Chapter Fourteen: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire
Two days later, they were completely out of the mountains. They had reached a land of rocky hills checkered with holly trees. Arwen recognized it as Hollin.
"The way is rougher from here to Imladris, for there is no sure trail to follow. It is a safer route, though, for few know the way," she told them as they unpacked for the night on the lee-side of a hill.
"I'm just psyched to be away from the evil mountains," Buffy said. "Less opportunities for falling long distances."
"I agree," said Arwen, smiling.
"Hey," Willow protested as she lit the fire. "That evil mountain saved me."
"What's this riff?" Buffy asked.
"I think Caradhras stopped us from falling all the way to the bottom of that cliff."
"How do you know he's not the reason you fell?" Buffy asked.
"I fell cuz I stood up too fast and lost my balance." They looked at each other, suddenly remembering the exact circumstances of that moment, and both young women blushed.
"Fine," Buffy said nervously. "You thank Kibbles 'n' Bits, and I'll thank the nice tree that caught you." She turned away to see Arwen smirking at them both. She lay down on her bedding and closed her eyes. This thing with Willow, the blushing and the taunting, was new. She'd caught Arwen smiling knowingly at them several times, the way you look at people when they're…she froze. When they're flirting. It was a while before she fell asleep.
Buffy woke up several hours later, feeling uneasy. She sat up quickly and took in her surroundings. Their fire had burned down low and Willow was slumped beside it, breathing softly. Arwen was still asleep on her bedding, eerie elven eyes open. Not sure what had caused her to wake up, Buffy padded softly over to Willow and sat down beside the snoozing redhead. Tentatively, she reached out a finger and gently brushed it against Willow's cheek. Her skin was soft and pale. "Wil," she called gently. Willow jerked awake in response and stared at Buffy, confused. Buffy smiled at her. "Why don't you go lay down?"
Willow's eyes cleared. "Oh, crap. I fell asleep. Sorry."
"No worries, it's gotta be close to my turn anyway."
"What woke you?" Willow asked curiously, and noted that the slayer's face clouded over.
"Not sure. Just a feeling." She peered out into darkness that seemed to hem them in. Willow drank some water to wake herself up, and remained sitting with Buffy beside the fire. "It's probably nothing, Wil. You can sleep."
Willow sighed. "Buff, in all the long years I've known you, you've NEVER been wrong about these things."
"I was hoping this would be a first, but it's getting stronger now."
Willow forced herself to remain calm as her eyes strained anxiously to see some sign of what was out there, lurking. "Well, we'd better break out the weapons and wake up Arwen, then."
"I am already awake," her voice called from behind them. She came to join them with her bow and a quiver of arrows in hand.
"Can you tell what it is?" Buffy asked as she picked up her sword. Willow already had her weapons belt on, so Buffy quickly grabbed hers from beside her sleeping bag and buckled it tightly around her waist.
"I cannot tell," replied Arwen tensely. "I sense it all around us, waiting. For what I do not know."
"I think you're right," Buffy replied. "That means it's a smart nasty, so it's probably waiting for a signal to attack." She thought quickly. "Wil, if we make a ring of fire around us, can you control it?"
"Yeah, I can control magickal fire even easier than regular fire, cuz I designed it. But to make a ring will use up a lot of powder. I don't think we'll have enough to get all the way to Imladris."
"That's a risk we'll have to take. They're getting closer, and I sense a lot of them."
"She is right," Arwen agreed.
"OK, here's the plan," Buffy's voice became commanding, the voice of the slayer, and Arwen looked at her, surprised. The young woman stood rigidly before them now, and her stature seemed to grow as her instincts took over. Her eyes flashed, and Arwen could see for the first time what a formidable creature this was. It was more than just super strength and healing. This was a tiny warrior goddess. She forced herself to concentrate as Buffy finished speaking. "So everyone knows what they're supposed to do. If things get hairy, I'll take care of it. Wil, have you got any back up mojo to protect yourself with?"
"Yeah. I've got a few things up my sleeve."
"Good. Arwen, don't be a martyr. Yell if you need help."
Arwen smiled and turned to Willow as she began making a powder ring with a seven foot radius around them. "So this is the Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
"Yep, accept no substitutes," Willow replied.
"I like her."
They quickly finished carrying out Buffy's instructions and then stood in the center of the ring, bows (and crossbows) ready. The evil presence was getting closer and Willow could now sense it. After waiting for several interminably long moments, she tried to calm herself by mentally filing through her magickal repertoire. Though fear no longer instantly called up the dark magick from within, the knowledge was still there that she could access it. This was the first real test of all that she'd worked for over the past year.
Buffy turned to her, as though hearing her thoughts. "Wil, don't let fear guide you. If you can't access your new mojo, don't call out Black Veiny Willow. It's not worth it. I'll protect you." Willow smiled at her gratefully.
"As will I," added Arwen. "I may be a she-elf, but I can wield a weapon."
At that moment, a ring of flame-colored eyes appeared in the night around them. Buffy quickly counted fifteen nasties. As they drew closer, their shapes became more apparent. They looked like wolves, only larger than any she'd ever seen. And their shining eyes marked them as evil. They growled lowly to each other, and it seemed as though they were having a conversation.
"Is it just me or are they talking?" Buffy asked, disquieted.
"WARGS!" Arwen exclaimed fearfully. "These must be wargs."
"Anything special we should know?"
"Just that they are clever and deadly," the elf replied.
"There are fifteen," Buffy said. "Keep track of them. And aim for their heads. They can probably take a body shot and keep on coming."
At that moment, the wargs howled in unison, forming a wall of screeching wails obviously meant to stoke their fear. It worked. The wargs edged closer as a pack, and as soon as they were within range Buffy yelled, "Fire!" Arwen and Buffy each caught a warg between the eyes and Willow got one in the throat. They fell, and the rest of the wargs charged as one straight for them. They continued shooting and two more fell. "Remember to save half your arrows and bolts!" Buffy shouted. They stilled and waited back to back for the remaining wargs to close in, pulling out their swords and daggers. When the creatures began to cross the ring, Buffy cried, "Willow NOW!" The witch commanded the powder to blaze into a raging ring of fire around them. Five wargs were caught directly in the flames and burned. Three others were singed but managed to back off quickly enough to save themselves. Two made it inside the ring. Buffy ran forward to meet them.
"You OK, Buff?" she heard Willow yell.
"Yeah, I got this. Try to stop the ones outside from getting away." She turned her attention to the wargs. They moved to opposite sides to divide her attention, and she spun around warily with her sword out in front. She slashed half-heartedly at them and pretended to be caught in their trap. Forcing herself to appear as helpless as possible, she waited for their attack. Finally, they lunged toward her as one, and she leaped, somersaulting into the air at the last possible second. She landed by the left flank of one of the wargs and quickly decapitated it while it was momentarily off guard. "Heads up," she quipped.
The second one warily maintained its distance after seeing the fate of its companion. Buffy, frustrated, ran directly at it, and thrust out her sword. As predicted, it growled and leaped, aiming to get over the sword and tackle her. She quickly retracted her weapon, spun around to gain momentum, and kicked high, her foot connecting with its jaw. It fell, slightly stunned, and she ran it through with her sword before it could rise again. She jerked her head up, looking around sharply as she felt eyes boring into her skull. There was nothing there.
Meanwhile, Arwen with her bow and Willow with her crossbow had managed to pick off the remaining three and were standing at the edge of the circle, looking out at the fallen wargs. Buffy came up beside them, wiping black warg goop off her sword and grimacing.
"Good work, gang," she complimented, looking at the pile of bodies.
"Your fighting skills are amazing," Arwen said.
"And you're a great shot," Buffy replied, smiling. "Where did you learn to use a bow so well?"
Willow let out a shriek, interrupting them both. Buffy spun around just in time to see an enormous, dark shape sailing over the flames. Willow instinctively commanded the fire to extinguish so they weren't trapped in the ring. It wasn't a warg, that much was obvious. It looked a bit like a panther only it was gigantic, around six feet tall and nine feet long. Its body was true black, the absence of light, and reflected nothing. Its eyes were glowing and feline and its tail was whipcord strong. Stalking toward them, it suddenly paused, as if taking their measure. Buffy could see a keen intelligence in its gaze. It snarled and they quivered in fear. The beast's fang teeth were a foot long and curled over the bottom jaw like a saber-toothed tiger's. Willow began to chant quietly, but to their shock, they heard its voice inside their heads.
"You cannot stop me with magick, sorceress," it hissed. Arwen reached for her bow, but it charged before she got a chance to aim. Buffy leapt forward to fight it, trying to stay a safe distance from her friends. She still held her sword in her right arm, and she pulled out her dagger with her left as they faced off.
"Nice kitty," she muttered. It merely watched her and waited for her to make a move. Suddenly, she remembered that feeling of being watched while she'd fought the wargs. This foe had wanted to learn her patterns. She decided to test that theory. Clutching her weapons to her chest, she ran at the beast. Just before she got there she hunched down, preparing to spring over the top of it and attack it from behind. As she'd hoped, it read her movements and leapt up into the air to intercept her. She froze in her crouch as it jumped and then stabbed upwards into its stomach with her sword, using its trajectory to slam it into the ground.
It rolled over, growling, and stood. As it lunged wrathfully at her, she threw herself to the left and rolled. Coming out of her roll, she spun and slashed at its hind leg with her sword. It turned swiftly and dove at her, but it was too late to block the attack and she felt its jaws sink into her upper arm. She dropped her sword and shrieked. Giving in to the beast's momentum, they rolled on the ground together, and, gritting her teeth, Buffy gripped her dagger and stabbed it in the eye. It screeched in pain and anger and batted her body several yards with a massive forepaw. Buffy groaned as she pushed herself up. To her dismay, the beast was loping towards the elf and the witch.
Arwen managed to get a shot off, and it struck the beast in the chest. It growled angrily and prepared to attack them. Buffy grabbed the stake she kept in her weapons belt and threw it as hard as she could. It whipped through the air and impaled the beast in its right hindquarters. Snarling, it turned and came at her again. She only had her dagger now. Its good eye blazed with malice.
"You cannot kill me, girl," it whispered in her head. Sharp pain passed through her wound as it spoke. Her heart seemed to seize in fear as the whispering continued. The beast was wrapping a spell around her with its words. She felt her will threatening to crumble.
"No fair, cheating," she complained. Deciding to play along, she continued to back off as it approached, and then stumbled and fell. It lunged instantly with a single great bound to land on top of her. Lying on her back, she poised her arms and legs above her body, let them bend with the weight of the beast, and then thrust upward with all her strength so its momentum carried it over her head. She sprang up instantly, turned, and landed a powerful kick to the side of its jaw.
Advancing, not wanting to let it regain its equilibrium, she forgot about its powerful tail. She paid for this oversight as it struck her brutally in the ribs and her body flew through the air. Her only piece of luck, as she lay momentarily stunned, was that the beast had completely forgotten about the witch and the elf. That is, until they tried to be helpful by unleashing a storm of arrows at it. Several hit their mark, but once again, this only seemed to anger it further. As Buffy struggled to stand, she saw it turn and begin stalking her friends again. They ran out of arrows and the beast smiled hideously as they pulled out their swords.
Fear and anger goading her on, Buffy growled like an animal and launched herself after it, leaping onto its back. It thrashed around trying to buck her off, and she dug in her heels and sank her nails into its flesh. The tail lashed out at her, so she turned quickly and sliced it off at the base with her dagger. She knew she couldn't hold on for long, so she cried out "SWORD!" Arwen immediately threw hers at Buffy and was relieved when the slayer plucked it out of the air. Jumping to her feet on the great beast's back, she knew she only had seconds and she had to make them good. She held the sword in both hands and with all her might swung it in an arc at the creature's neck. Her aim was true, and even as the beast reached around to snap at her, its head separated from its body with a loud smacking sound. Buffy curled her body into a roll as she hit the ground, and landed next to the severed head.
Exhausted, she stuck her tongue out at the head. "Loser." Her clothes were torn and she was covered in blood; some red, some black. She glared at the night around her. "Any other nasties on a suicide mission that wanna tango with Buffy?" she called, daring someone to step up.