CHAPTER 9
It was almost morning when Cordelia walked into the house. Behind her, the weary watcher and the slayer they’d kidnapped from her bed entered just as tired.
Cordelia had played the getaway car driver while the watcher and Buffy had taken on the pack of vampires.
And the little girl had died.
In Cordelia’s arms.
“Back so soon?”
Looking up from where she stood, she spotted the silhouette of the vampire sitting on the couch, legs bent and feet apart, hands in his lap.
With the fury of their futile attempt burning in her belly Cordelia balled up all the frustrated anger into her fist as she flung Giles’ car keys at the vampire’s head. One hand lifted and caught the keys effortlessly as Buffy closed the door behind them, engulfing them in complete darkness.
“You asshole!” She shot back at the vampire while the watcher moved to turn the lamp on. “How much would it have taken to help us tonight!”
“Not much.”
“Exactly! She’s dead because of you!!!”
And then they were blinded by the light and Cordelia lost all her anger in the shock of watching the bleeding vampire sitting on the couch, every scar she’d sealed and bandaged open and weeping blood.
“I know.” Angelus dropped the blood soaked keys on the coffee table and met her eyes. Licking the cut on his bottom lip he squinted up at the three gaping humans. “They sent me a telegram.”
Buffy blinked, shaking herself out of her stupor and wrinkled her nose. “What the hell happened to you?”
Angelus leaned back on the couch, but his eyes stayed on the silent brunette. “Pre-encashment penalty.”
Giles stepped forward from where he’d frozen by the end table and walked around to look at the surprisingly complacent vampire. “What for?”
“I made a deal with the powers that do all shit to get me out of hell.”
An eyebrow shot up and Giles looked at the impassive lull in Angelus’ eyes. “The oracles?”
Buffy frowned at her watcher. “Powers that Be?”
“What sort of deal Angelus?”
The demon let out an unneeded breath, every muscle in his body aching and bruised as it had been while he’d burned in hell. “I made a soul pact.”
Giles held back the startled breath and seemed to take a step back. “Wait a second. You made a deal with the devil for the price of your soul?”
“His soul!? You mean Angel?” Buffy gasped.
“Hey you sent him to hell; don’t look at me that way.”
“YOU! I sent YOU to hell!”
Angelus grunted at the stupidity of the slayer. “Oh wake up and smell the brimstone Slayer!” He snapped cruelly. “I AM Angel. He was just a pesky bug in my system. I’M the master vampire! The Scourge of Europe. The soul was a curse. A curse I shed. THIS is the real me. This is who I am. Get it through your thick skull! But then you are the fucking slayer; can’t even blame you for being thick.”
Tears clouded Buffy’s eyes and she shook her head incredulously. “You’re telling me he’s still there and they let YOU go?!”
“They didn’t let me go. I was let out on bail.”
“Define bail.” Giles crossed his arms and glared down at the straining vampire. The cuts and lacerations wept blood sluggishly and Giles knew those weren’t human inflicted.
Angelus dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling, gritting his teeth and cursing the day he agreed to do this. “I’m let out of the fryer and play puppet for them. I just never figured it’d be for eternity. Hellfire clouds commonsense apparently.”
“You mean beezly played one on you?” Cordelia spoke for the first time, standing farthest away from him. Angelus figured it was just as well. He couldn’t take her tending to him at the moment.
Not when everything inside him burned with the injustice of it all. He figured once he was back on earth, what’s the worst they could do? This isn’t what he’d thought.
“He failed to mention just what I’d be doing.”
“And what is that exactly?” Giles’ brow furrowed in confusion.
“Helping the damned helpless.”
“How?”
Angelus lifted his head and met Cordelia’s eyes. “The Seer sees and the demon slays.” He watched the color drain from the brunette’s face, her healthy warm glow dimming in the lamplight, her hazel eyes skittering away in fear.
Giles felt momentary panic at the implication in the vampire’s answer, his eyes flicking up to the silent cheerleader before he glared down at the vampire. “The Seer? Cordelia?”
“Hey I think it fits.” Angelus shrugged nonchalantly, while inside every undead nerve in his body jumped at the repulsive admission. “Vampire with soul. I never would have betted it’d be hers. When did you put yours on auction Chase?”
Right when I found you.
But she didn’t say that. Looking to her side, she wished now more than ever that she’d taken that bus. Because now from what Angelus was telling them, she was somehow caught into their fucked up circle of righteous Scooby crap.
The very thing she’d been running away from. All because she’d stopped to help the helpless.
She saw Buffy drop into the chair, her head in her hands as Giles stood beside the couch where Angelus sat, still watching Cordelia.
“Why me?”
The vampire snorted at the asinine question. “You’re the smart one Chase. You tell me.”
Gritting her teeth, she met his haughty gaze. “WHY ME!?”
He sighed more out of frustrated habit than anything else. “Because you chose to help me that night.”
She shook her head. “No. And I’m not choosing now.”
“Cordelia, you don’t fight destiny like…”
“Yes I will!” She snapped at the watcher’s unfinished declaration. “I don’t want the stupid burden of helping the helpless! That’s Buffy’s forte. She’s the slayer. She can take the responsibility, I don’t want it!”
“Cordy…”
“No Giles. I’m sick of being given the short straw. I quit!”
“You can’t quit!” Angelus thundered; rising out of the couch so fast that all three occupants of the room froze. Cordelia suppressed the shudder of fear as he towered over her, bleeding and livid. “You think I haven’t tried? LOOK at me Cordelia. This was me quitting!”
He held up the cut palms she’d wrapped in bandages before. “YOU chose to go out and try to save the girl when I refused. You CAN’T quit now. You had your chance to let me bleed, but you didn’t. And I know every instinct inside you is screaming to play Florence now.” Hazel eyes slammed shut and she took a shivering breath.
“Go with the flow remember?”
“Piss off.”
“Healthy comeback.” He leered at her through his blood encrusted eyes.
“I’m not playing nursemaid to you for all eternity fangbreath.”
“You wanted a reason to keep living.”
Her gaze snapped up to his angrily. “This isn’t what I had in mind.”
His broken lips twisted into an ironic smile. “You think I did Brighteyes?”
“Maybe.” She crossed her arms, some part of her knowing he was right on the mark with each deduction. “Maybe YOU picked me. I know I’m a hottie.”
For a moment his eyelashes dropped, eyes sliding over the curves of her body under the rumpled white cotton t-shirt and gray shorts. “That you are.”
Buffy stood up. “I can’t deal with this.” She stumbled slightly. “I can’t…he’s still in hell.”
“Me, me, me, me, me.” Angelus rolled his eyes. “Is it just me or does this woman listens out of her ass? Because her ears sure as hell don’t hear.”
He met her tearful blue eyes with a nasty grimace. “Angel was a parasite. Parasites come from hell and they go back into hell. He was a curse. A stupid, vengeful, little gypsy curse. I’m the host. I’m the star of this sitcom. So get with the program already.”
Cordelia frowned. “What do you mean YOU’RE the star?”
Angelus snorted softly. “Vampire with Soul? Never really heard it being called Soul with Vampire before, Chase.”
Buffy took a calming breath, one hand held up as if to shield herself from the arguing pair. “God Giles. Just take me home.”
The watcher let out a soft breath before picking up his blood stained keys. Too much had happened for one night. He put a gentle hand on the back of his slayer as he led her out.
“Get some rest Cordelia. I’ll be back soon.”
Buffy cast one last look at the wincing demon as Cordelia lifted the edge of his sleeve to look at the gashes on his arm. Sometimes, Buffy realized, it just didn’t pay to play the good guy.
***
“Giles?”
The watcher looked at his slayer and could almost read the secrets there. “You know you can tell me Buffy.”
“What’s going on here?”
He sighed, turning his eyes back to the road. “I honestly do not know. From my knowledge of soul pacts, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a demon called to the service of the Powers-That-Be.”
“Who do they usually call?”
“Slayers.”
“Oh.” Buffy felt oddly humbled. “And Cordelia,” she added.
“I believe she was caught by mistake when she saved his life.”
“I’ve learnt in my profession Giles, nothing happens without reason.”
“What’s your point Buffy?”
“I met Riley last night, while I took the smelly thing to the incinerator.”
“The man who saved your life before?”
“Yeah. He works for the initiative. And he wants to help.”
Giles nearly swerved off the road.