Spike always knew he'd die one
day; die for real, die forever. Like everyone else he did his best to put it off
as long as possible. Unlike the humans he spent most of his time with he knew
exactly where he was going - straight back to Hell where he belonged. It didn't
matter how 'good' he was or how many people he saved or different he seemed from
other vampires; he was damned, pure and simple. And nothing he did was ever
going to change that fact. That wasn't what bothered him.
What bothered him was spending the last years of his life leashed in by a piece
of fucking human technology. It kept him from really letting lose and performing
his function to the fullest. After all every vampire knew you only had so long
to kill and maim before your number was up. You had to make the most of it. And
to do that you had to find that fine
line between all out slaughter and the more subtle forms of dealing death.
That's what made a really successful vampire and up until the government had
muzzled him Spike had been one successful vampire.
He licked his lips in fond remembrance of his first kill; that would be William.
Angel had given the humans some song and dance about the demon not getting your
soul just your memories. What a load of crap but then he'd been trying to get
into the Slayer's bed and
using the old soft sell. It was true; Spike hadn't gotten William's soul. No,
that had gone straight to Hell where poor William was even now writhing in
eternal torment. Because like every other person who became a vampire, his last
act had been committed willingly; William drank Drusilla's blood, swallowed it
all down and didn't spit it out. The Powers That Be did not make allowances for
digestive reflexes. Hell they didn't even make allowances for age; witness the
Anointed One.
Spike took a long pull from his bottle of whiskey. He'd killed quite a few
children in his time. He used to scare the Nibblet with stories about how he'd
done it but he'd never damned a child's soul to Hell by making one a vampire. He
sighed forlornly, another goal shot. Well 'no use crying over spilt milk'. He
did his best.
He encouraged Dawn's more anti-social tendencies, but subtly. There wasn't much
he could do about Dawn; like him she didn't have a soul. Unlike him when she
died she wouldn't be going anywhere but 'poof'. Not much fun in that but she
could still cause trouble. Truth be told, he really was fond of the girl. Well
as fond as a soulless demon could be of anything. He thought of her as his
little gadfly buzzing about and occasionally biting. She'd get better at that as
she got older, her ability to cause trouble expanding exponentially. She'd
probably break up a few marriages, stab a few backs, probably stop short of
murder though. Oh well, he smiled, the little imp.
If he was a betting demon, and he was, he would place his money on Willow for
the Big M. He was and always had been very careful of her. He patiently built
the illusion that he found her use of magic worrisome and possibly dangerous. He
would warn the others about her
use of spells, but always just a little too late for them to stop her. The day
Tara showed up he'd torn his crypt apart. He was sure he'd lost her but then
Glory came along and all was right with his world again. Of course everyone was
worried about Willow and her magic but well, Dawn needed protecting and the
'ends justify the means.' He loved that phrase. It made a demon's job so much
easier. He knew he had her the night she brought the Slayer back from the dead.
It would take far better people than her friends to bring her back from the
Darkness. And the truth be told, far more interested ones as well.
Rupert was a write off. Word on the street was that his soul was signed sealed
and delivered. No point in going after a done deal. Besides, out of sight, out
of mind. And while he enjoyed tormenting the Slayer, playing the tortured demon
soul in love, she too was off limits. Once a soul made it to Heaven it was game,
set and match. Add to that the fact that her dear, dear friends had dragged her
kicking and screaming from her eternal reward, well, she would have to cause
World War III before her final judgment could be reversed. He was only biding
his time anyway.
Of course if he wanted a sure bet on homicide there was always Anya. Again, no
chance of getting her soul damned, she'd done that herself when she accepted
D'Hoffryn's offer. Still, as a human she was so bloody annoying that there was a
good chance that some poor sod would kill her and buy himself a one way ticket
to darkness. She wasn't much fun though. He couldn't really push her buttons.
She knew exactly what he was doing. Hey, they were demons, causing strife and
grief is what they did. She worked on breaking up Xander's life long friendship
with Willow. He worked on everyone else. They all thought Anya didn't know she
was annoying. She knew, she revelled in it, like him she was stuck and bored and
knew it was only a matter of time until her number was up. He had a grudging
respect for her. She didn't have a lot to work with and yet she managed to cause
an almost constant level of discomfort.
They had a good cop, bad cop act going where the Scoobies were concerned. He
played to the crowd while she moved behind the scenes. He shrugged. It wasn't
the level of damage that either one of them was used to causing but, hey, you
worked with the tools you had. The only thing that kept them from going right
around the bend with sheer boredom was the whelp. When it came to Xander, they
had a friendly little rivalry.
* * * * * * * *
The first time Spike saw the boy he damn near came on the spot. With Angel
holding the twisting little morsel's neck Spike had all the time in the world to
breathe in the heady aroma of fear, anger, betrayal and just a hint of arousal;
and underneath all that was something else, something old and strong, primal and
predatory. It was glorious, almost sublime. All that emotion and from someone
fresh out of childhood too, Spike knew what that meant, a nasty home life, maybe
even abuse. This boy would make a wonderful vampire, the wounded ones always
did. Still, Spike was intrigued by that Other that he smelled. He decided to be
patient. It was the right decision.
The years wandered on and Spike played his subtle games with the Scoobies but he
devoted the lion's share of his attention to Xander. Anya twisted his thoughts
and Spike played decoy for the demoness. Of course, being a demon, he betrayed
her in the end, ruining her wedding day by calling in a favor from a friend.
She'd been spitting mad but played the tragic bride to the hilt. She gave in
with ill grace but knew that she'd lost, as had every demon present that day.
Spike made sure that Xander would never marry her now. She hadn't liked that at
all but she painted a smile on her face and hissed a polite congratulation to
the vampire and bided her time.
* * * * * * * * * *
Spike flung his bottle against the stone angel guarding the graves. He was
waiting for his Nummy to come to him. They were going hunting again tonight.
Over the years, it had taken a great deal of work on the vampire's part to find
out about the Hyena, even more to slowly coax it forth but his patience was
marvellously rewarded. What started in the basement with whispered inducements
in the boy's ear while he slept now ended with howls of mutual delight as they
fucked.
* * * * * * * * *
The first thing he did after the wedding was to grudgingly console the
bewildered young man. It took months of playing the Slayer obsessed vampire to
plant the seed that 'yes, perhaps vampires can love'. He timed Buffy's dismissal
of him almost perfectly. She 'dumped' him right before the wedding putting him
in the perfect position to commiserate with the now single young man. From
consolation had come tolerance and then friendship and then 'love'. And all the
while Spike carefully called to the ancient spirit within the boy. Since the
hyena floated closer to the surface when Xander was drinking, that was the route
the vampire took. They would go out, play some pool, have a few beers and the
blonde would spend the evening 'accidentally' brushing up against the boy.
The first time the boy actually snarled at him to 'knock it off' he was
thrilled. It wasn't just anger he smelled, he saw the flash of green in the
boy's eyes. Spike acted offended. They argued, Xander took a swing at him and
knocked him to the ground. Spike bit him on the shoulder revelling in the pain.
The bouncer threw them both out on their arses but it was worth it. Xander
hauled him up by his duster and outlined in great detail what he would do to the
blonde if anything like that ever happened again. Spike dropped his head in
apparent submission. That was the first time they kissed.
Hyena Xander threw him up against the wall of the alley and attacked his mouth,
biting and licking at the resulting blood. Spike nearly howled in frustration
when the boy came to his senses in shock. Xander stammered an apology reaching
his hand out for understanding. Spike timed his flinch with precision. After all
he was a chipped vampire incapable of
defending himself against rapacious humans. Xander was horrified.
Now it was Spike who needed consoling and Xander who comforted him. More
apparent submission on Spike's part and a few well-placed catches in his voice,
as he explained about Angelus and the horror of his turning. Soon Xander was
taking a blushing virgin vampire to
his bed. From that point on, it was only a matter of time until the Hyena was
making an almost nightly appearance.
It lay just below the surface now colouring every thing, every thought and
action. Buffy made a harsh comment to the vampire and his pet's eyes flashed.
Xander ventured an opinion that Willow dismissed and there was the hint of fang
in his smile. And they never noticed, not the Slayer nor the Witch. Giles might
have noticed but he'd abandoned his flock to the wolves' months ago. Only Anya
knew what he was doing. He smirked at her while the others were busy dealing
with the latest emergency and ignoring the crisis in their midst. She smiled
with frozen politeness. Demons were such sore losers.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
He sniffed the air scenting the approach of his pet. He really was fond of the
boy almost doting on him like a Childe. If all went well, tonight Xander would
make his first human kill and they would enjoy a meal together. The Hyena was
much stronger then it had been all those months ago, gaining in power all the
time. Soon it would be strong enough to hold sway permanently unless it was
exorcised. There was no one left among the Scoobies strong enough to do the
deed. And even if there were, well, Spike smiled to himself, the chances of it
being successful were very slim. No, it was much more likely that the exorcism
would kill
the boy.
No, Spike had it all worked out. The Hyena would get stronger and stronger until
the rest of the gang could not help but notice. They would try an exorcism and
fail. The boy would die or they would be forced to kill him. Perhaps, he would
manage to kill a few of them first. Either way the result would be a dead and
damned Xander baring a miracle, and there were bloody few of those.
Spike smiled dotingly. A prudent demon plans for his future. After all,
eventually Spike's number would be up. It happened even to the best of them and
then it was back to the Pit. And he really was fond of that boy.
The End