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The couple hadn’t walked more than a dozen steps together down the hall when the radio in Buffy’s pocket buzzed. She’d forgotten she had it with her.

Frowning, she answered. “Willow? What’s the matter?” She listened for a couple minutes before saying, “we’ll meet you there.”

Dropping the radio back in her pocket, she looked up at Spike and explained. “Mr. and Mrs. Laren, the friends of Aria’s that I told you about? They showed up in the library requesting help. They had plans to have a late dinner with Aria after the Grundy trials. She ran back to her cabin to change clothes and never came back. Dargo sent them to the library before he went to check on her. That was over half an hour ago. I told Willow we’d meet them outside Aria’s cabin.”

Ten minutes later, they joined the group standing outside the cabin door. It was like reliving their earlier encounter. Buffy mentally crossed her fingers, hoping it wouldn’t end the same way before forcing open the door. Everyone crowded into the cabin.

“In there.” Spike’s voice sounded urgent.

They found Dargo unconscious, sprawled on the floor of the bedroom. Aria was gone.

“Excuse me, I’m a registered nurse.” Ro ran practiced hands across the Tamarit. “He’s been stabbed in the shoulder and lost a great deal of blood. There’s also a large bruise on the back of his head, although it doesn’t seemed to have cracked his skull. He’s unconscious, but I’d wager he’ll pull through fine if I can get this bleeding under control. I’m going to need bandages.”

Xander handed her a bath towel and she pressed it to the wound. “The knife seems to have gone straight into the muscle. It missed severing any major arteries. He’s very lucky.” She looked up at the others crowded around. “The head wound is actually worse at this point, he’s probably got a concussion.”

Anya picked up a heavy ceramic ashtray from the floor. “I think this is what they used to knock him out.”

Ro accepted the first aid kit Willow had brought just in case. “Will someone help me move him to the bed.” Spike started to lift the Tamarit when his eyes slowly opened. Grimacing, he gingerly touched his head and then winced.

“Dargo, you’ve been hit on the head and possibly suffered a concussion. Try not to move your head too quickly.”

Dargo’s eyes, dull with pain, cleared briefly and he tried to look around anyway. Buffy spoke softly. “She’s not here. Was she still here when you arrived earlier?”

The Tamarit nodded, making a face at the pain in his head.

“Once he’s comfortable, I’ll need someone to find a pad of paper and a pencil so I can question him.”

“That won’t be necessary. I can speak with him,” Jakob offered.

Spike set him gently on the bed. “Aria told us he can’t speak with anyone but her.”

“Telepathically, that’s correct. But Dargo is fluent in American Sign Language.”

Once Ro had Dargo’s arm safely bandaged, Jakob stood in Dargo’s line of sight, his hands moving rapidly. “I’m asking what happened after he left us to come back to the cabin.”

Dargo, wincing from the pain in his shoulder, “spoke” at length. Jakob occasionally interrupted for clarification. Finally Dargo leaned back and closed his eyes. Ro immediately wiped his forehead with the damp towel. “I think everyone needs to leave. He needs to rest now.”

Back in the living area once again, Jakob translated. “Standing in front of the cabin door, Dargo heard noises inside. He was worried about Aria, so he rushed inside. There were half a dozen uniformed men in here, including Zahn and a steward that he said you already know about. Two of them were holding Aria. Her arms were tied behind her back and she’d been gagged. Dargo tried to stop them and one of the men stabbed him. He doesn’t remember anything after that, so that must also be the point when one of them hit him with the ashtray, too.”

“At least we’re certain it was Zahn. It’s too bad they didn’t tell him where they planned to take her before they knocked him out.” Buffy switched to Slayer mode. “Xander, you and Anya notify the Captain. Tell him I sent you. Explain what’s happened and ask him to quietly search the ship for Roc and Zahn. He probably already has an idea something’s wrong. They’ve blown their cover so I doubt either of them reported for duty. Also have him find out if anyone else didn’t show up. Maybe we can figure out where Aria is if we know which departments his men worked. Oh, and you might as well tell him about Savana, just in case he still doesn’t know.”

“Should we have him call Ms. Demaris?”

“Not until we’ve got a better handle on the situation. I’m hoping we can find Aria before we have to worry her.”

Jakob turned to Willow. “I’m going to write down a list of ingredients. If you’ll go to the ship’s store and procure them, I’ll do a healing spell for Dargo. It will help numb his shoulder and speed recovery of both his shoulder and his head.”

Willow nodded. “Of course.”

Ro placed her hands on her hips and faced Buffy. “All of this action is good and dandy, but I’d like to straighten out some things. You see, Jakob and I are more than a little confused by all of this. We were under the impression we were on a vacation.”

She stared curiously at Buffy. “Just who are you exactly? You aren’t just another passenger that much I can tell and you seem to be in charge of these people. And why would the Captain take orders from you? And what could a ship’s officer like this Zahn possibly want with Aria in the first place? She doesn’t have any money of her own until she reaches her majority and there’s no way her aunt can pay a kidnapper’s ransom out here in the middle of the ocean. None of this makes any sense.”

Buffy waved her friends on their way. “I’ll explain. It’s a long story, but you’re not only friends of Aria, but you’ve become involved, so I think you deserve to hear it.”

“Thank you.”

Willow assisted Jakob with mixing and performing his healing spell while Buffy, with occasional imput from Spike, explained the entire story, finally revealing her identity to the couple.

When she completed the story, Ro tried to absorb it all. “So this Zahn and his followers want the bracelet but you, the Slayer, don’t know why yet. And they’ve already killed once, so obviously they won’t hesitate to do it again.” At Buffy’s nod, Ro added firmly, “then we must find Aria as soon as possible.”

“That’s my plan, but first we’ve got to figure out where to start looking.”

“I think this might help. Slayer?”

Buffy looked up at Spike. He held an envelope in his hand. At her uplifted eyebrow, he handed it to her and shrugged. “I kept smelling Zahn’s scent around the mini fridge and wondered why someone in mid abduction would stop for a cold drink. I opened it and this was taped to the inside of the door. It’s addressed to the Slayer, not Buffy Summers.”

11:00 p.m. The altar. Aria for the bracelet. Come alone.

Buffy dropped the message on the coffee table. “Come alone. So could he be any more of a cliché?”

Spike snorted.

“Buffy, when did he find out you’re the Slayer?”

She shrugged. Willow sounded anxious but it really didn’t matter. At least this way he’d know who’d be the one killing him. Instead she said, “I didn’t know there was an altar on the ship.”

Xander opened the door in time to hear. “Zahn and his crew of not so merry men aren’t actually on the ship any longer.”

“That’s a neat trick. Does he levitate or somethin’?”

“No, he steals boats,” Anya replied. “One of the seven missing employees that didn’t show up for work handles the boats used for scuba diving and all those other water sports none of us have time to enjoy. They took the largest speedboat suspended on the side of the ship. Earlier this evening it was outfitted with food and additional gas on Zahn’s orders. Although no one can remember seeing anyone board, it weighed anchor an hour ago with no posted itinerary or route. No one has a clue where they’re headed.”

“Okay, then what, they’re coming back to the ship or something tomorrow night? I’m supposed to meet him at 11:00.”

Ro spoke up. “I can answer this one. Obviously no one but me read their armload of activities information. The Malfeasance is scheduled to spend from 11:00 a.m. tomorrow”- she glanced at her watch-“make that today, until 2:00 a.m. tonight anchored in Charon’s bay off the coast of Infernas, a private island the company owns. Guests are encouraged to go snorkeling, diving or just stroll around the uninhabited island which houses the ruins of an ancient monastery. And where there’s a monastery-”

“There’s an altar,” Buffy finished grimly.

*****

Aria struggled to sit up. Her head pounded, her eyes didn’t want to focus and she was incredibly thirsty. Fighting those sensations, she concentrated and quickly realized she was no longer in her own cabin, instead she’d been placed in a small spartan room in another location. The bright light that filtered through the cracks in a miniblind told her it was midday. She must have been unconscious for hours.

Her nearly numb hands were uncomfortably bound together in front of her with a thick plastic zip tie, and were attached to a metal railing with another sip tie. Her legs were bound in the same manner.

Obviously I won’t be leaving any time soon, she thought wryly. Trying not to move her aching head too much, she tried to figure out where she was on the ship. Listening for clues to her exact whereabouts, Aria realized she was hearing the constant drone of outboard motors. That sound coupled with a slight vibration made her conclude that they were no longer on the Malfeasance but some smaller craft. A sharp stab of fear ran up her spine. They were moving away from the ship toward some unknown destination and had been for hours. How would Buffy or Dargo ever find her?

The thought of Dargo made her bite her lip in an effort not to cry. She’d watched her beloved Tamarit wrench one of the men away from her, his roar of anger sounding in her head as one of the men raised a knife behind him. She’d sent warning but it was too late. The last thing she’d heard as she felt the sharp prick of the needle was his gasp of pain.

Aria shifted. If she could raise her ankles to her hands, maybe she could figure a way to undo the zip tie.

The door opened. “There’s no way to remove that without cutting it. Since I’ve already checked to make sure you don’t have a knife, you’re out of luck.”

“Hello Zahn.” Her throat was dry and her voice sounded hoarse. She tried to swallow.

“Aria.” He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “It’s too bad I had to wait until you were unconscious to touch you. We could have had a lot of fun together if you hadn’t been such a cock tease.” At her stony silence, he smiled thinly. “Ah well, perhaps it was for the best. I hate becoming attached.”

He straightened up. “I’m having some water brought for you. Cotton mouth is an unfortunate byproduct of the drug we used. Believe it or not, I really don’t want to see you dead.” He smiled again. “At least not until I retrieve my bracelet tonight.”

Aria lifted her chin. “Why do you want the bracelet?” Her voice was still barely above a whisper. She licked her dry lips. “Shouldn’t I have the right after all of this to hear what you plan to do with it?”

Not really expecting an answer it surprised her when he nodded. “Alright.”

Sitting there bound to the railing, Aria listened to his explanation and suddenly saw Zahn with crystal clear insight and this terrible new understanding chilled her to the bone.

He’s insane.

Hours after one of his men brought water and left again, she still shuddered in despair and anguish, replaying his words over and over in her head.

I’m going to open the portal between here and Samshara and the earth will be pulled through to heaven. I’ll be venerated throughout history as the one true God who gave all the people of the world their rightful place among the glories of paradise.





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