CHAPTER SEVEN
Abigail got her weapon and cleaned the blade with a cloth. She held it up to the light and it glinted. Angel was going to give her a few pointers on how to use the thing before she faced her demons-literally.
" I'll be down the in the basement." She told Lorne.
" I'll be right here." Was all Lorne could think of to say. He felt another twinge of jealousy but told himself he was being stupid. They were only fencing lessons, nothing more.
Abigail nodded and left the bedroom, forgetting to kiss him. Things between him and Abigail were slowly getting worse. They hardly even talk. You know what you have to do, Lorne told himself but shook his head, She'll come around. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Angel stood behind Abigail and gently showed her how to hold the sword properly. " You'll be using muscles you didn't even know you had." He told her as his grip on her arm tightened slightly. His grip on her lasted longer than it should before taking it away.
" This feels unnatural," Abigail groaned as Angel faced her with his own sword.
" Remember what I told you. Don't hold back."
" Are you sure?"
" I heal fast." Angel said then lunged at her suddenly and she immediately blocked his move, but her sword slid out her hand and onto the floor.
" I'll never be good at this." She complained picking it up.
" It's only the first lesson. It takes practise." He said and noticed her shoulders were tightening up. He went behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, " Loosen up a bit. You're very tight in the shoulders and neck."
Lorne got out of bed and managed to walk a straight line without getting wobbly. He decided to see how the fencing lessons were going and headed for the basement. Lorne watched them a bit from the stairs, Angel was standing too close to Abigail with his hands on her shoulders. Does he need to do that? Lorne thought crossly. But he decided to make a joke out of it.
" It's a good thing I know what the two of you are up to or I would have taken that completely out of context."
They looked up, " Oh hi Lorne." Angel greeted him, " How are you feeling?"
" Getting better. I can walk without falling down." Lorne said half-joking. He sat down on a step," Continue, I want to see some fancy moves." He took a sip from his drink.
" I can't even block without dropping my sword." Abigail smiled but it came out force. Did Lorne have to be here? Couldn't she do something without him around for once? He was being so overbearing lately.
" Let's try again." Angel suggested and this time she made the first move. He blocked her expertly and she blocked him more successfully this time. He got tougher and she used all her strength to try and knock him down but only managed to cut his arm, tearing his shirt.
" Oh! I'm sorry Angel," she apologised.
" Don't worry about it. The bleeding will stop in a minute." Angel assured her as he grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it against the cut.
" He's a vampire sweetie. They heal fast." Lorne butted in. She nodded and took a sip from her bottled water.
" I think that's enough for one night. We'll try again tomorrow and I think you'll be ready."
" Are you sure?" Abigail asked anxiously.
" Ready for what?" Lorne asked.
" We're going after the demons tomorrow night."
" Oh…" Lorne glanced at Abigail who didn't offer any more details. Instead she walked past him and left the basement.
" She's stronger than she thinks." Angel told Lorne, " she needs to know her own strength."
" Yeah…" Lorne trailed off.
" You okay?" Angel could tell Lorne wasn't exactly happy.
" I'm fine. Well, I would be lying if I said I was fine. Things between me and Abikins could be better." Lorne paused, " Angelface, I think I'm loosing her."
" I thought the two of you were soul mates. That's what you said when you first met her." Angel reminded him.
" I did but I didn't say it was going to be easy." Lorne said.
The following night, the gang headed for the sewers where the putura demons were hiding. Abigail gripped her sword tightly but remembered Angel's instructions. He had given her a three hour lesson today and she got better. There was no way she could fight a demon by herself, she was there for backup really.
Angel stopped suddenly, " Their nest is this way," he whispered and lead the group around the corner. There was a grate and he kicked it in. They ducked through the hole. There was a shout of protest and two humans stood up.
" H-humans?" Abigail stuttered.
" They are demons…don't let their appearances fool you." Angel said and one attacked him. The fight was on until one of them spotted Abigail and it charges. She didn't even have time to defend herself, it tackled her and pinned her to the ground.
" Use the sword, cut his head off!" Angel shouted at her. She fumbled for her sword as the demon's eyes bore into hers.
" Your parents were tasty snack," it hissed, baring it's fangs. She felt rage boiling up inside as she kicked the thing off her. She scrambled to her feet just as it was standing up. So the thing recognised her. Before it charge, she swung the blade down, slicing through the demon's neck. It's head fell to the ground with a dull thud. She felt a surge of relief and saw Gunn kill the second demon.
" Is that the both of them?" Fred asked standing up after getting knocked down in the mud.
" I think so." Gunn looked around at the nest, " Let's go."
" Are you ok?" Angel asked Abigail who looked shaken up. She nodded, " I killed it." She said triumphantly, " My first demon. I killed the thing that killed my parents."
" I hope this will give you closure." He said and she nodded. She lead them out of the hole and they headed for home. They were nearly at the hotel's sewer entrance when they heard a growling noise and footsteps. They whirled around to see a third demon heading straight for Abigail.
" Stand fast," Angel whispered in her ear, " Gunn, let her kill this one." He told Gunn who was ready to attack.
The demon's claw swiped at her arm, making a shallow cut. She swung her sword, beheading the demon. She then sliced off it's arm, " See how you like it!" she shouted and kept stabbing at the creature furiously, " Son-of-a-bitches! I lost two people I loved! You ruined my life!"
" Abigail," Angel went to her and she let the sword fall to the ground. Sobs racked her body and she covered her face with her hands. She felt angry, relieved and sad all at once. She turned and sobbed in Angel's arms.
" It's done." He said reassuringly, " It's over ."
A/N: Are people actually reading this? If so, drop me a review or two! You'll be thanked in my profile.
