Title: Smell of Home Part 4

Email: tirel@pcnuthut.com

Author: Velvet Crypt

Disclaimer: Joss is God. I own nothing.

Spoilers:

Summary: Claims galore.

The girls just stared with equally astonished expressions. Spike shrugged his own confusion and rolled them so that he was able to sit up. Xander whimpered in his sleep and Spike quickly tugged the human back into his embrace. Snuggly Xander reappeared and he settled down with a tiny smile on his face.

“Well, ducks, don’t look at me like I’m bloody well supposed to have an answer for any of this.” Spike glared at the girls defensively. “I’ve never seen B’Thaaug, or any Ghrestian for that matter use his stench spell on someone to kill.” Willow sucked in a breath and Spike rolled his eyes.

“What? You thought he was just beginning to parboil as a result of being next to my luscious body?” He snerked at Willow’s embarrassed look. “No, Red,” he continued more gently. “Whatever reek B’Thaaug shoved up Xan’s nose, it was designed to kill. He would have continued to get hotter and hotter until he roasted his insides and his body finally gave out under the strain of trying to cool him down.

He unconsciously clenched the sweat-drenched boy in his arms, thinking how close he’d come to losing him. Tara cleared her throat. He glanced back up at her.

“Umm, can I ask some questions without you growling at me?” she asked timidly. Spike felt a rush of fondness for the shy little chit, but he frowned at her instead.

“Probably not, ducks, but I won’t bite.” Tara looked relieved at that.

“Umm, okay. S-so, you said that B’Thaaug would think you and Xander were together. H-he didn’t, though, did he?”

Damn observant witch, Spike growled internally. Some of what he was thinking must have shown on his face though, because Tara paled and Willow glared at him. He sighed.

“No, ducks. He didn’t believe it. I honestly didn’t think he would.” Willow gasped, but Tara just nodded.

“He said you hadn’t claimed him yet. Is that why he knew?” Spike nodded back at her.

“So what is this claiming and why didn’t you do it if you knew Xander was in danger?” Willow demanded accusingly. Tara laid a calming hand on her leg and she bit back her next retort.

“Red, claiming is something you scoobies don’t want to get into. It’s messy. It’s permanent. And it’s something that Xander wouldn’t have wanted me to do.” He looked pointedly at her. She still looked angry.

“How do you know? Did you even ask him? We could come up with a spell to unclaim him later, right?”

Tara dropped her head, a sweet smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Spike got the feeling that little Glinda the good witch knew quite a bit more than she let on. He let it go for now.

“Willow.” The utterance of her real name from Spike’s lips caused her to pause in her tirade. “A claim is permanent, luv. The only way to ‘undo’ it is if he or I were to die.” The angry glint in her eyes faltered. “A claim means he belongs to me; blood to bone, mind to soul. I own him. In most cases, that’s where it stays. He becomes my human minion. He will do what I tell him to because he belongs to me and he knows it.” Spike could see that his shock treatment was working. Willow looked positively horrified.

“It’s not always like that though. Sometimes its mutual. I feed from him, he feeds from me. It mates us. Neither one holds sway over the other. But it’s like…his soul and my demon would marry. In a permanent, honestly til death do us part way.” Lovely. She looked horrified and terrified now, her hand going to her neck. “Not every bite is like that, luv.” He reassured her. “Like all things of big mojo, it takes a ritual. Just a bite is just a bite.”

She dropped her hand and Spike didn’t think she even knew what it was doing as it scuttled across her lap and latched onto Tara’s. “So, I’m guessing now you know why I didn’t claim him.” He ended wryly. To his surprise, Tara didn’t let it drop.

“But if you had?” She persisted. “How would that whole scene out there have gone?”

He shrugged. “Could’ve gone several ways, ducks. Generally, other demons keep their mitts off of a vampire’s claimed. They can smell it, sense it, whatever. It’s like my calling card. Yes, Xander would have to submit to me, but in return, I vow to protect him from anything or anyone who would hurt him. If he were touched, it would be my duty to make the bastard pay.”

“But you…” Tara trailed off. Spike smirked.

“What, luv? I don’t seem scary? I’m chipped?” He laughed. “Luv, you know it only works against humans. And as for the scary part…” He lost himself momentarily in his own memories. Tara watched the friendly, scoobie’s pal Spike fade away to be replaced with something that made her shudder and give silent thanks to the Initiative. He came back to himself moments later and gave her another smile. “Well, let’s just say, I earned my part of the moniker of Scourge of Europe.”

“Anyway,” he continued, trying to steer the conversation somewhere that neither girl was afraid of, “If B’Thaaug knew I’d claimed him, he wouldn’t have pheremoned him. He wouldn’t have hurt him at all in public. It’s a bit hard to sway others to your cause when you’re breaking all the unwritten demon codes.”

He paused, then decided to spill the rest, bollocks to the terror factor. “Of course, it could have made it worse on Xan, too. I…killed B’Thaaugs’s mate just because he was his mate. Just to hurt him. It was a shock to the rest of the demon community,” he smiled a tight smile, “But, they figured…hey, vampire. Not a lot of restraint expected there. Besides, it just cemented my reputation as a psychopathic killer. In those days, that was something to be proud of.”

Tara cocked her head like a tiny bird. “So it’s possible that if Xander were your mate B’Thaaug might extract vengeance for the death of his own mate?” Spike nodded unhappily.

“But, it’s not like it matters at this point. I’m not claiming him, so the whole idea is moot.” A knock sounded at the door. All three occupants jerked their heads up instantly. Spike gently lay Xander fully on the bed and motioned the girls to take up defensive positions around the sleeping boy.

He stepped stealthily to the door and peered through the eyehole. With a humph of relief, he quickly unlocked the door and jerked it open. Purple skinned Mivka…oozed?…through. Spike quickly locked the door back up again and hurried back to Xander’s side.

Mivka leaned over the bed and eyed Xander. “The boy looks not sick.” He asked with a hint of inquiry.

Spike nodded. “Dunno what happened. One minute he was overheating. The next, he’s sniffing me and his fever broke.”

Mivka’s flesh swayed. Willow found herself drawn to the demon and sat on the bed, her hands firmly under her legs to keep from poking at him. “Claim him for real now?” The demon asked. Spike rolled his eyes.

“No mate. No claiming. Just got done explaining a claim to the chits. The boy wouldn’t want it.”

Mivka cocked his head quizzically. “You would ask?” Willow looked miffed, but Spike only looked disgusted.

“Yeah, I’d ask. Bloody poofter I am now. Asking permission from the food.” Mivka jiggled and made a strange squelching noise. Spike glared. “Not funny, mate. William the Bloody has left the bleedin’ building. Enter William the ponce.”

Tara sat next to Willow. “What’s going on down there, Mivka?” She asked quietly.

The purple demon turned its amethyst gaze on her. “Party continues. B’Thaaug gloats on his victory over William. He appoints underlings. Talk of opening the Hellmouth.” Tara winced and Willow patted her leg.

“So they think Xander is dead?” Willow asked. Mivka’s upper body wobbled.

“Dead, yes. B’Thaaug waits for vengeance.”

Spike snorted. “Gotta admit, the wanker knows me.” He grinned. “I may have gone down, but I woulda taken the fuck with me at least. So who’s he promoting to arsekisser this time?”

“Riade, Chaos demon is second. He has a mated Jaarvlen pair for thirds. He has also Rwasundi waiting in the wings.”

Spike swore. “I’ve heard of Riade. Nasty bloke. The Jaarvlens are flesh eaters and the Rwasundi are time alterers.” He added for the benefit of the girls waiting impatiently.

“Around 30 followers are with him.” Mivka added.

“How many on our side?” Mivka cocked his head to glance at the girls and Xander, causing his flesh to quiver.

“Our side? Have we an ‘our side’, Spike?” Spike pinched his lips together and looked away. “I remember when Spike would be second. Kill Slayer. Open Hellmouth. Watch blood run.”

Spike seemed at a loss. His expression was a blur of pain, loss, sorrow and disgust. Mivka moved closer. “Fight for the humans now, vampire?” He gurgled quietly. The vampire in question narrowed his eyes.

“As always, Mivka, I fight for me and mine.” The purple demon waited. Spike turned his gaze on it. “Make no mistake, Mivka. These humans are mine. As are the ones B’Thaaug plans to take out to get to the Hellmouth. I will defend what is mine. With or without your help.”

Willow caught her breath. First annoyed at the claim of ownership Spike made, then at the depth of emotion he expressed. She realized he was being truthful. By some vampiric code, the scoobies were his by default. ~And isn’t that scary?…Yet strangely comforting.~

Mivka nodded, satisfied. “Then claim them do I as well, my friend.” Spike’s face relaxed into a smile. “Our side has 10, maybe more. Loyal to me. To friends.”

Spike absently twirled a lock of Xander’s hair with his fingers. “Then we need to meet with them. Can you get them here without tipping the Ghrestian or his toadies off?” Mivka pondered a moment, then nodded.

“Tomorrow morn? Party will over be. B’Thaaug and others sleeping be.”

Spike nodded. “Sounds like a plan, mate.”