Having broken yet another alarm clock, Buffy had decided to go with a gentler method of awakening. Tuesday morning roused her to the sounds of Sarah McLachlan's "Building a Mystery". As she yawned and listened to the plaintive words, she wondered for the millionth time why Sarah was singing about Buffy's own life.
*You come out at night
That's when the energy comes
And the dark side's light
And the vampires roam*
As she slid from the bed, the familiar depression settled over her. Willow was still missing, although at least Buffy knew she was alive. Wondering again why Spike had bothered to let her know that Willow was alright, Buffy headed for the shower.
*You strut your rasta wear
And your suicide poem
And a cross from a faith that died
Before Jesus came
You're building a mystery*
Spike to a tee...Except his look was more punk than rasta...
*****
Spike lay in the lacy bed with Drusilla curled up like a kitten against his chest. She was asleep, her cold body unmoving and sated. Spike couldn't sleep. Guilt and fear were powerful stimulants.
It was Tuesday morning. Two and a half days for Lily to find a way to stop Drusilla and save the world. Two and a half days until Drusilla killed Lily.
Depression joined the guilt and fear to smother him like a wet woolen blanket. The words of the little red head kept coming back to haunt him. 'If you don't want her to die, then save her, Spike. Decide to go with your little black heart and stop your crazy bitch of a girlfriend from destroying the world.'
He didn't want the world destroyed. He rather liked it the way it was. Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson action flicks--he really wanted to see Lethal Weapon 4; the weekly midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show; football--World Cup was this summer; classic rock music--especially Queen and The Eagles; Michael Crichton novels; the wide variety of video games out there full of blood and gore; and lots of human sheep just waiting to be eaten.
All of that would end if Drusilla had her way. Reversing time would do what? Make it night all the time? Give the vampires free reign? How long before they slaughtered the human race? It never failed to amaze him how stupid most of his compatriots were. If they destroyed the human race-- destroyed the world--just what were they going to feed on!? Most vampires could only take animal blood for so long before going mad.
Great. A whole world of mad vampires running around starving themselves to death. Oh yeah. That was a great future!
But, if the only hope to prevent Drusilla's vision from coming to pass was Lily...they were in deep trouble. How much blood had she lost in the shooting and by feeding him? She must be starving already. Without fresh blood there was no way she could stay sane and strong until Thursday night. And he knew her; she wouldn't take any from the little virgin.
If Lily didn't regain her strength...they were doomed.
*****
With a few minutes to spare before her first class, Buffy made a stop at Angel's apartment. She didn't have much hope that he had found anything, but she could use some smoochies to get her through the day.
Her knocks went unanswered. Wondering if he was already asleep, Buffy used her key to unlock the door, trying to be quiet so as not to awaken him. Regardless of his protestations to her, he was exhausting himself as well.
The apartment was empty.
Cold fear began to drift over Buffy. Her rational mind tried to come up with various excuses for his absence. Perhaps he had gotten caught too far away at dawn and had holed up somewhere safe. Maybe he was at the Library or was heading back through the tunnels.
But she knew none of those were true. She just knew.
Quickly locking the door behind her, Buffy bolted for the Library.
*****
The sun had been up for a couple of hours and Angel had finally drifted to sleep in his uncomfortable standing position. Again Lily wondered just what he had done to Drusilla to make her treat him like this.
Lily and Angel had spoken in French, accurately guessing that the hulks Drusilla had left as guards barely spoke English let alone a foreign language. They had shared their concerns and theories on the visions and prophecy, trying to develop a plan to save the world and themselves. Willow had awakened occasionally and joined the conversation, displaying a surprising grasp of the language.
Unfortunately, they hadn't found any feasible solutions.
Shortly after dawn, Willow had drifted off into an uneasy yet lasting sleep. Angel had finally followed her, leaving Lily awake and in increasing pain. The hunger from loss of blood had grown past an annoyance, past a scratchy, prickly sensation in her veins, to a fluid, throbbing pain. Gently she massaged her aching temples, closing her eyes in the morning gloom. The sun shone behind her eyelids, trying to force her to sleep, but the hunger burned slowly through her, keeping her awake. It had reached a continuous stage--there would be no more relief until she fed.
Between the blood loss from the shooting and feeding Spike, she hadn't lost enough that she was incapacitated, but she was weak. Not as weak as she had been after the first night with Spike, but this situation was infinitely worse.
The blood that remained inside her was beginning to go stale. Without an infusion of fresh blood, the oxygen in the blood cells would dissipate, leaving behind useless fluid. The lack of oxygenated blood would kill her from the inside out and in a much more painful fashion than simple blood loss.
Lily had never faced this hunger before. Dispassionately over the centuries she had heard and read of cases of vampires who hadn't fed for several days. She knew what she faced. Its intensity increased by the loss of nearly three pints, the low ache that already consumed her would increase to a fervent, roiling agony. Her body would slow down until she would be unable to move as her insides shriveled. Worse, her mind would grow increasingly sluggish, her memories would disappear, until all that was left was madness.
If she didn't feed in the next forty-eight hours, she would be past the point of no return.
*Was it you that said, "How long, how long, How long to the point of know return?*
Oh good, now she was beginning to lose it--hearing music when there was none! Lily's mind drifted as she began to hum along to the music inside her head.
*****
Buffy dashed through the crowded hallways, jostling and apologizing to fellow students as she ran. Finally she reached the Library and flung the door open. Xander and Cordelia were sitting at one of the tables apparently studying. Giles was shelving books on the upper level. There was no sign of Angel.
As the last glimmer of hope faded, Buffy slid to a stop, the dread overwhelming her.
Cordelia rose to her feet. "Buffy?" she asked in a concerned voice. "Are you alright?"
A sob broke from Buffy and she crumpled to the floor as it all became too much for her.
*****
Jenny hurried into the Library as Giles lifted Buffy from the floor. Buffy clung to him, sobbing, unable to speak. Jenny was flushed and breathing hard as she had run from the computer room at the other end of the building.
Giles glanced down at the sobbing girl in his arms then back to Jenny's fear-filled eyes and red face. He knew the two situations were connected.
"The Angel has fallen," Jenny gasped out.
*****
The clanging of the cage door woke Lily and she jerked into a sitting position. Willow crawled back to her corner, yawning.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Willow said with another yawn.
Lily felt incredibly groggy, but pain began to register in her mind. She blinked a few times, then rubbed her temples. "I didn't realize I was asleep. Kansas must have put me to sleep."
Willow came instantly, fully awake at the strange tone of Lily's voice. She sounded like she was drifting. She sounded like Drusilla. "Huh?"
"Kansas. The music kept running through my head. 'I heard the men saying something, the captains tell they pay you well and they say they need sailing men to show the way, and leave today'," Lily sang softly. "I saw them in concert once. Just a bunch of boys from Kansas, a very boring place, but not flat as a pancake. They flip pancakes there, you know, on Shrove Tuesday, but only on dusty roads not yellow brick and no little dog too." She giggled, then began to sway as the music swelled in her mind again.
"I'm guessing she hasn't fed since Sunday morning."
Willow scrabbled over to the other side of the cage to look at Angel. He was rolling his head, trying to work the kinks out of neck. "What's wrong with her?" she asked, frightened.
"Hunger. It drives us mad. If she hadn't lost blood from being shot, she would be in a lot better condition right now and could make it to the end of the week before reaching this stage."
"She fed Spike, too, last night."
Angel's face betrayed his shock. "Here?" Willow nodded. "He knows you're here and hasn't done anything about it?" She nodded again. "Treacherous bastard," he muttered. "Should have let him bleed to death on that bench."
"He said he couldn't betray Drusilla anymore. Lily forgave him. She always forgives him," Willow finished in disgust.
"Love him," Lily mumbled. "Can't help it. Can't just stop love."
"Lily, snap out of it," Angel said sharply.
Lily looked up at him, her head wobbling as if it weighed a ton on her neck. Her eyes focused on him and she licked her dry lips. "Angel. I...I'm dying," she murmured in surprise, her mind beginning to clear.
"It's still the early stages," he said, trying to comfort her.
"Hurts..."
"Yeah, it does."
The understanding in his voice sent Lily over to the other side of the cage. Her trembling hands gripped the bars to hold herself upright. "You've been through this?"
"I *lived* this for nearly one hundred years," he replied sadly. "Just on the edge of starvation. Taking just enough fresh blood to keep me going, because suicide would have been one sin too many. I didn't know how to live in this modern world; didn't know where to get human blood without killing. I survived on animal blood for far too long."
Lily looked at him in awe. Since finding out he was alive, she had assumed he had continued to live his wealthy existence, just feeling guilty rather than jubilant over everything. "We can't survive on animal blood alone."
"No, although I certainly tried." Angel dropped his eyes to his feet. "I supplemented it with blood from freshly killed humans. I was a scavenger."
*****
Spike awakened to find Drusilla straddling him, bouncing on his chest. "Wake up, wake up sleepy head," she sang.
Spike groaned and shoved her off of him. She sprawled in an ungraceful heap on the bed next to him and Spike glared at her nude body. She was still undeniably beautiful, but nothing about her was attractive to him anymore.
Drusilla scrambled off the bed and began to pull on clothes. "Come on. I have a surprise for you."
"I'm not really in the mood for surprises, pet," he said, wary of her mercurial moods.
She grinned at him and picked up her hairbrush. "You'll like this one. Come on, I'll let you see your little friend. You were a very good boy today," she said indulgently with a lusty grin.
Oh, yeah, he'd been a good boy alright. Three hours with his head between her thighs had obviously gone far to putting him back in her good books.
At least it had made her oblivious to the fact that he had wanted to throw up during the whole thing.
With a sigh, Spike rose from the bed and began to dress, hiding the eager joy he felt at the thought of seeing Lily.
*****
Giles sat at his desk sipping from a cup of tea as he watched his Slayer sleeping deeply on the couch in his office. She had been there most of the day. He had gotten her excused from her classes and let her sob herself to sleep.
Through her sobs she had managed to tell them that Angel was missing and she was convinced that Drusilla had him.
Jenny had supported this theory. Reports on the Internet were claiming that Sunnydale's angel had fallen or been taken captive, and that the prophecy was moving along towards the night of the crescent moon.
If only they knew what spell Drusilla was planning to use, they would know if she had all the necessary pieces. Their research had uncovered several spells to reverse time, most of them requiring a virgin sacrifice--that seemed to be a popular ingredient in medieval spells in particular--but none mentioned the crescent moon.
There were only two nights left. Hoping that Drusilla would fail on her own was not the solution on which he wanted to rely.
*****
"Sunset," Angel stated the fact as they watched the guards remove the skylight cover.
Lily reveled in the night filtering down to her, feeling a bit of her strength return as the sun moved farther to the west. The madness was temporarily at bay, but the pain was still there, just making its presence known at a consistent level throughout her body.
A glance at Willow showed that she too was looking up at the night sky, but her eyes were filled with apprehension. "Two more nights," Willow whispered, wrapping her arms around her shivering body.
"Cold?" Lily asked.
"A little. Scared, a lot." Willow looked over at Lily, glad to see that the female vampire seemed to be in more control than she had been earlier.
Compassionately Lily took in the changes in Willow's appearance. Her glorious red hair was dull and tangled, with a chunk cut out of one side and there were dark circles under her eyes. The skin of her face was paler than normal and there was a pinched look around her mouth. The worst were the raw places on her lips where her teeth had unconsciously gnawed in anxiety. The girl was hungry, as well; just on the edge of trembling from it.
Lily glanced over at Angel and saw that he was eyeing Willow intently.
"Willow? Are they feeding you?" he asked gently, suspecting the answer.
Willow shook her head, wrapping her arms more tightly around her chest. "No point," she replied dully.
In a futile gesture, Angel tugged on the chains that attached his wrists to the wall on either side of his head, his protective nature going into overdrive at the thought of Willow being starved.
"Hunger. We're all supposed to be hungry. I really liked Hungary before the communists..."
"Lily!" Angel interrupted sharply.
At the harsh command, Lily shook herself from her reverie and gave him a sheepish look. "Sorry, drifted there for a minute."
"It happens."
"Apparently Drusilla needs me to drink virgin blood. It must have something to do with her spell. So, I can understand her reasoning for starving me, but I can't see any reason not to feed Willow, except for the fact that she won't die without food before Thursday night...and that Drusilla is a bitch."
"Meany vampires," Willow mumbled, gnawing on her lower lip again. As she broke the skin, a bead of blood appeared and the scent hit Lily.
"Stop that Willow," Lily gasped harshly, staring intently at the girl's mouth.
Willow gave her a startled look. "What?" Her hand went up to her sore lip and came away with a spot of blood. She paled even more. "Oh. Oh, God, I'm sorry." She rubbed at the sore spot, absorbing the blood back into her skin.
Angel called Lily's name to try to distract her. Slowly she turned to look at him and the worry in his eyes. "You have to hold out. Remember who and what you are," he said intently.
Slowly Lily nodded, clenching her fists in her lap, the nails digging into her palms, horrified that only a small amount of human blood had affected her so much.
Willow cowered back in her corner, pressing herself as close to the bars as she could get. Lily scooted to the other side of the cage, focusing on Angel.
"Maybe it would be better if you took some from her now," he began, not needing to finish the shared unspoken thought, 'while you are in control'.
Angel's words echoed in Lily's confused brain. He wanted her to feed on Willow? "I can't," Lily began in a tightly controlled voice. "Drusilla would win."
"I agree. A big no to blood drinking. Blood drinking is bad, very bad," Willow babbled in fear.
Angel spared the girl a sympathetic look before refocusing on Lily who was licking her lips unconsciously. "You don't know that for certain. Okay, Dru wants you to drink from Willow, but if you don't let her do anything about it..."
Lily shook her head, then stopped as the movement made her dizzy. "No, can't start down that road."
"Can you control yourself?" he asked in a very serious voice.
Willow whimpered.
"I'll have to," Lily ground out.
Angel gave her a very skeptical look. "Lily, this is very risky."
"I know."
"Why?" Willow asked in a small voice. "Why is it risky? Why does Angel want you to drink my blood now?"
Lily turned slowly to look at the trembling girl who cowered against the bars. In Willow's eyes she could see that she knew the answers, but needed them confirmed. Lily dropped her eyes to her lap, concentrating on the marks of her nails on her palms. There were little spots of purple blood on them. "If I feed from you, while I'm in control, I can take just what I need. Later...if I lose that control..." Helplessly she looked back at Angel.
Angel tugged on the chains again, his frustration showing, although he turned a gentle eye on Willow. "Willow, if she loses control, she may not be able to stop from draining you."
Slowly a look of acceptance came over Willow's face and she relaxed against the bars of the cage, nodding. "Lily's right. We don't know what Drusilla wants in the end. We can't give her anything. I'll...I'll take my chances."
Angel groaned in frustration. Lily raised one hand to her lips and licked the drying blood from her palm. Grimacing at the stale taste, she curled up into a ball as the hunger swelled again.
*****
Spike was beginning to grow a little concerned about the eagerness Drusilla was expressing over her 'surprise'. Had she killed Lily after all? She was just insane enough to have done it, regardless of the spell and her desire to rule the world.
Obediently he allowed her to tug him along, her arms wrapped around one of his. They entered the bunker side by side and lights went on, illuminating the gloomy room. Spike's eyes were automatically drawn to the cage and he saw with relief that Lily was alive. She was curled into a ball, her eyes closed, but her hand moved spasmodically over her shoulder as she hugged herself.
Then he glanced past the cage and saw another figure chained to the wall. Shocked, he stopped walking. Drusilla stumbled, then turned and grinned at him in delight. "See, isn't this a wonderful surprise? Daddy's home!"
Spike was not surprised to see the cold fury in Angel's eyes.
*****
Buffy awoke shortly after sunset to the smell of pizza. Massaging her aching head and sniffling, she stumbled out of Giles' office. Xander, Cordelia, Giles and Ms. Calendar all looked up from their research and dinner. No one said anything and Buffy walked out of the Library and headed to the nearest bathroom.
After using the facilities and spending five minutes trying to do something with her tangled, limp hair, she returned to the Library, feeling empty and lost. She waved off Giles' look of sympathy and plopped down in an empty chair next to Xander. Methodically she began to eat a piece of pizza, subconsciously knowing that she had to keep up her strength.
When she finished, she wiped her hands on a paper towel, then took a deep breath. "Anything new?" she asked the room in general.
"Um, no. There's still no sign of Angel and after school we continued the search until a half an hour ago," Giles said gently.
Buffy took this news stoically and nodded to the books. "Anything new in any of these?"
"No."
"We have two more nights, Giles. I don't feel ready for any of this."
Giles gave her a helpless look and Jenny slammed her book shut.
"That's not fair, Buffy," Jenny said in a tight voice. "Rupert has been living and breathing this prophecy and spell for the past week, trying to figure them out. He hasn't slept more than a couple hours at a time and I practically have to shove food in his mouth to get him to eat." Her voice rose as she spoke, her anger clear.
Buffy gave the computer teacher a startled look. "I wasn't being critical..." she protested.
"Weren't you?" Jenny shot back.
"Jenny, that's enough," Giles interjected softly. Jenny opened her mouth to protest and he laid his hand over one of hers that rested on the table. "Thank you for the support, but, Buffy has the right to feel as she does. It is my duty to prepare her for whatever she must face."
Jenny's face fell. "And she comes first, doesn't she?"
"She must."
Jenny just looked at him for a minute, then rose and strode out of the Library.
"Smooth, G-man, real smooth," Xander chided. Cordelia shushed him.
For a moment, Giles stared after Jenny, then he turned back to Buffy. "Do you want to train? Or, perhaps, go over some of the possible spells Drusilla may use. Or Jenny...has prepared an analysis of the dreams..."
"I'm sorry, Giles. I'll be okay. Go talk to her."
"No, no, this must come first."
Buffy tried to give him a slight smile. "Don't blow this over me. Go. I'll look over the analysis, then patrol. Slaying can be real cathartic." A hint of the old Buffy was in her face as she picked up the computer printouts.
Giles nodded and gave her a grateful look, then hurried from the Library.
*****
Giles found Jenny in her classroom. She was erasing the blackboard with wide, angry strokes. Frustrated, she spun around and flung the eraser across the room. It bounced off Giles' chest, sending a cloud of chalk dust swirling around him.
Jenny was instantly contrite and hurried over to his side where he was coughing and waving his hands, trying to clear the dust. "Oh, God, I'm sorry Rupert. I didn't know you were there, I swear."
Giles coughed again as she patted at his dusty tie. "I know. It's alright." As the dust settled, he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and began to clean his glasses.
Jenny sighed and took a step back. "I'm surprised you followed me. Shouldn't you be training Buffy or something?" Her attempt at sarcasm failed miserably and her question came out sounding rather sad.
"Probably...but...I don't want to ruin this...whatever we have here. It's important to me," he replied seriously.
Jenny looked up at him and tried to give him a sad smile. "But, she still comes first."
Giles sat down on the edge of her desk as she shifted in front of him, crossing her arms over her chest. "She has to, Jenny, for as long as she lives."
She understood the unspoken words in the dull acceptance in his voice. She and Rupert...they had a chance to grow old and, if the gods were willing, to do so together, but Buffy ...she would die a young, most likely horrible death. Jenny groaned inside as her selfishness reared up to bite her back.
"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I wasn't thinking about her. I just...I wanted to protect you...even from her."
Giles smiled sweetly at her. "I know and it felt wonderful."
Jenny smiled back and took a couple of steps towards him, her arms falling to her sides as she left her defensive posture behind. Slowly she reached one hand out and brushed a dusty lock of hair off his forehead. Her fingers lingered on his brow, then slipped down his cheek to his lips.
"Jenny..." he began.
"Shhh." Jenny slid into his open arms. Leaning down slightly, her mouth replaced her finger on his lips. The gentleness of the kiss quickly began to change. Giles' arms found their way around her waist and he pulled her closer. Jenny cupped his cheeks, then slid her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened.
Their tongues touched, sending sparks of desire through them both and Jenny pressed closer. The rough tweed of his vest through the thin silk of her breast caused her nipples to harden. With what was quite possibly her last rational thought, Jenny pulled back, breathless and stumbled to the door, which she shut and locked.
Turning back to Giles, she saw that he was staring at her, stunned. "Jenny..." In her head she could hear all the protests he was about to make, but she wasn't going to allow him to voice them.
Slowly her shaking fingers began to unbutton her blouse as she walked back towards where he stood, pale and beautiful in the middle of the classroom. "Rupert...the world may end in two days. I don't want it to end before we make love." She silenced his protests with total sincerity.
Giles looked at her and was marveled by the love that shown in her beautiful eyes. Smiling, he nodded his assent and reached his hand out to her. Jenny took it and he pulled her back into his arms. He kissed her forehead, then each cheek, before finding her lips again.
This time Jenny's hands went to the buttons on his vest, then his shirt. As she removed each item, she dropped them negligently on the floor behind him. With increasing passion, her fingers ran over his naked back, then around to his rib cage and up to slide back around his neck.
Giles' mouth moved down her face to her throat and up to her ear, his tongue swirling in the folds. Desire exploded in her and Jenny clutched him to her, moaning. She began to push and he went willingly down to the floor. Kneeling on his discarded clothes, they looked deeply into each other eyes and smiled.
Giles' fingers finished what hers had started and he peeled her blouse down her arms, freeing her rose-tipped breasts to his gaze. Reverently he bent and took one nipple between his lips as his thumb began to tease the other, both hands cupping her breasts and raising them for his touch.
Whimpering, Jenny pulled him closer, her head falling back as heat swelled between her thighs. Her hands unerringly found his belt and she opened the buckle, then unfastened the button and zipper on his trousers. As her hand caressed the hard flesh she found hidden behind the tweed, Giles groaned and nipped at her breast.
Slowly, so as not to hurt her, he lay her down on the hard tiled floor, pillowing his shirt for their heads. Not the most comfortable of beds, but neither cared. Side by side they began to kiss again, tongues dueling, teeth nibbling.
Giles thrust against her hand as she caressed him, then reached for the elastic waistband of her skirt, tugging it down. Jenny wriggled her way out of the skirt and kicked it aside, leaving her in a pair of pink bikinis.
Rolling him onto his back, she became the aggressor, leaning over him to lavish kisses on his neck and chest, before making her way down to the hard staff that jutted from his open trousers.
Giles moaned her name as she took him in her mouth, her lips sweetly sucking. At the touch of her bottom teeth scraping him, he bucked and grabbed for her, pulling her mouth free. "It will be over too soon," he gasped.
This time Jenny found herself on her back and she grinned up at him as he knelt above her, quickly removing the rest of his clothes. Laying back down beside her, he slid one leg between her slightly open ones and bent his head to her breasts again.
Jenny bit her lip as her fingers tangled in his hair. His mouth felt so good, made her so hot. His engorged penis pressed against her thigh and she wiggled against him, wanting him inside her.
As he suckled at her breast, one of Giles' hands slipped down between their bodies and inside the front of her panties. Jenny yelped and thrust her hips up as his fingers found her clitoris.
Together they got her out of her panties and Jenny flung them across the room before burrowing into his embrace. Flattening her sensitive breasts against his hairy chest, she tugged his head up. Desperately, she kissed him, whimpering her need into his mouth.
As he prepared to roll her back over, Giles suddenly pulled back. Jenny's eyes flew open and her brows puckered as she tried to hold him to her. "Protection," he mumbled, breathing hard.
Jenny grinned and rolled her head towards her desk. "Middle drawer." He gaped at her and she wrinkled her nose, shrugging as she grinned wider. "You don't want to know how often I've imagined this."
Giles scrambled to his feet and a minute later was laying back down beside her, gathering her back into his arms. As his mouth found her ear, he again slipped his hand between her thighs to caress her.
As he started to turn her onto her back, Jenny shook her head and pushed gently until he was on his back. "My knees are younger than yours," she whispered with a grin before swinging one leg across his hips to straddle him. Positioning herself, she took his penis in her hand to guide him inside.
Thrusting herself down onto him, Jenny groaned and reached for his hands, bringing them to her breasts. Giles caressed her hard nipples, clutching at her malleable flesh as his mind blanked with pleasure.
Spreading her hands over his chest, Jenny moved on him, gasping at each answering thrust. At the touch of his fingers on her clitoris, Jenny's eyes fell shut as the pleasure grew. She moaned his name as her body spasmed into orgasm. He didn't allow her to calm down as his fingers continued their assault.
Jenny's eyes flew open and met his glazed ones. One of his hands gripped her hip and guided her on his thrusting pelvis. The other hand kept very busy in the slippery wetness between her legs. As the pressure swelled again, Jenny dug her fingers into his chest, letting him jerk her down on him. A guttural cry was dragged from her as her body climaxed for a second time.
As she panted above him, Giles' hands grasped her buttocks and thrust her down one last time. With a hoarse cry he climaxed, his body jerking into hers.
Slowly, Jenny collapsed on him, her legs sliding down his, her breasts coming to rest on his chest, her head on his shoulder. With a proud, sleepy smile she listened to the pounding of his heart and placed a delicate kiss on his chin.
"I love you, Jenny."
"I love you, too, Rupert, forever..."
*****
The sound of the door opening finally registered and Lily lifted herself up into a sitting position. The sight of Spike made her mouth go dry. So focused was she on him, she totally ignored Drusilla, who was babbling as usual.
Spike pulled away from Drusilla and walked towards Angel. He stopped about five feet from his sire and stared at him. Angel growled low in his throat and tugged on the chains.
Trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest, Spike smiled over his shoulder at Drusilla. "When did this happen, pet?"
"This morning. I had a vision. It told me he'd be spying on me and there he was," she said in glee, clapping her hands. "Now everything's ready. Everyone is here. Bad Slayer witch, little virgin, and daddy."
"And we need him why?"
A scowl crossed Drusilla's features. "I don't know yet. I'm sure it all will be made clear before Thursday night." She strolled over to the cage and peered in at Lily intently. "You haven't fed, yet," she scolded.
Lily ignored her, her eyes fixed on Spike, who was avoiding looking at her.
"Don't ignore me, bitch," Drusilla snapped in fury, her skirts billowing as she strode over to the other side of the cage.
Lily's hands caressed the bars of the cage like a lover as she silently willed Spike to look at her. Finally, his eyes lifted from the floor and met hers. He winced at the pain he saw and took a few steps towards her, desperately wanting to hold her and make everything better.
As Drusilla rounded the cage, Willow scrambled into the center, not sure what was going on. Drusilla's hand shot into the cage and grabbed a hold of Willow's foot before the girl could get it out of the way. Before she could think of a plan to escape the vampire's grasp, Willow was flipped onto her back and dragged to the side of the cage.
Willow shrieked and Lily jerked her eyes from Spike to spin around on her knees. Seeing Willow's predicament, she scrambled over to Drusilla, to claw at the hand that held Willow. "Let her go," Lily demanded.
Freeing the foot, Drusilla reached in farther and grabbed Willow's wrist, yanking her into a kneeling position, pressed against the bars. Willow began to cry softly as Drusilla raised the trembling hand towards her mouth.
"Dru, come talk to me," Angel said gently.
Slowly Drusilla's head turned so she could smile at him. As she smiled, her nails dug into Willow's hand until the girl yelled in pain. Snarling, Lily reached through the bars towards Drusilla's long hair. Her hand was intercepted by Spike who held it against his chest. Lily's eyes flew to his as she pushed at him, trying to free her hand, which slipped inside his shirt. He just watched her quietly, holding her tightly against his cold heart.
"You bastard," Lily hissed, her fangs extending as fury welled in her. Her eyes rolled to Drusilla in time to see the female's face change as she bit into Willow's wrist.
"Drusilla!" Angel yelled.
Willow sobbed hysterically.
Lily screamed in fury and dug her nails into Spike's chest.
Drusilla released Willow and the girl curled into a tiny ball in the middle of the cage, sobbing in terror, clutching her wrist as blood leaked from the puncture wounds.
The scent of blood drove Lily mad, but she tried again to lunge for Drusilla, refusing to look at Willow for fear of turning on her.
Drusilla glanced at her guards and gave a wave of her hand. "Go get my trunk of toys," she ordered. They both left the building. With a trilling laugh, Drusilla swept past where Spike held Lily's hand and over to Angel. "You wanted to talk to me, my Angel?" she asked in a dreamy voice.
Spike glanced over his shoulder and saw that Drusilla was focused on Angel. He let go of Lily's hand, wincing as her fingernails pulled out of his flesh.
Lily gaped at her bloody fingers, her confused mind awash with need.
"Feed," he whispered, thrusting his wrist against her mouth, his eyes never leaving Drusilla.
Understanding flooded her and Lily bit, sucking quickly at his wrist. The taste of his blood made her dizzy, but she drank quickly, reveling in the feeling of strength that began to return to her.
Drusilla reached up and ran one finger over Angel's lips, then licked the blood off her own. "Virgins are so sweet. Was I sweet, my Angel, before you ruined me?"
"Dru, why did you bite her?" Angel asked in an even voice.
"To tempt the bad Slayer witch." She began to turn her head and Angel licked her finger. Her attention returned to him and she smiled. "Ooooh." Sidling closer, her hands slipped into the open neck of his shirt, slowly ripping it open. She pressed a kiss on his chest, then spun around.
As Drusilla ripped open Angel's shirt, Spike pulled his wrist free from Lily's hungry mouth. He knew she hadn't gotten nearly enough, but, as proved by the guards' return carrying a trunk, he'd run out of time. When Drusilla turned to look at him, he was standing by the cage, hands in his pockets, watching her.
Lily huddled in a corner of the cage, her back to Drusilla, licking Spike's blood from under her fingernails. She had managed to get about a cup--enough to survive on for another day. It wasn't very fresh--he obviously hadn't fed yet that night--but it would do as a stop-gap measure.
With a smile on her face, Drusilla strolled back over to Spike. Reaching out to grip his coat lapels, she pulled him towards her for a hungry kiss. When she pulled back, she glowered at Lily's huddled form, then snorted, pushing past Spike to approach the cage. "What will it take to make you feed, bitch?" she demanded.
Lily ignored her, feeling stronger every second, but not about to let Drusilla know that.
Shrieking in fury, Drusilla's fingers tangled in Lily's hair and jerked her head back, banging it several times against the bars. A protest formed on Spike's lips and he took an instinctive step forward, a hand raised, then he stopped. His eyes fell to the floor and he slowly turned away.
Drusilla snapped orders to her henchmen. "Get Angel off the wall." As they moved to do her bidding, she opened the cage and dragged Lily out by her hair. Lily struggled, trying to free herself from Drusilla's painful grasp. Suddenly the insane vampire flung her captive against Spike. As Lily stumbled, Spike turned and caught her. Their eyes met and held, and they drowned in the sorrow reflected there.
"Put her in Angel's place, face against the wall." Spike started at Drusilla's sharp order. Horrified, his gaze flicked to his former lover's furious, demonic face. Angel had been shoved in the cage, but all of Drusilla's attention was on Spike and Lily. Breathless pants were coming from her as her shoulders heaved in anger and one foot stomped rhythmically.
Lily grabbed Spike's shoulders, forcing him to look back at her. A gentle hand caressed his cheek. "Do it," she whispered.
Spike winced at the acceptance and love in her expression, knowing he deserved only her hatred. Reluctantly, trying not to think, he pulled her over to the wall and quickly fastened the shackles around her slender wrists.
Lily leaned her forehead against the cool plaster, trembling as Spike's hands lingered on her skin.
He spoke to Drusilla in a voice a lot stronger than he felt. "I'm hungry, luv. I'll just pop out for a bite."
Drusilla laughed harshly. "I told you that you'd see her in pain. You're not going anywhere, you treacherous son of a bitch."
Spike closed his eyes briefly, then nodded and walked over to an old sofa that sat in a grouping with a couple of arm chairs and a coffee table. Sitting down gingerly, he ran his hands over his face, and without realizing it, began to pray.
Angel reached out of the cage and touched Drusilla. Smiling evilly she turned to look at him. "Yes, my Angel?"
"Don't do this, Dru," he begged softly. "Take your anger out on me."
A dreamy look crossed Drusilla's face and when she spoke, her voice traveled in an out of sanity. "Oh, but it's a totally different anger. She took my Spike far away from me...and needs to be punished. She won't drink from my little virgin. Maybe she needs to lose more blood to get hungry enough." She waggled a finger in his face. "Now, don't you go being a bad daddy and feed on the little virgin. No virgin blood for you. Never again...never again."
Turning away from the cage, Drusilla shook off the insanity and her eyes snapped to the trunk. Grinning she hurried over to it and flung the lid open.
Even though it felt really good to stand up for the first time in two days, Lily really wished she was back in the cage. She didn't know what Drusilla had planned, but vampires were known for their love of torture. Being a vampire only meant that she healed faster and was harder to kill. She could still feel pain, like any mortal creature.
Lily closed her eyes and began to pray.
Behind her, Drusilla spoke to Angel. "Do you remember this? I've kept it all these years. Do you remember? You'd tie me face down on our bed and rip my dress open. Then you'd use this and I'd scream and scream. The pain was...exquisite. You enjoyed it so much...enjoyed making me scream. I liked it, too."
"Dru..."
"No interrupting."
The crack of a whip forced Lily's eyes to jerk open. Oh God...
"Now, where was I," Drusilla continued, her voice returning to the dreamy quality it got when she remembered. "Then you'd lick the blood from my wounds and it would make you so hard that you would..." She giggled like a little girl, coyly not finishing her sentence. "Will it make you hard to watch what I do to her?"
"Drusilla...I'm sorry," Angel choked out.
"Don't be sorry," she replied sincerely. "I loved it. I've missed it." She made a snorting sound. "Spike's always been a big disappointment in certain areas. Sometimes a girl just needs her daddy."
Suddenly Lily felt clawed fingers curl into the neck of her shirt. It ripped in half, baring her naked back. Lily couldn't help it--she flinched. The feel of velvet caressed her skin as Drusilla leaned against her to whisper in her ear. "Flinching already? I haven't even started."
The velvet was replaced by the cool air as Drusilla stepped back. The whip cracked again and Lily gritted her teeth, praying she wouldn't cry out and give the bitch any satisfaction.
With a third crack the lash slammed across her back, forcing her against the wall. Lily's teeth cut into her lips as the burning pain washed over her.
End Chapter 15