Chapter 13
One thing is for sure. I don't think either Ethan or Eyghon are going to want to give up any of the power Ama actually has. I don't know what deal Ethan made with our local wolves but I bet it's totally different than the deal he made with Eowain. And why do all our deadly enemies have E names? Is it E for Evil? "I feel like I keep asking this question and the answer keeps changing. But. How do we stop this from happening?" No one says a word so I pin Oz and Willow with a stare. "Well?" Willow jumps a little at that but looks nervously at Oz so I face him fully, expecting an answer.
"What's happening to Ama can't be undone. There is no magic reversal here." I don't want to hear that. Truthfully I don't think Faith does either. She puts her hand down hard on the table making it shudder under the impact. It thankfully doesn't break. You just don't know how many tables she destroys that way. She jerks her thumb in Willow's direction.
"You tellin' me that this one has the power of all magic an' she can't reverse this?" Will opens her mouth to respond but Oz leans forward to push off the wall. Really on any one else the movement wouldn't mean anything but it's Oz and everything he does is deliberate. All of Faith's attention goes to him and he slides his hands out of his pockets before he sits on the edge of the table directly in front of her.
"I would make it different if I could, Faith. We both would." I'm not sure but I think they're doing some wolf staring contest thing. It's almost like Oz is trying to will Faith to calmness with just a look. It's not working and she leans further forward, her voice tightly controlled.
"Try. Harder." The barely contained growl is my cue to slip between them, forcing Faith to recline back as I settle on her lap. I'm careful of her hurt shoulder even if a part of me wants to touch it to see if it hurts. Logically I know that touching it would in fact hurt but that doesn't stop the illogical demon part from wanting to do it anyway. Just to see. Kadee makes room for Willow on the couch across from us but she looks uncomfortable with what's happening right now. I focus in on her and raise my brows.
"Why isn't Giles here himself?" I mean if he's going to give me an apology he really should be the one to say it and not his newest slayer flunky.
"He wasn't sure you'd listen after what he did the last time. Truthfully I wasn't too sure you'd listen to me either. I thought maybe if I became familiar first, maybe…" She trails off and shakes her head like she doesn't know what else to say. She thought that by lying to us first we'd be more likely to trust her? Well that's some bass-akward logic if I ever heard it. And don't think I've forgotten that she was purposely flirting with Faith. In front of my face even. "Look, I know you don't trust me, but I am here to help. Maybe I don't get all this…." She gestures at us, then the House and sighs. "But I know that if you guys go down now, the world in general is in deep shit. The balance between good and evil is resting firmly on your shoulders."
I give Faith a look and she sighs. It always comes down to us. "Ooh just like the bad old days." Faith's body stiffens under me as she slowly turns her head to look at Xander just limping in. Don't we have a guard on the door? Is this just let anyone in day? I open my mouth but snap it closed with a click. He looks like horse dookie. And afraid. He should be. He nearly got Faith killed, worse, he got my favorite shirt murdered! I notice that he's nervous but taking his chances by stepping all the way and finding a seat to ease himself in to. Maybe he should be more nervous about the look Oz is giving him right now. "Where's Avi?"
Xander fidgets a little but raises his head to look Oz squarely in the face. "Kitchen."
"HEY!" Faith's shout unsettles everyone except me. I'm still sitting on her lap, idly stroking the bare skin of her arm. Both Oz and Xander blink and turn their attention to us. "Lucy, you got some 'splaining ta do." Her tone eases the tension in the room and Xander slumps his shoulders in shame.
"I'm sorry. I know better. I knew better at the time but…your bar. I couldn't let it burn like that." I can't tell if she wants to smack him or not, and maybe he can't either because he rushes on in his explanation hoping to get it all out just in case she does feel like hitting him. "I tried, Faith. I swear I tried but it was too late and before I could get out of there they had me."
She's quiet for a long second before she speaks in a hoarse quiet tone. "The bar is just a building Xander. You take it away from me I'll build another. Take that one away from me an' I'll build another, or steal one." Her gaze raises a little to pin him. "But I can't replace you so easily." I am so glad I'm not Xander right now. His face crumbles and he hunches down even more from the near tangible weight of her disappointment in him. Oh she's good. But since she doesn't seem so inclined I reach out and slap the side of his head just hard enough to knock him over.
"Dummy." Xander rubs the side of his head but nods his agreement of my statement. I think we're all on the same page now. Oz stands slowly and Xander winces but Oz slips his hands in to his pockets and moves away from all of us, more comfortable watching from the shadowed corner. It can't be easy for him right now. Willow is here, and now he can tell that Xander and Avi are. Well. Close. I wonder if he's starting to regret asking for our help. "Well now that we've got that settled, what's our next step?" Normally I'd wait and ask this of Faith when we're alone but I think we could use all the brains in this room right now to figure things out.
No one seems to have any answers and we're all a little relieved when there's a knock and the door pushes in slowly as Denna peeks in with a polite smile. The smile changes and gets warmer when she sees me and Faith. I nod and she pushes in to the room leading Avi and Gus with huge trays of food. I almost hide my grin when Gus smacks Xander's outreaching hand. Denna looks at my torn top and tsks at me as she checks the bite marks. They aren't terrible. Nothing a little blood won't cure, and really I had forgotten all about them in my worry over Faith. There's that pesky little worry feeling popping up again. But. It seems less annoying now. Maybe because I know Faith is going to be just fine.
Everyone gets something to eat before Gus lets Xander reach for something on the trays and even then he's giving him a look. I think he's still miffed about the bite Xander gave him earlier. They'll have to work out their differences on their own, we've got bigger issues to cover right now. Denna pours me a crystal goblet of blood on her way out of the room with Gus. I'm grateful for her timely intervention. The food broke the tension and I think we can all figure this out now. At least. I hope we can. I slide off Faith's lap and wind my way toward Oz who is the only one besides me that isn't eating. "You know, for a second, with the big brood you've got going on here, I thought you were Angel. Well. A short Angel anyway."
He gives me a half smile and a raised shoulder in a half shrug. "Everything is so different. I mean. I like to think I'm the roll with the punches kind of guy but maybe that's not really who I am." Maybe. I eye the expensive suit and perfectly styled haircut. It's certainly not the Oz I remember but I doubt any of us are exactly like we used to be.
"Boo hoo, you're a big powerful rich werewolf." He raises a brow at that but chuckles a little. "Everyone and everything changes eventually. Maybe it's just little things, like clothes and jobs. Maybe it's big things like death and magical transformation. But pretty much one thing stays the same inside, Oz. You love who you love." I know this because I loved Faith before I died and when I came back, that love was still there. Confused and twisted in a weird sort of lusty hate, but the love was there. It just took me a little while to figure out how to deal with it is all. Oz rocks on his heels as he ponders that. I take a sip of my blood and know immediately who it's from and how fresh it is and what they've been eating.
I bet I'd be really good at wine tasting. "Hm." It's all the response I think I'm going to get from him on the subject. I'm alright with that. Oz is closer to Faith than me so if he's going to say anything more it'll probably be to her. "Time is getting short. Maybe we should…" Yeah. Get back on track. I nod and move back to Faith's side.
"Now that we're fed we've got a few things to figure out. Tomorrow is the full moon, we've already worked out how we're going to defeat Enzo but what are we going to do about Ethan?" God, I wish I could stake him. Repeatedly. Willow pipes up from around a mouthful of cupcake.
"Well right now in his incorporeal form we can't hurt him. Once he has a host body he can be killed. Er. Sort of. Well. With a magical weapon. Otherwise he'll just let Eyghon jump them in to the nearest dead body, or they'll stay incorporeal." Magical weapon? I glance at the Scythe and then Willow.
"Magic weapon. Check." Since there is no way to stop what's happening to her, it looks like I'll be busy fighting Ethan in Ama's body. It's not a thing I'm looking forward to, especially if he can access any of her abilities, magic or otherwise. "Anything else?"
"With the kind of spell that he cast, if anything happens to the receiving vessel all that power will redirect in to the original caster of the spell. Eyghon or Ethan, whoever, shouldn't have that much power it could be super bad." We need to figure a way around that because Enzo is dead meat when the full moon rises. He just doesn't know it yet. "Now, I could redirect that power away from him but it has to go somewhere and…I can't take it. It's too tied to wolf blood. The magic inside me already will reject this power."
"This might be silly but…why can't we just let it disburse like it would for a natural death?" I lower the hand I raised when I began speaking. Willow nods excitedly for a second.
"See I thought of that too, but the magic has rules and if she were dying naturally her magic would have started waning with her but this was…ripped out of her. Your Alpha friend wouldn't be dying if this weren't happening. Her magic is strong and just releasing it could cause anything from massive earthquakes to hordes of zombies."
Oh. Hordes of zombies. Ask a silly question and you get natural disasters and leagues of the undead. Wonderful. Well that option is out. But there might be another. I look over at Faith and raise a brow questioningly.
"That's not gonna be a problem." Everyone turns toward Faith but I know what she's thinking. The pack already has someone capable of magic. Someone we trust not to misuse the all that magic. She's just not capable of that kind of darkness. "The bigger problem is what we're gonna do about Eowain." I thought that he wasn't allowed to attack us but this is clearly an attack. Right?
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Oz rubs his jaw with a knuckle as he thinks about what we're gonna do. "I agree he's out of hand but this doesn't constitute a direct threat to you or Buffy." It might not be direct exactly but this is a flat out threat. He's givin' our enemies access to magic strong enough ta defeat us. I don't know how much more of a threat he can be. "Even if he posed a direct threat you'd have to get the Circle to unanimously agree on a sentence and let's be honest. Eowain isn't well liked but he does have friends."
The question is what those friends get out of siding with him. "What's his hook? Money? Sex? Secrets?" He has ta have somethin' to bargain with. Oz shrugs an' shakes his head.
"I honestly don't know. Maybe some combination of all three. However he does it, he has some support. You'll never get a unanimous vote with all twelve of the Houses." If this is what politics is like it's no wonder nothin' ever gets done in this country. I lean back an' stretch my shoulder gently so it doesn't heal stiffly. We can't afford for me to be anything but five by five tomorrow.
I sigh deeply an' throw my hands up tiredly. "Guess we still have time ta figure out what do with that asshat. It's late, we should all get some sleep." Oz nods his agreement. I think he could use a lil space right now. "You good ta walk on that leg, Gimpy McGee?" Xander looks up and gives me a tired grin.
"Sure. I'm not winning any races here but I can still get around." Good. I jerk my head in Kadee's direction and he nods his understanding. "Right. Accommodations for the slayer lady." He better not take his eye off of her. I'm a lil bit surprised when she follows him but leaves the Scythe. I guess she meant it when she said it was a gift from Giles to Buffy. Avi hovers between followin' him and stayin' by Oz's side. He just smiles an' nods at her to go. It's better this way anyhow. Maybe Xander can give her somethin' Ozzy can't.
"We got the room if ya don't mind bein' at Miss Mona's Chicken Ranch." Red blinks at me before she lets out a nervous little laugh. I smirk slides across my face an' I can't help but yank her chain a lil. "Everything is on the House for you so don't be shy. Pretty sure we got someone that'll tickle your fancy." Her face goes red right up to her hairline. So easy.
"You're never going to get over picking on me are you?"
"Nah." It's too much fun. She laughs a lil bit an' rolls her eyes. Its good ta know she can take a joke. It was one of my best.
"Thanks but I'm good. I think I'll uh give that offer a pass." I nod at it an' let it go. "Do you know your way around this place?" I watch Oz start a lil when he realizes she's askin' him. He gives her a slow nod.
"I've been here a time or two before Buffy and Faith took over." She's not sure how to take that so she just nods at it. "Would you like me to show you around?" Red nods a lil more enthusiastically at that. Good now if everyone would just get the fuck out.
"When you're ready to tuck in for the night just find Gus. He'll show you where you can sleep." Buffy plays with her empty cup as they leave us alone. Finally. I'm tired enough that I don't even wanna get undressed but B has other plans. She bats my hands away from the buttons on my vest and starts workin' them open for me. Usually this is her time ta sexy tease me but she's got a lot on her mind so I don't try ta distract her. "Do you think he's really changed?"
Giles? Dunno how ta answer that. "Hard ta say. He had his mad on but good last time." She nods at that and takes the time to nuzzle in under my chin. My shoulder is still too damaged for me to wrap that arm around her so I do it with the other one. "Maybe. Losin' Satsu…that's gotta be fuckin' him up. She's not gonna be comin' back like you always do." She nods still tucked in close.
"Are you ready for this fight, Faith? Enzo had a heck of a lot more wolves than we anticipated." Shame we can't take our new slayer buddy with us to this thing but she's not one of us. Not yet an' maybe not ever. I'm not sure I could ever fully trust her now.
"I don't think he's gonna have time ta replace the ones you an' Gus took out tonight. Even if he bites half the city before moonrise none of them will be ready to shift yet. An' I don't think he was smart enough to leave some troops behind." No. I think he brought everyone he had, hopin' to overwhelm us with numbers. It was a gamble he lost. Now he's out more pack members than he can afford. "Better question is are you ready to fight Ama?"
I know it won't really be her but it'll have her face, her voice. I shudder as B pushes me back toward the bed and kneels to work my boots off my feet. "I'm not as close to her as you are. Not as attached." That's a lie. In the past few weeks she's gotten more attached than she realizes. Sure Ama an' B were never gonna be tea drinkin' buddies or whatever but there's a mutual respect there. "But I won't lie and say it'll be easy. Better me than you I guess." She stands and unbuckles my belt, helpin' me shimmy out of my pants. Buffy undresses and crawls in ta bed next to me. Her weight is reassuring and familiar an' I sink in to the feeling.
"I'm gonna make 'em all pay for this." She nods against my shoulder.
"Yes. We are." Right. We. It makes me smile a lil even though I got so many thoughts racing around my head. "I think I might even have a way to deal with Eowain." Yeah? I raise my brows an' gaze down at her but she shakes her head. "Not yet. I need to figure some things out first but first things first. We deal with Enzo, Ethan and Eyghon. Then we mourn our friend. Then…well then we plot the decimation of our true enemy."
I like the way my girl thinks. "And then we party." We still have that ta deal with too. All this Circle shit is givin' me a headache.
"I do love a fiesta." Heh. My girl knows how ta find a silver lining. "And if you're a good little wolfy you might get a surprise." A surprise? Hm. I'm tired but not too tired ta roll her under me for a long deep kiss. "Baby. I'm ALWAYS good."
"Don't I know it." Heh. Damn right.