A/N: Previously on RftI: Spike and Buffy got too distracted with groping each other and now Amazons have them! Oh damn.

All4Spike and BloodyHell beta'd this. Aren't they the best? Yes, yes they are.

Chapter 13


Buffy leaped to her feet and swiftly turned around to glare at the woman.


“What is this?”


The woman’s eyes darted between Buffy and the door in confusion then she said in a voice that suggested Buffy was a moron, “It’s a magical barrier.”


Buffy gritted her teeth. “I can see that. Fair warning, lady. You really don’t want to piss me off. This is the way it’s gonna be… either you let me pass, or I’ll break every single bone in your body. And believe me, just because I’m shorter doesn’t mean I can’t wipe the floor with you.”


“We only punish the man.”


“Yes. And by hurting him, you’ll piss me off even more. Nobody gets to hurt that bleached jerk but me!” As soon as the words leaped off her lips, Buffy realised how incredibly proprietary it sounded. And how much she actually meant it.


The Amazon avoided Buffy’s intense stare, seemingly uncomfortable as she whispered, “You’re her, aren’t you?”


Buffy was getting irritated. She was so not in mood for an idle chit-chat. “Wha-”


The Amazon turned her earnest eyes to her. “I didn’t know he already had a mate, I swear. He said he didn’t. Don’t you see? He’s playing you for a fool. He deserves to be punished!”


Okay, now Buffy was even more confused than ever. Was it because she didn’t speak the angry-feminist language? Wait, she kind of did. But it was more than obvious there was something between the lines she was simply not getting.


“Okay, slow down. I have no idea what you’re talking about. And I take offense at being called a fool.”


The Amazon raked her slender fingers though the thick long hair reaching to her waist that was only a shade darker than Buffy’s.


Stupid shampoo commercial hair.


“When I engaged him in sexual intercourse, I was under the impression he was free. Then he called out the other name.” The Amazon’s lips pursed, and she looked away as though speaking of it brought immeasurable shame upon her. “Before we took yo-”


“Kidnapped me, you mean.” Anger prickled Buffy’s skin, and she wasn’t sure whether it was about getting smashed over the head or something else entirely. Something eerily reminiscent of jealousy.


The Amazon held in a breath, exhaled it slowly and continued as though uninterrupted, “Before we took you from the parking lot, I heard him call you by name.” She looked at her expectantly.


Buffy raised her eyebrow. “And you hated my name so much you hit me on the head? You people need to learn some manners.”


The Amazon frowned. “What?” She shook her head. “It was the same name he’d called when we reached the climax. If I knew he had already been branded by someone else I would have-”


But Buffy wasn’t listening anymore. She couldn’t even if she wanted to and barely even registered as she slowly walked to the heaps of furs and dropped down, her mind reeling. It was her name Spike called? Not Drusilla’s? But that had been before the heated make out sessions and buying her a stuffed animal. Back before they surpassed the status of ‘mortal enemies sworn to a mutual hatred’ to reach the one labeled ‘mortal enemies who can’t keep their hands off each other.’


“- so it could be your choice,” the Amazon finished.


Buffy snapped back to the conversation—or more like a yawn-worthy monologue—at hand and pushed herself to her feet.


“Huh?”


The other woman sighed heavily once more. “I said I am not the only one who has been wronged.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “I am sorry. I was not aware he belonged to another woman. As my apology, you can be the one to decide on punishment.”


Maybe she could use this to her advantage. Somehow. Or punish Spike for lying to her since the very beginning. What had been his motivations for seeking her out? Had he planned to kidnap her from the very beginning, feeding a perverse obsession of some kind? It didn’t sound likely, but trusting men had never turned out in her favour. And with a start, she realised she really did trust Spike. How stupid was she?


“Oh, now you apologize? You almost got me killed!”


The Amazon stared at her with the orange cat-like eyes. “You were in our way.”


“So you aimed at me too?”


“You do not understand my species. Nothing or no one gets in the way of our vengeance.”


Buffy raised her hands palms out in a defensive gesture. “Don’t you think you’re overreacting a little?”


The Amazon’s narrowed eyes flashed with streaks of red, her fists clenching. “He humiliated me! You could never understand what shame it has brought upon me. The clan will not respect me again until he gets what he deserves. In front of everyone.”


“Sheesh, chill out.”


Fingers slowly unclenching, the Amazon folded her arms across her barely covered chest as she asked, “So, will you participate in his punishment or not?”


*******


Spike could sense the sunlight seeping into the earth above him slowly but steadily getting cooler as the day wore by. His ankles and wrists had been manacled and secured together and the bloody chains must have been enchanted as well because no matter how hard he pulled, they remained solid. If they wanted to hurt Buffy there was nothing he could do about it.


In a burst of rage, Spike punched the wall of what seemed to be an old well gone dry, snarling as the pain shot up his arm. He felt more claustrophobic by the minute, feeling the rounded walls closing in on him. The only exit was several feet above his head and there was no way he could get to it. He’d tried and failed. Mainly because the walls were slick and his chains barely allowed him to shuffle around.


“Come on, you fucking cowards! Let me out! Let’s fight! Are you scared, is that it? Shaking in your knickers at the sight of a real Big Bad?”


No one answered. Not that he was very surprised.


Spike let out a sigh and sank to his knees, not caring that mud was now ruining his jeans. Fuck, this would be a long day.


*******


It was after the sun had set that Spike got stirred from his daze by the sound of the lid above being dragged to the side. Moonlight spilled inside, forcing him to blink to adjust from spending God knew how long enveloped in complete darkness. Then the end of a rope dropped down, swaying in the air.


He stared at it, hesitating.


“Either you take it or we leave you here for eternity,” called a female voice from above.


Well, when they put it that way.


He grasped it, legs crossing around it as they pulled him upwards. When his body rolled on the grass covered earth, Spike could feel himself relax for a fraction of a second. There was nothing he hated more than being stuck in a dark narrow space. Nothing.


Soon two tall women were dragging him behind them as though he was a sack of stones. He could bloody well walk by himself!


Primitive music echoed throughout the forest, making the birds fly out from the tree crowns. His gut tightened at the anticipation weaving into the tapestry of night. The anticipation for blood. Probably his. He could practically taste the excitement making their demonic blood pump a few beats quicker and it made him sick.

 

He hoped Buffy was all right.


The sound of the gongs and what he now recognised as drums got louder the further they dragged him down a forest path. His yellow eyes darted about frantically, trying to spot some sort of weapon he could use if the opportunity arose. Or more like when.


The figures of tall women materialised from the shadows, their skin gleaming under the moonlight streaming through the branches. He was shoved to his knees and his eyes rose to focus on the stone steps leading to a small stone stage. In the middle was an altar that looked way too sacrificial for his liking. Two Amazons stood in front of it but it was the third figure that caught his attention.


“Buffy?” he murmured to himself.


He let out a secret sigh of relief that she appeared to be unharmed but frowned when she refused to meet his eyes.


“We bring you forth, man, to punish you for offending the pride of one of our own.”


“Oh come, on. Made her come, didn’t I? Bet it was more than she got-”


He was struck on his back with what had to be a whip. Sharp pain slammed into him, spreading like wild fire all around the wound that wouldn’t help the already half-ruined state of his T-shirt. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from screaming, his whole body straining to escape the pain.


“Speak out of turn again, and you will be struck.”


Some of the women clapped in appreciation of the violence and murmured excitedly among themselves. Bloody feminists. It took all his willpower to keep his mouth firmly shut so he settled for fierce scowling instead.


“We have decided our guest will be the one to choose punishment.”


Spike’s eyes snapped to Buffy’s and she returned his gaze for a second. Now, he knew the Slayer and even though her face was contorted in a stoic mask, her eyes communicated a different story altogether. He nodded almost imperceptibly and lowered his gaze.


“There are three options.” The woman who spoke turned to Buffy. “Removal of intestinal organs, cutting off the testicles or gouging out the eyes and the tongue. Your choice.”


All eyes shifted to Buffy as the entire company waited for her to speak. Spike gulped despite his trust in her ability to get them out of this. But she would, right? Surely she had some kind of elaborate plan. She screwed his more than once with her annoying habit of winning over the bad guys.


Yeah, but your plans weren’t exactly foolproof, were they?


Oh bloody hell, he loved his testicles!


“Oh, wow,” Buffy said with a forced nervous laugh. Spike cringed. “There are so many… tempting choices. What was the second one again?”


The woman repeated it and Spike was hard pressed not to tremble in fear.


“Yeah that one.”


Oh, he would bloody kill her if they got out of this.


Two women pulled him to his unsteady feet and yanked him up the steps, closer and closer towards the altar. As soon as he dug in his heels, the woman behind him struck him with the whip again. Shocked by the blaze of sudden pain, Spike screamed and almost fell. Weak and dazed, he barely registered as they removed the chains.


“Now!” Buffy yelled and he had to gather strength from every cell of his body that didn’t scream in fatigue and pain. He clenched his jaw, seized the cut off chain and swung it around.


Adrenaline pumped through his veins, granting him the power he needed. He hit the woman with the whip right across her face so hard half of her face got almost completely ripped off. He grinned and kicked the whip out of her hands.


“How do you like that, bitch?”


The battle cry of angry Amazons pierced the air, and Spike’s eyes widened as he took in the mass of bodies rushing the stage.


“Oh, crap,” Buffy said from next to him. “I don’t think I thought this through.”


Spike chuckled and saw her bury the dagger she’d been holding into her opponent’s chest before she turned to another.


The Amazons shrieked inhumanly, their eyes turning red, the bones of their limbs lengthening in a macabre transformation, making them appear beyond anorexic. They charged them all at once from all sides and Spike felt Buffy with her back against him as they fought for their lives.


Gleefully, he licked his fangs and wrapped one end of the chain around his hand.


TBC