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Chapter 9


Ullah rushed back to her husband, eager to tell him her suspicions. She knew Kahn had an unhealthy obsession with the child. She had noticed it some time ago. Men didn’t take second wives unless the first was unable to produce a son, or if it would elevate the status of his hearth, or if first wife had died. Since Ullah was still alive, and Kahn had his sons, and he was already an Elder, she felt very threatened. Kahn had chosen Kaia for his own personal pleasure, but seemed to be blind to the fact that this child could be his undoing. Hourak had already warned him as he had given his blessing. Ullah knew her status was in danger too, so she needed to get Kahn to forget this nonsense as soon as possible and would do everything in her power to help him see the error of his ways.

Kahn was still furious. He needed to punish Kaia for embarrassing him in front of everyone. He sat at his hearth and plotted his revenge, angry that his new bride was not sitting next to him, where she should have been. She would never see him coming…

Kahn saw Ullah hurry to him, eager to tell him something, but he was in no mood to hear the ramblings on any woman, let alone a jealous one. Raising his hand to her as she drew closer, he indicated he wasn’t interested.

Ullah was defeated before she even began. She stopped short of the hearth, noting Kahn’s anger and realized he might just take care of this on his own. She only hoped Kahn wouldn’t take too long to fix the problem. She called the children to go to bed, as she set about preparing for the next day. She would keep a close eye on the situation and take over if she had to.

******


Spike reached Buffy’s house to once again find only Tara there. They sat in the kitchen and discussed in depth their fears that something had happened to Buffy.

Spike broke down sobbing at the kitchen counter as he told Tara of Kaia. He knew Buffy hadn’t told any of them, but he was desperate, feeling deep in his bones that something was very wrong. He could swear he could almost sense her nearby.

Tara was unsure of how to comfort Spike. The sight of a master vampire reduced to tears over a cup of hot chocolate was unbearable. Spike had proven himself to Tara after Buffy’s death; proven he was trustworthy, proven he would do anything for Buffy and Dawn, proven he cared for them. She had seen him step into a role of caregiver, protector, and now lover. Waves of fear and frustration now clouded his aura. There was also something strange she saw in it too. Instead of Spike’s aura being contained around his body, it appeared to be streaming or being pulled away from him. It was being pulled toward the floor. She had never seen anything like it before, but she knew something was wrong.


******


Buffy spent the next few weeks plotting and preparing her plan. She had been able to scout out a small cave, high on a hill, with good shelter from the weather and a cool running stream nearby. It was closer to the clan’s cave than she had hoped, but she feared being gone too long and drawing suspicion from others. She had begun to stock it with items from Groma each time she traveled there. Secretly, they worked each evening to make duplicates of all the things they thought they would need in their new home.

On the days Buffy didn’t travel to the new cave, she concentrated on learning more skills for survival. She had watched the men train with the primitive weapons—spears and slingshots. She watched and learned how they made traps and used them to trap animals.

Buffy spoke to Groma nightly about their plan, both always looking over their shoulders to make sure no one was listening. Groma continued her training, which now included teaching her how to take care of a hearth. To any onlooker it would appear that Kaia was being taught to be a good wife to Kahn, and would offer no clue as to what was really going on.

Buffy also spent time learning from Kaia. The girl knew how to prepare the food, to use the tools for gardening, to sew without needles. There were so many things Buffy had taken for granted and she was in awe of what the young girl knew. Buffy had always known she could take care of herself in a fight, but had never felt secure about simple real life things. She had never been one to learn to cook or clean, thinking it was beyond her, but here, it would mean the difference between life and death.

Kaia had known she was different for quite sometime. It was more than just her appearance. She knew she was stronger and faster than any man in her clan, but she had never been allowed to test herself. Women were not supposed to fight or protect others. She didn’t know why the Spirit Guide had made her this way, but she soon began to think she had been blessed with a gift. One she would need to survive.

Buffy told Kaia tales of her life, ones that frightened her terribly. The girl wondered why Buffy would want to go back to a world where demons roamed regularly, and it was her job to protect so many. Her heart broke when Buffy told her of her sister, Dawn. Buffy had died to save her, only to be brought back to life through dark magics. These dark magics were new to her, and she knew they were dangerous, but she wanted to know more.

Kaia wondered if demons roamed her world too. Having never been allowed outside the cave after dusk, she had no idea what came out after dark. She made sure to tell Buffy to ask Groma why the sentries were posted. She had a bad feeling she wasn’t going to like the answer. She had always assumed it was because of animals, but listening to Buffy, she had a feeling there was more hiding under the cover of night.

Groma had been hesitant to tell Kaia of the night creatures, but knew she had to if they were to leave the safety of the cave. The woman suspected one of them might have been the cause of Kaia’s birth mother’s death, and was unsure of how that might affect her.

“Kaia, in my many years on this earth, I have seen many things. Most are good, but there are others that are anything but. Evil has been around for as long as good has, and it is a fact of life. In the dark is where the evil hides. There are creatures, deformed and crazed that come out to feed when the sun sets. They will attack without warning or provocation. Their bite can be fatal, but sometimes things come back wrong.” Groma told a story of a clanswoman who had been found dead after an attack and brought back to the cave for the funeral ritual, only to see her rise from the dead and attack her own family. Her face had become deformed, and she appeared to be starving as she immediately bit them with her newly elongated teeth. “If we are to live alone, we will need to be prepared to defend ourselves. I know that a wooden spear through the chest of one of these creatures will not only kill them, but turn them to dust.” Groma’s head dropped as she mumbled, “I fear we will never be fully prepared to live alone.”

Buffy and Kaia had listened intently, knowing exactly what she was talking about. They also both agreed that they would need to tell Groma about Buffy, and soon. They had noticed Groma becoming frail with worry since the night she had accepted Kahn’s proposal. Maybe if she knew, it would ease her mind a bit. Or maybe, she would think Kaia had lost her mind. Either way, it was time.

“Groma, there is something I have to tell you, or shall I say we, need to tell you.”