Musical Wars
Chapter 4
Spike slipped out of the sewers into the deep shade of the shadow behind the Bronze. A younger vampire growled briefly, and he flashed a bit of fang to shut the wanker up as he used a rag from one of his pockets to wipe some muck off his sleeve. A huge part of him wanted to charge into the club and grab his childe, but Spike clenched his teeth and forced himself to calmly leap to the first landing of the fire escape before climbing up the rattling metal ladder.
A vampire childe stayed at his sire's side for a decade or more, but Xander had human bits that Spike was a little too fond of, and those human bits meant he had to give his boy some room. Pushing in an upper window, Spike ignored the strange looks a few people gave him as he straightened his coat and wandered into the dark club.
Music throbbed through his bones, and a spidery feeling crawling up his back made him snarl at a couple of hunting vamps, warning them that the Big Bad wouldn't take any shite. For a second, a male held his gaze before lowering his eyes to the floor and a small blonde girl ducked her head and growled back before heading for the window Spike had just crawled in. Great. They really had to make nice with the Anointed One now that he'd been seen.
Another day, Spike might have followed the disrespectful female either to drain her for annoying him with her feeble challenge or to fuck her senselessly happy. Now he focused on the main floor below him, searching the dark corners he knew his childe would instinctively seek. When the tightening in his gut warned him of a slayer, Spike gripped the metal rail just to keep himself from vamping out and charging through the crowd toward his Xander who sat at a table in the middle of the room.
Three women sat with him, and Spike took only a second to identify the dark haired woman who kept looking around with sharp eyes. The slayer. Spike could feel the metal bend under his hands. Right. Pouf had warned him that the witch was tight with the slayer, so Spike had known she might turn up. Of course, that didn't make him any less homicidal at the sight of the slayer near his childe, but he did manage to keep himself from ripping the bint's neck out as he concentrated on the conversation.
"… looked about ninety and I raised my stake, but just then I started coughing and the stake slipped so that when the point hit the vamp's coat, the stake actually flew out of my hand and back behind me," Xander shrugged and made little self-deprecating noises. Spike rolled his eyes at Xander telling that particular story when the boy had dozens of others where he'd saved the day. 'Course, he did want to give the human side more chance to come forward, and Spike was definitely hearing the human side of Xander right now.
"First rule of slayin', hold on to the stake," the slayer, Faith, laughed. Spike growled and a goth girl who'd been sizing him up started sliding back away.
"Oh goddess, you could have been killed," the red-haired one gasped, and Spike identified the voice as Willow.
"Nah, Gunn and the guys were there," Xander shrugged, and Spike watched as the boy picked up a peanut and pulled the shell open with a thumbnail. Even from here, Spike could see the distress.
"Thought the big-A said you hung with a hunter named William," Faith said, her eyes now focused on Xander.
He shrugged. "Gunn and me… we kinda had a falling out. Like off a cliff without a parachute falling out. Or if we had a parachute, one of us forgot to pull the ripcord, and I'm thinking I've run out of steam with this particular metaphor."
"Steamage gone," Willow agreed.
"Hey, it's five-by-five. Those things happen," Faith reassured him, and Spike consciously loosened his grip on the guard rail. Faith shrugged and put out a hand that barely touched Xander's arm. Spike watched as Xander flinched away, but Faith didn't seem to notice. "If you want to hunt with us, you're more than welcome, but you better not try hunting the Hellmouth on your own."
"Trust me, solo hunting is not in the future. William is a little…" Xander struggled to find a word, "overprotective," he finally settled on.
"Well, duh," Willow said as she laid her hand on his arm. "Vampire hunting is dangerous, big with the biting and bleeding and dying, and overprotective is good."
"Even for big, bad witchy girls? So, do you twitch your noses? Or, hey, I would really love to see the whole broomstick trick," Xander teased.
"Xander," Willow complained with a mock punch that sent Spike to the top of the staircase. But then she turned away, silent. Faith stared at the table, and the blonde just kept fiddling with her fingers. Despite the loud music and various conversations, Spike could hear the silence over that table.
"Willow doesn't do much m-magic," the blonde whispered. Spike tilted his head. Angel had explained how Willow re-souled him, a feat that sent tendrils of fear down Spike's backbone and suggested the little witch had access to some big mojo, which added to little fear feet running up and down his backbone.
Spike turned his back to the table and cracked his back as he tried to force down the fear for both his own soulless and undusty state and for his childe. Normally, his reaction to fear was to kill, but he'd spent enough time with insane lovers. Besides, the human soul had chosen him, fought for him, even when the demon in him lusted after Cassidy. Spike smiled at the thought of someone fighting so hard for him, and the goth girl from earlier eyed him curiously from across the dark room. He ignored her as he concentrated on the conversation from below.
"I'm thinking I just opened mouth and inserted both my feet and possibly the foot of some random passer-byer who must be wondering where his foot is," Xander babbled.
"Nah, 'Lo just keeps it close to the vest. She don't want the world knowing just how fine her witchy self is."
Another silence fell, and Spike lowered his head and gave a wicked smile that made the goth girl slide closer. Her white hair had black tips, and dark eye makeup circled her eyes. Spike let the tip of his tongue appear from between his lips as he played with his prey. He wouldn't make a kill this close to a slayer, but at least the hunt satisfied his need to do something. Something other than charge down the steps and rip Xander away from the humans who…
Spike paused even in his own thoughts. Truth was, they were pulling out the human, babbling Xander who Spike feared he was losing. The goth girl shimmied her body, making her long black skirt slit up to her privates swirl, and the silver beads at her waist tinkle. Absent-mindedly luring the prey, Spike rippled his own body even as he listened to the conversation.
"I just mainly stick to the wicca with the non-magical type blessings. Sometimes I might do a simple spell with Tara or Giles, but—" Willow stopped. The noise of the club pressed in against their silence.
"And hey, how about those Oakland Chargers?" Xander asked with obviously false enthusiasm.
"Raiders," Faith said.
"What? Where?" Xander's voice had a hint of panic that made Spike spin around and search the floor for danger.
"Oakland Raiders. Hey, look, we don't need to get so strung out here. 'Lo just gets all weird and guilt-ridden about the magics. We all have our issues. I know I do this weird chicken dance when I get drunk, so let's just avoid the subjects of magic and chickens," the Slayer suggested sharply.
"Willow, I didn't mean,"
"No, Xander, it's okay. Let's not get all weird, and even though Faith is right about the disturbing drunk chicken dancing, I'm okay with the magic. I just know that I can't really do the big spells."
"Two words. De. Nile," Faith insisted, and silence fell again. Spike felt a warm hand run up the back of his coat, and he stood still as the prey stalked him.
"Has Willow told you the zoo story?" the third girl broke in.
"Zoos. I like zoos. I like the monkeys at the zoos, even if they do have a bad habit of throwing their own poo. Poo-throwage can provide some quality entertainment as long as I'm out of firing range," Xander quickly agreed.
"This is really embarrassing," Willow insisted, and even from his spot on the balcony, Spike could still see her blush. "There was this whole field trip, and Wendell and I saw some of the bullies chase this kid into the hyena house, so we went in there to play savior, and yeah, me and saving people is just not a good combination, because Wendell and I got zapped with these hyena spirits that made us dress really bad and so some serious therapy-worthy things."
"Wendell? Spider geek Wendell?" Xander demanded. "God, you had a crush on him in second grade when he did the book report on that huge book with no pictures."
"You remember that? Of course, I had an even bigger crush on you after you let Larry beat you up instead of letting me give him my lunch money."
Now Spike could see Xander blush. A heat gathered in Spike's stomach that had nothing to do with the warm hands caressing his back. The room tilted into the sharp edged vision of the demon, and he concentrated on Xander. If the girl made one move on his childe, Spike was dragging Xander to Latvia.
"That was a long time ago," he whispered. Spike watched as Willow nodded and reached out her hand for the third girl, the blonde, curling their fingers together.
Another awkward silence left everyone but Faith staring at the table. Spike forced his demon back under when her wary gaze traveled the crowds and the balconies. Spike turned and looked at his admirer, the way her long neck curved into a tiny face that would crack if Spike grabbed it. His demon sent up images of pulling her body to his and sinking his fangs so deeply into the flesh that skin popped and blood gushed. Despite the thrill of pleasure he took from just the fantasy, Spike slipped a hand around the prey's waist and avoided ripping and breaking her.
"So, when are we going to meet this William of yours?" Spike started moving to the music, swaying his body as he pulled the goth girl closer. The girl's arms wrapped around his arms, and Spike let his body continue on the familiar seductive hunt without actually paying the bint in his arms much actual attention.
"Um, well, I don't really, he's really busy—really, really busy with, um, stuff," Xander babbled. Spike let his eyes fall shut in frustration. Well, he wanted the human, and he'd just gotten the human side of Xander. If the girls weren't suspicious before, they'd have to be idiots to not see through that choice bit of blather.
"Xander?" Willow asked.
"It's just, hey, how about those Oakland Raiders?" he babbled.
"Not that I mind some sports talk, since any excuse for guys to slap each other on the ass is five-by-five with me, but why do I get the feeling you're hiding something?" Spike let his head rest on the goth-girl's shoulder as he tensed for a possible fight. Takin' out the slayer before making nice with the court would put certain people in a paddy, but he'd deal with that later… when he had Xander chained in the lair and the door cemented shut.
"Well, it's just…. Okay, honestly?" Xander paused, and Spike edged toward the top of the stairs, the girl's body still plastered to his own as they writhed in tandem. "My mom was sorta not okay with the gay thing, either that, or she was not okay with the S-William thing. Of course, he did tell Mom that she'd raised one hell of a pushy little bastard, so that might not have gotten them off on the right foot. And then her with the whole suggestion that he looked like one of those sad little boys who dressed up to look like their favorite rock star. Yeah, not of the good. So, any chance we can skip a repeat because William's a little hard to get to know, and he'd insult you, and you'd insult him back, and then there would be hard feelings and possibly hard concrete and concussions, and I'd rather skip that part."
Xander stopped to catch his breath, and Spike nearly laughed as he pulled the goth girl's body close with a hand at the small of her back. She gasped and smelled of pheromones so strongly that Spike was tempted to sneak in for a quick mouthful of blood.
"Hey, if you like man-meat, I got no problems, well, not unless you go humping on some guy I'm eyeing up."
"And I'm thinking 'no' on so many levels, the first being 'ew,' and the second being that William is the jealous sort," Xander hurried to promise the slayer, and Spike jerked the girl to him harder as he felt pride at his boy's ability to talk his way out of a meeting.
"Right, so I've got to go hunt down some vamps. Feelin' lucky tonight," Faith said, and Spike twirled his dance partner so he could watch over the girl's shoulder as Faith stood up.
She had all the right curves for a slayer, larger and more powerful looking than the first slayer he took, but her body had that same cat-like quality. Spike felt a desire to throw himself against her, to prove himself by drinking her blood and feeling her heart stutter to a stop under his hands. He thought of having his childe see his strength, and Spike shook himself free of the fantasy. Xander wouldn't appreciate that sort of display of strength, so Spike pushed the goth girl away even as his demon roared for her blood.
"Go play somewhere else, luv, and be more careful about who ya play with," he suggested with a shove.
"Hey, what's your problem?" she demanded, her hands on her hips and her shrill voice carrying far enough to catch the attention of several people around them.
"Got AIDS, now don't I? Shouldn't be so quick with the invite, luv," Spike said as he walked past her. The girl stood frozen in place, her heart pounding heavily as Spike started down the stairs. Faith had reached the door, disappearing out into the night despite the fact she had plenty of prey in the club. She was young enough that she didn't know her own body, couldn't feel the tingle of enemy crawlin' under her skin. Either that, or there were so many damn demons around, she got used to the feeling.
"Pet," Spike said as he walked up behind Xander.
"Hey," Xander said, his whole face shifting into a wide smile, and Spike smiled back, wondering if in his entire unlife anyone ever felt such happiness at seeing him. 'Course other master usually made childer long before a century, so Spike supposed his own loneliness came in part from his reluctance to take them for himself.
"Lonely?" Spike asked playfully as he came up to the side of Xander's chair.
"Yeah," Xander agreed. "William, this is Willow and Tara. Guys, this is William." Spike nodded at the girls even as he cursed the name. William had been weak, and Spike hated even the reminder of that part of his life.
"Hey," Willow said with a shy smile, and Spike gave her his best grin. She blushed and tightened her fingers around her girlfriend's hand.
"Tara, pleasure ta meet you," Spike offered in his most charming voice, the one that lured prey to his fangs. She looked at him for several seconds, ducking her head and looking up through her bangs before offering a shy smile back.
"Pet, got people to see and places ta go tonight."
"Um, if you're planning on h-u-n-t-i-n-g," Willow spelled out the word in hushed tones, "it's not really safe around here." Spike stared at her blankly for a moment, not even sure how to respond.
"Been k-i-l-l-i-n-g for a long time now, luv. Won't get into any trouble big enough to threaten Xander," Spike promised in the same hushed voice. Willow blushed, and Xander gave him a punch on the leg.
"No making fun of the friend," Xander hissed. Spike looked down, blinking for a second. Demons were much simpler to understand than humans, and he found himself having to sort through his human memories of being made fun of in order to translate Xander's comment.
"Not makin' fun of ya," Spike promised Willow. "Just trying to, you know, not brass you off the way I did his mum."
"His mom got frustrated kinda easy," Willow nodded, and Spike understood that as forgiveness.
"So, ya ready, pet?" he asked.
"Willow, I'm really glad we got to talk."
"Don't you have a phone number or an email address, email is really everywhere these days, and if you had an address you could check it from anywhere." Willow reached over and grabbed Xander's hand, holding on as Xander stood. When Xander turned large dark eyes to him, Spike felt his own determination to pull his childe away start to fade.
"We aren't leaving town right away, so maybe you could show Xander how ta set one up later?" Spike suggested. Willow immediately bounced in her seat, and through his hand on Xander's arm, Spike could feel a similar reaction.
"So then we'll see each other and I'll get the email and no more disappearing acts," Xander promised.
"Right and good. We still have things to do, so say goodbye before we're so late someone comes looking for us," Spike insisted as he pulled on Xander's arm. Xander babbled his farewells, and Spike headed for the door with his childe in tow. Instead of watching the boy talk to himself or fall into the silences where he could practically see the soul and demon fight for control, Spike watched a very human Xander babble about all the things that had happened in Sunnydale since he'd left.
As they walked the dark street, Spike watched humans stroll by clumps of vampires standing at the mouths of alleys and other human-looking demons walking in groups that stalked the street with more purpose than Spike really liked seeing. Demons normally did their own thing, each fighting for a piece of territory or food or resources. Minions might cluster up to sleep, but they hunted alone or in pairs.
"Hey, I'm trying to tell you about a mummy who came to life and tried to eat Wendell," Xander said, and Spike shook his head and pulled Xander closer to his side. A vampire leaning on a streetlamp tilted his head and growled.
"Pet, you notice anythin'?" Spike asked.
"Um, either Baby Aurelius has indigestion, or there are way too many vamps around. And I'm betting it's not indigestion."
"With a slayer in town, this isn't bloody right," Spike swore softly as they passed another clump of four vampires who wore respectable enough clothes to pass for humans. "Slayer or no slayer, they shouldn't be actin' like this," Spike snarled softly as a pair of lovesick humans wandered down the street without being bothered.
"Um, not to complain or anything, but shouldn't someone be eating them, not that eating is good, because it's not. Well, eating is good, but eating people is… stopping now," Xander finished. Spike just shook his head.
"Pet, vamps don't put off feeding unless something bigger and badder makes 'em."
"No offense Spike, but I've seen Gunn take down enough fledges that I'm not impressed by bigger and badder than a fledge."
"How about somethin' bigger and badder than all of 'em together?" Spike asked with a quirk of his eyebrow. That made his childe shut up and look just a little worried. "So, we're goin' to go to the Aurelius court and see if big and bad is sitting on the throne or if we have something new creeping around the tunnels of Sunnyhell." Spike tightened his hold on Xander, and while normally Xander would roll his eyes or have a moment of resistance, this time he moved closer without complaint.
An Ethros demon wandered by with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled down low over his grey skin, and Spike shifted so that he would be between Xander and the threat. The Ethros looked up briefly, nodded and then ducked his head back down. Oh something definitely smelled rotten in the state of Sunnyhell.