-
Xander stomped around in his apartment. It had been two days since he lost his Slayer. His Slayer? Why the hell was he thinking like that? Lyra did not belong to him. He did not own any of the Slayers. He was in charge of a team of Slayers but he didn’t own any of them. Why was he thinking like that?
“Get a hold of yourself, Harris,” Xander said. Why was he making Lyra into a personal project for himself? He had recruited other Slayers before. There were also others who refused to go with him and refused to believe in vampires. He did not linger and try to get them involved. He needed to talk to someone about it.
“Please be free,” Xander said as he dialed her number. “Please don’t be in the bathroom, or in the middle of a complicated spell, or locking lips with Kennedy.”
“Hello?” Willow’s voice came through on the other end.
“Will, thank God,” Xander greeted. “You’re a sound for sore ears.”
“Xander? What’s wrong?”
“Had a little recruitment trouble,” Xander said as he sat down on the edge if the inflatable mattress that he had been using as a bed.
“What kind of trouble?” Willow asked.
“She knows what she is. She knows what she can do. She believes in vampires. She has seen them and killed a few. After her first hunt she had a bit of a freak out and she wants out.”
“Oh Xander, it’s not your fault,” Willow said in her most sugary sweet tone. “I know you tried your best.”
“I just can’t let her go,” Xander said. He explained about how he wanted to help Lyra realize her potential and help train her to be her best. “I just don’t get it.”
“Maybe there is a spark.”
“Will, I am not that horny.”
“Not that kind of spark you Slayerphile.” Willow sounded almost disgusted with him. “A different kind of spark like a mentor and apprentice spark. You feel like you should be her Giles.”
“Her Giles?” Xander blinked. “First of all I am not a Watcher. Second of all I lead teams of Slayers.”
“But this is the first time you felt such a connection?”
“Pretty much.”
“Maybe she felt such a spark with you. You just have to give her a little more time. Don’t crowd her. Give her room. Let her know you are there for her, without being there.”
“You are right,” Xander said. “Thank you. You always know what to say.”
“You have done the same for me, and beyond,” Willow said and Xander was certain she was smiling. “Is there anything else? Do you need my help with hour math homework?”
“Nah,” Xander felt himself grin. “I’ll just copy the answers off you tomorrow at lunch. Take care, Will.”
“Call me anytime,” Willow said before she hung up.
“Now I know what to do,” Xander said after he slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Next time I see Lyra I will let her know. I’ll apologize for pushing her. The only problem is he didn’t know where she would be. Wait a second he did know. When he drove her back the other night she called her friend and said that she was going to a place called Geckos on Friday. He will find out where Geckos is and see if he could find Lyra and speak with her.
-
The driving beats and rhythm of the music made Charley feel like his insides were pulsating. It was hard to just simply walk through the nightclub without wanting to break into a dance. He had selected clothes that would fit for the scene. He chose dark jeans, a simple black shirt and his trench coat. He placed his favorite pair of sunglasses on top of his head. He had long switched from the pair that covered most of his face to something smaller and more fitting for the current decade.
“Hey there,” one of the club girls said as Charley walked past her. Her bleached blond hair was styled in multiple braids. She wore an outfit that looked like it was a combination of short leather miniskirt and what appeared to be a short cut purple tube top that showed the bottom of her abs and the silver ring in her naval. “Come here often? I think not. I’m always here.”
“Just looking for someone,” Charley said as he shoved past her.
She grabbed his arm. “Can I be that someone?”
“Sorry,” he wrenched his arm free. He did not have time to deal with loose women looking for a one-night stand.
He first sought out teenage girls with the underage stamp on the backs of their hands. Then when he found one he checked to see if her hair was similar to Lyra’s, and then tried to see if she was Lyra.
“Whoops,” a young guy nearly crashed into Charley. “Kind of tight tonight.” He had strawberry blond hair that was styled into one of those fauxhawks.
“Sorry,” Charley said.
“The fault lies with me,” the young man said as he maid his way to one of the table’s where four other teens had gathered. Three of them were women, and to Charley’s surprise and glee was Lyra.
“You know Lyra?”
“Yup,” the guy said. “One of my girlfriend’s closest friends. Come on over.”
“Thanks,” Charley said and followed the guy back to the table.
“Hey, Lyra,” the teen said as he sat down. “Someone wants to speak with you.”
Lyra looked up. Whatever she thought of Charley she did not display it in her face. “Hi.”
“Can we talk alone?” Charley asked.
“Place is pretty crowded,” one of the other girls said. She was African-American and had her long hair set into a single braid.
“It’s okay, Ronnie,” Lyra said as she stood up. She headed over to where Charley was. “What?”
“This way,” Charley said and lead Lyra away from her friends. The two of them brushed past two men that had something off about them, something chilling. Charley noticed that Lyra was also staring at them. She watched as they went to her friends’ table.
“What is it?” Lyra asked. She didn’t sound annoyed to see Charley. “Was it about the last night we met. I’m sorry I freaked out like that.” She ran her hand through her hair. “Looking back on that I must have looked like whiny little brat who was afraid to break her nails.”
“That was perfectly natural,” Charley said. “But you know those things are out there. You might not want to go into offense but you will need defense. The gifts I have been giving you will help and so will this.” He handed her a round tortoiseshell compact that was the size of the palm of her hand. “It’s empty save for the mirror. You can put whatever you want in the bottom. It can be lip gloss, it can be blush, anything, but if you feel that someone might be a vampire or those vampiric demons then use that on them.”
“Thank you.” She placed the compact in her pocket. “At least I know they exist and how to avoid them.”
“Forewarned is Forearmed,” Charley told her. “Peter Vincent taught me that.”
“You met him?” Lyra asked. “Before he went crazy?”
Charley closed his eyes and cringed. “He did not go crazy.” Everyone thought he was responsible for the death of Alex. They also pinned the death of Louie on Peter and accused him of dragging out Richie’s corpse. They even managed to get the cops to believe that Peter had also killed an art student and two workers from a bowling alley. “The real murderers are still out there.”
“How can you be so sure?” Lyra asked.
“It’s complicated.” He could not tell her the truth. “I have to go.”
“Charley, wait,” Lyra held out her hand. “Thank you.”
“Your welcome.” He smiled at her before he left.
-
“Some places are different and yet some are the same,” Xander said as he fumbled through the crowds. He tried to dance through, although he knew he didn’t impress anyone. Even when he was a teenager his dancing was not the most impressive of course back then he thought it was great.
He just had to find Lyra. He even resorted to asking people if they saw her based on description or name. Some people directed him and some of those directions were legit, because he gradually came across her sitting alone at a table.
“Xander,” she seemed to be a bit shocked to see him.
“Lyra, I know you are pissed off at me, and rightfully so and you probably wish to never see me again.”
“Not really,” Lyra said and glanced at the ground. “But-“
He cut her off. “I know you don’t want to be a Slayer and you wish vampires were not real and I understand you don’t want to go around hunting and killing them. I pushed you too hard. You still have plenty of potential and I hate to see you not harness that, but it is your life not mine. If you wish to speak with me you know my number. I just wanted to apologize.” He waited for her to answer. While he was talking he had noticed the panicked look on her face and how she kept looking down.
“Found it,” the voice belonged to a girl and it came from the floor next to Lyra. A young African-American girl stood back up, held up the dime that had dropped on the floor and then gave a nervous glance towards Xander. “Who is this crazy fool?”
“The lord of the cretins rises again,” Xander said. “Lyra, I’m sorry. I had thought you were alone.”
“You thought she didn’t have any friends?” the other girl looked at Xander as if he was the stupidest person on the planet and he felt that way.
“That’s not what I mean,” Xander tried to explain.
“Xander, relax,” Lyra held up her hands. “Just don’t say anything about you know what to Ace, Tyler or Cheryl.”
“Say what?” a Hispanic teen age boy jogged up to them.
“Nothing,” Lyra said.
“Lyra, you actually believe and going along with what this guy says?” The girl asked while she pointed at Xander with her thumb.
“What is going on?” the boy asked.
“Nothing, Ace,” Lyra said. “Have you seen Tyler or Cheryl?”
“Big line at the bar,” Ace said as he pointed at the direction to the nearest bar. “Even for water and Cheryl is still with those two guys.”
“She’s been gone for an hour,” the other girl said.
“She still is gone?” Another boy asked. He wore a crisp white shirt and jeans and had his hair sticking up. This had to be Tyler. “I’m going to go find her.”
“Uh, Tyler?” Ace tried to get his attention. “Can I have my water?”
“Sure,” Tyler said as he handed the clear plastic glass to his friend. “Where are those guys?”
“What guys?” Xander asked.
“Why the heck is it your business?” the other girl asked.
“Ronnie, please,” Lyra told her and turned to Xander. “Some strange guys who say they can get anyone to a VIP lounge where people can win tickets to the Mullo Strix show.”
“The magician?” Xander asked. He had a seen a special of on TV. Strix was becoming a more popular magician than Chriss Angel or David Blaine.
“Those two guys are coming this way,” Tyler said. He waved his hand around. “Hey over here.”
Two men approached them. Both were tall. One had his hair cut short. The other had his long hair gathered into a ponytail. Both were dressed in suits that were more fitting for Crocket and Tubbs.
“Can we help you, kids?” The one with the shorter hair asked.
“Yeah,” Tyler asked and got into his face. “Where is Cheryl?”
“Cheryl?” The two men just stared at each other.
“You know,” Tyler said as he pointed to his hair. “She’s sixteen years old with bright red hair and freckles, warm brown eyes, cute little nose and a laugh that is almost as musical as a flute.”
“Oh the one who was very excited about the raffle?” the man with the long hair asked. “The raffle has yet to take place. We can take you to her.”
“Yeah you can,” Tyler said. He turned back to the others. “I’m not leaving until I find her.”
“Should we go with him?” Ronnie asked as the two guys lead Tyler away. Ace just shrugged and Lyra had their backs towards them while she was staring into a compact.
“Xander,” she whispered.
“What is it?” Ronnie asked. She also looked into the compact and then back at the two guys. “They don’t have any-“ Lyra placed a hand across her mouth.
“They don’t have any what?” Ace asked.
“Tickets,” Xander said. He realized that those two strange men were vampires and thus did not cast any reflections. “The raffle is a sham.”
Lyra rose to her feet. “I’m going after them.”
“Me too,” Ronnie added.
“No,” Xander said the same time as Lyra.
“I know what they are,” Ronnie said.
“Scam artists,” Ace said with a nod. “We all know what they are now.”
“I want to help,” Ronnie said with determination in her voice.
“You guys can help by finding management,” Xander said. “Inform as many as you can about the scam and then leave.”
“Not safe?” Ronnie asked.
“Exactly,” Xander told her.
Xander and Lyra searched for the two vampires. They were not too hard to find. They were already walking up the stairs to the VIP lounge with Tyler following close behind.
“So what’s the plan?” Lyra asked.
“Don’t have one,” Xander admitted. He didn’t think he would of come across vampires at this club. He should have known better considering how many times the bloodsuckers appeared at the Bronze.
“We get find Cheryl, get her and Tyler out of there and kill any vampires that get in the way?” Lyra asked.
“Yeah, that’s the plan.”
“Hold it,” a tall and beefy looking bouncer blocked them. “Do you have any passes to get in here?”
“I got one,” Xander said as he pulled out the rosary he kept in his pocket and held it out in front of the bouncer. The man did not budge. He did not even raise an eyebrow.
“You have to have complete faith,” Lyra said.
“No solicitors,” the bouncer said.
“What about scammers?” Xander asked as he reached for something else in his pocket. “There are people cheating other people out of their good hard money by holding a phony raffle up there.” He put on the ring and held up his hands. “Now I know we are not real cops, but all we want to do is gather information. Find out what is really going on and let you know.”
“How do I know you are telling the truth?” the man asked in a dull and sleepy tone. He was blinking.
“If we are lying you just have a couple of Salahis on your hands,” Xander said as the jewel in the ring kept changing color, but if we are right then we save your club a possible lawsuit.”
“And if it shuts down you will have a lot of disappointed people,” Lyra said. “Plus you would be out of a job.”
“Can’t have that,” the bouncer said. He was half asleep. “I’ll give you ten minutes.”
“That was easy,” Lyra said as she and Xander walked past him and up the stairs.
“I’ll let you in on the secret later,” Xander said. He knew she was going to be pissed when she found out he had used it on her parents, and right now she needed to focus her energy on fighting.
There were two more guards at the top of the stairs. “You can’t come in here.” One of them said.
“Really?” Xander asked and held up the cross. He did not waist a second and pressed it against one of their chests. Smoke rose from the impact.
The two vampires shifted their faces into their grotesque mugs and growled.
Lyra kicked one in the gut and sent him flying through the door while Xander fished out his stake and slammed it into the vampire’s chest. He followed after Lyra into the room.
There were dead and drained bodies on the floor with bite marks on their necks. There were also a few knocked out vampires on the floor. Lyra could not have done all of that within a few seconds.
There were several vampires still standing. Half of them were trying to hold down Tyler while the other half went after Lyra and Xander.
“I’m unarmed,” Lyra said as she ducked the advance of one vampire, punched another in the face and kicked another one.
“Hold them off,” Xander said as he dodged another vampire. He spun around and staked another. He caught sight of a small wooden side table that held several glasses. “Get the table.” He felt two hands grab onto his shoulders. Xander turned around and tried to stake the vampire but the demon had ducked. Xander tried again but his foe kept darting away.
There was a splintering crunch as Lyra had thrown one of the vampires onto the table with enough force to break it. She snapped off a leg and broke it in half. Two vampires came toward her. She staked one and while another dodged her she was able to kick it’s legs out from under him and stake him as well.
“Running out of friends,” Xander said as he tried to stake his foe again and missed.
“Doesn’t matter,” the vampire said. “She still lives.”
“Who is she?” Xander asked.
“Do you think I’m stupid?” The vampire asked. His eyes widened as he fell forward.
Xander held out the stake and once the vampire had landed on it turned to dust. “No I think your dead.” He looked up, expecting Lyra but instead saw Tyler. The young man had bruises but he was otherwise fine.
“Thanks,” Xander said and glanced around the room. The only vampires that were left were unconscious.
“No problem,” Tyler said. “These freaks won’t tell me where Cheryl is.”
“We’ll find her,” Xander told him. “But first we have to take care of this mess.”
“Through the chest?” Tyler asked.
“Through the heart,” Lyra corrected him as she gave him the second stake she had made.
They shoved the wooden weapons into the chests of the vampires on the floor and looked around for Cheryl. There was no one else there.
“Where is she?” Lyra asked in a worried tone.
“I’m not sure,” Xander said. “The one thing I know is that we have to get out of here.”
“Not without Cheryl,” Tyler said.
“She isn’t here,” Xander said. “There is a possibility she could have escaped.” He knew that was slim to none, but he had to convince the kids to get out of there and he wasn’t going to use the ring on them.
“She’s fast,” Lyra said. “Always winning the track and field meets.”
“She has to be okay,” Tyler said. “She has to be.”
“Let’s go before we all get into trouble,” Xander said as he escorted the two teens out of there.
-