Chapter 7 -- ...and Slaughter

"Cars," the pale green lion said.

"We will fight on the terrace," Ann said.

Gang Long nodded and he and the lions walked out the back door.

"Do we go to meet them?" Giles said.

"Half-way," Ann said.

"Cars?" Buffy said. "That always bothered me. The minions are just minions, I mean it's surprising they are able to read and drive, but not surprising that they have to drive if they want to get somewhere, but why didn't Glory move around the way you and Gang Long do?"

"She never bothered learning? I don't know what went on in her mind, Buffy. I do know human magicians can learn teleportation, so it should not have been beyond her. It does require effort, however, and she did strike me as lazy as well as irresponsible." Disapproval was plain in Ann's voice. "She spent a lot of energy keeping that face beautiful, both those faces beautiful; which just shows that vanity is stupid, even in gods. Especially in gods."

As she had been speaking, Ann led the way out the back door, to the terrace by the pool. Gang Long and the lions were nowhere to be seen.

Ann had not bothered setting up for the forgotten swimming party, so the tables, chairs and lounges were in the storage sheds, leaving the wide flagstone paved terrace bare.

Stone benches made a boundary on the north side of the terrace, above the steepest slope of the hill the house occupied. Below, the terrain had been left natural--a lot of blackberry vines and a few small oaks grew in the lowest folds of the hill. The hill sloped more gently away to the east and west, where there was a narrow stone path leading around the house to the side of garage.

Ann didn't use the torches that she preferred for entertaining, but flipped the switch. The harsh exterior lighting came on. The swimming pool, located in the east half of the terrace, glinted black under the bright artificial lights.

They heard at least two cars stop in front of the garage. Doors slammed shut.

There was a long delay.

"I hate an unpunctual god," Xander muttered. Spike grinned at him.

Finally: "Get out of the way!" a voice roared.

"Yes, you heard his pre-eminence. Get out of the way!"

"I meant you, idiot."

"Yes, of course, ten thousands apologies...aargk."

A minion peeked around the north end of the house, saw the assembled humans, and ducked back. "This way, your mutual eminences. Not that way, this way."

"You idiot," another voice roared.

Around the south-west corner of the house, came two tall human figures, each surrounded by a herd of minions.

As the parade reached the light, Buffy saw the human in the lead was a tall, Roman-looking man, wearing an all black toga, pulled up over his head like a shawl. The toga was so long it trailed on the ground, without getting in the least dusty. The Julius Caesar bangs on his forehead were inky black against his skin.

Most of the minions surrounding this god wore tattered black robes, but there were a few brown robed minions scattered among the black robes.

The second human figure was as blond as Glory and in a masculine way just as beautiful. His head was leonine, with tawny shoulder length hair. He was tanned a warm gold color and had slim, dark, curving eyebrows and prominent and wide cheekbones. Under a full mouth that hinted at petulance, his pointed chin had a faint cleft. He wore an ornate breast plate, with armlets and a skirt of red leather straps, heavily adorned with gold fleurs-de-lis and other metal flourishes. He was surrounded by minions in ragged dark red robes. He also had a small number of brown robed followers.

"The elder is Ligulf," Ann said softly.

"How do you know that?" Giles said.

"Berengar's employer's library."

"Armor?" Buffy said.

"Ignore it," Ann said. "The sword will. That is Gavius, Glory`s son."

"Which one?" Gavius said. "Who killed my sister?" He had a beautiful voice, like Richard Burton's in that old movie about Alexander the Great.

"Don't listen, Buffy," Ann said softly.

Buffy jerked and looked away from Gavius.

"Sister?" Willow asked.

"It's complicated," Ann said.

"Or at least sordid," Tara said. "Yuck."

"The old, tall, skinny male," a brown robed minion said. "That one." It pointed at Giles.

"And where is the Key?" Ligulf asked. His voice, when not yelling at his minions, was calm and reasonable.

"She is not present, my lord. Perhaps she is within the dwelling."

"Fetch her," Ligulf ordered.

The minion, ignoring Buffy and everyone else, tried to pass around them to the back door. "Willow," Buffy said softly.

The Witch spoke one word and clapped her hands. The minion froze, petrified. Willow repeated the word and clapped again. Another minion became a statue.

Gavius drew his sword and walked towards Willow.

Buffy drew the sword from the sheath and tossed the sheath aside. Her disguise vanished. The god's head swiveled around and he stared at the naked blade. His eyes flicked up to her face, and he frowned as if he were puzzled.

"The Slayer," a brown robed minion said.

"You said she was dead," Gavius said, sounding extremely annoyed.

"I was," Buffy said. "Now, I'm back." Everything else fell away from Buffy's attention. Only Gavius mattered.

Spike glanced at Buffy and saw the Slayer, finally completely restored. He looked around the terrace, not wanting to interfere with Ann's or Buffy's actions.

Ann's clothing shifted to red and black tunic and loose pants as she walked forward. She started whispering. Ligulf turned and looked at her. His hands came up and he made a small gesture.

Ann's hands rose, palms out. She paused, then resumed walking. She never stopped whispering.

Minions continued to arrive, coming around the corner of the garage in monotone groups. Xander moved ahead of Willow and Tara and fired a short burst into the group of multicolor-robed minions directly in back of Gavius and Ligulf. Giles came up beside him and also fired.

"Look," Tara said. She was watching Ann and Ligulf.

"I knew she was strong," Willow said. "I didn't know she was that good."

"What do you see?" Spike said. He didn't see anything beyond Ann walking slowly forward.

"Magic," Tara said. "They're fighting with magic."

"It's like two thunder clouds," Willow said. "Dark clouds lit from the inside with lightning. Sometimes, the lightning from one cloud hits the other."

"Witch sight," Spike said. "Ann didn't know if vampires had it or not. We don't, not the way you two do." He drew his knife and glanced east, past the library end of the house. The lions were there, mauling a force of minions that had tried to flank them. Gang Long ran north, through the air, then swooped down the back side of the hill. That end looked under control and Spike checked on Buffy again.

Two minions were circling around Buffy, moving between the two gods and her and Ann, trying to get at her back. Xander and Giles didn't have a clear shot. Spike intercepted one and, intending to stab it, sliced it nearly in half. Yeah, it was good against demons. Ann did marvelous work. He turned to the second one. It fought, but Filis's and Gang Long's coaching in knife technique were very much to the point. Good thing I listened to Filis, Spike thought, killing it slightly more neatly than he had the first.

A minion stuck its ugly head out of the blackberry bushes that grew on the lower slopes on the north side of the hill. It scrambled up, away from the horrible dragon that was eating its friends.

Spike saw it arrive on the hill top behind Ann and look around, then its gaze settled on Ann. Spike ran over to it and kicked it back. It fell, arms and legs flailing, into another minion and took them both down the hill. Two others managed to avoid the falling pair and gain the hill top. Spike stabbed one and sliced the other. He heard Gang Long roaring but couldn't see the long at all.

More minions wearing all three colors of robes started straggling up onto the terrace from the north side of the hill.

A minion opened the back door. Tara noticed it, spoke the word and clapped her hands. She moved around behind Willow, who kept facing west and north, stoning any minion Giles, Xander and Anya didn't shoot. Tara had a clear view of the east end of the house as well as the back door, so she was ready when minions began swarming out of the library's French doors.

Their first rush carried many of them across the flag stones into the pool. Apparently, none of them could swim. Tara froze the most of the rest as they turned west and came toward Ann's and Buffy's backs. The ones Tara missed ducked back inside the library.

Spike could see Ann's lips moving, but could not hear what she was saying. She was sweating and her hands had developed a tremor. Ligulf, about three yards away from her, glanced over at the vampire and gestured. Spike felt a wave of coldness sweep over him, but nothing else. Ann took a step forward.

Spike checked his body, he could move, he still didn't have a heartbeat, so he assumed he was still a vampire, and he still had his knife. He didn't know what had just happened. Neither did the god, he realized, as the god glanced at him again. Ann took another step.

The god's eyes flicked back to her, and he gestured again, this time at Ann.

Nothing happened to Ann, but that didn't seem to bother Ligulf, who just shrugged.

A noise from downhill arrested Spike's attention. He looked down the side of the hill, checking for more minions. He caught a glimpse of Gang Long, galloping counter-clockwise around the hill, heading for the shallower slope up to the driveway. The hill seemed clear of minions at least at the moment, and Spike turned back to Buffy, who was still fighting.

Willow pushed at the pile of stoned minions, sending it flying across the flagstones past Buffy, straight at into the area around Gavius's feet. Gavius yelled and jumped over the moving heap, which went beyond him and down the back of the hill.

Ligulf glanced over at the Witches and gestured again.

Ann's hand moved, waving from the Witches to Gavius. Gavius yelled again and this time staggered back.

Buffy started forward but Gavius did a forward somersault, the tip of his sword cutting down Buffy's cheek

Buffy ignored her wound, caught Gavius' sword on her own and pressed it to one side, thrusting forward at the same time. Gavius leapt back to avoid the thrust but took a wound on the left arm as Buffy changed to a quick slash. The sword split the leather armlet as if it had not been there. Gavius looked surprised at the wound and howled his pain and rage.

Three minions popped out of the back door at once. Tara got two, but the third grabbed her hand, preventing the final part of the spell. Spike raced across the terrace, dodging the stoned minions still littering the middle part of the battlefield, and sliced its head off with a single stroke, his vampire strength with the knife's marvelous sharpness making a deadly combination. Blood sprayed over Tara and Willow.

"Oh, yuck," Tara said, and, turning away from Spike, vomited.

"Not now," Spike told her.

"I'll be sick if I want," Tara managed to snap at him. She felt around in her pack, locating smelling salts and used them. She dropped the vial, said the word and clapped her hands, then she said, "Behind you."

Spike turned back and saw a stone minion blocking most of the main back door. He left it there. The minions behind it were at a severe disadvantage now. Spike stabbed one, and its corpse added to the blockade.

Tara came up beside him, speaking the word and clapping her hands until the minions inside were all stoned.

Ann took another step forward. Her clothes were soaked in sweat, her hair damp and limp, her arms were visibly trembling. She continued to whisper.

Ligulf was still grave and haughty, although he was no longer smiling and the hair on his forehead was slightly damp with sweat. He glanced at Gavius, then at Buffy. He caught Gavius's eye and raised his hand.

Spike, watching the god, realized he was going to try to attack Buffy with that same attack that had proved so ineffective against Spike and Ann. Two immortals, Spike thought suddenly. Buffy was wholly mortal. He ran past Buffy and got between her and Ligulf in time to catch most of what Ligulf was casting before it hit Buffy. Again he felt the cold sensation, but he was still moving.

Buffy's sword arm and the toes of her right foot went cold and unresponsive. She fell, losing her sword. Gavius laughed and raised his sword. Spike lunged at him. The god's eyes left Buffy briefly to try to backhand the vampire away.

Spike dodged the blow, threw his knife to Buffy, who caught it left handed, surged up to her knees and stabbed the knife up into the god's chest.

Gavius stared at the knife, at the Slayer, and pulled his sword back to stab. Spike swiveled on one hip and kicked Gavius's sword out of his hand. Ligulf looked over at his companion. Willow and Tara clasped hands. Willow made a tube of her free hand and whispered through it. Ligulf flung one hand up against Willow and staggered. Ann stepped forward, still whispering, and touched his forehead.

Ligulf froze, becoming a classical statue, his black toga and hair changing to white marble.

Ann breathed deeply, then again, and touched the god's chest, over his heart.

Ligulf fell apart, like an over-dry beach sculpture, into a pile of fine dust.

Ann took a third breath and blew it out on the pile, which whirled away and was gone.

(Chapter 8)

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