She shouldn’t panic. She was the Slayer. She had been in much worse places than this. She had defeated bunches of vampires, monsters, and demons by the truckload. She wouldn’t let some overactive poison ivy do her in.
Her feet were caught, but for now, these tendrils were very close to the ground. She knelt down and quickly unzipped her boots. New shoots tickled her hands, tried to wrap themselves around her fingers. She jerked her hands free, breaking a couple of the more delicate shoots, and pulled her feet free of the boots, then ran from the center of the spell. New growth popped up all around her, almost tripping her twice. She vaulted over a low gravestone. If she were to fall now, she might never get free.
She stopped at last when she reached the asphalt. Nothing grew through the blacktop; it was smooth and cool beneath her sock-clad feet. The spell seemed to be centered on the lawn behind her. She turned back to look at it and saw that what was once a cemetery was now becoming a jungle.
This had to be a part of the Druids’ spell. But why hadn’t they told her about it—warned her about it? Luckily no one else was out here tonight. She might have been trapped and squeezed to death or smothered. These plants were serious business.
She planned to give the Druids—she planned to give Ian—a piece of her mind.
At last, Cordelia thought. She and Xander had some private time.
They had found a quiet back corner of the Bronze and were doing some big-time smooching. Cordelia didn’t realize how much she had missed this until she was nestled back in Xander’s arms. She closed her eyes and listened to the band as she felt Xander’s warmth, smelled his good, clean smell, kissed his sweet lips.
What’s that? She started, mid-kiss. She thought she heard a voice. What had it said?
There was nothing now. The rock band wailed on. No, she must have only heard the singer.
“You comfortable?” Xander whispered.
“Um-hmm,” she replied.
“Me too,” Xander said. “We’ve got to do this more often.”
On that, Cordelia thought, the two of us are in complete agree—
There it was again! That voice. Not the singer—no, something higher, fainter—maybe a backup voice. What was it saying?
It was calling her name.
Oh . . .
Cordelia pulled away.
“Listen, Xander. I’ve got to—”
“What?” he asked.
She frowned. She didn’t want to be anywhere but right here, right now.
The voice again. The insistent voice.
She wriggled away. “No, I really have to—”
“What?” Xander grinned at her. “I don’t mind. As long as you come back.”
“Come back? Yes, come back.”
She pushed herself away from him and ran quickly across the room, pushing her way past the crowd, running into dancers. Nothing mattered.
Nothing but where I have to be. . . .
Was it something he said?
One minute, everything was forgotten. He’d come back from his afternoon with the Druids and Cordelia hadn’t said the words “Bryce Abbott” once. Xander and Cordelia were in make out heaven.
The next, she acted like she had to go put out a fire. Actually, she ran away fast enough to put out three or four fires.
Maybe it was his breath. No. They’d been kissing so long that by now they’d performed a complete saliva transfusion. His breath was her breath. End of story.
Maybe it was those burgers they’d eaten earlier. Maybe he’d suddenly developed a zit that looked like a second nose. Xander sighed. Maybe, like, it could be anything.
Could she be going to see Bryce? What was he—just some college-age star-quarterback ex-boyfriend of Cordy’s? What could she see in Bryce that she couldn’t she in Xander? What couldn’t she see?
It was that expression on her face as she ran that bothered him. Well, that and the fact that she ran away from him in the first place. If she had given him a little smile and said “Back in a minute!” he would have just sat here, Mr. Happy Guy, while she powdered her nose or got a drink of water or talked to Amanda about some detail of the formal dance that just couldn’t wait—whatever. But in that second before she left—Xander thought he’d never seen Cordelia look quite so frantic, ever.
Maybe it took until this minute for her to realize her horrible mistake. Maybe she opened her eyes and said “I’m kissing Xander Harris?”
Let’s face it, Xander thought. He wasn’t the formal-dance type. Maybe Cordelia realized she could find someone her own speed somewhere else.
Someone like Bryce.
What if she had realized it weeks ago and was already seeing somebody else? What if she was just looking to let him down easy? Maybe all her disappearances had nothing to do with the Spring Formal and everything to do with some guy on the football team—on the local college football team!
Wow, Xander certainly hoped not. Maybe she just had an upset stomach. Not that he’d wish an upset stomach on her, but compared to breaking up—well, stomachs came and went. Relationships were serious.
Where’d she go? Xander had been startled; she disappeared before he could do anything. And now he couldn’t do anything but keep time with the band and hope she’d come back.
Five minutes passed, then ten. This was just too strange. Next time this happened, Xander decided, he would definitely follow her.
Cordelia didn’t like this at all. One moment, she was finally snuggling with Xander, the next, she was all alone, and in the alley besides.
“It’s time for my dinner.”
Cordelia blinked. The whole Naomi business came back to her. The threats . . . the fear . . . the cold.
Oh, no. She wasn’t going to be treated this way by anybody—even if it was a vampire. She tried to turn up her nose, but her face was frozen again.
“Get stuffed!” she said instead.
Naomi’s face floated before her own. “Dear Cordelia. You still don’t realize that you have no choice. It should be obvious that I can bring you to me whenever I want. And soon it will be clear that I can make you do whatever I want, too.”
Naomi laughed quietly. “Now you’ll bring me dinner. Don’t worry. It won’t be anybody close to you the first time. I want this more like a practice run.”
Cordelia couldn’t move. And Naomi was right. Cordelia had felt compelled to leave Xander and come out here, going from one of the best moments in her life to one of the worst. And now Cordelia was supposed to go back into the Bronze and come out with someone for Naomi to kill?
She wouldn’t do it. She couldn’t do it!
Cordelia had to think of a way out of this. Only questions came to mind. How could she stop Naomi—how could she stop doing things for Naomi—when most of the time she couldn’t even remember the vampire was here?
Cordelia was becoming very afraid.
She felt the vampire’s cold whisper in her ear:
“Now Cordelia! Do it now!”
Cordelia blinked. Here she was again, out in the alley behind the Bronze. Boy, she must really like it out here. The fresh air, maybe? The privacy—a place to get away from the crowds? Or maybe close, personal contact with all this garbage?
Cordelia wrinkled her nose. She didn’t think so.
Why would she want to get away from Xander?
But she couldn’t think of Xander just now.
There was something she had to do inside the Bronze.
There she is!
Xander felt a great rush of relief when he saw Cordelia talking to the other girl by the back door. It was only after he realized she was safe that he got annoyed. She had said she’d come right back. Why was she standing around at the other end of the Bronze talking to some perfect stranger?
Well, just because he didn’t know the girl didn’t mean Cordelia didn’t know her. The other girl looked to be about their age; probably even went to their high school. Until very recently, he had to remind himself, he and Cordelia moved in different circles�
�maybe different dimensions.
Well, right now their circles were going to get a lot closer. He walked over to the two girls.
“Isn’t it a little stuffy in here?” Cordelia was saying.
“Hi!” Xander called as he approached.
Cordelia gave him the briefest of glances. She looked very confused. “Oh—uh, hi Xander. I’ll talk to you later.”
Xander wasn’t going to be brushed off that easily. He decided he’d hang around and wait for a good place to break into the conversation.
“So,” Cordelia continued, ignoring Xander completely, “I saw you talking with that new guy.”
“Dave?” the girl asked.
“Yeah, he’s one of Amanda’s cousins. Foreign guys are so cute. Can you dig those accents?”
Wait a minute, Xander thought. Is this the same Cordelia? The last time he’d talked with her about the three Druids, she had pronounced them the most boring people on the face of the planet!
“Hey, Cordelia.” He tried to break in again. “I was thinking, maybe I could actually talk to the girl I came to the Bronze to see—”
“No Xander,” she replied, not even looking at him. “Go and sit down.”
What? That was it? No explanation, no apology, just “go and sit down?”
For once in his life, Xander was speechless.
Cordelia, apparently, wanted to talk enough for both of them. She pressed on with the other girl. “It’s a little crowded in here for what I’ve got to tell you. Why don’t we go outside?”
“Outside?” the other woman asked incredulously.
“Well, yeah,” Cordelia said with a knowing smirk. “Listen, Barb. There’s a back stairway here that nobody ever watches.”
There is? Xander tried to think about what Cordelia was talking about. Well, there was that fire exit that led to that back alley out by the Dumpster—not exactly the place for romance, and the last place he’d expect to see Cordelia.
“Really?” Barb asked.
“Yeah. When you’re still stuck living at home, you have to find those special private places for—you know. Barb, trust me. I know my way around.”
This was definitely something Xander did not want to hear.
But Barb was half-way sold. “Well, if what you’re going to tell me is really juicy—”
Cordelia shook her head. “Listen. What I heard Marti say to Anton about your old boyfriend, Bill—but no. I have to tell you in private. She smiled conspiratorially. “People do talk, you know.”
Barb made a face. “Who pays attention to anybody in here? Everybody’s already busy with somebody or they’re off listening to the music.”
It didn’t make any sense to Xander, either. What was Cordelia trying to pull? Was this some kind of practical joke?
“Listen, I’m not worried. I just don’t want this juicy dish to get around. And afterward, we’ll go over and talk to Dave. Dave!” she called, waving at Amanda’s cousin, who had just walked in on the other side of the room. “See you later!”
Dave smiled and waved back. He began to push his way through the throng.
“Oh,” Barb said brightly. “Here comes Dave now.”
Cordelia tugged at her arm. “Don’t you want to hear the secret? Trust me, you’ll just about die.”
Xander stepped in their way. “Cordy, when you get back, I want to . . .”
“Xander?” Cordelia blinked. “Well, okay. I just—just—” She frowned as if she couldn’t get out the words. She turned and reached for him. “Xander! I need—I need—”
What was the matter? Cordelia looked like she was going to faint.
Xander stepped forward as Cordelia shook her head. “No, I’m fine now.” She glared at Xander. “Didn’t I tell you to leave me alone?”
Xander took a step away. Cordelia had her share of wiggy moments—everybody did, Xander supposed. But right now she was throwing a Dolly Parton special. This last little while that he and Cordelia had been together, he’d thought he’d gotten to know her pretty well, but this Cordelia Chase seemed like a complete stranger.
“Come on, Barb.” Cordy grabbed the other girl’s elbow. “These men can wait.”
Dave caught up with Xander as the girls hurried away.
“Hey!” Dave said. “Didn’t they want to talk to me?”
“That Alex, is the Final Jeopardy question,” Xander agreed. “Who knows what they’re doing. But I’m going to find out.”
Xander pushed his way through the crowd. He noticed that Dave was right behind him. He had to figure what was going on here. This was no longer weird. It felt to Xander like something far worse.
He caught up to them at the back stairway. It was indeed the fire exit, the one with the sign that said Opening This Door Will Cause Alarm to Sound! Except, Xander noticed, the door was already open.
Barb was already halfway up the stairs. Dave looked from Cordelia to Barb and back again, probably not wanting to be rude, but probably wanting Cordelia to go away so he could spend some quality time with the other girl.
Well, Xander thought, time for me to do my part for romantic relationships. If he and Cordelia were on the skids, maybe he could at least give Dave and Barb some privacy.
“Hey, Cordelia!” he called as he trotted toward the fire exit.
“Xander!” Her eyes rolled. “I told I thought you to get—I thought I told you—-I can’t help—I don’t want—get away from me, now! It’s not safe! It’s—I never want to see you again!”
Dave smiled apologetically. “Well, I guess I’ll let you two work this out.” He ran up the stairs and out the door that Barb had disappeared through only a moment before.
This time, Cordelia did faint. Xander caught her before she could fall. He held her there for a minute, watching lines of tension leave her face. She looked like a sleeping child.
She opened her eyes. “Xander?”
“Cordelia?”
She turned her head to look at her surroundings. “What are we doing back here?”
“You were the one who came back here, you and Barb.”
“Barb?” Cordelia looked confused. “From junior high school? I haven’t talked to her in years.”
What? Didn’t she remember anything?
“Cordelia, something’s going on here. Some spell kind of thing.”
“What do you mean?”
That’s when the racket started.
Naomi recognized the first victim as she walked into the alley. Barb was her name, a minor hanger-on in their old crowd. The sort of person people would barely miss.
Cordelia had done her job well.
“Barb!” she called.
Barb turned at the sound of her voice. “Naomi? I haven’t seen you in ages!” She looked around the alley, sniffed at the pungent aroma of the garbage across the way.
“Ewww,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “There’s a reason this place is private.”
“Oh,” Naomi replied. “This alley isn’t anywhere near as bad as you think. For some of us, it can be quite exciting.”
“Exciting?” Barb glanced back at the door to the Bronze. “I’m waiting for Cordy to join me. Are you waiting for somebody?”
“Somebody?” Naomi glided toward the young woman. “No, I just want to talk to you, Barb. I’ve always felt the two of us should be much closer.”
“Closer?” Barb looked down at the point where Naomi grabbed her arm. “Ewww! Your hand is like ice!” Naomi used her other hand to grab Barb’s shoulder and draw her near.
“What are you doing?” Barb shouted. She wriggled and squirmed. Her strength was no match for that of a vampire. “No!”
“Yes,” Naomi whispered.
Barb’s struggles ended as soon as Naomi’s fangs entered her neck.
Ah. It feels so good to sink your teeth into tender young flesh. Now, she would drink deep and let the warmth replenish her.
“Hey!”
Naomi opened her eyes. Some young man stood before her. Cordelia was working overtime.
Very well. She would drain Barb and take him next.
Naomi felt herself jerked away from her meal. The young man had landed a flying kick in her ribs.
“Barb!” he called. “Get behind me!”
“Dave?” the young woman murmured, already drowsy from the loss of blood.
Naomi roared in frustration. No one interrupted her feeding! She would grab this puny human male and rip him in half, then lap his blood up from the street! Then, she would finish the girl—a meal and dessert.
She rushed forward to seize the boy, but he was no longer there. Another kick to her back sent her reeling forward into the piled garbage.
“Come on, Barb!” Naomi heard behind her. “We’ll get you out of here. We’ll get help.”
No, they wouldn’t. Humans might surprise her once, might even get lucky, twice. But she was a vampire. Vampires prevailed.
She tried to calm her blood lust. Sheer animal ferocity might not be the easiest way to end this. The boy was obviously a trained fighter. But Naomi was faster. If she could study his moves for a moment, she would discover his weaknesses. Draining him then would be even more satisfying!
She rose from among the garbage bags and brushed off her gown. “You’re not going anywhere, Dave. This is your and Barb’s last date—ever.”
She approached him more warily this time. If she could get the boy in her grip, get her fangs in his neck, she would win. It was merely a matter of anticipating his next move. Then, it would be time to feast!
She reached out her right hand. He shifted slightly to his left. She took a step away. He rested lightly on the balls of his feet as if he wasn’t scared of her in the least. That would be his undoing.
“Barb?” he called over his shoulder. “Are you all right?”
“Dave?” Barb’s voice weakly answered. “I think so. What happened?”
“I’ll explain later. Do you see any bits of wood in the alley? Anything with a sharp edge?”
So this boy knew what she was and how to destroy her. Perhaps, Naomi thought, she had been too full of herself. Perhaps she could use a little assistance to rid herself of this pest.
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