AB/BtVS FF: Nightmares in Waking Life 58B/?
TITLE: Nightmares in Waking Life
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii, overall
PAIRINGS: All the pairings from the previous two stories---and some new ones, too
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the whole TV series for the Buffyverse; Alive at Last and Living Underground.
WARNINGS: A little bit of fur... bdsm... the usuals for Anita's crazy, crazy world.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone---except for any original characters that I whip up to do my bidding ;)
NOTE: This story is a sequel to Living Underground.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-11, 12, 13, 14-5, 16-7, 18-9, 20-1, 22, 23, 24-5, 26-7, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-3, 34-7, 38, 39-40, 41, 42, 43-44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51A, 51B, 52, 53, 54, 55-6, 57, 58A
PART FIFTY-EIGHT, Part 2
When Willow felt Jean-Claude and Asher rise, one and a half movies later and at almost the same time, she put a hand on Emily's arm and said, "I'm gonna go show the vamps our presents."
Emily stiffened and nodded.
The witch sighed and rubbed Emily's arm before bringing her hand up over her shoulder, and onto her back. "You're safe here," she whispered. "I promise."
"Thank you," Emily whispered back.
On an impulse to comfort the girl, Willow leaned in and kissed the top of her head. "Be right back," she said as she eased away from Emily.
Before she went to see the vampires, she gathered the boxes up in her arms. They weren't very heavy, so she didn't have much trouble carrying them in. Jean-Claude gave her a curious look as she approached the bed, but Asher was more concerned with the back of Jean-Claude's neck.
"You brought Richard's charge here?" Jean-Claude asked.
Willow nodded. "Yeah... something happened today, and I don't really understand it, but she was terrified and she couldn't stay at school," she told the Master of the City. "Something to do with these boxes," she added, holding them up before putting them down on the bed. "Richard and Emily found this one---" she said, pointing to the first box "---and this one, we found outside the employees' door," she finished, pointing to the second box. "They both have the same mask inside. I don't get it, but Emily is still pretty shook up over it."
Asher lifted his head. "Did you say mask, mon colibri?"
"Yes."
The blond vampire looked at his dark-haired companion and they shared a frown.
"We have been doing many things differently here," Jean-Claude said to Asher. "And with Sampson still here..."
"Could they be here because she is waking up?" Asher asked him.
Jean-Claude shrugged. "C'est possible."
"Who are you guys talking about?" Willow asked.
"We cannot say," Asher replied.
"Well, how---"
"It is law, Willow."
Willow frowned. Asher rarely used her given name; when he did, it was to some effect, such as making a point or trying to get her attention.
"Asher."
"Willow, now is not the time to push!" he exclaimed. "We must be very careful if we have received two observation masks."
"Observation?" she asked. "Is that... the style? The colour?"
"The colour," Jean-Claude said quietly. He reached out and took her hand in his. At his gentle tug, she eased onto the bed and sat down next to him. He put his arm around her shoulders and whispered: "Do not take offence at mon chardonneret's tone. He spent more time with the Council; he knows more of this situation we now face."
"You're both scaring me," she said. "And Emily's already terrified."
"How does Emily know of such things?" Asher asked.
Willow shrugged. "She wouldn't tell me anything."
"Augustine has never mentioned... not that he ever really could," Jean-Claude said, thinking out loud. "But, I suppose I had hoped he trusted us enough to indicate in a discrete way that he had ever received such a visitor."
"May I ask Emily a question, Willow?"
Willow looked at Asher. She had so many questions and she wanted answers, but he seemed unable to address her needs. She wanted to push for the information she was lacking, but something in Asher's tone of voice continued to tell her that he did not want to be pushed.
She sighed. "Yes. But, I want to be there."
"Of course," he agreed. "I do not make her comfortable."
"It's not that she's afraid of you," she said quickly, "but she doesn't know you and she's been so jumpy today---"
"I understand," he interrupted. "May I go now?"
"If you put a robe on."
His lips curved into a barely-there smile. "D'accord."
Jean-Claude rubbed Willow's arm and then pulled his hand away, trailing it over her back before bringing it to his waist to adjust the sheet around him. "It is just a question," he murmured. "It will be alright."
"Thanks," she whispered back.
Both vampires rose from the bed and donned their robes. Willow waited until they were ready and then she went with them into the other room.
Emily looked up, wide-eyed, when she saw the three of them approach her.
"I can't talk about it," she mumbled, pulling a pillow up to her chest.
"I know," Asher said in a patient, calm voice that betrayed the mood Willow had glimpsed in the other room. "However," he continued as he sat down in the arm chair near her spot on the sofa, "I would like to know, as much as you can tell me and as vaguely as you need to be to tell me, how you have learned of this... phenomenon."
Emily bit her lower lip. Willow inhaled slowly and then said, "Emily, please. Any information that you can give them."
After a few minutes contemplation, she nodded in concession. She tried to speak but had to clear her throat before trying again. "I used to have a vampire babysitter when pack business didn't include me," she explained. "I wasn't the only one... a few of the younger vampires had kids, and sometimes some of the pack that had normal kids would leave their kids with Jessie, too. She was an older vampire. Not as old as you guys, but still, pretty old. She loved kids. She never had any. She fell in love with another vampire and when she was sick and started to die, he turned her... anyway... that part doesn't really matter.
"She had to take care of something and she left us with Alex one night. We begged him to tell us some stories---he had really good stories! We asked him to tell us a scary story and he told us about... y'know. He told us the name. He told us about the masks... what they meant... he told us about it like it was a fairy tale! Like it was a story old vampires told fledglings to make them behave! We didn't know... we didn't know it was real... we didn't know...
"Nothing happened that night. Nothing happened for a couple of weeks. I was dropped off at the kiss after dance class, after school, and I wanted to get to Alex's and Jessie's room before they woke up to show them the A I got on a math test. I was so excited---and they helped raise me, so I wanted to share it with them and---"
She broke off and shuddered. Tears filled her eyes.
Asher sighed. "You found him dead?"
She nodded. "She was hurt badly. It took a month for her to heal. She still has scars. I found her lying in their blood. He was dead. Head cut off. Black mask sitting on his face," she admitted quietly.
Willow gasped. Jean-Claude, who had stayed close to her, hugged her from behind to offer her some form of comfort.
"And then, you knew they were real."
She nodded again and wiped her eyes.
"Thank you for telling me how you knew what these masks are," Asher said in a gentle voice. "That was very brave of you."
"I still have bad dreams about it sometimes," she confessed. "I don't think about it so much anymore, but every once and a while... the dreams come back."
"That is perfectly understandable," Asher told her. "Some of the things I've witnessed in my life would give me nightmares if I was still capable of dreaming."
"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Willow asked.
Asher shook his head. "We are not permitted to talk about it. That is our law."
Be patient with us, mon colibri. We will talk like this soon.
Hearing Asher's words in her mind made her sigh. "Well, can you tell me what the mask means?" she asked.
"Observation," Jean-Claude replied from behind her. His voice tickled her ear. "We are being watched."
"And black... means... death?" At her question, she felt Jean-Claude nod. "Have we done something wrong?"
"It is not for me to say," Jean-Claude said cryptically.
Willow sighed. "Is this why Giles---"
Asher's curt nod and piercing glare were enough to get her to stop talking.
She thought on what she knew so far, but it didn't make sense. She didn't understand why something pertaining to vampire law would involve Giles or the Watchers' Council.
"But---"
"Enough, Willow."
Willow wriggled free of Jean-Claude's hug. She glared back at the blond vampire. "Fine. I'm going to go make some coffee. Emily, will you be okay here?"
"Yep."
"Good. I'll be back in a bit," she said before walking past the trio and leaving the room.
&&&&
Willow had gone back to the suite when Richard arrived at the end of his day, to check on Emily and to talk to Richard. She barely looked at Asher. She understood he was in a strange situation, but she hated the tone of voice he had used on her and his need to keep whatever he knew to himself.
Jean-Claude tried to talk to her, but Willow shrugged off his attempts at conversation. When Richard took Emily home, Willow packed up her laptop and went to a place where she could blend in and disappear while doing research on something she knew nothing about.
The Olin Library on the Washington University campus was the perfect place to work. Dawn had given her the login information she used to access the wireless internet offered and since she didn't need to take out any books, she didn't need any student identification. She felt as if she blended in, backpack on and notebook in hand, looking like any of the other students milling around.
She settled into an isolated cubicle and set up her laptop. A few minutes later, she was searching for terms like: vampire police, vampire law, vampire law unspeakable, white mask, white mask observation, black mask, black mask death, and vampire fairy tale. Nothing relevant appeared to have been found.
However, the internet didn't dissuade her from her search.
Recalling something Richard had said to describe the mask, typed commedia dell'arte into a search engine. She gained some information, but she didn't think that vampires would be frightened by a theatre troupe or a style of play that was popular in the sixteenth century. The images of the masks she found, though, eerily reminded her of the white ones sitting in boxes in the rooms she shared with Asher, which indicated to her that she was on the right track.
She made some notes---the names of characters in the play or the names of the masks, depending on the sites she visited, for instance---and then she went to the Watchers' Council's dummy site. It looked like a consultant company, with images of directors who really were images of actors and models with a myriad of fake information, but after inserting the username and password that Dawn had given her, she was taken to the secret database that all Watchers depended upon to do their work. With so many watchers for so many slayers, the rare and old books that Giles had somehow always procured for Buffy were even rarer. As much as Giles had hated to admit it---technology had been necessary to provide all watchers with the information they needed to train their slayers. Willow was glad she had access to such a resource; it was an incredible wealth of information.
Unfortunately, without the right search term, Willow was having trouble navigating that wealth.
When she'd gone through her list of previously used words, she decided to try the names of the characters in the plays as a last ditch effort.
The name "Harlequin" brought up five references, much to her surprise.
She clicked on the first link, found in a book titled Secrets of Vampires and Other Demonic Races which was translated from a nineteenth century text written by a sect of priests that fought vampires.
"Vampires have a series of laws they must follow, handed down through their lines, managed by the Council, and enforced by the Harlequin---though surely it was not always known by that name. There is only one Harlequin, but many in the Harlequin group. There is no way to know how many are in their numbers. They live in secret and protect that secret with vampiric bloodshed. The mere mention of the raid party's name is a death sentence. Only under the assault of holy water has their name been unearthed."
"Oh," Willow breathed.
The second link was sourced from one of the watchers' diaries from the early twentieth century.
"My slayer died tonight. I was with her, for propriety's sake as well as to carry the extra weapons. Vampires have been acting rashly all over town and Rose was going to try to stake some of the newly risen before they had a chance to feed. A masked entourage was in the graveyard. They moved quickly---too quickly to be human---and some of them had claws. Rose tried to get to some of the graves, but the unknown group was pulling the vampires out of the dirt and slashing them to bits. We were told to leave and we were about to do so, but the caretaker had come out and tried to scare the group off. During the fracas, he was hit in the head with something---a weapon, perhaps---and was killed instantly. The force of the blow broke his neck.
"Rose was furious and tried to avenge his death. She hated the idea of an unknowing bystander being hurt or killed. She never thought it was fair.
"She didn't get too far in her attempts, however. She'd only been the slayer for six months, training before that for a year. She wasn't ready. They were many and very strong.
"When they killed her, they looked at me through their frightening masks covered in blood and dust and grime and told me that their job was not to kill me if I did not stand in their way. I wanted to take her body back with me, but there was no way to do that without raising suspicions. We had arrived there on foot, besides. I also suspect they would not have allowed me to wait for a method to transport her home. Terrified for my life, I fled."
Below that entry, there was an addendum, dated one year after the above passage:
"Upon communications with the Council, I have learned that it was the Harlequin. Our head suspects the Vampire Council dispatched the secret group to quell the demonic uprisings around the Hellmouth."
Willow sighed and leaned back in her chair. She rubbed her eyes and contemplated what she had read. Asher's and Jean-Claude's behaviour made more sense than it had after Emily's admission. But, she still wasn't sure why Richard had been contacted---if that was what happened. He was not a vampire; he should not fall under the Council's jurisdiction.
The other puzzle piece she couldn't place was the reason behind Giles' not telling her specifically what he was doing. Would that secret group---if it was, in fact, them---contact a human, a member of the Watchers' Council?
The third and fourth links told her nothing new. They were a secret society. No one was allowed to speak of them, or mention their name. They enforced laws. They observed, they acted.
The fifth source, an Italian book on the mysteries behind pieces of art, had information on the characters and the masks. The book had listed some of the names that were believed to be members of the secret group: Harlequin, Pantalone, Il Dottore, Brighella, Colombina, Pedrolino Pulcinella, and Scaramouche, among others. She also learned that the masks were a type of non-verbal communication between the Harlequin and the targets of their spying. If someone received a white mask, it meant that they were being observed. If someone received a white mask with gold musical notes, it meant that the Harlequin wanted to meet with the subject of their investigation---without the fear of being killed or tormented. Receiving a red mask meant that one was due some pain, some form of punishment. A black mask, as Willow deduced from Emily's story, meant a death sentence.
After looking down at the notes she'd made, she sighed and tore them from her scribbler, before ripping them into small pieces and throwing them into a nearby garbage bin. She wasn't sure if having the notes was a breach of protocol and she wanted to talk to Asher and Jean-Claude, if they were willing to share some concrete information with her, to have a better sense of what she could and couldn't do.
When she went back to the search page, she saw a sixth link, as if someone had just inputed new information into the Council's database. Curious, she clicked on the link, which was untitled but written by someone named Marcus E. Chao.
"The Harlequin are taken from every bloodline, and they are freed from the ties to our makers by our Mother. The Harlequin could not dispense justice if they held allegiance to masters and mistresses. They are neutral; to break that neutrality is our most profound taboo.
"We guarded the Mistress of the Dark until she went to sleep. We were adopted by the Vampire Council to break ties and to police the laws governing their children.
"In recent years, the Harlequin fell victim to some sin. Rumours have indicated that a war had been instigated among their ranks, between those who wish to continue in service to the Dark Queen and those who wish to continue our present task of being a neutral force that could dispense justice to those who deserve it. However, it is very difficult to confirm such battles of a secret group of which no vampire can discuss or name aloud.
"Sources indicate that those who wish to return to their Mother's side wish to see her return to power. We have heard of accounts of vampires attempting to break into the vault, but those have all been failures."
Willow frowned. It was a weird note to find in a database that mainly quoted published works. She thought what she had read felt unpublished; she doubted that even the Council had proofed it before posting it, which was very unlike them, collectively. There were also some strange uses of pronouns that confused her.
She copied and saved the text to a document on her laptop and she wrote the author's name on a blank page in her notebook. She wanted to look him up and see what other types of research he'd done.
Before she could do any more work, though, she felt Jason and Patrick approaching her. She sighed and closed her laptop and started packing up the rest of her things. Jason was getting closer to her cubicle and she didn't want him to see what she had been up to.
"You really don't make it easy for your guards, you know."
Willow looked up at Jason. "Are you one of my guards now?"
He grinned. "Nah. I was going to meet Dawn, but I ran into Patrick," he said, motioning over his shoulder to the other werewolf. "He said he was here to look for you. Thought I'd tag along---"
"In case Patrick needs to use force to drag me back to the Circus?"
Jason laughed. "Yeah, exactly," he teased.
Willow smiled at him. When Patrick came up to the cubicle, she felt her smile fade. "I'm sorry I ran off---"
"It's okay." He paused and shrugged. "Well, it's not okay, but Jean-Claude told me some of why you left without letting anyone know. I can understand. Next time you wanna stage an escape, though, tell me. I'll be your wheel man."
The witch laughed. "Okay... okay. Deal," she agreed.
"Now, the vamps told me to get you back to the Circus as fast as I can," the older werewolf told her. "Something's come up."
"I know."
"I don't know if you do," he said. "After Anita and Nathaniel showed up---"
Willow frowned. "What?"
Jason sighed. "It got cancelled."
"Oh... poor Nathaniel," Willow mumbled.
"No worries. She promised to make it up to him later," Jason told her. "C'mon, let's get you home."
"What about Dawn?"
"Jean-Claude called him back, too, after I reported that we found you," Patrick explained for the other man.
"Damn."
"Yeah, well, duties come first."
Willow stood up and grabbed her bag. After slinging it over her shoulder, she kissed Jason's temple. "Okay," she murmured, "let's get going, then, since I've been summoned back."
"I parked out front," Patrick said. "We knew you didn't take one of the cars Asher drives, but---"
"I walked. And called a cab," Willow interjected quietly. "I tried to be sneaky."
"You were."
"How'd you find me, then?"
Patrick tapped his nose. "Scent," he replied. "Once I got close enough. Asher said you probably went off to try to do some research. When I called Feral Byte, the guys said you weren't there... I was able to narrow it down a bit more. Called some of the guards for the Chicago kids, narrowed it down to the campus area. Didn't take too long after that."
"You shouldn't give away your trade secrets so easily," Jason muttered under his breath, earning a gentle shove from Patrick and a laugh from Willow.
&&&&
The mask on the car, without a box, should have been a surprise---but after the day Willow'd had, it wasn't at all. Patrick looked a little uncertain, Jason looked nervous, and Willow resignedly scooped it up and put it in her bag. They didn't waste any time after that; they piled into the vehicle and Patrick started to drive them towards the Circus.
"I'm getting sick of seeing those masks," she muttered from the backseat, where Patrick insisted she sit. "They've only made everyone go crazy today."
"Do you know what they mean?" Jason asked.
"I have an idea," she replied honestly. "Asher wouldn't tell me anything."
"Which is why you left?"
"Yeah."
Jason clucked his tongue once and fell silent.
"Has this ever happened before to you guys?" Willow asked.
Jason shook his head. "No," he answered. "I've never seen the masks before. I've never seen Jean-Claude look at me that way before, either."
"What do you mean?"
"It wasn't like the times Anita's been in trouble and he couldn't do anything about it... it was different. It was fear, sure, but this was a mix of other things. Uncertainty and resignation. Like... like how I used to feel in school when I got into trouble and was about to walk into the principal's office."
Willow smiled a little bit. "Did that happen often?"
"Well... maybe."
She laughed a little. "I bet."
"Hey, now, it wasn't always my fault," Jason insisted. "Sometimes he just assumed it was me."
Willow chuckled and watched as the Circus of the Damned came into view. Nothing on the outside changed despite the gifts they'd received that day; it appeared as it always did. Her smile faded away when Patrick parked the car.
It didn't take long to get inside and underground. Patrick motioned her to one of the sitting rooms used for small meetings, and she and Jason walked into it to see Jean-Claude, Asher, Anita, and Nathaniel looking at three masks on a low table. She reached into her bag and pulled out the fourth mask before she placed it with the others.
"Where---"
"It was on Patrick's car when we came out, no box," Willow replied.
"Well, it is now safe to say that we can discuss this amongst ourselves until they have left," Jean-Claude commented. "Leopards, vampires, and wolves, to be safe, and no one else."
Asher and Anita nodded in agreement.
Jean-Claude looked at Willow. "Can you act as conduit to the wolves for this conversation, or should we call Richard?"
"Awfully formal..."
"I feel that I need to be, ma chérie, so that there are no misunderstandings between any of us."
Jean-Claude raised a pointed eyebrow and tilted his head slightly. Willow frowned. "You want me to te---"
"Act as a conduit to the wolves, oui, because we will not be repeating ourselves carelessly," Jean-Claude said. He carefully enunciated every word, but it wasn't until she felt him along their link of the five-pointed bond that she realised what he had told her.
"Oh!"
Anita snorted. Then, she patted Nathaniel's knee and suggested that he head out with Jason.
"I am keeping my pomme here, ma petite," Jean-Claude said as he motioned for Jason to sit down.
"Please let me stay, Anita," Nathaniel murmured.
Anita sighed and nodded.
"This matter is very serious," the Master of the City said, once everyone was seated and focused. "I have never been contacted by this group, but now, we have, so I feel it is necessary to share what Asher and I know to be true."
Willow spoke up before he could talk again. "I found some things in the Watchers' Council database," she admitted. "It wasn't a lot, but I think I have a pretty good idea of what's been happening with the masks."
"There was information available?"
She nodded. "One book written by priests that hunted vampires," she replied. "One entry in a watcher's diary, because they killed his slayer. There were two reference books, but they didn't say anything different. And then there was a book about symbols and mysteries in art. I thought that was it, but when I went back to the search list, there was another source. It wasn't really well-written. It was inconsistent. And it wasn't sourced from a book. It just appeared."
"That is curious," Asher commented. "Do you have a copy of the text?"
"On my laptop."
"Bon," the blond vampire said. "I would like to see it later."
"Okay."
Willow reached out to Richard. She felt him at his kitchen table, eating a late meal. He startled a little when he felt her magic touch him, but recovered quickly to mentally ask her what she wanted.
Jean-Claude wants you to listen to what he has to say... about the masks. He's going to explain it. Can you listen for a minute?
Yeah, he told her. Go ahead.
Jean-Claude then launched into an explanation of the group that had contacted them and Willow channeled what she heard along the link she shared with Richard. The Master of the City confirmed all that Willow had read, and also provided more information: the Harlequin were spies and assassins; they worked in secret; they used to guard the Mother of All Darkness but they still work for the Council, administering justice when it is required; vampires cannot speak of them without being killed, however those who have been contacted by them may speak of them amongst themselves until the Harlequin leave town; they are a neutral force; they are bound by their own rules and laws.
"So, these guys have been sent here to watch us?" Anita asked. "That's hardly surprising. The Council hasn't been happy with you for a while."
"Non, but I did not suspect they were this displeased. I suspect it is more that they are curious and wish for information that comes without an agenda attached," Jean-Claude said to her. "We have only received white masks, so they are only observing. For now, we are safe. I ask only that we be careful---"
"What if they change their minds without telling us?" Anita asked, cutting him off.
Asher shook his head. "It is a breach of protocol to deliver a white mask but act as if a red or black mask had been given. They would be punished for that, most likely with their own deaths."
"Still," Jean-Claude added, "it would be a good idea to be very careful for the time being."
"Are they watching us all the time?"
"Most likely. No one knows how they observe. We've always suspected it is through magic."
Willow frowned. "I haven't felt any unusual magic around here, though," she told him. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing to make my spidey-sense tingle."
"Nothing?"
She nodded.
"Perhaps they are spying through more mundane means," Asher suggested. "Electronic devices? They have always been trained as spies. It is not surprising that their methods would change."
Jean-Claude nodded. "That does make sense."
Willow... should we have our homes checked? Richard asked her silently.
Willow cleared her throat. "Should we have our homes checked for listening or watching devices?"
The Master of the City shook his head. "Non. I would suggest that you suspect you are being watched at all times and conduct yourselves appropriately."
Willow made sure Richard understood and felt him sigh. Fine... are we done?
"Are we through?" Willow asked, gesturing to her head in an attempt to suggest it was Richard's question and not hers.
"Yes, as long as all parties here realise that we can not carelessly discuss this matter," Jean-Claude said in a pointed tone of voice.
Willow knew Richard heard the words through their bond, but she also added her own thoughts. Please be careful, Richard, she whispered. I don't really know how bad this is going to get and---
I know. I'm worried about you, too.
How's Emily?
Scared, he told her. But, she feels better knowing it's only a white mask.
Me, too. Hopefully it will stay that way.
You're going to be careful, too? Richard asked her.
Yes, Willow promised.
I love you, he said.
Willow closed her eyes and smiled. She felt warmth coming from him and it was a very pleasant, soothing sensation. I love you, too, she told him. Talk to you tomorrow?
Absolutely, he replied before withdrawing from their connection.
Willow lifted her head and opened her eyes again. "We're okay," she told Jean-Claude.
"Bon," he commented. "Our lives should proceed as planned, but we have to be attentive."
At his words, Asher's hand sought hers. She let their fingers weave together and gave his hand a little squeeze. He returned the gesture.
"So, we shouldn't worry?" Anita asked him.
"I know you will worry anyway, ma petite, so telling you not to worry would not do anyone any good."
Nathaniel smiled a bit.
"I just don't like they way they show up---"
"It is their way," Asher reminded Anita.
"I know, but it's creeping me out." She looked at Willow. "Can you do any sort of protection spell or maybe try to sense them?"
Willow thought about her question and then answered. "I don't think that's a good idea," she replied. "I might be able to make some protection charms, but a sanctuary spell or trying to magically reach out to them could be bad. Especially if I succeed---and then get caught. They'd know how powerful I can be. I don't think I want them knowing what strengths Jean-Claude has at his disposal."
Good answer, Asher whispered into her mind.
Anita frowned. "Yeah... okay. Good point." She sighed. "Can I talk to Micah about this?"
"Discretely," Jean-Claude advised. "You and Nathaniel have been contacted with the mask, so it is probably alright that he knows. But, be very careful."
She nodded. "Okay. He's with Merle tonight. I'll talk to him tomorrow sometime."
"D'accord."
Willow looked at the Master of the City. "Is it just a coincidence that they're coming when their supposed founder's waking up?" she asked.
"They work for the Council. They're neutral, ma chérie."
"What if they're not?" she asked, thinking about the last bit of research she'd done on the Watchers' Council's database. "What if they're on her side?"
"Then, they would be killed."
"But, if she's in charge again?"
Jean-Claude shrugged. "The Council will not willingly give up their power."
"Belle-Morte won't lie down and let her take it away. I'm betting the others are like that, too," Anita agreed.
"Bien sûr," Asher commented quietly.
Willow frowned. "I don't know... something about this feels fishy."
"We're being spied on. That's not fishy enough?" Anita asked.
"It's the timing," Willow said, trying to explain. "I just think... there's more to this than what we're seeing."
"Like what?" the necromancer challenged.
Willow shrugged. "I don't know. But, the Mother of All Darkness has been letting you know she's waking up and gunning for us all. It feels like a Hellmouth's waking up, even though no one predicted one could ever be here. Richard being blackmailed by someone with some help with being incredibly covert. Giles is being way more secretive than ever before, saying stuff about Sampson---who he's never met---and telling me that Asher would understand why he can't be straightforward with me---"
"What did your friend tell you?" Asher said, cutting her off from saying anything else.
"When Dawn asked why he couldn't actually tell her stuff, he said that you'd understand why he's being so cryptic."
Asher frowned. "Hrm. Without talking with him, I would suspect that he's been contacted as well."
"Why? He's human. He has some magic mojo, and he's an awesome watcher, but---"
"Yet, you said he is in New Zealand. And he can't tell you why," Asher insisted. "His saying that I would understand... as well... he has done his research."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"This is not my first tango with the Harlequin," the blond vampire admitted to her. "I do not know how he discovered this, but he must have, somehow."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
Asher snorted. "A little, yes," he replied.
"Do you think they're watching him, too?" she asked.
He nodded. "I do. But, how he knows Sampson is here... that, I do not know."
"Well, that's something," Anita said, looking at them with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"What is?" Willow asked.
"If they are watching him, too, then they're divided a bit. We may not have the whole group here."
Jean-Claude frowned. "There is no way to know how many are in their ranks, ma petite, so it would be unwise to assume there are only a handful of spies here."
"I know. But, all of them aren't here. I like knowing that. It's a small comfort---I'll take 'em where I can get 'em."
"Very well," the black-haired vampire said.
Asher turned to look at Willow. "Could you contact Mr. Giles again?" he asked. "Perhaps if you suggest you know what situation he's facing, he might be able to give you more information. Even if it is difficult to decipher."
"I can try," she said, reaching for her cellular phone. "It's... late afternoon there now, right?"
Asher nodded.
She scanned through her contacts on the small device and selected Giles' phone number. When she put it to her ear, it was ringing.
"Hello?"
"Giles!" Willow replied.
"Willow... I... I take it you've spoken to Dawn?"
"Yes," she told him. "And Asher. We've received some gifts lately, and---"
"And you have more questions," he finished for her. "Yes, I suspected you would if events took the turn I predicted they might."
"You can't talk to us about it, can you?"
"Not as much as I'd like," Giles confessed. "Have you spoken with the mermaids you know?"
"I haven't yet. I will though, soon."
"Good... good. Even if they know of a group closer to where I am, and could make the necessary first contact---"
"Is the back door safe, Giles?"
"For the time being," he replied. "As is the front door. Again, for the time being. It is difficult to guess when they will become less safe, but that is why I'm here."
Willow frowned. "Giles, are we in trouble?"
"No... no. Probably not."
She frowned more. "Probably not? Giles---"
"I spoke to the coven yesterday," he cut in. "They told me that to the best of their abilities, they could not detect a naturally-forming hellmouth near you. Dawn's talk of earthquakes and bad, ah, mojo, however, have me concerned that something may be developing there."
"So, it is possible to create one?"
"It is possible to create any number of doorways," he said, in a tone that rivalled Jean-Claude's when he suggested she contact Richard. "All that is required is the right magic. It would not help matters if the being looking to create such a door was inside the hidden space already, but it is very difficult. It would require a lot of power."
She suspected he was suggesting to her that a door to the Well could be created anywhere---especially if it was being made from inside its depths.
"Thanks, Giles."
"How are you fairing?" he inquired.
"It's been an interesting day," she replied.
"Is it safe to assume that there is no immediate danger?" he asked.
"We're still white, so, yeah, I guess so."
Giles sighed. "Good... good."
"Giles, how often do people upload new information to the database?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"The Council's database?"
"Yes," he said. "I do recall you and Buffy declaring it would be much better than using musty, old books."
Willow smiled. "Hey, now. I like the musty, old books, too, but you knew with so many watchers and so many slayers---"
"Yes, yes. Now, what of this database?"
"How often do people put new information in it?" she asked again.
Giles didn't answer for a minute. When he spoke, he did so in a careful voice. "Everything in our library's catalogue has already been added to it," he told her. "Unless we obtain new volumes, the watchers will have nothing new to add."
"Could you have possibly given permissions to someone else to add something?" she asked.
"Only if it were absolutely necessary, I suppose. That would be an extreme breach of protocol, don't you think?"
"Yes, but---"
"Willow, that would mean admitting an outsider into the Council."
She frowned. "This roundabout way of talking is really, really sucky, Giles."
"I do apologise for being so 'sucky,'" he said, eliciting a laugh from the redhead.
"If I have a name attached to the document I found," she said after a minute, "could I give it to you? Maybe you'd recognise it?"
"Yes, of course."
Willow reached for her bag and rummaged in it for her notebook. When she found it, she flipped to the page where she had written the name. "Okay," she said, "here it is. The author is Marcus E. Chao. Do you recognise the name?"
Giles seemed to breathe a long, slow sigh of relief. "Yes... yes, I do. That, I believe, is a source you can trust."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Huh. Okay. Well, that gives me more questions than answers, I'm afraid, but for now, I guess I'm okay. Is there anything you want to tell me?"
"Plenty."
"Anything you can tell me?"
He sighed again, but it wasn't in relief. "Unfortunately, not easily. But, I can tell you that if you've found something in the database written by Chao, then it can be trusted."
"Okay. Thank you," she replied. "If there's anything you can tell me later, will you call or get a message to me?"
"Absolutely, Willow. Thank you for calling---it was nice to hear your voice."
"You, too, Giles. Have a good night!"
She ended the call and looked from Asher to Jean-Claude. "You guys heard that?"
"Oui," Jean-Claude replied. "Interesting. What of this article that piqued your attention, ma chérie?"
Willow shrugged. "Mostly the fact that it appeared out of thin air, more or less. Some of it was what you told us. But... it mentioned a rivalry splitting the Harlequin in two. And it was badly written. Inconsistent uses of pronouns. I couldn't imagine anyone publishing it. It seemed like someone just typed it directly into the database."
"You didn't recognise the author?" Nathaniel asked.
She shook her head. "No. Giles did, though. He said I can trust him. He knows more book-stuff than I do."
"Lemme look him up," Jason said as he pulled out his phone. "Marcus Chao," he muttered while typing on his keypad. "Aaaand, search."
Willow looked at him. "Anything?"
Jason got up from his chair and walked across the room. He held out his phone and showed it to Willow. "I don't know," he said. "You'd know better than me."
She scrolled through the results. "Nothing... nothing helpful. I doubt this guy's an executive of a Chinese car company. Damn."
"It's probably a pen name, then?" Nathaniel asked.
"Probably."
"The piece this man wrote spoke of a division in their ranks?" Jean-Claude asked.
Willow nodded.
Anita frowned. "Then, if this is true, how do we know who's watching us?"
"Good point, ma petite," he agreed.
"So, what do we do?"
"Nothing for now," Jean-Claude advised. "I hope that Willow will continue to try to gather new information from Mr. Giles and her other resources. We will all remain on guard and keep track of anything odd that happens around us."
Anita frowned. "I don't like this plan."
"Neither do I, but there is nothing we can do about it." He reached out and took her hand in his. "Might I tempt you to spend the night, ma petite?"
Her frown lessened. "You want me here tonight?"
"I want you here all nights," he reminded her. "Nathaniel is welcome to stay as well."
"Mmmm," Asher hummed in agreement, as he took in the wereleopard with a smirk on his face, which only made Nathaniel blush. "He is very welcome to stay."
"I... I guess we could." Anita murmured. "Micah's gone for the night... and it would be just us in the house, so... yeah. Okay."
"You flatter me with your words, ma petite."
Willow and Jason both chuckled.
Anita glared at them and then looked at Jean-Claude. "You're sure it's okay?"
"It is almost always 'okay' to have you here," he assured her. "Do you have to go into work tonight?"
She shook her head. "I took the night off for my date with Nathaniel," she replied. "I'm free until tomorrow afternoon now."
Willow smiled. "Well, how about we order some take out and watch a movie or something?" she suggested. "Something to take our minds off of all this stuff that's happening, maybe?"
"That could be fun," Nathaniel said in agreement.
Asher smiled. "I was thinking we could do something else to take our minds off of what's been happening," he said in a pointed tone.
"That could also be fun," Nathaniel said. "But, that's not for everyone."
Anita rolled her eyes. "A movie sounds like fun," she admitted. "Do you guys have any here?"
"I have a few on my laptop," Willow said. "Some DVDs in our room, too. There's a television in this place, right?"
"Oui, ma chérie," Jean-Claude told her. "It is behind the painting on that wall," he said, pointing to one of the many oil paintings he'd had commissioned in the time he was Master of the City. "What would you four like to eat?"
"Chinese," Jason declared.
"That sounds good," Nathaniel agreed. "Anita?"
Willow thought it looked like she was going to suggest something else, but when she looked into Nathaniel's face, she crumbled and agreed with him.
She yields to him the easiest, Asher whispered into her mind. He is a submissive, but he is very, very good at getting what he wants.
The submissive usually has most of the power, though, she replied.
Asher smiled and nodded.
"Alright," Anita said after a few minutes. "Nathaniel, do you want to order the food?"
"Yep," he replied. "Jason and I can handle it. Should we have it delivered or can we go pick it up?"
Anita reached out and touched Nathaniel's shoulder. "How about you have it delivered, just to be safe?"
"Works out fine for me," Jason said as he sat on the floor and stretched out his body. "I'm too lazy to go get it."
Willow chuckled. "Okay. I'm gonna go change into something more comfortable---and not in a sexy way," she said, adding the last bit when she saw Asher's hopeful expression. "Jogging pants, mister."
"You could be much more comfortable in a nightgown."
"Not for eating junk food and watching movies," she shot back.
"D'accord, wear what you like," he said in a mock-resigned tone of voice. "Will you also get to choose the movie?"
She leaned in and kissed him. "Nah, but I'll bring a bunch down so you can all decide," she murmured.
"C'mon, Jason," Nathaniel said as he stood up. "Let's go order food. Then, we'll bring those big pillows in here."
"Sounds like a plan, Stan," Jason said as he, too, stood.
Both wereanimals left the room. Jean-Claude stood up and went to the painting on the wall. He swung it from the wall, to reveal a large television and DVD player built into a hidden alcove.
"Perhaps I, too, will change into something more comfortable," Jean-Claude declared. "Ma petite, would you like to change?"
She smiled and shook her head. "I'm good. Go get comfy."
Willow kissed Asher's cheek. "I'm gonna go. You okay?"
"Oui, I will be fine," he murmured.
Willow followed Jean-Claude out of the room. In the corridor, he reached out and touched her arm. "How are you?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Okay. You?"
"Concerned. But, generally speaking..."
She smiled. "Did we hijack your plans for tonight with this movie business?" she asked. "I didn't ask if you had plans or if you wanted---"
Jean-Claude reached up and put a finger to her lips. "This is fine. It will give me some time to process and contemplate today's events... in a very relaxing atmosphere." He smiled a bit more. "It's not often that ma petite chooses to stay here for more mundane activities."
"I think she's in love with you," Willow teased.
The vampire grinned. "Perhaps," he replied in an equally teasing voice.
TBC
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii, overall
PAIRINGS: All the pairings from the previous two stories---and some new ones, too
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the whole TV series for the Buffyverse; Alive at Last and Living Underground.
WARNINGS: A little bit of fur... bdsm... the usuals for Anita's crazy, crazy world.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone---except for any original characters that I whip up to do my bidding ;)
NOTE: This story is a sequel to Living Underground.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-11, 12, 13, 14-5, 16-7, 18-9, 20-1, 22, 23, 24-5, 26-7, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-3, 34-7, 38, 39-40, 41, 42, 43-44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51A, 51B, 52, 53, 54, 55-6, 57, 58A
PART FIFTY-EIGHT, Part 2
When Willow felt Jean-Claude and Asher rise, one and a half movies later and at almost the same time, she put a hand on Emily's arm and said, "I'm gonna go show the vamps our presents."
Emily stiffened and nodded.
The witch sighed and rubbed Emily's arm before bringing her hand up over her shoulder, and onto her back. "You're safe here," she whispered. "I promise."
"Thank you," Emily whispered back.
On an impulse to comfort the girl, Willow leaned in and kissed the top of her head. "Be right back," she said as she eased away from Emily.
Before she went to see the vampires, she gathered the boxes up in her arms. They weren't very heavy, so she didn't have much trouble carrying them in. Jean-Claude gave her a curious look as she approached the bed, but Asher was more concerned with the back of Jean-Claude's neck.
"You brought Richard's charge here?" Jean-Claude asked.
Willow nodded. "Yeah... something happened today, and I don't really understand it, but she was terrified and she couldn't stay at school," she told the Master of the City. "Something to do with these boxes," she added, holding them up before putting them down on the bed. "Richard and Emily found this one---" she said, pointing to the first box "---and this one, we found outside the employees' door," she finished, pointing to the second box. "They both have the same mask inside. I don't get it, but Emily is still pretty shook up over it."
Asher lifted his head. "Did you say mask, mon colibri?"
"Yes."
The blond vampire looked at his dark-haired companion and they shared a frown.
"We have been doing many things differently here," Jean-Claude said to Asher. "And with Sampson still here..."
"Could they be here because she is waking up?" Asher asked him.
Jean-Claude shrugged. "C'est possible."
"Who are you guys talking about?" Willow asked.
"We cannot say," Asher replied.
"Well, how---"
"It is law, Willow."
Willow frowned. Asher rarely used her given name; when he did, it was to some effect, such as making a point or trying to get her attention.
"Asher."
"Willow, now is not the time to push!" he exclaimed. "We must be very careful if we have received two observation masks."
"Observation?" she asked. "Is that... the style? The colour?"
"The colour," Jean-Claude said quietly. He reached out and took her hand in his. At his gentle tug, she eased onto the bed and sat down next to him. He put his arm around her shoulders and whispered: "Do not take offence at mon chardonneret's tone. He spent more time with the Council; he knows more of this situation we now face."
"You're both scaring me," she said. "And Emily's already terrified."
"How does Emily know of such things?" Asher asked.
Willow shrugged. "She wouldn't tell me anything."
"Augustine has never mentioned... not that he ever really could," Jean-Claude said, thinking out loud. "But, I suppose I had hoped he trusted us enough to indicate in a discrete way that he had ever received such a visitor."
"May I ask Emily a question, Willow?"
Willow looked at Asher. She had so many questions and she wanted answers, but he seemed unable to address her needs. She wanted to push for the information she was lacking, but something in Asher's tone of voice continued to tell her that he did not want to be pushed.
She sighed. "Yes. But, I want to be there."
"Of course," he agreed. "I do not make her comfortable."
"It's not that she's afraid of you," she said quickly, "but she doesn't know you and she's been so jumpy today---"
"I understand," he interrupted. "May I go now?"
"If you put a robe on."
His lips curved into a barely-there smile. "D'accord."
Jean-Claude rubbed Willow's arm and then pulled his hand away, trailing it over her back before bringing it to his waist to adjust the sheet around him. "It is just a question," he murmured. "It will be alright."
"Thanks," she whispered back.
Both vampires rose from the bed and donned their robes. Willow waited until they were ready and then she went with them into the other room.
Emily looked up, wide-eyed, when she saw the three of them approach her.
"I can't talk about it," she mumbled, pulling a pillow up to her chest.
"I know," Asher said in a patient, calm voice that betrayed the mood Willow had glimpsed in the other room. "However," he continued as he sat down in the arm chair near her spot on the sofa, "I would like to know, as much as you can tell me and as vaguely as you need to be to tell me, how you have learned of this... phenomenon."
Emily bit her lower lip. Willow inhaled slowly and then said, "Emily, please. Any information that you can give them."
After a few minutes contemplation, she nodded in concession. She tried to speak but had to clear her throat before trying again. "I used to have a vampire babysitter when pack business didn't include me," she explained. "I wasn't the only one... a few of the younger vampires had kids, and sometimes some of the pack that had normal kids would leave their kids with Jessie, too. She was an older vampire. Not as old as you guys, but still, pretty old. She loved kids. She never had any. She fell in love with another vampire and when she was sick and started to die, he turned her... anyway... that part doesn't really matter.
"She had to take care of something and she left us with Alex one night. We begged him to tell us some stories---he had really good stories! We asked him to tell us a scary story and he told us about... y'know. He told us the name. He told us about the masks... what they meant... he told us about it like it was a fairy tale! Like it was a story old vampires told fledglings to make them behave! We didn't know... we didn't know it was real... we didn't know...
"Nothing happened that night. Nothing happened for a couple of weeks. I was dropped off at the kiss after dance class, after school, and I wanted to get to Alex's and Jessie's room before they woke up to show them the A I got on a math test. I was so excited---and they helped raise me, so I wanted to share it with them and---"
She broke off and shuddered. Tears filled her eyes.
Asher sighed. "You found him dead?"
She nodded. "She was hurt badly. It took a month for her to heal. She still has scars. I found her lying in their blood. He was dead. Head cut off. Black mask sitting on his face," she admitted quietly.
Willow gasped. Jean-Claude, who had stayed close to her, hugged her from behind to offer her some form of comfort.
"And then, you knew they were real."
She nodded again and wiped her eyes.
"Thank you for telling me how you knew what these masks are," Asher said in a gentle voice. "That was very brave of you."
"I still have bad dreams about it sometimes," she confessed. "I don't think about it so much anymore, but every once and a while... the dreams come back."
"That is perfectly understandable," Asher told her. "Some of the things I've witnessed in my life would give me nightmares if I was still capable of dreaming."
"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Willow asked.
Asher shook his head. "We are not permitted to talk about it. That is our law."
Be patient with us, mon colibri. We will talk like this soon.
Hearing Asher's words in her mind made her sigh. "Well, can you tell me what the mask means?" she asked.
"Observation," Jean-Claude replied from behind her. His voice tickled her ear. "We are being watched."
"And black... means... death?" At her question, she felt Jean-Claude nod. "Have we done something wrong?"
"It is not for me to say," Jean-Claude said cryptically.
Willow sighed. "Is this why Giles---"
Asher's curt nod and piercing glare were enough to get her to stop talking.
She thought on what she knew so far, but it didn't make sense. She didn't understand why something pertaining to vampire law would involve Giles or the Watchers' Council.
"But---"
"Enough, Willow."
Willow wriggled free of Jean-Claude's hug. She glared back at the blond vampire. "Fine. I'm going to go make some coffee. Emily, will you be okay here?"
"Yep."
"Good. I'll be back in a bit," she said before walking past the trio and leaving the room.
&&&&
Willow had gone back to the suite when Richard arrived at the end of his day, to check on Emily and to talk to Richard. She barely looked at Asher. She understood he was in a strange situation, but she hated the tone of voice he had used on her and his need to keep whatever he knew to himself.
Jean-Claude tried to talk to her, but Willow shrugged off his attempts at conversation. When Richard took Emily home, Willow packed up her laptop and went to a place where she could blend in and disappear while doing research on something she knew nothing about.
The Olin Library on the Washington University campus was the perfect place to work. Dawn had given her the login information she used to access the wireless internet offered and since she didn't need to take out any books, she didn't need any student identification. She felt as if she blended in, backpack on and notebook in hand, looking like any of the other students milling around.
She settled into an isolated cubicle and set up her laptop. A few minutes later, she was searching for terms like: vampire police, vampire law, vampire law unspeakable, white mask, white mask observation, black mask, black mask death, and vampire fairy tale. Nothing relevant appeared to have been found.
However, the internet didn't dissuade her from her search.
Recalling something Richard had said to describe the mask, typed commedia dell'arte into a search engine. She gained some information, but she didn't think that vampires would be frightened by a theatre troupe or a style of play that was popular in the sixteenth century. The images of the masks she found, though, eerily reminded her of the white ones sitting in boxes in the rooms she shared with Asher, which indicated to her that she was on the right track.
She made some notes---the names of characters in the play or the names of the masks, depending on the sites she visited, for instance---and then she went to the Watchers' Council's dummy site. It looked like a consultant company, with images of directors who really were images of actors and models with a myriad of fake information, but after inserting the username and password that Dawn had given her, she was taken to the secret database that all Watchers depended upon to do their work. With so many watchers for so many slayers, the rare and old books that Giles had somehow always procured for Buffy were even rarer. As much as Giles had hated to admit it---technology had been necessary to provide all watchers with the information they needed to train their slayers. Willow was glad she had access to such a resource; it was an incredible wealth of information.
Unfortunately, without the right search term, Willow was having trouble navigating that wealth.
When she'd gone through her list of previously used words, she decided to try the names of the characters in the plays as a last ditch effort.
The name "Harlequin" brought up five references, much to her surprise.
She clicked on the first link, found in a book titled Secrets of Vampires and Other Demonic Races which was translated from a nineteenth century text written by a sect of priests that fought vampires.
"Vampires have a series of laws they must follow, handed down through their lines, managed by the Council, and enforced by the Harlequin---though surely it was not always known by that name. There is only one Harlequin, but many in the Harlequin group. There is no way to know how many are in their numbers. They live in secret and protect that secret with vampiric bloodshed. The mere mention of the raid party's name is a death sentence. Only under the assault of holy water has their name been unearthed."
"Oh," Willow breathed.
The second link was sourced from one of the watchers' diaries from the early twentieth century.
"My slayer died tonight. I was with her, for propriety's sake as well as to carry the extra weapons. Vampires have been acting rashly all over town and Rose was going to try to stake some of the newly risen before they had a chance to feed. A masked entourage was in the graveyard. They moved quickly---too quickly to be human---and some of them had claws. Rose tried to get to some of the graves, but the unknown group was pulling the vampires out of the dirt and slashing them to bits. We were told to leave and we were about to do so, but the caretaker had come out and tried to scare the group off. During the fracas, he was hit in the head with something---a weapon, perhaps---and was killed instantly. The force of the blow broke his neck.
"Rose was furious and tried to avenge his death. She hated the idea of an unknowing bystander being hurt or killed. She never thought it was fair.
"She didn't get too far in her attempts, however. She'd only been the slayer for six months, training before that for a year. She wasn't ready. They were many and very strong.
"When they killed her, they looked at me through their frightening masks covered in blood and dust and grime and told me that their job was not to kill me if I did not stand in their way. I wanted to take her body back with me, but there was no way to do that without raising suspicions. We had arrived there on foot, besides. I also suspect they would not have allowed me to wait for a method to transport her home. Terrified for my life, I fled."
Below that entry, there was an addendum, dated one year after the above passage:
"Upon communications with the Council, I have learned that it was the Harlequin. Our head suspects the Vampire Council dispatched the secret group to quell the demonic uprisings around the Hellmouth."
Willow sighed and leaned back in her chair. She rubbed her eyes and contemplated what she had read. Asher's and Jean-Claude's behaviour made more sense than it had after Emily's admission. But, she still wasn't sure why Richard had been contacted---if that was what happened. He was not a vampire; he should not fall under the Council's jurisdiction.
The other puzzle piece she couldn't place was the reason behind Giles' not telling her specifically what he was doing. Would that secret group---if it was, in fact, them---contact a human, a member of the Watchers' Council?
The third and fourth links told her nothing new. They were a secret society. No one was allowed to speak of them, or mention their name. They enforced laws. They observed, they acted.
The fifth source, an Italian book on the mysteries behind pieces of art, had information on the characters and the masks. The book had listed some of the names that were believed to be members of the secret group: Harlequin, Pantalone, Il Dottore, Brighella, Colombina, Pedrolino Pulcinella, and Scaramouche, among others. She also learned that the masks were a type of non-verbal communication between the Harlequin and the targets of their spying. If someone received a white mask, it meant that they were being observed. If someone received a white mask with gold musical notes, it meant that the Harlequin wanted to meet with the subject of their investigation---without the fear of being killed or tormented. Receiving a red mask meant that one was due some pain, some form of punishment. A black mask, as Willow deduced from Emily's story, meant a death sentence.
After looking down at the notes she'd made, she sighed and tore them from her scribbler, before ripping them into small pieces and throwing them into a nearby garbage bin. She wasn't sure if having the notes was a breach of protocol and she wanted to talk to Asher and Jean-Claude, if they were willing to share some concrete information with her, to have a better sense of what she could and couldn't do.
When she went back to the search page, she saw a sixth link, as if someone had just inputed new information into the Council's database. Curious, she clicked on the link, which was untitled but written by someone named Marcus E. Chao.
"The Harlequin are taken from every bloodline, and they are freed from the ties to our makers by our Mother. The Harlequin could not dispense justice if they held allegiance to masters and mistresses. They are neutral; to break that neutrality is our most profound taboo.
"We guarded the Mistress of the Dark until she went to sleep. We were adopted by the Vampire Council to break ties and to police the laws governing their children.
"In recent years, the Harlequin fell victim to some sin. Rumours have indicated that a war had been instigated among their ranks, between those who wish to continue in service to the Dark Queen and those who wish to continue our present task of being a neutral force that could dispense justice to those who deserve it. However, it is very difficult to confirm such battles of a secret group of which no vampire can discuss or name aloud.
"Sources indicate that those who wish to return to their Mother's side wish to see her return to power. We have heard of accounts of vampires attempting to break into the vault, but those have all been failures."
Willow frowned. It was a weird note to find in a database that mainly quoted published works. She thought what she had read felt unpublished; she doubted that even the Council had proofed it before posting it, which was very unlike them, collectively. There were also some strange uses of pronouns that confused her.
She copied and saved the text to a document on her laptop and she wrote the author's name on a blank page in her notebook. She wanted to look him up and see what other types of research he'd done.
Before she could do any more work, though, she felt Jason and Patrick approaching her. She sighed and closed her laptop and started packing up the rest of her things. Jason was getting closer to her cubicle and she didn't want him to see what she had been up to.
"You really don't make it easy for your guards, you know."
Willow looked up at Jason. "Are you one of my guards now?"
He grinned. "Nah. I was going to meet Dawn, but I ran into Patrick," he said, motioning over his shoulder to the other werewolf. "He said he was here to look for you. Thought I'd tag along---"
"In case Patrick needs to use force to drag me back to the Circus?"
Jason laughed. "Yeah, exactly," he teased.
Willow smiled at him. When Patrick came up to the cubicle, she felt her smile fade. "I'm sorry I ran off---"
"It's okay." He paused and shrugged. "Well, it's not okay, but Jean-Claude told me some of why you left without letting anyone know. I can understand. Next time you wanna stage an escape, though, tell me. I'll be your wheel man."
The witch laughed. "Okay... okay. Deal," she agreed.
"Now, the vamps told me to get you back to the Circus as fast as I can," the older werewolf told her. "Something's come up."
"I know."
"I don't know if you do," he said. "After Anita and Nathaniel showed up---"
Willow frowned. "What?"
Jason sighed. "It got cancelled."
"Oh... poor Nathaniel," Willow mumbled.
"No worries. She promised to make it up to him later," Jason told her. "C'mon, let's get you home."
"What about Dawn?"
"Jean-Claude called him back, too, after I reported that we found you," Patrick explained for the other man.
"Damn."
"Yeah, well, duties come first."
Willow stood up and grabbed her bag. After slinging it over her shoulder, she kissed Jason's temple. "Okay," she murmured, "let's get going, then, since I've been summoned back."
"I parked out front," Patrick said. "We knew you didn't take one of the cars Asher drives, but---"
"I walked. And called a cab," Willow interjected quietly. "I tried to be sneaky."
"You were."
"How'd you find me, then?"
Patrick tapped his nose. "Scent," he replied. "Once I got close enough. Asher said you probably went off to try to do some research. When I called Feral Byte, the guys said you weren't there... I was able to narrow it down a bit more. Called some of the guards for the Chicago kids, narrowed it down to the campus area. Didn't take too long after that."
"You shouldn't give away your trade secrets so easily," Jason muttered under his breath, earning a gentle shove from Patrick and a laugh from Willow.
&&&&
The mask on the car, without a box, should have been a surprise---but after the day Willow'd had, it wasn't at all. Patrick looked a little uncertain, Jason looked nervous, and Willow resignedly scooped it up and put it in her bag. They didn't waste any time after that; they piled into the vehicle and Patrick started to drive them towards the Circus.
"I'm getting sick of seeing those masks," she muttered from the backseat, where Patrick insisted she sit. "They've only made everyone go crazy today."
"Do you know what they mean?" Jason asked.
"I have an idea," she replied honestly. "Asher wouldn't tell me anything."
"Which is why you left?"
"Yeah."
Jason clucked his tongue once and fell silent.
"Has this ever happened before to you guys?" Willow asked.
Jason shook his head. "No," he answered. "I've never seen the masks before. I've never seen Jean-Claude look at me that way before, either."
"What do you mean?"
"It wasn't like the times Anita's been in trouble and he couldn't do anything about it... it was different. It was fear, sure, but this was a mix of other things. Uncertainty and resignation. Like... like how I used to feel in school when I got into trouble and was about to walk into the principal's office."
Willow smiled a little bit. "Did that happen often?"
"Well... maybe."
She laughed a little. "I bet."
"Hey, now, it wasn't always my fault," Jason insisted. "Sometimes he just assumed it was me."
Willow chuckled and watched as the Circus of the Damned came into view. Nothing on the outside changed despite the gifts they'd received that day; it appeared as it always did. Her smile faded away when Patrick parked the car.
It didn't take long to get inside and underground. Patrick motioned her to one of the sitting rooms used for small meetings, and she and Jason walked into it to see Jean-Claude, Asher, Anita, and Nathaniel looking at three masks on a low table. She reached into her bag and pulled out the fourth mask before she placed it with the others.
"Where---"
"It was on Patrick's car when we came out, no box," Willow replied.
"Well, it is now safe to say that we can discuss this amongst ourselves until they have left," Jean-Claude commented. "Leopards, vampires, and wolves, to be safe, and no one else."
Asher and Anita nodded in agreement.
Jean-Claude looked at Willow. "Can you act as conduit to the wolves for this conversation, or should we call Richard?"
"Awfully formal..."
"I feel that I need to be, ma chérie, so that there are no misunderstandings between any of us."
Jean-Claude raised a pointed eyebrow and tilted his head slightly. Willow frowned. "You want me to te---"
"Act as a conduit to the wolves, oui, because we will not be repeating ourselves carelessly," Jean-Claude said. He carefully enunciated every word, but it wasn't until she felt him along their link of the five-pointed bond that she realised what he had told her.
"Oh!"
Anita snorted. Then, she patted Nathaniel's knee and suggested that he head out with Jason.
"I am keeping my pomme here, ma petite," Jean-Claude said as he motioned for Jason to sit down.
"Please let me stay, Anita," Nathaniel murmured.
Anita sighed and nodded.
"This matter is very serious," the Master of the City said, once everyone was seated and focused. "I have never been contacted by this group, but now, we have, so I feel it is necessary to share what Asher and I know to be true."
Willow spoke up before he could talk again. "I found some things in the Watchers' Council database," she admitted. "It wasn't a lot, but I think I have a pretty good idea of what's been happening with the masks."
"There was information available?"
She nodded. "One book written by priests that hunted vampires," she replied. "One entry in a watcher's diary, because they killed his slayer. There were two reference books, but they didn't say anything different. And then there was a book about symbols and mysteries in art. I thought that was it, but when I went back to the search list, there was another source. It wasn't really well-written. It was inconsistent. And it wasn't sourced from a book. It just appeared."
"That is curious," Asher commented. "Do you have a copy of the text?"
"On my laptop."
"Bon," the blond vampire said. "I would like to see it later."
"Okay."
Willow reached out to Richard. She felt him at his kitchen table, eating a late meal. He startled a little when he felt her magic touch him, but recovered quickly to mentally ask her what she wanted.
Jean-Claude wants you to listen to what he has to say... about the masks. He's going to explain it. Can you listen for a minute?
Yeah, he told her. Go ahead.
Jean-Claude then launched into an explanation of the group that had contacted them and Willow channeled what she heard along the link she shared with Richard. The Master of the City confirmed all that Willow had read, and also provided more information: the Harlequin were spies and assassins; they worked in secret; they used to guard the Mother of All Darkness but they still work for the Council, administering justice when it is required; vampires cannot speak of them without being killed, however those who have been contacted by them may speak of them amongst themselves until the Harlequin leave town; they are a neutral force; they are bound by their own rules and laws.
"So, these guys have been sent here to watch us?" Anita asked. "That's hardly surprising. The Council hasn't been happy with you for a while."
"Non, but I did not suspect they were this displeased. I suspect it is more that they are curious and wish for information that comes without an agenda attached," Jean-Claude said to her. "We have only received white masks, so they are only observing. For now, we are safe. I ask only that we be careful---"
"What if they change their minds without telling us?" Anita asked, cutting him off.
Asher shook his head. "It is a breach of protocol to deliver a white mask but act as if a red or black mask had been given. They would be punished for that, most likely with their own deaths."
"Still," Jean-Claude added, "it would be a good idea to be very careful for the time being."
"Are they watching us all the time?"
"Most likely. No one knows how they observe. We've always suspected it is through magic."
Willow frowned. "I haven't felt any unusual magic around here, though," she told him. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing to make my spidey-sense tingle."
"Nothing?"
She nodded.
"Perhaps they are spying through more mundane means," Asher suggested. "Electronic devices? They have always been trained as spies. It is not surprising that their methods would change."
Jean-Claude nodded. "That does make sense."
Willow... should we have our homes checked? Richard asked her silently.
Willow cleared her throat. "Should we have our homes checked for listening or watching devices?"
The Master of the City shook his head. "Non. I would suggest that you suspect you are being watched at all times and conduct yourselves appropriately."
Willow made sure Richard understood and felt him sigh. Fine... are we done?
"Are we through?" Willow asked, gesturing to her head in an attempt to suggest it was Richard's question and not hers.
"Yes, as long as all parties here realise that we can not carelessly discuss this matter," Jean-Claude said in a pointed tone of voice.
Willow knew Richard heard the words through their bond, but she also added her own thoughts. Please be careful, Richard, she whispered. I don't really know how bad this is going to get and---
I know. I'm worried about you, too.
How's Emily?
Scared, he told her. But, she feels better knowing it's only a white mask.
Me, too. Hopefully it will stay that way.
You're going to be careful, too? Richard asked her.
Yes, Willow promised.
I love you, he said.
Willow closed her eyes and smiled. She felt warmth coming from him and it was a very pleasant, soothing sensation. I love you, too, she told him. Talk to you tomorrow?
Absolutely, he replied before withdrawing from their connection.
Willow lifted her head and opened her eyes again. "We're okay," she told Jean-Claude.
"Bon," he commented. "Our lives should proceed as planned, but we have to be attentive."
At his words, Asher's hand sought hers. She let their fingers weave together and gave his hand a little squeeze. He returned the gesture.
"So, we shouldn't worry?" Anita asked him.
"I know you will worry anyway, ma petite, so telling you not to worry would not do anyone any good."
Nathaniel smiled a bit.
"I just don't like they way they show up---"
"It is their way," Asher reminded Anita.
"I know, but it's creeping me out." She looked at Willow. "Can you do any sort of protection spell or maybe try to sense them?"
Willow thought about her question and then answered. "I don't think that's a good idea," she replied. "I might be able to make some protection charms, but a sanctuary spell or trying to magically reach out to them could be bad. Especially if I succeed---and then get caught. They'd know how powerful I can be. I don't think I want them knowing what strengths Jean-Claude has at his disposal."
Good answer, Asher whispered into her mind.
Anita frowned. "Yeah... okay. Good point." She sighed. "Can I talk to Micah about this?"
"Discretely," Jean-Claude advised. "You and Nathaniel have been contacted with the mask, so it is probably alright that he knows. But, be very careful."
She nodded. "Okay. He's with Merle tonight. I'll talk to him tomorrow sometime."
"D'accord."
Willow looked at the Master of the City. "Is it just a coincidence that they're coming when their supposed founder's waking up?" she asked.
"They work for the Council. They're neutral, ma chérie."
"What if they're not?" she asked, thinking about the last bit of research she'd done on the Watchers' Council's database. "What if they're on her side?"
"Then, they would be killed."
"But, if she's in charge again?"
Jean-Claude shrugged. "The Council will not willingly give up their power."
"Belle-Morte won't lie down and let her take it away. I'm betting the others are like that, too," Anita agreed.
"Bien sûr," Asher commented quietly.
Willow frowned. "I don't know... something about this feels fishy."
"We're being spied on. That's not fishy enough?" Anita asked.
"It's the timing," Willow said, trying to explain. "I just think... there's more to this than what we're seeing."
"Like what?" the necromancer challenged.
Willow shrugged. "I don't know. But, the Mother of All Darkness has been letting you know she's waking up and gunning for us all. It feels like a Hellmouth's waking up, even though no one predicted one could ever be here. Richard being blackmailed by someone with some help with being incredibly covert. Giles is being way more secretive than ever before, saying stuff about Sampson---who he's never met---and telling me that Asher would understand why he can't be straightforward with me---"
"What did your friend tell you?" Asher said, cutting her off from saying anything else.
"When Dawn asked why he couldn't actually tell her stuff, he said that you'd understand why he's being so cryptic."
Asher frowned. "Hrm. Without talking with him, I would suspect that he's been contacted as well."
"Why? He's human. He has some magic mojo, and he's an awesome watcher, but---"
"Yet, you said he is in New Zealand. And he can't tell you why," Asher insisted. "His saying that I would understand... as well... he has done his research."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"This is not my first tango with the Harlequin," the blond vampire admitted to her. "I do not know how he discovered this, but he must have, somehow."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
Asher snorted. "A little, yes," he replied.
"Do you think they're watching him, too?" she asked.
He nodded. "I do. But, how he knows Sampson is here... that, I do not know."
"Well, that's something," Anita said, looking at them with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"What is?" Willow asked.
"If they are watching him, too, then they're divided a bit. We may not have the whole group here."
Jean-Claude frowned. "There is no way to know how many are in their ranks, ma petite, so it would be unwise to assume there are only a handful of spies here."
"I know. But, all of them aren't here. I like knowing that. It's a small comfort---I'll take 'em where I can get 'em."
"Very well," the black-haired vampire said.
Asher turned to look at Willow. "Could you contact Mr. Giles again?" he asked. "Perhaps if you suggest you know what situation he's facing, he might be able to give you more information. Even if it is difficult to decipher."
"I can try," she said, reaching for her cellular phone. "It's... late afternoon there now, right?"
Asher nodded.
She scanned through her contacts on the small device and selected Giles' phone number. When she put it to her ear, it was ringing.
"Hello?"
"Giles!" Willow replied.
"Willow... I... I take it you've spoken to Dawn?"
"Yes," she told him. "And Asher. We've received some gifts lately, and---"
"And you have more questions," he finished for her. "Yes, I suspected you would if events took the turn I predicted they might."
"You can't talk to us about it, can you?"
"Not as much as I'd like," Giles confessed. "Have you spoken with the mermaids you know?"
"I haven't yet. I will though, soon."
"Good... good. Even if they know of a group closer to where I am, and could make the necessary first contact---"
"Is the back door safe, Giles?"
"For the time being," he replied. "As is the front door. Again, for the time being. It is difficult to guess when they will become less safe, but that is why I'm here."
Willow frowned. "Giles, are we in trouble?"
"No... no. Probably not."
She frowned more. "Probably not? Giles---"
"I spoke to the coven yesterday," he cut in. "They told me that to the best of their abilities, they could not detect a naturally-forming hellmouth near you. Dawn's talk of earthquakes and bad, ah, mojo, however, have me concerned that something may be developing there."
"So, it is possible to create one?"
"It is possible to create any number of doorways," he said, in a tone that rivalled Jean-Claude's when he suggested she contact Richard. "All that is required is the right magic. It would not help matters if the being looking to create such a door was inside the hidden space already, but it is very difficult. It would require a lot of power."
She suspected he was suggesting to her that a door to the Well could be created anywhere---especially if it was being made from inside its depths.
"Thanks, Giles."
"How are you fairing?" he inquired.
"It's been an interesting day," she replied.
"Is it safe to assume that there is no immediate danger?" he asked.
"We're still white, so, yeah, I guess so."
Giles sighed. "Good... good."
"Giles, how often do people upload new information to the database?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"The Council's database?"
"Yes," he said. "I do recall you and Buffy declaring it would be much better than using musty, old books."
Willow smiled. "Hey, now. I like the musty, old books, too, but you knew with so many watchers and so many slayers---"
"Yes, yes. Now, what of this database?"
"How often do people put new information in it?" she asked again.
Giles didn't answer for a minute. When he spoke, he did so in a careful voice. "Everything in our library's catalogue has already been added to it," he told her. "Unless we obtain new volumes, the watchers will have nothing new to add."
"Could you have possibly given permissions to someone else to add something?" she asked.
"Only if it were absolutely necessary, I suppose. That would be an extreme breach of protocol, don't you think?"
"Yes, but---"
"Willow, that would mean admitting an outsider into the Council."
She frowned. "This roundabout way of talking is really, really sucky, Giles."
"I do apologise for being so 'sucky,'" he said, eliciting a laugh from the redhead.
"If I have a name attached to the document I found," she said after a minute, "could I give it to you? Maybe you'd recognise it?"
"Yes, of course."
Willow reached for her bag and rummaged in it for her notebook. When she found it, she flipped to the page where she had written the name. "Okay," she said, "here it is. The author is Marcus E. Chao. Do you recognise the name?"
Giles seemed to breathe a long, slow sigh of relief. "Yes... yes, I do. That, I believe, is a source you can trust."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Huh. Okay. Well, that gives me more questions than answers, I'm afraid, but for now, I guess I'm okay. Is there anything you want to tell me?"
"Plenty."
"Anything you can tell me?"
He sighed again, but it wasn't in relief. "Unfortunately, not easily. But, I can tell you that if you've found something in the database written by Chao, then it can be trusted."
"Okay. Thank you," she replied. "If there's anything you can tell me later, will you call or get a message to me?"
"Absolutely, Willow. Thank you for calling---it was nice to hear your voice."
"You, too, Giles. Have a good night!"
She ended the call and looked from Asher to Jean-Claude. "You guys heard that?"
"Oui," Jean-Claude replied. "Interesting. What of this article that piqued your attention, ma chérie?"
Willow shrugged. "Mostly the fact that it appeared out of thin air, more or less. Some of it was what you told us. But... it mentioned a rivalry splitting the Harlequin in two. And it was badly written. Inconsistent uses of pronouns. I couldn't imagine anyone publishing it. It seemed like someone just typed it directly into the database."
"You didn't recognise the author?" Nathaniel asked.
She shook her head. "No. Giles did, though. He said I can trust him. He knows more book-stuff than I do."
"Lemme look him up," Jason said as he pulled out his phone. "Marcus Chao," he muttered while typing on his keypad. "Aaaand, search."
Willow looked at him. "Anything?"
Jason got up from his chair and walked across the room. He held out his phone and showed it to Willow. "I don't know," he said. "You'd know better than me."
She scrolled through the results. "Nothing... nothing helpful. I doubt this guy's an executive of a Chinese car company. Damn."
"It's probably a pen name, then?" Nathaniel asked.
"Probably."
"The piece this man wrote spoke of a division in their ranks?" Jean-Claude asked.
Willow nodded.
Anita frowned. "Then, if this is true, how do we know who's watching us?"
"Good point, ma petite," he agreed.
"So, what do we do?"
"Nothing for now," Jean-Claude advised. "I hope that Willow will continue to try to gather new information from Mr. Giles and her other resources. We will all remain on guard and keep track of anything odd that happens around us."
Anita frowned. "I don't like this plan."
"Neither do I, but there is nothing we can do about it." He reached out and took her hand in his. "Might I tempt you to spend the night, ma petite?"
Her frown lessened. "You want me here tonight?"
"I want you here all nights," he reminded her. "Nathaniel is welcome to stay as well."
"Mmmm," Asher hummed in agreement, as he took in the wereleopard with a smirk on his face, which only made Nathaniel blush. "He is very welcome to stay."
"I... I guess we could." Anita murmured. "Micah's gone for the night... and it would be just us in the house, so... yeah. Okay."
"You flatter me with your words, ma petite."
Willow and Jason both chuckled.
Anita glared at them and then looked at Jean-Claude. "You're sure it's okay?"
"It is almost always 'okay' to have you here," he assured her. "Do you have to go into work tonight?"
She shook her head. "I took the night off for my date with Nathaniel," she replied. "I'm free until tomorrow afternoon now."
Willow smiled. "Well, how about we order some take out and watch a movie or something?" she suggested. "Something to take our minds off of all this stuff that's happening, maybe?"
"That could be fun," Nathaniel said in agreement.
Asher smiled. "I was thinking we could do something else to take our minds off of what's been happening," he said in a pointed tone.
"That could also be fun," Nathaniel said. "But, that's not for everyone."
Anita rolled her eyes. "A movie sounds like fun," she admitted. "Do you guys have any here?"
"I have a few on my laptop," Willow said. "Some DVDs in our room, too. There's a television in this place, right?"
"Oui, ma chérie," Jean-Claude told her. "It is behind the painting on that wall," he said, pointing to one of the many oil paintings he'd had commissioned in the time he was Master of the City. "What would you four like to eat?"
"Chinese," Jason declared.
"That sounds good," Nathaniel agreed. "Anita?"
Willow thought it looked like she was going to suggest something else, but when she looked into Nathaniel's face, she crumbled and agreed with him.
She yields to him the easiest, Asher whispered into her mind. He is a submissive, but he is very, very good at getting what he wants.
The submissive usually has most of the power, though, she replied.
Asher smiled and nodded.
"Alright," Anita said after a few minutes. "Nathaniel, do you want to order the food?"
"Yep," he replied. "Jason and I can handle it. Should we have it delivered or can we go pick it up?"
Anita reached out and touched Nathaniel's shoulder. "How about you have it delivered, just to be safe?"
"Works out fine for me," Jason said as he sat on the floor and stretched out his body. "I'm too lazy to go get it."
Willow chuckled. "Okay. I'm gonna go change into something more comfortable---and not in a sexy way," she said, adding the last bit when she saw Asher's hopeful expression. "Jogging pants, mister."
"You could be much more comfortable in a nightgown."
"Not for eating junk food and watching movies," she shot back.
"D'accord, wear what you like," he said in a mock-resigned tone of voice. "Will you also get to choose the movie?"
She leaned in and kissed him. "Nah, but I'll bring a bunch down so you can all decide," she murmured.
"C'mon, Jason," Nathaniel said as he stood up. "Let's go order food. Then, we'll bring those big pillows in here."
"Sounds like a plan, Stan," Jason said as he, too, stood.
Both wereanimals left the room. Jean-Claude stood up and went to the painting on the wall. He swung it from the wall, to reveal a large television and DVD player built into a hidden alcove.
"Perhaps I, too, will change into something more comfortable," Jean-Claude declared. "Ma petite, would you like to change?"
She smiled and shook her head. "I'm good. Go get comfy."
Willow kissed Asher's cheek. "I'm gonna go. You okay?"
"Oui, I will be fine," he murmured.
Willow followed Jean-Claude out of the room. In the corridor, he reached out and touched her arm. "How are you?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Okay. You?"
"Concerned. But, generally speaking..."
She smiled. "Did we hijack your plans for tonight with this movie business?" she asked. "I didn't ask if you had plans or if you wanted---"
Jean-Claude reached up and put a finger to her lips. "This is fine. It will give me some time to process and contemplate today's events... in a very relaxing atmosphere." He smiled a bit more. "It's not often that ma petite chooses to stay here for more mundane activities."
"I think she's in love with you," Willow teased.
The vampire grinned. "Perhaps," he replied in an equally teasing voice.
TBC