At this time of night the ride from the hospital to the ruins of Trinity Church took only ten minutes. There was little traffic once they passed through the downtown area. Giles normally came to a full halt at every stop sign and traffic signal, but the constant stream of questions coming from his passengers had him on edge.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I do not know what kind of demon attacked Cordelia,\u201d but described it to Buffy in answer to her question. \u201cHowever, I did get quite a good look.\u201d<\/p>\n
Xander leaned in from the back seat. \u201cSo why aren\u2019t we back at the library? We should be hitting the books, doing the research, looking for clues.\u201d<\/p>\n
Glancing at him through the rearview mirror, he could see anger and concern apparent on Xander\u2019s face. To some degree, they all felt the same way. \u201cWe will,\u201d he promised. \u201cFirst, it is necessary to complete our work on the obelisk.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was faster to finish their task at the cemetery than to let Willow and Xander go back to the library on foot. Giles added, \u201cOnce we\u2019ve secured the rubbings of the stonework, I can begin a translation. The demon mentioned the Rites of Tavrok, a vital clue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long will that take?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA clue to what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Tavrok guy writes stuff?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sliding them a look over his shoulder, Giles\u2019 jaw tightened and he returned his attention to the road without answering.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said the demon was wearing a police uniform,\u201d Willow piped up. \u201cWhy would he do that? It\u2019s not like people wouldn\u2019t notice creepy demon eyes or no real nose or hollow cheekbones or\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Giles broke in as the thought occurred to him, \u201cPerhaps the creature is able to disguise itself.\u201d The police officer that led Karla Brewer away after the incident on Main Street had appeared human enough. His disguise was good enough to fool everyone, assuming Officer Clark was indeed a demon.<\/p>\n
The fact was that there were a number of likely possibilities. Faith had not sensed anything at the time and tonight neither of them had noticed the name on the demon\u2019s badge. If only they had been able to stop him before he escaped.<\/p>\n
Capturing that demon would have saved them a lot of time and effort. For now, they were stuck following what evidence they could dig up, literally in the case of the obelisk.<\/p>\n
Giles could see increasing evidence of minor earthquake damage the closer they got to the epicenter. Fortunately, the news crews had focused on the decimated church rather than the cemetery itself. He knew that come first light, the chances of discovery would increase and their window of opportunity would then close.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should be searching for that demon,\u201d Buffy sounded frustrated, antsy at being cooped up in the car instead of out on patrol. \u201cSomeone has to know about this and I have a pretty good idea where to start.\u201d<\/p>\n
Giles relaxed his grip on the steering wheel recommending that they settle down. \u201cOur priority is the obelisk. If the local authorities follow protocol, it will be moved into custody of either the university\u2019s archeological team or the museum curator. Access will be limited if not completely cut off.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get it done and then I\u2019m outta there,\u201d Buffy\u2019s determination was clear. It was not that Giles felt that Buffy should not follow any lead she could find. He simply doubted she would find one. \u201cAs long as Demon Cop is out there, Cordelia is still in danger. I can\u2019t guarantee that he won\u2019t try to grab her again. Obviously has no idea what he\u2019s getting into with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, why Cordelia?\u201d Meeting Willow\u2019s questioning gaze in the mirror, Giles admitted that he had not really thought about it. She blurted, \u201cDon\u2019t virgin sacrifices have to be, ah, virginal?\u201d<\/p>\n
That notion alone caused Buffy and Willow to giggle. Xander was not laughing. He sank into the shadows of his corner of the back seat, pressed his mouth into a straight line and blinked in owlish response. After a glance at the rearview mirror, Giles found his behavior to be rather revealing.<\/p>\n
Though the girls might not instantly make the direct connection, it seemed apparent that Xander and Cordelia might not have gone all the way, in the vernacular. The demon disguised as Officer Clark had spoken of the Rites of Tavrok as only one part of a great undertaking. No doubt it was all intertwined with the prophecy. Giles had no knowledge of it, but he had a good idea where to look.<\/p>\n
There was one clue within the demon\u2019s rhetoric that he had understood. At least, he had a rough idea of the translation. It had referred to Cordelia as one of the Varstrae, which meant untainted or untried, or as the demon referred to her in English, one of the Pure Ones.<\/p>\n
Considering her reputation, Giles found it quite ironic.<\/p>\n
He steered his car into a convenient spot at the empty Trinity Church Parking lot. Most of the area was already cordoned off as a disaster zone dangerous to the public.<\/p>\n
Virgin or not, it was intriguing that Cordelia Chase would be among the intended victims of the prophecy. The odds seemed dismally small, but then again, this was hardly the first time she had been the target of some sort of trouble. Willow\u2019s snippy words might have been in jest, but they made him realize that the potential sacrifices might not be random at all. Instead of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, fitting whatever scenario the Scroll of Septarius described, there might actually be a reason they were chosen.<\/p>\n
What in the world would these demons and vampires want from Cordelia Chase? Other than the obvious, he thought with an angry flush heating his neck. He could not stop the errant thought of her wrapped up in Angel\u2019s embrace. Giles did not like it in the least, but short of locking Cordelia into a chastity belt\u2014equipment that in hindsight should be requisite for slayers, too\u2014he knew that he had no influence over either of them.<\/p>\n
A right to an opinion was quite a different matter of point. He had those aplenty.<\/p>\n