Blood Tears 6 – Revealed Secrets
“So how long have you been training Xander?”
Faith started at the Slayer’s question. They’d been patrolling for an hour and it was the first time that either of them had broken the uncomfortable silence that had existed since leaving her and Xander’s house. Collecting her thoughts, the vampiress replied. “I let him have the first week off to recuperate from his injuries, so three weeks in all.”
“And what have you been doing?”
“I want to get him in shape before I start actual combat training with him so we’ve been running every night as soon as night falls. He’s been doing quite well too, slowly but surely improving.”
“I run in the mornings, he could come with me,” the Slayer said eagerly. “It’s bound to be safer for him than at night.”
The vampiress hesitated. On the one hand, she enjoyed running with Xander, seeing the pride in his eyes as he knocked seconds off his best time and his smile when she praised his efforts. On the other, they’d been attacked on two occasions, once by vampires and once by a gang of thugs. She’d been able to deal with the threats, but it would be selfish of her to risk Xander's safety if there was another option. Forcing a smile, the vampiress nodded. “That’s a wicked idea B. If you organise it with Xand, that’ll be good.”
“I could help you with his other training when the equipment comes too.”
Thinking back to the sparring sessions she’d seen between the Slayer and Giles, Faith shook her head. “No thank you,” seeing the Slayer open her mouth to protest, Faith hurried to explain. “B, I’ve seen you spar and you’re an excellent fighter. But there’s two problems with you training with Xand. One, because of your special abilities you do a lot of moves that just aren’t feasible for an ordinary mortal, trying to teach Xand to fight like you would be a waste of time, so I’m going with a more ground-orientated style that utilises Judo and Aikido techniques and concentrates on using your opponent’s strength against them. Secondly, I’ve seen you spar with Giles and although Giles is very talented for a mortal, you completely out-class him. Now Giles is secure enough in his own abilities and worth for it not to hurt his ego too much, but Xand,” Faith’s tone hardened. “Thanks to his darling father has a huge inferiority complex.”
Disappointment filled the Slayer’s green eyes but eventually she nodded. “Okay,” she said her voice small. “It’s just that I want to help him as much as possible. I’ve been so horrible to him.”
Her heart aching at the pain she heard in the blonde’s voice, Faith placed a comforting hand on the younger woman’s shoulder. She’d obviously badly misjudged the Slayer. The way she’d treated Xander had not been caused by callousness and indifference but by insecurity and fear. “He’s doing all this because he loves you,” she said softly, her heart breaking as she spoke.
Some of the pain she felt must have made its way into her voice because the Slayer’s eyes widened. “You love him too!”
Before Faith had a chance to utter a half-hearted denial to the blonde, she sensed the approach of vampires. For once thankful to her brethren, she turned to face the intruders. “Vamps, nine of them.”
“This is so not over,” warned the Slayer before also turning to face the vampires surrounding them. “So guys,” she asked cheerfully. “Which one wants sweeping up first?”
Without waiting for an answer, the Slayer exploded into action, her body a blur as she threw herself at the approaching vampires. Faith preferred a more relaxed approach. Palming a stake, she waited for them to reach her. She didn’t have to wait long.
Ducking beneath a wild haymaker, she came up inside her adversary’s defences. His eyes widened in shock as she plunged her stake into his heart. Grinning slightly, the vampiress smashed a forearm into the face of an attacker to her left, sending teeth flying. A small hand landed on her shoulder from behind, grabbing it, the vampiress executed a judo throw and threw a blonde-haired vampiress to the ground at her feet, crouching she quickly staked the vampiress before standing again. Twisting round as she heard a footfall behind her, she sent a foot crashing into his gut, splintering ribs and sending her attacker fall to the ground.
Faith spun back round to face the vampire she’d hit in the mouth and screamed in agony as the vampire thrust a knife hilt-deep into her stomach. Ignoring the pain that reverberated through her body, the vampiress pulled away from her attacker, wrenching loose his grip on the knife, before stepping back in with a head butt to the face, quickly followed by a stake to the heart.
The side of her head exploded in pain as a powerfully swung beer bottle crashed into it. Blinking furiously to clear her vision, Faith staggered round to face her assailant only to take another hard blow to the face. Suddenly her attacker, a hulking black vampire, lifted her into the air. Even as she plunged her final stake into its heart, the vampire flung her into the air.
The vampiress’ landing was broken by a tombstone that shattered under the impact. Groaning at the agony racing through her body, Faith tucked her legs underneath her for a leap up only for the vampire she’d earlier kicked in the stomach to grab her right leg and twist it violently, breaking it at the knee.
Unable to contain her pain, Faith screamed. His ugly face set in sadistic glee, the vampire drove a dagger through her right arm pinning it to the ground. “Like that bitch?” the vampire sneered before grabbing her chin roughly. “Angelus’ orders are we kill you on sight. Shame really. You’re a real babe, still I’ll get the pick of the town’s women after I’ve offed you. Unless,” his hand moved down her body, stopping at her breasts and roughly squeezing them, “you wanna make me a better offer?”
Lacking the strength to reply, Faith glared up defiantly and spat in her opponent’s face. The vampire chuckled. “Guess that’s a no then.” He reached inside his duster and pulled out an axe.
* * *
As she finished off her fourth vampire, Buffy saw Faith’s last attacker raise an axe. For a split second, she considered leaving the vampire to kill her rival for Xander’s affections but even as the idea occurred, she rejected it. Racing over to the vampiress, she covered the last feet with a diving leap before clotheslining the vampire to the ground, grabbing its dropped axe and decapitating the beast with a single swing.
Dropping the axe, she hurried over to the groaning vampiress. If the vampiress had been human, she would have probably been dead from the shock alone. The left side of her face was completely caved in, while the right side had a deep gash above a rapidly swelling eye. The knife wound in her belly was about five inches wide, while the knife in her right bicep had gone completely through and the bone of her right leg had torn through the skin just below the knee.
The disgust Buffy felt must have shown on her face because the vampiress smiled painfully. “Thanks for the save B, I think my plan of lulling him into a false sense of security went a little too far.”
Buffy forced a replying smile. “Well you had me convinced.” She looked at the knife embedded through Faith’s upper arm. “This is going to hurt,” she warned before grabbing the blade and pulling it out.
Faith screamed out, her shriek echoing through the Slayer’s ears. “You weren’t kidding,” the vampiress panted in pain. “If you can help me home, I’ll be right by the morning.”
Buffy shook her head. “My place’s closer.”
“You don’t understand,” the vampiress looked away, her face ashamed. “I need blood to recover.”
“Oh,” an entirely unpleasant idea occurred to the Slayer. “I’m betting that Slayer’s blood’s better than normal blood.” At Faith’s weak nod, she sighed and sliced her forearm open with the knife she’d pulled from Faith’s bicep and held her bleeding arm above the brunette’s mouth.
The vampiress gasped as the blood dripped into her mouth, her fangs lengthened and her eyes glittered golden. When the blood had finished flowing into her mouth, Faith nodded gratefully. “Thanks.”
“I didn’t do it for you, I did it for Xander,” replied Buffy stiffly. Her tone masked the conflicting emotions inside her. Since her earlier conversation with the vampiress and looking at the simple gratitude in the vampiress’ eyes, she’d begun regarding the vampiress not as a barely tolerated evil but as a welcome ally. “Can you stand now?”
The vampiress nodded. “But you’ll have to help me.”
* * *
“Nine killed!” The handsome, powerfully built vampire’s fist slammed into the wooden table before him, smashing it in two. “Damn that Slayer! And damn that treacherous bitch!” Angelus’ eyes blazed with fury at the thought of his childe. For the first 150 years of his unlife, he’d stalked the world alone, taking and discarding women as he’d wished. She’d been the first to catch his eye as a potential mate and how did she repay his generosity? By betraying him!
At his rage, the majority of the vampires retreated from the room. One of the few to remain was a bleached blond with a ripcord lean physique and a deadly grace unusual even amongst his race. “Calm down mate,” drawled the vampire, his accent that of a working-class Cockney, an expression of mirth flickering across his chiselled features. “If you had a working heart you’d have a bloody stroke.”
Angelus’ eyes glittered dangerously. “Be very careful Spike,” he warned coldly. “I want the whore’s little brat. From all accounts, she dotes on him. If we torture him to death then send his body back to her pieces, we’ll drive her mad.”
“And how do you propose to do that, dear old dad?” asked Spike as he dropped into a chair, draping one leg over a chair arm. “She watches the whelp like a bloody hawk.”
“You catch more flies with honey than shit,” cooed a female voice. The speaker, a gorgeous blonde who looked to be in her early twenties, stepped out of the shadows and kissed Angelus hungrily on the lips. “Why don’t you let me and Dru get him for you?”
“Yes daddy please.” The vampiress who spoke was a slender woman with long wavy brown hair, exotic features and more than a hint of insanity in her eyes. “Let us,” she pressed into Angelus’ side.”
A smile on his face, Angelus turned to the blonde. “Does my Darla have a plan?”
The blonde smiled evilly. “I have a plan."
Blood Tears 7 – Agony Giles
“Oh hello Faith, how are your injuries healing?”
The vampiress smiled at the Englishman. They’d conspired to keep her injuries a secret from Xander but Giles, as Buffy’s Watcher, had had to be informed and his concern had been quite touching. “I’m fully healed now, Mr. Giles, thank you. May I come in?”
“Certainly, please come in.” The school librarian hesitated before standing aside. “Would you like a tea Faith?”
The brunette resisted the urge to chuckle. How typically English to offer tea to a visitor, even if the visitor was a vampiress. “Thank you, but no,” she replied politely.
“The front room’s the first door on the right. I’ll be with you in a few minutes.”
After smiling her thanks to the Englishman, the vampiress moved silently through the house and into the lounge. It was largely as she had envisaged. Two bookcases filled with poetry books, classic literature and hefty volumes on the occult were set behind the sofa, while the room’s furniture and furnishings were expensive but tasteful. Seeing a CD rack fastened to the wall beside the television, she walked over to inspect its contents. A surprised expression spread across her face as she found CDs from Led Zepplin, The Cult and The Sex Pistols. Not quite the Mozart, Bach and Beethoven she’d expected.
“Good lord. I see you’ve found my dirty secret. I was in a heavy metal band in the seventies.”
The vampiress laughed. “I’d have paid good money to see that. You don’t have to worry, I won’t tell the others.”
Giles chuckled dryly. “That’s the least of my worries. They wouldn’t have a clue who you were talking about. Those kids are bloody philistines.”
“Oh I know, I was discussing music with Xander the other night and he didn’t have a clue who Chuck Berry was.” Faith dropped down into the chair opposite the Watcher.
The Englishman sipped at his tea before speaking. “I’ve managed to acquire a transcript of your curse and handed it over for translation to a friend of mine who’s a professor of Native American languages at Berkley.”
“Thank you,” Faith nodded gratefully. “But that isn’t why I’m here. I’ve got a problem with Xander.”
“Oh really?” Giles sipped at his tea. “I thought he was doing better at school.”
“It’s nothing he’s done. I…it’s me.”
The Watcher arched an eyebrow. “You?”
“I,” Faith was surprised how hard this was. She supposed this was the sort of conversation she should have had with her father about her first boyfriend, if he’d cared enough about her to give a damn. “Think I’m developing feelings for him.”
Giles’ mouth dropped open. “Ah, oh, um.”
It was Faith’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Your advice is really helpful, I can see all those degrees come in very useful. It gets worse.”
“Worse!” Giles looked like he was choking. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“I also believe Red, B and Cordelia are also attracted to him.”
Giles started to rub furiously at his forehead. “Well, Willow seems to have developed an interest in Daniel Osborne, a guitarist in a local band. But still, a vampiress, a Slayer and a Cordelia. Not even young Mr. Harris deserves that!”
Faith grimaced. This was going worse than she’d thought possible. The Englishman must have read her expression because he smiled comfortingly at her. “I’m sorry dear, I’m sure that wasn’t the reaction you were looking for. Why don’t you tell me why you feel this way?”
She nodded uncertainly. After a few seconds gathering her thoughts she began. “All my life men have treated me as a tool. First my father who treated me as a punching bag and unpaid servant, then all the men who used me as a whore and finally Angelus. Only you and Xand have ever bothered to take account of what I had to say, to treat me as if I count. Xand’s so sweet and gentle, sometimes I’ll have nightmares about the things I’ve done and I’ll wake screaming and more often than not I’ll wake to find his arms around me, comforting me. Nobody’s ever made me feel like he does. I feel such pride when he gets determined to help you all and when he smiles it’s almost enough to get my heart beating again. But then I look at him and I think how could it ever work?”
“While Buffy is like a daughter to me I am also quite fond of both you and Cordelia, who has her positives despite all outward appearances, too. What all three of you have to bear in mind is that it is his choice which if any of you he chooses to step out with.”
“But after all I’ve done, do I deserve a chance at happiness?” The vampiress felt blood red tears begin to well.
The Watcher passed her a tissue before speaking. “The Faith I’ve come to know is a completely different entity to the one I’ve read about in my books. This Faith is a good person and deserves to be loved and be happy.”
Faith smiled, it was rare for her to hear praise, particularly from someone she herself respected. “Thank you Mr. Giles.”
Giles nodded. “Quite all right dear. However all that said, a relationship between a human and a vampiress has a number of unique problems. What if, in the throes of passion, you lose control and feed?”
“That’s not an issue,” Faith replied flatly thinking of all the men who’d used her in the past one hundred years since she’d regained her soul.
“Very well,” Giles gazed at her searchingly before nodding. “You’ve got to consider that you’ll never be able to have children together, that might not matter to him but it may. That you’ll never be able to walk in the sunlight together. And finally that you’ll remain unchanged by the passing of time, that you’ll have to watch him age and die. He may hate you in the end for staying young.”
Faith’s stomach clenched at the thought of Xander dying but her voice remained steady. “Whatever happens I’ll always be there for him, watching over him. It doesn’t matter who he’s with.”
“Well, these are the things you need to consider both on your own and with Xander if you start a relationship.”
“You’re not exactly giving me questions with easy answers.”
A sympathetic smile played on the Watcher’s lips. “I’m afraid life isn’t like an exam paper. There aren’t any right or wrong answers.”
“Well thanks for your advice.” Standing, Faith acted on impulse, leaned across the table and kissed the surprised Watcher on the cheek. “Jenny is a lucky lady.”
The Englishman’s face turned crimson. “I wasn’t aware our relationship was public knowledge.”
Faith chuckled. “Pheromones Giles, pheromones.”
“Ah, of course. And where is Sunnydale’s very own answer to Casanova tonight?”
“If he knows what’s good for him, studying at home.”
Blood Tears 8 – Curfews
Xander beat his palms on the table before him in tune with the blaring music being blared out by The Dingoes Ate My Baby. He was completely and utterly bored, as soon as Faith had disappeared to consult Giles on some matter or other, he’d sneaked out to have a rare night out from under her watchful eye with Willow and Buffy. Only trouble was he’d forgotten to check if they were ‘Bronzing’ tonight. “Great planning Xander,” he muttered.
“You look lonely handsome.”
He glanced up at the owner of the seductive voice, the smart reply he’d already thought up dying on his suddenly drying lips at the blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty stood before him. “Hi,” he said lamely.
“Hi?” the woman giggled musically, her eyes sparkling with mirth. “That’s not the most enthusiastic greeting I’ve heard. Mind if I sit down?”
“B..be my guest,” Xander stuttered. Smooth, Xander, real smooth, you’re a real heartbreaker.
The blonde smiled as she slid into the seat beside him. “Hi, I’m Darla. Do you mind if my friend Drusilla joins us?”
The youth glanced up to see a raven-haired finely featured woman expectantly staring down at him. “Sure.” I’ve died and gone to heaven. “Oh, my name’s Xander by the way.”
“We know,” the blonde ran her tongue across his cheek before whispering in his ear. “Angelus so wants to meet you.”
Xander’s blood froze. Oh boy, he’d really done it this time. His hand began to edge for the crucifix inside his jacket only for Darla to grab his arm in a grip that should have impossible for such a slight woman. “Don’t,” warned the vampiress, for a second her eyes glittered golden before returning to their usual ocean blue. “You start anything and our five friends will massacre this entire club. Come quietly and nobody, except you, will be hurt.”
“And I’m supposed to fall for that? You’re the one soulless bloodsucker who can keep their word? Don’t think so!” Xander glanced around the club, his spirits sinking as he registered the presence of several vampires dotted at the booths surrounding him. His voice remained steady but he could barely hear himself over his heart’s pounding.
He gasped in agony as Drusilla reached beneath the table and squeezed his groin painfully. “Don’t be rude kitten. These nice men are just our protection to make sure nothing happens to Angelus’ pretty girls and his prize. When we leave so do they.”
Xander’s shoulders slumped in defeat. If he made a move he might escape but dozens could die, he couldn’t sacrafice others to save himself. “Okay,” he muttered. “You win, I’ll come with you.” Maybe outside he could make a move, escape or at least put up enough resistance to get killed rather than face the tortures they had planed for him.
He winced as Drusilla ran her ice cold hands through his hair and nibbled at his ear. “Mummy knew her little kitten would be good.”
“That’s me, house-broken.”
“You will be,” Darla promised.
Xander shuddered at the threat in the vampiress’ words and the sadistic glee in her smile. Suddenly an unexpected voice broke into his terror. “So Loser Boy, has the Geek Patrol got some new members?”
The youth’s head snapped up to look at Cordelia. He didn’t think he’d ever seen a more beautiful sight. Thinking quickly, he spoke, praying that his message got through. “Oh look it’s the school bitch,” he said scornfully. “Why don’t you go and hang with your sheep Harmony and Willow. Go and tell them about my new girls Darla and Drusilla.”
Her face contorted with fury, the cheerleader hurried off. Darla leaned over. “Good boy,” she purred into his ear. “If you’d have warned her I’d have made you eat her liver.” Xander swallowed hard, he just hoped Cordelia got his hidden message, otherwise he was worse than dead.
* * *
“School bitch! Who does Xander ‘White Trash’ Harris think he’s talking to?” muttered Cordelia as she strode angrily away. Just wait until she told his friends what he’d said. Suddenly she faltered in her angry march. Willow, she’d never hang with Rosenberg in public, something was wrong.
The cheerleader glanced over her shoulder, noting the look of horror on Xander’s face she looked desperately through the teeming crowd for someone to help her. Finally she found someone. “Amy, come here.”
Amy Madison reluctantly made her way through the crowd, a scowl on her pretty face. “Cordelia, I’ve already told you I can’t do a riches spell.”
Cordelia waved away the Wicca’s words. “Forget about that,” she said impatiently. “I need you to do a spell to kill the two women with Xander.”
Amy’s eyes widened. “No way, I’m not killing your love rivals for you.”
“Love rivals!” Cordelia shook her head,
Xander and her – as if. “They’re vampires!”
Now Amy’s mouth dropped open. “Vampires!” She shook her head. “I can’t, I don’t have that sort of power.”
“Oh damn it, where’s Willow when you need her.” Cordelia thought hard for a few seconds. “Can you do a spell where we can find Xander wherever he is?”
“A locator spell, sure,” Amy stared hard at Xander through the crowd for a few seconds. “It’s done.”
Cordelia nodded. Now she needed to grab her car and hurry to the library to tell Giles what had happened. The cheerleader slapped her forehead. Her car was in the garage, she’d got a ride here tonight. “Have you got a car?” Amy shook her head. Groaning, she glanced around the bar. Seeing a familiar face, she pushed imperiously through the crowd, dragging Amy behind her.
“Oz! I need your help. Xander’s in trouble!”
The orange-haired musician raised an eyebrow before carefully placing his guitar down against the stage. “Looks like the kind of trouble most guys would like,” he commented laconically.
“They’re going to kidnap him!”
“I refer you to my previous answer.”
“They’re vampires.”
Oz’s eyes widened. “I’m a sidekick. Don’t do head-long charges into danger. I see my role as cheering from the sidelines.”
“We have to get to the library and tell Giles and Buffy.”
Oz nodded. “My van’s outside.”
* * *
Xander watched out of the corner of his eye as Cordelia, Amy and Oz hurried out of the club. It seemed his plan had worked, alarms had sounded in Cordy’s head. All he needed to do was buy himself some time. “So that’s the torturing of my body, arms and legs covered. But you haven’t told me what you intend to do to my feet yet?” It was an effort to keep his tone casual.
Drusilla’s mouth opened but Darla gestured her to silence. “He’s stalling. Let’s get out of here.” He opened his mouth to protest only for his words to turn into a yelp when Darla yanked him upright by his hair.
“Tonight, definitely not one of my favourite experiences,” he muttered as he was escorted out of the club.
Blood Tears 9 – Double D
“You say he said they were called Darla and Drusilla?”
To the Watcher it looked as if Faith was about to faint. “Do you know them?” he asked gently.
“Oh I know ‘em all right,” she said bitterly. “After Angelus and I sired Spike, he would often complain on the nights Angelus wouldn’t allow him to join us. After a while Angelus got sick of his moaning and one night in 1842, we stole onto a Virginian plantation, killed the family and made Darla for Spike,” the vampiress faltered. “Then after I got my soul back, I was desperate to belong so I chased after Angelus and begged him to take me back. Instead he was disgusted by the ‘taint’ of a soul and gave me to Darla and Drusilla, who he’d turned to keep Spike company after he’d taken Darla to replace me, to ‘play with’.” Faith’s voice began to tremble. “Darla had always hated me because I was Angelus’ favourite and now she got her revenge. Every morning they’d whip me then pour holy water into my wounds or cut me with knives with consecrated blades. In the afternoon, they’d put on gloves and press crucifixes into my naked body. At night, Spike and Angelus would watch as Darla and Drusilla forced themselves on me.” The vampiress shuddered. “But worse of all was what they would do once a week. They wouldn’t feed me, except once a week they’d bring a small child into my cell for me to drink from. I refused for the first two weeks, but by the third I was just so hungry.”
“Why didn’t you try and escape?” asked Buffy, her face pale.
The vampiress shrugged and smiled painfully. “This was less than a year after I’d got my soul back I was still in shock, still in my deepest depression. I believed what they were doing to me was what I deserved.”
Giles’ heart ached for the woman stood before him, nobody, whatever their crimes, deserved that. Even by vampire standards it sounded horrific. And young Xander was in their hands, the Watcher shuddered. “How did you escape?”
“Escape?” Faith laughed hollowly. “I didn’t, not really. After two months Angelus got bored of both the town and torturing me. They discussed various ways of killing me, always in front of me, Darla’s particular favourite involved stealing a life-sized cross from a local church and crucifying me face-first on it. Fortunately Angelus rejected that as impractical and decided instead to tie up my hands and feet together behind my back and dump me on the outskirts of town the night they left the town for the sun to take care of. Luckily, I wasn’t as weak as they thought and I was able to get loose and drag myself back to the cellar where they’d held me. I stayed there for a few days feeding on the rats that lived there to get my strength back before leaving.”
Giles felt physically sick. Looking around the hushed library he saw that his young charges were in as bad or worse shape. Willow looked to be in near hysterics while the usually stoic Oz was attempting to comfort her even as he looked like he was struggling not to vomit. Cordelia and Amy had, for a moment at least, forgotten their mutual enmity to cling together as if letting go would mean giving into the horror written across their faces. Buffy though, looked pale but determined. The Watcher knew he could rely on his Slayer.
He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Jenny gazing calmly down at him. “You’ll save him Rupert,” she whispered. “I know you will.”
After giving his girlfriend a grateful smile, the Watcher turned to Amy. “Amy, can you tell us where Xander is now?”
The Wicca hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. “He’s in the harbour district, in an old fish market,” she said quietly.
“Good, well done Amy,” the Watcher praised. “And well done Cordelia, it was quick thinking on your part in such fraught circumstances.” The Watcher smiled slightly at the pleased expression on the cheerleader’s face. “Now this is what we will do.”
* * *
“So this is the boy who’s stolen Faith’s heart? I thought he’d be more impressive,” Angelus said with a smirk.
Xander swallowed hard. He decided he’d never felt this scared, even on the night he’d crawled through the Master’s tunnels to save Buffy. “Hey, that goes double for you.”
Angelus snarled in fury before smashing a right hand into his stomach. Gasping in pain, he threw up his dinner and fell to his knees. The vampire crouched beside him and whispered menacingly in his ear. “After we’ve finished torturing you, maybe I’ll castrate and turn you. The first dickless vampire how would you like that?”
It was an effort to push away the gnawing terror consuming him but Xander managed to lift his head and stare defiantly at his tormentor. “And there was me thinking that was you.”
Angelus let out an enraged bellow before kicking him savagely in the ribs. The force of the blow lifted him off the ground and sent him flying through the air to land in a heap twenty feet away. His entire body now screaming with pain, he only dimly heard Angelus’ growled command. “Take him girls. Have your fun, but don’t kill him.”
* * *
“Why do you have to be the one who goes in the back way to rescue Xander?”
Faith struggled to keep hold of her temper. She knew that Buffy’s petulance was fuelled by her shared concern for Xander. “Two reasons. One, your friends work better as a unit with you than with me. Secondly, Angelus would sense a Slayer as soon as you attempted to enter the building.”
“Wouldn’t he sense you too, being one of his children?”
Faith grimaced at the Watcher’s question. She’d have to stop underestimating him. “That’s possible,” she admitted reluctantly. “But with all the other children around, he might miss me. He’d never miss a Slayer.”
The Watcher nodded soberly. “Very well, we’ll do it your way Faith.”
“Giles -.”
“No Buffy,” Giles said firmly. “There’s another reason isn’t there?”
She closed her eyes for a second before nodding slowly. “Yes. I can’t fight Angelus.”
“What do you mean?” Buffy demanded angrily. “He’s kidnapped Xander!”
“I know,” Faith felt tears of frustration forming in her eyes. She wanted to kill her sire but she couldn’t.
“Buffy,” it was Giles’ gentle voice. “The link between sire & childe is an extremely powerful one. It is very rare for a childe to kill their sire and the majority of the vampires that have done so, have been driven insane by the act.”
“Oh.” Faith felt a warm hand on her arm. To her surprise it belonged to a resolved and sympathetic looking Buffy. “Between us, we’ll save him.”
* * *
Angelus’ head snapped up as the door crashed open. A cold smirk twisted his usually handsome face as he watched the scene before him unfold.
The Slayer was first to enter. She was a whirlwind of violence as she tore into his minions. She was better and more beautiful than any Slayer he’d faced. Truly a worthy opponent, he’d savour her death.
Next came a trio of beautiful woman brandishing water pistols followed by an orange-haired youth carrying a crossbow. The master vampire had to fight back a laugh as he watched their tactics. The girls would fire their water pistols, obviously containing holy water, into the faces of his minions. When they were blinded by pain, the young man would coolly fire a bolt into their hearts. Innovative, he liked that.
Last to enter the fray was a man in his early forties, obviously the Watcher, accompanied by an attractive younger woman, both expertly brandishing wooden swords. Suddenly the smile left his face, he grabbed at his right-hand man’s elbow. “Spike! We need to get the brat now!”
“Why?” The bleached-blond vampire continued to avidly watch the pitched battle in front of them.
“Faith, where’s Faith?”
Realisation flooded the younger vampire’s face. “Oh bloody hell,” he muttered before following his sire into the tunnels beneath the fish market.
* * *
Xander’s anguished screams tore at Faith’s heart even as they guided through the winding catacombs beneath the disused fish emporium. Getting in had been easy, she’d swayed up to the guards at the back of the building, pretending to be the entertainment sent by Angelus before effortlessly dispatching them. Taking advantage of the disturbance at the front of the building, she’d quickly found an entrance to the tunnels.
She was closer now, could feel the presence of Darla and Drusilla. She just hoped they were too involved in their torturing to notice her presence. She crept up to the door of the room where they held Xander, wincing slightly at the sound of his laboured breathing. Raising her foot she slammed it into the door, sending it crashing open, before stepping into the shadowy chamber beyond.
The scene that greeted her turned her stomach. A barely conscious Xander was hung by his arms from the centre of the ceiling. From her position by the door Faith could see that his back was a bloody mess thanks to the whip that Drusilla held in her hand, while his front was covered in bruises and welts. His trousers were pulled round his ankles and his legs had been slashed repeatedly with a hunting knife that Darla held.
The vampiress felt a cold rage engulf her. Snarling, she drew the flare-gun in her belt and fired at Drusilla. Faith smirked as the insane vampiress exploded in flames, stepping aside she allowed the shrieking inferno to run past her and out of the room. “One down and one to go,” she taunted as she turned the gun towards a mouth-agape Darla. “One of the few things I ever liked about you was your cowardice. I need to conserve my ammo, so this is your lucky day. Go.”
The blonde didn’t hesitate, she ran out of the door as if the hounds of hell were chasing her. The threat gone, Faith hurried over to Xander and, grabbing a chair, she climbed up and gently released the moaning youth from his bonds.
“Oh Xand, don’t worry sweetie it’s all over. I’m here now,” she muttered as she gently stroked his hair and brushed his forehead with her lips. She inspected his wounds more closely as she carefully dressed him. None of the cuts on his legs looked serious in themselves but all together and with the resulting blood loss, she realised the room stunk of it, could end up causing problems. He looked to have a couple of cracked ribs and his back, Faith winced, Drusilla had been swinging the whip with venom.
Pulling the dazed youth to his feet she grimaced at his groans. “I’m sorry Xand,” she whispered as she leaned the young man against her and helped him into the darkened corridor.
Encumbered by Xander’s weight and weakened condition, the vampires could only make slow progress. As she finally made her way up the slope leading back to the surface, she sensed the presence of her sire. “Angelus,” she moaned in half-terror, half-desire.
“So good of you to come visit.” The handsome powerfully-built vampire stepped out of the shadows ahead of her, followed by a sneering Spike. The large vampire’s tone hardened. “Now snap his neck for me.”
So strong was the compulsion to obey, Faith half-turned towards the dazed boy, but one look at his battered face was enough to turn her back towards the vampire. “No, I won’t do it,” she said, her voice trembling.
Angelus’ face darkened. “Then drop him and run for your life. If you’re lucky you might get away.” The vampire stepped forward only to stop at the sound of a gun cocking. “Shoot me? I’m your sire, you can’t shoot me.”
“For him, I can.” Her teeth clenched with the effort, Faith kept the gun steady. “These flares burn vampires real well. Ask Drusilla, if you can find her ashes.”
“Bitch.”
Angelus stopped Spike’s advance with a glance. “You love him? The vampiress and the boy!” The vampire laughed mockingly. “This is just too precious!” Angelus turned to a now scowling Spike. “There’ll be plenty of time to deal with her later, she’ll suffer before we’ve finished but now we’re leaving.“
“Is it true?”
Faith glanced at Xander in surprise. She was sure that blood loss would have driven him into unconsciousness by now. “Is what true?”
“D…do you love me?”
She was saved from answering by the sound of approaching footsteps and the familiar scents of Giles, B and the others. Forcing a smile, she leaned over and kissed the boy on the cheek. “Hush,” she said quietly. “You need to rest now.” Fortunately for her he’d already fallen into oblivion. She just hoped his sleep wasn’t plagued with nightmares of what had been done to him.
Blood Tears 10 - New Slayer In Town
As if his life wasn’t complicated enough. Now the woman who he’d come to think of as his mentor was apparently in love with him. Crazy, Xander shook his head, what would a stunning 300 year old vampiress want with a seventeen year old boy? It had to be a taunt from Angelus.
But what if it wasn’t? She was so beautiful, so graceful, he loved talking to her for hours. But then there was Buffy, a fond smile flickered across his face, he lived to see her smile, hear her laugh or just say his name. So Buffy or Faith? Dazzling light or seductive darkness? Was there even a choice? It was stupid to think that either of those two amazing women would be interested in a doofus like him.
“Penny for them, Xander.”
He glanced up to see Buffy stood before him, a grin on her face, her nose scrunched up in the way he loved. “Only a penny for them?” he joked. “Have you heard of inflation?”
The blonde Slayer arched an eyebrow. “We’re talking about your thoughts Xander,” she jibed before linking arms with him. “So what was my Xander-shaped friend thinking about anyway?”
“Um, nothing really.” He glanced down at their entwined arms in puzzlement. Women, he’d never understand them. For weeks now Buffy had been encouraging him to hang with her more, an exact opposite of her previous behaviour.
“So, how the ribs doing?”
Xander grimaced. Willow and Amy had used magic to heal the wounds to his back and legs but broken ribs were beyond their powers so they had to heal naturally. “Faith says they should be fully healed in a week or so.”
Buffy beamed at him. “That’s great. Then you’ll be able to start running again?”
“I guess.” Xander paused to hold open the school doors open for his companion. That was another thing he didn’t understand. From completely ignoring his training, she’d become his own personal cheerleader, ah he still remembered that outfit, for him. She jogged with him in the morning, lent him books on physical conditioning and martial arts and sometimes even sat on his training sessions with Faith, offering encouragement and suggestions.
As they walked through the school corridor he saw someone he really needed to speak to. Turning to Buffy, he smiled apologetically. “Buff, I’m sorry I’ve got something I have to do.”
Disappointment flickered across his friend’s face. “But we’ll meet up at recess right?”
“Try and stop me.” He waited under his friend had walked off before swallowing hard and making it over to Cordelia. “Um, Cordelia can I talk to you?”
The head cheerleader shot him a scornful glance. “And why would I want to talk to you, Loser Boy.” Smirking slightly, the beautiful brunette turned back to her sniggering friends.
With an effort Xander bit back a smart reply. “Remember be nice, she saved your life,” he muttered under his breath. After a few minutes Cordelia dismissed her followers and turned back to Xander, a disdainful expression on her face. “You still here? It’s bad enough that I have to be with you in the library, I don’t want to be seen in public with you too.”
Xander’s patience snapped. “Fine, great!” Grabbing the startled girl’s elbow, he opened a near-by broom closet and shoved her inside, before following and closing the door.
“Loser! What are you doing!”
“You don’t want to be seen with me? Fine, then we’ll meet in here! That private enough?” Xander forced his temper under control. “Look Cordy, I wanted to thank you for helping to save my life. If you hadn’t managed to get a message to the others I’d be dead or worse.” Xander turned to leave.
“Wait.” The young man stopped at a light touch on his arm. He turned to see that Cordelia’s face had softened. The cheerleader opened her mouth but whatever she was about to say was lost by the opening of the closet door.
“Mr Harris! Ms. Chase! What are you doing in here?”
Xander forced a smile before turning to face the school principal. “Mr. Snyder, always a pleasure. The janitor asked us to check for rats. And I’m happy to say there are none.” He grinned at Cordelia who looked like she was struggling to stop from laughing.
Snyder on the other hand looked far from amused. “A likely story. I’ve got my eye on you Harris, and on you, Miss. Chase.”
“Careful Mr. Snyder, you know what they say about older men who watch attractive younger women.”
“So you think I’m attractive?”
Xander glanced at Cordelia as they hurried away from a fuming Snyder. “To quote yourself ‘well duh’, besides next to Snyder, G-Man looks good.”
The cheerleader raised an eyebrow. “Does Giles know how you feel?”
* * *
“Excuse me sir. Could you tell me where Mr. Rupert Giles or Miss. Buffy Summers are?”
Xander glanced up to look at the owner of the exotic voice. His mouth dropped open at the coffee-coloured teenage beauty stood opposite him. What he noticed after her gorgeous looks was the frayed state of her clothes and her stance of practiced deadliness. Only two other women stood like that and as it was daylight and she was asking for the G-Man and the Buffster, she had to be... “You’re a Slayer right?”
The girl’s eyes widened. “W..what is this Slayer?” she asked.
The girl made to leave only for Xander to grab her arm. He cringed at how thin she seemed. He looked at his packet of unopened potato chips and Twinkie bar and sighed. He pushed them across the park table towards the girl. “Here have these. You look like you need that more than me.”
The girl glanced down at the food longingly before then directing a suspicious look at him. He sighed. “Look, I know all about Slayers. I’m a friend of Buffy’s.”
The girl’s eyes widened in wonder. “Slayers aren’t allowed friends.”
And that’s what your Watcher told you. Giles had informed them of some of the things that the Council had done to past Slayers, but he’d never really believed them until now. Even as his stomach clenched painfully at the girl’s exhausted state, he felt his temper rise at the way she’d evidently been treated by the wise and mighty Council. Inwardly fuming, Xander forced a smile. “Well you’ve got one now. I’m Xander, and you are?”
The girl hesitated before speaking. “I’m Kendra. We’re friends?”
“’Course we are. You don’t think I share my food with just anybody,” he leaned forward and winked at the girl. “Only my friends and only the really good-looking ones. So why don’t you sit down and eat up? Then I’ll take you to see Buff.” After a second, Kendra nodded, sat down and began eagerly tearing open the chip packet. And as she talked, Xander’s anger grew.
* * *
Buffy smiled at the sight of Xander entering the library, she’d missed him at lunch but then he occasionally disappeared to think about stuff, he called it his ‘quiet time’. The smile wavered as she noticed the rage in his eyes and the bedraggled girl clinging to his hand. “Hi, Xander. Who’s your friend, haven’t seen her in class before?” She hoped he didn’t hear the jealously in her voice.
“Hi Buff,” her friend glanced at the clearly nervous girl stood beside him. “This is Kendra, she’s a Slayer.”
Buffy’s mouth dropped open. “How’s that possible, I’m the Slayer?”
“Sit down Kendra,” Xander gently guided the newcomer to a seat at the library table. “You still hungry?” The girl nodded meekly. Xander turned towards her. “Give me your lunch, Buff.”
“My lunch!”
“Apart from a packet of chips and a Twinkie, half an hour ago, she hasn’t eaten in nearly a week. I think she needs it more than you, don’t you?” her friend growled.
The blonde Slayer swallowed as she noticed the full burning intensity of the anger in Xander’s eyes, this was a seriously scary side to her friend that she’d never seen before. Wordlessly Buffy went through her bag and passed her sandwich box to Xander who nodded shortly before passing the box to the other girl. “There you are Kendra,” he said kindly.
The girl looked up at Xander with what Buffy noticed uneasily seemed very close to hero worship. “Thank you Mr. Xander,” she turned to Buffy and nodded. “Thank you Miss Buffy.”
Buffy smiled numbly. “No prob Kendra, and it’s just Buffy.” Pulling Xander a distance away from the eagerly eating girl, she looked up into her friend’s face. “She’s a Slayer all right, I can feel it. How is it possible?”
“You died remember? I revived you?”
“That was only for a minute!” she hissed.
“Long enough apparently,” Xander replied. “Is Giles in his office?”
“Yeah.”
“Look after Kendra for me. This will just take a minute.” Her friend pulled away from her and strode into the office.
* * *
The Watcher glanced up as Xander entered his office, an unusually serious expression on the boy’s face. “Hello Xander, can I help -.”
Xander’s fist slammed into his jaw, flipping him backwards out of his chair and onto the floor. He looked up dazedly at the enraged youth stood over him, Faith had trained him well, the young man certainly knew how to throw a punch. “Xander?”
“Do you know what she said – ‘Slayers aren’t allowed friends’. Just what did you and your gang of sick bastards do to her?” The Watcher watched as Xander pulled back his arm only for the office door to crash open and Buffy to enter and pull the youth off.
“Xander! What are you doing!” demanded his Slayer, her face anguished.
“Ask your Watcher.” The hatred and tore at the Watcher’s heart. “Ask him about all the potentials being snatched or bought from their parents. Ask him about the little girls being forced to live and train alone, with only a cold-hearted bastard of a Watcher as company. Never being able to go to school or have friends. And while you’re at it you might want to ask him what they would have done to you if they’d found you.”
“Giles, this isn’t true. Is it?”
He opened his mouth to reply to his Slayer’s plaintively asked question only for Xander to angrily override him. “Ask him about the scared little kid sat in his library who was told by her dying Watcher to go to Sunnydale to see the all so wise Rupert Giles. So she stowed away on a freighter, because of course the mighty council couldn’t afford to send her on a plane. After all, she’s just a tool. Since then she’s spent the last three week, living on scraps, hitching across the country. Been attacked and scared out of her tree about half a dozen times in the past month.”
The bemused Watcher was having trouble taking all this in. Another Slayer? Why wasn’t he told? “Xander, I didn’t -.”
“Save it.” The angry youth somehow managed to pull away from a restraining Buffy and strode to the door before turning back. “Know this Watcher,” contempt laced the youth’s every word. “Kendra is staying with me and if you or any of your Council goons come after her, I’m going to let out Soldier Guy out to play.”
* * *
“You live here?”
Xander bit back a chuckle at the awe in the young girl’s voice, the encounter with G-Man had left him drained and it was good to feel an emotion different from rage. He glanced at the Slayer, she looked a lot better after eating, her eyes were more alive, her posture straighter. But she still looked unhealthily gaunt. “This is my abode, yeah. And yours too for as long as you want.” He unlocked the front door and opened it. “I live here with my guardian. Which reminds me -.”
“Vampire!”
Cursing under his breath, Xander body-checked Kendra as she lunged at Faith. “No Kendra. What is it with you Slayers, stake first ask questions later. Faith is kind of unique -.”
“Thanks for that.”
Xander glared up at the vampires. “Really not helping.” Only his superior weight, the Slayer’s apparent reluctance to hurt him, and her weakened condition allowed him to keep her pinned down, for a while at least. “Kendra! Listen to me, Faith has a soul. She’s not like normal vamps, I’ve been living with her for months. She’s my friend.”
After a few seconds Kendra relaxed. She looked up at him with her doe-like eyes and nodded. “I trust you Mr. Xander.”
Xander smiled down at the girl, damn but it was comfy lying on her. “Okay.”
“Xander, I think the girl wants to get up.”
He flushed red. Oh yeah, like he really didn’t need another girl to complicate his life. “Of course.” After standing, he helped Kendra to her feet. “If you want Kendra, there’s a bath and shower upstairs.”
“Thank you Mister Xander.” The girl stared distrustfully at the vampiress as she hurried upstairs.
“Mister Xander,” Faith snorted. “Front room now.” Sighing, he followed his legal guardian into the front room. “Sit.”
“Hey I’m not a -.”
“Sit!”
Paling slightly, Faith never yelled at him, Xander quickly sat. “I had a phone call from Mr. Giles ten minutes ago. He told me about your behaviour.”
“Hey did h-.”
“Quiet! I’m talking. In all my years I’ve encountered and either killed or helped kill nearly ten Slayers. Buffy is different from all of them, she has friends, family, a social life – unlike those other Slayers she’s not just fighting for an abstract ideal, she’s fighting for her own piece of the world. And that’s what makes her all the harder to beat. That she is able to have these friends, those things to fight for, is down in large part to one man – Rupert Giles. The man you attacked earlier.”
“But -.”
“I don’t want to hear any excuses, you will apologise to Giles in the morning. Now why have you bought Kendra here?”
“She needs somewhere to stay.”
Faith let out a disbelieving laugh. “Oh no way, a vampire and a Slayer in the same house? Not a good idea. What are you doing?”
Xander paused from picking up some magazines from the coffee table to look at her, his face determined. “I told her she was my friend, I promised to look after her and I don’t break my promises. She needs me, if you won’t let her stay here I’ll find somewhere else, maybe stay with Will while I work something out.”
“Oh sit down,” the vampire sighed. “She can stay. Just make sure she knows who’s the boss. And tomorrow -.”
“I’ll apologise, promise.” He threw his arms around the vampiress and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re the best. I’ll go and make up the spare rooms. Thanks Faith!”
* * *
Faith shook her head in disbelief as the young man charged out of the room. Her heart had nearly broken when he’d said he was leaving. But that was her Xander all over, any friend of his got total loyalty no matter what. It was one of the things she loved most about him. She sighed, somehow she guessed with another Slayer around her unlife was about to get a lot more interesting.