Part 6
The morning sun streamed through the high narrow window in the cell. Laurel gazed up at the rays, as they danced and highlighted her miserable surroundings. Her reptilian eyes devoured what little light there was as she remembered a time when she was outside feeling the sun in her hair and meat between her teeth. Before she realised, that because she was joined, she was reliant on the wretches to her left and right!
They had accepted her leadership; it had been simple, their acceptance or their death. She didn't care that their death involved her own. She hated the world with a vengeance and hungered for its rapid and painful demise!
The serpents arched and writhed in wakefulness seeking out their morning repast. They struck at a blackbird and some rats.
Laurel swallowed and smiled showing even more teeth; the other ensouled part retched at the imagined after-taste of their morning meal. She got to her feet and stood holding the ragged blanket that Angel had given her.
Laurel made great show of smoothing her shining auburn locks and smiling in her "sister's" direction.
"Someone comes, someone wishing to destroy us." Laurel's voice hissed unpleasantly; the tone was dry with a reverberation of rock on rock. Her hips swayed back and forth so the others had to follow. She set up a sinuous rhythm, which held them spellbound.
Slowly the blanket slipped from the "soul" triplets fingers as she gave herself to the hypnotic rhythm of Laurel's dance. She felt Laurel's soft-scaled palms drift over her nipples and sighed, her eyes closed to the delicious erotic massage. All three pressed closer in their eternal circle and swayed as Laurel informed them of her plans.
"We will prevail. We must procreate. We will vanquish our enemies and crush continents with our army of followers. This pitiful Council of Watchers will be that army. Together we will be omnipotent!" She waited while "the serpents" nodded their consent and "the soul" battled with her conscience.
~~*~~
The electronic gate opened at the wave of Jack's hand and the party of five entered. "Five for a pentagram" came unbidden to Jack's mind. He looked at his Slayer. He had never felt so close to her. He wondered at his father's ability to read their whereabouts and to see the mantraps around the Watcher's headquarters'.
"They really must get some new ideas," Rupert muttered. Jack led the way with Jenny at his shoulder and Spike to her left. Rose and Gorgon strode side by side to the rear. Rose's fingertips barely brushed her father's sleeve to guide him through the wide Laburnum arched drive to the oak entrance door.
Spike scented the air before he entered. " Three guards and another two in a control room down the corridor. "
Jenny looked at him incredulously. "How do you know that? "
Spike grinned, " Two in the control room are eating curry." He smiled wider as he saw the ghost of Buffy's smile on his love's face. Then he scowled, increasing his pace to the door.
"Sp...William!" Jack cried.
Spike halted and shot a venomous look behind him. "Angel's in there Watcher. Do you think they've invited him for tea? "
"Spike, we get in, do what we have to, and then get out. Understood? We don't have time to rescue vampires in distress." Jack hissed impatiently.
Jenny left Jack's side closely followed by Rose and Gorgon; Spike glanced at the group going through the door. "He's drinking human blood Watcher, I can taste it. You might want to reconsider who needs rescuing. "
Jack sighed and eased his shoulders into a more relaxed position, now he understood the references to tension headaches in his father's Watcher journals.
~~*~~
Angel looked through the toughened glass of the Conference room and saw the approach of a group of five Watchers. One looked like a young Giles and the girl at his side he guessed was the Slayer. His eyes pricked as he gazed at her, younger than Buffy. Suddenly his vampire enhanced vision picked out a second girl to the rear.
"Laurel? No, Willow? " He breathed the names and scrutinised the group more closely. Five Watchers, one looked like Giles, one like Willow, and one like Buffy. "Spike?" He questioned and had his answer as the young man looked directly at him across the distance of a hundred yards.
"Bloody Hell! " He backed away from the window and hurried to the door. The mirrored hall stretched before him. He glanced right then left, and calling upon his demon, he launched his vampiric form with preternatural grace down the hall. Stakes flew at him thudding into the mirrored surface which reflected nothing of his desperate flight to aid the "Scooby gang." He hit the far wall shattering the looking glass and fell into the pit below, twisting his body as his eyes sharply focussed on the lethal stakes lining it. He screamed as three punctured his body one at either hip and the last one plunging through his thigh. His only comfort before he blacked out was one less obstacle for his childe to negotiate.
~~*~~
Jack hurried to catch up with the group. He felt his fathers anger rising and that was dangerous. He'd never seen his father angry while he was growing up and now in the course of a few days he had witnessed his wrath twice.
Spike was drawing ahead of the group. Jack came upon his shoulder and heard him mutter, "Sire" beneath his breath, and then he took after the guards that had scattered in the direction of the mirrored hall.
Their running order was now Spike, Jenny and himself, with Gorgon and Rose at the rear.
The guards were shouting about a vampire shattering the mirrored hall and thoughts of Spike's safety blinded Jack. He let his father do the thinking and, seemingly unbidden, a spell seared through his mind.
Clear, cold and concise the rapier thought pierced and rearranged reality in the bat of an eyelash. Illusion: Reflection obscure: Vampire invisible.
Jack's breathing calmed as he rounded the corner into the mirrored gallery. Unbroken glass stretched along the halls length and the Watchers, with stakes drawn, were dumbfounded because they threw no reflection. Spike turned round and round on the spot very confused.
Jack took his arm and dragged him swiftly past the bemused men; Gorgon, Rose and Jenny followed. "We have little time..." Jack waved his hand in front of the far wall "Reveal." The wall disappeared revealing a sheer drop and Angel impaled on the stakes below.
"Spike? " Angel looked up hopefully out of the gloom as his childe peered into the pit. His heart fell as Spike disappeared and a young girl was lowered down into the pit.
"Angel... take my hands."
Angels' eyes burned as he struggled free of the stakes. The girl was the new Slayer but the tone of her voice reminded him of Buffy. She smiled and his mind reeled as he gripped her forearms. Strength and warmth flooded his body as he remembered so long ago holding Buffy in his arms and carrying her to her home.
"Buffy?" it was half question half prayer. He cried out as he was lifted from the pit into the brightly lit gallery. He sat against the wall waiting precious seconds whilst his body healed enough to allow him to stand.
Spike bent double heaving with unnecessary breath; it had been a long-time since he had to expend so much energy.
Spike looked at Jenny uneasily.
She had moved to Angel's side. "Can you stand? Do you know where they're holding Laurel the Gorgon? "
Angel got to his feet shakily and noticed Gorgon and Rose for the first time. "They wanted me to kill someone. They can't control her or the madman that keeps her alive... Are you here to do the same? "
Rose stepped forward. "I am the one who will kill her, vampire."
Her green-gold eyes were cool on his skin reminding him of Willow in a rage when she had had her fill of Mary Sebastian. "I can help you then, she was in the dungeon, the floor above mine."
"They kept you in a cell?" Spike questioned, "Well, Sire, I had no idea your hankering for bondage had got so strong..."
Angel gave Spike a withering look, "Take care childe you're not too old to be put over my knee!" With that he walked ahead of the troop and tried not to react to Spike's "Promises, promises..." aimed at his advancing back.
Part 7
Oz sat quietly by the fireplace staring at the embers gleaming in crumbling ruby cubes across the surface of the logs.
Cordy looked at him, his eyes fascinated her. How many times had they changed in his lifetime? Lupine to human? She could only imagine how his life had been. Had his employers found another Were-Wolf assassin after his death or was he the last of his kind?
Oz had always been an oddity in high school. In truth, she had never taken the time to get to know him. Willow had though, intimately. She wondered if Willow's relationship with Oz had affected Giles. Certainly last Christmas they seemed to be on good terms, but then she'd never seen Giles not be on good terms with anyone-No, not quite true. Ethan was the exception!
Oz turned to look through Cordelia, his eyes still holding the firelight. Willow and Ethan entered the room silently and Cordy jumped. "Jeeez, have a little consideration to the living guy's!" She looked at the spirits hovering before the fire. "Something's wrong. What's gone wrong?"
Wesley came in with a tray of tea and Xander held the snacks on another one. Both exchanged worried looks with Cordy.
"Rupert's cast a powerful spell, we felt the ripples of it. He's expending a lot of energy keeping them safe. He may have to leave before Laurel is slain." Ethan finished his explanation and walked into the conservatory.
"What does that mean? Willow? What does it mean? " Xander's anxious voice penetrated her thoughts of her husband.
"It means that he's getting weaker. Getting weaker means that he can't keep up the garden and our haven here, we'll depart and we won't return."
Xander's eyes welled with tears as he realised that if Giles weakened more, he would never see Anya in this house, he would never share an after-life with her. His mind played over the hours of her death; how she had struggled to live for him and how determined her eyes looked before she drew her last breath, he had promised to bring her here to Giles, with his eyes blurring with tears as his wife's grip tightened then slackened suddenly. The doctors had whisked the dead baby away and he bent to kiss her cooling lips.
Slowly Willow's words hummed back into focus
"We were never supposed to go on death defying crusades on our return, simply to tell stories and help others to understand that death isn't an end, it's a beginning. As a spirit you're free of self-doubts, you can help people, help other souls who have lost their way. Ethan works with children, guides them back to their parents if that's where they want to be; more often than not, they stay with him until they're called. "
"Called?" Wesley asked. He sipped his tea as he looked at Ethan's back.
"Reincarnated." Willow quantified. "He teaches them to choose parents with the most love to give."
Something exploded inside Xander, a raw scream of grief ripped from his throat. "Those with the most love to give? Anya died giving birth to our baby! Our dead baby... " He staggered slightly and Cordy steadied him. "We loved him from beginning to the end." His face was grief stricken, hardly able to form the words. "He was so small.... Willow, he was perfect.... toes, fingers... " His shoulders shook with silent sobs as his large powerful hands, hands that could have tickled mercilessly, covered his face in a vain attempt to control his rage. "I love him still, as Anya does. I'll never love as much again!"
Willow glowed with understanding. She remained silent and summoned Ethan and Oz; drifted out into the quiet garden leaving Cordy to comfort Xander.
Wesley felt inadequate offering Xander tea but fortunately, he had calmed down enough not to throw it at him.
The three spirits flowed together. Rupert needed reinforcements. They held hands and beamed a third of their considerable energy to the Watcher.
~~*~~
Henri surveyed his image in the looking glass one final time; he'd had the call from Mistress Laurel that tonight would be "The night! " He smiled as he imagined the carnal delights before him; he'd never been in a foursome before.
Lust hurried his determined step to the dungeon door. He had of course been informed of the strange occurrence in the mirrored hall that evening, but obviously the guards in question had been indulging in recreational drugs.
The door of the dungeon swung open and the object of his desire turned to look at him, Laurel smiled and greeted him with a passionate kiss. Hands plucked at his clothing and he became unnerved by the constant hissing and writhing of the serpents. He felt powerful hands on his shoulders pushing him down and then a second set of arms pulled him into the Gorgon's centre. His anguished cry was brief, dying on his lips as the serpents struck, rendering all but his cock paralysed.
He stared wild eyed and silent, desperately trying to summon help with a suddenly disobedient tongue. Henri was turned around until he felt nauseous and finally came to rest before "soul", because she was the only one of the unholy triad that had a womb.
She smiled, her tormentor at last in torment himself, held secure by the slithering serpents of her sister. With Laurel urging her on, she parted her thighs to accept Henri's cock which betrayed him by seeping and throbbing for a home.
Her eyes closed against the undulating of her sisters and the beat of her heart. The man who's cock she rode was being strangled by the serpents, making his thrusts more desperate and her own climax imminent. In her head, Laurel's plan formed and pulsed and she saw all that she envisaged for the Watchers and the Earth.
The voice of another joined Laurels', one that recited poetry and bawdy songs. She opened her eyes and saw the purple anguish on the man she fucked and stopped before he came. She heaved away from his lifeless body, just as his seed jetted impotently into the air.
~~*~~
Jack felt strange, like he was floating out of his body. He must have stumbled because Spike caught him and he saw the look of concern on his face. Spike had never looked at him that way and he realised that Spike was looking at his father's face...
"I can't..." Rupert's voice was pained and weak and Jack studied the ceiling unaware that he had fallen. The dark stones closed around him and his breathing became loud in his ears.
Silver threads of light drifted toward him, hesitated before touching his body and then the beam spread and filled the empty spaces in his heart and soul. His body jerked under the pressure and force of the transferred power. He opened his eyes and saw the beam striking his chest. He held his hands under it and bathed his face. He smelt his mother, felt Ethan's love for Giles and Oz's strength and determination. He slumped against the wall and swallowed as the flow of energy slowly petered out.
Spike grinned and helped him up. "Batteries recharged? " Jack nodded. "Good, let's get the bad guy and go home."
~~*~~
Laurel's scream of frustration ended abruptly with the swing of Rose's broadsword. "Soul" lay on the floor with her hands covering her eyes, knowing that if she saw her assailants "serpents" they would turn them to stone. With a terrible dying lunge, Laurel sliced the blade of her Thracian sword across Jenny's stomach. The Slayer dropped to the ground.
Spike ripped the sword from the Gorgon's hand and gutted her from navel to throat. Blood spattered all around and he dropped to his knees by his Jenny.
Gorgon locked his gaze with Laurel. "Thou art an abomination, an evil scar upon this Earth and I wish you gone from it!" Laurel's head and body turned to stone instantly and Gorgon staggered back to the dungeon wall.
Angel struck at the serpent-headed sister and watched with a satisfied smile as it bounced once on the dungeon floor and rolled to a corner. His boots stepped carefully over the bloodied dungeon floor until he reached "the soul." Her hands were still clamped over her eyes afraid to see the carnage around her. He took her hands in his and with kind words eased her up to sit leaning against his chest away from the bodies of her sisters.
Spike wept over the cooling body of the Slayer, his hands tight over the wound in her belly, Angel had never heard Spike utter such impassioned entreaties.
"Jenny, live... You have to stay with me, Jenny. We have that special date on your Eighteenth remember?" He rocked her and cast about with tear-drenched eyes for the Watcher.
Jack stood quiet, too shocked to act.
"Vampire. I must slay this one too." Rose's voice reached Angel's ears and he looked up at her with haunted eyes.
"No need, she's dying. I feel her heart slowing, they were symbiots, kill one, and they all die." The soul clutched at Angel's arm, pointed across to the serpent head, and then turned her gaze to where the Slayer lay. Angel fetched the head; the serpents still writhed in blind agony. She clutched a serpent's head and milked the venom into her mouth then began to crawl over to Jenny.
"Move out of the way Spike." The younger vampire looked up at his Sire's voice then shook his head as he saw the last sister dragging the bloodied bodies of her sisters. " What? So, she can finish Jenny off?"
"No Spike, so she can save her." Jack eased the vampire away from the Slayer and let the last of the Gorgon sisters heal his Slayer.
She opened her mouth and the stored venom bathed the Slayers' wound. She didn't stop there; she passed her hands over the body, a faint green glow emanating from her palms. Her eyes also glowed but after a few minutes, they became glassy and lifeless as Jenny grew stronger she got weaker.
Her fingers curled over and she fell sideways into the bloody puddle of her sisters' remains.
Jenny took a deep breath and smiled up at Spike. He laughed and picked her up swinging her round. Angel stood his ground in the middle of the carnage and wept a tear for the passing of a pure spirit.
Jack took Jenny's hand, "Time to go Buffy." A sudden noise made him look to the door, guards were thundering down the dungeon stairs.
"Sanctum Invisibalis!" At Rupert's command, a velvet transparent haze dropped over the dank cell. "Buffy, come..."
The souls of Jack's father and his Slayer fled their temporary hosts as the dungeon door crashed back against the stone wall, guards poured in but could see only the mutilated corpse of the Gorgon and it's would be master, Henri Sebastian.
Part 8
Wesley's teacup rattled in its saucer as he reacted to the sudden reappearance of Giles and Buffy in their midst.
Willow embraced her husband; as he gave her a brief kiss and exchanged a nod of thanks with Ethan and Oz. Willow's hands slid from Giles' back to his forearms and noticed the tension there.
"It's not over Willow, I had to leave in a hurry. Jack and the others need rescuing... Ethan? A circle if you please. Oz... Ah, stinky herbs at the ready I see." Rupert smiled as Oz cracked a grin at the old joke. Rupert glanced at the sofa holding Cordy, Wesley and Xander.
"Feet up! " Rupert snapped. Each one of them snapped their feet off the floor as the sofa flew back to the far wall revealing a pentagram beneath the rolled rug that followed it.
Ethan, Oz, Willow and Rupert took up their positions. Four. Each one of the spectres grew still, their forlorn faces shocking the onlookers.
"We need a fifth..." Ethan intoned unnecessarily.
"We'll have to manage without!" Ripper ground out.
Buffy fidgeted on the sidelines, she knew that in order to be in a circle one needed to have mythical or magical powers and she had neither.
"Mr.Giles? I have some magical knowledge... Could I help? "
Wesley approached the circle and Rupert looked at him, then shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry Wesley, need's a spirit and we have...no...one..." Rupert's voice died away as Xander pointed frantically to the door of the secret room.
A dark shadow crept along the gap beneath the door and began flowing across the hardwood floor. Cordy folded her legs beneath her and Xander became more agitated, hoping and praying that the new spectre was Anya.
~~*~~
Spike and Angel flattened themselves against the dungeon walls to escape detection from the Watcher Guard. Spike discovered Gorgon's fallen body.
Jenny and Jack held silent and steady whilst the Watcher Guard roved around them disposing of the remains. Rose breathed slowly as she made her way stealthily toward Angel and her father, resting at Spike's feet. .
Gorgon's opalescent eyes stared ahead, his serpents weakly writhing and his breaths ragged and rare. Rose knelt at her father's side. "Father..." She whispered.
One of the Watchers halted in his task and took a step nearer. Angel threw a stone across the floor and the man turned to investigate the sound, he shrugged and completed his task.
Gorgon struggled to draw breath, his chest heaving with the effort. Angel slid carefully down the rough wall and held the man close to him as his death drew ever nearer.
Rose was agonised in grief, her fist trapping her sobs deep within her whilst her silent tears ran their course.
The door clanged shut and Rose shook her head violently as Gorgon breathed his last. "No...." she moaned aloud and Spike hushed her, still fearful of discovery.
Angel hoisted Rose up and carried her to the centre of the dungeon, Spike, Jenny and Jack followed, to await rescue.
~~*~~
Rupert held his breath as the newcomer flowed and roiled over the floor toward the fifth point in the pentagram. The shadow grew in stature until it stood and solidified.
Hands joined in joy and sorrow as they welcomed Anya to the circle.
Anya's powerful voice leant strength to their daring rescue attempt. Her eyes were clear and flecked with the magic of creation. A rift appeared in the space before them and they could see the dungeon and the people trapped within. Rupert's voice cleaved the tear deeper and Anya's held it open while the others stepped through into Rupert's sitting room.
Anya chanted the closing incantation and turned to smile at Xander. He took tentative steps toward her that she halted by the upturn of her hand. "Xander don't grieve for me or our baby. He is here. " She pointed to his heart, and gestured to encompass the spirits in the room.
"He will be coming here as well, Ethan told me. " She smiled at the sorcerer and he bowed gallantly. " But in the meantime..." She grinned and beckoned him to her with a sexily upturned eyebrow.
The rug rolled back at Ethan's gesture. He was about to deal with the sofa when his hands stilled and he glanced round the throng. Someone was missing. His eyes rested on Rose. Angel held her while she wept.
"Gorgon..." Ethan held Rupert's gaze as he said the name in quiet reverence.
Willow paused in hugging Jack, her arms suddenly chilled with the passing of a unique spirit.
"Gorgon..." Rupert groaned sorrowfully. Willow stepped into his arms to remember their old friend.
"He turned Laurel to stone. Never saw the like before!" Spike exclaimed. "I'm glad I never pissed him off." With typical Spike grudging respect, he wrote the epitaph of the Gorgon.
Part 9
Oz tidied the circle while his friends gathered in mourning about Rose and Jack. He didn't join them, he hadn't known Gorgon that well, but from what he'd gleaned in conversations, Gorgon was a mythical creature of great compassion and fierce loyalty. It was hard to believe that Ethan knew such a fellow! And from what little Oz knew about mythical creatures, generally they didn't just die, for the balance to be maintained some kind of transformation usually took place.
Angel found himself alone, observing humanity again. His nostrils flared as the scent of Watcher blood approached from his right.
Wesley jumped as the legendary Angelus locked his predator's gaze on him.
"Ummm, what of.... Is? " He stopped and took a breath, lowering his gaze and trying a new tack. " I found Laurel, and I saw how beautiful she was, the human third. Did she...?" He swallowed the lump in his throat and Angel took pity on him.
"She died with the others, but she stopped Sebastian before he could complete his plan, and had no part in the fight that ensued. The Slayer almost died tonight and she saved her. She died well, that's all us ensouled demons can ask for. To die well."
Wesley had tears in his eyes and he blotted them impatiently with his handkerchief. "Seems like a very lonely existence... " Angel nodded. Then turned to Wesley as the Watcher's aura shifted, he could sense his growing excitement. "Angelus? "
"Angel..." Angel corrected. The middle-aged man before him nodded and continued. "I've left the Watcher's Council, and thus am without employment, would you consider letting me work with you? I mean what do you do? I'm assuming you fight evil otherwise; you wouldn't have been summoned to help the Council..." Wesley paused when he saw Angel's interested expression and smiled.
"I used to help Buffy, in Sunnydale. I was there the night she died. Since then, I've been a sort of auxiliary Slayer in Los Angeles. I hope I'm making a difference. But I do need an assistant.... Would you like the job?"
Wesley grinned, and bounced on the balls of his feet, instantly making him look years younger. "Oh yes! Yes please! "
"Sorry, what's your name?" Angel smiled at the Watcher, he's like a puppy with two tails, he thought.
"Wesley..." Wesley coloured when saying his name, aghast that he hadn't introduced himself at the start of the conversation.
"Well, Wesley. Try not to bounce too much; it's unbecoming to a rogue demon hunter." Angel commented dryly and excused himself in search of Buffy.
Wesley watched Angel's retreating back, straightening his shoulders, and muttering beneath his breath "Rogue Demon Hunter, I like the sound of that..."
~~*~~
Angel went outside and stood amongst the midnight scented roses, the hair on the nape of his neck prickled as he caught Buffy's essence on the gentle breeze, all fire and snap with a guilty hint of chocolate.
Buffy walked into his vision and stood before him hands on hips.
"So, you thought that dashing headlong down a booby trapped corridor and crashing through a mirror into a stake lined pit was a good idea, did you?"
Angel shrugged; Buffy had always had the ability to reduce his reasoning to that of a bumbling child. Her stance changed, she lowered her arms and the tinkle of bells ended at her wrist. Angel concentrated on the sound, narrowing his gaze to the bracelet she wore on the night of her death. She was wearing the same outfit.
His heart ached as he remembered that night, the night she died.
He'd been seconds too late, he had heard her choking before he saw her and tested his sinews to beyond breaking point. He saw her struggles to breathe, her fall and the sound her bracelet made as it hit the ground. He had stopped dead. The horror of the scene pummelling his senses, the swirling dust of her last slain and the poison hidden within that dust.
"What's Bloodfast?" Buffy fingered her bracelet as she stepped closer to angel.
Buffy's question and the tinkling sound jolted him out of his remembrance. He swallowed the dust in his throat before answering.
"Bloodfast is called to honour a fallen Master, I called it for you, a great Warrior. No vampire or demon fed or killed for three weeks while Willow searched for your murderer. Her name was Marie Sebastian; she was a vampire without minions who considered it a sacred act of revenge to kill all Slayers that crossed her path. We, Spike, Willow, Xander and I, captured her and tortured her to death." Angel droned on, his gaze fixed on the damask roses before him. "Her last agonised screams signalled the end of the Bloodfast and Sunnydale became Hell, for the next three weeks. "
"Angel? " Buffy murmured.
He looked at her intensely; he wanted desperately to hold her, to feel her warm body next to his, to worship her to the beat of her heart. But that was never to be now.
"I hoped it would be you who found me, Giles... well he went a little weird. " She smiled with tears in her eyes. "I knew the one who loved me most would find me. I love you, Angel." Angel gasped at the jolt in his heart and tears sprang to his own eyes.
"I'll wait for you Angel," Buffy continued. "We'll be together with no curses or cares. I promise you... Only, don't be in too much of a hurry to join me, ok?"
He gave a sort of gulping hiccupping laugh then was still as Buffy kissed him. The sensation was of sunlight and snapdragons; her fingers caressed his hair and swept away his tears.
"Buffy, I never stopped loving you..." Angel whispered into the soft night. He could feel the spectral strands of her hair on his face. She nodded. "I know lover, I know." She slipped her hand in his and gently urged him to follow her. "Time to go inside or you'll miss Giles playing with Oz."
Angel's eyebrows nearly climbed off his forehead. "Now that's something I'd pay to see..." He muttered and followed his love into the Library
Part 10
Angel sat down on one of the sofas between Cordelia and Wesley. He allowed his sombre face to relax into a less sombre one. He was enjoying himself.
Spike and Jenny sprawled on the second sofa, relaxing to the sweet music while Rose and Jack sat in the conservatory with a pot of coffee catching up on each other's childhood.
~~*~~
Deep in the bowels of the Council of Watchers, something stirred in the dungeon.
Heat shimmered about Gorgons body; gradually green gold flames licked hesitantly up the prone figure, serpent scales sloughed off to reveal skin of coffee caramel the body arching gracefully in an imitation of a striking cobra and light as bright winter ice swept throughout the room.
An agonised cry pierced the silence as Gorgon surrendered to the light. The scent of honey and spring filled the air and as the light faded, Gorgon stood transformed. His eyes clear and green, bronze dreadlocks tumbled over his broad shoulders to his waist where a sheathed hunting knife rested against his unadorned thigh.
Gorgon straightened his arms, flexing his shoulders to spread wide his soft feathered wings, the colour of earth and autumn leaves. A gentle breeze ruffled his wing tips; a golden sparkle surrounded him as he faded from sight.
~~*~~
Gorgon stepped through the garden wall and discovered the ravages of Rupert's wrath. The Magical garden was all but destroyed. He sighed and his breath stirred the honeysuckle to blossom, his gaze revealed all as it should be and he concentrated his energy on making the garden bloom. He had been charged with maintaining the earthly paradise of Rupert and Willow Giles.
In the wake of his footfalls, the camomile lawn greened and softened from its frosted brown. He stooped to the stream and scooped the fallen leaves from its stagnant surface, the water burbled and sprang into new life at the stir of his fingertips, and birds sang on the boughs. Gorgon lowered his frame to a moss covered rock and welcomed the wildlife back into the garden.
The willow tree stirred and wafted, dipping supple, green tendrils into the stream. The sun shone softly filtered through the cool, green leaf canopy. He surveyed his handiwork and smiled, his fingers plucked a few herbs from the border and he ate whilst waiting for his friends return.
~~*~~
The set was finished and everyone settled in front of the roaring fireplace. The tree stood in the corner covered with treasured Christmas memories; Rose had the honour of putting the last bauble on the tree.
Rupert stepped back and sighed, "It looks wonderful Jack. You've inherited your mother's eye for a tree." His arm slipped around his wife's shoulders and kissed her hair. He looked over his friends gathered in his sitting room but found his gaze drawn constantly to the garden.
The Magical garden at the top of the barren winter earth was blooming again. Willow followed her husband's gaze and gasped as she saw the sunlight sparkling through the trees.
"How? " she questioned smiling,
Rupert squeezed her arm. "I don't know, let's go see! " he said excitedly. They blinked out of the sitting room and walked into the garden. The air was warm and golden. They halted on the lawn at the sight of a stranger seated on a rock.
Gorgon stood and greeted his friends. "Master Rupert, Mistress Willow..." His wing tips brushed the sweet grass at his feet stirring the perfume in the air.
"Gorgon! " Rupert and Willow exclaimed together and dashed forward to embrace their friend whom they thought had perished. Gorgon's wings enveloped them in a warm russet embrace.
"Rupert, I am here to preserve and protect your heaven on Earth. You and Willow can rest and relax here, leave everything to me."
They rested their heads on Gorgon's shoulders and bathed in the love that radiated from him. Willow raised a sleepy head. "Are you an angel now? " she asked in a hushed tone.
He smiled down at her and answered in tones of liquid honey. "A kind of Angel, yes. But do not tell anyone, otherwise everyone will want me." He winked and chuckled, Willow giggled delightedly.
"Thank you for being here Gorgon, thank you for everything." Rupert murmured. Gorgon held the Watchers gaze for a long time.
"You are very welcome, Rupert. "
The end.
Next: Death of a Rascal