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Ivory took the time to fill Hannah in on what Chase had told her on the way home, winning an inordinate amount of sympathy from the younger girl. "What a creep," was Hannah's basic sum-up of it. "You deserve better than him."
They parted ways at Hannah's house, with the redhead going inside and Ivory making a break for the cemetary. She sat atop a gravestone of a vampire due to rise soon after sunset, stake in hand. Yet, she remained locked in her own thoughts for a while, brooding over the loss of a potential relationship.
So distracted was she that Ivory didn't notice when the vamp had risen until he grabbed at her. She shrieked, struggling to beat him off while attempting to reorient herself. But it was a fight she was sure to lose, she quickly reasoned. At least, that's what she thought until she fell backwards over the tombstone, simultaneously breaking from his grip.
Ivory kicked up at him, then got to her feet in one fluid motion. The ensuing fight was short and ended with his ashes floating away on the night breeze.
Her entire body still tense, Ivory very nearly staked her father as well when he snuck up behind her. But, with lighting quick reflexes, Angel caught her hand in the nick of time. "Watch it with those things," he said calmly. "You don't want to use them accidently on the friendly ones."
Ivory took a deep breath, calming her frazzled nerves. "I'm sorry," she told him. "I've had a rough day... Still pretty out of it, I guess..."
Angel leaned back against a nearby tree. "Boy troubles?" he asked.
Ivory started. "How did you know?"
Angel smiled. "I saw you in the Bronze that night you first faced Nick... You seemed to be on very friendly terms with that boy at the bar," he answered. "Chase, I believe his name was."
Ivory nodded. "Of course," she said. "But I don't think it's something that's going to work out... For one thing, he admitted today that he already has a girlfriend." She paused, feeling a little awkward discussing her lovelife with her Dad. "I'm just so confused... I wish I wasn't thinking about him so much."
Angel gave her a sympathetic look. "Love can be strange. Sometimes, it can pick the strangest people to place together... Maybe it will work out between you and this young man, or maybe it won't. But at least, you'll have had a taste of what it's like."
Ivory placed her stake back into her purse, then motioned for him to walk with her. "Is this love, then, what I feel for him? I can't be sure, so how can you?"
Angel shrugged. "I never said I was... But I can tell you what love is. It's when you care so much about someone, you'd lay down your life for them. They become part of you, the part you can't live without... But don't get me wrong. When I lost your mother, I had to learn to readjust to being alone. It took time, but I was able to get over it."
Ivory lightly bit her lower lip. "Thanks," she told him after a moment. "For the advice, I mean. I couldn't have asked for a more loving, wise, or protective father than you. I see that now. The whole vampire thing is taking a little getting used to, but... I believe I'm getting past it."
Angel nodded silently, his approval showing in his dark eyes. He and Ivory were silent the whole walk to her home, where father and daughter parted ways at the street corner. "You have a good night," Angel told her. "And sleep well, honey."
"I will," Ivory said, giving him a quick hug. Then, she turned and headed for her home, making it inside without being hit by any other roaming vampires. She spent some time conversing with Stefanie and Risa, then retired to her bedroom for the night...
The first thing Hannah did upon reaching her home was go to see what her Mom was up to. She found her mother seated at her computer, reading intently through some files of hers. With a small smile, Hannah walked up beside her. "Whatcha up to?" she asked abruptly, startling her mother.
Willow took a few moments to collect herself, then said, "I'm looking through the Watcher Diaries I scanned in today," she told her daughter. "I was hoping to find some reference to Nick during the years he was missing, but so far, I'm coming up empty. Same with every other bloodsucker who disappeared around that same time." She paused, taking a deep breath. "It's frustrating, I'll tell you."
"And the roller rink?" Hannah asked. "Did it turn out that he owns it?"
Willow sighed. "I honestly couldn't tell you. I've tried tracking down who purchased the property, and all I've come up with is a long list of dummie corporations. Nick has to have a computer specialist or a business expert working for or with him. He's not smart enough to cover his tracks this well."
Hannah shrugged, picking up one of the dusty books from the desk and opening it to the middle. "I sympathize with you, Mom. I wish there was something I could do to help..." Hannah's voice trailed off, her eyes wide with disbelief at what she was taking in. "What is this?" she asked her mother. "What am I reading?"
Willow glanced up, rubbing at the back of her neck. "It's a book of rituals," she said, wondering at her daughter's reaction. "Has everything from casting love spells to raising demons..."
Hannah turned the book so her mother could see. "Demons like this?" she asked pointing to the page she had been scanning.
Willow took the tome from her daughter to get a better look. It had a black and white sketch of a hideous creature, with reptilian eyes, a scaly body, and a two rows of sharp teeth. In a circle around the demon were four people bound together by chains, their hands pierced through with swords to bind them further to the person next to them.
Tearing her eyes from the sketch, Willow looked at the words on the adjoining page. "So these four beings shall be used to call him. Vampires, but not truly. One ensouled, one that has lost hope, one half, and one who hovers between darkness and light. Their combined blood shall call to Falmorean and release him into our realm."
"Falmorean?" Hannah asked in slight fear. "Who's he?"
Willow thought a moment, certain she had heard that name somewhere before. "A demon long banished from this earth," she said haltingly. "Word has it... that he could reduce any living creature to dust with a single glance. He was considered among the most dangerous, which is why an ancient group of sorcerors had him exiled, refusing to meet his gaze as they cast their spell."
"And this is the ritual of how to bring him back," Hannah said in a low voice. "Why would anyone want to do that?"
"Any demon would," Willow answered, looking up at her daughter. "But their odds of finding four vampires like the ones described are next to none. I wouldn't worry over it, honey."
Willow sent Hannah up to bed moments later, then turned back to the open pages of the book, her brow furrowed as she considered the meaning of it. Quickly, she grabbed a pad of paper and a pen, and wrote down the descriptions of the four required people.
Next to one ensouled, she put Angel's name and Cordelia's; they were the two most obvious choices. To one that has lost hope went a question mark, and Willow figured she could get back to that one later. Next was one half, which required some thought. Finally, even though it was highly unlikely, the Watcher penned in "Venus, vampire hybrid, deceased" and went on to the last one.
"'One who hovers between darkness and light'" Willow whispered, trying to think who this one could be. But, try as she might, she couldn't think up an appropriate answer for this one either and so put a second question mark.
With a sigh, Willow set the notepad aside, in a spot where Hannah was not likely to notice it, then shut off the computer and went up to bed for the evening...
This dream started off more disjointed than any of her other ones. At first, Ivory couldn't make any sense of the images assaulting her, but then, she got her mind to focus more. There were caverns, and fleeting images of her father fighting beside her. There was a brief picture of herself in chains, one of a horde of vampires, and then one of swords.
All the scenes were so jumbled and flashed by so quickly, Ivory couldn't put them into any cohesive order. Finally, she awoke with a scream, the vision of a gruesome reptilian creature stuck in her mind. Shaken, she leaned over to turn on the light, and screamed again when she realized she wasn't alone. Or at least, that was her first impression.
Stefanie and Risa were rushing in seconds later, to find Ivory staring at one corner as if in disbelief. "Honey, what's wrong?!" Stefanie asked frantically, crossing to Ivory's bedside. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"
Ivory took a deep calming breath. "Maybe I did," she replied in a slightly shaky voice. "I saw her. My real mom, I mean! She was standing right over there." Ivory pointed to the corner she'd been staring at.
Stefanie's eyes clouded with worry. "Oh, honey," she said softly, stroking Ivory's hair. "You were probably just dreaming."
"No, I was awake," Ivory insisted. "I..." She paused, rubbing at her eyes. "I don't know! It felt so real though."
While Risa went back to bed, Stefanie sat with Ivory for a few minutes, listening to her foster daughter relate her vision. In the end, drawing from experience, Stefanie determined that it had to have been a prophetic dream. "It makes perfect sense," the former Slayer said. "All prophecy dreams tend to start out chaotic for a new Slayer. You should probably tell Willow about it tomorrow. Maybe she can help you to figure it out. Until then..."
"Yeah, I know," Ivory said with a yawn. "Get some rest." She lay back down, her long black hair fanning out over the pillows. "I love you."
"I love you too, sweetie," Stefanie replied, getting up to depart from the room. "Sweet dreams," she added as a parting remark.
Ivory leaned over again to turn off the bedside lamp, wondering about the appearance of her mom after she woke. But, she didn't concentrate too long or too hard on it, and the thought was lost as soon as she fell back to sleep...