Stone and Light

Stone and Light

By Lady MoonHawke

   Joe looked up as the bell over the door jingled.

   "I don't know, Giles," the young woman said in a decidedly Southern California accent. "Doesn't look very Watcher-y to me."

   "Well, Buffy, we can't all be reclusive stuffy librarians, now can we? And those of us who are out of favor tend to be less conformist than the norm."

   British, Joe decided. English, even. And an academic. Accompanying a petite blonde who radiated an air of better than average physical ability. Interesting.

   The young woman, Buffy, settled into a booth, and the academic, Giles, approached Joe at the bar.

   "Hello. Ah, one coffee, and one diet Coke, if you would, please." Joe felt eyes on him as he poured the drinks and looked up. "Anything else I can do for you?" he asked, setting the beverages on the bar.

   "Er, yes, rather. My, ah, niece, and I are expected by the owner, a Mr. Dawson. Could you let him know we're here."

   "I'm Joe Dawson." Joe offered his hand across the bar. "You're Mr. Giles?"

   Giles took the offered hand. "Rupert Giles, formerly with the London branch." He indicated the booth. "Would you like to join us?"

   Jon scanned the empty bar quickly, eyes coming to rest on the young woman last, She sat calmly in the booth, tucked into a corner facing the door. Her eyes scanned the room in polite interest, and her fingers tapped out some unheard rhythm on the tabletop, more from excess energy it appeared, than nerves. He made his way out onto the floor, rejoining Giles.

   "So that's the Slayer. Funny," he said as they crossed the floor. "I've never seen one before."

   "That you know of, at least." Giles sat down next to his charge, Joe across from him.

   The Slayer accepted her glass from Giles. "Thanks, Giles. So you're Joe?"

   "Yep. And you're the Vampire Slayer?"

   She shrugged. "The job description's a little broader than that, but yeah. I'm Buffy."

   "Well, Buffy, Mr. Giles, what can I do for you?"

   Buffy sipped her soda. "We're stopping an apocalypse."

   The matter-of-fact tone made Joe blink. "That sounds pretty serious."

   She waved a hand dismissively. "I have lots of practice. Three so far. Oh, and I brought down a secret government plot to create an army of human/demon cyborg… things." The brightness in her eyes dimmed a little, and she shrugged. "It's always something, right?"

   "I'm afraid Buffy has exaggerated, as she is rather wont to do," Giles said smoothly, shooting the Slayer a look. "I'm in search of a particular reference, and the Council reluctantly suggested, after much persuasion, that you may be able to help."

   "Reference? You're looking for a book? That's it?"

   "Yeah, weird, huh?" Buffy nodded. "But more often than not, some nut saw something in the stars or his breakfast cereal or something and wrote it down. And it sometimes comes in mighty handy."

   "It's a prophecy," Giles elaborated. "Or at, that is to say, it might be. I won't be sure until I have a look at it. I can't give you an exact age as to the text itself, but it's believed that it at least surfaced in China in the late 17th century. My hope is that you can put us in contact with the person who has access to this particular manuscript."

   Joe's eyes narrowed in comprehension. "I see what this is about now. And I don't know how much help I can be to you. My assignment doesn't generally involve dusty old reading material."

   "Yes, of course, we understand that," Giles began, but Buffy rode right over him.

   "Please, Mr. Dawson. Giles has got to see this thing." She toyed with the ice in her glass, poking at it with the straw. "There's all this weird stuff going on. I have these weird, prophet-y dreams, with Faith and the First… and that probably doesn't make much sense. But something's coming, and if there's any chance that this thing Giles wants to see can help, I have to ask you to please let us see it."

   Joe looked back and forth between them. "Apocalypse, huh?"

   "Indeed," Giles said gravely. "And I can assure you, you do not want one occurring in your back garden."

   Joe let out a heavy sigh. "I'll see what I can do. Don't go anywhere."

   Buffy plucked the maraschino cherry from her refill. "Do you think he'll be able to help?" she asked quietly.

   Giles threw a look to their absent associate. He'd excused himself to make a phone call regarding their matter, then apparently found himself wrapped up in the business of running his establishment. However, Mr. Dawson was a considerate host, and had offered to provide them with lunch while they waited for his contact, who was willing to appear, albeit reluctantly.

   He dabbed away the last of the juice from his French Dip and set the napkin aside. "I honestly couldn't say, Buffy. But if he can't, we'll be none the worse for having made the effort."

   "I know. And I'm glad for the chance to get away from the Hellmouth, even if it's just for a little while. That dream was so wiggy. It wasn't just the First freaking me out, Giles. There was something about that bed; something I was waiting for...."

   "We have time to work it out, Buffy. Summers on the Hellmouth are quiet, thankfully."

   Buffy snorted. "Yeah. All the demons go to the beach, or wherever demons go on vacation." She frowned, eyebrows drawing together, muscles tensing. "Giles, I'm getting that creepy feeling, the 'something's-not-right-here one.'"

   The former Watcher scanned the room, looking for obvious oddities. 'Broad daylight, so it's not likely to be vampires. They're not particularly numerous here, in any case. No obvious demons. Are you sure?"

   "Uh-huh. Big-time wiggins." She reached behind her, wrapping her hand around Mr. Pointy, tucked carefully into the waistband of her jeans.

   Giles watched as Joe spoke to a tall, dark-haired man who had just entered, and wondered if the "wiggins," as Buffy termed the feeling, were contagious.

   Joe was crossing the room, the man following behind, a tense look on his face, his long coat hanging open, and Giles realized that not only were the wiggins contagious, they were virulent.

   In a couple of quick, graceful steps, the man was in front of Joe, a fair distance back from the table, ready for anything.

   "I'm Duncan McLeod of the Clan McLeod," he announced, addressing Giles and Buffy equally.

   "Oh, bloody hell," Giles swore softly.

   "Giles?" Buffy asked, slowly drawing Mr. Pointy as she waited for permission.

   "No, Buffy. It's not what you think. No one's here to fight anyone. We're looking for a manuscript, Mr. McLeod. Possibly referring to the Yung Hai E."

   McLeod looked at Joe for a long moment. The Watcher only shrugged. "They're on the up and up, as far as I can tell."

   Mac let his defensive posture go a little. "I think I can probably help you. If you'd like to come have a look…?"

   Giles stood, followed by Buffy. "Thank you, Mr. McLeod," he said. "I do appreciate this."

   Buffy studied the main workout room in awe, turning in place to take everything in. "Wow! This is nice." She gave the body bag an experimental tap and grinned. "We should have one of these at home, Giles."

   The former Watcher removed his glasses and cleaned them with a ubiquitous handkerchief. "Yes, well, circumstances being what they are…."

   "Yeah, I know. Kinda hard to train once we blew up the school," she said, smiling at Joe and Mac.

   "You blew up your school?" Mac echoed.

   "Yeah, well, see, the Mayor was Ascending, and he was going to eat the graduating class…. It's a long story. Very long. And boring," she added.

   "I bet," Mac muttered. "The book you're looking for is probably downstairs," he continued, leading the way to the elevator.

   "Can I stay up here?" Buffy asked, still eyeing the training equipment. "Promise I'll be good."

   Joe and Mac exchanged a look, then turned to Giles. "I assure you she's quite capable. And Buffy, please remember not to touch…"

   "I know. No touching someone else's weapons." She bounced on her toes a few time. "I just want to get the kinks out."

   "I don't see why not," Mac said, lowering the gate. "Going down."

   Duncan came back up to find the girl working out with the body bag, launching a strong series of kicks, punches and blocks that belied her slight stature.

   "Mr. Giles was right. You're pretty good." He took up a position behind the bag, steadying it for her.

   "Thanks," she said, continuing the pattern of her blows and kicks.

   "So vampires are real?" He turned the bag to follow her circling pattern.

   "Yup. And demons. That's what got me when you first came into the bar. I get these weird feelings when strange things are around."

   "And you felt it when I came in," McLeod concluded.

   "Yeah." She stepped back from the bag. "Why? What's the deal with you?"

   He released the bag. "What's the deal with me? Well, why not? Have a seat."

   She settled on one of the weight benches and watched as he retrieved two bottles of water from a mini-fridge.

   He handed one to her and sat on a pile of mats. "Do you know your parents?"

   She frowned. "Yeah. Of course. They're divorced. I live with my Mom."

   "We never know who are parents are." Mac said.

   "'We'?"

   "We. Immortals, for lack of a better word. Did you ever survive an encounter that should have killed you?"

   She shrugged. "Yeah. But I'm the Slayer. We're super-tough. And I did die. I'd be dead now if it hadn't been for a good friend of mine. CPR. The gift that keeps on giving." She studied him for a moment. "You don't think I'm one of these Immortals, do you? 'Cause we're not. Slayers die ALL the time."

   "I'm sorry to hear that. You'd be a pretty formidable army together."

   "Yeah, but we're kind of one-at-a-time. Usually. So where do you guys come from?"

   "No one really knows. There are theories; we're from the distant past, the distant future, another planet. Take your pick."

   "Maybe a different dimension?" Buffy suggested.

   "Why do you say that?"

   "Well, not to say you're all evil or grrr or anything, but demons are mostly from other dimensions, or so Giles tells me. Maybe you guys are kicked out or something."

   "Huh. Never thought about that one." There was a jarring clank as the elevator descended. "Listen, I probably don’t need to tell you that you shouldn't talk about this, right?"

   "Don't worry about it. I'll keep your secrets. Stay away from vampires," she said. "And it never hurts to have a stake handy."

   He chuckled. "I'll remember that, And if someone ever tells you there can be only one, head for the nearest holy ground. Even a cemetary should be safe enough.”

   “Hah. That’s where all the vamps are. But I’ll keep it in mind.” The elevator was rumbling back up, and Buffy hopped off the weight bench, approaching Mac and offering her hand. “Thanks for the help, Mr. McLeod.”

   He shook her hand warmly. “Glad to help. Take care of yourself.”

   “You bet. Same to you.”

   Giles exited the elevator, Joe right behind them. “You be sure to let me know if you see anything,” the bartender said.

   “Certainly. And you’ll keep me informed of any vampires or demons you should come across.”

   “Oh, you bet,” Joe chuckled ruefully. “I wouldn’t know the first thing about dealing with anything like that.”

   “Stakes, Joe,” Duncan quipped, suppressing a grin. “Don’t you watch movies?”

   Buffy giggled as Giles forced back a grin. “Indeed,” the former librarian said. “Stakes are never a mistake. Thank you again for your help, Mr. McLeod. With any luck, we shall be prepared when the next apocalypse comes calling.”

   There had been a final round of handshaking and well-wishes, then Buffy and Giles had been able to leave. Though it was certainly more than a day’s drive back to Sunnydale, they had agreed to get some miles of the return behind them.

   “So what did you find?” Buffy asked as they rolled south through Washington.

   “Not as much as I had hoped, unfortunately. A good portion of the manuscript was written in a demon language I’m unfortunately not familiar with. I almost found myself wishing Spike was along to translate.”

   “Ugh. Maybe I should almost smack you for almost wishing that. Road-trip with Spike...” She shuddered. “So what did you get?”

   “There was a repeated section I was able to decode. ‘Give me the Key.’”

   Buffy frowned. “What does it mean?”

   “I wish I knew. Someone wishes to go somewhere, I suppose. Unfortunately, I fear it will be come clear all too soon.”

   Buffy sighed. “Yeah.” She shifted in the seat a little. “Mind if I snooze a bit? Still a little zonked from that nightmare.”

   “No. Go right ahead.”

   She closed her eyes and drifted off as the car rolled through the Pacific Northwest night.

~END~

Thanks to Ali and Amand-r for the wonderful lyrics.

In the House of Stone and Light
by Martin Page

O Mount Kailas
Uncover Me
Come My Restoration
Wash my body clean
I've been walking
Along a crooked path
Where the walls have fallen
And broken me in half

I'm telling you
I will not rest till I lay down my head
I'm gonna go
In the house of stone and light
I shall not cry for the blind man I leave behind
When I go
In the house of stone and light
In the house of stone and light

Holy lady
Show me my soul
Tell me of that place
Where I must surely go
Old man waiting
At the gates for me
Give me the wisdom
Give me the key

I'm telling you
I will not rest till I lay down my head
In the house of stone and light
Make my way O gonna be such a beautiful day
In the house of stone and light
In the house of stone and light

Let me in beneath my skin
In the house of stone and light

It's been too long
My spirit's been at war
Havasupai Shaman
Let me be reborn

And I will embrace the sun upon my face
Come the day I awake the child inside
In the house of stone and light
And when I go I will op-op-open my eyes
In the house of stone and light
I will see you
In the house of stone and light
I'm looking in beneath my skin
In The House Of Stone And Light

I’ll Keep Your Secrets
Performed by the Trans Siberian Orchestra

Lost in your dark
I see you there
What do you see beyond your stare
And you believe that no one else can know
What is this thing you keep inside
Out of the light and wrapped in pride
Always afraid that one day it will show
I'll keep your secrets
I'll hold your ground

And when the darkness starts to fall
I'll be around there waiting
When dreams are fading
And friends are distant and few
Know at that moment I'll be there with you

What are these voices that you hear
Are they too far or far too near
What are these things that echo from the past
Who are these ghosts you see at night
There in the shadows of your life
They only live by the light you cast
I'll keep your secrets
I'll hold your ground

And when the darkness starts to fall
I'll be around there waiting
When dreams are fading
And friends are distant and few
Know at that moment I'll be there with you
I'll be around

When there’s no reason left to carry on
And every dream you've ever had is gone
And the dark is deep and black without a sound
And every star has been dragged to the ground
Know at that moment I will be around
Know at that moment I will be around

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