Voracity, Chapter 2

Warnings: Character Death

 Chapter 2

“Hungry,” the voice whispered. “So very hungry. I need more. I need more power.”

Giles whistled under his breath while he strolled down the sidewalk. He looked up at the sun, deciding he was glad he’d walked to the magic shop rather than driving his old gray Citroen. “I can’t wait to read Reginald’s Compendium of Demonic Origins, ” he said softly.

As Giles passed a darkened alley, the sound of a wounded animal whining caught his attention. He peered into the blackness, but he couldn’t make anything out. He again looked up at the sun before he returned his attention to the noise. Despite his knowledge of the supernatural, Giles was confident that nothing would happen to him during the midday. Even so, he pulled a bottle of Holy Water from his jacket pocket.

Giles stepped into the alleyway. “Hello? Are you okay?” He took another step further into the gloom. The whimper sounded again. It was more urgent this time.

“Yes, come to me,” the voice whimpered. “I can feel your power, mage.”

Giles heard the cry again. If he had been knowledgeable in rare demonic languages he would have realized that the whine was actually speech. Not just a hurt cry for help.

Still holding the belief that nothing would happen to him during the day, Giles took another step before he was engulfed by a viscous, black cloud. His fear rose as he struggled against his captor. Why hadn’t he driven his car? Why did he enter the damned alleyway? Giles started to pray while he struggled against the cloud, but it was to no avail. Whatever had him in its grip was stronger than he was. God, help me.

“Power!” The voice was filled with glee. “Glorious, delicious power.”

Giles felt himself start to weaken. Something vital was slipping away, but the darkness that overwhelmed him clouded his thoughts and memories. The vial of holy water slipped from Giles’ fingers. It fell to the concrete, smashing into a million little pieces, and the water flowed harmlessly towards the storm grate.

The Watcher’s last thoughts were of his Slayer and her newest bunch of friends. He hoped that they would be able to avenge his death. He opened his mouth to scream in pain and terror, but the sound was muffled by the cloud.

~~~

Detective Mason Stein scanned the fingerprints into the computer. He hoped for a hit on the deceased identity. He looked over the file again until his young cadet partner sauntered into the station. Stein looked up when Buffy flopped down in the chair next to his desk.

“Let’s go see the crime scene.”

“You feel anything back there at the morgue?” Stein asked. He closed up the file and rose to his feet.

Buffy shrugged. “Felt lots of things, but I have no real conclusions yet.” She hopped to her feet again. She picked the car keys up from the desk. “It shouldn’t take us too long to get over to Breakers Woods though.”

Stein grabbed the keys from Buffy. “I’ll drive, not you.” He started off towards the front door of the police station.

“Hey, my driving isn’t that bad.” Buffy grabbed her file from where she left it earlier. She followed Stein’s path. “I haven’t wrecked a car in months and months.”

After Buffy and Stein were in the car, she opened the file again. “Kroger’s notes say the scene was abnormally clean. That could certainly make things difficult. Let’s hope the stress means they missed something.”

“Army boys playing paintball at that time of the morning sounds suspicious too,” Stein replied.

Buffy wrinkled her forehead. “Willow told Giles that she’s seen a lot of military activity on the college campus the past few nights. They’re escorting anyone attending night classes around campus.”

A few moments later, Stein and Buffy pulled into the parking lot next to Wilkins Memorial. They stepped out of the vehicle into the mild October air.

“It’s shaping up to be a cool fall,” Stein said in a conversational tone. “Wonder if we’ll have another freak snowstorm this year.”

“I’ll be sure to ask the Powers That Be for you.” Buffy chuckled under her breath. She knew better than to try to explain that the snow was sent to keep a certain vampire from offing himself with the rising sun. She pointed to the nearby ground where someone had sprayed around the outline of a body. “This is where Harmony was found along with her car.”

“Not exactly lover’s lane.”

Buffy nodded. “It must have been because Harmony didn’t want to be seen making out with this one.”

Stein turned to look at Buffy. “Not her usual type?”

“No, not hardly. Harmony was part of the Cordettes when I moved here.” Buffy wrinkled her nose. “One of the ‘in’ crowd, if you know what I mean.”

“The male was found several miles in that direction.” Stein nodded towards the deep woods. “The male was found first. The female when the coroner parked here.”

Buffy walked around the area, looking for any clue to whom or what had killed Harmony Kendall. She was surprised by the lack of anything on the crime scene. “Do you remember what Ted was?”

Stein nodded his head in remembrance of the first time he had met Buffy Summers. Their meetings prior to her joining the police force hadn’t been exactly under the best of circumstances. “He wasn’t all that human.”

“There are many others who aren’t exactly human in Sunnydale.” Buffy watched Stein’s face carefully. If he accepted what she had to say, there might be other avenues of investigation to approach. “What if I were to tell you that I heard a rumor about another similar death?”

“Why wasn’t it reported?” Stein eyed Buffy.

“What if I was to say the rumored victim and one of our victims weren’t human?”

“Do you trust this rumor monger?”

Buffy let out a wild laugh. “No, Sometimes I don’t trust him one iota, but he’s not lying. Harmony was probably here because she was dinner, but our perp interrupted. Our male victim went by the name of Chad, and he should have turned to dust when he ‘died’, but he didn’t.”

“Are you talking about a vampire?” Stein gave Buffy an incredulous look.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Come on, Stein. Did you really buy that newspaper crap? Rival gangs fighting it out at the Bronze? That was a vamp named Luke. Gangs on PCP invading the school during Parent-Teacher night? Vamp named Spike. Oh, and magic is real! All the adults suddenly acting like kids? A chaos mage named Ethan Rayne.”

“Where was this rumored body found, Cadet?”

Buffy jerked her head towards Sunnydale. “Behind the tattoo parlor on Grant Street. I stopped by on my way back from the morgue. Like this one there weren’t any clues.”

“Well, let’s hope there’s something where our male victim died.” Stein looked towards the trees. “Looks like we’re going to get our exercise today.” He walked off in the direction of the crime scene.

“Peachy,” Buffy muttered under her breath while she followed her partner. “Just what I wanted to do. Go for a hike.”

Several hours later, Buffy and her partner were back at their patrol car. The walk hadn’t bothered the Slayer, but Stein was huffing and puffing. The sweat poured off the man’s bald head.

“Are you okay, sir?” Buffy asked in concern. “You’re looking a bit… I don’t know… pale.” She went to his side.

“I’ll be fine.” Stein waved Buffy away. “I just need to get some rest.”

Buffy shrugged. “Okay, whatever. How about you drop me off at the station, I’ll make up the reports, and you can go home for some rest?”

“Sounds good.” Stein staggered over to the car. Once he was sitting down he felt better. Maybe he was just dehydrated. Some rest and liquids would do him some good.

~~~

After Stein dropped Buffy off at the police station, she typed up the report just as she said she would. Not that there was anything to tell. The scene where Chad had died had been as clean as Harmony’s. Buffy was just finishing up when Corderman came out of her office.

“Summers, there’s been another murder with an M.O. similar to your vics. Where’s Stein?”

Buffy looked up from her computer. She picked up a cup of coffee that she’d gotten on the way back from the cemetery. “The hike was hard on him. I told him I’d do the report. I’m almost finished. Should we call him?”

“I will in a minute. The patrol officer on the scene has already identified the victim as Rupert Giles.” Corderman looked at Buffy in surprise when the cadet let out a horrified gasp. The cup of coffee fell from the girl’s nerveless fingers, and she paled considerably. “Summers, are you okay?”

“Giles is my friend, my mentor,” Buffy whispered. Her eyes filled with tears. “He can’t be dead.”

“I’m so sorry, Buffy.” Cindy had no idea what to say. “He was found downtown in a back alley. Do you have any idea why he’d be down there?”

Buffy sniffed while she answered the chief’s question on autopilot. “His friend just published a book on demons. Giles was expecting it to come in at the magic shop. He probably went down to pick it up.”

“If you can’t handle this, Summers, I understand,” Corderman said. “I can hand the file over to Wilkins and his partner.”

Buffy sniffed again. She reached up to brush her tears away. “I’ve seen death before. I can handle it.”

“I’ll call Stein. He can meet you on the scene.”

Buffy nodded before she rose to her feet. “If this is like the other deaths, there won’t be any helpful clues there.”

“Can’t let that stop you, cadet. If you need to be relieved of the case, let me know.” Corderman was slightly worried. Usually cadets weren’t so closely involved with a murder investigation, but she knew that this cadet was special. Buffy’s aptitude for police work was unlike anything Cindy Corderman had even seen in her career.

“Yes, ma’am.” Buffy grabbed her jacket. “Tell Stein to hurry.” She was out of the police station in a heartbeat, on her way to find out whom or what killed her Watcher.

 

Originally posted at http://seasonal-spuffy.livejournal.com/404200.html