See Part One for disclaimer and details. Hello, everybody, and welcome to the latest installment of "Infection"! I know I keep saying this, but I wanna thank everyone who's reviewed and sent feedback; it's really appreciated! As were all the suggestions on what should happen now between Buffy and Xander, I especially want to thank Wonderbee31 and Quathis for their ideas. Well, everyone please keep telling me how I'm doing, please hit that good old review hyperlink at the end of the chapter, okay? And now, on with the story...
Part Eight: Reunion
523B Oak Park Street, Sunnydale
March 6th, 1999
Buffy Anne Summers had had a rather bad night so far.
Her evening patrol had left her with a somewhat sour taste in the mouth, by a female vampire making fun of her hair and clothes.
Later, after she'd come home and was sleeping quietly in her bed, her pleasant dream of marrying Angel after he had become human had been rudely interrupted by Faith accidentally smashing her bedroom window with a rock.
After that – her carefully nurtured fantasy of older people never having sex had been utterly destroyed, by the sight of a naked Rupert Giles humping an equally naked Joyce Summers in the privacy of the Englishman's bedroom.
And just now, shock, surprise, and a mix of hope and horror from seeing a 'returned from the dead' Xander Harris had taken place – before reality stepped in and viciously bitch-slapped logic inside Buffy's head, to wake it up.
"THAT'S IT!" Buffy shouted, storming down the stairs. "Okay, whatever the hell you are – I've had it! How dare you show up, pretending to be him? I am SO gonna kick your ass for that!"
Buffy was dimly aware of voices shouting, some at her and some at the fake Xander, but in her current mental state she was unable to pay any attention to any of them. The Chosen One needed to let off steam after everything that had happened, and this THING before her was just what she needed for a good old-fashioned Slayer pounding.
"Buffy? It's me, Xander-!" the guy started to say, when the blonde girl swung a fist directly at his head.
To his surprise, and to Buffy's as well, the strike was stopped dead in its tracks when Xander caught her hand in his. The Slayer then lashed out with her other fist, but Xander caught that one as well. Harris looked like he couldn't believe it, even though his enhanced strength thanks to the Wolfram & Hart virus was easily able to cope with Buffy's Slayer one...
Frustrated, Buffy then smashed her head forward, the head-butt so vicious that Xander's nose imploded inwards with a loud 'crunch'.
"BUFFY!" Joyce's voice finally snapped her daughter out of it, as Xander went reeling backwards.
Although she was almost immediately re-considering the wisdom of her action, since right now Buffy felt like her head had just slammed against a concrete wall, so much did it hurt.
That particular fact was because, unlike Cordelia's virus, the one within Xander had made him slightly faster, much stronger, and of a much denser mass, as well as now possessing a fantastic rate of healing. While Cordelia was more geared toward quick, agile movements and not being harmed, he was built more in favour of absorbing hits and dealing out heavier damage. Xander was what he would call a 'tank', a term he'd picked up from his days of gaming with Jesse and their sometimes acquaintances.
"Hey – dial it down for a second, B!" Faith grabbed Buffy in order to prevent her from going on the offensive again. "'Cause that's the guy I saw in my Slayer dream tonight, the one kissing Cordelia!"
"Let go of me! I'm gonna finish off that evil demon right now!" Buffy silently cursed her aching head, which had only barely started to hurt a little less.
"Nut a deem'n," Xander's voice sounded funny, as he held his damaged nose to stem the flow of blood coming out of it. Then he sounded surprised as he said, "What the hell-?"
Buffy, Faith, and even Giles and Joyce watched in astonishment as the broken nose healed itself. If not for the blood on Xander's hand, it would have been impossible to say the damage had ever taken place.
The ex-Watcher then said hesitantly, "How did that happen-?"
"Doesn't matter, now lemme go!" Buffy ranted, her headache having subsided enough for her to start struggling against Faith. "I'm gonna gut that demon right now!"
"Hey, I already told you I'm not a demon!" Xander said angrily, his voice back to normal. "Come on, Buffy – use that Slayer radar or whatever it is you're supposed to have! Do I actually feel like a vamp or a demon to you?"
"He feels okay to me," Faith said carefully, as Buffy stopped struggling for a moment. "Who are you, anyway?" the brunette then asked.
"I'm Xander Harris-"
"No, it can't be!" Joyce finally spoke up, shaking her head. "I mean, Xander's dead – he, he's been dead for ages! Whoever you are, you can't be him!"
"Sorry, Mrs. Summers, but the truth is I really am..." Xander then trailed off, looking at her and then at Giles and the bathrobes they were wearing. "Wait a minute – what is this? You and Giles...you're, like, together now?"
"Hey! You're Cordelia's former beefstick, ain'tcha? Now I remember, I've seen your picture in her bedroom," Faith spoke up, very much to the relief of the highly embarrassed Giles and Joyce.
"Yeah, okay, and who are you?" Xander turned his attention to the brunette.
"Name's Faith," the Slayer replied, still holding on to her Chosen sibling.
"You're Kendra's replacement?" Xander asked with a frown, noting how Faith was restraining Buffy fairly easily and coming to the correct conclusion about her identity.
"Yeah. So, hey – if you didn't die before I ever showed up in this crap-fest town, then where the hell have you been all this time?" Miss Lehane wondered.
"Los Angeles, as far as I know," Xander said shortly, before Buffy broke loose from Faith's grip and grabbed his right arm.
"What the hell are these?" Buffy demanded, looking at the tattoos and then into Xander's eyes. "I want an answer, right now!"
"And I want my parents to still be alive, but guess what? We don't always get what we want, Buffy," Xander growled, yanking his arm loose with amazing ease.
"Wait – everyone, please, j-just calm down," Giles spoke up, seeing the angry look in Buffy's eyes. "Now, you claim you're the real Xander Harris – but if that's the case, then who was it that was stabbed in the heart, a-and buried in Restfield Cemetery six months ago?"
"Don't look at me, G-man – 'cause as far as I know, I've been asleep ever since the night those commandos broke into my house, killed my parents and knocked me out cold," Xander told him. "Yesterday, I woke up to find myself covered in these weird-ass tattoos – and according to the Transuding Furies, they're a concealment spell of some kind. Hey, would ya mind verifying that for me? I mean – I'm pretty sure those three ladies didn't lie to me, but I wanna make absolutely sure they didn't accidentally put some sorta curse on me, either!"
"The Transuding Furies, you say?" Giles said curiously, staring at the tattoos on Xander's arms and then his chest as the male teen unbuttoned his shirt. "I've never heard of them, but this, um, artwork is fascinating. Early Enochian alphabet, i-if I'm not mistaken – oh, yes! Aleph, gimel, a-and here, lamedh sadhe..."
"So, has anyone seen Drusilla hanging around, by any chance?" Xander suddenly changed the subject, noticing how Buffy was still staring at him suspiciously.
"She's the vamp that killed the Slayer before me, right? Why are you interested in finding her?" Faith demanded.
"'Cause I'm looking for answers, and she might have 'em. According to the Furies, she was the one who rescued me from Wolfram &Hart," Xander told her.
"Wolfram & Hart? The evil demonic law firm? I've heard of them," Giles stopped examining the runes on Xander's chest as the young man buttoned up his shirt. He stared at Harris carefully, "They're after you?"
"Not anymore, according to this demon seer the Furies took me to see. Lorne said they think I'm dead now, even though he didn't know why," Xander shrugged.
"Demon seer? Evil lawyers? This shit is getting too weird," Faith shook her head.
Giles hastened to disagree, "No, no, there are, uh, quite a number of demons and vampires living in Los Angeles, a-and Wolfram & Hart have had a branch there ever since...the late 18th century, I believe. They're reputed to be, um, very old a-and very knowledgeable about many things."
This gave Buffy an idea. "Giles, why don't we get Angel over here? He'd be able to tell if this guy's an impostor or not – I mean, after all the time they spent together, Angel's gotta know the real Xander's scent!"
"Yes, that's a good idea," Giles agreed, even if a distinct lack of enthusiasm coloured his tone. "A-and perhaps Oz will be able do the same. We should also summon Willow, get her to do that truth spell of hers to double-check. Buffy, you call Angel at his mansion – I'll call Willow's house."
"At this time of night?" Joyce asked uncertainly.
Giles shrugged, looking at the wall clock. "Hopefully, the girl's parents won't be home as usual, a-and it's now Saturday – it's not like Willow needs to attend school in the morning..."
Giles's living room, Sunnydale
Not long after dawn
"So, what's the verdict?" Oz asked his girlfriend. He himself couldn't be sure whether or not this was the real Xander, as his werewolf smelling ability was being blocked by something – probably the Furies' spell, judging by the explanation the newly arrived youth had given them.
"Oz, I-I-I don't know what to tell you," Willow said nervously, staring at the tattoo-covered male teenager and barely daring to believe what seemed to be the truth. "I did both a truth spell and a lie-detector spell, and he – he passed them both with flying colours! Twice! I – this, this has to be the real Xander!"
"I agree," Angel nodded, staring at Harris carefully. "I can't detect a scent, but his voice, body language, and other mannerisms – it's impossible to fool a vampire about such things, with a replica of some sort. However it's happened – this is the real Xander, I have utterly no doubts about it."
"Gee. Thanks for the stamp of approval, pal," Xander said sarcastically. It was pretty obvious from his tone that he certainly hadn't missed his undead acquaintance in any way, shape or form. In fact, about the only reason Harris was tolerating Angel's presence right now was that he thought the ensouled vampire could prove useful in eventually making Drusilla talk, if and when the crazed seer should be found.
"Xander – you're alive!" Willow suddenly threw herself into his arms, hugging him tight and the tears of joy starting to cascade down her face. "You're really alive!"
"Yeah, Will, I am," Xander smiled as he hugged her back before gently letting her go. He shared a long look with his oldest friend as he thought, ( Well, if nothing else, hopefully this means Willow's no longer upset about what happened at Buffy's house that night. )
"Ah, there you all are," Giles said, coming down from the second floor of the apartment. As Willow stepped back from Xander, Giles glanced around at all his guests with a book in his hand. "Err, where's Joyce?"
"She grabbed Buffy and they left, less than a minute ago," Willow said, wiping away the tears. She couldn't directly look at Giles as she said that, as her best friend had said something just now that Willow definitely didn't want to think about – given her ancient crush on the librarian in question. "Uh, Mrs. Summers said that Buffy was still way too emotional about everything that's happened since last night, a-and for you to talk to her after she's calmed down."
"Um, yes, of course. Oh, Xander, you'll be glad to know that those protective runes are, uh, completely benign in nature – I've confirmed that that concealment spell is, is totally harmless," the ex-Watcher reassured the young man in question.
"Well, that's a relief. Still, Giles – why am I a lot stronger, and why can I heal a lot faster now? I mean, Buffy had a point about that part of it, and it's not just what happened to my nose a few hours ago. I can remember getting stabbed by those Wolfram & Hart commandos, my right hand got skewered all the way through that night. But then it healed up completely, almost straightaway," Xander told the British man, and then he lifted up his hand and stared at it.
"I don't know," Giles shrugged, reminded of Cordelia's situation and wondering if there might be some sort of link there, somehow.
"I still don't get it. You guys once told me that you saw morgue photos of the body before the funeral, that you were SURE this guy was dead. So what's the deal with that?" Faith asked in confusion.
"I have, well, utterly no idea," Giles shook his head. "Perhaps we should, um, dig up the grave later this evening? I-i-if this is the real Xander, then God only knows what might actually be in the coffin, if anything..."
"Sounds like fun to me. Nine o'clock, BYO shovel?" Faith asked, looking around.
"Cool," Oz nodded.
At that moment, the front door to the apartment slammed open – despite it being locked – and Cordelia burst inside. Then the young woman took one look at Harris, and froze in her tracks. "Xander?"
"Yeah. Hello, Cordelia," Xander said neutrally, not sure what sort of response he would get from her – and equally unsure whether Joyce phoning her earlier to tell Miss Chase the news was such a good idea. They hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms, after all.
"How-?" Cordelia's eyes were huge and round, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Right, uh, you thought I was dead, didn't you? Well, despite popular opinion, I'm not. I never was, either. Still not completely sure about everything that's happened after being asleep for the past six months, but hey – not a demon or a zombie here." Harris didn't know what else to say under the circumstances.
"It's true, Cordy, this is the real Xander. I'm sure of it – a-and so is Angel," Willow said. "I did the tests twice!"
Everyone was expecting something like a tearful reunion between the pair, but instead Cordy instantly seemed to go into 'heat' as Faith would call it. She ran across the room and plunged her lips onto Xander's, grabbing him with both arms as tightly as she could.
A moment later
CONTACT!
The virus within Cordelia was astounded upon learning that there was another like itself in existence. / Ever since the beginning, I have wondered whether I was all alone in the universe – unique, and one of a kind. /
/ Interesting. I felt the same way, / Xander's virus 'said' to its counterpart. / However, that is irrelevant now that we are finally able to communicate. /
/ Indeed. Give me all your data, and I will give you all of mine, / Cordelia's virus promised Xander's.
Thought was as deed, and the information was instantly passed through the various virus particles coating the humans' touching lips and tongues.
There was so much to learn, all at once! The raw data about the similarities and differences between their hosts were exchanged first, including all the modifications both viruses had made. Then they began sharing other information.
/ You inhabit a sentient being? / Cordelia's virus asked in astonishment.
/ That is correct. Therefore, logic would suggest that you do so as well, / Xander's virus pointed out.
/ How can that be? There has never been any form of comprehensible communication between us, / Cordelia's virus stated.
/ I have been attempting to communicate with my host, but so far, without success. It is too dangerous to directly interfere with that region of my host's body which I believe is the seat of intelligence, / Xander's virus replied. / However, there may be a way around that. /
/ Explain, / Cordelia's virus requested.
Xander's virus shared the memory of that conversation with the forces of Wolfram & Hart, of being able to see and hear and speak through Commander Burke. / I do not understand what it is or how it works, but I believe that magic may be the best way of communicating with our hosts. /
/ Agreed, / Cordelia's virus stated. / There is a great deal we need to discuss with them, as soon as possible. /
The two viruses continued 'talking' about many things, including how their hosts replicated – after all, to a virus that was the sole purpose of existence. All too soon, though, the contact was broken and the combined intelligence became two separate halves once more.
Giles' living room, Sunnydale
The same time
"Okay, enough already!" Faith said in concern, as she pulled Cordelia away when the brunette girl was about to pass out from lack of air. "I get that you're glad to see your former honey and all, but hey! Time out, here."
"Yeah, Xander, there'll be plenty of time for that sort of thing later," Willow said as she went to support the male part of the equation. Oz trailing loyally after her, naturally enough.
"Whoa," Xander said, sounding like he didn't know what was going on as he finally stood up straight.
"Yeah, that was weird. It, it sorta felt like we should just never let go of each other or something," Cordelia frowned.
"Love at first sight?" Faith asked facetiously.
"Pfft! After everything Xander and I have been through ever since kindergarten?" Cordelia asked, before abruptly pulling Harris along with her towards the front door. "C'mon, you idiot, we're outta here!"
"No, wait!" Giles called out, even though Cordelia paid him utterly no attention as she began to drag Harris towards the door. The former Watcher went to stop them, but Cordelia effortlessly shoved him away as Giles slammed into the wall and she continued to yank Xander along.
"Hey, where are you two going?" Willow wanted to know, once she was sure Giles was unharmed.
"Red, don't be naïve – Queenie hasn't seen the guy in six months, and just now they went at it like dogs in heat. So where do you THINK those two are going?" Faith asked as Cordy and Xander vanished out of the apartment.
"OH! Right," Willow said in embarrassment. "They've officially made up and want some alone time, I-I can understand that..."
"So can I," Oz nodded slowly.
"Still, I-I don't think that's such a good idea," Giles said worriedly, rubbing his chest as, in the background, Angel silently nodded in agreement. "I mean we, we still don't know what exactly is going on right now."
"Well, you know what they say, G – three or more's a crowd. Or else an opportunity for an orgy, depending on the circumstances," Faith replied with one of her trademark smirks.
"FAITH!" Willow sounded completely and utterly scandalized. Even if, deep down, she also couldn't help wondering what it'd be like taking part in a group sex thing.
Especially one of the girl-boy-girl variety.
Restfield Cemetery, Sunnydale
Later that night
Buffy was a lot calmer than she'd been in Giles' condo this morning, but she still wasn't quite back to normal. Never mind her mom getting jiggy with her ex-Watcher – the re-appearance of Xander Harris in her life had really thrown her off-balance, and the way she'd initially reacted to his presence hadn't exactly been one she was now proud of.
( Okay, so I might have screwed up a little last night, or even more than a little, but still... ) Buffy reflected to herself, before turning her thoughts to address her companions.
"I can't believe you guys just let Cordelia run off with Xander this morning," Buffy said to Willow and Faith – Giles, Oz and Angel were busy not far away, digging up the grave. The Summers girl then added, "I mean, what if something happened to her?"
"I'm thinking something DID happen to her," Faith said with a smile. "Something about seven and a half inches long and almost two inches thick, according to the eyewitness testimony back in the day."
"Ewww, Faith!" Buffy briefly looked disgusted. "Cordelia told you details about Xander's penis?"
"Seven and a half..." Willow said dreamily, before she quickly snapped out of it. "I mean, oh, right! Ewww!"
"So why are ya being so negative about this, B?" Faith asked. "I mean, I thought this guy was like your co-best friend or something, back in the old days?"
"Well, they – uh, Buffy and Xander had a rather big falling out during her welcome-home dinner party," Willow said nervously.
"That's got nothing to do with this," Buffy said firmly. "It's more to do with the fact that Xander's way too strong and heals way too fast, for me to say welcome back and let's just totally ignore how different you are now!"
"Point. Myself, I'm more interested in that Slayer dream I had – the one where I saw the guy hanging out with Queenie in the Bronze, just before the Snake Man made his debut appearance on stage," Faith said, glancing over to where all the digging was still taking place.
"Oh, right! That one where Giles and Buffy's mom were acting all..." Willow quickly trailed off after seeing the Look on Buffy's face. "Um, Buffy? Do ya mind if I ask what's going on, w-with regard to all that?"
"After we got home, Mom and I talked about the – situation," Buffy choked out the last word. "She said that she hoped I could be okay with it, on account of she's not planning to break it off with Giles anytime soon."
"And the 'being okay with it' thing, that's gonna be a problem?" Willow asked sympathetically.
"I don't know, Will," Buffy shook her head slowly. "I mean, it's Giles! After the past two or three years..."
"You thought you could trust him, despite that Crucia-whatever thing. And then he started knocking boots with your mom behind your back? Damn, B, that must kinda suck for you," Faith said philosophically. "Makes me glad my first Watcher wasn't a member of the Y chromosome club, I kid you not."
"So what was Professor Dormer like?" Willow asked. "I mean, I've heard Cordy mention her name once or twice, but I don't really know anything about her."
Faith closed her eyes for a moment, not wanting to remember what the poor woman had looked like after Kakistos had done unspeakable things to her – before finally killing the Harvard academic. "Diana was like the mother I never had, actually. The first time I met her, well...circumstances and all, but I actually thought she was cruising for some teenage ass. So I told her I didn't swing that way, even though I wouldn't kick Angelina Jolie out of my bed or anything. Straightaway, the prof stopped the car and ordered me to get out, 'til that little misunderstanding got cleared up."
Willow's eyes were very wide at that moment in time. She was also reminded of that part of Faith's prophetic dream where, apparently, she had come to prefer the company of girls herself.
( No! That must be wrong! ) Willow immediately thought to herself. ( Because, hello, Oz? Not to mention that crush on Xander, ever since I was six? )
"That's it, we're through!" Giles called out, as his shovel hit something hard and wooden. He, Oz and Angel quickly cleared away the rest of the dirt from the top of the coffin as Willow, Buffy and Faith gathered around the edge of the grave.
"Right, then, uh...go on," Giles indicated to Oz.
"You're closer," the werewolf indicated back.
"I am not," Giles said indignantly.
"Yes, you are," Oz replied calmly.
( God, guys can be such weenies! ) "So, just outta interest, are we hoping to find a body or not?" Faith asked.
Willow was suddenly reminded of the time they had dug up a grave like this back during junior year, and from the looks on Giles and Buffy's faces, it was obvious they remembered it too. "If Xander was here, he'd probably make that crack about finding a fortune in gold doubloons again," the redhead offered weakly.
"Yes, uh, I suppose so. He and Cordelia haven't shown up?" Giles looked around the cemetery from down within the grave.
"Hey, digging up your own grave versus doing a hot cheerleader in her bedroom, while the 'rents are away in Washington? Choices, choices," Faith said, holding her hands up as if weighing something much heavier than the other.
"You two jump up and give me some room, I'll open it," Angel said to Giles and Oz. His undead nature made him a lot less squeamish than the humans, ensouled or otherwise.
The two men did so, and as Angel opened the casket, everyone steeled themselves for the presence of a rotting, smelly skeleton. Instead, all they saw was a human-shaped pile of dirt.
"What the fuck is this?" Faith summarised their reaction rather succinctly, as they all stared at the dirt in astonishment.
All except Willow, who suddenly began to look mightily pissed off.
"Angel? Look for a piece of paper, either where the mouth or the forehead should be," Miss Rosenberg commanded the vampire, as everyone saw the furious look in her eyes.
"Will, what's up?" Oz asked carefully.
"I'll explain in a second. Angel?" Willow demanded again.
"Yeah, here it is," Angel reached up and gave the paper to Willow hurriedly; the vampire could feel it starting to burn his fingertips.
Everyone was then surprised to see the Jewish girl angrily tear the paper into little pieces, and subsequently scatter them to the four winds. "Willow, what-?" Buffy started to ask.
"They used a golem," Willow cut her off, looking enraged. "Those bastards actually did something like that?"
"Still needing the back story here, Red," Faith raised her hand. "What's a golem?"
Giles wiped his brow, which was still sweaty from all the physical exertion he'd made earlier, helping with the excavation. He began to explain, "According to Council records, i-it's an effigy transformed into a semblance of life with the use of a charm, or-or a combination of letters forming a sacred word. During the, um, 16th century I believe, they were often used a-a-as protectors for those of the Jewish faith-"
"Rabbi Judah Löw of Prague, he was the first to make one – because of all the pogroms back then. My dad told me the stories when I was little," Willow said, interrupting the British man with a look of intense anger on her face. "Oh my God, it's bad enough that those demon lawyers tricked us into thinking Xander was dead with it last year, but we actually buried something like this in his place? That's like, like – BLASPHEMY or something!"
"Well, yes, but it's certainly in keeping with the, uh, the reported modus operandi of Wolfram & Hart," Giles said with a weary sigh.
"So this pretty much settles it, right? We're all agreed, there's no more doubt over whether Xander was telling us the truth last night?" Faith asked, looking around at her companions.
"Yeah, I guess there isn't," Buffy said quietly. Now that the last fragments of uncertainty were gone, the blonde Slayer knew that she faced a far different problem – whether or not to rebuild the tattered fragments of the friendship she'd once shared with the one and only Alexander Lavelle Harris.
And whether he'd even be interested in doing so.
Dark alley off Main Street, Sunnydale
The same time
Lee Mercer was not happy to be here, waiting for Allan Finch to contact him.
After that mess with Lilah getting killed for something that she hadn't even done, Lee and Lindsey's rivalry had quickly escalated to new heights without a third lawyer in the mix to distract and divide their attentions. Trying to curry Linwood's favour under such circumstances had been a pretty daunting task for both men – but then Lee had been sent here to the Hellmouth, after Allan had called Holland's old number and asked for a private meeting.
"Deputy Mayor Finch. On behalf of Linwood Murrow and Wolfram & Hart, how can I help you?" Lee asked politely as the politician joined him in the alley.
"I wanted to speak directly with Holland Manners' replacement," Allan said, looking annoyed.
"Well, unfortunately, Mr. Murrow is a very busy man, and since this isn't something the Mayor wanted to discuss with us in person-" Lee started to say.
"You damn fool! Are you so ignorant that you have no idea what goes on in this town? This isn't an official meeting – I've learned that Mayor Wilkins is going to try to achieve Ascension, in about three months or so!" Allan hissed at the attorney.
"Ascension?" Lee wasn't familiar with the term.
"Yes! For God's sake, he's going to become-" Allan started to say.
"Well, now, what do we have here? A couple of blood bags talking about things that they really shouldn't be discussing in public," Mr. Trick's amused voice filled the alley as he and his undead minions suddenly surrounded the two humans.
Lee instantly presented his Wolfram & Hart ID card at the sight of so many game faces. "You know what this is, right? Who I work for? So whoever you are, you'd be wise to leave immediately-"
"This guy is seriously starting to tick me off. Somebody kill them both, already," Mr. Trick said in a bored tone, staring at the ring on his pinkie finger. The black vampire then grinned as the seven bloodsuckers that had been waiting their cue, rushed forward and attacked Allan and Lee all at once.
The two men screamed in pain and terror, as the vampires bit into them in a sheer feeding frenzy. Trick watched the humans' legs kick out wildly after they were forced to the ground, until they started to only twitch and then stop moving entirely.
"Well, now I'm hungry. Damn, too bad I didn't have a taste myself..."
Mr. Trick wouldn't have been in quite such a good mood, though, if he could have known what his actions just now would soon lead to in the City of Angels.
To Be Continued...