Musical Wars
Chapter 11
The minute he climbed through the concrete tunnel into the night air, Spike took a deep breath and immediately started digging through duster pockets looking for his cigarettes. Stupid bloody buggers must have stolen them.
The other escapees, Gary with his long stringy hair cut in an 80's mullet and Antonio with his dark eyes and cropped hair, followed him out into the night. There weren't many people or vampires Spike could look down at--his new pet had a good six inches on him--but Antonio stood several inches shorter than Spike. Both vampires looked near starved. Finally Riley climbed out, his eyes scanning the dark trees on one side of the storm wash and the park-like clearing on the other. Only on the Hellmouth would a normal storm drain lead to a multi-million dollar secret government facility.
"You need to clear out of here before regular patrol," Riley muttered. Gary hissed, his long stringy hair sticking to his lips as he thrust his face aggressively toward the soldier. Without comment, Spike ripped off a low hanging branch and jabbed the jagged end into Gary's heart. Then he pulled it out so quickly that Gary didn't have time to do more than look confused before his body exploded into a shower of dust.
Riley leapt back, blinking either to clear them of dust or in surprise, Spike didn't know and frankly didn't care.
"But..."
"Warned him, didn't I?" Spike answered before Riley could even gather his thoughts enough to ask. The demon obviously whispered in his mind because Riley tilted his head in confusion before shaking it like an oversize dog. If Dru had been around, Spike would have tied the boy up with a bow and given him to his dark plum. Problem was, Spike wasn't sure what to do now that soldier boy had broken them out, convinced he was helping save the world from both demons and mad scientist types.
Spike hadn't made a pet before, and now that he had, he was caught between frustration that he'd been forced to claim a soldier boy and a familiar feeling of possessiveness. He didn't want to leave Riley behind any more than he'd leave his duster. Spike considered that comparison for a moment, remembering the feeling of utter elation when he'd killed the slayer and earned his duster. Okay, he didn't want to leave Riley behind any more than he'd leave his lighter. On the other hand, boy wasn't fully broken, and the bit about saving the world probably wouldn't last long once Riley saw Spike snack on some human Happy Meal.
So, eat him, leave him, or fuck him into full submission. Spike postponed the decision for the moment, focusing instead on Riley's unspoken question about the now dusty Gary.
"If the git couldn't control his darker side, he had no business bein' in on this," Spike spun the truth like a silken spider web. "Vahrall demons are a dangerous lot, and we can't afford soddin' mistakes."
After not more than one of Riley's heartbeats, Antonio nodded, his dark crew-cut bobbing in the light from the nearly full moon. Maybe this one had enough sense to keep around. "If we wish to stop the Hellmouth from opening, we can afford no distractions," he agreed.
Riley shook his head again, and his hand rested on the butt of his tazer. "But he was one of you."
"Oi, not even. Can't say all people are on the same side, and I reckon it's the same with our lot," Spike objected, "and I don't bloody leave enemies alive... not even ta torture 'em and bleed 'em." Spike added the last part as he glared back toward the dark exit they'd just crawled out of. While he watched, a small light flickered unsteadily and then stablized to a dull, yellow glow.
"They've got the generator up, you have to go." Riley sounded desperate now.
"Right then, we're off," Spike agreed. Before he could even turn, something crashed through the bushes on the far side of the clearing, and Initiative soldiers in black charged across the lawn, flowing around the park bench with practiced ease.
"Fuck," Riley swore. Antonio froze for a scant second, but when Spike took off in the opposite direction, he followed with a growled of "Pendejos!"
Random curses colored the air as Spike dodged around tree trunks. A thwap sent him dodging left when the silver tangs from a tazer sank into the white trunk of a birch tree. Vines snatched at him, but Spike just powered through the growth, ripping green creepers from trees as he dashed over the uneven ground.
Behind him, human footsteps crashed though the bushes. He darted to the right, and faintly heard a curse behind him before he nearly collided with Antonio. The younger vampire fell back a half step, running just behind Spike. Worked for him seeing as how the soldier-boys would get Antonio first.
A brick wall appeared almost without warning, and Spike crouched and leapt, clearing the structure and landing on the manicured lawn of the college. Crowds. Wankers wouldn't dare chase them into a crowd... too much chance of random Happy Meals getting killed.
Behind him, Spike could hear the ungraceful charge of soldiers through the bushes as he dashed east... toward the faint vibrations of a thumping bass pounding out loud music. Part of Spike wanted to turn and face the soldiers head on. He wanted to growl his fury and rip through flesh like tissue paper. He wanted to drink them and feel them squirm and struggle in his grip until they slowed and finally submitted to him and to death. However, he couldn't bloody do it with a dozen of the wankers all carrying tazers. As Spike finally turned the corner and spotted the frat house on across the street, Spike simply promised himself that he would track them down later. Now, he just needed to lose them.
Spike slowed down as he strode across the street, one more punk party goer looking for some free beer and maybe a few drugs to send him flying. On the lawn stood a college student with pink hair; she smiled at him, and Spike winked back as he hopped up on the curb, heading for the brick house.
"Goin' in, luv?" Spike practically purred. Pink-hair girl looked at him out of the side of her eyes, arching her neck and shrugging her shoulders non-committally. Oh yeah, this one was already flying and putting out the invitations. Spike edged closer, checking behind him in a single glance. He spotted a dark crew-cut on a short, thin man on the other side of the street. Antonio turned and looked at him for a second before dropping his eyes back down, but he started across the street.
Spike smirked. Looked like he had one follower. He hadn't been sure whether Antonio could control the demon's urge to turn and fight or if he were old enough to take off on his own.
"You going in?" Pink-haired girl asked as she gestured toward the house and drifted closer.
"Figured I'd get a bit of something. Invite me in with ya, and I'll play escort," Spike offered, and he reached out, running a finger up her warm arm. The girl shivered.
"Nice accent."
"Not the nicest thing about me. If you ask right, maybe I can show ya what I'm really known for." Spike winked and slipped a hand around the girl's waist. She swayed a little and smiled at him. "So, how 'bout that invite?" Spike asked as he gave her a small push to get her moving toward the crowded house.
"Oh, you're definitely invited in," the girl nodded as Spike headed up the wide steps. A boy no older than his own Xander lay on his back, staring at the underside of the porch ceiling with a beer bottle in hand while a couple sitting on the railing caught a few awkward gropes.
"Right then, maybe we can find a nice corner to play," Spike suggested as they walked through the entrance. Seeing as how the soldiers and doctors treated Spike as if he were some rabid dog, they wouldn't believe him capable of hiding in the middle of all this flesh without tasting a bit. So, if Spike had played this right, they'd go running off looking for him and their little gadgets wouldn't do them any good in the middle of the mass of writhing, stoned human bodies moving in time to the music blasting from the stereo.
Pink girl shimmied up against him, and Spike slipped his hand into her waistband, letting his fingers trail south as she smiled widely, a tongue ring glinting in the dark of her mouth. Twisting and coiling his body invitingly, Spike pulled at the girl, drawing her into the middle of the crowd even as he slipped his fingers farther south. He let them trace the valley down until she shivered helplessly and pressed herself to him, her breasts crushed against his chest.
Spike leaned in and kissed her neck, smelling the scent of lust and drugs. Antonio wandered in the door, walking right in front of Riley who scanned the crowd with an earnest desperation that would surely catch someone's attention, even in this lot. Lifting his head, Spike nodded briefly at Antonio who then turned and whispered something to Riley. The minute Riley saw Spike, his body relaxed, the eyes that had darted wildly settled on watching Spike.
Spike went back to scenting the girl in his arms as he watched Riley move to a position next to the window, snagging an abandoned beer before leaning against the wall. To anyone else, he looked like one more partier tired out from the dancing, but Spike could see the way he scanned the grounds, watching for danger. At least, he watched the grounds when his eyes didn't dart back to Spike, watching his every move. Spike remembered some of Dru's pets doing the same thing, especially when they were new or when she'd bring home a second toy before eating the first.
The slavish need to see master fed Spike's ego, but it did make for another problem. He needed to feed, but his story wouldn't hold up if Riley saw him pull some girl into a closet. The girl shimmied, pressing even closer as her hands explored under his duster, wrapping around him and teasing him with the scent of warm willing blood.
"So cold. I'll have to warm you up," she muttered into Spike's shirt. Spike placed another kiss on her neck before sucking gently at the skin. She mmmmm'ed into his shirt, her fingers slipping under his silk to run nails lightly over his back. He hated partial feedings. He hated the fear that would crawl into his belly at the thought that he'd left a victim alive and able to point at him, point the mob toward them. His stomach crawled at the thought, but soldier boy still watched him with wary eyes, and he could turn Spike in even faster if Spike killed, and Spike couldn't keep fighting all the soldier-boys if he didn't have blood.
Bracing himself against the buzzing fears that stung him, Spike opened his mouth and ran dull teeth over the girl's neck. Pink girl clutched at his back, digging nails in as she made appreciative moans. Spike's body rippled with the music and he used the movement to get his knee between her legs.
"Should find some place more private," she suggested, digging her nails in deeper. Spike smiled without lifting his lips from her neck. Slowly, he pressed in, yanking her body closer.
She jerked once, and then, as he started sucking, her back arched as she gasped her desire. Fighting his own need to drink her down in huge swallows until her heart staggered to a stop, Spike timed his feeding to her heart, sucking out a mouthful with each beat. Pink girl started thrashing, her head thrown back and her pink hair flying as she gasped out a mantra of 'oh gods.'
Her body trembled, and Spike brought his knee up, forcing her legs apart as he pressed into her clit with his leg. Now she went wild, rubbing herself against him madly as her moans reached a crescendo. Spike started truly feeding now, drawing the blood out in satisfying gulps, and the girl cried out.
For a moment, Spike struggled against the instinct to finish her and the fear of leaving her alive. Every cell screamed at him to take her, to drink until she sagged in his arms and he possessed every bit of her. Instead he pulled out, licking the two tiny wounds until no more ruby drops appeared.
Now the girl leaned into him, her heart slowing as she smelled of a woman's completion.
"Fuck yeah," she finally muttered as she held on to him like a life preserver.
"Told ya I had parts nicer than my accent," Spike said smugly. He hadn't partially fed since Prague, but he obviously still had the talent. He started toward Riley, his arm around the girl to steady her. Soldier-boy looked vaguely panicked, and Spike needed to deal with him before he went and alerted the troops. No good denying himself the joy of feeding just to have Riley squeal anyway.
Weaving through the crowd, Spike finally reached Riley who immediately reached out for the girl's neck, either to check for a pulse or a bite. Spike didn't know which Riley expected, but he'd find both.
"Are you okay?" Riley asked as he bent down a bit to look the girl in the eye.
"You're just fine, aren't you, pet?" Spike prompted her.
"Oh fuck yeah," she breathed happily, a stupid smile over her whole face. "He should charge for that."
Spike sucked in his cheeks in amusement when Riley just looked slightly bewildered as his eyes went from the girl to Spike and back.
"You shouldn't just let some guy--" Riley started, the girl cut him off, shoving at him ineffectually with hands that flopped.
"Buddy, I don't need a lecture. You're ruining the whole post-orgasm bliss here."
When Riley didn't step back, she snorted her disgust and pulled out of Spike's arms, stumbling over to the stairs, where she collapsed on the second step, slipping her hand inside her own pants as she laid back. Spike watched the show for a few seconds: the girl's head rested on a higher step, leaving the front of her neck curved out deliciously, and either the drugs or an exhibitionist streak left her squirming on her own fingers while those dancers who weren't too stoned to care watched.
"She's okay?" Riley said uncertainly.
"Bloody hell, it's not like a vampire has to kill a human to feed," Spike rolled his eyes. "So, you were with those sadistic soldier boys up until a few minutes ago, what're they going to do now?" Spike asked as he leaned back against he wall.
Riley's body went stiff for a moment, his fists clenched as he fought some internal battle. "They're good men," he offered, which didn't even come close to answering Spike's question. Spike raised an eyebrow. "It's Engelman and his kind, not us soldiers. It hasn't been the same since Dr. Walsh left."
"You're not one of them anymore, mate," Spike pointed out, and Riley tightened his fists so tight that cords of muscle appeared in his arms.
"I should turn myself in. You're out, so you go do what you need to in order to keep the Hellmouth closed."
"No," Spike said simply. Antonio wandered closer, and his dark skin looked even darker. The vamp had fed without creating any screaming mob, which was one more point in his favor.
"I need to." Riley took a step toward the door, and Spike grabbed his arm in a vice-grip.
"No," he repeated. "Those wankers have bollocked up the whole mess. You'll stay with me until I tell ya different." Spike watched Riley's eyes dilate, the black swallowing the blue until only a ring of blue remained.
"I should..." Riley said weakly, his voice trailing off to nothing. Hadn't even taken fear or lust to bring the boy under control, and having a soldier, especially one with knowledge of tactics, might come in mighty handy. If Spike had time to wait a full day, he'd turn the soldier, but right now, finding Xander wouldn't wait a day.
"You should help me find my mate and then stop the Hellmouth from opening," Spike finished for him. "We're going under cover. You play the obedient servant, and I'll get us into places where you'll never get alone. We'll infiltrate demon central, we will," Spike tempted Riley. "You'll help save the world."
Riley remained transfixed for a second, and then he blinked and the blue had returned to his eyes, his pupils once again normal. For several minutes, he blinked owlishly, his face a mask of confusion. Then something settled into his skin and he nodded slowly.
"Right, so what does it mean to play your servant, and where are we going?"
"I figure the court'll know where Xander is and seeing as how it sits right on top of the Hellmouth with dozens of demons, that's the place to start," Spike answered. "So, tell me how the soldiers work and how we get from here over to the north end cemetery without getting shot."
~o0o~
"Still don't know why we don't just beat up a few guys over at Willie's and get the truth out of them. There are always a few vamps creeping around that place," Faith complained.
Xander kept his eyes on Angel's boots, but he had obviously missed something. They didn't need to go anywhere to find vamps, they'd passed at least two of them just walking to this cemetery. Xander could feel his demon growl at each who passed. Of course, growling at people was definitely not on the menu of things to do, well, unless that menu was titled ways to get killed. But then vamps weren't really people, so maybe growling at a vamp would just lead to more getting bitch slapped, which might actually be better than the whole ignore-the-minion thing Angel had going on.
Angel stopped, and Xander moved to the side and waited, looking off in the opposite direction from Angel and Faith.
"Those vamps aren't in the clan, they don't know anything," Angel answered after a minute.
"It'll still make me feel better," Faith answered. Something snapped, the sound echoing slightly off the huge stone mausoleum they stood in front of, and Xander could feel his demon's desperate need to look to see if Angel had a tree branch at his backside. He struggled to keep the demon facing away from the danger.
"Do you have the candle?"
"I don't mind saying that wandering around a cemetery waving a candle is not big with the making me feel better," she complained but a zipper opened.
Angel sighed heavily. Since Xander couldn't really annoy the big, broody one too much before getting pinned to the ground and growled at, he could at least enjoy Faith annoying the vamp. A shadow passed from one tree to another as a stray vampire ran along the inside wall of the cemetery.
A snick of a lighter, and the bones of the dark trees appeared faintly yellow.
"Noley me January, Umbrella listens sap ender man 'um sumper me 'effin dater," Angel chanted solemnly. Xander took a wild leap and guess that the vamp was chanting in something other than English... either that or Xander had finally lost the last of his marbles. The wind picked up, and clouds suddenly blocked the moon.
For a dark moment, Xander felt like something cold and huge brushed against his soul, and Baby cringed back, its first instinct to throw itself on the ground seeking Angel's protection. This time, Xander had to turn around. When he did, he fell back several steps away from the huge ghostly face that projected out from the door to the mausoleum.
The mouth opened, and Xander shivered in dread at its answer. "Illae res occultae sun tempature et locis obscure. Enuntiare illas chaos super orbem vivum terrarum ferat." Yep, definitely another language.
Angel babbled back at it, and the huge head drew up, anger etched into the smoke.
"Noli petere! Perturba nos non diutius!" the head yelled, and then the smoke sucked back into the stone like I Dream of Genie smoke, only that definitely wasn't Genie. Xander had plenty of late night rerun fantasies with Genie, but this thing was more of the nightmare producing variety.
"Well that went well," Faith said sarcastically. She had a stake gripped in her hand so tightly that her knuckles had turned a lighter color, but other than that, she was a picture of disinterest as she leaned back against a headstone.
"It was worth a try," Angel said tightly as he blew the candle out.
"Well, you and Giles are sometimes a little too much with the thinking. I have a simple approach to life. See. Slay. Go find someone to bump humps with after."
Angel made a strangled noise as he turned and headed back toward the exit.
"Like him. I'm thinking he knows something," Faith dashed between the headstones before Xander had even spotted yet another random vamp lurking along the inside wall toward the entrance to the Aurelius lair.
Angel hesitated, and Xander could feel a need to follow Faith even as he fidgeted and waited for Angel. When Faith had covered about half the ground, Angel took off after her, and Xander followed. Slaying vamps he knew how to do. For the first time, Baby felt a flare of hope at being able to impress master. Since master hunted other vamps, Baby could prove that he was a worthy fighter to battle beside master.
This wasn't a fledge; he dropped into a fighting stance and growled as Faith flew into him with her first attack. The kick drove the fledge back into the wall, but he tossed the slayer to the side, sending her rolling on the grass. She leapt right back up and dropped into a more cautious crouch.
"That the best you got? Come on, I wanta play," she taunted as she threw a punch. The vampire fell back away from that punch, and Xander crept forward a half inch. Angel's hand falling on his shoulder pulled him back.
"Slayer," the vampire hissed.
"Name's Faith," she corrected him, and a sharp in and out with her left, and then a half second later, the vamp exploded into dust.
"Too easy," she complained as she turned away.
"Faith," Angel said softly, stepping forward. Xander could feel his own heart race as he watched shadows detach from the trees, fangs flashing as a dozen vampires closed on them.
Faith turned to look. "Well, fuck." She cracked her neck first one way and then the other. "It's all five by five. Let's kick a little vampire ass."
Xander couldn't control the bounce in his legs as he watched the enemy close, and Angel finally let go of him to pull a stake out from under his coat. However, all Xander's excitement and blood lust vanished under confusion and shock when he spotted the white hair.