Yet again, the Library—
The gang returned to the library just after sunset, looking much better than when they left. The chance to rest had done them all good: Cordelia was back to being her impeccably-dressed self, Willow looked bright and refreshed, and even Oz appeared less scruffy. Xander’s color had returned, and aside from some bruises and the small bandage on his head, the young man looked as he always did.
They found Giles nestled among a pile of books on the table that had most recently served as Xander’s gurney. The Watcher had apparently gotten the chance to go home and rest as well. He had showered, shaved, and changed into a different version of his usual tweed.
The group was exchanging greetings when Leonora appeared from Giles’ office. She wore an old shirt of the librarian’s and had a blanket draped over her shoulders. The dhampir was still pale and weak-looking, lacking her usual grace. Sipping from a mug, she gingerly took her seat at the table.
“Looks like Angel’s still licking his wounds,” Buffy offered to the gathering. “No sign of activity when I did a quick patrol.” Addressing Leonora specifically, she asked, “How are you feeling?”
“I’ll survive. Your little…ah…delivery helped. Thank you.” She absently pulled a donut from the box that Cordelia had brought that morning and dunked it. The pastry came out coated red. The gang watched, fascinated while Leonora ate.
At the abrupt silence, Leonora looked up to various expressions of curiosity, disgust, and awkwardness. Unsure what the problem was, she dunked again, understanding dawning only after she looked at the donut’s color as she removed it from the mug. Swallowing with an audible gulp, she put the mug down. “Oh. I forget sometimes. Sorry if that grossed anyone out.”
A flurry of quick no’s greeted her, punctuated by a loud yes from Cordelia. Giles cleared his throat before stepping into the breach. “Yes, well, ah, it would seem that we still haven’t uncovered what spells are housed within the grimoire. And since our more immediate problems have been solved, I suggest we get back to our research.” He handed out tasks summarily; everyone but Buffy would stay at the library and look for further information on the Arcanorum Grimoire. While they did that, Buffy would search Sunnydale for any sign of Li or any other strange, supernatural happenings.
Buffy returned several hours later to find everyone still hard at work. “Looks quiet for now,” she remarked, plopping herself into a chair. “No luck yet?”
Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “We’re getting closer,” he said. “I’ve come across several references that point the way to specific texts. Leonora is in the stacks, looking for them now. And Willow may have found something that may prove useful once translated.” The Watcher sighed and looked around his library before turning his attention back to Buffy. “So there was no sign of any vampire activity? Strange.”
“Everything is as silent as the proverbial tomb. Well, at least a tomb *not* located in Sunnydale. But if Leonora did shoot Angel and Drusilla like she said, it makes sense that they’d be laying low for a while.”
“Yes, but what about this Li person?” Giles lowered his voice to prevent anyone from overhearing their conversation. “She should have arrived here by now, and surely she would seek out Angelus and his ilk. This lack of movement could be a dangerous sign—they may be preparing for something.”
“Hey guys!” Willow’s excited yell interrupted them. “I think I’ve got something!” The entire group headed over to the hacker. Leonora emerged from the stacks, arms full of books, at Willow’s call.
Five vampires crashed through the library windows and the room erupted into chaos. Three headed straight for Leonora, who proceeded to lob the ancient hardbacks at their heads, and the other two headed for the group clustered around the computer. Willow threw herself on top of the laptop, protecting the information she’d just found. Buffy vaulted the table, putting herself between the vampires and her friends and yelled for a stake.
Leonora had managed to hit one of the approaching vampires in the head with one of the tomes, effectively stunning him, but the other two closed on her. This was not what she wanted to be doing after barely healing from Spike’s little “parting gift”, but it looked like she had no choice. She led with a roundhouse, connecting with the first vampire, sending him staggering back. The second received a quick jab followed by a hard cross to the face, backing him a few steps. But she wasn’t anywhere near full strength and the two accepted the blows and came back for more, warily circling her like hungry sharks.
Buffy landed on her back on the table and kicked out with both feet, knocking both vampires sprawling. She hopped back into fighting stance in time to block punches from one of the vampires. The other was trading blows with Giles, who had been attempting to get to Leonora. The Watcher was holding his own at the moment, but he didn’t have the Slayer’s reserves and was getting slower by the minute. As Buffy watched, Giles missed a block, taking one on the jaw.
A kick to her gut brought the Slayer back to the problem at hand. She fell back, stake flying from her hand. She rolled over the table as the vampire kicked again, narrowly missing her head. Her moment’s distraction had cost her. The vampire growled at her, legs coiled to spring, when his face contorted and he crumpled. Cordelia stood over him, holding the back of a now-broken chair. Xander had picked up one of the shattered legs and drove it home through the vampire’s heart.
Buffy picked up another chair leg to replace her missing stake and headed over to Giles. The librarian was currently having the stuffing beaten out of him. The Slayer slammed into the vampire, bouncing him off of the railing and into her stake. As he exploded into dust, she helped Giles to his feet.
Leonora had been doing fine up until the third vampire that she had stunned joined the melee. They continued to trade blows, but now the dhampir was more interested in protecting her injured side than in inflicting any real damage. One of the vampires moved in close, intending to grapple with her. His mistake. Leonora reared up, grabbed his head and twisted. The vampire’s neck snapped audibly. She dropped the body and dodged a kick from Vamp 2, looking around to see what had happened to the third vampire. That was when a bookshelf fell on top of her.
Buffy crested the steps in time to see Leonora fall beneath a mountain of texts and wooden shelving. The Slayer wasted no time in staking the vampire with the broken neck—you could never be too careful--then kicked the one who turned to face her. The vampire staggered back, arms flailing for balance. Unable to resist such a tempting target, Buffy leaped forward and drove the stake home.
The only remaining vampire, seeing the Slayer and the rest of the Slayerettes behind her, made a sensible decision: he turned and ran out the way he had come.
“That was not among my top ten ways to spend an evening,” Leonora commented, levering the bookcase away with Buffy and Xander’s help. Giles offered his hand to help her up. “I’m beginning to….” She never finished her statement. She ducked, pulling the other three down with her. A white object hurtled past their heads to crash into the wall behind them.
Buffy ran to the broken window, peering out into the darkness. “Whoever it was is gone now,” she reported after a few minutes. “What was that thing?”
Leonora and Xander had gone over to investigate. As they neared it, they could both tell it was the statue that had been stolen along with the grimoire. Upon impact, it had broken into numerous pieces. Leonora kneeled down, delicately tracing a piece with her finger. Xander gathered up one or two of the larger fragments in the hopes that it might be salvageable and looked at her. She wore that blank expression again, looking at the remains of the statue.
“We can try and fix it,” Xander whispered, gently touching the dhampir’s arm. Leonora met his eyes sadly and shook her head. Xander looked to Giles, at a loss for what to do. The Watcher shrugged, unsure himself.
Gratefully, Willow broke the silence from her chair. The hacker was once again seated in front of her laptop. “Hey guys, before we were interrupted, and before anything else happens, I think I’ve found what we were looking for.” Everyone clustered around her except Leonora, who continued to kneel about the statue’s shards.
“It says that a number of spells are contained within the grimoire and it goes on to list them and translate a few below. Those are nothing special—just the usual conjuring and evocation spells that you’ll find in most old magical texts. But what sets this grimoire apart from others is this spell.” Here Willow pointed at the screen. “It’s one that is supposed to resurrect the undead. Specifically vampires.”
“Oh boy,” Xander said, his voice uneasy. “That can’t be good.”
“No, it can’t,” Giles agreed.
“But what, or who, does Li want it for?” Buffy asked.
“She’s planning a damned family reunion,” Leonora answered, her voice angry and a little afraid. She walked down the steps, leaning heavily on the banister. “And I mean that quite literally.”
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