by Cynamin

Part Two

“She’s awakening.”

A buzz of voices. Something was very, very wrong. There was . . . there was . . .

There was pain.

A moan. Her voice. It should have been a scream, but a moan was all there was for now. And it was dark, so very dark inside her mind. She was afraid. And that was wrong, too. She wasn’t supposed to be afraid of the dark. But this wasn’t the sort of dark she could fight.

“Slayer?” A voice. Near at hand, questioning. She was not alone in the dark. “It’s alright, now. Please, open your eyes, m’lady.”

M’lady? Slayer? Who or what was he speaking to? He . . . she knew him, the voice. It was . . . it was a friend. And she . . . I am the Slayer.

Corliss opened her eyes slowly. After the dark, the light was blinding. For a moment she could not see at all, and she gasped in fear. Then a cool hand touched her forehead and her vision cleared. A young man leaned over her. The voice . . . “Leal?” she asked in a whisper.

The house mage smiled. “That’s right,” he acknowledged.

More figures gathered behind him, and Corliss knew them as well. Old and young, they were mages all. They were the Circle, the same circle that had given her her powers as the Slayer, and supported her . . . or used her . . . in their fight against evil. “What’s going on? What happened?”

Leal frowned. “What do you remember, Corliss?”

The young woman smiled slightly. “I forgot to tell you. I killed that lake monster you found. It’s sitting on the bottom now, a large piece of wood through its forehead.”

The house mage smiled slightly. “That’s good,” he replied like he was appeasing a child. “What do you remember after that?”

“Gareth got me out of the water,” she replied, frowning as she pieced together events. “I . . . was late to Mother’s feast . . .. The guests had already arrived before me. I had to join her even though I was soaked. I probably looked awful.”

“Did you now?” Leal replied with a laugh.

“Nobody noticed, though,” Corliss said with a frown. “They were all too busy . . ..” Her voice faded away, the following moment playing in her mind.

“Corliss?”

The gryphon . . . it had defeated her, slashing her in the stomach. She was dying; she knew she was . . .. Suddenly the Slayer screamed in pain, real and remembered.

There were hands there, holding her down as she thrashed. One of the mages stepped forward before her swimming vision, and as he lay his hand on her forehead the pain came to a stop, and with it the images playing in her mind. Corliss fell slack, whimpering.

“Corliss?” Leal asked again, concerned.

“I . . . I should be dead,” the girl whispered. “Why aren’t I dead?”

The members looked at each other, strange guilt reflecting on their faces. “We saved you,” Leal said finally, softly.

Corliss frowned. There was no way they could have saved her. No matter what their magic was, none of the Circle was strong enough to heal death. They could forestall it sometimes, but all fell before fatal wounds. As the Slayer, Corliss knew a fatal wound when she saw one. “How? What aren’t you telling me?” Leal’s gaze fell to Corliss’s chest, where she wore an unusual pendant. Lifting it to look at it better, Corliss frowned. It was not hers. She reached to take it off.

“No!” Leal yelled abruptly. Corliss stopped. “It . . . it is a binding spell of sorts. It . . . binds two things together. In your case, binds your lives together. Please, do not remove the necklace.”

“What if I do?”

Leal hung his head. “You could die. We’re not sure . . . no spell like this has been done before.”

“A binding spell?”

Leal nodded.

“Who . . .. What did you bind me to?”

The other members of the circle hung their heads, and turned away.

“A vampire.”

And Corliss screamed.

“Hey, Will,” Buffy said with a grin. Willow and her were meeting at the mall for some after Christmas bargains, neither of them having gone out of town for winter break. Having made it through one semester of college, it was nice to spend some time with parents. Still, not that much time.

Willow smiled in response. “Hey, Buffy. You have a good Christmas?”

“Yeah. Mom and I did the whole present thing. It was fun. And you? Did you . . . uh, have a happy Chanukah?”

Willow laughed slightly. “Nice try, but Chanukah was early this year. It was over before break.”

“Oh, well . . ..”

“It’s been a good vacation. Thanks.”

Buffy and Willow wandered a bit through the mall, entering a couple of stores that looked interesting. After some shoe shopping and trying on clothes, they were standing in an eclectic gift shop. Willow was looking through a display of gifts for the millennium, while Buffy stood next to her looking at a bunch of discounted Christmas presents.

“Hey, Buffy look at this!” Willow exclaimed.

“Hmm? What is it?”

Willow held up a black box, with “2000" written on the cover. “It’s a millennium keepsake box,” she explained. “See?” she said as she opened it. “It’s got a journal for thoughts, predictions, resolutions, that sort of thing. And see? A photo album! Wouldn’t that be cool?”

“Huh? I’m sorry, but . . . cool?”

Willow sighed. “What’s up? You seem distracted today.”

“Yeah,” Buffy replied. “I’m sorry. I was just thinking. Didn’t mean to zone out on you.”

“What were you thinking about?” Willow asked.

“I . . . just some weird dreams I’ve been having lately. It’s nothing.” Buffy pointedly went back to looking at the last Christmas display.

“Were they . . . you know, dreams?” Willow asked worriedly.

“Why does everyone seem to ask me that? No, they’re just dreams!” Buffy answered angrily.

Willow backed off. “I’m sorry.”

Buffy sighed. “No, it’s alright. I’m sorry.” She still wasn’t looking at Willow; she was looking at things on the discount shelf to avoid contact. “What were you saying about the keepsake box?”

Willow smiled. “I thought it would be cool for when we all got together for New Years at your house. You know, we could each bring something for the box, write something for the journal, take pictures. It’ll be something to look back on, the whole gang.”

But Buffy was distracted again. She was holding a snow globe, one with a Christmas tree inside with a star on top. It didn’t take a genius to realize she was thinking about Christmas a year ago, Sunnydale’s only white Christmas. Buffy had heard what Willow had said this time, though. “Yeah,” she said, a touch bitterly, thinking of friends who’d left, “the whole gang.”

Willow fell silent, hanging her head sadly. For she was missing someone, too, someone who’d left her more recently than Angel had left Buffy. Oz . . . and Willow didn’t even know where he had gone. So much for good cheer.

Buffy laughed slightly, suddenly. Willow looked at her in surprise. “Just look at the two of us. Moping on winter break.” She smiled. “That’s it, no more moping! I refuse! We’ll buy that box, okay, and have fun, just the girls. Okay?”

Willow smiled weakly. “Yeah, that sounds good.” Suddenly, she too chuckled.

“What?”

“Do you realize that Xander is the only one of us who’s going to have a date this New Years?”

Buffy chuckled. “Yeah, and Anya yet! I mean, she . . ..”

“Fits Xander’s pattern for girls. Ms. French, Ampata . . .”

“Cordelia.”

Still chuckling, the two girls made their purchase and left the store.

On to Part Three

Feedback makes the world go round
Back to Cynamin's Fan Fiction