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Author's Chapter Notes:
Betad by Mabel Marsters. A huge thanks to PhotographyNut, JO, shelly, guest, cordykitten and IamGhost for reviewing the last chapter!
When Spike finally came to, he had no idea what time it was, or how long he had been out. He was too tired and in too much pain to bother. His entire face was aching, the holy water having scalded his skin like acid, and he couldn’t see a thing. He tried blinking a couple of times, hoping it would clear his vision, but it didn’t help – he was completely blind.

Suddenly sensing a presence behind him, he tensed up, realizing the demon had to be standing just a few feet away, watching him in silence. Spike struggled to pull himself up in a sitting position, but a wave of dizziness came over him and he fell back down with a pitiful moan. He would need a lot of blood for his strength to return.

He made another weak attempt of moving, only to find that his body wouldn’t obey him. Feeling light-headed and disoriented, he could do little more than simply remain where he was. That was when he knew he had to face the fact. Harmony had been right all along – there was no way out of here. His time was almost up, and nobody would come for him.


~ ~ ~


Bursting through the front door, Buffy stopped on the other side. She gave Rowan a questioning look, and he gestured towards the smaller, wooden door over by the red curtain. Before she could run down the stairs, Angel put his hand on her arm to stop her. “You can’t go down until Wesley’s done with the binding spell. We wanna take the demon by surprise, not give him the heads-up that we’re coming.”

“I’m afraid we’ll have to risk it.” Wesley spoke up, an almost apologetic note in his voice. “The closer I’ll be when I do the spell, the longer it will last. Still, I fear it will only restrain the beast for a couple of minutes at the most. I’ll have to do it right outside the door.”

Angel sighed. “All right. Let’s get started, then. Buffy and I’ll prepare the unsealing spell. We need to be able to enter the room the moment the binding spell starts working.” The ex watcher nodded in agreement.

“Um...” Rowan awkwardly ran his hand through his hair. “What do you guys need me to do?”

Buffy opened her mouth, but the vampire beat her to it. “You’ll wait for us out in the car. Keep the motor running and be ready to step on it.” Rowan looked like he was about to protest, but the look Angel gave him told him that he didn’t have any say in the matter. So he simply nodded in acceptance and walked out the door.

“I don’t trust him, Buffy declared as Rowan left the house. “We shouldn’t let him out of our sight.”

“You know Lorne made Rowan sing for him just before we left,” Angel pointed out. “The message was clear – he’s genuinely regretful. He won’t betray us again.”

“Doesn’t matter to me.” Buffy got a grim expression on her face. “I sure as hell won’t let him get away with this.” Then she stepped through the doorway, not giving them a chance to object. “Let’s do this.” She started down the stairs.


~ ~ ~


Spike could hear the demon moving towards him and braced himself for another attack. With no energy left to fight, physically nor verbally, he had given up the idea of defending himself against this creature. In fact, he had reached the point where he just wanted it to be over.

For a brief moment, an image of Buffy’s smiling face flashed through his mind, but he quickly pushed it away. He wouldn’t allow himself to think about Buffy, knowing he had to accept the fact that he wouldn’t get to see her again. A choked sob escaped him and he forced himself to focus on the physical agony shooting through his bruised and battered body. That would be less painful.

When Morou suddenly kicked him hard in the ribs, Spike jerked uncontrollably as another convulsion of pain went through him, although he didn’t utter a sound. He would not give the cruel bastard the satisfaction of making him scream again. Pressing his cracked, blistered lips together, he desperately tried to keep from crying out as the demon kicked him again. And again.


~ ~ ~


“I can feel it,” Angel mumbled as he followed Buffy down the stairs. “The power. God, it’s overwhelming.”

“Yes,” Wesley agreed, his hand gripping the cold railing at the side of the staircase. “Somehow, the air in here is all...” He hesitated, searching his mind for the right word, “wrong. The evil down here is palpable.”

Buffy remained silent. She could feel it too, of course. From the moment she stepped through the door, she had been aware of the low, humming sound, which appeared to be growing louder by the second. The air around her felt almost electrical, and the walls seemed to be pulsating.

Finally reaching the bottom of the stairs, they stopped in front of a large door made of stone, a door that didn’t have any handle, or a key hole. Buffy inhaled shakily, knowing Spike had to be on the other side. Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she then glanced at the others, her voice trembling as she spoke up, “I guess this is it. Wes?”

The former watcher took a deep breath before resolutely stepping forward, putting the palm of his hand against the door.


~ ~ ~


“Morou is pleased.” Spike was only vaguely aware of the demon’s voice, speaking directly into his ear. “The other toys didn’t last this long. You have set a new record, vampire. A celebration might be in order.” Morou’s cruel laughter echoed through the room.

“Not your... bleedin’... toy.” Spike started coughing, the effort of speaking even a few words being too much for him. He felt weaker than he could remember ever feeling before, and he knew it was just a matter of time before he would pass out again.

His body had taken too much damage to be able to heal by itself. Knowing that his severe injuries wouldn’t kill him, as they without doubt would have killed any human by now, Spike struggled against the panic and despair welling up inside him, threatening to consume him. Who knew how long the demon would keep him around like this?


~ ~ ~


“Ready?” Buffy gave Wesley a questioning look. As he nodded, she turned to Angel who handed her a small, paper bag. Picking up a large, white candle, she carefully placed it on the floor by her feet. Then she pulled out a handful of dried leaves, squashed them in her hand and let the crumbs fall to the floor, right under the door.

Watching as Angel pulled up a box of matches from his pocket and hurriedly lit the candle, Wesley then started reciting the words of the binding spell from his memory. “Atrum phasmatis. Ego hic ordo vos moror tergum. Ego hic redimio vestri vox. Peto somnus.” He cast a look at Buffy, gesturing towards the paper bag.

Grimacing a little, Buffy picked up the glassy looking eyeball and held it just above the flame while Wesley repeated the latin phrases three times. Then he nodded at her and she quickly blew out the candle. At first, nothing happened. She opened her mouth, about to ask how they could be certain the spell was actually working, when Wesley let out a gasp, pulled his hand back and dropped to his knees.


~ ~ ~


Suddenly the demon was gone, having disappeared just as quickly and silently as it had come. Spike knew he should be relieved, but at that point, he was too exhausted and emotionally drained to care. Besides, the beast always came back. Gasping for the air his lungs didn’t really need, he was unable to relax, even for a second. There was not a part of him that didn’t hurt. And he just wanted it to stop.

For a brief moment, he thought he heard the door open, although he quickly dismissed the idea, knowing it had to be his mind playing tricks on him. Slipping in and out of unconsciousness, he could no longer tell what was real and what was not. As he felt himself starting to slip away again, he let out a shuddering breath. With any luck, he wouldn’t wake up again for a while.


~ ~ ~


“Wes?” Angel quickly moved to help his friend up, sounding alarmed. “Are you okay? What’s happening?”

“I’m all right,” Wesley insisted, slowly getting to his feet with the vampire’s assistance. “The demon’s even stronger than I expected, but I believe I’ve got him. You’ve better hurry, though, I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold him before he’ll manage to break free. It could happen at any moment.” He turned to Buffy. “Destroy the eye. Quickly.”

Without hesitation, Buffy dropped the eyeball on the floor and crushed it under her shoe. For a moment, the whole door seemed to be glowing and she could actually feel the temperature rise several degrees. Then a whooshing sound was heard and the door started to slide open, revealing a room on the other side.

Angel stepped forward, about to enter, but Buffy pushed her way past him and rushed through the door before he could stop her. Then she stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening in shock.

“Oh my God!”


TBC





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