THE BOOK OF DAYS
‘I’ve been going through her files, and researching the black arts for fun..or educational fun, and I may be able to work this. I may be the best person to do this.’
Willow, ‘Becoming I’
Part Two: The Binding
###
‘There’s no one here.’ Buffy stepped warily through her Watcher’s living room. The house was dark and silent. Cordelia trailed after her, looking into the kitchen and study. ‘Weapons are here. I’ll go and check upstairs.’ The brunette made for the staircase.
‘Does he always leave his front door unlocked like that?’ Scully was standing just inside the doorway, arms crossed.
‘Yeah - usually. There’s not much crime in Sunnydale. Well - crime-crime, there’s a lot of death-type crime, but those kind of criminals can’t just walk into your house.’
‘Is there anywhere else you can think of that he would be?’ Mulder was looking around the room, taking in the bookshelves full of large tomes, the chest full of stakes and crossbows and other weapons.
‘I think the vampires took him. To get at me - or...no! Wait! For information! Giles told me that Angel had a ritual to perform before he could wake Acathla. Maybe he didn’t know the ritual, and he set me up so they could take Giles. That’s good!’
‘Good?’
‘Because it means they won’t have killed him - he’ll still be alive. He can’t tell them if he’s dead, and he won’t tell them without...being forced...he’s in trouble.’
‘There’s nothing here.’ Cordelia’s voice drifted down the stairs. ‘That is, apart from the ugliest painting I ever saw. Giles needs some help with his interior decorating. Cream bedsheets - ugh. Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here all night.’
‘Okay, Cordy, thanks.’ Buffy looked at Mulder, questioning. The look on her face was grimmer than he had thought possible even on the faces of some of his battle-hardened former colleagues on the violent crimes squad. ‘Extreme missing person. Probably being tortured at the moment. What do we do?.’
Scully was not buying the act this teenager was putting on. ‘Tortured?’ She shook her head. ‘What makes you think...’
‘Vampires don’t take you home to serve you tea. Especially if you are a Watcher. Especially if the vampire concerned is Angel and you’re _my_ Watcher.’
As Scully shot Mulder an angry glance, Cordelia came back down the stairs. ‘What about getting sucked into hell?’
‘Very much still on the agenda. I only hope Giles can hold out long enough for us to do something. We need to stop Angel.’ She sat down on the couch, resting her chin on her fisted hand. ‘Only...what? We don’t know where they are. I’ve been back to check the factory so many times. And Willow and Xander are still in the hos...’ She broke off, and grabbed for the phone, punching in a number from memory.’
‘Mom, it’s me. Where are you?’
‘Honey, I’m just leaving the hospital. Willow and Xander are with me.’
‘They’re with you...what?’
‘They were determined to leave and the doctors couldn’t keep them there. I tried to persuade them to stay, but they wouldn’t. We’re on our way to the station.’
‘No - Mom, wait. Mr Giles is missing. I’m with Agent Mulder at Mr Giles’s house. Can you bring Will and Xander here?’ She rattled off the address as her Mom listened. ‘I need their help.’
‘Okay, Buffy. Are you alright? Willow told me a gang attacked you all at school, just like before. I knew you didn’t do it. Why didn’t you tell the police that at the start?’
‘Mom, I...I don’t know. Look, I really need Willow’s help. Please hurry.’
‘Okay, hon. We’ll be there very soon.’ Buffy hung up, and looked at her watch. ‘It’s after five. Cordy, would you ring Oz and get him over here. We’ve got to find some way of stopping Angel, as soon as possible.’
Scully crossed her arms. ‘I _don’t believe_ this,’ she said to no one in particular.
Mulder took off his coat and tossed it over the back of a chair. ‘What can I do?’
‘Just keep Miss J.Edgar Hoover out of our way.’
###
Xander supported Willow with his good arm as she walked slowly down the stairs and into the apartment. Cordelia rushed to his side and hugged him hard.
‘God, I thought you both were dead.’
‘We’re okay. Giles hasn’t shown up?’
‘No. We’re in trouble.’ Buffy turned to her mother. ‘Mom, you look tired, you should go home and get some rest.’
‘Buffy..I...’
‘We’re okay, Mom. Look, take the day off work. Have a good sleep. There’s not really much you can do.’
‘Buffy, I wish you wouldn’t do this to me.’ Seeing the look on her daughter’s face, she finally nodded, and turned to Mulder. ‘Is my daughter under arrest?’
Mulder looked uncomfortable. ‘She’s helping us with our enquiries. Please, Mrs Summers, the best thing you can do is go home and get some rest. We will call you if anything changes, and we’ll bring Buffy home later today.’
Joyce nodded again, looking deflated. She did not expect the tight hug Buffy gave her, and was slow to hug back.
‘I love you, Mom.’
‘I love you too, honey. I hope you find your teacher.’
‘We will.’ Buffy watched her mother leave, wanting to run after her. ‘We have to.’
Oz arrived a minute later, his hair and clothes in wild disarray. Seeing Willow’s bandaged head, he went to her, pulling her into a hug.
‘Okay.’ Buffy spoke up loudly. ‘Listen, ‘cos we’ve got no time. Giles is missing, and we have to assume that Angel has him and is trying to find out how to wake Acathla up.’
‘Huh?’ Oz managed to look puzzled without actually looking puzzled.
‘Cliff’s notes: My dear, sweet ex-honey has a statue that he’s trying to wake up - pull a sword out of it or something. If he does it, the whole world will be sucked into hell. Which is bad, so we have to stop him. Only, he has Giles, and we don’t know where any of them are.’
‘Oh. Not good.’
‘Got it in one. This is Agent Mulder, Agent Scully. They know about all this and Agent Mulder believes it.’ She turned to Willow. ‘I thought about trying the restoration again, but the cops have got all the stuff.’
‘It’s damaged.’ Willow leaned her head back against Oz’s shoulder. ‘I didn’t get time to make a backup.’
‘Okay. Scratch that one. We could just go out and look for them, but it could take all day, and we probably don’t have that long. I know Giles doesn’t. He’s been gone for..what..nine hours. That’s more than enough time for Angel to have done some nasty things to him. I only hope he can hang in there.’
Willow whitened visibly, and Oz gripped her hand tighter. ‘Can you use your vampire-sense to find them?’
‘I can’t discriminate that well - it would take forever. If there are a lot of vampires around I wouldn’t be able to pick out Angel. I’m sorry.’
Xander spoke up. ‘What about..what about some other kind of spell. Knock them all out or something.’
‘Hey, yeah!’ Cordelia’s eyes lit up. ‘Then we wouldn’t have to fight!’
Buffy looked intently at her friend. ‘Will, you’re like Spell Girl. Do you think you can do that? Do you think you can use a spell to put the whammy on them?’
Willow looked perplexed a minute, and made her way to the couch with Oz supporting her the whole way. She closed her eyes, digging for information within her memory.
‘The only thing I can think of is to put a binding on them - on Acathla, the other vampires, and Angel. It’s a simple spell, I don’t know if it’d be strong enough to hold them, even for a little while. But maybe I could do it long enough for Giles to escape, if we bind them motionless...I don’t know.’
‘But it’s worth a try?’
‘It’s the only thing I can think of, Buffy. It’s a longshot, and I’ve never tried it before. And I hope Giles has a book here for it...he should do.’
‘Okay, Will.’ Xander grimaced and adjusted his sling. ‘What can we do to help?’
###
Willow was aware that all eyes were on her as she lit the final candle. She felt burdened by her unease, especially the attitude of anger and disbelief coming from the female agent. Scully had stopped protesting, and after muttering something about ‘the craft’, had taken a place on the stairs where she could see all the teens. She refused to speak to Mulder, who had helped them find a binding spell that Willow could manipulate.
Oz looked around warily. ‘Okay, no hell yet.’ he observed as he sat to Willow’s left in the circle.
‘Okay, we’re ready. You guys just need to read your sections when I nod at you. I’ll do the main part.’ She felt her awkwardness pass as she centred herself and placed her hands in front of her, palm up. Glancing at Buffy for a second, she saw the Slayer was sitting, head bowed, on the couch. Willow knew she was thinking not of Acathla and the coming Apocalypse, but of Giles.
She felt a wave of pain wash over her and forced herself to recentre. Before she could get distracted again, she began.
‘Guardians of the Watchtowers of the North, I do summon, stir and call you now to witness this rite and guard this circle. Spirits of the earth, bring us to your grounding and protection. I call you now.’
She nodded at Oz, who had made an effort to copy her position, palms up.
‘Guardians of the Watchtowers of the East, I do summon, stir and call you now to witness this rite and guard this circle. Spirits of the flame, bring us to your quickening and light. I call you now.’
Xander went next. ‘Guardians of the Watchtowers of the..uh..South, I do summon, stir and call you now to witness this rite and guard this circle. Spirits of the ether, bring us to your freedom and clarity. I call you now.’ He let out a long sigh and leaned backwards, away from the ring. Mulder was watching in apparent fascination.
Cordelia let out a frightened breath. ‘Okay. Guardians of the Watchtowers of the West, I do summon, stir and call you now to witness this rite and guard this circle. Spirits of the water, bring us to your stillness and peace.’
Willow sat up straighter, gave Oz a glance, and concentrated on her breathing as he motioned the others away from the circle. She slipped forward, so she was entirely inside the circle of protection, then closed her eyes, willing herself to remember.
‘Named and unnamed are the demons that threaten darkness, named and unnamed shall they be bound from causing harm. I implore the gods to look on the circle, and grant the request of one who seeks peace and life for all.’
She raised her hands to the level of her chin, still palms up. Around her, the four candle flames flickered wildly, casting strange shadows around the room and across the face of the onlookers.
‘I name thee, Acathla, and bind thee to my bidding. No harm shall be done by thee, alone or in consort. Bound art thee from thy evil, bound art thee from thy powers of hell.’
‘I name thee, Drusilla, and bind thee to my bidding. Thou art bound from movement, from doing harm, until the next course of the sun. Bound art thee from thy evil, bound art thee from thy powers of hell.’
‘I name thee, William the Bloody, and bind thee to my bidding. Thou art bound from movement, from doing harm, until the next course of the sun. Bound art thee from thy evil, bound art thee from thy powers of hell.’
At this point, Willow paused and swallowed before she could continue. ‘I name thee, Angelus, and bind thee to my bidding. Thou art bound from movement, from doing harm, until the next course of the sun. Bound art thee from thy evil, bound art..bound art thee from thy powers of hell.’
‘Demons unnamed, in the service of these dark ones, I bind thee to my bidding. Thou art bound from movement, from doing harm, until the next course of the sun. Bound art thee from thy evil, bound art thee all from thy powers of hell.’
She placed her hands back down into her lap, and as Oz came forward to blow out the candles, she finished the ritual. ‘By the powers of the listening, and the powers of the light, I call to...I call to the guardians to come in power and bind this evil. Let it be so. Let it be so. Let it be so.’
Oz was just in time to catch her as she fainted clear away.
###
‘How the hell are we gonna know if it worked?’ Xander sounded uncomfortable and Scully realised that his arm was giving him some pain.
‘We don’t. We just wait until Giles contacts us, somehow. I’m just hoping that he’s enough alright to realise what’s happened.’ Willow looked concerned and suddenly looked down at her watch. ‘Oh. Oh! Buffy! Chemistry!’
‘Huh?’
‘It’s nearly twelve o’clock. Chemistry final! This afternoon.’ The colour had drained from her face.
Xander looked directly at Mulder. ‘Yessir, that’s living on the Hellmouth for ya. This girl probably just saved the world from being sucked into the hot place, and she’s worried about Chemistry.’ He placed both arms on the table in front of him and studied them. ‘I’m thinking...compassionate consideration.’
‘I have to go.’
‘Miss Rosenburg.’ Scully’s voice made everyone’s head turn in her direction. ‘You have a concussion. An hour ago you fainted. You are in no condition to be sitting an exam.’
‘But it’s the last one!’ Willow looked panicky. ‘I have to go. I feel fine, really.’
‘Will, you spent the night at the hospital. They'll give you another chance to sit the exam.’
‘Not me. I got music this afternoon. Sorry Willow.’ Oz’s face was as impassive as ever, but his voice was worried. ‘I figure if I’m sitting in an exam, I won’t even notice if the world goes to hell. A continuity thing. So, anyone who’s going back to campus, the van’s going soon.’
‘I’m coming.’
‘Will..’ Buffy shook her head. ‘I won’t let you. Just think. This will give you more time to study for chemistry. I’ve failed, you might as well get my marks as well.’
Willow sighed. ‘Okay. But I’m warning you, I feel dirty.’
‘I’m gonna go. This room is glooming me out. That green lamp...’ Cordelia gestured at the offending object and wrinkled her nose. ‘And, I need to pass chemistry. Crisis averted, right?’ She gave Buffy a look of appeal.
The Slayer was about to answer when the telephone rang. She grabbed it, almost knocking it off the table in her haste. ‘Hello? Who is this?’
‘Buffy...is that you?’
‘GILES!!...thank God! We had no idea where to find you! Are you alright? Where are you?’
‘Texaco..Willis St. I managed to get....I got here. A man gave me a ride in.’
Willow sat up straighter. ‘It worked!’ she hissed at Oz.
‘Stay right there. We’re coming to get you. Are you hurt?’
‘I seem to be bleeding...Angel had a knife..my fingers.’
‘Right. That’s it. He’s toast. We’ll be there in a minute. See you soon.’
She hung up the phone and let out a breath. ‘He’s at the Texaco on Willis St, and I don’t think he’s hurt too bad. Who’s coming with me?’
‘You’re not going anywhere, Miss Summers. You are in custody.’ Scully’s voice was cold and Mulder looked at her in surprise.
‘Scully, there’s an injured man out there that needs help!’
Buffy’s eyes had narrowed, and she came forward until she was standing toe to toe with the Agent.
‘You can’t stop me.’
‘Buffy...’ Willow warned.
Scully didn’t back down, but continued staring back coolly into the Slayer’s eyes. ‘This man is a witness to a crime we are investigating. I will go and pick him up. You, young lady, will stay here with Agent Mulder.’
‘But he’s hurt!’
‘And I am a doctor.’
Buffy looked at Mulder for confirmation. When he nodded, she took a step back and the muscles in her shoulders visibly relaxed. Scully didn’t move.
‘Okay. Fine. Go and get Giles.’ The Slayer turned and went to Willow’s side. ‘Xand, will you go with her, show her the way. Will and I’ll stay here with Agent Mulder. Cordy, Oz, you head back to school.’ Her voice was authoritative, and Willow suddenly realised that Buffy had taken over Giles’s role in the group in his absence, as well as playing her own. The Slayer looked tired, but not as tired as Willow herself felt.
Xander nodded, and Xander, Cordelia and Oz headed towards the door. Scully shouldered her handbag, then, with her eyes firmly on Buffy, pulled back her jacket exposing her holster. She drew the gun and pulled out the clip, checking her ammunition. Satisfied the clip was full, she reholstered her gun and followed the teens.
Buffy expressed what she felt quite succinctly. ‘Bitch.’
Mulder sighed and sat down. ‘Miss Summers...’
‘Buffy. My name is Buffy.’
‘She’s not normally like this. Usually we don’t even have this much evidence. I think she’s starting to believe what she’s seeing, and that’s got her on the defensive. She won’t admit it, but she’s scared.’
‘We’re all scared. But if she can help Giles, I don’t care how big of a bitch she is. Is she a good doctor?’
Mulder nodded. ‘The best.’
###
There were no customers at the Texaco, and plenty of parking on the street, so Scully swung into an external park and growled at a protesting Xander to remain in the car. Her hand close to her holster, she headed towards the public phone bank she saw on the corner. There was a man sitting on a bench beside the phones. He had nasty cut along his hairline, and one of the lenses of his glasses was shattered. He sat still, head back, breathing shallowly, a jacket in his lap hiding his hands. People walking past gave him a wide berth and disgusted glances, although he didn’t look like a drunk. She stepped closer, and pulled her badge.
‘Rupert Giles?’
‘Yes...can I help you?’ His voice was weak and it was obviously a struggle for him to get the words out.
‘I’m special Agent Dana Scully, with the F.B.I. I’d like you to come with me, please.’
He looked at her as if she was mad. ‘I..I’m sorry..I can’t.’ He tried to sit up straighter, the movement giving the doctor part of Scully’s brain opportunity to see that he was quite badly injured. ‘I’m waiting for somebody.’
Scully saw an opportunity to test the girl’s story. ‘For your Slayer?’
The librarian nodded, then his eyes opened wide. ‘How did you..?’
‘Buffy sent me. I have Alexander Harris in the car with me, but he’s very tired and has a badly broken arm so I didn’t want to move him around too much. Mr Giles, I am a doctor. Please come with me.’
He looked at her more carefully this time, as if sizing her up. ‘Very well. I..I need some help.’
She sat beside him on the bench, and allowed him to lean on her for support so they could slide off the bench. She took his suit jacket from him and saw that three of his fingers were sticking out at usual angles, obviously broken.
They made the hundred metre journey to the car with nothing more serious happening than the stares of passersby. Xander saw them coming and jumped out of the car, running to meet them and support Giles’s other side.
‘Giles, come on, we’ll get you back to your apartment.’
‘Willow..’
‘Is fine, so’s Cordy, and Buffy.’
‘Angel told me..that he killed her...I didn’t believe him, but I thought...’
‘That bastard is going down.’
‘How did you - Spike...Angel..frozen...’
‘Willow did something - a binding.’
Scully had heard about enough of this. ‘Alright, just be quiet until we get back. Then I’m taking Mr Giles to the hospital.’
###
Back at the apartment, she strapped and braced Giles’s broken fingers and applied butterfly bandages to the cuts on his head and back, while Willow, Buffy and Xander answered his questions, which were from the same stable of lunatic doggerel she had been hearing from the teens for the last twelve hours. He had refused to go to hospital, and after giving him a good lookover, Scully felt the worst of his injuries were bruising and the cuts to his back
‘Well, he was about to..nevermind, and they all just stopped, frozen. Spike is walking, but the other vampires don’t know it yet. He said Angel and Drusilla brought him Slayer blood, and I thought..’
‘God, Giles, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for leaving.’
‘It’s quite alright, Buffy. We were all fooled.’
Xander looked thoughtful. ‘Crawford St. That’s quite far out of town. They’d be completely trapped there in the daylight.’
‘I think it’s a difficult place for them, they all got quite agitated as dawn was coming on...ow!’
‘Sorry.’
‘Maybe a last resort since the factory was burnt down.’
Buffy gave Scully a sideways glance and beckoned Xander away.
‘Alright, Mr Giles, no contact sport for a few weeks. I’ve given you some painkiller, which should kick in soon. Your injuries are about as bad as they look, and you should be lot more comfortable in a day or so, but you will have scars.’
‘They’ll add to the old ones. Thank you very much, Dr Scully. Thank you for helping Buffy.’
She looked down. ‘Yes, well. I have to go and talk to my partner. Please, don’t move around too much.’
She walked down the stairs and drew Mulder out into the kitchen where they couldn’t be overheard. He had a strange expression on his face, which she at first thought was irritation, but then realised was some sort of dawning hope.
‘What now?’
‘He’s going to be okay. The injuries are fairly superficial. Not exactly consistent with torture.’
‘Right. What’s your theory now?’
‘Mulder, it’s obvious these kids are part of some cult, with the librarian leading them.’
‘Is it?’
‘Yes! What other explanation is there?’
‘Scully, for God’s sake - you saw Buffy kill a vampire right in front of you. You saw Miss Rosenburg cast a spell which saved Rupert Giles’s life and took so much out of her she fainted. What the hell else do you need?’
‘Mulder, she has concussion. She was in a fight, and was hit on the head. She could have fainted at any time.’
‘Scully - just let go! Just let go of this. They’re telling the truth!’
She began to laugh, softly at first, then louder, and he was suddenly wrenched back into a memory where she was standing, cold, wet, young and beautiful in an Oregon graveyard in the rain, laughing the same way. ‘What next? Do they turn into bats and fly away? Sleep in coffins - I..I can believe this.’
‘No. They don’t.’ A voice came from the doorway and the Agents turned to see Buffy standing there, arms folded. ‘No coffins, no bats.’ She stepped into the room and addressed Scully. ‘But they are real. This is all real. Very real. Thank you for looking after Giles. I appreciate it. But I need more help.’ She looked Scully straight in the eye. ‘I didn’t kill Kendra. I need you to prove that. I can’t afford to go to jail. I know you don’t believe about the Hellmouth, or the vampires, but I think you know I didn’t commit that murder. Are you willing to clear me?’
Scully looked down at her shoes, thinking. Mulder and Buffy exchanged a look over her head. Finally, she straightened up. ‘Yes, I believe you didn’t do it. So I’ll do my job.’
‘Thank you.’ Buffy turned and walked from the room.
Mulder reached for Scully’s hand. ‘Scully, if I can find you some proof...there’s still a dangerous situation going on here..’
‘Mulder, don’t...’
‘Just listen to me. It’s nearly three o’clock, we’ve been up for about forty hours. I say we take Buffy home and check in at the motel, get some sleep. All these kids need sleep too. The morgue is booked for you at 10am tomorrow, so you can start with the autopsy, while I take some statements. Before that, we all need some rest. Okay?’
She nodded.
‘Scully, I’m looking at this is my absolute best chance to prove to you the existence of more than what you can see. You have to give me a chance.’
‘And you have to respect the fact that, short of absolute proof, I can’t believe you.’
‘I know. I do. Come on, let’s go get some sleep.’
###
End of Part Two.
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