The Witch, The Warrior, and the Vampire

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Chapter 9
Transferring the Bond

Buffy wandered around town until dark, lost in her thoughts. Then she quickly, but thoroughly patrolall all the cemeteries and alleys in town. After realizing that once again, there were no demons to slay, she went to the Magic Box, her worries still crowding her mind.

She had left them to do whatever it is they had to do, and did she really want to know? She knew that blood, sex, and violence, comprised the vast majority of vampiric lives. She knew that Spike had asked for Anya to stay to spare Xander something he may or may not want to happen. But what was it exactly he was trying to spare him from? ‘Do I really want to know?’ She was filled with conflicting emotions; if Anya were there, she’d ask her. But Anya was there, and would Spike really be faithful? Not that there was anything for him to be faithful to, but they’d talked about it and were dating now. But were they really? They’d yet to go on a date, or to have any time alone, since they’d no she’dreached the decision.

‘Now that really wasn’t true, we have had time alone, but we spent it patrolling and rescuing Xander.’

When she opened the door to the Magic Box, she noticed Giles was in Anya’s usual place behind the register. Fortunately, he wasn’t lovingly fingering the cash. Tara and Dawn were huddled on the sofa together, and Willow was searching through the book stacks. Noticeably absent were the new Slayer and her Watcher, as well as Morgaine.

“Where’s the England group?” She directed her question at Giles, who had come around to the other side of the counter.

“Oh, well Buffy, they’re taking a bit of a holiday at the moment. They’ve gone to LA for the rest of the week. Left this morning. Except, of course, Morgaine. I’ve no idea where she is.” Buffy thought she caught a hint of worry in her Watcher’s voice, but didn’t say anything.

“OK. Giles, do we have any books or scrolls or something that would give us a clue as to what Xander’s going to go through when he wakes up?” She still had a million questions, but none of them she particularly wanted to ask Giles.

“Willow’s gathering them together as we speak. I thought it might help us, give us an idea…Actually, no one has ever studied this type of thing in person. The Council has collected a lot of lore, rumors, innuendo, and a few interviews at stake point, but I was rather hoping Spike would explain.”

“I asked him to and he wouldn’t. He told me to go look it up, so here I am.”

“Ah, well, I suppose he…” Off came the glasses, and Giles trailed off as he cleaned them studiously.

“He was trying to spare me, and Xander. That’s why he had Anya stay.” Buffy struggled to suppress the twinge she felt inside when she remembered how she left the three of them that afternoon.

“I assumed as much.” Giles apparently wasn’t in much of a rush to discuss the particulars of the situation, either.

“Buffy, do you want to call Angel and have him explain?” Dawn innocently asked.

“NO!” Buffy practically screamed and then cringed at the sound of her own voice; she hadn’t meant to be so sharp. “It’s just, I really don’t want to bring him into all of this. He’s got his own prophecy to deal with, and well, Xander really hates him. More than Spike.”

“I get that.” Dawn replied, “Hey, you’re not going to make me leave and not find out what’s going on, are you?” Buffy thought about that for a long minute. A few minutes, actually, before she replied.

“Dawnie, what’s going on over there isn’t going to be what’s in those books. Xander’s got his soul, and Spike didn’t even really know what was going to happen.” Dawn turned on the puppy dog eyes at this point. “I-- I think it’s different for every vampire. Kind of personal and, yes you can stay, but if anything gets too squicky, I’m covering your ears.” Buffy really, really hoped it didn’t get that squicky.

Dawn squealed and ran over to hug Buffy, “I promise I’ll be good, and if it is squickysweaswear I won’t pick on Xander or Spike.”

“So Wills, what have you found?” Buffy plopped herself down at the table and looked over at the redhead, who had her nose buried in a reference text.

**

At that exact moment the demonic transformation occurred in Xander. The familiar crunching sounds of bone shifting woke Spike. He opened his eyes and stared into a pair of amber eyes glaring right at him. Spike growled; Xander answered with a growl, and Anya woke up.

“Kitten, be a dear, and make sure that blood in the tub is 98.6, and then bring about six bags.” Spike met Xander’s amber eyes with his own, never once taking his gaze off of his childe as he sent Anya off to the bathroom.

**

“Well, I’ve pulled the Vampire Chronicles, Customs and Traditions of Human-Hybrid Demons, Vampyre, Clans: Vampiric Families. I’ve also marked the chapters we need to read.” Willow came over to the table to join Buffy, plopping the books in question in front of her with a loud “thud.” Buffy winced at the stack of books.

“Yes, yes, very good Willow. I believe the most salient information will be in Clans: Vampiric Families.” Giles indicated a maroon volume in the middle of the stack.

“Let me see that.” Buffy said and Willow passed her the book she had been perusing. She quickly turned to the marked chapters. “Whew, that’s a lot of reading.”

“Oh, I know, let’s take turns reading out loud.” Willow suggested enthusiastically. “Buffy since you’ve got the book you can start.”

**

The demon inhabiting Xander began to pounce as Anya came back into the bedroom. Only a ferocious roar from his sire, kept him in crouching position.

**

The turning of a human into a vampire can take anywhere from six to seventy-two hours, depending upon the strength of the sire and the amount of blood transfused. Minions, vampires of lowest standing, are created with the least amount of blood. These creatures are not to be confused with Masters or fledglings. Masters are cunning creatures capable of intelligent thought, reasoning, and logic. Minions are usually no more than zombie-like creatures. Minions are created to be slaves. They hunt for their Masters, follow orders given, and can be used by any and all members of a clan for sexual purposes. They are considered expendable and are not valued in any way.

The difference between minions and fledglings is striking. Fledglings are superior in every way. Their strength, control, and ability to blend in with humans are remarkable. Most are turned after a significant amount of contact between the human and the vampire. Fledgs, gs, or childer, are turned using copious amounts of blood and are usually created for a reason. While not exactly ‘mates,’ fledglings are expected to remain with their sire indefinitely. Sires do not share their fledglings with other vampires, unless forced to by their own sire, or Master of their line. If they exist long enough, many fledglings become Master vampires in their own right.

It appears as though all vampires become stronger with age. If a minion were to live long enough, it is probable they would eventually learn to control their demon and be able to pass for human. Fledglings are often capable of that within days, or sometimes hours, of the transformation.

The Council has captured many minions but has never been able to interview one successfully. Fortunately, a fledgling came into our custody. The vampire called himself Marc. He claims to have been sired by Darla, Order of Aurelius, in 1743. She kept him in her control and under watchful eye for about a decade. Marc believed himself to have been cast aside for hewesewest childe, Liam.

“Oh my god! He’s like Angel’s brother or something!” Dawn exclaimed. Buffy ignored her comment and handed Willow the book.

The Council captured him in 1918 and managed to persuade him to tell us about the beginnings of his existence as a vampire:

Before I even opened my eyes I was aware of a terrible hunger. But I did not know what for. I opened my eyes and it was as though before that very moment I had been blind. I can’t begin to describe the differences in what a vampire can see compared to a human. Everything is sharper, more in focus. The colors were all brighter and so much more beautiful than I had ever noticed.

And the things I could hear! I could hear the rats scurrying around in the under ground cavern I was in. I could hear their heartbeats. But there was a louder heartbeat much nearer e the than any of the rats. I could hear the blood rushing through the human before me and suddenly I knew what I was hungry for and what I was. Blood. Vampire. I leapt on the pitiful chambermaid left in the room for me. I didn’t care that she had already been bitten many times.

When I finished I became aware of something else. A scent, it called to me, stronger than the blood of the dead woman in my grasp. I dropped her and began searching for the source of the sc It It was intoxicating, more so than any whiskey or ale could ever be. The source of the scent was a beautiful blonde woman, who called herself my sire. I tried to grab her and pull her to me so I could hold and be as close as possible to the source of that aroma, but she growled at me.

When she growled it was like I lost all ability to think or act for myself. I found myself cowering down in front of her, desperate to please her in anyway. I knew immediately, I was to be submissive to her in all ways. She circled around me, inspecting me, growling softly all the while. I needed something from this woman, but I did not understand what, or how to let her know I needed it. The sounds coming from me were pathetic. Whines, purrs, soft growls, anything to please this woman who called herself my sire. And the hunger, the hunger I had woken with, was still there, almost overshadowing my need to please this woman.

She stripped me and chained me up. Then she beat me with whips, chains, paddles, and belts. I loved it. Then she started sprinkling water on me, it burned and ate holes through my skin, but it pleased my sire. So I endured it. Silently. If I made any noise at all she would be displeased with me and punish me horribly. It was very, very easy to make her unhappy. I still don’t know what I did, but at one point she poured the entire bottle of holy water on my cock.

I screamed and howled in pain, which seemed to please her because she began to kiss and lick all the places on my body where she had so mercilessly tortured me before. The pain and the pleasure mingled together until I couldn’t separate them.

Then a man entered the room. He smelled remarkably like the woman who called herself my sire, but somehow it wasn’t as appealing as her scent. She told me the man was the Master and her sire. That he could and would use me in anyway he saw fit, as would she. The Master wasted no time, before I even knew he was behind me, he was fucking me. My sire, my beautiful sire, laughed and laughed. She taunted me, asking me had er ber been with a man before. I hadn’t, nor had I been with a woman, but by the end of that night I knew all the agony and ecstasy men and women could do to each other.

They had their pleasure with me over and over again. The Master taught me how to fuck my sire, by fucking me. With his cock in my ass, and mine in her pussy they simultaneously stripped my virginity. When they finished with me that night, they left me chained high enough so that my feet didn’t touch the floor. As dawn approached I mercifully passed out.

The next night they didn’t even allow me to feed before it started again. My shoulders were dislocated from hanging in the chains, and still they had their way with me. The Master was fucking me again and Darla was sucking me. Then I did the unforgivable, I came without permission, in Darla’s mouth. She forced me to eat a holy wafer. Just before the sun rose, they allowed me to feed. This time the human was fresh; no one else had fed from it. But still something was missing. I needed something from her and I still didn’t know what.

**

Anya lay gasping beneath Xander, he’d taken her four times now, without ever going limp, or stopping for breath. She knew he didn’t care about her satisfaction, but god, she couldn’t even count the number of times she’d come. She gazed at the vampire that was now her husband. She had her legs wrapped around his waist. Xander was supporting his weight on his hands. He was still thrusting into her, but his attention was elsewhere.

He was locked with Spike. They were feeding from each other, right above her head. Erotic, she thought as she came again, watching them. Spike was caressing his childe’s brow ridges. Like a kitten leaning into its mother’s tongue, Xander slowly turned his head from side to side, begging for more contact with his sire. Both men were purring.

“You’re my childe.” Spike roared as he let go of Xander’s neck and pushed him away, “Order of Aurelius, Sole Chide of Spike, Favorite Child of Angelus, Childe of Drusilla also Childe of Angelus, Favorite childe of Darla, Daughter of the Master of our Line!”

“Your girlfriend was your mother and your sister? Dude, that’s sick!” Xander came through the demon for just a second, and then he roared in ascent. The demon took control of him again.

**

Giles continued to read.

They kept me chained up for at least a week, repeating the acts of that first night. When I came to again, I had been unchained, my arms and shoulders repaired and my body had been bathed. Darla was lying naked in bed beside me. She asked if I was ready to be bound to her, to belong to her and only her for eternity. All I knew was the scent coming from her was irresistible, I agreed. She warned me not to come without permission and then she took me. She fucked me, sucked me, and sodomized me. She whispered suddenly in my ear, you may come nand and when she did she sank her fangs into me and sucked my blood, I came harder than I ever had in my life. I desperately wanted to drink from her, but couldn’t. I wasn’t allowed. When I had finished coming she growled her permission to drink from her. At the first taste of her rich blood I was coming again, and I knew I would be hers for eternity, what I had needed was her blood. “My childe” she growled out and took me again.

At some point in time, others, men and women, my siblings, aunts and uncles, joined us. We had an orgy: blood, sex, and pain. Biting, fucking, sucking, scratching, ripping flesh, for days it seemed it went on. Occasionally someone would bring a few humans and we would drink from them en masse.

**

“My childe, mine!” Spike whispered, still in game face. He lapped the newest bite on Xander’s body and gently stroked the ridged brows of his forehead, calming his childe. It wasn’t finished though, and all three of them knew it. The demon controlling Xander was demanding he satisfy his sire. The way the woman had satisfied him. Each time his sire resisted his advances his desperation grew.

**

Tara continued to read.

I don’t know how long I lived like that. It could have been days, it could have been weeks. All I knew was I had to please my sire. Eventually, I felt a change and realized my fangs had ascended and the brow ridges were gone. I was then given clothes and Darla took me to hunt. I knew my senses were heightened in the cavern we were staying in, but I hadn’t realized how much until I stepped into the night.

I could smell the town below us and hear the carriage wheels. We walked for miles. Before we even reached the lights of the town I could hear the heartbeats of the humans around us. With a growl, Darla gave me permission to hunt. I fed from probably four people that night, before she took me back to the cavern for another orgy of sire blood and sex.

That was the pattern of my life. Hunt, feed, fuck for years. I obeyed Darla’s every whim and command and then one day she made a new childe, Liam. Whom she soon renamed Angelus. She immediately forgot about me. Apparently he enjoyed pain and torture I couldn’t even imagine. I wasn’t ‘demon’ enough nor man enough for her anymore. I slipped away from her one night, and she never even looked for me.

The sense of abandonment was overwhelming. Darla created me. My only existence was to please her. Without her I was nothing.

Everyone was silent until Giles said, “Good heavens, look at the time, it’s almost sunrise. I suggest we retire. Buffy, if you could take over the shop around 1:00? I don’t believe Anya will make it to work until Xander is himself.”

“Um, yeah Giles sure.” Buffy had plenty of thoughts that she was more than happy to leave with. Every section of the book was now being played out in her head in Technicolor.

The four girls walked along in silence until Dawn finally spoke up, “Do you think it was like that for Spike?”

“Spike had to contend with Drusilla, Angelus, and Darla, I’m sure it was much worse for him than Marc.” Buffy answered without thinking.

“Does that mean he’s gay?” Buffy almost tripped over her own feet, stunned at her sister’s question. She didn’t know how to answer; the thought had never even occurred to her. It was disturbing how many vampiric customs had become facts of life to her.

Mercifully, Tara answered, “Dawnie, it’s not the person that craves those things. It’s the demon.”

“Do you think he tortured Xander?” Dawn’s voice was barely a whisper as she asked her last question.

“I don’t think Anouldould let him.” Willow carefully answered. They didn’t speak anymore, each lost in their own thoughts, wondering what if anything was going on in the apartment across town.

**

As the sun came up over Sunnydale in the apartment across town, three naked bodies lay sleeping, entwined on the tangled sheets, with Xander in the middle, h fac face intact.