Karma: Finding Love
by Spellbound
Clai was sat in her apartment, watching some hopeless fool trying to explain why vampires were not the killers that folklore had depicted. Despite the irresponsibility of his claims, she smiled at his, albeit naive belief that vampires were somehow friendly creatures. "Yeah right, not in my experience mate." she said as she turned the TV off, maybe there was something a little less ridiculous on the radio. She turned the volume down and found a cheesy station playing love songs. 'Perfect' she thought as she fetched another glass of juice and sank into her couch. She laid back and closed her eyes, allowing the music to wash away her aches and worries. The news followed a song by the Carpenters that she could never remember the name of, she got up and started towards the kitchen still humming the tune, for once the news had no fatalities, well, none of a suspicious nature. With a chicken salad, Clai returned to couch and put her feet up, over her shoulder the dj announced that there were three more hours of his show that he would be continuing with, 'I Can't Take My Eyes Off You'. The gentle tones filled the room and Clai closed her eyes, allowing the music to, once again, wash over her. She felt strangely warm and comforted and tears stung at the corners of her eyes, for a lover who had forgiven her, taken her in their arms and held her tight, kissing away her troubles and fears.
Confused, Clai sat up, looking around her, this was no lover she had ever known but yet the feeling was entirely true to her. "That's not right, it's not me." she told the stereo, "What's a girl got to do to be left alone by supernatural forces for just one evening?" she sighed as she walked to the door, picking up her jacket. "Guess that means another night at the library." she said, pulling the door closed behind her.


"Thank you for all your help, Joan. It's been very useful." Giles said as they stood on the pavement outside the steak house. Slightly the worse for alcohol, Joan grinned at him, "Anytime, glad to have been of the useful." she shook his hand and the grin disappeared instantly. They stood, staring open mouthed at each other until Willow tripped out the front door and knocked into her. "Whoopsie." she said with a giggle, "Didn't see the step." Giles snapped back to reality and smiled at her. "Well, best we be leaving now." he said as he placed his hand on her back, guiding her away. "Thank you again." he said to 'Joan' as they crossed the street and headed off in the direction that Ratty assumed was his home.
Alone on the pavement, she stood, still shocked at what had just happened. In touching his hand, something had passed between them she knew things, things she couldn't have known and couldn't be possible but were undeniably true. She turned slowly and started back to her crypt to contemplate the enormous scale of the events that would soon unfold and change her death forever.

"That was Buffy, a vampire, but definitely Buffy." Giles said as soon as they turned the corner. "Can you believe our luck?" His face bore the grin of a madman and his words came so quickly that Willow was having problems just making them out. "What? A Vampire? She.... Who....." the realisation dawned on her and she stopped dead in her tracks. "How do you know?" she asked when he realised she had stopped and returned to her. Giles looked at her, taking some deep breathes to quell his excitement. "We shook hands and I just knew, and so did she. She doesn't know exactly what it is she knows, but she does." he said finally. Willow studied him, although she didn't understand the whys and whatfores of it all, she knew he was certain. "So, why isn't she coming back with us to help find the others?" she asked, after all, she was putting the time in to track down her friends, why shouldn't the Slayer. Giles looked at her incredulously, "Willow, she may be Buffy, but she is currently a vampire and I don't think it's wise to have her in my home until I'm sure she understands." Willow returned his gaze and considered this for a moment; "But how will she understand without help? She asked him. Giles smiled again, "She'll just know." he said before he turned and continued down the street.

In the huge library, Clai sat at a computer, the screen telling her that while spells to transfer the spirit of one person into another body were possible, they hadn't been successfully used since Merlin’s days. She sighed and tried a search on 'Merlin', "Displaying results 1-10 of 539,213" she read, holding her head in her hands she sighed again. Clai took a large mouthful of coffee and was just about to click the mouse on the first result when an idea struck her. "If I'm really from somewhere else, maybe the 'lost lover' is here from there too." she said to herself, "And if he is, he's probably looking for me!" With this new idea, Clai tidied up her area and grabbed her jacket, thanking the librarian as she left.

Bursting through the front door into the street, Clai charged headlong into a young woman, knocking her off her feet and landing in a messy heap on the ground. In a tangle of arms, legs and apologies the woman’s eyes caught her own and she felt the overwhelming urge to suddenly kiss her. "I.... I'm so s-s-sorry! Clai stuttered as she helped the woman to her feet, "I... I......." her sentence trailed off as she stared at the beauty before her. An older man had come to aid Clai's victim and he was saying something but the words weren't reaching her at all. The other woman seemed to be just as perplexed but eventually she spoke, her voice filling Clai like angel song. "It's ok, no harm done." she smiled and brushed herself off once again. They exchanged one final smile before the young woman and her male companion walked off down the street, Clai stood, dumbfounded and watched as they reached the corner, the young blonde woman paused briefly and turned to take one final look before disappearing into the night. With her strange encounter over, Clai headed west to an out of the way and closely guarded secret magic shop that, so far had remained open. If anyone was going to help her, she realised it would be someone there.



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