Half Breed: Part Six
by JeanetteB
Vamp Central

Angel looked at Xander lying dazed at his feet. Things couldn’t have gone any smoother with Buffy. He relished the look of horror in her eyes—horror that he had put there when he scooped up Xander and spirited him off in the night. Now he just had to decide on a fitting end for Buffy’s erstwhile protector, and figure out where to leave the carcass for maximum effect.

Angels’ musings were cut off as Spike wheeled himself into view. “What have we here?” the blonde vampire asked and looked questioningly at Angel.

“Another present for Buffy. I am *really* going to enjoy this.”

“Here’s a suggestion for you: why don’t you off the bloody Slayer instead of mucking about with her friends?”

“I’ve got a better one: why don’t you wheel yourself into a convenient corner so that you’re out of my way. I’ll send Dru over to dust and water you when I get a chance.”

Spike spun his chair around to leave the way he had entered. Before going, he said over his shoulder, “One day you will go too far with me, and with the Slayer, Angelus. I’d step carefully if I were you.”

“Burn rubber, sit-n-spin.”

With Spike gone, Angel turned back to his guest. Roughly, he hauled Xander up until they were nose to nose. He could smell the blood that leaked into Xander’s eyes from his encounter with the steel pipe. Angel’s hunger reared up, but he leashed it; he wanted his prey to be fully awake before he fed. They had some games to play.

Xander’s eyes fluttered open. At first his eyes refused to focus on the white blur directly in front of his face, but eventually everything resolved into clarity and he wished they hadn’t. A vamped out Angel held him inches away from very long and very sharp fangs. “I knew I should have taken that right turn at Albuquerque,” he muttered.

Angel laughed. It was not a pleasant sound. Xander knew the best he could hope for was a quick death, but the vampire’s laugh did not sound promising. “You know, I’ve never liked you Xander,” he hissed. “Always riding me, always sniffing around Buffy’s skirts like some kind of mongrel.” He shook Xander a bit, clearly enjoying playing with him. “Guess what, kid? It’s payback time.”

“I never knew what Buffy saw in you,” Xander retorted weakly. “But now I know it must have been your keen sense of dialogue.”

Angel roared and pitched Xander into the stone wall. He grinned at the sound of flesh connecting with rock. He strolled over, taking his time, relishing the moment. He squatted down and yanked Xander’s head up by his hair. “Where’s that rapier wit now, Xander?”

The young man groaned in pain. “Ah, now that’s music to my ears,” Angel whispered, a hellish grin on his face. “Let’s have a symphony, shall we?”

Leonora stalked down the dark hallway of Angel’s base of operations. She had spent half of the night following false trails before finally hitting on one that led to the vampire and his human captive. But time was growing short—the sun was almost up and she knew that Xander’s chances grew slimmer by the moment. And she was weakening. She hadn’t rested or even fed properly in the last two days. She had to get in and out fast, before Angel’s recruits came back from diverting Buffy.

She could feel a vampire’s presence behind the door at the end of the hall. Leonora paused and stretched her senses outward. She hadn’t included this in her explanation of dhampir powers to Giles; there were some things that she didn’t want the Watcher or the occult populace to know. The acrid tang of blood filled her nostrils and she began to hunger. She clamped down on *that* before the thirst got away from her. Just because she chose not to feed on humans, didn’t mean that she couldn’t. Or wouldn’t.

Time to get to work. She pulled the 9mm from its hiding place at the small of her back, took a step backwards, and kicked in the door.

Angel had just brought Xander’s neck to his lips and had tasted the sluggish flow of blood against his fangs when the door crashed in. He spun, holding Xander out to the side, surprised that Buffy had made it this far. “Finally joined the party, Buff?”

His answer were three 9mm slugs in his chest. A tall, dark haired young woman with blazing green eyes stood in the doorway. “She sends her regrets.”

Leonora walked forward, gun trained on Angel, who had sagged against the wall, blood pouring from the bullet holes. Satisfied, she leaned down and picked up Xander from where Angel had dropped him, draping him over one shoulder. “Hate to rescue and run…”

Drusilla entered the room, shrieking like a banshee. Angel dazedly watched as the woman spun smoothly and emptied two chambers into Dru. The vampiress hit the floor hard and stayed down. Who the hell was this chick? Another Slayer?

Leonora knew her window of opportunity was closing rapidly. Time to hightail it out of there. She would have liked to stay and deal with Angel and Drusilla, but Xander needed some medical attention and they had a long way to go. Not to mention that when the sun rose she would be as weak as any human. Making sure she had a good hold on the young man, Leonora put on some speed, using her dhampir nature to navigate the darkness of the corridors and pick up the pace.

She shot through a side door and into the vague light of dawn. Leonora paused for a moment to get her bearings and to adjust from darkness to daylight. In that instant, sharp pain exploded along her right side. She looked down and saw a knife protruding from her lower back. Turning her head, she saw the back of a white-blonde head and a wheelchair disappearing into the blackness of the house. Spike. Payment for shooting Drusilla.

Leonora spared another moment to focus her senses inward. The knife hadn’t pierced any organs, thankfully, but it would have to come out. Holstering the gun, Leonora gritted her teeth and yanked. The pain almost drove her to her knees, but she managed to remain upright. This was NOT the place to pass out.

Clapping a hand to the wound, she hoped her clothing would staunch the bleeding. And that she could stay on her feet long enough to get Xander to safety. “Helluva night,” she muttered to herself. “And it’s going to be one bitch of a morning.” Hitching Xander higher on her shoulder, she started off, forcing her sun-weakened dhampir body to its limits.

Xander regained consciousness for a moment. Leonora didn’t slow her pace; instead she panted, “Welcome back to the world of the living. Well, sort of.” And then she had no breath to do anything but run.

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