RAIN ON DUST

 

AUTHOR: 1stRab-id, Rabid, Raeann(I go by many names…none of them MINE in RL).

FEEDBACK: Rabid1st@yahoo.com or RabidRaeann@hotmail.com

BETAS:  Ah, where do I begin…Jen, Sabrina, Carrie, Mary, Nauti, AIGT et al.

SUBJECT: B/S(primarily) but also B/A, B/R, S/D, S/H

RATED: Demonic R…at least I think so…though you may find it more of an NC-17.

WARNING:  This story contains a number of perverse scenes of sex and/or violence, they are written NOT to stimulate but to horrify and to illuminate Spike's demonic nature.

SPOILERS:   The entire show as it airs is fair game…but mostly this is Season Two through Five…see next entry for explanation…

SUMMARY: This was a challenge from a co-worker…basically, that I write the back-story for Buffy and Spike love.  Backing up what we saw on screen with Spike's thoughts.  This story is a retrospective of Spike's falling in love.  We begin our story just after Crush and then again…we begin in Prague.

DISCLAIMER:  Please forgive me for I know not what I do…legally anyway…but I do know that these characters and situations are not mine and belong rightfully to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox TV, WB and UPN.  I would be honored to have any of the above write me a note to cease and desist my creative blundering because I really only do this for attention. 

 

 

 

PART ONE

Prague, 1990

 

Prague, just after the Velvet Revolution, was an elegant lady dressed in funeral finery.  It wasn’t quite a year since the Iron Curtain was pulled back and Prague had returned to the world as unchanged as one of my kind.  The centuries ticked by and left hardly a mark on the beauty of the city.  Each generation added something but nothing was lost, not to communism or fascism or religious uprising.  Majestic, gilt-edged and reeking of history, Prague was eternal.

 

Drusilla and I arrived in late August 1990 and set up our camp in the Mala Strana at the Hotel St. George, a grand old palace dating back to the 1700’s.  We had stayed there the year of the Great Flood and had the most wonderful time pulling people from the rising river.  The St. George hadn't changed much.  They'd added a few baths, an elevator and new carpets since our last visit but other than that it was exactly the same.  They didn't take credit cards and they didn't have cable and they still wrote the bill out by hand. 

 

This return to a simpler way of life was one of the many things that made Prague the ideal vampire vacation spot.  No matter what century you were turned, you could feel right at home.  And then there's the Bohemian nightlife. And the fact, as they say, ‘You can walk the full measure of Prague and never see the light of day.’  Dead right, that saying…I’ve done it more than a few times, myself.

 

It was the night of our Deca-Bacchanal.  Dru sired me in early September, 1880, and every ten years, to the day, we celebrated the occasion with a grand party.  All of our kin were invited.  Most of our children attended.  I was Dru's first born but nowhere near her last and, by that time, we had well over a hundred offspring, most of them wankers or lay abouts.  There were years when it seemed I couldn't bring a hot meal home without Dru falling in love with the creature and 'saving it from the grave.'

 

Finally, took to chatting them up first, so I could weed out the Muppets before they got their shot at eternal half-life.  Anyway, point is, everyone was in Prague and everything was ready.  We'd killed off the staff of the Hotel St. George and replaced them with our own three days before the event.  All of the hotel's paying guests were invited to attend, most eagerly accepted and those who declined were butchered for the table.  Dru had turned the two-story, old world ballroom into a paradise of cut crystal, black roses and glittering gold place settings.

 

The festivities were well underway when she deigned to join us.  I was standing near the bar talking to Rolando and Gracie, two of my less repulsive siblings, when the general stir of the crowd drew my eye to the sweeping double staircase at the far end of the room.  Drusilla made her entrance on schedule, just as the clock struck eleven.  She paused on the landing to survey her subjects, allowing us to admire her. 

 

We did.  She was exquisite, lean and graceful; dressed in the Spanish style with long tight sleeves, fitted bodice and flaring skirt.  Her gown was old gold silk traced with royal purple, caught up to reveal the deeper purple flounce of her lace petticoat.  She wore amethysts, at her wrists, in her hair, dangling from her ears and snug against her neck.  The gems were set in gold.

 

"Gold is the color, this year, my Pet," she'd declared the day before, as I entered our suite just after sunrise. "I chose it especially for you."

 

I had smiled and nodded, not really listening.  My mind had been occupied with practical things, the catering, the butchering and the seating of a hundred and eighty-seven guests with a minimum of fuss.  Now, seeing her, my heart came into my throat and I swallowed it down with effort. 

 

Everyone she'd sired felt exactly the same as I did but I was the one she had chosen as her mate. Only I would end the evening in her bed.  She'd dressed to please only me.  I started toward the stairway, pushing at first against others with the same notion.  Slowly, the rest gave ground, reluctantly acknowledging my status.  The crowd parted to create a corridor, allowing me to go to my dark salvation.  I caught her eye and held it as I stalked up the steps to her side.  Reaching her, I offered my arm.  She took it and we descended to the ground floor.

 

We mingled, drifting from one group to the next, graciously accepting well wishes, exchanging pleasantries and moving on.  Our children vied for the honor of presenting us with the finest specimens of humanity, each of them introducing their guests proudly in the hope that we would join them when the feasting began.  I was the happiest I could ever remember being, surrounded by my kind and filled with the certainty of my own power with the most dazzling woman imaginable on my arm. 

 

We were near the center of the ballroom, when Gracie stopped us to introduce her offering, a statuesque redhead named Suzette.  She was French, full-figured and nearly six-feet tall.  A doctor, Gracie bragged and I smiled eyeing the Amazonian beauty with approval.  Intrigued, I barely noticed when Dru disengaged herself and stepped away from my side.  I leaned in to whisper a salacious suggestion in my sibling's ear.  Gracie laughed lightly and nodded her ready agreement.  The redhead shifted as if put out by our show of intimacy.  She sniffed, looking down at me.

 

"There's something wrong with your friend," she informed me, with an air of arrogant detachment.

 

I blinked at her not comprehending and then understanding dawned.  I turned to look for Dru.  She was only a few feet away, staring fixedly toward the long mahogany bar, her eyes wide and dark.  I felt a stir of apprehension and moved swiftly to her side, reaching out my hand to take her elbow.

 

"All of these mirrors," she moaned, her voice shaking, "I hate them! HATE THEM!"

 

She shrieked the last two words and snatched up a magnum of champagne from the closest table.   She hurled the bottle toward the mirror-backed bar.  Looking glass and bottle shattered with a tremendous crash.  I froze as the room fell silent, several of the humans shifted uneasily, looking terrified.  I glanced toward the clock.  It was early, half past midnight, but I nodded toward the doormen, signaling the time had come to lock us down.

 

The bolts on the exits were thrown and Rolando clapped his hands loudly, calling for everyone's attention.  He swept the black plastic sheet off the buffet table to reveal the dressed and filleted bodies underneath.  Screams and guttural growls surrounded me as I moved to placate the still trembling Drusilla. 

 

"Now, Dru, Darling," I soothed, in the sing-song tone she found most comforting, "remember you told me you wanted this room especially for the mirrors?  To 'see all the corpses and candles spinning around' you when we danced, you said?"

 

"But they've filled up with smoke," she protested. "Ashes and smoke.  They've gone all dark and I can't see my gown."

 

"You can't see your reflection in any case, Luv," I reminded her, gently, "not anymore.  But your dress is still beautiful," I assured, turning her to face me. "You are beautiful.  Luminous and regal, like a Princess."

 

"Am I all golden?" she asked, plaintively.  "Not bald and burned?"

 

She was looking past my shoulder at an unbroken mirror.  I glanced behind me, reflexively, but there was nothing in the glass but furnishings and the spasming bodies of human victims.  I sighed, turning back to her.

 

"You aren't bald, my sweet," I said, tugging one of her dark curls as proof.

 

"But you would love me still if I was?"

 

"I would love you if you were," I agreed, nodding absently.  Momentarily distracted by the decrease in noise around us, I had looked away from her.  I was wondering if there would be a warm body left to feed on as I added, "I will always love you."

 

Dru twisted free of my grip, capturing my full attention again.  She bared her teeth, glaring at me with hard onyx eyes.

 

"You lie," she accused, harsh as a fishwife. I shook my head and she slapped me, the sharp sound ringing across the room.

 

"You think I don't see her?" she snarled, backing away and pointing at the mirrors in turn. "There and there and there…all golden and bright…warm as a summer's day…standing beside you…the pair of you…laughing…dancing together…"

 

I grabbed her by both shoulders and shook her violently.  She resisted for a moment and then slumped against me like a rag doll, whimpering to herself, "…you let him take me…let them break me into pieces…and then you went to her…like I knew you would when I saw her in your dreams."

 

I held her tight, stroking her hair and murmuring soft nonsense, "There now, my little one, my sweet love, you're all I ever dream of…hush, hush, darling girl, hush now…" 

 

Several of my siblings had paused in their feeding to stare at us, painfully reminded of our Sire's madness.   I was used to Dru's mercurial tempers but I knew the others found her outbursts unsettling.  And with good reason.  She had been known to maim or kill her own while lost in her black mood.  Any hope I had of enjoying the rest of the party fled when she struck me.  Dru would need quiet and solitude to recover her fragile wits.  Step by slow step, I guided her toward the stairs. 

 

Sanity poured into her, suddenly, just as we reached the landing.  She stood up straight, stepping away from me and smoothing down her skirt.

 

"Where are we going, you naughty boy?" she asked. "You can't steal me away. We have guests."

 

"They're well entertained," I said, waving a negligent hand behind me. "I doubt they'll miss us if we cop off for an hour or two."

 

"But the party is just getting started," she pouted, "and I want to dance."  Her expression was coy, telling me she wanted only to be coaxed into leaving.

 

"We can have our own party if you like, Pet.  Just the two of us, with music and…" I paused to favor her with an openly suggestive look as I clawed into the cap of her shoulder, drawing blood and eliciting a hiss of pleasure, "…treats."

 

"Wicked, wanton Spike," she murmured, taking my hand and pulling me toward the exit.

 

We shagged in the elevator, upright and fully clothed, Dru pressed into the corner, skirt and petticoat pushed up to her waist.  I straddled sticky puddles of recently spilled blood, as I saw to her.  The elevator doors pinged open and closed on our floor several times before we finished.  The hotel was silent around us as I carried her out into the corridor, her legs still encircling my waist.

 

As we reached the room, I kissed my way down her neck, over the choker of amethysts and onto the white plains of her bosom.  Without breaking contact, I blindly keyed open the door.  We tumbled inside, still locked together.  My hands tugged at her dress, urgently peeling it from her shoulders.  I was impatient, not caring if I ripped the material in my rush to hold her naked body against me.

 

"Beastly child," she chided, dropping her feet to the floor and pushing me playfully away. "You'll ruin my lovely gown."

 

"I'll steal you another," I promised, reaching for her, again. "Just as lovely.  I'll steal you a dozen."  Dru wasn't listening; her attention was focused beyond me.  I cursed, inwardly, as I turned to follow her gaze, certain the vanity mirror had captivated her.  I, immediately, saw my error.

 

There was a girl trussed up at the foot of our bed.  Her wrists were tied above her head, to a cross bar of the canopy, stretching her body taut.  She was still alive, gagged and struggling.  Her pleading eyes stared glassily into mine as I turned toward her.  She was a pale thing, a champagne blond with hazel eyes and a generous mouth.  A light dusting of freckles graced her cheeks.  I judged her to be about 16 years old, though her figure was almost childlike, with the barest swell of breast and hip.  She was wearing a wine colored slip dress but the sophisticated garment did little to tarnish her innocence.  She was as sweet and fresh as a spring lamb; definitely Drusilla's type -- not mine.

 

"Oh, pretty," Dru said, fluttering across to examine the captive. "Have you gotten us a present?"

 

"You know I don't favor blondes, Plum," I replied, trying to hide my irritation at this unexpected hitch in my plans for a pas de deux.  I'd wanted Dru to myself for an hour.

 

I was hungry, however, and if it made my girl happy, I wasn't about to complain.

 

"Is there a card, then? What's that on the string 'round her neck?" I prompted, nodding at a twist of twine that decorated the teenager's throat.  A bit of paper was dangling like a pendant from the improvised choker.  Dru turned her head to read the typewritten lines and then snatched at the paper.  Her nails cut the girl's skin, tearing the tag free of its mooring.

 

"She's from Darla, in America," she said, clapping her hands in delight as she bounced back to my side and handed me the note.

 

"'Sorry, I can't be there in person'," I read off, "'Here's a sip of something to fortify you both against the cold night, love Darla.'"  I snorted, not believing my eyes, "Hardly like her Worship to come over sentimental all of a sudden.  Still, can't turn up our nose at a free meal."

 

"Shhhh," Dru admonished me, shaking a finger as she backed away, "Bad manners will get you flogged before supper.  Always thinking of your stomach when I want to play." 

 

She hiked up her skirts and knelt on the bed, then walked forward on her knees to face the captive.  She prodded the girl savagely making her twitch and moan.

 

"Look at me, Lovely," Drusilla cooed, swaying hypnotically. "My aren't you fresh and juicy.  I was like you once…before I was visited by angels.  Pale and pure.  Bet you're sweet as ripe cherries down below."

 

"She's just a bit of a thing, ain't she?" I said, tilting my head, not really fancying the prospect of deflowering insipid virgins.

 

Dru ignored me.  She was staring into the teen's terrified eyes making the little bit's pulse quicken.  I sighed, resigning myself to the role of spectator.  I stretched out on the bed, slipped one hand into my open fly and settled back to watch.

 

"You have a china doll face," she told the girl sometime later. "Just like our Miss Alice used to have…but not as dirty.  Miss Alice got thrown in the kitchen fire.  Only because she liked to watch Spike when he's sleeping…and she would go on and on…telling me all of his dreams. It was Miss Alice first told me of HER!"

 

"So, you want me to throw this one on the fire, too?" I asked, heading off the tirade. 

 

I knew the answer to my question already by the arch of Dru's nude body.  She wanted the girl in our bed.  She was caressing herself as she studied the now naked child, licking her lips in anticipation of the fun we might all have together.  She turned her luminous gaze on me and smiled wickedly.  My heart sank.

 

"Do her for me Spike," she purred. "Be her Cherubim.  Force her open.  Make her bleed. Make her scream."

 

"And what do I get if I do?" I asked, lazily, bored beyond the telling of it by the idea of raping the dinner.

 

"You'll get caged and no food for a week if you don't," Drusilla replied, kicking my hip hard with one bare foot. 

 

I barely flinched, continuing to smoke as I considered my options.  None of them looked good.  I studied Drusilla through the blue veil of my exhalations, searching for any sign of charity.  Her chin was set in a stubborn line.  Not one thing would please her but a trip to the Nunnery.

 

I took a last leisurely drag on my cigarette before pinching it out between two fingers. Feeling put upon, I swung my feet to the floor.  There was nothing for it but to play out my part, re-enacting the past for the umpteenth time.  I consoled myself that at least we hadn't the costumes for this go around.  I hated the burning with crosses and holy water.  Dru scooted up the bed away from the girl as I circled into position.

 

"I shall be Mother Superior," my Love declared, arranging herself primly against the headboard, hands covering her privates, "forced to look on in shame and horror."

 

It was a good hour before I was allowed to feed.  And another one ticked by before Dru had enough blood and screaming to mollify her, but finally, I got my tumble.  It was sublime, as usual.  I came, shuddering and, as custom directed, gasped in polite unison with my partner.  After I was spent, I levered back, lowering my head to lick along the milky curves of Drusilla's perfect body, like the loyal dog I was.  I didn't mind if she made me obey, as long as she gave me my treat in the end.  

 

I was happy again, well pleased with the fiery reaction I'd managed to engender.  If my Sire had a fault, it was her tendency to have orgasmically induced visions at the most inopportune times.  She would drift off topic into fanciful parables.  It was rare day when she focused on the proceedings all the way through.

 

I rolled to one side, reaching for my pack and lighter.  The room swam around me.  Disoriented, I slid off the bed, sprawling unceremoniously across the floor.  I tried to rise, shaking my head to clear it and found I was tangled up with the mortal remains of the teenager.  We had cast her drained carcass aside when we'd gotten down to business.

 

"Oh, my head's gone all funny," Dru giggled, from above, as I struggled to disengage from the corpse. 

 

There was something odd about the body.  I squinted through the fog in my brain, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.  Cuneiform symbols were rising like wheals under the girl's skin.  My blood ran colder as I recognized the language and finally made out the words.

 

"Drusilla, get dressed," I ordered, lurching urgently to my feet. "Hurry now. Get your clothes on, Pet.  We need to be moving." 

 

I pulled on my pants, leaning into the wall for stability.  Giving up on the pointless fumbling with my button fly, I tried for my boots, dropping them repeatedly before I managed to get them on my feet.  I didn't bother with a shirt.  Spotting my duster at the end of the bed, I bent over to retrieve it, nearly crashing to the floor in the process.  Dru hadn't shifted in the slightest.  She was wafting a hand in front of her face, no doubt enchanted by the pretty colors.  I saw them, too, but had no time to make a rainbow connection at present.

 

"Dru-SIL-LA," I bellowed, separating the syllables for emphasis as I staggered around the bed and took hold of her.  “They’re coming for us.”

 

Already, I could smell the smoke of the torches and hear the blood cries of the human mob mixed with the muted screams of our dying children.  Desperately, I hauled my Sire to her feet.  She fought me, clawing into the sheets bringing them up with her.  Impatient with her struggles, I struck Dru hard to the temple, wrapping her in the bed linen as she sagged.  Then, fighting my own sense of self-preservation, which was clamoring for me to cut and run, I half-carried, half-dragged her toward the door. 

 

It was slow going. My vision was blurred by streaks of color and light.  My drugged muscles were slow to respond and my knees kept buckling.  As I struggled up from the floor for the third time, there was a sharp exchange of shouted voices in the corridor and someone burst into the room.  I felt my human façade fall away as I shifted into a defensive crouch. 

 

It was Gracie and two others, wankers but family.

 

“Come on,” Gracie yelled, from what seemed like a great distance even though she was practically on top of me.  “What the Hell is wrong with you?  They’re right behind us.  We have to get her out of here.”

 

“Drugged,” I managed, by way of explanation.

 

“FUCK,” Gracie snarled, kicking me to one side as she hefted Dru into her arms.  I rolled with the strike, and as soon as the room steadied around me, I scrambled to my feet, again.  Gracie, Dru and the two wankers were almost to the fire escape by the time I made the hallway.  They showed no inclination to wait for the handicapped.

 

There was a great roaring noise from behind me, I didn’t need to look back to know the mob had arrived on our floor.  I redoubled my pitiful efforts and made it to the stairwell just as the door flew open and Gracie stumbled back out. 

 

“They’ve cut us off below,” she yelped, thrusting the dead weight of Drusilla into my arms.  She’d added three more to the entourage.  “Magical barriers,” she continued as we turned to face the on-coming rush of irate humanity, “They’re saying it’s Tung.”

 

“It is,” I confirmed.  “I got his calling card.”

 

Guan-yin Tung was the only human I knew with the mojo and wrinklies needed to orchestrate something this grand.  Tung was a fifth generation wizard, the grandson of Guan-yin Yuet nee Ling.  Yuet, a magical adept and a powerful woman in her own right, was cast in the shade by her younger sister, Ling Lihwa.  Lihwa had been chosen, marked as the Slayer.  Ninety years ago, I'd put her in her grave and her assorted relatives had plagued me ever since.  I would have guessed it was Tung behind this attack even if he hadn't signed his name in the dead girl's flesh.

 

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