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Part 1
Ivory was in such a deep sleep by the time they got back to the apartment complex that Chase had to carry her in to bed. He lay her gently on the mattress so as to not rouse her, then left for his own room, strongly fighting the urge to curl up next to her.
Ivory's father, Angel, was sitting up in the dark on the couch when the young man entered and flipped on the lights. Irony of ironies, Angel was a vampire close to three centuries old, as well as the proud parent of the most promising Slayer that history ever spit out. What made it even more unbelievable was that Ivory's mother was a Slayer as well and the love of Angel's life. Chase didn't know much beyond that, didn't know Angel's entire history, but he would bet it was anything but interesting.
Startled to see the elder man still awake, Chase stumbled and took a step back, hissing through his clenched teeth. A moment later, he collected himself and straightened, saying, "You're probably wondering what kept us."
Angel nodded. "The thought had crossed my mind," he said, surprisingly calm. "Let me guess. The two of you gave into exhaustion and fell asleep for a few hours. Is that about right?" When Chase's eyes widened in bewilderment, Angel chuckled and decided to take pity on him. "I followed you out there," the vampire admitted. "Wanted to see my darling daughter in action for a change. Well, that and I met with Cordelia, our little slavery camp spy, to aid her in a separate slaying... If I hadn't, the two of you might have been easy prey for three bloodsuckers at least." Angel stood, taking a step closer. "Just for the record, I'm not angry at you or Ivory. You can tell her I said that... Antonio," he said, unable to resist throwing in that last crack.
Chase groaned, rolling his eyes. "She and I are never going to live those names down with you, are we?" he said lightly, in an amused tone.
"Not anytime soon," Angel replied with a small grin. "But I promise not to give you too hard a time about it."
Chase nodded. "That's nice to know," he replied, rubbing at his eyes. A moment later, he headed for his bedroom, anxious to turn in for the night. However, he stopped in the doorway, turning back after a split-second. "Thanks for watching our backs," he added offhandedly.
Angel nodded, then made a gesture telling Chase to go get some rest. He watched the young man leave the room, then sighed and went to the small breakfast nook for a bite to eat.
Staring at the empty bag of blood in his hand, Angel let out a deep breath, leaning back against the counter and letting his mind wander to Buffy. He found himself worrying about her, how she had survived the years of captivity and isolation, and more importantly, how she was holding up now. Biting his lip, feeling tears well up in his eyes, Angel whispered, "Be strong, my love. It won't be long before this all changes..."
If anything was true about Cordelia, it was that she was a genuine good vampire, much like Angel. However, the only thing that set her about from him, from essentially any other bloodsucker, was that she was the only one of her kind (other than Buffy) both with a soul and without a demon in residence. As she entered one of the many dining rooms of the cavern network around daybreak, a young handsome man hanging on her arm, Cordelia couldn't help feeling amazed that she'd been accepted by so many of the vamps who lived here so quickly. More importantly, she was surprised that no one had questioned as to which side she was on, despite her knack at playing the bad guy.
Seating herself at the table, Cordelia pulled her young man into her lap, lifting one of his hands to her face so she could run her tongue over the skin at his wrist. "Mmm," she purred, gazing up at him with a seductive glint in her brown eyes. "You sure taste good... What'd you say your name was again?" she added in an equally alluring tone.
"Carlos," he replied, appearing as if he'd fallen completely under her spell. Cordelia had to smile at his compliant attitude; it would make her acting job that much easier.
Aware that she was under observation by the other vampires at the table, Cordelia slowly and gracefully picked up the small blade placed in front of her seat, despite her well-concealed disgust of what she was about to do. "Don't worry, Carlos," she crooned, placing the knife tip to the palm of his hand. "This won't hurt... much." Then, with one quick motion, Cordelia sliced through the skin, and, as the blood welled forth, she pressed her mouth to the wound.
Cordelia drank little, not wanting to harm the young man. Satiated, she handed Carlos a cloth to staunch any further blood flow, then sent him away. Looking up at her companions, letting her tongue lick her fangs clean, she said tantalizingly, "It tastes so much better when they're aroused first, does it not?"
All of Cordelia's companions had to agree with her, each of them nodding as they raised blood-filled jeweled goblets to drink from. During the silence, Cordelia took the time to observe each in turn, wondering at their origins.
First, there was Cinnamon, a red-haired vampiress of undetermined age who was responsible for bringing Chase here in the first place. She was playful in a way and seemed to have an ethereal air about her. Cordelia was a little unsure what to make of Cinnamon, but the fact that the redhead had a habit for taking humans for lovers (Chase wasn't her first nor only) may be her weakness.
Next to Cinnamon sat Riley, a short but brawny bloodsucker who bragged at being over fifty in undead years. Despite having only known him a few weeks, Cordelia had determined that he was quite a lady's vamp. Riley would essentially chase anything in a mini-skirt; in fact, his latest "endeavor," Leeloo, was seated in his lap, teasing his brown hair with her fingers.
Of the five vampires gathered in the room, Leeloo had to be the youngest, Cordelia determined. She was just barely over fourteen in appearance, and there was no telling how old she was in vampire years. Plus, Leeloo, too, seemed to be unique in a way; she sported fangs whether she showed her true face or not. And, Cordelia thought, something about Leeloo's looks just seemed so familiar...
Rather than spend too much time wondering over Leeloo's age or background, Cordelia moved on to the last vampire at the table and the only one she remembered from Sunnydale. Fortunately, that recollection seemed to only work one way; Serena didn't seem to recognize Cordelia in turn.
Serena was quite the little bisexual seductress at the appearance of fifteen. She could charm her way into any boy's (or, if she preferred, girl's) bed in two seconds flat, Cordelia imagined. In fact, if not for Angel having staked Serena's sire back in Sunnydale and running the little brunette out of town, Serena might have been dust herself at Ivory's hand by now.
It was Leeloo who spoke first, after taking a small sip from her goblet. "So, Cordelia. Why don't you tell us about yourself? For starters, which vampire family were you spawned from?"
Cordelia hesitated a moment, caught in the painful memory. But outwardly, she kept her smile pasted on. "From a vampire king, a six-hundred-year-old named Lorenzo. Perhaps you guys have heard of him..."
Cinnamon perked up, interested. She paused a moment, then launched into a dialogue for Cordelia's benefit, as well as the others. "Was a lousy excuse for a vampire king. Never offered full protection to the vamps he sired, so most of them were killed within two years or less after being turned. It was only his mistress, Tessa, who survived the longest, living to be five hundred at least. Then, both of them stopped in Sunnydale to kill the two resident Slayers, where I assume Lorenzo sired you, only he and Tessa met their ends instead... That about accurate?"
Eyes widening, Cordelia nodded. "You've done your reading, I see," she commented, reaching for the goblet Riley was handing her.
Cinnamon said yes, blue eyes twinkling. "Well, we have an historian here in the caverns who's interested in tracing the lineage of all existing vampires. He's put together quite a list, the oldest dating back to a bloodsucker that was created in the mid-ninth century but that's deceased now."
Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "And where do you fall on that list?"
Cinnamon raised her cup to her lips once more, then said slyly, "Wouldn't you like to know...?" A pause, then, "I don't like to discuss my age. I'll just say old."
Leeloo picked up the conversation when silence fell. "I say Cinnamon's got the right idea," she put in. "Not that I'm old or anything. Just the opposite, in fact." Leeloo paused enough to turn to Riley and give him a short but sweet kiss on the lips. "But you can never be too young to have fun. I don't care what my..."
Riley stopped Leeloo from completing the sentence by pulling her towards him, giving her a second, somewhat rougher kiss. When he pulled away, it was with a flirty smile. "Now, honey," he said to Leeloo. "I'm sure Cordy doesn't want to be bored with the details. There's plenty of time to fill her in on where you come from, so it can be saved for later."
Leeloo smiled down at him sweetly, then focused back on Cordelia, brushing back a strand of long black hair. "So," she said. "You've been here for a few weeks now. How do you like our humble abode so far?"
Cordelia took a quick sip from her cup, then replied, "I like it. Has a quiet and very secluded quality that I like. And what's better, it's completely Slayer-free!"
Serena visibly suppressed a laugh, settling her goblet on the table and leaning forward. "I wouldn't say that," she said slyly, throwing a glance at Cinnamon.
Cordelia looked back and forth between Serena and Cinnamon, noting that the latter was giving Serena a disapproving look. In seconds, the younger vampiress sighed, leaning back in her chair with a complacent but pouty expression.
"You must forgive Serena," Cinnamon said to Cordelia. "She's only been with us for a few months and sometimes forgets her place. We like to wait for a while before we reveal our secrets to a new inhabitant. Gives the newbies a chance to settle in and reduces the risk that they'll be back out in the world telling all to anyone in hearing range... Why, we had a rogue vamp our seventh year who nearly spilled our location to a Watcher in Louisiana if you can believe that." Cinnamon shook her head. "Killed the little roach myself."
Cordelia hid her apprehension quite successfully, swallowing the lump in her throat. But, she now realized that her mission may take longer than expected; who knew how long it would take before they'd disclose Buffy's location to her. Out loud, she offered a parting remark, then excused herself from the room. Roaming the caves in search of Carlos, Cordelia found herself anticipating the secret meeting she would have with Ivory and Angel once night fell...
As the day wore on, Ivory attended her classes at Palomino Heights High per usual, ate lunch with a few acquaintances, and struggled her way through a pop quiz in World History. She rode back to the apartments with Chase in silence, not even attempting to start a conversation. Right now, her mind was on other matters.
Ivory dropped her stuff onto the floor of the apartment the moment she'd closed the door behind her, going to sit on the bed and grabbed the phone to dial the number of her long-distance honey, Kenyon.
Kenyon's mother answered on the second ring, and Ivory took the time to identify herself and ask if he was there. Kenyon was on seconds later, sounding out-of-breath and full of news for her.
"Guess what?" Kenyon said. "My Mom finally agreed to letting me drive up this weekend to see you!"
Ivory smiled. "Really?!" she replied excitedly. "Kenyon, that's great! I look forward to seeing you!"
"Same here!" he answered. "And, next on the list..." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Your Sunnydale entourage managed to bag four vampires in one night. Quite a record, even for us."
Ivory had to agree. "I'll say. Especially considering that 'entourage' includes my personal mentor, her husband, one retired Slayer, and three of my bloodsucker-knowledgeable friends. I didn't know you guys had it in you."
Kenyon blushed on the other end. "We aim to please," he said. A pause, then, "Well, my Mom's giving me the look; she's expecting another call... So, this weekend..."
"I'll see you then, Kenyon," Ivory said in a sweet tone. "And I promise, we'll get to do more than just talk." She paused, then added, "And wipe that smirk off your face. I meant more along the lines of smoochies."
"Of course," he said abruptly. "I knew that." Another pause, then, "Bye, Ivory."
"Bye, Kenyon," she answered, listening to the click on the other end before she hung up. Sighing, Ivory then went over to her dresser, flipping open her daily calendar and penciling in for Saturday, "Dinner and a movie with Kenyon, no slaying allowed..."
They met at the same shallow arroyo where Ivory and Chase had slayed a vamp the night before. After assuring that she hadn't been followed, Cordelia set about filling her three companions in on what she'd learned, who she'd met.
Chase nodded when she'd finished. "That sounds like Cinnamon. She is very secretive about when she was created, for some reason. And, from what I know, she's also quite protective of those in her inner circle, including Leeloo and Ethan."
Ivory took a step towards Chase curiously. "What can you tell us about them? Anything Cordelia doesn't know?"
Chase shrugged. "They mostly keep to themselves, but I have every indication that they're... well, intimate. Also, Leeloo is exactly as old as she appears. I'm not really clear on what her situation is, but she seems to be partly mortal. She was still aging in the two years I'd been there," Chase half lied, feeling a twinge of guilt at keeping secrets.
Angel considered this, then shook his head "A vampire who can grow older," he said in a low tone. "I don't like it. Must mean Ethan or someone is experimenting, seeing what kind of undead hybrids they can create."
Ivory gave a slight smile. "Well, it's just one more thing to put a stop to," she added. "I mean, the last thing we want is Ethan creating a vampire who can walk in daylight." She stopped herself, turning her attention to Chase. "And Riley? Any more info on him?"
Chase shrugged again. "Not much... Other than that he seems to be one of Ethan's flunkies. That gives him almost unlimited access to your mother's cell. I think he's even the one who's been providing her meals all these years."
Ivory nodded thoughtfully. "Well, now that we know some of what we're up against..." She looked at Cordelia. "How long do you think it will be before you know where they're keeping my mom?"
"I really can't say," Cordelia replied, reaching into the pocket of her leather jacket and producing a beeper which she handed to Ivory. "But I have a cellphone with me, hidden in my quarters. Once I find out, I'll give a buzz to let you know it's time... And I'll hide the directions underneath a rock by the south entrance... Assuming you know where that is, Chase."
The young man nodded. "I do," he confirmed.
Cordelia let out a breath. "Okay, then we're all set... Only, once I return to the caverns, I can't meet with you guys again. Would be too risky." She paused. "So, I'll just say this now. Good luck, my friends."
"To you too," Angel returned. "Be careful, Cordy. World wouldn't be the same without you."
Cordelia smiled, moving closer to hug him. "I will... After all, had a couple years experience at watching my back." She pulled away, adding, "We'll pull this off. I just know it." And with that, she turned and walked away, in the direction of her new home.
Ivory, Angel, and Chase watched her go with a mixture of hope, seriousness, and fear, each of them wishing her well. Finally, the trio turned away and began to make their way back to the apartments, anticipating a few weeks of preparation on behalf of all of them...