“Open me.”
Faith stared at the small package as she paced back and forth in her dingy apartment. What was it? Was it a bomb, maybe? The box was roughly the size of a bread box, which made Faith wonder if it was from Harmony. The day Faith went to see Angel at Wolfram & Hart, Harmony had driven Faith crazy while she waited in the reception area. Twenty questions with Harmony. Yikes.
The creature that dropped it off didn’t really look human. He couldn’t have good intentions. Then again, he seemed the messenger type. Then again . . . again, if he was a messenger, it couldn’t be from anyone human. Yeah. Probably from Harmony.
Faith cautiously opened the box. Inside the box sat a video cassette and a small urn. Faith stuck the cassette into her VCR and hit play.
“Hello Faith,” the familiar face smiled. Faith’s blood ran cold. She’d been dreaming of him again lately. She thought it was just memories or guilt or something. Now she wondered if it were a premonition.
The man on the video checked his watch. “If my watch is correct, I should be dead within a few hours. Well, a few hours my time. For you, I . . . well . . . I’ve probably been gone for quite some time. I hope you got my last little trinket and gosh I hope you had fun with it.”
Faith smiled slightly. Gosh. It was vintage Richard Wilkins.
On the video, the Mayor sat behind his desk. “I’m sorry that I left you. That is, if I left you. For all I know, we’re watching this video together. Eating popcorn. Drinking root beer. Laughing at my lack of self confidence. But I have a feeling that I can’t do this without you. And so . . . here I am. Or rather, here I’m not. No matter. Why don’t you go ahead and pick up the urn.”
Faith lifted the small item and inspected.
“It’s a kind of genie in a bottle,” the Mayor explained. “The only way to destroy a full-fledged demon is with a heck of a lot of fire. And if you manage to do that, you get a heck of a lot of ash. Tracking down the ash of the heart is not an easy task. But if you can do it, you get an awfully nifty reward. A wish.”
Faith looked back at the TV, her jaw dropping.
“That’s right, kiddo. Sorry it took so long to get you this, but, as I said, finding the ash of the heart is not easy. I just hope one of my old friends managed to do so before the my remains were plowed over to make way for a shopping mall. I tell you, with these kids today with their rampant consumerism, it’s no wonder the country has such a horrendous trade deficit. Well, that’s a speech for another time.
“For now, I should give you the instruction manual on that urn you’re holding. First, you can’t wish for anything. I know how much we’d both like to have world order. But sadly, your wish must be selfish. Selfish meaning, it pertains to you. Second, it can’t alter history that has passed. No wishing your dad hadn’t left. Of course, you can always wish for him to come back. Once you know what you want, open the vial, pour the ash in your hand, close your eyes- no peeking, make a wish, and blow the ash. And of course, keep a happy thought of me in your head as you do it. Then, your wish will come true.”
**
Faith spent the day wandering the city, killing vampires, and, of course, trying to figure out what she should wish for. Part of her wondered if she was crazy. Was this all some delusion. A wish? Then again, there were vengeance demons, right? Why shouldn’t there be fairy dust? Well, demon dust, anyway.
Faith returned to the apartment. She thought about immortality. She thought about wealth. Hell, why not immortality and wealth?
Faith closed her eyes, raised the handful of ash, and blew. All the while, she kept in her mind a vision of Mayor Wilkins, smiling, happy, and doting over her.
The dust shot from her hand and began to swirl. The room grew cold. Faith watched as the ash swirled round and round. The ash wasn’t magic wishing powder. It was a spell to bring back the man who’d ascended into the demon from which the ash came. As Faith watched, the ash took the form of Richard Wilkins.
As the Mayor became solid. He looked at Faith and smiled. “Hello, Faith,” he said. “Sorry for lying to you. But now that I’m back, the sky’s the limit for you, young lady. I’ll see that--”
“Wait,” Faith interrupted. “What do you mean sorry for lying to me?”
The Mayor frowned. “I know I said this ash would bring you a wish, but it was a spell to bring me back. Of course, now that I am back, I can promise I’ll get you whatever you want. Whatever you wished for.”
“You idiot,” Faith cried as she hit Richard lightly. “You are what I wished for!”
Richard smiled and pulled Faith into his arms, hugging her. “I don’t know what year it is,” he whispered.
“It’s 2005,” Faith answered. “I was working with Buffy again for a while but . . . you know how it is. She and Giles kind of retired me. I still slay, but I’m out of the organization.”
“The watcher’s council?” the Mayor asked.
“That’s gone,” Faith said. “But there’s about three hundred slayers throughout the world now. That’s why Buffy doesn’t need me anymore.”
“Well, that does complicate things,” Richard said.
“That’s why I wanted you,” Faith cried in her father figure’s arms. “You’re the only one who ever . . . who ever really cared for me.”
Richard held Faith tighter. “Shhh,” he whispered. “All that is of no matter. I don’t care if there are three hundred slayers. I would care if there were three hundred million. You’re the best of all of them Faith.”
Richard stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. “I need to get the lay of the land. Find out which of my old friends are still around. We’ll need time to build up our resources. But once we have, the whole world will see how powerful you are. Buffy and Giles and all her little friends will pay.” Richard smiled charmingly. “And then they’ll die,” he laughed in his fatherly manner.
Faith squeezed Richard tightly. She knew how this would go. The Hellmouth was closed. Sunnydale was gone, and so was Wolfram & Hart. But Richard would still have some remaining connections in the underworld. And with the First and the Senior Partners defeated, there was a vacuum in evil’s power structure in this realm. A vacuum Richard could easily fill.
Faith knew she wasn’t ready to go back to the dark side. She wasn’t ready to kill and seek vengeance for being cast aside.
But soon . . .very soon . . . she would be.
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