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It was past midday by the time Buffy made it back to her store after walking the short distance from Giles shop to her own. She didn't see any ghosts, nor feel the chill that seemed to linger in the air when they were nearby on her way back which only furthered the nervousness she felt. The bell Xander had fixed earlier that morning on her shops door jingled as she walked through the threshold. She placed the books that Giles had graciously loaned her on the counters top and set to work unpacking the stock that she had been trying to earlier that morning.

Buffy's eyes kept glancing towards the books on the counter as she absentmindedly pulled the figures out from their delicate wrappings, packing peanuts falling to the floor carelessly in her wake.

"You're being ridiculous." She scolded herself, shaking her head and forcing her gaze back towards her task at hand, very much determined to get at least half a day's work in.

By the time she pulled the last figure from its wrappings ten minutes later, packing peanuts were scatted all across the floor, evidence that her concentration to her task was wavering. Her eyes glanced at the pile of books one more time, feeling a strange pull towards them and not knowing if it was just her curiosity getting the better of her or something else entirely.

Buffy ticked of the stock from their invoice and filed it away in her drawer before crossing her arms and coming to a halt in front of the books. She glared at them, biting the corner of her lip between her teeth and glanced back towards the other two boxes of stock she had yet to unpack and put on display.

"This is ridiculous." She whispered, piling the books up in her arms and grabbing her purse before swinging around the 'Sorry we're closed' sign that hung under her door handle. "It's just a couple of hours. I'll be back to normal trading times tomorrow." She muttered to herself, locking the shop up.

"Are you alright dear?"

"Mrs. Mackenzie! Hi. Sorry I didn't hear you, uhm, see you. Hi!" Buffy stammered nervously as the owner of the shop next to hers popped up behind her.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Better?"

"Yes. Ruth from the cafe around the corner came into my shop this morning in a very flustered state and said that a young handsome Detective had carried you away in his arms. Have you fallen ill?"

"S-something like that."

"Best to take the rest of the day off then."

"Yes." Buffy dragged out her words slowly, starting to feel an all too familiar chill rise in her body.

Mrs. Mackenzie seemed rather concerned at Buffy's distracted state as her eyebrows drew together as she stared at her face.

"Are you sure you're ok to get home on your own? Perhaps I should call that detective-"

"No! I'm fine really. T-thank you for your concern Mrs. Mackenzie, it's only a short twenty minute walk."

"If you're sure then, dear."

"See you tomorrow Mrs. Mackenzie."

Buffy had already started down the street, smiling at her retail neighbour. As soon as she was out of site her pace quickened as goosebumps rose across her skin. Buffy clutched the books to her chest and blew out a stray piece of hair from her eyes.

"Well I have to say that I've never-"

"Jesus Christ!"

"There's no need to swear, dear."

Buffy's heart lurched out of her chest at the voice that spoke right next to her, causing her to trip on an uneven piece of path and almost end up sprawled out on the concrete below.

"Could you not! Jesus! Why-"

"I can't help it! It sort of just happened. Poof." Anne gestured with her hands, trying her best to imitate her materialization next to Buffy.

"What do you mean poof?"

"Well one minute I was here, well actually we were in your shop and then I wasn't." Anne surveyed her surroundings. "And now I'm here apparently. Be a love and tell me exactly where here is?"

"Well, Anne," Buffy ground out, resuming her fast walk. "We're on the sidewalk. Walking."

"Well that's rather obvious."

"No shit."

"Language, dear! It's not becoming of you."

"Can this conversation wait like five more minutes for when I get home." Buffy stated rather than asked.

"I-"

"Where it's private."

"I suppose it must."

"There have been 'you're a crazy person' looks sent my way too many times today."

Anne remained silent and floated alongside Buffy as she walked with purpose down the street. Buffy was glad Anne stayed quiet for the rest of the walk; half of which was because she needed to recover her heart-rate after being startled and the other because she was trying to wrap her head around what Anne had just said. She cast a glance out of the corner of her eye at her ghostly companion, who seemed very interested in her surroundings and looked rather confused at how she had ended up outside on the street.

Buffy walked the short distance from the footpath on the sidewalk to her front door, stopping briefly to collect the mail that had no had doubt been sitting in her letter box for days. She struggled with her arms full off books to reach for her keys that were in her bag and let out a frustrated growl when she nearly dropped them.

"I would offer to help."

She didn't need to turn around to know that Anne was holding up her transparent hands. Once inside, Buffy placed the books on the small coffee table in front of her couch before making a beeline to the dining room, Anne floating not too far behind. Hands reached automatically for her favourite glass while she pulled out a bottle of bourbon and started unscrewing the lid with one hand.

"It's a bit early don't you think?"

"It's five o'clock somewhere." Buffy stated, walking back towards the kitchen and reaching into the freezer to pull out some ice cubes for her drink. The golden liquid made its way into her glass and with a glance at her persistent ghost, Buffy poured a few extra shots in. "Why not."

"You're just like William. He drinks too much too."

"Good on him." Her words were mumbled as she walked back into the lounge room and coffee table where the pile of books sat, ignoring Annes huffed response.

Buffy pulled the book that Giles had first showed her; Witches and Their Lore, into her lap and curled her legs up onto the couch. The thick volume balanced across her thighs as one hand held her glass, taking a large sip before she started turning the pages.

"Are you going to answer my question now?"

"I don't know."

"Well that's rather rude-"

"The answer to your question is, I don't know." Buffy glanced up from her page and met Anne's eyes. "I don't know what happened back in my shop. I don't know where you disappeared to and I don't know how you just materialized out of nowhere right on the side of the road."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Buffy nodded and turned back to her page, eyes scanning each paragraph. "I did, however, meet your husband, eh, widower? Anyway, he's been extremely helpful and loaned me these books, which I'm hoping will shed some light on the situation."

"You met my Rupert? He's such a sweet man." Anne hovered over to the couch where Buffy sat and stood next to her so she could peer over her shoulder and read the pages as Buffy turned them.

"We found information about the veil, you said it was getting thinner."

"Yes. Something's happening on this side and I've never felt like this before. It's quite unnerving." Anne rubbed her ghostly hands over her arms and shivered.

"Ah here it is!" Buffy smiled and read aloud. "Halloween seems to have grown around the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, marking the end of the light half of the year and the beginning of the dark half. Samhain was in part a sort of harvest festival, when the last crops were gathered in for the winter, and livestock killed and stored. But the pagan Celts also believed it was a time when the walls between our world and the next became thin and porous, allowing spirits to pass through."

"Is it almost Halloween?"

"Yes, Giles said it's exactly six days away."

"I've been around this plane of existence for a while, watching my boys, but this is the first time I've ever felt like this."

"Like what?"

"Strong. It's the only way I can describe it." Anne floated to the center of the room. "Over the years I learned to move the occasional object, but I've never been able to pick something up." Anne's brows knit together in concentration. "This shouldn't be possible."

Buffy's mouth dropped open as she watched Anne pick up a picture frame from her mantel and hover back towards her, hands shaky and outstretched as she took the object from her.

"W-well that does explain why I felt you grab me today."

"I'm sorry for that."

"What happened to you afterwards? Where did you go?"

"I don't know. I felt like I was still there, just not-"

Buffy stared at the frame in her hands and watched Anne close her eyes in a mix of concentration and frustration.

"Just not."

"Yes. It's very difficult to explain. I heard voices for brief moments and I responded and then they were gone. I felt very tired afterwards, as if I had been drained of all my energy and then, as soon as it had happened. Poof! There I was standing next to you again."

"But that was hours later."

"It's all very confusing."

"Yes it is." Buffy agreed, taking another large sip from her glass. Anne remained silent as she read the paragraphs in front of her on the pages to which she was grateful. It had been one very long and eventful day and all she wanted to do was sit down in silence and try to wrap her head around all the events that had transpired.

"No wait! Go back to that last page." Anne craned her head over Buffy's shoulder minutes later as she was about to turn a page.

"Why?"

"Well that paragraph talks about sacrifice."

"And?"

"Well sacrifices are made in order to reap bigger harvests are they not?"

"Yes."

"And I am getting stronger."

"You're definitely less transparent that some of the ghosts I've seen in the past."

"There is a string of murders going on in this town. What if they are the sacrifices?"

"What! P-pagans sacrificed goats and, and sheep. Not people!"

"We're not dealing with Pagans, dear. It's something much darker. Something much more sinister."

Buffy glanced down towards the page and paragraph Anne had made her turn back to. There was one line that left a shiver running down her spine.

"Sacrifice offered at the beginning of winter, when the powers of darkness and blight are in the ascendant."

"Well that doesn't sound good."


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