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Chapter Thirty-Two
Druscilla “Sirius, can you stay with them while we go look for Druscilla?” Buffy asked as she was grabbing weapons. “Buffy we are old enough to take care of ourselves,” Dawn said. “I know, but we don’t know what she’s here for. I would just feel better knowing that there was someone here with you,” Buffy explained. “Can’t we go with you?” Draco asked. “No,” Spike said firmly. “Dru is not a normal vampire. She can get inside your head and kill you without you lifting a hand to stop her.” “But...” “No buts. You’re staying, end of story.” “If she comes here, don’t even answer the door. And don’t look in her eyes,” Buffy ordered as she walked out the door with Spike, Riley, and Sam. “Should we split up so we can cover more ground?” Sam asked. “No, she’s too dangerous,” Buffy said. “Buffy, we do fight demons for a living,” Riley pointed out. “Yes, but not like this one,” Buffy sourly said. “I think we should...” “Riley, this is my town, so I’m giving the orders. If you don’t like it, then just leave. Again.” He didn’t answer, but continued to follow her. They walked to the first cemetery in stony silence. After doing a quick check, they headed to the next one. Before long they had searched all of the cemeteries and had found nothing. “Where else do you think she might be, Spike?” Buffy asked. “Could check the Bronze and then maybe the mansion,” he said. The four made a quick pass through the nearly empty Bronze and then headed to Angel’s old mansion on Crawford Street. As they neared the mansion, Buffy said, “She may not be there, but someone is definitely home.” They all looked up to see light shining through some of the windows. “Peaches wouldn’t be happy with someone in his place. Let’s take care of it for him.” *********** “Are you sure we should be doing this?” Draco whispered to Dawn as they followed the other four. “I told you something doesn’t feel right about them going alone. I have a hunch that we may be needed.” “Potter and the mutt will find out pretty soon that we aren’t upstairs snogging.” “Relax. They’re bonding, they probably won’t even know we’ve been gone.” *************** “Sirius, Buffy wanted us to stay here!” Harry exclaimed as his godfather headed out the door. “That was when the other two were here. I’m going to find them.” “I’m coming with you,” Harry said as he grabbed his wand and a coat. Sirius morphed into his dog form and picked up Dawn and Draco’s scents. He started running after them with Harry behind him. ********** Draco and Dawn stealthily followed the other four into the mansion. They hung back as they watched them fan out to search the building. Dawn’s slayer side sensed them seconds before they attacked. Nearly thirty vampires stepped from the shadows and attacked the first four. Dawn and Draco needed to only glance at each other before jumping into the fray. Through their link, Dawn and Draco slowly worked their way to the others. Dawn became aware of another presence in her head and she quickly identified it as Buffy. She looked over at her sister in time to see one of the vamps who had picked up a dropped ax swing it towards Buffy’s neck. ~Buffy, duck!~ Buffy obeyed instantly and the ax neatly beheaded the vampire she was fighting. Taking advantage of its surprise, Buffy staked the vamp and neatly caught the ax as it fell. Harry and Sirius arrived in time to see the last of the dust fall to the ground. Buffy glared at the unasked for help. “I thought we told you to stay home.” “Yeah? So? Since when did I ever listen?” Dawn glibly asked. The blonde slayer just rolled her eyes and turned to Spike. “Where would she be?” “The garden.” The entire group made their way cautiously to the garden. They kept their senses open for another attack. They found her in the middle of the garden. Druscilla stood there staring up at the stars holding Miss Edith. In the moonlight her smooth skin looked like porcelain and she stood so still that she could have been mistaken for a life-sized doll. Spike held his hand up indicating them to stop and let him handle it. He took several steps forward and said, “Dru? Ducks?” “Hello William,” she said softly. “The stars and I have been waiting for you.” She turned to face him and the others. “And you brought guests. Are we going to have a party?” “No, Dru. What are you doing here?” Druscilla whimpered quietly. “He calls to me. He calls to us all. The snake man.” “Voldemort,” Harry hissed. “But Miss Edith told me not to follow; he’s a bad man. She told me to tell daddy, but I know he won’t listen to the warning.” “What warning?” Spike asked softly. She turned her eyes to Harry. “He goes after the boy that lives. He calls the demons to him so they can fight his war.” She lifted her face to the stars. “He is a bad, nasty man.” Druscilla began to giggle. “He doesn’t know the key that will stop him, only you know the key. The key that needs love and strength to win.” “What do you know about the key?” Buffy asked through gritted teeth. The vampiress turned her seeing eyes to Dawn. “Such a pretty green, so pure. And something before it.” Druscilla’s eyes widened. “Best of two worlds in one.” She suddenly brought her hand to her head and whimpered. “He calls me, but Miss Edith says I must not go. Sand. So much sand. The sand will come alive and kill.” She turned lucid eyes to Spike. “It must be stopped.” “We’ll stop it pet,” he said reassuringly. “Make it stop. Daddy no longer wants me, mummy has left me again, and my Spike has found something effulgent. Please make it stop William, make it stop.” She sunk to her knees and buried her face in Miss Edith’s hair. Spike turned to everyone and said, “You guys go ahead. I’ll take care of Dru.” “Like hell will we leave you,” Riley snapped. The blond vamped and growled. “Don’t make me hurt you, boy. She deserves far better than this.” “Riley, let’s go,” Buffy said firmly. As Riley and Sam left she turned back to Spike, “We’ll be waiting outside. Take your time.” He nodded sadly. Before Draco left, Druscilla called out, “The dawn will bring about the new day.” “I’ll remember that,” Draco said before ducking out. Spike and Druscilla were left alone in the garden. He knelt in front of her and looked her in the eye. “You sure this is what you want, luv?” She nodded and said, “I have done all I was meant to do. My family is waiting.” A tear slipped down Spike’s cheek. “I did love you. Still do in a way.” Druscilla reached out and gently brushed the tear away. “I know. I loved you too.” She whimpered again. “The voices are too much. Make it stop.” He placed a soft kiss on her forehead then drove the stake home. He closed his eyes before the dust fell so he would never have to remember what she looked like at that moment. Spike exited the mansion shortly afterward and soon found himself hugged by two Summers’ women. He held both of them close, savoring the love he felt for and from them. When he let go, Buffy turned to Riley and Sam and said, “We’re done for the night. See you guys later.” She turned to Harry and Draco. “Let’s go home. You too mutt,” she said to the large black dog. They left the demon hunting couple standing there. ********* The entire scooby gang met at Buffy’s house the next morning. Xander had proudly entered carrying several boxes of doughnuts. “What happened?” Giles asked after everyone had grabbed a doughnut and sat down. “Riley showed up last night,” Buffy said. “Really? What did he want?” Willow asked. “To warn us that Druscilla was in town. We explained that we had dusted the fake one several nights before. But this one was real.” “Did you find her?” Giles asked. “She was at the mansion.” “Did ya dust her?” Xander asked. Spike growled low in his throat. “She told us some interesting tidbits,” Buffy said, ignoring Xander. “Apparently Moldy Wart is calling demons to his side so they can kill Harry.” “How is he calling them?” Tara asked. “I don’t know, but she kept saying she heard him and would hold her head,” Buffy said. They all looked at Spike. “What?” “Do you hear a call?” Willow asked. “No. Maybe Peaches knows something.” “Peaches?” Sirius asked. “Angel,” Buffy said. “He’s Spike’s sire. He has a group in L.A. like us.” “I’m sure he would notice if the amount of demon activity had dropped.” Giles reasoned. “I’ll call him after the meeting,” Buffy said. She opened her mouth to say more but was stopped by a knock at the door. “Spike, will you get that please.” The vampire rose and crossed to the door. He opened it to reveal a surprised Riley. “How are you in the sun?” He demanded. “Magic,” Spike said casually. “What do you want now?” “To talk to Buffy.” “What if she doesn’t want to?” Spike asked. “Spike,” Buffy said reproachfully as she came up beside him. She turned to Riley, “What?” “Can we talk? Alone?” “We’re in the middle of a meeting.” “It won’t take long, I promise.” “Fine,” she said. “I’ll be right back guys.” The two stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind them. “Buffy, I just don’t understand.” “Understand what?” “Why you’re still with him, why they accept him, how he can walk in the sun and not turn to dust.” “It’s really none of your business so I’m only going to explain this once. I love him, he makes me happy. The others saw this, coped, and learned to love him in their own way.” “He’ll only hurt you in the end.” “Like you didn’t?” “Buffy, that’s not fair...” “Oh, I think it is. You told me you loved me, and then you left me. I think we’re officially though. Next time you want to warn me about a demon, just call and leave a message.” She walked through the door and shut it in his face. She sat back down in the living room and asked, “Now where were we?” “You were, uh, telling us what Druscilla said,” Giles answered. “She said something about the key stopping him, but he didn’t know about it. Which means he doesn’t know about Dawn.” “That’s a relief,” Xander said. “Did she say anything else about the key?” Willow asked. “That the key needed love and strength.” “Oh, and I had the best of both worlds,” Dawn piped up. “Whatever that means.” “You took her with you?” Giles asked, concern written on his features. “No,” Buffy said in an exasperated tone. “They snuck out and showed up.” “Did she say anything else?” Giles asked as he cleaned his glasses. “Yeah. Something about the sand will come alive and kill,” Spike said. “Could that be some sort of spell?” Tara asked. “Or a demon?” Sirius asked. “I’m afraid only research will answer that,” Giles said. Xander groaned. “Come on, G-man. It’s Christmas vacation. Can’t it wait?” “Of course, Xander. I’ll speak to Voldemort and all the demons to see if they’ll postpone their plans so we can relax,” Giles said dryly. “There was something else about last night that bothers me,” Buffy said thoughtfully. “What?” Spike asked. She turned her attention to Dawn. “You spoke to me in my head. How?” Dawn had the decency to look abashed. “I don’t really know. I had an idea that I might be able to.” “Why?” “Cause I’ve been able to talk to Draco like that since Hogsmeade.” “And when were you planning on telling us this?” Spike demanded. Dawn just shrugged her shoulders. “Can you do it with anyone else?” Willow asked. “I don’t know; I’ve never tried.” “Try it now,” the redhead urged. The brunette nodded her head and closed her eyes. She tried to talk to each one in the room, but the only ones who heard her were Buffy and Draco. She opened her eyes and told them so. “I wonder why?” Tara asked. “Because they were the ones Galadriel told me to trust probably,” Dawn said simple. “That makes the most sense.” “Who’s Galadriel?” Sirius asked. Previous Chapter The Slayer... Menu Next Chapter |
