Lost in the Dark, Cleansed in the Flame

Chapter 11 - Portents

Willow sat pecking away at the keyboard of her laptop. So far they
had found very little regarding the Raven, but Giles was checking on
a few other leads with contacts back in England. He'd also found out
that Quentin had not bothered to consult the rest of the Council on
any of his recent decisions.

Giles had grimaced in obvious distaste as he told Willow the story.
The one good thing was that once apprised of the situation, the
Council had not been happy. They had dispatched a group of
Watchers to 'escort' Quentin back to headquarters.

Willow sighed and leaned back in her chair. She rubbed her tired
eyes, and then let her gaze sweep the room. Her eyes stopped to
rest on the basement door, wondering what was happening down
below. The screams had stopped several hours ago, but none of the
scoobies had returned upstairs.

Part of her was shocked at the idea that any of her friends could
cause that kind of pain. From the sounds of Quentin's screams, it
was more than just a punch in the gut. But then she thought about
what had happened to Xander while he'd been gone. She'd only had
a brief conversation with him, but what little she learned caused her to
shudder in sympathy.

She returned her gaze to the screen when she heard the familiar
beep that accompanied the results of a search. She had already
found several references to the prophecy but nothing that they hadn't
already learned from Travers. Her eyes narrowed as she clicked on
the first link.

"Giles!" Willow called out to the Watcher, waiting for him to return to
the dining room. When Giles entered from the kitchen, she gestured
for him to look at the screen. "I think I found something."

"Good lord." Giles whispered softly.

"What is it Giles?"

"It seems as if it's already begun." Giles murmured. Pointing to the
screen he explained, "The portents described here have already been
set in motion. The increased volcanic activity - there have been three
times as many eruptions within the last two months than there have
been within the last two years."

"And the meteor shower. Don't you remember the reports last
month? There was an unscheduled meteor shower June 10th. It did
not coincide with any currently known comet trajectory."

"If this contraption is correct, we don't have much time; 3 weeks, a
month maybe." Giles swiped the glasses off his nose, pulling out his
handkerchief and rubbing vigorously. "Call the others up, will you? I'll
make some tea." And he disappeared back into the kitchen.

Willow's heart was racing. What did this mean for Xander and Spike?
They were a part of the prophecy weren't they? Her brow scrunched
in worry as she thought of all that Xander had already been through.

Willow opened the basement door and called down. She did not want
to enter the room, afraid of what she might encounter. She was
relieved to hear her friends' footsteps on the stairs below.

They assembled themselves in the living room; Spike and Xander
taking the couch, Buffy sitting cross-legged in front of Angel who took
the armchair. Willow and Tara seated themselves on the floor in front
of the coffee table. They all waited as Giles brought the tea service
in, offering hot mugs to each of his charges.

Xander waited until all the snacks and refreshments were distributed
before he asked, "So what'd ya find G-man?"

Giles took a deep breath before beginning. "I'm afraid it looks as if
the prophecy is quite valid. I've spoken with several of my colleagues
in England and they all agreed. Most of them were on thsearsearch
committee that had gathered the initial information." He offered as
proof of legitimacy.

"Willow was also able to recover some more information through that
contraption of hers." He gestured toward the now idle laptop. "The
signs that are described as a sort of countdown to the Raven's arrival
have already begun. We don't have much time left to counter her
plans. Less than a month I'd say." Giles was too busy cleaning his
glasses to notice the furtive glances the scoobies were trading.

"The Council was able to retrieve some vital information regarding the
Flame and it's uses against the Raven."

"The 'Flame'?" Xander put air quotes around the word. "Is it like a
weapon or something?"

"Very good Xander. That is precisely what it is." Giles answered.
"The Flame is an ancient sword. Legend states that it was forged by
Hephaestus himself. It is the only weapon that can kill the Raven."

"So where do we get the bloody thing?" Spike asked, impatient.

"According to the ancient texts the Council consulted, the souls of
dark and light must work together to retrieve the sword. It is housed
in an annex to the Hall of the Mountain King."

"The Hall of the M-mountain King?" Tara repeated. "I thought that
was j-just a myth."

"It's real enough." Spike answered a note of bitterness in his voice.
"You telling me that we have to face the three challenges?"

"I'm afraid so." Giles replied.

Xander looked at his lover with curiosity. "Three challenges? Like
the kind they have to do to get to the magician in those Xanth
books?"

"Yeah, you silly sod." Spike couldn't help the grin that lit his face as
he boxed Xander's ears in affection. But the grin faded as the
conversation continued. "'Cept if we fail we forfeit our lives, not just
our chance to ask a soddin' question."

"Oh." Xander's face remained neutral but Spike could feel his
heartbeat pickup and his breathing lengthen. The vampire reached
around to wrap his arms around the slightly panicked man beside
him.

"Don't worry Xan, I won't let anything happen to you." He whispered
in his mate's ear, nuzzling his neck in reassurance. When Xander
had calmed a bit, Spike looked back up toward the Watcher. "I'll go
alone."

"No!" Xander asserted just as Giles answered with a, "That is quite
impossible."

"Why the bloody hell not?"

"Because the prophecy states that the challenges cannot be passed
without *both* your participation."

"Besides, I won't let you go without me!" Xander insisted. "I'll be all
right. I just needed a minute to let it sink in."

"Fuck!" Spike let out a frustrated growl. Would there ever be a time
when he would be able to keep Xander out of harm's way? He
looked over at the determined face of the man in question, and
sighed. Not bloody likely.

"Fine." Spike answered resignedly. "When do we leave?"