Chapter 3: Surviving
Spike tried to think of something to say to stop the tears that he could see in the Slayer’s eyes from falling. The thought came to him about why he would care whether or not she cried. He should be delighting in her misery, not wanting to ease her pain. However, the lost look that accompanied those tears did him in and he found himself reacting like a complete wanker, like he would have when he was still human.
“Come on now pet, it really isn’t that bad. I just think you’d feel better if you got yourself cleaned up bit.”
Buffy sniffled and nodded her head. “But how can I do that? I don’t think they are going to have a shower down here.”
Spike thought a moment, while looking around, and then he was struck with inspiration. He walked to the wall of the cavern and peeled a section of the moist moss off the wall and handed it to Buffy.
“You can use this to scrub yourself off with, there’s plenty of it.” Buffy looked at it and wrinkled her nose up at him.
“You want me to wash with fungus?”
Spike quickly lost his patience and empathy. “Bloody hell woman, do you have a better solution? Anything is better than what you have now.”
She grabbed the moss from him and rubbed it experimentally over one of her arms. It was abrasive enough to scrub the heavier dirt from her body and she smiled slightly when she saw her skin peak out from under the grime. “This will work I guess.” Then she looked at her soiled and torn clothing, “I don’t know if it will make much of a difference, most of the smell is coming from this.” She pulled the nasty cloth away from her body. “If I don’t have anything else to wear though.”
Spike sighed, he knew she was right, but still what did she think he could do about her clothing. “Well, there’s no one here to see anything, really. You could go without the clothes if you wanted.” He offered with a leer.
Buffy glared at him. “I think the bleach you use had effected the few brain cells you had. There is no way you will ever see me naked Spike.” She said coldly.
“That’s your call, pet, but I don’t really think you are going to find a clothing store anywhere down here.” He snapped at her, for some reason the certainty with which she told him that angered him. Spike shook his head, there must’ve been something still affecting him from the drugged blood they gave him. His reasoning was evidently all out of whack.
Buffy looked resigned, but she moved forward to pull more of the moss off the wall and continued to scrub the exposed parts of her body with it. Spike watched her struggle to get under her clothing and get most of the dirt off, without letting the filthy fabric touch her skin again while it was still wet.
“Oh for the love of…” Spike took off his duster than removed his read button down shirt and black T-shirt. He shoved the two shirts at Buffy. “Here, put these on, they should be long enough to cover your sensitive parts.” She looked at him surprised and for a minute he thought he saw something else in her eyes as she took in the sight of him standing so close to her bare-chested, but it was gone before he could be sure, only to be replaced with stubborn suspicion.
“You expect me to get changed right here in front of you?”
Spike held up the duster. “I’ll hold this up and that way no beastie or even I will get to see the Slayer’s sacred parts.’ He told her snidely. In reality the thought of seeing her naked didn’t disgust him in the least, in his mind he could see her well-toned body and it was a very nice image indeed.
Buffy still looked at him doubtfully and Spike couldn’t help but push her further. “Would you prefer to stand here and debate about it until another big and nasty comes to gobble us up?”
“Fine, but if you peak even once, truce or not, I will rip your head off with my bare hands.”
”Please! Like I would ever want to see your scrawny arse.” He held up the coat to cut off any reply she was forming, but of course that didn’t stop her.
“I really hate you, you know.” The acid in her voice was clear.
“And here I thought you considered me one of your bosom chums?” He snickered.
Then there was silence except for the sounds of her removing her torn clothing and washing herself down. After fifteen minutes she still wasn’t done and Spike was getting tired of standing there holding up the coat. “We aren’t getting ready to go to the ball. What’s taking you so long?” He finally asked her.
“I’m having trouble, I can’t get my back.” She complained. “I tried just rubbing up against the wall, but I don’t know if I got it all.”
“Tie the red shirt around your waist and hold the other up to your front and I’ll get your back for you.” She didn’t answer him and he figured she was just ignoring him. He really needed to stop offering to help the stupid girl. It wasn’t like she was even going to accept his offer, much less appreciate it…
”Ok. I’m covered.” Her soft voice stopped his thoughts and he lowered the coat slowly almost certain that this whole encounter was a dream. The captivity, the Garden, even Mastema couldn’t be real, not if the end result was him having to stand here with his mortal enemy, who was basically naked, except for his clothing, and wash her back. Yet there she was standing before him. He didn’t need a crystal ball to know how tense and nervous she was about the situation. He could see the tightness across the muscles of her shoulders and lower back, but what a beautiful back it was. And from what he could see he was completely off base about her having a scrawny ass as well.
“Well?” She snapped. “As you pointed out we don’t have all day.” He could even here her nervousness in her voice.
Spike reached around her and grabbed some of the moss off the wall; the action caused him to come much closer to her than he had ever been when they weren’t exchanging blows. He heard her swallow thickly and wondered what was running through her mind right now. He felt kind of strange himself. As he stood back he found his hand had a slight tremor to it when he raised it to finish removing the dirt she couldn’t get to.
He could feel the heat from her skin radiating off of her and he tried to tell himself that he wasn’t enjoying that warmth. His hands were moving with a mind of their own, scrubbing the dirt gently from her body, while also taking the time to smooth over the tight muscles he could clearly see.
He saw her begin to relax slightly under his ministrations and he couldn’t help but admire her the flawless skin that emerged from under the dirt. His demon was clamoring in his body; he felt his fangs itching to emerge. In his mind he could see it so clearly, sinking his fangs into the soft flesh right above her hip bone and hearing her scream echo through out the tunnel they were standing in. The fact that it wasn’t a scream of pain or terror he was imagining didn’t even register in his mind.
He licked his lips and fought the sudden urge he had to brush them across the area between her shoulder blades to taste the soft warm skin there.
A quiet hissing noise caught his attention and Spike looked up. Above them the mist that was also their jailer had from a face above them and was peering down at the Slayer, lust clear even on the insubstantial face. It snapped Spike out of the daze he had fallen into at the sight of her standing there like that. He quickly dropped the moss and jerked the coat back up.
“You’re all set now, Slayer. Hurry up and get dressed.” He ordered her; he didn’t want to tell her about the peeping tom that was spying on them. No need to get her more upset than she already was, besides there was nothing to be done about it.
His gruff angry voice kicked Buffy out of the lull she had fallen into at Spike’s touch. How someone so inherently evil could create such magic over her with his hands was completely beyond her, yet when he was washing away the dirt she wanted nothing more than to lean back against him and let him rub other places on her body. Now she felt disgusted with herself for even letting such urges come across her and she quickly pulled the T-shirt over her head, followed by his red button down shirt. He was right they did cover her about to mid thigh. It would work fine as long as she didn’t try any high kicks while fighting.
She stepped around the coat to show him she was finished. She still wished there had been a way to wash her hair, but she did feel much better now that she was cleaner and had those clothes off her. She felt something heavy in the breast pocket of his over shirt; she put her hand in the pocket and pulled out a large crystal.
“What’s this?” She asked.
Spike peered at it curiously. “I have no idea. Where did you get it from?”
”Your shirt.”
Spike remembered when Ipwet had pressed herself against him; she must have slipped it in there then. Spike wondered what it was or what it did, but he didn’t want their watcher above them to figure it out.
“Just some trinket I picked up.” Spike shrugged and took it from her, putting it in his duster pocket. “Ok, so now that you are all squeaky clean, we need to figure out a game plan.” He tried to change the subject. Buffy looked at him strangely, but didn’t push the issue.
“I guess we should start checking the place out. Look around and stuff.”
“Right, but these tunnels could go forever, how are we going to mark our way?”
Buffy smiled. “That’s easy.” She turned back to the wall and picked at more of the moss making an arrow shape pointing right. “Now we head this way.”
“Not bad Slayer.”
“Fungus, not just for looking pretty and cleaning anymore.” Buffy joked lightly.
Spike shook his head. “With wit like yours, it amazing you’re still alive.” He said dryly, following after her.
High above them in the large conference room, the Vampire Council sat and watched them in a screen of mist. Mastema had called up the Guardian to show them what was going on in the Garden below. There was no color or sound, but their forms were easily recognizable.
Everyone watched as first they fought next to each other then as they continued on without attacking one another.
“What is he doing? The vampire next to Mastema growled. “Look at what has become of the Aurelians, they even stand with Slayers.” His name was Baraqel and he was now the second in command. The destruction of the Aurelius line would secure that position for him. “Every one of the spawn since he turned that worthless whore, Darla has been nothing but a disgrace.” Baraqel continued. He never hesitated to remind Mastema of the Grandchilde he never approved of. To every vamp’s eyes it had been the turning of Darla that marked the beginning of the clans demise.
“That must be the wisdom of age.” No one expected Ipwet to speak up. “I would have thought it clever to team up with the Slayer to increase the odds of survival.”
Baraqel turned towards her with a snarl. “That is why you sit where you do.” He said.
A startled cry arose as those still peering into the mist now saw Spike bare-chested while the Slayer stripped off her clothing.
“Disgusting.” Someone gasped.
“She isss a perfect exsssample of the female form thoughss.” The voice hissed from the mist itself.
“Enough.” Mastema said. “We don’t need to see this.” The screen of mist dissolved back into the floor.
He looked thoughtful. “William is more resilient and resourceful than I would have thought.”
“Maybe he is more like you than you realized my lord.” Ipwet said.
Cries of outrage rang out through the room.
“How dare you compare our Lord and Sire to that traitor.” Baraqel yelled. “You forget your place.”
“Yet I remember the stories of the ones our Lord killed to get where he is. How is that different?” She insisted.
“He never sided with a Slayer.” Baraqel replied.
”No, but he did help the Holy Father.” The name was said with disgust. “In Egypt I believe, when the one called Moses called up the last plague, the death of the first born child.”
Murmurs ran throughout the room.
“This meeting is at an end.” Mastema declared. “We will reconvene tomorrow.”
Everyone quickly left the room.
Rangda grabbed Ipwet. “Are you trying to get yourself thrown down into the Garden with them?”
“No, I’m trying to make Mastema realize he is more like the traitor than he wants to realize.”
“Tread carefully. Baraqel will not let anything get in the way of his succession at this point.”
”Relax, my sister. Everything is going according to plan.”
Legacy by Kyra Storm
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Author's Chapter Notes:
A/N: This chap was going to be longer, but my computer seems to be posessed right now. Some one asked me about the idea for the Garden (I lost the e-mail when my comp went down.) It came LOOSELY from Giger's Necronomicon 'Island of the Dead' specifically. Hopefully next chap of Life Eternal will go up tonight.
Thanks for the nice reviews.
Kyra
Thanks for the nice reviews.
Kyra