"Failed" the vampire's exclamation startled Marcus, opening his eyes he saw Beatrice standing at the end of the bed her eyes glassy and unfocused. He pushed the teenage vampire who was eagerly deep throating him off roughly causing her to fall to the floor with a surprised whimper.
"What is it my love?" he cooed as he approached the dark vampire, slowly hand outstretched as if he feared she would bolt like a timid animal. "What do you see my sweet?"
She swayed for a moment muttering incoherently, her eyes closed. When she opened them to meet his they where clear, and cold. "Your plan has failed brother" she informed him haughtily "Spike has not killed her. I see a girl, beloved of the slayer, his heart softens for her."
"What?" he asked, his voice as dark as his expression "Tell me what you see?"
"His heart remembers, though his mind forgets. He is lost to our cause" She shrugged negligently and went to move away.
Grabbing her roughly by the arm, Marcus pulled the slim woman flush against his body. "Sister" he crooned, his lips brushing her ear "you told me he would make her cry end her life" he paused to nuzzle her neck. "You are never wrong"
She moaned softly placing her hands on the back of his head to encourage him in his ministrations. "And cry she does, but the brittle shell of her life still holds, for now"
"So she will die?" Marcus asked pulling away to look into her dark eyes. Eyes that had once again taken on the gleam of madness, there would be no more answers tonight. Still the spark of lust that greeted him in their ebony depths told him the night would not be completely wasted.
"Out!" the barked order had the younger vampire scurrying for the door with a muttered "Yes Sire!"
"Come my sweet," he whispered in her ear as he led her towards his bed, his hands moving to undo the laces of her old fashioned bodice. Already he felt both weak and powerful with his need for her.
Despite his fetish for girls on the cusp of adulthood no woman had ever affected him like she did. He remembered how as a boy he had waited in his room for her to come to him, how she would strip, slowly removing the heavy layers of her night clothes, before joining him in his bed whispering that he must be very quiet.
It had been their secret, his, and his bright and beautiful elder sister, who was so admired by all the eligible gentlemen who came to visit. She enchanted all who came, with her coy smiles and naive glances, but when their backs where turn the looks she would give him where anything but innocent, wicked and filled with erotic promise.
They where naked now, moving together on his silk sheets in perfect rhythm. She was above him, as she always was, pale skin and raven hair, a contrast so beautiful it was all he could do to lay beneath her and worship.
……..
Dawn woke to the delicious smell of pancakes and fresh coffee, rubbing the sleep from her eyes she went downstairs, pulling her robe shut as she entered the kitchen.
"Dawn" her sisters bubbly voice felt like bright light shining in her eyes, she winced "We where just wondering whether or not to wake you. You wanna come help pick the cake?"
We? Cake? It took Dawn a few moment to realise that Richard was sitting at the kitchen counter smiling pleasantly at her, his friendly open face filled with delight at her sisters fine mood.
"What?" Dawn asked disbelieving "Your going cake shopping? Don't you have that thing to do today?"
"No" Buffy's tone was light but the look she gave the younger girl over her fiancé's head was filled with warning. "No thing. I'm 'free all day' Buffy"
She moved forward and wrapped her arms around Richards's broad shoulders, her cheek pressing against his. "So you wanna come?" he asked seemingly oblivious to Dawns incredulity.
"No thanks" she answers her tone neutral, her eyes meeting her sisters evenly, accusation barely hidden beneath the feigned normalcy "I have lots to do, important research"
Richard nodded his understanding "So, how is college, you still acing all your classes?" His favourite topic of conversation with Dawn, Her impressive academic achievements.
Buffy gave her an encouraging look, asking her silently to play along, giving a defeated shake of her head she sat down to eat pancakes and talk career options with her sisters fiancé.
………
Spike lay awake on his motel bed, the mid morning light sneaking through the drawn curtains to cast bright patterns on the ceiling.
He was thinking about Dru, according to the Slayer and her bunch of misfits Drusilla had emerged for the church fire fully restored. Years later she had disappeared, as had the majority of demons, laying low, relying on stealth and cunning to escape the multitude of slayers that now stalked the night.
If he left now, he could find her, might take him years, but he would find her eventually. Maybe at sunset he'd just go, bugger the Slayer and her gang, and bugger Marcus, manipulative bastard. Just go, find her, wherever she was and get on with his un-life
He sighed rubbing his forehead, no, best stay, find out what's going on. Could still kill the Slayer at a later date, that'd be fun, or not, Dawn wouldn't like it. He growled, getting up to pull a bag of A positive, which he had liberated from the local hospital the night before, from the small motel fridge.
What the hell was wrong with him, thinking not to kill a slayer to spare a child's feelings? He looked at the bagged blood with disdain, bagging it on a Slayers instruction. William the Bloody Pathetic. He finished the blood in a single gulp and flopped back down on the bed determined to get a good days sleep.
……………..
"Good afternoon Dawn" Giles greeted as she let him and Xander into the house. "I hope Buffy is ready, we have an awful lot to discuss before Spike's arrival at midnight, if indeed he decides to grace us with his presence"
"I'm sure he'll be here" she answered, "its Buffy I'm not sure about"
"Hey?" Xander's articulate question drew the girl's attentions.
"She's not here" she explained, exasperation clear in her tone "She went out early this morning with Richard to choose a cake and hasn't been seen since"
"Choose a cake!" the older mans voice rose with aggravation "We stand on the brink of war, with a coalition of demons who no doubt outnumber us four to one. We know nothing about their plans or their leader. Spike has been resurrected and sent to kill her and she is shopping for cake."
"Hey don't shoot he messenger" Dawn raised her hands defensively. "This morning she was making pancakes and acting like everything was normal, I don't understand it either. I've been trying to call her on her cell all day but it's off"
"Quite, I'm sorry Dawn, it's just…" he trailed off, removing his glasses and pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
"I'll go look for her" Xander offered, Dawn gave him a grateful smile, thank God for good old reliable Xander.
"Yes, er, thank you Xander that would be most helpful" Giles affirmed, polishing his glasses with slow deliberate turns of his thumb "In the mean time perhaps Dawn and I could begin looking into shaman with the kind of power needed to do something like this" he looked at Dawn "Will Willow be joining us?"
"Yeah, she'll be here any minute. I've got a few volumes of 'Histories of the Dark Arts' in my own collection and I think Willow planned to bring over some more texts"
"Splendid, your collection has been proving most useful, I have only been able to bring a few books myself, but I think they may be of use"
…………
Buffy's tinkling laughter rang out across the deserted park as Richard pushed the swing even more energetically. She used her body weight to help push the swing higher and higher until Richard had to step aside and just watch her. She looked so beautiful, golden hair gleaming in the warm late afternoon sun, head thrown back with each forward swing.
Eventually she brought the swing to a standstill and joined Richard on the bench. "It's been a lovely day" she commented a lazy smile on her face.
"Yeah" he agreed closer, one hand snaking under her hair to caress the nape of her neck, she smiled again, a dreamy girly smile that made him lean forward and kiss her. He was surprised by the fervour with which she returned the kiss. He loved Buffy he truly did, but at times he did wish she were a little more passionate.
Making out on a park bench with your girl, Richard felt about sixteen years old, however the kisses she was giving him where not those of a teenager. Her hands roamed over his back drawing them ever closer together, until she was virtually in his lap grinding herself against him.
"Buffy" he pushed her away when her hand reached down between them to undo his fly. "Buffy what are you doing, I thought we where going to wait" This was insane, where had this sudden attack of bold passion come from, they where in a park for Christ's sake.
"Don't wanna," she pouted at him, swivelling her hips against him. Shit she was killing him, he never wanted anything so badly as he wanted her at that moment, but they had agreed to wait.
"Buffy" he pleaded, "Don't…"
His word where cut off by a shout across the park "Buffy!" At the sound of Xander's voice she sprung off his lap, straightening he top.
"Over here Xander" she called waving to her friend. Richard studied her as the young man approached, she looked so calm and composed, as if nothing had happened, while his own heart was hammering so loudly in his chest.
And there it was again, the undercurrent of suspicion, she was acting strangely, cancelling their dates, trying to have sex with him in a park. He remembered a colleague telling him that he had never had more sex than when his wife was having an affair, guilt or increased sex drive or something.
"Hey Buff" Xander greeted cheerily, nodding to Richard. "Did you forget that thing we where going to do tonight?"
No not him Richard thought, sure the young man was well built and handsome, but something about the way he and Buffy interacted told him that it wasn't Xander. The other man then, Angel? Was that his name? He was a possibility, not Giles surely, although he himself could not have been more than ten or fifteen years the older man's younger.
"Oh right, of course" She turned to him, kissing his cheek briefly "I gotta go darling, call me tomorrow" and with that she was gone, leaving him alone with a lingering stiffy and a suspicious mind.
………
He looked at the pencil drawings laid out before him and sighed. He had been woken by a series of vivid dreams in mid afternoon, dreams of a life he had no recollection of living. Again the Slayer had feature heavily, mainly she was fighting, either with him or against him, fiery beauty eclipsing all as she moved.
Her image stared back at him for half the sketches, expressions varying from highly pissed of to oddly tender. The other half where a mixture of dream images, somewhere of his Nibblet, some of Red, he refused to sketch the watcher or the whelp.
More confusingly where the images that he snatched up and tucked in his inside pocket before heading out, just time to get a few drinks before he had to be at the Slayers.
………..
The recriminations had been tellingly brief when Xander arrived with Buffy. She had waved off their concerns, declaring that she was there now, could they please get started.
It had been decided that they should go ahead and move the Slayers from Rushden, the attack was obviously designed to keep the Slayer groups separate. Once that had been decided conversation turned to what Giles referred to as "The Spike problem"
"I'm just saying" Xander defended his call not to trust Spike, which had earned him a death glare from Dawn. "He's not our Spike, he's a soulless killer, just like when he first came to Sunnydale. You do all remember that right?"
"Yes" Willow said diplomatically "But Spike is remembering pieces, maybe I can try a spell to free his memory"
"No" Buffy's first contribution since the topic had turned to the vampire was loud enough to make others jump "I just mean we should find out more first" she mumbled turning her face away.
Dawn frowned, last night Buffy had cried over Spike not knowing her, today she shot down any suggestion of helping him remember.
Further discussion was prevented by the arrival of the vampire in question, strolling uninvited into the living room and perching himself comfortably on the arm of Dawn's chair.
"So" he began, clearly enjoying the discomfort of the group "Got anything for me?"
It was Giles who responded "Precious little I'm afraid. I was rather hoping you could give us some more information on Marcus"
"Right you are, after you tell me why I see this lot in my dreams" with that he threw a collection of sketches on the coffee table. Willow gasped, her fingers moving to touch the crooked smile on the lips of one of the images. Xander turned away, sharp eyes stared up at him from one of the pages, a drawing of a pretty girl with fine bone structure and shoulder length hair, tears pricked his eyes, it was such a good likeness, her exact expression captured on cheap stationary, Anya.
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