Global Disclaimer: All BtVS characters belong to FOX and the marvelous Mr. Joss Whedon. This story is for entertainment purposes only. The author intends neither profit nor defamation herein. This is just for fun and frolic, folks.

Feedback: Reviews give me a happy but not in that special "lose your soul" way. If reviewing on the site is not your style, you can also drop me a line at my email center geekwitch@1witch.com. Anything letting me know other people are reading what I write is greatly appreciated. So, please, review me and fuel my writing mania.

A/N: Miss Edith wanted me to tell you one thing; you may want to read the first story in this series, Bloody Marvelous, before reading this one. Otherwise, some references will probably be lost.

Summary: The story continues as the struggle between Angelus and William/Spike slowly heats to an inferno. Darla and Drusilla get dragged along for the ride.
 
 

Chapter 1 - Fight or Flight

They left the tavern, smiling and laughing as they walked, arms around each other loosely. It was the quietest time of night, the hour just before dawn, when nobody in that day walked the street except the dark creatures, all making their way home before the daylight could catch them. These two were no exception, their steps quickened even though their mood remained light. They reached the house with half an hour to spare before sunrise.

Angelus and Darla, sitting on either end of the sofa with the fresh corpse of their shared dinner resting between them, looked up when the two younger vampires entered the drawing room. Darla wiped the blood off her mouth with a handkerchief before she spoke. "Did you two have an enjoyable night?"

Drusilla's smile was infectious. "I can still hear them singing in my head, a chorus of manly voices. They will never sing again."

Darla knitted her brows for a moment before she looked as if she understood. "You carried out your plan? Drat. I wanted to see that. It sounded interesting." She smiled after a second's pause. "Oh, well, I suppose there will be a repeat performance, with different actors?"

Angelus rose from the sofa and went to the cart to pour himself a drink "Opening night is an over rated affair. The villain has never grown into his menace enough for my tastes." He looked at William pointedly. "Maybe he would be worth watching after a few years' practice." He threw back his drink and walked toward the doorway. "Coming, Darla?" He walked up the stair without waiting for her answer.

Darla sighed with a dramatic flair. "Been like this all night, he is in such a mood." She followed him out of the room and up the stairs saying on her way by, "Get Nigel to deal with our rubbish, would you?"

The knock on the door roused Angelus from his sleep. Darla, also awake now, sat up against the headboard when he got out of the bed and slipped on a pair of trousers. He walked to the door. "Yes? What is it at this hour?"

A worried voice came from the other side of the door. "It's Nigel, Master Angelus. I think I've learned something you need to know." With the door opened, Nigel held out his hand. "The London Times, Sire. The story is on the front page."

Angelus took the paper from Nigel and read the front. He threw the paper back at Nigel with a growl. "Start packing. We leave tonight."

Nigel exited the room with haste, closing the door behind him quietly. Darla started to get dressed. There was a hint of nervousness in her voice. "What happened, Angelus?"

Nigel knocked on another door, this time the one to Drusilla and William's room. Drusilla opened the door a minute later, dressing gown hastily pulled on, hair rumpled. "We're fleeing, aren't we? I should have seen this happening but I did not."

Nigel stated simply, "Pack your things." He turned and walked away toward the stairs. Drusilla shut the door, worrying at her bottom lip with blunt teeth.

Drusilla stood in the doorway to the music room, suitcase in one hand, miss Edith held against her by the other. William walked up behind her, also carrying a small case. "Saying goodbye, love?"

She turned. "Not goodbye. I told you; the music is always with me. Ready?" He nodded in silent answer. She continued, "Daddy will be so cross with us. He'll say I should have seen this."

They walked to the front of the house in silence. Nigel, already loading bags on top of the carriage, took theirs to load as well. Angelus poked his head out the open door of the carriage. "Get in. We leave now." They got in, following orders. Nigel shut the door behind them, got in the driver's seat and urged the horses forward. When the carriage was moving along, Angelus spoke again, anger evident. "You never leave one alive who can identify you. What were you thinking?"

William started to speak. "It was only one frightened girl, Sire. We..."

Angelus interrupted him. "That one girl is talking to the authorities, boy. Granted, they think her to be insane but what if someone believed her? If someone who knows about vampires saw the truth beneath her story, we would be hunted. Perhaps we should leave you here, let them find you."

Drusilla came to William's defense. "He only did what I saw would happen. It was in the cards for her."

Darla spoke as if she were the final authority, which, in fact, she was. "We will determine the correct punishment when we reach our destination, Angelus. They boy must be punished but this was not a fatal mistake. He will learn."

Drusilla, smiling at Darla, asked, "Where are we going?"
 
 

Chapter 2 -  Cambridge

Several days and nights passed on the journey, days spent sleeping in some inn or other while the nights consisted of driving and a small amount of time allotted for the hunt. Each night, the anger Angelus vented on his victims became more pronounced, more vicious. William and Drusilla spent their days with very little sleep to relieve them as they huddled together, worrying what Angelus might do if Darla let him vent his wrath on them.

Luckily for them, Darla had long since told Angelus, much to his annoyance, that their fear of him should be considered punishment enough. She had said to him one day while they were in their bed, "Fear makes them tremble, pain would only make them angry. Anger will not help them learn but the fear will." Angelus said nothing but promised himself he would make them pay for disrupting his comfortable existence in London, one way or another

It rained the night they arrived in Cambridge. The house they approached was dark, barely visible through the gloom of the night and the low clouds. The house, after sitting empty for the several years it had been since they last stayed there, would need some repairs. The closer they came, the more peeling paint and broken shutters they saw. Drusilla, remembering happy days spent in this house, whispered quietly, although all those in the carriage were still able to hear. "Home, sweet, home."

William cringed inwardly as he stepped out of the carriage. He knew the sounds, smells and sight of the area better than his companions could know. The home he approached stood less than half a mile from his uncle's estate, a place where he had spent some time a few years earlier. After his father died, his mother, too distraught to face their home and all the memories it held, took him and his little sister, Alicia, to stay with her own brother in Cambridge for several months. William hated Cambridge; it held only sadness for him.

Drusilla, as if sensing something was wrong, took his hand as they approached the double doors that marked the entrance to their new home. "Worry not, my sweet Spike. You will be happy here; I will make certain of it. And look, all the stars are brighter here than in London."

The fireplace, much larger than the one in London, was ablaze with orange light. It was supplemented only by oil lanterns placed strategically around the dining room. The home, not as modern as the one in London, was not plugged for gas, meaning the warm glow of gaslights would be missed.

Angelus, lighting a cigar off one of the candles, seemed in unusually high spirits. Finding the cigar not to his liking, he threw it in the fire, causing the room to fill with the odor of burnt cherries. "I think we should head into town, see what this place has to offer these days. I remember this town held a lot of fun to be had once."

Darla walked to stand behind him. She put one delicate hand on each of his massive shoulders and leaned a cheek against his back. "I say we stay in tonight. Half the night is already gone, the journey has been long, and we could all use the rest."

Drusilla, in a quiet voice , asked, "Can I have my old room, then, please?" She kept her head bowed, as if afraid of the answer to her question.

Darla laughed boisterously, in disproportion to the question. "Of course, Dru. You should feel at home here." Angelus started chuckling as well. They ended up laughing so hard, tears were running down Darla's cheeks.

Drusilla took no notice of their strange mirth. Instead, she rocked her doll in her arms slowly. "Our room, Miss Edith. I know you can be happy here again."

Darla, still laughing at times, unable to stop herself, addressed Nigel when he entered the room. "Nigel, we are heading upstairs now. See to the house so it is a bit more livable by tomorrow evening."

Heading through the house and up the stairs, William saw that this had once been a great home. He wondered what events could have let it fall into the hands of Angelus and into such disrepair. Much of the architecture, wood in serious need of cleaning and oiling, could likely be returned to its former glorious state with a bit of labor. Here and there, however, were stains, probably dried blood, that would be difficult if not impossible to remove after all the years that had passed. One wall, he saw, had several large holes in it, which looked almost as if they had been punched through with and enormous fist.

Darla and Angelus, walking ahead, paid little or no attention to their surroundings. Drusilla, walking slowly next to William, however, was running one hand lovingly along the railing as they climbed the stairs.

In the hall to all the bedrooms, the walls were covered in portraits. William glanced at them as he walked by, the faces somehow eerily familiar to him. Then, he saw one portrait that showed him why the others seemed so familiar.
 
 

Chapter 3 - Coming Home Again

He stared at the portrait, a face he had come to know well in a short time staring back at him. She looked so innocent in the facsimile, paint lending a more purely happy expression than he had ever seen on her in person. "So," he thought, "that was how she had looked while her mind was still intact." Three girls sat together for the artist that day. The oldest face he would come to know over the years far better than his own. The youngest he could not remember ever having seen, although he could safely hazard a guess at her name. The middle girl, though, her face brought back memories from years ago. He believed he had been in this house before.

Cambridge 1858

Three children ran through the hallway lined with portraits. Delphinia Edwards' house, clean and elegant in those days, was filled with sunlight. All the curtains and windows, open against the summer afternoon, let a light breeze blow down the hall as they ran. William and his cousin Peter followed their new friend, Mary as she ran ahead. "Quickly. In here."

They ran into one of the rooms just as a voice called out in the distance. "Mary." Mary shuffled the boys into a closet, following after them and closing the door. They sat in the darkness waiting to see if the pursuit had ended. Mary made a quiet shushing noise when she heard steps coming down the wooden floor of the hall. They peeked out through the slats in the closet door.
 

The human Drusilla, bathed in sunlight streaming through the open windows, walked into the room. "Mary, are you in here?" She stopped, having reached the center of the room, and looked around. "Oh, bother. Where could she have gone? She knows when luncheon is served." She went to the mirror over her dressing table and looked at her reflection. She brushed her hair, wincing a bit as the brush momentarily caught in a tangle. She picked up a ribbon from the dressing table and used it to tie up her hair away from her neck, gave a last cursory look about the room and left, bound for the dining room.

Cambridge 1880

William shook his head, attempting to banish the memories running wild through his mind. No wonder Drusilla had seemed so familiar to him; no wonder he was comfortable with her. He had seen her, as if it were a dream once, when he was just a child. He jumped when Drusilla put a hand on his back. "You were far away, my sweet."

William cleared the lump out of his throat. "You lived here?"

She walked to one of the portraits, reaching out fingers to touch the nameplate; it read "Delphinia Edwards." Drusilla cocked her head to one side, studying the image. "I only visited. London has always been home but here it was magical." She closed her eyes. "Grandmother Del held the most lavish parties. It was a palace, then." She paused, thinking. "The dining room had a chandelier that glimmered like diamonds when the candlelight hit it."

He spoke before he realized the words were on his tongue. "I remember." Drusilla looked at him in confusion, but only for a moment. Through his eyes, she saw that he had seen this home, a benefit of her second sight. He turned away and went directly to the door to her room, memories showing him which one it was.
 

Angelus and Darla commandeered the master suite, as per their usual tastes. Nigel had dusted and aired out the room while they had been downstairs. Another fire was burning in an elaborately carved fireplace, gray marble with a Honduran mahogany mantle. Angelus sat on the floor, looking at the flames dancing in colors. "I really do love this house. Some of my finest work has been here."

Darla lowered herself to the ground next to him, sitting with her feet underneath herself. "What you did to the old woman was work the Devil himself would envy. You made me so proud that night. Strange she seems not to mind being back here again. I always think it will distress her." She played with the lace that edged her bustle. "He looks more upset than she does. Maybe she saw in advance where we were going and told him."

Angelus smirked at her. "Perhaps the smell of blood in this house has just made him hungry."

Except for a thick layer of dust covering everything other than the bed, which Nigel had prepared for them, the room appeared exactly as he remembered it. Rose colored wallpaper with blue flowers, now a bit more faded with age, displayed the only real color in the room. All the bed linens shone white, just as the bed in London had been. All of the wood, including the wood of the looming armoire and four post bed, was a deep cherry, which had held up well without any cleaning. A little dusting and the room would almost look new again. Then, he noticed one thing that was different. The mirror that matched the dressing table was missing. He walked straight to the closet, opening the door, hinges creaking from lack of use and oil. "Almost every detail."

She came to him, sliding her arms around his waist and pulling him till his back was cradled against her chest. "When were you here? I cannot see it."

He turned in her embrace so that he could return it. "We never met but I saw you. I remember it clearly now. It was Summer in 1858. My whole family had come to stay with my Uncle and his family. My cousin Peter and I met a girl while we were out playing..." He stopped. He didn't want to ask the question but felt the need in the pit of his stomach. "What did he do to Mary?"
 
 

Chapter 4 - Mary

Drusilla answered quietly. "Mary, Mary quite contrary. Queen of Scots, she lost her head when Elizabeth found her merry." At times her babbling could be seen for what it often really was, as escape from the painful truth.

William persisted, insistent that she tells him. "Please, pet. Try to remember what happened."

She waited so long he thought she wasn't going to answer him but, then, she said, "It was so long ago, after everyone in London was already gone except for Mary and I. She was so beautiful, the fairies themselves envied her. We came to stay with Grandmother, hoping to change our fortunes." Drusilla drifted off into memory as if it were a play unfolding before her eyes at that very moment. William took her to sit on the bed, kneeling at her feet while she told him the story.

Cambridge 1860

Drusilla walked into the dining room, expecting dinner, as well as her Grandmother and sister, to be waiting. She found the room empty, the candles in the chandelier still unlit, no food on the table. The silence ran through her like a building terror. "No." She thought. "Please, not again." She called out loud, desperate for an answer. "Grand Mummy Del, where are you?" A quiet chuckle, one she dreaded ever hearing again, answered her. She walked with measured steps to the foyer, from whence the sound had come.

He was there, by the door, moonlight drifting in the windows giving a strange shape to his face. She walked as close to him as she dared before asking, "How?"

He laughed heartily. "How did I get in without your inviting me?" He looked into the shadows. Squinting, Drusilla could see her Grandmother lying on the floor. He walked toward the prone figure. "When I mentioned I was a friend of yours from London, she was kind enough to invite me in to dine with you." He reached down to touch the old woman and brought his fingers, covered in her blood, back up into the light. "Sweet old thing."

He licked the blood from his fingers sensuously, eliciting a whimper from Drusilla. "Is she...?"

"She is still alive, for the moment." He picked up the old woman, limp like a rag doll, by the back of the neck. Drusilla ran toward him; he batted her away with his free arm so that she landed, sprawled on the floor. "You think you can fight me? How amusing." He threw the old woman at the wall as if she weighed nothing. Her head hit the wall hard, punching a large, almost round hole. She fell to the ground with a thump, lucky to have already been unconscious.

Drusilla sat up, looking at her grandmother's still form. "Please, let her go. It is me you want."

Angelus strode across the room and grabbed Delphinia again. "Why let her go? This is too much fun." With that, he shoved her so that her head punched another hole in the wall, near the first one. Drusilla screamed. He slammed her head through the wall a third time, cocking his head to the side afterwards. The smell of blood became strong enough its copper tang reached Dru, across the room. "My mistake. I guess she is dead, after all." Drusilla fainted.

She came to groggily. Trying to move, she quickly realized she had been tied to something. That something felt to be her dressing table chair. Darkness, impenetrable by human eyes, covered the room but she could hear something rustling around and a soft whining noise. The sound came of a match being struck. As Angelus lit the candles, she was able to see the room. She didn't like what she could see. She had been correct. She was tied to the chair but that was not what disturbed her.

Mary, whining around the gag that filled her mouth, lay tied to the bed. Drusilla could see the poor girl had been crying for some time. Seeing Drusilla was awake, Mary renewed her struggles, pulling at the rope that bound her to the bed frame. Angelus noticed the movement and turned to Drusilla. "Awake, I see." He leered at the girl on the bed. "I do believe we should get started, then."

He pulled the gag out of the child's mouth. The night became screaming and blood as Drusilla's last living relative was torn to bits, starting from the inside.

Cambridge 1880

Her tale complete, madness fell back over her visage like a veil, behind which one would not wish to see. William tried to take her in his arms but she rose from where she sat and picked up Miss Edith. Rocking the doll, and herself, Drusilla hummed. William could barely speak past the rage that boiled within him. "Where are they? Which room would they have?"

Drusilla, singsong, answered, "The King and Queen always have the best room in the palace." When William started for the door, she caught him by the coat. "No. Do not go to them. You are not ready for the joust, brave knight." She paused. "Please, they are the only family we have now."

He soothed her with a hand on her face. "One does not treat family like that, Dru."

The door to Delphinia's old bedroom burst open. "You bastard!" William yelled as he advanced into the room. Angelus and Darla sat up in the bed, startled by the intrusion. On the way by the fireplace, William picked up the poker and advanced on Angelus, just rising from the bed.

The first swing hit Angelus squarely on the left side of his head. He looked surprised at the blood running down his face. "What are you after, boy? Think tonight is a good night to die?"
 
 

Chapter 5 - Round One

William, holding the poker in front of him to keep Angelus at a distance, spoke as calmly as he could manage. "Why did you do that to her, Angelus? How could you?"

Angelus laughed, as he was wont to do. "Do what to whom, boy? I must admit; I have done a great many things."

Drusilla picked that precise moment to run into the room. She ran past the men and straight to Darla. "Make them stop. Clashing thunder clangs too loudly. They make my head spin."

Darla just smiled and pulled Dru down to sit on the bed next to her. "Not this time, Dru. Your boy brought this upon himself. Let them sort it out." Her smile widened. "It could be fun to watch." To Angelus, she said, "Go ahead, then." The two women lay back against the pillows to watch the first of many fights they would witness between the two men, Darla petting Drusilla's head as if she were a lap dog.

Angelus spared a glance back at the women on the bed, speaking. "As I was saying, what thing is it I have done that has you so ready to put your head in the lion's mouth?"

William swung another blow with the poker while Angelus' head was turning back toward him. Angelus' nosed made a definite cracking sound and blood oozed out of it giving Angelus cause to howl. William said to him, "I thought as much before but I now know for certain. You are a sick bastard. You actually forced yourself upon a child and you made her watch you do it."

Recovered, Angelus wiped off the blood running from his nose with the back of his hand, demon face taking over his appearance. "What, childe? How did you think I made her this way? You have to admit it." He sneered. "You think this particular piece of my work is perfection walking."

William launched himself at Angelus, demon face forward, poker raised like a bludgeon. Angelus caught the poker as it came down at him, swinging William with it and forcing it out of his grip. William flew across the room to land in front of the fireplace. Drusilla wailed, "No. My poor Spike." She placed her face against Darla's shoulder to block out the sight.

Angelus was on William by the time he made it to his feet. Snarling, Angelus picked up William by the front of his shirt with one hand, poker held firmly in the other. "I think I like this weapon of yours. Maybe I should see what it does."

With the tear of his shirt, William dropped to the ground. He quickly turned and picked up the shovel from the hearth. It wasn't as good a weapon as the poker, perhaps, but any weapon was better than none at that point. He faced Angelus with determination.

Darla, laughing, pulled Drusilla's face up to look at the two vampires, both ready to pounce at any second. "Do you see? I told you this would be fun."

The makings of a smile touched Drusilla's mouth when she saw William was still standing. "The lion has lost some of his bite."

Angelus brought the poker down in a wide arc, aimed for William's head. William, a hand on each end of the shovel, blocked by holding it up to catch the blow. Metal clattered against metal, the two fireplace tools used as substitutes for swords. William, shocked that he had managed to block the blow, lost his head for just a second.

That second was long enough for Angelus to bring the blunt end of the poker back around, striking William under the chin with it. William stumbled backwards, disoriented. Angelus laughed at him. "Not so strong yet as you seem to think, lad." He leered again. "What really has you so upset? Wish you could have been there to participate?" William, shovel raised, came at Angelus, who deflected him easily, sending him flinging to the other side of the room. "No blood is sweeter than that of a women you have just broken."

That did it. Something in William's head snapped. He yelled, "She was only eight years old, you prancing git!" He moved back toward Angelus. "It make you feel superior? You like hurting people who have no hope of defending themselves? Maybe you know you could never manage if someone fought back." He swung the blade of the shovel, aimed for Angelus' neck.

Angelus, ready for him this time, blocked with the poker, sliding it along the shovel until the hook caught on the shovel blade. He pulled the shovel roughly out of William's hands. "Maybe I should show you what happens when someone fights back." He shoved the point of the poker into Williams stomach, pushing him back against the wall with the force of it. Angelus let go of the weapon, allowing William to fall, moaning, to the floor. Drusilla ran over to her fallen hero. Angelus ordered her, "Get him out of here. He makes me sick."

Drusilla pulled the poker out of William's stomach, blood pooling under him as the wound was able to flow freely. She half carried him out of the room, half dragged. "I told you that you were not ready. Now, you have ruined that shirt. No cakes for you."
 
 

Chapter 6 -The Dead Next Door

It took three days for the gaping hole in William's stomach to heal over completely. Angelus insisted William was too weak to go out with them. In that time, Drusilla hardly left his side except to hunt. The meals she brought back to him were already cold but he was beyond caring. William was busy thinking.

It may have looked like a total loss to anyone else, his fight with Angelus, but William saw it as the first of hopefully many small victories. He had defied Angelus again and survived. Not only that, this time he had actually managed to get in a couple blows himself. He knew. Angelus was not as invulnerable as he liked to pretend. All William had to do now was wait and find the weak spot.

On the third evening, William woke feeling better than he had in ages. He looked at the beautiful creature he held, sleeping, in the circle of his arms. She stirred almost unnoticeably, perhaps sensing the change in his posture since he had awoken. A tiny moan escaped her lips. He brushed a curl out of her eyes. "Dru, we should go out tonight."

She opened her eyes to see his blue orbs gazing at her. She smiled. "My Spike is feeling better, then? The pixies whispered their worries about you in my head." She frowned. "But Angelus will have his own plans for tonight."

He smiled slyly. "Bugger Angelus. We shall go out the window or after they go so he will not notice we have gone. He cannot continue to control us."

Darla came to their bedroom door at sunset, mischievous smile planted on her face. Drusilla opened the door, fear hidden behind a small smile. Darla asked, "Are you ready? We are heading into town soon."

Drusilla demurred, "The moon is not hungry for blood tonight for it is but a sliver. Would you mind too terribly if I stayed with William?"

Darla scoffed. "I care not if you accompany us but do not whine at me if you are hungry later. We leave in an hour if you change your mind before then." She walked away quickly, not giving Drusilla the chance to say anything else.

Drusilla closed the door and turned around, leaning back against it. "Now what do we do?"

He laughed happily and came to her, catching her up in a strong embrace. "Now we find something to do for an hour until they leave."

Darla called up the stairs one last time while putting on her gloves. "We are leaving, Dru. Are you coming?" There was no answer. She shrugged. "Oh, well. We were like that when we first were together." She smiled at Angelus and walked out the door he held open for her. Darla and Angelus, dressed for a night on the town, left in the carriage an hour after sunset.

Drusilla, watching the carriage drive away from her seat by the window, smiled. Tonight was going to be fun. She felt excitement coursing through her like fresh blood. "They are gone, my Spike."

He was standing behind her faster than humanly possible, whispering in her ear, sending the good kind of shivers over her body. "Get dressed, then. Feel like seeing some of the old haunts?" Instead of answering, she turned around and melded into his arms.

Another hour passed before two vampires crept down the stairs quietly, deftly avoiding Nigel in case he should feel the need to report back to his masters. They hid around the corner from the front door, waiting for Nigel to leave their line of sight. As soon as he headed up the stairs, they slipped out the front door silently and into the night.

Passing the creek, Drusilla started dancing. "The sun will never glimmer off this water for me again but I can still see it." She pirouetted toward the edge of the water. "It feels so warm, the sun dabbling through the trees and over me." She stopped dancing and ran back up the bank to grab William by both hands, tugging him toward the water. "Swim with me."

Her enthusiasm was entirely contagious. He ran toward the water with her, both of them stripping as they ran. The night had very little moon and their swimming would easily pass unseen by any unlikely passersby.

Their clothes clung to them when they left the creek; having nothing with which to dry themselves, they had dressed while still dripping wet. They made their way through the trees with no trouble despite the dark, vampire vision coming in handy. A break in the trees offered a direct view. William stopped and stared at the house before him, where he had made so many memories with his family.

Drusilla stared at the house. "Look at all the lights, William. They look like stars."

William started to walk back the way they came. "We should head back home."

"No." She pulled him back to stand next to her. "Do you not want to see if your uncle is still there, or your cousin? We shall be as ghosts. They will not see us. Come."

In spite of his better judgment, William was easily convinced. He followed Dru through the trees edging their way toward the house. Memories so vivid, he could see his sister coming down the walk to the garden. There was only one problem; his sister had been years younger the last time he had seen her there. It was no memory. "Oh, no."
 
 

Chapter 7 - Family

Drusilla realized whom he had seen only a second after he spoke. By following the direction of his eyes. She immediately pulled him a little further into the shadows and out of sight, trying to wipe the worried look off his face with a light touch of her hand. Her voice showed she felt worry, as well. "They were to be hidden. He cannot find them or they will be like overly ripe strawberries that have fallen from the plant. We need to leave straight away." She pulled again, trying to make him walk back into the woods but he would not budge.

He stood still, like someone who had seen Medusa's gaze, turned to virtual stone at the sight before him, Alicia. He whispered, "I should have known they would come here. Mother always runs to her older brother when something upsets her."

Drusilla looked confused and whispered back. "What would have upset her?"

He just looked at her for a moment as if she had sprouted another head. "Maybe the death of her son." The he realized how inane that reasoning must seem to her. He smiled. "Although it is a bit different from your perspective, I suppose."

Drusilla tugged on his arm again. "The moon cannot reveal us tonight but we must go. She tells me awful things."

William's sister stopped walking. "Is someone there?" William and Drusilla stayed as still and silent as possible. Then, she spoke louder. "I heard voices." She walked toward the woods, whispering to herself. "I would have sworn that I heard voices just now."

Drusilla gave one last tug on his arm, willing him to run with her. She whispered hoarsely, "Now."

Alicia quickened her pace, wanting to see what was in the woods, every hair on her neck standing straight with chilled fear. They were but a split second too late to start running. Alicia caught a glimpse of them as she stepped into the woods, brow furrowing in confusion at what she thought she saw on this dark night. She knew she recognized one of the two who ran away from her. The word barely passed her lips before she dropped away into a dead faint. "William?"

Running through the trees, as fast as possible, William hoped they could keep the neighbors a secret from Angelus. Drusilla's warning of what Angelus would do to them carried even more power no that he knew just what Angelus was capable of doing. He stopped running when they reached the creek where they had been swimming nit long ago. It was a force of habit only for he had no real need to catch his breath. "Do you suppose she saw us?" He asked his companion.

Drusilla sat down heavily on the bank and dangled her legs into the water, leaning back on her elbows to look up at the stars. "I cannot see her anymore. The stars show darkness where her eyes were."

He took that as a good thing. Sitting next to her on the cool ground. "I suppose he will not need to know they are there. We can still keep their lives a secret, after all."

They made it back to the house long before Angelus and Darla came back from their night out. William, reading a book in his and Drusilla's bedroom, guessed the night on the town had either included much drinking or their dinners had been falling down drunk themselves. Loud Irish tavern songs drifted up the stairs, giving every indication, by sound alone, that Angelus was in the room with William and Drusilla. He looked up to see Drusilla holding Miss Edith in a comforting embrace. "What is it, Dru? What is wrong?"

She whined and held the doll even more tightly to her breast. "The spirits are never kind to him. He often hurts when he is like this." She suddenly smiled. "Maybe that is not always a bad thing."

William set the book down, splayed open so he would not lose his place. He hoped Drusilla didn't mean what he thought she did by that last comment but the impish smile on her face told him that she did. Interested, he thought he would have to investigate that notion himself later. Until then, he decided to say, "Then we shall stay here and avoid him tonight if at all possible."

The singing stopped. Avoidance was not on the menu. Angelus' holler reached into them and pulled them toward the dining room. "You two, get down here."

Downstairs, in the dining room, Angelus and Darla were dancing around the table, her skirts swirling around them as they went. When William and Drusilla entered the room, the two older vampires, easily distracted, lost their footing. They fell to the ground laughing, Darla landing on top in a very undignified pose. "Whoops!" She laughed harder. She held out a hand for William to help her to her feet, which he obligingly did. Angelus got to his feet unassisted, but staggering.

William gaped at them. "You two are blind drunk."

Angelus smirked at the boy, reaching for a bottle of liquor on the dining room table and pouring a drink from it. "Yes, lad. That we are. You should try it." He handed the drink to William, clearly expecting him to drink it quickly because the bottle was held ready to pour another one. He started to drink but choked on Angelus' next words. "We saw a house just down the road, full of people. Anyone up for an adventure tomorrow night?"
 
 

Chapter 8 - Reunions

Angelus stared at William, having just received the majority of William's drink as a shower due to the childe's coughing. Then Darla started laughing. "You may make a drinker out of him one day, Angelus, but as of yet, he does not take it very well." She looked at William. "Still such a little boy. No wonder Dru picked him for a playmate."

Angelus snarled and grabbed the glass out of William's hand, bringing it up around and to smash on the side of William's head. The remaining liquor from the glass mixed with blood causing William to hiss from the sting. Angelus handed the bottle to William. "Drink it." William, no longer in the mood to argue, began drinking straight from the bottle, glaring at Angelus all the while.

Angelus grinned. "As I was saying, we saw more people than usual at the next house tonight. It looked as if they were having a family gathering. Tomorrow, we should consider joining them. Darla has a plan to get us invited."

William drank in silence, watching and listening only half consciously because he was busy trying to think of a way to get his family a warning. After a time, he no longer tasted the alcohol that he poured into his mouth and welcomed the oblivion, however temporary, it afforded him.
 

He waited until sunset to head to the window against all Drusilla's protestations. She tried to hold him back. "Leave them be. There is nothing you can do for them now but the stars still whisper hopeful things. Maybe Grand Mummy Darla will not get that invitation."

He pulled free of her hands and kissed her on the top of the head. "They are still my family, Dru. I intend to make certain there is no invitation." He opened the window and climbed out. "Just tell them I still feel weak and decided to stay in tonight."

When he climbed to the ground and sped off toward the woods, Drusilla watched him go. "I believe you, Miss Edith. This cannot go well at all."

William ran through the woods as fast as his legs would carry him, knowing he had not much time before the carriage followed. He saw the house in front of him in no time at all, although it felt like he had been running for ages. He headed straight for the study window, knowing that was where his uncle spent most evenings. He could see his uncle sitting by the fire with a book in his hand, a familiar pose.

A quick tap on the window brought his uncle back to reality. He looked up from his book with a scowl. Another tap came, louder the second time. He put the book down after marking his place and went to the window. Opening it, he lost his breath for a moment, only able to stare.

William spoke with urgency. "Invite me in, uncle, please. I must talk with you."

This brought the older man back to his senses, if a bit perplexed. "She swore that she saw you last night. We thought the stress had been too much for the poor dear." He paused. "Perhaps it has been for me, as well. Can it really be you, Will?"

William pleaded. "Invite me in. I have so little time to explain."

"Why would you need an invitation? This is still to be considered your home, even if you so rarely visit."

William tentatively put an arm through the open window. Meeting no resistance he climbed in. "Where are mother and Alicia? We need to make certain they stay in tonight."

His uncle answered, "But they are not here. Your mother took Alicia to the doctor. Alicia may be staying in town but your mother should return any time now." He studied William's face for a while. "What happened to you? Was Alicia right, then? Did they bury you by mistake?"

"No, uncle. You see, I am dead."

Two carriages pulled up in front of the house. William's mother, back from town, paid her fare and walked toward the front door. Two figures exited the other carriage and followed her. A sweet voice said, "Excuse me for the intrusion." Mrs. Whitehall turned, tense from the surprise, to see an attractive young couple smiling at her. The girl spoke again. "We just bought the house just North of here. We thought we might introduce ourselves."

She relaxed, accepting the explanation. "The old Edwards' house?" She smiled. "It would be so nice to see the place fixed up again, empty for so many years. Ever since the night they found..." She caught herself, smiling again. She didn't want to scare this nice, young couple away. "No matter. I am Mrs. Whitehall. Might I have your name?"

The young man stepped forward. "Whitehall? I seem to remember meeting another Whitehall recently." He took her hand gracefully while glancing at his companion. "Angelus O' Conner. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. And this, is my wife, Darla."

"Pleased to meet you both. My brother would love to meet the new neighbors. Would you care for something to drink?"

Angelus smiled. "That we would, Mrs. Whitehall, that we would."
 
 

Chapter 9 - Lies Come Back to Haunt You

It took a lot of convincing for William to get his uncle to believe what he told him. In truth, he finally had to resort to showing his demon face, which caused something akin to a fit in the old man. The old man coughed and sputtered for several minutes, keeping as much distance from William as he could without leaving the room. He sat back into his chair. When he calmed at last, William poured a drink of water for his uncle and gave him the glass carefully, trying not to scare him too badly by proximity. "Now do you believe me?"

After drinking the water, a croaked voice spoke. "What will become of you? You intend to stay with these monsters? We know you are not really gone but you intend to leave anyway? Think of your mother. She will be distressed more than she is already. Is there nothing we can do to save you?"

He found it difficult to answer. "I belong with them, uncle. I am one of them now. I simply refuse to let you fall victim to Angelus cruelty. He does not just kill; he destroys."

The old man licked his lips nervously. "Why help us at all if you are one of them now? You said they feel no guilt. Why not just let him have us?"

"You are still my family. I know what he does to the family of those for whom he is Sire. I do not want to see it happen here."

He asked, "What do I do, Will?"

William sat down opposite his uncle and looked at him intently. "For starters, never invite anyone in you have not seen in the light of day."

A deep voice came from the doorway to the main part of the house. "A wee bit late for that, lad."

William jumped up from the chair in which he had only recently perched, scared more for the occupants of the house than for himself. He moved so that he stood between his frightened uncle and the intruder. "Angelus. How did you get in here?"

A throaty chuckle came from beyond a face of horror. "I was invited but I have my suspicions that is not how you came to be inside this home. So, tell me, boy. Why is it this lady I met has a son with your name who she claims died recently?" Noting William's startled expression, he continued. "Did you think I would not piece it together? You lied to me! You got her to lie for you." He turned back toward the door. "I think I have an appropriate vessel of punishment for you already. Darla?"

Darla appeared in the doorway, wide smile on her face, holding one arm tightly around the neck of Mrs. Whitehall. Still, the hold was not tight enough to keep the woman from gasping. "William?"

William made a step in the direction of his mother, not quite knowing what he intended to do, but Angelus stepped in front of the two females, sneering his distaste. "Help me out here, lad. I cannot decide if I should force you to kill her or if I should save that pleasure for myself." He glanced quickly back at her. "Pretty thing still, your mother. I could have quite a lot of fun with her. Well worth a tup before she is killed."

William, resisting the urge to make a run at Angelus despite his taunts, calmly said, "Let her go."

Angelus laughed. "Now, you have to tell me why I would do that. You see, lad, I think you have failed to understand what you are." He took a step toward William.

Darla ran her free hand through Mrs. Whitehall's hair, pulling it down around her shoulders, then baring one side of her neck, eyes on William the entire time. "Give up your mortality, fledgling. It is the source of all your pain."

While Darla held William's eye, Angelus made his move. Knocking William to the ground, having taken him by surprise, he moved to William's uncle and grabbed him in a hold very similar to the one in which Darla held William's mother. "I give you a choice, William. You kill them quickly or I make one of my artworks out of them. It is really up to you."

William looked back and forth between the two pair. He had absolutely no idea what to do to save them. He saw his mother's silent tears and said, "You know I cannot kill them."

Angelus pulled a knife out of his pocket and ran the blunt edge down the side of the old man's face. "I was rather hoping you would answer the other way. No matter, tonight you will learn." He turned the knife so the blade edge rested against flesh and retraced his path. The old man sobbed. "Let it go, William. Does his blood not entice you? They are cattle." He stuck the point of the knife into the old man's left eye causing him to scream in anguish.

William realized he had no choice. He would never get their screams out of his head, like Drusilla and her dolls.
 
 

Chapter 10 - Difficult Choices

William stepped toward his uncle, where Angelus held him in a vise like grip. Yes, he had made his decision, not that he really felt he had another option. He looked to his uncle for some sign of understanding, having told the old man enough about Angelus to instill a healthy dose of fear. "I have to do this, you know that. It will be so much easier for you." The old man whimpered as William approached, nodding only as much as Angelus' hold would allow.

Mrs. Whitehall tried to get away from Darla, kicking at her captor with little effect and trying to pull her arms free. She shouted, "No! William, why?" William turned to look at her, a war going on in his mind, thoughts rebelling against what he knew he had to do. He struggled to suppress them.

Darla clamped a hand tightly over the woman's mouth and held her more tightly with the other arm, quelling any thoughts of escape. "None of that. You make my head hurt with that shrill voice of yours. He will see to you soon enough."

William forced himself to turn his eyes back to his uncle and resume walking. When he neared the other men, Angelus loosened his grip. William took the knife from Angelus at the same time as he took control of the old man. The heart he could hear so clearly beat loud and fast. He looked his uncle straight in the eye and stabbed him directly in that heart, which ceased beating almost immediately. He loosened his grip on the body and let it slump to the floor, his face blank.

Angelus joined William, staring at the dead man as blood spread across the rug beneath his form. He put a hand on William's shoulder. "You see, that was easy enough." No answer came. "Come on, lad. You cannot tell me you feel sorry for that. Was it not liberating?"

William, for his part, busily thought of ways to seriously damage the hand that lay on his shoulder as well as the rest of the body to which it was connected. He wasn't thinking of his dead uncle at all. "No. No remorse. No liberation. Just a strange hollow feeling within me."  He moved his eyes from the body to Angelus, shaking off the hand. "I suppose there will be no satisfying you until I am as empty as you are."

With an angry stare, Angelus answered, "Not empty. Just filled with different things. That hollow feeling is hunger. Embrace it. You would not feel so empty if all that blood did not rest wasted on the floor."

William stared back, eyes flashing blue to yellow and back again. He fought against the hunger that rose within him once it had been acknowledged for what it was. He lost. He felt his demon come to the fore, ridges popping across his forehead, teeth extending. Heaven help him, it was a relief. He crouched to the floor, pulling his uncle's cooling body into his arms, hunger so great he cared not that his victim was already dead. Flesh cut off a snarl as teeth buried themselves within it.

He dropped the body and stood, not bothering to wipe the blood off from his mouth or to revert to his human face. He turned to look at his mother, who openly sobbed at seeing his changed state. "Dear Lord, what happened to you? Please, William."

He stood deathly still. "My name is Spike."

What happened next caught them all off guard. Drusilla had the element of surprise going for her. They had all been to engrossed in William's decision to notice her approach. She pulled William's mother from Darla's arms with a gleeful laugh. "Quiet as a whisper, Death brings down his judgment. The specter says she is mine." She held the woman's head between her hands, caressing with her fingertips for a second. "Shhh. Be ever so quiet for his sake." She snapped the neck with a jerk of her arms, letting the body go. "Peaceful, my Spike. No screams for you."

The group rode home in silence; Nigel even made no comment to the horses while he drove. Inside the carriage, William fussed at Drusilla's broken arm, tying it set with a bit of cloth ripped from her skirts. It was not the only blatant sign that Angelus had been angered by her interference. One of her eyes, swollen shut from the blow he delivered, served no current use. Tear streaks ran down her cheeks. William looked no better, having come to her defense when Angelus began beating her. However, he felt great. He was learning how Angelus fought. "Soon." he thought to himself. "Soon."

Darla, for some unknown reason, looked amused by the scene. When William finished the makeshift bandage, she changed her look to fall on Angelus. She laughed lightly. "I for one, think that went quite well." She laughed a little harder at Angelus' incredulous look. "Seriously. He was at least prepared to kill her like you wanted. He passed your little test, even if you had to get passed the initial lie to get there."

"Speaking of lies, is there anything else you should be telling us?" Angelus asked.

William stalled for a moment, long enough to make the decision to only tell part of the truth. "Someone else that knew me was there last night. They saw Drusilla and me in the woods. They are gone but..."

Angelus interrupted. "I suppose we leave again. You need to learn some discretion before we grow weary and leave you for the sun, boy."

Darla smiled. "The house in Yorkshire is lovely this time of year."
 
 

Chapter 11 - Sheffield

On the way to Yorkshire, Darla grew restless and weary of traveling. She insisted they stop in Sheffield, where they had a small flat, to avoid staying in another inn. Of course, the real reason behind her insistence was that she wished to hunt in a larger city; all the villages in which they spent a day had been dreadfully disappointing. Villagers seldom ate richly and it showed in the taste of their blood.

Truth be told, they were all somewhat relieved at her suggestion. Spending night after night cooped up in the carriage together added more strain to the already tense atmosphere. Angelus' beatings on William had become a nightly occurrence, for one perceived infraction or another. Darla noted with much amusement that William seemed to be bringing these fights on purposefully. She knew she and Dru were correct. A real fight was brewing. It would happen as soon as William thought he knew enough of Angelus' tricks to win. She looked forward to it, knowing how entertaining it would be.

At the point when the carriage reached city streets, marked by the change of sound from wheels on dirt to wheels on stone, she shifted in her seat and opened the window to watch as they road into town. The smell of  rich blood intoxicated them all, bringing an eerie calm over the quartet. Darla hungered and intended to eat well that night.

Sheffield Cathedral loomed ahead of them, lit up for some obscure church holiday of which the vampires were blissfully unaware and uncaring. Its spire reached toward the heavens, a feat never to be accomplished by the occupants of the carriage. Crowds of people walked away from the building, having just left night time mass.

Darla poked her head out the window and called up to Nigel the direction to stop at the cathedral. She pulled her head back in and smiled devilishly at her family. "Time to find ourselves some saints to send to heaven."

Nigel pulled into an alley near the cathedral, stopping the carriage as soon as it was out of site from the main roads. Darla opened the door and got out, relieved to be standing instead of sitting. She addressed the group. "Nigel, keep the carriage waiting. Drusilla, come with me. I have the most delicious ideas of corrupting some saintly men." She smiled at Angelus, placing her fingertips under his chin. "Leave the carriage for us, please. It is not far to the flat. We can meet there. You wanted another night alone with your pupil. How does tonight sound?"

Angelus grabbed her hand, turning the palm to his mouth for a kiss, highly improper. "Well enough. We will find something to do. I have a few ideas of my own."

She smiled at him, rubbing her fingertips across his lips before pulling her hand away. "Say goodnight, Dru."

Drusilla let go of William's hand slowly. "Mind the sun, my sweet. Be home before she visits again." William reluctantly watched the two women stroll off into the night, arm in arm. Another night alone with Angelus, was he really prepared for this?

William cringed when Angelus threw a companionable arm around him. "Ready for some fun, lad?"

Watching as they walked, Darla and Drusilla found a group of ten men, just begging to be taken, not too far from the alley. With a grin, Darla pulled Drusilla after them at a distance. They waited until the crowds had dissipated and the group had dwindled to two last men before approaching, coquettish smiles covering their real motives. Darla released Drusilla's arm as they got close, letting her go on ahead.

Drusilla walked up behind one of the men, clearing her throat. "Could you help us, please? We lost our group leaving the church and are ever so afraid and alone."

The man looked at Drusilla and Darla slowly, taking in everything he could see. He leered, not so saintly after all. "I expect we should be able to see you home." He took a step toward Drusilla. "Assuming home is where you want to go, that is."

Darla laughed and went toward the other man. "How perceptive of you." She let the demon change her face. "We have something else in mind entirely." To their credit, neither man screamed.

After all the stories Drusilla had told him over the last few days, William should have known exactly what Angelus would have in mind. They were near a cathedral, after all. He should not have been surprised when Angelus led him toward two nuns, who busily cleaned outside after the crowds left. "Please, pardon my confusion, Sire. I had quite thought we would want to avoid anything to do with the church. After all, crosses, holy water..."

Angelus stopped him. "The relics may harm but the grounds and people pose no threat. You still have much to learn, boy. Follow me."
 
 

Chapter 12 - Of Nuns and Men

With a smirk, Angelus walked up to the younger nun. He always kept an eye out for a pretty lady, even if she did belong to someone else. He made his way to the nun and began speaking with her before William, following at a cautious distance, was within earshot. The nun bowed her head as Angelus spoke to her. Was it an act of supplication or embarrassment that she would wish he should not speak to her?

Coming within range, watching the older nun out the corner of his eye, William heard Angelus laying on the charm, milking his accent for all it was worth. She was definitely avoiding his gaze from embarrassment. "I just found myself wondering, what caused a fine little lass like yourself to want to join the church? Surely it was not a lack of interested young men that drove you to it. Enchanted by you from afar, I was. What do you suppose the odds are I can convince you to leave this behind and run away with me, back to Ireland?" She blushed. "What color is the hair you hide under that wimple?" Again, she offered no answer. "At least tell me your name so I will know who has stolen my heart."

She never got the chance to answer, even though she probably never would have, for at that moment the older nun caught sight of the man speaking with her. "Sister Eglantine! Come back here at once." The older nun headed toward the pair as if to retrieve the girl. William stepped in her way. "Oh. Two of you."

She hadn't seen him coming, apparently. William decided to act offended, throw her off her tack. "Is there some problem in speaking with a fellow Christian after Mass?"

His ploy didn't work. The old nun huffed. "There is some trouble indeed when the girl is under a vow of silence. She is not permitted to speak. Please, leave her be."

Angelus laughed and grabbed Eglantine by the shoulders. "Silent is fine with me. Take the other one, lad."

William pulled the other nun into his arms, putting one hand over her mouth to stifle the burgeoning scream. "You cannot expect me to..." He made a face. "The woman is ancient."

Angelus' demon side answered. "Consider her aged like a fine wine." He sank his fangs noisily into the girls throat. She made not a peep, possibly hoping this was just some test of her vows which she would pass and from which her god would save her. If she thought that, she was wrong. Her body fell to the stones, never to think again. Angelus saw that William had yet to feed from the old woman. "Why are you waiting? Eat her."

William would have done as he was ordered had the main doors to the cathedral not swung open just then. A large group of men, about a dozen, came through the doorway, the priest in front able to see Eglantine's body clearly, as well as the demonic visages of the two men that still held another nun's life in their hands. He held his crucifix before him as a shield and advanced. "Be gone spawn of hell. The house of God holds no place for you."

Angelus began backing away, nearing William as he went. He spoke quietly. "Let her go, William. We run, now."

William snorted and twisted the old woman's neck with a sickening crunch of breaking bones. "Not hungry enough for her, anyway. However, I have no desire to run."

Angelus looked from William to the approaching men. "Have you lost your mind? These are odds we do not play. Now, I gave you an order, childe. Run." With a growl from William, they turned as one and ran toward the alley where the carriage had been. "The ladies can find their own way home. We need the horses."

Angelus was out of luck. The carriage was already gone. The two vampires turned around just as the men reached the alley. William smiled. "I guess we do this my way, after all."

The carriage made its way along the streets of Sheffield, two very sated women inside, one reclining across each seat. Drusilla held Miss Edith in her lap, occasionally holding the doll up so it could see out the window, as if it had working eyes. Darla noticed after about the twentieth time, wondering what the doll needed to see. "Dru? Whatever are you doing, dear?"

Drusilla sat up to join the doll in gazing out the window. "Many of them."

Darla frowned. "Many what?"

Drusilla closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat, hugging Miss Edith to her chest. "The crosses burn. Keep them away from him." She opened her eyes to look straight at Darla. "She says we must go back for them. They will be too tired to reach home before the sun comes. From that burn they cannot heal."

Darla sighed. "Got themselves into a troublesome spot, have they? We will just have to go back for them, then." She yelled out the window. "Back to the cathedral, Nigel. We need to pick up the boys." She wasn't certain he had heard her until the carriage turned around, going back the way it had come. "They had better actually have a difficulty, Dru. I so wanted to be home by now."
 
 

Chapter 13 - Who would have thought the old man had so much blood in him?

Passing by the cathedral on the way, the nuns still lay near the front steps, making the cause of the boys' battle crystal clear to any who knew Angelus' habits. The carriage pulled up to the entrance to the alley, not entering so that their escape would be easier. Drusilla and Darla both scooted to the same side so they could see the fight out the window. William and Angelus were both still on their feet but the same could not be said for many of them men who came to fight them.

The alley was littered with bodies in various poses of death, the smell of blood thick on the night air. The body closest to the carriage sat in a puddle of blood, the side of his throat ripped out. Two more corpses lay just beyond that one, both with giant puncture wounds to the head, presumably from William's favorite toy.

In total, five men still tried to fight the two vampires. The only man uninjured was the priest, still using the cross as a shield but occasionally using it as a weapon when one of the vampires was distracted. Seemingly knowing he was running out of time, the holy man recited scripture at the top of his lungs. "I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me and heard my cry." Angelus swerved away from a blow aimed for him and it caught the priest squarely in the jaw, knocking him to the ground, unconscious.

Drusilla made as if to get out of the carriage but was stopped by Darla's hand holding the door shut. "Sit still. They know we are here."

Drusilla started to protest. "But the screams, we should..."

Darla put her fingers to Drusilla's lips to stop her speech. "We should what? Help them?" She smiled. "We fed with no fanfare. Let them clean up their own mess. This is a new dress and I have no intention of ruining it already." Drusilla, dress also new, moved back to the window to watch. "Good girl."

William was having the time of his life, or un-life as the case may be. The spike held firmly in his left hand, William drove it into yet another skull, smiling as bright as the sun ever shone. He kept count as they fought. As many men fell to him as fell to Angelus. William felt strong. William felt ready. William felt a burning sensation on the back of his neck.

So, the priest was awake again, still trying to defend himself. William, fed up with the small burns the man kept placing on him when his attention was elsewhere, turned with the speed of a vampire and grasped the old man's wrist, squeezing until the dreaded crucifix dropped to the ground. The priest found his voice again. "Lord, help me!"

William picked up the priest by the throat and held him against one alley wall. The priest clutched at his fingers, trying to pry them loose. This only made William laugh. Then behind him, Angelus, who had just killed the last of the other men, spoke to the priest. "Have you not figured it out by now, priest? Your god has forsaken you." William stabbed the railroad spike straight through the old man's heart, without thinking, in a bloody parody of the way many vampires die. Angelus, in quite a good mood himself, laid a hand on William's back as he retrieved his toy. "Well fought. I see our carriage awaits. Drusilla must have known we would want it. Ready to go home?"

They made their way to the carriage, reveling in the carnage they passed on the way, moods growing happier with every step. That changed when they reached the carriage. Darla stopped them at the door, her small hand holding it closed. "No. Send Nigel down here. You two will ride up top."

Angelus frowned. "Why? What did we do wrong?"

Drusilla answered. "Grand Mummy is displeased. You are both covered in blood, just like Edith said you were. All dark and sticky."

William didn't get it. "Right. Vampires, blood, the two things do tend to coexist, do they not? What would be the problem?"

Darla smiled, a cold smile that said she would not be dissuaded. "The problem is this dress is new. You two will get cleaned up before you get anywhere near us. You should merely be glad we came back for you. Now, go."

Riding in the driver's seat instead of the comfortable cab, the boys silently pouted the entire way home.

The boys sent to change clothes and bathe, Darla and Drusilla sat alone in the drawing room on the sofa while Nigel built them a fire in the hearth. He poured them each a glass of wine from the stock always kept on hand in each of their homes and quietly left to go ready the bedrooms. After he left, Darla asked Drusilla with curiosity, "Have you seen anything new about their fighting of late? I have a feeling something big is brewing."

Drusilla smiled conspiratorially and answered, "The earth shudders at the thought of two titans fighting for it knows the time will soon come."
 
 

Chapter 14 - Another Flight

The drawing room, much smaller than the rooms in any of their other houses, only held one sofa. Thus, as the two women were already seated on that very sofa, Angelus and William were forced to sit on the floor, a sign of subservience in some opinions. By the look on Darla's face, this was no accident. Her venomous gaze fell on Angelus as he sat to one side of the fireplace. "You do realize that thanks to that display of yours we shall have to leave again at Sunset? I really grow weary of traveling. This flat is not much but it would have been preferred over another night in an inn."

Angelus protested. "I tried to run, I swear. We were forced to fight." He tried to smooth her over with a smile. "We killed them all, Darla. What reason have we to leave?"

She leaned toward him, forcing him to lean back. William chuckled slightly at Angelus' discomfort. Darla looked to William. "You think I do not know the fight was your idea? One of these days, you will not be so lucky as you were tonight. And as for you..." She turned back to Angelus. "Do not cross me, childe. I say we must leave so leave we shall. A display like that involving clergy will surely bring those who would hunt our kind. If we stay in this city, we will be found."

The following sunset found the carriage on the way to Yorkshire once again. To the surprise of none in the carriage, passing by the cathedral showed Darla to have been correct. She hadn't lived over three hundred years to have not learned something. One thing she knew well, the fears of man. A mob gathered in front of the church, set on searching the city streets that night for whatever had butchered so many of their congregation. The villains, speeding their way past the angry mob, would not be found.

A few more nights passed uneventfully before they drove into Yorkshire. The night grew late as they made their way through town. Close to home, Darla called out for Nigel to stop the carriage. She said to her family, "Anyone else hungry? It would be a shame to go to bed on an empty stomach."

Angelus opened the door and got out to help the Darla exit the carriage. "I take it you fancy a walk?" He kissed Darla's hand before letting it go. "Whatever you desire should be yours."

The other two exited the carriage as well, William looking around, as the city was new to him. Darla walked to the front of the carriage. "You go on ahead and get the house ready for us. A spot of dinner awaits and then we will be there before sunrise."

The two couples parted ways near a tavern, ripe hunting grounds at the late hour. Darla and Angelus walked through an alley, listening to the drunken songs coming from the bar patrons within. Darla pushed Angelus against the outside wall of the tavern, smiling seductively. "This reminds me of the night we met." She ran her hands under his coat. "Do you remember? I could hear you from a mile away." She laughed at his shamed look. "You really are a terrible singer." She moved to her toes to kiss him but they were interrupted by screams coming from inside the tavern.

He didn't like the look of it, the sort of place in which he never would have set foot when he was alive. Despite his misgivings, Drusilla pulled William into the tavern, grinning from ear to ear. "Look at all the sweets, my Spike. Like delicate pastries they are, all filled with red jelly." She suddenly fell toward the floor shuddering, in the throes of a vision. William caught her before she hit the wood, setting her down gently. She muttered. "Too many. Must flee. They number with the stars." She pulled on William's arms so he would help her sit up.

A very drunk, very loud, and very large man stood next to them. "Looks to me like the lady could use a drink, straighten her right up."

William eyed the man as he helped Drusilla to her feet. "That she could. You volunteering?" He laughed a bit but no one else understood the humor. Drusilla swayed when William got her to her feet so that he had to keep one arm around her. Several more large men gathered around them. "Something of interest?"

The first man leered openly at Drusilla, who was feeling better and trying to stand on her own. "Pretty lady. Not the sort we usually get in here."

Glancing around, William noticed Drusilla was truly the solitary female in the establishment. Perhaps this particular tavern had not been a bad choice. He spoke flippantly. "Well, in that case, maybe we should be going. We should not want to stir up any trouble, should we?"

Darla could not believe what she saw when Angelus held the tavern door open for her. Drusilla and William, still near the door, had the corpses of two rather smelly men near their feet. The other bar patrons looked far from frightened. No, the look on their faces was clearly anger. She couldn't afford to wait. She yelled an order, hoping all her children would answer it. "Run!"

Drusilla and William turned and ran out the door, followed closely by Angelus and Darla, the sound of an angry crowd close behind them. Still, Darla couldn't help but smile as she ran. Now this was exciting. Maybe William brought something their group had sorely needed. Angelus had them hiding from the humans for too long. Her smile widened as she thought of how this could spur on the coming fight between the two boys.

The chase finally ended when the pursuers lost sight of the gang of four. Angelus, running in the front, led them all into a mineshaft, abandoned from the look of it. The sunrise was coming. They would have to spend the day underground.
 
 

Chapter 15 - The Mines of Yorkshire

The mines stood, not abandoned as they originally thought but merely unused for the day, which luckily happened to be Sunday. Daylight, filtered to the point it could no longer be harmful, and a few well placed lanterns lit up the area of the mine in which four vampires took refuge. However, all was not quiet. Angelus had William by the throat, choking him. "Perhaps it is my advancing years that make me so forgetful, William. Remind me. Why do we not kill you?"

Feeling the rocks poking against his spine, William choked out an almost word. "...ike."

"What is that?" Angelus released him in disgust.

William rubbed at the handprints on his throat. "It's Spike now." His voice came out different, sounding like his old friend, Gilbert. Angelus, Darla and Drusilla all looked at him. He smirked. "You'd do well to remember it, mate."

Angelus, pacing back and forth in front of the childe, practically growled. "I am not your mate. And when did you start talking like that?"

Darla purposefully interjected, hoping to speed the coming conflict, "Look, we barely got out of London alive because of you. Everywhere we go, it is the same story and now..."

Angelus finished for her. "You have got me and my women hiding in the luxury of a mine shaft, all because William the Bloody likes the attention. This is not a reputation we need."

'Spike' took a deep swig from a wine bottle left behind by the miners. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I sully our good name? We're vampires."

"All the more reason to use a certain amount of finesse."

Spike yelled, "Bollocks! That stuff's for the frilly cuffs-and-collars crowd. I'll take a good brawl any day."

Angelus approached Spike menacingly. "And every time you do, we become the hunted."

The two women shared a look of glee. Darla, sing-song, said to Drusilla, "I think our boys are going to fight."

Drusilla clapped her hands giddily. "The King of Cups expects a picnic! But this is not his birthday."

Darla looked at Drusilla with a frown. "Good point."

Spike said, "Yeah, you know what I prefer to being hunted? Getting caught."

Angelus answered, "That is a brilliant strategy really, pure cunning."

"Sod off!" Spike laughed. "Come on. When was the last time you unleashed it? All out fight in a mob, back against the wall, nothing but fists and fangs?" He mocked a fisticuff.  "Don't you ever get tired of fights you know you're going to win?"

Angelus answered quietly. "No. A real kill. A good kill. It takes pure artistry. Without that, we are just animals."

Spike yelled, "Poofter!" The fight was on. Angelus snapped a metal rod in half, lifted Spike up and slammed him down on his back, raising the makeshift stake. Spike stopped it inches from his heart, knowing it would only hurt him but not kill him, and smiled up at
Angelus. "Now you're getting it!" He laughed.

Angelus dropped the rod and backed away from Spike. "You cannot keep this up forever. If I cannot teach you, maybe someday an angry crowd will. That or the Slayer."

Spike sat up, suddenly interested. "What's a Slayer?"

Angelus sneered at him. "Your final death waiting to happen. They say in every generation a Slayer is born. The one girl who has the power to fight the vampires and the demons, all the forces of darkness."

Spike laughed. "One girl? You expect me to fear a girl?"

Angelus grinned wickedly. "You should fear this girl. Go up against her before you are ready and the only way to come out of it will be as dust on the wind."

Drusilla laughed aloud, a childish giggle. "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down." Darla shushed her forcibly.

Drusilla's outburst had been ignored, anyway. Angelus kept talking. "You could not even take on another vampire, boy. You expect you would live past a meeting with the one who slays our kind?"

Spike advanced toward Angelus, grinning. "You really thing I couldn't take you on? I learn fast. Thing is, I might even have been holding back a mite lately." That time, both women laughed.

Angelus slipped into his demon countenance with a growl, launching himself at Spike, who let his demon come forth as well. Blow after blow, each getting their turn to pound on the other, the fight moved across the mine, nearly knocking the girls over at one point when Spike threw Angelus away from him and across the area.

Darla pulled Drusilla with her back against a wall so they would be out of the fray. Both women watched the fight intently, Darla with a worried look. "I actually do hope neither of them kills the other. It could be such a bother." Drusilla apparently took that as a request to stop the fight because she started to step back toward them. Darla pulled her back. "Not really that big of a worry, Dru. Let them finish."

Angelus pinned Spike against the mine cart, edge pushing painfully into his back. "Getting tired, William?"

William got on foot up underneath Angelus and shoved, sending Angelus flying back to land on a crate, busting it open. "Not even close, mate. And I told you, it's Spike." He landed on top of Angelus, both of them grabbing a shard of wood at the same moment, each shard of wood pointed at an un-beating heart. They had come to a stalemate.

Darla began clapping loudly. "Oh, Bravo. That was very entertaining but are you two finished?" She came to them and pulled the makeshift stakes out of each of their hands before they could fulfill their intended purpose. "I call this match a draw. How about you, Drusilla?" Drusilla just nodded happily. "There now, you two call a truce now that we know you both have big wrinklies. We should get some rest so we can get out of here at sunset."