By chronic
Disclaimer: Willow, Tara, Buffy, Dawn, Xander, Anya, Giles, Spike and all other characters who have appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer are the property of ME and Joss Whedon, as are the situations depicted in that series. Any other characters who turn up, and the events of this story, are mine, all mine! Mwaa ha haaa...
Feedback: All appreciated, especially advice and constructive criticism.
Distribution: If you want to, just ask me first.
Rating: PG. Some mild swearing and violence, probably nothing worse than you'd see on the show.
Spoilers: All of season 6.
Setting: Beginning of season 7 (September 2002).
Summary: Willow and Tara are back together, and putting their break up behind them. But the forces of darkness aren't going to leave them alone...
Additional Disclaimer: The dialogue and situations of the first scenes are taken from the episode 'Seeing Red' (6.19).
Tara finished buttoning her jeans, then looked up to watch Willow pull on a white shirt. The sunlight streaming in made the garment shine, giving her an angelic quality. But then again, that was how Tara always saw her. She straightened, but didn’t take her eyes off the redhead.
Willow turned and saw her lover staring at her. “Hey” she said, slightly embarrassed by the intensity of the look. “Clothes.”
Tara gave a quick half smile. “Don't get too used to them.”
“Yes, ma'am.” Willow grinned, then reached out and caught the waistband of Tara’s jeans, pulling her towards her.
Tara, more than happy to follow her lover’s directions, allowed herself to be pulled in to the embrace. She sighed contentedly as she placed a soft kiss on Willow’s lips, then pulled back as something caught her eye through the window. “Xander.”
Willow raised her eyebrows at that. “Okay, not quite the response I was fishing for.”
“No, he's here” Tara explained. She went to the window and stared down in to the back yard as Willow joined her.
“Think they're making up?”
“I hope so.” Tara replied. She turned back to Willow, and again found herself unable to look away from the beauty before her. She gave another of her half smiles. “That's the best part.”
Willow grinned widely as Tara moved toward her again. “Now, where were we?” the blonde asked.
“Oh, I think we…” the rest of the redhead’s sentence went unspoken as the two met in a kiss.
After several minutes, Tara reluctantly pulled away. “I think we’d better make an appearance, or people’ll be wondering if we’re ever gonna leave this room.”
Willow made a disappointed face. “Staying in here forever could be good” she said, pouting.
Tara giggled. “Oh, I think we’ll be coming back in here once we’ve said hi to the others.” She moved over to the window. “Hey, I think Buffy and Xander have sorted things out.” She turned back to face Willow. “They’re hugging” she explained.
Willow was about to say how pleased she was, when a series of loud bangs made them both jump. “What the…” she asked as she ran for the window. Tara had already turned to look down in to the yard. What they saw sent them both running from the room.
********************
Panic stricken, Xander pressed on the wound, trying to stop the flow of blood. He turned to look as he heard footsteps running towards him. “Call an ambulance!” he yelled.
“What happened?” Willow asked, staring in horror as her best friend lay bleeding on the ground.
“Warren, he had a gun” Xander shouted. “Go!” Willow ran back to the house while Tara dropped to her knees beside Buffy. She looked in to the Slayer’s eyes, saw their lifelessness.
“Come on Buffy!” she shouted. “Wake up!” When she got no reaction she turned her attention to the wound. Placing her hand next to Xander’s, she reached out with her mind, feeling the damaged tissue and severed blood vessels. What she sensed didn’t fill her with confidence. “I don’t think the ambulance is gonna get here quick enough” she said, looking in to Xander’s pale face. As his eyes widened in panic she moved his hand away. “Let me try something.”
Closing her eyes, she focussed her senses on the wound again, until she could feel the bullet, lodged against the bone. It would be no use trying a healing spell with it still in Buffy’s shoulder. Summoning all the power she could, she gripped the bullet, and began to pull. It moved a little, then stopped. Tara opened her eyes, to see Xander anxiously staring at her. “Its no good” she said,” gasping from the effort. “It’s in too deep. I’m not strong enough to pull it out.”
Xander stared at her, horrified and with no idea what to do now. He turned as Willow came running from the house. “Ambulance is on its way” she told them. She stopped as they both continued to stare at her. “What?”
Xander looked over at Tara. “You’re not strong enough…”
********************
Buffy was sinking. Not in water, she knew that, because she wasn’t moving. But definitely sinking. She could see the sky, but her view was edged with black, and the darkness was spreading. She could hear voices too, but they were fuzzy, indistinct. And fading.
********************
“I, but, magic…” Willow spluttered.
“Will, you have to” Xander said.
“But, I couldn’t control it, and I lost everything, and I only just got her back…” she said, her voice beginning to break.
“Willow, Buffy’s dying.”
“She, I…” not knowing what to do, she turned to Tara.
Tara looked down, knowing she had to say what Willow didn’t want to hear. “You’re the only one who can do this Will” she said quietly.
“But what if I lose it, what if I..?” she broke off as Tara took her hands.
“Focus on why you’re doing it” Tara told her. “Its not about the power, its to save Buffy. And use me as an anchor. You know I’m here to help you.” She looked deep in to the redhead’s eyes. “I’ll always be here.”
Willow closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then nodded. She released one of her hands from Tara’s, and held it toward Buffy, palm outward.
She probed in to the wound, felt the bullet. She concentrated her power and gripped it, then began to pull it out, slowly so as not to cause any more damage. This is easy she thought. Why was I worried? I’m in control, I can do this. She grinned as the bullet began to emerge from the wound. I can do anything. Casually, she increased the power she was putting in to the spell. Arteries sealed themselves, and damaged tissue began to repair itself.
She closed her eyes as the magic coursed through her body. I’d forgotten what it was like. “Oh wow” she breathed. The sound of her own voice brought her crashing back to earth. Her magical grip on the bullet slipped as she silently berated herself. This isn’t about power, or getting high, its about saving the life of my friend. She tried to concentrate on the spell again, but the magic flowing through was beginning to overwhelm her senses. I help people. I help them with magic, it’s the only way I can. It would be wrong to give up magic…. She shook her head, trying to shake away the tempting voice that she knew was her own.
“I, I cant” she whispered.
“Yes you can. I know you can” Tara whispered in her ear.
Tara. Magic made me lose Tara. Slowing her breathing, she focussed on the hand holding hers, on the voice whispering in her ear. “I know you can do this, Willow. Its not stronger than you.” Summoning everything she had, Willow pushed aside the doubts and the temptations, and finished the spell. The bullet flew through the air in to her outstretched palm. Behind it, Buffy’s wound regenerated, leaving only a shallow cut.
Willow dropped to her knees, sweat beading on her forehead. “Is she ok?” she asked as Tara knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I think so” Xander told her as he examined Buffy’s shoulder. “Look, it’s just a cut now.”
“She should still go to hospital” Tara said. “Get checked out.”
“Besides, the ambulance is already on its way” Xander said as they heard the siren in the distance.
By the time the ambulance arrived, Buffy was beginning to regain consciousness. The paramedics helped her in to the back, then turned to the others. “I’ve got room for one of you” one of them said.
“I’ll go” Willow said. She turned to Xander and Tara. “I’ll see you soon, right?”
“We’ll get there as soon as we can” Tara told her as they embraced. She watched as Willow climbed in to the back, then watched as the ambulance drove away.
“So” Tara said, turning to Xander. “Shall we follow in your car?”
“No” Xander said, his voice unnaturally cold and harsh. “We find Warren.”
********************
Warren made his way to the bar. He could feel his heart pounding, his pulse throbbing at his temples. I did it. I really did it. I killed her. He grinned as he sat down on a barstool. He looked around the joint, which was filled with demons and vampires. Victory was sweet, but if there was one thing better, it was telling people about it. He slapped a note down on the bar top. “Whiskey, straight up. And get a round for the house.”
********************
“Are you sure we should be doing this?” Tara asked, looking around her uneasily. “I mean, Buffy’ll be back on her feet soon, then she could help find Warren.”
“We don’t have time” Xander said. By the time Buffy gets out of hospital, Warren could be out of town.” He went to the bar and began talking to the bartender. Tara looked on, trying to avoid looking at the other occupants of the bar, few of whom were human. The bartender shook his head, and continued to do so even when Xander placed a few notes on the bar.
Frustrated, the carpenter turned on his heel and stalked past Tara. She ran to keep up with him. As they left the building, Xander told her “Willy says no one’s seen him.”
“Well, maybe we’ll have more luck with Willow and Buffy helping us” Tara said, trying to inject some optimism in to the conversation. But Xander’s expression remained dark and impassive.
“You’re sure you can’t do a spell to find him?” he asked curtly.
“Magic isn’t the answer to everything” she said. As he turned to look at her she went on. “I’ve never met, or even seen Warren. No, there’s no way I could use magic to find him.”
Xander turned away, pissed. “Well, there’s one more demon bar we can try” he said.
********************
They saw Warren the moment they entered. He sat at the bar, talking loudly to a demon and a vampire who didn’t seem to be paying much attention. “What do we do now?” Tara asked. Xander ignored the question, and walked over to Warren. He grabbed him buy the shoulder, spun him round, and punched him hard in the face. “Xander!” Tara shouted, running to him and grabbing his arm.
“He doesn’t deserve any better” Xander said as Warren wiped blood from his nose and slowly got to his feet.
“Maybe not, but he’s still got the g…” As if to make Tara’s point, Warren pulled the gun from his jacket and pointed it straight at Xander.
As his finger tightened on the trigger, Tara stretched out her arm and cast. The gun was ripped from his grasp and flew across the room in to her waiting hand. Warren stared in amazement before turned and running, Xander hot on his heels. “Xander, wait!” Tara called vainly, before following them as fast as she could.
********************
Tara pushed the door to the warehouse open, slipped inside, then leant heavily against the wall, clutching the stitch in her side. She had yelled for Xander to wait, but the young man had let nothing stop his pursuit of Warren. She had seen him enter this building, but that had been several minutes ago, he had got so far ahead of her.
This is not good she thought. She had never seen Xander act like this, so cold and single-minded. They were all in shock from Buffy’s narrow escape, but he seemed to be taking it harder than anyone else. Even Willow had managed to pull herself together pretty quickly, and using magic again must have been a harrowing experience for her.
That thought made her smile a little. She was so proud of her Willow. She knew it was unlikely she would ever practise magic again, but at least she could face it without succumbing to it.
She dragged her thoughts back to the present and looked around. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark, and she could see that this building was abandoned, like many in this part of town. The open expanse of the warehouse was filled with boxes and packing crates. she was about to call Xander, but that would alert Warren to her presence too. And she didn’t know what to do with Xander when she did find him. He clearly had more in mind than just capturing Warren.
She dropped to the ground and crossed her legs. “Aradia, hear me. Goddess of the lost, I beseech thee, bring the light.” A speck of glowing blue light appeared in front of her. “Hey Tink” she whispered, smiling. In a louder voice, she commanded “Go to Willow, lead her to me.” The light rose, then sped out of the door, becoming almost invisible as it met the daylight. Tara nodded to herself and stood, then made her way further in to the warehouse.
She walked between two large crates, listening for any sign of the two men who were supposedly in here with her. A figure stepped out from behind a crate and barred the narrow ally she was walking down. “Xander?” she asked. The figure stepped forward, and she saw that it was Warren. He stared at her, then his eyes flicked to his gun, which was securely tucked in to the waistband of her jeans. “Warren” Tara said, stepping back.
“Tara” he said. “Hmm, you look better on film. It’s a shame we never managed to get a camera in your bedroom.” He leered at her. “Now, I don’t get lesbians” he continued, moving towards her. “I mean, what do you do? Its fun to watch and all, but we all know what you really want. What all women really want.” He made a grab for the gun, but Tara jumped back. “Oh come on, play nice” he said. “Tell you what, I’ll show you what you’re missing.”
His head jerked back as Tara’s fist connected with his jaw. He turned back to see her rubbing her hand. He raised a hand to his jaw. “You little bitch…” he started, advancing on her with fists raised. Tara backed away, then half turned as she heard something behind her. Xander ran past her, grabbing Warren and wrestling him to the ground. She watched as Xander punched him, again and again.
“Xander!” she yelled. “Stop! This isn’t the way.”
He stopped mid-punch, then turned to face her. “No, you’re right” he said. He got to his feet and walked over to her. “That isn’t the way.” Moving quickly, he pulled the gun from her waistband, flicked the safety and pointed it at Warren, who still lay dazed on the floor. “This is.”
“Xander, no!” she cried, but he ignored her.
“Xander, stop!” another voice shouted. Willow came running down the ally between the two crates, Buffy close behind her. He faltered, then raised the gun again.
“Xander, give me the gun” Buffy said.
“But he shot you…”
“Give it to me” she ordered. For a second he held the gun straight, aimed at Warren’s head, then he handed it to the slayer.
Slowly, Warren stood up. “But, I shot you. You were dead, dying…”
“Like I’d let that stop me.” Hauling back, she punched him hard and he collapsed, unconscious.
She turned to the others. “The doctors said the bullet just grazed me. Bandaged me up and sent me home.” She looked over at Willow, who had gone over to Tara, and smiled. “I heard the real version too. Looks like saving my life is getting to be a habit with you guys.”
“Yeah, well, after you saved us for the two hundredth time we figured maybe we owed you” Willow said.
Buffy smiled again, then looked down at Warren. With little effort she picked him up and slung him over her shoulder. “C’mon, lets get him to the police.”
********************
Detective David Judson looked up from his desk as there was a knock at the door. “Hey Mike” he said as he saw his friend waiting in the doorway.
“Hey” Mike said. “You nearly finished? We’re going for a beer if you wanna come with.”
“Pretty much” David said. He closed the file he was working on and placed it back in a drawer, then put on his coat and followed Mike out of the office.
“So, what you been working on?” Mike asked.
“Shooting. This guy walked in to a girl’s back yard and shot her in broad daylight. We got evidence, we got witnesses, the guy’s going down.”
“Alright for some” Mike said. “We don’t all get easy cases.”
“Well, there was one thing that bothered me. The guy fired several shots, one grazed the girl, the rest hit the house and embedded in the wall. Except one. We found it lying in the grass.”
“The one that hit her” Mike said.
“No, it was in the wrong place for that. Anyway, that’s not the weird thing. It was completely flattened, like it had been fired at armour plate or something.”
“That’s the weirdest thing in your case, and you’re complaining?” Mike laughed as they left the station. “How long have you been in Sunnydale?”
********************
Willow rolled over, making herself more comfortable. She didn’t know what had caused her to think about the day of the shooting, three months ago now. Buffy’s injury had healed with typical speed, not even leaving a scar, and Warren was in prison. She smiled sleepily as Tara’s arm rested itself around her shoulders. Snuggling herself tightly against her lover, Willow drifted off to sleep.
********************
“No!”
The sound of Willow’s cry woke Tara instantly. She reached over and turned the lamp on, squinting in the sudden bright light, then turned back to see Willow sitting bolt upright. “Will? What’s wrong?”
Willow’s breathing was hard and fast. Her eyes darted around the room and sweat ran down her brow. “I, I…” she began, confused.
Tara sat up and put her arms around her, disturbed by how tense her girlfriend was. “Shh, baby. Did you have a nightmare?”
“I, I guess.” Slowly she began to relax, easing back in to Tara’s embrace and bringing her breathing under control.
“Do you remember what it was about?”
Willow shook her head, she rarely remembered her dreams once she properly woke up. . “Not really. Just… bad stuff.”
Tara gave a lopsided grin. “I think that goes without saying” she said, beginning to rub Willow’s back.
“I mean, I think you were hurt, or in trouble. The others too. And I couldn’t do anything about it.”
“Its ok now, it was just a dream.” Tara gave her a kiss on the cheek, reassured now that Willow seemed fully recovered from her unpleasant wake-up. “You ready to try and get back to sleep?”
“I guess.” A wicked smile formed on the redhead’s lips. “Of course, seeing as we’re both awake now…”
“Vixen.” Tara grinned widely as she turned out the lamp.
********************
“Hey Tara” Buffy called over her shoulder as the wicca entered the kitchen. As she turned she saw that Tara was still wearing her night clothes and dressing gown. “Woah, late start?” she asked, glancing at the clock.
“Didn’t get much sleep” Tara said with a small grin.
“Rough night?”
“No, not really” Tara said, her grin growing. She crossed to the fridge and got some juice, then poured two glasses. “Willow and I are gonna do our exercises now” she said, moving to the hall.
“K, see you in a bit” the slayer called.
********************
Tara set the drinks down on the bed-side table, then sat cross legged on the bed. Willow sat across from her, her legs curled under her.
“Do we really have to do this?” she asked.
“Willow, we’ve been through this.
“I know, I know, its just, magic nearly made me lose everything. I just wanna stay away from it for the rest of my life.”
“Works in theory” Tara said. “But what if you have to do magic again, like when Warren shot Buffy? Or what if someone doses you with magic, like Amy did? The longer you stay away from it, the harder it will be to resist the temptation when you’re exposed to magic again.”
Willow looked down at the bed. “Like, when teetotallers fall of the wagon, they drink even more than they did before they gave up?”
Tara reached across, cupping Willow’s face and tilting it so she could look in to her eyes. “Sweetie, I’m not worried about you falling off the wagon. I’m so proud of the way you’ve beaten your problems. But I don’t think it’s feasible for you to avoid magic for ever, and I want you to be prepared when you do have to cast again.”
“Could try and avoid it” Willow said in a small voice.
“Willow, you are a witch. Magic is a part of you. To deny that would be like denying one of you senses.”
“If all I could see was evil and destruction, I wouldn’t mind being blind.”
Tara sighed. “Willow, you were never evil, you just got out of control. And we’re gonna work on helping you keep control. Ok?”
“Big knowledge woman.” Willow pouted. Then she gave a small smile and nodded.
Tara smiled and shuffled closer, then took Willow’s hands. “Ok. I’m going to summon magical energy, and you’re going to channel it. Don’t do anything with it, just let it flow through you. And if you feel like you’re losing control, let me know and we’ll stop. Ok?”
Willow took a deep breath, then nodded and closed her eyes. Tara closed hers, and began chanting under her breath.
In her mind’s eye, Willow could see the power beginning to form around Tara. Taking one last deep breath, she drew it in to her. She shuddered as she felt the magic enter her, but quickly focussed it. Instead of absorbing it in to her, as she would if she was casting a spell, she channelled it through her and out, back in to the environment.
The first time they’d done this Willow had freaked out the moment she felt the magic touch her. Intellectually she knew that it wasn’t the magic that had caused her to become addicted, but her own weaknesses. Knowing that didn’t make her feel any better, in fact it only increased her guilt, knowing she only had herself to blame. But it did give her a helpful perspective. Exposure to magic couldn’t make her an addict again, only she could do that by misusing it again. And she was beginning to realise why she had become addicted in the first place.
Her mother would call it low self esteem. Willow wasn’t keen to analyse her feelings any more than that; over-analysis was one of her less helpful habits. Besides, she had Tara, and if someone as special as Tara could love her, she couldn’t be as worthless as she sometimes felt.
Getting Tara back had been the only thing that kept her going during the hard nights, back when she first gave up magic. And she was the one thing that gave Willow the confidence to attempt what they were doing now. In her mind, Willow concentrated on an image of Tara, focussing on every detail. It kept her from thinking about how powerful the magic coursing through her made her feel, or the voice that she knew was hers that told her to just forget it all and cast. Focussing on her lover helped her ignore these unpleasant reminders that her addiction had been physical as well as psychological.
Across the bed, Tara watched as her girlfriend channelled the magics. Willow had come so far, her breathing was steady and she seemed completely in control, withstanding the temptation she must surely feel. Tara smiled at her lover, proud of her. Eyes still closed, Willow smiled back.
********************
“Dawnie, you ready?” Willow called
“Coming!” the teenager yelled back, trying to walk and tie her laces at the same time.
“Do you have the list? School starts next week, you don’t want to forget anything” Buffy said.
“Yes, I have the list. I’m not completely useless” Dawn shot back as she hopped to the front door, still doing up her shoes. Buffy gave a hopeless shrug to Tara, who put her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.
“We’ll see you guys later” Willow called as she closed the door behind her. Buffy and Tara could hear Dawn complaining about her older sister as she and Willow walked up the street.
“So, how did you guys get on this morning?” Buffy asked.
“Good. Willow’s really come far.”
“I don’t think she’d have got through this without you” Buffy said.
“I know I wouldn’t get through life without her” Tara told her as she sat down.
Buffy gave a wistful look, wishing she had someone she felt that way about. “So, what are you up to today.”
“Off out” Tara said, pulling her boots on. “I’ve got someone to go and visit.”
********************
The bell jangled as Tara pushed open the Magic Box door.
“Welcome to the Magic Box, please feel free to browse before making a purchase… oh, its you.”
Tara grinned at the less than enthusiastic welcome. “Hi Anya.”
Anya’s face brightened again. “Are you here to shop? We’ve got some excellent newt’s eyes just in.”
Tara shook her head. “I’m here to see you. How are you?”
“Oh, fine, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” Anya told her, a shade too quickly. “Being a vengeance demon is what I’m good at.”
“Not too good, I hope” Tara said.
Anya rolled her eyes. “I’ve kept my promise. Non fatal curses only. Really takes the fun out of the vengeance.” She sighed. “You humans and your sympathy. I still think you should have let me curse Willow for you.”
Tara leant on the counter. “No thank you.” She tried to keep in mind that from Anya’s point of view, that was a kind offer of help. Anya had always been a little strange by human standards, that was half the reason Tara liked her, but since becoming a demon again she had seen little point in keeping up human behaviour. In Tara’s opinion, it was a change for the worse. Still, Anya had agreed to avoid killing anyone. “So, have you thought any more about where you’re gonna live?”
“Well, D'hoffren wants me to go back to Arash Ma'har, but I’ve just finished doing up my place. I don’t think my stuff would match the whole black, featureless thing they’ve got going on.”
“You’re not really going to go back, are you?” Tara asked. If Anya went back to D'hoffren’s demon dimension, she’d have no chance of persuading her to become human again. She eyed the pendent around her neck. As far as she knew, breaking it would make Anya human, but it would be no use doing it against Anya’s will. For one thing, the demon was now almost as strong as Buffy, not including her various magical powers. But for Anya to have any chance of returning to her old life, she would have to break the pendent on her own.
“Well, it would be rude not to. They took me in when I had nowhere to go.” Her expression darkened. “After the wedding.”
“You could have come to stay with me” Tara said quietly.
Anya was quiet for a moment, then changed the subject. “So, I hear Willow’s been doing magic again.”
“Not so much. We’ve been doing some exercises, making sure that Willow can handle it if she ever has to cast again.”
“Well, I hope she gets better.”
“Thank you.” Tara smiled, a little bemused at the demon’s comment. It was no secret that Willow wasn’t her favourite person in the world.
“She was our best customer” Anya continued. Tara rolled her eyes. “At least, once she started paying for the stuff she took. Y’know, she probably still owes…”
“So, everyone misses you” Tara interrupted hurriedly. “Maybe you could stop by the house sometime?”
“Well, I’m very busy, running the store, and doing the cursing…”
“Well, maybe we could all come here ? I know Xander wants to see you.”
“Is the world ending? Any vital research that needs doing?” Anya asked.
“No.”
“Then Xander is still barred.”
Inwardly Tara sighed. Forgiving Xander, or at least agreeing to see him, would be an important step towards humanity for Anya. One thing at a time she told herself. Just make sure she doesn’t leave this dimension forever. “So” she continued. Now it was her turn to change the subject. “How have you been?”
********************
“Did Dawnie get everything she needed?” Tara asked as she climbed in to bed.
“Pretty much. Plus more milkshake than anyone should be able to drink.”
Tara shook her head, smiling. “I have no idea where she puts it all.” She rolled on to her side and lay her arm over Willow, and soon they were both asleep.
********************
Willow was running, panic stricken. The buildings on either side of her were ruins, burned out shells. The sky burned blood red. ‘Have to get home, have to get back to the others.’ The thought repeated itself over and over in her mind. She turned a corner and was stopped in her tracks by what she saw. The Summer’s house was a smoking crater. She ran to the edge, and dropped to her knees. At the crater’s bottom were Buffy, Xander, Dawn, Giles and Anya, all clearly dead, their skin scorched and blackened. Tears flowing down her face, Willow shakily got to her feet. “Who did this? Who did this!?” she screamed at the sky.
“I did” a voice behind her said. She turned to see a figure in black, its face hidden in shadow. Its arm was held firmly around Tara’s neck. The blonde stared silently at Willow, her eyes pleading.
“Let her go!” Willow demanded.
The figure was silent, as if considering its actions. Then in one movement it gripped Tara’s head, twisted with its arm and snapped her neck. “No!” Willow screamed as her lover dropped to the ground, dead.”
“No” Willow mumbled as she shifted uncomfortably, her sleeping face contorted by the images in her mind.
********************
The room was dark, save for the ghostly light emanating from a large crystal on a pedestal in the centre of the room. An old man stood silently next to the pedestal, his palm pressed against the crystal. He looked up as two men entered the room.
“You’ve sensed something?” one of the men asked, his Australian accent faint but discernible.
“The same as last night” the old man said. “It is the distortion, I’m sure of it.”
The Australian man stepped forward eagerly. “You have a location?”
“Southern California.” The old man closed his eyes, trying to focus on the source of the disturbance. “I will have to be closer to give a more specific location.”
The Australian turned to the man standing in the doorway. “Go, tell the others we leave tomorrow.” The man nodded, then turned and left. “So” the Australian said, moving closer to the crystal. “We’ve found it. Show me.”
The old man closed his eyes again, his brow creasing in effort. The light in the crystal grew brighter, then cleared to reveal an image. The man peered closely at it. Within the crystal, a young redheaded woman writhed about in her bed, her face twisted in horror.
********************
To Be Continued...
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"Kiss rocks? Why would anyone wanna kiss... Oh, wait, I get it"
- Willow, Band Candy
I liked it, how you managed the whole Warren going to prison thing. Things are going good right now, but as you have said before, i guess the forces of darkness are not going to leave them alone, right?
