Author notes: this one has taken a bit longer than expected to take form. I hope you will like it and will gladly read what you have to say about it.
- Willy's Bar, Thursday 10 November 2011, 20h32 -
In the Old Sunnydale, Willy's Bar had been a neutral place serving demons, vampires, and humans. Of course, with Halloween, the bar's business model had gone down the drain, but the owner had been quick to adapt by putting a taegeuk sign next to the door. While the blue and red symbol was mainly known by the western public for standing on the flag of South Korea, it was in fact a Korean variant of the black and white yin and yang symbol, representing balance in the universe.
The Shedim and Elohim of Earth-N had however also been using that symbol for dozens of millennia, to represent the duality and complementarity of the Yggdrasil and Nidhogg networks, pointing again at the idea of balance in the universe. While often found in philosophy texts like the Songs of the Fallen written by Lucifer Morningstar, it also had more practical usages. Shedim-Elohim hybrids started the habit of using it to refer to themselves. Put on a door, it was a way to indicate a hybrid-friendly place. By extension, it had also become a symbol to indicate a neutral ground where people from both sides were welcome as long as they left their prejudices at the door, which was the point with Willy's Bar.
"So, Tepoz…" said Willow as she sat on a stool at the bar and Willy came to serve her. "Business is good?"
Born Guillermo Ramirez, the man known in the Old Sunnydale as Willy the Snitch had apparently adapted quite well to his merging with Tepoztecatl, the Aztec god of pulque, drunkenness and fertility. What mattered to Willow was that Tepoz was an old friend of Urd and a bar he owned was sure to count her as a patron.
"Actually, better than before, Urd. Sure, I had my usual crowd, but being a demon bar is always niche, even on the Hellmouth. Some things are a bit more confusing, however," he replied, pointing at the 'ID Required' and 'No Minors' signs behind him. "Thankfully for you, I know my patrons… though I must say it's funny to know that some of the old first-gens like Tiamat or Svarog are back to kid stage. So, what will it be tonight?"
"Laphroaig without ice, please."
"Interesting choice," he said while materializing the appropriate bottle and pouring her a glass.
"Actually something neither Urd nor old Willow would have chosen…"
"I see. The Halloween balancing act can sometimes have strange results."
She put an elbow on the bar and rested her chin on her hand. If she thought about her recent changes, the simple fact she was here was a big one. Before… well, before Buffy came to Sunnydale, she would have spent the evening at home, on the Net. Buffy had been the one to drag her to the Bronze and she had managed to have fun there. Since Halloween, however, the Bronze was not a place she felt comfortable in anymore. Not that it was worse than before, quite the opposite actually, as the Shedim in charge there sure knew how to run a business.
Nope, it's just that it's a place for teens… and I'm a grown woman. So, a bar with good alcohol and nice jazz music in the background… much better. Sorry, Xander, but with the way Heimdall respected your privacy… as Buffy told Alice last Tuesday, enjoy what's left of your childhood for us, as long as people like Mikael let you.
"I think that the smoky flavor appeals to my shedim blood," she replied by taking a sip and savoring the taste. "Unlike Urd… I'm not trying to bury it, rather working out how to… just live with it. "
"Name change in perspective? Seems to be quite the fad in town these days."
"Maybe."
"Good for you… as I already told you in another life, you and your sisters got shafted by that prophecy."
"I think I wasn't ready to listen then, Tepoz. After the three of us started to live in Nekomi… Keiichi helped a lot. Even those idiots Tamiya and Ozaki… I remember them fondly," she said with a smile, thinking about the crazy shenanigans the two senior members of the Nekomi Tech Motor Club had gotten Urd into.
"Hi! Sorry to be late," said Buffy as she arrived at the bar, still in her Man in Black suit.
"Hi, Buffy! Bad day at work?" asked Willow.
"A long one… Tepoz?" she asked as she loosened her tie and looked at Willy.
"The one and only, Mara," replied the barman with a smirk. "What can I get you tonight?"
"Which ales… ooh, Kilkenny," she replied with a look at the taps on the bar.
"One pint coming."
"Thanks! Willow… eh…" said Buffy as she sat on the stool next to Willow's.
"The hair?" she asked back as she played with a lock of her now silvery-white hair. "Mix is evolving a bit since my meltdown on Sunday and for a hybrid like me…"
"Your shape is more volatile, yeah I remember that from back when Mara and Urd were kids. Speaking of changes, I go by Ishtar Darkflame now."
"Right, it's Thursday," replied Willow. "Why Ishtar?"
"Bah… actually not a point I want to keep secret. I discovered that the Slayer was made by ripping essence from one of the Old Gods, from Aphrodite actually. Given that Mom is using Asherah, I did a bit of reverse Interpretatio Graeca and voilà! Official Domain adaptation will take a bit more time until I balance everything out."
Willow suddenly felt lightning dancing with a crackle on her left hand and mouthed a silent 'sorry' at Tepoz as she got her magic back under control. On Earth-N, Aphrodite had often been the one Urd found refuge with when she chafed too much under the Heavenly Rules. She knew that the Aphrodite of Earth-S was not the one she knew but…
The Watchers are going to pay… calm, not now. All in due time…
"By the way… Thor is at the hospital," added Ishtar.
Willow blinked, remembering that the god of thunder was… her little brother. She had some very fond memories of teaching him how to use lightning spells when he still had been a very bratty kid.
"Eh? I mean, if he had been in town, Loki would have known and told us."
"He wasn't. The human he is paired with had a brain tumor and he didn't react fully rationally. My long day was about bringing him back."
"Of course, the fact someone so important, that my little brother was missing was hidden, all for the Greater Good," grumbled Willow as she downed her whisky, somewhat regretting that the thing was unable to get her drunk, though not enough to order a Cuba Libre to get properly smashed thanks to the Coke. "Tepoz, a pint of Guiness!"
"Coming!" replied the barman as he started to fill a pint from another tap.
"Tepoz… how many of those taps do you have?" asked Ishtar.
"As many as needed to satisfy my patrons, of course," replied the barman with a smile, as he passed a hand on the taps, making the labels change. "You know me, dear Lady of Babylon, as long as it's alcoholic…"
"You can make it," concluded the Goddess of Love and War with a laugh. "Thanks, I'll remember that."
"Thanks for telling me this," said Willow, deciding to focus on the positive and right now that meant her pint and her little brother. "I will make sure to go see him with Dru, Alice and Spike. Skoal!" she added while holding her pint for a toast.
"Santé!" replied Ishtar, clinking her own pint against Willow's. "Wait for tomorrow. He fell on his bed like a log… and, well, you may find him a bit different from usual."
"Bad case of Hallow… oh, of course. Unless his human part was someone with an interest in Norse myths, his image of Thor will likely come from comic books."
"Most mortals are likely to call him Mr. Hemsworth and ask for an autograph if they meet him in the street."
Willow giggled in her beer.
"Oh my! I just have to convince Spike to take Tom Hiddleston's appearance and have them both pose for a picture… or even go to the Comic Con! I will have Alice team up with me. She's a big Marvel fan and Thor could never resist Skuld's puppy dog eyes."
"I can imagine… any luck on the work front? You got your old…"
After she met Ishtar on Tuesday morning, Willow had spent the next class thinking and quickly realized that she was only coming to school out of habit. She had then messaged Dru, told Xander about it and gone to the principal's office to officially quit. After that, she had spent the last days going through possible work options. There had been just a tiny little problem which had led her to make a discovery regarding her Urd side. The Elder Norn was not a slacker out of laziness. She had no problem putting in the necessary effort once properly motivated. The issue was finding something that piqued her interest enough. Willow had also understood that her Old Willow overachiever side was actually not that different, just younger and less jaded, and therefore more easily motivated. This was now another thing she had to find balance for.
"No. I checked the requirements for the sysadmin job and sure, I have them. I know the system by heart but… it's boring maintenance! Sure, it's important, but it's not something I see myself doing for the rest of eternity. I need challenges and the opportunity to learn new things! Even the dev projects in that area are just drowning in committees and assorted paperwork. Bo-ring!"
"Well… I may be able to suggest something if you're open to…"
"No, I'm not falling. Yes, I made peace with our mother, and I am very happy for you to be my sister, but…"
"Well, maybe I could suggest some middle ground," said Tepoz who had just put a leaflet on the bar between the two goddesses. "The joint projects are more flexible than regular Celestial Bureaucracy and, as you can see, there are openings…"
Willow and Ishtar looked at the leaflet that had been on the bar's wall. Willow remembered thinking that Tepoz had forgotten to remove some Dias de los Muertos party announcement from the board the first time she came here but now realized that the leaflet was written in an elegant Enochian cursive and was actually about an internship program with possibilities of permanent hiring.
"If you wonder about the style, it's because Mictecacihuatl, or rather Santa Muerte now, is currently handling the paperwork for the Death Gods," added Tepoz.
"Eh Will… I don't know much about it, but…"
"What most gods know about is the psychopomp work and yes, that's hard. But there is another part. There is what happens after and I know quite a few things about that, because Urd helped set up the Samsara to make sure it interfaced correctly with Yggdrasil. Back then it was… not that hard, we were just dealing with a few tribes of hunter-gatherers with simple belief systems. Right now… the number of exceptions, limit cases…. So much coding in perspective!" replied Willow with a growing grin.
"They can't just copy what we had on Earth-N?"
"Only the basic architecture. Too many variables for the rest and from what I read here, they understand that," she said while tapping a mention about 'data gathering field work' on the leaflet. "Thanks Tepoz… B… Ishtar, I will give it a try."
- Afterlife Management HQ (formerly Sunnydale Funeral Home), Sunnydale, Monday 14 November 2011, 8h04 -
"So, can you tell me more about your motivation to join us?" said Santa Muerte.
Willow could not help but think about how much of a boon Sunnydale's many 'phantom' buildings had been since Halloween. With life on the Hellmouth being what it is, the town had a much higher than normal number of abandoned warehouses, unused office space, empty houses and the like. Thanks to some quick thinking on City Hall's part, any of those had been bought – often for a symbolic dollar – and shared between the Infernal and Celestial administrations. The two sides then proceeded with attributing them to new services and businesses, either via a resources allocation committee on the Celestial part or through startup and venture capital offers made by the Dark Cabinet's Finance Department on the Infernal side.
The Afterlife Management Department had not directly taken advantage of those new rules, as it had a serviceable location with the Sunnydale Funeral Home adjoining the town's main cemetery. In a town full of immortals whose bodies turned into energy to be absorbed by the networks should they 'die', it had been logical to repurpose it, even more so as the company's owners were none other than Mictlantecuhtli and his wife. It had however benefitted sideways from the phantom buildings, as it had been easy to relocate some neighbors whose presence would have complicated the specialized wards the place many nicknamed 'Death Central' required. Nobody had really complained as… well, the place had its peculiar atmosphere with all the necromantic energy in the air.
When preparing for her internship, Willow had reviewed a lot of things Urd knew about how the death gods operated. She had however not expected a skeleton dressed like a Mexican Catrina to conduct things like a corporate job interview. Not that Santa Muerte's appearance was an issue, Willow had seen worse in both of her lives, but she was rather intrigued about why the Shedu on the other side of the desk had decided to look like that. In the end, she had decided not to pry. As she had already seen several times before and after Halloween, the people of Sunnydale often hid a lot of hurt while pretending to live a normal life.
"I'm looking for a challenge and you must be in the process of coding the Samsara."
"And it is true that a former Yggdrasil sysadmin who helped set up the first one would be a boon in this area given that we are missing both Hades and Azrael… I am not against hiring some consultants, but the goal of this internship program is rather to find gods and goddesses who will want to stay with us long-term, which means I prefer to do some early filtering. Did you, as a human, have experience with death?"
"As Willow Rosenberg, I helped the Slayer since her arrival in Sunnydale. So, yes, I know about death… and undeath."
"This is effectively a plus, given that your divine side was usually cooped up in Asgard… and as you are wearing a taegeuk pendant, you seem to be better adjusted than Urd with your hybrid nature, which is also a plus for working in a joint program like ours. Politically speaking…"
"I made sure to verify that me working here will be seen as an acceptable middle ground by both of my divine parents."
"I am glad to see you are proactive. From what I heard, you could actually pass your first category license whenever you want. Urd actually passed the test but declined the promotion. Why?"
"Because Urd is not Belldandy… she wanted to be able to be selfish and lie when needed to protect her family, even if it costs her," she replied, knowing that a Shedu like Santa Muerte would understand that point.
"Ah, yes, the truth rules. As you likely know, we do not have that kind of difference on our side. No matter our permit, we all are bound by our word."
"Yes, for you it's more a matter of the responsibilities a first category is saddled with. Failure is what make you pile demerits," she replied, thankful that Ishtar had helped her clarify a few points in that area.
"Indeed… for the internship, your license is fine as it is. I however want you to think about your career plans as working with us long-term is something that is likely to require you to acquire a first-class license… on either side. None of us would have an issue if you decided to join your mother's House."
"I will think about it."
"Good. Even if we end up using you more on the admin side, the internship will have you take part in our various sub-departments. This includes psychopomp duties. This is the best way to ensure our interns understand the importance of our work."
"We're already doing that even with the Samsara not online?"
"Anpu made a handover agreement with the Old God currently in charge."
"Osiris, right? I read about it in some Watcher sources."
Willow saw the skeleton tilt her head and she really wished that Santa Muerte had a real face now because the lack of facial expressions was making it a lot harder to get clues.
"Of course… I remember my Carmelita telling me that Willow Rosenberg helped her with schoolwork. You helped the Slayer by researching occult sources."
"Not only, but yes… I'm sorry for your loss," she said remembering a girl called Carmelita Serrano that she helped tutor the year before and who had been one of the far too many weekly obituary entries in the school newspaper.
"Thank you, Miss Odinsdottir. Please remember that it is now our duty to make sure that things change. Welcome to Death Central."
- Death Central, Sunnydale, Tuesday 15 November 2011, 9h12 -
"I hope your orientation went well?" said Mictlantecuhtli as she arrived in a room filled with monitors and control stations that made it look like a mini space center. "Any issue with the specialized spells?"
Like many buildings in Sunnydale, Death Central had gone through a lot of magical remodeling. Equipment was still a little limited according to either Elohim or Shedim standards, but it was getting there as the technology and industry departments on both sides came up to speed. This had included the equipment she had used on Monday to learn some dedicated spells. As usual with Yggdrasil or Nidhogg, installing the knowledge in your brain wasn't the problem. The question was to make sure you understood it and that you would actually be able to use it. For that last part, secure training spaces that had a lot in common with the X-Men's Danger Room could already be found in several places in Sunnydale, including Sunnydale High and Death Central, the latter being equipped for some… rather specific training scenarios.
"I must say that the liminal presence spells… well, I understand why their usage is regulated on both sides, given the abuse during the Antiquity on Earth-N. I won't have any problems using them or the rest."
"Good. What is your teleportation medium?"
Willow knew why the question was coming. Celestial magic being ultimately Order magic, it was subject to more limitations and conditions than infernal magic. The flipside was that it was usually also more foolproof and energy efficient. Teleportation spells were no exception. As a Celestial magic user, Willow was bound to the use of a medium for transfer, its nature depending on her domain as a goddess. In fact, Urd, Belldandy and Skuld shared the same one as it was linked to their Norn status but applied it with a bit of variation for their own amusement.
"The base is a surface capable of holding a reflection. Urd's Well and all that. Water is a given, but one of my sisters likes to use mirrors. Personally, I often use screens because I'm playing on a loophole in the spell's conditions based on the fact a screen projects 'visions'. I have a side-spell to switch on a convenient screen in the target area and I know how to curse things like a videotape or even a movie file to have them act as a beacon capable of bypassing wards."
"And I suppose the tape or DVD would come with a little compulsion to play them," replied Mictlantecuhtli with a laugh. "I fully approve of your inventiveness. As you will see, theatrics can definitely play a role in our work. Your medium is flexible enough to work well and we will help you to learn using liminal presence to complement your abilities… I would also advise looking at the Aetheric Wings spell developed on Earth-T for added mobility if you didn't already. This is an area where the Spirit Worlders are much better than us."
Willow nodded, remembering a discussion with Raim and Vine on the topic. This was a typical case where technological advances in one field discouraged innovation in another. The Earth-N Shedim and Elohim had developed magic 'late', after they already had advanced technology. Levitation had been deemed good enough for most cases, as vehicles existed for any faster needs. Later, relatively easy to use teleportation confirmed that even further. There were flying brooms and flying mounts, but they were used for sports and leisure, similar in a way to the use of gliders on twenty-first century Earth.
On the Spirit World, things had been very different. Because of the high ambient mana and the fact most of the population was spirits, magical and technological development had followed what you could call a 'heroic fantasy' model. With several areas needing flight to be accessed, the development of the Aetheric Wings had been natural and things like flying relay races were a typical part of school sports.
"I got the spell right after I saw a Spirit World devil outrun and outmaneuver one of Heaven's best broom racers," replied Willow, remembering a friendly competition between Raim and Dru and how Raim had boasted and proven that she could reach Mach 1. "I'm only a little better with them than with standard levitation at the moment, but from what Raim told me, it's just a matter of experience," she added while materializing a pair of grey, black, and white owl-like wings on her back.
"Very good and the owl wings fit well with our work. Now, for the matter at hand, this is our world monitor room. The sensor network that we are establishing centralizes its information here and all deployed personnel can be reached from here. One of our goals is to find operators to staff this place 24/7. You will have some shifts here as well, but most of your internship will be about field work with one of the full-time members, mostly Melinoe and I. We will use clone spells to make sure to attend to all of you equally. To be blunt, I have no intention to waste someone of your power doing office work when the situation outside…"
"It's that bad?"
"Yes. Osiris – he asked us to use his Greek name due to him responding more to it in rituals nowadays – has very little power to spare and we have daily occurrences of souls improperly ferried or not ferried at all. This is what you are going to help me with today."
Willow took a deep breath and put her resolve face on. She wasn't surprised that a Shedu like Mictlantecuhtli went for the whole 'trial by fire' thing.
"Understood, I'll do my best."
"I look forward to it. We also have several field projects that you will help with. The one we will look at this morning is about securing graveyards. While it won't be the case today, this can include recruiting friendly ghosts who can spot issues for us. The trick is of course to give them enough power and purpose to make them rational. For example, some will see this as a kind of 'community service' version of Purgatory. Others may be more interested in becoming guardian spirits and so on.
"This makes me think that some of them call me Mick. I allowed it as… well, Nahuatl can be a little difficult to pronounce correctly. Also, Crocodile Dundee is a favorite movie of mine," said the skeleton with a laugh. "As for you… a stage name would be best. Your human name is out and from your resume, Urd is not one you seem fond of using publicly. Do you have a death-related idea you would like to use? Nothing really official, just so that it makes things easier with mortals… unless you wish to make it official of course."
"Ereshkigal," replied Willow almost immediately. "After all, I'm Ishtar's big sister," she added, knowing that Buffy and Dawn's name changes were major gossip in town.
"True, very true…"
- Evergreen Memorial Park, Tuesday 15 November 2011, 9h40 -
"And done," said Willow as she wiped her brow and released the earth manipulation spell.
At Mictlantecuhtli's request, Willow had changed from her everyday clothes into her blue 'Urd' goddess outfit before teleporting here. The logic behind that was simple. She was here as a goddess, and she had to look the part. The cleavage was maybe a bit much, but this was something she actually wanted to get used to, because she was really done being a shy wallflower.
Granted, she was cheating a little bit as only very few people would actually see that cleavage. Thanks to the liminal presence spell she was using, she was present in the cemetery, but still not exactly there. She was in fact standing a space in-between life and death that some called the Astral Plane. It was a place where you mostly found spirits and ghosts, with the occasional physical being like her. Due to multiple abuses that led to an imbalance in the cycle of souls, access to it had been limited on Earth-N, through an agreement biding both Hell and Heaven. The same covenants had been applied by the Shedim and Elohim of Sunnydale and Willow had only been granted access because of her internship as a Death Goddess.
Because here, Afterlife Management is actually both police and tech support… well, time to call the canine brigade…
She had spent the last minutes burying the skeleton of a dog under one of the cemetery's trees, making sure nothing would be apparent for the mortals. The dog's bones had been thoroughly prepared by Melinoe. They had been enchanted to last and inscribed with many runes written using ink made from Cerberus blood and ashes of hellfire-burnt wood.
"Inscribed bones buried in blessed ground, shadows of death looming between tombs. With a drop of my ichor, receive my blessing," she said, pricking her finger and letting a drop of golden blood fall on the ground. "By my will, you will rise and protect the peace of this graveyard. Destroy the desecrator and protect the weak who search for shelter on this blessed ground. Rise, Grim!"
Willow smiled as she saw the darkness coalesce, soon taking the form of a large, black Irish Wolfhound who barked happily at her.
"Good boy," she said as she petted the dog. "Now, scoot, you have work to do and so do I."
The dog barked again and trotted away, starting his patrol.
"All good?" asked Willow, looking at Mictlantecuhtli.
"Yes, interesting to see that you went for the Church Grim."
"Two reasons. As Urd, I would say because the Kirkegrim is also known in Scandinavia. As Willow… well, the Church Grim is also called Padfoot."
"Of course, Harry Potter," replied the skeleton with a little laugh. "Your next task is going to be a little more harrowing. In short, scan the cemetery and ferry any soul that needs it. The area where they put the ashes of the unclaimed bodies is likely to need a lot of attention but take care of the smaller cases first to get a better hang on the process. I'll leave a clone to observe here while I check on your fellow interns in some other nearby cemeteries. If all goes right, we meet at noon at Death Central."
"Understood."
- Evergreen Memorial Park, Tuesday 15 November 2011, 10h42 -
Tara was a little perplexed as she strolled in the cemetery. Not because of her immediate environment, in fact, the atmosphere here was quite soothing for her nerves. No, the issues were more related to the recent events.
Shortly after Halloween, Sister Lori had taken her out of the orphanage's school to participate in some fieldwork. It was nothing unusual for magically active students and she hadn't minded coming back to the United States, as long as she stayed far away from her birth family. Still, it was another hint that the education she received there was tailored so that joining the Knights would become the default option.
Tara did not consider herself indoctrinated, but there was the question of the skills she was developing. Several of them would have little utility in another field of work. She also regularly received subtle reminders that converting to Catholicism would be a good idea, but it had been made clear that she had no obligation to do so, though she was asked to keep her faith private.
Tara knew that she was not a prisoner either and that she would be free to leave once legally an adult. The tradition of giving shelter to white witches like her was old, dating from the foundation of the Order during the time of the Roman Empire. The reason behind it was found in the very history of the Knights, who had learnt a lot from the priestesses of Isis who found shelter with them when the Emperor outlawed the pagan cults. Thanks to the Order's clandestine nature, those traditions had endured and often helped the Knights to make temporary alliances with other demon hunting organizations.
She could not deny that the Knights had helped her a lot. Without them, she would likely still be stuck with a birth family that would do its damnedest to break her into submission now that her mother wasn't there anymore. The Knights had given her a place to live and an education, and she was grateful for it. Still, there were strings attached and the knowledge that the Knights had kept an eye on her mother's bloodline. This meant that she had her doubts.
Her doubts had recently been reinforced by the encounter at the airport. She had seen Marlene's husband, felt that promise of pleasure if she offered herself and then seen the light of the angel. Tara had felt bad for Marlene, who obviously didn't know. Had her husband been replaced by something else, in the same way vampires usurped bodies? Was it something completely different? Tara didn't know.
What she knew was that those beings were unlike anything she had met before. There had been something about them that was just… too much, like if a mere human was not supposed to be in their presence, like if she would, like Icarus, burn if she dared to venture too close.
The angel said 'Semele ouch'. In mythology, Semele was Dionysos's mother, and she burned because she saw Zeus in all his divine glory. Could Marlene's husband be a god?
Tara also knew that Sister Lori had not told her everything about this mission. She knew her well enough to see that this Egyptian prophecy about new gods was making the nun uncomfortable and Tara was thinking more and more that she knew the reason why. Between her airport encounter and the little she had heard about the reports from a priest inside Sunnydale, she thought that the issue was that Akhenaten had not been exaggerating when he spoke about gods, and this was creating a theological problem for the Church.
Tara was glad that she had chosen to omit something that the angel told her. She had told Sister Lori about the reference to Semele and what the angel said about the Garden of Eden, but not about him asking her to think about the word Nephilim. She was sure that it was a hint at her own nature and that was the reason why the Knights kept an eye on her bloodline.
I wonder why we're waiting so much before checking Sunnydale… Brother Pietro mentioned something about the Pope wanting to reflect on things, which is another big hint at my 'theological problem' hypothesis. Well… not that I mind that much. The 'side-quests' he mentioned have been useful as well, and they give me time to think.
She was accompanying Brother Pietro, technically as an observer, but he had actually told her to take a break while he spoke with the people of the Crematorium. She was therefore enjoying a leisurely stroll in the cemetery, sometimes stopping to observe one tomb or another. It wasn't the most entertaining thing, but she didn't mind. She needed calm and quiet to reflect.
She noticed a big, black dog lying between two rows of tombs. She approached slowly, noticing that it was a large Irish wolfhound… and suddenly stopped as she realized that a passerby did not even seem to notice the animal, an animal that reeked of magic. The dog rose and looked at her. She was sure that there was intelligence there… and that the feeling of protection and serenity she felt in this place was coming at least in part from the animal.
"Goddess… you're a Church Grim," she said softly, remembering the old tales about the dog-like guardian spirits of English folklore that her mother told her.
The dog barked once and walked to come her way, before sitting just out of reach. In many ways, he looked like an ordinary dog, the kind you wanted to pet while saying 'good boy', but the young witch could feel her senses screaming at her that this particular dog was dangerous… just not to her or any respectful mortal in this graveyard. She approached cautiously and let the dog smell her hand. When the dog's nose touched her fingers, Tara felt emboldened and petted the Grim's head, realizing with little surprise that the dog's fur felt… not quite there.
"You're a long way from England, you know… a pity you can't tell me what you're doing here."
The dog looked at her, seeming to think a bit about something and moved away, barking once at her with a gaze that she easily interpreted as 'are you coming?'.
I shouldn't risk too much as long as I stay in the graveyard.
She followed him among the tombs, noticing that they were going into the area where the ashes of unclaimed bodies were buried… and she heard it. Again, she was sure that ordinary people could not hear that song, that they just felt that as a strange mix… no, not strange at all, she decided. This mix of sadness and serenity was the one of proper mourning, as you were making peace with your loss.
So beautiful, she thought, not daring to sully that song with the sound of her voice, stilling her breath to disturb it as little as possible.
She instead focused her gaze on the area the song was coming from and gasped silently as she saw. There were dozens of ghosts here but none of them seemed hostile. In fact, their faces were restful as they looked at… Tara felt her heart beating faster as she witnessed perfection made woman. Tall, with silvery white hair, bronzed skin and all the right curves. She was clad in a blues dress that showed quite a bit of cleavage, not that she looked vulgar in it, she had just too much pre… Tara realized that the being singing in the middle of the ghosts had the same kind of unearthly presence as the angel from the airport.
The young witch sat on the grass, the dog doing the same next to her while the woman sung. Tara did not understand the words, but it did not matter. She just had to hear it, just like Odysseus had to hear the song of the Sirens. Unlike the Greek hero, however, the song was not triggering in her a mad desire, but peace. The woman's song felt to her like a lullaby mixed with a requiem. Tara realized that she was crying as she saw the ghosts lose substance and become souls that rose into the light above the woman. As the last one disappeared, the woman opened her purple eyes looked in their direction.
"What do we have here?" said the woman. "From your face, you can see and hear me… Interesting. Let's first address a little thing as it will be difficult to have a conversation with you in this state."
The woman snapped her fingers. Tara suddenly felt a shiver as she came back to her senses, the feeling of utter peace brought by the song dispelled. She heard the woman mutter things in maybe Hebrew and suddenly the colors felt more muted around her and the noises from outside barely a whisper. On the other hand, both the dog and the woman seemed to be even more present. She started to rise.
"As some people I know would say: Fear not!" said the woman as she walked in Tara's direction. "I just wove a little… let's call that a Muggle-repelling charm as I'm sure you will get the quote. My name is Ereshkigal, Eri for short. And you?"
Tara fell on her knees. She knew the name Ereshkigal from her studies and the act she had witnessed had been… she had some basics about exorcising ghosts. It was definitely not something easy and it usually involved giving the ghost closure about whatever prevented them from crossing. But here, what she had witnessed was someone powerful enough to appease all the torment in several ghosts at the same time and make them rest in peace just by singing to them. This definitely wasn't mortal magic.
"Goddess… am I…"
"Ah! I see the problem," said Ereshkigal while materializing an hourglass filled with white sand.
Tara could have sworn that she had just felt a tug on her soul. She knew that the hourglass was immensely important, in a very personal way and she suddenly remembered the role that kind of items had in folklore linked to Death. She knew exactly what the goddess was showing her.
"See, plenty of time left," said the goddess as she pointed at the upper part of the hourglass, just before vanishing the item again. "And I have no intention of punishing you for seeing me. So, that name?"
"T… Tara Maclay, Lady Ereshkigal," she replied, lowering her eyes, not daring to look more at such a terrible – and perfect – being.
"Tara… ah, yes, I heard about you, and this explains why you can see me, my little demigoddess."
"I… I was told I was a Nephilim."
"Two names for the same thing," replied Ereshkigal with a shrug. "Hmm, let's see…"
Tara suddenly realized the goddess's hand was on her cheek. It was warm and soft. Emboldened by her touch, Tara looked into the goddess's purple eyes and saw sadness, soon replaced by fury. Yet, the hand on her cheek was not any less kind, maybe the opposite. Tara was sure that the goddess was not mad at her, but rather about something that concerned her.
"Your father's family is… in need of a good smiting," said the goddess on an icy tone.
"Please," said Tara, covering Ereshkigal's hand with her own. "I know they're not the best, but, please, don't take them before their time."
"All right, I'll respect your wish, though you make me want to kidnap you like Hades did with Kore when you look at me with those eyes," said the goddess with a sultry smile.
Tara blushed. Of course, she knew the myth of Persephone. She also knew that the danger she was in had just changed, not disappeared because having that kind of attention from a god had a tendency to be rather unhealthy for mortals. Still… she gathered her courage.
"Are you from Sunnydale?"
Willow had not expected to find so many stranded souls in this cemetery, but this had just hammered down the warning Mictlantecuhtli had given her about the situation being bad. So, she had donned her resolve face and handled it all, getting more and more confident with what she dubbed the RIP spellsong. Dealing with so much torment had however been a bit hard and when she realized that Tara was observing her, her Urd side had immediately thought that she could unwind by indulging in a bit of innocent mischief, just by laying it a bit thick with her current death goddess role… until she touched the girl's cheek and scanned her soul.
Thanks to Urd, she was no stranger to love anymore. The goddess had a long life and her share of lovers and heartbreaks. This meant that she had known immediately what a certain feeling meant. The young demigoddess's soul resonated just right with hers and this was the most important thing between partners for her people. Flesh was transient and could be altered, temporarily or permanently.
There was, however, a little problem: the age difference. From the hourglass, Tara was seventeen, which would have been one year older than pre-Halloween Willow and therefore fine… before Halloween. Because of Urd, Willow was now much older and dating Tara would be robbing the cradle or, even worse in the goddess's opinion, behaving like Zeus. She realized that her last sentence about a possible kidnapping had been seriously borderline, even if she had been just teasing.
I can be patient. Wait for her to become an adult and then… then we'll see if we both are still interested. Nothing more, nothing less. Ah! She has questions. Okay, I can do that. Stop flirting and discuss a bit more seriously. I finished quite early anyway.
"Hmm… you should be cautious," said Willow as she leaned back and sat in levitation, not realizing that she was giving the blushing teen an ample view of her cleavage. "Pleading to me to stay my hand from punishing those who tried to despoil you was something you could legitimately ask for, as it is your right to forgive, and it is not my role to judge them… in this world. Further than that…"
Willow saw Tara tense and she had a little smile. It was easy for the goddess to see that the young witch had remembered that asking questions from a god required an offering.
"Thankfully for you, I like you and I don't mind chatting casually. Just remember what I said if you meet my colleagues. So, the answer is yes. What did you hear about Sunnydale?" continued Willow.
"That something enormous happened there. I'm sorry, I don't want to offend but did you… take this body?"
Willow quickly remembered the briefing that Santa Muerte had given the interns about Father Zeman and the Knights of Saint Jude the day before. Given that the Death Squad had a tendency to hang out in graveyards, contacts with the Catholic Church's Demon Hunters were a definite possibility, and Willow had been given instructions about what she could tell them. It was mostly common sense coupled with a list of the topics Father Zeman had already discussed with the inhabitants of Sunnydale.
"Nope, no vampire-like or demonic possession here," replied Willow with a smile. "More like transcendence. A lot of perks, but also a lot of responsibilities," she added, pointing over her shoulder, at the area where she had laid the ghosts to rest.
"The ghosts. I read about it and… to think you can do that so easily."
"Ah, I see, there is a bit of a misunderstanding there. There are two categories of ghosts. Those you are thinking about are what I call the Haunters. They have enough will to actually manifest in the physical world and enough torment to make sure people will suffer because of them. Those you saw me help are just Lost. They did not manage to cross but they don't have enough will or torment to do anything else than to make sensitive people feel uncomfortable. Still, it's important to guide them across the Veil, because there are demons that feed on that kind of soul or one of the Lost could realize that she can get stronger by devouring the others, and then we have to deal with an evil spirit. I want to make clear that the situation in this cemetery was not normal. It's like a house that has gone without proper care for too long."
Need to stop babbling… well, at least I managed to be consistent, thought the goddess.
"Shouldn't there be… psychopomps?"
"You nailed it: should is exactly the word," said Willow as she sat a bit straighter, holding her right knee with her hands. "There are a bunch of reasons and we're still sorting all that out. What I'm sure of is that the demons and evil spirits I mentioned killed some of them and without death gods fully managing the thing… well, a machine can only run for so long without proper maintenance. Thankfully, we're here now, but it means we have a lot of work to put things back in order. Padfoot here is going to help with that."
The dog barked happily, which made Tara pet him.
"By the way, I don't mind if you tell that to the nun my colleagues saw you with," continued Willow. "The world is in bad enough shape without the people wanting to keep things running fighting among themselves. That's why we consider the priest in Sunnydale to be the Vatican's ambassador."
"Thank you, I understand. Do you know… which god I am descended from?"
Willow focused on the girl's soul, accessing Urd's abilities as the Norn of the Past. She then quickly organized her findings in her mind.
"That question… you're sure you want to know?"
"Yes, please."
"Okay, I can give you this boon, but I want to make one thing clear: unlike what we discussed before, this is something I want you to promise that you will keep to yourself. I don't think the Knights would like you to know what I'm going to say."
Willow saw her tense again and the goddess nodded approvingly. It was clear that the young witch understood what a promise to a goddess meant.
"I promise I will keep what you will tell me about my origins for myself."
"Good. How familiar are you with the Irish myths?"
"A bit. My mother told me the tale of Cu Chulainn."
"Good, he's your great-uncle, many, many times removed. In short, a little time before a certain Patrick arrived on the Emerald Isle, Lugh had a daughter with a mortal woman. It was… his last act as he poured all the power that remained to him into the child, and she became a powerful enchantress. Your eyes that can see so many things is because you inherited Balor's power through Lugh… and I must insist that he sacrificed one of his eyes to gain his death gaze, and I would hate for you to sacrifice one of your pretty eyes to do the same. Funny, you seem relieved."
"Eh… I was a bit afraid that there was some Da Vinci Code stuff about me. No way the Church would have let me go if it had been true. Being a descendant of Lugh is something I can accept a lot better as a Wiccan… you said that it was his last act… and you said no death gods. That's why you're here, right? Because the old gods are dead? But…"
"You likely think about spells calling on one god or another still working," interrupted Willow, shaking her head sadly. "Do you think the sun would not rise now that Helios and Inti are gone?"
"No, of… oh! They were just helping, right? We can still do the spell, but it's just harder without them?"
Willow, a radiant smile on her lips, materialized a cookie and handed it to Tara.
"Just like a house continues to exist without a landlord and a janitor, so does the world run without us… but not as well, as you have seen with my ghost problem."
"Can we… sorry, stupid questions. If we humans took charge of that… that's what's happening now, right? You were human."
"Another cookie?"
"Yes, thanks," replied Tara as she took a bite of the first one. "They're delicious."
"Happy you like them, I baked them myself," replied Willow as she materialized another one and handed it to the young witch. "As much as I enjoyed our chat, I'm afraid I still have work to do. Hmm… normally I would say to make a libation to get my attention but given the alcohol laws in this country… if you want to talk to me, face the west and pray to me. I will hear you. Now go with my blessing, Tara."
- Various times and places, Tuesday 15 November 2011 -
After a debriefing and a relatively short lunch break, Willow had gone out in the field again, following Mictlantecuhtli. This time however… it was different from handling ghosts.
"Eh," she said softly as she put her hand on the shoulder of the young man in the hospital bed.
She saw him 'wake up' and look at her. Instantly, there was recognition in his eyes, and she did her best to present a friendly face to him. She had even used the Aetheric Wings spell to look more angel-like, as it seemingly helped some of her 'customers' not panic.
"Guess I didn't make it," said the young man. "Sarah…"
Willow nodded toward the exhausted young woman that had fallen asleep in a nearby chair. Her arm was in a sling. The young man 'got up' and looked at his body left in the bed.
"It was so stupid… the accident I mean. I suppose I can't…"
"No, I'm sorry," she said, extending her right hand. "It's time, Isaac."
He took her hand and the temporary 'ghost' her own liminal presence had allowed him to generate became pure soul light that crossed the Veil.
She had a look for the young man's little sister. She wanted so much to help but… she also knew that it wasn't her place. She was on duty, and it meant that she had to steel her heart. Mictlantecuhtli had been very clear that preventing the Knights from undoing their work excused her little 'cookie break' with Tara, but that he expected exemplary behavior for the rest of her day's caseload. Once an established Death Deity, she would have more leeway, but as an intern, she had to prove that she could take the hard decisions.
Willow passed through a screen from the life support equipment, letting Death Central's computer aim her to her next assignment. Anpu had to do some emergency maintenance as Osiris had more and more problems managing things. This had given Mictlantecuhtli and Melinoe the fun idea to make it an exercise for the interns. To prevent souls from getting into the damaged sections Anpu was repairing, cases would be handled manually by the interns while the two experienced Death Gods graded their performance.
An instant later, she exited through a broken smartphone and looked at a body sprawled on the ground, surrounded by blood and gore. She did her best to stay serene as she kneeled next to a middle-aged woman, not wanting to think about the fact that a mere moment earlier, her current 'customer' had been on the top of a nearby building. She took the woman's hand and immediately heard sobs as the soul of the deceased mortal exited her body.
"Did… oh," said the woman as she looked at her body then at Willow. "What happens now? Am I… going to hell?"
"No, it doesn't work that way, no matter what some people think," replied Willow, hating very much the fact that her psychometry was currently amplified by her role as a death intern and telling her all she had never wanted to know about the woman's circumstances and the reasons that led her to jump.
"That's… good, I think. So, where am I going?"
"Why don't we find out?" asked back Willow, doing her best to smile reassuringly as she sent her on her way.
The goddess sighed as she jumped again inside the smartphone's screen, letting Death Central direct her to the next case. This was going to be a long afternoon.
- Death Central, Sunnydale, Tuesday 15 November 2011, 18h14 -
"Melinoe, Mictlantecuhtli, what are your impressions on the interns?" asked Anpu as he set a donut box on the middle of the meeting table and sat on his chair.
The four full-time members of Afterlife Management were currently sitting in a conference room in Death Central, after they had sent the interns back home for some well-deserved rest.
"First I want to make clear I'm not too fond of the method we used today, even if I understand it was a good choice given our time constraints," replied the Greek goddess after taking a sip of hot cocoa provided by Santa Muerte. "Two cracked midway and four others indicated they were quitting when they came back, which means we're left with five. I think they will hold, but we need a carrot after today's big stick."
"Five already means we're more than doubling our headcount," said Santa Muerte. "If we manage to keep them, that will help a lot."
"Short-term yes," replied Anpu. "Long-term, I hope the nine of us can form a core team to manage the personnel when we do a second wave or recruitment, hopefully next spring. Who did we keep and what do you think of today's performance?"
"I'll finish the full report tomorrow morning, but I have some basic observations already," replied Melinoe. "First one is Kimaris, the necromancer from Deamonea. Very professional and competent with the spells but she just doesn't do empathy."
"In short, a new Orcus," replied Santa Muerte, remembering a sometimes a bit grating member of Earth-N's Death Squad. "We can work with that."
"Yep," continued Melinoe. "Of mine, only one other pulled through, codename Vanth. She's a Shedu from Earth-N with a wind domain, but she filled a request for a name change right when she came back. She wants the job and she's definitely the kind of goddess to send when you need a soul brought gently. My guess is that she applied to escape the overly competitive mindset and constant loophole wrangling of infernal organizations without having to defect, likely for family reasons."
"Unsurprising," said Mictlantecuhtli, "joint projects have often been a haven for people like her. Now, for my three 'surviving' interns, I could also make some interesting observations during the day. First, we have Muut, actually an angel from the Spirit World but he put in a name change because his human side is an American Native. The kind grandfather type, quite solid and understands the importance of the job.
"The second one is codename Yama, also an Eloah, but from Earth-N. He's originally a fertility god but his merging was problematic due to losing his wife to a 'barbecue fork incident' shortly before Halloween. He's here because he wants to feel useful, and his former job fell victim to our tech upgrade. Overall a good guy, but we'll have to watch his mood a bit. The last one is Urd, who has been using the codename Ereshkigal."
"How did she do?" asked Anpu.
"Power-wise, she's a complete monster," said Melinoe.
"True," continued Mictlantecuhtli. "I asked her to handle the ghosts in Evergreen. Instinctive handling of the spellsong, on the fly adjustments, and pouring more power than most first categories in the song without even feeling it. To give you an idea, she flawlessly made a group of thirty-one Lost cross with a single spell, all on her personal mana. I heard about the slacker reputation Urd has in Heaven, but those last two days I realized that she just appears to be so because she's bored by routine work."
"Like a genius who gets bad grades because class is too slow for him, and he can't be bothered to take it seriously?" asked Santa Muerte.
"That's the idea. The problem will be to make sure that she understands the importance of the rules. She had an encounter with a mortal… and no she didn't let the liminal presence spell down. The mortal is the young demigoddess mentioned in Belial's report about the Knights of Saint Jude. I recorded the event, and I will put the transcript in the report. The information she gave was fine and it was important to prevent the Knights from tampering with our work. It's just… she was flirty and mentioned something about the way your parents met, Melinoe."
"Ah… yes, Urd likes to tease," replied the daughter of Persephone while rubbing her forehead. "And her human side is only sixteen, so it must be confusing for her. I'll talk to her."
"Do you think she can work seriously with us?" asked Anpu.
"If we can keep her properly motivated, yes," replied Mictlantecuhtli. "Politically speaking, having her here…"
"Yes, a great boon for our department… and I think her 'loose cannon' attitude is actually something we can benefit from, with a little guidance. We just need to put her in situations needing creative thinking. I will think more about it. For now, I think we can have them look at the administrative side for one or two days to let them recuperate. Muerte, let's have Ereshkigal go through our data for the Samsara."
"Agreed. In a week, we will have a much better view of the five of them."
- Willy's Bar, Sunnydale, Tuesday 15 November 2011, 18h17 -
Willow aimed straight for the bar as she entered, noticing that Ishtar was already there. She crashed unceremoniously on the stool next to her little sister and put her head on the counter.
"Tepoz!" said Ishtar, pointing at Willow.
"I see the problem!" replied the barman who sent beer their way using telekinesis.
"No…" started Willow.
"Nah, just regular alcohol, not stuff that can actually get us drunk. I think you just need to relax and talk a bit."
Willow raised her head, noticing that two German Mass full of blond beer had found their way in front of them. She clinked her mug against Ishtar's and took a sip, letting the slight bitterness of the beverage wash away the bad taste that had followed her the whole afternoon.
"Tell me… is weeding out half the interns on the second day common practice on your side?"
"Okay, I can guess what happened," said Ishtar with a grin. "It depends on what the boss wants of the interns. If the goal is to get minions to do routine work, no. The interns are here so that important people can focus on important stuff, so as long as they don't fuck up, that's it. However… let's just say I advise to read the contract carefully because the quitting clauses can have a lot of traps in that case. On the other hand, if the goal is to find people who can stomach a difficult job, then yes. You throw people headfirst into it and see who sinks and who swims. That way, only minimum time is lost both for the interns and for the trainers. The big issue with that method is finding the right dosage. If you damage the interns too much, later recruitment becomes a problem. Not enough and you don't get the desired effect."
"It was psychopomp stuff. The morning was… actually not that difficult. We were in cemeteries handling souls that didn't cross. They were not really responsive, so it was just about using a spellsong to send them off. You get a bit ruffled because the magic creates a conduit with the ghosts' torment, but nothing too bad. The afternoon… there is an automation that directs us automatically to people who just died. We make them cross and… you have to stay all professional, no matter how unfair the situation you stumble upon can be… had to make a kid cross, was dying of terminal leukemia…" she said, resting her head on the counter again and feeling her eyes fill with tears.
Willow suddenly felt an arm over her shoulders. Ishtar had leant a bit to bring some comfort to her.
"Thanks," continued Willow as she straightened again and wiped her eyes. "Some of the interns looked ready for a good depression when we debriefed at Death Central… they declared that they were quitting when Melinoe asked about it. There are only five of us left now: two guys and three girls."
"They're nice?" asked Buffy.
"Depends, I don't know them very well yet. I think it's going well with Vanth… speaking of names, I'm using Ereshkigal for work."
"I appreciate the gesture but if it's that hard…"
"I'm going to continue, at least until the end of the internship. Yes, it's hard and I know I'm going to spend a few mopey evenings after work until I get used to it, but… well, I asked for a challenge. I got it."
"Unfortunately…"
"Away mission?"
"Yes, I likely won't be back until Friday."
"Don't worry, I will manage and it's not like I'm alone with Alice, Dru and Spike. I also think a little izakaya-style after-work drinks with my colleagues is something I will suggest tomorrow. Tepoz?"
"Always happy to have new patrons and I have nice private rooms for that kind of outings," replied the barman. "By the way, if you could have a look there and certify they're clean soul-wise, I would really appreciate it. There may have been some kitten poker games there before Halloween and if Bast gets wind of it through Anpu… I don't want her 'Sekhmeting out' and trashing my establishment."
"Thanks, Tepoz, and no problem, I'll have a look… Ishtar, I also think we should have a Scoobie event this weekend, so that Xander doesn't feel left out."
"Know what? Let's invite him, Giles and Killa. Restaurant and I'll pay. Had a nice bonus recently and I feel like spending part of it on friends. As for the place," she said while taking out her smartphone and checking a few things. "Got it. How does Chinese sound? "
"That works for Xander and me. The ones in Sunny… right, one of them ended with a god of food as the owner?"
"Yep. I know that you're spoiled by Dru's cooking now, but the goal is for everybody to relax."
- Oxnard, Tuesday 22 November 2011, 22h15 -
It's not alcohol, but cocoa is sacred for the Aztec gods, so I think she won't mind, thought Tara.
She was in the garden behind their hotel near Oxnard, kneeling on the ground, facing west.
"Great Ereshkigal, please accept my humble offering," she said softly as she poured her cup of hot cocoa on the ground.
She smiled as she saw the beverage disappear into the earth much faster than it should have and felt the night wind caressing her. She was sure that she could feel Ereshkigal's magic.
In the hotel, Sister Lori felt cold and clasped her hand around her rosary as she closed the curtain, after having seen Tara hold her little ritual. Not that she would have forbidden it. According to the rule of her Order, a private ceremony by a pagan ally was acceptable… and the recent situation had added many complications to the situation.
Tara had told her of her encounter with Ereshkigal. How the terrible Babylonian goddess had actually been an angel of mercy for all the restless souls in Evergreen. Of how the Church Grim the goddess created would now protect the place from desecrators and destroy vampires the moment they tried to rise from the graveyard's hallowed ground. Sister Lori had little doubt that the gods of Sunnydale had been doing the same kind of things in many other places.
She had reports from about a priest who had witnessed ghostly jaguar knights kneeling in front of Mictlantecuhtli as he ordered them to stand watch over the graveyards of Mexico City. Another report, coming from an imam who sometimes worked with the Knights had reported rumors about Anubis destroying demons that fed on corpses near Luxor.
She knew that her Order had an advantage. Thanks to Father Zeman, they had somewhat amicable relationships with Sunnydale, and they could see the signs in the reports that many others would have discarded as ludicrous. Father Zeman had been clear that there was a sense of urgency among the Sunnydalers, that they felt that the world was in bad shape and that it was their duty to do something about it.
She kneeled and started to pray, searching for guidance…