A Childe Awakens

Phoenixheart79 aka Carl/theblondiebear

A Childe Awakes - Chapter 6/18

"It's perfect Master." Willow smiled, a smile full of malice and the urge for wanton destruction.

"Yes my child, the totem will make my children, the children of Aurelius, and those we bless, stronger than any vampire has ever been. Together we will rid this world of the plague of humanity."

The gathered vampires let out a small cheer as The Master spoke. "The totem will gift us with the strength and speed of slayers, we will be equal. No longer will we need to scurry through the shadows in case she catches us. Her superior strength and speed is her only advantage, take it away and we are equal, we will spread a new order on the flesh of her rotting corpse." At this the gathered crowd erupted. Willow stepped forward, taking her place at The Masters side. She raised her arms and addressed the crowd.

"Go. Fetch the pieces and let us assemble the Totem of Tilock." The crowd cheered again and left the great hall of the mansion, where once the demon Acathla had almost sucked the world into hell. They split into twos and threes, slipping off on their individual assignments. Willow turned to the form of The Master.

"What if the slayer intervenes? She is powerful here, her friends make her strong."

"If she interferes she will only die sooner." Willow smiled again. "Go my child." The Master urged. Willow jumped down from the small platform where she and The Master had been standing. She turned back but he was gone. Swiftly she left the mansion and vanished into the darkness.

In the darkness, Spike stalked through Sunnydale Park. He hadn't seen Buffy in days now, but strangely it didn't bother him as much as it used too. They were comfortable now. He didn't need to see her face every day to be reassured she remembered him. Then he saw something. A figure walking through the park, alone. He recognised that hair.

"Hey, Willow!" he called out, breaking into a trot to catch up with her. "Hey, Red, hold up. You shouldn't be out here alone, it's dangerous in the dark, remember." he caught a whiff of her "Hey, you changed your perfume?" he made the statement a question.

Without turning, Willow answered him, "I remember. And yeah, I did."

"Then what the bloody hell are you doing out here alone? There could be any number of nasties lurk..." He broke off in mid sentence and looked around. "Willow, get behind me, there's vampires nearby, I can smell them." Slowly Willow turned to face him, glowing, feral, yellow eyes assessing him like a piece of meat.

"I know."

"Willow?" Suddenly a half dozen vampires rushed Spike, Willow stepped back, musing quietly to herself,

"So many people in this town fall for the same trick. Are they all stupid?" Amidst the throng of bodies, Spike struggled like a man possessed, dusting two of his assailants before he was subdued. He lay flat on his chest, the remaining vampires sitting on him. He strained his head up and watched Willow, dressed in a figure hugging black leather ensemble, stalk towards him, a predatory sway in her slim hips. As she approached he was dragged to his knees and his hands bound behind his back. She stopped in front of him and crouched down, looking him in the eyes.

"This world? It's missing so much. No ponies in chains, no public hunts and I don't have my puppy. He's gone to the big city. But then a magickal little bird tells me that William the Bloody has a soul too." She stood as the vampires dragged Spike to his feet and she laughed, a soft, gentle laugh. "Looks like I've got a new puppy."

Sebastian was on patrol. Ever since Buffy had encountered vampire Willow the night before the whole gang had spent the better part of the day researching, trying to come up with some theory as to what she might be planning, but to no avail. After hours with his nose stuck in smelly book after smelly book, he had made his excuses and left. Besides, he needed to breath and to clear his head. He couldn't believe it. He had a crush. Like some bloody hormonal teenager. He had to shake it from his head.

He had already done a sweep of two of the towns cemeteries, whilst Buffy took the others, and was now headed for the UC Sunnydale campus where they would meet up. He moved through the deserted grounds until he reached their usual meeting place, a bench in front of Stephenson Hall. He sat and waited, then in the distance he saw blond hair, obscured among the trees and moving fast. On instinct he was on his feet and running, coat billowing behind him, before his brain had even made the choice.

Swiftly he moved across the clearing, following the rapidly retreating flash of blond. He put on a burst of speed, slipping through the trees and branches seemingly without touching them. He made no sound. Broke no twig, brushed no branch. Finally he approached a clearing and slowed. Three vampires were gathered there, including the flash of blond he had been following. She stood there, hands on hips.

"Well, it has to be here. This is the spot." One of the male vampires looked up at her,

"If you're so sure, you get down here and dig."

The blond wrinkled her nose, "Eww no, do these nails look like they dig? It can't be far, keep digging. I'm going to look for the slayer again." She turned and started to head back into the woods when Sebastian heard Buffy's voice.

"Harmony, I honestly thought not even you would be stupid enough to come back here." The other vamps stopped what they were doing, slowly getting to their feet and inching towards Buffy. Silently Sebastian slipped from his shadowy cover, coming up behind the vampires. Buffy paid no attention to him whatsoever. He was a non-entity at that moment in time, which suited him just fine.

Petulantly the blond vampire placed her hands on her hips again. "I am not stupid! I came here to talk to you Buffy, then I heard what you'd been up to..."

The slayer cut her off in mid-sentence, "Harmony, when we were at school, you were annoying. Now that you're dead, you're more annoying, if that's possible. Go now and I won't stake you."

"Gee, you make it sound so generous, like I'm indebted to you or something. Its 'cos of you I'm like this! You and you're 'lets fight a big snake' thing. But you wait! We'll get the Totem of Tilock and then I'll..."

One of the other vampires roared in frustration, "You fucking moron! Why don't you tell her where were based as well!"

Harmony clasped a hand over her mouth "Oops."

Buffy let the charging vampire get within grabbing distance of her before she leapt into a three-hundred and sixty degree kick that sent him sprawling. The second vamp started forwards but stopped as a stake appeared through his chest. He looked down in shock, hands reaching for the offending item but they never touched it, crumbling to ash.

Slowly Buffy approached Harmony, stalking towards her, as the blond vampire backed away. Then Buffy laughed.

"You know, I should probably let you live, I've never met another vamp who gives up so much information so easily. I thought you were dumb in highschool, Harmony and being dead definitely hasn't improved things, has it?"

The vampire bristled "I am not dumb!" With that she charged at Buffy, who smashed her backhanded across the jaw, sending her reeling. Buffy marched over to the doubled over figure, grabbed her by the hair and drove a knee into her face. Harmony staggered a few feet back from Buffy, wiping blood from her face. Then she turned to run. She got a few steps before she stopped and looked back at Buffy, her hands reaching for the stake in her back. She crumbled to ash.

"Yes Harmony, you are." She turned in time to see Sebastian stake the last vamp. Buffy walked over to the small hole they had started. Something glinted in the darkness. Slowly she bent down and brushed the dirt away. She pulled it from the earth, a metallic cylinder twelve inches long with various holes and grooves in the sides. She turned it over in her hands.

"What is it?" Sebastian asked, studying the artifact in Buffy's hands.

"I have no idea, but we should show the others." The object reflected the soft moonlight, little ridges and patterns becoming more visible as Buffy moved it around. "Come on, lets go." Silently, they turned and disappeared into the night.