Part Three
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buffy's eyes darted across the room. she thought grimly. She hated to leave Jordan in the dark - both literally and figuratively, considering it was just after four AM, but she was in no mood for explanations. He had helped her out, definitely, but she couldn't handle having a friend right now.
She really couldn't handle anything.
she thought guiltily as she picked up her backpack and shut the door quietly behind her.
...and stopped dead in her tracks.
A note lay on the floor in the hallway. The handwriting was familiar, too familiar...she looked at it more closely and let go a choked sob.
The letter was covered in blood.
The letter was cut off there.
Written below it, in an almost illegible handwriting, was written one word:
* * *
Vibes Nightclub - Los Angeles 4:02 AM
Aurélie moved with the shadows as though she were one of them - and in ways, she was.
No one ever really paid attention to her, aside from the occasional appreciative glance or whistle.
That was the way she liked it.
It wasn't any fun to have the prey just walk right into your grasp, after all.
Because the chase was what Aurélie loved most.
The near-blinding white strobe light illuminated her face for mere seconds before she stepped out of its glare.
Visions crept around the corners of her eyes, taunting her with what she might see tonight.
Because tonight the Slayer would come.
And unlike most - all - other vampires, Aurélie had no intention of killing the girl. No, this one intrigued her far too much to kill her straightaway.
Because this one had *feelings* - strong emotions that made this Chosen One both vulnerable and incredibly strong at the same time. After all, the fool would come here this night out of love - love for a *vampire*, no less. One just like Aurélie - because this vampire, this Angel, had a soul.
No, Aurélie wouldn't kill her tonight.
But she would suck her soul away.
* * *
Buffy dropped the piece of paper and it fluttered down to the dirty linoleum floor. She walked back into Jordan's apartment, quietly determined. By waking him, Buffy knew that she would have to explain what had happened last night. But she couldn't just let this go. She knew it was a trap, a set-up. She didn't care. Buffy hesitated outside the door to his bedroom, reluctant to invade his privacy...but this was too important. She knocked, twice, and opened the door. "Jordan?" she asked quietly.
He groaned and forced himself to sit up. "Huh? Who..." he rubbed his eyes groggily, "Oh. Nicole! Um. Early. What...uh - what time...is it?"
The corners of Buffy's mouth turned upwards slightly. "Not a morning person?"
"Not in the slightest. What is it?"
She sighed. "Okay. Um. You've lived here for a while, right?" When he nodded in the affirmative, she continued. "Have you ever heard of a place called Vibes? I think it's maybe a nightclub or something, I don't really know."
Looking more alert now, Jordan replied, "Yeah - um, it's right in the middle of LA - popular place. Pretty good bands they get there, too - last week they had a group - Dingoes Ate My Baby - from Cloudydale or something - they were good, man."
Buffy looked at him, surprised. "The Dingoes? Yeah, I've heard them before...they *are* good..."
"So, anyway. Vibes. You meeting someone there? 'Cause I can take you, if ya want."
"Meeting someone...kind of. Do you think - I know it's really late...er, early...but do you think maybe you could drive me there?"
Jordan shrugged. "Cool."
* * *
Buffy cautiously strode into Vibes, Jordan close at her heels. She turned to him. "Jordan - don't feel like you have to come in here with me. If you come in with me, I don't know what'll happen to you. And I can't be responsible for you, if something happens. If you're gonna come inside, you have to promise that you'll stay away from me."
She could see the question in his eyes, but he nodded. "Got it."
Buffy walked onto the dance floor now, the too-loud techno music and strobe light pulsing, so quickly that they matched the rapid beating of her heart. The nightclub didn't have the friendly, comfortable atmosphere of the Bronze; instead, Vibes was very much an embodiment of LA - hard and impersonal. Buffy was secretly glad for Jordan's company - he knew the rougher edges of the city better than she. One summer versus four years...of course, she'd lived in LA for a long time - but this wasn't the side of the city she had known.
Buffy glanced around uncertainly, not sure what she should be looking for...she had assumed whoever had sent the note would find her. She motioned for Jordan to leave, and caught his slight nod in her peripheral vision. As nice as his company was, she refused to put him in any more danger than she was just by befriending him.
"So, my non-friend, where *are* you hiding?" she mumbled to herself.
All of a sudden, a young woman a little older than she stepped up towards her. "Nowhere you'd care to look. You Slayers, you're all the same... you think that demons are only hidden in the shadows."
"Well, I guess I'll know better next time, then," Buffy shot back, pulling a stake out of her coat pocket.
The woman held up a hand, chuckling. "Not so hasty, there. You received my note, no doubt. I believe we have a bit of a predicament to work through."
"We have *nothing* to work through until you tell me where he is," Buffy seethed.
"I don't want to kill you. I have no interest in torturing you - physically, at least. That is, I don't *want* to - but if you threaten me further, I will."
Buffy glared at her for a moment, then dropped her stake-holding hand. "What do you want from me?"
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
