"What is it?" Kendra looked up at him. Clad in cut-off jeans and a sports bra, her retoned muscles glistened with a sheen of perspiration, her dark hair braided into dozens of tight, narrow plaits, held together with a rubber band.

The vampire shook his head. "Nothing important." He replied, hollowly, longing for the moment that Giles would produce the meaning of the texts and scrolls, just so he could finally put temptation well and truly behind him and go back to working in L.A.

/Wuss./

[Just shut up.]

He could hear Angelus chortling. /Three Slayers, one after another, and you've wanted them all. Sad excuse for a vampire, that's what you are./

[If you don't shut up I'll...]

"Angel!" Kendra's voice had sank to a hiss, her lithe body sinking into a fighting pose, her knife clutched in one hand, her other hand sliding a stake into the solid chain that she had slung around her waist when he was talking to himself. "Dere's somet'ing out dere."

Reaching to pluck one of his ancient swords from the old closet, he weighted in his hands, shifting his balance as he exchanged glances with the girl. "Ready to fight?"

Her eyes were burning with a ferocity he hadn't seen since she had returned, a wicked smile curving her mouth up. "I t'ink I'm goin' to make dis me t'erapy. A vial of Holy Water emerged from her cleavage, a naughty grin flashed at Angel. "I'm all prepared."

She seemed to melt into the barely perceptible shadows seconds before the door crashed inwards, two of whatever kind of emons they were being cut down before they even managed to cross the threshhold, Kendra's blade moving in intricately deadly slashes.

Vamping out, Angel joined in the fray, but soon, the pair realised they were dangerously outnumbered by about six to one, despite all their best efforts and no matter how many they killed, more seemed to spring from no where.

"We need help!" Kendra ducked under a blow from one of the group of atackers, smashing her foot up to shatter the back of the demon's skull, its body falling – inert – in the stone floor. "We have ta find Buffy!"

Twisting another of their attacker's heads a good one hundred and eighty degrees, Angel nodded, tackling a demon that was about to attacked the girl and ripping its throat out savagely, his eyes blazing. "Come on." Grabbing her hand, he broke into a sprint, leading her through the labyrinthine passages and up stairs to the first level of the mansion.

"Oh. Dis helps. So we fall to our deat's radder dan let dem get us." She gave a muffled shriek of surprise when the vampire swung her up in his arms and dropped himself out of the high window, plumeting towards the ground like a stone.

The demon on the ground below them had no idea what hit it, no idea what squashed its bones to a bloody pulp, crushing it into the ground with the impact of the twin body weight smashing squarely down on its head.

"Who said anything about falling?" Angel gave the girl a devilish grin, depositing on her feet, still grasping her hand in his. "Come on."

Keeping up with the vampire's headlong sprint easily, the girl shook her head and muttered in feigned disgust. "Show off."

***

"Vamp heading this way!"

Jerking a stake out of the holster on his hip, Riley tossed it to his girlfriend, his own pointy piece of wood gripped firmly in his hand.

On cue, a fledgeling exploded from the bushes behind the teaching assistant, grabbing him around the neck, aiming its fangs for his bared jugular.

"Hey ugly!" Catching the vampire's attention for a heartbeat, Buffy lunged forward as Riley swung the unprepared demon over his shoulder, slamming it down on its back on the ground, in time for Buffy to delicately jab a stake through its heart.

Straightening up, wheezing for breath that had been blocked by the vampire's arm, Riley grinned at her. "Good job."

"Too easy." She shrugged, tensing, eyes flicking about. "We've got company..." Spinning, she came face-to-face with Angel and Kendra racing headlong between the towering tombstones and mausoleums.

"Hey dere Buffy." Kendra put in breezily, hands on her hips as she doubled over, taking deep breaths. "Want ta help us fight some nasty assassins?"

"Just point the way." The blonde Slayer gave her dark, undead counterpart a wide grin, pulling a long dagger from a sheath concealed on her back much to both the males astonishment. "I need a good fight. How many?"

"A lot." Angel put in. "We must have killed about half a dozen, but more kept on coming and coming out of no where."

Kendra nodded in agreement. "Dey were strong and very big. I've never seen a demon like dees ones before."

"You mean ones like those ones?" Riley pointed over their shoulders, where a flock of the aforementioned demons were charging towards them, screeching and howling what seemed to be their battle cries.

"Dats dem." Kendra agreed, swiftly spinning and steadying her blade, tearing the chain from her waist and wielding it like a ready- made ninja weapon. "Shall we take t'ree each, den see what happens?"

"You're a bit overconfident aren't you?"

The dark-haired Slayer cast a glance up at Angel. "I'm dead." She reminded him, brighter than usual. "What do I have ta lose?" As the assassins neared, she touched the vampire's arm. "Angel, let him out." She hissed softly.

"What?"

"Angelus." She stated sharply. "Let him out. He can fight harder dan you."

Beside her, Riley and Buffy exchanged baffled looks. Angel nodded, let his face shift and grinned down at the dark girl.

"Smart little bitch, aren't you?"

"Only when I am in di presence of an arrogant bastard." She replied with the tiniest suggestion of a grin up at him.

Then all Hell broke loose.

***

Sprinting across the clearing, Kendra could still hear the sounds of her friends and allies fighting off her attackers, the pounding of seven sets of demon feet shaking the ground beneath her.

Glancing back, she only realised her mistake too late, colliding with the barrel-like chest of one of the huge demons.

Backpedalling, her heel caught on the rim of a horizontal gravestone, her balancing succumbing to the forces of gravity, but her agility helping her to roll to her feet on the damp grass.

Spinning to run in the opposite direction, twin sets of claws locked around her upper arms, one of the demon's leering at her, its multi-faceted eyes glinting in the half-obscured moonlight.

"You are ours!" It's voice bubbled through the tiny mouth flap, the pressure on her arms making the dark Slayer wince.

Jerking her feet up swiftly, she slammed them against it's chest, propelling herself backwards and twisting, her flesh tearing beneath the claws. "I belong to no one." She hissed in response, ducking under a sweeping blow.

Another two of her attackers emerged from the shadows. "Then," The apparent leader stated calmly, its voice low, melifluous. "You will die, Slayer."

Kendra shrugged, one foot snapping up behind her and smashing in the face of one of the demons that had been trying to sneak up on her. "I'm already dead." She reversed the blow, practically taking the same demon's head off.

She didn't see the blow when it came, though.

Freezing, her hands falling to clutch at her chest, she looked down in unspoken horror at the ragged claw that was protruding between her breasts, the burning pain between her shoulder blades implying where it had entered.

Lukewarm blood glistened on the tip of the claw, no doubt from her heart that had been skewered on the weapon, a trickle of crimson dribbling ticklishly from the corner of her slack lips.

She raised her head in time to see Angel – still in game face – exploding from behind one of the mausoleums, his eyes falling on her, his expression changing to one of pure, unfettered rage.

Behind her, the demon hastily withdrew it's deadly claw, leaving the Slayer to slump to the ground, blood spurting from the gaping hole in her chest.

Kendra fell, slowly, dizzyingly.

And, above her, she was faintly aware of Angel bellowing in agonised fury, the group of demons all turning on him and screaming that spine-tingling battle cry, preparing to attack.

***

Sitting on the floor, piles of books reaching shoulder height around him, Giles' face was a mask of exhaustion.

So far, his attempts to unravel the meaning behind the documents, manuscripts and papers had drawn blanks, occasional lines and fragments making a little sense, only to lose all semblance of meaning when added to the translation of a single word.

Scratching his chin pensively, the stubble rasped against his fingertips, his ink-darkened fingers leaving smudges of black on his tired skin.

Picking up another of his ancient books, he started flicking through the musty pages, clouds of dust rising from the seams, dancing on the beams of light streaking from the lamps on the table.

A frayed page slipped from the leather-bound book, fluttering to the floor. With a frown, Giles stretched down and picked it up from the rug, turning it over slowly in one hand.

"Strange." He murmured, lowering the large book to the floor, freeing his hand to unfold the scrap, the faded lettering suddenly on the crisp, yellowed parchment suddenly screaming up at him.

Snatching one of the sheets of paper from the table Giles threw off his exhaustion like a towel and shifted to the table, grabbing his pain and notebook, making reams of notes hastily in the margin.

Sinking down in the chair, both the notepad, pen and papers fell from his limp hands, scattering across the table and floor, beads of perspiration dotting his forehead. "Good Lord." He managed to say, in a strangled whisper.

***

Pinned down by four demons, Angelus and Angel were both roaring with impotent rage, struggling against the attackers that had killed his young friend again, despite all his promises.

Two of the demons had claws locked around his throat and arms, cutting off his unecessary breath, while two more battered at his head and body with the sealed fist-like appendages, blocking him off from anything.

Behind them, neither Angel or any of the demons saw the girl they had so efficiently assassinated get shakily to her feet, brushing the dirt off her body and staring at the gaping hole in her chest, the blood still dripping steadily from it.

Raising her head, an unearthly glow in her dark eyes, she crept over towards the, chain in one hand and dagger in the other.

Sagging to his knees, the grip on his arms and throat abruptly gone, the dark vampire raised his head, one hand brushing over the bruised flesh of his neck. His eyes widened when he saw who had just dragged his assailants away.

"Ye stabbed me." The girl had her chain noosed round one of the demon's throats, twisting it around her arm until it was effectively cutting into the scaly flesh.

In her other hand, a dagger had just been thrust into the second demon's gullet, one of the four already spread-eagled on the ground, oozing ichor from a deep slash across its neck that had practically decapitated it.

The fourth of the group was lying – alive but motionless – on the ground, staring up at the girl with apparent terror. Blood runneling from a stab wound through its neck suggested that her paralysing technique had worked.

"I don' like ta be stabbed." She gave the chain an extra twist, the demon uttering a faint squak before its hea was effectively torn off, bouncing off a headstone and landing on the ground with a thump. "And I don' like bein' killed."

The fourth demon was flailing and clawing at her, tearing the girl's flesh, but she didn't seem to notice, tensing her whole body. Then stabbing upward with such a ferocity that the demon flipped over backwards, the small but deadly blade near splitting its body in two.

Tucking her chain back around her waist carefully, she slid the dagger back into place and turned her attention to the beaten Angel, one hand pressed carefully to her bleeding chest. "Are you all right?" She sank to her knees beside him, wincing at the blackening that covered his face.

"What about you?" Grasping her hand, he pulled it away from her body and stared at the open wound in shock. How in the Hell had she survived an injury like that? It would – should – have killed her.

She shrugged. "I don' feel any different…a bit sticky wit di blood, but I don' hurt and I don't feel…well…dead."

"Are you guys okay?" Buffy and Riley – equally battered – rounded the nearest mausoleum, stopping short in shock at the gaping hole that they could clearly see between Kendra's shoulder blades.

Angel's eyes shot up, fixing on Riley, his lips curving back from his teeth in a guttural snarl, one arm snaking around Kendra's body defensively, pulling her closer with a muffled shriek of surprise.

"What are you doin'?" The dark Slayer demanded, her tiny smile of pleasure betraying her stern tone.

"Um…" Unaware that he demonic visage was still visible, Angel gave her a dopey grin that looked laughable around his deadly fangs. "Just didn't want you to get hurt by any idiots that were running around."

Letting her rise, the vampire got to his feet, both of them supporting each other. "I tink we should go an' see your Watcher." Kendra decided, glancing down at the wound in her chest that was starting to heal over. "Dis is wiggy."

Together, the four hurriedly started towards the gates of the cemetary, with only Buffy noticing that Angel kept Kendra as far as possible from Riley, the only other male in the area.

***

Sitting at the table, Giles was practically ignoring his younger guests, his efforts at translating having become much more successful in the light of the documents he had found in one of his books.

Riley and Buffy both sat at the table, watching him frenetically writing down notes and translations, occasionally glancing over at the couch.

Kendra had been patched up and was lying – apparently asleep – on it, a light blanket draped over her body. Angel was sitting defensively beside her, his golden eyes burning fiercely at anyone who tried to approach.

"A-ha!"

Buffy's head snapped round. "Research man speaks!"

Giles raised his eyes to her, a threat of a smile sparking in his eyes. "I've discovered the error our lawyer friends made in the spell they used to bring Kendra back from the grave." He stated, clearly proud of his achievement.

"Well, don't keep us in suspense!"

Over the back of the couch, Kendra's sleepy eyes focused on the Watcher. "What did dey do?"

"From what I can tell, they substituted valig essense with-with- with togru roots. By changing the incantation's meaning and the products used in the spell they-they effectively rendered you unkillable."

The Slayer arched an eyebrow. "Dat is until I die of old age?"

Shaking his head, Giles leaned over from the table to hand her a couple of sheets of paper, leaping back swiftly when Angel sent a rumbling growl in his direction, baring his fangs once more.

Pushing Angel back from her, Kendra's eyes skimmed over the words, one shaking hand rising to her mouth in a gesture of confusion and worry. "How…how can dis be true?" She asked hesitantly. "Di spell…it should not have worked."

"I'm not completely certain." Giles shrugged helplessly. "Somehow, the powers they used were twisted. You-you have been granted immortality, bound to the life of another immortal warrior."

Kendra flopped back against the arm of the sofa with a low groan. "Some yer sayin' I'm still di Slayer an' nothin' is ever gonna kill me." She threw her hands over her face. "Den, ye tell me I'm bound to another immortal warrior who is never goin' to die…dis is great. Just great."

"Um…" Tapping her on the knee, Angel gave her a wry, fang-filled grin. "I think I can make it worse…" She arched an eyebrow at him skeptically. "That other Immortal Warrior…it's me."

With more of her developing crazed personality, Kendra wailed. "First, dey bring me back an' put me in a box. Den, dey try an' kill me but only manage ta leave a hole in me chest. Den, ya tell me I can't die and I am gonna be stuck wit' Angel an' Angelus til he dies. Dis is not fair!"

Angel gave her a wicked grin. "Oh, come on." He remarked. "It might not be that bad…after all, I do know how to do my own laundry…"

"I'll say it again." Kendra moaned, much to the amusement of the other observers. "I tink dis is not fair."

***

Both elbows propped on the desk, Cordelia carefully rounded the tip of her nail with the file, her brown eyes focused on the perfect cuticles. Wesley was rambling on about something, but neither of them could do anything until Angel got back.

He was due to arrive any minute and had told them that he had brought someone new to work for the company which – Cordelia had pointed out – meant less pay for the more reliable and long-term members of staff.

The sun had just vanished over the horizon when there was a screaming of brakes outside the hotel and the sound of metal smashing into stonework, most probably the side of a nearby building.

Moving to the window, both Cordelia and Wesley saw Angel stagger unsteadily out of the passenger side of his car, clutching his bleeding forehead and laughing like a crazed lunatic.

Blue eyes met brown. The former cheerleader shrugged expressively, turning away from the window and returning to the desk, as Angel's voice floated up. "You could have told me you didn't know how to drive!"

"You didden ask." A female voice rang back, equally merry.

Moments later, the door of the office swung inwards, Angel stomping in and grabbing a handful of kleenex from a box on the desk to stem the flow of blood from his temple.

"Clutzy much?" Cordelia drawled.

"Don't blame me." Angel grumbled, gesturing to the figure who was still hovering in the doorway. "My new partner in crime decided she wanted to see just how far her immortality would go, so she crashed my car."

"You tol' me dat di odder pedal was di brake." The girl stepped into the room, her arms folded across her chest. "It was yer own fault, Angelus."

Cordelia started to her feet in surprise. "*This* is your new partner in crime?" She echoed in disbelief. "My God, Angel! What is it with you and Slayers?"

"I've been asking myself the same question." Angel grinned ruefully, drawing Kendra alongside him, his arm around her shoulder. He noticed the confused look on Wesley's face. "This is who Wolfram and Hart had taken to Sunnydale." He clarified quickly. "Kendra, the immortal, undead vampire Slayer and Faith's predecessor, meet Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, former Watcher and Rogue Demon hunter."

"Good Lord!" Immediately snatching his glasses off, he frantically started cleaning the lenses. "How is this…"

The vampire smiled and handed the other man a large file, filled withh papers and documentation. "This explains everything, Wes." He replied. "But, for now, I want to know what I've missed while I was gone."

Still staring at the undead Slayer, Wesley took a minute to gather his thoughts. "Ah, yes. Darla and Drusilla have been causing some trouble while you were gone. They attacked a youth hostel and killed several of Gunn's team."

"Drusilla?" Kendra's voice was as cold as ice.

Angel turned to her, the look in her dark eyes making both soul and demon cower away in fear. "I forgot to mention that she was here, didn't I?" He spoke sheepishly, trying to feign innocence.

Her sinister expression melted away into a wickedly devilish grin. "I can't wait to see her face when she sees me." The Slayer murmured, her tone chilling. "Di only Slayer she killed comin' back to kill her."

Her attitude told Angel that his new Slayer wasn't lying or exagerrating. Her confidence in her strengths and abilities had increased with her immortality. If she said Drusilla was going to die, it meant that Drusilla was going to die.

And – like Kendra – the dark vampire couldn't wait to see the expression on the insane vampiress' face when she saw who her Slayer was.


Back to the Character Index
Back to the Titles Index