Part 19<\/b><\/p>\n
Lilah hated Caritas. It was loud, full of too many demons and the owner made her skin crawl with the way he pinned her with his red eyes. She didn\u2019t care what the others said, he could see too much even if you didn\u2019t sing. But sometimes she had to enter the demon bar, put up with Karaoke because someone she hired would only deal with her in the sanctuary known as Caritas.<\/p>\n
Calen, a tall, overweight Kailiff demon who was an atrocious shade of plum, was one such associate. Lilah smiled at him, nearly sincerely because she was so happy he\u2019d finally arrived and leaned over the table in corner booth she\u2019d chosen. \u201cDid you get them?\u201d<\/p>\n
He gave her smile full of yellow teeth and waved a thick folder in the air. \u201cI got them, but you won\u2019t. Unless you have my cash?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lilah held back a sigh at the demon\u2019s actions, they were so predictable. She pushed the envelope already on the table toward him. \u201cIt\u2019s all there, as promised.\u201d<\/p>\n
He grabbed it, opened it and counted.<\/p>\n
Lilah eyed the folder in his hands, impatiently and started to tap her fingernails against the table. \u201cCome on, Calen\u2026its all there, give it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He tossed her the folder with a grunt.<\/p>\n
Lilah greedily grabbed it, opened it and frowned. \u201cWhat is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s, what is it written in? All of them, what are they written in. I\u2019ve never seen\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLanguage older than humanity itself, lady. It\u2019s the language of Old Ones. It\u2019s their prophecies, as they became those who want to end this world, or protect the humanity who roam it. You said you wanted all prophecies in their oldest \u2013 most original form I could find; that mention a Vampire with a Soul and\/or a Human female Seer. I got you the most original copies that still exist\u2026 no easy feat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lilah frowned. \u201cI don\u2019t suppose you can read it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll just have to find someone who can,\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\n
Calen stayed sitting.<\/p>\n
Lilah glared at him. \u201cI\u2019m done with you now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo drink? No dance?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lilah laughed in his faced. \u201cDo I look desperate?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look all sorts of things,\u201d Calen said, \u201cbut I can\u2019t test them out here.\u201d He stood up and tucked his money into his jacket pocket. \u201cRemember me for other hard to find research in the future\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Lilah didn\u2019t look up from the prophecies she held in her hands. \u201cOf course, it was a real pleasure to do business with you.\u201d She forgot him before she finished speaking, her mind racing at she looked at the archaic demon tongues of the prophecies he\u2019d found. She needed people she could trust, or at least scare into being loyal who also had the intellect to correctly translate all the scrolls for her.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t going to be easy, and harder still she had to keep Lindsey from finding out she had more accurate prophecies about Angel in her hands.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Calen was at the bar for a mere moment before Lorne was next to him, looking at him with his red eyes making him squirm. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLong time, no sing, Calen. Come in to croon a tune, make sure you are on the right path?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust had some business, with a lawyer, was making sure my neck stayed attached.\u201d Calen said and subconsciously started to scratch the horns on his jaw line nervously.<\/p>\n
\u201cWolfram & Hart, yes, yes, one does want to watch their necks around them. Just what kind of business?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout that vampire, you know the one with a soul. Prophecies and such about him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lorne raised an eyebrow. \u201cReally? Prophecies? More than one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cQuite a bit, all in the language of the Old Ones. Bitch is going to have quite a time trying to translate them. Probably only person who can is the old man I stole them from.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSuppose you got paid quite well?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh yeah, had to go all the way to England, break into a subsection of that pretentious Watcher\u2019s council that watches over the Slayer. Got in and out clean as can be though. There all up in arms still over the recent death of one and the fact a Rogue Slayer is now the only one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lorne waved his hand in the air. \u201cWatchers Council has prophecies on the vampire with a soul?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it\u2019s a big secret. But I know a guy who knew a girl, who knew a demon, who knew a Watcher who had a potential\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have great contacts, Calen. So you give these prophecies to the lady lawyer in the corner? You know why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s on the warpath, wants to know more about some prophecy before her partner \u2013 something about a human Seer for The Powers. Ever hear of such thing? Doubt that prophecy would come true. The Powers giving that gift to a human? It\u2019s damn shame the type of demons they usually give it to, last one was this no good gambler \u2013 cousin of mine was killed just trying to teach the no good half-breed to pay off his debts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA human seer? Sounds troublesome,\u201d Lorne said, more to himself than to Calen, but Calen didn\u2019t notice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s blasphemy, some things should stay with us demons. Humanity, they got themselves enough of a foothold in this dimension as it is \u2013 I mean most of them ignore the fact we even exist. We were here first\u2026.\u201d Calen didn\u2019t notice that Lorne stood up and walked away from him, as he got into his rant against Humanity.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Angel pushed open the door to his room, his home within his hotel, and let Cordelia walk in front of him. Why he\u2019d suddenly felt the urge to use the coffee maker in his room rather than the one downstairs in Wesley\u2019s half of the office, he didn\u2019t know. But he\u2019d felt it be more comfortable for Cordelia upstairs, they were asking a hell of a lot of her after all. She might as well not have to worry about it, until Wesley got back \u2013 something Angel was hoping would take awhile. Another thing he was trying not to think about too much.<\/p>\n
\u201cWow, this is nice. Much nicer than that dusty, echo-ey lobby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLobby\u2019s not too bad. At least not when Gunn and Wesley are both in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia turned from her investigation of the room and glanced at him, flashing a quick smile. \u201cIt\u2019s nicer than that dusty and echo-ey mansion too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel opened his mouth but shut it, the mansion had been pretty echo-ey near the end of his stay in Sunnydale. \u201cI like it here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can you afford it?\u201d Cordelia asked, turning to face him.<\/p>\n
He shrugged. \u201cIt was abandoned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do know that didn\u2019t answer my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel gave her a small smile. \u201cI do. You said you wanted coffee?\u201d He walked into the kitchenette. \u201cI\u2019m afraid I don\u2019t have much of a selection, I mostly use it to wake myself up during research.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cResearch always did need caffeine and sugar. Will there be donuts?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGunn, brings some in and Mexican food too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOoh, Mexican.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting two mugs, and pulling out the coffee, Angel glanced at Cordelia, who was still wandering around his room. Poking her fingers into things, touching almost everything else and even picking things up. He watched her in amusement, thinking that he really should be telling her to not touch his stuff. Wouldn\u2019t he growl at anyone else upsetting his stuff? He\u2019d have to move it all back into place later, now, as it was. \u201cUh, Cordelia?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this?\u201d Cordelia laughed and she turned around holding an empty bottle of cheap whiskey in one hand and an empty book of matches. \u201cWhy do you have these two things all arranged on a shelf like they are priceless antiques?\u201d She waved the matchbook in the air. \u201cA Triple X strip club, Angel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re\u2026\u201d he hurried over to her and grabbed the matches and the bottle, walked over to the shelf and carefully placed them back where they belonged. \u201cThey aren\u2019t mine, they were\u2026 a friends\u2026\u201d he trailed off, he didn\u2019t know what to say, or how to explain, and he was sure if he could feel heat he\u2019d be feeling an embarrassed wave of it about the matchbook.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh God! Me and my big mouth. Your friend, they\u2026God, Cor, can\u2019t you ever learn not to just blurt out things. I\u2019m sorry; I shouldn\u2019t even have been snooping around and touching all your stuff\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel took one last look at the whiskey bottle, moved it a bit to the right, then stepped back and looked at Cordelia, who was blushing and looked completely embarrassed. \u201cNo, don\u2019t, I didn\u2019t mind you, uh, snooping\u2026\u201d he trailed off, too much, \u201cso, it\u2019s okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, those, they are important to you, sentimental value type of thing, because\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, he died. A hero,\u201d Angel smiled a bit remembering how Doyle had gone out, sacrificing himself for others, for him and his smile faded. \u201cHe was my friend,\u201d Angel explained, thinking, first and sometimes he thought only friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe saved you?\u201d Cordelia whispered and Angel started out of his own mind and looked at her. She was staring at him, with wide eyes that saw a hell of lot more than he\u2019d realized. It was like she was reading his mind; he tensed and crossed the room in a hurry.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe saved a boatload of demons. They were being targeted by these demon elitists, didn\u2019t want any demons living that had any human blood within them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel, you don\u2019t have to, I didn\u2019t mean to bring up\u2026you know stuff.\u201d Angel heard her footsteps, her heart beat, smelled her perfume coming closer to him, as she made her way to the kitchenette.<\/p>\n
Angel sighed, he\u2019d tensed up and made her feel bad, great going he thought sarcastically. He turned around, coffee in one hand a mug in the other and poured it for her. \u201cYeah, well Doyle loved his whiskey, and naked women. He didn\u2019t have much, and his ex-wife got most of what he did have \u2013 he left those behind, somehow they survived the explosion of our old offices.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia took her cup of coffee and smiled. \u201cHe sounds like he was fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel shrugged. \u201cHe did drag me to a lot of sports bars, I drew a line at the strip clubs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t want temptation, I get that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at her. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNaked women, sex, moment of bliss\u2026 you have to be careful,\u201d she explained, complete with a million watt smile and Angel somehow found he couldn\u2019t be mad about her blunt perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething like that,\u201d he said, not completely agreeing but a conversation about his curse was never on his list of things to discuss. \u201cDoyle, was a good friend and well, he was also a Seer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cOh, right! You mentioned him, before didn\u2019t you? I think, in Sunnydale?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel nodded. \u201cYeah. He, uh, got these visions, said they were from The Powers that Be, that they wanted me to help the people in them. It was good for awhile, but then he died and well\u2026no more visions.\u201d Angel sighed, he hated thinking about what Doyle had said to him their first meeting, whenever the Powers came up \u2013 no one up there really cared about him, didn\u2019t matter what Doyle and Wesley said, or even what he fact he\u2019d been returned from Hell implied.<\/p>\n
\u201cHmm,\u201d Cordelia said.<\/p>\n
Angel blinked and looked into Cordelia\u2019s hazel eyes, they were sparking with amusement. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do know you do one hell of an impersonation of a statue, right? Grade A work, you could fill in at a Wax Museum, no one would ever know you were really an undead vampire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Again he was smiling at her, what was that, he thought fleetingly before deciding to go with it. \u201cI didn\u2019t know, but I\u2019ll keep it mind as a back up position. The agency doesn\u2019t have very many clients, might need a second job. Mostly, we find the demons to fight on our own. Few people understand the services we supply.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could help people with deadbeat husbands and\/or wives. Abusive spouses. Maybe a few divorce cases.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDivorce cases?\u201d Angel shuddered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat? It\u2019s a huge field, could bring you in money for that pig\u2019s blood you need to survive, Statue-boy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThose other ideas are good. I might run them by Wesley.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should,\u201d she smiled. \u201cAm I brilliant or what.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel smiled since he didn\u2019t have a clue what to say and turned to make himself a cup of coffee.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Wesley?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t know. Hadn\u2019t realized he left until you got here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow was the rest of your day?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I woke up, went to work, conned my boss into letting me take off whenever I needed for week, so I can help you. Then I came here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t see that guy, Alex?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlec? No,\u201d she turned away from him and crossed the room again, looking around, her brow furrowing.<\/p>\n
Angel ran a hand over the back of his neck, and wondered why the hell he\u2019d asked her about her boyfriend, it had seemed like a good idea. Usually people liked to talk about their relationships, or at least everyone from Sunnydale he\u2019d know had. Though, they had all been kids at the time. \u201cSeeing him later?\u201d He asked still stuck on what to say to keep her talking to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have no pictures.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd no, I\u2019m not planning on seeing him, later. I told him I didn\u2019t know how late I\u2019d be, that I had an acting class and I just wanted to go home, to my own bed and be alone. And, you have no pictures. Of this friend Doyle, or Wesley, or Gunn. Not even of Buffy? What is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUh, I\u2026 I have some of Buffy. I just don\u2019t have them out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat, they stuck in your musty old books as bookmarks?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia laughed. \u201cWhat about your friends?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoyle. Wesley, Gunn\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d He frowned. \u201cUm. Well. I do have some of Doyle. His ex-wife, Harry, she took some of us one day. But they\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere you stick them? In with older, mustier books you don\u2019t even read?\u201d<\/p>\n
He frowned. \u201cUh, no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere then?\u201d She laughed, staring at him. \u201cAnd what about Gunn and Wes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. We\u2019re guys, Cordelia. We don\u2019t really\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so bringing a camera then. This room needs a more personal touch, all you got is the whiskey and the strip club matchbook\u2026 and well that just makes you look weird and perverted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHey.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry, it\u2019s just a bit of a occupational hazard, not that I even like my job. But I\u2019m always matching personality with room \u2013 and well, I think your rooms should say more than you say with your body language. Or someone might guess you\u2019re a broody vampire.\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned then and caught his eye. \u201cOh, come on, Angel. I\u2019m just teasing, kind of,\u201d she smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI, you, you are very unique, Cordelia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, duh.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo really want to be alone, later?\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at him, confused by the question and Angel felt awkward. He was no good at this; maybe he\u2019d latched onto the wrong thing to respond to in what she had said. But he wanted to know about her, not discuss his lack of pictures or his personality. \u201cYou said, you told your boyfriend you wanted to be alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d She frowned. \u201cI just, he\u2019s\u2026I\u2026 I get so uncomfortable when I stay at his place, or even in my own bed when he stays over. I don\u2019t really know why, I mean Alec is this really successful, great-looking guy and he\u2019s a great boyfriend. You know with the attention, the gifts and he doesn\u2019t want to be apart from me \u2013 it\u2019s what any girl should want, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, I just get so uncomfortable when he\u2019s around, especially lately\u2026 I mean, I guess\u2026 I\u2019m just glad I\u2019m here, Angel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are?\u201d He smiled.<\/p>\n
And Cordelia started to beam back at him; her large smile grew bigger than he\u2019d ever seen it and she walked over to him. She touched his face and stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m making sure I remember this. I might never see it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou, giving a full-fledge, no half-ways about it smile.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI smile.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNever seen one like this before. You should do it more often.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re happy you\u2019re here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. I mean, it\u2019s\u2026I\u2019ll be\u2026 I don\u2019t know how to explain it. Have you ever wondered why you do the things you do, Angel? Why you made the choices you did?\u201d<\/p>\n
He knew that feeling, he felt often enough but he wasn\u2019t quite sure he was following Cordelia. \u201cI think so, but what do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, lately, I just haven\u2019t been\u2026 And then there was Buffy, and this with you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia, I don\u2019t\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel, are you in here\u2026Oh, Cordy! You\u2019ve arrived, lovely. We really should get started.\u201d Wesley walked into the room and gave her an awkward hug hello.<\/p>\n
Cordelia beamed at Wesley. \u201cI\u2019m all caffeinated and raring to go, teach me about these big bad demons.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel gritted his teeth and swallowed a growl, he\u2019d wanted more time alone with Cordelia. He\u2019d probably never see her again after she helped out with the demons. He didn\u2019t want her being used by them again at any right. He knew that much.<\/p>\n
Part 20<\/b><\/p>\n
Cordelia was freezing which she realized made sense, she was in a tiny little white dress that gave less coverage than some lingerie she owned, standing in one of the wider passage ways of the Los Angeles Sewer System in very uncomfortable white shoes with stiletto heels. All around her where the sounds of terrified women who\u2019d never laid eyes on a demon before and the raspy, guttural language of the demons. She hugged herself, half for warmth and half because she was starting to join her fellow \u2018sacrifices\u2019 in terror.<\/p>\n
Where the hell were they? Glancing at the demons, who were all huddled together at some sort of dais made out of rotted wood, she decided to risk it. Pulling the silver comb, Wesley had presented her with stating it was a wire, state of the art, digital and no actually wires needed, she hissed into it. \u201cWhere the hell are you? They took us down a sewer entrance in that warehouse, we walked for what felt like forever but could have been the heels, I don\u2019t know what direction. They herded us like cattle\u2026 cattle! These demons are so on my list\u2026and if you guys don\u2019t get here soon\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShut up!\u201d A demon rasped, a rough hand grabbed Cordelia\u2019s wrist tightly, making the comb\/wire fall to the ground. \u201cWho were you talking too, Ms. Chase?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia looked into, what as far as she could tell were empty eye sockets. Wesley had claimed that they did indeed have eyes, extremely good vision in fact, in his yammering about the Ycuchbn demons while in their demon form. She didn\u2019t know about their sight, but damn was it ugly. \u201cThe Ms. Chase thing made much more sense when I thought you were an agent\u2026or are you the photographer? When morphed I lost track of who was who\u2026 maybe if you took off the ugly and moldy robes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a wire,\u201d someone said and Cordelia darted her eyes, and saw that another demon had picked up the comb.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo, find who she is talking too and kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia fought the urge to glance around at the various sewer tunnels that surrounded the area. They would come, she knew they would.<\/p>\n
\u201cStart the ritual Wetyl,\u201d the man holding her wrist shouted at the third demon. \u201cWe will not let anything get in the way of giving our God his bounty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re truly fanatic, you know that?\u201d Cordelia said.<\/p>\n
He met her face again, his wrinkled demon face moving into what Cordelia guessed was an evil grin. \u201cYou have tried to stop us, but it has failed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt isn\u2019t over yet,\u201d Cordelia managed, though her heart was pounding.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou shall die first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia felt terror roll through her but a quick glance at the shaking women around her; she knew there was really no choice. They wouldn\u2019t be able to handle it, they wouldn\u2019t know it wouldn\u2019t happen. She rolled her eyes at the demon. \u201cMaking it personal, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one will stop the God from getting his bounty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia pffted at the demon but when he started dragging her toward the dais, survival instincts kicked in and she started to drag her feet. \u201cWait, isn\u2019t there more to the ritual \u2013 aren\u2019t two of you supposed to be saying the words\u2026I swear I heard that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you know of our rituals?\u201d The demon spat, grabbing her more bodily and hurling her onto the brittle wood.<\/p>\n
Splinters cut into the skin of her legs and hands as she managed to move to her feet, feeling extremely unsafe on the rotting wood under her feet. It was swaying under her weight. She started to move toward the edge, when something sparked and Cordelia realized the magic was starting to take effect. One demon talking or not. Wesley and his books were full of it; Cordelia thought when she felt stuck in place by some kind of force field. The demon who\u2019d hurled her, joined his demon friend and they kept on with the words.<\/p>\n
Cordelia let out a string of swear words, as she met the wide eyed terrified look of the other women, standing together where she\u2019d been only seconds before. Where the hell were they, she thought as some kind of hole began to form in the sky. They were cutting it way too close she thought, she was about to be some evil god\u2019s bounty, and that was not how she planned to die. She opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she possible could. \u201cTake that, Angel,\u201d she thought smugly taking a breath before giving another screech.<\/p>\n
If the damn wire wasn\u2019t working, she had hope that the vampire had hit the sewers looking for her and there was no way he wouldn\u2019t hear her screeching. As she took a breath to form a third scream, she heard an odd snapping sound and felt the wood beneath her cave in\u2026looking down she realized she was now hovering in the air, over a pile of broken wood due only to the magic\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201dOH SHIT!\u201d She shouted as a glance at the demons, showed Wesley and Gunn tackling the two demons performing the magic.<\/p>\n
The air went empty in that instant, Cordelia screamed even louder than before and for the first time with real terror, only she never hit any wood because the feel of leather was against her skin, arms had her in a hold, then there was a swoop and her feet were suddenly planted on solid ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks for the screaming,\u201d Angel said before Cordelia could find her orientation and even recognize the vampire as her savior. Then he jumped out of her line of sight. Cordelia turned to see him already in a fight the third demon, the one that had been sent to kill them and had obviously failed. She looked down at her feet, saw the cruddy ground of the sewer and rolled her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeats being killed by a big pile of splinters, or being bounty,\u201d she muttered idly to herself. Then she took a breath and made her way to the other women. Her next duty was to try to calm them down and get them to the sidelines of the battle. One thing she had honed to perfection in Sunnydale, besides being bait, was how to stay out of the middle of a big fight.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Angel felt the bones of the Ycuchbn he was fighting crunch from the pressure of his hands around its throat. It didn\u2019t satisfy him and he looked up, saw Wesley still struggling against one and lunged at it. He poked his fingers into the eye sockets, searching out the eyeballs that they protected. Their eyes being one of the demons most sensitive areas, and he wanted to cause pain. Deep writhing pain to the demons had nearly killed Cordelia. The demon screamed, the sound of nails of a chalkboard but to Angel beautiful music at that moment.<\/p>\n
Cordelia never should have been sent in with some stupid technology as her only back up, it hadn\u2019t worked, they hadn\u2019t heard a peep from her. He\u2019d finally broke into the warehouse and followed her scent into the sewers. But they\u2019d nearly been too late, if she hadn\u2019t started screaming. He dropped the now brain dead demon to the floor, wiped his hands on his pants remembering too late how hard eye was to get off the skin and scanned the area for Cordelia.<\/p>\n
It took a second to find her, she was walking over to him and he realized in that instant she was wearing next to nothing. What the hell was that white cloth on her? He stilled to a standstill as stared at it and realized that she just could not remain so unclothed. He started to take off his coat, when he heard her voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was beyond gross\u2026you know with the eyeballs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere,\u201d Angel said handing out his coat.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh! Good idea,\u201d Cordelia said, turning around and walking over to the other women. \u201cWes, Gunn, your coats. Here you two share this one, you two take theirs, you need to stay warm. We really should get them to a hospital or something\u2026\u201d Cordelia said, helping the girls into the cover of the men\u2019s coats. \u201cThey are in shock, they need to be looked at. I\u2019ll think of something to tell the hospital, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel watched in shock and horror, as Cordelia covered all the other woman but herself. He cleared his throat and walked over to her. \u201cWhat about you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe? I\u2019m in not shock. I knew what was going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean\u2026aren\u2019t you,\u201d he cleared his throat and eyed the flimsy; he didn\u2019t know what to call it but a cloth covering Cordelia.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t this awful. I have underwear that covers more of my ass; I\u2019ll change when we get back to the warehouse. You do know how to get back there right?\u201d Cordelia asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight. Warehouse, clothes, hospital,\u201d Wesley said, interrupting Angel\u2019s thoughts as he tried to catch up with Cordelia, with everything that had happened really. A bit of guilt rushing through him when he realized he was ignoring the actual helpless\u2026again.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d always been bad at it, but he used to remember to focus more on the victims he rescued. He\u2019d at least ask if they were all right, and for awhile he\u2019d even chatted with them a bit before disappearing into the dark. Making sure they got to some place safe and well lit first. Giving them stern warnings about being more careful late at night, taking them to the hospital if they were need of being looked at.<\/p>\n
Only that had been before Darla\u2026 he pushed his sire out of his mind. He had gotten past that and he wasn’t going to dwell on it now. What mattered was when it came to the victims he aided he hadn\u2019t gotten back into gear. What mattered at this moment was that his only focus had been Cordelia. Making sure Cordelia was unharmed, warm, and not half-naked. She\u2019d been his only focus from the second he realized they\u2019d lost contact with her. He\u2019d only thought of her as he winded his way through the sewers and when fighting the demons. How she had almost been sacrificed, almost landed on that pile of wood and been impaled.<\/p>\n
Angel felt a chill at the realization, because it went deeper than this moment. She\u2019d been on his mind constantly for days, when had this happened? The last time he\u2019d felt so focused on one woman he\u2019d nearly lost\u2026. Angel cleared his throat, stopped thinking and stalked past Cordelia. He purposely did not look at her, before glancing at Wes and Gunn and shouting out. \u201cFollow me.\u201d<\/p>\n