Buffy found herself starting to back away. This was Drusilla; the vampire who was responsible for hurting Spike, and Buffy wanted nothing more than to see the evil creature turn into dust, preferably by her hand, but she wasn’t stupid. This vampire was strong, very strong. And whether Buffy liked to admit it or not, she had been taken by surprise. Right now, Drusilla had the upper hand. However, Buffy had every intention of changing that.
“Poor little lost girl, all alone, so far from home…” Drusilla cocked her head to the side. “I warned the Slayer; told him to stay away from sunshine or he would get burned.” She shook her head, sadly. “Just like my William. He was blinded by you as well.”
So, Drusilla had known William after all. Buffy had suspected as much, but she hadn’t known for sure. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, resisting the urge to say anything. If Drusilla had hoped for some kind of reaction from her by mentioning William’s name, she would be deeply disappointed. Instead, Buffy tightened her grip around the stake, silently promising herself to make sure the only way this vampire would be leaving the cemetery was as a pile of dust, blown away by the wind.
Drusilla let out a delighted laugh. “You believe we were lovers.” She gave Buffy a thoughtful look. “Would it hurt you? Knowing that you were not enough for him, that you alone could never give him what he needed?” Before Buffy could say anything, Drusilla went on. “You cannot lie to me, little girl. Your heart is open for me to read, like a book.” A pause. “So tell me. Would it hurt you?”
Buffy glared at her. “Yes.”
“Yes, it would.” Drusilla nodded in confirmation. “Because you loved him.” She was quiet for a moment. “In a way, I think I loved him as well.”
Snorting, Buffy stared at her in disbelief. “You?! Even with a soul, you’re still a vampire. You can’t feel love!”
The vampire smiled, sadly. “Oh, we can, you know. We can love quite well, if not wisely.”
Buffy shook her head, firmly. “I don’t believe you. You just used William to get rid of your soul, just like you used Spike. It was never about love.”
Drusilla laughed again. “Silly girl! It was always about love.” She paused. “Not true love, of course. I know William could never love me the way he loved you. Unless…” She left the rest of the sentence hanging.
Buffy looked at her, blankly. “Unless?”
Sighing, Drusilla looked up at the stars, an absent smile playing on her lips. “Unless I made him my Childe.”
“Your what?!” Buffy paled as realization hit her. “Oh my God. You wanted to turn him into a vampire. Like you.”
“Of course.” Drusilla turned her attention back to Buffy. “Then he would have no choice but to love me, as his Sire. But there was one problem, you see. A Slayer has to be turned willingly, or his blood would be lethal to the vampire.”
Buffy shook her head again, still trying to take in this new information. “William would never have let you do that to him. You’d have to be crazy to think, even for a second, that…”
“Oh, but he would. Eventually.” Drusilla nodded, as to emphasize her words. “Unfortunately, he was prepared to die before he would let it happen.”
Buffy swallowed; suddenly feeling like her head was spinning. This was just too much for her mind to take in. A part of her had wondered, many times over the years, if maybe William had chosen to take the easy way out in the end. Drusilla’s words now indicated that maybe she hadn’t been too far off after all. Only William hadn’t let himself get killed so he wouldn’t have to deal with being the Slayer. He had let himself get killed to keep Drusilla from turning him into a vampire.
Tears started welling up in her eyes, but she held back a sob. Taking a deep breath, Buffy tried to force herself to calm down. She could always have an emotional break-down later and weep about the unfairness of it all, but now was not the time. Not when she was standing here alone, face to face with an evil vampire. Because Drusilla was evil, soul or not. There was no doubt about that anymore.
‘Keep talking’, Buffy now silently ordered herself. The only way she would ever be able to stake Drusilla was to somehow keep her distracted, and then take her off guard. Also, a lot of luck couldn’t hurt. Still, she was not afraid. She was too angry for that. “What about Spike? Did you plan on turning him as well?”
“No.” Drusilla shook her head, then smiled a little. “I realized I didn’t have to make the Slayer love me, literally. If he would just think he did, merely for a moment, it would be enough.” Her smile disappeared and she let out a cry of fury. “But I was too late! You had already managed to poison his mind!” She calmed down. “But I will have better luck next time, when the new Slayer has been called.”
“Right!” Buffy snorted. “You’re forgetting one thing. Spike’s still alive. And your vampire friend is dust. You’re all alone, and you can’t kill anyone by yourself. Face it, Drusilla. You’ve failed.”
“Actually…” Drusilla got a smug look on her face. “The soul makes it so I feel horrible guilt when I try to hurt anyone. That doesn’t mean I can’t do it. It would hurt me, yes, like maggots, feeding off my brain until there is nothing left. But guess what, little girl?” Her eyes were cold as ice as she took a step closer to Buffy. “I don’t care about my pain anymore.” She giggled a little. “However, your pain, I will enjoy deeply.”
Buffy’s eyes widened and she quickly tried to take a step back. But Drusilla was faster, grabbing her by the neck to prevent her from moving away. “After killing you, I will take care of the Slayer. And then, I will dance on both your graves under the stars. Now…” She put her cold hand on Buffy’s cheek, forcing her to hold still. “Look into my eyes…”
Spike was running, running so fast he thought his heart was going to burst right out of his chest, but yet he didn’t slow down. Because he was running against time, and he had to keep going, had to get to his girl before it was too late. One single thought kept running through his head over and over again, repeating itself like a mantra; ‘please don’t let me be too late, please let me make it, I’m coming, luv, just hold on…’
When he reached the cemetery, he almost sobbed with relief of finally being there. He raced between the mausoleums and the large tombstones, all the time praying that he would not be too late, that he would get to Buffy before Drusilla got a chance to hurt her. When he finally spotted the two figures at the far end of the cemetery, his heart almost stopped. There was Buffy, the only woman he would ever love, the love of his life, his soul mate. And next to her was Drusilla, holding the blonde girl in a tight grip with her fangs buried in Buffy’s slender neck.
TBC