She walks out of the Bronze, filling my vision. Her dopey, yet strikingly good-looking friend says something and she laughs, tucking her hair behind her right ear. I can smell her even from a distance, the intoxicating scent of soap and blood and purity. Yes, purity has its own distinct smell, like honeysuckle in springtime. She is the very essence of goodness and purity, everything about her screaming out her innocence. And I am drawn to that innocence.
As she makes her way down the street, I follow at a safe distance, never taking my gaze away from her. The rest of them don't matter any more. Perhaps at first I wanted to hurt them, mostly to break the Slayer, but now I realize how my attention was pointed in the wrong direction. What's the point of breaking the Slayer when her little friend is so much more innocent and can only fall so much harder? And the rest of them just aren't important enough to worry about. They'll serve their purpose when I kill them. Except maybe Xander. He might have his uses.
I follow her until she reaches her house and watch as she makes her way up the front path. The porch light glints off her red hair and for a brief moment I can see what she could be, or rather will be, in the future: a fiery goddess by my side, killing for the pure enjoyment of it. But then the image is gone because for right now she is still innocent, still pure. It will take some work to take that away. It's interesting, I suppose, that the one quality that draws me to her the most is the one that I am most eager to take from her. But I am going to break her, taking away everything she's ever loved, each kill stripping away a part of her innocence until she's left naked to the world with nobody to turn to. And then I'll have her.
She's inside less than a minute before Buffy calls back to me, her voice taunting, calling me out from my hiding place. I swear silently, cursing myself for being careless, for allowing my desire to watch Willow to override my reason. But I don't allow the Slayer to see this, of course. Outwardly, I'm calm and collected, as if I fully expected her to know I was there and I've just been waiting for her to finally notice.
Her body tense, Buffy holds herself in a fighting stance, weary eyes flashing momentarily, challenging me to make the first move. Without even realizing it, she's giving me control of the situation. I circle her slowly, looking for the moment I can surprise her and attack, taking her off guard. I'm not ready to actually kill her just yet; I just want to get away from here without the Slayer causing any permanent damage to me. Growing tired of the seemingly endless game, I carefully draw out the knife concealed in the sleeve of my leather jacket.
She doesn't even notice the slight movement and just continues circling along with me. It's a strange sort of dance we've become accustomed to performing. We both know she can never kill me, that the face of her boyfriend holds her back, giving her some small shred of false hope. I suppose that as long as I live, she can still believe that he'll come back to her. It's not possible, of course. I'm here to stay.
Finally she tires of the game as well and lunges at me, pointlessly drawing a stake as she does so. Before she even sees it, I whip the knife out in front of me in a sweeping gesture, slicing easily across her lip. Her eyes widen in shock as she stares at me, falling back and holding her hand to the bleeding wound. I've managed to surprise her, which is somewhat amusing, considering that I've spent the last couple of months showing her exactly why she should never be surprised at anything I do.
But I don't really have the time or the patience to smirk over the wounded Slayer now. I have plans for my redhead to arrange.
**
Spike grabbed the teenager by the hair, pulling back her head so her throat was exposed. "Pet, do you want a drink?"
Drusilla curtseyed and licked the girl's throat, then morphed and bit into the vein, daintily drinking the warm blood. "Thank you, Spike," she purred, pulling away. "That was delicious."
Angelus growled at them in disgust as Spike pulled Drusilla close and licked the blood off her chin. They always were playing, those two. And while it was fun to play--he had played, certainly in the past-- this chase was deadly serious. The smell of innocence was heavy in his nostrils.
"Come on, I have something to show you two." Drusilla immediately followed him. Spike hesitated, but eventually came along.
"Where are we going, mate?" he inquired, lighting a cigarette. Drusilla held her hand out and he gave her the match. She waved it in front of her face, her eyes following the smoke.
Angelus led the group into Willow's yard, going around behind the house. "I've found a new game, Spike." His mouth hardened. "I know you think I've been concentrating on the Slayer too much, so this should make you happy."
"Do you have a new plaything, my Angel? I got to turn the last one into ashes, didn't I? And you were very proud of me..."
"Maria. She was a slut after she turned, and she didn't obey. Not like you, Dru, you're a good girl."
"Can I see her, daddy? Can I see your new pet?" Angelus nodded and climbed up to Willow's window, reaching back down to help Drusilla up. "Are you coming, Spike?"
"No, I think I'll stay down here, seeing as how she's in the living room. This is your first redhead, isn't it? You're still in the Slayer's circle, though, haven't quite managed to break free."
Angelus jumped down behind Spike, his eyes focused on Willow. "Oh, but Spike," he breathed, "don't you see the possibilities?" Willow was sitting watching television. On impulse she had pulled on a satin nightshirt instead of her usual cotton one. The green fabric hugged her breasts and her erect nipples stood out.
She laughed at something on the television, and the contrast of her innocent amusement and seductive attire caused both of the vampires to catch their nonexistent breath.
Drusilla crept up between the two of them and rubbed her head against Spike's shoulder like a cat. "I like her, Angel. She looks like a good girl, although her nips look naughty." Drusilla giggled.
"She's a good girl, Dru, but I'm going to make her bad."
"Oh, yes," Dru hissed. "I'd like to see her bad." She trailed her fingers silently across the glass of the living room window. "I'd like to see that china doll face covered in blood." Willow turned towards the window slightly and the trio withdrew.
Spike looked up at the sky. "If we don't want to ash ourselves, I'd suggest heading home."
Angelus leered at Drusilla. "Yes, we should go home. Home has beds."
"Did looking at the little doll make you hard, my Angel?" She slid her hand down his chest and cupped his crotch. "Yes, it did. Princess will take care of you."
**
It was almost morning when the three vampires reached the mansion. Drusilla was alternating between the two males, bestowing kisses imperiously like a queen. "One for you," she whispered, licking the top of Angelus' mouth. "And one," she framed Spike's face with her hands and drew him close, "for you." Spike growled and drew her into his body, his hands caressing her back through the thin satin of her dress.
Angelus pressed himself to Drusilla's back, his hands coming around to cup her breasts. Spike withdrew a bit, breaking the kiss and started to move away. Angelus' arms snaked around his waist, pulling him and Drusilla closer. "Leaving so soon?" He leaned over Dru's shoulder and caught Spike's mouth with his own, forcing the blonde vampire's mouth open and searching it with his tongue.
Drusilla dropped to her knees and unzipped Spike's jeans, her slender hands slipping inside. She trailed her fingertips over his hipbones, then glanced up at the two of them. They were completely lost in their kiss.
Her hands crept up Spike's ribcage, slipping around to his back. When he groaned into Angelus' mouth, she smiled and gave him what he wanted. She leaned forward and licked the head of his cock, her tongue flat against the flaring head. He thrust his hips toward her and she smiled around his cock as she took him in more deeply.
Angelus pushed Spike's duster off his shoulders and down his arms. It fell to the floor with a soft swishing noise. The younger vampire tore off his outer shirt. Angelus stroked Spike's shoulders, scratching his bare upper arms lightly. He broke the kiss and pulled his shirt over his head. Drusilla embraced Spike's hips and continued to suck him. Her tongue played lightly over the surface of his cock, her head bobbing up and down.
Angelus grabbed the hem of Spike's shirt, yanking it over the shorter vamp's head. "She's good at it, isn't she? I remember it very well." Spike glared at the other vampire, but then softened, licking his lips.
"I'm good at that too, mate. Been a while since you knew that."
"I remember..." He reached a hand out and stroked Dru's hair. Spike laid his hand over his sire's. Smirking, Angelus brought it to his face, sliding one of Spike's fingers into his mouth. He bit the tip, drawing on it as Spike's eyes slid shut in ecstasy. He cried out as he came in Drusilla's mouth. Drusilla sat back on her heels. She licked a drop from the corner of her mouth, savoring the flavor.
Spike sat in a nearby chair, his mind fuzzy, and watched Drusilla walk over to Angelus. She linked her arms around his neck. "Does Daddy want to play?" Spike felt a moment's irritation, but pressed it down. Drusilla was Angelus' child, and if he wanted to play, so be it. He was content to watch now. They made a pretty pair, he had to admit it. Although, of course, he and Dru were even prettier.
Angelus took Dru's hands from around his neck and held them to her sides. "Dru...will you do a favor for your Angel? I want to play a game."
"What kind of game? Oh! Do you want me to be your little redhead?" Angelus nodded and she grinned like a cat. She stared at him, and Angelus could feel himself getting lost in her eyes' murky depths. "Be in me...be in my eyes." Drusilla's countenance melted away and Willow's innocent face replaced it. "Angel."
Angelus smiled and threaded his fingers through her hair. "No, Willow. Angelus." His hand tightened in her hair and she cried out.
"Leave me alone!" She tried to twist away from him, but he wrapped one hand around her neck.
"Willow. You can cry if you want, but either way, you're going to be in pain tonight. Try to...enjoy it."
She shook her head and kicked him in the shin. He started to choke her, waiting until she started turning blue to let go. "Now, are you going to be good?" She nodded, her hair sticking to her red, tear streaked face.
"Good." He let go of her and she stood there, trembling slightly. One of his hands came to rest on her waist, pushing the hem of her top up until he had drawn it over her head. Her wide eyes never left his face. He smiled almost gently, cupping her breasts. She whimpered and he squeezed them too hard, digging his nails into the sensitive flesh.
"Angel, please..." Angelus dug his nails in harder, breaking the skin. "Stop it," she yelled, trying to twist away. "Leave me alone!" He shook his head and withdrew from her. His fist flashed between them and she fell down, clutching her stomach.
Spike rose halfway from the chair as Drusilla was slammed into the wall, but she looked at him, reassuring him that she was fine, and he sat down again. She was enjoying it, and as long as she was, he'd stay out of it.
Drusilla drew herself up into a ball, rubbing her stomach. Angelus, still seeing Willow, grabbed her by the hair and yanked her to her knees. Drusilla smiled squirmed, hoping for more punishment. She wasn't disappointed. Angelus slapped Willow's face, then pinched the sensitive skin on the underside of her chin.
"Buffy's not here, Willow. I'm going to fuck you, and make you bleed and no one will stop me." Willow/Dru shook her head frantically, and Angelus shoved her up against the wall, ripping her skirt off her.
Angelus wrapped Willow's legs around his waist and carried her to the table, pushing her down onto the cold wood. One hand pressed heavily on her stomach as he opened his pants only enough to free his erection. Her naked vulnerability contrasted sharply with his strength.
Although Angelus saw Willow's frightened face, Spike could see the glint in Drusilla's eyes. Although it was hard for him to hurt her when they made love, he knew she craved pain and welcomed Angelus' punishments.
Willow sobbed heavily as Angelus positioned himself between her thighs. With a vicious thrust, he tore through her maidenhead. She bit her lip until blood flowed, then screamed when the pain became too much. The scream echoed through the room, a cry of pain to one listener, an infuriating cry of pleasure to another.
Angelus closed his eyes as he rammed himself into Willow, feeling the flesh tear around his cock. It hadn't felt this good since Maria, the last girl. As he neared orgasm, he pulled Willow up to him, sinking his fangs into her neck. Stilling deep within her, he felt that final pressure snap and he came, filling her with cold, fluid.
Drusilla clawed at the edges of the table as her climax shook her body. Her inner thighs trembled, and her nails dug into the edges of the table. She started to rise, intending to bring Spike back into the fun, but Angelus pressed her back down. "My Angel?"
"I told you, I'm Angelus, bitch."
"Angel? Stop it, you're hurting me..." She swiped at him with her nails. "Spike! Spike, help me." She tried to buck the master vampire off her, but he held firm.
Spike ran over to the table, pulling Angelus off his love and tossing him a few feet away. He pulled the hysterical Drusilla into his arms, making comforting noises. "What do you think you were doing, you stupid git?"
"Spike, she was everything that I imagined. Did you see her? She begged for mercy as I tore her open. It was unbelievable!"
"What I saw was you making a complete fool of yourself and hurting Dru."
"Dru? What did Dru have to do...oh." He shook his head. "You can't understand this feeling, Spike. I was sucking away her innocence. I ruined her, Spike." Angelus stood and readjusted his clothing, pulling his shirt back over his head. "You two can hunt alone tomorrow. I have more important business to attend to." He turned and left the room.
**
Angelus waited outside the Bronze, impatiently tapping his hand on his leather clad thigh. His prey should have left the club at least an hour ago. Angelus had followed him for the past week and a half, learning the route, studying his prey. Every night before this night, the boy had left the Bronze at half past ten with his friends, walked slowly up Davis Street with his friends, then parting ways with them at Belmont Street. On the weekend, that bitch, his girlfriend gave him a ride home, but during the week, the boy walked.
It was fifteen minutes until midnight and Xander Harris was still inside the Bronze. It was as if the seventeen year old knew that tonight was the night that Angelus was going to make his move. But it would have been impossible for Xander to know. Angelus had been careful. He took great care so as not to be seen by the boy, the slayer, or anyone else for that matter. He hadn't even told Spike and Drusilla that he was going to capture the mortal this evening.
Just before Angelus became really annoyed, he spotted Xander, his girlfriend, the red haired guitarist, the slayer, and his obsession exit the club. Each of them had one hand in the pocket of the coat they wore. It wasn't cold outside. Angelus suspected that in the pockets, all their fingers were wrapped around either a stake or a cross or both.
The vampire stalked softly behind the five mortals until Belmont Street, then watched with a smirk as the tall boy said his good-byes and withdrew a cross from the pocket. Once the others were out of sight, Angelus began to walk faster after his prey. The vampire continued to smile as he noticed how jittery Xander was. The boy was obviously frightened to be walking alone at night. As he should be.
Absently, Angelus wondered why the slayer didn't walk each one of her friends to their doorstep. Shrugging, he decided that he didn't really care. His ex girlfriend probably thought that Xander could take care of himself and hold his own. Tonight, Angelus was going to prove her wrong.
Just as Angelus was upon Xander, the boy twirled around, shoving the cross in the vampire's face. Angelus growled, his face shifting for a moment, only to shift back into its human form. As the vampire easily batted Xander's arm away, causing the cross to fall from the boy's hand, Xander spun around and took off running. Angelus quickly gave chase.
He apprehended Xander about a block from where the cross was dropped on the ground. Angelus tackled the boy, wrestling him down to the sidewalk. Xander was on his stomach, struggling. Not wanting to draw attention, even on this deserted street, Angelus wrapped a hand in the boy's hair then pulled Xander's head up. Laughing, Angelus slammed Xander's head back down on the sidewalk, knocking him out.
**
Xander awakened in a room he'd never been in. Looking around, he saw that several layers of heavy fabric covered the windows. He lay on a large bed covered in black satin in the center of the room. Groaning, Xander lifted one hand to his head, trying to remember exactly what had happened. He felt blood oozing slowly from a wound on his forehead. A wound he couldn't recall receiving.
A deep voice called out his name and he looked around for the owner of the voice. His eyes scanned quickly then stopped in the corner of the room. There, in a large red velvet chair, sat Angelus. Xander's breathing quickened as he sat up. Wincing, he held his head, but ignored the spinning sensation and backed off the bed. His legs gave out beneath him and he fell to the floor.
Before he knew what was happening, Angelus was straddling Xander's chest. The vampire waited, and grew more and more annoyed with each passing second. Xander continued to struggle to no avail.
After five minutes of trying to buck the vampire off, Xander gave up; he was exhausted. "What do you want?"
Angelus thought for a while before answering. "It seems I want you."
"Wh-what? Wh-why?" Xander stuttered.
"Several reasons. But mainly, you're a key part of my plan. You're the way to my goal."
The boy's face scrunched up, clearly not understanding the vampire. "What?"
Sighing, Angelus rolled his eyes. "I'm going to have Willow for my own. You're going to help me get her."
"Never," Xander stated determinedly, the anger showing in his face.
"Never? That's a long time. I have a feeling that you'll help me. That you'll WANT to help me."
As Angelus leaned down, Xander saw his chance, and lifting his head quickly, he slammed it up into Angelus'. It stunned the vampire enough for Xander to flip over, knocking Angelus off him and slowly start to crawl for the door. But knocking his head against Angelus' had stunned him too, so he wobbled as he crawled.
Unsurprisingly, Angelus recovered quickly and soon was on top of the boy again. Using his weight, he knocked Xander back to the floor and straddled him once again, this time with Xander facing the floor. "You have a lot more courage than I thought, boy. That's good. I like playing with dinner. Now, we can finish doing this the hard way, which you seem to enjoy, or you can be a good boy and just let me do what I want. Which is it?"
Xander tried to reach behind him and grab any part of the vampire, but he couldn't reach. He was having trouble breathing and for some reason the room seemed to be spinning. Shoving all that aside, he tried once more to buck the vampire off. He failed.
Angelus leaned down, his mouth centimeters from Xander's ear. "You've fought bravely, I'm impressed, really. I no longer have any doubt about how great a demon you'll be, but now is the time where you give up. Come on, Harris. I know you're tired. You feel like you have to struggle for Willow's sake and for Buffy and your girlfriend and Giles, but they're not fighting for you."
Xander tried to move again, but Angelus continued. "I know about your parents and how horribly they treat you. I can make it so they never hurt you again. I can give you the power to make them hurt." Xander shook his head, but Angelus could see the tears running down his cheeks. "No? You don't want all that? You don't want the pain you feel to go away? Fine. But I'm doing this, boy."
Wrapping a hand in Xander's hair, Angelus pulled his head back, baring the boy's throat. Without another word, the vampire's face changed and he buried his fangs in Xander's jugular.
**
End Part One