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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to Mabel Marsters for betaing. Also a huge thanks to Kirsty, guest, JO, cordykitten and TammyAsh666 for reviewing the last chapter.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Rowan muttered to himself as he flew through the front door, fumbling in his pocket for the key and rushed over to the smaller, wooden door leading down to the basement. With his hands shaking, it took a moment before he was able to fit the key into the lock, but as soon as he managed to get it open, he stormed down the stairs without bothering to turn on the light.

The stone door at the bottom of the stairs was closed, as usual, and Rowan desperately tried to fight back the panic as he banged his fists repeatedly against the door. He grimaced as a sharp wave of pain shot through his hand and up his arm, having almost forgotten how Morou had broken one of his fingers the other day.

“Open up, you asshole! Let me in!” The door remained closed, and Rowan took a deep breath before calling out, “Spike! Are you in there?” No response. He kicked the door a couple of times, already knowing it wouldn’t help. Since this door didn’t have any handle, he had no way of getting it open.

The idea of Spike trapped in there, with the most evil creature Rowan had ever come across, was more than he could handle and he squeezed his eyes shut as guilt and self-loathing welled up inside him. How could he have been so stupid? Why did he have to leave the house yesterday? If he had just been here when Spike showed up, then none of this would’ve happened.

And how the hell did he allow himself to get into this fucking mess in the first place? How could he possibly have let things go this far? He had told himself from the beginning that he didn’t have any choice. But that wasn’t exactly true. Hell, he could have told someone. Someone at Wolfram and Hart might even have been able to help him.

But he had been afraid. Not to mention ashamed of the fact that he had actually enjoyed the idea of getting revenge. Finally he had been able to hurt the demons, just like they had hurt Julie. Except that none of the demons Rowan had brought back to Morou had been very evil, which he had known deep down all along. He had just refused to think about it, telling himself he was doing the right thing.

For a moment, he had no idea what to do. Rowan wasn’t sure what he had been expecting on his way back to the house, but Morou had always let him in before. Then again, the only times he ever went down here was when the demon wanted something from him. That was clearly not the case now, though. With a sinking feeling, Rowan suspected that the beast was already occupied.

He didn’t for a second doubt that Morou knew he was out here. Forcing himself to stay calm, Rowan slid down against the door, feeling like his head was spinning. “Okay, gotta think,” he mumbled. That was when it hit him. Something had been nagging at the back of his mind since he got home last night, and he suddenly realized what it was. The front door.

Rowan had locked it when he left yesterday morning, of that much he was certain. But when he got back, the door was open. Having been too drunk to think straight at the time, he hadn’t given it any thought. But now, the pieces were falling into place. The curtain had also been pulled aside, and he had just assumed Harmony was the last person who had been in the house. Clearly, he had been wrong.

Rowan swallowed hard, knowing he needed to focus on a way to help Spike before it was too late. The bleached blond vampire was strong, no question about it, but Rowan feared that he wouldn’t stand much of a chance against such a powerful creature as Morou.

The fact that Morou now refused to let Rowan into his lair hopefully meant that Spike was still alive. Otherwise, the monster would have already demanded a new victim. Rowan stood up, banging on the door again, although he knew it wouldn’t do any good. “Spike!” he yelled for the second time, praying against hope that the vampire would be able to hear him.

For a brief moment, he actually considered pleading with the cruel beast, maybe offering another demon in exchange for Spike. Then he quickly pushed that thought away, completely horrified by himself. He had never thought of himself as callous or cold hearted before. Unlike most demons and vampires, Rowan had a soul. But suddenly, he couldn’t help but think that it obviously didn’t mean much.

“Just hold on, I’ll be right back!” he now shouted through the closed door. With his mind made up, he then rushed up the stairs. He was going to put an end to this, once and for all. Of course, Rowan had yet to figure out how, but what he did know was that he wouldn’t be able to stop Morou by himself. It was time to come clean. All he could do now was hope that it wouldn’t be too late.


~ ~ ~


“No more warnings.” Morou swept the dust that had been Harmony away with his hand, keeping his dark eyes locked on Spike the whole time. “No more attitude. You will listen to Morou, and you will obey.”

“What’s the bleedin’ point?” Spike asked in a flat voice, coughing as he leaned his head back against the wall. “You’ll just kill me, anyway.”

“True,” the demon agreed.

Spike’s ribs were still aching and he shifted a little in a fruitless attempt to ease the pain, knowing perfectly well it wouldn’t help much. His entire body hurt, and he felt utterly exhausted. He tiredly raised a brow, gazing at his tormentor. “So what’s up with the soddin’ threats and warnings? Why don’t you just do it?”

Before he got the chance to even react, the demon had him by the throat, slamming him back into the wall. Spike groaned in pain but other than that, he forced himself to stay silent. For a moment he thought he was going to pass out, and at that point, unconsciousness would have been a sweet relief.

“Morou could kill you right now. But that would be no fun.” Morou reached for the glass he had left on the floor after scorching Harmony. It was still half full of holy water. “Morou has always wondered,” the merciless beast got a thoughtful expression on his pale face as he held up the glass in front of Spike’s face, “what will happen if a vampire drinks this.”


~ ~ ~


“Hey, where are the others?” Rowan looked around the office, relieved to find the room empty except for Angel. He may have decided it was necessary to finally spill his dark secret, but that didn’t mean he was looking forward to face the wrath of the Slayer.

“Rowan?” Angel looked up with a frown, ignoring Rowan’s question. “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling you for almost an hour.”

“Oh, sorry. I...” Rowan hesitated, not sure how to even begin. How did you explain to your boss that you had been lying and keeping secrets from everybody? He shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. “Listen, Angel, there’s something I need to-“

“Hold that thought,” the vampire cut him off, impatiently waving his hand. “Whatever it is, it will have to wait. I promised Buffy I’ll do anything in my power to help her find Spike, so right now, as much as I hate to admit it, that’s my priority.”

Rowan was confused. “So why are you here?”

Angel held up the phone. “I’m doing what I should have done a long time ago. I’m gonna get hold of Eve and persuade her to arrange a meeting with the senior partners. They must have some clue about what’s going on.” He let out a tired sigh. “Would’ve thought of it sooner, but things have been kind of crazy around here lately.”

“Tell me about it...” Rowan wrung his hands, nervously. “Look, you don’t have to do that. Just hear me out. I...” He lowered his eyes in shame. “I have some information.”

“Really?” Angel put the phone down, suddenly giving Rowan his full attention. “Did you sense anything about Spike? Do you know if he’s okay?”

“I don’t know.” Rowan kept his eyes on the floor. “I haven’t tried. But...” He swallowed. “Look, I know this is gonna sound bad. But I want you to know, I never intended for this to happen.”

“What do you mean?” Angel’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Rowan was quiet for a moment. This was it, he realized with a feeling of defeat. He was going to lose his job, his friends and quite possibly his life, should Buffy get her hands on him before he would be able to make things right. If that was even possible. Reluctantly raising his eyes, he took a deep breath. “I know what happened to the missing demons. I know where Spike is.”


TBC





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