In The Space Between
"You've really no idea, Slayer," he replied with a self-satisfied smirk. His hand lingered on hers just an instant longer than they needed to, but Buffy found herself really not minding.
She wondered if her type of cookie had chocolate chips in it.
Chapter 13: Will It Rain Today?
Illyria stalked through the night with purpose. The house was small and unassuming, but she sensed the minor power moving about within it. Doors meant nothing to her, and she flung this one open.
"Oh Glorificus," an elderly voice began, pausing suddenly. A loud sniff punctuated the air, as an old man appeared at the end of the hallway. "You are not Glorificus," the old man said with certainty, his dark eyes betraying him. "You smell… older," the old man inhaled deeply, "And stronger."
"I am both, lizard," Illyria confirmed, walking into the home. "I am greater than Glorificus in every respect." She stared at the old man, her eyes calculating value and worth. "I have a pet," she began, turning away from the old man to enter into the study he had so recently occupied. "He is a vampire, and he has strayed from me."
"Fool," the man spat. "To leave your side is…"
"Enough," Illyria interrupted, raising a hand in the man's direction without even turning to glance at him. "I expected this outcome when we entered this time dimension." Her hands ran slowly over a series of small, metallic globes. Each globe glowed with a unique colour as her hand dusted over its surface. She paused, her hand floating lightly over a sphere that had momentarily glowed pink, "I consider it his reward for services rendered."
The old man stared at her mutely, his dark eyes widening as the being before him interacted with the magical items strewn throughout the study.
"Love," she said the word as if tasting it. She directed her gaze, and her touch to an exquisitely carved arrow which perched haphazardly upon a shelf. "It is his prime motivator." She ran a single fingertip along the arrow head, stopping just short of the wickedly sharp tip.
"Foolish," the old man replied gruffly. "Love is a pleasant fiction, but only for the weak…"
"Is it?" Illyria interjected, her question arcing through the air as her eyes fell upon the man. "Is it so foolish, lizard? I have watched humans for several years now, and never so closely as in the last few days, but I am always shocked by the power of this love they feel. It works more powerfully upon them than anything else I have yet witnessed."
The old man wrinkled his nose, "Fear, I find, is much more powerful."
Illyria smiled darkly, "Yet I have seen love trump fear. I have seen love motivate humans to acts of goodness they could not otherwise fathom, and acts of evil they would have rather never dreamt up."
The old man looked confused. "Whatever you have seen, your greatness, I am certain is the truth," he pandered.
"Don't attempt to placate me," Illyria replied cuttingly. "I could destroy you in a heartbeat, lizard. Do not make me want to." The old man cowered slightly in response, the edge of his robe riding up his shoulders as he hunched, the curve of a scaled, green tail swishing momentarily across the floor.
"I believe," Illyria said slowly, letting the words fall like a slow rain upon the shaman's simple mind, "That there is something greater at work than good and evil." The old man started, his eyes wide with confusion. "Some moving force that is guiding things. Power untapped."
The lizard stared at her suspiciously. "What could be greater than good or evil?" he asked quietly, his voice hoarse with fear. "Both are more ancient than the world."
Illyria paused, her fingers tapping against a silvered knife, its hilt elegantly carved into the tortured forms of werewolves in their death throes. "But beings can choose between good and evil," Illyria said, her voice questioning the universe itself, probing for secrets she had yet to understand. "There is some force, something other which animates. Which brings death. Which brings life." Her voice hardened to cold steel, "I wish to understand it. To know its power."
The old man leaned forward, rapt. "Power of that magnitude, the animating force of the universe, you believe," he paused, considering his words, "It can be tapped into?"
"Perhaps," Illyria nodded, her eyes focused darkly on something beyond line of sight. "At the moment," Illyria continued, her gaze once again falling across the old man's collection, "You worship Glorificus." Her hand stilled upon a tiny copper dragon. Her eyes closed momentarily, a wicked smile playing across her lips. She released the figure with reluctance and moved on, a slight sashay to her hips. "I offer you something greater." The old man shuffled slightly forward, the fear in his movements masked by eagerness. "I offer you power," Illyria said silkenly, turning to the old man once again, "If you agree to be my pet."
The old man's eyes slid to complete blackness. "I would love nothing more," he replied, his voice dripping venomous sincerity. He was nothing, if not an opportunist.