Part 11
Kenny’s Mansion
Cynthia stared across the room at her husband, Kenny. On her face was a loving smile, her eyes glowing with intense passion for her mate. But in reality, her insides churned with disgust at his arrogance and superiority. Her skin crawled every time she was in his presence. She knew what he was and she was well aware of his schemes, but up until now, she’d been powerless to stop him.
She and Kenny were Bulgari demons, a breed that could blend in with humans rather easily. Like Jessica and Jeremy Falkirk, what telling physical markings they had could be easily covered up with make-up. This characteristic, combined with a tendency toward violence in the males of their breed, made their species a very influential part of the demon underworld. Her husband, Kenny, was a kingpin in the demon mafia, having control over the entire Southern California area.
In short, he was a mean son of a bitch with a lot of power.
Cynthia’s father, much like Kenny in personality and temperament, had arranged her marriage to him when she was very young and Cynthia had had no choice but to go along with it. She’d hated her father her entire life, and her hatred intensified when it was transferred to her new husband.
She was determined to see that, ultimately, he would not be successful in single-handedly destroying the only demons that were trying to live decently. Not if she could help it. Until recently, her opportunities had been scarce.
Her chance to set things right had come from an unlikely source. She’d been contacted by an emissary for the Powers that Be—a man who called himself Whistler. He’d told her that the Powers had heard her frustration and wanted to help. The Powers had a mission for her, one that would result in the death and destruction of Kenny.
Her mission, until now, had been very low-key. She’d known when she’d seen Angel and Cordelia at the club what they were up to; she’d been instructed to suggest their agency to a frantic Jeremy. Her responsibility at that time was to make sure that Cordelia was successfully abducted and to keep an eye on Kenny as he mingled with LA’s elite.
Her other responsibility had been to keep watch over Cordelia and Xander as they were held in the mansion, but she’d been unable to locate them without calling attention to herself. She wasn’t worried about them, though; she knew that Angel and the Slayer would save them. The Powers had foreseen it.
Now, everything was in place as it should be.
In just a few hours, Cynthia would be poised to complete the third and final portion of her mission: to secure the soul of a vampire.
***
Awaiting sunset, Angel paced nervously in the living room of Cordelia’s apartment, everyone giving him a wide berth. Earlier, Wesley had approached him about a minor detail in the plan, and he’d been rewarded with a snarl and a flash of yellow eyes. From then on, everyone avoided disrupting the vampire’s preparation ritual.
The plan kept repeating in Angel’s head, each nuance being rolled around, mulled over, examined for flaws. It was extremely important that it go right the first time. If it didn’t, Kenny would be aware of his weakness and compensate, and it would be virtually impossible to free Cordelia.
Angel would not allow that to happen. Cordelia was coming home tonight; there were no two ways about it.
They’d decided that Angel and Anya would approach the gate with Buffy and Willow as the demands of their agreement with Kenny had stipulated. Willow and Buffy would be bound, tight enough to look authentic but loose enough to pull free if needed. Riley would wait until they were admitted, then sneak into the compound and locate the building that housed the shamans. The other four would continue into the compound and be brought before Kenny.
Further research had uncovered an additional characteristic of the shaman’s binding ring. The outer perimeter was indeed a power drain to anyone with supernatural powers, but for the entire section within the circle, magic was ineffective. It became even more important that Riley was successful. If he wasn’t, not only would they be trapped, but also Willow would have no power to fight with.
Riley, ever the special ops soldier, had brought a few small gadgets with him, one of them being a signaling device. He’d given the activator to Angel and kept the receiver for himself. Once Buffy, Angel, Willow, and Anya were in place, Angel would signal Riley to disable the shamans. Willow would perform a locator spell for Xander and Cordelia, and she and Anya would rescue them. Buffy and Angel would stay to kill Kenny and his henchmen, free the other captives, and then escape themselves.
It seemed simple, but Angel could foresee so many opportunities for error that his head spun.
One major flaw kept leaping out at Angel, but he couldn’t figure out a way to get around it: there were too many people involved. He wished he could just go alone, but it was impossible. He’d tried that already and failed miserably.
Now he had to rely on Captain America to be the lynch pin in the whole plan. He wasn’t comfortable with putting so much responsibility on Riley; he didn’t trust the guy. Not with Cordelia’s life.
Angel paused momentarily in his pacing to check the clock. Only a half hour left; 30 agonizing minutes of waiting, then he could be on his way to getting Cordelia back where she belonged: with him.
***
Cordelia and Xander sat nervously in their room, both starting at the slightest sound. Since Cordelia had revealed her vision to Xander, they’d both been anxiously awaiting its fulfillment. Now, as sunset approached, their apprehension grew worse. Every few minutes, one pair of eyes or the other would dart towards the doors, expecting them to swing open and begin the drama that would lead to their escape.
Any minute now.
The seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness. They comforted themselves with the knowledge that Buffy and Angel were working to get in here and rescue them, but they were still worried. Cordelia and Xander knew that even if they were unable to distract the demon in Cordelia’s vision, it would still be an improvement over their current situation. They felt like caged animals awaiting slaughter. At least then they’d be someplace other than this damned room.
At last, the doors swung open and a large man walked in. At first he appeared human, but Cordelia recognized very similar features to Kenny and she knew she was dealing with another demon like him.
He stood before them, sizing them up. Suddenly he spoke, startling them both in the silence. “Come with me.”
With that, he turned abruptly and marched towards the door. Xander and Cordelia meekly followed.
“Not much of a conversationalist, is he?” Xander whispered, earning a look of strong disapproval from Cordelia.
Cordelia felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu as she traveled along the upper corridor beyond their room. Every aspect of this walk had been in her vision, and she knew that the landing where they’d be given their opportunity to escape was just ahead.
They turned a corner and found themselves in the exact location from Cordelia’s vision. She signaled to Xander, and he nodded. Together, they lunged at the demon’s back, using their combined weights to disrupt his balance, sending him toppling over the edge of the railing.
They turned to smile at each other, amazed at their success. Their smugness was short-lived, however, when Cordelia felt a strong hand grasp her arm.
“You little twits! What the hell do you think you’re doing? You’re going to ruin everything!”
Startled, Cordelia turned. Her eyes widened as she took in the very angry face of Kenny’s wife, Cynthia.
Part 12
Outside Kenny’s Mansion
11:53 p.m.
“I’m Angel, this is Anya. We have an appointment with Kenny for midnight.”
“Right. Let me just check my list,” the guard said, reaching for his clipboard. “Those the prisoners?”
“Yeah,” Angel said tersely, not in the mood for small talk.
“That blonde one there looks feisty. And the redhead. . .,” he paused, leering at Willow. “Sure you don’t want me to hold ‘em for ya for a little while?” He winked conspiratorially.
Buffy tensed, straining at her bonds. God, she’d love to punch that guy’s face in.
Angel smiled, acting as if he agreed with the guard’s opinion of the girls. He looked Willow and Buffy up and down, his expression just short of lewd. “I think I’ll keep them for now. Your boss is expecting me to bring them.”
“Yeah, I guess.” the guard sounded disappointed. He reached for a button on the panel and the large gate began to swing open.
Back to business, the guard continued. “Just follow the drive up to the main door and knock. The butler will escort you to the boss’s receiving room.”
Angel nodded and led the three women inside the gate, which began creaking closed behind them. Angel felt a moment of panic at the thought that they were now trapped, but he knew that it wouldn’t be for long.
Approaching the front door, they each turned to look at each other.
“Ready?” Angel said softly. The women nodded, each with a different expression on their faces. Buffy looked determined, Willow looked nervous, and Anya looked petrified.
Before Angel even had an opportunity to knock, the door swung open to reveal a short, portly man with thinning brown hair. The man smiled coldly at them, looking Buffy and Willow over thoroughly.
“Mr. Angel. Ms. Anya,” he greeted, nodding to both of them, now ignoring their captives. “The Boss has been expecting you.”
He motioned them inside the door.
“You may bring the merchandise and follow me.”
Buffy and Willow both frowned darkly at the insulting remark.
The butler led them along a richly appointed hallway, two stories tall, complete with marble floors and antique furniture. Their steps echoed in the stillness, each one increasing both their apprehension and determination. Angel tensed as they approached the door that would lead them to Kenny. His hand itched to reach for the sword concealed in the folds of his coat, but he held back.
Angel exchanged a look with Buffy, indicating his readiness to set their plan in motion. At her brief nod, he reached into his coat pocket and tapped the signaling device to Riley. Within minutes, he hoped, they should be able to fight back without any hindrances.
The butler reached for the double doors and swung them open, revealing a large, opulent room. Kenny obviously fancied himself some type of king, because he sat in a large chair on a raised dais, looking as if he ruled the world. A self-satisfied smirk rested on his face as he lounged comfortably, a cigar in his right hand.
Angel took in the scene, growling in frustration when he saw the entire picture. There, next to Kenny’s throne, were Cordelia and Xander, tied to the same chair, Cordelia straddling Xander’s lap.
***
Cordelia squirmed, bound and gagged, on Xander’s lap. He had bony knees, and they pushed uncomfortably into her backside. She hadn’t taken her eyes off Angel since he entered the room, and she was immediately concerned. She’d seen him look over at her and Xander and their compromising position, and his jaw had tensed. She knew if she’d been close enough, she’d also have heard him growl.
She desperately wanted to reassure him that she was okay and under Cynthia’s protection, but besides it being kind of hard to speak with a mouth full of cloth, she’d ruin everything. No, it was better to wait. What Cynthia had to offer was just too precious to be thrown away by being careless.
When Cynthia had grabbed Cordelia’s arm on the stairway, she and Xander had been terrified that their plan had failed. She’d recognized Cynthia immediately from the club, having had her hyena laugh etched forever in her brain. Knowing that she was Kenny’s wife was a cause for alarm, and Cordelia had attempted to pull free and run.
Cynthia’s grip had turned hurtful at Cordelia’s attempted escape. She’d dragged them both to a nearby alcove, eyes darting up and down the stairs and hallway for guards.
“Listen, you little twits. I’m not going to sit around and watch while you mess up my one opportunity to get out of this living hell.”
Cordelia’s eyes had widened as she recognized a potential ally in this angry woman. “But I thought—.”
“What, that I was madly in love with my husband?” Cynthia had scoffed, interrupting Cordelia. “That’s what he’s supposed to think.” She paused, eyes glowing with revulsion. “I hate that bastard, and I’m going to see him pay for everything he’s done to me.”
“So what do you want with us?” Xander had asked, not knowing the back story and a little confused as to Cynthia’s purpose in all this.
Cynthia had ignored him and turned to Cordelia instead. “You had a vision?”
Surprised eyes had answered her. “Yes, how did you—,”
“That vision was supposed to warn you to watch out for me when you came to this stairway, not push the demon to his death. Now I have to look like your enemy because you ninnies botched it up.”
The fact that Cynthia knew about Cordelia’s vision had made her suspicious. Another thought occurred to her, and she’d asked, “Did you have anything to do with the dream I had?”
“What dream?” Xander had asked, his eyes whipping towards her face. “You didn’t tell me about that.”
“Never mind, Xander,” Cordelia had snapped impatiently. She was not about to reveal her erotic dream fantasies of Angel to her ex-boyfriend.
To Cynthia, she’d said, “Well, did you?”
Cynthia had sighed, recognizing the futility of getting these two downstairs before she explained herself. “Yes, I did. The Powers approached me for help in exchange for destroying my husband. I don’t have time to explain it all. We need to get you to Kenny’s receiving room, NOW.” She started to pull them out of the alcove and down the stairs.
“Wait!” Cordelia had exclaimed, tugging at her imprisoned arm. “What did the Powers ask you to do for them?”
Cynthia had frowned, annoyed by Cordelia’s continued interrogation. “The females of our demon species have the power to link minds and souls. The Powers called upon me to connect you and Angel in your dreams, and to bind Angel’s soul.”
Cordelia’s mouth had dropped open in shock as Cynthia’s words sunk in. She had been so overwhelmed that she hadn’t even reacted when Cynthia dragged her and Xander downstairs into Kenny’s receiving room. She had protested a little when Kenny gloated over their capture, praised his traitorous wife for her actions, and tied Xander and her together on the chair, but her mind had still been numbed by Cynthia’s declaration.
Bind Angel’s soul? That was so many good things and so many bad ones all rolled into one.
Now, as Angel stormed into Kenny’s receiving room, Buffy in tow, the bad side seemed a whole lot clearer. Cordelia suddenly realized just how tenuous her bond with Angel was. A shared dream and a few kisses in the kitchen didn’t exactly amount to lifetime commitment. Even so, Cordelia knew that she was bound to Angel in a way that she’d never been connected to anyone before.
Somewhere between being flooded with visions by the Vocah demon and being sent here, Cordelia had fallen in love with the introverted vampire. If their dream truly was shared, she knew that he at least had an attraction to her.
But did he love her?