Chapter 23 – Midnight Madness


London, Crepuscule Place, February 23, 1901 - The following day, when my temper had cooled, I summoned Lady Chesler to her father’s study for a confrontation, for confrontation it must be with such a serious situation at hand. I had barely commenced chiding her for this most foolish and dangerous liaison with Lord Teansdale, when she blurted out information that made my blood freeze colder than the storm blasted wastes of Antarctica.

“You are too late, Sir Arthur. Too late,” she cried before collapsing on the sofa and heaving great sobs in her misery.

Her pitiful attitude immediately softened my anger. “Too late? Whatever do you mean, my dear?”

“Lord Teansdale has claimed me.” She unbuttoned the collar on her muslin shirt and drew the delicate fabric down to expose her neck and the unhealed punctures. “I love him and he has claimed me for his Vampire Mate. I am lost to you – to friends, to family, to all - forever.”

She returned to her room singing a melancholy song I’d never heard before. “Don’t Judge the Girl Who Loved Too Well, Her Heart is Heavy Now.”

***

Buffy aimed her mini-crossbow at Spike.

Spike fell off their rumpled bed in his haste to get out of her line of sight.

Buffy moved her crossbow a quarter of an inch to the right and waited. When the white face popped up above the window ledge again, she fired. The quarrel arced through the tiny gap between the curtains and shattered the glass.

“Is this your idea of a romantic last evening together? A weapons comparison test? What say we order out a pizza? I’ll eat the driver and you can have pepperoni.” Maybe she could just take off her clothes again and forget about pizza.

“Who said anything about romantic? You said special. I agreed to special and I ‘specially want to kill a couple of vamps of your acquaintance tonight. You can help.”

He got up and pulled on his pants. He tucked himself in carefully before pulling up the zipper. Going commando had its downside. “Bitches. You’re all alike. Do you even like me, or am I just your sodding sex slave?”

“Claim thing was your idea, Room Temperature.”

“Do you?”

“I do like you, sometimes,” she said. She packed her crossbow into her bag and a couple of stakes into one of her patrol bag’s pockets. “Are you coming or are you going to loll around the house brooding?”

Spike jerked on one of his boots and searched the room for the other. “I never brooded in my life! That’s Angel’s vibe. Who are we going to kill?”

“Your slut girlfriends, Rosamund and Sunday.” Buffy slicked some bright red lipstick on her lips.

Spike felt a flutter of hope. His mate was still brassed off about the Twinks. That meant she was jealous and that meant that she might just love him enough to stick around.

“The Twinks? What for? Bob the Warlock is dead, so there’s no money in it. Besides a slut is a terrible thing to waste. And, what’s in it for me?”

“I’m pretty favorable to people who help me on patrol. Besides, the twins are pretty tough. If I can’t take them alone, you might get killed by accident.”

Buffy might get killed. She was out there every damn night sticking sharp things into vampires and other kinds of nasties and exposing herself to death and mayhem. Why did that matter so much? Because, he loved her. Just like Drusilla said, he’d gone and fallen in love with the Slayer. No point telling her how he felt now that she was about to kick his arse to the curb. He’d play it Cool Guy.

“Yeah, I might get killed,” he said. “Guess I’ll have to help you. You’re only hunting Rosie and Sunnie ‘cause you’re jealous.” Spike held out his arms and Buffy melted into them. He could be cool while he held onto his mate. Who knew if he’d get another chance?

“I’m an entirely disinterested Slayer. I killed Sunday the first time before you mated me. Maybe that particular dusting wasn’t entirely disinterested. She did break my Class Protector Umbrella.”

Spike formed the words ‘Class Protector Umbrella?’ with his mouth. His mate plainly has a screw loose. Well, he was used to that. “Let’s make a deal.”

“I don’t make deals with vampires.” She shoved him off and combed the tangles out of her hair and made a tiny decorative braid on one side before pinning her hair against the back of her skull.

“Help me kill Cleotus. He’s challenged me over you. I can’t let the challenge stand without fighting. I’ll never be able to flash a fang again in this town if I let that bastard live.” It wasn’t true that Cleotus had challenged him over Buffy, but Spike felt no need to adhere strictly to the truth. He nibbled the back of her exposed neck

“I wouldn’t mind showing Cleotus the pointy end of my stake. What about the rest of your minions?” She zipped up her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

He considered offering to carry her patrol bag for her, but decided he wasn’t brave enough to ask. “What about them?” Once he dusted Cleotus, he could regain control of the remainder of his minions. None of them would dare challenge him after he terminated Cleotus.

“They have to go.” She headed out of the bedroom.

He picked up his missing boot and followed her, waving the boot at her. “Just like a woman. Married for eight days and already you’re getting rid of my friends.”

She paused at the front door and turned to smile at him. “You don’t have friends. You have skeevy bloodsucker acquaintances, flunkies and lackeys.”

“What of it? They’re my flunkies and lackeys. You really think they’re skeevy?”

He hopped after her on one foot, still arguing.

***

Lydia rang the bell at 1630 Revello Drive tapped her foot and waited impatiently for an answer. The moon had crawled halfway up the sky. She didn’t have much time.

Joyce cracked open the door. “May I help you?”

“Yes, please,” Lydia said. “I need to see Buffy Summers right away. It’s something of an emergency.”

Joyce stayed behind the threshold and didn’t invite the strange young woman into the house. She seemed human enough, but Joyce was not about to break Buffy’s rule about inviting in strangers. And, it would be rude to ask the woman if she was a vampire. “I’m sorry. Buffy’s not here.”

“Where can I find her? There’s very little time. I’m Lydia Chalmers. I’m from the Watcher’s Council in London. I’ve come a long way to see the Slay … I mean, Miss Summers. May I come in?”

“Oh,” Joyce said. This might be important. Giles was from the Watcher’s Council, she knew, but still, she ought to be careful. She stepped back from the door.

“You didn’t think I was a vampire? I’m frightfully sorry. If I may?” Lydia stepped across the threshold.

Joyce breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. One has to be so careful here in Sunnydale. Would you like some tea?”

Lydia would have beheaded three vampires for a nice cuppa, but she was in America where tea was treated most brutally. “I wouldn’t wish to put you to any bother.”

Joyce headed for the kitchen. “My pleasure. Mr. Giles taught me how to make it the English way. Lemon or milk?”

“Lemon would be lovely.” Lydia sat at the kitchen island and felt comfortable for the first time since she’d arrived in California.

***

After beating through the bushes around the house to see who had been peaking in their bedroom window, Buffy headed east down the street. She didn’t have any particular reason to go this way, other than to enjoy the golden moon that was inching up the velvet blue night sky.

“How do you plan to find them?” Spike asked. “Walk around all night until you stumble on them? I don’t want to spend all night on this project. I want to get home and shag you senseless before midnight and you scarper off.”

Spike was being really pissy. That’s just what she planned to do – walk around until she found the Tramp Twins and kill anything else that crossed her path in the meantime. Actually, she figured the Twins would find her. They had sworn vengeance, hadn’t they? They were probably watching her every move, looking for an opportunity to jump out at her from behind some bush. Grrr. She hated being jumped out at. “I’ll find them.”

The back of her neck tickled. Was someone watching them? She turned around, but saw no one.

“Right, then. Got to have some liquor if we’re going to be running all over Sunnydale half the night.”

“No Cave Beer. I have to have all my senses intact when I take on these two, not to mention if we run into your little problem, Cleotus.”

“He’s not so little.”

They walked into the Kwik LiQ All You Can Drink, the nearest package store to the mansion.

“Jason, give me a fifth of Jack,” Spike said.

Buffy pressed her lips into a thin line of displeasure. Apparently, her husband of the past eight days was a Frequent Flyer here at the Kwik LiQ, since he knew the store clerk by name.

Jason handed Spike a bottle of black label Jack Daniels. Spike took the bottle, tossed Buffy a bag of honey-roasted peanuts and headed for the door.

“What are you doing?”

“Leaving? Going against my vampire nature to help you fight evil? Wasting a perfectly good evening when I could be giving you the rough and tumble of your uptight life?” Spike said. He twisted the top off the bottle, ruptured the paper seals, and took a calming drink.

Buffy tapped her foot.

“What are you on about now? You’re a regular ball and chain – no killing, no hunting, no smoking, no banging girls on the side, to say nothing of the way you killed my minions.”

“Did you forget the paying part?” Buffy asked. She glanced at Jason, who didn’t seem to be expecting payment.

“It’s okay, lady,” Jason said. “The boss has a special deal for vampires.”

Great, the kid knows about vampires. Buffy dug into the pockets of her jeans and pulled out a twenty. “Is that enough?”

“Sure,” Jason said. He rang up the sale, handed her a couple of bucks in change and one of the pink flyers that his boss said all the customers were supposed to get.

“Bloody hell!” Spike shouted as soon as they were outside. “Can’t I even nick a bottle of booze without interference from the missus?”

“Can’t you just pay for your booze like everybody else?”

“Pay? Evil here?”

Buffy glanced at the pink flyer and looked around for a trash can, then looked at the flyer again. “Hey, look at this. I know just where to find your ho’ bag girlfriends.” She handed Spike the flyer.

Spike looked at the flyer. “Grand Opening and Midnight Madness Sale – Sunnydale Mall.” By the time he looked up, Buffy had jogged halfway across the campus quadrangle.

“Wait up.” He chased after Buffy, who had broken into a run.