Title: Little Boy Lost 5/7
Author: Jadedragon
Email: blm55@bellsouth.net
Pairing: B/G
Rating: PG 13
Spoilers: Season 4. This takes place over the
summer, before Season 5.
Disclaimer: Characters from BtVS are property of Joss, WB, UPN
and Mutant Enemy. I'm just playing with them for a while.
Summary: Buffy finds Giles' son on the door step with
a letter from his mother.
Feedback: Greatly appreciated.
Xander looked around the room that he was in. There was one door, which was closed and four stone walls. A single bare light bulb hung from the ceiling to dimly illuminate their prison. He saw Willow lying on the stone floor still out from the drug that had been given to them. Cordelia was sitting near her looking very angry.
"Cordelia, where are we?" Xander asked his former girlfriend.
"Xander, I don't know, I just woke up a few minutes ago. The door's locked. Do you know what's going on? They called you `Giles'?"
"I don't know. I heard them say something about Jacques being glad that they had been able to get the Witch and the Watcher on the first try. If they think I'm Giles, we best let them think that. Giles on the outside working to free us with Buffy is more comforting than him being in here and me out there trying to help Buffy."
"Ain't that the truth!" Cordelia agreed with him.
"Ahh…my aching head," Willow moaned as she tried to sit up. "What hit me?"
"One of the demons," Xander told her as he and Cordelia helped her to sit up. Braided copper and brass wire had banded Willow's hands together. When Xander tried to remove the wire he was shocked and thrown across the room. When he came to, Cordelia was sitting beside him, as was Willow.
"Xander are you alright?" Willow asked him.
"What was that?"
"A spell has been placed on these bands to keep me from casting and to keep anyone from removing them. This was well planned," Willow told her fellow prisoners.
"Well they didn't plan too well, they think Xander is `Giles'," Cordelia told the witch.
"I thought that I heard them call him `Giles'. Why do they want us?"
"I don't know, Will. Cordelia and I were talking about that before you woke up. We don't have a clue." Xander told his friend.
"They want Giles, Cordelia and me. Did they say anything about wanting anyone else?" Willow asked Cordelia.
"I over heard them talking on the way from L.A. It seems that another group of demons had to go to the cemetery to get the fourth person they needed. One of the demons said that he was glad he didn't have to dig up a coffin."
"A coffin?" Xander asked her.
"Yeah. Something about the fourth person they needed had been killed and they would have to try the spell with their bones," Cordelia informed Willow and Xander.
"Did they say anything about the grave that was to be dug up?" Willow asked her.
"No. That was just too gross to think about so I quit listening, besides I had just had a vision of them attacking and my head was splitting."
"If we knew who they were digging up, it might help us to figure out why they want us," Willow told Cordelia. "Try to remember anything else they might have said."
"Well they referred to me as the `bitch'! I'm not a bitch, anymore, the very idea! They called you and Giles the Witch and the Watcher. The called the other something, but my head was hurting so badly…I'm trying to think back and remember, the Bitch, the Witch, the Watcher, the…Gypsy!"
"Ms. Calendar! Oh Goddess, they're trying to bring back the Master!" Willow exclaimed, as Cordelia and Xander looked at her in disbelief and horror.
**********
They had been researching for about two hours when Anya found something.
"Hey everybody! I found something about the rite. A monk created it in 1193. He was studying the life of Christ and wanted to learn more so he developed a spell to combine his knowledge with the knowledge of St. Peter and St. Paul. Only he got more than he bargained for. The spell worked. It worked so well that St. Peter and St. Paul fought for control of his body and he was driven insane. After he committed suicide, all his journals and papers were destroyed and all evidence of what had happened was suppressed."
"Just like the bloody do-gooders!" Spike commented.
"Spike, let her continue?" Giles admonished him.
"Well, fifty years later, a hidden compartment was found in the cell where he spent his last days at the Monastery of Escene, in the Loire district of France. Hidden in the compartment was a journal, which had the entire ritual and how it had been developed. But, before the journal could be sent to Rome for study, it was stolen when the Monastery was attacked by a group of demons and vampires, who burned it to the ground. The Church thought that the journal had been destroyed until a hundred years later when a copy of it was found in the hands of a group of vampires in Nice. It later disappeared again. It has been mentioned in several books about lost or forgotten spells and lore," Anya finished.
"Does it say anything about why it has to be performed at Lugnassa?" Giles asked the former demon.
"No." She replied.
"G…giles, could it be because it is the first harvest?" Tara asked.
"Tara, that is an excellent idea!" Giles told her. "The monk wanted to `harvest' the spirits of the Saints to help with his research. But this is the second time that an attempt has been made to raise the Master, so that could interfere with the ritual. Also, I feel that the original purpose has been corrupted over the years, as the monk could not have had the blood of anyone who knew either of the Saints he was trying to raise. This Rite has been in the hands of vampires since 1243, there is no telling what changes have been made and how much it has deviated from its original intent."
"Giles, I think we have found everything we can with the books you have. Why don't we call it a night and regroup tomorrow afternoon?" Wesley asked him.
"Wes, you're right. We all need our rest, we'll have to try and rescue Xander, Cordelia, and Willow tomorrow. We don't dare wait until the ritual is taking place. There is too much that we don't know and it would be too dangerous." Giles told the group. "Spike, could you go and see if you can find anything at the factory?"
"Sure, I remember some underground rooms that would be perfect for holding hostages. There were entrances from the sewer, I might be able to get into the building without being seen." Spike informed the Watcher.
"If you find anything let us know. We'll meet at Joyce's tomorrow about 11:00 a.m. to plan our moves. Anything you find will be a great help."
"Sure thing. I'll head there after I get through at the factory." Spike told them as he left the condo.
Everyone agreed with Giles. They were all tired and needed sleep to be at their best for later in the day. Wesley and Angel went with Joyce and Hank to stay with them, while Anya and Tara went to Anya's apartment. Soon Buffy and Giles were alone, with Rupe asleep upstairs.