Chapter Two – Cave
Buffy kept her eyes trained on the loping gait of the man in front of her. If she concentrated on that one thing, then she wouldn’t have to think about the mess she was in.
And it was a big, big mess.
She figured that being avoidy was probably the best way of dealing with everything – for the moment anyway.
Spike was walking beside her, and she could see from the corner of her eye that he was itching to say something. He didn’t, and for that she was grateful. The tentative truce that they’d made with each other and with Roman probably wouldn’t withstand any of the bleached vamp’s comments.
She had no idea where they were going. After his big revelation – and wasn’t that a kicker? – Roman had suggested that they ‘move the conversation back to base’.
They’d been walking for quite some time already, and Buffy wondered when they would reach wherever it was they were going to. The surrounding darkness didn’t give any clues away – she could barely see five feet in front of her, but soon enough she heard the telltale swishing noise of waves breaking on a beach.
“Mind your step,” the man whose feet she’d been watching for the past fifteen minutes turned around suddenly. “The path goes very steep very quick.”
He wasn’t wrong, and Buffy concentrated even more intently on his feet.
The sound of the sea drew them in, and there was a short walk across soft sand before they arrived at the mouth of a cave, set into a sheer cliff.
One-by-one the procession of vampires and humans disappeared into the cave, and Buffy shot Spike a bewildered look before following.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” she exclaimed, when she saw the next leg of the journey. A narrow ravine in the rock at the back of the cave curved gently upwards, and she had a glimpse of feet-man’s backside as he crawled inelegantly up it.
“After you, pet,” Spike smirked, curling his tongue behind his teeth.
Buffy scowled at him, but slid into the narrow gap and began to edge forwards, wincing when she put pressure on her sore wrist.
“Love the view!” Spike called from behind her.
“Bite me,” she replied.
“Probably not the best thing to say in a tunnel full of vamps, love,” Spike laughed, “some of us might take you up on the offer.”
*
Whatever she’d been expecting after the humiliating crawl through the tunnel, it hadn’t been this.
The ravine had opened out into a huge cave, the floor and walls worn smooth, but the ceiling jagged with rocks.
There were people – men and women, humans and vampires – milling about, some dressed similarly to Roman’s group, and some in a more normal – yet slightly old-fashioned - state of dress.
At one end of the cave was a long table with benches at either side – presumably a dining area if the half-empty plates of food were any indication. Other areas were divided into partitions, with desks and chairs scattered about and the whirring and clicking of outdated electronic equipment littering the tables.
A sudden movement drew Buffy’s eye to one corner of the cave. It was scattered with dry sand, and a man was sparring with a female vampire; his only weapon a quarterstaff, her only weapon her fangs.
“What is this place?” she asked, curiously.
“Our base,” Roman replied, stepping forward. The others who had been in the group had scattered, all except a black-haired woman, who now stood at Roman’s side.
“And who exactly are you?” Spike asked, dragging his eyes away from the fight in the corner.
“We’re Slayers,” Roman said, “we train here and then we fight demons. It’s our duty, our calling.”
“You give away our secrets so readily, Roman,” purred the dark-haired woman, “and yet we know nothing of our new friends. They could be working for Rhys.”
“How can you all be Slayers? And if you’re Slayers, how come there are like, a million vamps in here? Oh, and we’re not working for Rhys. Whoever he is.”
Roman motioned them over to a corner of the cave that was half-hidden with a curtain, where they sat down at a table. Moments later, a heavy-lidded woman set a tray with four glasses and a plate of sandwiches down in front of them.
Buffy reached for one of the glasses, but Spike grabbed her hand before she could pick it up.
“Think that one’s for me, pet,” he said.
“Oh. Blood. Right.”
“There’s cider for you and I,” Roman said, indicating the remaining cups.
“Thanks,” Buffy replied, and sipped her drink gratefully. She set the glass down on the table, and closed her eyes. Perhaps if she tapped her heels together three times and thought of home, this bizarre nightmare would be over.
No such luck.
“I’m having a really difficult time understanding what’s going on,” she said, a few moments later. “I patrolled. Spike showed up. We fought a group of vampires. One of them nearly broke my wrist, and then the next thing I know we’re not in Kansas anymore. What’s going on?”
“You’ve got one of our cuffs,” Roman pointed at the leather she wore around her wrist, “and one of the gems is broken. They act as a failsafe device…our mage worked a spell so that if any Slayer should be lost or captured, crushing a gem would bring them back to our base.”
“And where is that exactly?” Spike put in, and then turned to look at Buffy, “something ‘bout the air’s not right. Smells like we’ve skipped dimensions, Slayer.”
“Yes,” Roman said, “Kali – our mage - has recently begun investigating the worlds that lie alongside ours. It is possible that the failsafe in the cuff was strong enough to pull you across.”
“As for where you are,” the woman smiled, “we are on Vectis, the island home to a Hellmouth of epic proportions. And I am Josie.”
“Great. Another Hellmouth,” Buffy rolled her eyes. “Can your mage send us back? I really need to get home. Things to do, vamps to slay, evil Hell God’s to kill and all that.”
“I’d think so,” Roman said, “but first you must tell us about yourselves. A female slayer is unheard of here.”
“Right back atcha,” Buffy said, “except not with the female. No men are Slayers in our world.”
“None are men? That is difficult to imagine,” Roman frowned, and gestured at the room, “we make up only a small fraction of all the slayers in the world, and all are men.”
“All? I did think you said… so there’s more than one slayer at a time? I mean, yeah, I have Faith – kinda - but that was due to the whole me drowning thing. Usually there’s just one. One girl in the whole world.”
“There are hundreds of Slayers. What use would one Slayer be when we live in a world overrun with demons?” Josie seemed amused at the prospect.
“Shyeah, I’ve been asking myself that for years,” Buffy smiled wryly.
“If you don’t mind me askin’,” Spike said, drinking the last of his blood, “why’re slayers keeping company with a bunch of vamps?”
“We help,” Josie shrugged, “not all demons want to see death and destruction in the world. Some of us like it as it is.”
Buffy shot Spike a wry glance, remembering his impassioned speech before the fight with Angelus. Though she couldn’t help but find Josie’s words perplexing. Spike was an anomaly back home, an exception to the rule. Most demons did want death and destruction, and the idea of vampires working alongside Slayers so peacefully was jarring.
“Each Slayer has a vampire consort,” Josie continued, “we train together, and then find…other…ways of releasing tension.”
There was a pause, and then Buffy’s eyebrows shot up, as she realised just exactly what Josie meant. She made the mistake of glancing at Spike, who was gazing at her with a curious expression in his eyes.
She flushed, and focused her gaze on the worn wood of the tabletop. Unbidden, a series of images flashed through her mind, and the blush on her cheeks deepened.
Spike, as her consort, sparring with her. Spike, kissing her breathless then putting his tongue to work elsewhere…
She pushed the pictures from her mind with a firm hand. Thinking about the sexy vampire at her side was not something she needed to do right now.
Or ever.
“Tell us about your world,” Roman asked, his eyes bright with curiosity.
Spike jumped in with a story from the Sunnydale Hellmouth, and Buffy took the opportunity to study the leader of this group of underground slayers.
He was short and stocky, but his boyish face was all sharp angles and harsh lines. He looked to be around twenty, but her guess could go a couple of years either way. He was good-looking, but there was something in his grey eyes that put Buffy on edge. They were eyes that had seen too much, older than his years.
She supposed that she would see the same in her own eyes if she looked closely.
“You’re probably tired,” she heard Roman say, “I’ll have someone show you to a room. Ruby!”
A redheaded woman crossed the cave, and Buffy’s slayer sense let her know that she was a vampire.
Buffy glanced around the room and soon realised that all the women were vampires, and all the men slayers. Although with Josie’s revelation in mind, she supposed that it was only to be expected.
“Show our guests to a room, Rubes,” Roman said, and then he turned to address Buffy and Spike. “I’ll speak to Kali first thing in the morning. Hopefully she’ll be able to send you home without a problem.”
“I hope so,” Buffy smiled, “um, do you have any bandages? I think I need to strap up my wrist.”
Ruby smiled, and placed a cool hand on her shoulder, drawing her forwards. “Of course. Both of you, follow me, and I’ll get you settled.”
Roman stood up from the table, capturing Josie’s hand and pulling her towards the sandy training area, turning as he went to smile at Buffy and Spike.
“Until tomorrow!”
*
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Wow! Thank you all so much for the reviews on the first chapter!