full 3/4 1/2   skin light dark       
 
The Hardest Thing in the World by Eowyn315
 
Back to Business
 
<<     >>
 
Chapter 11: Back to Business

With a roar, Spike hurled himself at the vamp, knocked the two-by-four to the ground, and grasped the vampire’s neck. A swift jerk and a crack, and the body went limp and then disintegrated, along with the head in Spike’s hands.

He turned to Buffy, who was picking herself up off the ground. “You all right, love?” He gently touched the wound on her temple where the vampire had hit her with the two-by-four. It was already starting to bruise, and a trickle of blood was beginning to dampen her hair.

Buffy was startled by how tender his touch was, but brushed him away. “I’ll be fine.” Almost reluctantly, she added, “Thanks.” She hated it when she needed saving, but Spike always seemed to be there when it happened.

“The one got away. Could’ve bloody had ’im, but I didn’t want to see you get whacked.” He was momentarily distracted as he realized Buffy’s blood was now on his fingertips and he resisted the urge to lick them.

“I’ll go after him.” Buffy strode for the door.

“You sure you’re up to it, Slayer?” Spike gave his fingers a quick taste while her back was turned. The slayer blood made him feel all tingly. “You’re not looking so hot.”

Buffy’s reply was cut off by her ringing cell phone. Dawn’s constant begging for a phone had finally pulled her into the 21st century – and she figured they couldn’t be bad to have for safety reasons, even if it was one more expense they couldn’t really afford.

“Hey, Xand,” she said. “What is it?... Where?... I’ll be right – no, don’t call the police. I wanna check out the scene before… I’ll be right there.”

“When did you get one of those bloody things?” Spike asked her as soon as she hung up.

Buffy didn’t answer him, her face grave. “Change of plans. Xander and Anya found something… a body.”

*****

“We called you first,” Xander told Buffy as she rushed to meet him and Anya. Spike trailed behind, scoping out the area, sniffing for blood. “We weren’t sure if it was a demon-slash-supernatural thing or not, but figured it was best to let you know… What happened to you?”

“I got hit in the head.” Buffy rolled her eyes. “I’m so glad I’m the one who gets called first for this stuff. Where’s the girl?”

“Over here.” Xander gestured for Buffy to follow a little ways into the wooded area behind his apartment complex.

Spike had already found his way there and was crouching beside the body. He took in a few deep breaths. “Her blood’s been completely drained.”

Xander made a disgusted face. “Isn’t it great how he can tell that just by sniffing her?”

“Xander, please.” Buffy turned to Spike. “Vampire?”

Spike shook his head, turning the girl’s head to expose her neck – her throat had been slit from ear to ear, no trace of bite marks. “Oh, God,” Buffy muttered.

“Here, look at this,” said Spike. She knelt down next to him and examined the girl’s arms, where various symbols had been carved into her flesh.

“Some kind of ritual sacrifice,” Anya said, peering over their shoulders. “A blood-letting.”

Buffy nodded. “Whoever did this must have gotten blood on them. Spike, can you track it?”

He was up and moving before she’d even gotten the words out. “All I’m getting is… here.” He stopped a few feet away, the scent of blood overwhelming him, and started kicking leaves aside to reveal a small circle of stones. “This is where they drained her.”

The others gathered around the spot, looking for clues. “What’s that?” asked Xander, pointing to a small object on the ground near the stones.

Anya picked it up and examined it. “A talisman. Could have been used to summon a demon.”

“We need to find out who did it,” said Buffy.

“And… what kind,” Spike added, glancing at her.

Xander looked at him, confused. “What kind of what?”

“Demon, silly,” Anya answered, in a teasing tone of voice. “There are different kinds, you know.”

Buffy stood up and backed away from the scene, giving her orders in a take-charge manner. “All right, I’ll call Giles and head to the magic shop. You guys should report this to the police and then meet us there.”

“We should call Will and Tara, too,” Xander suggested.

“Dawn’s over there now. Spike?” She looked up at him with eyes that said she was about to take advantage of him – and not in the way Spike would prefer. “Could you go pick up Dawn for me? Take her home, and tell the girls to meet us at the shop.”

“Sure thing, pet. Only… you’re sure you’re all right? You had a pretty bad knock on the head back there.”

“I’m fine,” Buffy insisted. “Go.” As he turned to leave she added, “And… thank you.”

Before she left, Buffy kicked the leaves back to cover the stones. No need for the police to find that.

*****

Spike was starting to get used to this routine. It wasn’t the first time he’d been called on to pick up, drop off, or baby-sit Dawn. During the time Buffy was dead, he’d kept his promise to her, taking care of Dawn the best he could. And even after Buffy came back, when there was no danger from Dawn being the Key, she still asked Spike to protect her little sister. He was the only one strong enough to fight off the beasties they all knew lurked in the dark in Sunnydale. Still, even after he’d proven himself time and again, Buffy’s friends were wary of her choice of baby-sitter. At least Willow and Tara liked him – the others didn’t trust him.

“Hi, Tara,” he said, when she answered the door at their new apartment.

“Spike,” she responded with surprise. He heard Dawn in the background echo his name.

“I’m here to pick up Little Bit. Slayer’s got a new crisis, needs you birds down at the Magic Box.”

“Oh… okay.” Tara nodded, standing aside to let Spike in.

He just stood in the doorway awkwardly. “Uh… new place.” He pointed to the invisible barrier keeping him out. “You’ve gotta…”

“Oh! Right.” Tara made an exaggerated welcome gesture for emphasis. “Come in, Spike.” With the barrier eliminated, he stepped inside, and he could see Willow and Dawn sitting on the floor, Dawn’s homework spread out around them. There were still cardboard boxes stacked around the room, yet to be unpacked from the move.

“Hey, Will,” he said. “Nice digs.”

“Thanks. We decided not to go with the one with the rats.”

“Good choice.”

“This from the guy who lives in a crypt,” said Dawn.

Spike growled at her playfully. “Come on, kiddo, pack up your things, Uncle Spike’s gonna take you home.”

“I’m not a kid,” Dawn protested, though she could never really be mad at Spike for any of his nicknames for her. She loved hanging out with him, to the point that it worried Buffy. She didn’t know why – Buffy was only a year older than Dawn when she started dating Angel. Dawn didn’t see anything wrong with hanging out with a vampire – as long as it was a good vampire, like Angel or Spike. She knew Spike would never try to hurt her – couldn’t if he wanted to, in fact – even if he occasionally threatened to bite her in order to keep her from misbehaving.

“So what’s the new evil?” Willow asked.

“Not sure. All they’ve got so far is a dead girl.”

“Eww. Okay, I’m ready,” said Dawn.

Spike glanced down to make sure she’d collected all her things and noticed a book still lying on the floor. “Missed one, Bit,” he said, but even as he bent to pick it up, he realized it wasn’t a textbook. The cover, void of a title, was made of aged, cracked leather, the pages yellowed parchment.

“That’s not mine,” Dawn confirmed, shouldering her backpack.

He knew he was in the witches’ apartment, and he told himself there was absolutely nothing unusual about them having spellbooks lying around. Just a simple once-over of the bookshelves revealed a collection that was starting to rival Giles’s own personal stock. But something in him prompted him to slide his fingers along the top of the pages, catching the marker and opening to the page that had been flagged.

“Oh, that’s nothing –” Willow started, a touch of fear in her voice and her movements as she reached out to take the book from Spike’s hands. Too late, as his eyes flicked angrily up from the page, challenging her, demanding an explanation, and almost begging her to tell him he’d jumped to the wrong conclusion.

He closed the book with a snap and opened his mouth to speak, but caught himself as he spared a glance toward Dawn, waiting expectantly for him to take her home. “Won’t be a mo’, love,” he reassured the girl before grasping Willow roughly by the arm and manhandling her as much as the chip would allow into the bedroom she and Tara shared.

“It’s not what you think!” she insisted, the moment the door was closed.

He stared at her, his eyes cold. “I think it’s bloody well exactly what I think.”
 
<<     >>