"Haven’t you ever heard of the word ‘accident’ before, highness?"

As the car sped down the windy road, heading into town, the sounds of Cordelia and Xander fighting once again echoed through the air. Glaring down at her blouse, Cordelia pressed the gas pedal harder.

"You know, I don’t even know why I bother with you."

Xander opened his mouth to make one of his trademark witty comebacks, but shut it abruptly. He saw the fire in her eyes and didn’t want to risk her driving any faster. He had already seen his life flash before his eyes twice on that car ride: a third time would probably give him a heart attack. Besides, he knew how without-a-life he was already. He didn’t need to risk death for that.

"Y’know, Cor, you could drive a little slower… warp speed isn’t necessary unless you are driving to Romulus."

Without even looking at him, Cordelia spat back, "Funny."

*Jeez, I can’t ever win with her, can I?* Xander thought to himself, shaking his head in wonder. But, in just imagining the way her skin felt beneath his fingers, the way her mouth tasted *faintly of Altoids* , the way he felt when she rubbed his chest… he could easily forgive that.

But what he couldn’t forgive was nearly flying off the side of the road when she hit a particularly sharp curve.

"Cordelia!"

"What?!"

Shaking her head, Cordelia proceeded to drive. As she headed off of the mountain road, and into town, Xander breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"God, look at that stain," Cordelia muttered loudly. She held her shirt out in front of her, to look disgustedly at the brown wetness covering part of her silk blouse.

"You know… you could just take the shirt off…"

Whipping her head sharply to look at him, Cordelia retorted:

"Oh wouldn’t you li- -"

Xander suddenly realized that a car was blowing the stop sign, barreling for them.

"CORDELIA! The road!"

!WHAM! The car was hit from the driver’s side, with a crumple of glass and metal. Xander flew forward, hitting his head on the dashboard. The car skidded across the road, and then thudded to a stop. Shaking his head slowly to clear it, Xander turned and looked at Cordy.

"Cordelia?" his voice sounding tiny in the aftermath. Looking at her, slumped forward in her seat, blood trickling from a cut on her head.

Taking off his seatbelt, he leaned over, and stroked her shoulder. "Oh god, Cordy?"

Touching her lips, he felt breath. *She’s alive.* Planting a light kiss on her cheek, he whispered, as though she could hear, "I’ll be right back. I need to find a phone. Hold on, Cordelia."

With that, he threw open the door, and stumbled out of the car. For a moment, he thought that his legs wouldn’t support him: that he would just collapse. Clutching the side of the car, Xander breathed deeply. Soon, the quivers in his knees calmed some, and he started walking towards the houses in the distance.

-------------------------

"… Kathryne… It’s, it’s been a long time…" Angel’s voice held none of it’s usual confidence. Giles had never seen him with this level of lost composure. The vampire was wringing his hands slowly, absently, his lips trembling.

But his eyes never left the young woman’s - Kathryne’s - face.

"You do realize that we are being awfully rude, don’t you Angelus?" For the first time, Giles noticed a bit of accent, British in nature, running through the girl’s speech. "I am quite sorry, Mr. Giles, for being so disrespectful. You see, Angelus and I have… well, you could call it a past… together, and there was a moment, and so on."

"Well, um, it’s quite understandable Miss… Kathryne, I believe it was?"

"Yes. Once I had a last name, but that doesn’t really matter now… does it, Angelus?"

At the sound of those words, Angel’s eyes went darker. He grimaced, as if coming in contact with a horrible taste. "Yes, you are probably right."

Throwing Angel a smirk, Kathryne turned back to Giles. "But anyways, that is neither here nor there." Getting up off of the tombstone, she paced a couple of times back and forth. Reaching down to straighten her tank top, she spoke again. But this time her voice had lost some of that hard edge; Giles thought that maybe he heard a child beneath it.

"I need help." Kathryne looked at the ground, scuffing her toe in the sod of the graveyard floor.

"Help? Of what sort?" Giles inquired, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Angel still stared helplessly at Kathryne’s profile.

"I am being chased by a very dangerous vampire… and if he catches me, all hell will break loose. Literally."

Before Giles could reply, Angel broke in, his voice urgent. "Does this have to do with the Blood Star?"

Mystified, having not the slightest notion of what the ‘Blood Star’ was referring to, Giles was about to jump in. But Kathryne cut him off.

"Yes Angelus… well, to a degree."

"But how could that happen?" Angel’s voice was dripping with near hysteria. "The cycle came to it’s peak less than ten years ago. No one pulled it off. How-"

"Sorry to jump in, but I must ask: What is this ‘Blood Star’?" Giles felt his usual amount of low key irritation that surfaced when he wasn’t informed. Looking at the two in front of him, he realized that his question had a lot more affect than he had intended. Angel was looking away, staring at the ground. And Kathryne… her face had gone pale, her eyes bleak.

"Well, Mr. Giles, there is a ritual known only to vampires… the Spell of the Blood Star…"

----------------------------------

"And this spell will give the casting vampire the power to change the future. The power to overcome the Slayer. The power to open the Gates of Hell."

Looking up from the book, the vampire who’s name was Darla smiled. Kathryne shuddered. Every time one of them opened their mouths, she saw their teeth. And it reminded her how very much in Hell, if ever there was such a place, she was in.

"So, my dear. Have you realized your part in this yet?" The old, white faced vampire walked towards her, rubbing his hands against his black tunic.

"No, actually I haven’t…" Kathryne replied from her bonds. She refused to call him ‘Master’, no matter what he ordered. He might have these demons under his control, but not her.

"Oh, come on."

A familiar voice, coming from the dark beyond the torch lit table area. Angelus was back from *hunting? feeding?* wherever he had gone. As he walked into the light, Kathryne couldn’t help but admire his visage. The sharp, sculptured lines of his face. The smooth, luxurious way he dressed. The easy manner in which he walked. His long, glossy hair, tied back with a ribbon. It was hard to believe this man was really not a man at all… but a demon.

"Kathryne, darling, sweetheart, do you not understand? You are the chosen girl." Walking over to the book stand, Angelus slid his hand behind Darla’s head. Pressing his lips down on hers roughly, they started a long, deep kiss.

Darla’s hand moved up to Angelus’ neck, her nail scraping the skin above his jugular. A small cut formed, a bead of dark blood pooling on his skin. Breaking out of the kiss, Angelus walked over to the other vampire.

"Only for you, Master," he said, as he dropped on his knees. The Master gripped the dark head, and bent over Angelus’ throat. As Kathryne looked on in horror, she saw the Master bite down, and begin to suck. Angelus’ body bucked sharply, and a small moan escaped his lips.

Letting go, the Master stood up, wiping his lips. "As he was trying to say, Kathryne, you are the girl. The one who was called for the cycle." Smiling at her, baring his blood streaked fangs, he continued:

"You are the one who will give me the power."

Angelus stood up, and turned to Kathryne. She was shocked… he had a smile on his face. He calmly reached into his velvet waistcoat and pulled out a ribbon the same scarlet hue as his hair tie. Wrapping it around his neck, he said peacefully to the trembling girl on the table, "You are the one he is going to slice open and use your blood to change the future."

She could only gape in horror as Angelus walked over. The dark haired vampire leaned over, smelling Kathryne’s skin. "You smell so scared. Fright has a smell all it’s own, you know. Kind of spicy… almost like sex."

Kathryne drew her breath in sharply.

"But you wouldn’t know, would you? Yes… I can sense it. You are fresh, snowy." He looked up at the Master; in that moment, Kathryne’s heart seemed to stop.

The older vampire nodded his approval silently, a menacing grin spreading over his face. Darla let out a soft squeal of delight.

"Well, my little cherry, it looks as if you are about to be plucked."

"No…" she managed to choke out, her voice little more than a whisper.

"No? Are you refusing me?" Angelus roared, his eyes on fire. His hand whipped out, slapping Kathryne smartly on the cheek. Her left eye immediately began to water as the sting seeped through her skin.

Glaring down at her reddening face, Angelus smiled. "No one refuses me, dear one," he said sweetly, placing his hands on the table.

"No one." Hoisting himself up on the table, Angelus grinned down at her. As Kathryne’s terror filled eyes looked on, his face morphed into that of the demon. His yellow eyes gleamed at her wickedly; his fang filled mouth spread into a malevolent smile. *Oh god…* Her mind shook with as much fear as her body.

Afterwards, Angelus leaped off the table with a cat-like grace. As he pulled up his pants, he threw a glance at the quivering girl.

"Not bad. Could have been better, but not bad." With that, he walked out of Kathryne’s vision.

Darla wandered over to the girl, smiling. "You know, that looked like fun. I might have to try you out one of these days, myself."

She turned on her heel, and sauntered away.

Glancing at the Master, who sat there, looking on, Kathryne couldn’t speak. Her throat was dry, her mind empty.

"Do not worry, my child. The elixir I mixed in your blood makes you strong. You won’t die… yet."

As the Master’s footsteps grew faint with distance, Kathryne lay back, a tear trickling down her cheek. It was a while before she found sleep.