*****
Part 26:

February 1, 2005

Hyperion Hotel

2.35 pm

"No, you heard right Graham. Twenty-four pints of blood ASAP please. The drip seems to be working well and we want to get more into him."

"Uuuhhh, sure. Be back soon...I'll take Joyce with me, she's beside me anyway...sorry, you probably already know that...We'll go now."

Not needing to respond, Wesley took his finger off the 'talk' button on the internal intercom and turned back towards his lover and Angel's Childe. Both were sleeping for the moment, Angel on one of the library's sofas that Riley and Graham had managed to wrestle into the small elevator and up to the training room while Spike lay on his side, entangled with the thin sheet that covered him, still in a virtual coma.

Small smile adorning his face, the ex-watcher slowly made his way over to change Angel's drip now that the current bag his blood flowed into was almost full. Kneeling beside the dark blue couch, he tried not to startle the brunette vampire with any sudden movements, lightly running a hand down the well formed black clad shoulder, touching the crook of Angels left elbow and the needle inserted deep into his vein. Empty blood unit bag gathered up, Wesley quickly switched the drip tube to the new bag, the full bag closed off and lay carefully to one side.

"Wes"

With a strangled yelp of startlement, the younger human snapped his head up to find that the brunette vampire was waking although very groggy due to the massive amount of blood loss, blood that was being replaced just as fast with human blood. For every bag that Angel filled with his Sire blood for Spike, the brunette vampire drank a double amount of human blood, bought from the morgue at the hospital. Everyone had been worried as to how the blood loss would affect the older vampire but surprisingly, he was pretty much alright, just alternating between dizzy, light-headed euphoria and sleepiness.

Upon finally waking for the first time since the location spell, Wesley had been informed of what Angel had decided upon doing for Spike. As soon as Dr. Sawyer had finished with the bleached blond and had instructed everyone in how to move the smaller vampire and provide the remedial massage, she had also given them all, bar a still sleeping Wesley, a crash course on how to work the drips. Angel had decided to bag as much of his potent blood as possible, drip feeding it to the younger demon after an initial feed directly from his body, something that the brunette vampire had insisted on doing in private. The upshot of it all was that Riley, Graham and Joyce were taking it in shifts to change the drips and make sure that Angel kept drinking.

Now that he was awake, it was Wesley's turn to stay with the vampires, taking over from Joyce after being shown what to do himself. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to massage Spike, the older woman having just finished as the ex-watcher had come to relieve her. Angel was filling the bags a lot slower than a human would, taking almost twenty minutes for each one while Spike was being fed a bag every hour meaning that in-between the changes, it gave Wesley plenty of time to work on finding a spell that would protect Spike from being found via magical means, something that Joyce had already started the search for.

Unable to resist, Wesley reached a hand up and patted at Angels face, prompting a giggle from his lover. At Wesley's gesture, the vampire nodded and grinned, confirming that he was indeed hungry. Leaning in towards the older male, Wes softly pressed his lips to the much cooler ones only to squawk in light protest when Angel gripped his hair with a strong hand and forced Wesley's head down towards his bulging crotch.

"Youth goth thoo be shithing me?"

"Suck."

Shaking his head, Angel thrust his hips up into Wesley's face in an all too clear gesture, his eyes lighting up in anticipation. He felt good, really good and it was all due to the human blood he had been consuming over the past two days. The vampire took in the exaggerated roll of Wesley's eyes and grinned harder as he heard his zipper being undone. A glance at his Childe lying on a mattress only a few feet away and he saw that the bleached blond was still in a deep sleep. Not one that he would be coming out of it any time soon, the huge amounts of Sire blood being drip-fed to him having caused Spike to fall into an ongoing black out. His aching erection forced the thought of the blond right out of his head as Wesley gently nipped at the head of his cock.

"Fffffuuuuuck!"

"Youth weeth."

A little clumsily, Wesley worked his tongue under the vampires pale foreskin, twisting his tongue around the warming head while his right hand crept under Angel's cashmere sweater to softly tickle a pale navel, the left hand keeping the zippers metal teeth away from anything that could be snagged in-between them. A quick look at a panting vampire and the ex-watcher was proud to see that his lover was already in full game face, something that turned Wesley on more than anything else. Head positioned so that the younger man could rub his tongue scar into the vampires weeping slit, Wesley knew that it would be only a matter of a minute or two before Angel came down his eager throat. Hearing Angel moan as he pulled away momentarily, Wesley risked a look at the bleached vampire only to be backhanded for daring to stop. Breath caught in his throat, the ex-watcher demurely hung his head in mock shame, his own cock begging to be stroked to completion while his cheek burned with a sweet pain.

"Bad Wesley"

"Marshta?"

"Open wide"

Unable to stifle his own moan of pleasure, Wesley found himself gagging slightly as the vampire rammed his hips upwards as he wrapped his lips around the hard cock once again, the cool shaft filling his mouth entirely. With one of Angels heavy hands forcing his head down, Wesley immediately relaxed, taking the throbbing organ deep down his throat. He paused for a bare moment, almost coming in his pants as Angel both growled softly and tightened his grip on Wesley's hair to painful proportions. At Angel's rough and fast guidance, the smaller man made sure the almost seamless scar on his tongue rubbed along the underside of the thick cock.

"Whore...do you like that? Do want me to fill that little girly mouth of yours more? Mmmmm, fucking suck me..harder..harder. Ooohhhh I'm gonna be giving you the biggest bitch slapping of your life if you don't do as you're told...SLUT!"

Angel wished that he didn't have the drip attached to his other arm, he wanted to wrap both his hands in Wesley's soft hair. Wanted to make his lover cry in pain just from having his beautiful hair pulled...and he knew full well that Wes wanted the same thing. As he harshly whispered more demands, the brunette could feel himself coming close to the edge. Only a few more seconds, damn if he didn't feel good! With his demon strength, he held the humans head still as he thrust his hips up towards the wet warmth, shuddering in delight as he felt a fine line grate along the underside of his cock. Soooo good!

"Almost..almost...swallow. Go on...Yeeesssss! Godamn SWALLOW! Good..good boy, aren't you a good boy to drink me down like that. You want to come?"

SLAP

At the feel of a large cool hand connect with his already sore right cheek, Wesley had the pleasure to feel himself explode in his new woollen trousers as he savoured the rich coppery taste of Angels cum. The humiliation of having cum in his pants making the orgasm all the sweeter for the ex-watcher. Thanking his Master obediently, the ex-watcher dutifully tucked Angel back into his trousers, only now wondering how the vampire could be so horny after so much blood loss. Wesley shrugged his shoulders, Angel was a vampire and it had probably been the smell of his own blood that had gotten him hard, that and the thought of another bag of human. Zipper wiggled a little in an effort to get it fully done up, Wesley again gestured at the vampire, asking if he was still hungry.

"Ravenous Wes...did I hurt you? No? Let me guess, not enough?"

Waggling his eyebrows at the vampire, the ex-watcher pointed downwards, indicating the growing wet patch decorating the front of his navy trousers. Angel reached over to squeeze his lovers wet crotch, causing Wesley to squirm a little as the large cool hand rubbed the cum into the trouser material more thoroughly. Wesley laughed in both nervous humiliation and growing anticipation as the brunette vampire promised to make the ex-watcher do the same thing in public one day. The laughter died quickly as a groan of pain came from Spike. Wesley nodded as Angel quietly told him that the bleached vampire was still buried deep in a restorative sleep and not to worry, Spike was probably just feeling some of his injuries continuing to repair themselves.

"Still going to take a lot of time until he's fully recovered. Took a few weeks for my finger to be 100% and the bone was only chipped. I mean, his foot is fucking *gone*! The whole bone has to grow back, the muscles and tendons, skin..everything."

"Hoow wong?"

"Honestly? I don't know. He's just lucky to be old enough to even regenerate lost limbs. The Master and Darla weren't exactly forthcoming with all the little tidbits about vampire physiology, I've never had a discussion about this with them and lets face it, I can't now. Not just age either though; he's got strong blood running through him anyway. He's a great Grandchilde to the Master, very strong blood."

Nodding again at his lover's words, Wesley rose from his knees and made his way over to the corner opposite Angel and Spike, ignoring the cooling wetness covering his crotch for the moment. Large yellow cooler opened, the smaller male got out two packets of blood. Mug taken up from the newly washed collection gathering on one end of the trestle table, Wesley carefully tore open a packet and poured the contents into a mug before placing it in the microwave that took up the other end of the table. Microwave set on high for a minute, Wesley stared at the bleached vampire's uncovered back. He could already see that most of the horrible weeping sores that had covered the pale back were well on the way to healing fully, sores that would have taken a human weeks to recover from. Jumping as both the microwave and the timer that indicated Spikes rollover went off, the slender man carried the mug of warmed blood over to the eagerly awaiting vampire.

"You've got to roll him Wes, I mean I would but you know? Can you do it yourself? Alright...don't scowl at me, I just asked."

"Yeth!"

"Sorry, I thought you might still be a little tired? No?"

Head shaken at the brunette, Wesley was not going to admit that he was in fact still feeling drained from the location spell that he and Joyce had performed a few days ago. As soon as he had let go of the black t-shirt to help the others with Spike, he had been out like a light, the switch shut off instantly. He had only woken up a few hours ago, henceforth why Angel was worried and he really had to find out why Joyce had been barely affected when they had done the spell together. Breath taken as he reached the smaller vampires side, Wesley knelt in front of the pale form and rested a hand on Spikes bony shoulder.

"Hey Sthike, ull bwee caawful." whispered Wesley. He knew that the vampire probably couldn't hear him but he felt that it was necessary to tell Spike anyway. Reaching a hand up, he made sure that the drip was switched off before gently rocking the thin form. Rocking motions increasing, Wesley pushed Spike flat on his back, trying to ignore the grunt of protest. It wasn't the easiest way to turn the younger vampire but Wesley did the best he could. Once the pale form was resting somewhat on his right side, the ex-watcher looked closely at the marred back. It definitely looked like Angel's blood was doing the trick, another day or so and his back would be fully recovered.

With a glance at Angel, he saw that the older vampire was watching him sleepily, finishing one yawn only to launch straight into another. Spikes drip turned on again, Wesley saw that the bleached vampires latest bag was almost empty. He waited for a few minutes by the shorter mans side before gathering up Angels latest bag of blood, fixing the drip up to the full bag.

"Wes, I tried the Twilight on him last night.."

"Andth?"

His attention snapped back to Angel almost instantly, Wesley crossed back to the blue couch, shoving the brunette's legs to one side so he could sit down. The ex-watcher listened as his lover told him of how he had taken the opportunity to fully drain the blond to the point of being almost dusted, Angel then slitting his wrist and allowing his Childe to feed from him. The older demon had made sure to re-instate the initial instructions from so many years ago, this time in a softer, much gentler tone of voice.

"I'm hoping that Spike will be less aggressive and rude to everyone but like you said, it may just be his overall personality. I just don't know...Christ, there is so much that we don't know."

"Hoow didth ith go?"

"I hated it, every second of it. When a Childe feeds from you, its usually one of the most pleasurable things a vampire can do, secondary only to feeding from your Sire. It was hard, I had to keep cutting my wrist for him to feed from because he couldn't bite properly...his fangs still need to grow a bit more before he can use them. I just had to sort of make sure my blood dribbled into his mouth, didn't work too well actually."

"Thinth ith workthd?"

"Only time will tell really...Wes, you're getting easier to understand. Mmmmm, you smell nice."

Eyes rolled as the larger brunette tried to yawn and giggle at the same time, Wes thanked his lover somewhat sarcastically for his kind words. Gesturing for Angel to continue with what happened the night before. Wesley quietly nodded as he was told of how Angel had fed Spike enough of the potent Sire blood for the younger vampire to bypass the initial euphoria stage and continue through the various stages until he had feed enough to the bleached blond for him to lapse into a deep sleep. The smaller human knew that the brunette was going to keep feeding the blond Sire blood until the worst of the damage was fixed. How long that was going to be was anybody's guess, Angel providing him with the answer before he even had the chance to ask.

"I'm thinking of doing the transfusions for at least another day or so, then starting him back on regular human blood with at least one bag of mine to every bag of human. I gotta admit though, I'm shattered....and hungry again? Wes, could you?"

Agreeing, Wesley got up and prepared Angel another mug of blood after changing the now full bag for another empty one. As the vampire steadily drank the fragrant liquid, Wes could see the brunette start to blink heavily, indicating that he was almost asleep again. Mug taken from Angel's hand, the slender man watched as his lover succumbed to the lure of sleep, a slight smile gracing the pale face. Once he was sure that his employer was fully asleep, Wesley ventured downstairs to their bedroom with the intention to change his slacks and get an icepack for his aching cheek before gathering new reading material.

He wanted to see if there was some way to locate the bleached vampires soul and study it before attempting to curse the smaller man forever from having his soul returned. Wesley was still puzzled as to why the PTB considered Spikes soul to be worse than Angelus. As he walked towards the bedroom door, the ex-watcher wondered how Joyce was going with her own research.

*****
Part 27:

Febuary 16, 2005

Hyperion Hotel

3:12 pm

At the little girls bellow of rage, Cordelia sighed and relented, giving Gonturan another piece of fairy bread. Instantly she knew she had made the wrong decision, watching in resignation as the happy child smeared butter, bread and tiny coloured balls of sugar over her face and semi clean clothes. Turning to Joyce, she asked the older woman to hand her a cloth so she could give the munching toddler a face wipe.

"I can't believe how much they have grown...and they're such lovely little girls, you should be proud of yourself Cordelia."

"I know. I love them to pieces. Would never have thought that I would be such a Mommy. I mean I always planned on having children some day but I didn't think that I would get two in one hit, not to mention Christopher but...."

Falling silent, the brunette woman gave a protesting Gonturan a thorough wipe with the damp cloth, making sure to clean her fingers on both hands before the active youngster managed to anoint most of the Hyperion with mashed bread. She was back. It was something that she couldn't quite believe, expecting to wake up each morning and find herself back in her tent. Two weeks. Well, thirteen days to be exact. Thirteen days since a huge shimmering wall had appeared in front of her, scaring both her and Kimlai as they had washed the breakfast dishes in a barely thawed stream.

She had almost fainted when Riley and Graham had stepped through and told her that they were taking her home, screaming in delight when she realised that she could see Wesley and Joyce on the other side of the wall. Angel hadn't been able to participate much in the rescue, as it was daytime where she was and being a vampire, he would have been pretty much dusted. After talking to her companion, she had told the two ex-soldiers that Kimlai needed to go and get the twins before she could return. Through the portal, she had told Wesley about what had happened to her and the twins since being taken, reassuring her friends that none of them had been hurt in anyway.

Ultimately, things had been fine. Kimlai had returned quite quickly with the twins and her owner. Everyone had been surprised to find that Wesley spoke a language very close to the demon's own and the ex-watcher had managed to convince the shaggy creature that Cordelia and the twins actually belonged to him and that he only wanted his rightful goods returned, Riley dashing back through the portal and getting a photo of Wesley and Cordelia as proof of ownership. She had been a little shocked upon seeing and hearing Joyce speak for the younger man but she had kept quiet, knowing that she would get the full story later on. Her master had been quite sad to see her leave and to be honest, she had really liked the tall red-haired beast and would miss him, the family and Kimlai. She had said her goodbyes amidst a few tears and hugs, her owner included and had excitedly stepped through the portal to the Hyperion.

"Alright..alright, back to the play room with you both I think."

Child gathered up, Cordelia followed Joyce and Aiesha from the kitchen to the lobby, giving David Nabbit a smile as he continued to instruct Doyle in how to use a Dictaphone with foot pedals. Pausing, she watched as her soon to be husband slowly typed on the Braille computer. Her smile grew as Doyle got all of the other man's instructions right. She loved Doyle with all her heart and she was proud that the Irishman hadn't let himself fall into a pit of self-pity. Upon seeing him for the first time since being taken, she had been horrified by what had happened to him, crying in a mixture of anger and sorrow but overall, relief that he was still alive and relatively unhurt.

She had refused Doyle's attempts to break off the engagement, stating that although she was upset about his appearance, she loved him and he wasn't getting rid of her that easily. It had taken a few days before Doyle had accepted that she really did want to still marry him, longer for him to let her touch his face. Cordelia had only been allowed to touch the horrible scarring earlier in the morning after they had made love for the first time since she had returned. Standing quietly, she absently jiggled a squirming girl up and down on her hip as she watched her fiancee turn to face her.

"Hey Princes, who have you got there?"

"Ginny. Shay's with Joyce...I'm going to put them to bed for a little while then you and I are setting a date for this wedding Mister. No more fussing around. I don't care what I wear, an old potato sack will do me just fine as long I'm Mrs. Francis Doyle."

"Gee..already the nagging missus aren't we?"

Doyle swiftly caught his betrothed's hand as he felt a sharp tug on one of his earlobes, giving the long fingers a lingering kiss as he felt a wave of happiness flow over him. His Cordy had returned to him. Healthy, whole and with bossy personality still firmly intact, something that Doyle hadn't even realised he had relied on so much until he had been taken. Cordelia could cut through a diamond with the acid tongue she had in her head, the only one who could match her was Spike and quite frankly, the Irishman had been excited when the vampire and ex-cheerleader had started sniping at each other over a minor issue. It had been like old times. Almost.

Head cocked as he listened to Cordelia walk to the elevator, he chuckled when the two girls emitted matching screeches of anguish at leaving the much loved hotel lobby. They were going to adopt the girls as soon as their marriage was legal, relying on a priest from the Christian Refuge to perform the ceremony with one of Kate's contacts being able to fiddle papers in City Records with the adoption. For a price, something not quite legal. At David's request, the now normal colour Irishman gave an exaggerated sigh and gently pressed the 'play' button on the foot controls for the Dictaphone, continuing to type out the notes for David's last board meeting.

============================================

Head cradled in his hands, Spike sat on Xander's bed, hating the disturbing scenes his mind was throwing at him. Scenes that were showing the brunette dead, being raped or worse, being pulled apart limb from limb and watching his own flesh get eaten. The blond hoped that the brunette was alright but he knew that in all reality, Xander was probably getting fucked for all he was worth right that minute. Spike was hoping that being taken a second time hadn't tipped the shy boy into the nuthouse, like Drusilla. A pang of sorrow washed over him as he thought of his Black Princess, snorting to himself as he recalled what he had read of her last words. He really needed to take another look at what was written, see if he could make more sense out of it than what had been made so far. Dru's future ramblings had always been tricky and had a tendency to bite you on the arse if you weren't careful.

Scratching at his still tender stomach, the bleached blond gingerly ran a finger down the slim scar that ran from the base of his throat to his groin. He was healing, the scar had flattened out in the past few days, going from an angry red raised slash to a smooth pearly white stripe. Would be gone in another two or three days thought the vampire, wishing his foot would hurry up and grow a little more. His fangs were almost their original size, his thigh having finished healing the day before. How did he know? He was no longer feeling the constant pins and needles running from his hip to his knee, something that he was thankful for.

He still had waves of pain rolling through his abdomen as his intestines grew back, the doctor had told him that his whole large intestine and about half of his smaller one had been removed, along with his left kidney and pancreas. It wasn't what he had wanted to hear but then again, it had been his own fault, he had asked Dr. Sawyer and she had told him. Thank Christ his fingers had grown back entirely and his limbs no longer needed their daily massage as of a few day's ago. Meant he could use the crutches Angel had gotten for him after Spike had broken the wheelchair the older vampire had first appeared with. Something that his Sire was going to be pissy about until he decided on his next brooding subject.

"Sodding wheelchair...like I'm gonna use *that*? Peaches must have been brain damaged when Slag turned him...hang on, maybe Woos sucked too hard and there's nothing left in his cock to think with?"

Stomach rumbling, the bleached vampire shifted his legs over the edge of the bed, setting the aluminum crutches upright so he could stand. With a grunt, Spike hefted himself upright, wobbling for all he was worth. Another rumble of his stomach and the demon slowly clacked out of Xander's bedroom and down the hallway, the metal bracelets clanking against the crutches.

It had been Joyce who had hit on the idea of retrieving the bracelets and necklace that had been buried with Theo, everyone agreeing with the idea even if it had been rather unpleasant, especially when they realised just how the jewellery was going have to come off. Angel had sent Riley and Graham to Sunnydale later the next day after arranging with Willy to get someone to dig them up, the ex-soldiers waiting just outside Sunnydale limits for the barkeeper to hand them over.

In what had been a suprise, they had found out that the necklace and braclets had been able to be taken off like normal jewellery. Wesley putting it down to the fact that Theo was dead, therefore any glamour was now totally gone which is why there were now clasps included in the silver links. Spike had whole heartedly put them on after Wesley had told him that they should protect him from being found by any magical means, the ex-watcher coming to the conclusion that the vampire had been held by a Warlock who used the dark arts. The instant he had put them on, he had expected the clasps to diasappear but it was something that was yet to happen.

Wesley had been giving Spike his daily massage the day after Cordelia's return, the vampire grumbling about how much of Passions he had missed when Joyce had come into the bedroom to ask if Spike wanted her to bring up some of the roast she was cooking once it was done. He hadn't been able to help himself, he had started to weep the instant he smelt the rosemary and thyme that Joyce hadn't washed from her hands properly. Both Wesley and the older woman had tried to calm him down but all he had smelt was the herbs, the closer she had come, the more hysterical he had gotten. He had honestly thought he was alright and that his experience hadn't affected him much. Spike had bellowed for the smell to go away, swearing and making threats to kill until he had prompted the chip into blacking him out.

Upon waking again, he had been surprised to see Wesley and his Sire sitting at his side, gently asking for him to explain what had just happened and Spike had told him everything he could. Told them about his 'host' and how the man had smelt like rosemary and thyme only when something was going to be taken from the vampire. The younger vampire had been amazed to see Angel get angry after being informed that no anaesthetic had been used and that the only way the vampire had been able to get pain relief was to make enough threats for the chip to shock him into unconsciousness. Silence had descended upon the room as Wesley had slipped into deep thought, Angel looking at him with pity until Spike had given his Sire a two fingered salute which had made the older vampire smile, prompting a small one of his own.

Spike had been unable to stop himself from feeling nauseous when Wesley had told them of what he thought the younger vampire had been held for. The ex-watcher had explained that some magic orders used human body parts as ingredients, almost always the dark arts. Wesley had reluctantly told the vampires that because their species was hardier than a regular human, Spike's organs and body parts probably gave better spell results. That the younger demon had been nothing more than a never ending supply of body parts and that they shouldn't be surprised if there was another vampire already in Spike's place. The bleached vampire had been pleased to see Angel throw a tanty and kick in a closet door, usually it was the older vampire kicking Spike's arse.

The bleached blond knew that Joyce and the younger man hadn't been able to locate Xander or Christopher with the spell they had performed for himself and the others, nor had they been able to locate Willow. It was assumed that she had a set of the jewellery as well. After all, she had been born on the Hellmouth like Xander. Why Cordelia hadn't been made into a demon whore puzzled them all although they were relieved that it hadn't happened. Everyone was waiting for Doyle's next vision of the red-haired witch, hoping that it would show him a location or as Spike had sneered, a street sign.

He was just thankful that he had been found first and he was curious himself to find out why the PTB had wanted him found so quickly. In what had been a surprise to himself, he had answered all of Angel and Wesley's questions about his human life as truthfully as possible. The bleached vampire had told them that he had been quite a sickly child, confined to bed for most of his younger years. The ex-watcher and his Sire had been more than a little disturbed to learn that he had also suffered from numerous dizzy spells right up to the time he had been turned. When questioned about the uniform Angel had seen him in on the night of his turning, the younger demon had been not in the least bit embarrassed to tell the larger vampire that he had in fact been an apprentice confectionary maker, specializing in boiled sweets, working in the shop that his uncle owned. Angel and Wesley had eventually given up on the questions after it had been made clear that the bleached blonde's human life had been fairly ordinary, falling back once again on the numerous old tomes that were stored in the library to find out more about the mysterious 'Soul of Blood'.

On a whim, the bleached blond decided to see if Joyce would make him a hot chocolate, the beverage didn't taste as good if he made one himself, thoughts of Xander pushed aside for the moment as he struggled to open the elevator's sliding door while trying to stop the crutch underneath his left armpit from sliding to the floor.

========================================================

"Unbelievable!"

The Warlock couldn't believe that such a simple spell had failed yet again. It was a beginner grade spell as far as he was concerned, nothing to it. First the Irish half demon and now the vampire, both being unable to be seen in the scrying bowl. He had no idea of why he couldn't perform such a simple incantation. At first he had put it down to his latest apprentice being unworthy of further tuition after her numerous attempts had failed but after trying the incantation himself, Tomas realised that April had in fact done everything correctly, thus saving the apprentices life in the end. Poor April, she had been convinced that she was destined for a flotation tank and it had taken the Englishman hours to persuade the young woman that she was to continue her studies.

Every morning and afternoon since the vampire had been discovered missing, Tomas and April had performed the location spell to try and find out where the creature was but so far, nothing. Even Tomas' use of a newly souled vampires whole internal system, leaving only the heart, had proved fruitless. April had been sure that using another vampires parts would prompt the spell into action, the restored soul giving it an extra kick. Tomas had to hand it to the girl, she was good and came up with some astounding ideas. Hopefully, this one would graduate.

Peering into the bowl of blood, Tomas saw that nothing had appeared in the shallow liquid. With a sigh, he tipped the blood into a plastic bag, tying the top in a knot so that it didn't leak before he got back to his apartment. It would give the chocolate cake frosting a richer taste, so much nicer than the usual cream cheese frosting these Yanks always raved about. He just hoped that Holland's wife appreciated the offer of the cake. Poor dear was feeling a little under the weather, a lovely lady really.

Once the spell components were cleared away, Tomas knew that he was going to have to get another vampire either tomorrow or the day after, the one he had was almost wiped out. He had been disappointed to find that the one Wolfram and Harts private squad had procured was too young to regenerate any lost organs or limbs, her blood too weak and diluted to be very effective for spell casting, obviously a minion Sired by a minion itself. He had literally struck gold with William the Bloody. The vampire had been of a good age and lineage not to mention chipped against hurting any humans, a useful thing to have if he had managed to get free one day. Lindsay also had nothing left to prod the souled Angel with either, unable to threaten the older vampire with bodily harm to his only remaining Childer should he refuse to retrieve any requested items. How the older lawyer was going to ensure Angel's continued help was another question entirely.

The Warlock knew that the bleached vampire had been taken via magical means, there was no other way that the male could have been stolen but how, was the thorn in his side. No matter anyway, he had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment, he could puzzle over the vampire later.

Tomas shoved the thought into the back of his mind as he left the main casting room, walking down the carpeted hallway and stopping at the last door on his left. Punching in the security code in the keypad next to the heavy metal door, the Warlock quickly waved his fingers in a pattern that signed for the protective spell barrier to let him through the now unlocked security door without causing his brains to dribble from his ears and nose. Once stepped through the doorway, Tomas made sure that the solid door was locked behind him, the protective spell re-instated.

Glancing around the room, the dark haired man smiled with satisfaction, the time was almost near. William the Bloody's strong blood had made finding the last few items a lot easier for the Warlock. Had cut down on a lot of the false leads. The Englishman now had all the items he needed to start calling forth and storing all the souls that the Wolfram and Hart original senior partners wanted. Once he had achieved this, he could then concentrate on looking for the one person in the world who was capable of hosting the multitude of souls. Someone who had been born without a soul of their own, an empty vessel.

Tomas walked over to the long list of names that was blu-tac'd to one wall of the bombproof room, shaking his head over some of the people who had been included in the list. Murderers, thieves, artists, pedophiles, rapists, teachers, army officers. There was even a few Nobel Prize winners on the list. Everyone who had been included on the list had been or still was the elite in their chosen profession, some were still alive but that didn't matter. As soon as he started to remove their souls, they would die of a massive heart attack. Done carefully enough, the body could be kept alive but the law firm wasn't interested in that, they would have no further use for the physical body once they had the soul.

Why Wolfram and Hart wanted to construct a 'Soul of Blood' was beyond him but then again, he really didn't care as long as he got paid and didn't get killed in the process. As he finished reading the long list, Tomas wondered if he should put Mother Teresa's or Ghandi's name on the bottom just for a joke, Holland would get a laugh out of it. Pity that Lindsay couldn't bring himself to loosen up around the Warlock, the older lawyer would more than likely appreciate the joke as well but Tomas knew that the other man was frightened of him. Tomas wasn't too sure why but he suspected it was because he had been caught staring at Lindsay's ears one day. He hadn't been able to help himself from telling the other man just how lovely they were, something that had made Lindsay pale, the older man having not come to visit the Warlock's inner sanctum since.

With that thought in mind, Tomas wondered if he should make a cake for Lindsay as well, maybe strawberry frosting instead of chocolate.

*****
Part 28:

Febuary 18, 2005

Hyperion Hotel

4.56 pm

"Uhhggg, nothing in this one either. God, I'm so tired of looking in these books," sighed a weary Cordelia. The brunette woman had wanted nothing more than to just spend the whole day in bed with Doyle, doing nothing but dozing in each others arms in-between long bouts of love making. Unfortunately, reality had punched a hole in those dreams via two hyperactive toddlers, grocery shopping for the week and research on souls. Glancing over at a vampire who was growing more annoyed by the moment, she asked Spike how he was going with his current book.

"This sodding thing is useless as well, bloody book is all about how to see your auras or some other bullshit. We're getting nowhere fast."

"I know...why the PTB can't just whap open a book at the right page is beyond me. I mean they can do just about everything else, you'd think that if the 'bloody soul' or whatever it is, is so important, that they would get off their butts and help a bit more."

"Because that would be called common sense, remember, these are the same wanky twats that killed the only one who even had the remotest chance of understanding this bloody rot. Fuckin' morons, should've let Dru hang on for a bit more....could've had a yap to her, fine tuned this drivel," replied the bleached blond, nodding his head in agreement. Slightly stunned that he was actually having a civil conversation with the girl for the first time they had known each other, he could tell from her face that she was feeling the same way and was waiting for him to call her something vile so that they could get back into the realms of normal.

"Right then, speaking of fat arses, how about you get off those binty buns of yours and get me a coffee? Ah..ah..ah, invalid here...see? Crutches, I *can't* carry an effin' drink back up here can I?"

"Hmmm, and your point would be?"

"Bitch."

"Really? Thanks, I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me...are you hitting on me?"

"Fuck off Slag..go on, go and get some 'wife' practice and make the superior sex a coffee...Oi! Don't hit me, save your foreplay for the Mutt."

Giving the younger woman his usual leer and two fingered salute, he made sure to wipe off a dribble of cold coffee on his mug before handing it to Cordelia as she passed by him on the way downstairs, copping a slap across his upper arm for his attitude.

"Bloody hell, what is she on, steroids? Bint never hit like that before," he muttered to himself, one hand rubbing his upper arm. Felt good to have his sparring partner back, Cordelia was the only one who could give him a run for his money in the hotel. As far as he was concerned, trying to get a rise out of Graham was like poking road kill with a stick, nothing would happen and he was more interested in discussing the man's endowments with Joyce...that is if he could get her tipsy enough one night. Riley...well really, why even bother? Wesley had been marked as off limits by Angel and he really didn't want any of his bones broken in the near future by a pissed off Sire just because he had dared to taunt the gimp, no matter how tempting it was.

Angel was still fair game and so was Doyle, Joyce was someone that he could talk to about anything and he admitted that she was his friend, besides she was currently coming up with some of the dirtiest jokes he had ever heard and he was loving each one. The twins, well, it was amazing the filthy language kids picked up these days. With a sigh, he pulled himself out of his thoughts, glancing back down at the large book covering his lap. Pages flipped as fast as he could skim the words, the bleached vampire knew that continuing to look through the book would prove useless but he also knew that Pansy Arse Wes would know instantly if he had put the book down before reaching the end.

How the younger man could tell was something that continually puzzled Spike but after being caught out each time he had done it and having to sit through the Poof's lecture about how important the research was each time, he made sure that he was at least looking for the two key words, blood and soul. After Wesley and Angel had learned of his human life, the two men were no longer so sure that the 'Soul of Blood' applied to him.

"What hell would I do with an f'ing soul anyway? Hang on..I know, stake meself...be buggered if I'd prance around like the wanna be Batman downstairs, not even if Robin's arse was thrown into the deal."

Head shaken, the bleached vampire shut the finished book and threw it across the room, punching the air with one fist as he watched it disappear down the side of the huge pot that housed a rather droopy palm tree. Spike couldn't wait for Weakly to have a panic attack over not being able to find the book and anyway, he had only agreed not to verbally taunt the stick thin ex-watcher. Just because people had put their lives on the line to save his didn't mean that he was going to cut them any slack.

While he was wondering when his coffee would arrive, the vampire reached over to the coffee table and picked up another book. Groaning when he saw that the title was in French, he mentally slapped himself for having reminded Angel that Drusilla had managed to teach him something in her more lucid moments. Even though the psychic vampire had done it out of her desire to be read to rather than any thought to if he had wanted to learn French or not, Spike had eagerly jumped at the opportunity once he had seen that it had gotten him away from a few bedroom sessions with Angelus and Darla.

"Where the sodding hell is that coffee, what did the stupid cow do, start digging a friggin well for the water?"

Book opened to the first page, the vampire froze as a gurgling sound came from the baby monitor sitting on the lamp table next to the couch that Cordelia had so recently vacated. Spike relaxed when he heard the brunette woman's soft voice soothe a girzzling toddler back to sleep. At least he knew why the drink was so slow in coming, grimacing when he thought of how cold it was going to be. Still, the bitch had made herself useful and that was the most important thing, the half-breed should be thankful that the vampire was making an effort to get the woman used to her wifely duties. The bleached blond couldn't suppress a snicker when Cordelia whispered into the baby monitor that his coffee was coming and not to whinge when he got it.

First chapter finished, Spike kept skimming the words, only looking up when his drink finally arrived. Sure enough it was almost stone cold but after a warning look from an expectant brunette, he kept his mouth shut. Time passed slowly, the quiet atmosphere of the library only broken by weary sighs coming from opposite ends of the room.

"I think I've got something. It doesn't actually say 'Soul of Blood' but it is describing a person who is born soulless. Apparently, the unfortunate person who is born without a permanent soul of their own can 'host' any soul that is placed in their body without the usual battle between their own and the intruding one. The one that is sent into them can stay indefinitely because there is nothing already there to force it out. Well, that makes not so much sense to me...how about you Blondy?"

"Don't ask me, ask Wankley. He's the head honcho with all this crap. About sodding time something came up...he still up on the third floor with Joyce?"

Nodding to the question, Cordelia told the vampire that the two magic users were still erecting magic wards to each floor of the Hyperion, doubling the protection for every single room. After it had been decided that a Warlock had been in possession of the bleached vampire, Wesley had launched into paranoid mode. The ex-watcher and his voice advocate going from room to room and setting up a barrier spell that prevented any magic item from entering or leaving the room, the silver jewellery that Spike wore made into the only exclusion. Each spell was taking almost two hours as Wesley had had to work in a few clauses for safety reasons such as the special jewellery, he had also included a dampening effect that would stifle any attempts of magic use in a room or hallway once the wards were in place, something that could only be lifted and replaced again by a key word while visualizing the area to be affected. One that everybody had memorized.

Spikes room had been first, the spell taking almost all day as Wesley and Joyce had tried to iron out the kinks in the spell. The only rooms left were the unoccupied ones and the hotel lobby, the sheer size of it ensuring that both Joyce and Wesley would be out of action for a few days, the reason why it was being left until last. After a bit of trial and error, it had been found that spells were doubled in strength when Wesley and Joyce performed the finger actions together with Wesley reciting the words through Joyce, arms linked so that they touched. That way, Wesley had found that he didn't end up blacking out, the energy drain was shared equally between them. Any other way and Wesley risked copping the full brunt of the spell drainage once it was over, although Joyce was proving to be quite capable of producing rather effective spell results by herself.

"Well, don't just sodding well sit there...go and show the Poof's arse boy and see what he has to say about it?"

"Wow..still making with the nice. Is it...David, what's wrong?"

"What? You still fucking here? Don't you have a company to run, new Dungeons and Dragons movie to wank over....OW! Don't hit the invalid, you stupid trollop of a bitch."

"Uhhh, I retired three years ago...keep going in because I get bored at home, you know..help out a bit. Anyway, Francis just had a vision of someone...Todd I think was the name he gave me. Who's Todd...is there really a new D&D movie out? Wank...that's the same as drool isn't it...just 'wank' being the English term? Wonder if Kate wants to go? Ouch!"

The bleached vampire rolled his eyes as Cordelia shoved the nerdy billionaire out of the way in her rush to get downstairs and gather the details on the latest vision, Spike once again rubbing an abused upper arm. His attention turned to the deep in thought man, wondering how anybody so naive could be wealthy enough to be able to retire at 35 and also be dating a hot piece of arse like Kate Lockley. Barely able to suppress a snigger, the demon did his best to answer the younger man with a straight face.

"Yep, you're right...wank, drool..it's all the same meaning. Use it a bit, slot it in where it fits..anyway, Todd's one of the kids we busted out of Eternal last year..you know, Mathew? This'll be the first bit of info on them since they were bloody well taken for a second time....Hey, be a pet and pass me the crutches? Ta mate."

"Don't suppose you would go to the movie with me if Kate doesn't want to...don't think D&D is her thing actually, doesn't quite wank over it like I do...have you ever played yourself?"

In what was quite a rare occurrence since being turned, Spike found himself speechless and just stared at the goofily grinning man, the vampire standing motionless while balanced on his crutches. Just how had Cordelia let this one slip through her fingers? Why settle on a half-breed when quite obviously here was a man that every woman wanted to be seen with? Grimacing, he bit back the almost overwhelming amount of one-liners and acid tinged expletives that were battling to make themselves known to David Nabbitt, knowing that everyone in the hotel including Joyce would be fighting to be the one to stake him if he managed to offend their benefactor too much. So, going completely against the grain, he said nothing and twisted his face into a deeper grimace.

"Spike..Spike are you alright? Your foot hurting again?"

"Wha..nah mate, everything's fine....the movie..ummm, not really my type either but thanks anyway."

"Oh...well, how about playing? I just got this new..."

"NO! Fuuuthanks again. Look, take this book to the twit upstairs and I'll see how the Mutt and Slag are doing."

With that, the bleached vampire clacked out of the library as fast as he could before David decided to try and bond some more. He really did want to find out what Doyle had seen, curious to know why the PTB would send a vision of one of the boys from Eternal. Elevator reached, Spike sighed in relief as the small lift started its journey downwards before the retired businessman could enter the confined space with him.

==============================================

***WARNING***

***Character Death and unpleasant things ahead***

2.36 am

Last of the onslaught of demons dealt with, Graham found himself still keyed up and ready to do battle with anything that came at him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched as Riley and Angel tried to subdue the one remaining demon without killing it while the smaller ex-soldier slowly circled the main room with his pump action shotgun at the ready.

"Christ Angel, just grab it will you?"

"Speak for yourself!"

The brunette vampire ducked and rolled as a set of massive retractable claws whistled towards him, grunting in protest as the creature managed to kick him in the ribs. Amnruth demons were hard to grab hold of, especially when extremely pissed off and no doubt about it, this one was. Riley was all for just blowing its head off but Wesley had insisted that he wanted one brought back to the hotel so that he could question it as to how it had possession of Todd. They had been able to deal with the other seven demons easily, Graham and Riley showing off their skill at now being fully re-trained using their opposite hands and had downed the demons in a matter of seconds, all with clear head shots.

"Ri..Angel, step back"

BANG...BANG

Howling in agony, the mauve skinned Cyclops collapsed to the ground as Graham blew both its knees apart. Unable to help himself, Angel sympathised with the creature for a few seconds before grabbing hold of one flailing arm just as Riley attached himself to the other. Telling the two men to watch themselves, Graham gave the demon a solid whap across the back of its head with the shotgun butt, pausing for a moment to see if it was out cold before he gave it another hard smack just for good measure.

"Thanks Gra...why the hell didn't we do that to begin with?" panted an exhausted Riley to a shrugging game-faced vampire. Demon hogtied with steel wire construction rope and rolled to one corner of the blood drenched room, Angel told Graham to look in the basement, Riley in the attic and upstairs rooms while he checked out the ground level and to hurry, they had to be out of the place before someone reported the gunshots. All men were hoping that the boy was still alive and in one piece but after hearing what Wesley had been able to tell them about the demons, they weren't expecting much.

Stairs climbed slowly, the tall blond kept his shotgun aimed forwards, sweeping the weapon from side to side as he stepped into the upstairs hallway. Inspecting each room thoroughly, including the toilet, Riley informed Angel and Graham that the upstairs was secure, using the new Navy SEAL armed forces only communications devices Graham had picked up a few day's ago. Amazing what you could get your hands on when you joined a rifle club made from ex-military types, something both Riley and Graham had done in the hopes of being able to track down the men who had turned Giles' wake into a bloodbath. No go with locating the mercenaries as of yet but it was paying off with the amount of specialized electronics and weaponry that had suddenly become available to them.

Attic given the all clear, Riley gave a quiet chuckle as he listened to Angel push every button in an effort to tell the two ex-soldiers that the ground level was also clear only to start back downstairs when Graham requested that Angel and Riley meet him at the basement door. Trailing behind the brunette vampire as they made their way towards the kitchen at the farthest end of the house, Riley found his pulse rate increasing as Angel suddenly clapped a hand over his nose and started gagging.

"Jesus...God!"

"You should smell it when I open the door...there's no light down there and I can't find a torch...Angel, you go first, you've got better eyesight in the dark," grimaced Graham, pinching his nostrils shut with one hand, his expression shifting to a bare smile as he watched his best friend do the same when the blond took a big hit of the rotten odour emanating from the behind the basement door.

"Riley..gaackk, there's a torch in the..cough...aaggh..car trunk."

"Right, on it."

As Riley dashed back out of the house and towards the classic car, Graham watched as the brunette vampire continued to dry retch from the obnoxious smell. It was bad, quite possibly one of the worst stenches he had ever had the opportunity to smell but the smaller ex-soldier thanked god that he didn't have the enhanced senses of the vampire. All three men had winced at the foul odour that radiated from the old farmhouse the very moment Angel had parked the car outside but compared to what was behind the solid basement door, it was quite nice.

"Angel, go upstairs to the bathroom and see if there is any Vicks or some other chest rub. If there is...bring it down."

Chest heaving, the brunette nodded thankful for the opportunity to get away from the smell. He knew what was making the odour, decomposing bodies as well as a few other things he didn't want to think about, and he knew that they would find the houses original inhabitants down in the basement. How many other unfortunate people there were was the question. The smell was too strong for just one or two bodies. Bathroom reached, Angel wrenched open the cupboard. Throwing things left, right and centre, he almost whooped in triumph when he located a small tub of Vicks behind a home pregnancy test. Steps taken three at a time, Angel ran back to the kitchen with the jar, placing it on the kitchen bench. The vampire watched as the smaller man twisted the lid off the jar and held it towards Angel as he started to cough again.

"Right, smear this under your nose, it'll hide the smell a bit."

"Oooh..it..aarggk..stings."

As he finished smearing the steadily heating ointment underneath his nostrils, Angel found his torch shoved at him, allowing Riley and Graham to do the same with the Vicks. With his double blade axe in one hand and torch in the other, the vampire held the beam of light steady as Graham opened the basement door. As one, the three men took a step backwards as the stench hit them full force. Riley recovered first, giving the brunette a small shove towards the stairs while both he and Graham followed the vampire down into the basement.

"Uhhhh..."

The torch beam slowly showed the three men a countryside hell. Wherever the light fell, there was a body in a decaying state. Bottom of the stairs reached, both Riley and Graham found themselves being violently ill, the vampire sounding like he wasn't far behind them. As the smaller ex-soldier stood upright again, chest heaving, Graham felt in his trouser pocket for the tub of chest rub. Smearing another layer underneath his nose, this time, he poked a finger full up each nostril, ignoring the burn as the menthol and camphor soaked into the sensitive tissue. Once Angel and Riley had followed his actions, he slipped the jar back into its place while everyone tried to get their bearings in the crowded space.

"Riley..Graham, there's..urrgh..*two* heartbeats down here...one's...argck..almost gone...the other almost off the scale....There! Look there, that's where the weak one's coming from."

Trying not to slip on the slimy flesh and rancid bodily fluids that were decorating the basement floor, Angel quickly made his way over to some of the more recently deceased corpses. Lifting a few out of the way, Angel assisted by the two ex-soldiers so that they could get to the heartbeat. What met their eyes as they shifted the last one was horrifying. There, buried half underneath the newer corpses was Todd.

"Oh God...Hey there..Todd..."

Graham honestly didn't know what else to say, what did you say to someone who was in the process of dying because their internal organs were leaking in a liquefied state from their anus? The boy was lying on his side, his back facing the shaft of light, giving the three men a clear view of the lumpy clotted blood and tissue that flowed over the dirt encrusted thighs. How Todd could still be alive was astonishing but the slow rise and fall of the equally filthy chest was evidence enough. As Angel and Riley moved a few paces away to his left, Graham knelt down beside the youth, gently touching the young face. There was not a sound from Todd, nor did he acknowledge their presence in any way. The youth just stared straight ahead at the wall infront of him, his blue iris' almost totally eclipsed by his pupils.

Shifting the naked youth slightly only produced a deep sigh and slow blink, the gory tide prompted into flowing faster. A hand waved in front of Todd's face did nothing, a touch to his pupil producing another slow blink, not the twitch that Graham had hoped for. Wesley had told them that the demons sperm was acidic, pretty harmless in small amounts, usually only causing an uncomfortable sting. In large amounts, it would build up and eventually eat away at the insides of the recipient and liquifying, killing them in the end. No-one had wanted to know just how the book's writer had known that, they just knew that they had to get to the youth before it was too late, Doyle's vision having shown the demons repeatedly raping the boy. Something that had distressed the Seer immensely, not to mention everyone else when he had described it.

"Angel...Angel? He's gonna die isn't he?"

"Yeah Graham, he is...soon."

"Sure?"

"Yeah"

CRACK

The smaller ex-soldier gently twisted the youths head back the correct way, laying Todd's head against the concrete floor again. There was no way he was ever going to feel guilt or regret for doing what he just had. Graham had given Todd the kindest death he could. Rising to his feet, he gave the youth one last look before he went to help Angel and Riley find the other heartbeat. A glance at the vampire and he saw an expression of understanding in the brown eyes even as Angel switched back to his gameface just as he was feeling Riley squeeze his shoulder. At an unspoken command, the three men started to move towards where Angel had pinpointed the other heartbeat as being, ignoring the swarming flies that crowded over anything they could.

"Hey..it's alright..we're here to help you, you can come out now..don't be afraid."

Quietly gesturing towards a relatively un-crowded dark corner, Angel highlighted the area with the torch, while Riley and Graham started to shift the few bodies in the way in between being ill, the two humans thanking the higher beings that they were wearing gloves even though they had been donned so they didn't leave any fingerprints in the house. As they struggled with a fairly large corpse, Angel kept up the re-assuring words, wondering just how many bodies had been thrown into the basement. So far, he had counted thirty-six and he knew there was more. It looked like the demons had been residing in the dilapidated house for a few weeks or more, abducting and fucking anybody that had crossed their path. The vampire was pretty sure that most of the immediate neighbours were amongst the dead.

"Yep...you'll be home soon, back with your family...safe and sound," stated Angel, almost choking again from the stench. As if on cue, a thin wavery voice broke through the dank air.

"Aaaaangel?"

"Shit! Christopher...is that you?"

Instantly, Riley and Graham found themselves almost thrown out of the way as the brunette vampire shoved past them in an effort to reach the child buried under a badly decomposed black man. Body hefted out of the way at last, Angel bent down and gathered up the small boy, grinning like mad as he switched from game-face to human.

"Are you alright Christopher... are you hurt?" asked the anxious vampire, hugging the dirty naked child to his chest in a strong grip. Unable to help themselves, the three men found themselves laughing in relief as Christopher complained that he was hungry and that he wanted a drink of water. Riley couldn't believe their luck, Doyle's vision certainly hadn't indicated the man/child's presence, just the unfortunate Todd's. Torch and axe taken off the vampire, Riley and Graham gave the crowded basement one last sweep before stopping to remove the dead boy's jewellery for Wesley to study. Once done, the two men ventured back upstairs.

With a hastily washed and clothed Christopher clinging to Angel and Graham in the backseat and a still unconscious demon in the trunk of the classic car, Graham set off on the two and a half hour drive back to the Hyperion.

*****