Bloodlust - 8

Brenda licked her lips as she pulled away from Lucky. "You get it?" she asked.
   Lucky stared at her with glassy eyes, then grinned and stood. He swayed dramatically, and Brenda grabbed his elbow before he crashed to the floor. "The wooziness passes," she assured him. "Just give your body some time. I know Carly and I only took one day to get used to it."
   Lucky's eyes widened. "You mean?" he asked, and looked frantically around the room. "And Lucy too?" he asked, his eyes wide. "What about my-"
   "Hey Cowboy!" Luke shouted from the bar. "Get the mop from the back room, would you? I can't have my place looking like this." He chuckled and glanced at the bloody mess. "The health department would shut me down before you could say Skillethead."
   Lucky flashed a smile at his father and started toward the back. He hadn't taken ten steps when he stumbled and fell to both knees. "What the hell?" he muttered quietly, and turned to see what he had tripped over. His face lit up when he saw Lucy sprawled, unconscious on the floor. "Oh, hey!" he called. Only Luke darted him a curious glance. "Blondie!" Lucky cried and was rewarded by an outraged shout from Spike.
   "What was that?" Spike drawled, a hand clenched around Lucky's throat. Lucky, suddenly furious, sat heavily back and lashed out with his right leg, landing a solid kick in the vampire's stomach.
   Spike gasped and released his hold on the boy. He stared with unmasked shock at his newest protege. "I don't think I've ever seen one develop quite this fast," he remarked to no one in particular.
   "They don't---usually," Angel spoke up, entering from the back. "There are always exceptions." He motioned at Lucky, who was shaking Lucy awake. "Take this one and that one-" he pointed at Carly, "to the docks to wait for Buffy and the others." He turned and smiled wickedly at Brenda. "This one comes with me." Brenda smirked at Carly, and Carly stepped forward angrily.
   "Who are you to give orders?" she asked.
   "I," Angel snarled, "am your master, and you will do what I say."
   "And what if I won't?" Carly challenged. "Spike and Dru made me, so as I see it, they are my masters. And I will take orders from *no one*."
   Angel lifted his eyebrows. "All right. I'll try another tactic. Carly, *will* you accompany your dear friends Spike and Drusilla to the docks to meet our little friends? Brenda and I will devise a plan for when they get here. Luke!"
   "Yeah?"
   Angel smiled and made a brief sweep of the room with his eyes. "We're going to need to borrow your club."

****

   "You've got to be kidding!" Xander exclaimed.
   "It'd be a lot better if we split up," Nick explained. "We only need one person to meet Buffy and the others at the docks."
   "Uh, Nick, buddy? Have you forgotten about that little *vampire* problem we're having right now?" Xander asked.
   "No, I haven't forgotten. They won't be anywhere near the slayer."
   "Oh yeah, it never seemed to stop them before."
   "Xander!" Willow cried. "Stop complaining, would you? It's not doing anyone any good." Xander only stared stupidly, his mouth hanging open in shock. "*I'll* go," Willow announced, rising from her seat on the bed beside Emily.
   Emily looked shocked. "By yourself?" she asked.
   "No, I'll take the little  weenie with me," she said, and grabbed Xander by his shirtsleeve.
   "Hey!" Xander cried as she tugged him out of the room, "who are you calling little?"
   Nick and Emily exchanged a brief amused look and then hurried after the two. Nick stopped halfway down the stairs and shouted at Willow and Xander's retreating backs. "Be careful!" he warned.
   The door slammed shut and Nick looked again to Emily. "Man, I feel sorry for *him*," he remarked, and chuckled.
   "Yeah," Emily said, her voice far away. "Poor Xander." She smiled dreamily and the two returned to her bedroom.
 

****

   "Ouch! You're hurting me!"
   "Oh, stop being such a baby, would you?"
   "Well, Carly, *who's* stupid idea was this anyway?"
   Carly looked at her younger cousin, clearly annoyed. "You know, you're almost as bad as Brenda," she said smoothly.
   "Yeah, and you're almost as bad as the Dark Prince," Lucky replied, then paused, a smile splitting his face. "I guess *I* would be the dark prince now, wouldn't I?"
   Carly lifted an eyebrow, then returned the smile. Lucky, she decided, made a far better companion than Brenda any day. A slight noise from across the docks startled her from her thoughts, and she crouched lower under the stairs, pulling Lucky down with her. "Careful," he muttered under his breath. "I just got this jacket last week. The last thing I need is you ripping it."
   Carly stared incredulously at him. "Are you sure you aren't a girl?" she asked blandly, then looked away sharply. "Somebody's coming," she whispered tersely.
   "Great," Lucky whispered back. "So shut up." Carly pinched his arm lightly.
   "See, no vampires," Willow said to Xander as the two approached. "Didn't I tell you?"
   "Yeah, whatever," Xander replied bitterly. "So where's Buffy, then, Miss Brilliant? You seem to know all the answers."
   Willow punched him playfully on the arm. "They'll be here---soon."
   "I thought Lucky said they'd be here when we got here."
   "Maybe they got held back," Willow said, but she sounded uncertain. Carly smirked at the girl's transparency. "Wait!" Willow cried suddenly. "I thought I saw something back there," she continued, and started in the opposite direction across the dock.
   "Willow, wait!" Xander called. "Where are you going?"
   "We passed an old warehouse on the way over here. Maybe Buffy's group is waiting in there."
   "That place was barely standing, Will," Xander said.
   "Yeah, but they would be out of sight. Just wait here, Xander. Someone needs to be here in case they show up."
   "Oh right, and let you go out all alone?"
   "It's only a few feet, Xander. I'll be fine," Willow insisted, and ran off before he could stop her.
   Lucky and Carly exchanged a brief glance, and then Carly stepped out of their hiding place. "Psst," she whispered. Xander whirled around. "That's a good boy," Carly muttered, and knocked him out.
   Lucky came out as well, and stood over Xander's unconscious form. "Well, that's one taken care of," he said softly. "Now what do we do with him?"
   "Well, you could always throw some chains on him and toss him in the water," Spike drawled, descending the steps toward them.
   "It's about time you got here," Carly said angrily. "What if it had been the whole group?"
   "Well, then, I guess you would've died," Spike said, shrugging, then looked at the two expectantly. "Well," he prompted them. Carly and Lucky stared back blankly. "Aren't you going to go after the girl?" Understanding finally dawned on their faces, and they started in her direction. "I'll watch over this one," he called after them, then grinned down wickedly at Xander.

****

   Buffy halted as they approached the last corner before Bannister's Wharf. "Alright, guys," she said, addressing Rachel and Giles. "I'm going to scout ahead and make sure nothing's lurking around the corner, okay?"
   "Be careful," Giles called after her.
   "Oh, please Giles," Buffy said, amused. "You know I'm always careful." She walked swiftly to the meeting spot on the dock and was surprised to find no one waiting. "Willow?" she called out uncertainly. "Xander? Lucky!" She took another step, and felt her foot come down on something soft. She gasped when she saw it was a hand.
   "Oh my god!" she whispered sharply. "Xander!" She shook her friend gently, but got no response. She shook him harder. "Xander, wake up! *Now*!"
   "Now, now, Buffy," a slow drawl came from in front of her. "You wouldn't want to hurt the poor boy, would you?"
   Buffy looked up and snarled in disgust. "You," she spit out bitterly. "I thought I was rid of you."
   "No such luck, my vampire slaying friend. It seems our paths our going to continue to cross," Spike said lightly, and withdrew a slender club from the inside of his jacket. "It's a shame I'm going to have to kill you." With that, he struck out at the unsuspecting slayer with the club.
   Buffy, caught off guard, was only barely able to throw her arm up in defense. The club struck her arm , and club and arm connected heavily with the side of her head. There was a satisfying crunch as the bone snapped.
   Spike winced and kneeled to examine the unconscious slayer. He examined her head where the club had struck and winced again. "She's going to feel that in the morning," he remarked.

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