 |
| Starlight The Orionids |
| October 20th She tossed and turned for a few hours. Impossible to sleep. Why did he come back? She tried to understand what she was feeling, and she finally concluded that she really didn’t feel much of anything. She couldn’t even imagine that she’d had a relationship with him. Well, not really a relationship. Just sex. Lots of sex…she pushed the thought away. She wondered what he’d thought they’d had. Did he think that he’d been making love to her? No…no…don’t go there either. No love. Just weirdness and…the feel of his naked skin sliding over her body… She sat up abruptly. “Not going to get to sleep tonight.” She wandered through the streets of Sunnydale. It very was quiet out. Not a demon or vampire in sight. The stars and constellations were brilliant in the sky. She stood at the edge of the cemetery and watched as a star fell out of the sky near Orion. “Wishes…what will I wish for?” she thought, “What do I want?” She stood motionless in the starlight; her eyes closed in concentration and her arms clasped tightly around her. “Wish I had blonde hair and… I wish… I’d never slept with Spike,” she spoke out loud. She turned her back on the cemetery and strode slowly down the street back toward Revello Drive. He stood in the darkness behind a tree. He’d overheard her wish. “Well I can’t grant her the first wish. But I can certainly do something about the second.” He scanned the sky, hoping to see another falling star, so he could make his own wish, but the stars held their course. * * * * * It was late afternoon when he woke up. The sun was blazing through the bars of his crypt, illuminating the spider webs and the dust particles that swirled through the air. “What a dreary place,” he thought. “I really can’t live here anymore. Besides, don’t want her barging in on me again. Must forget. Else I’ll go mad. Don’t fancy being a mad, broody vampire with a soul.” He waited until nightfall and then went down to the corner liquor store. He bought a Sunnydale Times and a pack of cigarettes and brought them back to his crypt. Later that evening, he set the paper down with a sigh. He’d circled several places that were for sale at prices that he knew were inflated. They wouldn’t sell fast. His plan was to find a nice empty house and become a squatter, and then just migrate to the next house when things got too hot. He spent the rest of the night scouting out the places he’d identified. None of them seemed very promising to him, that is, until he drove up to the ninth house on his list. It was located on the outskirts of Sunnydale, and it appeared as if it hadn’t been lived in for years. The paint was faded and the yard overgrown. Some of the upstairs windows were broken and boarded up, and the picket fence around the yard was sadly in need of repair. The best feature of the house was that it was set back off the street and surrounded by a few acres of land. There didn’t appear to be any close neighbors, just a few abandoned warehouses and a run down business district a few blocks away that had seen better days. * * * * * October 21st The next morning, just to be safe, he called the number listed in the ad. He wanted to find out a little more information about the owners and what their intentions were. A young woman with a sleepy voice answered the phone. “53 Orion?” she repeated the address back to him in a slightly surprised voice, “Are you sure? Let me check.” Spike heard a shuffling of papers in the background and then heard her yawn loudly. “OK, here it is –53 Orion owned by…I can’t make this out…Deceased…what a funny last name. Oh…let’s see…here it says ‘contact Miss Lillian Mintaka’ and wow, there’s about thirty addresses and phone numbers here…most of them crossed out. No, here’s one…do you know where Land’s End is?” She finally ran out of breath. “Ah miss…?” “Miss Branch.” “Yes, Miss Branch…is the house still for sale?” “It’s been on the market for ten years…no one’s gonna buy that old heap at that price.” She ruffled through some more papers, “There’s a letter here from Miss Mintaka. She did have a caretaker, she writes, but he died…a month ago and she’d like us to find someone new. Are you interested in buying? I’m free now. I could show it to you.” “No…not now…I’m at work,” Spike lied, “but I could come by about, let’s say 8 pm. And I’m not really interested in buying, but I may be interested in the caretaker position. What does it pay?” Spike and Miss Branch discussed the details of the job and arranged to meet at the house at 8 p.m. sharp. She’d bring along the paperwork for him to apply for the position. * * * * * At 8:30 Miss Branch finally showed up at the house. Spike was pacing back and forth along the sidewalk; he’d almost decided to leave when she drove up. She jumped out of her car and ran over to where he stood. She was strangely excited. “The weirdest thing happened!” she exclaimed, “Just as I was about to leave, the phone rang, and who do you think it was calling long distance?” About this time, Spike was heartily regretting his possession of both a soul and the chip. He longed to bite her or at least give her a good smack. “Have no idea you stupid bint,” he said under his breath. “Miss Mintaka! Isn’t that an amazing coincidence?!” She paused to catch her breath, “And she says she doesn’t need an application, just to hire you straight off.” She shoved a single sheet of paper at him. “You just need to sign here and it’s all settled.” After she’d showed him around the house she gave him the keys and walked back out to her car. “If you have any problems, just give the office a call. I’m going on vacation tomorrow but Mr. Nilam can help you. Only speak real loud when you talk to him, ‘cause he doesn’t hear very well anymore. He must be a hundred years old!” She gave Spike a quick smile, jumped into her car and drove off. * * * * * Spike rode slowly back to his crypt. He sensed something was a bit off kilter. Everything had fallen into place far too easily. He had a new place to live rent free– all above board. He would even get paid a small salary, just enough to keep him in blood and cigarettes and a few other necessities like scotch and Weetabix. It was too good to be true. That was a big problem. “Been having big problems ever since I came to this hell hole years ago. Why should things be any different now? Just accept that something good happened to me today. To hell with tomorrow,” he thought. He felt his spirits rise a bit. For the very best thing about the house was that it was clear across town from Revello Drive. Far enough away, perhaps, for him to start to forget. He gathered up his meager belongings scattered about the crypt, tied them onto his bike and without a backward glance, rode off to his new home. The house was sparsely furnished. There was an old iron bedstead and a feather mattress in the master bedroom. Someone must have cleaned up after the last caretaker had passed away for he found a set of clean, but worn, sheets and towels in the bedroom closet and several new blankets. He put away his things in a scratched and stained wooden dresser that stood next to the bed. He made up the bed and drew the heavy dark blue drapes across the windows. He went downstairs and locked up the house. Trudging back up the stairs, he thought of her, and he was overcome with a wave of loneliness. Strange, that he’d never felt this type of loneliness before, and he wondered if this was what having a soul really meant. Hurting and lonely, and aching for something he could not name. All the time. For no reason whatsoever. He undressed and flung himself down onto the bed. * * * * * There was no moon and the night was dark and full of the scents of autumn. He was floating in water; floating silently in a still, icy pool or pond. He opened his eyes and above him the Milky Way splashed across the sky. He couldn’t tell where his skin ended and the water began, or even, whether or not he was separate at all from the endless blanket of blackness and glittering silver which arched above him. He felt a deep peace and for the first time, since that terrible night in the cave when his soul had been returned to him, he was glad. Glad he’d done it. Not for her. But for himself, and he felt a stir of excitement and anticipation, rising inside him, as if he were beginning a journey where the final destination was unknown. He rose out of the water and the next thing he knew he was laying naked on the floor of his bedroom. Two warm hands slowly caressed his inner thighs, gently moving them apart. Someone was inching their way up his body. He felt the softness of two full breasts pressed against his groin and then suddenly she was upon him, straddling him. She positioned herself just over his erection and teased him by slowly slipping her wetness back and forth against him. He grabbed her hips and with a swift motion, lifted her slightly and plunged himself deep inside her. She cried out his name and he woke suddenly. The feeling of peace, which had come to him when his dream had first begun, was shattered. * * * * * He roamed around the house until dawn. He was afraid to go back to sleep in the bed. Afraid that she was haunting him. Previous Next Back to Starlight Home Back to Dark Dreams |