The Distress of Being the Damsel
Angel’s skin tingled with the essence of magic as Wesley performed the locator spell. Angel, Wesley, Gunn, and Lorne huddled around a US road map while Wesley chanted something in Romanian.
“Arată-ne calea de prietenul nostru. Arată-ne calea de prietenul nostru. Ne dezvăluie destinaţia ei. Ne dezvăluie destinaţia ei. Arată-ne. Arată-ne. Arată-ne.*”
Wesley dipped the clear quartz in a bowl of read liquid and placed it on the map. The small quartz shuttered, and then Angel, Gunn, and Lorne all jumped back when the quartz suddenly took off across the map.
“Whoa!” Gunn exclaimed. “Freaky.”
“Do lawyers say freaky?” Angel asked.
“They do when shit like this happens.”
“There! The quartz stopped.” Wesley picked it up and the men peered at the map.
The men gazed down at two words on the map. Bon Temps.
“She’s in Louisiana?” Angel asked and looked at Wesley.
“It appears so."
“What the hell is she doing there?” Angel looked at the map again. “She’s in Louisiana? Could that thing be wrong? Maybe we should try it again to be sure.”
“There’s no mistake. She’s in Louisiana.”
The ring of the office phone cut through the silence.
“Yeah?” Angel answered.
“It’s me.” Spike’s voice came from the other end. “I found her shoes, and some blood, but no Fred.”
“That’s ‘cause Fred’s in Bon Temps, Louisiana.”
“She’s in Louisiana? What the hell is she doin’ there?” Spike asked.
“That’s what I said.” Angel was silent for a moment. “Spike, if she’s in Louisiana that means they had to have flown. It’s at least a 21 hour drive. And if they had to book a flight that means….”
“That this was planned.” Spike finished.
Angel growled. “Why? Why take Fred? What’s their reason behind this?"
“That’s what I plan on askin’ ‘em, mate. But of course, I plan on makin’ ‘em leak various fluids first.”
“Call Harm. Tell her to get the jet ready. With our jet, you can be there in about an hour.”
“Got it.” Spike answered as he stopped in front of the coffee shop. He arrived just in time to see the Viper speed away. A dirty hand slipped through the window and flipped him off as the Viper disappeared.
“Bugger.”
“What?”
“You’re gonna have to send a car for me."
“What? What happened to the Viper?”
“It appears someone wanted to go for a joyride.”
Spike grinned as he listened to the string of obscenities that came through the phone. Angel’s reaction was worth the lil’ bastard stealing the car.
Sookie Stackhouse carried a tray of burgers and onion rings to a young couple that sat in the far booth. She plastered a fake grin on her face when she arrived and set the food on the table.
“Here you are,” Sookie’s grinned as she backed up. “Can I get ya’ll anything else? More beer maybe?”
Wow, you’re a pretty young thing. Sookie heard the man’s thoughts as he looked up at her. I wonder if you’re into girls. Maybe Carrie would be more willing to try things with you. Oh yeah. That’d be hot.
Sookie fought the urge to smack the young man across the face as she backed up further. “So, you don’t need anything else then?”
Wow. You’re a strange one. The girl thought. Uh oh. Greg’s got that look in his eyes again. How many times do I have to tell him that I’m not into girls, period. My mama was right. I can do better. “No, we’re fine. Thanks.”
“Okay then.” Sookie spun around and made her way back to the bar. People’s voices began to leak into her brain.
I can’t believe Adel thinks I cheated on her. It wasn’t cheating. It was just simple groping.
Bills, bills, bills. It seems we send out more money than we take in.
How can I tell my wife I got fired today?
I swear, if he looks at her ass one more time, I’m gonna...
Sookie stopped, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She concentrated on shutting down her telepathy until she was able to pull her brain out of everyone else’s.
“You okay, cher?” She heard a concerned voice beside her.
Sookie opened her eyes to see Sam staring at her.
“I’m fine.”
She looked at the doubt in her boss’s eyes as he frowned at her.
“I said I’m fine.” Sookie repeated as she smiled. “Just, lettin’ the voices get into my head more than usual."
“Okay,” Sam backed off, “But if you need anything you know to ask.”
“Yes, I know. Thank you, Sam.”
“Bill still bothering you?” Sam asked out of the blue.
The question startled Sookie. Bill was her ex-boyfriend, ex-lover, ex-everything. He was also a vampire. The first vampire Sookie ever met, let along got involved with. Just the mention of his name, and Sookie thought of his soft brown eyes, his cool touch, and the way his smooth voice sounded like silk when he whispered to her. That thought alone almost made her shiver.
But Bill cheated on her with his maker. He left saying he was going somewhere out of the country, but ended up going to meet his maker in Mississippi. When he went missing, Sookie searched for him, only to fine he’d been unfaithful to her. Even after he cheated on her, she still rescued him and staked his maker. But their relationship ended.
“No.” Sookie lied. Every night, she felt him outside her window as he stood guard over her. Whether he truly felt protective over her, or just guilty for being a bastard, Sookie didn’t know.
“Okay,” Sam could tell she was lying. “I need you to stay and help me close tonight, okay? Arleen had to go home to her kids, her babysitter’s sick.”
“Sure, I’ll stay.” Sookie smiled at Sam as she held her tray in front of her. She turned to the door when someone called her name.
“Sookie!”
“Jason!” Sookie walked to the front door to meet her brother. “I haven’t seen you around much. How are you?”
“Good. Been busy workin’.” Jason grinned as he hugged his sister. “I’ve met someone. She’s real nice and real pretty.”
Sookie looked up at her brother’s face and put on a smile. “Oh, that’s great.” Jason was as good looking as they come with his blond hair, blue eyes, and fantastic body. Unfortunately she also knew of Jason’s reputation. In two words: male slut. But he seemed really happy, so Sookie tried to be happy for him.
“What time do you get off tonight?” Jason asked as he walked to the bar and sat down on one of the stools.
“I’m helpin’ Sam close up, so probably around 2 am.”
“You want me to come back tonight and follow you home?”
Sookie smiled at her brother, touched by his protectiveness. “No, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay then. I’ll just head over to Crystal’s. I can’t wait for you to meet her, Sookie. She’s a great girl.”
“I can’t wait either.” Sookie lied again.
She’s been doing that a lot tonight.
With a sigh, Sookie walked over to check on her tables. Hopefully tonight would be a slow night and she could just head home and go straight to bed. If there was one thing she did not need right now, it was to be sucked into another freaky vampire adventure.
A woman dressed in a long, sleeveless black dress walked through the woods of Bon Temps. She clutched an abused china doll to her chest with one hand and half carried/half dragged a young girl in the other. The girl struggled to free her wrist from the woman's steel-like grasp.
"Let me go, you crazy lady! I don't wanna go anywhere with you."
The woman stopped and turned her heart shaped face to the girl. She had a strange look of innocent insanity.
"But I can't let you go." the woman replied with a cockney accent. "Miss Edith told me I had to take you. She said you would have told everyone else what I am. That's very naughty. Miss Edith said I have to punish you for being so naughty."
“I won't tell anyone, I swear! Just let me go!"
"I can't," the woman repeated, "besides, Miss Edith said my company is close. Their voices are whispering to me through the stars. pssst...psst...psst." The woman continued walking through the woods until they came upon a small wooden cottage.
"Um, that's your cell phone. It's vibrating."
"Oh." the woman stated simply. She put the doll on the ground and removed the cell phone that was tucked between her breasts. "'ello? Daddy?"
"Not quite," a man's voice drifted through the cell. "It's Samuel."
"Sammy!" the woman squealed. "Do you have my present?"
"Uh, yeah. We got her. Wasn't easy, but we managed. We are almost to Bon Temps now."
If the woman's hand were free, she would have clapped with excitement. "The King shall return to his throne. It'll be like he never became the jester!"
"Uh, right. Anyway, we'll be seeing you soon. Bye now." The man hung up.
The woman gazed down at the girl who quit struggling. "It won't be long now. I took his dolly. Now he's coming to find her. Then I'll be his dark queen once more."
"You took who's dolly?"
"Spike. I took his dolly because he was lost. He's been lost for a very long time. I'm going to help him find himself again."
"Lady, you aren't makin' a bit of sense."
"Daddy's gone. Found his soul. Grandmother's gone too. She turned to ash. Spike has been lost. I am by myself." She stood the young girl up to face her. "I've been quite lonely."
The girl could only stare at the strange woman in disbelief.
The woman's large brown eyes seemed to glow suddenly as they peered at her victim. "Look at me. Look in my eyes. Be in me."
Drusilla began to sway as she held the girl's hand. The girl's face went blank and she stared into Dru's eyes and began to sway along with the vampire. Dru smiled as her face morphed into something more demonic than the girl had ever seen. Unable to do anything but sway to the rhythm Dru gave them, the girl let out a small gasp as the vampire leaned forward and sunk its teeth deep into her soft neck.
Drusilla drank deeply as the stars above them sang and whispered secrets to her.
Spike would be hers once again.
TBC
Author’s note:
A few translations for you. Mind you my language skills are a bit rusty, so for that I apologize.
* Feet pue tan is Cajun French for “You son of a bitch”
Merde is a Cajun French cuss word for sh*t
Oui, très étrange is French for “Yes, very strange.”
Catin means doll in Cajun French
Jolie catin means pretty doll in Cajun French
Pic kee toi in Cajun French means f*ck you
Tuat t'en grosse bueche in Cajun French is another way to say shut your mouth.
Arată-ne calea de prietenul nostru. Arată-ne calea de prietenul nostru. Ne dezvăluie destinaţia ei. Ne dezvăluie destinaţia ei. Arată-ne. Arată-ne. Arată-ne is Romanian for “Show us the path of our friend. Show us the path of our friend. Reveal to us her destination. Reveal to us her destination. Show us. Show us. Show us.” (I was going to write it in Latin, but alas, I don’t speak Latin. :) )
The Marilyn Manson song in the Olds Cutless Supreme scene is This is the New Sh*t. The song belongs to Marilyn Manson, not me.