Buffy snapped awake, aware of danger and the metal enclosing her wrists. She tried to stand up and fell to her knees again as her head began to spin. She looked up as she heard a growling sound, and saw that she was in a cell with a barred door and that things out of a nightmare were gathered on the other side of the bars. They were vaguely reptilian, brown mottled scales gleaming in the torch light. They stank of death and decay, of spoiling meat, and they watched her with a dreadful avid hunger. Buffy felt a surge of fear when she realised how many of them there were and that they were intelligent. They wore uniforms and carried weapons and although they obviously wanted to hurt her they didn’t move, just watched her, unblinking.
Trembling slightly, Buffy forced herself to her feet, and raised her chin defiantly. She clenched her fists and pulled forward, testing how strong the manacles were. They held firm and the demons moved closer, pressing against the bars that separated them. One of them reached for a whip he had in his belt and Buffy tensed, wondering if he would be able to reach her with it, if she’d be able to dodge in time, chained as she was.
Suddenly, an order rang out, and the one with the whip froze. A space grew around him as his friends moved away. Buffy blinked as a young Hispanic man walked up to the demon and pushed him backwards. The demon growled but didn’t retaliate. The human said something else in a sharp tone of voice and the crowd began to drift away. The man waited until they had all gone and then unlocked the door. Buffy looked at him, trying to work out what he was. She looked at his haircut and physique and thought ‘soldier’. He was in the same uniform as the demons and wore a broad bladed sword at his belt. He was carrying a first aid kit and a water bottle. Strangely, he was barefoot. Buffy was still wondering about that when she noticed who was with him. Ethan. She smiled dangerously.
"I’m not going in there." Ethan said immediately.
"I need someone to cover me."
"Get someone else."
"No. Come on, Ethan. Do you want to live forever ?"
"If at all possible. Why do you think I study the occult ?"
The younger man came into the cell, putting his sword out of reach. After a moment Ethan reluctantly followed him in. He stood as far away from Buffy as possible. Buffy saw that he was carrying a shringe.
"If she tries anything, sedate her."
"You are so dead, Ethan." Buffy said conversationally, then realised how dry her mouth was. The soldier silently handed her the water. She sipped it carefully and sat down, deciding that she might as well save her strength. Ethan watched her nervously.
"I’m Robert Alexander, by the way."
He took her arms and checked her wrists. Buffy winced. The iron manacles were already starting to chafe her skin. She briefly considered grabbing Robert, then decided against it. She didn’t know the way out and being chased through underground corridors by carnivorous demons did not sound like a good game plan. Robert opened the first aid kit and picked out some salve. He looked irritably at Ethan as he did so.
"Can you come closer ?"
Ethan frowned and obeyed. His eyes widened as Robert unlocked one of the manacles.
"What are you doing ?!"
"Changing the ground rules."
Buffy tensed as Robert knelt, smeared salve on her wrist and unwrapped a roll of bandage. She was having as much trouble believing this as Ethan. She decided to play along for the moment. With her Slayer reflexes she could make her move once she understood what was happening. Besides, Ethan had gotten close enough to hit now, his caution vanishing as his fear took over.
"Why ?"
"Lord Rehyat lied to us."
"So what ? We’re the hired help."
"He isn’t going to marry her."
"Marry me ?" Buffy said. "And he was going to propose when ?"
"After Robert’s done the mind control spell to make you say yes. You’ll be happy. Guaranteed." Ethan informed her. "After all you don’t mind monsters, as such. You are the girl who voluntarily slept with a vampire."
Buffy moved to punch him and stopped as Robert tightened his hands on her wrist. "Sit still, please. We don’t have much time. Ethan, listen. The spell isn’t a mind control spell. It will put her to sleep, for a year and a day."
"So ?"
"I know ... more of their language than they realise. I heard them talking tonight."
"You’re fluent, aren’t you." Ethan said "What else haven’t you told me ?"
"I’ll get to that. They plan to take Sunnydale and open the Hellmouth. There’ll be no slayer to stop them. Because they haven’t killed her, no replacement will be called. They’ll have a year to consolidate."
"What happens when she wakes up ?"
"They’ll kill her then. It won’t matter any more. They’ll have won."
All of the time he was speaking his hands continued their work, wrapping the bandages in their precise patterns, fixing them in place. Buffy jerked with shock when he re fastened the manacle and moved on to the other wrist. He smiled briefly at her "Sorry. Keeping up appearances."
Buffy pulled her hand away from him. "I so do not believe you ! You were going to kidnap me and stand by while I married a demon. And that was OK?"
"Actually I was planning to catch the bouquet." Ethan said. He cringed under the combined look Buffy and Robert gave him. "Just trying to lighten the mood."
"What about you, Mr Magical Rohypnol guy ?" Buffy demanded "Why were you doing it ? So you could tell your sleazy wizard friends that you hypnotised the slayer ?"
"No." Robert said. He looked around, then glanced up at Ethan. "I’m working for the council. They’d heard there was a threat to the Slayer. They sent me in undercover. I’m going to try and get you out of here."
He took her hand again, bowing his head over it. "My life for you, Chosen one."
Buffy stared at him as he unlocked the manacle and began to tend to her wrist. She noticed that Ethan was looking equally dumbfounded. Finally he cleared his throat and sat down next to them. "What if I decided to get myself a bonus ? Tell Lord Rehyat who you’re really working for ?"
"You won’t."
"I’m not very noble, you know. Why shouldn’t I ?"
"First, because the council would have a year to hunt you down and hurt you, before the end. Secondly, you like chaos, but I think you also like being something other than demon food"
"What about my reputation ? I’m a freelance. If word gets around that I sell out my clients I might as well shut up shop."
"Or open one." Buffy said sweetly. "Maybe fancy dress ?"
"The council will let it be known that you were working for them all along. They’ll pay you your usual fee."
"Fine." Ethan said. He thought for a moment. "When do we leave ?"
"We don’t." Buffy said. Ethan frowned.
"Who put you in charge ?"
"He did. The moment he called me the Chosen one. Right, Robert ?"
"Yes."
"If you stay here, they are going to kill you." Ethan said carefully. His tone of voice was strained. "In those circumstances, it isn’t a good idea to stay."
"It’s not that simple. This Lord .....whatever, has how many soldiers here ?"
"One hundred and forty." Robert said.
"Do the math. If I escape or get killed he’s going to total Sunnydale. We have to think about stopping the army."
"Well, sometimes sacrifices have to be made. It’ll slow him down while you’re getting away. We could probably pick your friends up en route."
"Not good enough."
"Robert, you talk to her. Persuade her."
"I think I know how to stop the army."
"Good. Let’s go and we can talk about it while we drive."
"No. If the Lord Rehyat suspects anything, he will attack before dusk. I’m staying. So is the Slayer. You’re going to take a message to an old friend."
"I don’t have any friends in Sunnydale ...... Oh, no. No. Absolutely not."
"What’s the matter, Ethan. Don’t you enjoy getting beaten up ?" Buffy asked.
"No more than the next man."
"I’ll arrange a bonus." Robert said "Once you tell him what’s going on, he’s going to be too busy to spend time on you."
"What is one ex librarian and a bunch of bloody kids going to be able to do against this lot ?" Ethan demanded. "Bullets bounce off them, remember ?"
"Keep your voice down. We’re in a cave. Do you remember the stories I told you about Algeria ?"
"That won’t work."
"If you have a better idea, use it. I’m not asking you to help them. Just take a message"
In the end they persuaded him. Robert clinched it by giving Ethan the details of the Council’s bank account in California, including the information that would enable him to empty it. He shook hands with Robert before he went and Buffy thought she saw something other than contempt in his eyes. Anger maybe, or resentment. It gave her a flicker of hope that he might actually do what he’d promised. Once he’d gone she put him out of her mind. She had to concentrate on her own survival. She made Robert describe the layout of the cave to her and go over the ritual he was supposed to be performing. He told her where the guards were likely to be, inside and outside the cave. Finally, he suggested she get some sleep. She lay down and after a couple of minutes of restless tossing and turning, looked at him where he sat cross legged, his back against the wall of the cave, his sword balanced across his knees. She moved onto her side, facing him.
"Talk to me." she said softly.
"What about ?"
"Anything."
He shifted, uncomfortable.
"I’m not one for conversation."
"Then why are you here ?"
"Because to do the sleep spell I have to attune myself to you. That’s what I’m supposed to be doing. Another reason to use a human mage."
"Another reason ?"
"Rehyat’s people are flesh eaters. I’ve fasted from meat for three months. It would kill one of them."
"I kind of worked that out from their teeth, but still, more information than I needed. Isn’t Rehyat afraid that I’d just take your sword and use you as a hostage ?"
"He’d just kill me."
Buffy sat up.
"Do you think we’re going to make it out ?"
"I think we’ll stop Lord Rehyat working the spell. With me covering your back, you should be able to escape."
"And you ?"
"I don’t matter." Robert said steadily. He smiled. Buffy thought it was among the saddest things she’d ever seen.
She frowned "Someone must care."
"Not really. I’m an orphan. I was brought up by the council. Then I joined the army. My childhood friends are doing other things by now. And the men I served with ..... will understand."
Buffy looked at him, studied his calm face, saw the way his hands lay on the sword and shivered. The worst part was that she did.
As the Slayer she had had to learn acceptance, the knowledge that she would probably never live to be old. She might survive this fight and the next and the one after that, but sooner or later the odds would catch up with her and she would die. In the mean time she coped by spending time with her friends, shopping, dancing at the Bronze, doing the trivial things in life, pushing back the dark with every fragile moment of happiness and contentment. Sometimes, she knew, she seemed frivolous and selfish. The people who thought that had futures and normal lives. Seeing the awareness in another person brought the cost home to her.
She was used to it in Giles - it was something they never spoke about. They didn’t have to. She had begun to think that he was unique among the power hungry old men of the Watcher’s council, that it was a totally corrupt organisation. Now she was filled with a terrible sorrow that anyone else had to be the same way, had had to learn the same acceptance.
She frowned "Are you sure that the Council sent you ? ‘Cause you’re way too focused."
"You shouldn’t judge us all by Travers. He’s powerful because he’s good at politics. He forgot his oath a long time ago. I haven’t."
Buffy almost smiled at the certainty in his voice, then stopped herself. "You know, when we get out of this." she said "I am going to take you to the Bronze. They do like the best music."
"Got to be better than Europop."
"Are they a group ?"
He grinned. "Sort of. Do I get to dance ?"
"Can you dance ?"
"Don’t know. I’ve always wanted to try."
"Well, you can try with me."
"Thanks."
She fell asleep watching the play of torch light on the walls.