The Witch's Hour
by wraith
chapter 3
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THE WITCH'S HOUR
chapter three
Faith held Willow's eyes with her own unwavering gaze, "Now for the complicated part, who are you looking for, Buffy...or the slayer?"
~~~East Texas~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The conversation with Faith was still fresh in her mind as Willow pushed through the doors of the bar and was instantly struck by two things; a wall of cool air-conditioned air tinged with the smell of beer and cigarette smoke, and the heart vibrating throb of the music. She stopped by the doorman, a tall young man whose arms were sleeved in tattoos and asked if there was a cover, almost having to yell to be heard over the music. He gave her a strange curious look, like he thought that she might be in the wrong place, then leaned down to make himself heard. "NO cover today, we're celebrating, everyone's welcome." "What's the party for?" She asked, a bit curious. "Phoenix's retirement, she's the best on the circuit, we're going to miss her out there."
Willow had no real idea what he was talking about but figured it was something to do with motorcycle racing considering the surroundings. She nodded her head in thanks and made her way into the main part of the bar. It was every bit as huge on the inside as it appeared to be on the outside.
To the far left of the long room was a large stage which would easily fit a ten member band, in front of that was the dance floor liberally covered in peanut shells, the nuts available in large wooden barrels found here and there along the walls. Beside the dance floor, and along the sides were tables and chairs, all full. In fact the entire place was packed. It had to be for this phoenix, there was no way the bar would be this busy on a Tuesday afternoon normally.
On the right was the bar, the top covered in polished metal with what had to be every liquor known to man on glass shelves behind it. Suspended from the ceiling some thirty feet above was a complete motorcycle, though not like anything she had ever seen before. It was extremely low slung and looked like you would have to lay down on it rather than sit astride it. A metal frame extended from the back tapering to a point where it ended with a small wheel, she could only guess what it was for.
Her breath caught suddenly as her eyes locked onto the deftly airbrushed image on the gas tank, a black heart pierced by a wooden stake! She could feel her pulse quicken, she knew that it could mean anything but she couldn't help but hope. Two years of hunting, searching, and it may end right here! She could feel the sweat form on her palms, hope and fear warring for control in her heart. She began to scan the crowd for the familiar blonde hair and petite form, but though there was no shortage of blondes, none were the one she so desperately needed to find.
After a few minutes she decided to get a drink to steady her nerves and made her way through the crowd to the bar. Once there she ordered a scotch and soda, a nasty habit she had picked up spending prolonged time with Giles. As she waited for her drink she felt a flow of power, a magical signature that pulsed with familiarity even to her long unused magic's. She stood on her tip-toes and tried to find the source of the power, knowing that in the back of her mind that it would not be unreasonable to find a slayer here, but was it the only one that she wanted, one that she had ever wanted.
September 2004~~~~~London, England~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Willow!!" Kennedy was losing her patience, and control of her temper, "Willow, you are not going to L.A.! "
"Look Ken, I don't expect you to understand, but I have to go!" Willow was in the process of hurriedly shoving clothes into a bag, grabbing things seemingly in random.
"I can't believe you Willow! One call from her and you're running to her side, again!" Kennedy walked around in front of the young witch blocking her path to the closet. "You don't hear word one from her since she left but you're ready to drop everything including me to run off to L.A. to God knows what!"
"I can't believe you're being like this Kenny! It wasn't just a call, she said that she needed me, and it was the way she said it, just 'Willow, please come, I need you!' and that's it, and the way she sounded, desperate, scared even. I don't know if I've ever heard her sound that way before. I know that you don't like her, but I've got to go."
"Willow, she's got Xander there, not to mention a small army of slayers and enough firepower to take over a small country, I'm sure that she can get by. You need to make a choice, right now, her or me. I'm not playing second fiddle to her, not when it comes to you. So I'll make it easy, I can't stop you from going, but if you do, don't come back, cause I won't be here."
Willow stopped trying to close the now over-stuffed luggage and turned to face the young slayer, the now infamous 'resolve face' firmly in place. " Ken, you know that I care for you, but right now, the last thing I need to deal with is an ultimatum. I have to go, if for no other reason than because she would come for me. But that's NOT the only reason. In all the years we were in Sunnydale, no matter that she saved my life more times than even I could count, forget the fact that she died twice saving us, that she has faced everything the hellmouth had to give and the only reward she ever received was being yanked from heaven by those that were supposed to love her, by ME. . . I know, really know, that she would come to help me without even considering it." By now her voice had risen and she was steadily backing the slayer up until her back of her legs came in contact with the edge of the bed forcing her to sit and the young witch stood over her. "The very least I can do is go to LA and make sure that she's ok!"
The red-head's voice softened, slightly, and she knelt in front of the younger girl and placed her palms on her thighs. "I have to go Ken, if I don't, and something happened to her, I could never forgive myself, ever." Standing, she returned to her suitcase, finished closing it and walked to the door. Stopping at the doorway, she looked back, regret showing in her eyes. "I'm sorry Kenny." That said she walked through the door and went outside where a taxi was already waiting for her.
Devonshire, England ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 2009~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Willow sat in the library of Giles' small, comfortable home. It was old, but had been kept in pristine shape, though you had a sense of the passage of time. It smelled of warm fires, wool blankets and musty books. Many of the trappings were as old or older than the house, and you could almost taste the history behind each door. It was very, very Giles.
"Willow" . . .he began, taking off his thick glasses and polishing them with a cloth handkerchief, "you know that I cared for Buffy, she was a daughter to me, not just my charge. But it's been five years, and we have received not one word from her. We have not even had a reliable sighting since the battle in California."
Willow's lips turned up in the smallest smile at the thought of LA really living up to it's name now. The City of Angels, had become just that, throughout the underworld it was known that the city was off limits to deamonkind of any sort. After the 'cleansing' some of the most powerful spells ever cast had rendered the entire city vampire proof, and warded off most other denizens of hell as well. The compliment of slayers with their modern warfare training and advanced weapons permanently stationed there scared off the rest. Now it was a gathering place for the purest of souls. The city simply pulsed with positive energies, and it attracted those of the same ilk. It was the ultimate memorial to the champions that had fallen there.
The cost had been high though, of the slayers who had followed Buffy and Xander into battle, only seventeen had returned, every one of them wounded. Xander had spent almost a year in hospital recovering from wounds sustained standing over one fallen young woman, holding off an entire pack of reptilian demons single-handed. The slayer had recovered, a girl named Jennifer, and they had been inseparable ever since, Xander having haten on the role of father figure, a role he took to with surprising ease. They lived in LA where he still worked with the council as an advisor, his wounds leaving him with a limp that prevented him from participating in any further active duty.
Willow returned her attention to what Giles was saying. " ...you have spent a small fortune looking for her and now you tell me that you want to leave your career behind and devote yourself to this search full time. I do admire your loyalty, and your faith, but I must tell you that I fear this quest will only leave you with more disappointment. Even if she is alive Willow, she has made no effort to contact any of us, and I must believe that there is good reason for that."
Texas~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~present day
As Willow stood in front of the bar, eyes flicking from the paint job on the drag-bike, to the crowd around her, trying to find the source of the energy she could now easily feel, tingling in the back of her mind. Suddenly the house music was cut off and a middle aged woman wearing faded jeans and a leather jacket covered in logos of different motor-cycles and other sponsors, climbed the stairs to the stage and palmed a microphone. Though packed, the whole bar settled down and became quite quiet, all attention was on the stage and the woman preparing to speak.
"Alright folks, the time has come! Now then, before I call our lil' drag-racin' demon up here, I wanna say a few things. For those of ya that don't know the whole story I'm gonna tell it to ya, mostly cause it'll embarrass her to no end!" The large room filled with laughter for a moment by those who knew all too well what she was talking about. "Now then, about five years ago, this lil wisp of a gal comes up to me after the races one day and announce that she wants to race bikes. She didn't have no experience, had no bike, nothing but ambitions. Course, I tell her to take a hike, but, damn if she wasn't there again the next day, and the next, . . .in fact, she hounded me every day for two months. I couldn't take it no more so I told her I'd let her try a bike out, but when she crashed and burned it was her pretty lil ass, and IF she survived she'd owe me for th' bike. "
" Well, I tell ya, there wasn't anybody more surprised than me when she didn't dump the thing, instead she came within two one-hundreds of a second of the track record! THEN, she comes strolling up to me with this big ole shit-eatin grin plastered to her face and asks if I got anything faster! " Again there was laughter from the crowd.
" Well, y'all know what happened after that, she's won more races than anyone on the circuit, and set three new track records! Every season she'd appear, kick all you Racer-Boyz asses, then disappear again till the next season. That is, till last year. That's when she came to me with some hair brained idea about buying this here old shack and turning it into a bar. I decided to take another chance on her, and once again she did herself proud." This time there was more yelling, and several 'yahoo's, the patrons obviously appreciating the establishment.
"Now, as y'all know, she's hanging up her guns and retiring from the circuit." This statement was followed by several boos and yells of denial.
"I know, I know, it's not gonna be the same out there without her. But this isn't the time for negativity, this party is to celebrate Pheonix's wins, her spirit, and the competitive edge that's made her one of the best racers I have ever had the pleasure of watching. And last but not least, one of the best friends I have ever had!" This time, once the clapping started there was no stopping it and the speaker had to yell to be heard over the din. " Beth. . . BETH honey, you better come on out here !"
At the far end of the bar, a door marked 'private' , Willow had a brief glance of spikey, brown hair, streaked with blonde and pink. Then the form was swallowed by the crowd as the person was ushered towards the stage.
author's note; I know it was just a small change, but the rest of the story will be posted soon. I was gone for a while, but I'm back now. The posts will be short, but frequent.