Part Three

It was a mirage she had noticed the first time that they had used the love candle, the way the flickering light danced across his chest creating the illusion that he was breathing. Willow lay there contemplating the candlelit scene, leaning her head into her hand and watching him drift of into rest.

Half slumbering, Rupert stirred a bit and reached down to pull the coverlet up over his naked body.

Willow ran a fingertip along his jaw. "Why did you do that?"

"Mmmmm... do what?"

"Cover up. It's not like it will make you warm."

Rupert turned his head toward her touch. "Habit, I suppose." He murmured opening his eyes to meet hers. "Go to sleep."

"It's not really 'sleep', is it?" Willow said as a half question, half statement. "It's more like, I don't know... unconscious."

"When our demon rests we shut down."

"Hummm.. okay." She raised up, plumped a pillow into a backrest and sat up in bed.

Giles was rapidly waking up, which was something that he did not want to do. "Willlooow..." He grumbled. "...it's time to sleep."

"So our demon controls us, right?"

"Yes."

Willow grinned wickedly. "Demon bad."

"That goes without saying." Rupert sighed. "Where is this discussion going?"

"I'm just trying to figure it out, Lover."

"Figure out what?"

"This." She said giving her hand a wave around their bedroom. "That." She added pointing to the candle. "Us." She finished, her finger fluttering back and forth between them. "We shouldn't want any of this. We shouldn't give a damn. But.."

"But you're content with the arrangements." Rupert interrupted. "And so am I, so..."

Willow cut him off. "Way past 'content'. I'm... uh... happy."

Giles rolled his eyes. "Very good, may we rest now?"

"But you're just 'content'?"

He could see that this was going to be a long conversation. With a "cluck" noise he raised up and retrieved his cigarettes and lighter from the nightstand. He blew out a stream of smoke toward the ceiling and gave his answer to everything. "You're female."

Willow blinked. "You noticed."

Giles gave her a Ripper grin. "We no longer have to suppress our base instincts. Have you noticed that also?"

"Ummm... you could say that." She answered, punctuating the words with a flick of her tongue across her lips.

"So you instinctively covet the luxury and security of lair, mate and comfort." He stretched out and gave his hand a toss. "Being male I enjoy it also, but it's not that important to me."

Willow stiffened. "So I'm not that important, huh?"

Giles sat up. "I didn't say that! I merely pointed out that the accumulation of material comforts is not high on my list."

"Fuck you."

"What did you just say? I don't think I heard you?" Rupert growled.

"Yeah you heard it." Willow snapped. "But maybe I should have said if you don't like it you can go fuck Wesley again!"

"If you're ever off his cock, I just might do that!"

Willow morphed. "Like I have a choice! He's my sire remember?"

Rupert tossed the coverlet back and stormed out of the bed. "As if I'm not reminded of that fact every goddamned time he darkens my door!"

"So what's your excuse?!" Willow shouted as she crawled down to the foot of the bed. "Why do ya let him? How come ya don't just break his neck and stake him?"

"Because of THIS!" Giles thundered sweeping his arm across the top of the dresser sending their trinkets crashing across the room. "And THIS!" He spit as a floor lamp became a javelin. "And every other..." The dresser came tumbling over. "...piece of fucking shit I'm ALLOWED to possess! All courtesy of Mistress Rita... all hinged on allowing her Acolyte to toy with me!" He slammed a fist into his palm. "My occupation! My lair! My belongings! My existence!"

"You really got this 'me-me-me' thing going."

" 'My' female."

Willow's lips formed into a soundless snarl. "So I'm just... what? Right up there with your blue shirt and your CD player?" She leaned over the side of the bed and began to collect her clothes. "Which, by the way you said you 'males' don't care about so I guess that tells me where I stand."

"Now where do you think you're going?" Giles barked.

"I'm gonna go kill something."

"Don't be an idiot! It's midmorning for Christ's sake!"

"S-s-s-ssoooo?!" She boiled out.

"Well, there's always that risk of you becoming a blazing, red headed torch." Giles sniped.

"What do you care?"

"I... I..." Giles stopped and turned away as the anger ebbed, replaced by the empty void within him. "...damn it!"

Willow pulled her jeans on and shot him 'the look', vampire style. "You can't even say it, can you?"

"You're mine!"

"Here we go again."

Rupert's eyes darted back and forth between Willow and the destruction he had wrought. "I can't 'care'... but neither can you." His gaze settled on Willow. "We do not have true 'care' in us anymore than we have or 'love' or 'life' or 'tenderness'. We only have the peculiar equivalent of these emotions that hell allows us."

The words cut into Willow. "So you don't give a damn about me? You don't love me." Her vampire nature dissolved and an expression of painful confusion appeared on her face. "Why? I thought that we were.. we had.."

"I want you. I crave you. Your companionship is my anchor, the pleasure you give me is infinite and because of these things I prostitute my pride to keep you content." He declared coming toward her. "These are selfish emotions justified by selfish reason, but we are selfish creatures." Rupert took her face within his hands and drew her eyes upward to his. "Search within yourself and tell me... tell me the truth - do you feel the same?"

Willow neither pulled away from his grasp or looked aside from his searching gaze as she weighed her feelings. Was it love or lust, care or covet, the desire to give freely or simple self preservation?

..."Hear me Willow, if you want to survive you must accept everything for what it is now, not for what you remember it to be."...

Mistress Rita's warning from months ago whispered through Willow's mind and jelled into comprehension. It shattered the illusion she held of their pairing but then took the shards and reforged them in the furnace of her turned nature. There was no heart, no heat, no altruism - nothing but the driving desire to keep what she called her own..

And if this was the vampire version of love.. so be it. He was hers.

"You're mine." She growled pressing up against him. "And you're never leaving me."

Giles swung her back onto the bed. "That's right babe. We're going together, just the two of us. Fuck this servitude! Name the place and we leave tonight right after Mistress's soiree."

"Vancouver. Always wanted to go to Vancouver." Willow said as she wiggled back out of her jeans. Her demeanor went to one of pure seduction as she patted the bed beside her. "Speaking of travel... lay down Lover. I wanna take a ride."

******

"I thought Buffy made you quit."

"I'm thinking." Came Rees's non-answer as he sat leafing through one of Angel's sorcery reference books.

Riley came through the doorway rubbing his chin. "What? A whole carton's worth of thinking? You can cut the smoke with a knife in here." He wrinkled his nose. "Nice ashtray. Remind me not to eat here."

Rees flicked an ash into the butt filled salad bowl at his elbow. "How's Buffy?"

"She cried herself to sleep." Riley said as he sat down across from Tom. "She finally laid down, curled up with her back to me and cried." He reached over and opened Angel's bulging file on Rita & Wesley. "We've been together almost two years and I've never seen her cry..."

"It's good that she's not holding it in."

"...Not when Willow and Rupert vanished. Not when her mom nearly died in that car wreck. So what gives? I thought that she and Angel were ancient history."

"Put a lid on it mate." Rees muttered. "Some things are never 'history'."

Riley flipped the file closed with a snap. "Has she told me everything?"

"I doubt it." Rees answered with an exasperated snort. He straightened up in his chair and gave his finger a sharp jab toward Riley. "And I'm not betraying the trust, so don't ask."

"I'm not asking you to." Riley bristled.

"And you do have enough brains to realize this is not the time to ask her?"

"What kind of an idiot do you think I am?"

Rees wrinkled his brow as if in thought. "I'll have to think about that one for awhile, then go find a decent thesaurus. But in the meantime, hand me that folder."

"Xander's right, you are a smartass." Riley said without any humor, as he gave the folder a slide.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black." Rees quickly noted. "Now.. I am glad you're finally up and moving. You have any thoughts about what we discussed?"

"The strike on that distributing place?" Riley questioned, pausing as Tom nodded his affirmative. "Well, I still think we should do the recon tonight and then hit it tomorrow night."

Tom dumped the folder's contents across the desk. "I agree, but damn it... I wish we had some more to go on than these scrawled bits and pieces." He began to paw through the papers looking for Angel's report from the year before. "Here we go: Westfall Distributing, 907 Commons Street, West. Hummmm... it might do us well if a pair of young, strapping fellows went there looking for work this afternoon."

"Yeah, Xander and I can go over there and fill out an app." Riley speculated. "Maybe go before noon, that way we could wander back to the dock area around lunchtime and talk to the employees, that way we could get a feel for the place."

"That would help and hopefully Lockley will get back with us today on what she could find out about these people down at the cop shop." Rees added. He shook his head and spread out the three crime scene photos Kate had left there. "Too bad that Angel wasted time speculating as to who or what 'R.G.W.' was. "

"I still think it looks like a 'G' not an ampersand."

Rees shook his head. "No, it reads 'R and W' - Rita and Wesley, hindsight is twenty-twenty. This was their little message proclaiming to all that a strike was in the cards." He began the shuffle more papers.

"A strike against his old boss." Riley muttered, reaching over and pulling a large envelope out of the pile. "First magic to make him an easy mark then they stake him... what's this?"

"The rest of Rita's drawings which Angel and Rupert found in her lair." Rees answered, unfolding the previously chosen portrait of Wyndam-Pryce. "I took this one out to show you and Anya what he looks like in human visage, the others were not needed."

Riley coolly assessed the remaining drawings. "He woke up, tore that guy's throat out then got it on.... that's vampires for you."

"He did the same thing back in London when he massacred the greater part of the Wyndam-Pryce clan." Then within his mind, something began to nag at Rees. "Let me see those again."

Riley handed them over.

"Mmmmmm..."

"What?"

Tom's eyes darted back and forth between the drawings and the crime scene photos. "Mmmmmm..." He sounded again as he realized that something was not fitting. He remembered that Mr. Giles had reported that Wesley was a "J" cutter and that fact was clearly shown on the drawing of the first kill but not the photos. Wesley could have taught himself control, that was a definite possibility - but again... His forehead wrinkled up as he made a motion to Riley. "...stand up."

"I can hear the wheels turning, what are you thinking?" Riley questioned as he stood.

With a frown still on his face, Rees came around the desk. "At this point I'm just speculating, but..." He turned to the sound of someone coming up the stairs and shouted through the door. "Whoever is out there... come in here for a minute."

Xander stuck his head in and was immediately taken by the shoulder and led over to stand beside Riley. He blinked a couple of times and gave Riley a questioning look."

Riley tossed a hand in the air. "Hell if I know."

Rees scanned the images on the desk. "All right mates.. we're going to do a little play acting here. Riley put your arms behind your back, Xander you stand to his left."

"Sure." Xander shrugged.

"First we will assume that the male contained the victim." Rees said, coming up off center behind Riley, locking his arms behind his back and bending him forward. "All right.. luckless bugger contained and then, being the gentleman that he is, we'll also assume he bent the vessel forward to offer the lady the first bite."

"Makes sense. But what are you getting at?" Riley asked.

"Xander, grab him and bite him on the neck."

Harris took a step away. "Huh?!"

"Oh for God's sake... just pretend that you're the female vampire. I want to see the bite angle!" Rees barked.

"It's been fun, but I gotta go." Xander said with a bye-bye wave.

"HARRIS!"

At Tom's bellow, Xander grumbled something extremely vile under his breath and came back into position. "The crap I do... okay Riley... prepare to get bit!" He stopped mid-motion.. "And, I must point out that if either of you every mention this to anybody, living or dead I'm going to have to..."

Rees glared almost maniacally.

Riley sighed and shot Xander a 'hurry up' look.

"Biting." Xander backpedaled, leaning over and going through the motions of a vamp attack.

Tom noted the angle and repositioned himself against Riley. "Mmmmmm... bend your knees, make yourself shorter and try again." He smiled as Xander hunkered down and again took a snap at Riley's throat. "Very good. Now it seems that the male came around like this." He came around and down to take a mock mouthful.

"Cool. I've read about this." Anya chirped from her spot in the doorway. "There was this movie too, but Xander wouldn't let me rent it. Instead we got 'Red Hot Chain Gang Slu..."

"ANYA!" Xander interrupted.

"So can I watch?" She asked coming across the room and hopping up on the desk.

"There's nothing to watch." Rees said with a snort. "We're done... in more ways than one."

Anya looked disappointed. "So I missed it?"

Xander wrung out a nervous, high pitched laugh. "Hee, hee. Ah.. there was nothing to miss. Get that straight right now Anya, you missed nothing. We were just.. ah... we were.. okay Rees, what were we doing?"

Riley sat back down. "And what do you mean 'we're done in more ways than one'?"

Rees went back to the desk and handed Riley the photo of the neck wounds. "To get that angle on the left hand wound the female had to be petite." He then pointed toward the erotic rendering of Wesley's domination by Rita. "That shows her as a woman of average height, maybe a bit taller than average."

"Hey! We did this too." Anya volunteered much to Xander's dismay. "Except for the ripped clothes and.."

"That's wonderful news, when we get back to Sunnydale I'll have to see the home video." Rees interrupted. "Now back to the vampires. Not only is the female's mark wrong, but according to all we have seen and all that has been reported, this is not Wesley's style of attack either."

Riley braced his elbows on the desk and laid his forehead on his clasped hands. "So you're saying that 'R and W' does not mean Rita and Wesley?" He straightened up and hissed out a breath. "Come on Rees... they know Buffy, they knew Angel... who else would it be?"

With a grim expression Rees surmised. "Rupert and Willow."

Xander shook his head. "But Wesley was the one that came here this morning and then he rode off with that Rita vamp after she.. she staked... oh, you know." He clenched his fists. "Anyway it can't be Giles and Will, they weren't turned."

"Out of all that, the only thing we know for a undeniable fact is that Wesley was here this morning." Rees responded. He picked up his own sorcery book. "And not only does the initials on the 'calling card' fit but so does the casting which Angel was subjected too. He was tormented by apparitions and voices and this is not something just anybody can conjure..."

"Oh yeah!" Anya shouted. "That vision thing..."

"What now?!" Rees gritted out.

"That's why I came up here. Cordelia woke up with one of those and she sent me up here to get you guys."

Tom headed out the door, followed by Riley and Xander on his heels. "Why didn't you say something!"

"I forgot. Oh and she said she wants the aspirin out of the desk drawer." Anya explained to the empty office.

"About time... did you bring the aspirin?" Cordy whined as the three appeared downstairs.

"What happened?! What did you see?!" Tom asked at an uncomfortable decibel level.

"Aspirin." She muttered holding her hand out with the palm raised.

"What kind of vision?!" Riley also shouted.

Cordy came close to baring her teeth. "Of me going after all of you with a battle ax if you don't stop yelling and bring me something for my head."

"It won't open. Can I use the ax when you're done, 'cause this lid is on tight?" Anya said, coming down the stairs struggling with the child proof cap.

"Just give it to me." Cordelia groused. She snatched the bottle from Anya and poured two, then a third pill out and swallowed them dry.

Xander wrinkled his nose. "You want some water with that."

"Would that be too much to ask?" She shuddered back as the taste came back up her dry throat. She sat there for a long moment rubbing her hands back through her disheveled hair. "A painting again, just like last year. Flashes. There was a man locking the door and a bunch people partying."

The four exchanged glances.

"Well, that helps." Xander deadpanned handing Cordelia the glass of water.

"And a guy playing the piano with some ho wrapped around him."

"Did you recognize this place?" Tom asked softly.

"Ferns, lots of ferns and a black bar." Cordelia added. "It looked like an old gangster movie."

Riley came over and knelt beside her. "Old movie? Like an Al Capone flick?"

"And that guy playing the piano was in a tux and his clinging friend was wearing one of those flipper costumes."

Xander arched an eyebrow. "Flipper? She was dressed like a dolphin?"

"Flapper... 1920's flapper." Tom corrected.

"What-EV-er!" Cordy said sharply through her headache. "There was a bunch of people and some of them looked really, you know.. wicked and some of them looked like they were about half blasted and there was this little fingernail moon pattern on the carpet and the piano player was watching..." Her eyes got wide and she drew in a harsh, ragged breath.

Rees came quickly to her side. "Cordelia?"

Her breath came back out in a plea as the vision blasted through her denial. "Oh no... no, no-no-no-no-nooooo. The piano guy was Giles and the.. the... the..."

"Woman was Willow." Rees finished.

"Yeah." She whimpered. "And Wesley was there too. He and this dark haired woman were the ones telling the doorman to lock it up." She shook her head to clear it. "Last Call."

Anya cocked her head to one side. "Last huh?"

"The bar is closing and if you want another round it's your last chance." Xander explained.

Riley stood up. "But what's that go to do with anything?"

"I just get them, I don't translate them!" Cordy said too loudly for her head. "I mean, what is it with this Rita bitch? All I see is her stupid pictures!"

"She's a Guide." Rees answered with a shrug. "Protected and feted by all that is unholy. My guess is that her activities are cloaked by the old scratch himself."

Xander rubbed his hands together in false glee. "Oh, that's good. Any other happy ideas you want to share?"

"What's going on." Buffy asked from the bedroom archway.

Anya pointed toward Cordy. "Cordelia just had a vision of Giles and Willow in league with the devil. You want some lunch?"

Buffy's jaw dropped. "Say WHAT?!"

"Lunch, or would that be brunch?" Anya said with a blink. "It's after 11:00 you know."

"Oh for God's sake Anya!" Rees spit. He clenched his teeth and looked heavenward as if asking for deliverance before catching Buffy's eye. "Come in here and I'll clarify. In a nutshell pet, it's bad."

The next thirty minutes were spent in a high volume cussing and discussing of the theories, visions and possibilities. Buffy finally ended the conversation with a shouted. "I'll believe it when I see it!"

Tom stood and with a heavy sigh said. "Well pet, let's go see it then. Last year Cordelia's visions led them to a shop which sells Rita's artwork. So lets' say that you, me and Miss Chase go on over there and see if this is again the case."

"Dragon's Blood." Cordy confirmed. "Tacky little place that sells all that Gothic crap. That Dave guy that runs the place loaned Angel a book about that stuff Rita paints." She smiled a twisted smile. "He thinks I'm a demon and Angel flashed fang at him, so he's kinda scared of us."

"Splendid!" Rees interjected.

"I'm going too." Riley stated.

"No." Tom disagreed. "I need the three of you to start looking through everything that Angel has..." He stopped and cleared his throat before correcting himself. "...Angel had in his library. This Rita, this whore of Lucifer has to have an Achilles' heel and we need to find it. Any questions?" Rees then asked as he pulled his car keys out.

Buffy was already halfway up the stairs. "Let's go."

******

"Hey man, there's some people here to see ya."

Dave didn't even look up from his paper. "Tell 'em I'm busy, I'll get back to 'em later."

"I think you can fit us in." Rees said with a bit of threat in his voice.

"Hi Dave, remember me?" Cordy added with understated wickedness.

Buffy crossed her arms and looked around the office offering her two cents. "Nice sheep skull, you want a shepherd's to go with it?."

"Hey!" The clerk began only to have his boss wave him away. "Uh... it's okay Whiz, you wanna shut the door because.. uh... uh... hi guys..."

Cordy used the tip of her finger to clear a pile of papers from the only unoccupied chair in the room. "Ick! What's all over this chair? Like I'm going to sit in this thing." She said with disgust, then tossed her head toward Tom and Buffy. "These are my friends from out of town and they want to talk to you."

For a moment Dave stayed stuck in stammer mode. "Uh... uh... uh..." He cleared his throat and regrouped. "Eeee... where's your boss?"

The three stared at him.

Dave nervously folded his paper. "Oh yeah, it's daytime. I forgot that he's not too big on coming out in daytime. So what do you need and are your friends demons too?" He gave up a thin smile. "Just, you know out of curiosity 'cause I'm one curious dude."

Rees showed his teeth with a too broad grin. "Of course we are. I for one, am a Watcher demon. I like to watch humans get turned inside out and my friend here is a Slayer." He leaned toward Dave and winked. "And I'm sure I don't need to tell you what that means."

"Hi." Buffy deadpanned.

"Cool." Dave said just to say something. "Ah, you know this is really weird. I was going to call your boss tonight."

Tom's eyes narrowed. "Angel is no more. He was destroyed this morning by one of Rita's demonic minions."

"And that really has us pissed off." Buffy literally growled. "So talk fast. You got any info on this bitch?"

"M-m-mi-minion? Like she has.. you mean she is... like she's a... you know, a..."

Cordy filled in the blank. "Vampire. Real old one, like 2,000 years old, old. So you know anything about her new stuff?"

Dave nodded.

"SPEAK UP!" Rees commanded as he hit the desk with his fist.

The floodgates opened as Dave began to spill everything he knew. "I got a call yesterday from a friend of mine Flamer, he's on this committee that's putting on the Si-Fi Convention and he said that Rita's lawyer called them and said that Rita is going to be there if they didn't mind and of course..." He stopped to wheeze in a second breath. "...they said cool that would be great and then last night they met with her and she said that she's retiring but wanted to come and say adios to the fans."

Tom rubbed a fist into his palm. "When, where?"

"The Con starts tomorrow at the Convention Center but they are having this party tonight at 8:00 at the Hotel Inter-Continental for all the exhibitors that are in town." Dave pulled at his T-shit collar. "Flamer asked me if I wanted to go 'cause he owes me one from the time I... uh, never mind. I said 'sure man', but now I don't think I want to go if there are going to be real vampires there."

"They won't be there for long." Buffy declared she pulled a stake from her inner jacket pocket. "After I get there they are dust."

"How many tickets did your friend offer you?" Rees questioned.

Dave did not take his eyes off of Mr. Pointy. "Two."

"Call him back, get as many passes as you can out of him." Tom ordered. "We will be around to pick them up at 7:30."

"And find out what we should wear." Cordy piped in. "Is this dressy or formal or a 'come as you' are thing."

"One more item of note." Rees said, leaning over the desk. "If you even 'think' about betraying us I will take it quite personally. Is that clear?"

Dave nodded.

Buffy opened the door. "Let's get outta here."

As they left Dave raised a hand and weakly waved his fingers. "Bye."

******

Xander ran his fingers down the handout. "Wow! There's some real celebrities here. Si-Fi writers, movie-make up guys, artist types, actresses..." He arched both eyebrows. "Hey Riley, that blonde hottie from 'Terry, Vampire Assassin' is going to speak on Sunday. Maybe we can hang around and see her!"

Riley's head began to swivel around. "You think she's here now? Did you see last week's episode where she was wearing that see through red outfit and she had to jump..."

"Ahem!"

"..because I wasn't really watching it and I'd kinda like to know what happened." Riley hedged as Buffy tried to work up a glare. "You see, I was just channel surfing and happened to catch that one little part of it. Then I went on up thorough the channels to Headline News."

Buffy reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "S-s-s-sure you did."

"So now we know the truth!" Xander laughed. "Riley also appreciates that soft blue glow of mindless entertainment."

"Busted." Riley muttered.

"Entertainment?" Anya asked from her perch on a large suitcase. "You told me we watch it for 'research'."

"Entertaining research?"" Xander offered.

"Yeah, right." Buffy snickered. "We should call them up and tell them how it really is."

"Or maybe you should start slaying in a bikini." Riley said with as innocent of an expression as he could muster. "Terry does that.. or so I've 'heard'."

"Rita's not here, but they expect her to be fashionably late within the hour. Not as if that is a surprise, the sun is barely down." Tom announced as he and Cordelia came up to the group. He looked back and forth at his snickering crew. "Did we miss something?"

"Naaaa!" Buffy said with a shake of her head. "Except for the fact that Riley is into T & A TV."

"Well of course! Come on Buffy, he's a guy!" Cordy pointed out.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Next thing we know he'll be watching naked celebrity mud wrestling."

A flash of hopeful relief went through Rees as he listened to the exchange. Maybe Buffy was finally past the initial shock of Angel's destruction. He had been hesitant in bringing her along tonight for he was worried that she would lose control. But she had promised that she would be cool and this was, well he would take it as a good sign so he arched both eyebrows and worked up a grin. "Naked mud wrestling? Is there a problem with that, pet?"

"Quit calling me that." Buffy responded automatically.

Riley puffed out an impatient breath and brought the matter at hand back into play. "So we split up and wait on her?"

"Yes." Tom confirmed, as he leaned on the balcony railing. He unfolded a small map they had printed out from the hotel's web site and oriented it to match their position. "All right troops, if this is correct chances are that they will make their grand entrance through the front doors..."

As one they glanced over the railing into the lobby below.

"...Then they will continue through the lobby and most likely use the stairs. Rita is too cautious to allow herself to be trapped in an elevator."

"Too bad." Cordelia snotted. "If she did Buffy could just sit on top of the elevator and drop that icky bone thing on her."

Tom whirled around. "A Holy Relic is not a 'thing'!" He snapped. "Do you understand that concept Miss Chase? That Sister let us hold it, let alone take it with us, was a phenomenal indulgence! Is that clear?!"

Everyone shifted a bit on their feet.

"Uh.. not so loud Rees." Buffy hissed.

"I'll be as loud as I da..." Rees mouthed the rest of the statement and took a deep, controlled breath. From his jacket pocket he pulled a simple gold box embossed with the image of a pair of crossed candles and reverently held it up. "Saint Blaise, Patron of throat ailments; healer of man and beast; called on to intercede for protection against the wild creatures of the realm."

"Throats, beasts, creatures, it sure fits." Xander whispered. "But will it work? I mean, Angel had to see that text too and he never mentioned it in his notes."

"Angel didn't have this option." Rees flatly stated. "He wouldn't have been able to get within three meters of the reliquary much less hold the relic box." He re-pocketed the case and shut his eyes to offer a simple a thanksgiving prayer. "Thank you for the generosity of hundred year old Nuns."

Riley frowned as a thought hit him. "So Rita and her vamp entourage will be able to sense that you've got this on you?"

Anya wrinkled her nose. "I can feel it and I'm not demon anymore."

"That's weird." Buffy observed.

Cordelia counted off the facts on her fingers. "Anya, weird, duh."

"Yes they will sense it." Rees answered, ignoring the extraneous commentary. "That is why I will have to hide across the hotel until we have them cornered. The lesser minions should flee at the first inkling of its presence. But Rita, on the other hand, should find herself momentarily frozen by a Blessed power which is equal to her Infernal strength."

"And we touch her with it and 'snap, crackle, poof''! Bye-bye Guide!" Xander said with a triple snap of his fingers.

"So let's get into position." Rees began as he handed out the four gala tickets to Anya, Buffy, Cordelia and Riley. "Anya, you go back down to the lobby and find a spot where you can surreptitiously observe the arriving guests. Remember, the whole bleeding front of the place is glass so be careful. When you see them coming up the path I want you to simply walk back up here and join Buffy and Cordelia in the ballroom."

"So we go in and what, mingle?" Buffy asked through a curled lip.

"Yes pet, mingle. Be sociable. Pretend that you are into this subculture and find out anything else you can about Rita's business ventures."

"All right." Buffy said with a sigh. "Come on Cordy, let's be social."

Cordelia held up her hand as if asking to be called on in class. "Where are you guys going to be?"

"Riley and Xander will wait here for them to arrive. Then, if all seems to be going well I want Riley also to go on into the ballroom." Rees pointed at the map. "Xander.. I will be here in what is called the Rose Room. Come and get me and we will then make our way into the hallway beside the ballroom."

He pointed in turn at Cordy, Buffy, Riley and Anya. "Give them about three to five minutes to settle into the room and start to disperse. Then you will announce your presence to them. I want you to raise living hell - cause a commotion. That will be our signal to come running in with the weapons. Destroy her followers as the opportunity presents itself, but remember our main target is Rita."

"I'm impressed, Rees." Riley sniped only half in jest. "We might actually have a solid plan this time around."

"Just go. All of you, go." Tom said with a dismissing motion.

Xander leaned on the railing and called out to the departing Buffy and Cordy. "If Terry the Vamp Assassin is in there get me her autograph."

Anya stood and slid the suitcase full of weaponry toward the Watcher. "This is going to be fun!"

"Deliver me!" Tom groused heavenward as he turned and left. "Why didn't I become a grocer or a rugby player or a bricklayer? Hell no.. just had to sign up for this pack of...."

Riley laughed under his breath as Tom's commentary faded away with his footsteps. "He's something else. What I'm not sure, but definitely 'something else'."

"Welll.. he's not as smart as Giles was or as organized as Wesley, but he's okay." Xander appraised.

"Yeah, I never knew that Wesley but... I'm telling you man, I wish we had Giles up here with us and Rees coming in with the bad guys."

Xander nodded in agreement. "You got that right, pal. I don't know about you, but I'm man enough to say that the idea of Giles and Wes as vamps sends a bead of cold sweat right down the crack of my ass."

"What worries me more is the 'shoulds', 'ifs' and 'maybes' in this plan." Riley said with a frown. "We're going on one paragraph written 500 years ago by some alchemist guy who heard it all through the grapevine. Not the kind of intelligence report I like to stake everything on."

"Don't worry, if it goes sour we'll just punt - like we always do." Xander grinned. "It's our standard, plan 'B', works every time."

"I don't like playing it by ear because that's a good way to get killed." Riley huffed. The frown deepened on his face, he leaned over the railing and pointed toward Anya down below. "What's she doing?"

Xander took a look-see and grimaced at the sight of the ex-demon window shopping at the gift shop. "Oh Anya.. for crying out loud."

"Come on!" Riley hissed. "Position.. get into position!"

"I'll go get her." Xander sighed as he headed off in a trot down the stairs.

From the balcony Riley watched as Harris went up and tapped his companion on the shoulder. "She was the avenging scourge of man for how long?" He questioned dryly as Anya wasted time pointing at a pile of chic stuffed animals. Xander turned around and looked up at him with a exasperated toss of his hands.

At this, Riley was two seconds away from shouting something along the lines of "just buy her a goddamn bear" when he saw Xander grab her and whisk her through the gift shop doorway. Harris reappeared for a split second and pointed toward the lobby doors before sliding back into the shop.

"Damn." Was the only thought that crossed the ex-commando's mind as he glimpsed Rupert and Willow coming through the inner door. He dropped down to allegedly tie his shoe and counted off five seconds before risking a second look. No vampires - time to make a dash for the ballroom, but Xander was now a bare step inside the shop doorway making pointing and rising motions with his hands.

Riley pointed first toward his own chest then toward the ballroom.

Xander shook his head 'no' and again stepped out of view.

"What the hell?" Riley thought as Xander was slid out of the gift shop and motioned for him to come down to the lobby. He gritted his teeth and headed for the staircase.

Xander's greeting was completely unenlightening. "Give it about ten more seconds."

"What?!" Came Riley's condensed inquiry.

"They headed for the elevators." Xander said rapidly. "Just the two of them came up the sidewalk from out of nowhere and went straight for the elevators. It's a miracle they didn't see us."

"So much for all of them coming in as a pack." Riley spit. "So it goes to hell right off the bat.... Anya!"

Anya had moved away and was peeking around the corner toward the lift grouping. "It's okay.. they're gone. But two elevators are going up."

The three hustled around the corner and watched the indicator display. "Tenth floor, woman's fashions and broadswords.... a-a-a-nd fourteenth floor bowling accessories and lair decor." Xander joked. He jammed his hands in his back pockets. "Now what Kemosaube?."

"A fast recon." Riley answered. "You go up to the tenth, I'll go up to the fourteenth. Anya, go get Rees and tell him that something is going hinkey because they are not going to the ballroom. We'll meet him back at the top of the staircase in ten minutes."

Xander hit the call button. "We'll just do one sweep of the floors, look for room service deliveries of real bloody marys."

As the elevator doors opened, Anya nodded and left to find Tom. Xander and Riley stepped in and exchanged glances. "Do you have any?" Xander asked making a staking motion.

"No, it's all in the suitcase." Riley said in a worried tone. "We're just checking things out, be covert, avoid all confrontations."

The door prompt chimed, announcing the tenth floor. Xander held his hand up and Riley gave it a slap. "See 'ya in ten pal."

"Keep cool."

"You too."

The elevator purred upward another four stories. The door opened and Riley stepped out into the empty hall. He scanned around, to his left and right the short elevator access corridor ended in a "T" which led to the accommodations of the fourteenth floor. He licked his lips, picked the right hand path, crept over and took a quick glance around the corner.

"Hi!" Willow chirped with a sweet Willow smile.

"Hail, hail.. the gang's all here." Rupert ground out as he appeared from the other intersecting hallway. "I was expecting Xander, but this is fine."

"Shit."

"Aaaahhh Lover, he's not happy to see us." Willow said with sham sadness. Her eyes flashed as her attitude did a 180 to pure threat and she abruptly morphed. "That kinda pisses me off."

Riley hit her with all his strength, sending Willow spinning out of his space. He ran, hoping like hell that the fire stairs door at the end of the corridor would be his salvation, cursing his own stupidity for tracking vampires sans the first weapon.

The split second delay it took him to fling the door open was all it took for Giles to be on him, shoving him through the doorway and into the stairwell. Riley came around, his fist making contact with Rupert's jaw. It was like hitting a brick wall and had about the same result. Now Willow was on him, crawling up his back like a red headed banshee. Riley reached around, grabbed her by the hair and yanked her off his body then came around to face off to Giles.

This was not the haphazard, lunatic attack of the newly risen, but instead Willow and Giles worked like a well oiled machine grinding Riley down. In the cramped confines of the stairwell they began to circle him in a scene reminiscent of a wolf pack closing around a cornered but still dangerous bull elk. They eluded his blows staying just inches out of his reach, they blocked his escape, they toyed with him in a macabre game of cat and mouse waiting for his inevitable misstep.

Out of the corner of his eye Riley saw Willow come in for the kill. He kicked toward the movement with the intention of knocking her down the fire stairs. This was his misstep, for it took him off balance enough for Rupert to grab his wrist in a bonebreaking hold and swing him into the wall.

Riley hit the cement surface so hard that his vision exploded into a white hot starburst. His knees buckled and he struggled to remain conscious as he felt Rupert lock his arms roughly behind his back and bend him forward to offer his throat to Willow. His vision cleared to reveal the dreadful sight of Willow coming for him. He braced against Giles and kicked forward with both feet which resulted in him getting his head knocked into the wall a second time.

Willow came around to his side and cupped her cold hand under his jaw. "Why isn't he screaming? That takes all the fun out of it." She pursed her lips into a pout and turned his face toward her.

"Some people are just inconsiderate." Giles answered as he increased the backward pressure on Riley's arms. "If you would like, I will dislocated both of his shoulders. That will make him squeal."

Willow began to purr. "Maybe. But I'd like to try something first." She licked her lips and regained her human face. "I've been practicing on stray dogs, and this is about the same thing."

"Buffy was always good at picking up strays." Giles sniped into his captive's ear.

"Blow me!" Riley spit.

"I'd say he's feeling a little testy." Rupert smiled a short-lived smirk and then his expression hardened as he gave Willow a nod. "Hurry up and try whatever it is you want to do. We're running late and we don't want to annoy Mistress Rita."

She brought her lips to Riley's neck, licking the sweat off and caressing his skin with her cool exhales.

Confusion welled up within Riley as he both was both revolted and excited by her touch.

"Look at me." She murmured, pulling away and staring straight into his eyes. "Be a good boy and give me your fear. We're not going to hurt you, we're not going to hurt you..."

Riley tried to look away but he found himself mesmerized by her gaze. He tried to ignore the soothing words that danced within his brain but they crept in like a gentle fog that dulled his senses.

"...You're our little bird. Fly away, fly away, fly away...."

"Yes." Riley found himself agreeing with the words as his body relaxed. To his horror one tiny part of his being screamed out a warning but was unable to stop the process. He was no longer in control of his body.

"...Sail away on the wind. Fly Riley. Fly away, feel the wind, be free as a the bird you are..."

Rupert released his captive and took a step back. "Amazing." He whispered to himself as he stood in awe of Willow's sorcery. This was neither the unhinged, vision induced power used by Drusilla or his own bookish magics. This was pure, natural gift magnified by the demon within.

Willow stepped forward and kissed Riley on the lips. "Go fly." She cooed sweeping her hand toward the stairs.

Like a sleepwalker Riley ascended to the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth floor passing the final exit and continuing on to the locked door which led to the roof. He pulled and twisted on the knob, driven by the self-destructive compulsion to "fly". Time stood still as he rattled the door, his anxiety growing in tandem with his need to continue upward until he began to beat on the unyielding barrier as he screamed for it to let him pass.

"What the hell is going on now?" The room service waiter grumbled as he came up the stairs drawn by the discord, coming to a halt a dozen feet from Riley. "HEY!"

Riley ignored the shout.

"HEY! You can't go out there!" Vic repeated as he came up the final leg of the stairs. He stopped and took in Riley's wild look. "Uh... you okay man?"

"I have to get high."

"I think you already are." Vic deadpanned giving his thumb a toss downward. "Move it pal, seventeenth floor is the end of the road."

"I can't get higher?"

"Are you a guest of the hotel or are you one of those Si-Fi oddballs?" The waiter jumped back as Riley rushed past him and went out onto the seventeenth floor. "HEY! WATCH IT!" Vic shouted, then puffed out obscenity or two and ran after this wild man. "I'm calling the cops!" He shouted as he hit the exit in the same blink as the "clatter-bang" of a serving cart being swept clean reverberated down the hall.

Riley picked up the cart and heaved it through the corridor window. The breeze... he felt the breeze calling to him from through the shattered panes. He stepped up onto the sill and looked out over the cityscape.

With his hands raised in a trembling "calm down" motion Vic approached. "Oh man.. oh man.. come on.. get out of there buddy.. before.. oh shit..."

For a second the tiny shard of his being broke through the spell allowing Riley to look back over his shoulder at Vic and try to explain. "I can't, she hexed me. The vampire witch hexed me."

Then the light of free will extinguished from his eyes. He released his hold on the window casing and jumped.

******

The repulsive tingling drew closer, peaked then faded all in the span of ten seconds. Simultaneously Willow and Rupert unclutched and growled toward what they felt but could not see in the adjoining elevator.

"What the hell was that?!" Rupert snapped, casting a suspicious eye toward the ceiling of the lift.

"Something very good." Willow said uneasily.

"Or very bad, depending on your perspective." Giles hissed. He gave the floor indicator a glance. "We were passing the ninth, tenth floor at the time. The rest of them must be working their way upward with some kind of 'power' in their possession."

"That's uncool."

Rupert's features twisted into a malevolent sneer. "Has our little bird flown yet?"

Willow shut her eyes and searched for the connection. "Not yet, but he's trying to get on the roof."

The doors opened and they stepped out into the lobby. Giles took a look around and coolly offered Willow his arm. "Shall we now make our grand entrance?" He said sarcastically. "That is if our host and hostess have not already been discovered and staked."

"Hummm.. don't think we're that lucky. It seems pretty calm around here." She slowed down and laughed as she caught sight of their destination. "Angel's Flight Lounge? That's sooooo weird!"

"Ironic is it not?" Giles said as he joined in her laughter.

"About time." Wesley grumbled as he caught sight of the pair entering the lounge.

Karl Wolfram sat his drink down. "We should get on upstairs Mistress. Your adoring public awaits."

"I want to have a few words with them first." Rita pledged in a frost tinged tone. With pursed lips she motioned for them to come over to their corner booth and be seated, acknowledging them with a curt. "You're late."

"You are fortunate we are tardy, Mistress Rita." Rupert hinted as he and Willow slid across the leather seat.

The Guide's face darkened. "And why is that?"

"Our ex-associates were waiting on us in the lobby." Rupert paused for effect as he returned Rita's gaze. "We lured one of them up onto the fourteenth floor and..."

"He just did it!" Willow interrupted as the connection between her and Riley severed.

Giles chuckled darkly at the revelation. "...and Willow mesmerized him into performing a swan dive off the roof."

Karl leaned forward. "Which one is dead and where are the others?"

"Riley, the soldier boy has answered his last roll call." Giles stated as a cold elegy. "As for Xander and his nymphomaniac companion, I assume they are searching the upper floors for their friend." His eyes then narrowed. "They have 'something' to use against us. We felt its power as our elevators passed."

"It was strong." Willow frowned. "Scary strong."

"That bodes ill." Wesley said as he swirled his drink. "What about Buffy and Rees, did you see them?"

"Unfortunately, no." Giles said with a glance over his shoulder. "We did not see either those two or Cordelia, but it's a given that they are here also."

"How?!" Rita spit. "How did they ferret me out again?!"

Rupert kept a straight face but his eyes sparkled with undeniable amusement at his educated guess. "I would have to speculate that Cordelia had a vision of this place." His statement directed more toward Wesley than Rita.

Wesley involuntarily flinched at the sinister tone in Rita's response. "Oh yes, she is 'still' alive now isn't she?"

"Mistress." Wolfram interrupted. "The question of how this came to be is not the issue at the moment. I believe that you should leave before the Slayer comes through the door and causes 'problems'." He stood and offered Rita his hand. "And if I may continue to be so bold, I also believe that you should not stay on the 'Westfall Blue' for the duration of your visit. It would put my mind at ease if you would honor me with your presence in my humble home."

"Please Karl, a little less of the prose." Rita grumbled. "I do not flatter easily and I'm acutely aware of the danger." She took his hand and stood. "Wesley and I will stay with you until the 'Westfall B.' is ready to leave port."

"I'll put extra security on duty." Karl added, pulling out his cell phone.

"We'll be there in a couple of hours." Rita said giving her other three followers a motion to rise. "Wesley and I are going back to the ship to collect our personal effects."

Rupert nodded. "Willow and I will go back to our lair and try to find out what this 'thing' is that made us so uneasy."

"No. You're going with us." Rita ordered. "You will stand guard and then help us load the car."

"As you wish." Giles answered evenly, his annoyance at being spoken to in such a manner soothed by the knowledge that he and Willow would soon be on their way North.

"And one more thing." Rita added to Karl as he snapped his cell phone shut. "Go and tell the convention organizers that I'm canceling my appearances - both tonight's and tomorrow's" She took a final glance around her and then with a sharp nod turned and headed for the street door of the lounge.

******

"You guys are with National Geographic? I though they did stories about lions and mountain climbers and naked natives."

Buffy shot Cordy a perfect "I'm gonna kill you" look and then scrambled to keep the ball in play. "Yeah, we do that. But we also do stories on.. uh... cultures. And subcultures like you guys who are really into this Si-Fi thing." She shifted a bit on her feet and sat her glass of punch down on a table. "We met your friend Dave down at his shop and he told us that we should be here tonight if we really wanted to, you know, get a feel for it."

Flamer thought for a minute and then nodded in agreement. "Well, tonight's thing is really just for major sucking up. You know, get all the talent together in one room and tell them how great they are." He uncrossed his arm, eyed both women and did a topic change. "I'll have to tell 'ya, I'm kinda glad Daveo gave you two his passes. So you ladies like to party?"

"Well, you know Dave...'O'." Cordelia said through her forced smile. "Underneath that unwashed, sloppy, half shaved, styleless, tattooed pierced and uneducated exterior there's a real... ah, nice guy."

Buffy blinked at Cordelia's left handed praise. "Yeah, not everybody can decorate with a sheep skull and get away with it." She cocked her head to one side and batted her eyes a bit. "So Flamer, you're in charge of this, right? At least that's what Dave told us."

"Naaa... I'm not in charge, the suits are in charge." Flamer confessed. "I'm the guy who designed the cover for the program."

Cordy's ironed on smile never moved. "Oh really? I saw that. With that woman robot. So what's with the cleavage on a robot?"

"Artist, huh?" Buffy butted in. "So you got to go meet Rita last night? How cool was that?"

"Majorly!" Flamer answered enthusiastically. "I just kinda lucked out. Was over at the Con Center when her lawyer called and said she wanted to come and I overheard where the meeting was." He grinned and nudged Buffy with his elbow. "So I just kinda showed up too."

"Cool." Buffy answered, taking a step away. "So details Flamer, details. Where does a person like Rita live? Some big mansion in the hills?"

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you."

"Try me." Buffy deadpanned.

Flamer lowered his voice. "A freighter. She lives on a freighter down at the Port."

Cordelia lost her smile. "Ick."

"No 'ick'!" Flamer countered while giving his hand a wave around the ballroom. "We're not talking some rust bucket. The 'Westfall Blue' was nicer this place. First class, five star all the way." He slid a bit closer to Cordelia. "I can take you there and show you."

"Oh let me think about this." She said sarcastically. "Get in a car and drive down to the docks with a total stranger? What an offer!"

"You don't need to be that way about it. I'm just trying to get you an interview."

Buffy's Slayer sense began to tingle causing her to turn away from the conversation and focus in on a man who had just entered the room. She watched as he went directly up to a group of Convention organizers, tell them something and then turn on his heel and leave.

After a few seconds of obviously unhappy conversation, one of the organizers went up to the microphone and made a short announcement:

"Due to a death in the family, Rita has canceled. Also she has postponed the charity raffle of 'Last Call'. It will be rescheduled at a later time as an Internet auction. Thank you."

"We gotta go." Buffy said grabbing Cordy by the arm. "Something's up... something bad. I can feel it."

Flamer stepped up between them and draped an arm around each one's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. These people back out all the time. I can introduce you to..."

Buffy pulled away with a snarl. "Touch me again and I'll rip your arms off and beat you to death with them!"

"Okay Buffy.. that was sooo 'social'." Cordy said with a roll of her eyes. "Now think.. what are we suppose to be doing in here?"

"Change in plan." She snapped back.

"What's going on?" Flamer suspiciously asked.

Buffy pulled Cordy away. "Come on... we gotta find the others."

With Cordy protesting every step of the way they made their way through the crowd and out into the hall. As they approached the balcony overlooking the lobby the throng of humanity thickened as rubberneckers stood three deep along the railing. Buffy's stomach tightened into a knot as she caught bits and pieces of apathetic conversations and commentary.

"...did this big half gainer off..."

"...dead guy..."

"...cart just missed a taxi..."

"...like they need that ambo..."

"...gross..."

"...on some bad-ass shit..."

"Buffy, Cordelia."

Rees's pain filled voice stopped them both in their tracks.

"Come with me."

Buffy's voice cracked. "What happened?"

Tightlipped, Rees just shook his head and motioned for them to follow him back to the vacant Rose Room.

"Rees?" Cordy gulped.

"Not here." Tom said quietly. "Please... come, come with me."

As they followed both Buffy and Cordelia knew a requiem was at hand which made each step akin to walking on a razor as they proceed down the hall. Tom stopped in the doorway, ushered them in and softly closed the door.

Xander sat mute in a folding chair with a thousand yard stare on his face.

Anya sat on the floor beside him wiping her face, trying to comprehend the appearance of the human tears which had generated in her eyes.

Tom took a deep breath. "Buffy, I'm sorry to have to tell you this but..."

"Oh God." She moaned.

"...Giles and Rosenberg came in alone and went up the elevator to either the tenth or the fourteenth floor. Riley and Xander followed them to gather intelligence..."

"No."

"...Anya came and got me and we joined Xander on the tenth floor..."

Cordy wrapped her arms around Buffy as she began to weave on her feet.

"...the three of us searched each floor between the tenth and the fourteenth but we found nothing." Rees stopped to collect his thoughts as Buffy's sobs cut him like a knife. "We, we went on up, checking each floor. On the seventeenth floor we found a panicked hotel employee who told us that a man had just committed suicide. Leaped out the window because... because the 'vampire witch had hexed him'." He came over and placed his hands on Buffy's shoulders before saying the words. "Buffy, Riley is dead."

A stab of unbearable pain then a strange silent emptiness filled Buffy.

"Please understand, I cannot allow you to go out there for it would raise too many questions."

As a single bitter tear flowed down her cheek as she focused on the quiet within, accepting it as the healing strength of her calling. She could see Tom's mouth moving, but the words did not register. She could feel the weight of his hands as they lay on her shoulders, but his touch brought no comfort. She would break down later, she would morn when it was time but for now she needed to brace herself for the coming fight.

With a sudden curse Xander broke the spell. "DAMN THEM!" He shouted, swiping his fists down through the air. "What are we sitting here for? Let's find them and kick undead ass!"

Buffy twitched and whispered two words. "Westfall Blue."