The girl looked from Buffy around at the others until her eyes locked with Angel's. She gave a little gasp and her eyes widened. "Father?" she whispered. She took a step forward.
"Are you my father?" she asked in a louder voice.
Angel nodded. "Caddie," he forced from a closed throat and numbed lips. "Oh God, Caddie."
She took another step, and then another until she was standing in front of him. He could smell her, clean and fresh, like sunshine and rosemary. Then she wrapped her arms around his waist in a gentle, hesitant hug. She felt fragile in his embrace, a precious thing to be protected at all costs.
After a moment, Caddie pulled away and retreated to Micah's side. The taller girl put her arm possessively around Caddie's shoulders. "They are going to take us away?" Caddie asked Buffy.
"Yes. We're going back where we belong," Buffy replied.
"Not me," Micah said, her expression unreadable.
"You belong with us, Mic," Buffy said firmly. "I promised I wouldn't leave you behind, remember?"
"Well, since we're all here, let's get the heck out of Dodge," Doyle suggested. Buffy nodded in agreement.
"Will the portal still be open?" she asked.
"Willow said they'd keep it open as long as they could," Angel said, heading for the door. He poked his head out and gestured to the others. "We're clear. Let's get out of here before anyone notices we're gone."
"That will be easy," Micah said. "Unless we are being tutored, we are ignored."
"Tutored in what?" Oz asked.
"How to kill," Micah replied, brushing past Angel into the hallway.
Buffy grimaced. "Micah is already an accomplished assassin and she's only fourteen," she told the others. "It's a Fey thing."
"Mother, why do we have to go?" Caddie whispered, hovering at Buffy's side. Buffy knelt to look her daughter in the face.
"Honey, you remember what I told you? How they're going to use you to do bad things?"
Caddie nodded. "But I'm frightened. I don't want to go."
Buffy reached up and tried to caress the girl's cheek, but her fingers passed through Caddie's face. "You just have to trust me, okay, sweetie?"
"Someone's coming," Oz suddenly hissed, morphing into partial-wolf mode on instinct. Sure enough, a livery-clad demon rounded the corner and ground to a halt at the sight of the intruders. The demon blinked in surprise and opened its mouth to yell, but Oz got there first. He bounded across the distance separating them and slashed his claws across the demon's throat. Blood sprayed across the front of Oz's shirt as the demon crumpled to the ground.
Angel helped Oz conceal the body. When they returned to the others, Micah was watching them with morbid approval and Caddie shrank against her foster sister's side, looking ill.
"This way," Buffy said, gesturing.
"You aren't human, are you?" Caddie asked suddenly, staring up at Doyle. He smiled down at the tiny child.
"Not completely," he told her. "Just on my mother's side. Does that bother you?"
"No," she replied, shaking her head. "It just makes you smell funny."
"We're almost there," Buffy said over her shoulder. The door in front of her was slammed open, passing right through her, and three large, imposing demons crashed through.
"Micah!" Buffy yelled. "Get Caddie!"
The Fey child sprang into action, grabbing the younger girl into her arms and dodging through the struggle through the door. She deposited her foster sister in a corner. "Stay here," she instructed, and unsheathed her knife.
She hovered at the edge of the fray, observing the rhythms of the battle. The werewolf and the Father both held their own, but the half-demon seemed to be struggling with his opponent. Micah hefted her knife and darted in. Her target sensed her coming and backhanded her, knocking the slim girl off her feet.
"Micah, stay out of this," Buffy said, appearing next to her. "You'll get hurt."
"But I can help, Mother!" she insisted. Buffy shook her head.
"Protect your sister," Buffy ordered. Micah nodded and retreated through the door. Caddie hid her face in her hands. She hated the sight of blood. The werewolf slammed his opponent against the wall, pinning its arms at its side. Then he buried his teeth in the creature's jugular, ripping its throat out in a spray of dark blood. The Father snapped his enemy's neck cleanly, and the half-demon managed to choke the last demon to death.
"Anything else coming?" Doyle asked, panting. Both Angel and Oz sniffed the air.
"I can't smell anything except blood," Angel complained. Oz, still wolfed out, turned his head to one side and spat to clear his mouth.
"Sorry," he offered.
They stepped through the door and went to the waiting girls. Caddie stared at Oz in horror and shrank away. Then her nostrils widened and the blood drained from her face. She retched so hard she began to cry. Micah patted the other girl's back while Buffy hovered, visibly irritated she couldn't comfort Caddie more.
"It's the smell of blood," she explained. "It makes her sick."
"Sorry," Oz muttered again, hurrying to get downwind.
"Someone had to have heard that," Doyle said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Let's get a move on before anyone comes to investigate."
Caddie tried to get to her feet but wobbled dangerously. Angel reached out on instinct to steady her. He hesitated, and then asked, "May I carry you?" She looked up at him with brown eyes identical to his own and nodded timidly. He scooped her gently up and she wrapped her slender arms around his neck. Tears started in his eyes when he realized that the last time he had held his daughter, she had been an infant.
Buffy hesitated when they reached the service door. "This is too easy," she said. "Something feels wrong."
"Well, we're not sticking around to figure it out," Doyle said firmly, pushing the door open. "Oh, crap."
Standing right outside the door was the biggest, ugliest demon Buffy had seen in years. It had knobbly, gray-green skin and orange eyes under prominent brow-ridges. Great, curling ram's horns framed the sides of its face, and spikes protruded from its chin and shoulders.
"I do not allow trespassers in my home," it boomed, glaring at them. "Release the children and I will allow your deaths to be merciful."
"Fuck you, Parhon," Buffy spat, quivering with rage. "You've held my daughters captive long enough."
"I agree with the woman," Oz said cheerfully, and lunged for the demon's throat. It moved aside with blinding speed, and Oz skidded to a halt several feet away. Angel shoved Caddie into Doyle's arms and struck out at the demon. It blocked him easily and brushed him aside. He landed hard on his back and rolled to his feet.
"Father! Catch!" Angel snatched the knife Micah threw him and face off against the demon. Oz circled the other side. The demon surveyed them with disdain. Oz and Angel attacked at the same time. Parhon managed to deflect most of their blows, but when they pulled away, the demon was bleeding from several places. So were Angel and Oz.
Caddie suddenly began to struggle. "Put me down, I can do this," she said urgently. Doyle, confused, nevertheless did as she asked. She set her feet widely and lifted her hands, chewing on her lower lip. "I can do this, I can do this," she chanted. Her face grew still with intense concentration and then her hands began to glow.
It started with the fingertips and spread to her palms, flickering and guttering like a candle in the wind. Then a thin stream of light like sunshine burst from her hands and struck Parhon straight in the eyes. The demon bellowed and threw up his hand to block the light, but it had already sputtered out.
Angel didn't hesitate. He leapt forward, the knife swinging in a deadly arc. He buried it in the side of Parhon's neck and twisted to open the wound. The demon gurgled horribly and fell to its knees. Then it collapsed, its blood spilling out on the rock.
"Oh," Caddie squeaked, and fainted dead away. Doyle scooped the girl back up. Micah sidled up to Angel and looked up at him admiringly.
"That was well done," she said. He wiped the knife clean and handed it back to her.
"Thanks for the help."
"Let's go!" Buffy urged. "The portal, it's not far away!"
They took off at a run, Buffy leading. Micah surprised Angel by easily keeping up with them, moving with a graceful lope that closely resembled Oz's. The portal was right where they had left it, a shining silver disk humming with energy. Micah hesitated at the sight of it.
"Micah, it's going to be okay," Buffy assured her, guessing the source of the child's unease. "I promise we'll take care of you. I love you. Please trust me."
Micah hesitated a moment longer and then nodded. "I do," she said, and plunged through, Angel right behind her. Doyle fell against Angel, knocking him to the cement floor. He barely managed to catch Micah before she was crushed under their weight and then Oz landed on top of them, smearing blood onto their clothes.
Willow gasped in surprise as the portal snapped shut and Dawn slumped to the ground, breathing heavily. "Oh my Goddess," Willow exclaimed.
Cordy was much more efficient. "Doyle!" she called. "What happened? Are you okay? Did you get her back?"
Micah leapt to her feet, her knife in one hand. "What is this place?" she demanded. "Who are you? Where is Mother?"
Angel cradled Caddie in his lap. His head snapped up at Micah's question. "Where's Buffy?" he asked sharply. Everyone froze and looked around. Buffy was nowhere to be seen.