Buffy: Heart of Darkness Chapter 9

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Chapter Nine

June 24, 2003

Sunnydale

“You know what they say,” Giles reminded Oz. “True friends are the ones that help youmove. More than happy to have lent a hand.”

Oz nodded. “After we get settled in, y’might wanna come visit. I can show you around

the studio and all.”

“That’s a very generous offer,” Giles remarked. “I’ll be certain to take you up on it.”

Oz nodded. He turned to Willow. “All set?”

Willow tapped on her laptop, highlighting a row of text and turning it red. “That’s

everything,” she told him. “Apartment’s all cleaned out, everything’s tossed that needed to be,we gave the keys back to Mr. Graber...” She shook her head. “That’s it. Every ‘i’ dotted, every

‘t’ crossed. We’re ready.” She closed the laptop and slipped it in her oversized canvas purse.Oz turned to the assembled. “I guess that’s it, guys. We’re ready to go.”

Buffy, Xander, Giles and Liz nodded in reply. Liz blinked back a tear and hugged

Willow. “Good luck in L.A. and all,” she said. “We’re all gonna miss you.”

“You too,” Willow replied. “Keep me posted on how things go with Max.”

Liz smiled, moving to Oz and hugging him as well.

Giles embraced Willow. “You’re always welcome back, no matter what the reason,” he

assured her. “I’ll miss the both of you very much.”

“Giles,” Willow murmured, holding him. “Thanks for everything. I don’t think any of us

would be here without you.”

Giles shrugged, slightly embarrassed. “Good luck, Willow, always.” He moved to Oz.

“And you make sure you keep in touch. You’ll have an extraordinary time in the music business,I’m sure.”

“I’ll e-mail you,” Oz teased him. Giles raised an eyebrow and Oz chuckled.

“Oz-man,” Xander spoke, holding out his hand; Oz took it. “Keep the couch in the guest

room ready. Me and Buff’ll be up before you know it.”

Oz nodded. “You guys are always welcome. And take care of my van.”

“My van now,” Xander reminded him. “I paid for it fair and square.”

“Be kinda hard to spend the Geoffrey dollars where we’re headed,” Oz deadpanned.

Xander shook his head and moved to Willow. “Gonna miss you,” he told her. “Me too,” she nodded.

“This feels weird, Will, like there’s something wrong with you leaving and all.”

Willow looked up at him. “I’ll come visit, I promise. And you guys’ll be up, you knowthat.”

Xander shook his head. “Take care, Will. Don’t forget us.”

Willow smiled. “You know I won’t.”

He hugged her. “I know.”

“Oz,” Buffy spoke, holding him. Oz returned the gesture.

“Let me know how the whole numero uno werewolf thing goes,” she urged him.

“Don’t worry, I’m not tryin’ to horn in on your ‘chosen one’ vibe, Buffy,” he joked.

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She made eye contact with him. “You better not be,” she teased.

He shook his head. “I remember what happened to the last person who tried to do that.”

Buffy raised an eyebrow.

“Coma for two years?” he reminded her. Buffy rolled her eyes. “Oh, God. You have room for her in that trailer?”

“No,” Oz answered quickly. They both laughed. Buffy turned to Willow. “Hey, you,” the Slayer said. Willow hugged her friend fiercely. “I want you to come visit next weekend,” Willow told

her. “I don’t want you to wait until we’re settled. In a week and a half we’ll be settled. Just come

see us.”

“Couldn’t keep me away,” Buffy told her friend.

“Keep an eye on Xander, would you?” Willow asked her quietly. “I hate to put pressure

on you, but he’s never ever been happier in his whole life than he is with you. And I’d know.”

“I’ll watch out for him,” Buffy promised. Willow embraced Buffy again, her emotions too strong for words, merely nodding in

response. After a long moment the two women separated, and Willow snuffled.

“Well, we gotta go,” she managed. “Take care, everybody. I’ll call you with our new phone number.”

They all nodded.

Oz leaned over and kissed Willow on the cheek, and the two of them hopped up into the

Ryder truck. Oz started up the yellow beast, putting it in gear, and rolled down the window. He

beeped the horn as he gave the truck some gas, and the four of them stood watching as Oz and

Willow chugged down the street and around the corner.

Xander slid his arm around Buffy’s shoulders. “They’ll be fine,” he whispered. “Oh, absolutely,” Buffy responded.

“They’ll be missed terribly,” Giles predicted.

“Sure will,” Liz commented.

“Oh, yeah,” Xander agreed. “Definitely,” Buffy concurred.

*Faith frowned, her lips moving slightly as she read from the dusty old book. She ran her

finger along the page, letting it trace the lines of text to make sure she followed them. Deep

concentration furrowed her brow as she continued reading, her dark eyes troubled as she tried

with some difficulty to make sense of what she perused. She shook her head, running a hand

through her hair, and continued onward.

After a longer spell of reading she put the book down and closed her eyes; she began to

stretch but her injured midsection screamed in protest. “Ugh,” Faith grunted. “Would ya just heal

already?”

“I thought the scholarly pose was a bit of a stretch,” Payne called out from the kitchen.

“Not like there’s anything else to do here. I can’t really do much runnin’ around, and Gdoesn’t have any good movie channels.” She shrugged. “I’m surprised he has a VCR.”

“Did you learn anything?” Payne inquired idly.




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Faith replied, “Yeah. I was doin’ some reading about werewolves, since I’m gonna be

workin’ with ‘em, and you know somethin’? They are really messed up. You know, they start

changin’ when they get older?”

“Ah,” Payne remarked, “you’re reading Lycurgas.”

“I don’t know what the hell I’m readin’,” the Slayer answered, “but they start to get mor e

wolfy when they get older. They can’t control it too good anyway, but it starts lastin’ more’n twoor three days a month.”

“Most of them don’t live that long,” Payne commented. “Or didn’t, anyway. That will

change.”

“There’s somethin’ I wanna ask you,” Faith ventured.

“Go ahead,” Payne urged her, entering the living room and sitting in an easy chair.

“Why?” Faith queried.

“Why what?” Payne responded.

“Why do it? What’s in it for you?”

Payne gave Faith a challenging smile. “You’ve never done good just to do good?”

“No,” Faith told her. “And trust me, I know enough to know when other people aren’t

doin’ it, either. And you ain’t.” “Of course I am. Did,” Payne corrected herself.

“Bullshit,” Faith told her. “You set this whole thing up so that you could control an army

of werewolves. Then pussy Willow found you out and made you give that power over to Oz.”

Faith gave her a look. “But I don’t think you did.”

Payne laughed. “Really, Faith. And what makes you think that?”

“That book I was readin’.”

Payne folded her arms. “Lycurgas?”

“No, the other one,” Faith said, holding up a water -damaged, timeworn book bound in

vellum.

“My spellbook!” Payne swore. “You stupid bitch!”

Faith raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Who’s the stupid bitch who left it lyin’ around?”

“Give that to me,” Payne ordered her, one long arm reaching for it.

Faith slid the book away from her. “Come and get it, you want it so much.”

“Faith, it’s mine,” Payne spoke. “Give it to me.”

The Slayer shook her head. “Funny thing, that voice trick of yours,” she told Payne. “I

asked G about it. Turns out if you know magic, or if you have a really strong will you can shrug

it off.” Faith sneered. “So come and get it.”

Payne stood up. “You don’t want to do this, Faith.”

Faith winced as she stood up; the dark Slayer stood at least six inches shorter than the tall

witch. “You touch a fuckin’ hair on my head and I’ll break your arm. Don’t think for a second

that I’m Buffy and I’ll forgive you for every little thing you do.” Faith set her free hand on her

hip. “I just wanna know what you’re up to, that’s all. You got this werewolf thing happenin’ but

you always had somethin’ goin’ on the side, enough so that you wanted me in the game as an ace

up your sleeve.”

“Faith,” Payne growled, “all I wanted was the werewolf army. A never ending stream of

followers who would be really hard up for something to do after they wiped out the vampires. I

can think of plenty of things that could keep them busy.”

“Like what?” Faith wondered.




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“Doesn’t matter now,” Payne sighed. “I relinquished the power of the Call to Oz. That’s

his weapon now.”

“See, I don’t think so,” Faith spoke. “Most of this spellbook I can’t read,” she admitted.

“You use an alphabet I never seen before, I don’t know what it is. But some of it, you wrote in

English, and some in something else, Latin, I guess, I dunno. But one of those things is marked

‘transfer spell.’” Faith rubbed her nose with her free hand. “But you know, I’m wonderin’ whyyou wrote that so big and so obvious for someone to see, when it was in a totally different

language.”

“It was a hybrid spell,” Payne explained. “I had to put something together at the last

minute.”

Faith shook her head. “But you were the one who said you can’t just fake it with shit like

this. You said it, G says it, hell, all you wizard types say it. Gotta use the old shit, the good shit,

that works better.” Faith held the book up. “Only reason I got to look at this thing is ‘cause you

let me. Because you wanted me to. So I’d believe you and think you were some kinda good

guy.”

“A good guy like you?” Payne wondered, raising an eyebrow.

“I ain’t no saint,” Faith admitted. “But at least I’m tryin’. You’re still lyin’ to these people. You didn’t give Oz anything; you just made him think you did. You still got that power,

and you’re gonna use it.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Payne responded.

“You’re right, I don’t,” the Slayer agreed. “So why don’t I hold on to this until G gets back and we’ll just see what he says it --”

Payne lunged for the book, her long, graceful body stretching out, strong arms reaching

for the tome. Faith grabbed one of her wrists and spun her around; Payne, off balance, slid across

the coffee table and fell to the floor in a heap on the other side.

“Now I know you got somethin’ to hide,” Faith spat, taking off for the doorway.

Payne clambered up after her, bursting outside on to the front walk.

Faith was already halfway down the street, her bare feet flapping on the pavement, hair

streaming in the breeze.

Go, Payne thought, and a homunculus dropped from his perch and flew off after her.

Don’t lose her or I’ll melt you down and make candles out of you.

*Xander leaned over and kissed Buffy on the cheek. “I’ll see you tonight, around eight.”

She slid a hand down his cheek and kissed him back, on the lips. “See ya then.” She

slipped out of the old car and waved good-bye as Xander sputtered off. Buffy turned around,

adjusting her sunglasses, and entered her mother’s gallery. She took in an odd-looking skinny

statue as her mother came out of her office.

“Buffy!” Joyce smiled. “This is sort of a surprise.”

“Somebody would really buy that?” Buffy wondered, pointing at the distorted figure of a

human. I think it’s human. “Somebody would really buy that for twelve hundred dollars,” Joyce told her. “So,

what’s up, kiddo?”

Buffy shook her head and turned to regard her mother. “Nothing. Just had some free timeand wanted to take a breather.”




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“At my gallery?” Joyce asked skeptically.

Buffy shrugged. “I haven’t been in a while,” she admitted. “It’s not a problem, is it?

You’re not busy or anything?”

Joyce kept herself from laughing. “I think I can take a little time out for my daughter.”She smiled. “What’s on your mind?”

Buffy looked around. “You have someplace we could sit?” “My office,” Joyce told her. “Come on. Something worth sitting down for.” She raisedher eyebrows. “This ought to be good.”

Mother and daughter made their way back to Joyce’s office; rather than taking a seat at

her desk, Joyce sat down on the couch and gestured for Buffy to do the same. “Can I get youanything to drink? All I have is coffee and water.”

“Nope, I’m fine,” Buffy assured her. She sat down next to her mother and spoke, “So.”

“So...?” Joyce wondered, giving her daughter a questioning look.

Buffy sighed. “So Spike burned our house down.”

Joyce nodded. “He certainly did. I mean, it was insured, but...”

“I’m sorry,” Buffy murmured. “I’m really sorry, mom. It’s my fault he did that.”

“How is it your fault?” Joyce queried. “He’s a vampire,” Buffy stated. “A vampire I’ve fought a bunch of times before. I should

know his patterns. I should know how he thinks, and I shoulda been able to stop him.”

“You can’t be everywhere at once,” Joyce responded. “You knew enough to have me stay

at Rupert’s place a few days to keep me out of harm’s way. And that worked out rather well.”

Buffy looked up at a painting on the wall, then down at the carpet, then finally at her

mother’s shoes. “Yeah, well, I’m sorry anyway. Because of me, you don’t have any place to

live.”

“Buffy,” Joyce spoke, placing a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, “first of all, I think it’s

Spike’s fault I don’t have any place to live, not yours. And second of all, I do have someplace to

stay. At least temporarily.”

“You got a hotel room?” Buffy asked hopefully. Joyce shook her head. “I’m staying with Rupert. Until I can find someplace.”

Buffy swallowed hard. “But you’ll be moving out, right?”

Joyce looked away, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. “I’m not sure.”

Buffy blinked, folding her hands in her lap. “You don’t know?”

“It’s kind of comfortable there,” Joyce admitted. “And it’s not like I own anything any

more to clutter up the place with.”

“Mom,” Buffy spoke.

“Rupert’s been very understanding through this whole thing. Just the perfect gentleman.”

“Mom,” Buffy repeated.

“And he doesn’t have any issue with me staying on for a while. He knows I’m sort of busy at the moment, and --”

“Mom!” Buffy interrupted.

Joyce looked at her daughter.

“You and Giles, mom. Giles and you. Dating. Maybe more than dating. Maybe living

together. Maybe you and Giles --” Buffy stopped. “So not gonna go there.”

“Why not?” Joyce queried. “You do it with Xander and I don’t say anything.”

“ Mom!!” Buffy blurted.




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“It’s really the same thing, if you look at it. I know who Rupert really is and what he

does, and Xander knows your secret. And let’s face it, Buffy, I’m not getting any younger. How

many men out there are going to be able to deal with a woman who has a twenty-two year old

daughter who’s the savior of her generation?”

Buffy frowned. “You don’t tell them about that, do you?” she asked.

“With Rupert I wouldn’t have to,” Joyce pointed out. “And he’s thoughtful, and sweet,and a bit stuffy. But I like that.”

Buffy looked at her mother without blinking. “Great. My mom is shacking up with

Giles.”

“Buffy!” Joyce exclaimed. “We are not ‘shacking up.’ I’m staying at his place until I findsomeplace of my own.”

“Kinda sounds like you already did,” Buffy mentioned.

Joyce shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe I have.” She looked over at Buffy closely. “You know

what one thing about Rupert really endears him to me?”

Buffy furrowed her brow. “Do we really have to have that part of this conversation?”

“How much he loves my daughter,” Joyce continued, ignoring Buffy’s question. “He’s

very sweet to me and I can tell he likes me, but what really made up my mind about him was theway he feels about you. He loves the most important thing in my world. That means a lot to me,

Buffy. A lot.”

Buffy smiled despite herself. “Just so long as I don’t have to call him ‘dad’.”

“Oh, we’re a long way from getting married, honey. We aren’t even officially livingtogether yet. Not like you and Xander.”

Buffy met her mother’s look. “I didn’t realize this whole Xander thing was an issue with

you.”

“It’s not,” Joyce told her. “By your age, I was married. I’d hate to see you do that and be

unhappy. And this boy obviously makes you very happy. And that’s what I want for my

daughter.” Joyce reached over and took Buffy’s hand. “And now I know that’s what my daughter

wants for me.”

Buffy shook her head. “You’re pretty smooth, you know that?”

Joyce smiled. “Where do you think you got it from?”

*With a sigh, Giles sat down in the driver’s seat of his Beetle and started the car . I didn’t

think I’d have to become an expert on werewolves, he mused as he backed out of the faculty

space and pulled out onto the street. But since a fair number of them will be coming to

Sunnydale, and since Payne may not always be here to consult, I su ppose it’s for the best that I

have at least a passing familiarity with their history. He sat at a red light, drumming on the

steering wheel absently with his fingertips, and moved off when the light changed.

I suppose I shall send any strays to Oz, he thought, grinning at the unintended pun. He’ll know what to do with them. I’m not sure that’s something he and Willow bargained for, to be at

the center of all this. In some ways they will be as involved in all of this as Buffy -- and Faith.

Giles rubbed his forehead as he braked at a cross street, and continued when the traffic had

cleared. “Yes, Rupert old boy, just what were you thinking, taking on Faith as your Slayer? It’s a

wonder Buffy hasn’t turned my hair completely gray.” He made a right hand turned and shook

his head. “Faith will have me bald, I’m sure of it. Still, she’s turned over a new leaf, or at least




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she’s trying to.” Have to encourage that, Giles thought. Everyone will benefit from her

transition.

He slowed down at a yellow light, just around the corner from his apartment complex,

when he saw Faith running down the street, barefoot, in shorts and a t-shirt, clutching a book to

her chest and looking over her shoulder. What in God’s name...? “Faith?” he called out.

She stopped at the sound of her name, searching about.Giles put the car in park and stepped out of his seat. “Faith! Over here!”

The dark Slayer hopped off the curb and made a beeline for Giles’ car.

“Get in!” she told him. “Get ready to move!”

“I was just on my way home, and--”

“Get in the car!” Faith told him, trying to open the passenger’s side door. “G, unlock the

door!” She glanced back over her shoulder.

Giles seated himself and opened her door. “Faith, what’s wrong?”

“Drive,” she instructed him. “And don’t go home. There’s a really pissed off witch atyour place.”

“Payne?” Giles wondered.

Faith stared at him. “What part of ‘let’s get the fuck out of here’ didn’t you catch?” She jammed her foot over his, gunning the engine.

“It’s in park,” he explained.

“Giles, this is not a joke! Move!” Faith yelled.

Giles put the car in gear and sped off. “Would you mind telling me why Payne is angry?”

Faith held up the vellum book. “This.”

Giles took a quick look. “That looks remarkably like a spell book.”

“You got it,” Faith agreed. “It’s hers. That bitch.”

“You took Payne’s spell book?” Giles clarified.

Faith looked out at the road. “Drive, G! Jesus! Do you always move like an old woman

behind the wheel?”

Giles scowled at her but upped his speed slightly. “Why did you take Payne’s spell book?”

Faith turned back to him. “You know that thing she did last night with Oz, that shit with

the werewolves and all that and gave her mojo to him?”

“I think so,” Giles ventured. Great. Faith is even less specific with her vocabulary than

Buffy.

“It was bullshit. Total bullshit. Payne didn’t give Oz dick last night, except a major league hand job.” Faith shook her head. “Bitch.”

“In English, Faith, please,” Giles prompted.

Faith took a deep breath and held up the vellum. “She put on a show for you guys last

night. It was all crap. She made everybody think she gave some shit to Oz, but she didn’t dodick. She’s still got control of the werewolves.”

“What makes you suspect that?”

“It’s all right here,” Faith said, shaking Payne’s spell book. “She left this just sittin’ out

for me to find, and --”

“You went snooping in her personal effects?” Giles wondered.

“No,” Faith responded. “I told you, she left it lying around. Like a beat up old book in

your place is something unusual. All the time she’s been here, ain’t nobody seen this thing, andshe just happens to leave it ot on the table for me to find. Me.”




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“I didn’t know you were versed in magic,” Giles admitted. “How did you know--”

“That’s the deal, G,” Faith elucidated. “She was tryin’ to play me. Leave the spell book

lyin’ around for who to find? Me. Not B, not you, not somebody who has a goddamn clue what

they’re lookin’ at, but me, who don’t know dick about magic.” Faith shook her head. “So I look at it, see the nice ‘give the power to Oz’ spell, and tell you guys in secret what a great chick

Payne is.”“You know, Faith, it’s just possible that she really did --”

“Oh, bullshit, G, and you know it. Payne’s been playin’ angles since she got here. She

had me signed up on this thing before I ever talked to any of you. Freakin’ Spike burned down

her house, she came all the way here, put up with you guys bustin’ her balls and not trustin’ her,slept in the same room with a vamp chick and Buffy’s mom, shared a bathroom with twenty

friggin’ people, and she wants nuthin’ outta this? All that work and she just says, ‘you’re

welcome’ and goes home?” Faith looked out the window. “How naive you gotta be to think

that?”

Giles frowned at the roadway. “Much as I hate to admit it, Faith, you have a point.”

“You don’t wanna admit I’m right, that it?”

“No,” Giles corrected her. “I’d rather not admit Payne is still working for her owninterests in all of this.”

Faith folded her arms. “Better believe it, G.” She stared out the windshield at the road

ahead of them. “Any reason you’re still doin’ the speed limit?”

“If you’re right,” Giles began, “and this is not an elaborate plot of Payne’s, and she reallydoes want her spellbook back, there’s no use trying to run from her.”

“Why not?” Faith queried. “Always worked for me.”

“The homunculi,” Giles answered. “I’m sure she knows where we are this very second.”

“Son of a bitch,” Faith hissed.

“Precisely.”

*“Why are you saying no?” Valeria queried, sitting down on the stone altar in the

mausoleum. The two of them had been walking alone last night, vaguely keeping an eye out on

things, and had gotten absorbed in their conversation and lost track of time. A quick call to

Giles’ place had assured the Watcher that they were all right, but they remained stuck here

during the day.

“I’m not saying no,” Angel replied. “I’m saying I have to think about it.”

“That sounds like no to me,” Valeria remarked.

“Valeria,” Angel said, taking a step toward her. “I don’t know that your path is with me.

That’s really uncertain right now, and I don’t want you to commit to anything you might regretlater.”

“How could I regret being with you?” she wondered.

“It’s not that simple,” Angel spoke. “You stay with me, you’re going to have certain

desires, certain expectations. And those are never going to happen.”

“You don’t know that,” she argued.

He nodded. “Yes I do.”




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“I don’t mean the never happening part,” Valeria countered. “I mean about my

expectations. I heard what you said about our being together. And I will be satisfied with being

your friend.”

Angel shook his head. “I don’t think you will.”

“Angel,” she spoke, standing up. “You’ve made it very clear how you stand. I accept that.

I’m not insanely happy about it, but I accept it. So why can’t you accept this about me? I wantyour guidance and your experience to help me with this fresh start I was lucky enough to be

granted.”

“I thought you said your soul would make you strong enough to resist the normal

temptations of being a vampire.”

She nodded. “It will. But I’m not ready to be on my own. Buffy told me I’m an unskilled

fighter, and she’s right. I am no good in a fight. I’ll at least need training with that.”

Angel gave her a long look. “You’re grasping at straws, Valeria.”

“It’s true, and you know it.” She folded her arms. “I’m a liability on the battlefield. Youhad to save me in those battles against Spike’s followers. I mostly just tried to defend myself and

stay out of the way.” She looked down at the floor. “It’s a wonder I didn’t get hurt worse than I

did.” “It wasn’t that bad,” Angel told her.

“It was that bad,” she countered. “I had to be rescued a number of times. It was

embarrassing. I should be able to do better.”

Angel shrugged. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You never fought before in your life. Not

everybody’s good at it. Takes time and practice...” He stopped, sighing. “Look, fine, I’ll train

you when we get back to L.A. And you can stay with me until you get your bearings. But don’t

think it’ll be forever, Valeria.”

“I know it won’t,” she agreed. “Just for a while, until I’m strong enough to defend

myself.”

“Why do I think that’s never gonna happen?” Angel inquired.

Valeria pointed at him. “Do you know what a difference we could make together?” sheasked. “The two of us, working side by side for good. Not only would we both stand a better

chance of surviving -- once I’m trained, anyway -- but what an example we would make.” She

met his eyes. “One vampire alone, fighting against his kind, he’s a pariah. But two of them doingwhat’s right, fighting against evil, that might make some of them think.”

“Think about getting a few more friends before coming after us,” Angel admitted.

“They may start to wonder if we know something they don’t,” Valeria continued. “If justone does it, he’s crazy. But if two do it, maybe they’re on to something. Maybe they know a

secret or two the rest of the vampires don’t.” She held her hands palm up. “I know it’s a long

shot, but if even one vampire comes to us and wants to help us, wants to be good, that’s one

more soul we’ve saved. And isn’t that your mission?”

Angel raised an eyebrow. “Sort of. But vampires don’t want to do good.”

“I did,” Valeria countered.

“You’re an exception,” he argued. “A pretty rare one.”

“Rare, maybe,” she concurred. “But unique? I doubt that.” She put her hands on her hips.“You know what I say makes sense. You know that I’m right. If we get one, we may get another,

and another, until we have a group of them. And the larger the group, the more it will make other

vampires stop and think.”

Angel sighed. “I don’t know, Valeria, I mean --”




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She cut him off. “Just think how scared they will be when the werewolf army finally

gathers, and they are hunted like animals. And alone among them we’ll be spared, working with

the wolves, helping them to hunt our own kind.” She continued, “And maybe one or two of them

will forsake their ways and come and join us.”

“So we recruit out of fear?” Angel queried.

“Does it matter what brings them to the their senses?” Valeria wondered. “You didn’tmake that choice willingly; you were cursed. So what if they come to us terrified, in the

beginning? Restoring their souls will make them see the light, and then we’ll have another to

help us.” She nodded her head. “And once word gets out that the only way to avoid the werewolf

hunters is to join with us and renounce evil, our numbers will swell.” She sat on the altar again.“It will be the only way to survive the war, to join our side. Not only will we help destroy the

threat of other vampires, but we’ll save our own race at the same time.”

“You’re gettin’ way ahead of yourself here,” Angel cautioned her.

“Am I?” Valeria inquired. “Or is it just that I’m looking at a bigger picture?” She gazedup at him. “You’ve been a warrior for a long time, Angel. You have fought most of your life.

You’re so used to the way things are that you can’t see that maybe there is a way out, an end to

all the fighting.” “And you can?” he asked her.

She stood again. “Yes, I can. I just told you how it can be achieved. And when it’s all

over, and only the enlightened ones of our kind exist, we can leave and go someplace where no

one will bother us and we won’t be a threat to anyone.” She ran a hand down the lapel of his jacket. “Not exactly vampire heaven, but a place where we can live unmolested, in peace,

forever.”

“Nothing lasts forever,” Angel countered. “Nothing built by the hands of man,” Valeria argued. “But conceived and built by the

hands of immortals?” She set her hands on his shoulders. “Think, Angel, this could work. This

could be the answer for our kind, the ones that are smart enough to survive.”

Angel studied her for a long moment. “Giving you a soul really changed you a lot,” heoffered.

“I have a lot to make up for,” she admitted. “I was mostly useless as a human and

completely useless as a vampire. I’d say it’s about time I started contributing something to theworld.”

Angel shook his head. “You don’t think small, do you?”

*Oz eased the Ryder truck to a stop. “We’re here,” he announced, looking at the old brick

building. “The new Casa de Osborne.”

Willow smiled and leaned over and hugged him. “The start of our new life,” she told him,

kissing his cheek. “This will always be our first place, Oz. The place we’ll tell our kids about.”

Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at the building. “I can’t wait to get all moved in.”

I can’t to be all moved in,” Oz, offered. Willow smiled. “Come on,” she urged him. “If we get started we can be done by

sundown.”

“Is that a concern?” Oz wondered.




218

“Okay, it’s not Sunnydale,” Willow allowed, “but there’s still enough spookiness in L.A.

to keep Angel and Pike and his gang busy year ‘round.”

Oz nodded. “Point taken.” He hopped out of the cab and moved around the back; Willow

made her way to the rear on her side. Both of them stopped when they reached the back of the

truck; the rear doors of a battered blue van swung open to reveal Pike, Shelley, and Rachel.

Willow’s eyebrows raised up. “What are you guys doing here?” “Oz,” Pike greeted him. “Willow. Seein’ as how we’re neighbors now, we figured we’dhelp you with that truck full of boxes.”

Oz nodded. “Very cool.”

Willow unlocked the rear door of the truck and rolled open the door. “As you can see, wehave plenty to go around.”

“I am gonna be so sore tonight,” Rachel commented, clambering up and grabbing a box.

She handed it down to Shelley.

“Why don’t you guys go up and scope out your new place?” Pike suggested to thenewlyweds. “We’ll get things goin’ down here.”

Willow gave him a one-armed hug. “Thanks, Pike. I really appreciate this.”

“What are friends for?” he asked her, patting her on the back. The Osbornes made their way up the steps and buzzed the Super; the man let them in and

met them halfway down the stairs that led to his place. He shook their hands and took their

deposit and handed them each a set of keys, reminded them what day rent was due, and gave

them a card with his phone, pager, and cell numbers on it in case they needed him for anything.

In accordance with Willow’s request, and forwarded checks, the man had see n to getting the

electric and gas turned on; hot water was covered in the lease. Willow and Oz thanked him and

moved back up the stairs into the foyer. They followed the signs to their apartment, number 102,

and Willow unlocked the door, leading them into the empty space.

“This is it,” she smiled. “This is ours.”

Oz shut the door and embraced her from behind, kissing the back of her neck.

“Mmmm,” she murmured, turning to face him, kissing him full on the lips. “We reallydid it.”

“We really did,” Oz agreed, kissing her. “Um, did what?”

“Made it out of Sunnydale. Made it away from that world. To a place where you can beyou and I can be me, and our whole lives are open, and we can do anything we...” She stopped at

his look. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re still a witch,” Oz pointed out. “I’m still a werewolf. Now enhanced with the power to gather other werewolves around him.” He shrugged. “I don’t know that we’ve left that

world, Will. I don’t know that we can.”

“I don’t have to be a witch,” she pointed out.

Oz nodded. “But I don’t have that choice. Three days a month I’m gonna be wolf -guy.”

“I know,” Willow admitted, “but we’ll get the chance to lead a life for ourselves, by

ourselves, just you and me. We can tackle all that stuff on our own terms.”

Oz frowned slightly. “You think that’s why they’re here?”

Willow raised an eyebrow. “What, to make sure we don’t wander too far from the fold or something?”

Oz nodded.




219

“If they are, they’re in for a major surprise. We’re not walking away from that stuff,

maybe, but this is our life, Oz. If they want to be in it, they’re going to have to accept that, accept

that we’re gonna run our lives the way we want to.”

Oz gave her a hug as a knock sounded on the door. “Or maybe they’re just here to help usmove.”

Willow laughed and held him. “That would be nice.”

*

“I dunno about this,” Faith ventured. “We’ll try it my way first,” Giles instructed her, fishing his keys out of his pocket. “If

that fails, we’ll move to your plan.”

“We go with my plan first, we don’t have to worry about it failing,” Faith pointed out.

Giles looked at her, vexed. “We’re not just going to stride into my apartment and clock the woman over the head with something heavy. There’s a reasonable chance all of this can be

sorted out with words -- a chance I intend to take. Do try to restrain yourself until I give you the

signal.” “You mean that choking, gagging noise you’re gonna make when she starts to strangle

the shit out of ya?”

Giles unlocked his door, saying nothing in response. “Payne?” he called out.

The broom handle swung about quickly, a brown blur aiming at Giles’ forehead. Faithstepped in front of him and raised a hand, catching the long thick pole and snatching it away

from Payne. “Fuck plan a,” she spat, leaping at the witch.

“Faith, no!” Giles demanded. The two women went down in a tumble. Faith gained the upper hand quickly, despite her

recent wound, pinning Payne to the floor, and wriggled until she had the witch’s arms pinned

under her legs.

“All yours, G,” the dark Slayer announced.

“Get off of me,” Payne hissed, pushing upward with her shoulders.

“You think that shit is gonna work on me now?” Faith taunted her.

Payne relaxed. “Rupert, get this child off of me.”

Giles took a seat on the couch near where Faith rested atop Payne. “First tell me why you

were trying to give me a rather terrible migraine, and maybe I will.”

“I want my spell book back,” Payne growled. “This little bitch stole it from me.”

“You left it out,” Faith reminded her.

“That was not an invitation for you to take it,” Payne pointed out.

“Maybe if you’d’a just come clean, we’d could trust you,” Faith hissed.

Payne raised an eyebrow. “Come clean, Faith? Like you? You were perfectly willing tohelp me deceive them in the beginning of all this. Had a change of heart?”

“You bitch,” Faith growled.

Giles rubbed his forehead. “Faith, release her.”

“What?” the young woman asked. “You crazy?”

“Let her up,” Giles told her. Reluctantly, Faith stood up, backing away from Payne, who

rose to her feet and towered over the Slayer.

“Thank you, Rupert,” Payne spoke.




220

“Don’t thank me just yet,” Giles advised her. “Faith has made some disturbing

allegations and I want them addressed before we go any further with this.” He looked up at her.

“Did you transfer to Oz the power to call the werewolves?”

Payne nodded. “Of course I did,” she replied. Giles shook his head. “Payne, I know you were having us followed in the car.” He

removed his glasses. “The homunculi can travel during the day, though I would assume you trynot to use them so.”“What’s that got to do with this?” Payne wondered.

“You must have known Faith and I spent a half hour parked three blocks away.”

Payne nodded.

“What did you think we were doing?” Giles inquired.

Payne shrugged. “I figured you were working on a plan to subdue me.”

“Like we’d need a half hour for that,” Faith spat.

Giles held up a hand to quiet her. “I was reading this,” he spoke, holding up her spell book. “Very compelling literature.” He placed it on the coffee table. “I do apologize that Faith

stole it from you --”

“Hey!” Faith protested. “But I’m not sorry she did. Her suspicions were correct. Your very obviously labeled

transference spell is nothing more than a description of ancient Corinth.” He replaced his glasses.

“Badly plagiarized from Thucydides, I might add.”

Payne glanced at Faith, then returned her gaze to Giles. “So?”

“So,” Giles folded his arms, “Faith was right. You didn’t transfer anything to Oz, and I

suspect you’re still intending to perform some sort of ritual to call all the werewolves to you

against their will.”

“And if I do?” Payne asked quietly.

“You know I can’t allow that. These are people we are talking about, Payne. They may

be lycanthropes, but they have rights. All of them.”

“Rupert,” Payne spoke, “they were created by the fates to fight vampires, as surely as the

Slayers were. You wouldn’t let Buffy quit, would you? Or Faith. So why these people?”

“It’s not the same thing,” Giles argued.

“It’s entirely the same thing!” Payne responded. “The werewo lves got off track for a

while -- okay, for a long time -- but their obligation is no different. They don’t have the right to a

normal life any more than these girls do. They should be fighting vampires, Rupert, and you

know it.”

“We cannot compel them,” he replied.

“Why not? You force these scared little teenage girls to pick up a sharp piece of wood

and throw away their lives. Why should the werewolves be any exception?”

“Because they’re not the real deal,” Faith cut in. “Me and B, we’re bad ass 24/7. They’relike part-timers. Most of the time they’re just normal people. Don’t know shit about this. The

vamps go after them any other time than a full moon, it’s gonna be blood feast city.”

“Thank you for that lovely visual,” Giles muttered.

“Rupert,” Payne volleyed, ignoring Faith, “we talked about this the other night, howthey’ll be confused, how they need education and direction. None of that’s changed. They still

need that.”

“Not from you,” Giles told her. “From one of their own, perhaps. But not from you.”

“Without me they wouldn’t even know what they are!” Payne charged.




221

“That doesn’t put them in your debt,” Giles debated. “In fact I would guess many of them

would curse you because of the knowledge you forced upon them.”

“You agreed this was a good idea. You agreed to do this,” Payne reminded him. “And I

couldn’t have done it without your help. You’re a partner in this, Rupert. You’re as culpable as Iam.”

“He ain’t the one tryin’ to control a bunch of werewolves,” Faith pointed out. “She’s right,” Giles concurred. “I do agree that it will be better for them in the long run if they know what they are and can control it, I admit that. Tough as that discovery will be on some

of them. But they need to come to grips with it in their own way. If they are meant to come to

Oz, or whomever, they will.”

“Alone, they’re useless,” Payne maintained. “Together they will turn the tide of the war

against the vampires.” She turned to Faith. “That’s what you want, isn’t it? To fight all the time?

To kill as many vampires as you can?”

“That’d be five by five,” Faith admitted. “So you see why this is necessary,” Payne spoke.

Faith shrugged. “There’s more than that. I never used to think so, but there is. It ain’t all

about fightin’ and killin’ -- though that’s fun.” She gestured to Giles. “These guys showed meit’s more about how you do it than what you do. If you do somethin’ good for the wrong reason,

you ain’t doin’ anything good. You’re just bein’ greedy.”

“Pearls of wisdom from the mouth of a babe?” Payne scoffed. “Please, Faith. Your little

act at turning over a new leaf may have fooled Rupert and the others, but I’m a little more perceptive than they are.” She cocked her head. “I just can’t see what you’re getting out of this

arrangement.”

“That’s enough,” Giles spoke loudly, standing up. “I don’t want to play referee in thismatter any more.” He folded his arms. “Payne, I think you ought to leave town and stay away

from here. You’ve done the world a great service, inadvertently, perhaps, and I thank you fo r it.

But you should have quit while you were ahead. I will not stand by and allow you to pervert this

blessing into some sort of slavery for untold thousands of innocent people.”

“They turn into monsters, Rupert,” Payne seethed. “They aren’t innocent.”

“That’s not your judgement to make. Even if you were right, it would still be wrong to

bend them to your will, whatever good you think you could accomplish by it.”

“You’re signing their death warrant,” Payne warned him. “If you don’t gather these

people together and explain to them what we’ve done, why they are here, they’ll just be targets

for vampires smart enough to start hitting the competition while their guard is down.”

“Better that than enslaving them,” Giles told her.

“You’re a fool,” Payne spoke. “You’re throwing everything away here, Rupert. You’re

discarding the last weapon we have in a war we’re slowly losing to the darkness.” She shook her

head. “Don’t do it. Don’t throw away all our chances over a few scruples.”

“If I have to sacrifice my scruples to win the war, then there is no victory. I become just

like the enemy,” Giles pointed out. “Now gather up your things and go, before I change my

mind.”

Payne shook her head. “You’re all idiots,” she uttered. “And you’re all going to diebecause of it.”

*




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“Mr. Harris,” Andie called to him, “you have a call on line two.”

“Andie, please,” Xander spoke, “just because I get to wear a blue shirt instead of a blue

smock does not mean you have to call me ‘mister.’ In fact, if you do it again, I’m gonn a have to

write you up.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Harris,” she responded, gesturing to the phone. “Line two.”

Xander hit the proper button and offered, “This is Alex Harris, can I help you?” “Alex?” a British voice on the other end of the line wondered. “I’m sorry, I must have the

wrong number.”

“Giles?” Xander inquired. “It’s me, Xander. What’s up?”

“Xander?” Giles questioned. “What’s with that ‘Alex’ business?”

“I got tired of people at work thinking my name was Sandy,” he supplied. “So, what’s

goin’ on, Giles? You’ve never called me here before.”

“We need to find Buffy, and we don’t know where she is. We thought you might know.”

“Is she okay?” Xander’s voice tightened, laced with concern. “She’s fine,” Giles assured him. “We just need to get in touch with her.”

“She’s with her mom at the gallery. She told me she was gonna spend the afternoon

helping out over there, some kinda mother-daughter thing, I think.” Xander couldn’t wipe thefrown completely from his face. “Why? What’s goin’ on that you have to get in touch with Buffy

right away?”

“I’m going to need her to patrol tonight. Yourself as well,” Giles added. “I’ll tell you

more about it later.”

“Did you find Spike’s hideout?” Xander asked in a low voice.

“Not at all,” Giles replied. “We’ll see you tonight after you get off work.”

“Giles,” Xander nagged him. “Give me a hint.”

“It’s about Payne,” the Watcher disclosed. “More than that I don’t want to say. “

“All right,” Xander groused. “I get off at seven. I’ll be there by seven -thirty. Don’t leave

without me.”

“We’d never consider it,” Giles assured him. “Good- bye.”

Giles hung up the phone. “Get some shoes on,” he advised Faith.

“I still don’t like you givin’ her that spell book back,” she shot back at him as she reached

for her boots.

“With the requisite page missing, I assure you. Payne is not going to take control of the

werewolves. Not while I have anything to say about it.” Giles pulled out his keys as Faith slipped

her boots on.

“What if she memorized the spell?” the dark Slayer wondered.

“It’s far too complicated for that,” Giles reminded her. “I had trouble even reading

through it.”

“She can light demons on fire with two words, and she can control most people with her voice,” Faith pointed out. “You sure you ain’t underestimatin’ her here?”

“That’s where you and Buffy come in,” Giles told her. “Ready?”

Faith nodded.

“You’re going like that?”

Faith glanced down at her attire. A tiny black tank top that didn’t quite reach her navel,

snug black denim cutoffs that barely covered what they needed to, and her biker boots. “There a

problem?”




223

Giles shook his head. “It would be nice on occasion if you tried not to call attention to

yourself.”

“Why bother?” she wondered. “I’m impossible to ignore anyway. Let’s go, G.”

Giles followed her, mumbling under his breath as they made their way out to the car. In

moments they were zipping along Wilkins Boulevard toward the downtown area.

“Where do you think Payne went?” Faith wondered. “I’ve no idea. Didn’t you tell me you had been staying in a seedy hotel?”

“It wasn’t seedy,” Faith griped, pouting. “Okay, it was a little seedy.”

“I’d imagine she went someplace like that to hide. I’ve no doubt she’s keeping a watch

on us, so we have to try not to look suspicious or do anything that looks obviously aimed at

stopping her.”

“She can talk to those things,” Faith warned Giles. “She can talk through them, too. She

was talkin’ to me all the time that way. And those little shits are tricky. They can sneak up just

about anywhere.”

“Yes, well, count on being watched in everything we do until we stop Payne.”

Faith shook her head. “I don’t get it,” she told him. “You had her right fuckin’ there.

Right in your hands. Why let her go?” “I believe the crux of our disagreement was free will? Seemed kind of two-faced of me to

restrain her given that topic.”

“But G--”

“Payne is a powerful sorceress,” Giles interrupted. “You know this, Faith. She’s alreadygiven us a wonderful gift. If I can convince her to use her powers in our struggle, and do so

selflessly, we’ll gain a considerable ally.”

Faith looked over at him, appraising him. “You never give up on anyone, do you?”

“I try not to, no,” he admitted. “Most people will come around if you make them the offer

in the right way.”

“What about the ones who don’t?” Faith queried.

“That’s what I have Buffy for,” Giles replied. “So tell me again how lettin’ her go will bring her around,” Faith challenged him.

Giles signaled for a turn. “Payne will try to cast the spell and fail, because the page is

gone from her spell book. She’ll realize that she--”

“That we took it, and she’ll be pissed off,” Faith concluded.

Giles gave her a look. “My hope is that she will realize that being on her own is a less

attractive and positive option than working with us.”

Faith pffed. “Realllly long shot, G.”

Giles shrugged. “You eventually caught on.”

Faith glowered at him as he made the turn.

*“Tell me one more time why we’re sitting here hiding in the bushes instead of jumping

her and hitting her with very large heavy objects, like our fists,” Xander whispered. “Gotta give her a chance to come around on her own,” Angel summarized.

“Love playing the long odds with so much at stake,” Xander muttered.

“Shh,” Buffy warned. “She’s doing something.”




224

All of them fell silent and peered through the foliage at Payne, who knelt down in the

middle of the field, apparently flipping pages in her spell book.

“Does everything happen at the Hellmouth here?” Faith queried.

The others stared at her to be quiet. Faith made a face but continued watching Payne.

“She can’t find it,” Giles spoke in a hush. “She’s looking for the spell but she can’t find

it.” “She could have it memorized,” Valeria offered softly. “I already mentioned that,” Faith hissed.

Valeria raised an eyebrow, but Faith shook her head. “The eggheads say no go.”

Valeria nodded.

In the field, Payne flipped through the pages again, the vellum pages creaking as she

flipped them hastily, searching for the spell that would bind the will of the werewolves of the

world to hers. A whole army of warriors -- and who knows what skills they will have as humans?

We’ll take this war to the vampires and we’ll win it. I’ll win it. And no one will stop me. If I can

just find the damn spell...

She flipped through the pages one more time, slower, scanning the spells written there,

some in her hand but most in another’s, an old book that went back several hundred years. Somuch power at her fingertips, and yet the one piece of magic she needed was absent, gone, as if

torn from her grasp and --

“Rupert,” she realized. “Rupert removed the spell from my book. Interfering son of a

bitch.” She sat back on her haunches, setting her hands on her legs, and frowned. I can’t do the

spell from memory, and he probably knows that. So now if I want to perform the spell at all, I

have to go to him. I have to work with him, give in to his way and...

Payne nodded. “That was the whole idea, wasn’t it, Rupert? Not only to deny me thespell, but to force me to return to you, or abandon my ambitions?” She stood up. But your way

isn’t going to win us the war, Rupert. I tried to tell you but you wouldn’t listen. I know you don’t

approve of my plan, but it would have led us to victory. And now...

She broke off her musing as she bent to pick up her spell book. “Fine, Rupert, fine. I’ll doit your way. I’ll work with your plan and watch us lose ground and then when you’re desperate,

we can do it my way.” She picked up the spellbook and turned to leave, but was surprised to see

a lone figure standing nearby.

“Hello, dolly,” an English accented voice spoke.

Behind him, fifty yards distant, the bushes across the street erupted into fire. Figures

began jumping to and fro to escape the conflagration, and Payne saw a tall horned being ignite a

car, the metal buckling and the flames shooting skyward.

“Who are you?” she asked, backing away from him.

“Don’t you know me?” Spike asked, stepping forward. “I’m the bastard who burned your

house down. The one who organized that little army to try and stop you from muckin’ about withthe world as we know it, makin’ all the little doggies smarter.” His figures shifted to the

demonic. “I’m the one whose love got killed by that bastard Slayer, and all because of you, you

stupid bint.”

“You’re Spike,” she realized. “And you,” he told her, “are very, very dead.” He threw himself at her; Payne began to

run away, long legs carrying her quickly. But Spike managed to snag her ankle as he landed, and

she fell, the spell book flying out of her hands. She lashed out with her leg, kicking him in the

face, and rolled away. She scrambled to her feet and dashed off; Spike hopped up and pursued




225

her, his vampiric strength giving him the edge in the contest. Payne tried to cast a ward of

protection on herself, but on the run it proved difficult to summon the required concentration and

energy. She bolted for the far side of the field when suddenly she saw another figure, tall, dark,

and hooded, waiting for her there. She changed directions, heading away from the hooded figure,

when Spike caught her, his hand clamping her wrist like an iron vise. Payne tried to pull away

but couldn’t. “Oh, no, baby, you don’t get to walk away from this one,” Spike breathed, leering. Payne slapped him across the face.

“I don’t have time for fun,” he informed her, smacking his forehead against hers with an

audible CLUNK. Payne staggered a moment, stunned, and Spike sank his fangs into her neck. Her

long, lithe body stiffened with the pain as he slurped down her blood, her fingers convulsing as

the blood left her body, her heart pumping furiously to send more of the precious fluid to areas

screaming out for it. But it all gushed out the hole in her neck; in moments Spike had drained

her, and she flopped to the ground dead.

He stared down at her prone form; a cry in the distance distracted him, and he looked

back over his shoulder, noting with a savage glee that a group of figures danced around the

Kathol demon, trying to harm it. Stupid bloody Slayer. Just like Angelus said, always falls for adistraction. Every bloody time.

Spike regarded Payne once more. “Bit of a looker, actually,” he mused. A quick glance

assured him that the Kathol demon held everyone’s attention. “Be a shame to waste you,

darlin’,” he said, kneeling down over her. He drew a knife and gashed his palm, winci ng slightly

with the cut, and curled his hand up in a fist. He held it over her mouth, tightening his fingers

and shaking his hand; blood trickled out, running from his fist to her lips and pooling there

briefly before it dripped into her mouth. Spike glanced back, but the demon still occupied the

efforts of the others. He continued to feed his blood to her for as long as he dared. Then he

leaned over and wiped her mouth off, erasing any trace that he had done so.

He stood, licking his hand, and shook his head. “Now don’t go thinkin’ we’re even for

Dru, not by a long shot.”

*“Easy, Faith,” Xander urged her, helping her up. “Slayers may heal fast, but it’s not

instant.”

Faith nodded, one hand on her stomach. “I know -- son of a bitch!”“Deus immolare!” Giles called out.

“Forget it!” Angel advised. “Fire doesn’t hurt this thing!”

“Then what will?” Valeria wondered, standing next to him.

Buffy danced away from the Kathol’s searing breath, noting that it warped and gelled the pavement. “How about water?” Buffy growled, ducking in low, underneath the Kathol’s guard,

and slamming in it in the chest, staggering the bulky orange demon backward. Long muscled

arms flailed as the Kathol tried to keep his balance, but he fell on his behind on the grass near the

curb. Dark red eyes glared at the Slayer, and he aimed a spout of super-heated breath in her

direction.

Buffy backflipped out of the way a line of broiling, melting tar in her wake, and grabbed

a manhole cover.

“That won’t hurt him,” Xander predicted.




226

Buffy slung the wide metal disk not at the Kathol but rather aiming for the fire hydrant

next to him. Her shot was dead on, and the heavy manhole cover cracked the outer casing of the

fire hydrant; a stream of water spewed forth, splashing the Kathol demon and turning to steam

almost at once. The demon reared back, exhaling violently, which had always proved a

competent defensive maneuver in the past. But all he succeeded in doing was melting the rest of

the hydrant; water flowed even more freely, spouting up at him, hissing and crackling as it turnedat once to steam, dousing him in a cloud of white-hot smoke.

“Where there’s fire, there’s Spike,” Angel realized.

“Payne,” Valeria spoke. The two of them took off toward the Hellmouth, where they had

last seen the witch.

Xander watched them go. “Nice time to bail,” he offered.

“They’re goin’ to protect Payne,” Faith guessed. “Come on, let’s kill this fucker.” She

moved toward it, but the haze of steam proved so blisteringly hot that all four of them were

forced to step back several paces until it dissipated slightly.

Buffy drew a long knife she had tucked in her belt and charged the Kathol, who remained

disoriented from the steam and the water. She jumped up and stabbed it in the chest, driving the

knife home, burying it to the hilt. Then she leapt back, in case the fiery demon tried to breathe onher and turn her to cinders. But the big Kathol merely stared at the hilt sticking out of his chest,

frowning as he saw dark blood bubble forth, giving off steam as it met the cooler air. Slowly his

head sank to his chest, and he pitched forward onto the pavement, his final breath melting a

puddle of it that his head sank partially into.

Buffy waved steam out of her face. “Glad that’s over with.”

Giles nodded in agreement. “My sentiments exactly. Now let’s go see to Payne.”

“Angel and V are on that,” Faith relayed. Buffy and Xander took off at a run, heading for the Hellmouth.

“So much for bein’ a friggin’ team,” Faith snapped.

“You can protect me,” Giles consoled her, “in the very likely event that Spike -- and

more of his cronies -- are nearby.”

“Cool,” Faith commented. “Come on.” They moved off to try and catch up to Buffy and

Xander.

Angel and Valeria had already reached the Hellmouth. Valeria bent over Payn e’s limpform, bending her cheek close to feel if the woman still breathed. But nothing issued from the

open mouth, and Payne’s dark brown eyes looked glassy and dead as they gazed up at the stars.

Angel glanced over at Valeria, but the blonde vampire shook her head no.

“Spike!” Angel called out.

Spike turned around, some twenty feet distant.

“This ends tonight, Spike. You and me. One of us is dust by morning.”

Spike flashed Angel an evil leer. “Fine by me, old mate. I don’t have anything to live for anyway.”

Buffy thudded to a stop next to Valeria. “How is she?” the Slayer wondered.

“She’s dead,” Valeria informed her. Xander pulled up a few yards short, behind her,

when he saw Buffy’s shoulders slump slightly. Angel moved forward, shedding his duster and preparing himself as Spike did the same.

“What are you doing?” Buffy asked him, standing up.

“I’m gonna kill Spike,” Angel told her.“I’m gonna help,” Buffy announced.




227

“No,” Angel told her.

Buffy shook her head. “This is a shitty time to play hero, Angel. We have Spike all alone,

five on one. Why the hell do you wanna play fair now?”

“Because he’s my fault. I created him. I created Dru. Everything he’s feeling right now,everything that’s happened to him, it would’ve never happened if it hadn’t’ve been for me.” He

paused. “I have to do this Buffy. For him, and for me.” “Lotsa people want him dead, Angel. You’re not the only one. Let us help you.” Buffytook a step forward. “You’re not the only one who owes him payback.”

“I know,” Angel agreed. “But this is my mess to clean up. So let me take care of it, and

then you can yell at me later for how stupid this all is.”

Buffy clenched her fists but said nothing. Behind her, Faith came to a stop next to

Xander, and Giles followed her a few moments later.

“Come on, old sire, enough with the speeches,” Spike growled. “You, and me, right here,

right now.” He tilted his head. “I’ve been waitin’ for this ever since you came back from Hell.”

“Hope you like it there,” Angel spat, leaping up and kicking Spike in the chest. “‘Cause

that’s the next place you’re going.”

Spike rolled to his feet and shook his head. “You really mean business,” he said, dancingback from another vicious blow.

“Yup,” Angel agreed, landing a strong right hook.

Spike slammed Angel in the stomach, and again, and then clapped him on the shoulder,

knocking him back. “Good. So do I.”

Angel came at Spike again; the younger vampire dodged the blow, spinning Angel

around and sending him off his feet into a heap. Angel rolled with the force of his momentum

and rose to his feet fluidly, his guard up.

“Been practicin’,” Spike noted, charging his sire. Angel leapt up over Spike and managed

a kick on his way down, but it was merely a glancing blow and did Spike little damage. The

younger vampire turned around backhanded Angel across the face. Angel threw a punch but

Spike blocked it. “I just fed,” he boasted. “On some nice, warm, witch blood. I can keep this upall night. You?”

Angel landed a solid shot to Spike’s jaw, sending him spinning backward. “I’m doin’

fine, Spike. Worry about yourself.”

Spike regained his footing. “I’ve no need to worry about meself, thanks,” he relayed.

“I’ve got nothin’ to lose. You still have all them sods behind you.” He punched Angel in the

stomach. “That gives me an edge.” He grabbed Angel’s arm and wrenched, trying to pop it out of the socket; but the older vampire twisted away from Spike and aimed a spinning kick at the

blond vampire’s forehead. Angel caught Spike solidly, and the younger vampire went down.

Angel drew a stake from his belt. “That’s it, Spike. Party’s over.”

He raised the stake to impale Spike, but fear for his existence lent extra power to Spike’smuscles. He threw Angel off of him and somersaulted to his feet. “This party, anyway,” Spike

agreed, backing off.

“I thought you said you had nothing left to live for,” Angel called, chasing after him.

Spike broke into a run.

Angel sped up, following him, the stake in his hand. You’re not gettin’ away this time,

Spike, he mused. Buffy’s never gonna have to worry about you again, and I --

Angel pulled up short as the tall cloaked figured stepped forward and raised a hand.

“Who are you?” Angel growled.




228

The figure threw his hood back to reveal a demonic visage with glowing blue eyes. “I am

Tapparich,” he announced to Angel. “I am a soul hunter.”

Spike stopped running and turned to face his sire. “That’s right, old boy,” he addressed

the demon. “He’s the one. That’s the soul you can take as payment.”

Angel’s dark eyes went wide. “No!” he breathed.

*Buffy saw Angel stop, watched him pull up short, and saw the tall demon remove its

hood. He looks familiar somehow, like I should... Suddenly it hit her. “Oh, fuck,” Buffy blurted,momentarily unable to move.

“What?” Xander asked.

“Tapparich,” Buff y managed, taking off at a sprint across the field.

“Tappa who?” Xander wondered. Giles nudged him and Faith both on the shoulder. “He’s a Mokk’tagar -- a demon that

harvests souls. Go, go now, quickly, help her, help them both. Now!”

Xander and Faith dashed off.“What about me?” Valeria queried.

“That’s the most dangerous thing on Earth to you,” Giles explained. “You stay here.”

And he too took off, his eyes focused on the tall demon as it raised its hand.

The Mokk’tagar Tapparich could sense the other souls racing toward it, could feel their

presence. But he forced himself to remain focused on the one in front of him, the soul that had

been wedged back into this vessel like a cork in a bottle, the soul that the demon inside this being

cursed every moment of its existence.

“You carry what you should not,” the demon rasped. “You are an abomination on this

Earth. Your soul must be released.”

Angel raised the stake, preparing to throw it at Spike; he thought the better of it and

aimed it at his own heart.

“Angel!” Buffy cried out. “No!”

He stopped, the wooden point just grazing his chest. I can’t do it. Not with her here.We’ll find a way to stop him, we’ll find a way together to --

Tapparich closed his outstretched hand, his fingers grasping at something, and Angel

could feel the soul being torn out of his body, a physical pain he had experienced before, beyond

any mortal comprehension of agony, a blinding ache that coursed through every cell in his body.

Briefly he thought of Buffy, of how much he loved her, of the single day he had spent as a

human, where they had coupled like lovers and known one another the way they always should

have, they way they should have been entwined forever. And then it was gone, the soul separated

from the body that housed it, and only the searing hole remained, and the darkness. His body

slumped to the ground.

“No!” Buffy cried out, running to him, tears welling up as she slid to a halt and turned

him over, staring down at his face. “No! Please no! Please God no!” she pleaded. “Angel! Angel!

Wake up!”

He lay perfectly still, motionless, beautiful.

Dark eyes popped open, as if coming to life for the first time.

“Angel?” Buffy wept.




His features creased into a hunting face, his eyes turning a deathly yellow. “Miss me,

Slayer?” he asked, chuckling, as he rolled away from her and stood up.

Valeria gasped as she saw him. “No!” she gasped, sensing even from where she stood

what had just happened.

Spike leered at Buffy as the others joined her. “And just in case you were thinkin’ you

would reverse this little spell like you did the last one,” he sneered, “think again.” Spike stabbedTapparich in the back, the long knife slicing through the demon’s flesh, severing his spine. Thetall soul hunter dropped to his knees, a cry of pain and surprise escaping his lips. He fell to his

hands as Spike stabbed him again, and finally dropped forward onto the grass.

Spike looked up at Buffy. “Now, you can all start payin’ for what happened to Dru,” hegrinned.

Angelus flipped the stake to Buffy. “Here you go, sweetie. You’re gonna need this a lot

more than I am.”

Faith moved in front of Buffy and caught the wood. “You are both so fuckin’ dead,” shepromised.

The two vampires laughed as they turned and vanished into the night.

* * *

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Buffy: Heart of Darkness Chapter 9