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Chapter 38

**
Previously:

“Oh, my! That’s just…wow. Are you sure?” Tara bubbled with excitement. She had been dreading being alone again. She was going to miss Willow terribly, but she had to do this. She had to make Willow face this problem without distractions and she had to be around for the study of the journal. Her mother had been quite clear on that. She had a part to play and she wasn’t prepared to let any of them down.

**

Tara walked into the magic box alone. Since it was the first time she’d interacted with the group without the comforting presence of Willow, she was very nervous.

Thinking about the absent redhead caused a sharp pain to her heart. While it was true that her loneliness had been greatly relieved by the move into Penny’s house, the nights alone in her bed somehow seemed longer.

“Hey Tara,” Buffy called from her seat at the table. She and Giles, with intermittent help from Anya, had been going over Tara’s mother’s journal. It was amazingly detailed, giving them a glimpse at a future that none of them wanted to see.

“Hi, everyone,” Tara shyly responded as she joined them at the table. “Where are you up to?” she asked, pointing to the book.

“Defeat of the First, death of my champion– so not happy about that– Angel’s takeover of the evil law firm and the return of Ghost-y Spike. Which makes me happier, but the whole non-touchage bit is gonna be an issue. All in all, gotta say I’m not really lovin’ this whole scenario. I’m thinking changes of gigantic proportions are called for,” Buffy quipped, using humour to cover her trepidation.

“Well, at least we know why we’re researching wish granting demons now,” Anya tried to offer something positive to the depressing picture Buffy had painted.

Tara nodded her head in understanding at the slayers fears. “Buffy, it’s all changed now. Penny was brought here to help us with Glorificus, and the First can only gain access on this plane if you die and are brought back. We’re not going to let you die,” she hastily assured the young blond.

“Too bloody right, we’re not,” Spike growled out from the door to the basement. Swiftly making his way to his slayer’s side and kneeling, he lifted a hand to gently caress her face. “I just got you, kitten. I’ve no intention of letting you go anywhere without me and I’m not ready to leave this world yet. It’s just getting interesting.”

Buffy smiled, momentarily losing herself in the depth of emotion in his eyes.

“Have you thought about going after the scythe now? Or at least talking with the Guardian?” Anya asked, oblivious to the tender moment she was interrupting.

**

Buffy and Spike made their way towards the vineyards, hoping to find the place deserted. Spike noticed that they were not alone. “Company, pet,” he commented quietly.

“What is it?” Buffy whispered back.

“Human…one,” he answered decisively. Whoever it was, the bugger knew how to tail. If it wasn’t for the direction of the wind, Spike might never have known he was there.

“Circle and confront?”

“Nah, luv, this one knows what he’s doin’. We’re gonna have to be a little more inventive,” Spike informed her with a cheeky grin right before he grabbed her around the waist and jumped. Gotta love that enhanced vampire strength.

From their perch on the branch of the large tree Spike had positioned them in, they could see a good deal of the surrounding area, including their shadow.

Graham looked around him, desperately looking for some sign of his prey. He knew they had passed this way, but their tracks just seemed to disappear and he could see no further trace of them. He cried out in surprise when Buffy suddenly appeared to drop from the heavens right in front of him.

“So, Graham, out for an evening stroll?” she asked with deceptive innocence.

“Buffy?” Graham hated surprises. They always left him feeling off balance. “Um…what are you doing out here?”

Buffy lifted a delicate eyebrow. Seriously, who did he think he was kidding? “Gee Graham, if you wanted to know that, you could have saved yourself a lot of time by just asking me when you first started following.”

“Fine,” he snarled, dropping all pretence. “I’m following you to see if you’ll take me to Riley.”

“Riley’s dead,” she pointed out the obvious to him.

“Well, I want what’s left,” he snarled, stepping into her personal space.

Spike stepped into the moonlight. “Might wanna step out of the lady’s space, mate. She could get a bit testy,” he commented mildly.

“You gonna make me, Hostile?” Graham snorted at the chipless vampire dismissively.

Buffy chuckled.

**

Eyes watched Ben as he tiredly trudged towards the apartment from his car. He knew that he was being watched, but as it had been happening his whole life, he wasn’t going to let this time worry him. He’d long given up the hope that the scabby little minions of the great and magnificent Glorificus the vacuous hell god would leave him alone. The morons seemed to be under the impression that he should be proud to house the bitch in his very tired body.

He could feel her clawing her way out. He briefly wondered how long he’d be gone this time.

Glory looked down at the clothes she was wearing and screeched in horror. It didn’t seem to matter how many times he was told, damn Benji just wouldn’t wear silk. It was really beginning to annoy her. Snapping the neck of the nearest hovering minion gave her a moments satisfaction and took her mind off Ben completely.

Making her way into the apartment, Glory quickly changed her clothes, all the while wondering what she was going to do to get her key. She would stop every now and again as an idea struck her, then shake her head angrily as she dismissed the thought. What she really needed was a seer, someone who could see through the puzzle and into the future. Someone that could tell her how she succeeded in the end, so she could know now.

As Glory paced the apartment searching unsuccessfully for answers, she was completely unaware of the eyes that watched her through the window. Eyes that had watched Ben earlier. Eyes that didn’t belong to scabby little minions.

**

Joyce felt calmness wash over her, followed by an urgent need to sit down. Moving swiftly to one of the armchairs in the living room, she allowed the calm to take over.

Pictures of strange people she didn’t know flitted through her conscious mind.

The pictures seemed to slow and solidify, giving her the perception that she was inside the vision. One particular individual she knew and loathed appeared. She could hear what they were saying, watch what they were doing, and intuit their emotions. She knew that this was not yet happening, but she also knew there was no way to stop it. She was being shown this for a reason. What terrified her was the idea that she already knew what they wanted her to see, and she really didn’t want to know that at all.





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