The Key to Connor II
The Angelus Chronicles
Chapters 9-12Disclaimer: I don't own them.
Spoilers/Ships: This is AU. Angelus/Buffy. Cordy/Gru.
Distribution: Sure, just let me know.
Feedback: Is always nice. DarkRhiannon@aol.com
Rating: NC-17 to XXX for violence, rape, character death, blood play, sex and bad, bad words.
Author's note: Ok, first of all, let me repeat. This is AU. This is not BtVS. This is my world and in my world, Spike didn't try to rape Buffy. Angelus did rape Buffy. Second, for those of you who are Spuffy fans, I apologize, but you probably shouldn't read any further. It's been fun while it lasted, but this is it. I told you this was Angelus/Buffy and that's what's going to play out…eventually. Take heed and leave now, while you still can. Third, while I love all of your reviews and appreciate your suggestions, please don't be upset if I don't use them. I have both of my series plotted out pretty carefully ahead of time, and though I may occasionally do alternate endings for you when I finish up, I do like to stick to my plots, even if people dislike them. Thanks!! -- Rhi
Angelus burst into the room and wrenched Spike away from Buffy. Snarling fiercely, the dark vampire threw the fair one violently into the wall next to Buffy's bed. He slid down it, landing in a crumpled, bloody heap on the floor. Angelus turned to Buffy and struck her across the face; his silver claddagh ring digging into the soft flesh and tearing it open as she tumbled back near the door frame.
He strode to his disobedient childe and lifted him to his feet. Spike was barely conscious. Though the Slayer's blood had revitalized him, his wounds were still present and painful. "You just never learn, do you, Boy?" Angelus snarled. I can't decide, should I torture you some more…oh, but I can see you enjoyed that a bit too much," he said, glancing down at Spike's still present erection. "Or should I just kill you now?" he asked. "If I keep you around, my bitch over there…" he gestured to Buffy who was inching herself slowly up the door on unsteady feet and pulling sharply at the frame, "…will probably try to save you again." He shook Spike brutally, snapping his head back and forth with each shove.
Angelus leaned in closer to his childe's pale face and growled threateningly. "It's no use, Spikey. I can't afford to keep you around any more. You're a liability. If I thought you'd ever learn your lesson, I'd consider chaining you like a dog at my bedside, cause you've got a great mouth…unfortunately, I can't seem to break you of your really bad habit of sniffing after my women. And I won't share with you. I don't share with anyone."
He ripped into Spike's jugular and tore at it with rampant fangs, sucking the Slayer's blood back out of his childe's veins with savage pleasure. Spike moaned and fought back, clawing at his sire's back and trying desperately to push the larger vampire away. It was a losing battle, though, he was still too weak from the beating and draining that Angelus had already administered, and he knew it.
Slowly, the last of his borrowed blood was sucked from Spike's veins and he began wavering on his feet as the deathly cold that had held him in its grip since he was sired extended its icy reach throughout his body. His dark blue eyes fluttered and his hands fell. He whispered, "Buffy…love…" and flew to ashes in Angelus's rapacious grip.
Buffy pushed herself off the wall and leaped at Angelus, screaming, "No!" He turned and casually backhanded her across the face again, sending her to the floor in a tangle of aching limbs, one hand still clutched to her chest. He stood above her and looked into her tear-filled hazel eyes while he brushed the ash from his leather coat. Her naked chest shook with sobs and she glared back at him as she cried. He lifted one leather booted foot and placed it on her neck, knocking her head back against the floor with an audible smack.
"Bitch. Touch anyone, ANYONE else and I'll torture and kill them the same way. You didn't really love him, no matter how pathetic he was. He may truly have loved you, but you are mine, you've been mine since the day I marked you. I'm not the soul. I won't walk away for your own good. I dwell in the darkness and soon you will, too. I've been too kind, leaving you here to plot behind my back, but the kindness ends tonight.
"Gunn, get in here with those presents for my lover. Now!" he bellowed, smiling jealously down at Buffy and grinding his foot into her slender throat until she choked. Her hand came up to push at his foot and she nearly dislodged him. She grabbed at his ankle and twisted sharply, throwing him off balance and sliding from beneath him in a quick sideways motion.
Angelus leapt for her, but she rolled, jumping to her feet and swearing under her breath as the shockingly painful sensation of full weight on them threatened to make her pass out. She shook her head, trying to clear her vision and ready herself for Angelus's next move. He stood confidently facing her with a sneer. *God, I want to wipe that expression off his face,* she thought. *I hate him, he raped me, he's killed my friends. Even if I couldn't ever truly love Spike the way he wanted, a small part of me *did* care for him. And now, he's dead, too.*
"You conceited, evil bastard," she hissed at Angelus, moving step by painful step closer to him. "You'll never know who I love, but I assure you, I could never love you. You have no soul to give warmth to those dark eyes and somehow, without it, you're ugly. You may think you're all powerful and seductive, but we both know the truth, Angelus. You couldn't have me before and you won't get me now…you're just not man enough. Sure, you took this body; you can probably take it again while I'm wounded. But you'll never touch me…not the way one single glance from Angel could. You'll always lose to him, even when he's not here. You'll never measure up, you'll always be second rate. Doesn't that just drive you mad?" she smirked at him, copying his own expression and sending it back at him with twice the viciousness.
Gunn moved stealthily into the room just as Angelus was about to erupt in reaction to Buffy's taunting words. He was poised to spring forward at her, unaware that she'd palmed a thin sliver of wood that she'd managed to chip off of the trim molding on the floor. She held it protectively in her hand, knowing that killing him was the only way she could possibly win.
Chains clattered from Gunn's hands and Angelus smiled. He paced to his minion and pulled a heavy platinum dog collar from the pile. It sparkled with diamonds and emeralds in the lamplight. I had this made especially for you, Lover. Isn't it pretty, my little bitch?"
Buffy shook her head in disbelief. "No way you are putting that thing on me, you fucking bastard. I'll die first," she snarled and leaped for him with the sliver from the door ready in her tiny hand.
Angelus swept his right hand up, ready to contemptuously backhand her yet again, but she grabbed his arm in a tight wrist lock with her left and twisted it sharply behind him, holding his considerable bulk in front of her like a shield. Gunn stood there stupidly waiting for instructions from his sire while Buffy moved her right hand around to Angelus's heart. She held the small sliver of wood there, pushing it into his skin through the thin silk of his expensive black shirt.
He stopped dead in his tracks, not moving as he stared down at his death waiting in Buffy's tiny, but capable hand. "Tell Gunn to put the collar around your neck," Buffy ordered.
"Sorry babe, won't fit. Try again. C'mon Buff, you know you want it. Emeralds and diamonds are your favorites."
"I don't think so, Angelus. Order your minion back against the wall or I swear, this is going right into your heart."
"Gunn back up against the wall, now!" Angelus ordered angrily.
"Ok, now we're going to walk out of here very slowly," Buffy instructed, dragging the much larger vampire with her step by excruciating step. She jerked his arm up tighter behind his back, inches away from snapping it. She felt as if her feet were on fire as their half-healed bones ground together with every movement. She could feel herself growing dizzy, but held onto consciousness with all her might as they continued to walk toward the elevator.
"You're sweating, Lover," Angelus mocked, sensing the weakness that was overcoming his adversary. "What's the matter, did'ja share a little too much blood with my boy? Bad idea, Buff!" He pulled against her arms, testing her strength and she jammed the wood several inches into his chest in response.
"Aaah," he moaned at the burning pain of the wood.
"No thanks, Lover," she taunted back. "Now, where's Fred? I don't want her behind me as we get out to the elevator."
"Fred," he called, swearing under his breath at the pain that radiated from that tiny piece of wood in his chest. How the fuck could something that small hurt so much? Then he looked back at the Slayer and chuckled ruefully to himself. When would he learn that pain came in small packages?
Fred moved into the room from the kitchen. She'd been eating and still clutched the five-year-old in her delicate hands. The boy was unconscious…nearly dead.
"No!" Buffy cried. "Tell her to bring him here!" she ordered Angelus, pushing harder on the wood in reaction.
He hissed in renewed pain. "Fred, bring the brat here. Now what are you going to do, Lover?" he taunted. "You can't stake me and save the boy. Once I'm gone, Fred and Gunn will revert to practically mindless minions and slaughter him. They'll try for you, too, and you're weak enough that they just might win. You can't carry the boy and control me…you need both hands for that, Babe. Frankly, Lover, the pain is starting to turn me on. Could you maybe wiggle the wood a bit?" he laughed.
Buffy was frozen in place. *God, why didn't I think about their victims? I can't let them eat that little boy. But how can I stop them? My feet are bleeding again and I'm going to pass out soon. Angelus can sense how weak I am. Spike's gone and no one is coming to your rescue this time, Buffy!*
"Ok, Angelus…here's the deal. If I let you go, swear on your blood as Master of the Order of Aurelius to take the boy to the hospital alive and keep him that way."
"And what do I get?" Angelus inquired in silky tones, sensing victory about to be snatched from the ignominious jaws of defeat.
"You get…me," Buffy sighed.
"You'll wear my collar?" he smiled.
"I'll wear your damned collar."
"Oh, Buff, you are magnificent, you know that? You almost did it. You nearly bested me at my own game. And you give it all up for what? A stupid, useless brat who isn't worth one drop of your powerful blood. You amaze me," he said.
"Just swear, Angelus," she said tiredly.
"I solemnly swear as Master of the Clan of Aurelius, on my own blood and the blood of the Clan, that the child will be taken alive to the hospital and released unharmed to the doctors there. No further harm will be done him by me or mine."
Buffy dropped her hands from his body and stepped back.
"Fred," he snarled. Stop the brat's bleeding and take him to the hospital. Keep him alive no matter what. The vampiress nodded obediently and pressed her hand to the child's throat, gently stopping the trickle of blood that dripped from it.
"Gunn," barked Angelus. The tall, black vampire brought the chains from Buffy's room and handed them silently to his sire. "Take Fred and the brat to the hospital now. Don't feed there," he ordered. The two minions left silently and Angelus turned to Buffy.
She stared around his shoulder, refusing to acknowledge him as he fasted the sparkling collar around her neck. It closed with a snap and an electric tingle rushed through her body. Frantically she reached her aching hands up to feel for the seam. It wasn't there.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Buff. Did I fail to mention that the collar is, well, I suppose you'd say 'cursed?' It's magic, Lover. It will never come off. Not even after you're dead. But see," he lifted it slightly and it slid smoothly up her neck, baring her wound to his gaze, "I can still drink you any time I like. It will only move for me, though. Not for you and definitely not for any other vampire."
He cupped her face in his large hands and glared into her eyes. "No more cheating, Lover. Not with humans and not with vampires. You are mine, now and forever."
Meeting his gaze reluctantly, Buffy gave up the battle for the moment and allowed her body to win. She collapsed at his feet, unconscious from blood loss, pain, and heartbreak. Her last thought was, *God help me, what have I done?*
*
Ring. Ring. Angelus growled in displeasure at the intrusive noise. "Fred, get the damn phone," he ordered sleepily, glaring angrily at his meek minion.
"H-hello? Yes, he's here. It's for you, Sire," she said softly, handing the phone to her irascible Master.
"What?" he growled.
"This is Lynwood, Angelus. I have a, well, why don't we call it a "peace offering" for you. One in which I'm sure you'll be very very interested. Why don't you come pay us a visit, enjoy our hospitality, and I'll give it to you gift wrapped and free of conditions?"
Angelus was intrigued. This had potential. "When?" he growled.
"Oh, you pick the time, Angelus. We're not dictating terms here, just trying to be friendly. After all, you did remove a, well, problem employee for us. We'd just like to say, "thank you."
"Fine. Send a car for me in an hour, Lynwood. And if you're thinking of attempting any traps, think again…I'm not the soul…I don't take prisoners." He glanced down at the delectable Slayer chained like a dog at the foot of his huge bed and glaring at him with hatred. *Well, not ordinary prisoners, anyway.*
*
Cordy was certain that Spike would have returned by now if he were going to. It had been two weeks. Two weeks of worry, fear, anxiety. She was going to have to get a thesaurus just to come up with new words. Which meant either he'd abandoned them, which seemed unlikely given his little Buffy fixation, *God, what is it with her and vampires?* or…"Gru, I think we have to figure that Spike just isn't coming back. Angelus probably killed him when he tried to save Buffy. We've got to regroup. I think…I think we need to call Wesley," she said reluctantly to the champion currently playing peek-a-boo with Connor.
Wesley had betrayed Angel, taken Connor, and precipitated this entire messed up situation. Now Angelus was free, Buffy was taken and in powers knew what condition, and Spike was gone. Cordy and Gru couldn't keep the baby safe by themselves. With Holtz out of the picture, it made sense to trust Wesley again…at least, she hoped so. He had knowledge and resources that they desperately needed if they were ever to cage Angelus again.
She picked up the phone, dialing Willow to beg that the Scoobs come to LA. With any luck, they could convince Giles to fly over, as well. Angelus certainly merited the attention of everyone who could possibly come. This was turning into another apocalypse right before her eyes.
*
Angelus patted Buffy on her golden head with malicious gentleness. She didn't speak to him, just glared. "Fred, make sure you take care of my little bitch, here. Wouldn't want her to get lonely," he smirked. Fred nodded obediently. "Gunn," Angelus said, "fetch us some dinner while I'm gone. Wouldn't want to leave our Slayer all by her lonesome while we hunt. It just wouldn't be polite," he chuckled.
He leaned over and grasped the chain attached to Buffy's collar. He yanked her up to face him. Tiny hands fisted at her sides and he was amazed, once again, at her recuperative powers. Even drained as he'd kept her, her hands had healed to red scar tissue now. The feet were taking longer, but he knew that he was going to have a fight on his hands once she'd recovered sufficiently to stand for more than a few moments. He leaned in to kiss her punishingly and was surprised when she opened her mouth and kissed him back with fervor.
Angelus growled and pulled Buffy into his arms, stroking her hair and delving deeper into her hot little mouth. Suddenly, she bit down with all her strength and nearly ripped his tongue from his mouth. He pulled back from her, hissing in anger and desire as the pain tantalized the demon as much as her earlier yielding had done.
Buffy glared at him with utter hatred, not bothering to wipe his blood from her dripping mouth. She looked…wonderful to him. Every muscle was tensed, ready to fight him however she could manage. The piercing hazel eyes followed his every move. And seeing his blood dripping from her mouth, staining those lips an even deeper crimson hue, he was filled with lust for her body and indomitable spirit. *Damn, she's breathtaking…if I had breath to take.* He adored being the center of her attention and it truly didn't matter if it was hate or love. All the same to the demon. He laughed with delight and backhanded her brutally across the face before striding from the room, wiping his blood from his chin and lapping at his fingers with his wounded, but healing tongue.
Climbing into the black limousine, Angelus wondered idly what Lynwood's idea of a "friendly" gift was. Ah, well, soon he'd know whether to thank the lawyer or just kill him.
*
He stood looking down at his present, amazed and impressed by the lawyer's keen understanding of his demonic character. This was…beyond expectation. This was…perfection. Everything his undead heart could dream of. He grinned with unrestrained glee at the lawyer. "Lynwood, you have exquisite taste and a true understanding of my desires. I must say, this definitely puts you in my good graces…for now." Angelus circled the present, poking it with one expensive leather-clad toe. It shuddered, weeping in confusion and fear and curled even tighter into itself.
Angelus laughed out loud and knelt, pulling the chin of his present up and gazing into myopic, tear-filled eyes. The blue that stared back at him was the color of the sky after a storm, more than blue, deeper and soulful. "William," he whispered, stroking the tousled brown curls. "William, my boy, we are going to have such fun together, you and I!" He scooped the smaller man's naked form into his arms and strode from the room, whistling as he planned the exquisitely painful process of changing this sniveling boy into the Childe of his Favor.
*
William was afraid and completely disoriented. He'd woken in a box with bars on it, naked and alone. The last thing he could remember…God help him, the last things he remembered made no sense at all. He had been a vampire? He had killed thousands of people with glee and depravity? Angelus. God help him, Angelus was his sire? And now, he was back in the grasp of that hated/loved master of pain/pleasure?
He had been a gentleman once. A gentle man. The demon changed all that. His sire had forced him to further and further violence and his demon reveled in every moment of it. His soul had been free. But the man the demon had displaced had no way to escape this. He remembered every kill, every act of torture and cringed as they tore at his soul. He remembered his delight in killing Slayers and the pleasure he'd taken in tormenting the strongest one he'd ever met. He deserved whatever Angelus did to him. William shuddered in horror at what he had become and knew without a shadow of a doubt that his dread sire would force worse from him before much longer.
His worst fears were confirmed as Angelus carried him from the car to an elevator and they rose to the penthouse where Spike had died true death at his sire's fangs.
*
Angelus loved every shudder that wracked William's body. Each flinch from his soon-to-be-childe sent a shiver of desire up Angelus's spine. This, this was beyond delight into demon nirvana. This was perfection. He could torment and tease this helpless human for days…weeks…if he wished, before turning him and sending him back to destroy the pathetic group of outcasts who held his son.
He strode into the apartment, grinning from ear to ear as he kicked open the door to his opulent bedroom. Buffy remained chained naked at the foot of the bed and refused to even glance his way as she heard him enter. He knew she was awake, could hear her heartbeat increase and smell the fear and hatred emanating from her every pore.
Angelus strode past her and placed William gently into an overstuffed chair, stepping back to gaze at the smaller man. William wouldn't meet his eyes, shuddering and shaking in fear and reaction to what Angelus was sure had not been an easy return. "William, why so sad?" he taunted. "Am I not…effulgent enough for you?" Angelus sneered before turning to pace toward Buffy. "Buff, darling, do stand up and open your eyes. I can hear your heartbeat, I know you're awake. Look at the lovely present that Wolfram and Hart gave me. Can you imagine the possibilities here?" he sneered as he kicked her brutally hard in the ribs to force her attention.
The satisfying crack of bone breaking under his foot was matched by the horrified look on Buffy's face as she finally looked up and saw William in the chair. "Spike…William?" she asked in amazement.
"Yeah, Baby, he's back," Angelus laughed. "And I get to play with him all over again. No pesky chip to keep my boy down. But you know what, Buff? Sire's blood isn't enough for him this time around. I want him almost as strong as I am. So I think I'll drain you nearly dry first and then turn him. Your blood in me, with my age and strength will make him the perfect childe. Whadda ya think, Babe?"
Buffy shook her head in denial. Facing William, she said, "William, do you…remember me?"
Angelus struck her across the face with a closed fist, snapping her head back before grabbing the chain attached to her collar and pulling her up off of her feet to hiss in her face. "No talking to my soon-to-be-childe, Buff. This time, he's going to understand that no one touches my bitch without permission. And that, I'll never give! You're mine and the sooner you realize that, the safer you'll be." Buffy choked as the collar cut off her air, her feet kicking wildly and small hands clutching at Angelus's wrist as he held her a foot off of the floor. He smiled at her and watched as she struggled for breath. Her hands pulled helplessly at him, still too hurt to do any damage. He smelled blood and realized that she'd opened up the wounds in her tiny feet again.
Angelus dropped the choking Slayer to the floor and knelt to take one dainty foot in his hands. He sucked at the blood trickling from the livid wound, dipping his tongue again and again in the font of power that was the Slayer's blood. The taste was like nothing he'd ever experienced. Her blood was magic. Electrical. Invigorating to the point of madness. He drew hard on the wound, sucking at it until she screamed in pain.
Triumphant in his control of her, Angelus switched to the other foot. He lapped hungrily at the scabbed-over wound, breaking it open and chewing on the dried blood that had protected it. He bit at the edges of the hole, amazed at how much it had healed already. Pulling Buffy's foot up, he laved the underside with long strokes of his ravening tongue. She moaned in pain and torment, trying desperately to pull away from the avaricious vampire who held her so easily.
Angelus decided to taunt her further and gentled his attack on her foot, stroking where he'd bitten. His cool tongue soothed the edges of Buffy's wound and the nerves in her foot responded helplessly to that talented touch.
Spike had taught Buffy the fine line between pain and pleasure. For all her "experience" with Parker and Riley, they'd been human lovers, boringly vanilla in their preferences and abilities. Vampires erased the line between pain and pleasure with violent rapture. It was all the same to them. For the Slayer, that line was also practically nonexistent. Fighting, slaying, stalking…like the prey she hunted with such ability, she was a predator first and foremost. Pain was a consequence of those activities and her body was built to handle it. Almost to revel in it. The pain that Angelus bestowed on her tender foot had awakened the nerves. Now he taunted her with her own weakness, teasing those very nerves to draw a response from her battered body.
Buffy moaned as Angelus sucked one toe into his cool mouth. He teased the skin gently, caressing and stroking with his decadent tongue. Sliding his mouth down to the wound again, he soothed its fire with a cold breath, lapping gently at the blood oozing from it before he moved to the side and bit softly at her sole.
A shriek of momentary pleasure was his reward as Buffy lost control of her response for one second. She tried vainly to pull her foot from his grasp, desperate to stay focused on her hatred and disgust, but betrayed by the very body designed to fight this vampire. Angelus laughed in sneering triumph at the scent of the Slayer's reluctant arousal and dropped her foot.
Angelus left the Slayer and approached his prey. William curled his naked, vulnerable body into the chair, trying to deny that any of this was happening. He remembered doing awful, wonderful things to the tiny woman crouched by the bed. Remembered nights of depraved fucking without an ounce of tenderness. Remembered his own, desperate feelings for her. But William was a virgin. Reconciling the memories of the demon with his own reality was utterly discordant and confusing. How could he be both human and demon? The disorientation of the spell remained, clouding his keen intellect and plummeting him into an abyss of confusion, regret, and pain.
Angelus pulled William to his feet and caressed his face with one huge hand. William flinched away from the touch and heard a threatening growl rumble from the broad chest of the master vampire before him. Angelus stroked him again, rough thumb tracing the fine bone structure of Will's face.
Will shuddered in reaction to the surprisingly tender caress. His deep blue eyes met the darkly passionate gaze of Angelus at last and William was shaken to his core by the vampire's deadly beauty. The deep-set eyes glared into his with such power. The hand slid behind his neck and pulled him forward as the dark head bent. Angelus kissed him with shocking tenderness, tasting William's soft lips and teasing his mouth open with skill. William trembled in the master's grasp, terrified of the feelings raging through his body.
Angelus delved deeper into William's warm mouth, tasting the younger man and delighting in the warmth of his wiry body. He released Will's neck to stroke possessive hands down his back, sensitive fingers drawing tantalizing designs onto his spine until Will shuddered under his touch. Angelus smiled knowingly at the response and set himself to draw more from the young man.
Buffy watched in horror as Angelus used every ounce of skill his centuries had taught him to seduce William into his power. She had been on the receiving end of that tenderness, but from Angel. It hurt her much more than his brutality to see how much of the erotic artistry she remembered from Angel was actually Angelus. Had Angelus treated her with even a tiny bit of the care he was bestowing on William, she could never have resisted him. Not as a lonely seventeen year old whose world had come crashing down around her. *Shit, Buffy,* she thought in despair, *didn't see you resisting him just now and you're a woman, not a child. He's a master at this and you are so not. You are way out of your league, here.*
William was on fire with need and desire. It seemed as if Angelus's strong hands were everywhere. One stroked a hard nipple, teasing it until Will moaned into the captivating mouth that held him hostage. The other hand tantalized with long soft caresses up and down Will's spine, moving lower to tease the top of his muscular ass until Will thrust his aching sex forward, unconsciously seeking something, anything, to quell the fires that raged in his inexperienced body. The demon's memories within him whispered of countless acts that Angelus could entice him into and part of him wished for every one of them, no matter how painful or depraved. The virgin soul cringed from that knowledge, but couldn't escape.
"Please," he whispered, not knowing if he was begging for release or relief. Perhaps both. "Please, Angelus…" his voice trailed into a moan of pleasure.
"Will, you're so beautiful. You know that's why I made you," Angelus crooned to him as he continued his carnal assault on William's now-eager body. "Do you want me, little one? Do you want the pleasure you know I can give you?"
"Yes, please, Master," William succumbed to the torrent of passion that Angelus coaxed from his body, unable to resist this demon with the face of an angel. "Please," he begged in a ragged whisper.
*
William was on fire with need. His now-awakened human body ached with it. He arched into Angelus's increasingly rough caresses, gasping helplessly as the vampire kissed him.
Angelus moved his demanding mouth across Will's cheekbones, tracing their sharp angles with soft lips and hard kisses. He moved to the pulse beating so enticingly in William's slender neck and tongued the skin, tasting the desire and need that welled from William's pores. Rampant fangs dropped as Angelus shifted abruptly to game face, no longer able to control his own response to the delectable morsel that was his former childe. He thrust his fangs sharply into William's sweet neck, one large hand cradling the back of Will's head while the other stroked lower to torture his engorged cock.
William groaned in anguished pain as Angelus bit him. His mouth, so cold, surrounded the twin points of fire that were his fangs, before he withdrew them and began to suck hungrily at the wounds in William's neck. William moaned at the pain, astonished at how dreadfully this hurt. He tried to pull away, but the dark vampire held him close, stroking his cock and drawing desperate, incoherent sounds from the young man. Angelus forced him to turn and pulled William back onto his lap as he sank into the chair, still latched to Will's throat, sucking rapaciously.
Angelus tasted every bit of Will's pain, confusion, desire and despair as he sucked him. The blood, gods, it had been so very long, but it was the same. He remembered everything about the day he'd first turned William, and the glorious bouquet of the blood now rushing over his tongue was as delightful as the first time he'd tasted it. William's blood was so sweet, warm with anguished humanity and tormented soul. Gods, he wanted to roar with pleasure as he sucked more and more of the glorious liquid into his now warm mouth.
Buffy struggled angrily against her chain, pulling and tugging to get to Angelus before he could turn William again. She had to save him, somehow, had to keep Angelus from killing him. The two of them were so rapt in their bloody embrace they paid her no mind as she ripped at the chain. The collar was impervious to her strength, as was the chain, but the bed, she could work with the bed, she knew. It was, after all, only wood. And wood was the Slayer's tool. She sawed the chain back and forth around the stout wooden post that held her and felt it begin to give.
Smiling in triumph, Buffy turned and kicked at the post with all her strength. She fell to the floor in agony as her injured feet protested the terrible pain. Buffy knew she'd reshattered the bones in her right foot when she'd kicked the post, but it had been worth it. She was free. She crawled to the chair where Angelus held William, momentarily distracted by the sight of her former love stroking the smaller man's pale pink cock. It had been white when she'd seen it, touched it, tasted and ridden it. It was strange to see William instead of Spike before her, complete with curly brown hair instead of the familiar short bleached strands.
She stood on feet that felt as if knives were being thrust through them and limped the few steps to the chair. Before Angelus could react, Buffy wrenched William from his arms, pulling the naked man behind her and readying herself for Angelus's response.
He leapt from the chair with a savage roar, and Buffy whipped the chain still attached to her collar across his face with both hands. The blow was brutal and completely unexpected. Angelus fell back, bloodlust momentarily shocked into submission by the pain of his damaged face. Blood dripped from his high cheekbone in a slashing line across his sensual mouth. He glared at the Slayer from golden eyes as he brought one meaty paw up to his damaged mouth and smeared the blood from his dripping cheek into it with the back of his hand.
Glaring at Buffy and growling savagely, Angelus lapped the blood from his hand with a snarl. He advanced on her shaking body, instinctively noting the sweat that dripped from her and the weakness evident in her stance. The Slayer facing him could barely stand, he could tell, and the knowledge made him smile maliciously at her. "Buff, I know you're the jealous type, but really, interrupting me in the middle of sex like that…it's just not…polite, Lover!" he sneered.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Angelus, was that your idea of sex? To me it looked more like, well rape and murder, but hey, I guess we can't all live up to our reputations, now can we?" Buffy snapped back, determined to win the struggle of words even if she was sure to lose the physical battle to him. "It's a shame, really, I would have thought you'd have developed a bit more, well, finesse over the years." She spared a glance at William, behind her. He was curled into a moaning ball of shaking limbs, eyes closed and face blanched white from blood loss and interrupted arousal.
Angelus tsked at her as if she were a child, circling closer and forcing her to shift her feet to stay facing him. He smiled as she winced at the movement and noted that she was favoring the right foot. *Must be the one she used to snap that bedpost,* he thought. "You know, Buff, you're a very rude guest. That was an antique bed. Guess a low-class little bitch like you wouldn't recognize an antique if it bit her on the butt, though," he taunted.
"Oh, I dunno, Angelus, I sure recognized that you were an antique, and your whore Darla, too. And let's see, um, the Master's pretty much toast now, isn't he? Maybe you should be careful not to piss me off, Lover," she taunted back. "I seem to recall that our last little quarrel ended up with you skewered with your own sword screaming your way back to hell, where you belong. Or am I forgetting something, Lover?" She glared at him with eyes full of hate for the pain and death he had visited on her friends and family, the innocent bystanders to their struggle and the countless others he'd killed through the centuries.
"What was hell like anyway, Angelus? I mean, I know you're into pain in a big way, but tell me, how did it feel to be the bottom instead of the top? Did the demons there fuck you, Lover? Did you like it? I bet you bent over like the pretty boy you are and took it in the ass like a bitch, Angelus. Over and over and ov…"
Buffy's hateful words were interrupted by Angelus's roar of anger as he attacked her. She'd been waiting for exactly that moment and positioned herself carefully to take advantage of it. Buffy dropped to her back and brought both legs up in one quick motion. As Angelus leapt for her, she caught him squarely in the torso with both feet and kicked him with every ounce of her strength over her head and through the curtains into the window directly behind them. It shattered with the combined force of Angelus's attack and the Slayer's strength and he plummeted, shrieking in rage and sudden fear, to the street far below.
Buffy knew that the fall wouldn't be enough to kill the master vampire, but it should hurt him. A lot. He might even find himself in a wheelchair, which she was sure would amuse the hell out of Spike…William…she corrected herself. She heard the thunder of Fred and Gunn's footsteps leaving the apartment to go to the aid of their master and she knew that she must get herself and William out now, if they were to escape at all.
Buffy crawled to the bed and tore one crimson sheet into strips, binding the oozing wound on William's neck with ease. She threw Angelus's long duster around the smaller man and searched the room with her eyes for any clothing she could steal for herself. She was rewarded with Angelus's silk shirts, hanging neatly in the armoire. Tears of pain streamed down Buffy's face as she limped over to the armoire.
Glad for once that Angelus was so much bigger than she, Buffy donned two silk shirts, rolling up the sleeves and buttoning them with aching hands, She ripped a third black shirt into a strip to use as a belt. She looked, well, bizarre was probably too kind a word, but she had clothes on, which was a start. She couldn't figure out what the hell to do with the chain and compromised by sliding the collar so the chain ran down her back instead of hanging in front of her in her way.
Limping painfully back to William, Buffy pulled him to his feet. He was barely conscious and would be no help to her, but at least he could stand on his own. They weaved their way slowly out of the bedroom and to the door to the hallway. Buffy had no choice but to take the elevator and pray that Gunn and Fred weren't already on their way back up. The stairs were simply not possible for her at this point, and she doubted very much that William could tolerate them either.
He hadn't said one word since she'd pulled Angelus from him and she could see he was in shock. Still, it would be comforting to know if he appreciated what she'd done, or if he'd rather stay here with the vampires. Spike had reveled in being a vampire, so Buffy supposed William probably wanted the power and abilities back, as well. Tough.
They waited for the elevator to rise and Buffy was filled with dread at what might be inside. She leaned William back against the wall and was happy to see that he could actually stand fairly straight. As the elevator rose, floor by floor, she tensed, pulling the chain around and holding its length in her hand; readying herself for the final fight, that would, she was sure, end in her own death…again.
The bell rang and the doors opened.
To be continued…
