Chapter 31
“I thought I was dying, I felt the cold up close/and knew that from all my life I left only you behind:/my earthly day and night were your mouth,/your skin the republic my kisses founded./In that instant the books stopped,/and friendship, treasures restlessly amassed,/the transparent house that you and I built:/everything dropped away, except your eyes./Because while life harasses us, love is/only a wave taller than the other waves:/but oh, when death comes knocking at the gate,/there is only your glance against so much emptiness,/only your light against extinction,/only your love to shut out the shadows.” ~Pablo Neruda, “Sonnet XC”
Buffy wasn’t quite certain why she felt it necessary to follow Spike home. Maybe it was knowing that Faith was planning something. Maybe it was some Slayer sense. Or maybe it was a combination of the two, knowing that the Mayor most likely had the Books of Ascension and that now would probably be a good time for him to come after Spike.
Whatever the reason, Buffy managed to tackle Faith just as she was bringing the weapon down, causing the other girl’s aim to go wide, the stake embedding itself harmlessly into Spike’s arm.
Well, not harmlessly , but at least he wasn’t dust.
Buffy grappled with the other Slayer, both of them rolling around on the ground, struggling to get the upper hand. For a moment, it appeared as though Faith would be the winner, since she managed to get on top, her hands around Buffy’s neck.
Buffy saw a shadow fall across both of them, and then Faith’s body collapsed on top of her. “Better get her inside,” Spike said, tucking the blackjack back in his pocket. “The sun’s going to be up in about two minutes.”
Even with blood dripping off his hand, Spike appeared perfectly calm. Like he hadn’t come face to face with his permanent demise. Buffy didn’t know how he did it because she was shaking like a leaf.
Between the two of them they managed to get Faith inside Spike’s townhouse with a minimum of fuss, and then Buffy stood watch over her while Spike got a set of chains.
Buffy decided she didn’t want to know if he’d gotten them specifically for Faith, or if there was another reason to keep them around.
Spike put the manacles on the rogue Slayer with all the practice of a professional. “Better call Rupert. I’ll get this arm taken care of.”
“I’ll take care of your arm while you call Giles,” Buffy corrected him. Spike looked like he was about to protest, and she held up a hand. “Please, Spike. She almost killed you.”
Spike held her gaze, his look measuring. “Alright.”
Buffy bandaged his arm while he talked to the Watcher, informing him that now that Faith had made the attempt to remove his soul, they needed to do the truth spell as soon as possible. Once he’d hung up, Buffy spoke. “That was way too close.”
“It was a bit,” he agreed evenly. “I’d have been alright, Buffy.”
She took a step back. “Spike, she nearly staked you! If I hadn’t been there—”
“I’d have managed,” Spike interrupted. “It’s not the first time I’ve been in a life or death situation, luv.”
“Don’t you get it?” she demanded. “Don’t you know what it would do to me to lose you?”
Spike just smiled. “You’re not going to lose me, Buffy. I made a promise.”
She scowled at him. “And you nearly bought it!”
He could smell the fear on her, and it warmed him to know that she was so concerned. “But I didn’t.”
Buffy was still glaring at him. “Don’t do that again.”
“Give it my best shot,” Spike promised.
She closed her eyes. “Okay.”
“Hey now,” Spike said, touching her cheek, waiting for Buffy to open her eyes. “I’m alright. No harm done. We’ll do the spell on Faith, get a bead on the Mayor, and then we’ll take him down. Piece of cake, right?”
Buffy’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t say things like that,” she ordered. “You’ll jinx us.”
~~~~~
When Giles showed up with a bag of magic supplies, Wesley was close on his heels. “What is he doing here?” Buffy asked, eyeing her Watcher with distaste.
“I didn’t have a choice,” Giles replied. “He was there when Spike called.”
Wesley drew himself up. “I do have some experience with the black arts, Miss Summers.”
She snorted. “Right.”
“It’s alright, Buffy,” Spike said quietly, eyeing the young man. “We’ll let him take a shot. Wes screws up, I can always eat him.”
Wesley’s gulping was audible.
“I hardly think that will be necessary,” Giles said, his lips twitching suspiciously. “The truth spell only takes one person to perform it.”
” You done this before?” Spike asked Giles.
The older Watcher shook his head. “No, but—”
“I have.”
All three of them turned to look at Wesley, who had the grace to look embarrassed. “I did graduate at the top of my class,” he muttered. “So you needn’t look so surprised.”
Buffy raised an eyebrow. “Okay, you’re on. But if you screw this one up, we’ll release Faith and lock you two in a room together.” She marched back into the living room where the other Slayer was just beginning to come around.
Spike clapped him on the shoulder, smirking at him. “Good luck, mate.”
Giles just raised his eyebrows. “You can still leave.”
“No, I can do this,” Wesley replied, squaring his shoulders. “At least, I want to try.”
“You’ll need to do better than that,” Giles replied.
~~~~~
Wesley was trying very hard not to let anyone see his hands shake. The way Faith was staring at him, you’d think she was trying to cut him down with her glare alone. When he had insisted on accompanying Giles, it had merely been because he’d felt as though they were all cutting him out of the loop, as though he wasn’t capable of contributing anything.
He really did want to contribute something.
This was something he’d always excelled at, however—magic. Not that he had a great deal of power, of course. Wesley knew himself well enough to know that he would never make a great wizard, but he did have a very focused will, and a small amount of talent.
In other words, he had what it took to force Faith to tell the truth, to give them important information about the Mayor’s plans. He had a chance to make a difference.
If he didn’t end up losing the contents of his stomach first.
Mixing the spell components was simple enough; it called for accuracy and nothing more. The words themselves were fairly simple, too, calling for the enemy’s tongue to be bound. When Wesley spoke the final words, he cast a handful of the powder over Faith, who sneezed and continued to glare at him.
“Is that it?” Buffy asked. “Are you sure it worked?”
Wesley took a deep breath. “Why don’t you ask Faith a question she would normally lie about?”
“Are you working for the Mayor, Faith?” Spike asked.
The dark-haired Slayer appeared to struggle with herself, her mouth twisting with the effort not to respond. “Yes!” she finally spat out, glaring at him.
“Think it’s working, pet.” Spike stood, walking over to stand close to her. “Then why don’t you tell us what the Mayor is planning.”
Faith struggled against the magical coercion, finally saying, “He’s going to Ascend.”
“What does that mean?” Giles asked.
“It means he’ll be powerful enough to rule Sunnydale,” Faith replied, snarling. “And the first thing he’ll do is make sure you all die.”
“How novel,” Buffy commented. “Another bad guy who wants to kill me.” She faced Faith. “When?”
Faith struggled again, finally saying, “Graduation Day.”
They grilled her for another hour, asking endless variations of the same questions, trying to get more details, but that was essentially all the information they received. Faith didn’t know much about the Mayor’s long term plans, only that he would be powerful enough to rule Sunnydale, and that the means to take power was the Ascension, set to take place on Graduation Day.
Of course, what they hadn’t really talked about was what they were going to do with the rogue Slayer once they had the desired information.
“We can’t turn her over to the police,” Buffy said, during their whispered conference in the kitchen. “They won’t be able to hold her.”
“Nor the Council, I’m sorry to say,” Wesley admitted. “Last time—”
“Last time they botched the job completely,” Giles interrupted. “What would you suggest, Spike?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’m torn.”
Buffy stared at him. “You aren’t thinking—”
“Thought about it and decided against it,” he assured her. “It did enter my head, though.”
Wesley frowned. “What—oh. You were thinking about killing her.”
“Shh!” Buffy warned him. “Keep your voice down.” She looked at Giles. “Any other options?”
Giles shook his head. “We could keep her chained up somewhere, but I hardly think that’s a feasible solution. There would have to be someone there to guard her at all times, and I don’t think we can spare the two of you.” Buffy and Spike nodded, knowing that he was referring to the fact that of all of them, they were the only ones with a shot at controlling Faith if she was to get loose.
“She can stay here for a couple of days,” Spike finally said. “We can keep her that long.”
Buffy moved slightly so that she could see where Faith was sitting from the kitchen, just to check on her. The sight before her eyes did not make her happy. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
Spike moved behind her, cursing. “Bloody hell. I checked those chains!”
“She’s a Slayer,” Buffy said quietly. “We get the job done, whatever that happens to be.”
~~~~~
“Well, this is all most unfortunate,” the Mayor said.
“I tried to fight the spell!” Faith protested.
Mayor Wilkins waved off her excuses. “Oh, I’m sure you did your best, Faith. Truth spells are impossible to fight unless you’ve specifically warded against them.” He shrugged. “It’s no matter. They don’t know enough to pose a threat to my plans.”
Faith frowned. “Are you sure? I could kill them for you.”
The Mayor smiled at her enthusiasm. “I’m sure you could, but let’s put that off for right now. There’ll be time enough for killing later.” He frowned. “I’ll have to think about something to do with that vampire, though. He’s proving to be a bit more trouble than I’d anticipated.”
“His soul should have been gone,” Faith muttered.
“No doubt,” Mayor Wilkins agreed. “That mage certainly didn’t do the job I’d hired him for. Unfortunately, there’s no way to get my money back.” He paused. “Or my sacrifices back. No, that plan is a bust, but I’ve got others.” He smiled at her. “So don’t you worry your pretty little head, Faith. They might be able to anticipate my Ascension, but they certainly won’t be able to stop it. And anticipation just makes the event that much better, you know.”
~~~~~
“We need to know more about the Mayor.”
It was a rather obvious statement given that they knew next to nothing about the man himself, and the great threat he posed to Sunnydale. Of course, no one really expected anything different from Wesley.
“What about the computer files?” Giles asked Willow . “Did you find anything there?”
Willow shook her head. “No. By the time I got through the encryptions, they were all empty. I’m guessing that Faith told him I was coming.”
“We could break into the Mayor’s office,” Buffy suggested.
Spike shook his head. “Far be it from me to be the voice of caution, but I think we ought to save B&E for dire circumstances. We get caught in there…” He trailed off.
Giles nodded. “I’m going to have to agree with Spike,” he said, looking at Buffy. “The risk is too great at the moment. We’ll save that for when we really need the information.”
“What about the Hall of Records?” Oz asked. “Go straight to the source.”
“That’s a good idea,” Wesley commented. “I imagine there ought to be plenty of information there.”
Giles nodded. “Wesley, why don’t you take a group to the Hall of Records?”
“I’m with Wesley’s group,” Cordelia chimed in.
Buffy and Spike exchanged looks. “There’s just the one group, Cordelia,” Giles said dryly.
“You need us for that?” Spike asked. “I’m not sure Buffy and me will be of as much use.”
Buffy nodded, appreciating the opportunity to get out of research, never her favorite task. “I’m thinking that we should patrol. Make sure things stay quiet.”
Giles eyed them suspiciously. He suspected that they probably wanted to spend some time together. Spike spoke up before the older Watcher could say anything. “Might be a better idea to do some research of our own,” he pointed out. “If the Mayor was using Trick, he might have other demonic resources.”
Giles pursed his lips. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“I’m sure the Slayer is more suited to that sort of research,” Wesley said. “Why don’t you accompany her, Spike?”
They both stared at him, knowing that Wesley was repeating what they had just said in order to make it sound like the suggestion came from him rather than from Giles.
“Right,” Spike said. “We’ll do that then.” He rolled his eyes, offering Buffy his hand, which she took gracefully. “See you lot later then.”
Buffy waited until they were outside before saying, “Thank you. If I had to spend the night looking over dusty old books…”
“Not your thing, luv,” Spike replied. “I get that. Not really my cup of tea either.”
“So did you mean what you said about looking for the Mayor’s contacts?”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “You got a better idea?”
Buffy smiled. “Well, maybe not a better idea, but definitely an idea for later. What would you say to a movie?”
~~~~~
“The Mayor is really a bad guy?” Joyce asked. “He always seemed like such a nice man.”
“A nice man who has been around since at least the turn of the century,” Giles commented. Joyce was tucked up next to him, and he was idly playing with her hair. “The more we learn about Mayor Wilkins, the more concerned I become. We know next to nothing about this Ascension.”
Joyce caught his free hand with one of her own. “But you’ll figure it out.”
“Perhaps.” Giles didn’t sound very certain. “I very much fear that we’ve gone too long without stopping him. There may be no way to prevent the Ascension from occurring.”
“I doubt that,” Joyce said. “Between you and Buffy and Spike, you ought to be able to come up with something.”
Giles tilted his head down. “Does Buffy know you’re out?”
“She thinks I’m working late,” Joyce replied. “That is, if she’s been home to see my note. Buffy’s with Spike so much of the time these days that I wouldn’t be surprised if she hasn’t gotten home yet.” Seeing the expression on Giles’ face, Joyce smiled. “And, no, I don’t mind. Spike is a good man, and I trust that he’ll keep Buffy safe.”
“Even though he’s a vampire?”
Joyce shook her head. “You know, with Spike that doesn’t seem to be as much of a factor. He’s—”
“He’s very human,” Giles said, providing the words. “I remember hearing stories about him when I was in the Watcher’s Academy. He was something of a legend. No one believed that he really existed, of course, but I think we all wished he was real. We were like children who wanted to believe in Santa Claus.”
“And now that he’s real?” Joyce asked, knowing that all-too-often real life turned beloved legend into disappointment.
A far-away light entered Giles’ eyes. “Now? I feel as though I’m living out history. It’s a rather heady experience, I must admit.”
~~~~~
“You sure your mum won’t mind?” Spike asked as they entered the house.
Buffy shook her head. “No, if she’s even home. Mom’s been working late a lot lately.”
Spike had to fight back a smile. He had a feeling that Joyce wasn’t at the gallery tonight, but rather was keeping Rupert company . When he had called in to let the Watcher know that they’d been successful at disposing of some of the Mayor’s vampire contacts, and that they were safe, he’d heard a soft, feminine voice in the background.
He just hoped that he wouldn’t be the one to inadvertently reveal the secret. Spike would hate to see Buffy’s reaction if she ever found out that he knew her Watcher and her mum were spending their nights together.
Of course, technically he didn’t know. He only suspected.
“So what are we watching?” he asked.
Buffy grinned. “Well, since you’re old, I thought we could raid Mom’s collection of black and white flicks.”
“I am not old!” Spike protested. “I’ll have you know that vampires don’t age a day after they’ve been turned.”
Buffy’s expression turned thoughtful. “How old were you?”
Spike hesitated, uncertain that he wanted to go down this road tonight. “Twenty six,” he finally admitted.
“Really?” She frowned, now doubly curious. “What did you do?”
He tried to distract her with the movie. “You know, we should start the show before—”
“Talking is also part of a date,” Buffy said. “Unless you don’t want to tell me.”
The hint of a pout was enough to have Spike acquiescing, however ungraciously. “I was a gentleman,” he replied. ” Which means I did a bloody lot of nothing. “
“Oh.” Buffy looked impressed. “Does that mean you were ind ependently wealthy?”
“Not rich, but we were well enough off,” Spike corrected her.
“Did you have family?”
“I had a mum.”
The tone of Spike’s voice told Buffy that the subject was closed for the evening. “I guess it’s a good thing that Mom likes you so much then,” she commented. “You get a girlfriend and a mom for the price of one.”
Spike’s face softened. “Yeah. I like your mum.”
“That’s good, because I like you.”
Spike kissed her, and Buffy nev er wanted it to end. In fact, it probably wouldn’t have ended—or it would have been carried out to its logical conclusion—except for the sound of the front door opening and closing. They broke apart just in time to regain a decorous distance from one another.
“Oh, good, Buffy. You’re home,” Joyce said. Although she did like Spike, she was less than thrilled to see him, mostly because he had that knowing light in his eyes again. “Did you guys have a good night?”
“We did,” Buffy replied, biting back a sigh. She apologized to Spike with her eyes. “I should probably get to bed.”
“I have to be getting home,” he replied, giving her a chaste kiss on the lips. “‘Night, Buffy. ‘ Night, Joyce,” he said, giving the older woman a respectful nod as he went out the door.
Joyce waited until Spike was well out of earshot before she spoke. “Would you do me a favor?”
Buffy gave her mom a wary look. “What’s that?”
“Please don’t tell me anything I don’t want to know.” Joyce kissed her daughter on the forehead. “There are times when ignorance is definitely bliss.”
Buffy couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief. “Will do.”