New Beginnings

Chapter 8
Research


Three days had passed and they hadn’t found out why Julian and couple other Kindred had reverted to that primitive state. The only thing they had found was it’s transferable by touch. Daedalus took blood from each of the primitives trying to determine what was wrong. He found that each primitive had molecular cellular damage. It was as if the body was battling itself. It’s rearranging the internal organs. He had test items used at the party, but he still hasn’t determined what had cause that virus. Until he can ascertain the cause, then he can start working on a cure. Buffy, Sasha and Cash had suggested they help, but he didn’t wanted to risk anymore people, without finding the cause of the virus.


He was getting increasingly frustrated, since one third of Julian’s inner core members had succumbed to the virus. The virus was not limited to the Ventrue. It had affected all Kindred as well. Even Cash, after ignoring his symptoms for a day had reverted to the same primitive state as Julian. The only ones that seemed not be affected was the Nosferatu.


And that was even by chance, because the Nosferatu does not socialize with the rest of the Kindred. The virus was mimicking the symptoms of a blood ritual turning the Kindred savage. Primitive. But it was not the same, it was synthetic, giving them the allusion of power. They are now mindless beast, no control.


Buffy was feeling frustrated as well. She felt worthless. Here was a foe and she could not fight it, because it was not physical. She had lived practically by Julian bedside for the last couple of days, but it was fruitless. Julian didn’t know who she was.


She wandered aimless into his home office. Recently, she started thinking of the Scooby Gang. If they were here, there would be millions of books scattered on the table and several empty cardboard boxes of pizza. They would be together, researching what was wrong.


She knows she was not stupid, but she had gotten in the habit of letting them doing the research and she do the killing. Now, she had forgotten how to do research. She looks around her curiously. Julian’s office was a neutral color of off white, with matching wool carpet. Couches and armchairs, colored a golden brown color with a large mahogany desk and a large bookshelf, which dominates the room.


She sighed and flopped down into one of the chairs. Then something caught her attention. It seems it was not there earlier, when she came into the room. It was a large red book. Curious she got up and pulled it off the bookshelf. It was different from the other books in the room. Julian has an elective taste, but this book seems different. There were books on Law, Wines, History and Criminology.


It was different. It was calling to Buffy. The cover was warm to the touch, not quite unlike a living thing. Curiously, she opened the book. What she saw made her gasp. There was a woman face in the book. It was not a drawing or a photograph, but the face was so alive, that she had to touch it. It was warm and smooth to the touch.


Opening its eyes, the book called out. “Hello Warrior of Light.”


“Wh-wh who are you,” said Buffy. Shock making her almost dropped the book.


“I am Carista, goddess of knowledge and wisdom, I was sent by the powers that be to guide you on your journey.”


“What journey?” asked Buffy, uneasily. As the Slayer, she thought she had seen it all. But she guessed wrong.


“I was sent to share my wisdom with you,” said the voice, sounding hollow, as if it was coming from a long tunnel.


“What wisdom is that? Can you save Julian?” Buffy asked excitedly.


“No, I cannot interfere with the goings of man.”


“Then what type of wisdom you can impart?” Buffy said her brows drew downward in a frown.


“In the absence of light, darkness prevailed and you my dear are the light. And because of that, this is the wisdom I can impart.


Stealing Shadows,
Stealing Time,
Children of Dark,
Daughter of Light.
Energy is the key
So shall it be.”


“What does that mean?” Buffy asked bewildered. “That makes no sense. What type of goddess are you. You gods and goddess are all like. You always sent us cryptic message. To set us up to fail. Why can’t you just say what you mean?”


“You must find out what it meeeans,” said the book, disappearing.


“Lissa! Lissa?” said a voice, shaking Buffy. “Uh,” she said, looking around her. The last thing she remembered was that she had walked into Julian’s office and she had sat down for a few minutes.


“Are you okay,” asked Sasha, looking down at her concernedly.


“I am fine,” Buffy said, getting up and walking over to the bookshelves. Looking for that red book, but it was not there. She rubbed her tired eyes and stretched wearily. “I must be more tired that I thought,” she mumbled. “I was probably dreaming.” Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy noticed a light winking out.


“I have been trying to wake you for the last five minutes,” Sasha said, sitting into Buffy’s abandon chair.


“Well, I haven’t been getting much sleep since your Uncle has taken ill,” she said, walking back over to the chair, to sit on the arm.


“You care about Uncle Julian, don’t you?” she said, looking at Buffy.


“He was growing on me,” she admitted, adverting her eyes.


“Admit it,” Sasha teased. “Even I can admit Uncle Julian has one bodacious bod.”


“Sasha,” Buffy scolds, laughing. “He is your Uncle.”


“Hey, just because he’s family doesn’t mean I am blind,” she said smiling.


“Well, I can admit his hotness,” Buffy admitted, blushing.


Sasha looked at Buffy startled and then she broke down laughed. It was like a release, and very infectious.


Buffy laughed with her.


The laughter slowly died down. “Oh God,” Sasha cried, doubling over, a raw and primitive grief seems to overwhelmed her.


“What is it,” Buffy asked, gathering Sasha in her arms, her hand gently soothing her hair.


“Here I am laughing and Uncle Julian and Cash could be dying,” she said sobbing.


“Don’t cry,” said Buffy, understanding. “It is not a sin to laugh. Laughter is nature’s way of cleansing our souls. Yes, you care for them, but they wouldn’t want you to sit here crying your self sick about them. Right now, we don’t know what was wrong and all we can do is hope for the best. Do you trust me?”


“Well yes,” she said sounding surprised. After knowing Lissa for a few days, she trusts her with her life.


“Do you trust Daedalus?”


“Yes,” she said with conviction.


“Well, then trust us to know that we’ll find a cure, not just for your Uncle and Cash, but the other Kindred too.”


“How come you are so smart,” Sasha asked admiration in her voice.


“I was born this way,” Buffy said so serious, that it took a few minutes before Sasha knew that she was kidding. Soon more laughter filled the office.


***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***

Buffy’s POV

I left Sasha asleep on one of the sofas in Julian’s office. It had felt good to laugh again. I haven’t laughed like that since the day I found out that everything I knew had gone. Sasha was worried about Julian and Cash. I am worried also. Daedalus has not seen anything like this in his lifetime, and he is over a thousand years old. What we need is a bookwormy guy like Giles, or some one who is tweed like. I just can’t see Lillie and Sasha sitting in front of dusty books, looking for information. Sasha is willing to help, but until we know what is going on, until then, the only thing we can do is worry or wait until Daedalus found a cure. To believe otherwise, is futile.


Couple of days ago, Cash had asked Sasha to marry him. Now this. I can see how much they loved each other. When I first met them, they had kind a reminded me of Angel and me. The Slayer and the Vampire. Oh God, it could be a title for a romance novel, but there was no happily ever after for us. But there will be happily ever after for Cash and Sasha, if I had any say in the matter. We will find a cure. To imagine anything else is to admit failure, and I don’t deal with failure very well. Plus thinking about the cure reminded me of that dream I had. How weird was that. “Stealing Shadows, Stealing Time. Children of Dark, Daughter of Light. Energy is the key. So shall it be.” Cryptic much. What does that means? Arg, ghh, it is enough to tear my hair out.


While I was contemplating, the doorbell rang and I was in the hallway to see an African-American man entered the house. He wanted to see Julian. But no one see Julian these days, without my permission and Daedalus. The butler came over to me and gave me a rundown of whom this man supposes to be. I nodded, giving him permission.


His eyes had widened upon hearing that he needed permission from me. I got so comfortable having everyone deferred to me in the last couple of days that it was weird when some one questions my authority. I trailed behind him, as he walks to the basement.


We had to put Julian and the other primitives in the basement because; they had become extremely sensitive to the heat and light. They needed a dark, cool place to stay. I looked at the Kindred named Sonny, who was watching his once elegant and proud boss in a cage gnawing on blooded meat. If I were not watching so closely, I wouldn’t have noticing the slight wince he gave, other wise he was stoic. He nodded once to me and asked to see Daedalus.


After he left, I stood at the cage that held Julian. Not seeing the beast that he had become, but the man he was. I had laughed when Sasha was teasing me about caring for him. But the truth was, I do care. In the short of time, since meeting Julian and his family, I was growing to care about all of them. Who would have believed the slayer and another vampire? Irony of all ironies. I don’t want to care. Caring hurts. Look at what happen to Mom, Giles and the Scoobies. Moreover, who would believe vampires were MY salvation?