Vikings, Sires and Siblings

part 13

The Welcome to Sunnydale sign was just up ahead and Angel sent up a silent prayer to the Gods of motor vehicles that they had arrived in one piece. Cordelia's driving was truly horrible. He wondered if she hadn't gotten her licence from the "William the Bloody School of Vehicular Accidents Waiting to Happen", But he valued his unlife enough to know better than to comment.

The sudden appearance of a demon in Cordy's back seat was more than a little alarming. Cordy screamed and Angel grabbed for the wheel as the car started to careen off the road.

"Oh for... Pull the damn car over and let me explain."

Angel let Cordy take possession of the wheel again and turned back to get a better look at the demon woman in the back seat. He thought he recognised her from somewhere. Once the car was pulled off the road and the parking brake set, Cordelia turned a glare on the woman, as well.

"Okay, talk. And don't think I won't kick your ass just because you’re a demon; I'm not exactly human myself here and I have talents!"

Angel bit his lip to keep from grinning at her obvious attempt to cover the fact that she had been scared witless just moments before.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Look, you two are here to help find Dawn, right?"

Angel nodded mutely and Cordy narrowed her eyes.

"We are. Who are you and why are you in my car?"

"I'm Anya, Xander’s ex, and I know where Dawn is. The others are on the way there, so... are you going to trust me and drive where I tell you to or do I pop out and join them without you?"

~!~

They all arrived at roughly the same time. Buffy was pacing back and forth before the warehouse, eager to go inside and rescue Dawn but leery of how easy it seemed to be at the same time. Willow and Tara both sensed powerful magics coming from inside and told the others that it was likely a trap. Nonetheless, they had no intention of leaving Dawn in there any longer than necessary.

Anya popped out to join the others as Cordelia and Angel climbed out of the car.

"Well, everyone's here. Now what?"

Buffy looked at her friends and family and then strode determinedly toward the door.

"Now, we go in and get my sister out."

~!~

Inside the warehouse, Dawn sat slumped in her chair, her eyes red and swollen from crying, her throat sore from screaming. She had a savage bite mark on her neck and another one on her shoulder. Drusilla spun in circles nearby while a tall, elegant woman watched her with an indulgent smile on her lips. Suddenly Dru stopped spinning, her eyes lit up and she smiled.

"Pitter-pat, pitter-pat, they come on silent feet. All to save the sparkly girl. Daddy has brought a friend; the stars talk to her but they don't hurt her anymore. No fun!"

As Dru pouted, the other woman walked toward her and then grasped her face between her hands before tilting it up to look her in the eye.

"Is the boy here as well?"

Dru's eyes glazed over and she smiled again.

"Oh, yes. The naughty kitten has come to play. He's brought his slayer friend and the witches. Can I have them too? They'd make such pretty dollies; we'll have tea and cakes. Miss Edith says they should pay for hurting me; but you fixed me, so I shan’t hurt them too much."

"Yes, Dru. You may keep the little witches, but first, I get the boy."

"My Spike and Daddy will fight for him; we mustn't let them win."

"No, we mustn't."

~!~

Buffy kicked the door open and went inside; Spike, Xander and Angel hot on her heels. The main room of the warehouse was full of vampires, most of them not more then a few days old. The fight was over rather quickly; three Masters, a slayer, two witches, a vengeance demon and whatever Cordelia was, were more than a match for a bunch of weak fledglings. Anya turned an impressed look on Cordelia and then smiled.

"Neat trick with the glowy thing. You do have talents."

"Thanks. I just wish I knew what else I could do. The PTB didn't exactly send me an instruction manual."

"They never do. You would think, since they're supposed to be the good guys, they would make it a little easier. At least when I became a demon, D'Hoffryn taught me what I was capable of."

"Hmm, maybe I should write a letter of complaint to their bosses. Do they have bosses?"

Buffy interrupted before Anya could answer.

"Can you two discuss demon issues after we rescue Dawn? Thank you."

After she was out of hearing range Anya rolled her eyes at Cordy and the cheerleader giggled.

"Like she never carries on inane conversations while slaying. Please."

~!~

The two vampiresses listened to the sound of battle outside the door of the room they were in. They both knew that their minions were no match for the group of demons and demon slayers out there, but wanted to wear their opponents down before facing them. Finally, the heavy door to their room flew open and the slayer charged inside. She was instantly flung back against the wall and held there with an invisible force.

Both Xander and Spike growled at the strange vampire woman and shifted faces. Dru giggled as they both found themselves held in place as well. Anya held Angel and Cordy back, not letting them get caught, while Tara and Willow clasped hands and began to chant a counter spell to the one holding their friends in place.

Buffy looked past the two women to see her sister bound and helpless in a chair. She noticed the two ragged wounds and began struggling to get free, the whole time cursing like a sailor. Even Spike was impressed with some of the things that came out of her mouth.

~!~

Willow and Tara worked frantically to release the others but every time they came close, the spell became that much stronger. Angel wanted nothing more than to go in there and tear the woman apart with his bare hands. She had taken Dawn, who was practically family, what with the way Spike and Xander felt about the girl, and now she had done something to his childe and his mate, making them unable to defend themselves should she decide to attack them physically.

Anya was cursing under her breath; she couldn't do anything to help Xander. Her powers lay in wreaking vengeance on men. Possibly on lesbian women; she hadn't been summoned by one yet to test that theory.

~!~

Dawn’s eyes opened when she heard her sister’s voice and she wearily lifted her head and looked up.

"Buffy?"

"I'm here, Dawn. Just sit tight, we'll get you out of this."

"Not like I can go anywhere."

Dawn was too weak to even hold her head up and let it slump back down. Spike growled and turned his angry yellow-eyed gaze on Drusilla.

"Dru, let the little girl go."

"No."

"I mean it Dru, you let her go or you'll regret it."

"But she tastes so wonderful, like little sparks dancing on my tongue."

Spike whipped his head around and finally noticed that Dawn had been bitten. He roared in outrage and began struggling to free himself. It wasn't working; in fact, all it was doing was tiring him out. Knowing that this was likely part of their plan, Spike stopped struggling, saving his energy to fight as soon as the witches broke them free.

Finally, Xander spoke up and asked the question that was on all of their minds.

"Who the hell are you, and what do you want?"

The woman turned a hard, cold expression on him and then gave him a cruel smile.

"I am Gabriella, dear brother, and I've come for revenge."

You could have heard a pin drop in the room as everyone fell silent and all eyes turned to Xander. Xander himself was beyond shocked. As far as he knew, Thor had no other childer, they were dead. One by a slayer and the other by his own hand. He thought back to the time before his mate, when his sire was still undead and not dust. Thor had told him about Gabriella, she had betrayed him and he had killed her.

"But he said you were dead."

"He believed that I was. I tricked him to gain my freedom, but never would I have stood back and watched him die. I will exact revenge in his honour; you will pay for your betrayal but not with your life. I won't kill you, dear brother, you'll just wish that I had."

~!~