Vikings, Sires and Siblings

part 11

The next couple of days passed in relative peace; it was almost enough to lull them into a false sense of security, but both Spike and Xander knew better than that. Drusilla, for all her madness, was still a force to be reckoned with, and if there was one thing Spike knew from his years of experience, and Xander knew from having been the only male in a group of females, it was that a scorned woman was not a threat to be taken lightly.

Still, they tried to pass the time as normally as they would have if there wasn't a dire threat hanging over their heads. True, Xander’s training sessions with Spike and Buffy had become more intense, and when the two men made love, it held a tinge of desperation, as though it could be the last time they held one another. Other than that, things were as normal as they ever were.

This would be the first night that the three of them did not patrol together since Angel and Cordelia had left town. Buffy had promised Dawn some sister bonding time, and Spike and Xander had assured her that they could handle whatever came up.

As they walked through the darkened streets toward the centre of town, Xander wondered if their life would ever be simple. If, after their friends were dead and gone, after they had grieved their passing, would he and Spike still remain there on the hellmouth fighting for the people of Sunnydale, or would they consider their duties fulfilled and move on?

"What are you thinking about, Xan?"

Xander blinked and turned to look at his mate who had pulled him to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. He snorted and shook his head.

"Just thinking about us, the future, what we'll do when there's no one to hold us to this place anymore. Morbid thoughts; guess I'm in a bit of a funk. Sorry."

"Don't be. You've reason enough to be morbid, love. Why do you think vampires usually kill their friends and family first? I'll tell you. It's because as a fledge, the bloodlust is all there is, nothing else matters. But once you've matured a bit, you get some control over the demon, you start to think about the human you used to be; sometimes you even start to think like them, feel like them. Demons can love, Xander. You know that. It's instinctual, to rid yourself of your ties to humanity. Keeps the demon separate from the world. Makes it stronger than the humanity that stills lingers after the soul is gone. It's hard to think of humans as food if you still have loved ones among them."

Xander thought about that for a moment and then sighed.

"I know Angelus killed his family; did you kill yours too?"

A look of such grief and horror passed over Spike’s face that Xander immediately wished he could take back the question. He reached out and pulled his lover close pressing kisses to the top of his bent head.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"S'all right, love. Yes, I did. It was just me and my mum back then. No other family at all. She was sickly, I turned her; wanted to give her forever, make her well."

Xander felt Spike shudder against him and held him tighter.

"I realised my mistake soon after she rose. She wasn't like me. She didn't retain even a shred of her humanity. I staked her."

"I'm sorry."

"So was I. Never should have done it in the first place. Angelus would have warned me, told me what would happen. Dru... Well, Dru knew how close we were, she didn't want me to love any woman but her; she knew this would destroy me; she let me do it. I stopped being William that night; I became Spike, even before the torture, before the name had stuck. That was the night I gave my demon complete control."

The pair fell silent for a while; Xander unwrapped his arms from around Spike’s back and took his hand. They began walking again. Eventually Spike looked over to Xander, noticing the saddened expression on his mate’s face.

"I think we should travel."

Xander turned to look at him, confusion evident on his face.

"Huh?"

"After. When they've all gone. We'll travel, see the world by moonlight."

"Yeah. That'd be good. You know I've never left California? The furthest I've been is LA. Spent a summer in Oxnard right after high school, but Sunnydale has always been home."

"It'll be good to get away, then. I've seen so many things in my years, Xan. Things that I took for granted. I'd like to see them all again, with you."

Xander smiled and kissed Spike softly.

"Thanks, Spike. I'd like that too."

As they neared the Bronze, they heard the sound of a struggle. They took off at a run and found two vampires feeding on a teenager in the alley out back. Spike tossed his stake up in the air, grabbed it on the descent and plunged it into the closest one’s back. Xander staked the other with less flourish. The boy was close to dead; Xander pulled out his cell phone and called 911.

They left the kid in the parking lot and melted into the shadows to wait for the ambulance. Once the paramedics had arrived, they returned to patrol. In the first cemetery on their route they found three disturbed graves. They exchanged a look and kept on. There were no other signs of vamp activity in that graveyard so they moved to the next. It held two disturbed graves; one of which was still being disturbed as they approached. Xander staked the fledge before it managed to pull itself free from the ground and they moved on.

"Is it just me, or does it look like someone's been recruiting?"

"It's not just you, love."

"Damn. I was hoping it was."

~!~

By the time they finished for the night, they had come across at least a dozen gravesites and five newly risen vampires - including the two at the Bronze. Xander called Buffy and reported their findings. She promised to bring Willow and Tara over the next afternoon to start researching any prophecies that might be occurring, and to call Giles and see when he was coming back from his vacation in England. Xander agreed and after saying goodbye, hung up the phone and followed after his lover who had gone to the kitchen to prepare food for them.

"Do you think this has something to do with Dru?"

Spike looked at Xander and nodded his head. Xander’s shoulders slumped and he sighed.

"I knew this was going to happen eventually, you know? That she'd come back looking for you. I just thought... I dunno. That it would be easier. That she'd see that we were together and leave. Or worse, she'd do something stupid and get herself staked. I never thought she'd do this. I mean, it's so... "

"Sane?"

"Yeah. I mean, where are the dolls and tea sets? Shouldn't she have just thrown a hissy fit and then left?"

Spike chuckled.

"Nah, she might be crazy, but she would still have attacked you. Or me. But you're right, this isn't her style."

"Do you think it has something to do with what she said? That someone was coming for me?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Oh."

The pair fell silent and drank their blood as they both thought about the ramifications of Drusilla’s prediction. Xander couldn't think of anyone that he had pissed off since becoming a vampire - not a female someone, anyway. The only woman that came to mind was Anya, and she had said she was happy for them, she even granted him his wish for Spike's chip to be inactive. Knowing that the answers were not going to just appear, the vampires rinsed their mugs and silently made their way up to their room.

~!~

Cordelia stumbled out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. She had just cleared her bedroom doorway when she felt herself begin to float. The images came hard and fast, and though she was glad that the visions no longer caused her pain, she wished she could detach herself emotionally as well as physically. Tears burned in her eyes as she watched the strange woman in her vision cut her former boyfriend’s chest open and reach her hand inside.

~!~

The ringing of the phone startled Spike out of his sleep. He reached out blindly and snagged the receiver before bringing it to his ear.

"'Ello?"

Spike sat up in alarm as the person on the other end of the line began talking. His already white complexion paled visibly and his eyes widened in fear. He knew that Cordelia’s visions were only a warning of one possible outcome - but nonetheless, the things she had just described, the things she had seen done to his mate, scared the hell out of him. He thanked her for her warning and hung up. Looking over at his still sleeping mate, he dialled the slayer’s house and waited for someone to pick up.

"Red, it's Spike. Yeah, I know what time it is; look, Cordelia just called, she's had a vision about Xander."

Spike waited until Willow finished babbling before speaking again.

"It wasn't good. I need you and your girl to come over and put wards up. Powerful ones. I don't want anything getting in here without an invite, demon, human, nothing. Get whatever you need together and be here in an hour."

Spike hung up the phone and rolled over on top of his mate; kissing him gently.

"I won't let anything happen to you, love. I promise you that."

Xander smiled in his sleep and wrapped his arms around Spike before purring contentedly.

~!~