Even at night the jungle was stifling, hot, and humid enough that Shady was tempted to go back for scuba gear. Well, she was just tempted to go back period. But that just wasn’t an option. Instead she swung her machete half-heartedly, wondering how Tomy managed to get through whole days of teaching in temperatures like this.
Shady was relieved when she finally came out into a clearing – trying to cut a path through the giant palms and choking vines was taking a lot out of her and she didn’t know how much ground she had to cover. Okay, the reality was that she had no idea where she was going, only what she was looking for. Shady pulled off her pith helmet, shook out her damp hair, and sat down on a log for a rest. For some reason she was suddenly filled with a sense of déjà vu and laughed when she realized that she was half expecting an Ewok to wander out of the forest and sit next to her. Okay, not likely, but a speeder bike would be really nice about now. She idly wondered how Moon would feel about having Han visit the Lair.
She was about to be on her way, when the brush in front of her started to shake. Shady dove behind the log, wondering why she’d come here alone – it would be quite nice to have Pheral with her right about now. The ferns just on the other side of the clearing continued to tremble and sway. Shady hid her head until she could hear someone muttering. Slowly, cautiously, she lifted her head over the log and was surprised to see a familiar face. He was muttering and running his hands through his blond hair, his black duster looking completely out of place in an African jungle.
“Spike?” Shady asked, venturing out from her hiding spot. “What are you doing here?”
His eyes widened as he spun around. “Knightshade? Ah. Uh. Hello. I was just, you know, passing through.” He maneuvered something behind his back.
“Passing through Africa?”
“Yeah, well, I’ve always wanted to see the Dark Continent and all.”
“Uh-huh,” Shady said, not convinced. “What have you got behind your back?”
“Nothing.”
Shady glared at him.
“Oh, bloody hell. Alright, you caught me.” He pulled a small net from behind his back.
Shady’s eyes widened at the little amorphous creature trapped in it. “You stole Moon’s muse!”
“Well, borrowed is more like it. I was gonna return it.”
“Spike!! Do you realize that half the Lair is out looking for her muse?”
“No.” He sulked over to the log and sank down with a huff.
“Why would you do that?”
“Promise you won’t tell?”
Shady was going to laugh at him but he was giving her those pathetic, puppy dog eyes. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“See, I’m trying to get my soul back.”
Ah, crap, Shady thought. This was pre-soul Spike. They needed to come with version numbers stamped on their foreheads. “Why would you want a soul?” she asked, playing dumb.
He looked so completely hopeless she almost felt bad for him. “It’s the only way Buffy will love me.”
It took all of Shady’s will power not to laugh or say something like, ‘she’s not going to love you even if you have a soul.’ He didn’t know that. She sighed. “I think that’s a bad idea.”
“Oh, what do you know?” Spike huffed.
A lot more than you. “I'm not sure. But I don’t know what this has to do with Moon’s muse.”
“Well, you know, the big poof is an artist and I used to write poetry and all, but I haven’t since I was turned. I thought it might help if I could, you know, write something. Thought it might help my standing some with the demon – convince him to give me my soul back.”
Shady couldn’t help laughing. “You think a muse is the key to your soul? You really haven’t had one in a while, have you?”
“No, why?”
“They’re more demon than soul, trust me.” Shady shook her head. “Look if you just give me the muse, I’ll leave you to your quest.”
“Not until I’m sure I don’t need it.”
“You don’t. Trust me on this. Just hand it over.”
“Sorry, mate, not going to do that.”
Shady crossed her arms and glared down at him. “Just give me the muse, Spike.”
“Or what?” he laughed. “I don’t have a chip anymore, you know.”
“I’m a writer. You won’t like what I do to you if you don’t give me back that muse.”
Spike glared at her a moment before finally caving. “Fine.” He flung the net at her. “But if I need it and don’t have it because of you, there’ll be hell to pay.”
“Trust me. You won’t need it.” Shady picked up the net and made sure Moon’s muse was okay. As an afterthought she gave Spike’s arm a little squeeze. “Good luck. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
“Thanks, mate.” Spike straightened the collar on his duster and plunged back into the jungle leaving Shady alone with the muse.
She spun around to find that the jungle had choked off any hint of her previous path.
She stared down at the muse in the net. “Great. Now if I could just find my way out of here . . .”
~*~*~*~*~*~