The gym was deserted except for Davies, who was running at break neck speed on the treadmill. Buffy climbed onto the stationary bike that was closest to the television and began pedallling, slowly at first, then maintaining a quick, steady pace. Images of herself being led from the airport still dominated the news and she was relieved to hear that her name had not been released yet. Wrinkling her nose, she understood why Giles had sounded so concerned. She was covered in blood and her hair may as well have been as red as Willow’s. She flipped the channel and tried to concentrate on a cartoon as one mile, then two, ticked off on the odometer.

The coyote was attempting to catch the roadrunner by painting a tunnel opening on a large rock when Davies touched her on the arm. Buffy slowed down, realizing that sweat was dripping from her and her heart was racing. Glancing at the bike’s settings, she saw that she had cycled for almost thirty miles on one of the highest settings, and she wondered where the time had gone.

“You trying to give yourself a heart attack?” Davies held out a bottle of water and a towel. His black hair was plastered to his forehead and the loose t-shirt he wore was drenched with sweat.

Easing to a stop, she accepted the water and drank thirstily from it. “I didn’t realize that I had been at it so long.”

“It hasn’t been that long. You’ve just been riding like the hounds of hell were after you.”

“You were giving that treadmill hell yourself.”

He grinned and eased onto the bike next to her. “I had a few hounds to outrun, too.”

Buffy took another sip of water and nodded, knowing instinctively what he was talking about. She dreaded the answer, but she asked the question. “Care to talk about it?” she asked.

“I knew you’d want to eventually. What do you want to know?”

“Did he suffer?”

Davies bought himself some time, searching for the right words, by using his own towel to blot his face. Expecting the question and being prepared to answer it were two very different things. Taking a deep breath, he turned his chocolate brown eyes on her and shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Are you sure?”

“It happened too fast for me to be sure of much. We watched the demon go back into the cave and Miles gave us the signal to follow him. We were in there for five, ten seconds and all hell broke loose. I got a pretty good lick in and it spun to face me. It wasn’t even aiming for him, just thrashing around and when it turned to hit me, it threw its tail back and cut him.”

“Did he see it coming?” Buffy’s voice was small, calm.

“That’s the funny thing,” Davies replied. “He wasn’t looking at the demon. He was looking further into the cave at something I couldn’t see. I yelled to him, but it didn’t do any good. It was over before the words got out all the way.”

There was a lull in conversation as Buffy pondered this bit of news, finally she asked, “Has anyone gone all the way through the cave?”

“We went back and got you and then I went back and helped Spike get rid of the demon’s body, but we haven’t been back. At least not officially. I’ve gone a couple of other times. You know.” He shrugged a little, wiping the “sweat” from his face, but she was sure there were more than a few tears mingled there.

“I do know.” Buffy reached over, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Did you see anything weird when you went back?”

He shrugged a little. “A couple of young girls running around playing. I told them to stay away from the cave and they just whispered at me. It was odd.”

“Whispered?” The hairs on Buffy’s neck went up. “What did they look like?”

“They had to be twins. They had long, dark hair and they were dressed alike. Right down to their flip flops.”

Buffy slipped from the seat of the bike, ignoring the way her muscles burned and protested from the exertion. The En Kindle. It had to be them. Could the cave be their hiding place? She picked up the bottle of water and towel, then said, “I have to go.”

Davies watched her leave, scratching his head as she raced around the corner.

*~*

After flipping through a hundred books and searching Willow’s demon database online, Buffy surrendered to the fact that no matter how old she got, she still needed her Watcher. She used the phone in the research library and reached for another book while she waited for it to connect. After several rings, Xander answered, laughing. “Xander’s House of Hooligans.”

“Hey, Xander.”

“Why if it isn’t the Buffster. How are you? What’s going on? What are you wearing?”

She laughed a little. “I’m good, nothing much, and a sweat soaked exercise outfit that would curl your toes.”

“Because there is so little of it or because it has been thoroughly worked out in?”

“Both. How are you?”

“Never better. I’m eating scones, drinking tea, and am thisclose to buying a tweed suit. Just call me Giles Jr.”

“Sounds fun. Tweed notwithstanding.”

“Au contraire. I make it look *good*.”

“I’m sure you do. Is Giles around?”

“Enough small talk, huh? Hang on and I’ll track him down.”

“Thanks, Xand.”

She held for a couple of minutes, engrossed in a passage about how the En Kindle moved from one place to the next. Finally, Giles was on the line and they were exchanging pleasantries for a good five minutes. After giving him her advice on how to handle the closet space at the newly renovated ‘Headquarters’, she cut to the chase. “I’ve been reading that the En Kindle travels in one big flock. What do you know about that?”

“Just what you said. They travel with their queen and go from one place to the next as a whole.”

“Where do they stay?”

“Quite often they live in the woods, but more often than not it’s been charted that they live underwater.”

“But what’s their point? I mean, vampires kill to eat. Why do these things kill?”

“If you’re asking me for their motivation, I’m sorry. I can’t give it to you. They take no nourishment from burning someone. They aren’t reborn again by claiming a victim. It seems to be a bit of sport for them.”

“You said they have no option but to burn when they reach a certain age. How often does that happen?”

“No one knows. It’s complicated. If the burning is upon one of them and they do not take their intended target then one will burn each day until that target or a new target is killed.”

“That’s depressing as hell. How many of these things are there? And why can’t we just wait for them to burn themselves into extinction?”

“If only it were that simple. They always find someone. The longest hunt they had was just over twelve days. On the thirteenth day, they took a child. If they fail too many times, they get careless, take anyone.”

Buffy told him about the cave and what she suspected. He listened quietly, then said, “I’m sure that Wolfram and Hart can organize someone to-”

“How do *I* kill them, Giles?”

“First of all, *you* are their target. You must remain out of harm’s way until the next few days pass. I know it goes against your nature, but honestly, you’ve had a rough go of it lately. Second, tell Angel to set the cave in question with explosives and that will do the job. If you’re right, and the entire clan is inside that cave, it would wipe out the queen.”

“And that’s impressive because?”

“It would kill them off. For good.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that before?”

“No one has ever been able to locate the entire clan. If you’re right about this, it would be completely unheard of.”

“Thanks, Giles. I appreciate the help. I should go and-”

“Give me your word that you won’t do anything.”

“I promise. I won’t do a thing.”

He was silent for a moment. “Are your fingers crossed?”

She glanced down at her crossed fingers and smiled. “Doesn’t a person’s word count for anything anymore?”

“These are very vile creatures, Buffy. If they get you alone, if they get a chance to kill you, they’ll use every opportunity they can find and then some. Tell Angel what you’ve learned and wish him luck. They’ll be drawn to you. You won’t be able to sneak up on them. You can’t. You’re their target.”

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Buffy stayed in the research library for another hour and when she emerged, there was chaos in the main lobby. She moved through the throngs of people, catching snatches of conversation as she went. By the time she found Spike, she understood that someone was missing, but she wasn’t sure who.

“Spike!” she called, grabbing his arm. “What’s going on?”

The vampire turned, relief flooding his face. “Where have you been?”

“In the library. What happened?”

“Jameson’s gone.”

“What?” Buffy cried, glancing around them as if she expected to the little boy in the crowd. “How long?”

“About an hour.”

“Have you checked-”

“We found him on camera. He went right out the back door.”

“Oh my god!” Buffy ran a hand through her hair. “The En Kindle! You have to-”

“I know!” Spike shouted, then softened when he saw her face. He reached for her, giving her a quick hug. “I know, love. We’ll find him.”

“I’ll come and-”

“No. You’ll wait here. These things are after *you*.”

“But-”

“I mean it, Buffy!” Spike moved away from her, heading out with the crowd. “I’ll be back in a little while.”

“Damn it!” She moved back through the people, feeling smaller and more helpless than she could remember. She climbed onto the elevator, still swearing, then held the door as Davies raced across the room and climbed in with her.

“What’s happening?” he asked her. He had changed clothing and given the fresh scent of soap, had been showering during the commotion.

“What do you know about explosives?” Buffy asked him.

“I was bomb squad before I came to work here.”

“Excellent.” She exited on the floor that the weapons were housed on and smiled at him. “Wanna help me?”

“Bombs, blonds, and working under the radar? Sounds like a plan to me.” He followed her, rubbing his hands together. “Where are we going?”

“To the beach because that’s where Jameson is.”

“We need to bomb the beach? Did someone build an offensive sand castle?”

“Don’t ask questions.”

“Gotcha.”

*~*