Chapter 19



Sofia kept looking over her shoulder as she made her way to the Mansion. She didn’t expect anyone to follow her—there was too much going on for Adalberto to have his mind on her—but one could never be too sure.


Reaching the gates, she paused to cross herself and pray it wasn’t Kennedy who answered. Then, with a deep breath, she rang the bell and waited.


“Welcome to our casa,” a male voice replied. “Please state your name and business, oh traveller of the evening.”


Rolling her eyes, Sofia whispered, “This is a matter of grave importance. I need to speak to your Wiccan. May I enter?”


There was a pause, then some whispers, and a young woman called out, “What is this about, can I tell her?”


It was Kennedy. Sofia thanked God that she was carrying a basket with her purchases from the market, and that her attire and hair looked nothing like when the young Slayer had last seen her. “I am Maria,” she lied. “I sell potions.” She raised the basket. “Your Wiccan said to meet her here.” She carefully kept her face away from the door-phone, where she assumed a camera might be hidden.


“I’ll be right down,” a third voice called, and Sofia moved to the shadows, to wait for whom she hoped would be an ally.



~~~~~*~~~~~



Willow knew she hadn’t told anyone to meet her, so if the woman at the gate was an enemy, she’d rather keep her outside the house. That way, if something happened to her, the wards would keep the threat away from the rest.


At first sight, the woman didn’t look like a threat. If anything, she looked like a Goddess. Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail that took nothing away from its lustre. Her skin had the colour of blond caramel, and her body was slender, something her baggy clothes couldn’t hide.


“I’m Willow,” she held out her hand with a smile. “Their Wiccan.”


“I am Sofia,” the other replied. “And I am here to help you save your friends.”


Smiley-flirty feeling instantly replaced by caution, Willow narrowed her eyes. “None of my friends are in danger.”


Sofia shook her head gravely. “I am afraid you are wrong, Willow.” The name sounded exotic coming from her lips. “They are in grave danger and… so am I.”


If it had been Xander the woman had asked for, Willow would have been certain Sofia was a demon. Since damsels in distress with killer secrets rarely asked for her, however, she decided to hear her out. “Why don’t we go-”


“We cannot go to your house. He has an ally here.” Seeing the redhead’s confused look, Sofia explained, “The Immortal.”


Afraid she was walking into a trap, Willow still followed the woman along the side of the Mansion. She couldn’t contain a sigh of relief when the woman pushed herself up the fence at its lowest point and patted the stone next to her. “This is a safe enough distance from Kennedy’s ears,” the brunette said.


As it turned out, that wasn’t the only part of their talk to make Willow’s jaw drop.


“Kennedy is…”


“The traitor, yes.” Sofia nodded solemnly.


“I don’t—I can’t believe that.” Still standing in front of the young woman, Willow shook a finger in accusation. “You’re lying! The wards of the house-”


“What is this place guarded against?” The other woman’s voice was soft.


“Ill intent.” The Wiccan raised an eyebrow in silent challenge, compelling Sofia to elaborate.


“She has no ill intent against anyone in these premises, unless Buffy and the vampires live here.”


Deflated, Willow leaned against the fence. “What did she do?”


“It is not just her. This is so much more, and I am afraid I have to start from the beginning.”



~~~~~*~~~~~



Willow had known the Immortal was an evil son of a bitch since Buffy had started dating him, but at that time she had harboured the romantic notion that he’d be good for the love of her best friend. Like Spike had.


Hearing what he’d done to Sofia’s family, brought tears to the redhead’s eyes. “But why?” Her mind was unable to wrap around the notion of anyone being evil for the sake of it. Sure, vampires and other demons were evil too, but that kind of came with the territory of humans being their means of sustenance. What the Immortal did made no sense to her. “Why would he…?” The answer to her unfinished question was closer to her thoughts than she’d expected.


“Adalberto feeds on despair.” Sofia waited for that first bit of information to sink in, before she continued, “The despair of normal people is enough to keep him alive, but just barely. What he needs is the despair of stronger beings.”


“Slayers?” Willow asked meekly.


The brunette nodded. “And vampires. Other demons will not do, as they have no humanity.” Taking a deep breath, she went on. “He has already fed from your Spike and his Sire on two occasions.”


The Wiccan’s mind was reeling.


“The more he feeds, the stronger he gets, but he loses control of his own self. He reverts to his original appearance...” The pause this time gave Willow the time to fill in the blank.


“That’s the state he can be killed in!”


“Exactly. And here is where my family’s women come into play. When there is a natural disaster, a famine, or a war, he makes a point of being there. He is like a… a battery, stocking up with energy. When the energy levels are too high, he cannot regain his human form for several months.”


Connecting the dots, the redhead asked, “Was he in the LA apocalypse?”


“Si. And then remained locked in the crypts under the castle, where only I was allowed to visit.”


“He needs someone under his thumb to take care of him while he regains control,” Willow exclaimed, feeling the same light-headedness she used to have in high school when she solved a particularly hard mathematics problem.


The young woman just nodded this time.


“And if you don’t help him, your soul goes poof?”


Another nod.


“I—I hate to ask this, but why put yourself at risk by helping us? If he finds out-” The redhead dragged her index finger along her throat.


“I have no one to redeem my soul. Once Adalberto is done with me, there is no woman of my line to take my place. He has already approached your Kennedy and has Buffy. I know one of them will be the first of the new line to serve him.” Her voice was soft, as if she wasn’t talking about her own demise. “The Slayer’s blood in my veins has been diluted after all these generations, and I cannot function as an adequate… snack when he needs it.”


“That’s… Oh, that’s horrible, Sofia.” Willow awkwardly enveloped the other woman in a half-hug. Realization suddenly dawning, her voice was shrill with alarm when she asked, “What do you mean he has Buffy?”



~~~~~*~~~~~


*Buffy? Where the fuck are you?* William asked again in her head, and she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. William was alive—or rather, undead. He would find her.


*Somewhere dark, dank, and really uncomfortable,* she replied. Relief that he was still in one piece was making her giddy, something really at odds with her situation. *I’m chained to a wall, you?*


*At the graveyard. Landed in a quite lovely patch of sun and barely made it to the nearest crypt. I‘m just slightly singed, nothin’ that can’t be fixed with a pint of blood. Are you all right?*


She sent him thoughts of being cold. And naked. The mental growl that answered her left no questions as to what William felt like doing. Still, he clarified, *I’m goin’ to rip his head off!*



~~~~~*~~~~~



“I have to get to Buffy.” Willow was wringing her hands and pacing along the length of the fence. “If he separated her from William, she must feel desper—oh Goddess, that will only make him stronger!” She turned to look at Sofia. “Why didn’t you come sooner? Why wait until now?” She was barely able to contain the urge to grab the other woman and shake her hard. “He has her now. We have to go get her.”


“I can’t help you fight him, Willow.” The sorrow in Sofia’s eyes was heartbreaking. “I can do no more than tell you where I think he has her. If I go up against him he will damn me to hell.”


The redhead nodded, temporarily pacified. “Tell me where he has her. I’ll get some Slayerettes, and—”


The brunette jumped down from the fence and took hold of her shoulders. “You cannot take Slayerettes with you.”


Again, Willow thought all this could be a trap. Squinting up at Sofia, she asked, “You expect me to go in there without backup?”


“I do not expect you to go anywhere. Find the vampire and tell him where she is, but do not tell any of the other Slayers about it.”


The redhead’s foot was tapping the ground impatiently. Shaking off Sofia’s hands, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Why?”


“Kennedy’s part in all this is to convince them Buffy is no longer worthy of her Calling. That she is sleeping with demons, including the Immortal. If she has managed to convince even a few…” She let her voice trail off, allowing Willow to imagine the repercussions.


“Goddess… they’ll turn on Buffy.” Rubbing her temples, Willow asked, “Where do you think she is? And do you know what he did with William?”


“William is supposed to be killed by Slayers. Adalberto feared if he killed him he might turn him into a martyr. I do not know where he is.” She reached out for Willow’s shoulder again, relieved when the Wiccan didn’t pull back. “I think Buffy is beneath the castle, in the catacombs.”



~~~~~*~~~~~



*Right. Crypt here has access to the sewers. I’ll try to get back to the Mansion, or maybe straight to you.* He felt completely useless and it was killing him. Another man had his mate imprisoned, and—even though Buffy seemed rather upbeat, all things considered—William felt about to completely lose it. For the first time in decades he fully regretted being a vampire. If he could handle the sun he could help her.


*Don’t be silly. If you weren’t a vampire we’d never have met. I’d have died a long time ago.* She believed that with all her heart.


Her trust, her love, made him feel like even more of a disappointment. With a roar, he shoved aside the lid of the stony grave on the ground floor and rummaged through the remains of its inhabitant. Finding nothing, he toppled the thing over and ripped off the lining of the coffin. Not the most protective of materials, but it was still in decent enough shape. *Baby?*


*I’m here.* Not that she could go anywhere. She’d tried the chains numerous times already, had scraped her back and butt against the stone wall trying to break free, but other than made of steel, they were obviously hexed, because they stubbornly refused to budge even a fraction of an inch. They were loose enough for her arms to dangle at her sides, or for her to sit with her arms raised, but that was all.


*Keep sending me thoughts. I’ll come to you.*


*Through the sewers?* They’d better not leave that place the same way unless she somehow found her clothes in the meantime.


*Screw the sewers.* Grumbling something about the good old days, William wrapped the cloth around him and burst out into the late afternoon sun, grateful that sunset was not far off.



~~~~~*~~~~~



Adalberto knew there would be some time before the begging commenced—before Buffy was desperate enough to feed him—but he had hoped for some screaming, at least.


He’d done his best to make her return to their universe dramatic for her. Being naked and imprisoned, in the dark, without any sound but that of her own pleas was supposed to help him break her. She was meant to at first be furious and yell her lungs out, threatening those responsible with bodily harm. After some time had gone by, her throat raw from all the screaming, she’d realize that wouldn’t work, and she’d start bargaining. She’d be all reasonable, offering things to her captor for a while before she started calling out for help. Then she’d cry. She’d finally come to lose all hope and break down.


That was when he’d go to her. He’d tell her she was right, nobody would come for her. She was to be his for a year, and he did not see fit for her to be unrestrained or clothed during that period. When he’d have gotten every last ounce of despair out of her, he’d let her down from her restraints and take her in the most degrading ways.


The next day he’d inform her of his plans for William.


He’d break that Slayer bit by bit, until she was nothing but an empty shell. Then she’d pledge her soul to him willingly.


She’d get to that, he promised himself. It might take a while—she was obviously more resilient than he’d imagined, since it had been more than an hour and she still seemed composed—but in the end she’d be his.


Turning away from the monitor on which he had been watching Buffy’s calm efforts at breaking her restraints through an ultraviolet camera, he called for Sofia. The butler informed him she hadn’t returned from the town and Adalberto grimaced. Sofia had taken longer to break too, even though he already had her soul pledged to him, but that would come to an end soon. The next couple of years would be much different for her than what she’d been used to.



~~~~~*~~~~~



The sun was finally setting, painting the horizon with shades of purple that would have made William write poetry any other day. That was the last thing on his mind, however, as he climbed the outer wall of the Immortal’s castle. A fierce grin graced his lips. William the Bloody was back.


Adalberto’s smile was just as fierce as he watched him on the security camera. His plan had been to keep the Slayer and her vampire apart, until William’s demise at Kennedy’s hands, but this presented him with an opportunity.


It seemed he might feed for longer than he’d hoped.





Tbc.