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Part 9
“Guys, I think I found something,” Buffy said excitedly, sitting up and watching as everyone looked up from what they were reading, focusing their attention on her. “It’s from this Watcher from 1608. The Slayer was English, her name was Catherine, and the Watcher was Romanian. Her name was Torah, or at least that’s what she was called. Anyway,” Buffy paused, glancing at the book for several moments before continuing. “Catherine was sent to Sicily to battle this big vamp dude named...Bambi-something.”
“Bambiollian?” Giles questioned.
“Yeah, that’s it. So they were staying in this little fishing town on the coast--which would explain the setting in my dream--when one night Catherine didn’t come home after her rounds. Her body was found on the beach the morning of April 14, 1608. This is the part about our new friend, though.
“When I first learned of my sister’s true nature, I was in shock. I knew my Slayer must know about this, for I had a premonition it would later come back to haunt me. And it has. My Catherine was found by a fisherman this morning, dead, her neck snapped, on the beach. I cannot stop my grief, but I must stop my sister. She must not be allowed to ruin anymore lives, like she has ruined the peoples’ whose own touched Catherine. I shall leave the way to defeat her in this book, for if I fail and am not able to stop her tonight, someone must.
First and foremost, her name is Leonna. At least, that’s what she’s calling herself, she hasn’t changed her name. Her true name is a secret that only our clan knows, and no one outside it must know. That is just the way of it. But I am getting off track. When Leonna was a mortal, she had a natural gift of magick and was very powerful. She could perform a spell without uttering it, all that was necessary for her to do was think it in her mind, which will make her that much harder to defeat. Her special gift that was bestowed upon her is the one that makes her so hard to best. She has the power to vanish into thin air and turn up wherever she likes. However, this power does not exceed great distances, only ten kilometers at best. The only way to defeat her is to get help. You must contact my clan and have the elder woman perform a spell that will render her powerless. Then, and only then, will you be able to use your slaying ability to stop her. The catch is that Leonna must be in the proximity of the elder woman when the spell is performed, which I’m afraid means you will need to bring her to the place my clan is.
Since someone is reading this, I can only assume that I have failed, that
Leonna still walks the Earth. You must arm your Slayer with this knowledge,
she must be prepared for this battle. Leonna must be vanquished. You must
avenge the death of Catherine, and the other innocents that were killed at my
sister’s hand. Be careful, use your head as you fight, and do not let
yourself get distracted by whatever tricks and magicks she may have up her
sleeves.
--Torah, clan Kalderash
April 14, 1608
“Then there’s another person’s handwriting. It says Torah was killed by Leonna the night of April fourteenth. No other Slayer has been successful in killing her, and I guess she was kinda forgotten about,” Buffy finished, and looked up. “Anybody got a phone book?”
“All right. Let’s just get all the facts straight,” Giles said, a thoughtful look on his face. “Kalderash...that sounds vaguely familiar.”
“It should,” Angel said, his voice a bit hoarse. “Kalderash was the clan that Jenny belonged to.”
The room was suddenly silent. “Jenny, as in Ms. Calendar Jenny, as in our computer teacher that you killed Jenny?” Oz asked. Willow nodded.
“What are we waiting for? You know we can’t defeat her alone. Somebody hand me a phone book,” Buffy said, impatient.
“Buffy, we...we can’t rush into this. Think of how it will sound if we call--”
“I don’t care how it will sound. That’s not the issue. The issue is killing Leonna. We need their help and they owe it to us. They put us through so much hell. They didn’t tell Jenny that the curse would break, which resulted in Angelus coming back and killing a lot of people--and don’t even start to brood now, mister,” Buffy told Angel. “They’re responsible for the deaths of innocents and they’re also responsible for Jenny’s death. So I don’t see--”
“Buffy, while we think that is true...I’m sure they won’t see it that way. We must...we must think out a strategy first,” Giles interrupted. Angel nodded.
“No. I don’t care what they think. Now, we can go to group counseling after this is all over and talk about our problems and make ‘I’ statements, but we need them on the phone, pronto. Will, punch in and see if you can get a number. That is, if they have any phones,” Buffy said. Willow scooted her chair over to the computer and got to work.
“But--”
“No time for that now Giles. This is the way we’re going to handle it. Period, end of discussion,” Buffy retorted. Giles and Angel sighed. They both knew Buffy had made up her mind and they could not change it.
“It’s too bad we can’t talk to Torah somehow, find out specific things about Leonna, like any special weaknesses that she might have or something,” Buffy said.
“Why not hold a seance?” Cordelia suggested as she and Xander came down from the stacks, complete with rumpled clothes, messed-up hair, red faces, and lipstick covering both their mouths. At the sight of them, the whole room rang with laughter. “What? What?” she demanded.
“Noth--nothing of importance, Cor,” Buffy said, laughing even harder. “Sorry, it’s just...never mind. A seance, hmm?” Buffy questioned after laughing for a few moments. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. Just out of curiosity, though, what were you two up to up there?”
“We were...we were reading. Books. And researching. Also in books,” Xander said sheepishly, causing everyone to laugh harder.
“Okay, we’re done,” Buffy said, growing serious again. “Seriously, that’s not a bad idea. What do you think Giles?”
“Well...it could prove most useful in learning more about wh-what we’ll be facing.”
“Okay, so we have a seance. Cool!” Buffy exclaimed. “When?”
“Tomorrow night. We need a new moon, if I remember correctly,” Giles said, walking up into the stacks to retrieve a book. The others sat silently until he returned carrying a dark brown book. “Ah...here it is. We need a new moon, 13 white candles...and some special herbs. I shall get all the supplies and we will perform the ritual tomorrow.”
“Does this mean we can go?” Cordelia asked, shifting her weight from one foot to the other and looking very bored.
“Ye-yes, you can all go. I doubt we’ll have success looking any further.”
Everyone stood up to leave. Willow glanced at the clock on the wall, which read 6:45, and grinned. “Goody, I can still catch 7th Heaven ‘Beginnings’ tonight...what? It’s a very good show...never mind.”
They walked to the parking lot, and parted ways. Oz and Willow headed for Oz’s van, Cordelia and Xander for Cordy’s car, and Buffy and Angel for the cemetery for a quick sweep before calling it a night. They waved goodbye as the cars peeled out of the parking lot and walked along the sidewalk towards the cemetery in silence. Finally, Angel spoke up.
“Does the air fell different to you tonight?”
“Yeah,” Buffy said, nodding her head. “It does...like there’s someone incredibly evil here. This is exactly how it felt in my dreams...the feelings are the same, you know, evil, hatred, yadda, yadda, yadda.”
“The Leonna I knew was vicious and cruel to humans, but otherwise she was a very sweet thing, calling people ‘honey’ and ‘darling.’”
“How long did you know her for?” Buffy asked as they continued to walk.
“She was only with us--Darla and I--for about three years, and then I lost track of her. I did hear she was with Spike and Dru for a while after I got my soul back. But not many of us knew about her. She kept a very low profile.”
“Great. And I gotta get her to chase me halfway around the globe.”
“Buff, how are you going to get Leonna to chase you halfway around the world?”
“I don’t know, I was kinda hoping this old lady could come here and perform her little spell,” Buffy frowned. She kicked a stone out of her way, and it skittered down the sidewalk and under a car.
“I highly doubt she’s going to, babe,” Angel said gently.
“Yeah, I know. I don’t know, maybe I can knock her out and handcuff her like I did you...no wait, that won’t work. She could just get herself out of them. Okay...I have no clue,” Buffy sighed, then she smiled slowly. Stopping, she faced Angel. “You know, I never did get around to returning those handcuffs,” she whispered, smiling slyly up at him. He grinned.
“Really...well, I’m sure we’ll find some use for them. We could play cops and robbers,” he suggested, teasing her. She ran her hands lightly up and down his chest and stepped closer.
“That’s not exactly what I had in mind,” she replied, her head cocked to one side and her lips inches from his. “But it does have possibilities...”
“Definite possibilities,” Angel said before claiming her lips as his own, covering them with his.
“Get a room!!!”
They broke off when they heard Xander yell as he drove by in Cordelia’s convertible with the top down, and laughed as he smiled and waved and Cordelia rolled her eyes. They waved back and continued on to the graveyard. Finding it deserted, they walked to Buffy’s house. As soon as they walked in the door, they were called into the kitchen.
“I was going to order some Chinese food, what do you guys want?” Joyce asked as she handed them a paper menu. Buffy held it and they studied it for a minute.
“Sesame chicken for me. And a Jolt,” Buffy said, handing the menu back to her mother.
“Sweet and sour chicken. And I’m paying” Angel said, silencing Joyce’s protests with a motion of his hand.
“All right, fine. I’ll order. What do you two plan to do now?” Joyce asked, walking over to the phone and punching in the number for the restaurant. Buffy was about to speak when Joyce held up her hand and ordered their food. After she had hung up, Buffy spoke.
“Mom, you may want to sit down for this one, but I am actually going to do my homework. Then maybe watch some TV and call it a night. These past few days have been rough,” Buffy said, then changed her mind. “Actually, Angel and I are going to train before dinner. It won’t be ready for a half hour anyway, and I’m not quite ready to tackle chemistry and the U.S. government.”
“Okay by me,” Joyce replied, and Buffy and Angel headed up to her room to change. They got a little side-tracked, and came down about ten minutes later, heading out into the back yard to work out. Joyce walked over to the door and watched them fight for a long time. She admired the skill of both of them, the agility and speed too. She was seeing a whole new side of Buffy that she hadn’t seen before, and it amazed her that her daughter was such a talented fighter.
When the food arrived, they stopped and joined Joyce in the dining room to eat.
“Angel, I began looking for some places for you, and I found one that you’ll definitely like. I’ll tell you where it is later, but we have an appointment to see it tomorrow at eleven,” Joyce said as they ate. Buffy looked at her mother.
“Where is it, Mom?”
“It’s a surprise,” she answered, a secretive smile on her lips. Buffy looked at Angel, who shrugged.
“Don’t look at me.”
They ate the rest of the meal in comfortable silence and helped clean up when it was done. They both went upstairs to change, Buffy into her pajamas and Angel into a pair of old sweatpants and a white t-shirt. Buffy grabbed her books and brought them back down to the living room. Her mother was watching Touched By An Angel on the couch, which caused Buffy to grin at her lover. Angel sat down on the opposite side of her, and Buffy settled herself at his feet, pulling the coffee table up to her as she began to answer the questions in her math book.
She listened with one ear to the episode, which was about some chick who was trying to get her boyfriend to change his ways and become good again. When it had ended, a happy ending of course, Buffy smiled at Angel.
“Now where have I heard that before?”
He just laughed and kissed the top of her head, then glanced at Joyce to see if she was going to say anything. She just smiled and nodded slightly, indicating it was okay. He sighed in relief. He cared very much about what she thought of him and wanted her to approve of their relationship and love, and she obviously did.
They watched TV until around eleven. Angel glanced down at the Slayer, who had her arms wrapped around his waist and her head on his shoulder, and smiled. He pulled the blanket that was covering them up a little more, making sure she was warm. She hadn’t moved in quite some time, and with a grin Angel realized she was sound asleep. Joyce quietly turned off the television, kissing Buffy’s forehead and Angel’s cheek before heading upstairs. He smiled at her and gathered her daughter in his arms, lifting her gently as he stood. He held her lightly as he walked up the stairs, turning out the lights as he went, and walked into her bedroom. He placed her on the bed and closed the door.
When he went to turn off the light, Buffy stirred and opened her eyes. She smiled groggily at Angel and made an effort to climb underneath the warm comforter. He pulled it back for her and helped her crawl underneath it, stripping his shirt off before he joined her under the warm down comforter. He gathered her up in his arms and held her close to his chest and she snuggled up to him.
Sighing, she whispered “I love you” to him as she drifted off. He echoed her statement and laid for a long time staring at his Slayer before allowing sleep to consume him.
“Spike?”
“Yes, pet?”
“I’m not coming tonight.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to ruin anything for you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Bring him to me, baby. If I go, I might screw the whole plan up.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Now go.”
“Anything else?”
“And I get to play with him for a little bit before I change him.”
“Of course. We’ll be back.”
The next evening, everyone gathered at the library. They helped Giles prepare for the ceremony, lighting candles, rearranging the furniture, doing a practice ritual so they would all know what to do. Finally it was time to begin. They all sat in a circle, the herbs and candles they burned around them. They filled the air with a strong earthly scent.
The library was covered in darkness, the only light coming from the candles. They cast strange shadows on the walls, dancing and playing over the bookshelves. The seven figures sat in a circle, hands joined, minds clear. Giles was about to start the ritual when the double doors burst open, filling the room with light and making it impossible to see who was standing at the door.
They all turned their heads sharply at the noise and Buffy counted at least twelve vampires. She reached for her stake supply in her bag and pulled several out, passing them around.
Angel tried to make out the figure who stood in front of the rest. He knew in an instant it was Spike, the cocky stance gave that away. They all stood up and Buffy and Angel strode forward slowly, wearily. She motioned for the other to stay back, out of the fight.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the bitch and her pet. Fancy meeting you here,” Spike grinned, showing a mouthful of fangs. They continued walking, undaunted.
“Spike, so good to see you out of your wheelchair and back on your feet,” Buffy quipped, reaching her leg out and knocking him over. He landed hard on the hard floor and the fight began.
Buffy simply held up her stake as the first vamp charged her, and she killed it without the blink of an eye. The second one didn’t learn from the first’s mistake, and was dead before he knew it. Angel also killed two vamps that way before any real fighting started. The Slayerettes all grabbed crosses and joined in the fray.
Buffy kicked Spike in the head, sending him flailing into the magazine rack. She staked another vamp who lunged at her, and connected solidly with another’s jaw as it moved to attack her. Angel kicked one in the stomach, those hours of training with Buffy paying off greatly. He staked another and turned looking for more. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cordelia and Xander holding crosses and herding two over to Giles’ office, where Willow and Oz were crouched down, stakes in hand.
He saw three vamps converging on Buffy and ran to help her. He backhanded one as Buffy took a nasty punch to the jaw and stood a moment, stunned. She kicked the vamp in her shin, causing her to crash to her knees. She elbowed Buffy in the knee, giving her a dead leg for a minute. Before she could do anymore damage, Angel staked her through the back and helped Buffy stand. She glanced at him, love in her eyes, before shoving the stake under her arm, staking the vamp who’d tried to sneak up on her. She saw Giles get another with the crossbow and looked around for Spike. He stood leaning on the wall, a smirk on his face, watching the battle. Buffy grinned evilly and started towards him. From behind her, she heard glass break and gasps, but was too busy to see what they were from.
“You know, Spike, I haven’t had any action for weeks. This wasn’t the most brilliant plan. Wouldn’t you rather have a tired Slayer than one who hasn’t had a decent kill in weeks? Has that peroxide finally gone to your brain?” He just laughed and pointed.
Buffy followed his finger with her gaze, having it rest on her friends and Watcher. Each was being held by a vampire, a knife to their throats. She looked back at Spike with murder in her eyes. She advanced on him, but he stood his ground.
“Uh, Drusilla? We’re ready for you, pet,” Spike called. Drusilla walked into the room and stood next to Spike.
Buffy switched her gaze from Spike to Drusilla, and was about to look away when Drusilla brought her pointer and middle fingers up, holding them inches from Buffy’s face.
“Look at me, dearie. Be in my eyes,” she said as she hypnotized the Slayer,
rendering her powerless. As Angel saw what was happening, he rushed forward,
his intent to warn Buffy to look away. He was struck with a bat in the back
of his head and was sent sprawling on the floor, unconscious. The vamp that
hit him glanced at Spike, who nodded his head towards the Slayer. He walked
up behind her as Drusilla broke contact and she stood for a moment, stunned.
She made a fist and was about to punch Drusilla in the head when the world
around her went black.