A young girl sat in one corner of the room, chanting. It was a very dark room, with cobwebs hanging everywhere. Many years ago, it had been as normal as the rest of the house. Visitors had sat and talked to the family there, small children had played and laughed, and there had even been parties.
Now, it was her “special” room. At the request of nine- year- old Ashlee, all the furniture had been moved out. The rest of her family knew not to interrupt her while she was in there. They pretended not to notice her power, and in exchange, they didn’t get hurt. Of course, nothing came without a price. A few times, it had gotten so bad they had to watch people die. It wasn’t as though she tried to make it dangerous, it just… happened.
She summoned demons to help her with chores, homework, or anything else she didn’t want to do. They were harmless, helpful, even, but sometimes she got too careless and didn’t check first. She had been lucky so far- the few that had been dangerous had thought enough to not kill her or her family, since she had released them. Next time, though, she might not be so blessed.
That was why she had been extra careful this time and done all the research. She wouldn’t let anyone get hurt today. She wouldn’t be responsible for more death. She refused to.
Ashlee was 100% prepared… Well, 99% anyways. That was good enough… Right?
In addition to the summoning, she had natural power, too. Often, without realizing it, she would make things move, even fly, when she got mad. Lately, she had come to control it. If something went wrong with this demon, she could make something sharp fly at it.
The portal opened, a tiny blue orb. As it grew, she saw green mist swirling within the blue. It swelled to be twice her height and about four feet wide. A large demon with leathery skin with a color that matched the portal’s itself stepped out. He had a long tail that pointed upward and swayed back and forth with a mind of its own.
The demon, a Grolk, grunted at the small girl before him. He could smell the power on her. So much potential strength for one so young.
Ashlee could tell he was waiting for instructions. “I need you to clean the house for me,” she said. She wasn’t prepared for what happened next.
The door in the hallway that led outside banged against the wall. “It’s in here. I sensed ‘im, a British voice said. Then, she heard a growl. “I can’t come in- no invitation.”
Ashlee’s door was the next to slam open. She stared up at a blond girl wearing jeans and a red shirt who was standing, intimidating, in the doorway. Behind her was a redheaded girl who was also wearing jeans and a red shirt, but hers was cut off higher. Outside, Ashlee could see a bleach blond who was wearing all black, including a long duster, except he was covered by a smoking blanket. They were all just staring at her like she was some sort of monster… Or maybe they were staring at the real monster. She couldn’t tell.
Suddenly, a knife went flying across the room, aimed right at Buffy’s head. She calmly stood her ground, and then ducked at the last second. She’d had plenty of practice with this before.
Two knifes went flying at each of the others- it was clear that Ashlee felt threatened. Willow waved her hand past the knife, and it turned into a sword, but stopped in midair. She motioned for Buffy to take it as Spike caught the blade that had flown at him.
“Invite him in,” Buffy said. It wasn’t a request. It was a demand.
Ashlee knew she had no hope in this fight, so she sulkily walked to the door. “Come in.”
Spike threw her a glare and then walked over to where Buffy was standing, sword pointing at the terrified Grolk. Everyone had figured out by now that Ashlee had called upon him. Spike also aimed his small knife at the demon. “A little help would be nice right about now, Red,” he said, gesturing to the blade. With one point, it grew into another sword. When it finished expanding, it was poking into the Grolk’s throat.
Ashlee and Willow watched the fight begin while they stood at the entrance. The Grolk wasn’t fighting back, only defending himself. His was one of several species that didn’t fight humans- or anything else, for that matter. Soon, Buffy and Spike got bored of attacking something that wouldn’t fight back.
“What should we do with him?” Buffy asked.
Spike looked over at Ashlee. “Why?” he asked. That one word could be about so many things, but she knew it wasn’t.
“For help cleaning the house,” she answered.
Spike turned back to Buffy. “We can leave it with her… She’s obviously done this before, and he’s obviously pretty harmless.” Buffy looked like she was about to object, but thought better of it. After all, maybe the Grolk was just as harmless as Clem… Speaking of which, she had to find out where he was staying… Xander and Giles had taken a great risk that morning… They had stayed with Dawn. Buffy decided they should probably go save them.
The unlikely group headed out the door without even thinking of the little girl or the poor demon, or stopping to talk to her parents or her or the Grolk. For all they knew, he couldn’t talk. The only think they stopped for was to quietly close the doors and head out. There would always be someone like Ashlee who didn’t know what they were dealing with and would have to deal with the consequences. The Scoobies just didn’t have the time to deal with all of them.
Ashlee was left to stare after them, wondering who they were and how they had known about her demon summoning, while the Grolk started on long- needed dusting and getting rid of all the cobwebs.
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A/N: Do think Ashlee should come back in later chapters? Please review, because I'm not sure whether or not she should become a bigger part of the story.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Okay, hopefully there are still some people that are still reading, even through my crazy posting schedule... PLEASE review! And, off topic, if anyone has a story rated 15 or lower that they would like a beta for, email me at ducky98223@yahoo.com.