Tara sighed softly as she felt herself slowly come awake, laying there on the bed in her rooms not far from the Bronze. The brown haired young woman opened her eyes, blinking tiredly, then she smiled happily as she saw who lay beside her. Faith looked much gentler, somehow, when she was fast asleep, the normally battle capable vampire slayer defenseless as she slept. Many scars marked her slim, muscled body, but as Tara had quickly learned last night they hadn't touched on the warrior's soul, Faith treating her with such gentleness and caring. A blush colored her cheeks as Tara remembered how they had left the Bronze together, conversing softly as Faith walked her home. Inviting Faith up had seemed the right thing to do, and talk and gently led them into going to bed together. Faith had been a warm and compassionate lover, going as slow as Tara needed her to, then helping her in satisfying her own hungers. "Good morning," Faith murmured, smiling at Tara gently. "It is, isn't it?" Tara softly agreed, feeling a flash of pleasure at the warmly contented look on Faith's face. She reached out to gently push the slightly messy hair back and Faith purred, tilting her head to maximize that touch. Faith cupped Tara's hand then kissed it gently. "I don't know how long I'll be able to stay in Sunnydale," she admitted softly, "but this isn't casual for me, Tara." "Me, too," Tara admitted. She smiled wryly, "And I have obligations to the coven to fulfill..." Faith chuckled. "I guess we'll take it one day at a time," she offered. Tara took one of Faith's hands and squeezed it gently, "Fair enough." Reluctantly Faith sat up, still keeping a gentle grip on Tara's hand. "As much as I'd like to stay laying here," she sighed, "I'd better check in with Giles." "I think that Jenny would have told him what we were doing," Tara pointed out gently. Faith chuckled softly, "Yeah, but I don't want his uptight British underwear to get into too tight of a knot." "Here," a clearly amused Tara handed Faith the bedside phone. Faith dialed the number by memory and smiled as the phone was picked up on the first ring. "Hey G-man, how's it hanging?" Her face quickly lost all amusement as she listened, "Yes, right. I'll meet you there." "What's wrong?" Tara asked worriedly. "Vampire attack last night," Faith said grimly as she grabbed at her clothes and began to dress, "and it looks like they murdered the mayor." "Goddess," Tara breathed out, her face grave. With a grim look she began to dress too, "I'd better tag along, if you don't mind." "Always glad for the help," Faith admitted, "but why this one?" "Because the mayor was also a major occultist," was Tara's grim reply. Meanwhile, Rupert Giles and several allies were already cautiously looking around the office where the Mayor's bloodless corpse had been found that morning. "So how did we get in here again?" Buffy asked, the sandy blonde haired woman looking with some distaste at a odd statue. "I developed some pull with the police when the Master was running rampant," Giles noted, pushing his glasses up as he carefully studied a book. "Don't touch that, by the way, it probably has a curse protecting it." "Ick," Buffy quickly pulled her hand away. Willow gave him a look, "This whole place has a creepy aura around it, watcher." "Very perceptive," Jenny Calendar said wryly, the witch and former computer teacher cautiously sorting through a case containing mystical artifacts. "It appears he was more than involved with the occult," she continued, "he was working black sorcery." "As in?" Buffy asked cautiously. "Looking through the scattered documents," Giles gazed about at the wreckage in the room, including artifacts and rare books, "he was studying demons and demonic ascension." "Lovely," Buffy blinked, "what's that?" "Becoming a unstoppable, full blooded demon," Giles said dryly. "We were lucky, though," Jenny noted, "it seems he had the chance to do it several years ago but was prevented by the Master. He's been biding his time ever since, waiting for another chance." "But why would the Master stop him?" Buffy looked curious, "I mean, wouldn't they both be on the same side?" "I suspect the Master wouldn't want someone around with more power than he had," Willow said grimly. She looked towards Giles, "Any idea what the vamps who killed him took?" "Several scrolls of prophecy appear to be missing from the inventory he maintained of his collection," Giles said grimly. "Prophecies about?" Jenny asked. "The apocalypse, it seems," Giles pushed up his glasses reflexedly. "No, that doesn't sound too good," Faith said as she led the way inside the office, Tara following close behind her. Tara flinched as she crossed the threshold, shuddering. "What did he have in here?" she gasped out, face pale. "What?" Faith reached out to steady her, eyes wide with concern. "There's such a strong aura of evil about this place," Tara visibly shuddered as she confessed, "it makes my skin crawl." Jenny looked at Tara with gentle concern, "I'm sorry, I forgot how much more sensitive you are to things like this." "A little beyond getting the ordinary willies?" Buffy asked softly. Willow nodded her agreement, "A sensitive can get a impression of what has happened in a place, especially if great good or evil has happened there." "I'm surprised you know that," Buffy said quietly. "I studied the craft a bit before..." Willow trailed off, the vampire shrugging slightly. 'Before she became a vampire,' Tara thought but didn't say anything. To Jenny she offered a reassuring smile, "I'll be all right, just give me a moment." Faith was reluctant, but Tara was clearly determined to manage on her own. Giving the other woman her space she looked at Giles, "So they have these prophecies about the apocalypse... they wouldn't happen to be instruction books on how to cause one?" "In the wrong hands," Giles conceded, "yes." "Great," Buffy looked disgusted, "but why would the master of these vamps want to destroy the world?" "Some vampires are nihilists," Giles shrugged tiredly, "destroying the world might seem to them like a great idea." "And who says that the apocalypse would destroy the world?" Tara offered. She smiled grimly, "It might just destroy most of human civilization." "An' the vamps would have a field day," Faith realized. Jenny nodded grimly, "Which means we need to recover the prophecies as soon as possible." She pulled her jacket around her as she said, "I'll gather the coven, try to determine who is leading the vampires magically." Buffy looked towards Willow, Faith and Tara, "I guess we'll be increasing the patrols." "And I'll hit the books," Giles said grimly, "try to find other copies of the prophecies so we can try to head them off somehow." "Let's just hope that's enough," Willow murmured.
Back to Slayer and Shadow Index - Back to Non-Anime Fanfiction Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction