Chapter 10

Spike and Buffy stepped outside the mansion into the chilly November night.  Buffy zipped her jacket closed, and she looked up at the stars.   She nodded back at the mansion.  "You think Lawson will be okay with Darla?"

"They'll be fine."  Spike grinned at Buffy.  "Walk you home?"

Buffy shook her head.  "No, I'm not ready to deal with Willow yet.  How about a patrol and back to your crypt for awhile.  Maybe if we get back to my house late enough she'll be asleep."

"Fair enough," Spike replied.  "Where should we patrol?  Lover's lane again?  Check to make sure that silly little friend of the Bit's not there?"

Buffy nodded.  "Sure thing.  I want to drop by the new high school construction site.  Check on a few things while we're out here."

"Finally buildin' a new one?" Spike asked as he and Buffy started to walk down the drive way.

"Yep.  Right on top of the old one," Buffy grumbled.  She shoved her hands into her pockets.  "What about your car?"  She glanced back over he shoulder at the Desoto.

"I'm leaving the Desoto for Lawson .  Just in case he needs it."  Spike looked at Buffy.  "They're rebuilding the high school on the Hellmouth again?  Didn't anyone learn their lesson from the last time?"

"Apparently, the land was given to the city by the Wilkins' estate."  Buffy shrugged.  "It reverts back to the estate if the school isn't built there.  I don't understand that type of thing.  Too confusing."

"Leave the lawyerin' to the lawyers," Spike said with a nod.

The pair strolled towards Lover's Lane in companionable silence.  Despite their casual appearance both the Slayer and the vampire were on the alert.  A quick tour of the town's make out area turned up a few human teenagers necking, but no vampires or demons.

The duo headed off towards the high school.  Neither Spike nor Buffy were surprised when they found robed, chanting men attempting a sacrifice.  The bonfire threw eerie shadows across the construction site.

"Shall we introduce ourselves?" Buffy asked.

Spike snorted.  "Go for it, luv.  I'm not going to be much help.  Bloody pulsers."

"Well, I guess if they're successful in getting something raised, it's all yours to slay."

"Thanks, Slayer."  Spike chuckled while he shook his head.

Buffy stepped into the firelight.  "Gentlemen.  My name is Buffy.  This is my town, and I don't appreciate your shenanigans."

"Shenanigans?" the head priest screamed at the intrusion.  "I'll have you know that this is the Sacred Ritual of Oblivion.  Intruders will be dealt with.  Boz, Riat, kill her."

Two extra large Fyarl demons joined the conversation with fierce growls.

"Boz, long time, no see."

The flame from a cigarette lighter illuminated Spike's lean face.  Buffy realized that this was the first time she'd seen the vampire light up since they'd learned about her and Dawn's true heritage.

Boz let out a long hiss.

"Now, now, mate.  Don't be like that.  The Slayer won't hurt you ... much."

"The Slayer?" the head priest sneered.  "The Slayer is dead or in jail.  There is no Slayer in Sunnydale."

"Actually ..."  Buffy paused for dramatics.  "I got better.  Yes, Faith is still in jail.  The Slayer still lives."

"Kill them!" the priest screamed at Boz.  "Kill them both."

Boz growled before he launched himself at Spike.  His partner attacked the Slayer.  The priests tried to continue their ceremony but they soon gave up when Buffy threw her opponent into the head priest.

Spike and Buffy fought around each other in what looked like a well choreographed dance.  Even when they were knocked down, they quick to gain their feet.

On sidelines the head priest screamed at the Fyarl demons.  His face grew redder with each shout.   Without warning, he keeled over, and he gasped for breath.

"Master Allard!"  One of the other priests ran to the stricken man's side.  "Are you all right?"

The head priest continued to gasp.  His face grew pale on one side while the other side stayed bright red.  "Brennan," he wheezed.

"Quickly, we must finish the ceremony!"  Brennan gestured towards the circle.  "Moore and Evans, grab Master Allard.  Get him into position."

Spike, Buffy, and the two Fyarl demons stopped fighting to watch the antics.  Moore and Evan dragged Allard to the spot he'd stood before the ritual had been interrupted by Spike and Buffy.  The held him up while Brennan grasped his elbows.

"By the Holy Scroll of Utilartr, I invoke Clever Sum'esmumio," Brennan mumbled into the back of Father Allard's robes.  "Let his arms go, you fools."

Moore and Evans dropped Allard's arms, and he started to sag to the ground.

"Hold him up!" Brennan screamed.

"Make up your mind," Moore grumbled.  He grabbed a handful of Father Allard's robe, and he lifted the priest.  Evans grabbed the other shoulder.

Brennan made grand arm gestures with Father Allard's arm.  It might have been impressive if the now limp priest's hands didn't flop around with every movement.

Spike snorted.  "What a farce."

The priests glared at Spike.  They continued to chant with Brennan, but their expressions clearly said, 'nobody asked you'.

"Shouldn't we be stopping them?" Buffy whispered.

Spike pointed towards the priests.  One: human.  Two: it's not May, pet.  What's the worst that could happen?"

"You jinxed us now," Buffy muttered.  As soon as she was done speaking, the ground started to shudder and groan near the Hellmouth.  A small indention formed in the dirt before the rumbling came to a stop.

The two Fyarl demons realized that they had a job to finish.  They turned to snarl at Spike and Buffy.

"How rude," Spike gasped in mock shock.  "The Slayer's mum was a lady!"  He turned to Buffy.  "Did you hear what he said about your mother, luv?"

"I don't speak Fyarl, but  I got the gist."  Buffy glared and twirled her stake at the demon who had apparently insulted her mother.  "Okay, buster.  Mr. Pointy here hasn't staked anyone in awhile.  Looks like you volunteered to break his dry spell."

Boz launched himself at Buffy.  She met his advance with a fist to the face.  In return, he roared in her face.

Buffy wrinkled her nose.  "You really need to brush your teeth.  Really.  I'm not kidding."

Riat, the other demon, attacked Spike, hissing and spitting like an overgrown lizard.  The vampire led the demon away from the crowd.

Boz backhanded Buffy, and she sailed across the construction site.  She landed on a neatly stacked pile of bricks with a wet squish.  Boz roared again before he rushed towards the Slayer.

Buffy staggered to her feet.  She clutched her right hand to her chest while she glared at the advancing Boz.  "What's a little pain between enemies?" she muttered.  Buffy reached over to grab a brick with her good hand.  "Come and get it."

Boz growled when Buffy lobbed bricks at him.  The sharp edges hurt, and he blinked in pain when a corner caught him in the eye.  He stopped up short when he heard Riat's dying yelp.  Boz abandoned his attack on the Slayer to go to his pack mate's aid.

Buffy turned to the priests with an unhappy frown.  "Now, if you boys don't want me tear up your holy scroll of Utility Bills and let Spike give a smack down to Clever Some Mummy, you better clear out of my town."  She glanced at the head priest, still being held up by Moore and Evans.  "I really think you need to get that guy to the E.R.  He's not looking so good."

Spike stepped into the firelight.  He straightened his jacket, and he smoothed down his bleached blond hair.  "That was fun," he chortled with a grin.

One of the other priests, seeing that Buffy's hand was hurt, decided she was vulnerable.  He grabbed up a stray brick, and he ran towards her.  Spike stepped in front of Buffy, and he smacked the human away.  Then, he shuddered in pain.  After a few moments, he shook his head to clear it.

"That was stupid, Spike," Buffy grumbled.  "You know you can't hurt any humans."

"It won't hurt me to smack them around."    A voice rang out in the darkness.

Buffy turned towards the voice.  "Wesley, what are you doing in Sunnydale?"

"Mr. Giles called me for a consult," the ex-Watcher said as he stepped out of the darkness followed by a green skinned demon in a leisure suit.  Wesley sniffed in disdain towards the priests.  "You gentlemen wouldn't be trying to perform the Sacred Ritual of Oblivion, would you?"

"So, what if we are?" Brennan sneered over Father Allard's shoulder.

Wesley held his hands up in surrender.  "No skin off my nose, but if you don't have the blood of an Agoru demons, the rising will backfire on you."

"I'm sure Master Allard acquired the proper  ingredients," Moore said with a mocking tone of voice.

"Not unless he time travelled," Wesley replied.  "The last  know Agoru sighting was in the 1940's when Bedouin warriors  in Egypt rounded them up for extermination."

"I have confidence in Master Allard."  Moore  turned to Brennan.  "Continue the ceremony."

"Well, I suggest we stand back," Wesley informed his companions.  He grinned slyly at Buffy.  "You wouldn't want to destroy your frugal yet stylish boots with priest blood and guts."

Buffy sighed.  "Yeah.  I'm the Slayer though.  I'm supposed to help people."

"The stupid ones can't be helped, pet," Spike said.  He grabbed the wrist of Buffy's injured hand.  "Looks like we need to set these before your healing kicks in any more than it has."

Buffy tugged against Spike.  "No, it'll make the chip hurt you."

"Some pains are worth it, Slayer."  Spike adjusted his hold on Buffy's hand.  "On the count of three.  One..."  Before he could say two, he manipulated Buffy's fingers into place.

Buffy waited for the expected wince of pain that came with Spike hurting a human.  When it didn't happen, she whispered, "Spike, your chip."

Spike gave Buffy a startled look.  "It didn't activate.  It didn't hurt."

"No."  Buffy her head.  "But, it did when you smacked that priest."

Spike and Buffy gaped at each other in horror.

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Xander leaned over Anya, and he kissed her cheek.  She snorted in her sleep.  Then, she wrinkled her nose before she returned to snoring. 

"I love you, Anya," Xander whispered.  "This marriage stuff scares the shit out of me.  What if I fuck everything up like my dad did?"

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Darla twitched in her sleep.  The pig's blood that the Slayer's little friend delivered barely sated her hunger.  Strange, fragmented images flashed across her sleeping mind.

Across the hall, Lawson stared at the ceiling while he went over the day's events.  Being a vampire, he'd thought he would never have any true family again.  Buffy and Dawn were a surprise.

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Giles took a sip of cold tea before he reached for another oversized book. There'd be time to refresh his cup at a later time.  For now there was too much to look up.

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Amy lay next to the slumbering Willow with a smirk on her face.  Things were only going to get better from now on.  She was sure of it.  Seducing Willow wasn't all that difficult, after all.

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Warren looked around his new lair.  "It's not perfect, but it'll do until I can get rid of the Slayer."