Chapter 30
“At length their long kiss severed, with sweet smart:/And as the last slow sudden drops are shed/From sparkling eaves when all the storm has shed/So singly flagged the pulses of each heart…Sleep sank them lower than the tide of dreams./And their dreams watched them sink, and slid away./Slowly their souls swam up again, through gleams/Of watered light and dull drowned waifs of day;/Till from some wonder of new woods and streams/He woke, and wondered more: for there she lay.” ~Dante Gabriel Rosetti, “Nuptial Sleep,” from The House of Life
He woke slowly, with the sort of confusion that can only come from a deep and dreamless sleep. For a moment, he couldn’t quite remember his own name, let alone what day it was and why he was waking with a girl’s head pillowed on his chest.
Spike frowned. Dawn wasn’t far away; Buffy should probably be getting back home soon, if she wanted to sneak in before Joyce realized she’d been gone all night.
He had to bite back a groan when he realized exactly what had happened the night before. Everything had been going well, their explorations had taken them back into his bedroom, where he fully meant to give Buffy a night she wouldn’t forget, and—
Nothing. Spike couldn’ believe he’d actually fallen asleep on her.
He was such a git.
Buffy stirred slowly, a contented smile curving her lips. “Mmm…morning.”
“Good morning,” he replied, waiting to see if she was going to say anything to him about the night before.
She did give him a look. “Sleep good ?”
He sighed. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“How long has it been since you’ve slept?” Buffy countered. When Spike shrugged, she just shook her head. “Then it’s good that you did. I know I slept better than I have in weeks.”
Spike gave her a sympathetic look. “Nightmares?”
“Some.”
Their eyes met in a shared understanding that went deeper than words. “Hate to say it, luv, but you’d better get going. You’ve got school today, and your mom—”
“Will deal,” Buffy said, cutting him off. “Although, I think I’d rather wait to have the talk until I’ve actually done something to deserve it.” When Spike grimaced again, she laughed at him. “Spike, you must have needed the sleep.” She paused. “Of course, if you were bored…”
He cut that thought off with a heated kiss. “Hardly. But exhausted, yeah. Sorry about that.”
“Forget about it,” she replied airily. “It wasn’t like last night was the only chance we were going to get.” Buffy got up, looking around for her shoes. Spike hadn’t even gotten her shirt half-unbuttoned last night before he passed out. She might have been a little more upset, but the look of peaceful contentment on his face was enough to still her anger.
Besides, Spike was just too cute when he was asleep.
She’d found one shoe and had turned to ask Spike if he’d seen the other when she gasped.
It wasn’t as though she’d never seen the vampire bare-chested before. Buffy had patched him up at least twice, but both of those times the damage had been to the front, and Spike had simply shifted his t-shirt enough to allow her to doctor the wound. Both times they’d also been in the middle of emergencies, and Buffy had been focused only on the task at hand.
Now, in the thin light of early morning, she could clearly see the network of scars on the pale skin of his back. Some of them—Buffy didn’t like to imagine what could do that kind of damage.
Spike heard her gasp and immediately reached for his t-shirt, only to be stopped by Buffy’s hand on his back. “They’re long healed, Buffy.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” he asked. “Wasn’t anything you did, pet. They were there long before you were born.”
“I wasn’t very nice to you when you got to Sunnydale,” she replied, moving so she could look him in the eye. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Not a big deal,” he replied, reaching for his t-shirt again, suddenly uncomfortable. Buffy had seen more of him in this last night than anyone ever had before.
No, that wasn’t true. Spike had shown more to Buffy than he ever had before. There had been others who had ripped down the barriers with their own two hands. Spike was suddenly deathly afraid of being seen.
Buffy could see the fear in his eyes, and she knew how he felt. She’d felt the same way the first time Spike had proven that he knew her, that he could somehow see her. It was like standing on the edge of a precipice and being asked to take a leap of faith. All you really knew for certain was what it was going to feel like when you hit the bottom.
For once, she wasn’t afraid. Not of this, at least.
Her hand slid down his back, her eyes never leaving his. She could feel the smooth, raised scar tissue under her fingers. Buffy didn’t have to ask how it had happened, or who had caused it. She already knew. “This is why you didn’t like Giles’ plan.”
“Part of the reason,” Spike agreed, his voice hoarse.
Buffy nodded. “Then I’ll tell him that we have to find another plan.” She smiled at him. “Faith will give herself away when she tries to complete the ritual.”
Spike was quiet, thinking for a moment. “What about putting her under a truth spell?”
Buffy frowned. “What?”
“Truth spell,” Spike repeated. “When she goes for me, we chain her up and put the spell on her. She’ll have to tell us what she knows.”
The Slayer frowned. That plan somehow seemed so—cold. She searched Spike’s face and realized that while he might be uncomfortable with the idea, he still thought it was a good plan. It was better than sending him into the lion’s den, anyway. Buffy couldn’t disagree with that. “Okay. I’ll suggest it to Giles today.” She pulled away. “I really do have to get going. You know Faith and I are patrolling tonight, right? She’s back on active duty.”
“Be careful,” he warned, wondering if she was angry with him for not going through with Giles’ plan, and for suggesting something that was just a little underhanded.
Buffy just kissed him. “Always.”
~~~~~
“For the last time, Giles, I’m not going to ask him again,” Buffy said stubbornly. “Besides, I think Spike has a good alternative.”
Willow nodded. “I think I could do a truth spell, Giles,” she put in. “It would probably be less dangerous for Spike, too. I mean, if Faith were to find out that he hadn’t really lost his soul, that could get icky.”
“If I get a vote, I’m going to go with the truth spell too,” Xander said, raising his hand. “If Spike says he doesn’t want to do something, he’s got a good reason.”
Buffy wondered what Spike would say if he could hear her friends back him up. She had a feeling that it would probably surprise him.
Giles finally nodded his acceptance. “Very well, Buffy. If that’s your decision.”
“That’s Spike’s decision,” Buffy corrected him. “I’m just backing him up.”
Her Watcher gave her a sharp look. “Buffy—”
“Don’t, Giles,” Buffy said firmly, knowing what he was going to say. “I trust Spike—with my life, if it comes down to it.”
“Fine,” he said. “You’re going out with Faith tonight?”
Buffy nodded. “She wants to do a sweep.”
“Be careful, Buffy.”
“Sure thing,” the Slayer replied as she left.
Xander watched as Giles got up and shut his office door. “Okay, what exactly was that all about?”
Willow looked over at him. “You didn’t know?”
“Know what?” Xander asked, beginning to get alarmed. “What don’t I know?”
“About Spike and Buffy,” Willow said, frowning.
Xander stared at her. “What about them?”
“They’re dating.”
Xander frowned, and then the light slowly dawned. “They—” So much from the past few weeks suddenly had a context. “Another vampire?”
“Don’t make a fuss,” Willow said fiercely. “Buffy’s really happy, happier than she’s been since…” She trailed off. They both knew how long it had been since Buffy had been really happy.
Xander sighed. If he was completely honest with himself, and that really didn’t happen very often, he was still carrying a torch for the Slayer. The idea of Buffy with anyone, let alone a vampire, didn’t sit well.
Of course, if Xander was completely honest with himself, he’d have to admit to having just a touch of hero worship for Spike.
“I guess it could be worse,” he finally said. “It could be Angel.”
~~~~~
“So how are you and Spike doing?” Faith asked, fishing for information. If this deal that the Mayor was working on went through, and she had no doubt that it would, she wanted to know how badly Buffy was going to hurt.
Especially since Faith had every intention of screwing Spike into a stupor.
Buffy shrugged. “Fine. I mean, we’ve both been really busy, but it’s nice not having to lie about my secret life.”
“Yeah, that would be nice,” Faith acknowledged. “You two make a cute couple.”
Buffy’s expression was a trifle suspicious, but she managed to respond cordially enough. “Thanks. Spike’s a good guy.”
“He really is,” Faith agreed. “He cares.”
“Yeah, he does,” Buffy replied, not sure of where Faith was going with this. She didn’t get a chance to find out. “Duck!”
Faith ducked, and Buffy punched the demon that had come up behind her. “Ow! Oooh,” he said, clutching his nose. “What did you do that for? Do you just go around punching people?”
Buffy raised her eyebrows, pulling off his hat. “People?”
“Okay, demon, but so what?” he asked. Both Faith and Buffy raised their stakes. He held up his hands—or what passed for hands—in surrender. “Wait! Demon seeking out the Slayers? Highly unusual.”
“Talk fast,” Faith ordered.
“I got a deal for you,” the demon said. When neither girl responded immediately, he sighed. “The Books of Ascension are yours for a price.”
“Books of Ascension?” Buffy asked. “I’ve never heard of them.”
“Very powerful mojo,” the demon explained. “Very dark stuff. The Mayor would hate for anyone to get their hands on them before he, you know.”
“I don’t know,” Buffy objected.
The demon shook his head. “Sorry, princess. It’s five large for the set, or nothing. You aren’t getting any more out of me.”
“I could fix that,” Faith threatened, holding up her stake again.
The demon dashed between them, running off before he wound up with a hole in him.
“Oh, let him go,” Buffy said when it looked as though Faith was going to try to follow. “I hardly think he falls into the deadly threat to humanity category.”
Faith’s brow creased in thought. “A demon’s a demon.”
“Maybe, but I really want to know more about these Books of Ascension,” Buffy replied. “Anything that would help us pin down the Mayor would be great.”
~~~~~
“Books of Ascension, huh?” Mayor Wilkins asked. “Well, I don’t like the sound of that. You’ll have to take care of it as soon as possible. It won’t do to have Miss Summers getting her hands on them.”
Faith frowned. “What about Spike?”
The Mayor raised his eyebrows. “A little anxious, aren’t we?”
“Well, he and Buffy are close,” Faith replied defensively. “If he’s on our side, that’ll definitely throw her for a loop.”
The Mayor nodded. “If you say so. You’re close enough to know. However, I want to make sure we have those books before we go ahead with our plan.” Mayor Wilkins gave her a sharp look. “Are you certain you can’t lure him over to our side through other means? Angel’s soul had a clause.”
“Spike’s soul doesn’t,” Faith replied. “Besides, he already turned me down once.”
“I don’t know what he was thinking,” the Mayor observed cheerfully. “You’re much prettier than Buffy.”
That got a smile out of Faith. “So when is this mage going to do his thing?”
“I think I’ll give it a day or so,” the Mayor said. “That gives you time to recover those Books for me.” A serious light entered his eyes. “Please make sure you retrieve them before Buffy and her little friends see them. Replacing Mr. Trick was difficult enough.”
Faith nodded, looking away from him. “Will do, boss.”
~~~~~
“The Books of Ascension?” Wesley asked. “That certainly isn’t ringing any bells.”
Giles shook his head. “Nor for me.” He grimaced. “And you say this demon wanted cash?”
Buffy shrugged. “That’s what he said.”
“What happened to the still beating heart of a virgin?” Giles muttered. “Any self-respecting demon—”
“Knows that sometimes you need cash to get by in this world,” Spike interrupted, amused. “Can’t do a heck of a lot with a heart.”
“What does Ascension mean, anyway?” Xander asked.
Giles shook his head, indicating his own lack of knowledge. “Wesley?”
The younger Watcher shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s not a common term in demonology.”
“Oh!” Willow exclaimed. “The Marenschadt text! That had a reference to the Ascension in it.”
Buffy gave her friend an impressed look. “We have a winner.”
“And more importantly, two losers,” Xander said.
Spike just smiled. He’d managed to go back to sleep after Buffy left, and he was feeling better than he had in weeks. Even with the impending apocalypse, Spike was feeling pretty good. Although the idea that someone might be able to steal his soul certainly didn’t make him feel very secure.
Still, Buffy had greeted him with a casual kiss when he entered the library. It was the first truly public display of affection she’d shown him, and it put Spike up on cloud nine.
Yeah, he was still Love’s Bitch. So what? At least this time the girl returned the feeling.
Spike listened as Giles read the pertinent passage, as well as the information that the town had disappeared. He frowned. There had been a few instances that he knew of where an entire town had seemingly evaporated into thin air.
He’d been hired to investigate one such instance, and what he’d found had been enough to give him nightmares for a week.
And that certainly didn’t happen very often.
Spike was fairly certain that the missing town in that case didn’t have anything to do with what they were investigating now, though.
He was about to offer his own observations when Cordelia strode confidently into the library, coming straight up to Wesley. “What are you doing Friday night?”
Spike’s eyebrows went straight up as he watched her appreciatively. Never let it be said that he didn’t like an assertive woman. He felt a sharp pain in his ankle and looked over to see Buffy glaring at him. He shrugged, and then looked back over at Wesley and Cordelia to enjoy the show.
Wesley had stiffened. “Well, ah, as always my sacred duty as a Watcher prevents me— Why ?”
“I have an English paper to write,” Cordelia stated. She saw the looks that Xander and Buffy were exchanging. “What? I figured it couldn’t hurt to get an inside track.” She turned back to Wesley. “I study best over candlelight. Say around eightish?”
She walked back out of the library, leaving Wesley speechless. “Well, that gives ‘flimsy excuse’ a new meaning.” Xander looked sour, and Spike wasn’t sure he could blame him. Of course, it was Xander’s own fault he’d lost the girl in the first place, so Spike couldn’t feel toosorry.
Wesley cleared his throat. “I think we ought to see those books.”
“Anybody got five thousand dollars?” Buffy asked.
Spike shrugged. “Technically? Yeah, but I’m not giving my hard-earned money to some snitch. I say we persuade him to let us borrow them for a while.”
Wesley nodded. “Precisely what I was going to suggest. Buffy, Spike, why don’t you see what you can find out?”
Spike stood, holding out a hand to help Buffy up in a gentlemanly manner. “Luv?”
Buffy took the proferred hand. “Thanks. We’ll see you later.”
~~~~~
“So you told him?”
“What do you think?” Buffy asked. “Giles is on board.”
Spike made a face. “Did he give you grief?”
“ Willow and Xander backed you,” Buffy replied. “Giles backed down. He was definitely in the minority.”
Spike stopped. “What?”
Buffy turned around to look at him. “What?”
“You said Willow and Xander backed me,” he pointed out.
She frowned. “Yeah. So?”
“They don’t even know why.”
“I think they figured if you said no you had good reasons,” Buffy replied. “They know you’re not a coward, Spike.” When he still didn’t look convinced, she said, “Spike, you’re one of us. Of course they’re going to back you up. That’s what we do.”
Spike shook his head. “I’m not—really?”
Buffy didn’t think she’d ever understand what made Spike so sure that he didn’t belong when he’d been a functioning member of the group for months now. In fact, the others had accepted his presence before she had. Then again, she wasn’t a vampire who had been wandering for nearly a century, so maybe she’d never really understand him.
“Duh,” Buffy replied, deciding that the light-hearted approach was the best one to take. “You’ve been around for almost a year now, and you’ve definitely saved my butt enough to be considered a Scooby.” She grinned at him. “Although, normally it’s the other way around, and I’m saving everyone else.”
He gave her a smug grin. “Turn about’s fair play, pet.”
“As long as you’re the guy doing the saving, I think I can handle it,” Buffy replied.
~~~~~
Spike wasn’t feeling all that heroic when he got home just before dawn. It had been a long night, what with tracking down the demon and not finding the demon. It had been Xander who pulled through with the information. He’d gone to Willy and had applied some judicious pressure for the address.
An address that led to nothing more than a dead body.
Spike was a little concerned about the state of the body. When he made a kill, it was quick and clean. This wasn’t. Whoever had done the job had enjoyed the killing. Spike knew that type.
He’d been that type, once upon a time.
“Spike?”
Faith’s voice came from behind him, and Spike’s eyes narrowed before he turned around. He could guess why the other Slayer was here. He turned slowly. “Faith. What’s up?”
“I’ve done something really bad,” she said, holding out her bloody hands.
Spike recognized that scent. He’d been at the scene of the crime not all that long ago, and the demon’s blood had a very distinct aroma. “That right?”
“You don’t look too surprised,” Faith said, suddenly appearing a lot less distressed than she had when she’d first come up to him.
Spike shrugged. “You forget, luv. I’ve been around the dregs of humanity for decades now. I know what to look for.”
Faith sneered. “Yeah? Well, it takes one to know one.”
Spike just lifted an eyebrow. “You’ll have to do better than that to hurt my feelings, ducks. I’ve been tortured by the best in the business.” His eyes grew cold. “For three years. A few barbs aren’t hardly going to do any damage.”
“How about this?” she asked, reaching into her jacket, pulling out a vial of blood, and splashing it all over him. The mage, who had informed Giles about who was intending to hire him, appeared in a swirl of light and began to chant.
Spike fell to his knees, playing along with it for a moment, long enough for the mage to get clear. That had been the deal, and he was willing to abide by it. When he did stand, it was to backhand Faith across the face.
“Too bad the soul is anchored,” Spike said, smirking.
He had never actually fought a Slayer all out. Spike had sparred with Buffy on numerous occasions, but there was always a difference in how you fought when it was a life or death situation versus a practice session. There was an edge there that wasn’t present at any other time.
Faith was good. She wasn’t necessarily better than Spike, but she was giving him a run for his money. Besides, even the best warrior made a mistake at times.
Spike was no exception to that rule. He moved to avoid a right spin-kick, not seeing the feint for what it was. Faith managed to drop and sweep his legs out from under him in a quick maneuver that laid him flat on his back.
She was straddling his waist, grinding into him even as she held a stake to his heart. Spike couldn’t help his response. “You know, the Mayor wanted you on our side, but it looks like you’re just going to die.” Faith sneered at him. “You’re not so tough.”
Spike tried to move, and she pressed the stake down harder. “Can you really kill someone in cold blood?” he asked, watching her closely.
“You’re not a someone ,” Faith replied. “You’re a vampire. I dust your kind every night.” His eyes went wide as she raised the stake, ready for the plunge. “You’re lucky,” she said conversationally. “When the Mayor gets done with Buffy, she’s going to wish she died as quickly as you’re going to.”
Spike met her gaze unflinchingly. “Do it then.”
He had no doubt that she would.