Chapter 7 – Devil Without a Cause
You knew that I was coming cause you heard my name
But you don't know my game and never felt my pain
Can't read my brain but you read my lips
And got scared when you heard that I was coming with hits
Now don't even trip, be a man instead
Give thanks I'm alive when I should be dead
I'm in the red cause my mind's distortin
People claimin that they know me, but they only know a portion
I'm gonna move mountains and touch the
sun
Don't get scared now, you knew this day would come
So hold your bids, all bets are closed
And fuck all you hoes
Kid Rock
For two days he’d been stuck
in this god forsaken land of sun. He hated it. Sun gods, sun worshipers and the
sun itself sparkling and ricocheting off buildings and cars until you felt like
you were on fire. Spike took another drag off his cigarette. Buffy would kill
him for picking up the habit again but it was the only thing keeping him sane
here. He laughed, yeah, that and the aqua ardiente he
was drinking like it was water.
Some pretty little senorita
screeched down at the pool. Spike turned to watch as Dylan chased her through
the water then dragged her under with him. His partner was quite popular here.
Pretty, young and blonde and the ladies were following him like he was candy.
They’d tried to follow Spike
too but he figured the attitude he was projecting was enough to drive them away.
It certainly wasn’t his wedding ring. He wasn’t wearing it. His thumb caressed
his ring finger missing the familiar weight that was normally there. It was
safer not to give the enemy any more ammunition to hold over him so it had been
left locked away in Angel’s safe.
The only woman he wanted
wasn’t here. For a moment he indulged his imagination, picturing Buffy lying by
the pool. The golden brown of her skin contrasting with the tiny white bikini
she’d wear. Later she’d come up to their room and he would make love to her
while she smelled of sunshine, coconuts and sweat. Let her drown him instead of
the infernal brightness that was this city. He missed her, missed the routine,
the sex, the laughter and everything that was Buffy. It had seemed so long
since he could look at her, touch her, or make love to her. He wondered briefly
if he had time for a quick wank before Dylan returned to the room. Something to
pass the time that might have a little pleasure in it.
It wasn’t going to happen
though.
The beeping of his cell
phone interrupted his thoughts and with a sigh he returned inside. The chill of
the air conditioned room hitting his sweat soaked skin sent a chill through him.
He grabbed his shirt with one hand and the phone with the other.
“Spike, here,” he said,
shrugging into the traditional Guayabera shirt.
“Hey, buddy, its Bob here.
It’s time to roll out.”
“Half hour.”
“Yep, see ya then.”
The mere thought of being
outside sent a sharp pain through Spike’s head. He grabbed the bottle of
aspirin, shook out a few and washed them down with some more tequila. Only a
few days away from home and he was going to shit in a hand basket. He shrugged,
dismissing his behavior, as he leaned over the railing. Giving a pre-designated
signal, Spike pursed his lips and gave a long whistle to catch Dylan’s
attention. The young man looked up, grinned and waved. Spike watched as he made
his way to the side of the pool and grabbed a towel.
“Sorry, Mia, but I’ve got to
go,” Dylan said to the young woman he’d been playing with.
“Tell your pappi you want to stay outside,” Mia pouted, putting her
hand on Dylan’s arm.
Dylan only laughed and
pulled away while Spike seethed. “His Dad? Who does that silly bint think she is? I don’t look old enough to be his father.”
He slammed the sliding glass
door shut. The girl’s comment only gave him one more reason to hate this place.
Back home he was somebody, even if he wasn’t exciting. His sigh was even
heavier as he slipped his feet into huaraches, leather sandals, and started to
button up his shirt. His traditional black attire had been ditched in an effort
to be comfortable in the heat. The humidity made everything stick to your body
like a second skin.
His misery in dealing with
the climate almost made him wish for the days when he had been pure vampire.
The heat hadn’t seemed as bad when he had come through the country with
Drusilla. Of course, they had slept through the days and had only traveled by
night when it was cooler. Maybe that trip was why he hated this place so much. There
was nothing like getting caught in the middle of a Day of the Dead celebration with a loon who thought they wanted to
worship her.
“What’s the matter with you,
Daddykins?”
“If you don’t quit calling
me that,” Spike warned, donning the straw hat to hide his hair. “I’m going to…”
“What?” Dylan asked,
laughing. “You’re going to beat me?”
He grabbed clean jeans and
t-shirt from the dresser. Spike had tried to tell him to wear more traditional
garb but Dylan had shrugged and said he wasn’t going to look like a geek.
“Hell, no, you’d like that.”
“Probably,” Dylan said,
zipping up his pants. “Where are we meeting them?”
“The Panteon Delores
cemetery,” Spike said, enjoying the uncomfortable look on Dylan’s face. “We’re
going grave robbing.”
~~~~~~~~
This moment had been coming
for days now. Max still wasn’t ready, still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do
but he couldn’t avoid Faith forever. She wasn’t the kind of woman that could be
ignored. No, she had to make her presence known one way or another even if it
was to purely drive him crazy. The only thing he knew was that he didn’t want
to play anymore.
“Hey, whatcha up to?” Faith
asked from the doorway where she was leaning against the frame. Her arms were
crossed and one foot was in front of the other, balanced on the pointed toe of
her boot. Beautiful, deadly, and what he wanted. Wasn’t it?
Max sighed and turned the
lock on the gun cabinet. His hand ran along the smooth oak wood before
depositing the key ring back in his pocket. Procedure would have to wait a few
minutes as he turned to face her.
“Closing up for the day,”
Max said, meeting her eyes. Never show fear even when faced with imminent
death. It only made the dying all that much more painful. “What are you doing?”
“Already finished,” Faith
said, uncoiling herself and sauntering toward him. “Do you want to go and get
some dinner?” Her hands ran up his arms to rest on his shoulders. “We can get
out of here for awhile and relax.”
Say yes, a part of him
screamed, take what you can get but there was the other part still whispering
at him. The part of him that wondered what he wanted with a girl like Faith.
Bad girls had never been his type. He had always like ladies, girls that needed
a shoulder to cry on, women that were feminine even in the heat of battle.
Brianna had been like that. Fred and Buffy both were. So, he wondered why he
couldn’t walk away from this spitfire that wouldn’t give him the time of day.
Because you already know you’ve lost.
Max ignored the whisper and
slipped his arms around her. He kissed the corner of her mouth and nuzzled her
cheek.
“Why don’t we really go out?
I’ll take you to the Panorama,” Max said, naming a fancy restaurant that was on
the 30th floor of a building in downtown
“You could pronounce it,”
Faith said, pulling away. The flirtatious look on her face slipped away. “You
know I don’t like that kind of thing.”
“Have you tried it?”
“I’m not all girly girl like
that.”
“Okay,” Max said, dropping
the subject. He leaned back on his desk and crossed his arms. “What did you have
in mind?”
“I thought we could go out
to Hank’s Bar and Grille,” Faith said, stepping between his legs and leaning
against him. “Shoot some pool, drink some beer…”
“You’ll tease me all night
then send me home to a cold shower.”
“Is that why you’ve been
ignoring me for the past few days?” Faith asked. “Because I wouldn’t have sex
with you the last time we went out.”
“The last time and the time
before and the time before…”
“So, are you giving me an
ultimatum?” Faith asked, rocking back on her heels and her hands on her hips.
“Fuck you or it’s over.”
“Define it.”
“What the hell are you
talking about?”
“This…us…what is it?” Max
asked. “I want to date you. I want a relationship with you. What do you want?
Where does all this hanging out, making out, lead up to? Anything?”
“I…need time,” Faith said
softly. “Come on. We have fun together.”
“Yeah, I do have fun with
you.” Max cupped her face, letting his thumb brush across her cheek. “Tell me
what you want. Is it really so hard?”
Faith stepped away from him.
“Why do we have to…define anything?” She swung her arms out before bringing
them back across her stomach. “And where did this come from? Everything seemed
fine until you headed out to Vegas.”
“I guess I’ve been thinking
that’s all.”
“Look, I didn’t come in here
to fight. I’m tired. It’s been a bitch of a day and I wanted to go out and have
some fun. You up for it or not?”
“I guess not,” Max said.
He watched the expressions
on her face hoping for a clue but there was nothing. Nothing that would help
him make a decision.
“Your loss,” Faith said,
jutting her chin out before turning on her heel and walking away.
“Is it Angel?”
Faith stiffened but didn’t
turn around.
“What?” She looked briefly
over her shoulder at him but refused to meet his eyes.
“Is the reason you’re
holding back because of Angel? Are you waiting for Cordelia to die so you can
have a chance?”
“It’s not that,” Faith said,
defiantly. “You know that I cared for someone else before…I died.” She hung her
head for a moment. “And you know that I had to get over him since he had found
someone else while I was gone. Why bring up Angel now?”
“Because you have a crush on
him,” Max said softly. “He’s your hero. The one that’s been there to pick you
up and make you believe in yourself.”
“He’s also married.”
“She’s dying.”
“You don’t think very much
of me, do you?”
“I think a lot of you.
That’s the problem.”
“Max, do you really think we
have a chance?” Faith asked, coming close again. “I mean just listen to this
conversation. I’m saying beer and pool and you’re talking about fancy dinners.
We’re complete opposites.”
“And so are you and Angel,”
Max said softly. “He’s not much of a beer guy either. He’s into the opera and
ballet.”
“You’re telling me that I
don’t have a chance with Angel but I have a chance with you? That makes a whole
lot of sense.”
Max sighed as he counted up
his losses. It was time to go home. By himself.
“I’m sorry, Faith,” Max
said, twirling a lock of her hair. “I’m just not much into whiling away the
time anymore. It seems that you and I want different things.” He sighed. “I
think I had better get out before you break my heart completely.”
And with that he walked away
from yet another dream.
~~~~~~~~
The grass crunched beneath
his feet. Sometimes it reached over to tickle at his feet with the edge of its
green tips. He resisted the urge to scratch his irritated skin and tried to
concentrate on the job at hand. Spike looked out over the landscape where
thousands of graves were laid out. Grudgingly he gave respect to the people of
this land that revered its dead as well as it did the living.
Each plot was well tended,
many were built up with white-washed cement or patterned tiles. Grottos built
into the stone were filled with incense, candles, statues or family photos. It
only testified to the love that the deceased still received. The crypts were extravagant
and often had a door leading downward into the vaulted rooms where the dead
were interred.
Spike sighed deeply. It was
morbid but he hoped this time when his life was over that someone would care
enough to mark his passing. There would something to say he had been there. He
knew his children were the greatest testimony of his life but having just
disappeared before there was a part of him that wanted someone to know. And to
care.
“You coming?” Dylan asked,
passing him.
He nodded and followed the
younger man. They were on the search for a crypt that had recently been
disturbed. All they knew was that it was this cemetery, by a large tree and was
protected by a cherub with a broken wing. They were hoping to find almost fifty
thousand dollars in stolen jewelry and cash. Their skip, part demon, and
therefore unable to be held by human jails was being sought by the man who had
been robbed. The reward was high. Mostly it was for the recovery of the jewelry
which had been in their family for awhile.
Bob and Ted had been
spending their afternoon approaching certain contacts that wouldn’t have taken
to the ‘prettier’ partners. The underbelly of
The clues had been given.
The demon unworried that he was being followed had made their job easier. First
order of business was to recover the jewels, the second to find the demon and
turn him over to the Guardians for prosecution. The system was slowly changing
but not enough for equality yet.
A scent drifted on the
breeze, teasing at Spike’s senses. It was delicate like magnolia in the waning
daylight deep in the south. Deciding to trust his instincts he turned and
followed it. Dylan continued the direction they had previously been trekking.
Separation wasn’t the wisest choice but the sun was still high in the sky.
Distance wasn’t yet over a shout wide so he continued. It grew stronger as it
wrapped around him on the light breeze that filtered around the crypts.
It was a fresh bouquet laid
in front of the gates of small mausoleum. The plaque announcing it was the
final resting place of a woman that had been adored by her husband and
children. Tears sprang to his eyes and a fervent hope in his heart that this
wasn’t an omen of some sort.
“You okay?” Dylan asked from
behind him.
“Fine, I’m fine,” Spike
said, “Thought I saw something.”
“You did.”
Spike looked to where his
partner was pointing. Above the door was the tiny angel statue with the tip of
one wing broken. They had found it. Dylan flipped open his phone and radioed
the other men to their location. Spike crouched to take a closer look at the
bouquet that rested on the edge. He peered closer, his brows wrinkling as he
poked a finger at it. It was plastic. Putting his head back he sniffed the air.
The scent was gone. Nothing left on the wind but the smell of the grass, dirt,
and the men who accompanied him.
A shiver ran down Spike’s
spine as he contemplated what had happened. It couldn’t be anything and he
chalked it up to a shift in the currents. Thus dismissed from his mind he
turned his attention back to where Bob was breaking the lock. The crowbar was
wrapped in the chain to gain leverage. It took the strength of three before
they were able to snap it.
“Let’s see what’s going on,”
Ted said, as pulled the chain out from around the bars. “Let’s keep our fingers
crossed that this is what we are looking for.”
The gate swung open. And as
the metal separated a blast threw the four men away from the grave. The last
thing Spike saw was the grass coming up to greet him as he landed with a thud then
he fell into a well of darkness.
To be continued….
