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Healing Wounds	By : Sylver Category: Anita Blake > Crossovers > AB/BtVS Views: 5402 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Anita Blake series, nor BtVS. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 9
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- 11
It seemed like they had been talking forever. Willow wasn’t surprised to learn that Anita regularly worked with the police, because her interrogation technique was flawless. Through the course of the evening, though, Willow had learned a few things of her own, namely about the way this new world worked and the new status enjoyed by vampires. It was hard to miss the look of fascination on Spike’s face as he realized he had been dropped into a dimension where he could really fit in and make an actual life for himself. In fact, he had been surprisingly quiet as he soaked in the details, his hand unconsciously seeking out hers as they sat next to each other. Willow allowed the small intimacy, taking some comfort from it as the sheer magnitude of their situation overwhelmed her. When the conversation turned again to ‘the Sweet Mother,’ she finally reached her limit. She was tired of people skirting the issue, acting as if they couldn’t even call this, whatever it was, by name.

“Look, I get it, this chick is bad,” shurteurted out, rising to her feet. “I knew that the moment I felt her in my head. What I don’t understand is why you won’t tell me anything about her. It’s not like she’s Voldemort or something. I mean, don’t you think it would help us prepare if we all knew exactly what we were up against?!”

“Who is this, Voldemort, ma cherie?” Jean-Claude asked with a perplexed expression.

“You know, VOLDEMORT, from Harry Potter,” she said in exasperation. Then noticing their blank looks, she added with some regret, “I guess you don’t have Harry Potter books here. Actually it kinda makes sense in a world overflowing with magic that kids would want to read about something mundane like baseball or something.” She dropped back into her chair with a sigh. “I give up. Just tell me what you can.”

“You must forgive us if we are hesitant to speak of her,” Jean-Claude began, steepling his fingers in front of his face as if simply contemplating how to phrase what was coming next. Willow could sense his tension over the subject. Apparently so could Anita because she moved to stand behind him and placed her hand gently on his shoulder. Jean-Claude covered her hand with his absently, but never took his eyes from Willow as he continued, “She is le sourdre de sang for all of our kind. Her power is such that even the most terrible fear her, and what we CAN say is little more than legend. Until recently we thought she was only myth, but now we think differently. According to what has been passed down, she is the very first vampire, and from her all other vampires were created. It was a more recent incident that has led us to believe she is some sort of shifter as well, some ancient form of weretiger maybe. We are not sure.” Shifting his attention to Spike, he fixed him with an even look and added calmly, “Perhaps now you can understand why we reacted so severely when you came to this place, claiming to be merely vampire and then shifting your face like some sort of were. Given the current situation we felt we had to take precautions in order to protect ourselves. It seems now, however, that we may have been a bit hasty.”

“Hasty?” Spike growled. He began to rise to his feet, but was pushed down by Willow’s hand on his shoulder. “You didn’t even bother trying to learn the bloody truth; you just locked me in that box and left me to die!”

“And what would you have done, hmm? You show up in my territory unannounced, and in the middle of the day. It is extremely rare that a vampire of this world has the power to be a day walker. Typically only the most ancient have overcome the sun completely. I could be wrong, but you don’t look thousands of years old, and yet you seem unaffected by the rising of the sun. That alone is reason enough for me to eliminate you, but then you shift your face into that of some other creature, and when we try to contain you out of concern, it takes two master vampires and a werewolf to overpower you. Any of these would be cause enough for me to simply kill you. As Master of the City I would have been completely within my rights, but instead I let you live.”

“Killing me would have been kinder than what you did,” Spike responded bitterly, not wanting to admit that he would have done the same or worse had he been in Jean-Claude’s shoes. “Do you have any idea what it was like for me, stuck in that sodding box?! Starving endlessly and left to rot?!”

“Oui, I do, and I am sorry for your suffering, but I do not regret my decision. I am the Master of the City, I must think of the safety of my territory and my people. Surely you understand this?”

Spike didn’t answer, but simply looked away in disgust. He was still angry, and would be for years to come, but it wouldn’t change anything and if Willow was right, they would need to play nice with these people for awhile at least.

Willow knew how hard it was for Spike to behave himself under the best of circumstances, and really appreciated how much more difficult it must be for him now after the way he had suffered. She absently brushed a stray curl from his forehead, catching his eyes, and communicating silently that she was proud of his effort as he leaned into her touch with a small sigh. The pain in his eyes at remembering his captivity was obvious, and she wished she could do something to take that pain from him, but given her past disasters with memory spells, she thougt wat was best to leave well enough alone. A snort of disgust drew the redhead’s attention to Asher suddenly as he stormed from the room.

“What the heck is his problem?” Willow asked with exasperation. “Ever since I came to this place he has been such a jerk.”

“I am afraid that Asher has his own demons he is dealing with. Please try not to take offense at his behavior, he does not mean to be rude.” Anita chuckled slightly, an indelicate sound from such a dainty woman, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. “You have something you wish to add, ma petite?”

“Of course Asher means to be rude, in fact he excels at it, the whole moody temper tantrum thing. It’s one of his many charms. Still, he is pretty great when you get to know him.” She looked at her watch then, and sighed with frustration. “Shit! I’ve got to go. Larry said he would take my first three appointments tonight, but if I don’t make it for the rest, Bert really will fire me. I’m going to take Nathaniel with me, but I talked to Micah earlier and he was going to send Caleb back over in case you get hungry.”

Anita fixed Spike with a hard stare. “I won’t be here to watch next time, but let me make it absolutely clear that my people are volunteering to feed you until you’re fully recovered. The only reason I went along with it is because Jean-Claude seemed to think a little restitution was in order, but I fucking swear that if anything happens to one of them, I don’t care how tough either of you are, I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU, both of you. Understood?” A chill ran down the redhead’s spine as she nodded her understanding. She REALLY did not want to cross this woman. Spike gave a quick jerk of his head, keeping his eyes locked on Anita, letting her know he wasn’t in the least bit scared.

Willow felt the need to change the subject, and hastily added, “Well, I’m ready for a break too. My tummy is doing that grumbly thing. Do you think I can get something to eat?”

“But of course, ma cherie,” Jean-Claude replied smoothly. “Jason will show you the way. But perhaps Spike would care to stay. I would like very much to hear more about this world you came from. I find it all quite fascinating.”

Spike started to protest, but Willow quieted him with a glance. She was unsure if it was wise to leave him on his own, but she really could use a few minutes apart from him. As desperately as she had wanted to find him, she was a little surprised that his constant fawning would get on her nerves so quickly. She was probably just tired. “I’m sure I’ll be fine on my own, if Jason could just point me in the right direction. I could really use a moment or two alone to clear my head.”

“As you wish. Jason, if you would be so kind…”

@@@@@@@@@@

Jason showed her to the kitchen, and made himself a little snack as well. Then, after assuring him she would have no trouble finding her way back, he left her alone so she could have a little peace and quiet. Twenty minutes later Willow was completely lost and convinced she was going in circles in what seemed to be some sort of underground maze. She was marveling at how huge the place must be, when it occurred to her that she had yet to be outside since she had arrived. Maybe the entire city was underground. No, that couldn’t be right. Jean-Claude had said Spike arrived in the middle of the street. She was pondering this, not really paying attention to where she was going, when she ran headlong into Asher coming out of what she assumed to be his bedroom, based on the brief glimpse she had gotten.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you,” she said hurriedly.

Asher shot her an accusatory stare. “What are you doing here?”

“Actually, I’m lost,” Willow replied defensively. “I was in the kitchen getting something to eat, but I can’t seem to find my way back.”

“Follow me,” he ordered, storming off down the hallway. Suddenly a thought occurred to Willow, and she started to giggle softly. Asher spun on her immediately, fixing her with a hard stare from his one uncovered eye. “What is so funny?”

Willow gulped. “I was just remembering something from camp…”

“Oh, and what was that?” His teeth were now bared.

“S…something from Genesis 30…umm…’Leah’s servant Bilhah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, ‘How happy I am! The women will call me happy.’ So she named him Asher.’ Your name, it means ‘happy’ in Hebrew. I just thought it was kind of ironic, you know?”

Asher stared at her for a few minutes in disbelief, and then he did something completely unexpected, he laughed. It was a wonderful deep belly laugh that felt like a gentle breeze caressing her and made Willow smile in spite of her previous apprehension. When he had finished laughing, he wiped away bloody tears from his eyes, looking at the small girl with renewed respect.

“Exactement, but it was Zilpah who bore him. How on earth did you know that?”

“I told you, I learned it at camp, Hebrew camp. I went for six years, until I was in high school.”

“Well, petit sorciere, very few people manage to surprise me. It is a rare gift indeed.”

As he spoke, his hand moved unconsciously to stroke her cheek, a warm feeling of power flooding her body with the contact. She leaned into the gentle touch, her lips parting slightly with a sigh. She felt unbelievably drawn to the man before her. Like her, he had obviously suffered countless heartbreaks and loss. Feeling as if he were a kindred spirit, she placed her hand lightly on his chest, easily able to detect the scars in his flesh through the thin material of his shirt. The magic of this new world was overwhelming her, making it hard for her to think clearly. All she knew was that she suddenly wanted to be closer to him, to share his pain and hopefully a bit of comfort as well.

Asher leaned down to kiss her, his lips hovering just an inch above hers as if he was afraid to come any closer. Willow closed her eyes and waited, not wanting to rush him, but making clear that she was willing as she slid her hand down to rest on his hip. She could feel his cool breath upon her lips and wondered absently if he was breathing out of habit or necessity. The wait seemed like an eternity, even though she knew it was really only a moment. Finally, she felt him start to close that last bit of distance.

“There you are,” came a voice behind her. The spell was instantly broken, and Willow couldn’t help but feel regret when Asher withdrew from her. She turned frustrated eyes on Jason, who seemed oblivious to what he had just walked in on. “I figured you got lost. You better come back with me; your boy is starting to get antsy.”

Asher stormed back to his room, not quite slamming the door. Willow sighed and shook her head sadly, turning to follow the young blonde back to wherever it was she had started from.

“You’ve got some sense of timing, you know that?”

“It’s a gift,” Jason answered with a smirk, then turned a more serious expression on her. “You shouldn’t toy with Asher though. I know he can be a jerk sometimes, but he’s really an okay guy. He doesn’t deserve to get played.”

“I wasn’t playing with him,” she replied, slightly affronted.

“Then what were you doing?”

“I…I don’t know,” she answered honestly.

To be continued…
- 9
- 10
- 11
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Healing Wounds