A/N: Based off of Challenge 234 found at the Bloodshedverse. Lyrics: Bed of Flames performed by Hungry Lucy. Mucho thanks to basilio_the_cat and slaymesoftly for taking the time to beta this. And of course, thank you to all those that took the time to review.

Chapter Six

Dirty conscience in my head
Naked dreams that go unsaid
You have put this fear in me
Why won't you just let me be

Leave me on this bed of flames
Life can never be the same
All that's left is guilt and shame
I'm not sorry
“Bed of Flames” - Hungry Lucy


Two Slayers. The concept had a nice ring to it. There was no denying the positives that could come out of it. With two Slayers, more ground could be covered, as well as more demons slain. It would make the world that much safer. So yes, it had it's possibilities.


But, as with all good things, one could not forget the negative aspects. It upset the carefully selected balance. Balance played a very important part in nature, upsetting it could have disastrous repercussions. There was only one girl for a reason. If there were two, who was there to say that there couldn't be three, or four, and so on until the demon world was revealed to regular society, creating pandemonium? One girl was fairly simple to control; more and it got harder. It increased the risk of possibly being exposed.


Although, on her own, Buffy Summers had done an excellent job of that, it seemed. According to her Watcher, four civilians already knew of her calling. The number could only be expected to increase with time. Single handedly she had also slipped from the Council's grip both before and after she was called. She refused to follow the rules, keep her identity secret, and had managed the impossible by coming back from beyond the grave.


Rupert Giles had also reported that Miss Summers had felt significantly more powerful after waking from her brief demise. The Council knew what that meant, knew the possible ramifications. The part that made her the Slayer was more prominent.


She was stronger. She was more of a threat. The balance that had been created was shifting, and it needed to be closely monitored. If not, the effects could be catastrophic.


The event also led to more questions. Would the Slayer line pass through the both of them now? Or was the existence of two Slayers only a temporary glitch in the long run? Would it weaken the line? Was the power that the formerly deceased girl would have normally passed onto the next Slayer been somehow cut in half? Or was it exactly the same as it was before?


All questions that left Quentin Travers head spinning as he contemplated each possible answer and the effects it could have on future generations.


“Mr. Travers,” came the voice of his secretary through the intercom. “Mr. Hamilton is here to see you. He says that it’s urgent.”


Quentin sighed. It always was. “Send him in.” Travers didn’t even bother to look up from the paperwork laid across his desk when he heard the door creak open. “What is it?”


“The letter, sir,” said Hamilton nervously. “The one you asked me to translate. It’s done, sir.”


Travers head snapped up, giving Hamilton his full attention. It was about time. That mysterious letter sent to the Council from an unnamed source had several of his most trusted colleagues in an uproar for over a week as they worked around the clock to decipher it. It was written in some type of gibberish that certainly couldn’t be described as a language. At least as a human language. “And?”


“It was as you expected, sir? A demonic language. Ethorian to be exact,” stated Hamilton, his tone becoming more excited as he showed off his knowledge. “Anyway, roughly translated, it says . . .” The young man paused for a second, and then held out the paper. “Well, perhaps you should read it for yourself, sir”


Travers looked down at the carefully written print, his eyes widening as he read the words. It was impossible. “Are you certain?” demanded Travers. “Positive that this isn’t a mistake?”


“I’ve checked it several times, sir,” insisted Hamilton.


‘It’s happening at long last. A Slayer is about to find her mate.’ Just the words sent shivers down his spine as he read them.

“Very well,” Travers sighed. “You may go. I trust you will speak of this with no one.”


“Of course not, sir,” Hamilton agreed. He closed the door behind him leaving Quentin to ponder over this new revelation.


One thing was for certain - the carefully selected balance had once again been destroyed.


***


It had been a couple days since Buffy had told Willow about the dreams. Willow hadn’t brought the subject up since except in the form of concerned looks, and Buffy had refused to even mention it.


No one was going to understand. She got that now.


It didn’t lessen her curiosity however. She knew with perfect clarity that there was something more to these ‘dreams’ than met the eye. The effects were now both emotional and physical, making them a much more serious matter, that much more powerful. And while she was almost positive her life wasn’t in any immediate danger, the Slayer in her still needed to find answers. Which was why she was currently sitting in the library reading a book on vampire bites behind the guise of her magazine.


It seemed like just as good a place to start as any. Plus, it had been the easiest to find. And seeing as research wasn’t exactly her thing, she figured she’d start with easy and work her way up. Baby steps.


“Buffy this is a very important matter. You will be leaving the Hellmouth for an extended period of time. Without a guardian, what little progress that has been made will be destroyed. The demon population could very likely take advantage of your absence by increasing their numbers ten fold.”


She looked at him with blank eyes and popped her gum.


“Now I realize that visiting your father is very important . . . ”


“Well duh, Giles. It doesn’t happen that often,” said Buffy. “Really. Not often.”


“And I understand. But you have a very important obligation and I would hate to see the progress you’ve made destroyed.”


“No big, Giles. I can handle it. Besides we don’t have to worry about another Apocalypse for a while yet, so it’s not like you’ll be under this big strain while I’m out. It’s all good.”


She turned the page. Could they make the print any smaller? Combine that with the boriness of the dribble they printed, and she was about ready to lose her mind.


Basically vampires liked biting. A lot. Something that any dummy could tell you.


They also had several different types of bites. Different rituals. Different meanings behind their bites. It wasn’t exactly what she was looking for - dream bites and if they were possible - but it was on her way to proving her theory right. That there was something more behind it than a vampire just taking a piece out of you.


If they were going to do that, wouldn’t they just kill you?


She was so confused. Really, who knew that vampires could be so complicated?


She could just ask William, of course. But she didn’t really want to raise his suspicions or anything. There was still the small possibility that he had no clue that these were more than just your average dreams. Meaning there was no need to complicate the situation yet, she just had to do a little extra work.


She would figure it out, and perhaps prove Willow wrong. She was still a little bitter about the red-head not believing her. Willow was smart, but that didn’t always mean that she was right. And Buffy certainly wasn’t as dumb as people might think. She had her moments, but a lot of it was just for show. Besides, sometimes it really annoyed Giles, and annoying Giles always guaranteed a laugh.


“Hey Buff, we got a situation outside,” announced Xander from the library doors. Wondering what could possibly be wrong this time, Buffy sighed and put her book down. Operation “prove Willow wrong and Buffy right” would have to wait till another day. For now, duty called.


“We’ll talk about this later, kay Giles?” shouted Buffy as she ran out the door, pulling her stake from her pocket as she did so.


***


Giles sighed. It was so difficult to get through to that girl. And look, once again she had left a mess on the table for him to clean up. Some trendy teen magazine that she hid behind while she pretended to listen to him.


Not that he wanted to keep her from visiting her father per se, such visits were strongly encouraged. But for her to leave for such an extended period of time was risky, and she needed to understand the possible consequences.


Giles picked up the magazine, quickly discovering that it was not just a tabloid, but that an actual book was hidden behind it. A rare occurrence, usually she slipped the magazine inside the book while she pretended to research, not the other way around. She couldn’t possibly think that he would scold her for attempting to expand her knowledge.


Vampire bites.


Wait. What? He reread the title thinking that perhaps he misread. But no, upon inspection it was still the same. Why on earth would she be studying such a matter? She had never shown an interest in the subject before. Even after the Master had bitten her, she had remained uninterested when he attempted to explain that since she had killed the Master the bite on her neck would have no ill effects.


So what was she doing now, days later, looking into it? And why hadn’t she mentioned something to him earlier if she had questions? She hated having to study if she could simply ask for the answer.


Perhaps there was something that he had overlooked, and she simply didn’t wish to bother him with the matter. But that was absurd, and completely unlike Buffy.


No. He would put it to the back of his mind to ask her about later. There was probably a simple explanation. For now, he had to make a call to the Council. Travers had been quite adamant when he left the message on his answering machine to call him back as soon as possible.