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PART 3: RAFAEL'S STORY: BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER
I stood outside the window to the girls' dorm room and heard every word they were saying. Damn it! They knew! Now there was no way I could get the foolish little witch to cast the spell for me. If only I'd had the foresight to force my old teacher to cast it before I killed her and took her book.
I rubbed the heels of my hands into my eyes and tried to calm the overpowering bloodlust that raged through me. Killing the two of them would have to wait. While the Obscurement Pendant negated most of the drawbacks of being a vampire, like casting reflections and, most importantly, the weakness against the sun, it did nothing for the need for invitation before entering a building.
But soon, I wouldn't have to worry about any of that. IF I could get someone to cast the damn spell for me. Without the spell, my chances of finding the Master's bones were next to none. DAMN! I wanted to kill something, anything, just to vent some of this bottomless rage I felt. The pendant repressed my body's need for blood, but my mind still wanted it. Yes, a good discreet kill would help me get the rage under control. Then I would be able to figure out what to do about my Slayer problem.
I stormed across the college campus, ready to pounce on anyone who was unfortunate enough to cross my path. No, here was not the place. If Gabriel got wind of what I was too soon, then it could ruin everything. Not that I wasn't sure his little Fluffy was going to run straight to him and tattle, but I wanted to play it safe. Best to continue to be careful for the time being.
I strolled along the empty streets for hours, scanning the night and finding nothing. Sunrise was not far away, but I still expected to find something. In any other place, it wouldn't have been a problem to locate a decent meal at this time of night. I got the impression that the town was empty. The people in Sunnydale were a little too aware of the danger of darkness. I would be much happier in a big, bustling city filled with unwary sheep-people. My eyes lit up as I caught sight of a convenient pedestrian and moved quickly to intercept. As I closed on the unfortunate boy, I realized that I recognized him.
Oh no, not HIM again! The scrawny, white-faced freak disgusted me so much that I almost turned away and spared him just to avoid him. But I quickly reconsidered. He might be some use to me, after all. I found him scrounging around in the slimy bottom of a roadside ditch. Was digging in the filth all this kid ever did? He jumped when he heard me approach, whirling about and falling onto his back. What a pathetic little runt, lying in the muck where he belonged.
"Oh, it's you again." He didn't sound thrilled as he stood up again and attempted to brush himself off.
"Get up." I commanded, dragging him to his feet by the scruff of the neck, "I have work for you to do."
"W-what are you talking about?" the skinny loser whined, "What do you want?"
My patience was wearing thin and I was running out of time. I would have to discard subtlety and do this the quick way.
"I'm going to make you a deal, little warlock." I snarled, allowing my vampiric face to show, "You help me and I might not rip your head off."
I wasn't even sure he had heard me, his eyes were so wide with terror. I tried again, holding him still and forcing him to meet my gaze.
"Listen to me." I used a calm, level voice so the little twerp wouldn't wet his pants or something, "I need you to cast a spell for me. In return I can help you get what you want. Revenge."
It was just a guess, but cry-babies like this always seemed to want revenge against those who were stronger than them, those who were better. The ones who had every right to walk all over them. And I was right. He calmed almost instantly and looked at me like we were allies, peers even. What a joke. But I had to have that spell.
"Spell?" he fidgeted uneasily, "I might be able to help. What is it?"
"A location spell." I informed him, shoving the folded up page into his hand and releasing him, "I know the words. All you have to do is repeat after me."
"O-okay."
I took out the small glass jar and handed it to him, the matchstick still bobbing about within.
"You want to do it HERE?" he looked confusedly to me. Just when I didn't think my patience could get any thinner.
"Yes, here!" I hissed, "What's the matter, are you too stupid to just repeat a spell that I'm going to lay out for you word for word?"
"N-no." he stammered, "I-I can do it."
Great, I had scared him again. I'd be lucky if the spell didn't go completely awry and destroy both of us.
"Are you ready?" I asked him, honestly unsure of whether he had the presence of mind for even simple spell casting, "Repeat after me."
Gripping both his hands tightly around the glass jar, I started to recite the spell. I wanted those bones so badly I could taste it. A Master vampire had few equals in the world. Its powers far outmatched any of its mundane kin. With those bones, I would transform myself into something that could rival the power of a Master. I would even be one step above with the Obscurement Pendant and I would rule the other vampires like a god.
The jar warmed under his touch and a faint glow infused it. I smiled to myself as the matchstick turned like it had been caught by a magnet and pointed unerringly northeast. The bones were almost mine.
"The old Restfield Cemetery is that way." The little goth freak noted in his weak, sniveling voice, "That's where your treasure is."
Treasure? Had he even seen enough to know what I was looking for? The Slayer's witch friend had seen far too much in the instant we had touched minds, but this little wretch hadn't even had the strength to see the plainest of things. Even as a warlock he was pathetic and weak.
"Are you going to help me now?" he asked timidly. But there was a tiny filament of strength in his voice that actually garnered him a microscopic measure of respect from me. The kid was so scared he was about to pass out and yet he still had the gall to expect my help. Vengeance is one hell of a motivation.
"After I get what I want." I said evenly, taking the mystically imbued jar from him, "Then you can have your revenge."
He seemed pleased with this, as would any short sighted ninny. For what reason in all the universe would I help him now that I had what I wanted. Oh well, if he wanted to believe it then who was I to disillusion him.
"Meet me in the graveyard tomorrow morning." I instructed him. He could at least witness my triumph before I destroyed him.
"I will." He smiled in excitement, happy to finally be a part of something big. A distinction he shared in the same capacity as the cattle at a slaughterhouse.
I watched him bolt off into the darkness and cradled my new treasure in both hands. Northeast, at the Restfield Cemetery. Already, I could see the approaching dawn inching over the eastern edge of the horizon. My plan was finally falling into place. With the pointer, I would find the bones. With the bones, I would become as powerful as a Master vampire. And then it would be time. I would make Gabriel into one of my own. His special nature would cause him to be reborn as a Master as well, and side by side we would rule the night.
The sun was already almost completely risen by the time I walked up the stairs to Gabriel's apartment. He would want to go somewhere or do something together, but I really didn't have the time. I planned to go for the bones now, while the location spell was still fresh and I didn't need him tagging along. I'd explain everything to him after the fact. Things might get too complicated before that. I didn't bother knocking before I walked in. Apparently, I should have.
The girl was there, as always. Didn't she ever go home? They were standing in the doorway to his bathroom and he had a bundle of clothes under his arm and a towel over his shoulders.
"Look, I don't know how to tell you this, but-" she stopped instantly as soon as I opened the door and shot me a quick glance before walking across the room and out onto the veranda.
Gabriel watched her confusedly for a moment before turning toward me.
"I'll be with you in a minute, okay?" he smiled.
Before I could answer, he ducked inside and closed the door. Within seconds, I heard the shower start. Damn, now I would have to wait until he got out before I could leave. If I told the girl my excuse, she would undoubtedly make it seem like I just took off without him. The bones had been buried for two years already. I supposed they could wait a little longer.
I wandered out onto the veranda and leaned on the railing next to the girl. Pretending to look out over the view, I almost chuckled to myself. Just being near me made her uncomfortable. I liked that. I could hear her feet shuffling nervously.
I was tired of waiting, tired of being around that annoying little girl. I made a silent promise to get her out of my brother's life for good once the spell was complete. She had already had too much of an effect on him. I think he had changed more in the last year than in the rest of his life combined. I hated her for that, so much that I would have killed her right there if it wouldn't have upset Gabriel so much. He was my brother. No one else had the right to get that close to him.
"You really like him, don't you?" I said, not bothering to look at her.
She paused before answering, "Gabriel's a great guy. We've been through a lot together."
"Really?" Through a lot? I wanted to retch. A few heavy make-out sessions hardly constituted shared life-altering experiences. Gabriel and I were a team, we always had been, and as soon as I completed my spell, nothing would stand in our way.
"I'd really hate to see someone hurt him." She sounded like she was trying to make some obscure point with me. What a joke.
I leaned against the railing, my knuckles tight and white with anger.
"You'll never be good enough for him, you know." I told her calmly, confidently.
"What?" she was understandably stunned by the bluntness of my statement.
I turned and looked down at her. This would have to be done with careful precision. "Gabriel's special. He's the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. His gift was meant to be shared with the entire world. Not lost in an obscure little backwater town like this."
"And I'm what's trapping him, I suppose." She didn't even bother trying to hide her dislike for me. Which was fine by me. All this subterfuge was giving me a headache.
"You said it, not me." I smirked, "But let's face it. Slayers aren't known for their longevity. I've known him all his life. If he actually starts to fall for you, he'll get hurt." I liked that last part. I could tell that Gabriel was already hooked on the girl. Badly. But I wasn't going to pass up the chance to plant a little doubt in her mind. The look on her face told me that I had succeeded.
"So, you expect me to just turn away from him?" She was getting angry now. Time to drive the point home.
"It would probably be a good idea." I suggested, turning and strolling casually back inside, "I'd really hate to see someone hurt you." I didn't have to see her to know that having her own words thrown back at her like that had made an impression.
It was time to leave. I'd have to make it up to Gabriel later. Right now, I had business to take care of. I walked out the door and let it swing shut behind me. Digging the small, glass jar out of my pocket, I took a reading and turned in the direction of the Restfield Cemetery.