Chapter nine

"You got half of the minions dusted...you didn't kill the Eletti, his gheraious or the blonde bitch...how can you be so calm?"

A deep male French accented voice startled Electra. The vampire covered the Solomon's mirror and turned toward the voice. She crossed her arms over her chest and took some steps toward him.

Her liberator.

She had been ordered to stop him, she had been ordered to stop his plans...and she had...in a way, but first he had freed her, helping her see things, helping her discovering her powers.

"Alain, you took your sweet time to come here, didn't you?" she calmly replied, getting close to him.

"I came here, sure to find to greet me the head of the Slayer on a table...instead all I found was just ashes...and a few scared vampires...is it just my impression or you've failed...as you did last month?"

Electra shook her head and got closer to him, circling his broad shoulders with her arms, she grazed for some seconds his soft, long, brown curls and whispered, "You don't trust my judgment, Alain...I know what I am doing..."

He abruptly pulled her away from him and looked for some seconds into her green eyes before hissing, "Why should I? You know what we need...yet you're just wasting time... "

She smiled and shook her head saying, "That's the problem with you, Alain, you're too impulsive...relax and enjoy it..."

"Enjoy what, Electra? This is not a game..." Alain said, taking a step toward her, he grabbed her shoulders and continued, "You specifically asked for that poison...I gave it to you, is the Eletti dead? Why am I not seeing him crying in pain in the torture chamber?"

"Oh, please Alain! Do you really think I'd have used that poison just to torture him? I hoped you knew me better than this...what do you think torture would do to William? " She stretched a hand toward him saying, "I want to show you something"

He took her cool hand in his and followed her to a side of the room; she uncovered the mirror and whispered against his face, "What do you see?"

Alain looked at the images displayed on the mirror, images of the Eletti and his friends in a living room, talking in low voices; he turned toward Electra and asked, "What am I supposed to see?"

Electra squeezed tighter his hand in hers and said in a low voice, "Look at them...really do that...don't you see how tired, yet how adamant in saving William they are? Look at the Eletti...can't you see how valiantly is he fighting against the poison's effects?"

Alain looked blankly at her; Electra smiled at him and said, "Everything is going according to my plans...”

"You said the same things last month and we lost..."

Electra silenced him by covering his lips with a finger, she softly kissed his chin, scraping its skin with her teeth, lapping then his blood with her tongue, she lightly pulled back from him and slowly dragged him to a big bed placed at a side of the room. She turned toward him, in full game face, smiling at him through her fangs and said, "You're right, cherie...yet, believe it or not I accomplished what I wanted to..."

She sat on the edge of the bed, and pulled her at him. They both fell on the bed, his large body covering her thin one, she draped her legs around his waist and slowly pushed against him whispering, "We'll get what we want, cherie...but this doesn't mean we can't have fun while we're at it..."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

William slowly closed the door of his room. It was a gloomy November Sunday. He hadn't got much sleep the previous night; an unexplainable restlessness had filled him.

He got close to his desk, and placed the bags he had been holding in his hands on it, he opened the window and inhaled to full lungs the wet air. Some lukewarm rays of light crept in the room, slightly lightening it...

William watched the sky for some seconds and sighed, he turned when the girl on the bed tossed and turned, she was still dressed as the night before, Eric's coat was barely covering her, she was curled in a foetal position, from where he was, he could see a deep frown marring her face and some tears rolling down her pale cheeks.

He took a step forward, tempted for an instant to get close to her and waking her up from whatever she was dreaming about, but then changed his mind. He suspected that if he had got too close to her, he would have lost himself and he couldn't afford that.

He hadn't liked the way she had looked at him, he hadn't liked the way her smile had attempted to go right through his heart.

Who was that strange girl? What did she want from him? Why did she look like she tried to read into his very soul?

<Soul? That is a nice word, William...do you still have a soul? Will you really keep it when they active you?>

He shook his head, and took a big, green apple from one of the bags on his desk; he sat on it and kept looking at that young woman. He took in her eccentric outfits and the way her short, tousled hair framed her face.

He had his theories about her identity, he had spent part of the previous night thinking about them....deciding he was losing his mind.

He didn't have time to think about a weird red-headed girl...although she was really pretty. Perhaps if he had met her in other circumstances, he would have stopped and thought about her expressive face and how smart her eyes looked...but that was not the time.

He had to remind himself that now more than ever he was living on a borrowed time, he was breathing borrowed air...at times he hated that constant weight that kept hanging over his head...he was beginning to suspect that he wasn't going to be really free until he was activated.

He took a bite from the apple, relishing its sweet taste, and looked at the box that he had found on his doorstep. It was a large, white box, there was anything written on it, he already suspected though, what he was going to find inside it.

He turned toward the bed, when the red-head awoke with a start and he wasn't surprised when he found her looking at him wide eyed.

He swallowed and smiled at her politely saying, "Good morning, Willow...did you sleep well?"

She nodded at him and looked around, and William had to force himself not to tell her to stop looking at everything as if there was some kind of relic. He took a deep breath and asked, "Does you shoulder still hurt?"

The girl turned and looked at him surprised, then nodded her head; she looked down at the floor then stretched to pick some sheets and silently asked for a pen. William took it from the desk and handed it to her, Willow quickly wrote something on one of the sheet then handed it to him

William couldn't help smiling when he read what she had written

<< I'm sorry I took the bed...>>

He shook his head and said, "You have nothing to be sorry about, Willow..."

She shrugged her shoulders and lightly winced in pain, then shook her head and got up from the bed, taking some steps in the small room and looking around, tightening around her shoulders Eric's coat.

William had to force himself not to look at her, he looked down at the box on his desk, cleared his throat and said, "This is probably for you"

Willow raised her head and blankly looked at him, William took the box and some sheets in his hands and got up from the desk, he placed the box on the bed and said heading toward the door, "If I do know my friend, there ought to be a gown in that box...I'd wager you are hungry, there is some fruit in that bag, please help yourself...I shall wait for you outside"

He nervously smiled at her and left the room, and Willow couldn't help scratching her head at his behaviour.

<What the hell?>

She thought. She had spent a horrible night. When she had discovered she had been sent back to the day William had been turned, for an instant she had been tempted to throw herself at him to never let him go...Eric's words, had stopped her.

She had to admit William was puzzling her. When she had opened her eyes she had been surprised to find him near the window, she had looked at him while the sun lit his face, ironically in that moment he had looked so much as the Spike she had known and fell in love with, that she had been forced to look away... because as much as they were physically similar, she was beginning to realize William was a different person than Spike: there was a hardness in his features she had never noticed in Spike, the look in his ice blue eyes, although sad, held a deep resolve.

She looked around approaching the desk, the room where William lived in was poorly furnished, there wasn't any indication of the man who lived in, just a few books on a chair and some sheets on the desk, she shook her head and opened the white box.

She arched an eyebrow when she saw what was inside of it, she took a creamy envelope, and opened it.

<< Willow,

if what you claim in the letter you gave me yesterday is true, I believe it would be more appropriate for you to wear these outfits. I shall help you, but I do not think I have to warn you, to be very careful.

E>>

Willow silently sighed, and took from the box a blue outfit Eric had chosen for her, holding it in her hands, she couldn't help the little smile that crept on her lips, it was indeed a beautiful outfit, although very simple, she shrugged and placed the outfit on the bed, then quickly undressed, shivering at the cold morning.

She put the dress on, managing to button it by herself, not wanting to get too close to William...one thing was the same in whatever time they were in, his touch was like fire on her skin...and she knew it was the same for him.

Willow looked around in the room, noticing there weren't any mirrors in it.

<It figures...he's already getting used to living like a vampire...you told me that, Spike... >

She combed her hair with her fingers, and took a deep breath, then took one of the apples from the bag and steeled herself from what was about to come.

She fingered the little silver bottle that hung on her chest, wondering for some instants how Spike was doing, hoping she was going to go through it....hoping she wasn't going to lose both of them in the process.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

"I was a twerp..." Spike said letting out a weak chuckle. He couldn't believe how clear the recollections of the time he had spent with Willow were, only some of them were blurry, but he recalled with extreme clarity the way he had treated her...it had been the way he had treated all the people who had gotten close to him. He had almost hated her, for entering his life so late, he had almost hated her, for liking her so much.

"Were? You're quite generous to yourself, William" Eric said in a low voice, raising his head from the tome he had been reading.

 Spike noticed Giles' lips twitching in a smile.

"Gotta agree with Eric on this one, Spike..." Buffy's voice said from atop the stairs, they all turned to look at her, and Spike couldn't help snorting at her words and mumbling, "That's it...kick the vampire when he's down..."

"That's what friends are for, Spike" Buffy said, going downstairs, she got close to Eric and Giles and looked around, she circled Giles' shoulders with her arms and kissed his hair whispering, "Sorry, I was more tired than I

thought"

Giles raised his head to look at her, she was pale, yet her hazel eyes, gleamed with a light he had never seen before, he smiled at her and said, "Are you feeling all right?"

Buffy nodded and sitting on his lap said, "So, any news about the big ho?"

"No, not as such...." Giles said, looking at Eric. The dark-haired vampire shrugged and closing the tome added, "As soon as the sun sets, we will attack her..."

"And what about that shield thingie? " she asked, stretching her hand toward the coffee table and taking a donut from a tray, Eric looked at her arching an eyebrow and said, "That shouldn't be a problem, she took me by surprise yesterday, this won't happen again..."

"What if she's gone away?" Anya asked, she was sitting in front of Spike and was sprinkling his face with a balm Eric had given her.

Spike hissed when Anya covered his neck with it, but weakly said, "She hasn't...that cow is going to stay and gloat"

Anya nodded, but turned to look at Eric and Giles and both the vampire and the former Watcher were surprised to see a look akin to terror in her eyes, she got up and excused herself and went to the kitchenette.

Buffy and Giles looked at each other then at Spike, noticing that the burns on his body were gradually increasing, yet he looked very calm, the only thing which was giving away the pain he was going through was his voice, it was huskier, and was losing the cockiness they were used to.

Buffy swallowed, she clenched her jaws, wishing she could do something for both Spike and Willow.

She shook her head, squeezed Giles' hand in hers for a

second then got up and went to Anya, the former demon was washing her hands under the running water, a deep frown marring her brows. She started when Buffy touched her shoulder and said, "He is burning..." she raised her hands and showed her fingers to Buffy, they were reddish, as if she had burned them.

Buffy handed a washcloth to Anya, the former demon shrugged while she dried her hands but didn't say anything at first, then slowly repeated, "He's burning...soon the balms won't be enough..."

"Have you ever seen something like that?" Buffy asked in a low voice.

Anya slowly nodded, her gaze was on the floor, never Buffy had seen the former demon so worried, she nibbled her lower lip and said, "There's got to be another antidote...what if William won't give his blood to Willow?"

"He will..." Eric's voice made them start. Buffy looked at him, although his face didn't show any emotion, she could glimpse through his eyes the concern for Spike and a deep tiredness.

"How can you be so sure?" Buffy asked.

Eric shrugged and said, "I'll order him to...my younger self, at least will order him to..."

"What if he refuses?" Anya asked.

Buffy shook her head, from what she had seen of Eric and Spike...and from what  she had learnt of the blonde vampire for the past month, she knew he wasn't

going to refuse. "He won't" she said in a low voice.

None of them, questioned out loud what had been in their minds, though. Was Willow going to come back there in time to save Spike?

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Electra couldn't stop watching the fire cracking in the fireplace, there was something hypnotic in the irregular flames, there was something exciting in the way the wood burned, was consumed by the fire, she knelt and was tempted to take in her hands one of the burning brands, she shook her head and almost smiled at the craziness of that thought.

She rose on her feet and turned, the hall of the mansion was empty, she didn't need the Solomon's mirror to know that as soon as the sun set, the Slayer and the gheraious

were going to come to her, to stop her.

She was waiting for them, waiting for them, to seek revenge for what she had done to William. She smiled as some sparks flew...thinking about she was really eager to see how far would they go for William.

Alain hadn't been able to see the things she had seen, Alain didn't know the things she knew

~ When the apocalypse will be reflected in the mirror, the blood and the oath will unite in the purple of death ~

...just as if her mind had conjured his image, she felt Alain getting close to her.

 He circled her waist with his strong arms and pulled her at him, she closed her eyes while he asked, "What are you waiting for?"

She didn't turn, she didn't even open her eyes, when she whispered, "The Eletti's friends..."

"You do know what's going to happen if you fail, don't you?" he asked in a low voice wile kissing the side of her neck.

"I won't..." she whispered.

"I do really hope so...I want the head of the Slayer as my new center piece, Electra" Alain said, turning her so that they were face to face.

The blonde vampire opened her eyes and had to resist the urge to snort at Alain's words. She happily smiled at him and circled his neck with her hands, she softly kissed his full lips, he had no idea, about the Slayer...he had no idea about her plan.

~ and their blood will feed the darkness and their triumph will be their deceit. Reflection of the purple mirror. ~

...that was fine by her.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Willow kept looking around, she had read a lot about Victorian London, yet seeing it first hand filled her with wonder.

She was trying not to look at William, who on the other hand tried hard to avoid her...none of them seemed to notice, yet, how close to each other they were walking, unless their hands or arms brushed ...only then did they move away from each other .

When she had got out from William's room she had found him, waiting for her in the half-darkened hallway, he hadn't said a word, but when they had exited the bleak building he lived in, she had seen how he had taken in her

outfit, and for a second the look in his eyes had reminded her of the way Spike sometimes looked at her...with so much longing that it took her breath away. That look had soon faded, though, replaced by a cold one.

They walked for a while, and entered an alley, at the end of it they found a black coach waiting for them, its coachman recognized William and silently greeted him with a nod of his head, William just raised his hand to

greet him, then turned toward Willow and stretched a hand toward her, silently inviting her to take it.

She hesitantly placed her hand on his and was surprised when  William gallantly helped her to get in the coach. His

hand had been so warm, and had held hers, for longer than it had been  necessary, yet when he had realized that, had abruptly pulled it away, that look in his eyes had returned, but had been replaced, once again by the

coldness she was getting used to.

She had never been on a coach and was surprised when it began moving by how solid it was, she attempted to look at the window, but William forbid her to do that saying, "Do not let anyone see you, Willow..."

Willow nodded, she wished William told her something, anything, but his face was unreadable, he didn't look at the window, he was reading something from some sheets he had taken from his duster's pocket, she realized he was steeling himself for what was about to come.

She wondered whether he felt he was going to be called very soon, she noticed how he kept fingering the

gold ring he wore on his pinky finger, while reading.

She rested her head against the headrest, touching the little silver bottle on her chest, she hadn't noticed before how cold it was, she wondered how she was going to get William's blood, just on the day of his turning.

She looked at William, he had stopped reading from the sheets, and had his eyes closed, his head lightly tilted back. He looked so lonely and so very tired.

Spike had never told her why he had accepted to become an Eletti, from what Buffy had told her, William had been a watcher, a very good one.

"It has stopped raining" William said in a low voice.

 He opened his eyes, Willow just smiled at him. the lukewarm sun that had greeted her when she had woken up, had been replaced until that moment by a light, cold rain.

William shifted his gaze from her to the window, and commented, "I hope it won't start again..."

Willow swallowed feeling her stomach twisting in a painful knot, the only thing Spike had ever told her about his turning had been its date and that it had been a rainy night. The sun was beginning to come out from the clouds, and some rays, hit the window, making the rain drops almost glimmer, like crystal shreds.

William tightened in his duster, a shiver running through his body, and Willow felt her eyes filling with tears, Spike had told her once he still missed the sun, only now was she beginning to understand why.

~ "Did you know they asked me to be an Eletti?" Giles asked in a low voice.~

The words Giles had told her shortly after they had returned from the galleries, suddenly came up in her mind.

~ "Did they?" ~

It had been the first time they had been alone, since they had been freed. Buffy and Spike had been out together patrolling. The truth about Spike, had been still very new, and she had had still troubles understanding it.

~ Giles had nodded, he had shrugged and added, "They told me who the Eletti were, what they did... their goal..."~

She had been surprised by Giles' admission, but even more so, by what he had told her

~ I felt honoured to be asked to be one of them...but...as much as I loathe Evil...I honestly don't know whether I would have willingly chosen to die, Spike did. He chose to die because he loathed Evil *that* much...~

His words had kept echoing in her mind for hours afterwards and just like in that moment, she had felt her heart wrenching in her chest.

She blinked the tears away and looked at William, he was still watching at the window, while half-hidden by the thick curtain.

The sadness in his eyes had disappeared, she could see tension building in his lean body and a deep resolve.

<He's about to die because he wants to make a difference...he's accepted his destiny...so get a grip, and quit being such a poof!>

She almost smiled at her thoughts, realizing how much Spike's slang was becoming hers as well, she blinked the tears away, a look of deep resolve, which mirrored William's formed in her eyes.

She wasn't going to let her feelings for both Spike and William get in the way, she was going to do whatever she could, whatever she had to, to help them...to help both of them.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

A heavy silence was hanging on Giles' leaving room. Its occupants, avoided to look at the vampire who was lying down on the couch, he wasn't uttering a sound, but it was evident to all of them, that he was going through a lot of

pain.

Boils and burns covered almost all of his face and hands, the balms and the herbs Eric was giving him weren't enough anymore.

Spike's eyes were open, yet it was as if he couldn't see anything. He was still conscious, but none of them dared getting too close to him.

None of them wanted to see how the poison he had been injected with was destroying him, none of them wanted to contemplate the possibility that Willow could be too late, so they kept themselves busy, Buffy and Eric planning the attack to Electra. She had surprised them the first time, but they were making sure, that wasn't going to happen again.

Giles, was already setting up the components of the spell, that was going to bring Willow back to them, Anya was still next to Spike, tending his wounds, often forcing him to drink blood, while Xander was sharpening the stakes.

"I say we should go to her now...she expects us to go to her after the sun sets..." Xander commented looking at Eric.

The dark-haired vampire shrugged, "She is already expecting us..."

"There's something which doesn't ring a bell about her..." Buffy said in a low voice.

She turned to look at Eric, they were sitting next to each other, Eric arched an eyebrow at her, puzzled and asked, "What?"

"Why did she use the poison? Why she didn't just stake him?"

"I...it's more painful..." Spike's weak voice answered her, making her start. She looked at Spike, he was resting his head against a pillow, he wasn't even looking at her, he swallowed hard and added, "T...trust me on this

ducks...."

"To me she doesn't look like she wants to spread the word about you guys...she looks like she's on a personal vendetta" Xander added in a low voice, toying with one of the stakes in his hands.

Eric looked at the young boy, nodding, he had reached the same conclusions, if Electra had really wanted to spread the word about the existence of the Eletti she would have already done that, instead she had come to

Sunnydale...first messing with Spike's head, then poisoning him.

"I agree" he finally said. He looked first at Buffy, who seemed to sense his thoughts and nodded at him, getting up from her chair and then at Xander who almost grinned at him, then quickly collected the stakes he had sharpened

and got up from the armchair he was sitting on.

Eric slowly got up from his chair and got close to Spike, he knelt next to him, observing for some instants, the burns on his face and neck, observing how, just like he had taught him was focusing on it, searching pleasure in

it to stop it.

He barely resisted the urge to swallow and steeled himself, before saying, "William? Everything is going to be fine..."

Spike just nodded, he didn't even look at him when he asked, "A...are you going to her?"

"We'll stop her..." Eric said in a firm voice.

Spike nodded, he swallowed and asked, "Eric? Why did you send her back...to that day?"

"To protect you...to protect history..." he simply said.

It was the truth, he had chosen to defy the orders from the Eletti, but had made sure not to mess with time.

The spell on Willow, a spell which prevented her to talk, had been just one of the precautions he had taken, the other, had been sending her back to the day William had been turned.

"Tosser" Spike mumbled, yet his lips were attempting to stretch in a smile.

Eric noticed as how some blood was seeping from his ears, Spike tilted his head up and clenched his jaws, morphing for some instants in his game face.

He emitted a low, prolonged growl, before morphing back in his human face saying in a husky voice, "I'm...tired"

"You can rest now...it won't take long...your red-head will soon come back..."

Spike nodded, closing his eyes and whispered, "She's so beautiful dres..sed in blue..."

Eric nodded and just said, "Rest, William..."

<Keep fighting William >

Was the only thing he thought, the only thing he wished. The only thing he had wished for a long, long time.