Buffy put her finger to her lips, signaling for him to be quiet before she mouthed, "Slayer."
Spike's eyes widened. "Here?" he mouthed back.
Buffy nodded, then pointed, and Spike discreetly peeked out over the mausoleum's corner. There, walking through their cemetery was the girl he recognized as being the second Slayer he'd fought during the ritual to restore Drusilla.
He never had quite understood why there'd been two Slayers there anyway, and he figured now wasn't the time to ask. Later, after this still-living Slayer was no longer a threat.
Buffy stood up on her tiptoes and whispered against Spike's ear. "Kill her for me, baby. Make her your third."
Spike grinned at her request, all too happy to oblige. He rolled his shoulders and neck, loosening himself up before he stepped from behind the mausoleum, an extra swagger in his step.
"Well, well, well. Lookie what I found."
Kendra turned quickly, her expression emotionless as she drew her stake and dropped into a fighting stance.
"All ready to call a new Slayer then, are you?" Kendra's eyes widened slightly, and Spike chuckled. "Yeah, ducks, I know who you are. And me, I'm the Slayer of Slayers. It's time to add a new notch to my belt." He hooked his thumbs behind his belt buckle and curved his tongue between his teeth, giving Kendra a wink designed to unnerve the Slayer.
It worked, though Kendra fought to keep from showing any reaction to this unorthodox meeting. She ran towards Spike, her stake coming down to plunge into his heart. He stopped her easily, however, and every strike she made after that.
Leaning against the mausoleum wall, Buffy watched the battle, in awe of Spike. He was fighting what should be the biggest predator of their kind, and yet, he was toying with her. He was blocking her every move with a smile on his face, the sheer joy of the fight in his eyes.
Buffy didn't think she'd ever seen him more beautiful.
"Come on now, ducks. Is this the best you can do? I've killed two other Slayers, and both were more of a challenge than you. This fight has been so pathetic, I can't even rightly kill you yet. It would be such a disappointment."
Anger flashed across Kendra's face and she charged again, this time kicking Spike hard enough to make him stagger backwards. He laughed as he righted himself. "Now you're gettin' it!"
"You will die tonight, vampire," Kendra snapped, her anger mounting by the moment.
"Already dead, luv," Spike replied as he hit her hard across the face. "Care to join me?"
Buffy watched as Kendra charged at Spike again, her cool exterior shattered as she gave into the anger Spike had stirred in her. Buffy could tell from the grin on her lover's face that he was delighting in the fight, even when Kendra's blows hit their marks.
Spike loved what he was. He reveled in it. He was a vampire through and through, existing to feed, fight, and fuck.
Buffy felt a rush of feminine pride to be on the arm of such a man.
Like any predator toying with its prey, Spike eventually reached the point where he was ready to end the game. Kendra gasped as he lunged at her with superhuman speed, her wrist snapping as he turned it hard, making her drop her stake.
Kendra tried to remain fighting, but Spike kept her pinned as he held her in a near-crushing grip. His fangs descended, sinking into her throat, and Buffy watched the Slayer's struggles grow weaker as the blood drained from her body.
Spike pulled his head up, even as the girl fought to take shuddering breaths. Blood stained his mouth as he looked over and met Buffy's eyes. "Come on, luv. Feed with me."
Buffy stepped away from the mausoleum to approach Spike and the dying Slayer. Kendra blinked slowly, her brow furrowing as looked at her former sister Slayer.
"Buffy…" Kendra said weakly, a tone of pleading in her voice.
The turned Slayer showed her no mercy. She latched on to one side of Kendra's neck as Spike again began to feed from the other. Together, they drained her dry.
Kendra's body slumped, used, to the ground and Spike grabbed Buffy with a snarl, throwing her up against a nearby tree. Within moments, Buffy's skirt was up around her waist and Spike had freed himself from his jeans to allow him to thrust inside of her.
Buffy screamed with pleasure as Spike took her roughly, the fight and the Slayer's blood coursing through his veins making him wild. Tremors of bliss rolled through her, and she cried out in delight as she felt Spike release inside of her, only to remain hard.
With a snarl, he tossed her down face-first onto the ground before mounting her again, puling her up so she was on all fours. Buffy clawed at the dirt, her entire body awash in ecstasy, her mind focused only on the feel of Spike inside of her.
She didn't know how long it was until he roared in release, pulling her up so he could bite her neck as he spilled into her body. They collapsed, panting harshly, and Spike pulled Buffy back over to the tree, leaning against it as he held her in his lap.
Spike stroked her hair, noticing her eyes were trained on the dead Slayer's body. He wondered if perhaps it was too much for her, if she was feeling something now for the fallen Slayer.
"Are you all right, luv?" Spike asked her softly, then brushed a kiss against her temple.
"They sent her to kill me," Buffy replied. "I know they did. That was why she was here."
"Who? Your old mates?"
"Them, the Watchers' Council, all of them." Buffy looked up at Spike, a hard glint in her eyes. "I want to give them a message, let them know who they're really dealing with."
"You got a plan on how to do that?" Spike asked.
Buffy nodded, then got off his lap and straightened her skirt. "Fix your pants and get the body."
Without question, Spike did what she asked.
Willow had followed Giles into the library that morning, eager to be of some help, even if it was just reshelving books. The longer Buffy was gone, the more useless she felt, and she was willing to do anything to ease that feeling.
When she heard Giles cry out as he opened the door to his office, Willow knew she shouldn't have rushed over the way she did. Yet she'd moved on instinct, going to his side without thinking.
What she saw made her blood run cold.
Kendra was hanging from the wall, with what appeared to be railroad spikes driven through her hands. Her chest was split open, and her heart was beneath her feet.
Through it, was Kendra's own stake.
Willow turned and tried to run, though she stumbled and caught herself on the edge of the front desk. She stopped, gripping the edge as her arms trembled.
She stiffened for a moment when she felt Giles place his hand against her back, then her shoulders slumped. "I can't believe Buffy would do something like that, even as a vampire. It seems so…" Willow trailed off, not able to find a word to describe the sight of Kendra's body.
"I know. I'm not even sure this was her doing."
Willow turned around to face him, though she kept one hand still on the desk, not trusting her own legs to keep her upright. "You don't?"
"Well, I'm not sure. The use of railroad spikes would suggest, well, Spike."
"Buffy killed him, didn't she? After he tried to kill Angel to make Drusilla strong again?"
"She dropped an organ on him," Giles replied. "That isn't one of the three surefire ways to kill a vampire. Perhaps this was his way of letting us know he isn't gone. Kendra was a Slayer…" Giles swallowed hard. He knew that even with the use of the spikes, it was more than likely Buffy had played some part in the Slayer's death. He had read up on Spike when the blond vampire had first arrived in Sunnydale, and in neither of the accounts of the deaths of Slayers attributed to him had the body been displayed in such a gruesome manner. From a psychological standpoint, it would make sense for Buffy to rebel against her former Calling in such a manner, and the thought made Giles feel cold inside.
As did the implication that, were this the case, she had possibly teamed up with the Slayer of Slayers himself.
"I can't take this anymore, Giles," Willow said, pulling the Watcher back into the moment. "I can't stand not knowing what she's doing, if she's planning something, and I really can't stand being afraid of Buffy. I feel so helpless."
"I know," Giles replied simply, nothing else he could say. He did know. He felt the same way himself.
"I was hoping Kendra would just find her and stake her." Willow shook her head. "I feel horrible for wanting that, but I'd rather know Buffy was really gone than to have to think about her going around like a monster now."
Giles gripped Willow's shoulder. "It would be better for her than what she is now. Buffy wouldn't want to be like this. She…"
"It was her greatest nightmare," Willow said quietly.
"Yes, I remember." Giles added silently to himself, "And mine as well."
"I think about her all the time," Willow replied, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I don't want to, not like that, but I can't help it. She's a monster, Giles, and she didn't want to be one. She didn't, and it isn't fair!"
As Willow began to cry harder, Giles pulled her into an embrace, trying to comfort her even as his own pain threatened to tear him apart.
After seeing Kendra's body, Willow went through most of the day in a fog. The police had come to the school, yet classes had not been cancelled. Death had long since become routine at Sunnydale High.
Once the last bell had rung, she went back to the computer science classroom, wanting to get the projects the students had turned in earlier so she could hurry home before dark and grade them. The discs were sitting on a basket on her desk, and Willow picked them up, cursing as several of them slipped from her fingers.
Willow bent down beside the desk, picking up the dropped discs. She spotted one almost out of her reach, and she reached for it, stretching her fingers out until she could touch it. With a small smile of satisfaction, Willow pulled it out, only to frown again when she saw it.
The outside of the disc was blank, and Willow sighed. "Who forgot their name this time," she wondered aloud as she pushed the disc into the computer's A drive.
As soon as Willow looked at the files on the disc, she noticed something was different. The assignment had been to make a PowerPoint presentation, yet none were on the disc. Instead, there was a strange icon for a type of file she didn't recognize. Curiosity overwhelming her, she clicked on it.
A program started up, a black window appearing, only to be covered with strange characters. Willow watched as they changed before her eyes, then gasped as realization dawned on her.
This was it! This was the Curse!
Willow blinked, almost expecting it to disappear before her eyes, but it didn't. Everything was there: the ingredients for the spell, the incantation, exactly how to set it up. Ms. Calendar must've gotten it translated before her death, she realized.
With hope inside of her for the first time since Buffy had come to her house several nights earlier, Willow removed the disc from the computer, holding it tightly in her trembling hands. She checked the clock, seeing that she had enough time before dusk to make it to the magic shop and then home.
Projects forgotten, Willow hurried from the classroom.
She could do this.
She could make it right again.
There will be no posts next week, as I will be going out of town for Thanksgiving. Sorry! (And yes, I realize that was a very nasty cliffhanger to announce that right afterwards. Please keep all projectiles to yourself…)
Than you to everyone who congratulated me on the promotion. I really appreciated it. :)
Please review!