***
Sarah stroked his cheek affectionately. No longer used to the close contact of another being, Angel’s first reaction was to jerk away. But the slight redhead’s touch soothed him. He responded with a contented sigh and nuzzled her hand.
“It’s almost time for the ritual,” Sarah stated softly. Angel nodded slightly in acknowledgement. “I must warn you that you will feel an intense pain at first, but that will soon be replaced by an unprecedented strength.” Angel purred softly as Sarah continued to lightly caress his face. “You must know that few here trust you to do as I ask. They believe you to be a monster.”
A pained looked appeared in Angel’s eyes. “I am a monster,” he whispered.
“Maybe so,” Sarah admitted. “But unlike them, I do believe that you will help us. I believe in you, Angel. I wouldn’t trust this power with any being. They have to be special. They must have the heart of a Champion.”
“I have the heart of a murderer,” Angel countered.
“No,” Sarah denied. “You have the heart of a Warrior. You just happen to have a demon on the inside.” She was surprised that the vampire didn’t have a response. “Are you ready?” Angel said that he was.
The village priestesses gathered around the pair. Using the flickering light of the nearby bonfire, the seven women began to read from their tomes in a language that Angel recognized as Gaelic.
Sarah reached over to the nearby table and grabbed a small clay bowl. “Thank you, Angel,” she whispered.
“For what?” Angel asked curiously.
“For everything.” With that said, Sarah dipped her finger into the bowl. She took her fingertip and traced the shape of a triangle on his forehead with the thick gray powder. She then began her incantation.
“Hecate, Goddess of the Arts, I beckon you. Daphne, Mother of the Clan, I beckon you. I, your dutiful servant, do humbly ask that you bless this Warrior. Instill in him the forces of light in which we hold so that he may drive back the forces of darkness. Give him the power to be the Champion of your people so that he may protect us from those who oppose you.”
Angel began to spasm in pain as energy radiated throughout his body. A bright yellow light seemed to glow inside him as the Goddesses infused in him the power he would need to destroy the enemy. When the light faded, Angel collapsed to his knees and gasped for breath. Guilty for causing him pain, Sarah knelt by the vampire and swept the hair from his face.
“Angel? Are you well?” Angel whispered that he was. “I’m so sorry. I wish it didn’t hurt.” Screams of terror filling the camp interrupted her apology. “Oh God,” she whispered. “He’s here.”
Mustering up his strength, Angel slowly rose to his feet. “He won’t be for long,” Angel gritted. Following the screams, Angel went off to meet his destiny.
***
Hannah, Emma, and Kayla were curled up on the couch wrapped in blankets and sipping on fresh cups of coffee. Spike and Angel were in the kitchen draining down cups in an attempt to shake off the last traces of alcohol. Buffy was mentally trying to speed them up.
She wanted the interrogation to start. She, like Willow and Dawn, were curious as to what the hell was going on. Finally, Angel set his cup aside and walked into the living room.
Angel grimaced slightly as he sat in the recliner opposite the women. The hangover hadn’t completely subsided. Buffy, Willow, and Dawn pulled chairs from the kitchen and gathered around. Spike stood off in a far corner, intent on watching without being seen.
After several long minutes of silence, Angel finally began to speak.
“So you’re She, or Her, or It.”
“I am,” Hannah answered softly. “I am the Keeper. My mother passed on the gift when I turned sixteen. The clan has been under my control ever since. That was six years ago.”
“That’s a tremendous responsibility for a girl your age,” Angel said softly.
“I was too young,” Hannah answered with certainty. “And now, after a thousand years of balancing the power, the reign of our people will end under my rule.”
It was then that Buffy raised her hand to prevent the discussion from going on any further. “Um, I think I speak for a few people in the room when I ask what the hell she is talking about.”
Angel smiled slightly at Buffy. She had every right to be curious. After all, she was opening up her home to complete strangers. “Hannah is the Keeper of the O’Hara Clan.” They all eyed him strangely. “Gypsies.” Eyebrows then rose.
“Yeah, the irony isn’t lost on me. For several hundred years, Hannah’s clan was the dominant magical force in Ireland. Then in the late 1600’s, the clan migrated to America and many settled in upstate New York. For a millennia, her clan has been a major force in the balance between good and evil.”
“Okay,” Buffy drawled. “But there is more to the story. Why do I get the impression you did a favor for their clan, which, I might say is odd, because well, you know, them being gypsies and all.”
“Because I did. Back in 1921, which if you’re a history buff, is shortly after I came to this country. Back then, it was Hannah’s great-grandmother, Sarah, that was the Keeper.”
“What’s the Keeper?” Willow asked.
It was Hannah that answered the question of her role. “The Keeper is the matriarch of the clan. It is with me that our clan’s power lies.”
“So this Merrick wanted to steal Sarah’s power,” Buffy deduced. “How would he do that? And maybe more importantly, who is Merrick?”
“Merrick is a monster,” Hannah spat. “Upon his release, he attacked our clan.” Tears quickly began to form and spill down her cheeks. “We are the last three members of a group that only three months ago had over two hundred clansmen.”
Angel was stunned. Her group had been wiped out. He swore then and there that he would destroy Merrick. He wouldn’t repeat past mistakes. Sadly, Angel continued the description of the enemy.
“Merrick is of a breed of demon called Necklars. They are an immortal race, but thankfully, a sparse one. That is due largely to finicky reproduction habits. An adult demon will insert its spawn into a human host. A new specimen fills out the body practically overnight. The only way to kill one is to destroy it’s heart.”
“So he’s going to be tough, isn’t he?” Angel nodded yes. “And how does Merrick plan on taking Hannah’s power? Kill her?” Buffy found it odd that both Angel and Hannah paled considerably. “How does he take her power?”
Angel cast a quick glance at Hannah. She tipped her head slightly, giving her approval to tell. “Killing her isn’t personal enough. He got to get, uh, closer.”
“Meaning?” Buffy prodded.
“He has to rape her.”
The girls all turned towards the corner of the room. It was Spike who had uttered those words. Buffy and Willow wanted to deny that, but the look on Angel’s face spoke volumes.
“Think of it as symbolism come to life. Connotatively, a rape renders a woman powerless. Only here it transcends the figurative into the literal,” Angel elaborated.
“That’s just…profound.”
The room fell silent as the gravity of the situation hit. This was a demon that had totally annihilated a group of two hundred people. Buffy sighed heavily. Just when they finally resolve a little issue known as the apocalypse, they get some new demon strolling into town hell bent on gaining some power to do God knows what.
“But you’ve beaten this thing. How?”
“It was a tough battle,” Angel admitted. “But it went something like this.”
***
A vicious clubbing blow sent Angel crashing to his knees. A kick to the chin sent him toppling down the rock formation. The battle between Angel and Merrick had been raging for nearly half an hour. What had began as a brawl in the dusty streets of Calvary had evolved to a desperate war for survival scanning the length of the Devil’s Backbone ridge to the east of town.
Angel finally rolled to a stop when he collided head first into a boulder. For the briefest of instances consciousness left his body, but the demanding nature of the situation demanded that he stay on this plane of being. So Angel used all his strength to make his way back to his feet. Blood pouring from a wound on the top of his head and from his nose, about the only thing keeping the vampire going was anger.
“Come down here you son of a bitch!” Angel roared. “I’m going to rip you in two!”
Merrick was more than happy to oblige the vampire. The demon skidded down the rocks and prepared to finish Angel off. With one quick strike he would be able to rip Angel’s heart from his chest. Confident the battle was nearing completion, Merrick was stunned when Angel avoided the blow and countered with a hellacious left-right combination to the belly. A quick knee to the head sent Merrick toppling backwards.
“As long as I exist, you will not touch the Keeper,” Angel promised. “Not that after tonight you’ll get the chance. I’m going to destroy you.”
Merrick began to laugh hysterically as he steadied himself. “You’re deluded, vampire. After I snap your neck, I’m going down to that village and slaughter everything that moves. After that, I’m going to find me that redheaded bitch, and I’m gonna make her feel real good.”
Infuriated, Angel lunged and nailed Merrick with a flying tackle that sent both crashing downhill. The distinct sound of bones breaking was heard as the pair hit rocks and tree stumps. When the demons finally came to a halt, they rested at the entrance to the Devil’s Mouth, the largest cave in the ridge.
Broken and bleeding, Angel and Merrick rose to their feet to begin the final chapter of their battle. Merrick threw the first punches, but a grunt of frustration indicated his missing. Angel was far luckier in his assault. He couldn’t help the smirk from crossing his face when he heard Merrick’s nose shatter. And mustering up his last bit of strength, Angel executed a perfect spinning heel kick that sent Merrick flying into the cave.
Angel dropped to his knees in exhaustion. “Sarah!” he called out. A small smile came to his face when he saw Sarah appear from behind some rocks, her white dress flowing in the breeze. “He’s in there.” Angel pointed to the cave. “You can do your thing now.”
And Sarah did. Closing her eyes, Sarah began to focus her entire will on the cave formation. The ground began to shake violently as rocks from above came rolling down in front of the opening to the Devil’s Mouth. The cave was sealed now by nature. Now it must be sealed by magicks.
Calling out to the Goddess, Sarah summoned the magicks of the clan to seal Merrick in the cave for eternity. As the final words of Latin escaped her lips, Sarah fell to the ground unconscious, the exertion of using such magicks overwhelming her senses. Terrified she might be hurt, Angel crawled on hands and knees until he reached her. Tenderly, Angel pulled Sarah into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. It was there that the clansmen found them an hour later. The vampire had done precisely what Sarah had promised he’d do.
He protected them from the monster.
***
“That should have been the end of it,” Angel stated confidently. “The forces Sarah used to seal the cave should have contained him for eternity.”
“Why didn’t you destroy his heart?” Buffy asked. “You had him beaten. Why didn’t you finish him off?”
“Because I didn’t have him beat,” Angel answered. “Even with the magick that Sarah infused in me, I was lucky to keep the fight even. We knew that would likely be the case going into the battle. So we decided the best course would be to neutralize him. Hence the cave.”
“But somehow he escaped,” Willow mused. “If there’s a magical solution, then I can find it.”
“Tomorrow,” Angel insisted. “With drunken singing and late night visitations, I think we could all use some rest. There are answers, but we’ll start looking in the morning.”
That was acceptable. It was nearing four in the morning. Thankfully it was Saturday and there was no school to worry about. The actual residents of the house said their goodnights and headed upstairs.
Spike mentioned something about grabbing a blanket and sleeping in the basement. Angel also started to head upstairs when a hand on his arm stopped him. He turned to find Sarah’s green eyes staring up at him. That was his first thought at least. It was Hannah who stopped him.
“Don’t you want to know what happened to my great-grandmother?”
Angel was dying to know. “I do.”
“She died about ten years ago. She just passed away in her sleep.” Angel nodded slightly. He was glad she didn’t hurt at the end. He turned again to leave when Hannah stopped him once more. “She understood why you had to leave. But no one else did. You cared for her. Why did you leave?”
“It was dangerous for both of us if I stayed. You’re right. I did care for her. I just couldn’t risk loving her.”
Without another word Angel disappeared up the steps.
