Disclaimer: Buffy The Vampire Slayer and related characters are owned by Joss Whedon, WB and Mutant Enemy. I can only take credit for the new main characters I have created and various other vampire minions which may wander into my stories. I created them, so they are mine. Don't sue as this is just pure fanfic.
*****Chapter Two – Only Dust*****
That night at the graveyard, Blade, Harp, Sly and Barb were ready for their attack on Eli. Pierce was with them, but not into it…in fact; he was totally out of it. Quill just seemed to tag along for the ride…hoping that Blade wouldn’t smile at her again. They had picked a prime site, outside the Bronze. They headed towards the club, intent on revenge.
Oz and Willow had just arrived at the Bronze, Xander and Esme were walking down the street and Giles was alone in his flat, judging up whether to call Eve or not.
Cordelia was still sitting in her room when Buffy knocked on her door.
‘Hey.’ She said as she entered the room. ‘Your mom said I should just come up. Willow sent me round to convince you to come to the Bronze tonight.’
‘Buffy, I’m not really in the mood to go anywhere.’
‘But you’ll never be in the mood unless you do something that snaps you out of your downer.’
‘You think?’
‘I know, it worked for me whenever I was at a low…well, after the running away for two months part. But come on, just put on some lipstick, grab a jacket and come with me.’
‘Okay.’ She murmured, smiling slightly.
They left together and headed for the Bronze.
Eve was already inside the Bronze, and had decided to call Giles. She saw that Xander and Esme had just walked in.
‘Es? Have you got change for the phone? I’m going to call Giles.’
‘Ah, so you do like him.’ Esme teased. Her sister simply stuck out her tongue defiantly and blushed.
Esme smiled. ‘Yeah, I should have some.’ She began a search for her purse.
**********
Outside, Eli was just walking down the alley by the Bronze, whistling to himself but not concentrating on the tune. Suddenly he heard footsteps and the rusting of leather clothes and he was surrounded. Harp, Sly and Barb grabbed him; they restrained him tightly and held his arms behind his back, exposing his chest. Blade stood in front of him with a stake held at chest height and growled.
‘Hello Eli. We’ve been waiting for you.’
Buffy and Cordelia were just walking down the alleyway when Blade shoved the stake into Pierces hand and said ‘You do it.’
He pushed him forward. There was a moment of pure silence as Eli and Pierce looked at each other, then at the stake and back at each other. What the hell could they do now? Quill shifted uncomfortably on her feet as she waited for Blade’s next move…was there anything she and Pierce could do to stop this again?
Inside the Bronze Esme still couldn’t find her purse.
‘I must’ve dropped it outside. Xander, can you go get some drinks…I’ll be right back.’
Xander nodded and headed for the bar, knowing what Esme would want. Esme left Eve by the phone and headed outside to look for her purse.
**********
Outside Pierce didn’t really want to do it, but he raised the stake anyway…his mind was racing, he had so many ideas of how he could get out of this, but none of them would’ve worked at that moment. Well, maybe the one where Eli came through with some kick-ass magic and turned the gang into ferrets, but he couldn’t see it happening any time soon. Buffy and Cordelia finally noticed them when they reached the end of the alleyway by the front door of the Bronze.
‘No!’ They cried, seeing what was about to take place. Blade turned impatiently and Barb rushed forward grabbing Cordelia, and holding a knife to her throat.
‘Do it Pierce, or Cordy gets a second smile.’ She made a gesture of moving the knife across her throat. ‘Understand.’
Esme came out into the alley, scanning the floor for her purse. She sighed in frustration when she couldn’t see it, then she looked up and noticed the scene.
‘Eli? What’s happening? What are you doing Blade?’ She said worriedly, glancing at Eli’s scared expression. Quill watched the scene from the shadows at the side of the alley…she saw the worried look on Esme’s face, and the scared expression on Eli’s…there was nothing anyone could do now.
The next few moments passed in a blur.
Buffy saw her chance as the gang became distracted and kicked Barb into a nearby trash can, freeing Cordelia. Pierce dropped the stake and ran to Cordelia’s side. Buffy headed for Sly and Barb, and Xander who had heard the noise, came out into the alleyway. Blade saw that he was losing so he grabbed the stake and aimed it at Eli’s heart.
‘This is for Slash!’ He yelled and threw the stake at Eli with a huge effort.
Esme watched the stake fly through the air in slow motion and tried to run forward to stop it.
She never made it on time.
The stake went through Eli’s heart quickly; he cried out in pain and began to fall to the floor. Esme fell to her knees beside his falling body and caught him in her arms for a split second. As they made contact he exploded into a cloud of black ash. Esme’s hands just grasped thin air and dust. She stared at her open hands; they were covered in Eli’s ashes.
As she sat in a shocked silence, Pierce and Cordelia looking on in the same way, Buffy new she had to finish it and began to kick ass.
Xander ran to Esme and knelt by her side. He placed his arms around her; but all she could do was stare at her hands and cried onto his shoulder.
Buffy killed Barb and Sly, ignoring their shrieks as she approached them with the stakes; Harp made a grab for Cordelia, so Pierce was forced to kill him. Then Buffy advanced on Blade, with one last stake in her hand.
‘Eli didn’t deserve to die, but you do.’ She hurled a stake at him viciously and dusted him.
Eve came into the alley oblivious to the previous scene. Quill continued to watch, unnoticed…she was close to tears…everyone was dead…everyone except Pierce…
‘What happened? Esme?’ Esme lifted her hands above her head, showing Eve the ashes; her voice was a barely audible whisper.
‘Eli.’ She choked on her tears and fell against Xander; he cradled her protectively in his arms. Cordelia and Pierce came and stood by them, arm in arm. Willow and Oz came out and stood also, no-one needed to tell them what had happened, they guessed.
Eve fell to her knees beside Esme; she began to scrape Eli’s ashes into a pile, crying all the time. Giles finally arrived, wearing a bright smile. It soon faded when he saw the scene. Angel followed him.
‘Are we late?’ He asked. Giles noticed Eve crying and immediately went to comfort her; Angel stared at the pile of ashes, a fearful look in his eyes.
Everyone turned to stare at Pierce for answers; he released Cordelia and crouched beside Eve and Esme.
‘I’m so sorry.’ He whispered. ‘I never wanted anyone to die.’
‘I know.’ Said Esme, between her tears. He put a hand on her shoulder, and stood up. He walked out of the alley, knowing that there was nothing more he could do for them. Quill watched him go, seeing that Cordelia lingered with the others…she hoped that no-one would notice her as she slipped out of the alley to follow Pierce…no one did.
Buffy looked at Eve and Esme, both in tears, stricken with grief. She couldn’t believe that Esme had once been the tough, strong vampire that she had met months ago. Now she was just a small blonde bundle in Xanders arms, shaking with sobs. Eve too had seemed so strong, so level headed. She had always been so in control of the three sibling’s lives. Now she just sat on the dirty alley floor, scraping desperately at Eli’s ashes, they were all that remained of him.
Looking at them now they seemed like small children, harmless and innocent. Buffy’s anger at Blade increased, not only had he killed Eli, he had broken the spirits of two of the strongest women she knew…Buffy couldn’t ever forgive him for that. She was glad he was dead.
Willow and Oz left, followed by Angel and Buffy and finally Cordelia; they sensed that Esme and Eve needed time to grieve.
Esme and Eve then asked to be left alone, so Giles and Xander reluctantly left them. Esme went into the Bronze and returned with an empty glass, they placed Eli’s ashes delicately inside it and headed home. It was painful for them to carry his remains in a glass, the most disrespectful way they could have imagined.
**********
Back in their apartment they lifted a large wooden trunk out from the closet. They carefully brushed the dust off and opened it. Inside was a selection of ancient things, including a jewellery box containing four identical pendants. They lifted out one of the pendants; it was engraved with Eli’s name and date of birth on one side, and a picture of a shield and crest on the other.
‘The family crest.’ Said Eve, running her finger over the now discoloured metal. ‘Now the last in the O’Riley family is gone, there’s no-one to pass on our name.’ She began to cry again. Esme continued to rummage in the box, fighting back the tears, she found what she was searching for, a small lever on the inside of the lid. She pulled the lever, something clicked, and then she lifted the contents of the trunk out on a tray. Below the tray she found four marble urns, all a mixture of emerald green and earthy brown.
With the four urns was a wooden box, she opened it to reveal a long thin knife with a sharp blade. She picked up one of the four urns, the knife box and the pendant. The she picked up an engraving tool and the glass of Eli’s ashes. Together they headed out of the door.
At the cemetery they found a sheltered spot by a small stream under a willow tree. They used their hands to dig a deep hole, and then they poured Eli’s ashes into the chosen urn. They used the engraving tool to scratch Eli’s date of death onto the pendant. They opened it briefly, inside were four small paintings of them as children. They closed the pendant again, not wishing to remember too much of the past.
The past only ever haunted a vampire.
Eli’s urn was only half filled with ash. They used the thin bladed knife to make a cut on the palm of each of their hands. They let the blood from the wounds pour into the cup, filling it to the top, and then they dropped the pendant into it and watched it sink beneath the blood. Placing the urn inside the box, they closed its lid. Then they covered it with earth and a few fresh flowers, red roses, from a nearby bush.
They recited a Gaelic prayer.
‘I pray he makes it to the other side. Without the blood of all three surviving sisters he…’ Eve choked off the words, not bearing to think about where his already tormented soul may end up.
‘He will Eve, he will.’ Esme tried to sound positive. Eve nodded mutely. Then they took one last look at Eli’s grave before standing up and walking out of the cemetery.
It was clear to them both that nothing would ever be the same again, with Eli gone it was only a matter of time before they were gone too. When they arrived back at their flat they sunk onto the sofa, both depressed and silent. They looked at each other for a moment, and they both saw the same thing. Hollow eyes. The only thing they had left of life was the light in their eyes, but now it had died with Eli. They both began to cry and held each other tightly.
Maybe it wasn’t over yet, they still had each other…they’d get over it.
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
