FIC: The Rocky Road Chapter 3: Rites of Passage (4/?)

[~~Kimber <kacoe@xxxxxxx>]

Title: The Rocky Road Chapter 3: Rites of Passage (4/?)
Author: Kimber (kacoe@xxxxxxx)
Disclaimer: All BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Summary: Fourth in the Road Series
Spoilers: Everything is fair game.
Distribution: Pat Kelly, Rodrigo, Gary Thompson, Syrenslure and Serendipity. Anyone
else, e-mail me please.
Author's Notes: The more feedback I get the more fic I write. . .nuff said.
Thoughts are enclosed in < >
Flashback are enclosed in <<<< >>>>
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Now I lay me down not to sleep, I just get tangled in the sheets
I swim in sweat three inches deep, I just lay back and claim defeat
Chapter read and lesson learned, I turn the lights of while she burned
So while shes three hundred degrees, I throw the sheets off and I freeze
My hands are locked up tight in fists, My mind is racing, filled with lists
Of things to do and things Ive done, Another sleepless nights begun
Who needs Sleep? by Blues Traveler


~~Two years previous~~ 2007

He dropped two letters in the slot of the mailbox on the corner of Fifth and Main. It
seemed funny to him that almost every town he stopped in had a Fifth and Main, and there
was always a mailbox to be found. He wanted to think about this for a while, how small
the world suddenly seemed, but there was no time for it.

He crossed the street quickly and disappeared down a dark alley. It was a shortcut he
wasnt fond of, but it would get him there just in time. Taking money at the door of a
local kink club. It was his dream come true. Well, it would have been had he been the
same boy that left Sunnydale two years ago, but he wasnt. Things were different and if he
had to make a living taking money from scum who were foaming at the mouth to have other
forms of scum beat them into submission, well, thats just how it had to be.

He stumbled upon the club in a drunken stupor, gambled and lost, then lost even more. Now
he was working off his debt. Home was a little shack behind the club, not much to speak
of but it didnt leak when it rained, well much anyway, and the food was free.

The oddest sense of being watched consumed him and he doubled his pace. Fifty feet to go.
. .forty. . .twenty five. . .fifteen in the home stretch. He almost made it to the end of
the alley then something grabbed him, something strong and smelling of dead roses. The
time he went with Buffy to the mortuary flashed through his mind  dead roses lingered in
the air too.

He found himself slammed against the wall and a very strong, feminine hand grasped his
throat.

Little boy, little boy. . .so very far away from home.

It was dark, but he saw a glimmer of yellow in the eyes before him.

Has little bo peep allowed her sheep to wander so far from pasture? She cackled, a high
pitch maniacs cackle that could only be pulled off by one person.

Drucilla. He managed to squeak out before her grip tightened.

The stars are speaking and what do they say? The hours are ticking, ticking and where
shall they lead? Away, away She loosened her grip and stroked his hair with her free
hand. Hes gone now you know, the man who walked this world and the other. The shadow
has been slaughtered and theyre not happy. She smiled. I want you, want your help and
I promise great things will happen. You are destined for great things, I can smell it in
your eyes and see it on your veins. Youre the one.

The one what? <Damn voice. . .Stop shaking!>

She let him go but remained in front of him and her tone took on an eerie singsong
timbre. The Shadow man, the Shadow man, he walked the line where no one can.

Youre insane, you know that?

She grabbed him again. Not as insane as you may think. Normalcy is in the eye of the
beholder, my love. Clarity crept into her eyes. I will take care of your debt, but you
must take care of me. I will bring you places youve never dreamt of, never knew
existed. When the prophesy is at hand you alone will rule Liveside and Deadside and I
shall be your queen.

A car drove by and he saw her face, saw the yellow in her vampiric eyes and knew he didnt
have a chance. <A killer lives behind those eyes> he thought. . .but then he was
stricken by the unfamiliarity of the voice in his head. . .it was feminine. He froze and
wondered if he thought it or if she projected it into him. He heard the pain before he
actually felt it. . .heard her throat working to push down the blood that flowed from him
and now through her.

The last thought to cross his mind was that he deserved this, all of it. He deserved to
die near a mailbox off of Fifth and Main in a dark alley hed almost made it to the end
of. The murkiness came and his eyes rolled to the side. . .it was more like five feet to
salvation. <Miscalculations a bitch and Ive always sucked at math.> Darkness.

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He slowly opened his eyes and found that not only had his clothes disappeared, but so had
a lot of blood. He knew this because when he sat up he was blinded by a swooning in his
head first then looking down he wondered where his shirt was second. All before he
flopped back down on the bed. <Bed?> He opened his eyes again and saw that he was in a
room possibly underground. There were floor length candles everywhere and dead roses in
vases scattered about the room. <Dead roses. . Drucilla. . GULP!>

Panic stricken and weak, he flailed about the bed much like a fish out of water. This
drew laugher from the left side of the room. Maniacal laugher.

Drucilla. He whispered.

Feeling better boy?

Ive been worse. Where am I?

Ive repaid your debt and we are underground. The stars are awake and laughing.

Hed had just about enough of the riddles. Wacky vampire or not, he wanted some answers.
Repaid my debt?

I sent them all to sleep, theyll never bother you again. She smiled and stepped out
from the shadows. The prophesy is coming and magic is afoot. Youre destined to be a
warrior.

He rubbed the back of his head. More like the court jester. What do you want from me?
Am I a. . a

Ive not turned you into a vampire. Youre of no use to me like that, yet anyway. She
crossed the room and sat on the bed with him. I know what its like, to not have them
understand you, to know things no one else knows about. She tipped his head up to look
into his eyes. Theyll never understand, you know that. But I do. . mommy knows. Wont
you let me make it better? Let me take the pain away.

A tear escaped from his eye. They never would understand, would they? Never accept what
hed become. He had trouble facing himself in the mirror, how would they look at him?
Buffy, Willow, Giles. . hed failed them, and himself. Always the failure always the one
to muck it up. No more, never again. He wiped the tears away and gave her a sad smile.
Make it go away. He whispered. Make it all disappear.

She locked into his gaze and he straightened up. Her hands wove intricate patterns in
front of his face and the last thing he thought of was how peaceful hed felt. More so
than he could ever remember feeling.

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~~One year later~~ 2008

It was done and there was nothing left to do. The diary, wrapped in a pain brown package,
had been tucked under his arm and he was bringing it to meet its destiny. He scribbled
the address down from memory and dropped it in the slot. All that was left now was
waiting and more waiting.

The smell of gardenias hung in the air thickly. He made his way down the street at a
steady stride. He passed men, women and children celebrating in the streets. This was
New Orleans and this was, in all its glory, Mardi Gras. Had he felt like a younger man,
had he still some glimmer left in his eyes, he would have been there with them. Those
were times long gone now. He rounded the corner and St. Annes loomed in the distance,
her pointed steeple reaching out and seemingly touching the stars. He approached not the
church, but the manhole ten feet away from it. With a quick look around, he moved the
cover and descended into the murky darkness.

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She wore a long low-cut red satin dress that reached the floor. A rope, seemingly made
out of gold, was tied around her waist and there were sprays of babys breathe stuck in
her long black hair. She walked languidly across the room, almost floating. He was
close, she could smell him, sense his presence. Her love had returned to her, just as
hed promised.

She pulled a rose from the vase in the corner. She inhaled it deeply, allowing the
fragrance to dance in her nostrils. She smiled and close her eyes. You have returned.

Hed been standing there watching her, leaning against the wall. As always.

And you have news? She smelled the flower again.

Its a beautiful night out tonight. You should really come to the surface. The entire
city is out there, waiting for their queen. A smile played across his face.

You toy with me again. She frowned and crushed the rose in her palm. When she let it
fall to the ground, it was nothing but dust. Make mommy happy. Tell me youve found
it. She turned and pouted.

He shook his head and began to stroll over towards her. He stopped midway to light a few
candles, then put his hands in his pockets and cocked his head to the side. No. . .but
Ive found someone who can. He closed the small space between them and loomed in closer,
placing a kiss on her neck.

I want it now. She folded her arms across her chest and leered at him.

He stepped back. Time. It will take time to gain his trust. He hooked her chin with
his index finger. It took you time to earn mine, now didnt it?

I had a vision. She smiled at him.

His eyebrows went up. And what did you see?

I saw a feast and there were people there. They were dancing naked in the streets,
unaware that it was the last night theyd dance forever. She smirked.

He nodded his head knowingly. I see. . .and you wouldnt have had this vision when you
went to the surface earlier? He pulled another rose from the vase and sniffed it. I
pass Bourbon Street on my way here, you know.

She frowned. I was hungry.

You didnt have to leave them propped up at the bar. I was having a drink and the
bartender found them. You caused quite the panic. He dropped the rose and touched her
cheek lightly. Three of them? Are you feeling weak again?

She nodded. I feel myself slipping away, away from you. Every day I feel it more and
more. The bottom is falling out of my head and my intestines are creeping up my throat to
strangle all the knowledge out of my mind. I dont think they like me anymore.

He blinked from the imagery. Your intestines?

The Gods and Goddesses. Theyre angry I think. She snaked her arms around his neck and
ran her fingers through his hair seductively. Make it better? Only you can. She
kissed his lips lightly and nipped at his lower lip with her teeth. Only the source can
fill the vessel.

He knelt down in front of her and removed his shirt. There were scars all over his back,
tiny little Xs carved in the shape of a lazy V. He looked up at her, his eyes imploring
yet steady. Not too much. I couldnt move for three days last time. . .and Im of no
use to you sleeping the days away. He put his hands up against the wall in front of him
and braced himself.

She nodded and knelt behind him. She ran her hands roughly across the scars. Not too
much, not at all. With her nails, she carved a new X at the top of his shoulder and he
shuddered. She held him steady as she licked the fresh wound. It wasnt flowing fast
enough for her, she needed more. She could feel the energy seep in slowly and
methodically, but always she needed more. Suddenly she clamped down on his shoulder and
he faded into the darkness with a shrill cry.

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