Strange Place to Live:
Demon Hunter
by Cynamin

"Everyone's got to face down their demons
Maybe today
You could put the past away"

Monday Afternoon
Angel's Mansion

"I heard someone mention a demon?"

At least, that was what he was going to say when he had the full attention of the Slayer and her friends. They all turned and faced him as he made his presence known. He was just opening his mouth to speak again when another beat him to it.

"You!"

His attention was drawn to the one who spoke, a young man slightly older than himself seated next to the Slayer. The man was staring at him with an expression of shocked anger. He looked vaguely familiar. When he realized why he stared in surprise, then grew angry as well. He didn't usually remember the vampires he fought, but he remembered those that got away. "You!" he cried.

He was about to wonder why he had not sensed a demon in the house when he suddenly found himself pinned painfully against the wall, an angry Slayer in his face.

"Who are you! What are you doing here!" she demanded.

The Hunter tried to play it cool. "Believe it or not, Slayer," he said as calmly as he could, "I came to ask for your help."

"Yeah, well, I'm not in the habit of helping the other team."

"I'm not on the 'other team!'"

For a moment no one said anything. Then, "Okay, I'm confused," muttered a young, dark haired man.

The Slayer did not loosen her grip, however, though she did seem slightly confused as well. The Hunter took a moment to realize that this was not the time for games and continued. "My name is Kenneth," he began again. "I'm a demon hunter."

Still she did not let him go. "You attacked one of my friends!"

"He's a vampire!" Kenneth yelled back in frustration. Then he remembered what else was odd about this situation. He had not sensed a demon in the home . . . because there was no demon in the home. The vampire - the one that had gotten away - no longer *felt* like a vampire. Instead, the man still sitting on the couch felt like . . . the faint echo of a vampire, and only if Kenneth concentrated really hard. It was like sensing the shadow of a demon when the demon was long gone. "Was a vampire?" muttered the Hunter, looking at all in slight confusion.

An older man, her Watcher, Kenneth assumed, stepped forward. "Buffy, let him go," he said. Reluctantly, she did so.

"Perhaps I could start over?" Kenneth said when she did so.

"That would be best," the Watcher said. "Please forgive us, but there seems to have been a misunderstanding. Perhaps you could convince us of your veracity to avoid another incident."

Kenneth looked back and forth between the patient Watcher, the still angry Slayer, and other distrustful faces all around, and tried to explain everything. "I arrived in Sunnydale several nights ago. I'm following a demon summoner by the name of Orin, as my first . . . mission, as it were, without my mentor."

"I'm sorry," interrupted the Watcher, "but your mentor's name?"

The Hunter nodded. Perhaps the Watcher would recognize it. "Kinsey O'Brien."

"Really?" said the Watcher, brightening. "Didn't he get rid of that snake demon in Cleveland several years ago?"

"I think so," replied Kenneth. "It was before I met him."

"How is he these days?"

Kenneth frowned. "He's dead," he said softly. "One of Orin's pet demons got him."

"Oh."

"So, that's what I'm doing here," Kenneth said after a moment. "I followed him to Sunnydale and to his lair outside of town. But I'm vastly out numbered, so I need your help."

The Watcher nodded. "Yes, well, perhaps-" "Excuse me!" the Slayer, Buffy interrupted. "You may be convinced that this guy means well, but I'm not. Someone explain why I should trust him."

"Buffy, he's a demon hunter," said Giles. "His mentor was well respected -"

"Yeah, well, good, great, fine. I'm glad you like his resume', Giles, but that means nothing to me," Buffy said, sounding exasperated. "It's not that I don't trust you, but couldn't he have gotten that information from somewhere else?"

As Giles pondered how to convince his Slayer, Kenneth came upon another solution. "Perhaps I could prove myself?" he said, and continued to say what he'd meant to say in the first place. "I heard someone mention a demon."

"Well, yes, um . . ." the Watcher started.

"That would be my demon, Hunter," said another softly. It was the vampire - the not-vampire - still sitting on the couch. He stood slowly and walked to stand next to the Slayer. "We were trying to figure out what happened - what you did, actually."

Buffy stared at Kenneth, a touch of anger still showing in her eyes, then looked at the . . . man who stood next to her. The man placed a hand on her shoulder, and she smiled very slightly at him. Then she looked back at Kenneth, no longer angry, but simply expectant. It was a tiny exchange, but Kenneth suddenly understood something. *Oh God,* he thought. *I'm stuck between Romeo and Juliet. Only I attacked Romeo, and Juliet is homicidal instead of suicidal!*

Kenneth knew his only way out of this was a full explanation. Perhaps once that was done she would trust him. And, with any luck, help him. "It was a spell," he began to explain. "A demon weakening spell. It incapacitates a target demon so that it can be killed. It works well for me against vampires because it'll keep them down long enough for me to either stake them or for the sunlight to catch them." Nervous under the scrutiny of everyone, he concluded in a mutter, "I was interrupted."

"Obviously," Buffy replied sarcastically.

Kenneth looked between the not-vampire and the Slayer and said, "This is not supposed to be the result. This has never happened before."

The Watcher nodded. "Yes, we'd already discussed that. Angel . . . has always been an exception to the rules."

"Then what were you trying to find out?"

"What happened to the demon," Angel answered. "Whether it's truly gone and I'm truly human, or . . . ." His voice trailed off.

The demon hunter looked between the watcher and Angel. "I could find out," he said hesitantly, "if you'll allow me."

"What would you have to do?" Giles asked.

"It's a spell, magic of sorts. Just a chant, no other preparation needed. It needs to be quiet, so I can concentrate, and that's it." He waited for a response.

"And you don't need anything else?"

Kenneth shook his head. "That's it. It's really a method for me to focus. And if I find anything left of the demon once I've started, I can get rid of it."

"Is there any danger to me?" asked Angel softly.

"There shouldn't be," replied Kenneth. "I mean, I don't sense the demon now, so you're surviving without it. The worst I can see happening is that you might loose any vampiric advantages you still have. Like being stronger and healing faster than a normal

human.""Whoa, excuse me!" interrupted Buffy. "Are you really talking about letting him do this? Look what he did the last time!"

"Buffy," Angel interrupted gently, "everything he's done has been good thus far. Because of him I've seen my first sunlight in almost 250 years." He smiled. "I want to do this."

Once everyone was in agreement, Kenneth sat next to Angel on the couch. The gathering, which had been boisterous prior to the Hunter's arrival, fell silent. In little more than a whisper, he began to chant. It wasn't so much a spell as a way for Kenneth to concentrate on a single person. He could have used the spell to focus on any person in the room and find out about their closest encounters with demons and magic. It was a variation on this sense that enabled him to recognize a demon from a distance and had let him recognize Buffy as the Slayer. This was just much more specific.

Kenneth knew somewhat what he would encounter when he focused on Angel. Over two centuries of vampirism had left its mark like a dark stain. Like he had already sensed, there was no demon present. There was a fragment remaining, however, a residue, and who knew what effect it could have over time. Kenneth could get rid of it rather easily, now that he'd been allowed in.

He had to be careful, though. There was magic here. A closer look explained part of how this was possible. This vampire had a soul, given by a fragile spell, strange old magic unfamiliar to Kenneth. While getting rid of the remains of the demon, Kenneth had to be careful of such existing magic. He didn't mess with souls, and he knew the Slayer wouldn't forgive him if he screwed anything up. Actually, he was pretty sure she'd cause him some serious bodily harm.

Several minutes later, Kenneth emerged from his trance-like state. A moment later Angel opened his eyes and sighed. "Did . . . it work?" he asked.

"The demon is gone," Kenneth assured. "Some of its effects may linger for a while, but nothing that can cause any harm."

The tension in the room lifted and people began to speak again. As Kenneth watched, the party he had interrupted resumed of its own accord. The Slayer smiled at him for a moment, her past animosity forgotten, then moved to Angel's side. She smiled at the ex-vampire and kissed him gently on the cheek. He smiled slightly in response, but it faded quickly. He seemed preoccupied.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked. "Well, it's not that I want to sound ungrateful," he said, "and I'm glad to know for sure that the demon is gone, it's just . . . ."

Buffy nodded. "We still don't know about the curse."

Kenneth looked at the pair in confusion. "Um, excuse me?" he said, drawing their attention back to him, "but, what curse?"

The party fell quiet once again. Everyone looked expectantly at the demon hunter and Angel. It was Buffy who finally spoke. "Surely you've figured out by now that Angel is . . . was . . . different from other vampires because he has a soul."

"Yeah, I noticed," commented Kenneth. "That doesn't strike me as much of a curse."

"It is when it requires that I suffer for my past," Angel explained. "A moment of true happiness and I loose my soul."

Kenneth looked at them both and smiled. Now he knew he had them. "You don't need to worry about that happening," he said.

"Huh?"

The demon hunter shrugged. "When I was getting rid of the last of the demon, I noticed the curse. I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't accidently break it, so I . . . cast another spell, of sorts. There will be no more soul losing."

As he watched, several faces all around broke into smiles. The Watcher and the adult woman grinned slightly and the other young woman got a dreamy look in her eyes. Kenneth turned to look at the Slayer again, but her attention was clearly elsewhere. She and the ex-vampire smiled at each other, and didn't appear that they'd be paying attention to anyone else soon.

Instead, Kenneth stood and faced the Watcher. "So," he said, "do I get your help now?"

Part Two

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