Willow blinked, shoving her fist out away from her face, a snaggle of red hair ripping off her sweaty brow. She sat up forcibly, scattering manuscripts and photocopied book pages. Giles' desk loomed before her, carefully imprinted with the curve of her face in a foggy smear upon the wood. Across the room, a small mantle clock quietly chimed, defining the time of day as half past eight. Behind her, a soft clatter of teacups echoed.
"Yes, I fell asleep at the grindstone as well. Would you like some tea?"
"What do we have so far?" Willow stammered, gathering the pages she'd dropped and glancing at Giles' notes on a small yellow steno pad. His scrawl was impossible to read.
"Not much, I'm afraid. But I believe I have found a spell that should assist us in ridding Buffy of the demon. The only problem is, how do we contain the thing, and how do we convince Buffy that she's in danger?"
"Can't we just set up the candles and light them while she's asleep?"
"Won't Buffy be suspicious of the irregular sleep over?"
"She sleeps like a log nowadays. I think it's the Eros demon. It's draining any ability she might have had to wake up at a moment's notice. She can't even wake up after I yell at her and throw sock balls."
"Sock…balls?"
"I was desperate!" Willow frowned sheepishly. "Okay, so first stop, Magic Box."
"I suppose we'd best make a list."
Xander frowned as he flipped through the pages of a thick city directory, landing at last on the four or five pages of Chinese takeout, Mexican takeout, and pizza. He skimmed over the listing, landing at last on a bolded phone number. The keys on the phone whined in a pathetically mediocre way.
"I dunno, Will. It just doesn't feel like pizza night without Buffy complaining about the lack of pepperoni on her slice."
"Xander! Buffy hasn't been eating-what with the dreams and all? She just sleeps all the time! We have to eat, prepare the ingredients, and then get over to the dormitories. I don't want that…that thing messing with Buffy anymore! If we don't hurry, she could be drained completely!"
"Are you sure she's dreaming about Angel? I mean, what if her perfect man is…I dunno…well what if it's…?"
"Ew, Xander! I thought you were over that crush."
"A single man needs prospects, Will. What am I going to stay up all night…um…obsessing about…if not the fine frenzy that is Buffy Summers?"
"What about Anya?"
"I'm…uh…just keeping my options open!"
"Just order the pizza, will you? And no anchovies! I am not kidding this time!"
Willow frowned at the collection of magical ingredients laid out on the coffee table in Xander's basement. Along with three smoky black candles inscribed with runes, there were pinches of sage and mandrake, vials of clove oil and musk, and a jar of sliced cow tongue swimming in formaldehyde. Tapping her fingernails on the coffee table, Willow stared at the spell book, blinking.
"Is that…a tongue?"
"What?"
"A tongue, Will. Yanno, I'll never understand what you see in all this magic mumbo jumbo. It's…ugh. I could almost lose my appetite."
"You could never lose your appetite, Xander."
"Well, I said almost didn't I?" Xander grinned, shoving another piece of pizza into his mouth. "Are we about ready?"
"Yes, I think so. Giles said he'd meet us at the dorms. I just hope we're not too late. I don't think Buffy can't take another night of these dreams."
"Promise you won't leave me again," Buffy murmured, tucking herself further into Angel's strong arms, his bare skin cool against her steaming flesh. Beside her, he smiled, brushing his fingers through her hair, twirling the tender blond locks.
"I won't leave you again, Buffy. I was foolish to go in the first place. We belong together."
"And the curse…it's gone forever?"
"Forever, my love. We're safe as long as we're together."
"It's too good to be true…" Buffy murmured, pressing her lips gently against his cheek, brushing her fingertips over the heavyset ridge of his brow. She traced his temple with the side of her thumb, lightly tickling the pale skin. A smile drifted across his lips, and his eyes lifted to take in the glow that filled her eyes and cheeks. His name trickled from her lips, a quiet whisper on her tongue. His hands slid around her shoulders, pulling her down into the sheets, tossing her mane around her shoulders. She murmured with pleasure as he pressed one knee on either side of her hips, bending his head to place determined kisses upon her lips and neck, nuzzling the steadily blushing skin.
"It'll kill her when we take them away from her, Will," Xander frowned, wrapping his hand around the door knob, looking back over his shoulder.
"It'll kill her if we don't," Giles reminded them, double-checking that the book of matches in his coat pocket was still there.
"Maybe we'll get lucky and she won't remember them…" Willow frowned, only slightly hopeful.
"Come on, there isn't much time left." Giles urged them, pushing Xander and Willow through the darkened entrance. "If we don't rid her of the demon soon, it will suck her dry and kill her."
"I love you," Buffy murmured between kisses, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, her thighs clutching his hips as she shivered beneath him. He had been the only man in her life to weaken her, the only one to show her a strength nearly as formidable as her own. That power, mixed with the love he showered her in, was intoxicating.
"I'll never stop loving you, Buffy. In two-hundred fifty years, you're the only woman I have ever loved."
"Promise?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
It was true that she had nothing to compare his intimacy to, and yet, there could be no man on Earth that could provide more passion, more love, than what existed between them. Inside her, he was a perfect fit, and pleasure throttled through her thighs, sending veins of shivers through her flesh. Her hips rocked against the mattress beneath them. Her lips swelled with fits of vocal pleasure. Her toes curled and she collapsed into fits of passion, throwing back her head to expose her neck to his kisses.
"When I motion to you, light the candles. The demon won't sense our presence until the incantation is spoken and the candles are lit. Willow, hand me that cauldron." Giles frowned, opening the spell book and placing his candle on the bedside table.
"She looks so…well, I don't think peaceful is the right word." Xander whispered, kneeling at the foot of the bed.
"We don't have much time, Giles! She looks so drawn…pale…" Willow whimpered, tossing the small copper bowl to Giles. She placed the third candle on a second bedside table, and dug the ingredients out of her book bag.
"It's the Eros demon. It's sucking her dry."
"Hurry, we have to read the incantation!"
"Get ready to light your wicks. L'eros is eram valde tardus thoughtful procul psyche un a voluntas quis vires inscribo paciscor servus caecus all'attesa a mos tamen quantus est ut vos quondam quondam visum ipsa pars , monstrum avvertente quantus est ut quis does subsisto procul balanus quis quantus est ut vos have dopey per. Is psyche , tametsi utriusque commodo per ipsa maritus , utriusque a Donna utriusque per ut is est venuto a curator quasi insatiate. Light them! Light them now!"
"Angel? What's going on?" Buffy leaned up on her elbows, looking into the smoldering eyes of her beloved vampire lover, his soft brown irises ablaze.
"No! No!" Angel growled, tearing away from the Slayer mid-thrust, his hands lashing against her shoulders. Buffy tore away, yelping in pain as great gashes sliced through her milky white flesh, digging down into the muscle beneath.
"What is it? Angel? Tell me what's wrong!"
"Xander! It's working!" Willow hissed, reaching out to wrap her hands around Buffy's wrist as she writhed upon the wrinkled sheets, thrashing.
"Denique , unus nox noctis Eros dormio ut usitas , tamen Psyche subsisto suscitatio. Cepit oil luminarium quod lit is vultus onto suus visio. Statim is agnosco suus deus quod animadverto quis iens. Is eram repletus quondam iterum per diligo quod contricio quod cultus , denique gnarus quisnam suus maritus eram. Tamen in suus offensus suus manuum palpito quod is nonnullus oil suus diligo." Giles continued, getting to his feet, holding the book out ahead of him. Beneath him, Buffy screamed, pulling at some unseen force, waving her arms, her hands drawn into tight, white-knuckled fists.
"Don't leave me! Please! Don't leave me again!" Buffy wailed, sitting up suddenly, throwing back Willow's hands.
"Buffy!" Xander gasped, watching her bolt upright through the glimmer of candle flames.
"What…what's going on?"
Buffy stared at the phone, pulling her blankets up around her shoulders. Three days later, the color was still returning to her cheeks, the sunken appearance of her eyes still noticeable in the mirror on the closet door. A cold had settled in on her weakened body, leaving her sniffling and sneezing, sore and tired. The image of the demon's touch lingered in her thoughts, tainting every memory of her time spent with Angel. At last, she picked up the phone and pressed it to her ear, punching in the Los Angeles area code.
"Angel Investigations, we help the…oh, hi."