Chapter 8: The Killer Within
“Does anyone besides me get the clear feeling that this.Haunting was laughing its ass off at us last night?” Dawn demanded, leaning forward on the table in front of her to address the assembled demon hunters.
“If by laughin’ its ass off, you mean borin’ the two ‘f us to death while it screws with everyone else’s heads,” Spike agreed.
“Sort of a welcome ‘nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah’,” Buffy added.
“Well, I refuse to be made fun of,” Dawn replied to the other nods she received. “We may not know how to kill this thing, but we’re sure as hell not going to be scared off by it.”
“It wasn’t the cause of my.concern last night,” Veronica provided in her usual drawl, her crimson hair combed so that it obscured her blackened eye. She shot a nasty glare in Buffy’s direction.
“See, that’s where I think you’re wrong,” Dawn pointed out. “An inordinate amount of freaky stuff happened last night – most of it involving us. I think there’s a good chance that this Haunting’s capable of possessing us. Or, if nothing else, at least influencing us. ‘Cause the only commonalties I’m picking up from all the stories about last night are that people were acting nuts and getting into fights and there were a lot of strange, glowing red lights.”
“I didn’t notice any fighting,” Lena said pointedly, scowling at Xel as she did so. The human disguises the two D’voraks wore during the day were cast aside now, and antennae were bristling as irritably as ever.
“That’s because you never notice anything, honey.” The epithet fell from Xel’s lips with false sweetness.
“You were the one that took-” Lena began.
“Can we not do this right now?” Buffy cut them off, annoyed.
The pair huffed but thankfully remained silent.
“OK, so we’ll all agreed that people are fighting a lot?” Dawn continued with a wry smile.
Spike, Buffy, Rick, and Veronica were all amused as well. Xel and Lena didn’t get the joke.
“Now, believe it or not, I’ve come to realize that you’re all mostly reasonable people. In the daytime, at least,” Dawn amended. “This thing seems to be working its evils more at night, so I’m betting that we’re going to have to put up with more weirdness tonight.”
“And how do we deal with this.’weirdness’, as you so eloquently put it?” Veronica was busy intently studying her long, red-polished nails, nail file in hand to correct any potential flaws she might find.
Dawn mentally docked one name from her list of potentially reasonable people. “You claim to be a demon hunter,” she said matter-of-factly, “so prove it. You can’t tell me you’ve never dealt with psychological attacks before.”
“That’s your brilliant advice?” Veronica whined.
“Maybe if you would just shut up and listen for five minutes, she would be better able to explain.”
Everyone started at the sound of Rick’s voice. With everyone else’s fondness for sarcasm, yelling, and just generally trying to boss everyone else around, they frequently forgot that the quiet man was even there.
Dawn gave him a grateful smile when she recovered from her surprise, and his lips twitched in response. The ever-present dark sunglasses prevented her from seeing any reaction other than that, however.
“Meditative techniques sometimes work in these situations,” Buffy explained helpfully.
“As does just a general awareness that you might be being manipulated,” Dawn provided. “Keep a close eye on your own actions and on those of the people around you. Anything seems strange, and you point it out. You do not let things escalate out of control like they did last night.”
“A fine theory,” Lena said testily, “but we have no idea whether it’ll work in practice.”
“Lena! Be polite!” Xel snapped before turning his eyes back to Dawn and looking her body up and down in an unashamed manner.
Dawn frowned at the inappropriate attentions, as did Spike. Not-so-subtly, he moved to stand between her and the leering demon.
“We’re testing out if it works tonight,” Dawn announced, getting back on topic. “We still need to learn as much about this thing as possible. And, despite all the chaos last night, we did pick up a few clues. So, we’re still sticking to the master plan. We’ll divide up into groups just like last night-“
“I’m paired with her again?!” Veronica exclaimed over-dramatically and gesturing to Buffy like she was a psychopath or something.
Dawn rolled her eyes. “No,” she said in a tight voice. “As I was about to explain, you and Spike will work together tonight. You’ll have the restaurant again. Xel, Lena, I’m giving you the game room.”
“What?” Lena said, obviously disappointed. “Rrricardo won’t be joining us?” The rolled the ‘R’ in his name for a ridiculously long time.
Rick flinched noticeably and backed away from the preening demoness.
Dawn sighed. “Buffy, Rick, you two are with me in the pool room. Now, are there any more objections?” The glare she sent everyone said all too clearly that there better not be. “Let’s go then.”
* * *
“See somethin’ you like, luv?” Spike practically purred, glancing for the first time over to where Veronica was blatantly admiring him.
“Would you be shocked if I said ‘yes’?” she asked coyly. She crossed her legs, allowing her tight, red leather skirt to ride up further on her tanned thighs.
Spike licked his lips in response to the sight of bared skin. “Takes quite a bit to shock me,” he retorted with a little smirk.
“Mmm, I’ll bet,” she agreed with a deep sigh. Swinging her legs in a graceful arc, she rose from the table she’d settled herself on and approached him like a cat stalking its prey. One long red nail traced its way up the center of his chest as she stood before him, and she won a sharp intake of breath in response. “After all, you’ve got ‘Bad Boy’ written all over you.”
Spike surprised himself and Veronica by pushing away and moving to pace about the room. Displeased at this turn of events, Veronica sat back down on the table with a huff.
“So, er.how’d you get caught up in this gig, then?” he abruptly asked, trying to break up the awkward tension in the room.
Veronica let out a weary sigh. “Inherited daddy’s fortune and decided to actually live. Demon hunting’s a simply fabulous way to get some adventure out of life.” She threw her head back in time with the ‘fabulous’, allowing the ends of her crimson locks to brush the table behind her. It was a suggestive gesture, not unlike that of a woman in the throes of passion, and all the more so to Spike who now had a clear view of the vulnerable column of her throat.
He gulped, then shook the thoughts from his head. “In it for the fun of the kill, then, ‘ey luv?” he responded with a chuckle.
“The fun,” she agreed, “and the power.” Her eyes looked like a tiger’s as she said it.
“With you on that,” he nodded, plucking a cigarette from its pack and slipping it between his lips. “You mind?” he inquired, searching for his lighter.
“Not as long as you share,” she retorted with a smile, approaching him once more.
He removed the cigarette from his mouth, and she took it, leaning in when he produced the small flame. He lit up a second cigarette for himself, and they breathed in the heady aroma of tobacco together.
“Thanks, handsome,” she said with a smile as she took another drag. “So, wild night, huh?”
Spike’s scarred eyebrow rose when their thighs brushed, but he made no comment. “Had a dull one last night, too. Was actually hopin’ for a bit o’ blood tonight.”
“An action kinda guy, are we?” she inquired, her eyes raking over his form once more.
A smile lit up his face at that. “Some would say that,” he agreed. “Although, technically, ‘m more of a blood kinda guy.” He took the smoke deep into his dead lungs and held it there for a moment, letting it warm him from the inside out before he released it through his nose in a steady stream.
“Hmm, I had my suspicions about you.” Veronica’s hand lingered over his long enough to determine that it was cool and confirm her theory. “Only the undead have skin that perfect.”
He chuckled. “Tha’s why we all agree to be turned, actually. Saves a fortune on skin-care products.”
“You’re not concerned?” Veronica asked, a well-penciled eyebrow raised. “You’re not worried that I’m going to stake you now that I know?”
A delighted guffaw followed that statement. “Oh, you’re welcome to try, luv. But keep in mind that all who tried before you met ugly ends.”
“Seems a waste, anyway,” she shrugged. “So, do I risk getting my throat snapped for asking you why you kill your own kind?”
“Gotta watch after my Bit,” he said seriously. “Help her out with her work ‘s all.”
“Ah, yes,” Veronica nodded. “This Dawn. What’s the deal with you two anyway? Tragic love that can never exist in this world?”
“Strange bird, aren’cha?” He shook his head. “Adopted her,” he explained. “Took her in and brought her up. Mind you, she was old enough that she actually did more parentin’ than I ever did.”
“Vampires watch after homeless children now?” Veronica repeated incredulously.
“Just my Bit,” he answered simply as if that statement would answer every question in the universe.
Veronica decided she didn’t care. “You’re different from the other vamps I’ve known,” she commented off-handedly.
“‘m different from everyone ‘ve known,” he shot back proudly, “demon or otherwise.” Well, except for one. He banished the thought before it had a chance to consume him and turned a curious glance to the woman at his side. “That troubles you?”
She gave him a lazy, seductive smile. “Not at all,” she assured him. “In fact, I find it most.fortunate.” Her gaze had turned predatory once more, and their thighs and hands brushed as they sat side by side.
“Oh?” He moved away once more, neatly plucking an ashtray from the restaurant’s bar and stubbing out his cigarette in it.
“You hear the rumors about vamps, you know,” she explained, taking the ashtray he offered her gratefully.
“Rumors?” he feigned ignorance.
“Just vague things,” she continued to play their little game. “Enough to get a girl curious, though.”
“Such as?” A definite smile was quirking at the edges of his lips now.
“Just the usual stuff,” she shrugged. Her eyes rested on his sharp cheekbones, and she licked her lips. “Strength, power, stamina. You hear things about creativity, too. All those ideas vamps can pick up over the centuries. Not to mention those rumors that certain other.enhancements come with being turned.”
He chuckled at that last one. “Don’t hear that one too often anymore,” he commented, cocking his head to one side as he studied her.
“Is it true, then?” she asked flirtatiously.
“That remains to be seen,” he retorted coyly. “What I’m surprised, is that you din’t hear all the fang mythology that goes along with it.”
“Oh, I have,” she agreed his a husky whisper, moving so that she stood between where his thighs dangled over the table edge. She could actually feel the heat of her own breath as it was reflected back at her by his cool skin. “They say there’s nothing like it,” she continued. “That moment of pain when your flesh is first pierced and then…complete and utter bliss.”
Spike felt his demon demanding to surface in response. A wave of blood-lust like nothing he’d felt in years came over him, and he wanted nothing more than to sink deep into her throat, feel her body convulse beneath him in pleasure and pain as he took her, savor the honey-coated waves of fear that settled over her body as her heart slowed and she realized that this was her final moment. His vision turned blood-red with the power of the images, and he felt his face shift, and.
“Bloody hell!” He leapt back in horror, forcing his demon down once more.
Veronica frowned at the frightened look on his face. “Are you all right?” she asked hesitantly.
He shook his head vigorously. “We’ve got to find the others,” he insisted. “Safety in numbers and all.”
“Safety from what?” Her brow furrowed for a moment before her eyes widened. “Uh.r-right.” She was stuttering with fear now. “Your friend? Dawn? She’s in the pool room, right?”
He nodded and together, although with considerable distance between them, they fled the latest near miss.
* * *
“Wait a minute,” Rick spoke up for the first time as they wandered about the pool aimlessly, “you two are sisters?”
“The last name didn’t clue you in?” Buffy shot back.
He seemed a bit flustered by this. “It is a common name,” he pointed out. “And I had thought that you weren’t working together.”
Buffy and Dawn exchanged a look. “We’re not,” Dawn admitted. “We actually haven’t seen each other in over five years.”
“It’s actually a pretty amazing coincidence,” Buffy added thoughtfully. “You don’t think.? Nah.” She shook it off.
“Ah,” Rick said, clearly curious as to the unusual circumstance but not wanting to pry.
“Our dad left when we were kids, and our mom died some years later,” Buffy explained the story but without the painful, personal details. “Dawnie was picked up by a foster family in New York after that, and-“
“Well, not exactly,” Dawn admitted sheepishly.
Buffy turned a confused look in her direction. “Social Services told me you’d been adopted by a nice married couple,” she stated.
“And you never found it even slightly suspicious that my foster parents’ names were Sid and Nancy?” Dawn inquired.
Buffy obviously didn’t get it. “Why would that be suspicious?” she wondered.
Dawn rolled her eyes. “Guess which one of us has been exposed to way too much punk music?” she asked rhetorically.
Buffy’s eyes widened in understanding. “Spike?” she asked in disbelief. “How on earth did a vampire qualify as a legal guardian?”
“Some strings got pulled,” Dawn whispered conspiratorially. “People in the right places owed Spike some favors and.viola! Vamp-raised me.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t even know that,” Buffy shook her head. She turned back to Rick. “Hence, proving my point that we haven’t seen each other in forever.”
He nodded in response. “You seem to get on quite well for having been distanced for so long,” he commented.
Buffy and Dawn exchanged another look.
“Yeah,” Dawn admitted hesitantly, a bit of surprise in her tone, “I guess we do.”
“If you want, you can just pretend it’s because you’re made out of me,” Buffy offered.
Dawn smiled at that. “Thanks,” she agreed.
Rick looked back and forth between them, completely puzzled. “Huh?” he asked eloquently.
“Summers thing,” they said in perfect unison before both breaking out into giggles at their synchronicity.
Rick backed away slowly, convinced that, like all women, these two were crazy. Fortunately, he was saved at that moment by the frantic entrance of Spike and Veronica.
“What’s wrong?” Dawn asked, immediately on the alert once more.
“Tried to drain my partner,” Spike said simply. “Figured that fell into unusual enough behavior that we should follow our herdin’ instincts.”
Buffy studied Veronica quizzically. “It doesn’t look like you tried very hard,” she pointed out, gesturing to where the other woman’s neck was – unfortunately – still intact.
He made an exaggerated eye-roll in response. “Came here before I bit her,” he said as if it was the most elementary thing in the universe.
Dawn sighed. “Give me the symptoms,” she demanded, sitting on the stone ledge that walled off the pool’s surrounding greenery.
Spike sat across from her, position mirroring hers. “Blood-lust,” he began. “Flashbacks to previous kills. All sorts ‘f overwhelming sensations. Was like something was in the back of my head, sayin’: ‘kill, kill, kill’.”
“And that’s unusual?” Buffy commented.
She got two nasty looks in response.
“I’m just saying,” she began, raising her hands in the air defensively. “Because, y’know, instinctual thrill of the hunt and all. Plus, you always liked to.kill.things.” She trailed off pathetically. “Sorry?” she offered nervously.
Spike shook his head at her. “Valid points. Wasn’t like that. It was like.”
“What?” Dawn asked curiously.
“Seein’ red.”
* * *
Buffy smiled and hummed under her breath as she returned to her room. Even the bickering of the D’vorak odd couple wasn’t enough to sully her mood. Although, if she’d had to come into contact with them for any longer than it took to tell them that they were done for the evening, she might have changed her opinion on that matter.
Still, D’vorak contact had been limited, and Spike contact had been rather extensive. Dawn had picked their brains for anything they could remember just prior to the ‘crazy-psycho-rage’ state, as Buffy had labeled it. Unfortunately, the only thing they could come up with was that they both had the urge to kill Veronica – and that was perfectly natural.
Although, actually, Spike might not have thought so.
Buffy frowned slightly at the memory of the way the pair had been flirting. It was especially irksome given that Veronica was still flinching from her theatrically, but Spike was instantly forgiven for his transgression. Just showed how biased some people were to a pair of gorgeous blue eyes and razor-sharp cheekbones. Yeah, and the fact that you through her into a wall whereas Spike stopped himself in time had nothing to do with it, the non-jealous part of her mind felt obliged to point out.
Still, all in all, things were good. She and Dawn were talking and seemed to be getting along all right, and Spike – however peripherally – was back in her life. It was more than would have dared hope for two days ago. She began to hum louder as the cut through the lobby to get to her room.
And then she realized that the music wasn’t louder because of her humming, but because the tune she’d chosen was being echoed by the grand piano in the sitting room.
Buffy immediately froze to a halt in the hallway. She’d almost forgotten about her own personal Phantom of the Opera, given everything that had been happening of late. Especially since she was keeping the previous night’s encounter from the others.
However, as the haunting melody grew louder, there was no doubt in her mind that the elusive spirit was back. As silent as only a Slayer on the hunt can be, she crept down the hallway, her eyes trained on the cracked open door at the end of the hall.
Just as she got close enough to see through the crack, the music stopped, however. Cursing inventively in her head, Buffy flung open the door and looked inside to see that the sitting room was empty.
Swearing to herself that next time she’d catch her favorite phantom in the act, she headed off to bed and whatever dreams she’d find therein.
* * *
“Please tell me you didn’t sleep with her,” were Dawn’s first words when Spike entered their suite.
He raised an eyebrow in response.
“She’s stuck-up, annoying, and I only paired you up with her to save you the grief of having to work with Buffy,” Dawn clarified. “You were gone for an hour. Please tell me you didn’t sleep with her.”
“I didn’t sleep with her,” he promised before heading to his room without another word.
Dawn frowned at how distant he was being. “Are you all right?” she asked hesitantly. “Did something happen?” She gestured to where he’d just entered the room.
“Went for a walk,” he shrugged. “Tonight was no good, y’know?”
“Yeah.” The concern in Dawn’s eyes indicated that she didn’t quite believe him, but she let it pass. “Goodnight,” she called after him.
“‘Night, Bit.” He shut the door behind him in relief. If there was one thing he loved about Dawn above all else, it was that she didn’t pry into his affairs when he didn’t want her to. And now was definitely one of those times, even though her question revealed just how well she actually knew him.
Please tell me you didn’t sleep with her.
I didn’t sleep with her.
He could have, he knew. Veronica had made it more than clear that she would give him the ride of his life, if only he took her up on her offer. And he could say that with absolute certainty that two days ago he would have done it. He would have buried himself in her heat and lost himself to mind-numbing pleasure and just forgotten.
With an angry growl his fist slammed into the wall, cracking the plaster.
Dammit, nothing’s changed! You’re not like this anymore, mate. You’re not a slave to the blood-lust. And you’re certainly not the Slayer’s neutered puppy.
Despite his internal convictions, however, sleep remained elusive for the vampire all night.