Chapter 20
Angelus was seated casually in a chair, one leg crossed over the other. Hands laced together behind his head, he was delighted to be safely ensconced in his new lair, an old mansion on Crawford Street. He looked on thoughtfully at his two ‘guests.’ Both dressed sharply in business attire, they didn’t seem to be bothered by his status as a master vampire. Curious, he tilted his head to the side. Face taking on a sinister grin, he said, “I should just eat you both.”
When neither even so much as flinched, Angelus sighed loudly. Amused smile on her face, the female spoke. “I’m afraid that would not be in your best interests, Liam.”
Angelus was surprised by the use of his human name. Instead of growling as he would of liked, he became even more curious. Remembering his conversation with the male when he was in that accursed dark room, he said, “So tell me more about this master plan. Where do I fit in?”
“There is a statue that has recently been uncovered. Its name is Acathla, and will be arriving at the Sunnydale Museum for processing later this morning. Our research department has ascertained that you are the key to unlocking this statue’s power. Our...supervisors...are very interested in the result of this artifact’s accompanying ritual. I assure you, you will benefit from its outcome as well.”
“So I’m the key, huh? Sounds kinky,” Angelus began. With a harder edge in his voice, he continued, “What exactly does this ritual do? Can’t say I’ve been displeased with the outcomes of those things lately, but you could always break my streak. And how exactly do I benefit?”
The female nodded and responded airily, “It’s quite simple. The ritual of Acathla sucks the Earth into Hell. In return, our firm will then make sure you recieve all the young maidens you could ever want. Delivered.”
xxx
Spike was warm. Stirring slightly, the warmth made an annoyed sound and moved still closer to his body. Finally waking, Spike looked down to see a sight that warmed his heart. Now resting on his back, he smiled softly while looking down upon Buffy. She was sprawled across his chest, one arm protectively around his torso. Her legs were hopelessly tangled with his, and he could feel her quiet breaths fanning his neck. He’d never felt better.
Buffy awoke slowly. As she realized that she was still wrapped around Spike, she shot up in bed.
“Oh God, Spike. I had a slayer dream!” she whispered.
“Calm down, love. We’ll suss it out,” he replied just as softly.
Nodding slightly, Buffy moved to return to Spike’s comforting embrace when a loud shrill pierced the air. It was the phone. She looked to Spike in silent question and was pleased to see him cock his head and begin to listen carefully.
After several tense moments, he finally said in a low voice, “It’s the Watcher pet. Angelus got free and roughed him up pretty bad.”
Gasping, Buffy sat up quickly and made for the stairs, saying, “I’ll go check the curtains and call when it’s safe.” Pausing slightly, she turned back to him. “Thank you for last night.”
Resuming her pace, she took the steps two at a time and was long gone before he spoke, goofy grin returning to his face.
“You’re welcome, kitten.”
xxx
Luckily for Spike, Joyce had made sure that the curtains were securely drawn. Ellie was awake and sipping her blood slowly, savoring its bacony taste. Dru, having already eaten, was helping Joyce prepare a light breakfast. Willow and Jenny looked quite stunned and scared, having arrived just after the unsettling phone call. Xander had also shown up, donuts in hand. He was quickly brought up to speed, and was slightly sheepish at having missed it all. Buffy called for Spike and he joined her in the living room, both parties wanting to avoid at all costs the domesticity occuring in the kitchen.
Once breakfast had been served and eaten, bloody mugs rinsed and dishes done, the human members of the unusual party headed to the hospital. Left alone to their own devices, the three vampires made inane conversation as they waited for their breathing counterparts to return.
Ellie had once more nodded off, still needing sleep to heal. This left Spike and Dru alone, and the silence was awkward. At last, Spike spoke up.
“I’ve been a right bad man lately, Dru. Here I’ve been snoggin’ the Slayer and not payin’ you any mind.”
Chuckling, Dru replied. “It’s quite alright, my Spike. If you recall, I DID foresee this. My duty was simply to create you so you could be with your Sunshine.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Spike said, “Glad that’s over. So...you’re not brassed at me?”
“No, of course not! You will always be my Childe, my Dark Knight, but you were never meant to be MINE.”
“You’ll always be my Sire, Dru. I’ll always love you. Jus’ not IN love with you anymore. Guess that works out well, doesn’ it?”
Dru smiled, and the awkwardness left the air. Once more certain of their status with one another, both vampires knew it was time to speak about the OTHER elephant in the room, Dru’s recent faulty visions.
“I was wrong again, Spike,” she began in a quiet whisper. “I told Buffy that Angel would do good if brought back...now he’s escaped and injured Mr. Giles. What if...what if the ritual broke them?”
“I don’ know much about all that rot, Dru. Ya know how I feel ‘bout magic. Maybe you jus’ don’t remember how to analyze ‘em anymore, what with bein’ barmy for so long and all. Maybe we’ll go see the Watcher after dark, see what he thinks.”
Nodding thoughtfully, she replied, “That might be a good idea. Maybe he can tell me where I went wrong. Needless to say, I won’t rely on them further...at least without guidance.”
Spike took her hands into his in a comforting gesture. They sat for long moments, merely contemplating the revelations from their talk.
Feeling slightly better about herself, Drusilla left Spike to return to catch a few more hours sleep. Spike knew he would be unable to sleep again himself, so he flopped down into a comfy chair and resigned himself to watching the ‘telly.’
xxx
The Scoobies and Joyce arrived via Joyce’s SUV to the hospital safely. Giles had been diagnosed with a severe concussion and broken leg, the cast bulky and hung from a sling. The Scoobs listened in horror at Giles’ depiction of his injuries, and were very suspicious of Angelus’ seemingly easy escape. They only had Buffy’s own horrific Slayer dream to go on, and that wasn’t much. The Scoobies stayed for about an hour, going over every detail Giles and Buffy could remember with a fine tooth comb. They found themselves at a loss. Promising to return later that afternoon with research supplies, they left Giles to rest.
Doing some thinking of his own, Giles quickly realized that he was getting nowhere. Until the rest visited again later with the aforementioned supplies, he turned on the TV. Finding a local news program, he settled in to watch. Fifteen minutes later, he was back on the phone. The scroll at the bottom of the screen proudly displayed, ‘Recently uncovered statue Acathla stolen from Sunnydale Museum!’
As he hung up the phone after talking with Joyce, his eyes widened comically. The most cryptic pieces of Buffy’s dream had finally clicked into place. A wolf eating a heart, ram looking on?
“Oh dear Lord.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
So sorry for the lack of updates yesterday. There will only be one chapter today, and most likely one a day or every other day from now on. With my internet reconnected, I have access once again to my favorite hobby, gaming.
I will NOT abandon this story. We're almost done, and I really want to finish it. Then the editing process will begin. (WTB Beta-reader, PST)
Thanks again for reading and enjoying!
I will NOT abandon this story. We're almost done, and I really want to finish it. Then the editing process will begin. (WTB Beta-reader, PST)
Thanks again for reading and enjoying!
Chapter End Notes:
Thanks again guys, and PLEASE take the time to review, I love them!