Chapter Sixteen



Bit Of A Ritual


Buffy woke a few hours later to the sound of chains rattling. She got up and walked around the corner to where Spike was tethered. He was standing up, furiously tugging at the chains. He must have been doing it for a some time as his wrists were chafed and bleeding. The wound on his shoulder had reopened, the bandage once again soaked with blood.


“Spike, it’s ok, you’re safe. We just couldn’t go back to my house,” said Buffy, hurrying towards him.


He turned and looked at her.


“Buffy,” he said quietly.


“That’s great! It worked! Willow deactivated your chip again.”


When she got to him she put her arms around him.


“No!” he yelled and pushed her away with all his might. She flew backwards and hit the corner of the wall, gasping in pain as she fell to the floor.


“Spike, what are you doing?” she shouted.


“Don’t…come…near…me,” said Spike, in a strange tone, as if having to force the words out.


He put his head in his hands.


“No, I can’t. I won’t.”


He fell to his knees.


Buffy went closer to him but made sure she stayed out of his reach; she bent down to look him in the eyes.


“What’s going on, Spike? Is it like in The Initiative?” she asked.


He looked at her eyes, tortured.


“It’s Adam; he’s in here.” He touched his head. “He’s…telling me to…I can’t resist…too strong.” He lunged to the end of his chains, trying to get hold of her.


Despite herself, Buffy leapt up and stepped back. Spike thrashed wildly at his chains, his eyes losing focus.


“I’m trying!” he yelled. “I can’t get free!”


Buffy realised he was answering the questions Adam was sending to his mind. She hoped Spike wouldn’t realise where he was, otherwise would he be able to tell Adam? She turned and walked back to the others. They were all awake.


“Is that more of what he was like last night?” asked Willow.


“Yes. Adam has somehow gotten into his head and can control him. I was hoping it was via the chip, but it obviously isn’t. He’s trying to resist but is losing. Adam’s just too strong. We’ve got to be really careful about keeping out of his reach. I’m sure he’s been ordered to kill us,” said Buffy.


They all jumped as Spike’s voice rose shrilly for them to hear, interspersed with furious vampiric growls.


“Got to get out!”


“Find Adam!”


“Kill them!”


“Er… think I can see why Maggie made them mute,” said Xander, saying aloud what they were all thinking. It was horrible hearing Spike’s ranting, knowing he wasn’t in control of himself, but a puppet of Adam’s.


“Do you think if Adam’s in Spike’s head that Spike can tell him where to find us?” asked Willow.


“I don’t know. He’s trying to fight it and he managed to warn me. We’ve got to work out how to get rid of Adam’s control; it’s going to tear him apart,” said Buffy tearfully.


“Yes, we need to do that as quickly as possible. If Spike’s under pressure for too long, it could break him completely,” warned Giles.


“Well, since it’s not the chip, Buffy, do you think you’ll be able to ask him what was done?” asked Willow. “He managed to tell you Adam was in control, maybe he can say how?”


“It’d be worth a try, Buff,” said Xander.


“For goodness sake, stay out of his reach!” said Giles. “Come on, Xander, we’ll go and collect Dawn from her friend’s house and get more supplies. We may be camped out here for a while.”


“I’ll need my laptop and spare batteries for it, so I can hit the research once we have some clue about what’s controlling Spike,” added Willow.


“Be careful going to the house, guys,” said Buffy. “Do that before you collect Dawn, OK?”


The men nodded and left.


“OK, I’ll go and try to see if Spike can tell me anything. At least he’s quietened down a little,” said Buffy.


She walked slowly around the corner to see Spike sitting down, panting hard and still tugging at his chains.


“Spike?” she said quietly.


He looked at her.


“Stay with me, Spike. Fight Adam. Don’t give in.”


“I’m trying.” His voice was a whisper. “But it’s so hard. Buffy, I need to go. I need to do what he says.”


It was all Buffy could do not to go to hold him, but she knew it was too dangerous to risk it.


“How can Adam reach you? Did they do anything to you?”


Spike started to speak, then clenched his jaw and shook his head. His eyes slightly lost their focus and she knew Adam must be talking to him again.


“Stay with me. Spike. I love you,” Buffy crooned.


“Arm.” He managed to croak. “In my arm.” He touched the track left by the implant Maggie Walsh had put in before succumbing to Adam’s words and trying to grab Buffy again; screaming in frustration when the chains brought him up short.


Willow walked around the corner to see Buffy kneeling in front of Spike, just out of his reach, head in her hands crying. She walked up to her, knelt down beside her and put her arms around her.


“Shh, Buffy, don’t cry.”


“But look at him. Will, how can I not?”


Spike was hunched up in front of them, his head in his hands, whole body trembling.


“I can do something about that,” said Willow. She raised her hands at Spike, muttered a few words, and with a soft moan, Spike went limp. “He’ll rest now.”


“Thanks, Will,” said Buffy, reaching out to touch Spike.


“Did he say anything to indicate what’s going on with him?” asked Willow.


“He said something about his arm,” replied Buffy.


“What, his right arm? Where it’s bandaged?” said Willow.


“No, I don’t know what caused that near his elbow; above was where that bastard was going to cut his arm off. Spike pointed to his left arm.”


“Let’s have a look then,” said Willow.


Between them they pulled Spike until he was laying flat on his back.


“Look, what’s that?” Buffy pointed to a red line running up from a healed cut, all the way up to behind his left ear.


“I don’t know, but it must be whatever is being used to get into his mind. Hopefully, Giles will know or I can hit research mode when I get my laptop.”


Buffy ran her fingers over Spike’s face, tracing the line of his cheekbones.


“I should never have let him go back in,” she whispered. “We haven’t stopped Adam. God knows what we’ve done to Spike, and I didn’t even get to kill that bitch Maggie.”


“We didn’t do anything to Spike, Buffy, they did. We’ll kill Adam, and at least with Maggie gone The Initiative must be weakened. Let’s get this right arm cleaned up a bit.”


Buffy took the bandage from his arm.


“Ew! This stinks.”


The girls set to work cleaning the wound.It was showing some signs of healing but still had pockets of pus within it.


“Looks like a bite,” said Willow. “I wonder what it was?”


“Most probably a Netsrik demon,” said Giles from behind them, making both Buffy and Willow start.


“God, Giles! Could you have crept up any quieter?” exclaimed Buffy. “So what’s a Netsrik? Why isn’t the wound healing properly?”


“Its teeth are venomous, fatal if not attended to in time, even for vampires. I’d say this was cleaned but not carefully enough,” replied Giles. “Here.” He passed Willow a first aid kit. “Give it a thorough clean and trim off any dead tissue. It will heal; just take a bit of time. He was lucky.”


Willow took the kit and started to clean the wound. Buffy turned her attention to the incision Michael had made.


“This one’s healing well,” she told them. “Where’s Dawn and Xander?”


“Just bringing in the rest of the supplies. I wanted to see how Spike was before I brought Dawn in. I take it this was your work Willow? Good idea; best to keep him quiet,” said Giles.


“Take a look at his neck. There’s a track up his arm to behind his ear. He managed to point it out to Buffy before I made him sleep.”


Giles bent low to examine the marks on Spike’s neck and arm.


“Yes,” he said. “I think I know what this is. Willow, I need you to get on your computer and look some things up for me. Quickly, go and help Xander and Dawn get all the supplies in.”


“You can do something about it?” asked Buffy.


“Yes, or rather Willow will be able to, just need to be certain, but I’m pretty sure they’ve used a Lorac bug. Adam will have one in him, too. They work by a telepathic link from their host to the other bug. I just can’t remember how to get rid of the things.”


Buffy sat with Spike whilst the others brought the supplies in. As soon as Willow had her hands on her laptop, she set to work on finding out all she could on the Lorac bug, Giles watching over her shoulder.


Dawn came around the corner to Buffy and Spike, seeing her sister caress the face of the vampire and touch the bruises she’d caused. Dawn sat on the floor next to Buffy.


“Will he be OK?” she asked.


“Giles knows what’s causing him to be controlled by Adam. That’s what he and Willow are working on now,” replied Buffy.


“That kind of doesn’t answer my question. Why did you let him go back in? You said you loved him, but you let him go back in and get hurt - you knew he’d get hurt.”


Buffy looked at Spike, tears once more falling. She’d cried so much, she was amazed she still had tears left to cry.


“I wish I hadn’t, but he was so certain of doing it. After all he’d been through, I thought he had the right to choose what to do. I was wrong - you’re right, Dawnie, I should have kept him safe.”


Dawn gave Buffy a hug.


“I know the others haven’t really said anything, but Willow and I are glad about you and Spike. Xander, well Xander’s Xander. I know Giles has more respect for Spike now; so don’t worry about all of us, just help Spike to get better.


Buffy gave her a weak smile.


“Since when did you get all grown up and insightful?”


“Well since I grew up, I suppose. I am in high school,” replied Dawn.


Giles and Willow walked over to join them. Giles was carrying a pestle and mortar, and various bags of ingredients. Willow was carrying her trusty laptop.


“Well?” asked Buffy anxiously.


Willow grinned at her.


“We’ve found it and we can get rid of it! I just have to do a bit of a ritual to expel it,” she said.


“Oh, thank God,” said Buffy, sagging with relief. “So what do we need?”


“Mostly, just Willow,” replied Giles.


Buffy looked at her friend who smiled at her nervously, as always, almost embarrassed by her skills as a witch.


Willow sat down near Spike, arranging the laptop so she could read the incantations she had to recite. She laid out the few ingredients she needed.


“It’ll take about half an hour, I think,” said Willow.


“Is it ok if I stay with?” asked Buffy, reluctant to leave Spike’s side.


“Yeah, sure, just keep quiet ‘cause I’ve got to concentrate, OK?” Willow replied.


“Come on, Dawn, let’s go see what Xander’s up to. If we’re not careful he’ll have eaten all our food,” said Giles, leading the younger Summers’ girl away.


Willow took a deep breath. She picked up several seeds, leaves and powders, put them into the bowl and began to grind them to a fine dust. She added a spoonful of water.


“Just need it to be a paste,” Willow explained.


Once the paste was mixed to Willow’s liking, she started to read the first incantation from the screen of her laptop; not seeming to notice the odd mixture of technology and the arcane that she was using. She was a thoroughly modern witch.


As she uttered the last few words, the paste started to bubble as if boiling and changed from a greenish brown colour to a vivid yellow, with a pungent aroma that made both girls wrinkle up their noses in disgust.


Willow carefully painted the paste on Spike’s neck from the point the track disappeared behind his ear and following the line down his arm; all the time quietly chanting the second part of the ritual. When the paste was about halfway down to the point where it started on Spike’s forearm, Spike gave out a low moan, despite Willow’s sleeping spell still being active.


In spite of being told to stay quiet, Buffy couldn’t help herself.

“Urgh,” she squeaked as the area behind Spike’s ear started to move.


Willow glared at her and determinedly kept up her incantation.


Another moan from Spike and a lump appeared and started to move along the track that Willow was coating with the vile-smelling paste. She reached the end of the line made by the creature she was trying to exorcise and stopped chanting.


The girls looked in horror as the lump moved slowly along following Willow’s yellow potion. When it got to the end it stopped.


“What now?” asked Buffy, looking at Willow.


Before Willow could open her mouth to reply the lump gave a wriggle than burst out of the skin. It leapt about six inches clear of Spike’s arm before it landed on the ground and started to scurry away.


The girls jumped to their feet in pursuit of the creature that was now about the size of a bean, white, and with a seemingly enormous number of legs. Buffy beat Willow to the Lorac bug and stomped on it with all the fervour of someone whose boyfriend it had just been violating.


“Oh!” she exclaimed. “Was that OK? You didn’t need it alive, did you?”


“No, that’s fine,” replied Willow. “Dead works for me.”


They went back to where Spike was still laying prone on the floor.


“I won’t reverse the sleeping spell. Let’s just let it take its course. He’ll wake up soon enough,” said Willow. “Giles said we should keep Spike tied up until the morning; just in case the Lorac’s left any residual links to Adam. He’ll be totally clear by tomorrow. I’ll leave you here with him.”


“Can I clean that potion off of him? It stinks,” asked Buffy.


“Sorry, that’s got to stay until tomorrow. It will draw out any lingering effects.”


“OK, stinky Spike it is then,” said Buffy, resuming her place on the floor, sitting next to him.


Willow joined the others around the corner near the fire.


“Did it work?” asked Giles.


“Yep, we now have an ex Lorac bug on the floor back there. Yuck, horrid little thing, and the legs…” She shuddered.


“They’re remarkable creatures really. They only begin to grow when they’re put into a host. They don’t do the host any harm,” said Giles.


They all stared at him in disbelief.


“Well, it wasn’t the bug that was making Spike act like that; it was Adam. He must have had his one implanted first. That’s why he was the one controlling Spike and not the other way around,” added Giles.


“Spike’s OK now?” asked Dawn.


Xander had told her what Spike had been like before Willow cast her sleeping spell, and she was glad she hadn’t been present.


“Well, he won’t be controlled by Adam or bound by the chip’s instructions, but OK? Only time will really tell,” said Giles.


“Time’s what we haven’t got with Adam on the rampage,” said Xander.


“All hell will have broken loose at The Initiative,” said Willow. “That assistant guy whose hand Buffy severed? He had a story planned that both Maggie and Spike were killed in the trouble. Do you think they’ll stick to that story now Spike’s escaped? Or will he blame Spike and bring down the might of The Initiative on us all?”


“Easy on the drama there, Will,” said Xander, glancing at Dawn as he spoke. Her eyes had widened in fear at Willow’s words.


“What? Oh, sorry,” said Willow. “It’s just that Adam freaked me out when I saw him, and boy was he strong. It took practically all my magical strength to hold him back. I’m just not sure how we’re going to stop him.”


“It would be nice to know what’s happening in The Initiative right now, that’s for sure,” said Giles.


To be continued...