Rating - Ummm... some parts are steamier, but mostly PG.
Disclaimer - This takes place early season 6 but I've deliberately not concentrated too much on the emotional state of the Slayer. All the characters are kinda wired though... Oh, and all characters belong to someone else. Mutant Enemy and Fox to be specific.
Feedback - Naturally.
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4
Dark was falling by the time Willow thought she had the mental capacity back to attempt a loosening of the ropes that bound her hands. Working with her fingertips had not budged them even slightly. A magical solution was required, she resolved, and quickly. By the way Jared seemed to be etching out the final details of the sigils on his makeshift wand, whatever he was planning to do he might start at any moment.
As it was, he was raising the wooden staff up every few seconds, inspecting his handiwork closely and making small adjustments here or there.
Lucky for me he's a perfectionist, Willow thought, her face stiffening in grim concentration. Again she praised whatever deity was watching over her that Jared seemed too arrogant to even pay attention to what she was doing. She wasn't sure she could attempt anything like a counterspell and appear like she were lying there placid.
Within her mind, Willow felt around at the mystical bonds that held her. The spell still hung ominously around her head like a dark shroud, making any use of her brain require a massive amount of concentration and energy. She poked at what she thought were the weaknesses of the binding, becoming more disheartened with every attempt. It was strong, and the casting was sound. She tried not to think of the possibility that his spell may be too good for her to break.
Now that she'd had a taste of Jared's powers she wasn't at all sure that he was actually a warlock. His magic seemed more limited than that, like a two-trick show pony. He could probably make himself seem awfully clever with a couple of things, but go beyond those limits, force him to think for himself and be creative and he would look like the hack he was. Willow was almost completely certain that she could take him down.
Once she had herself free of course. Sometimes, she admitted to herself, one good trick was all you really needed. And in a pinch, this one was not a bad one to have in your repertoire. She couldn't even identify what he had done, something she knew she had to if she was to have any hope of unravelling his magic from the inside.
Maybe, she reasoned, his magic wasn't even coming from him. Maybe he'd been endowed by some minor deity, or demon of some kind? This wand he was making was the most interesting part. He had muttered something about every wand needing to be customised for every witch. Did he mean the wand had to be customised for him, or for her?
Lots of questions, and no answers. Not even for the simpler questions, like "where the hell am I?"
***
Once they were in the woods, Tara had to admit that she was stumped. "What do we do now?"
"I'm not sure. Pity that spell couldn't leave a big X-Marks-the-Spot on the ground for when we got here. Maybe some big red arrows?" Buffy said. Even with her Slayer hearing she couldn't hear any sound that didn't belong, that might give away Willow's location. "And it's way too close to sunset for comfort."
"Should we split up?" Tara asked.
"I don't think so. I'd rather be lost together than separately. Besides, I've killed more than one vamp in these woods. It's too dangerous."
"What then? We can't just go back and leave her here."
"We're not going to. Just stay close."
It wasn't the encroaching darkness or fear of getting lost that provided the creep-out factor for patrolling the woods. For Buffy it was the nearness of the trees, the lack of room to manoeuvre that gave her pause. She preferred nice, wide city streets or open cemeteries. Even reasonably teeny back alleys were fine, simply because there was usually one way in, and consequently one way out. Here her back was more exposed than she ever liked it to be, with too many places for bad guys to hide.
Having Tara there only made her feel slightly better. Tara had shown more than once she could hold her own, but her spells weren't as geared towards taking down creepy crawlies like Willow's were. That was a measure of the differences in their experiences since they'd started practising, she supposed. Still, Buffy knew that Tara was powerful and quick-thinking, and being on her toes would go a long way towards keeping both of them alive if their situation turned ugly.
Buffy turned her attention to listening to her Slayer sense. Whoever this Jared guy was he probably had staked out the woods and prepared a spot for this very occasion. Willow had just blithely walked into whatever trap he'd prepared for her. Logic said that he couldn't have sprung it on her too far from the campus - Willow would have smelled a rat and defended herself long before she'd allow herself to be led up into the forest.
A horrible thought sent a chill down her spine. What if Willow had tried to defend herself, but this guy had been too strong for her? What if he was some superhuman spellcaster with years of experience up on either Tara or Willow? They could be way out of their depth.
With effort, she shook off her heebie-jeebies. After all, in her experience so far, even the most powerful magic-users were still susceptible to a quick left to the jaw.
"Buffy, wait." Tara held up her hand.
The Slayer froze. "What is it?"
"I think I can hear something."
Buffy strained her hearing, looking in the direction Tara was facing. Nothing. "All I hear are birds chirping."
"I think it's something only I'm meant to hear. Or someone like me."
"You mean, Willow might have left us some little red arrows to follow after all?"
"Maybe. Or it could be a trap."
"Trap?"
"There's nothing specific in what I'm feeling. Just something residual, like a powerful spell has been cast here." Tara's brows furrowed in concentration. "There's no way to tell if Willow cast the spell, or someone else."
"Tell-tale signs?" Buffy asked.
Tara nodded. "Or breadcrumbs for witches." She moved around, feeling the patterns in the air. "It sounds pretty arrogant, but maybe he thought he'd try and catch himself another witch, if someone came after Willow."
"Maybe, but we know something he doesn't."
"Which is?"
"That this Hansel and Gretel have sharp teeth." Buffy took a couple of determined steps forward. "This guy probably doesn't even know what a Slayer is. Do you think you can follow it?"
Tara nodded. "If I concentrate. Yes, I can."
***
Willow shivered as the last rays of sunlight disappeared. On top of her worry that she wouldn't be able to escape from Jared's binding spell, she was now panicking about other things. As a long time resident of Sunnydale she knew perfectly well how suicidal it was to be out in the woods after dark, let alone out in the woods bound and magically gagged. Problem was, she wasn't sure how much Jared knew about that. Did he even care about vampires?
He was still on the other side of the clearing. As the sun was setting he had put down his finished wand and started pacing, like he was waiting for something. Unfortunately he didn't seem to be stupid enough to attempt to light a fire.
Suddenly he stopped pacing and looked up, like he was listening for something in the distance. A murderous look swept over his features.
He turned to Willow. "I knew you were lying, witch. I knew you weren't really alone."
Unable to respond, Willow regretted bitterly not being able to use one of the many the fabulous comeback quips that had popped into her head. She settled for what she hoped was a menacing, defiant scowl.
Jared continued, unfazed. "My little trap just sprang shut. One of your other little witch friends is coming to find you. Now it looks like I get two for the price of one."
Willow's eyebrows shot up. She wriggled desperately against her bonds, only causing Jared's mocking smile to grow wider. "That's it, squeal and squirm little piggy. Soon I'll have both your heads. In the holy name of the Malleus Maleficarum. Two more abominations will be no more, and my master will be more than satisfied."
OK, not a witch, not a warlock, she decided. Some kind of religious zealot, and making just about as much sense. Even lightheaded and with a fuzziness clouding her brain, Willow could still decipher basic Latin. The Witch Hammer?
She knew the reference, in some vague part of her memory. It had been part of the initial studies Giles had made her do when she was learning the basics of magic. During the Inquisition there had been a book, supposedly a book of rules and laws regarding the capture, identification and execution of witches.
She'd only read a modern day translation. It was a supposed holy text full of lies and misconceptions about witches and what they practised. It called them Satan worshippers, freaks, abominations, vessels of evil. This guy and this master of his were like hundreds of years behind the times.
She struggled again, knowing it was hopeless but not knowing what else to do. She had to assume Tara was out there, wandering blindly into Jared's hands, and there wasn't a damn thing she could do to stop it.
***
"Well, what do you want to do?" Tara asked.
"Be cautious, at this point. We have no idea what this guy can do." Buffy said.
"Willow's tied up on the other side. Somehow he must have disabled her powers." Tara said.
"Remember what I said about a left to the jaw? Maybe he just hit her?" Buffy offered. Secretly she knew she just wanted that to be the solution. That would be all too simple, to simply rush the clearing and splatter the ground with this guy who had dared to touch her best friend.
Tara's face was almost a reflection of her own, but somehow Tara's expression had an even sharper edge. Despite Tara's soft and gentle nature, Buffy knew deep down that the woman in front of her now was powerful, and deeply protective. Defending a friend was one thing. Defending a lover was something different entirely. She knew that only too well from her own experience. "I've got an idea. We assume he's expecting a witch, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, let's give him something else. If he's dumb enough, he'll assume I'm you. Or at least, a witch." Buffy stood up. "Stay put until I call for you, or he's completely distracted. Use your own judgement on that. While I'm dealing with him, I need you to get Willow out of there." She pulled out her pocket knife and handed it to Tara. "Here, you might need this, for the ropes."
"OK." Tara clutched the knife with trembling fingers, but her eyes betrayed no fear, only simmering rage. "But my judgement? Not too reliable right now."
"We'll get her out of there. Just be careful."
Tara nodded, more to convince Buffy that she had her anger in check than to acquiesce.
Buffy hauled herself up and strode the few metres through the woods between her and the clearing. Jared was on the other side closer to Willow. She couldn't see well enough to tell if her friend was injured, but Willow was struggling, which was always a good sign. Buffy felt a moment of pure pride. People didn't call Willow the fiery redhead for nothing. Knowing Willow, she was guaranteed to be working on some escape plan of her own.
What was suspicious was that despite the absence of a gag, Willow was not making a sound. By now she would have expected Willow to be taunting the guy with a string of insults - albeit incredibly geeky insults.
"You know, I take exception to strangers just waltzing into my town and tying up my friends. It's rude." Buffy stopped few steps into the clearing, throwing her weight into her right hip, her arms firmly crossed. She knew that projecting confidence wasn't a problem for her. What disarmed her slightly was the malicious grin her appearance produced on the face of Willow's captor.
"I was hoping you would show up." He replied.
"Me specifically? Or just anyone?" Buffy sneered.
"You're a witch, powerful enough to follow the trail I left. That's all I need to know."
"You have no idea who I am." Buffy smiled just a little. Oh good, you are that stupid.
Jared's hasty assumption spoke volumes. He obviously couldn't tell a witch from sight or presence alone. Plus, he probably didn't know Tara was hiding nearby. He didn't know he was facing a Slayer. Heck, he probably needed the same dictionary Riley had needed when Buffy had first revealed her Slayer identity to him. Slayer, comma, The. Look it up, moron.
Being utterly clueless was not a good way to survive in Sunnydale. Considering all the things this guy didn't know, his arrogant, confident smile was more than just stupid and misplaced, she thought. It was downright annoying.
***
Tara crouched, eyes fixed on the slumped form of Willow. She watched as Buffy stalked out into the clearing, and she saw the look of victory on Jared's face as the Slayer emerged. They talked but she copuld barely make out the words. His sneer was enough to clue Tara in on his overconfidence.
She crept closer, trying to get a better view of what she'd be walking into. Clumsy feet crackled on leaves as she moved and she hesitated, petrified of discovery. Buffy, it seemed, had Jared well and truly occupied, but she fully intended to mind Buffy's be careful warning.
Her heart leapt as behind her a tree branch crashed to the ground, followed by a man-sized body. Her senses screamed vampire before she had any chance to confirm it and she dropped to the ground on pure instinct.
Jared looked up, distracted momentarily from Buffy, and glanced in her direction. She froze, too panicked to run forward or back. A bush shifted to her left as something large ran through it. Scared and blind she launched herself away from a figure that suddenly burst through the undergrowth, but her feet found no purchase on the leafy floor of the forest and she fell forward, smashing her head hard against a fallen tree bough.
Dizziness overtook her and the contents of her stomach threatened to rise. She lifted up a hand and wiped her face coming away with a handful of blood gushing from her forehead. She forced herself not to panic. Head wound. She chanted to herself. Head wounds always look worse than they are. Everything pulsated and thumped. Whispering a silent prayer to Aradia she begged the darkness not to take her, not until she was able to see where the lurking figure had gone.
Her attention was drawn by a crash of bodies and muffled curses from the clearing. A large humanoid form smashed its way through leaves and branches and attacked Buffy from above, landing almost at the foot of the surprised Slayer. Tara stumbled forward towards an opening in the trees towards where Willow lay helpless, but she stopped, remembering Buffy's words. Wait for your moment.
The world kept spinning. Jared was knocked off his feet and sent flying backwards towards a boulder, his back cracking as it connected painfully with the stone. He cried out and rolled off, grabbing for something stashed nearby. Tara watched him as he stood up, clutching a long wooden staff and pointing it with shaky arms towards both his attackers.
A wand? She willed her brain to work, to think of something she could do to help.
The vampire thrashed around and Tara could see its disfigured face through the dimness. Oddly, a feeling of relief rushed through her. Just a vampire, she thought, nothing Buffy can't handle.
Whatever Jared was working worried her though. With Buffy's concentration taken fully by the crazed vampire, Jared was left free to mumble an incantation, though he clutched his side and winced in obvious pain. On the ground Willow had begun to struggle harder against her bonds, kicking her legs in frustration, her face contorted in a scream that never came out.
Tara held a palm to her injured head in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Droplets streaked down her hand and face and fell into her eyes. Waves of nausea threatened to knock her over each time she attempted to stand. She staggered against a nearby tree, almost crying out.
With effort she evaluated her situation. Buffy nearly had the vampire situation in hand, but there was nothing the Slayer could do against the wizard, if that was even what he was, if he got his spell off in time. Sorcery gathering in the air prickled down her spine and made her shudder. It was a dark, cruel sensation - nothing like the wash of joy that enveloped her during her own castings. Whatever was about to happen was dangerous, and it would hit Buffy at point blank range unless she got there first.
She gathered her waning strength and thrust herself forward, every step a misery. Eyes blazing and hand held out, she cried out an incantation and thrust a wave of energy towards the wizard. Her own life force as a missile, all she had left to throw. He toppled, unbalanced, but didn't fall, clutching again at his strained back.
Her world went multicoloured and she fell to her knees, the spell draining her with a dangerous rush. Jared's spell discharged in the split second after her own and a crack of black energy burst from the wand, hitting the trees above Buffy's head and sending a shower of branches and sparks down onto the Slayer and the vampire.
***
Willow twisted around towards the source of the energy blast. She'd felt the magic as it whipped past her, her numbed senses reacting to its power. It took moments to recognise the huddled form by the edge of the clearing. She cried out Tara's name but there was no sound, her angered sobbing ringing only in her own mind. Jared finally succumbed to fatigue and collapsed to his knees near where she lay. He looked stunned, the viciousness in his eyes from earlier replaced with surprise and pain.
A swift movement of her body was enough to jam both feet into his injured side, knocking him over with a yelp of agony. His attention refocussed, he aimed his anger at the prostrate witch, throwing a punch into her stomach.
She doubled over, helpless again as the dust from the slain vampire drifted over them both. In an instant Buffy was at her side, ramming a kick into Jared's head that shifted him up and backwards, landing with a cracking thud. His head lolled to the left and his eyes rolled back in his skull as he slammed into unconsciousness.
Willow's pulse raced. Tara? Are you all right? She kept trying to call out, hoping that Jared's spell would wear off as he slipped into unconsciousness, but the fuzziness in her brain and the gag remained intact; an impenetrable wall.
Buffy leaned over and spoke to her, but Willow could barely hear the words. She wriggled frantically and Buffy got the hint, reaching to her pocket for the knife she usually kept there to cut the bonds on Willow's hands and feet. Belatedly she remembered giving it to Tara and turned, expecting to see the witch emerging from the trees. Instead she took in the slumped body at the edge of the clearing and reacted, racing from Willow's side.
Tara was conscious, but barely.
"I tried…spell…" Tara struggled against Buffy's grip and tried to stand, but her body ignored her efforts as the last of her strength drained from her limbs.
"Wait. Tara, don't try to move. We need to get something on your head to stop the bleeding." She looked around for the knife but Tara had obviously dropped it somewhere. She eyed the now-unconscious Jared on the ground.
Buffy stalked over, grabbed a handful of Jared's shirt in her hands and tore, taking a big chunk of the material off the front. She balled it in her hands and ran back, pressing the makeshift bandage against the gash on Tara's head. "Here, hold this," she directed. She grabbed Tara's hand and pressed it firmly against the bandage. Tara did as she was told, leaning back against a tree.
Willow had stopped struggling now, but her face was black rage. Buffy bent over and applied all her strength to the rope, snapping the bonds that held Willow's feet. Without waiting for her to do the same for her hands, Willow sprang to her feet and ran, dumping herself unceremoniously at Tara's side. She took the bandage in both hands and held it securely, relieving Tara of the need to hold up her arms. Grief and worry warred with relief. Tara was hurt, but they were all alive.
Buffy paused to take stock of their situation. Tara would probably need a hospital pretty soon, but there was no way she could walk. Carrying her would be the only way. Now she was actually annoyed at herself for knocking Jared unconscious. He was a liability just sprawled there, but they didn't dare wake him, who knew what trouble he could cause. She couldn't carry him and Tara out. And there was no way she was just leaving him here, not after what he'd done to Willow.
A wicked image of Willow dragging Jared by his feet through the forest flashed through her mind and she grinned in spite of herself. Not that she thought Willow would object to the idea. In fact, she'd be more worried that Willow would find it immensely enjoyable.
Behind Jared lay a blackened staff, charred with recent use. All along the sides were carved, ancient-looking symbols. She leaned over to touch it but snatched her hand back. It practically crawled with an energy she felt snake along her skin. Best left in better hands, she decided. Someone like Willow who might know how to deal with it.
"Will?"
Willow just glanced up, knowing better now than to frustrate herself by trying to speak.
"There's something over here I think you should look at." Buffy grabbed Jared by the shoulder and dragged him out of the way, revealing the wooden staff.
Willow's eyes found the object Buffy pointed to and went wide. She gestured emphatically for Buffy to take over bandage duty. The Slayer kneeled beside Tara and took the now-soaked cloth from Willow's hands.
Without hesitation Willow walked over to the wand and picked it up, undaunted by the power still radiating from it. She turned it over in her hands a few times as if trying to read the symbols with no success.
"Well?" Buffy asked.
Unceremoniously Willow stuck one end under her foot, grasped the other end with her bound hands, and struck the middle with a vicious kick. The staff splintered at first, then snapped as she aimed another heavy blow. Both pieces dropped to the ground.
The backlash struck Willow and she stiffened, grappling with her inner energies as they struggled to cast out the force that had bound her for hours. The weakened barriers now dropped one by one and she felt immense pleasure as her powers smashed through them methodically, eventually leaving no traces of the spell inside her brain.
Finally she reached the outside. Relief rushed in like a rush of fragrant air, filling her senses and releasing the terrible pressure in her head. No longer crushed inwards, she felt almost like she would explode and spill out beyond herself. It almost feels like blowing your nose, she thought, giddy with happiness. Except, more like doing it with your whole body.
Buffy watched in awe as Willow claimed herself back again. "Willow? Are you OK?"
A few more seconds passed before Willow could collect herself enough to answer. "If this sentence comes out OK, then I guess I'm doing better." She smiled. "Oh good. Speech! Highly underrated ability." She glanced over at Jared. "And you can kiss my evil witch ass you son of a bitch."
"Excuse me?" Buffy raised an eyebrow, busying herself with untying Willow's hands.
"Witch hunter." Willow said. She cast a last vengeful glare back at Jared and knelt back down beside Tara to try and better inspect the wound now that both hands were free and the flow of blood had lessened somewhat.
"Witch hunter?" Buffy repeated.
"I'll explain it all later." Willow said. "First, we've got to get Tara to a hospital."
"Of course, but what about him?" Buffy pointed back over her shoulder.
A glint of payback flashed in Willow's eyes. "Oh, don't worry about him. I'll deal with that."
"Will…" Buffy warned.
"Oh don't worry, I won't damage him. Much. I'll just make it so we don't have to listen to his ugly, hate-spewing mouth until we absolutely need to."
"Yes, but how do we get him out of here?"
Willow paused, struck by a happy thought. "We could drag him? I don't mind dagging him."
"How did I know you were going to say that?" Buffy sighed.
***
The next morning, Jared was still unconscious and tied securely to a chair in the training room out the back of the Magic Box. Xander and Anya hovered over him, peering curiously.
Anya poked him. "He looks all beaten up. What did you do to him Buffy?"
"I didn't do anything." She denied. "Well, not much anyway."
"He's still unconscious. It's like 12 hours later." Xander pointed out.
"That's just a spell Willow put on him. And he deserved it. Besides, Willow insisted on floating him out."
"It's not that much different from floating a pencil." Willow said.
" I warned her where the trees were, she just kept bumping him into them."
"Hello, mind-control spell and all that. I was still foggy." Willow replied, indignant.
"Yes sweetie, I could see even from where I was that you were doing your best." Tara teased. She was seated on a chair a little behind them, a white bandage wrapped securely around her head. "It did kind of resemble bumper cars though."
"Well, " Xander put in. "In her defence, Will was never very good at those."
"See! I'm a safe driver. I can't bump into things even when I'm supposed to." Willow retorted.
"Why is his head all sticky?" Anya poked at the captive again and stared suspiciously at her finger as she pulled it away.
"Beehive." Buffy and Tara said at once.
Giles took his glasses off and wiped them studiously. "Beehive?"
Willow had the grace to look embarrassed, though still unrepentant. "He may have bashed into one. On the way here. We were forced to go through some difficult spots to try not to draw attention to ourselves."
Giles looked at Buffy. "Do I even want to know?"
"Probably not." She answered.
"And a vampire helped you?" Giles asked, still trying to gather together the tendrils of information being spoon-fed to him.
"No, the vamp just provided a helpful distraction." Buffy replied, matter-of-factly.
Tara stuck up a weary hand. "He didn't help me much."
"How do we wake him up?" Anya bounced impatiently from foot to foot. "It's getting boring, watching him sleep."
"I'm not in any rush to do that." Willow said. "If I hear him speaking again I could lose my self-control and make something heavy accidentally fall on his head."
Xander dutifully inspected the ceiling as if looking for any perilous, dangling anvils.
"Wasn't the power he used all in the wand?" Tara asked.
Willow growled, still peeved. "I don't know. Yes and no. Maybe… We were just walking around the outskirts of campus, and suddenly we weren't. I mean, suddenly there wasn't any people, or lawn…" She grimaced. "He leaned over by some bush to tie up a shoelace and bam. I don't even know what happened after that. Next thing I knew I was in that clearing in the forest and I couldn't think clearly, or speak, or do anything."
Tara reached out and offered her hand. Willow moved to take it, reassured by the soft squeeze of Tara's touch. She felt the anger subside, just a little. "It's OK Will" Tara soothed. "There's not a lot he can do tied to a chair."
"I know. It just freaked me out, how easily he did what he did."
Giles nodded in agreement. "But we've yet to figure out exactly what he did do."
The door to the training room swung open and Dawn strode in, backpack slung over one shoulder. "Hey guys, what's going on?"
"The usual." Buffy said, reflexively.
"We're trying to interrogate an evil magic-user. Only we're not sure he's evil yet exactly, and he's being terribly uncooperative by sleeping." Anya said. "We could throw some ice-water on him? And the coldness could be the beginning of us torturing him."
"Torture?" Xander asked.
"You know, the five basic ways of torture. Cold, Hot, Sharp, Blunt, Loud…" She counted them off on her fingers. "We'll start with ice water. Then when he wakes up we can stab him with sharp sticks. Long sticks are excellent because when you want to switch to blunt you just whack him with the other end."
"Efficient." Buffy said, oddly amused.
"I think I'm uncomfortable with the amount of knowledge you have on this subject." Xander complained, backing off a step.
Anya patted his arm. "Don't worry honey. I only use my powers for good now."
"We're not going to stab him with sticks." Giles warned, his patience wearing thin. "Willow did you make any progress with the Malleus Maleficarum?"
"The what-y, what-what?" Buffy asked, confused.
"Malleus Maleficarum." Giles repeated. "While she was held captive apparently Jared started talking about being a devotee or follower of this text."
"Witch Hammers?" Anya said. "I know about them. True witch hunters. They believe in the medieval doctrine that witches are worshippers of Satan. I thought that cult died out fifty years ago."
Giles looked their captive over carefully. "Apparently not. This one claims to be a practitioner. And apparently they're not just an ideological cult. Jared here appears to possess some genuine power."
"Could be that whoever trained him sensed he had power, then corrupted it to serve their own cause." Willow suggested. "Or the power could be borrowed somehow?" She turned to Buffy. "A relative of yours helped translate the modern text. Though there's no real evidence he was involved in whatever stuff this guy is."
"Huh?" Buffy looked blank.
"It's true. The Reverend Montague Summers, in 1928. Giles looked him up in your family tree. He's your great, great uncle." Willow said. "Once removed I think."
"You think he had power of some kind?" Buffy asked. "Maybe the supernatural wackiness just skipped a few generations before it landed on me."
"Hello? I think you mean us?" Dawn interjected. "Which one of us is the mystical energy ball again?"
"Probably just a huge coincidence." Giles said. "Anya, do we have any smelling salts out front?"
Her face fell. "I think so. I still think ice water would better." She wandered off to fetch the salts.
"Great. Another Summers kook. Why couldn't we have had a rich uncle who left us all his money instead?" Dawn grumbled.
Buffy grunted in agreement. "Another of life's little foibles."
"Willow, Tara, I think it's best that neither of you are here when Jared wakes up. We don't have any idea what he's capable of doing. I think the less antagonistic the encounter is, the better." Giles advised.
"Why? It's not like he has some kind of magic touch that turns witches to stone." Buffy argued. She did quick double take and whispered to Willow. "He doesn't, does he?"
Willow shook her head. "No. At least, I don't think so."
Giles started to overrule, but stopped as he caught Willow's determined glance that firmly said I'm staying. "Fine. Just, stand back for now."
"Agreed." Tara said. "I couldn't fight anyone now, even if I wanted to."
Anya returned, brandishing the smelling salts. "How about ice cubes? Down the back of his shirt. Everyone hates that."
"Let it go, Ahn." Xander said. He pulled her surreptitiously to one side and laid a protective arm around her shoulders.
"This is nuts. Why so scared?" Buffy demanded, commandeering the smelling salts off Giles, who had in turn snatched them from Anya. "So he blindsided Willow. Big deal. He won't get that chance again." She pulled the lid off the bottle and shoved it under Jared's nose.
After a few moments Jared's head began to flinch. His eyes twitched and jerked, his body grasping the implications of his captivity a full five seconds before his groggy brain even attempted to catch up. The chains that held him yanked taut, nearly knocking the chair over in the process. No one moved to right the chair, he swung precariously on two chair legs for long moments before crashing backwards with a loud crunch.
Eyes deep with fury snapped open, his brain clicking into gear. Willow watched, silently wishing him a painful awakening. Or at least really uncomfortable.
"Witches," he hissed.
Buffy stepped into Jared's vision, making no moves to help him up off the floor, despite his struggling. "I'm not a witch. But I guess you figured that part out."
Jared scowled. "You're strong. What are you?"
"You know, it's like I was trying to tell you in the forest." Buffy lectured, pacing slowly back and forwards in front of Jared's chair. "You should really do a little research before you go gate-crashing other people's parties."
"Where's the witch?" He demanded. "She's mine!"
"See, still no manners." Buffy said.
"Who is wearing the chains here?" Willow taunted. Buffy turned to her, willing the angry witch to silence. Willow backed off, temper obviously simmering, but still under control.
"Where are you witch?" Jared's agitation increased, his face reddening with the effort of straining against his bonds. Xander placed one heavy boot on his chest, preventing him from making the chair hop around. Agitation turned into thinly-veiled panic.
Willow stepped forward into his line of sight.
"You!" He breathed, menace pouring from his eyes. "Willow." Again he played with her name, letting it slide over his tongue, slippery and warm.
This time Willow sensed the pinpricks of power as he said her name and shook them off like droplets of water, smiling confidently at him as she did it. "Not bad, for a beginner." She mocked. "It's not going to work this time though. I'm pretty good at the Jedi mind trick myself. Pretty soon I'll have you quacking like a duck." She snickered, without a trace of humour. "Think how embarrassing that will be for you."
Tara spoke up. "That's how he did it. He must have lured you off-campus using that Naming spell. You were probably a lot further away than you realised by the time he actually bound your powers. That's why I couldn't find you."
"The other one." Jared spat.
Tara flinched at the pure hatred in his tone. Willow folded her arms, unimpressed. "That's right. But you don't know her name, do you? Kind of puts a spanner in the works for you, doesn't it?"
Buffy moved around the other side of Jared and gestured wildly for Giles to join her. They moved out of earshot and huddled together, whispering.
"What the hell do we do with him? He's human, It's not like I can slay him."
"Well, as tempting as the idea is to allow Willow to make him quack like a duck, I can't see any good coming out of it." Giles's forehead creased in thought. "I believe our only course of action may be to attempt to contact the order he belongs to and have them come and get him."
"You mean, just let him go?" Buffy hissed. "No, Giles. We can't. Not after what happened to Willow. And T... she-who-can't-be-named." She stumbled over the name, careful still of revealing Tara's identity. Who knew how good Jared's hearing really was? "Besides, you want to bring more of them here? I'm thinking none of us exactly fit into their ideology."
"Well, technically…she-who-can't-be-named…was hurt by the encounter with the vampire." Giles reminded her. "And quite frankly I'm at a loss. Do you have any other suggestions? We all know how effective taking rogue Sorcerers to the police would be."
"Who said anything about telling them he's magical? He kidnapped Willow. That's a crime even in the non-wacky world."
"What the..?" Xander said, his foot suddenly ploughing through empty air onto the concrete floor. He skidded off-balance, barely stopping himself from keeling over.
"Giles, Buffy!" Willow yelled. "He's gone!"
Buffy whipped her head around. The chair where Jared lay was empty, the chains that had held him strewn loose upon the floor. Xander was looking down, stunned, grasping through the now-empty space with his fingertips. "One second I had my boot in his chest, and the next… poof."
Buffy strode over. "Willow, what did you see?"
Willow was still staring at the chair. "A sneer. A little knowing glance, and then he was just gone."
"No little puff of smoke?"
"It was more a 'blink and you'll miss it' kind of deal." Tara said.
"Or blink and you'll misplace it." Xander added, still looking around in vain.
"I told you. Torture is the only way." Anya said, bending to pick up the chains. "No point dilly-dallying. They just shape-shift and run away."
"Maybe he's still here? Watching us?" Tara whispered.
"He was tied securely. That means invisibility and shape changing." Giles said. "But it isn't beyond the realms of possibility."
Willow stamped her foot in frustration. "Great, so what we're facing is invisible or a shape-changer, or both, or maybe even something that can teleport at will. Gotta say, really pissed off now."
"Obviously we don't know as much about this guy as we think." Buffy sighed. "Giles, you may be right about getting in touch with his order. Maybe they aren't evil, just kind of misguided. I mean, they obviously don't know we're not evil."
Tara shook her head. "Buffy, it wouldn't matter if Jared did suddenly find out you were the Slayer and decided to leave us alone. What about the next good witch he hunts down? She doesn't deserve to be killed by him because we let him get away."
Buffy looked troubled. By habit, she began pacing back and forth, mulling over their options in her head. "I know. I know that. But we need a place to start - some way to locate him."
Willow stepped forward. "Well, we know at least one thing he's drawn to. And I doubt he's going to just give up."
"Willow, no." Tara replied, firmly.
"Bait?" Xander asked. "I'm not liking that plan a whole lot."
"What other option do we have?" Willow reasoned.
"We already caught him once, look how much good that did?" Xander countered.
"Well, we're certainly not going to just jump into something like that without knowing a lot more." Giles ordered. "First, we research. Then we plan."
***
Morning came, a lot sooner than Willow wanted it to. Snuggled peacefully between Tara and a mountain of pillows, she didn't really feel like going anywhere. The adrenalin rush of the night before had long since worn off, leaving her feeling exhausted and more than a little fragile.
Tara stirred, not yet fully awake. Willow did as she always did at such times, letting her eyes roam languidly across her lover's sleeping form, appreciative and filled with gratitude, feeling that familiar warm glow settle all over her. Familiar but ever-changing, she added to herself. That was the amazing beauty of it.
"Mmm…?" Tara mumbled, rolling over drowsily and into Willow's waiting arms.
"Sssh, go back to sleep. It isn't morning yet."
"So what's with the sunlight then?" Tara complained.
"What sunlight?" Willow said. "I'm in complete denial."
A bang echoed up from downstairs, followed by a curse.
"Is Xander fixing something again?" Tara wondered aloud, slowly untangling her limbs from Willow's body, despite mutterings of protests.
"Who knows?" Willow replied. She stretched out her arms, beckoning Tara back underneath the warm sheets. "I can't believe you're getting up."
"He's still out there, Will. I can't relax while I know you're in danger."
A brief silence fell, and Willow struggled with something she'd been waiting to bring up. "Well…" She started, uncertain. "I did try to contact you before Jared managed to get me to wander off with him the other day."
"You d-did?"
"Magically I mean, like we usually do."
"Oh."
"Yeah. I figured you would get the message."
"Well, I…" She stopped.
"Tara, why are you warding yourself?" Willow asked, propping herself up on two pillows. Despite trying to affect casual, she knew her tone sounded accusing.
"Willow, I… It's not what you think."
"And what am I thinking?" Willows asked. "And if it isn't what I'm thinking, why did you feel you had to hide it from me?"
"I didn't hide it. I just d-didn't tell you." Tara pointed out. "There's a difference."
Willow looked hurt. "Semantics, and you know it."
"I didn't tell you because I thought you would feel…" Tara fought desperately for words, to try and explain something out loud she didn't really even know how to explain to herself.
"…Feel how?"
"Feel like you're feeling now! All hurt and disappointed and convinced that it has something to do with you and it really doesn't."
"Then just tell me. What are you afraid of?"
Tara thought hard. "Me. I'm afraid of me."
Willow stared, the hardness in her eyes melting to be replaced by something else - worry tinged with apprehension. "You?"
"I've had spells going wrong, weird things happening, I told you."
"Still not an explanation."
Frustrated, Tara flung up her hands. "You don't know what it's been like Will, trying to find some kind of… I don't know…peace? I don't know if that's the right word." She tensed, starting to pace back and forth in front of the bed where Willow lay, deliberately not looking over at whatever expression might be on Willow's face. "Ever since you unscrambled my brain from Glory's, I've been really shaken up. I don't find that place inside me, where the power is? It isn't as easy as it used to be."
Willow frowned. "OK, that kinda makes sense. But I still don't understand how cutting yourself off from magic is going to help that." Her voice dropped to an almost-whisper. "Unless, you're cutting yourself off from me?"
"Willow…" Tara forced herself to look into Willow's eyes, to the pain was stewing there. "You're so strong. I don't know if you even realise how strong you are. I can feel you, everywhere you go. It's like you radiate power. And when I don't feel so strong in my own magic, or strong in myself, its so easy for me to get mixed up in that, to feed off of the power you give out." She sat down, feeling drained, like she often felt these days. "Sometimes it gets difficult to figure out where I end and you begin."
"If you weren't trying to explain why you're shutting me out, I would think that was the most romantic thing you've ever said to me." Willow said.
Tara reached out, pulling Willow towards her. "I need to be me. You taught me that. When everyone else looked at me as if I was nothing, you looked at me as if I was something. Something more." She sighed deeply. "And now that you've done that, I can't go back to taking my identity from anyone else. Not even from you, Will. Actually, especially not from you."
"And Glory, what she did to you, made you feel like you lost yourself?"
"You know it did."
Willow mulled over the words, trying to make sense of them against the backdrop of her own hurt. She felt selfish, complaining over the loss of part of the intimacy they'd worked so hard to build, when Tara was facing something so huge. But the irrational part of her that still stung recoiled from the knowledge that her power was something Tara had to protect herself from.
"It's not forever, Willow. It's just until I can get strong again. Inside."
"And you need to do that away from me."
"I didn't say that."
"Tara… The last person I loved, when he said that he needed to figure himself out, he did it by running away and leaving me." Willow said, her voice thick with anguish. "And you're so much more than…just…" She couldn't finish, just laid herself across the pillows, letting the breath rush from her body.
"OK, you know what? Now you're just overreacting."
Willow looked up, surprised. "Excuse me?"
"Like I said. You helped me become more assertive and now you have to live with the consequences." Tara half-smiled, trying to ease the tension. "You're overreacting, Will. I need a little time blocking out other energies to help myself rebuild my own. I'm not leaving. I'm not going anywhere. How could I run away to rebuild myself if everything I want, everything I am, is here with you?"
"I…I just…"
"You're just panicking. I get that." Tara brushed a small piece of hair back from Willow's eyes, tracing her finger along Willow's forehead, across the cute little widow's peak, and over her head to smooth down the long, red hair against her neck. Willow's hair was getting really long now, she thought as she stroked it, letting it flow through her fingertips. She watched as Willow responded to her touch, her body language screaming out for reassurance.
"You're distracting me with tricky fingers and cute smiles." Willow moaned. "It's not fair."
"Not fair, huh?" Tara smirked. "What're you gonna do about it?"
"This." Willow responded as she jumped, grabbing Tara by the shoulders and pushing her down onto her back. With a burst of energy she didn't know she had she managed to push herself up and on top of Tara, her legs straddling Tara's hips, her arms holding Tara's back above her head. "What do you say now, Miss unfair-tactics-girl?"
"I say… kiss me."
Willow swallowed, taking in the form of her lover beneath her. Long supple limbs, flowing blonde hair, a smile that caught her inside and made her arms tremble. Tara caught Willow as she lost strength of her arms and fell forward, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Lips met somehow in the tangle and the warmth Willow had felt spread into fire, taking in her whole body with a rush. She crushed Tara to her, exorcising all the hurt and confusion she'd had bottled up since she'd first sensed Tara's wards. But this… comforted her.
As if reading her mind, Tara pulled back a little, taking Willow's hand in her own and placing it in the middle of her chest. "You never need magic to touch me, you know." Tara said. "Sometimes I think you forget that."
"Remind me." Willow managed, before plunging herself towards Tara again, and then the only thoughts she had were of Tara, her touch, her smell, and how difficult buttons were to undo when you really wanted them undone.