As Jason and Damian moved the coffins, Buffy knew she could have done it herself. She shrugged her shoulders deciding they didn't need to know about her strength. She couldn't wait to show a dark haired vamp though when she kicked his ass, she snorted. They just finished moving the coffins and stood there staring at her.
"Sorry, private joke. Damian, I need you to lie down on your left side." Damian lie down and propped his head in his hand. Buffy crawled up next to him on her side facing him. "I need you to concentrate on your bond with the other vampires the blood of your family. The oath you swore to follow Jean-Claude as the Master binds you. I will do the rest just breath slowly and look into my eyes." She clasped her hand with his capturing his pale green gaze with her eyes. Their breathing matched each other; Damian watched her eyes change from deep green to a brilliant royal blue.
Buffy concentrated deeply on the path of Damian's bond with the other vampires as his soul glowed brilliantly. She caught her breath, she saw his aura and it was beautiful: the ambers, mauves, pumpkins, golds, dark brown, delft blue and pinks. They swirled into a kaleidoscope unique and wonderful. She pulled herself away reluctantly, hoping to explore more in the future.
She followed the blood bond further finding her inside a large stone mansion. The coffins sat against a wall with crosses on them and she could hear screams coming from inside. Buffy looked further into the room and stopped when she saw a chair resembling a throne. The Traveler sat on it and the Master of Beast stood. She smiled at seeing exactly who she expected.
Now let's see who sent an envoy this time. Looking around the room, she noticed a movement in the corner. There a blonde vampire hid mostly in the shadows. He moved into the light talking to the Traveler and Buffy got a better look at him. His hair almost glowed in the light from its brilliant blonde color and scars covered one side of his face.
Buffy smiled to herself. Well the Vampire Council saved me the trouble of having to travel. Mmm, the blond must be Asher; I will have to take a closer look at him before passing judgment. Something tells me there is more to him than meets the eye, too bad I can't read him this way. Oh, we have another player on the field.
A tall blond female vampire walked towards the Master of Beast. She had short blond hair and violet colored eyes. Someone has been a naughty girl; I'll have to ask Damian for names. I'm betting she is one of the missing vampires.
Buffy's eyes stopped glowing and she let go of Damian's hand. He blinked; his eyes looked as if he had only just risen. He desperately wanted to pull her to him and not let go. Damian realized he felt as if he had not fed for days. He turned to Jason who crawled forward.
Buffy looked and started yelling. "What the hell, do you think you are doing?"
"The spell took a lot out of me. I need to feed," he calmly replied.
"You just expect him to bare his throat for you whenever you please. You don't ask or expect any resistance?"
"No, it is how things are done," he stated, confused at her questions.
"Well it isn't how things are done where I come from, Buddy." She advanced on him, poking him with her finger as she talked. "You should ask permission and if he agrees then it is fine and dandy but if not then you better find some other McDonalds to drive thru," she screamed.
Jason wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to laugh at the tiny woman pushing around the much larger man with only her finger as she told him off. He worried about Buffy somehow being punished for interfering. "Buffy it is okay, I don't mind. I enjoy it really," he smiled at her.
Buffy looked at him then at Damian. Her eyes flashed causing both men to step back. "Do whatever you want but I am not staying here to watch. I will go tell the others what I learned, catch up after you wipe you chin." She whirled around her eyes still glowing. She removed the protection barrier and opened the door then slamming it with a bang. Damian and Jason stared after her then at each other, not sure what they should do.
~~~~~
Richard turned from Anita and Jean-Claude's squabbling to see Buffy stomping into the room and slam the door. He grinned as the other two jumped turning around. "Are you two still snipping at each other?" Buffy asked in a bored voice.
Anita scowled at Buffy. "How did it go? Did you find them? Are they still alive? How far away are they? Do you know who is behind this?" She asked in a rapid-fire style of an interrogation.
"Man, I thought my friend Willow could babble. Although with the whole scowl and professional voice, I'm sure you don't call it babbling." Anita gave her one of her patented death glares. "No need to turn your x-ray vision on me. In the order that you asked, the answers are yes, yes, not sure and mostly." Buffy grinned back at Anita innocently.
"What? Is that all the information that we are going to get?"
Buffy laughed, "No just waiting for the rest of the team. Is there somewhere we can go that, oh I don't know, has a place to sit?"
"You can sit on my bed ma lune sorcière," Jean-Claude purred, putting all of his power into his voice.
Buffy looked at him then prowled near him to whisper huskily, with all the might of Aphrodite. "Jean-Claude, if I decided to be in your bed. I would not just sit and you would not be able to walk for days." She turned walking away, her hips swayed gently from side-to-side.
Jean-Claude shivered and felt himself grow hard. He watched her and thought she looked like a proud lioness. Richard tried to hide his smile, as well as his own reaction to her voice.
Buffy walked up to Anita. "Is there an office around here or what girlfriend? I have some info so share." She linked her arm with Anita's walking into the hall.
Richard looked at Jean-Claude whose face still looked bewildered. "Do we join the ladies or do you need a moment alone?" He grinned moving out the door to follow the two women. He found Anita and Buffy with Damian and Jason quickly approaching from down the hall.
They tried to talk at the same time but Buffy raised her hand stopping them. "Don't say anything; I owe you both an apology. I butted into something that wasn't my business, yet. So, I am sorry. Let's not bring it up again. We are going talk about what I was able to find out."
Everyone entered the office and sat down. A few minutes later Jean-Claude joined them.
Richard, Anita and Buffy smiled at each other. Jason asked, "What did we miss?"
Jean-Claude exclaimed, "Nothing! After you left, I received a phone call from the Traveler. He has my people and will give them back if I agree to be judged for killing the Earthmover."
"You aren't going to be judged; you are to be executed. Travel Dude, Beasty Boy and Asher are holding all of your missing people. You also have a traitor, a tall female, with short blonde hair and violet eyes. She is working with them," Buffy explained.
"Liv is working with them against me. She will pay," he growled.
"She is the least of your problems. You supposed to bring Anita right?" Jean-Claude nodded. "The council thinks she is your human servant, in every way now. Asher wants to kill her to make you pay for the past but the Travelman wants to reward her with some frequent flyer miles. He is smacking his lips at the thought of all that yummy power over the dead. Gotta, say the visuals on this are just, eew."
"Why were the Weres taken then? Why my pack?" Richard asked.
"You really are a boy scout aren't you?" Buffy asked. A snort came from the back of the room. "This is about power and forcing people's hands. The Council always sends three representatives, two actual members and one surrogate. Beasty Boy has to show his power over those below him. He is proving to all of you, that your animals are his to rule at will. They are pawns in this game. He forced them to kill the vampires and later to cover up the traitor. The Council cannot imagine that not everyone thinks as they do. They will assume you have created a triumvirate. So, Beasty Boy would be able not only to control Richard but Anita through the joined marks. Course, you guys wouldn't be stupid enough to do something like that."
Anita, Richard and Jean-Claude looked at one another and then away. Buffy glared at Jean-Claude who fought an urge to squirm. He sat up straight when he realized what he was doing. Who is this little witch to come in here and chastise me? For me to have Anita, as my human servant would have made me one the strongest Master's in the world.
No, duh fang face. Why do you think they are so pissed? You think they care that Earthmover is gone. No, it only means more power for them. But you had to try to show them that your Willy is bigger than any one else's and now they have performance anxiety. Jean-Claude jumped then looked at Buffy; she giggled then winked at him.
Buffy stood up and started pacing as the Guardian took over her body. The muscles in her body tightened. "The question is how do we get everyone out without anyone dieing?"
Anita watched the change in Buffy, not sure of what she was seeing. She had not seen this side of the blond not even at RPIT. "If you know where they are, there isn't much doubt that we have to show up. Maybe how and when can be up to us. The only surprise we have on our side is Buffy, now how do we use that to our advantage?"
"They are in an old mansion about two miles on the outside town. They locked the Weres the basement and the Vampires are in their coffins in the main hall."
"The next question is how do we team up? I think me, Jean-Claude and Richard since they think we are a triumvirate. That way Buffy, Damian and Jason can get all the Weres out."
"Anita that is too dangerous, didn't you hear Buffy. He will try to take over you body," Richard exclaimed.
"Richard, I am going and that is it. They set me up to take the fall for those kills. Not to mention, who is going to stand up for Jean-Claude? He doesn't deserve to die for what he did. I won't let them execute him for something I helped him do."
"Can I make a suggestion; let me go in her place? She can help get the Weres out then back us up but stay out of the council's reach," Buffy announced.
"That will never work, we may both be short but we don't look alike. I am in the papers all the time, plus Liv knows me. You could never pull it." Anita stopped speaking as Buffy morphed into her, right before her eyes.
"It's called glamour. They won't be able to tell the difference. The only way it will break is if we touch or I break it. Anita, I know you want to support Jean-Claude. He did the right thing by doing away with Earthmover. Sometimes, you have to go where you will do the least harm to yourself and others. If Travel Dude jumps you, he would use your powers to do major damage to lots of innocent people. The question is do you want to be the host to the big daddy vamp, trapped in your body unable to stop whatever he does. Please, think with your head not a need for revenge." Buffy's voice was a whisper but every person in the room heard the passion and meaning behind every word.
"I will help get all the Weres out. How will you keep the Traveler from jumping into your body?"
"I need to do several rituals before we are ready. Also, I can give Jason and Richard talismans, to protect their beasts from the Animal Kingdom. Asher is a wild card. Jean-Claude, will you be able to handle him?" Jean-Claude sadly nodded his head.
"Buffy, do you even know how to use a weapon? I don't see where you could be hiding anything with that outfit. Do you even know how to use a gun?" Anita asked rudely.
"It would surprise you how well and where I can hide a weapon. Yes, I can use a gun, but I prefer knives." With a flick of her wrist, Buffy's silver athema appeared. It went streaking across the room followed by two others.
Everyone saw the knives clustered in the "o" of a Circus of the Damned poster on the wall. "Guess that answers that question," Jason whistled. "I would like to look for all the other places she hides weapons"
"We have 24 hours to respond, will that be enough time," Jean-Claude asked Buffy.
"Will there be just Richard and Jason or will others need talismans too?"
"We will need three more for Jamil, Shang-Da and Sylvie," answered Richard. "Is that too many?"
"No, that's fine. Anita, can you come with me to my house to get ready? I will give the amulets to you but there are some things I need for the glamour?"
Anita reluctantly agreed to go wondering where the blonde witch lived. All the men watched the two women leave. They couldn't help noticing the differences not only physically but the way they handled themselves.
"I thought ma petite was a complicated woman, she is an open book compared to the petite sorcière. Damian what happened during the spell?"
Damian looked at Jason then at Jean-Claude. "She used our links to find the ones missing and see what had happened. I do not remember, we were in a trance and she told us what to concentrate on. We could feel the connection but not see what she saw."
Jason shook his head agreeing. Jean-Claude and Richard couldn't smell a lie from them and dismissed them. Jason and Damian looked at each other smiling. "She is quite a woman huh," Jason whispered. Damian just nodded his head in agreement
~~~~~
Buffy and Anita arrived at a large house in the upper-class part of St. Louis. Anita whistled, "Are you rich or something?"
"I inherited enough money from family to live comfortably," Buffy blushed. Silently cursing 'her parents,' she wasn't used to wealth and didn't know how to handle it. She saw her house for the first time with Anita. Well here goes nothing. Buffy opened the front door to a spacious home with lots of windows, tiled and wooden floors all done in rich colors. It was elegant and inviting at the same time, a perfect foil for its owner.
She led Anita into a study at the front of the house on the right. The walls were painted an almost midnight blue and the floors were wood, a rich golden oak. Bookshelves lined the walls on either side and a large table stretched across the back wall with herbs and crystals. Chairs sat next to a wall with an amazing display of antique swords. The most fascinating feature of the room was the skylight. It illuminated the entire room.
"Please, sit down Anita we need to talk. Your shields need reinforcement. There are several questions that you would like me to answer for you right?"
"How come the shields have to be reinforced? Jean-Claude couldn't get in no matter how hard he tried."
"The ones I put in place were only temporary. I can put your shields tightly in place keeping anyone else from marking you or entering your mind. If you decide to let Jean-Claude marked you then he will be able to do so. I can teach you how to shield yourself later if you want to learn."
"Let's do this, how soon can you teach me?"
"We can start training after tomorrow's business is over. Come and sit with me and we can start."
They sat in the center of the room directly under the skylight; the moon shone down on them. Buffy brought back a bowl then made a circle of salt around them. She sat down again facing Anita.
"Please, close your eyes and breath deeply, empty your mind of everything, think of nothing just float. I need to prick your finger." Buffy used her athema slicing Anita's finger then her own. She pressed their fingers together as her eyes glowed. She quickly built Anita's shields. Before closing them, she looked at the Executioner's aura. The colors she saw terrified her; they were dark - black, gray, pinks, red and claret. The common theme that came across was one of aggression and anger in equal measures. Buffy hoped there was more to Anita than that as she closed up the other woman's shields.
Buffy continued looking at Anita silently praying she wouldn't screw up anybody's life this time. Not like she did with Willow, she remembered Selene's words about taking the responsibility off everybody else's shoulder. Okay, Summers time to kick your ass into gear. "How do you feel?"
Anita opened her eyes and blinked several times. She could have sworn she saw a golden glow around Buffy. She closed her eyes tightly then opened them; it was gone. It must have been a trick of the light. "I feel different somehow, what exactly did you do to me? Why don't I feel the same as I did before I went to the Circus?" Anita automatically reaching for her gun and pointed it at Buffy. "I should have known better than to trust you. You didn't use some fancy spell did you? You are working for the Council to help take out Jean-Claude and me, you bitch." Anita rolled to her feet cocking her gun.
"Oh, for goodness sakes, as a royal bitch once told me, spank your inner Muppet and get over yourself already." Buffy rolled her eyes as she stood up, hands on her hips. "I'm trying to help you, lady. I know what it is like when everyone wants you dead. Actually been there a couple of times, but that's a different story."
Anita's eyes grew large then went dark and dead as she shot at Buffy's head. Buffy's eyes glowed and she raised her hand. The bullets sped towards her but when they got to her, they turned into doves.
Anita stepped out of the salt circle. She wondered if it would contain Buffy. She pulled a knife to slash her hand, hoping to use her necromancy on Buffy.
Buffy looked at her with a sad smile. "It won't work Anita, don't hurt yourself for nothing. Yeah, I died before but I got better. Please sit down, I will tell you what I can so you will stop freaking out." Anita backed up to sit in a chair with the knife still drawn.
"I will stay here inside the circle. There is a red book in the third shelf on the right."
Anita found the book and returned to the chair. The whole time she never turned her back on Buffy. "Look under 'How to Read Auras.' I know you can feel magic but I don't know if you can read anything else. It will explain exactly what you will see when I lower my shields completely. This stays here whatever happens is between us here. You will feel the truth about my purpose here. I've warded the house; no one outside will be able to feel what happens inside. Do you agree?"
Anita put her knife away but drew the short sword from her back. She placed the book and sword across her lap. She read the book then jerked up when she felt all the hairs on her body stand on end. Anita looked at Buffy and caught her breath. A golden glow bathed Buffy; her aura full of vibrant colors: silver, royal blue, blues, lilac, yellows, gold and cream. It was the most beautiful thing Anita had ever seen. She didn't know what Buffy was but she was telling her the truth. She recognized all the power hidden in Buffy's deceptively tiny body. Buffy could have killed her anytime she chose.
Anita put the short sword back in its sheath and stepped away from Buffy. She would use Buffy's help against the Council but she couldn't stop the feelings of resentment towards the woman. Something more has to be going on here. Nobody just helps out of the goodness of their hearts. She will eventually show her hand and I will be ready for her.
Buffy sighed reading Anita's expression and closed her shields once more. "Sorry, I couldn't give you the 411 sooner. We were having so much fun getting to know each other that I couldn't find the right time to spring it on you. Have you given your inner Bitch a talking to?" Buffy grinned hoping to break the ice.
Anita gave her a death glare looking at the blond in front of but finally smiled back. "Okay Barbie, let's rock and roll."
"Why don't you spend the rest of the night here? We can run by you place before we go to the Circus; it will save time. I need you for the glamour anyway. There is a large tub in the guest room and herbs to help your body and mind relax. Tomorrow will be exhausting." Buffy showed Anita to the guest room upstairs then walked back down to the study.
She sealed the door then looked up at the moon. "I see the moon and the moon sees me. I bless the moon, will the moon bless me?" A brilliant light shimmered through the skylight bathing Buffy in a silvery glow. Selene appeared in front of Buffy causing her to jump. "Don't do that can't you make bells chime or something like Star Trek?"
Selene laughed, "Daughter you are such a delight; you make me wish I really gave birth to you. Are you sure, you want to be the Guardian? You could live with us on Olympus?"
Buffy shoulders dropped and the doubt in her eyes made Selene wish she could take back the words. "What is wrong Buffy?" Selene gathered the tiny Guardian to her.
"I don't know if I can do this. Are you sure that they picked the right person? Maybe Willow with all her mega-Wicca powers or even Faith, they voted for her when they kicked me out. I just know how to kick ass, kind of a go to girl. All of this magic and stuff in my head, I know from Zierra's training just isn't me. What if I screw this world up? Ya know I didn't do too great with my own life. How am I suppose to teach Zombie Queen how not to be a sociopath plus protect the whole freakin world?"
Selene looked into Buffy's mind and saw the memories of her friends and family blaming her for every choice she made as a person and a slayer. The anger she felt at seeing how they treated Buffy all of those years had the moon goddess fuming. Selene realized she must be careful of what she says. "Please listen to me. You are the only one worthy of this task. None of those other people were considered or capable. You have the courage to keep going no matter the cost to yourself. You load yourself needlessly to protect any that you consider your responsibility. You almost destroyed yourself trying to shield everyone from the burdens of your duty. You recognize the worth of each being isn't based on what they are but who they are, two vampires fell in love with you. Tell me who is worthy, if not you?"
Buffy looked into Selene's glowing eyes and smiled. "I guess I was wiggin out. Don't have time for a tantrum, huh. There are bigger problems. So will it unbalance the scales too much if I were to take out both members of the council already here?" she asked hopefully.
Selene shook her head, "You have to be careful how you severe the ties, remember. If both are removed the council will know before everything has been put in place."
"That's what I figured so I can cancel the Travel Agents frequent flyer miles. Since I can't kill the Beasty Boy can I at least make him jump trough hoops of fire?" Buffy pouted prettily.
Selene threw back her head and laughed. They both turned when a bolt of lighting flashed in the room and a man appeared. His had golden skin, and stood about 6'5'' with silver hair and beard, sky blue eyes, a muscular body that exuded power.
He walked towards them and Selene bowed her head smiling. "Zeus what brings you here?"
"I decided that I wanted to meet our daughter after all, even though she didn't want to come to Olympus." He looked sternly at Buffy. She crossed her arms across her chest glaring at him. Zeus looked at the tiny blonde in front of him; this little warrior showed no fear of him.
Buffy thought he looked like a big gruff teddy bear. "Hi, ya big guy. How am I doing so far? You're not gonna fire me are you?"
He saw his beloved Zierra shining from her eyes, her indomitable spirit blended with this tiny girl's powerful soul. He had never seen a soul so full of love, hope, strength, courage and duty blended.
"Well are ya gonna say something? Cuz, you are starting to give me the wiggins."
"It is a pleasure to meet you at last golden warrior. You are most worthy of my daughter's spirit," Zeus bowed his head. "No, I am not here to fire you. You are doing well. We are glad that you have doubts. They keep you from taking your powers for granted. Remember, never take away someone's freewill and you will do fine. You were tempted to fix Anita's aura were you not? What stopped you?"
"Her aura startled me and kinda scared me too. I did think about given her aura a nice little bath, but it just didn't feel right. I knew I couldn't fix her problems that way. It reminded me too much of Darth Willow. It's hard when you can fix something so easily but that probably means you aren't really fixing it, huh." Buffy wrinkled her nose trying to say what she thought and felt.
"Buffy, you did the right thing. The Powers don't expect you to fix Anita. They only want you to keep her from causing great harm, help her to control herself and her powers. If she is able learn control she will be allowed to live." Selene explained.
"I told you. I don't believe in killing people. My definition just got a lot broader coming here. I will do everything I can to help her. If she can't learn to control herself or becomes dangerous to others then I will bind her. She deserves every chance and I mean to make sure she gets them," she said turning away to pace the room. The two gods realized Buffy wouldn't accept anyone's argument on the matter. She decided to help Anita and she would do just that.
"Better get busy on those talismans for Richard and his guys. I need to make sure the Lion King can't do the whammy on them. Maybe, I can make them strong enough to give them a stronger hold on their beast. It would allow them to start moving in the right direction without making a power move too soon. Everyone needs to play on the same team to fight the council. I have to be sure I don't somehow end up being Sheena of the Jungle. Talk about an Excedrin moment," Buffy babbled as she paced the room talking aloud to herself.