The Book of Days: The Suspect
by WordThief
THE BOOK OF DAYS

‘To forgive is an act of compassion. It’s not done because people deserve it. It’s done because they need it.’

Giles, ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’

Part Nine: Mercy

###

Joyce wrapped her hands around her steaming mug of coffee and gazed out the window to where small finches fluttered around the neighbour’s bird feeder. She tried to relax, and concentrated her attention on where Adriana stood talking to her faraway Watcher, ear to the phone, fingers entwining themselves around the cord.

‘Oui, oui, je comprende. Mais n’est pas tres facile pour Monsieur Giles. Oui! Okay bon, et toi aussi. Nous parlons demain matin? Okay. Au revoir, Gardien Madame Bresson.’ She placed the phone in its cradle and smiled mischievously at Joyce. ‘My language - the English and the Francais, everyone says I am doing good. But, really, I am very lazy. French is better than English so Mr Giles and I just speak French sometimes. This makes Buffy very annoyed, I think. But I must learn more, for speaking with Watcher Genevieve.’

‘Buffy’s never been really big on languages. I think it runs in the family.’

‘Mr Giles, he speaks English and Latin and French and another...I forget. But not Portuguese. I wish all people spoke Portuguese. It would be much easier for me.’ She smiled. ‘But I learn.’

‘I think you’re doing very well. Your whole life has changed in a matter of a few weeks - I can’t imagine what it would be like.’

‘I think the same for Buffy, yes?’ Seeing Joyce’s head drop, she lowered her voice sympathetically. ‘I think same for you, too.’

‘Yes.’

‘Not always bad this change. Buffy and me, what we do is good, and proper. She is strong, Mrs Summers. She will not break over.’

She came and sat down beside the woman, and poured herself a glass of water. ‘I am twenty years. My father is a procurador, a steward, on a vineyard in the Douro. The land is suffering now, weather has been bad for the growing of grapes. When I am sixteen years, I am sent to Aveiro to work, for my parents cannot support me. I work in a shop, work hard. Now I have work that is good. I am supported by the Watchers. It is not so bad. I am not a burden now. I am Adriana the Vampire Slayer.’

‘Well, Adriana the Vampire Slayer, where were you all this morning? With Buffy?’

‘No, I was with Angel, watching him. He does not improve. Giles say, it has been two weeks, he may not get better. I am bruised with needles.’ She held out her arm for Joyce to inspect. Track marks ran up Adriana’s inside elbow where blood had been taken. ‘He tries to hurt himself - bites at his wrists, bangs his head. But he is Vampire, and he cannot die in this way. It upsets Buffy very much..she talks to you?’

‘Yes, she told me. They don’t know what to do. Buffy’s been - strange. She is hurting for Angel, but at the same time, when she is away from him, she’s unnaturally cheerful. I don’t know......’

There was a sudden loud knock on the outer door, and Willow came rocketing through, grinning broadly. ‘Mrs Summers! Buffy would like you to see something. She wants you to go to the windows where you can see the back lawn. Quick quick!’ She raced outside again.

Adriana grinned, and began to chuckle. ‘They have been with Doctor Scully and Mr Giles. I think this is a little trouble.’ Both women got up and moved into the sitting room, positioning themselves at the window. They heard Willow yell, and all of a sudden a great commotion of yelling and clapping. Buffy appeared at the corner of the lawn, looked up to check her mother was watching, then she sprang into a tumble along the lawn, like an Olympic gymnast. A series of handsprings, gaining in height, led to a roundoff at the opposite corner of the grassed area. The second run, cartwheels leading to a back handspring and back-tucked salto, were even faster. She threw her arms back and gave her mother a grin. Willow, Xander and Oz, watching from the edge of the lawn, burst into applause. Giles folded his arms and tapped his foot in mock exasperation at his Slayer’s antics.

It was not long before Joyce and Adriana joined the group outside. ‘Buffy! You gave me a heart attack.’

‘Cast’s gone!’ Buffy seemed elated. She did a handstand, then pulled her legs down into the splits as she held herself steady upside down. ‘Oooh!’ A wobble, and she found herself on the grass. ‘My centre of gravity has changed. I’m going to have to get used to that.’ She brushed herself down and stood up. She was wearing a form-fitting top and Joyce saw for the first time that she was showing. While she had been on the run, and dragging a cast around, Buffy had preferred to be comfortable in a loose t-shirt. Now standing upright, at five months pregnant, what would not be obvious on a larger woman was clear on her small frame.

Joyce found herself staring. ‘Honey, please be careful.’ Her pointed look was not lost on her daughter.

‘Dr Scully says it’s fine for another month or so.’

Scully nodded. She had found Buffy’s display of acrobatics very entertaining, but was loath to say so in front of Joyce. ‘I have told your Watcher - no fighting, no extreme acrobatics, no weapons training after the second week in July. Other than that, you’ll know what makes you uncomfortable, what you shouldn’t be doing.’ She shook her head. ‘It’s unbelievable. A compound fracture, and she was only in that cast for two weeks, with hardly any loss of strength.’

Buffy advanced on Adriana playfully. ‘Wanna fight?’

Giles cleared his throat.

‘Train..I mean. Train.’

‘I will.... kick your backside, Americana.’ Adriana was laughing hard and had trouble getting her words out. ‘You..you will be sorry you messed with Adriana the Vampire Slayer.’ She mock growled at Buffy, and the two Slayers broke up. They headed out to the middle of the lawn, Giles rolled his eyes and followed, hoping to avert bloodshed.

###

Willow stepped into the room slowly to allow her eyes adjust to the darkness. The curtains had been fully drawn and Giles has used masking tape to securely join them to the window frame. Not a chink of light managed to find its way into the quiet bedroom.

‘Buffy?’

‘Yeah, I’m here. Shut the door.’

‘Giles wanted me to come and see if you need a break. He will come and sit with Angel if you want. Dana..Dr Scully...will be up soon to dress his wrists.’

‘No, no, I’m alright. Giles has been doing more than his share, considering everything that’s happened. Will, could you come and sit with me for a while? Sitting in here is almost like being alone.’

‘Sure, Buffy..um, where should I sit?’

‘Just pull up a chair. There are some over there by the wall.’

‘Why don’t you turn the light on?’

‘I feel better with it off....It’s easier.’

Willow dragged a chair to where she could sit right next to her friend. She reached over the bed and took one of Angel’s hands. He did not react.

‘How is he?’

‘The same - maybe worse. When he’s out it’s just like he’s a corpse. When he’s awake he screams and yells, and thrashes around. He hurts himself.’ She indicated his wrists, which were bandaged heavily with gauze. ‘Last night it took me and Adriana and Giles to hold him down - that’s some serious struggling. Giles says the bodily strength is from Adriana’s blood, but I don’t think he knows what he’s doing. It’s like he’s not really in there. There’s nothing wrong with his body, it’s his mind....his soul..’

‘Dr Scully said that it might be possible to sedate him. Maybe enough so you can talk to him.’

‘Yeah, Giles said. I can’t think of anything else aside from what we’ve already done.’

###

The Bronze was not overly crowded, but Buffy felt slightly lost among the lights and moving bodies. She looked around warily as she sipped her iced tea. Willow and Xander were late, leaving her lone prey to the prying eyes of other students. For the fourth or fifth time this evening, she found herself thankful that she’d decided to wear the loose fitting shirt that left onlookers unaware she was pregnant. She’d already overheard several comments, all of them related to the sudden way she’d left school. Oz had been over to the table a few times, but the Dingoes were playing that night, so he could only keep her company between sets.

She swizzled her straw around in her drink, listening to the conversations around her, trying not to hear the giggles from the group in the corner where Aura, Harmony and their hangers on were having an animated conversation. Buffy saw Aura point at her, and she looked away quickly, wondering what had possessed her to agree to meet Willow and Xander there. Trying to gain back a semblance of normalcy, perhaps. She was just about to get up and leave when someone slipped into the seat beside her. Turning, she saw it was Cordelia, dressed to the nines as usual. She was holding out another iced tea, and launched into conversation without preamble.

‘How’s Angel?’

Buffy saw Harmony glare at her. The group left the room, pointedly not stopping to talk to Cordelia. Before Buffy could answer her, Cordelia went on. ‘You guys cause me some major trouble. My social life is ruined.’ She sighed, and smiled at Buffy. Buffy gave her a tentative smile back.

‘He’s no better, huh?’

‘No.’

‘What about you?’

‘Fine.’

‘Yeah right. Willow told me you’re going mad. Well, she didn’t say it like that, but she said you’re acting all happy-girl-I’m-on-uppers. But you’re not fooling anyone. They just don’t wanna say anything, ‘cos you’re fragile, or something.’

‘And you thought you would?’

‘Why not? Someone’s got to.’

Buffy sighed. ‘So what do you think I should do?’ She picked up the drink that Cordelia had brought her, removed the straw, and took a long swig.

‘Really? I think you should just be what you are. If you’re sad, be sad. You’re allowed to. Willow and Giles are sad too. And even Xander, I think, but he won’t talk about it. And that irritating foreign girl, she said that if you bottle stuff up the baby will be born sad. Can anyone say ‘old wives tale?’’

‘It’s not that easy.’

Cordelia rolled her eyes. ‘Buffy, you are so annoying. Come and dance. Get away from the serious, just for one night.’

###

‘Angel? Angel? Listen to me. Can you hear me?’ He continued to struggle, and she placed her hands on his shoulders. ‘Angel? It’s me, it’s me. It’s Buffy. Dr Scully is going to give you an injection. Just, please, hold still.’ Buffy’s voice seemed to get through to him, and he stilled, although he looked around him wildly. Willow could feel his terror even from the opposite side of the room.

Scully drew the sedative into the syringe and beaded it to remove the air bubbles. Then, as Buffy held the vampire down, she injected it into his upper arm. When all the fluid was gone she withdrew and capped the needle and withdrew herself to the opposite side of the room. Her face was a mask of watchfulness as she sat beside Willow on the low brocade couch.

Still holding Angel down with one hand, Buffy began to stroke his cheek, crooning wordlessly to him. His eyes, open but unseeing, rolled in terror. His thrashing around had reopened the gash on his wrist and the drops of crimson that fell from it landed on Buffy’s skirt. She took his wrist, and applied pressure above the wound until the bleeding stopped. Gradually, he quietened, and looked at her as though he was seeing her for the first time.

‘Buffy?...’ He blinked.

She turned to the others. ‘Do you guys mind if I talk to him alone? It might be easier.’ Scully thought a moment, then nodded her assent. She followed Willow out, closing the door softly behind her.

Left alone, Buffy swung herself out of her chair and perched on the bed beside Angel. He was more lucid than he had been since they arrived back in Sunnydale, but Buffy could see that he didn’t know where he was. A blessing, she thought, because otherwise he might realise he was lying in the bed where he had lain Jennifer Calendar to wait for her love.

‘Tell me, Angel.’

‘Buffy....I hurt...God - it hurts.’

‘Inside or outside?’

‘Both. I feel......like a human that can’t breathe. Like a drowner...like...’

She pulled him up and rested his head in her lap. ‘We’ve looked everywhere, Angel. Giles, Willow, me, even Xander. Everywhere. We only know that what has happened to you - a quadruple crossing, Giles calls it - has never happened before, in any dimension. But nothing, nothing that can help. You’ve been being force fed Slayer blood for a week. You are on the brink of the Hellmouth. Willow has reperformed the restoration rite. And you aren’t getting better. The only way I can talk to you now is that Dr Scully sedated you. And we don’t even know how that worked.’

‘My conscience...is eating me alive...my guilt. Won’t go away. There’s nothing of me left.’

‘Angel? What do you want me to do?’

‘Kill me.’

Her face was blank. ‘Kill you.’

‘Yes. I have to be...dead to you...dead to you all now...for you..for the baby. I can’t...be...like this.’ Already he was beginning to drift, his head lolling on his neck as she tried to prop him up.

‘Please...Buffy...mercy..make me die.’

Unable to say anything more, she nodded. His energy was just about spent and she could feel him slipping away. She stroked his cheek in silence as he drifted once more into unconsciousness.

###

Willow had been staring at the same spot on the carpet for so long she felt she could see each individual thread, the mutinae of tiny colour details that made up the overall pattern. At the sound of Buffy’s voice she forced herself to shut her eyes and blink the image away.

‘Will. Willow? What do you think?’ She, Giles and Buffy were seated in the small room that had been her own when she was staying at the Watcher’s. Down the hall, in the master bedroom, Angel was still and unconscious, Adriana watching over him as she sketched.

‘I don’t know, Buffy. I don’t want Angel to die.’

‘Willow, I think Buffy’s right. I think we have to follow Angel’s wishes. It’s obvious that he is in great pain, and it is very unlikely that that is going to change. It maybe the best thing to do for him.’ Giles’s voice was tired and hoarse. He was well aware of the emotions Buffy had that she wasn’t showing. He could only hope that she wasn’t going to break down.

‘I know that! It just seems so wrong after everything we’ve been through to get him back. I mean - what was it all for? It’s not fair.’ She hung her head and her voice dropped as she continued. ‘I know it’s my fault. There must have been something wrong with the ritual. I knew it wasn’t quite ready.’

Buffy turned on her, suddenly very angry. ‘Don’t you dare say that. We all did the best we could, and you did amazing things. If this is anyone’s fault, it’s mine. But that doesn’t matter now, because Angel is hurting, and we can do something about it.’ She reached out both her hands and took Willow’s. ‘I need your help. I don’t want to just go in there and stake him, I want it done properly. There must be a ritual, or something, to make sure he’ll end up in a good place. I need both of you to help me. Please.’

Willow nodded dumbly.

‘Very, well, Buffy, we will get right on it.’ Giles looked at her over the top of his glasses. ‘Is there anything else you need.’

‘No. I’m fine.’ She narrowed her eyes, as if in determination. ‘Adriana and I are going out to patrol. Don’t wait up.’

###

Scully performed a second sedation on the vampire in the early morning. Both Buffy and Giles had spent a sleepless night tending to him. Giles watched Buffy’s ministrations with curiosity. At no time did she leave the vampire alone, or let him feel that no one was there.

Now Buffy had gone in alone to talk to Angel, who was reasonably lucid.

‘Angel, can you hear me?’ He nodded.

‘I’ve decided to do as you ask. I can’t let you suffer anymore. Tonight, we will perform a seven stancing and send you on. I’ll do it myself, it won’t hurt you. When we’ve talked, Dr Scully’s going to put you out. You won’t wake up again. So I’ve come..to say goodbye.’

Angel did act as if he’d heard her words. He was clutching at her sleeve urgently, trying to convey something to her. Finally, he managed to speak.

‘Buffy...I’ve got to tell you...you have to know...the baby...’

‘What? What about the baby?’

‘She...she is...I have to...’ His face blanked out.

‘Angel?!’ She shook him, and receiving no response, cradled his head in her arms. ‘Angel, I know you can hear me. Listen to me. Everything is going to be alright. The baby is going to be alright. Dr Scully is going to come in and make you sleep now.’ She smoothed his hair back and bent over to kiss his forehead. ‘Things haven’t been fair to us, Angel,’ she whispered, ‘But the time will come. Just remember that I love you.’ After sitting there quietly for a time, she lay his head back down on the pillow and slid off the bed, padding over to the doorway.

‘Dr Scully?’

Scully came in and shut the door behind her. As the door swung to, Buffy caught a glimpse of Giles’s worried face for a brief second. She felt weak and dizzy, almost high. Scully regarded her carefully.

‘Were you able to talk to him?’

‘He was trying to tell me something...about the baby..but he couldn’t. I just talked to him. I know he could hear me.’

‘I believe he could too..Buffy? Is this what you want?’

She swallowed and nodded. ‘It’s the best thing.’

They crossed to the bed. Raising Angel’s arm, Scully prepped the area, then got the needle ready.

‘Angel...’ Buffy lowered her face so she could talk softly beside his ear. ‘It won’t be long now. Don’t be afraid. Goodbye..’

Scully pushed the plunger home, delivering the drug to the vampire’s system, then withdrew the needle. ‘There. If Angel was human, he would never wake up from that. He won’t feel anything now, no matter what happens tonight.’

Buffy stood and started towards the door, not wanting the woman to see her upset. Scully called after her. ‘Buffy?’

‘Yeah?’ The Slayer turned looked at her, and paused, stopped by something in the older women’s voice.

‘For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing. I...I lost someone, at New Year. My daughter.’ Buffy’s eyes rounded as Scully went on. ‘I never really knew her, I didn’t meet her until she was three, and she died soon afterwards. She was very sick, she slipped into a coma, and..just slipped away. There was a time, though, that she was in great pain, and if it had lasted, if I’d had authority, I would have had her taken off life support. I know this is a little different, but if he is suffering and not going to improve, I believe it’s the right thing to do.’

She held Buffy’s gaze for a long time before the teenager looked down, then crossed the room and hugged her as Buffy began to cry.

###

Willow lit the last white candle and passed it to Xander, standing to her left in the circle they had formed around the bed. Her own red candle sputtered and gave off a ribbon of smoke, then strengthened again. Giles, standing behind the bedhead directly opposite her, gave her a nod and she cut the electric lights and returned to her place in the circle.

The candlelight gave their faces an amber cast, and threw the bed where Angel lay into shadow. Willow quickly checked everyone’s position, studying each of the grim faces in turn. Xander, who had initially turned down being part of the seven, was looking steadily at his candle, not allowing his eyes to travel around the room. Oz was regarding her thoughtfully, and she gave him a brief smile, knowing that much of his concern was for her as she channelled the rite through herself.

The two agents stood on the opposite side of the bed from the two boys. Willow saw that Scully’s face carried fresh tear tracks, silvery marks that glistened in the candlelight. She glanced rapidly between Buffy, Angel and Giles. Mulder fussed with his candle.

At the head of the bed, Giles and Adriana stood, white candles held high. Matched in height, both their faces deathmasks in the shadow, they made an alarming sight. Willow didn’t think she’d ever seen Giles looking so resolute, so focused. Both he and Adriana were adorned with their signs of calling - his Watcher’s amulet glinted coldly, the hand gripping Adriana’s candle bore the Mark of the Slayer, the ideogram stylised to become more than just a carbon image of the one she carried on her arm. It was both protective and powerful, and strangely beautiful. Adriana’s face was set.

Buffy stood apart from the circle, within it, looking down at her feet. In her hands she held a stake that Oz had hurriedly carved for her and Willow had blessed as a weapon of mercy. The redhead longed to reach out in comfort to her friend, a gentle hand so that she would know she wasn’t alone. But as she watched, the Slayer approached the bed and knelt at the foot, and Giles gave her another nod. The ritual had to begin.

She cleared her throat, and clutched her amulet. ‘We make a circle of power, a seven stancing, for protection and strength. We call on you, Lord, and beg mercy as we send on a soul.’

Candles were placed in a circle around the bed, and the seven joined hands as Willow raised her voice in the first part of the ritual chant. She spoke of a soul lost, and found, and lost again, the ancient language beautiful and intricate, and Willow felt a power welling up inside her, pushing her onwards. Giles joined his voice to hers, then Adriana provided a dulcet counterpoint to their low chant and the three voices filled the room, entwining and growing in power. Mulder felt a shiver run down his spine.

Falling from crescendo, the three voices came to a sudden stop. The silence was shocking and heavy and with a sense of urgency Willow dropped the two hands she had been holding and stepped to the bed. Following her lead, six more pairs of hands were laid on the vampire, and Buffy rose from where she knelt and sat crosslegged on the bed at Angel’s head.

Willow was about to give Buffy the sign to proceed when Adriana gasped. Suddenly she was falling, her hands still on Angel’s shoulder, the contact like a burn. Unable to let go, she slumped against the bed. Concerned, Giles dropped to her side, taking his hands off Angel. She let out a loud cry and her head snapped back, her eyes glowing with sudden light.

‘Diablo! Diablo! No, I shall not. I am...NO!’

Giles drew back from her. Seeing Xander beginning to remove his hands, he yelled. ‘No! Seven! There must be seven! Seven with Angel! Hold on!’

Adriana was slowly getting to her feet, her face aglow with something numinous, unknown. Her eyes fixed on Buffy. The blonde Slayer sat motionless. Deliberately, slowly, Adriana began to speak. The voice was hers, yet not hers.

‘There is no other way. The blind do not see, the deaf will not hear. You must listen, listen to what comes.’ The blankness crept over Adriana’s face then lost ground. She was obviously struggling against whatever held her in its thrall. She gained her own voice and screamed, trying to pull her hands from the vampire’s shoulder. ‘I am not...aie! Aie! Deus...oh..Deus. My soul..NO NO ces profecia! I am not NO!’

The occupants of the room watched her struggles with silent horror, none of them daring to remove their hands from Angel’s body. Buffy was sobbing in terror, free from the circle, unable to do anything but stare as Adriana looked straight into her eyes. Giles, also free, was the only one that moved. At the dark Slayer’s last scream, her words fell into place like a jigsaw puzzle. He moved towards her, not touching her, but getting where she could see him, breaking her bond with Buffy.

‘Adriana! Hold on. You must hold on.’ He spoke quietly, but with incredible urgency. ‘Let it take you. You will not be hurt. Please...it is very important.’

‘No..I have to fight....’ The muscles in her forearms spasmed with the effort of trying to wrest her hands from the cold body. Her breath came in short, sharp pants.

‘Adriana. You _must_ let it take you. Offers are made only once. As Watcher, I order you to let it in.’

Buffy had never heard Giles’s voice so cold or so commanding. She choked back a sob. Although she didn’t know what was happening, she found that she had to trust the man who had been her Watcher and guide for almost two years. She found herself whispering. ‘Please.’

And Adriana stopped struggling. Tears ran down her cheeks as she gave herself over to the presence that they could now all feel, a force of warmth and power in the room. And again came the girl’s voice, her own but with no trace of accent or inflection.

‘You must all bear witness, listen to what comes. There will be no signs or wonders to mark the birth of the Chosen One. She comes as a blessing, the child of one who carries the Mark and is called, and the child of the first of the Ancient Ones, those who are lost but brought back. She will be the hope for the Millennium, eternal, the mother of a chosen line. She carries the Mark, and is entrusted to your care. She will bring death, and life, to the witnesses of the Prophecy of the Chosen.’

Adriana collapsed. As if an electrical current had run through her and was now gone, her body fell, soft and unyielding, to the floor. The others pulled back from the bed, and Giles made no move to stop them, but crouched beside the fallen Slayer. There was an overwhelming sense of emptiness, as if he had lost something, as if he had been punched in the gut. Buffy joined him, helping Adriana to a sitting position.

Adriana winced, and her vision cleared cleared. She found herself staring into Buffy’s eyes. She glanced sideways at Giles, then back at Buffy. ‘He...he took me...’

‘Was that a good thing or a bad thing?’ The blonde Slayer was still crying. ‘I need to know what that was. I need to know.’ Giles suspected that she was in shock.

‘Buff.’ Xander put his hand on her shoulder, and gave a quick squeeze. ‘I..we think - Giles may have an explanation - but as for me..us, we think...we know - that was a good thing. A terrible, awful, powerful thing, but a good thing.’ He looked at Willow for confirmation. She nodded, and knelt down, taking Buffy in her arms. Adriana leaned back against Giles, and they sat like that until Scully spoke up.

‘I don’t mean to...but, we need to finish up, or Angel may wake again. I’m sorry. I just have no way of knowing the effect of the drugs on him.’

‘Angel.’ Buffy rose to her feet. The others followed her. ‘We’ve got to send him on now. It’s got to be now.’ She spoke with frenzied determination and quickly retook her position at the end of the bed. Everyone else hastily reformed their circle. Adriana placed her hand to Giles’s forehead, then her own.

‘I am weak, Watcher. But I have a gift to give. I try to understand Buffy, but I cannot. I am stretched many different ways today, my mind is used. But this is the end time. So one more - yes, I have said this before, but one only. Then the end.’ Giles watched in astonishment as she replaced her hands on Angel’s shoulder. The Watcher waited for the cry, but it did not come. Adriana was in control.

‘He is there,’ she growled ‘For you I do this, Slayer, then, no more!’ She closed her eyes.

Adriana’s hands moved toward Angel’s heart and she made a soft soughing sound. ‘There is much here for you. I become him. I am Angel.’ Her body arced then relaxed, her eyes opened and her expression softened.

‘Buffy?’ her voice was soft. Giles let out a deep breath, realising that it was no longer Adriana speaking. Buffy gazed upwards into her friend’s face.

‘I tried to tell you, but now you know.’ Adriana looked back down at Buffy with infinite tenderness. ‘I want to say I am sorry, sorry for everything. But I can hear you begging for forgiveness too. And I want you to know, there’s nothing to forgive.’ One of Adriana’s hands left the vampire’s chest and caressed gently down the side of Buffy’s face.

‘Angel?’

‘I couldn’t leave without saying...I love you. Please, love her, take care of her. Please, let me go.’

Adriana leaned forward and gently kissed Buffy’s brow. As she pulled back, she took her hand off Angel, breaking contact. She stepped back, away from the bed.

‘No more. There is no more but love.’

Watching Buffy’s face, Willow thought her heart would break. She glanced around at the gathered observers, and saw them shellshocked and motionless. No one moved as Buffy brought the stake up to her heart and clutched it tight, closing her eyes. She spoke the last part of the ritual, words reserved for the Slayer when forced to take an innocent life.

‘Although not evil, thou art beckoned beyond, and by my hand thou shalt pass on. I, the Chosen, offer thee forward, and beg mercy for thy soul.’

The stake was raised slowly above his chest and with a sharp, sobbing cry, she drove it into his heart. She drew it back quickly, expecting dust to fall like rain over the sheets and bathe her hand. Instead, a sudden gathering of silver light poured out of the ragged wound and collected above their heads, spinning like a galaxy high in the circle centre. Willow cried out, but the others were silent, swimming in the warm light. It drew into a ball, denser and denser, and then fell, covering Buffy, blocking her from the sight of the others. They all heard her cry of wonder, and then the light was gone. Simply gone. Buffy was sitting alone, crosslegged on the end of the bed, and a layer of dust lay over the sheet.

Her eyes were still closed. ‘I will. I love you too.’

###

End of Part Nine.


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