Demons
Home : Stories by Author : Stories by TwiLightJoy : DemonsSummary: Someone - or something - seems to be after Tara and her friends. AU, S3. Part 3 of ongoing series, picks up after A New Life.
AUTHOR: TwiLightJoy
EMAIL: twi_light64@hotmail.com
SEQUEL TO: A New Life
RATING: PG-13
PAIRING: Willow/Tara
SETTING: Takes place around the time of The Wish and ends just before Amends,
in Season 3.
DISCLAIMER: I don't claim ownership, I only love them.
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Tara untied and hung up her apron, then pulled her lightweight Army surplus jacket on. She did a quick cross-and-stake-check and found that both items were still in her jacket pockets. Good to go. Time to head home.
It had been actually pretty easy to accept the whole idea of vampires. Knowing that magic was real, and demons were all too real, vampires really weren't all that much of a stretch. Just taking the proper measures became habit after a couple days, and it had now been almost two weeks. She still hadn't run into a vampire on her own, but according to Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Mr. Giles, it wasn't that uncommon. It was much better to be prepared for the ever-present chance of vamp encounter.
Since the day Willow and Xander had taken her to Buffy, the little group had invited her into their circle. Most times she stuck with Michael and Amy, but she also occasionally joined the 'Scooby Gang,' as Xander called them, in the library or for lunch, and even a few times at the Bronze. As far as the group's social life went, Cordelia was still not speaking with Xander. Or rather, they just traded bitter barbs in the hallways. Buffy had this really confusing relationship with a vampire, Angel. Oz had remained on the fringes of the Scooby Gang, talking mostly only to Buffy and Mr. Giles. He still avoided Willow, and Willow still seemed almost as upset about that as before. How lucky could the guy be, Tara wondered on many occasions, to have Willow fall for him? She was honest, sweet, devoted, intelligent, funny - in short, as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. If only ... if only Willow could at least come to see how special she was to Tara.
Tara had, in her spare time, been reading up and practicing some spells on her own and discussing magic with Amy and Michael, but still hadn't brought the topic up with Willow or the other Scoobies, despite the fact that Willow had hinted that she knew Tara was a witch. For now, Tara preferred it to be private, and unfortunately, the times she was alone with Willow had been all too few. Hopefully that would change. A couple of times, she had tried to get in touch with her cousin Beth, but had been unsuccessful. Maybe this weekend would be better, she thought hopefully.
The fair-haired young woman waved good night to Denise and headed out the back door of the Espresso Pump, taking a deep breath of the night air. She pulled a dark knit cap out of her inside jacket pocket and pulled it down snugly. It was actually pretty warm out for mid-December, and Tara was, for some reason, pretty excited for the whole holiday deal. Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa. Tara's family had been Christmas people - her father's side, anyway - but it didn't really hold many special memories for the witch. Mostly because her family really only got together a few times a year, Christmas being one of those times. So "holiday memories" usually just meant getting yelled at for something or other and being punished too harshly, just like usual only in front of everyone. At least when her mother had been around, there had been something to look forward to.
The Wiccan crossed the street, walking past the old magic shop. Another aspiring merchant had purchased most of the old store's inventory and a newer, bigger magic shop had opened around the corner. Other than that, downtown Sunnydale looked pretty much like it usually did this time of night - sort of bleak in spite of the glitzy holiday decorations, almost like a ghost town. And there were worse things than ghosts on the street, she knew. Things she would rather not meet up with. Tara picked up her pace a little bit, the soles of her scuffed boots making a steady tamp, tamp, tamp on the sidewalk.
Past the jewelry store, the bakery, and several clothing stores she continued. Icicle lights hung in the windows of a few shops; others were lined with garlands and multicolored running lights. It was sort of eerie, actually, the stillness of the seemingly abandoned streets that Tara knew harbored more kinds of monsters than she cared to think about. She wanted to hurry up and get home. One more street, she sighed to herself. Work was really not all that far from home, but having to return late at night inevitably made the walk seem longer. Maybe she would buy a bicycle, she thought with a slight smile, knowing that she wouldn't.
A pair of cats yowled and hissed in the alley the young sorceress passed, the noise so close and sudden it made her stop in her tracks. One of the cats hurriedly dashed out of the alley and directly in front of Tara, and she heard a lone and distant 'tamp' from behind her. Her blue eyes went wide as dinner plates as she hunched her shoulders and reached a hand into her pocket, clutching at the smoothly sanded pine of the stake. She slowly turned around and saw - absolutely nothing. Only an empty plastic bag that rustled its way across the street on a sudden current of air. The petite witch narrowed her eyes and peered into the surrounding shadows suspiciously. Still nothing.
Turning her back on the nothing, Tara continued heading toward her building, the intersection of Court and Main now very close. She kept her hand on the stake and kept her pace measured, though if there was someone following her, they would undoubtedly know that she was now aware of their presence. She listened for footfalls on the street behind her as she went, but her breathing had begun to come harsher, her pulse rate increasing. Her hand felt overly warm and damp inside her pocket as she tightened her grip on the stake.
Unable to take it, the girl spun on her heel, expecting to see someone, or at the very least a mysterious, shadowy figure. Again, the street, sidewalk, and shadows were devoid of anything she could perceive. She turned back around and jogged for the spot-lit green and yellow sign reading "Court Street Apartments" on the building's tiny, scrubby lawn.
Tara reached her left hand into her pocket, fumbling for her keys on the stairway. Finally she managed to pull them out and slip the front door's key into the lock, opening the door and quickly pulling the key ring out to shut the door with a solid metallic bang. Leaning back against the door, she let out a long, deep sigh and pulled the cap from her head. She started up the stairs with heavy steps, now pretty tired out from the little evening jog she'd had.
She made it up the flight of stairs and into her apartment, dropping her cap and sliding out of her jacket, letting it fall to the floor as she pushed the door closed with one foot. With a deep exhalation, Tara plopped onto the couch and reached for the phone.
"H-hello?" a groggy sounding young woman's voice answered.
Oh, sleepy voice! How cute! Tara thought, feeling reassured already. "Willow, I'm sorry for calling so late," she said quickly. "You sound-" completely adorable! "-tired. Were you asleep?"
"Mmm." A muffled thump was heard in the background. "Whoops. Mostly. Tara? What's going on?"
Tara ran a hand through her hair. "I, um, actually, I'm not sure. I was coming home from work, and it - it felt like something was following me."
Willow quickly sat up in her bed. "Was it a vamp? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I mean, a little shaken, but nothing ... I didn't see anything." Geez, way to make with the credible reason for a late night phone call. "I did hear something, though, a couple times. And you know that feeling, like there's someone watching you? Plenty of that."
"You had the wiggins. That's what Buffy calls it, anyway," Willow said. "Well, if it was a vampire, then you know it can't get you now that you're home."
Tara bit her lower lip anxiously. "But if it wasn't a vampire?"
"...Oh. Good point. See, that's not so good." A slight pause and rustling noises. "Not to say that you're in danger! I mean, you probably aren't, but you might be. Argh. I'm probably not helping much."
"No, no, you are. It helps to talk to you," the fair-haired witch admitted. "The apartment is just a little lonely when I get home at night."
Tara could practically see the Willow-smile. "I'm glad I help." Then comes the practical advice. "So just um, I'd say to keep your doors and windows locked and your shades drawn. I'm sure you'd do that anyway, but it kinda makes me feel better to make sure you do it."
Tara chuckled over the line. "Then I'm glad I can make you feel better, too. I'll make sure I do that for you."
"Okay. I'm not sure you should call Buffy, she might still be out patrolling. But we'll have a Scooby thing in the library tomorrow before homeroom, I'll make sure they both know." Willow yawned quietly. "Mmm. Oh, and you might want to..."
"Want to what?" the blonde asked after Willow's voice trailed off.
"Oh, um, just ... nothing."
"No, Willow, what is it?" she inquired gently. "If there's something else you think I should do, you can tell me."
"It's just that, I'm not sure if it's something you ... can do," Willow stated hesitantly.
Tara's face showed slight confusion. "What is it?" she repeated.
"A warding spell. If you can do that, I mean, it would be a good thing to, to help repel anything that might want to get in," the flame-haired witch said uncertainly. "But like I said, I'm not sure you can do one."
A smile of understanding spread across the Wiccan's face. "Oh, that's what that was about. I haven't been able to find a good time to tell you, so I'm kinda glad you brought it up." She walked around the small apartment with the cordless phone, checking the locks as she went, until she ended up in her bedroom, where she sat cross-legged on the bed. "Yeah, I can put up a ward around the apartment easy."
"So you are! I thought you were um, a, a witch. I got these vibes from you. Plus, you hang around with Amy and Michael a lot. And the magic shop, you said you were there one time," Willow presented her evidence gleefully before getting back on topic. "So yeah, um, I'd also to the spell."
Tara laughed again. "I will, Willow. Now I should let you get back to sleep. And I'll take care of the warding and get to sleep myself."
Willow yawned again in spite of her excitement. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea, sleeping. I'll see you tomorrow at the library, okay?"
"Okay," Tara smiled. "Thanks again. And sweet dreams!"
"You too," the other witch answered. "Night, Tara."
"Night, Willow, bye."
"Bye!"
Both women hung their lines up at the same time, and Tara couldn't keep a smile off of her face for the rest of the night. In fact, when she woke up the next morning, she was still smiling. And for some reason, she couldn't stop humming to herself. She tried to quit doing it, but by the time she arrived in the Sunnydale High library, she was whistling a melody that she made up as she went along.
"Tara, good morning," Mr. Giles said from behind the counter. "Buffy and Willow should be right along, and Xander is bringing donuts. Just, ah," he gestured to the central table with his glasses, which he then began to polish, "just have a seat there."
Within moments of taking her seat, Xander strolled in through the wooden double doors of the library with Willow following him. A plain white box was set in the middle of the table, and the boy opened it with a flourish. "May I present, breakfast." He grabbed a glazed chocolate one and plopped into a chair, leaning back to eat.
Willow and Tara both leaned over the box, looking over the sweet-scented pastries together. "Ooh, maple bar!" Tara exclaimed, reaching in for it. "My favorite."
"Save a jelly for me," the librarian piped up, still organizing the return cart of books that had been dropped off.
Willow looked over her shoulder and grinned at Giles. "Don't we always?" Turning back to the donuts, she selected a creme-filled, chocolate frosted one and seated herself between Xander and Tara. The students ate their donuts, waiting quietly for the Slayer. "So Buffy's on her way?" Willow finally asked.
"Buffy's here," the tiny blonde announced as one of the doors swung open and she passed through it. "Snyder delay-age. Ooh, and donuts. Buffy wants donuts!"
"Buffy needs to stop speaking in the third person," Xander observed as the Slayer chose her donut from the box.
Giles stood up behind the counter. "Oh, do save the-"
Buffy turned, a powdered jelly donut with a bite out of it in one hand. "Save the what?" she asked after swallowing the bite.
"...Jelly," he finished, disappointed that he'd lost his favorite donut.
Xander raised the box to show Giles the contents. "Not to worry, G-man, I got two of them."
The man brightened and stepped out from behind the counter to take the donut. "All right, then, let's get started. Patrol went well last night?"
"Staked three vamps," Buffy reported cheerily. "Then on the way home I got jumped by this slimy, spiny thing. It was a world of ick." She wrinkled up her nose.
"And I take it you, you eliminated it?" the Watcher inquired.
"Yup. Beheaded, showered, went to bed."
Giles nodded, still holding the powdered donut sort of defensively, and looked toward the other students. "And the rest of you? Willow tell me you had an, an encounter of sorts, Tara?"
Tara nodded. "It wasn't, I didn't actually see anything. But I'm pretty sure I was followed from work to my building. I heard footsteps behind me, but every time I looked, there wasn't anything I could see."
Giles took this in. "It may have been something invisible," he speculated, "or perhaps something with natural camouflaging. Or it may be that it was merely, merely hiding. Buffy," he directed, "please walk home with Tara tonight, keep an eye and ear out for anything suspicious. We shall meet back up tomorrow morning for a report." He glanced at his pocketwatch. "And I'm afraid it's nearly time for the first bell. I'm sure you'll stop in again later in the day. And Xander?"
"Yeah?" the young man responded quizzically.
Giles smiled. "Thanks for your anticipation with the jellies."
Tara pulled her chair out and sat down across from Amy at their usual lunch table. "Hi," she said with a greeting smile for her friend.
"Hi, Tara," Amy replied. "How's your day going?"
Tara furrowed her brow in thought as she reached for her apple. "Mmm, it's been a little weird. Did, uh, have you seen Michael today? He wasn't in History this morning."
The dark haired witch shook her head. "I called his house during my study period, but I only got the machine. I'm kinda worried; it isn't like him to cut school. At least, not without letting me know about it."
"Maybe he just had a doctor's appointment or something, and forgot to tell us," Tara suggested hopefully. "Or it was a dentist appointment, and he mentally blocked it."
Amy sighed. "I hope you're right. Anyway, how was work last night? Was Mary there?" she asked with a suggestive grin.
The Wiccan shook her head. "It was her night off, and exactly why are you grinning at me like that?"
"Come on, Tara, she only has the biggest crush on you. Don't tell me you didn't notice that!"
"Me? Um ... n-no," she said, her cheeks taking on a pink tint. "What would anyone see in me?"
Amy winked. "Why don't you ask her that? I'm sure she has an endless list of things to like about you." She nodded her head towards where Mary sat, and Tara followed her gaze.
To her surprise, the girl with the wavy chestnut brown hair had been looking in Tara's direction, and offered a smile and a wave. Tara waved back, then quickly turned back to Amy. "Wha - how - why didn't you tell me!?" she hissed urgently, having been completely clueless.
Amy raised her eyebrows incredulously. "Well, I find it kind of hard to believe that you had no idea. I mean, you see the girl here, at the GSA meetings, and at work. There had to have been indications that she wanted to spend more time with you somewhere. Not to mention, she was kind of obvious about it."
"Well, yeah, but I thought she was just being friendly!" Tara exclaimed. "I didn't know she-"
"Oh, here she comes," Amy interrupted.
Sure enough, Mary approached the little table by the window. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she smiled at the two witches. "Hey, um, mind if I sit with you?"
"No, not at all," Amy answered quickly, moving over to let her take the seat directly across from Tara.
Tara aimed a light kick at Amy under the table, but instead hit her shin on one of the support bars hidden beneath. "Ow!" she yelped, pulling her leg back toward her body and simultaneously shoving her chair backwards with her uninjured leg. She overbalanced, and her chair tipped backwards in slow motion, her blue eyes going wide as she felt herself falling. She landed with a crash, feeling bruises forming not only on her shin, but also on her lower back where the chair's back rammed into her and where she'd bumped her head on the floor.
The entire cafeteria turned toward the sound and saw a girl with a bright red face and long golden hair struggling to get up without having her skirt slip any farther upwards. The students burst into applause, making her turn even redder in the face. Another girl with dark wavy hair hurried over to the blonde's side to help her up, the third table-mate also rising to help.
"Oh, god, Tara, are you okay?" Mary asked with concern, extending her hands to help her up.
Amy knelt on her other side. "Come on, let's get you up."
"You're going to shoot me, right?" Tara asked, gingerly getting up with her friends' help. "'Cause that was really, really embarrassing." One hand went to the back of her head, the other to her shin.
Amy righted the chair and grabbed most of Tara's lunch, quickly wrapping it in napkins and putting it in her own brown paper bag. "We'll get you out of here. Do you need to go to the nurse?"
"I-I don't think so," she answered haltingly. "Just, let's go."
Mary reached out to steady the fair-haired female's smaller frame, and Tara allowed her co-worker to assist her. Together, the trio walked out to the courtyard, taking a seat on the nearest unoccupied bench. Mary hovered closely over Tara, trying to make sure she was all right. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault."
"What makes you think that?" Tara inquired, lifting her skirt slightly to study the mark on her shin. "It was just me being clumsy. It happens from time to time."
"Whoa, Tara, what's that scar from?" Amy wondered.
Quickly, Tara dropped her skirt, hiding both the spreading purple bruise and the two-inch long scar on the side of her leg. "Um, um..." She fumbled for a scar story. "It, ah, I was climbing this tree a couple years ago, a-and I slipped. See, clumsy me."
Amy nodded and opened up the paper sack with their lunches in it. "Mary, want some food? I've got a PB&J and some Doritos," she offered. The short haired witch handed Tara her apple again.
"I'm okay, thanks. As long as you're all right, Tara?"
Tara blushed. "I'm fine, Mary, it's not your fault," she reiterated. "Don't worry about me."
The brown eyed girl nodded. "I'll try," she smiled. "I better, um, get going now. I'll see you tonight though. Bye, Amy, Tara."
~~
"I still can't believe I fell out of my chair, in front of everyone!" Tara squeaked. "Now they'll all laugh at me for the whole rest of the year!"
"Aww, that's not true," Willow said, placing a hand comfortingly on the fair-haired witch's forearm. "They'll forget about it as soon as the next person falls out of their chair."
Xander shook his head. "You know, some people still make comments about the time I fell off the risers in the fifth grade holiday concert dress rehearsal." Again, he belatedly noticed that Willow was giving him a look. "Bitter, bitter people, with grudges. I'm sure they'll forget all about it before the week's out, Tara."
Tara half-smiled at the Scoobies. "Thanks. You're the best."
"So we'll be back at 11 to walk you home, okay?" Buffy reminded the Wiccan. "Or, I will be, anyway. These two, I'm gonna try to convince to stay home. If there's too large a crowd, the creepies tend to avoid. Not that we want to attract creepies, we just want to make sure we can find something out."
"Right," Tara affirmed with a smile. "I'll see you then."
"Amy, what's up?" Tara asked into the receiver. She'd never had a personal call at work before, so she figured it would have to be something really important.
"Well, I finally got through at Michael's house. He's in the hospital!" Amy said, sounding very upset.
Tara gasped, "Oh my gosh, is he - is he okay?"
"Well, his dad says he should be fine, they're releasing him tomorrow hopefully." She drew in a breath and let it slowly out. "He was beaten, last night I guess. He made it all the way home on his own, luckily nothing was broken, he was just cut and bruised, and his ribs were slightly fractured. Whoever did this to him also knocked out one of his teeth, so he has to be fitted for a replacement. He'll be okay, he didn't even need any stitches, but my god, that was Michael!"
Tara was unsure what to say. This was one of her friends; she felt pretty much the same way Amy did about the young Goth. "Well, I'm glad he'll be okay. We can go visit him when he gets out, right?"
"Yeah, he should be back in school pretty quickly, too, they said." Another sigh. "Well, I just thought I should fill you in on how he is, and I didn't think leaving a message at the apartment was the right way to do it."
Tara nodded, grateful she'd called. "Yeah, thanks so much for calling, Amy. I'll talk to you in the morning."
~~
Later that night, Tara flipped the sign on the front door of the Espresso Pump to "Closed" as Mary lowered the blinds. "Are you sure you don't need a ride home, Tara?"
"No, I'm going with Buffy," she explained. "We'll be fine, but thanks for asking."
Mary smiled down at the shorter woman. "Any time. It's probably a good idea to have Buffy with you."
Tara tilted her head curiously, she thought no one else know the petite blonde was ... 'special.' "Why do you say that?"
"Well, you hit your head today. I mean, you don't have any signs of a concussion or anything like that, but it's better to be careful. If Buffy wasn't going to be here, I'd definitely make sure you weren't walking home on your own." The waitresses walked into the back room to clock out, and Tara put her jacket on after removing her apron. They then headed out the back door, Mary bidding good night to Buffy and Tara and heading to her Ford Escort.
"I take it you managed to talk Xander and Willow into staying home?" Tara asked with a half-smile.
Buffy nodded, grinning. "Willow seemed to want to come along pretty badly, but I finally got her to stay at home this time." She led the way out of the parking lot and around to the street.
Willow wanted to help, Tara beamed. "How come she wanted to come so much, you think?" she asked quietly.
"You know, I'm really not sure," the Slayer admitted. "She's just kinda protective of her friends. I guess she'd like to give a piece of her mind to whatever nasty scared you last night."
The pair walked down the still streets, Buffy's pace matching Tara's slightly longer strides easily. The tinsel-covered window displays still looked slightly creepy, especially the fabric and clothing stores with their mannequins in the windows. They turned to cross the street, a lone pickup rumbling past as they waited for the crosswalk light to change. Alert Slayer hearing picked up a sound from behind, but they continued onwards without casting so much as a glance behind.
Further down, near the bakery, Buffy caught another noise. "All right, that's the second one I've heard. I'm pretty sure we're being tailed. I'll go check it out, but keep your stake handy, and keep heading for your building." Tara nodded, reaching for the wooden spike in her pocket and holding it tightly. Buffy turned and jogged back along the path they'd followed, shadow-silent. Tara watched for a while, but then continued walking toward the apartment building as Buffy had asked her to.
She was a little hesitant to cross the alley that the cats had fought in last night for some reason, but sucked in a breath and forced herself to go on. Just as she passed it, a long shadow fell across the ground into Tara's range of vision. She whipped the stake out and turned on her heel, bringing the weapon to bear, and looked up, up, up into the face of a pale man with dark, spiky hair. He wore a long overcoat, also dark, and black pants with equally black leather boots.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa there," the man said, holding both hands up before him and taking a step away from Tara and the stake. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Just put the stake away."
"How do I know that?" Tara said, clutching the stake firmly. "You could be just saying you aren't gonna hurt me, then drag me off and kill me!"
The tall man nodded his head back towards where Buffy had disappeared. "I saw Buffy go, figured you'd need protection if she was walking you home. Where'd she head off to, anyway?" He stepped towards Tara, who stepped back involuntarily at his closeness.
"She, she said she heard something. And exactly why should I believe you're here to protect me?" the petite young woman nearly growled.
The older man smiled disarmingly. "We haven't been introduced yet. My name's Angel."
~~
Buffy, meanwhile, was closing in on the mysterious noise-maker. Whatever it was, it kept a good pace, and she'd been chasing it for about three blocks, past the Espresso Pump. The dark figure ahead dashed into an alley, and the Slayer followed, turning and springing onto the shadowy form. The two went down in a heap of limbs, Buffy struggling to hold the stalker's frame down beneath her. It was strong, but actually kind of smaller than she would have expected.
A black-gloved fist flew up towards the Slayer's face, but Buffy agilely dodged the blow, catching the arm and twisting it around so no further punches came her way. The whatever-it-was bucked, attempting to throw Buffy off it. "Come on, already, let me go!" it cried. And the voice was familiar.
Buffy didn't release the arm yet, but leaned down, brushing dark hair away from the person's face, revealing a fair-skinned feminine countenance. "Faith! What was I chasing you for?" Buffy exclaimed, finally letting the dark Slayer's arm free.
"I have no idea, girlfriend, but now whatever I was chasing has a lot of ground on me." She leaned up, propping her upper body upright with her strong arms. Buffy was still seated, stunned, on top of Faith's hips. "You wanna get up, B, or are you just enjoying this position?"
Mr. Giles polished his glasses for the fifteenth time that morning. "And what exactly was it you were chasing, again, Faith?"
The dark-haired younger Slayer sighed; her feet were propped up on the library table as she leaned back in her chair. "Like I said already, I didn't get a really good look. I was just patrolling and happened to see B and Blondie here walking down Main, and this big dark thing following them."
"And by big and dark you mean...?" the Watcher prompted, putting his glasses back on.
The Bostonian frowned in frustration. "I mean, it was about six feet tall, and either it had black skin or it was wearing black clothes. I didn't get close enough to see which, 'cause B pounced me and tried to break my arm."
"What? I did not try to break your arm!" Buffy argued. "I was just disarming you."
"See? She admitted it. Dis-arm," she emphasized. "Pulling my arm off. I rest my case," Faith stated obstinately, crossing her arms over her chest.
Xander and Tara hid chuckles behind their hands, while Willow buried her head in her hands. "Faith, that's not what - never mind." The auburn-haired young woman sighed. "So the baddie got away, but on the good side, Tara still got home okay."
"Well, I probably would have anyway," Tara noted, "even without Angel there. Since Buffy and Faith chased off whatever was following us." She ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it back from her face, revealing a great deal of relief displayed across her features.
Buffy shook her head. "We don't have a clue where it went, so there is a possibility it doubled back to go after you again, but saw Angel with you and decided not to. So he could have been protecting you without your even knowing it."
"Yeah, well yippee, we saved the day." Faith dropped her feet from the table top with a thunk. "Do you need to ask me what happened again, or can I take off?"
The Watcher nudged his glasses further up on his nose and sighed. "If you'd like to leave, Faith, I don't see a reason why you can't. Keep an eye out for our, our pursuer, could you?"
Faith stood and tossed her hair. "It got away from me once, G. I'd kinda like to have that not happen again. If I see it again, that thing is going down."
"Yes, well, do get in touch with us, if, if you should happen to cross paths with it again."
"Five by five." With that, the younger girl turned and exited the library, her distaste for being in the school building readily apparent.
Buffy watched the dark Slayer exit, the library doors swinging shut behind her, closing on a scene of Faith sneering at Cordelia, who had been walking past the library. "So, that's Faith," the blonde Slayer commented, looking back to Tara. "She's just got attitude to spare."
Tara gave Buffy a gentle smile of understanding. She could tell Faith basically liked to keep people at arm's length. She suspected that the girl had her own reasons for not getting too close to people, and this seemed to be her way of making sure no one got attached to her. And with Faith being a Slayer, that idea made a certain kind of sense. Though, Tara acknowledged, she much preferred Buffy's way. "Are we trying again tonight? I mean, to catch the, um, the -"
Mr. Giles immediately shook his head. "Not in the same way as last night, no," he stated. "In fact, I'd much prefer it if you stayed in tonight, if at all possible with company. Perhaps even at someone else's home, since whatever's out there knows where you live. It may be safer for you to be elsewhere. We'll let Buffy and Faith try to find this - this being, on patrol tonight."
Buffy shook her head. "Yup, just throw me to the lions, Giles," she said wryly. "I can handle it, I'm sure," she said in a more even tone. "I mean, I haven't come across anything so far that I couldn't handle, eventually."
"She can stay with me tonight, Giles," Willow offered. "I mean, i-if you want to, Tara. I'm not saying you have to or anything. Just, you can. My mom and dad wouldn't mind at all."
Tara nodded with a half-smile. "I have the night off, so um ... staying in isn't a problem. And I'd like that, a-a lot. Thanks, Willow."
~~
The rest of the morning passed pretty uneventfully, going to her classes and then spending lunch with Amy. Together they called Michael's house from the pay phone, and he spoke with them each in turn. Tara wanted to know what had happened, but didn't think that it would be a good time to ask about it. They arranged to go over to visit with the boy the next evening, now that he was home and resting up. He commented that "resting up" was incredibly boring and he wished he could have his friends there.
He couldn't stay on the phone very long, but long enough to let them know that he was definitely getting better. His sense of humor was returning, but when Amy made him laugh it hurt his ribs, so she tried to stop. It didn't really work out that way, trying to stop making him laugh only made her comments seem that much funnier, so she quickly gave up and handed the phone over to Tara again before they said good bye.
After lunch, her classes seemed to slow to a crawl, her mind continually wandering back to the fact that she would be spending the night at Willow's house. She wondered what Willow's house was like, what her parents were like, and whether she would have to sleep in a guest room or if she would get to stay in Willow's room.
Maybe they would get to talk about magic, maybe even do a simple spell or two. Tara kind of hoped they would, she was curious about how much experience Willow had with magic and what kind of things she could do. In all likelihood they could learn from each other, an exciting possibility. Who would have thought that a seemingly random crush would grow into a friendship? And Tara continued to hold out hope that one day, the pixyish redhead might return the affection Tara had for her.
After school got out, Tara met Willow in the library. Mr. Giles reminded the girls to stay off the streets after dark, as though they had somehow forgotten over the course of the day. "Don't worry, Giles, we'll be fine," Willow reassured him. "We'll go to my house, study, have dinner, and watch some movies or something. It'll be no problem at all."
After that, they had gone over to Tara's apartment to pick up her overnight things and clothes for the next day. Willow had never seen the inside of the building, and she seemed to like the apartment quite a bit. The decor was definitely unique. Tara had fashioned a fish tank out of an old tv set, taking the innards of the machine out and replacing it with a relatively small tank. A small school of darts swam around happily inside, with a pair of snails clinging to the glass. This sat on a round end table on one side of the sofa, which was actually a plywood-topped tripod table draped with bright-colored fabric to hide its cheap looks.
There was no room for a coffee table, so a second end table was made out of another old television set on its side. Neither of the televisions had been in working order, so she had picked up both of them for $5, sure she could do something with them. She had the fish tank in mind from the start, but the end table came kind of unexpectedly, having set it up on its side while gutting the tv she was converting to the tank. The once-tacky green sofa that had come with the apartment was now tightly covered in cool purple bed sheets, neatly changing the color without having to reupholster it. Blue and red throw pillows completed the look.
Near the windows, where the small room turned abruptly from living room to kitchen, Tara had set up an old patio set. The metal had been once painted black, but was scratched up and rusty when she'd bought it, it's past-its-prime looks giving it an incredibly low price tag. She had sanded, primed, and repainted the table and four chairs in cheery primary colors, and cleaned the transparent top perfectly. White cushions made the seats both attractive and comfortable, accentuating the new colors of the set perfectly. She hadn't had a lot of money to work with, but she knew where to put the money she had to best use, almost innately knowing what to buy and what to do on her own.
"Wow, Tara, this place looks really great!" Willow said with a wide grin.
"Thanks, I um, I did most of it myself. If I ever have to move out, I haven't done anything permanent to the place, so I can take it all with me," she said proudly. "If you want to have a seat while I get my things together and make a quick phone call, I'll be right out." With that, she disappeared into the bedroom, quickly putting together an overnight bag. After that, she again punched in her cousin's phone number, only to be informed that the number she had dialed had been disconnected. She frowned and double-checked the number only to get the same message, before shouldering her bag and re-emerging. She found Willow lying on her stomach across the couch, feet in the air, watching the fish swim around the tank. "Hey," she said quietly, not wanting to startle the tiny witch.
Willow looked up with a smile. "Hi, I was watching the fish, a-and the snails."
"Yeah, relaxing, isn't it?" the fair-haired witch queried. She knelt down next to the other girl, looking into the tank with her. "They all have names, I can tell them apart by their markings," she confided.
"Really? That's nice, what are their names?"
Tara pointed out each fish in turn. "That's Zeus, with the big dot. There's Kali. This one is Ra. Over there is Venus, and the one with just the little spot on his tail is Zip. And the snails are Mr. T and Morgan. But I really can't tell them apart, so the names are kind of interchangeable." She grinned. "So as soon as I feed these guys, I'm ready to go."
"Okay, 'cause I'm ready when you are," Willow said, watching as Tara lifted the top of the old tv set off and dropped in the flakes that she stored under the table, which the darts eagerly gobbled up.
"Eat up, kids, I'll be back tomorrow!" the golden-haired witch laughed. She stood and dusted off her pants, and Willow rolled into a sitting position on the couch. "So I was thinking about getting maybe a frog for the fish tank, too," Tara said to Willow. "What do you think?"
She looked down to see Willow wide-eyed and almost in shock. "No frogs!" she said quickly, shaking her head. "I, um, it - it's kind of embarrassing. I have frog-fear." She looked up sheepishly, meeting Tara's blue eyes.
"No frogs, check." The taller girl smiled. "I want my apartment to be Willow-friendly," she explained, offering a hand to Willow, who took it as she rose from the couch, then held it for a few moments before letting go.
~~
Willow's house was pretty nice. When they got there, Tara was introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg, who seemed very kind, if a little distracted. The tour of the house was brief, and Tara was a little disappointed to see that they did have a guest room. It was incredibly clean and utterly devoid of personality, which, to Tara, made it a dull and lifeless space. Willow's room, on the other hand, was a lot nicer. She had a really big fish tank on one wall, and glass doors leading outside on the opposite wall, which Tara thought was really cool. In a way it reminded her of the window-seat at her old house, a place where the indoors met nature.
"I like your room, Willow," Tara commented, heading over to look out the doors. "Actually, I like it a lot better than the guest room. It's so sterile in there." She turned to her friend. "I mean, it's, it's nice and everything, don't get me wrong. It just doesn't have any-"
Willow nodded. "I know what you mean. It's empty. My parents, they try and everything, but nothing they do can make the guest room feel like it's a part of the rest of the house. It's just kind of ... there." She smiled, her mouth curving gently upwards and her whole face lighting up. "If you want, you can sleep in here. We have an air mattress I can use; you can have the bed. Then we can stay up later, and talk. Or, um, whatever."
"That sounds great," Tara replied, hoping she didn't sound over-eager.
"Willow, it's time for dinner," Sheila Rosenberg announced from the doorway. Willow looked up from her laptop, where she was showing Tara some of her favorite Wicca sites. Both girls lay side by side on the bed on their stomachs, two pairs of eyes now moving from the screen to Willow's mother's face.
"Okay, we'll be right in," Willow answered. Tara had been slightly surprised that there was so much information online, since she'd never had time or computer access to investigate and see what was available. She had to admit her books seemed a bit arcane now that she'd seen that Willow had so many resources at her fingertips whenever she wanted them. But there was just something about having the actual books, which she was sure Willow would understand.
Willow disconnected from the internet and closed the Apple, and then both girls made their way into the dining room. It felt completely different than dinner at the Maclay house, which Tara appreciated greatly. Mrs. Rosenberg, who only called Tara 'Tanya' once before getting her name correct, went on about a paper she was researching for quite some time. Mr. Rosenberg was mostly quiet, but when he asked a question or made a comment, it was well thought out and to the point. Growing up in a house like this, it was little surprise that Willow had such a quick mind.
Almost as an afterthought, Mrs. Rosenberg inquired about Willow's day, and she went over what had gone on in her classes, making a special point about the experiment they had done in Chemistry lab. Both her parents nodded their approval. They didn't ask too much about Tara, but she didn't mind that much. She complimented Mr. Rosenberg on the meal, which was actually fantastic, especially by Tara's new dining standards, which unfortunately included a lot of ramen and instant foods. She was having a hard time getting used to cooking for only one person instead of three, and her budget had been pretty limited.
After the meal, Tara offered to help clean up, but the Rosenbergs wouldn't hear of it. She was a guest, after all, but her offer was appreciated. The young women excused themselves and returned to Willow's room. "Your dad's a great cook," Tara grinned, taking a seat on Willow's bed. "The marinara sauce was so good! And the breadsticks!"
"He doesn't usually do breadsticks," Willow smiled, sitting down close to Tara before scooting slightly farther away. "I think he did that special 'cause you were gonna be here."
"Well," the blonde said with satisfaction, "I'm glad he decided to make them. And that you invited me over."
Green flecked eyes met blue ones. "Me too." Willow continued to look into Tara's eyes for a few moments, then began to fidget nervously and looked at her socks. "So," she began, "um, what is this? I mean, this thing with us. 'Cause ever since that day, there's been this ... connection. At least, I've felt a connection. I wasn't imagining a connection, was I?" Tara smiled gently and shook her head. "Is it, is it because you're a witch, too?"
Not sure what to say, Tara gulped. "I think um, maybe?" It was a lame answer, but there may have been some truth to it. Whenever they touched, Tara could feel Willow's power, but it was thus far largely untapped. Perhaps it was better for now to go with the less complicated answer, since she wasn't sure exactly what Willow felt, and wasn't sure Willow was totally ready for the rest of it anyway. She still appeared to be pretty attached to the idea of getting Oz back, and Tara couldn't deny Willow this chance at happiness. If being with Oz was what she wanted, Tara would not stand in the way.
"Oh." Willow seemed to accept the stammered answer pretty easily. "So how long have you been, um?"
A soft, almost dreamy smile crossed Tara's face. "Since I was really little, almost as long as I can remember. My mother, she was ... amazing. She knew so much, and was so full of magic. She used to say I was her little pixy, to make me smile. My father didn't approve of it, though, so we weren't allowed to..." Now a rueful look clouded her face. "It was ... bad, if he saw us. She hid a lot of her books, so he wouldn't burn them. I brought them with me, when I came here. They're almost alive, in a way, with all the memories they hold. It's not just words and spells, it's life."
"Wow," was all Willow could manage. The way she talked about magic and her books was wondrous. For Tara, it obviously wasn't about floating pencils or even restoring a vampire's soul, it was about life and time and love. The more she got to know about Tara, the more there was to like. And Willow definitely wanted to know more.
They continued talking well into the night, until Willow started to get the sleepy voice, which Tara recognized right away. "I think it's time to go to bed," the fair-haired young woman said gently.
"Aww, we didn't even do our homework! And, and the air mattress! We forgot!" This seemed to upset the young witch even more than the fact that she hadn't done her homework, which for someone of Willow's academic discipline was saying a lot.
Tara was unable to hold back a chuckle. "It's okay, Willow, don't worry. I'll just, I'll take the guest room."
"But you don't like it in there, I know you don't. Stay in here. I'll sleep on the floor, okay?" Willow suggested.
"No, no, I'll take the floor." Off Willow's concerned look, she added, "I'll be fine. It's not like I've never slept on the floor before."
Willow shook her head, and the voice of logic stepped in. "You know what? This is silly. The bed is big enough for both of us, we were both on it earlier and we're both on it now." She paused before continuing, "I don't mind if you don't."
There are not enough words to describe how not upsetting that idea is, Tara thought. "I - I don't mind."
"Then it's settled. Now I need to brush my teeth and stuff, so ... I'll be right back." The fiery-haired girl opened a drawer and pulled out a few items before leaving for the bathroom. She returned wearing a worn purple t-shirt with a unicorn rearing across her chest and a dark pair of shorts. She shot a grin at Tara, who smiled back. "Your turn, Blondie," she said playfully.
Tara shouldered her backpack, now grinning at Willow's little nickname. She quickly washed, then brushed and flossed her teeth and changed into an orange tank top and blue cotton shorts. She returned to Willow's room to find it darkened, illuminated with a bedside lamp and, she now noticed, glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. "Hey," she whispered as she entered. Willow was already in bed, on the side closest to the door. Tara set her bag down and walked around to the other side of the bed, pulling the covers back and sliding in between them.
"Hi," Willow said sleepily, then flicked the light off. "Look at the stars."
"I was looking at them," Tara smiled, then turned to watch Willow's face instead. "Very beautiful."
The redhead girl closed her eyes and snuggled down into the blankets. "Good night Tara."
"Good night, Willow."
"How dare you leave, you little bitch!" Mr. Maclay raged, reaching for those blonde tresses - just like her mother's. He curled his hand, grabbing a handful of hair, while tightening his other hand into a cruel fist. He hauled his daughter upright, pulling her hair so hard tears of pain as well as fear sprang into Tara's eyes. "And exactly what did you think you'd do, hmm? Run away? Thought you'd make a new little girlfriend, hide from your family, and lie to everyone you meet? Hmm? Is that what you thought you'd do?"
He's here, oh gods, he's found me! Tara gasped, bolting up in bed, terrified, still seeing her father's angry visage before her eyes. She reached back blindly and clutched at the pillow, fumbling before holding it tightly to her chest as though it would somehow protect her. She backed up against the headboard, protecting her back from the fists, the heavy-booted feet, the sharply cracking, stinging belt. A fearful whimper escaped the witch's throat, and she curled tightly into a ball, pulling her legs up in front of her to similarly protect her torso. All of this she did without thinking about it, instinctually going into the most defensible position she could.
Motion on the bed - she wasn't alone. At first this scared her even more, and she buried her head down in the pillow, which had a soothing scent, and wrapped an arm protectively across the back of her neck. But the touch she cringed away from was soft and gentle, not rough, harsh, bruising as she had expected. Only then did she begin to realize that the scent she had been taking comfort in was - Willow's? "Shh, shh, Tara, it's okay, you're safe here. I promise you're safe, nothing is going to hurt you here."
Tara pulled her tear-streaked face up out of the pillow, her defensive posture only slightly relaxing, as though unsure whether to trust this was real. "W-Willow?" came the frightened query.
Smooth, delicate fingers ran softly over golden tresses. "It's okay, Tara, I'm here. Are, are you all right?" An incredibly gentle finger caught one of Tara's tears on its way down her cheek, wiping it away. "You're crying, what happened? Tell me what's wrong?"
Tara swallowed hard, trying to calm herself. It was just a dream, just a dream. She managed to stop crying, realizing that the danger she had perceived could in no way harm her now. "I had a n-n-nightmare." Slowly, she relaxed further, unfolding her legs but still holding tightly to the pillow.
"It's okay, it's gone now, whatever it was, it's gone," Willow whispered, her hands still trailing over the pale mane.
Unexpectedly, Tara shook her head. "N-n-not gone. He'll n-never be gone. I can r-run forever, and he'll always be there, so-somehow." She sounded almost defeated and still scared beyond belief.
Not knowing what else to do, and knowing somehow that this was right, Willow scooted closer, wrapping her arms around the Wiccan. She continued to smooth Tara's hair with one hand, holding her with the other. "Who is it? What happened?" The blonde tensed in her arms, but Willow now ran her hand over Tara's back, curling the other around her slender waist. "It's all right, I've got you. I promise you'll be okay. You can tell me."
"It - it was my f-father. He-he followed me here," Tara explained haltingly, "i-in my dream." She settled against Willow, giving in and allowing herself to take the comfort her friend offered, finally discarding the pillow to wrap her arms instead around Willow's small shoulders. "He was really m-mad, that I'd, that I'd l-left. He probably r-really is, too." She sighed. "Gods, if he ever found me..." her slight frame shuddered.
"If he ever found you, he'd have to go through me first," Willow stated firmly as she cradled the blonde reassuringly, and Tara believed that she honestly meant it. "You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to. But if you ever do? I'll be here."
"Thank you, Willow, so much. I can't, I can't even tell you how-" She searched for the words that she wanted but was having trouble finding, trying to express what was going on inside. "I d-didn't mean for you to find out like this. About him. I w-wanted to - I don't know. Do it different, if I had to."
Willow nodded, her cheek rubbing against Tara's head gently and not unpleasantly. "He ... he's why you're here, isn't he? You came here because of him." It was more of a statement than a question, as if she knew already what the answer would be. The fair-haired young woman merely nodded. "I'm happy that you came here. It means that he can't scare you any more. And, and because you came here, I met you. And I'm really glad that happened."
Tara pulled back to see Willow's face, her arms loosening around the smaller girl's shoulders, and Willow released her arms from around Tara's waist. "I am too. I, I'm just afraid that somehow, he'll come to get me. I didn't exactly make it h-hard for anyone to follow me. I just n-needed to get out." She frowned, worried, and dropped her head downward.
"But you've already been here for a whole month," the auburn haired girl pointed out. "Even if someone did want to - I would think they would have come a lot sooner. Right?" She reached out a hand towards her friend, and gently lifted her chin until their gazes met.
A hesitant smile fluttered its way over Tara's lips. "Yeah, that, that does make sense." Willow's hand was warm, and her touch was so light, so soft. "And, I feel really safe here. W-with you. How do you do that?"
"Magic." Willow reached down and tenderly squeezed Tara's hand. "Can you sleep? It's three in the morning."
Tara's smile was heartfelt, grateful, and loving. "I'm good now. Thanks to you." The young women settled back down into the bed together, Tara searching for her discarded pillow a moment before finding it. "I'm sorry I woke you."
"I'm not," Willow whispered.
"So what have you girls been up to?"
"Not too much," Amy reported as she sat down next to Michael, "just trying to keep Tara here in line."
Tara sent a lopsided grin Michael's way, pulling up a rolling desk chair. "It's a lot of work. I'm rotten to the core."
This brought a chuckle to the young man, who was propped up in his bed facing a big-screen tv. He held his ribs gingerly, but with good humor. "Hey, quit that, I'm injured here," he said with a grin, exposing the space where his incisor used to be. This brought an uncomfortable silence, reminding them that things were not all well. She hated to admit it, but he looked pretty bad. Kind of like she used to every so often, Tara imagined. The bruises on his face and around his eye were a reddish purple; the ones on his arm the same, though some were fading out to a yellowed hue. The cuts were not as visible, straight red-brown lines here and there.
"It, it looks like they're taking pretty good care of you," Tara said delicately, breaking the stillness.
Michael nodded. "Yeah, they patched me up good. I have to go get a new tooth in a couple days, that should be a lot of fun. But once that's done, it's mostly just stuff that'll heal on it's own. They said I was pretty lucky."
"You were! And don't you ever go out alone again, you hear me?" Amy demanded. "If anything happened to you, I'd be like ... I dunno, a, a mouse without cheese!"
"Actually, isn't cheese bad for mice?" Michael winked. "Nice analogy."
She gave him a withering look. "You know what I mean! You're my best friend. And I'd hug you right now if it wouldn't hurt you."
"Go on, hug me anyway. You know you want to." He opened his arms and Amy carefully leaned in, enfolding the spikey haired young man in a warm hug. Tara wasn't sure what to do, so she sat in her chair, feeling like she was intruding on their moment. "Tara, get over here, would ya? You're missing out on the love of a straight woman," he piped up. She grinned and knelt on the edge of the bed, adding her arms around both Michael and Amy. After a moment, the three friends separated. "Okay, now that we've got the group hug out of the way, we've arrived at the part where you regale me with tales of your misadventures."
Amy gently swatted his arm. "Who says 'regale' anyway!"
"Well, um, I fell out of my chair at lunch two days ago." Tara had returned to her chair, and held the armrests securely. "I figured you were probably one of the only people in the world who missed it, so I might as well get it out of the way before you hear about it from other sources."
Amy giggled. "Right in front of Mary and everything! I mean, she was okay, and poor Mary was all worried it was her fault. It was so cute, she just totally fussed over her."
The light-haired witch leveled her blue gaze at Amy. "I hope you realize I was trying to kick you. You know I don't like Mary that way, and I don't want her to get the wrong idea!" She crossed her arms. "And I still can't believe you didn't tell me sooner!"
Michael looked from one girl to the other during their exchange. "You mean you didn't know?" he said with disbelief. "That poor girl practically spelled it out for you! And don't make me laugh, I told you!" He shook his dark head in amusement. "So if I could ask, Ms. Maclay, exactly who would happen to be the object of your affection? You must have someone in mind to reject Mary, who is, I may add, perfectly sweet."
Tara looked down and swiveled back and forth in the chair. "I know Mary's nice, and she is kind of cute, but she's not..."
"Ooh, not who? You were right, Michael!" Amy squeaked excitedly. "Tara's got a cru-ush," she added in a singsong voice.
"Hey, that was unnecessary! And if you're so smart, then you figure it out," the blonde challenged her friends.
Michael smiled. "All right, we can figure this out easy! What's the word, Amy? I've missed out on three days of school here. Fill me in."
Amy adopted a thoughtful expression. "Well, oh, there was one a few weeks back, but I'm sure you already heard it."
"Wait, one what?" Tara says anxiously.
"Oh, just what people say," the Goth explained. "Lots of times it's obviously nothing, but sometimes there's a little bit of truth behind it. I think she means the one about you and Willow Rosenberg in the girl's room."
Tara's face immediately went fire engine red. "People were saying stuff about me and Willow? What, when?"
"Aww, Tara! You know people talk ... they want to read things into stuff," Amy said gently. "It was Harmony Kendall, I think, she says she walked in on you and Willow making out in the first floor girl's room by the library, the day after Oz broke up with her."
"We were not!" Tara insisted, her face still red. "She was upset, about Oz, and I was, I was taking over as Kleenex-box holder 'cause Buffy had to go! We weren't kissing!"
A grin split Michael's face, again displaying the missing tooth. "But that doesn't mean you didn't want to be, right? Yeah, you know, it's all coming together now. Those times I caught you looking out the window at her in lunch, and how you sometimes do this little sigh when her name is mentioned."
"You like Willow Rosenberg!" Amy exclaimed. "Oh my gosh, weren't you at her house last night? Woo hoo! Go Tara! Did you two, you know, make any magic?" she asked suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows.
"No!" Tara squeaked, hiding her head in her hands.
Michael put a hand on Tara's shoulder. "That's right Amy, 'cause our Tara's a perfect gentleman. She probably slept in the bathtub or something." Looking over to see blush crawling up towards the blonde's hairline, his eyebrows jumped up. "Oh, oops, she only does that when I either hit the nail on the head or am so totally off it's not even funny. Well, which is it? Tell me you didn't sleep in the bathtub."
"I didn't sleep in the bathtub," Tara muttered, looking down, a golden curtain between her and her friends.
Amy beamed. "Where'd you sleep, Tara? You know we won't tell anyone - hell, we don't have anyone to tell besides each other!"
"Innerbed," came the muffled reply.
Amy and Michael exchanged glances. "Did she just say what I think she said?" Amy asked.
"If you think she said she slept in Willow's bed. That's what I heard." They both looked to Tara, seeing only the top of her head. "If you were in her bed, where was she? I thought you said nothing happened."
Tara finally peeked up through her hair. "Nothing did happen! It was perfectly innocent ... bed - sharing. Oh gods, I can't believe I just said that."
"Well, all I can say is wow. That's it, I'm never getting beat up again. I miss out on too much."
"You better not get beat up again!" Amy exclaimed. "Have they been able to find the guy who did it yet?"
Michael shook his head. "Nope, not a thing, but you know how this town is. Not to mention I wasn't able to give much of a description. Getting jumped from behind and punched in the head is like that. He just kept saying something about 'witch' and 'homo.' Looks like I make double the target. Lucky me." He looked each girl in the eyes. "You two be careful too, okay? Whoever that guy was, he's probably still out there. And next time, I'd bet whoever gets it loses more than just a tooth and some blood."
~~
"So they haven't found this guy, and now something seems to be after you," Buffy concluded. "I don't know, it's like too much of a coincidence. You hang around with Michael a lot, he gets beaten up. Then the next two nights, you get practically chased down Main Street by some mysterious thing."
Tara looked confused. "But Michael thought that it was just a, a regular guy who hurt him. I don't know, I'm just, I'm not seeing monster there. How do we know it's the same thing?"
Giles nodded, setting down his cup. "Buffy does seem to have a point. Neither she nor Faith have been able to make any, any headway with tracking this being. And there are a good deal of things that can, can appear to be human. Thus far, there has been nothing to prove it isn't demonic in nature. Perhaps we should try something different. I suggest you do stay at your apartment tonight, but with protection. Obviously a warding spell of some sort will be necessary, if Willow can get away?" Willow nodded, her expression serious. "And Buffy or Faith, possibly even ... Angel ... for back-up."
"Hey, why do I have to miss out on the fun?" Xander asked lightly. "I could be useful. I'm tons of use."
Faith snorted. "Yeah, until it starts to get hairy and you hide."
"Hey, that's called a 'tactical retreat,' lady," the boy said, pointing a finger in Faith's direction. "And knowing when you're outmatched has been scientifically proven to lead to a longer life span."
"All right, that's enough," Buffy interrupted. "Save your energy for the showdown with, um, whatever it is that's been after Tara and her friends." She shook her head. "So, I'll round up Angel, we'll be outside the building. Willow and Tara, stay inside once the spell's been cast, we're still not sure what it is we're dealing with. And Faith-"
The dark Slayer stood and grabbed her jacket. "I'll be around." She slipped her arms into the sleeves and sharply straightened the jacket's collar. "Trust me, there's no way I'm missing out on having another shot at that thing. I'll see you tonight." With those words, she strode confidently out of the room.
Xander cleared his throat. "So, am I in for lookout duty or what? I can be pretty mean with a battle axe."
~~
The moon rose in a clear sky, hundreds of stars sparkling. Faith could care less except that it meant better lighting. She climbed stealthily up a fire escape on a building across the street from Tara's apartment building. For up here she would have a better vantage point. Plus, it would be harder for anything to sneak up on her. She could see Buffy and Angel below, by the side of the building mostly shrouded in shadow. But if Faith could see them, that also meant other people could. She shook her head. Sloppy, B, sloppy. That vamp's clouding your head.
She settled down and began to scout the town in all directions, looking for that damn shadow she'd chased earlier in the week. She could hear its breath as she'd chased it, so she knew there was no way it was a vampire. She'd said as much to the Watcher, curtly, when he'd first suggested it was a vamp. And was it fast. She hated to admit it, but this was something she would really need to see coming. The thing could run like the wind.
"Hey Buffy, did you hear that?" a soft male voice asked on the ground.
The Slayer nodded. "It could just be Faith, she said she'd be around. But she's usually quieter than that." From behind the noise came again. Spinning around quickly, fists ready, she saw a shadowy figure.
"Hey, hey, it's just me!" Xander said, hands open before him. "Wanted to see if you needed anything. All's quiet inside."
Buffy sighed. "We're fine, Xander. But what are you doing out here?" She pointed to herself and Angel. "Outside guards. Inside guard," she pointed to him. "We agreed that you would stay inside in case they need you there."
The boy grinned apologetically. "Yeah, but I got bored watching the fish, and they were busy doing spell - prep. I didn't think they would miss me, and I thought maybe I could get you something for your big stakeout."
"We're all set," Angel said, glancing at the young man, then turning back to the streets, scanning for movement anywhere. "It's still early, but you should head back in. We don't know what's coming."
Xander nodded. "Right. Getting back inside now. And, ah, good luck with the thing. Hope you stop it if it heads this way." He turned back down the alley and around the back of the building.
And with a muffled thump, he fell, unconscious. Well, that was easy! I hope the others are this simple to get past, the hulking demon though with a dark grin.
"It's been too long, Xander still isn't back. If we don't start soon, it might be too late, but he's supposed to be here when we put the warding spell up." Tara asked, eyes flickering between the door and Willow's face.
Willow thought about this for a while. Concern for both her oldest friend and her newest one had her on edge. "Maybe he's getting coffee?" she suggested hopefully. "He could be back any minute."
Tara shook her head sadly. "It's been more than fifteen minutes, Willow, you know that. He should have been back at least five minutes ago if that's what he decided to do." She frowned. "I can't do the spell without him here. It's to protect him as much as us."
With a sigh, Willow nodded her agreement. "You're right. How about we wait a couple more minutes for him? Buffy and Angel are out there, if anything happened, then they would know, right? They would come get us, or, or tell us, or something."
The blonde girl's frown deepened, but she nodded reluctantly. "Okay, two more minutes. After that, we have to go to Buffy. It's not safe for him out there." Tara went over the components for the fourth time, mentally going through the chants she and Willow had prepared. If only Xander would hurry up and get back, they could get back to the plan.
~~
After a quick rummage through the boy's pockets, a set of keys shone in his hand. He lifted the boy easily and set him back in the shadows, where no one would see him. Blood ran down the dark haired boy's face, a slow trickle out of his nose. Nothing compared to that witch boy, but this one would have quite a headache when he woke up. Unless some of the resident vampires got to him first, he grinned.
He stood over the young man for a few moments wearing a dark smile. Maybe this one wouldn't get to wake up. But then, that wasn't his concern here. He slipped around behind the building, from where he'd seen the boy enter before. He slid the key into the lock on the back door and turned, opening the door easily and stepping inside. Now which of these halls lead to the witch's rooms?
~~
"Okay, let's go," Tara said boldly, stepping towards the door. "The sooner we go, the sooner we get some answers and get back." Willow looked really hesitant to leave the apartment. Also, she looked as though she felt guilty for Xander's absence.
"I never should have let him go, I should have been paying attention." She furrowed her brow and looked like she was trying not to cry. "If anything happened to him, it's no one's fault but mine."
Tara reached out a hand for Willow, who clasped it in her own. "It isn't your fault, we told him to stay here, and we were busy getting things ready for the spell. He knew he wasn't supposed to take off like that." She pulled Willow closer to her, then gently let go of her hand. Now was not the time to be distracted, she reminded herself sternly, struggling not to lose herself in those soft greenish eyes. "Come on, we'll tell Buffy and Angel what's happened and they'll help us."
"Okay," the redheaded witch answered quietly, trusting in Tara.
Together, they made their way down the front staircase. Tara opened the front door, and Buffy immediately stepped out towards them. "What's going on?" the Slayer asked quickly. "I thought you would have finished the spell by now. You're supposed to be safe up there watching The Princess Bride or something." She turned and looked over her shoulder into the shadows. "Angel, come on. Conference, here."
"Just a minute, I smell something," the vampire said, barely visible in the building's shadow. "It's ... it's blood, and it's pretty close. I have to check on it, I'll be right back. It's coming from back here." He disappeared further into the shadows behind the building.
Tara gulped. "W-what? Blood? We, we came down to tell you - Xander's missing." Willow nodded from the doorway, where she clutched at the door frame to steady herself. They had noticed fairly quickly that Tara's door keys were missing, and had figured Xander must have picked them up so he could let himself back in from where ever he had gone. Willow wasn't about to let the door shut and get them all stuck outside with this thing on the loose. Especially when she didn't know where Xander was.
"What? He's missing? He was just here, like, a few minutes ago," Buffy exclaimed worriedly. "He said he was going right back up, he went in through the...." She turned her head towards where Angel had vanished. "Oh god."
Buffy and Tara both ran back into the shadows, leaving Willow partially in and partially out of the building, still holding the door. "Uh, guys?"
Tara turned back for a moment. "Willow, shut the door," she said firmly, decisively. "We'll come right back for you, but I w-want you safe. Stay inside, no matter what." Willow nodded and stepped back inside the building, letting the door shut before her as she watched Tara through the opening as long as she could. Tara waited until the door clanged shut, then rushed after Buffy.
"Unh, by head feels like a ... sobethig bad," she heard Xander mutter. "A bad ... thig." Angel knelt at the boy's side, and Buffy supported him gently.
"What happened?" the witch questioned urgently.
He held his head in his hands, sitting partway up. "I duddo. I cabe out to see if Buffy deeded adythig, and I was on by way back when sobethig cracked be on the back of the head. Does this look broken to you?" he asked, wincing as he felt his nose gingerly with one hand.
"You look okay. Well, not really okay, but passable," Buffy said reassuringly. "I can't believe that thing got this close and we didn't even know it!"
Tara, however, had other concerns now that she knew Xander was all right. "Keys, where are the keys? W-we have to get back inside. Then W-Willow and I can-"
The bloodied young man felt in his pocket for the keys, still cupping the other over his nose. "Yeah, umb, they're right ... doh, they bust be in this one." He pulled out a pair of keys on a worn key chain. "Oops, those are bine. Yours are right ... doh, right ... shit."
If he hadn't been hurt, Tara would have liked to cuff him a solid blow to the head. "You lost my keys! You took off, were attacked by that thing, and lost my keys!"
"Or someone took them," Angel pointed out.
The usually patient and calm Wiccan threw up her hands. "You let a monster steal my keys!"
"Hey," Xander said defensively, "I dididt like, hand theb over or adything. 'Excuse be, are you a demon? How about you dock be out and take these keys? Bet that'd be fun!'"
Tara was ready to scream with frustration. "Willow's in there! Now whatever stole the keys can get in too!"
"Willow!" Xander exclaimed, struggling to stand. The lower half of his face was covered in drying blood.
Buffy held him down slightly. "Slowly, Xander, you'll black out again," she told him, though it was all she could do not to rush over and tear the door off its hinges to make sure her friend was okay. "How long have we had? Five minutes, ten minutes?"
Angel nodded, already making his way toward the front door. "More than long enough to let someone in. We better hurry."
Tara was already at the door by the time Angel got there. Buffy and Xander followed as closely as possible, the Slayer supporting the injured boy. The Wiccan knocked on the door. "Willow! Willow it's me, Xander's okay, we need you to let us back in!" Silence. The door didn't budge. Tara knocked harder. "Willow! Open the door!" She turned back to the Scoobies. "She was right by the door, I don't think she would have left."
"Willow, come on! Let us know you're all right in there!" Buffy said, stepping up to the door. "I don't want to rip the door off. I will if I have to, but I don't want to." From the right, approaching footsteps could be heard. And it sounded like they were running.
The group turned as one to see Faith racing over. "I thought you guys had it under control! What's up!" She eyed Xander. "Please tell me he didn't screw it up." The boy frowned and wiped at his face with a blood-streaked hand, giving her a glare. "Well, if looks could kill. All right, let me though." The dark Slayer made her way to the door and gave a firm tug, the lock making a metallic, squeal-y crunch as it gave way to Slayer strength. The door creaked back on its hinges but stayed attached. "There ya go. Faith's set of keys worked. Now what are you waiting for?"
Tara brushed past Faith into the entryway. "Willow!"
"Geez, you're welcome," the younger girl said as she dusted her hands off, stepping into the building with the Scoobies on her heels.
Buffy looked up and down the halls. "I don't see her." She brushed her hair back with one hand, her eyes looking panicked. "She wouldn't have left, but I don't see her anywhere." Angel sniffed the air cautiously, trying to pin down anything. Fear and anger were both pretty strong. And it was coming from ... he pointed Buffy down the main hallway towards a set of stairs.
Tara's booted feet thumped up the stairs toward her apartment, praying to any power that would listen that Willow was safe. She rounded a corner, nearly tripping over her own feet in her rush, before skidding to a halt in front of her place. The door was partially open, and there was complete silence within the studio. With trepidation, she gently pushed her door open.
~~
I can't believe I missed her again! Why does one little girl have so much protection? What is it about her that I can't even get a simple job done! Find the girl, bring her back. It all seemed so easy. He looked down on the redheaded female's tiny frame, resting on the witch's bed. Something about this one, even more than that witch boy. This one's important to her. She'll come back. And then ... then, I'll finish the job.
~~
Tara stepped inside. Nothing looked out of place, but the entire apartment was darkened. All except ... there! A shaft of light glowed yellow-white from under her bedroom door. She quietly moved across the main room towards the bedroom, and cautiously placed her hand on the doorknob. All at once, she twisted the knob and shoved it open, blinking at the sudden brightness and feeling the door connect solidly with something, making a sharp crack. But she almost immediately disregarded the dark thing that fell with a muffled thump and a groan as her eyes rested on Willow, who was spread over Tara's bed almost like a decoration. "Willow, sweetie, oh gods, are you okay?" The redhead's eyelids fluttered and she briefly stirred, but didn't open her eyes or make any other indication that she'd heard Tara. Then, with a roar, the beast made himself known again.
Just as Faith had estimated, he stood at six feet tall, give or take an inch. And did he ever look mad. "You insignificant little wench! Why anyone would want you back is beyond me!"
"Uncle David?" The thing vaguely resembled him, mostly in the face. But where Beth's father had been, well ... mostly human ... this obviously wasn't. His skin was blue-black, for one, then there were the talons. He was clad in navy blue slacks and was bare-chested, his black hair rumpled and wild. His eyes were blood red and he was a great deal more muscular than he had once been. If it was even him.
The beastly creature shook his head. "Not any more. Little girl, everything's different now." He made a swipe at Tara with one hand, but the young woman dodged to one side, trying to stay between him and Willow. "Do you know how hard it is to save a life, child? What you have to give up in order to keep what is most important to you? You don't have the slightest idea." He advanced upon the small blonde. "I don't want to hurt you. But make no mistake, I will if I must."
~~
Angel, Buffy, Faith, and Xander quickly headed up the stairs in the direction of Tara's studio. Angel was sure that was where Willow had been taken, and it was doubtlessly the same place Tara had disappeared to. Xander pointed the way, but the others could feel confrontation, rage. They didn't need to be told which way to go; they could track it to its source with less effort than it took to breathe.
The door was wide open, and the two Slayers and Xander stepped inside. Angel tried to enter, but came up against an invisible barrier at the door. Through an open door on the left, the only source of light in the compact, three-room area, they could all easily see a large, blue-black creature advancing towards the small, helpless looking blonde, who stood her ground between the demon and Willow. "Don't come any closer!" Tara's voice said, strong and even threatening. "You're not taking me anywhere, and you won't harm her."
Tara extended her hands before her, slightly upwards, her open palms pointing to the creature's face. She squeezed her eyes shut and reached for the magic that bubbled continuously just below the surface. "Fulgere!" A bright flash of white light, almost like a camera's flash magnified ten times in intensity, appeared between the girl's hands and the beast who had once been her uncle, temporarily blinding him. He rubbed vigorously at his eyes with the back of his curled, oversized hands, as if that would bring his vision back to normal.
Blindly, he who was once David Maclay slashed out where he'd last seen Tara, talons whistling through empty air. From behind him now, the Wiccan gestured with one hand, again palm facing the creature, but pointing slightly downwards. "Corruere!" A glowing green burst of light gathered in her hand, then flowed rapidly to the demon, twining around his legs. Blinking against the dark spots floating before his eyes, he spun and dove for the witch. At least, that was what he'd intended to do. Instead, the light seemed to solidify, tangling his legs and causing him to throw his balance off. Arms wheeling, he crashed face-first to the floor.
A loud rapping on the walls came directly after the crash. "Keep it down over there! It's 10:30!" a muffled voice shouted irately.
"Whoa. Tara's a witch!" Xander said, slightly surprised, from the living room, where the Scoobies stood frozen watching Tara deal out magical energy that none of them had been fully certain she'd actually had.
Faith let out what sounded like a chuckle. "Thank you, Captain Obvious. Looks like she's kickin' some ass in there, too!"
The demon reached out a clawed hand and grabbed Tara by the ankle. With a fierce yank, he brought Tara bone-jarringly to the floor as well. "You worthless little witch. You honestly think you can hurt me with your light flashes and your foolish tricks? All of this, it's nothing." His breath was hot on her face, and involuntarily she cringed away from him. "So, I disgust you too?" he laughed bitterly. "Just wait until it happens to you. But your family will take care of you. Yes. Like they took care of me!"
He couldn't blame the girl - even he hated himself, what he'd become. At least now Beth would still have a mother, even if it meant a nearly eternal exile into this monstrous form. The one thing he hated most of all was what he would become, they had told him, those two shining beings he had pleaded with for his wife's life. Such was the price, they had said, if she was to live. And it had been slowly killing him, to see her life drain away, seeing what it was doing to Beth, their only child. He hadn't thought of what that would mean, having to live the rest of his life like this. And not a natural life, either. The beasts had ten times the life of the oldest men, at least. His grasp on his former self slipped a little more with each passing day as the murderous ways of the demon he had become took hold.
When Steven had sent him to retrieve Tara, he had first kept a clear mind about it. The girl needed to be with her family, and so it would be. He tracked her to this place, though, and that was where things began to change. He obviously could no longer be seen during the day, but had gathered enough information, seen enough from the darkened alleys, places that smelt of death and things more monstrous that even he now was. He knew who the girl, as he had gradually come to think of his niece as the demon's nature became more assertive, associated with. And when he saw one of them late at night, her homo little witch friend, he'd at first intended merely to question him. Find out a few things. That hadn't ended well ... he hadn't even ended up asking a single question, the demon's rage fueling him to injure, but he finally reigned the impulse in. Even now he could feel his claws raking over flesh, his gigantic fists cracking and battering the small body of a young man who never even saw the monster coming. And what sickened him the most was that part of him had liked it.
He had been striving for this, the day when he would catch the girl, subdue her, and return her to Steven, to her home. To the family he knew he could no longer be a part of. Then she would be where she belonged, not out here with her freak-show friends, doing witchcraft and who knows what else. It had become his single-minded purpose, now, the thing that filled his days. No matter how far he slipped from what he once was, he would do this thing for his brother. He would put their family back together. And if there was anything left of him that remembered who he had been by then, he would remove himself far from his former life, those he cared for, to protect them from the demon he had willingly become to give his wife another chance to live.
On the bed, Willow stirred. She tilted her head, and saw the demon that had knocked her out pressing down over Tara threateningly. "Tara! No! Get away from her!" She picked up the bedside lamp and threw it as hard as she could, and it hit dead center on the thing's back, expelling the air from its lungs in a great cough.
Buffy finally managed to move from the living room, stepping in over Tara and kicking the monster under the chin. Its head snapped back sharply, and it rolled to the side, struggling to remain conscious. Faith rushed in behind it, quickly grabbing either side of the demon's head. "Wait, no!" Tara called out, but it was too late. The younger Slayer had already snapped the beast's neck, killing it instantly.
~~
"I know I could have done something," Tara repeated sullenly. The rest of the Scooby gang had headed back to their respective homes for the night, but Willow had stayed. They had already told the Rosenbergs that was where she would be tonight, but even if they hadn't, Willow would have stayed anyway. Both girls were in their pajamas, sitting together on Tara's bed. The room had been completely cleaned and Buffy, Faith, and Angel had gone to take care of the demon's body, something that was apparently quite a regular occurrence. Neither of the witches could sleep, not really, so they sat up together talking.
Willow shook her head, gently lifting Tara's chin. "I'm telling you, that was big magic, Tara. That wasn't just your garden-variety glamour. He was a demon more than he was your uncle. Why else would he want to hurt you?" Tara frowned, anguish showing clearly on her expressive features. Willow gently took the blonde witch into her arms, now without a moment's hesitation. "I'm so sorry for what happened to him. But I really think nothing we could do could have changed him back. I know that it doesn't make it any better," she sighed, running her slender fingers through that soft golden mane, "but I don't think he was happy in the slightest. Being turned into a demon? Probably not the most pleasant of things to happen to someone."
Tara wrapped her arms around Willow's small waist, snuggling as closely as she dared. And that's the future I have to look forward to. Becoming a monster, having it eat away at the person I am now. With a sigh, she began, "I wish things were different. I wish ... I wish I could, I don't know, change things."
Willow's hands hesitated a moment before continuing their course through her hair. The redhead leaned down and whispered into her ear, "What would you change?"
Tara pulled slightly back, her face close to Willow's. "Only one or two things," she whispered. She ached to kiss Willow, right here and now, let everything go away and sort itself out later. But if there was to be anything between them, she couldn't force it. She had to let Willow choose what she wanted first.
The other girl smiled gently, almost lost in those gorgeous but sad blue eyes. She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Tara's forehead. "It'll be okay, somehow. I know it will."
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