'd like to have them back."
"Go ahead Val." Kelly told her, "I've got enough for myself."
Valerie went over to the cooler, lifted the lid, and saw a half dozen plastic containers filled with red liquid, and one six pack of 12 ounce cans, all lying in a pile of ice cubes, taken from the ice machine in the After/Dark. She reached in and removed the six pack.
Then she said, "There's a microwave oven in my room. After I've warmed up the contents, how'd you like to share some of the good stuff with me?"
"Valerie." Kelly told her, "Just go back into your room and stay there."
"If I stay in my room Kelly, I won't be able to show you my copy of the Vampire's Handbook."
"You have a copy?"
"That's right. It contains everything that all new vampires, like the two of us should know. It's been very helpful to me, and it might be even more of a help to you."
"Even more? In what way?"
"Well for one thing, you'll learn that the subtitle is right. Being a vampire doesn't have to suck. You want to be ready for both Brandon and Dylan, when they return, don't you?"
"Right." Kelly smiled. "Valerie, will you please let me take a look at your copy of the Vampire's Handbook?"
"Right away." Valerie said, "Kelly, I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
"So do I. There's just one thing that I'm wondering about."
"And what's that?"
"Does Egbert has a friend, so you and I can make your next encounter with him a double date."
Out on the road, Dylan and Brandon had resumed driving into Sunnydale.
Brandon asked, "So do you really want to go looking for this Vampire Slayer?"
"Not 'til after we've found the Orb of Thessella and restored Kelly's soul, and then taken Kelly as far from this Sunnydale as we can get. As for Valerie, she's on her own."
"Good enough."
They drove on further, and were soon moving along Main Street, passing the Sun Cinema, and a nightclub called the Bronze. They went a short distance further, along the next block, where they spotted a small shop with a sign above the door identifying the establishment as the "Magic Box." They parked, got out of the car and entered the shop. A bell above the door jingled.
They'd entered a softly lit establishment consisting of shelves displaying all types of magical paraphernalia, along with ghoulish looking items, such as replicas of skulls, dismembered eyeballs, and other parts of human and non-human anatomies. There were big hairy spider replicas, occultic items, and things that neither Brandon nor Dylan were able to identify. There were also many books about magic, the occult and "Books of Forbidden Knowledge" for anybody to purchase.
Dylan spoke with disdain. "These are just toys Brandon. It's all fake. We're not gonna find what we're looking for in here."
A woman's spoke, "I wouldn't be that quick to dismiss every item we have in stock sir!"
The woman who spoke, stood behind the counter, beside the cash register. She had a trim figure and long brown hair, was in her early twenties, and wore a modest blue business outfit. She stepped around the counter and walked up to the two young guys from Beverly Hills. A nametag clipped on her vest identified her as "Anya".
Anya spoke firmly. "You gentlemen would be surprised to see, just how genuine and just how powerful, many of the items that we have in stock are."
Brandon told her, "We aren't looking for many items. Just one."
Dylan asked, "You wouldn't just happen to have a 'genuine' and 'powerful' Orb of Thessella in stock, would you?"
Anya's expression changed. She cast an uneasy glance toward the rear of the sales floor, where a large round table stood. Two women around her age were seated at the table, going through some old books. When Dylan spoke the words "Orb of Thessella" they both looked up and turned their attention toward him and Brandon.
Anya sighed. "That may be just too powerful for either of you to deal with. Its misuse has been known to lead to more irreversible harm than anyone could possibly imagine. Unless you know exactly what you're doing, I cannot, in good conscience, sell it to either of you gentlemen."
"We don't want to misuse it," Brandon said, "'Anya'. We wish above all else, that we didn't have any need to use it at all, but a woman who we both care for very deeply, is in need of its use."
The two women who'd been seated at the table had gotten up and come over to them. One was blonde and the other had red hair.
"So." The blonde woman spoke with a smirking tone in her voice. "A woman who you both care for very deeply has been vamped, and you want to restore her soul, huh?"
Dylan spoke with annoyance. "You think that's funny?"
"No. I'm just cynical. It comes with the job."
"Oh? And just what job is that Miss...Miss?"
She smiled, "That's Miss Buffy Summers, also known around these parts as 'The Vampire Slayer'."
Both guys from Beverly Hills looked at each other.
Brandon said, "Forget it Dylan! We're out of here! Now!"
He began to move toward the door. Buffy moved quickly, blocking his way.
"Get out of our way!" Dylan demanded, "We're not telling you who she is or where she is; and you'd better not try to follow us."
"A vampire with a soul," Buffy told them "isn't any less dangerous, than a vampire without one."
Brandon said, "She's only been drinking pigs' blood. So far she hasn't harmed anyone."
"That's so far, but eventually the temptation's going to become too great."
Now the red head spoke. "Maybe not Buffy. If her soul's restored, it might make her stronger. Let's give her a chance."
"A chance? To bite one of these guys, who care about her so much?"
"Not just them Buff. How about giving me a chance too?" She sounded miffed, "You don't have to be the whole show all the time, you know."
Buffy looked embarrassed at her words.
"Sorry Willow." The Slayer told her, "If you want to give it a shot, go ahead."
Brandon asked to other woman, "You're giving it a shot?"
"That's right." The red head smiled, "Hi. I'm Willow Rosenberg. Resident Witch."
Dylan repeated skeptically, "Witch?"
"That's right. If you want to restore the soul of the woman who you both love, you're gonna be needing someone with magical powers to speak the incantation. Without it," she shook her head; "The Orb of Thessella is just a globe of solid glass. But with me, in spite of what my best friend in all the world, Buffy here said, you'll both be a lot safer with the woman who you both love."