The Witch, The Warrior, and the Vampire

Chapter 16
Answers From a Demon

Buffy was miserable. She’d patrolled the entire town and the closest thing to a demon she’d found had been a rat. Well, Willy to be precise. She’d gone to the bar hoping to force someone to fight her, but Willy had been there alone. Now she was wandering aimlessly through town. No matter how badly she wanted to kill something, what she really needed to do was talk. To someone. Someone who wouldn’t judge her. Someone who would listen to everything she had to say. Someone who could knowledgeably answer the questions she had. Someone she wouldn’t disappoint.

Her first instinct, as always, was Spike. She immediately crossed him off the list because he was training Xander, plus he was what she wanted to talk about. Tara would have been perfect for the listening, but not the answering. Willow and Dawn were out of the picture. She knew Dawn wouldn’t judge her, but neither of them had answers. After Angel’s behavior the last time she’d seen him, she wouldn’t ask him anything if her life depended on it. She didn’t know any of the London group well enough, and generally felt weird about talking to Giles. Frustrated, she kicked a rock and watched it sail through the air. She wished she knew more people. Then she realized she didn’t need to talk to a person, she needed to talk to a demon. Realization washing over her, she squared her shoulders and marched across town to talk to the one person who fit her criteria.

Buffy knocked on the door and shifted nervously from foot to foot. When she was about to give up hope the door opened. “Buffy! What are you doing here? Is everything ok? Did something happen to Xander?”

Before Anya could work herself up any more Buffy interrupted. “Everything’s fine Anya, I just needed to talk to someone. There’s a lot of stuff going on that I don’t understand.”

“Oh, well come on in. Would you like something to drink? I’ve got an excellent bottle of Merlot I was letting breathe.” Anya stepped back, gesturing Buffy inside.

“Sure, thanks.” Buffy was slightly taken aback by the other woman’s unhesitating welcome. In an instant Buffy realized that she had never really gotten to know Anya. She felt almost ashamed. Xander’s wife had never been anything but helpful and forthright since becoming a Scooby. Even if she was really annoying.

Buffy settled herself on the couch. Soon Anya was back with two glasses of wine. After handing one to Buffy, she sat down and drew her legs underneath her. “Is this about the prophecy?”

“No. Yes. Kind of.” Buffy took a small sip of wine and a deep settling breath. “What’s a bonding?”

“Well, a bonding could be any number of things. What type of bonding did you want to know about?”

“They want me to bond with Spike.” Buffy watched Anya’s face for any sign of horror or fear, but she saw only interest there.

“That could still be anything. How specifically do they want you to do this?”

“We’re supposed to do a vampire mating and then the bonding.” Realizing that her hands were shaking, Buffy set her wineglass down on the end table.

“Buffy, I can’t explain the bonding unless you tell me what kind. Is it a claiming bond, an energy bond, a sexual bond, a blood bond? You really need to be more specific.”

“After I mate with Spike, and believe me that’s a whole other thing I want you to explain, they want me to bind him to me, by being his only source of blood.”

“Either I’m not asking the right questions, or you don’t know how to answer them. Just relax, this will only take a minute.” Anya said and she reached for Buffy’s hands.

Buffy jerked out of Anya’s reach. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to get in your head and see what happened.” Anya said, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“You can do that?” Buffy gaped at her for a minute.

“Sure, how do you think Vengeance Demons find work?”

“Don’t people just,” Buffy gestured helplessly with her hands, “call you?”

“Some people do, but not that many people have the magick to do that. Now give me your hands, it won’t hurt at all, I promise.”

Buffy gave up and let Anya take her hands. Anya’s eyes went blank and her face turned veiny for just a second then she let go. “Wow, I didn’t know the Council knew about those theories.”

“What do you mean?” Obviously, Anya had seen everything that Buffy knew, if not more.

“Let me see if this is right, they want you to allow Spike to feed from you, and only you. No more pig’s blood, or bagging it, a strictly Slayer diet?”

Buffy sighed and took another sip of her Merlot. “Yeah, but not until we’re mated.”

“Well, historically, vampires have kept humans for food. It’s also not too unusual for vampires to mate with humans, although, they usually turn their lover eventually. But this type of union is unheard of, there used to be dozens of theories on it, though.”

“What do you mean ‘keep humans for food’?” Buffy questioned.

“Oh, vampires can feed daily from the same person and it won’t kill them.”

“What?” Buffy almost choked on her wine.

“There’s something in their saliva. I don’t know what you’d call it, but it stimulates the production of blood cells and nutrients. The trick is to not take too much at one time. If you’re drained, you’re drained. A few swallows at a time a few times a day and no harm done.” Anya shrugged. “Most vampires prefer to kill when they feed, though, makes the demon happy. Hey, is this how you’re supposed to become immortal?”

Buffy nodded.

“Oh, I get it now. See, when vamps mate with humans, it’s good for the human. The magick that animates the vampire is shared with the human, lengthening their lives. If the mating is reciprocated, the magick is doubled. I knew one girl, Kassandra, about 700 years ago. She wanted me to curse a vampire that had fallen in love with her. I couldn’t do the job though, because he had never done anything to her or anyone she cared about. He tried to court her for three years. Eventually she gave in and after a while took him as her lover. After several years she finally admitted she was in love with him and they mated, but not until he made a blood vow to never turn her. Their death really surprised me. I always thought she’d eventually change her mind and let him turn her. Certainly didn’t expect what happened.”

“Why, how did she die?” Trepidation pulsed through Buffy. She just knew he decided he didn’t love her one day and killed her, or worse. Her subconscious began to paint grisly pictures, dead puppies, goldfish, murder of friends

“It was really quite tragic. They moved around a lot, didn’t want to raise suspicions with the never-aging bit. They’d been together about 70 years when it happened. They wound up in a small village in Greece. Kassandra was originally from somewhere in the Mediterranean, I think she had gotten homesick...” Anya noticed the get on with it expression on Buffy’s face and got back on track.

”Anyway, Marcus fed from Kassandra, but not exclusively. They kept a couple of servants that he fed from as well. Anyway, some vampires nested on the outskirts of their village and were causing all sorts of murder and mayhem. The villagers considered Marcus and Kassandra to be their Lord and Lady and they called on Marcus to defend them. He hunted the trouble making vampires, and dusted them. Unfortunately someone from the village saw the entire thing. Apparently he was vamped out when it happened, and blew their cover. The very next day while they were sleeping the villagers burnt their house to the ground. It killed them and their servants.”

Buffy was stunned. Death at the hands of humans was the last thing she’d expected to hear as an ending to the girl’s life, she filed it away to think about later. “Why is it important that I mate Spike before we do the feeding thing, and why can’t he feed from other sources?”

“Buffy, didn’t Giles ever teach you anything about vampires?” Exasperation tinged Anya’s voice.

“How to dust them.” Buffy replied, her voice cold as steel.

“Don’t get huffy with me! From the way you’re acting it’s like you think you’re the first Slayer or woman to ever fall in love with a vamp. Jeez.” Anya rolled her eyes; she occasionally forgot how simplistic the Council made things in their histories.

“I’m not the first Slayer to ...”

“Grow up Buffy! Of course you’re not. You are the first Slayer in over 1000 years to do so though. The Council somehow managed to squash those relationships. Or maybe the Slayers just covered up so well no one ever found out about them. I always thought they developed the Cruciamentum to get rid of Slayers before they could meet a vampire mate.”

Buffy’s head was spinning. Anya had given her way more to think about than she could handle and she still hadn’t answered any of her questions. “OK, we’ll skip the history lesson, just explain the mating and the feeding.”

“Spike is supposed to be your partner forever, right?”

“Right.”

“His endurance and fighting skill are equivalent to yours, right?”

Buffy nodded slowly, that was hard to admit even to herself.

“He heals faster than you do and his senses are much better than yours, right?”

Buffy nodded.

“But you’re a lot stronger and faster than him?”

Once again Buffy nodded.

“OK, by giving him an all-Slayer diet all the time, his strength and speed will grow to match yours. Your occasional taste of him as well as the claiming and mating will give you his healing abilities and heightened senses. You will essentially be sharing strengths. But here’s the interesting part. You’ve reached your potential, Buffy. All the training in the world won’t improve what’s already there. You’re as strong and fast as you’re ever going to get. Spike’s not. Vampires improve with age. As long as Spike’s alive and your bond hasn’t severed, you will both continue to grow in strength. I’ve met vampires so old they could stand in sunlight for up to five minutes without even smoking. Spike will benefit from the bond before you, but you will benefit from it longer. That’s the theory anyway.”

Anya sipped her wine and considered Spike for a moment. “Spike has already far outreached normal vampires of his age. He became a Master when he was 20. Most vamps don’t live that long, and it usually takes at least 100 years until they’re considered anything other than fledglings. I’d imagine that in another hundred years he’d be unstoppable with or without the bonding.”

“They said that this bonding would take away Spike’s weaknesses, sunlight, crosses, garlic, holy water.”

Anya’s brow furrowed. “I’ve never heard of that, but you would be the first Vampire- Slayer couple ever to bond in this manner. It doesn’t work like that for regular humans.”

“OK I get the shared strengths through blood part, but why can’t we do this without mating?”

“You must realize first of all that demons consider humans to be a sub-species.” Anya stated bluntly.

Buffy rolled her eyes but nodded.

“The mating ritual with vampires is simple to perform, but very complex in meaning. Once a couple has mated, they share the status of the higher-ranked vamp. It’s extremely rare for them to mate with a lower-ranked, or weaker vamp. If you do the blood bonding without the mating, his demon will perceive you to be his…property. Something that belongs to him, you’d be a thing. The demon in him wouldn’t have any loyalty to you at all. By mating first, you will have acknowledged each other as equals and eternal companions. Then when you bond you won’t be just his mate or his food, you’ll be his xustuax.”

“His what?”

“His Zuhs-tu-ox, it means everything. Literally everything, his life, his world, his love. He will be bound to you body, demon, heart, and soul. There won’t be anything he won’t do for you. It’s the rarest type of mating between a vampire and any species. I’ve never heard of it ever being performed before, but the theory has been batted around since the dawn of time. I’ve known some demons that considered this bond, but since the majority of demons consider vampires to be sub-species, they never went through with it. Imagine the possibilities; the kinds of power they could share. Fortunately for humans, this has never happened.” When Buffy didn’t say anything at all to this, Anya took it as encouragement and continued on.

“Truthfully, a large percentage of vampires never mate. They may have relationships with other vamps that last for centuries, but they never seal the union. Too much risk to their status. As far as I know, no vampire from Spike’s line has ever taken a mate. Spike comes from one of the most honored and feared lines ever recorded. Until the Master returned, he was head of that line. Not to mention the status he gained with the two slayers he killed.”

Buffy winced at Anya’s last comment but she was finally able to respond to something. “I thought Angel was head of the line.”

“What?” Anya chuckled. “How could Angel be head of the Order of Aurelius? He was cursed with a gypsy soul. When that happened, his name was most likely stricken from the Order.”

“Well, what about Drusilla? I mean she’s older than Spike, why wouldn’t she be the head?” Buffy had a feeling she knew the answer to that one, but she asked anyway.

“Because she’s insane. Drusilla can’t function without a caretaker, and she’s a woman. Vampires are a very patriarchal bunch. Really, Buffy, you should know these things. I mean for pete’s sake, Spike’s been the Master of Sunnydale for three years. Do you know how much prestige he’s gained from ruling the Hellmouth unchallenged for three years? But then, with that chip and helping you, he’s probably lost every bit of status he ever had. No wonder he’s always got a chip on his shoulder. He was one of the most feared vampires in the world. Now he’s probably not much more than a laughing stock.”

“Wait a minute, did you say Spike is the Master of the Hellmouth?” Buffy snapped her jaw shut, wanting to avoid repetition of her gaping-fish impression, which she seemed to have been overdoing today as it was.

“Of course, or he was until the Master was resurrected.” Anya could tell Buffy was truly confused so she decided to help her out just a little bit more. “Buffy, think about this, when was the last time Sunnydale had a serious vampire threat? Not counting your nightly patrols, when was the last time you had serious Slayage duty because of vampires?”

Buffy chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip. “Since I’ve been back, I’ve only had to deal with fledglings. Last year, the one that staked me...” She shook her head fiercely to dislodge that embarrassing memory. “Except for that whorehouse there hasn’t been a group of vampires who’ve worked together in a long time. Sunday and her gang weren’t really a threat. The last time we had a serious vampire threat in Sunnydale was when Spike had the Gem of Amarra.”

“See what I mean? Vampires are naturally inclined to stay together in a clan, or pack. Spike has prevented the vampires in Sunnydale from forming into their natural packs.”

“How has he prevented that?” Buffy leaned in closer, curious.

“He’s the strongest vampire in town. He seeks and destroys his own kind every night. He keeps the herd thinned down far enough that a pack can’t form. If he weren’t on your side, all those vampires would have formed a pack and banded together to destroy you under his command. Honestly, I was surprised Spike didn’t do just that after he got chipped. Whether or not he could hurt humans wouldn’t have been an issue, he could have just made his minions hunt for him and do his dirty work.” uffyuffy took a very large swallow of her wine. She’d never even considered Spike as a threat once he’d gotten that chip. But Anya had proved to her, with a couple sentences, that she’d been wrong all these years. What she really couldn’t understand now that she realized it could be done, was why Spike hadn’t? As an individual he had been a deadly menace, he’d never had any desires to destroy the world either. The phone rang and Anya excused herself.

Buffy’s head was spinning. Anya had given her so much to think about. Vampires and humans mating. Slayers before her having vampires as lovers. The Cruciamentum, Anya’s idea on that made sense. Kill the Slayer before she could mate with a vampire. Spike as Master of the Hellmouth. Spike not taking advantage of his status and killing her like he obviously could have all along. Vampires not having to kill to feed.

The advantages to this bonding were weighing heavily on her as well. She could possibly live forever with greater strength each year. The implications of it were eye-opening too. She would become that ‘ox’ thing Anya had mentioned. But of course, she knew deep down Spike considered her to be that already, but the bonding would mean she accepted it, and would perhaps someday be able to reciprocate those feelings.

Slayers having vampires as lovers before her was the most unsettling part of all. The Council had been brainwashing Slayers to reject vampires for centuries. It made sense to her on a level she was not yet ready to investigate. No matter how hard she had tried with Riley, he’d never made her feel a fraction of what she felt when she was with Angel or Spike. But what exactly was it she felt when she was with Spike?

“Sorry about the interruption.” Anya said as she sat back down and refilled both their glasses of wine.

“No, no problem at all.” Buffy quickly sipped her wine and tried to come up with something else to talk about. “So, uh, how’s Xander doing?”

Anya beamed. “Oh Buffy, he’s doing great! He’s still struggling, but he’s handling everything remarkably well. And Spike is doing an excellent job as his sire.”

“Wow, that’s great, really. Is he a lot different?” Buffy’s curiosity over her friend was colored with sadness over not being able to see him.

“His appearance has changed a lot, but he’s still the same old Xander, just a little bit more dangerous. And the sex! Oh Buffy, I haven’t had a vampire lover in centuries, I’d forgotten how wonderful they were!” Anya grinned mischievously and a spark flared in her eyes. “You know, I had completely forgotten about the other transformations they have when they’re in game face.”

Confusion clouded Buffy’s features. “Wh-what do you mean?”

“Buffy, you’re joking, right?” Anya searched her face for a hint of a smile, but found none.

“No, Spike’s never…he kept his human mask in place when we’d…and Angel, he didn’t even like me to look at him when was all grrr. I kissed him once when he was like that, but, we were attacked before anything intense happened.” Startled, Buffy realized that with Spike everything was intense, even when they were just looking at each other. She wondered what that meant.

“You mean in all this time he never…” Anya trailed off and pantomimed fangs with her fingers.

“No, never. Wh-what changes when they…” Buffy turned beet red as she asked the question, but she had to know.

“Well, Buffy, let’s just say vampire physiology is different in more places than their forehead.” At Buffy’s perplexed expression, Anya decided Buffy really needed to get out more. “Thmpiempies and ridges, show up elsewhere, and their tongues, they change texture entirely, become rougher, like a, like a cat when it licks you. Their fingernails become talon-like, too.”

Buffy blushed even brighter. She wondered why Spike had never vamped on her. Then realized there really wasn’t any reason to wonder that. She would have ‘kicked him in the head and fled virtue fluttering’.

“I mean, I knew Spike’s control over his demon was incredible, but I never imagined he could hold himself back when the two of you were together; look at Xander’s reaction to you.”

Spike had been holding back on her? If the sexual marathons they had had were Spike holding back, what would it be like if he let go? She was almost afraid to find out. Almost.

“I guess I should have realized that he wouldn’t. I mean, just look at good he was with Xander. Spike held himself in check with him, no us, the entire time. I mean Angel couldn’t even do that. In seconds he almost…” Anya trailed off again, and Buffy jumped in on the silence.

“Angel almost what?” Held himself in check with ‘us’? What exactly happened between the three of them anyway?

“He almost raped Xander. I don’t know how Spike stopped him, but he did. Not only did he stop him, he openly defied his sire and publicly humiliated him. Granted the public part was only Xander, but in a traditional clan Angel would have raped them both. And been in the right to do so.”

“Anya, I…I need to know. What happened between the three of you that night?” Buffy braced herself.

“Nothing happened between the three of us, Buffy. Well, nothing happened between me and Spike. That’s all I’m going to say too, so don’t try to make me talk. The transferring of the bond between them was private and personal and nobody’s business unless they want to tell.” Anya looked straight into Buffy’s eyes, hiding nothing.

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief at Anya’s response. No matter how curious she was, she really, really, really didn’t want a blow-by-blow description of…of whatever. Without any warning at all, the front door opened and Spike and Xander walked into the room.