Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Immortals #5 - Shadow Lands.pdf

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Shadow Lands (The Immortals #5)
ShadowLands(TheImmortals#5)
Leslie<bastet@mckennas.demon.co.uk>
July12,2000
Prologue
Hallowe’en2018
Eleventhirtyp.m.
Inasmall,run-down,desecratedcemeteryinasmall,
run-downdesecratedareaofChicago,threestudents
searchedbytorch-lightforaspecificmausoleum.
SophomoresintheUniversityofChicago,theywere
eachmajoringinthesomewhatesoteric,yethugely
popularsubjectofParapsychology.Asasideline,they
hadalsochosentherelatedcourseofOccultStudies.
Eversincebeforethebirthofthenewmillennium,stu-
dentsfromallovertheUnitedStatesweremoreand
moredrawntowardChicago’suniversitytostudyinits
renownedhalls.TheFacultyofParapsychologywas
oneofthelargestinthecountryandwiththeupsurge
ofinterestinallthingsNewAge,prospectivestudents
flockedtowardit.Recentlyapplicationshadfarex-
ceededdemandasyoungpeoplefoundthemselvesfas-
cinated-insomecasesobsessed-bywhatlaybeyond
mosthumans’understanding.
Threesuchpeople,luckyenoughtogainentryby
virtueofhighgrades,intelligentinterviewtechnique
andthesheerstrengthoftheirbeliefthattheywould
begrantedaplace,wereSallyAdams,PeterHarveyand
JohnKnight.Duringtheirtimeattheuniversity,they
hadstruckupanunlikely,yetstrongfriendshipbased
ontheirmutualinterests.However,theyallheldrather
differentviewsontheirchosensubjectandheldmany
fiercedebatesamongstthemselves.
ItwasPeterHarvey,athin-faced,intenselookingindi-
vidual,whohadinstigatedtonight’slittleescapade,but
theothershadgonealongwithitalmostgleefully.After
all,whatelseweretheygoingtodoonHallowe’en?Go
trickortreating?No.Tooold,toopseudo-sophisticated
forthat.AHallowe’enball?Noway.Theysneered
downtheirwell-educatednosesatdressingupasfan-
tasycharacters.Toogrownuptopretend.Andwhy
bothertopretend,whentheycoulddotherealthing?
Hallowe’en,afterall,wasthenightthatthingsweresup-
posedtohappen.
SallyAdams,PeterHarveyandJohnKnightwerehoping
todoexactlythat.Hopingtomakethingshappen.
"Thoughtyousaiditwaseasytofind.Thoughtyousaid
you’dbeenheretocheckitout."
JohnKnight’svoicewassceptical,butthatwasonly
tobeexpected.Hewas,afterall,thescepticofthe
group.Itwasanoft-statedfactthathe’donlycome
alongtonighttoprovePeter’slittlepettheorywrong.
Peter,thetruebeliever,whomaintainedthattherewas
akindoflifeafterdeath,wasgoingtobemadetoeatall
hiswords.Onebyone.AndJohnwouldenjoyfeeding
theunsavourymealtohim.
"Toldyou,Icheckeditouttheotherday.Butitlooks
differentatnight.Kindof...darker."
AlittlesniggerfromJohnhere.
"Darker,yeah.Right.Wouldn’thavethoughtofthat,it
beingnightandall."
"Shutupandlook..."
Sally,ontheotherhand,kepthermindopen,assheal-
waysdid.Inquisitivemindopen,carefulmouthshut.
Insteadofjoiningintheargumentthatwasrapidlyboil-
ingupbetweenthetwoyoungmen,sheconcentrated
onsearching.Consequently,itwasshewhofoundwhat
they’dbeenlookingfor.
"Heyguys..."shecalled."Thisisit."
Twomorecirclesoftorch-lightjoinedhers.Inthetriple
beamsoflight,alowsepulchremadeofdarkmarble
thathadobviouslynotbeencaredforinmanydecades,
ifithadeverbeencaredforbefore.Surroundingthe
tomb,asurprisinglyhighfenceofrustyironrailings
intowhichawroughtirongatehadbeenset.Naturally,
thegatewaslocked.
"Ohgreat,we’llhavetoclimbover,"Johngroaned.He
castanevillookinPeter’sdirection."Youdidn’tsayany-
thingaboutchainsandlocks."
Petershrugged.
"Yeah,well,didn’tthinkitmattered.We’lljustfeedthe
1
equipmentthroughthebars,thenclimbover.Nobig
deal,right?Imean,you’recertainlybigenoughand
uglyenough.WecanhelpSal,right?Ifsheneedsit,of
course,"headdedhurriedly,seeingSally’sfrown,indi-
catingthatshedidn’tlikebeingthoughtofasthehelp-
lessfemaleofthegroup.
"Wonderwhyit’sfencedroundthough?"Peteradded,
asifthethoughthadonlyjustoccurredtohim.John
laughed.
"TostopBretonescaping?"hequipped,butPetershook
hishead.
"Shouldn’tmock,"hecautioned."Bretonwassaidtobe
powerful..."
"Powerfulpurveyorofcrap,"Johninterruptedrudely.
"C’mon,arewegoingoverornot?"
Briefsilence,thenbothPeterandSallynoddedinagree-
ment.Bagswerepushedthroughspacesandoneby
one,theyascendedthefence,droppingdownontothe
otherside.
Onceover,theyexaminedthestructuremoreclosely.
Themarblewasbadlyworn,andtherewasnodeco-
ration.Justaplain,simpletomb,exceptforthesmall
plaqueonthefrontwall:FRANCISBRETON.Died1835.
Therewasnomentionofadateofbirth,oraneulogy
indicatingthatthesaidFrancisBretonwouldbesadly
missed,orthathewasadearhusbandorfather,or
anythingelse,toanyone.Justthatsimplelegend.But
thismatterednothingtothethreestudentswhostood,
abouttocrossthethresholdtothetomb’sinterior.Be-
causetheyknewwhoFrancisBretonwas,andwerenot
surprisedthathehaddiedunmourned.
Thelate,apparentlyunlamented,FrancisBretonhad
beenanecromancerandbeforehehaddied,atthe
comparativelyyoungageofthirty-eightyearsold,he
hadboastedofinfiltratingthelandsofthedeadand
commandingtheirlegions.Condemnedbyordinary
peopleandchurchmenalike,Bretonhadeventually
diedduringamysteriousritual.Orsothelegendswent.
ItwasthismythicalritualthatSallyAdams,JohnKnight
andPeterHarveyhopedtorecreatetonight.Aritual
thatwouldopenthedoorsbetweenthebrightlandof
thelivingandtheshadowlandsofthedead.Thefanci-
fulstorysurroundingBreton’sdeathdidn’tscarethem
off,onlyenhancedtheirdesireforalittleexcitement.
Evenifnothinghappenedtonight,asJohncontinually
predicted,theywouldatleastknowthey’dspentthe
mosthauntednightoftheyearinadeadnecromancer’s
tombperforminganhonest-to-Godmagicalritual.
Insidethetomb,itwasfairlybare.Justaplaindirtfloor
andplainmarblewalls.Inthecentre,Breton’ssarcoph-
agus.Noneofthemintendedonopeningthesarcoph-
agusofcourse.Theyhadonlycomehereforatmo-
sphere,becauseitseemedmorefittingthatBreton’srit-
ualbedoneinhistomb,inhisdeadpresence.
Peterwasrummaginginhisbagforthecandleshe’d
broughtwithhimforillumination.Theritual-written
inanarchaiclanguagethatnoneofthestudentsun-
derstood,butwhichBretonhimselfhadconveniently
translated-statedthattheyneededthirteenblackcan-
dles.Johnhadscoffedatthis,ashescoffedatevery-
thingelse.Thirteencandlesindeed!Andblackatthat!
ButPeterhadinsistedtheycarryouttheritualtothe
letter.
Whileheplacedthecandlesinthespecificallyde-
scribedshapearoundthefloor,JohnandSallysetup
therestoftheequipment.
"Borrowed"fromthefaculty’slabs,alongwiththe
preciousritualistictexts,therewasatape-recorder,
temperaturesensitiveequipment,andavideocamera
thatwouldrecordproceedingsastheyhappened.If
tonight’sescapadewasdiscoveredbyanyoneinauthor-
ity,thechanceswerehighthatallthreewouldserve
aprisonsentence.Thetextsthemselveswereappar-
entlypriceless,asapieceofhistoricalcuriosity,ifnot
fortheirmagicalproperties.Asitwas,Sallyhadhadto
usepersuasionofthemostintimatekindtoconvince
herboyfriend,whoworkedintheuniversityarchives,to
letherborrowthetexts,orelsenoneofthetriowould
havebeenheretonightatall.
Whentheequipmentwasset-upandrunning,some
wayawayfromtheareawherePeterwouldperformthe
ritual,thetrioslippedlongblackrobesovertheircon-
ventionalclothing.Thiswasn’tessential,butPeterhad
felttherewassomebenefitinwearingceremonialgarb.
This,hetoldtheothers,wouldfocusthem,getthem
intotherightframeofmind.
"So,"Petersaid,hisvoicesoundingslightlybreathless
inthechillatmosphereofthetomb."Areweready?"
Johncastafinallookattheinstruments,madesurethey
wereworkingproperly.Everythingwaswhirling,wind-
ingandgaugingefficientlysohenodded.
"Yeah,goon.Amazeus."Asmirkindicatedthathewas
onlyamazedthathe’dallowedhimselftobetalkedinto
whatheevidentlyconsideredasupremewasteoftime,
butSallyshookherhead.
"You’veseenthings,"sheargued."Heardthingsthat
couldn’tbeexplained.Youtoldus."
"Ihave,"Johnagreed."Butitdoesn’tmeanIbelieve
it’ssupernatural.Youknow,ProfessorKershawsays
thatmostparanormalphenomenaaremadebythe
mindsofthepeoplewhoexperiencethem.Ghosts,
poltergeists,demons.Theyallcomefromus.Fromthe
powerofourmindwhichprojects..."
"Iknow,but..."
2
"Hey,guys,"Peterinterrupted;hesoundedirritated."If
we’regonnadothis,wehavetosaythewordsatmid-
night."
Johnrolledhiseyes.
"SeewhatImean?Puttingspecialsignificanceonin-
significantthings?"Heshrugged."Well,goahead.Like
Isaid,amazeme."
Peterpickeduptheceremonialknifethathadbelonged
toBreton,andwhichwasreputedtohavebeenusedin
hislastritual.Withthisknife,attheappropriatemo-
ment,Peterwould"cut"theVeilthatwassaidtosep-
aratethedeadlandsfromtheliving.Onthenightof
Hallowe’en,accordingtoancienttradition,theVeilwas
atitsthinnestandwaseasilytorn.
"Onthisnight,whenwereveretheDead,ourances-
tors,weseektosevertheVeilsothatwemightspeak
withthemandhonourthem."Petermadeacuttingmo-
tionintheairwiththeknife."Openupthedoortowe
breathingcreatures,sothatwemightendthesepara-
tionbetweenusandtheLandoftheNeverborn.Letus
speakwiththegreatDeathlords,sowemightbetterun-
derstandallhumanfate.Andletuslistentotheknowl-
edgeandwisdomoftheRestlessOnes."Anothermove-
mentoftheknife,aviciousslicingmovementwhichde-
pictedtheshapeofadoor."ShowusyourMysteries,so
thatwewillnolongerfearthegreatestjourneyaman
willevertake.ThejourneytotheLandoftheDead."
Herehepausedandnoddedattheothertwo.Thiswas
thepartthatnoneofthemmuchrelished,butthatBre-
toncategoricallystatedwasnecessary.Thespillingof
livingblood.Johnhadoriginallylaughedatthiswhen
Petertoldthemwhatwasinvolved,askedwhythey
didn’tjustcutavirgin’sthroatwhiletheywereatit.
Thensaiditwasjustaswell,becausevirginswerein
shortsupplyoncampus.
ButPeterhadignoredthisscepticism,andexplained
patientlythatthedeadontheothersideoftheVeilap-
parentlydemandedsomethingwarmandtangibleas
anofferingbeforetheywouldopenthedoortothose
whosoughttheirwisdom.AndBretonhadrecom-
mendedthefreshlyspilledbloodofahumanwhostill
lived.Or,intheircase,humans,plural.
Sonow,allthreestoodwiththeirwristsextendedto-
wardPeter’sknife.
"Weofferthewarmthofourlifetoyou,theNeverborn,
theDeathlordsandtheRestlessOnes.Partakeofour
livinglife-forcesothatyoumightbegivensubstanceto
sharetheloreoftheunknownwithus."
Heswepttheknifeacrosshiswrist,carefulnottosever
amainvessel.Softbloodpatteredtothefloor.Again
theknifesweptdown,thistimeoverSally’swrist,and
shegasped,asmuchinshockasinpain,althoughshe’d
beenexpectingit.ThenhecutJohn’sskin.Johnmade
nosound,butsmiledwrylyasthoughhecouldn’treally
believehe’dagreedtoanyofthis.
Deadsilenceasthebloodflowedgentlydown,gradu-
allystoppingasthesmallwoundsslowlybegantoclot.
Onlythesoundoftheinstrumentswhirringintheback-
grounddisturbedtheutterquiet.
"Nothing,"Johnsaidafterafewmoments.Hesounded
pleased,andPetercursedunderhisbreath.Sallywas
lookingaroundher,afrownonherpaleface.
"Ithought..."Peterbegan,thensighed."I’llsaythe
wordsagain."
"Don’tbother."John’svoicewasheavilysarcastic."It’s
notgonna..."
Acandlewentout.Sallywhirledround.
"Justabreeze,"Johnsaid.Anothercandlewentout.
"Gettingcoldinhere,"Sallyobserved.
"It’scomingonforwinter,"Johnpointedout. "Of
courseit’sgettingcold."
"No..."Sallyrubbedherarmsbriskly."It’sgettingreally
cold."
Shewalkedovertothetemperaturegauges,peeredat
theminthedimlight.Thetemperaturehadgonedown
byfivedegrees.Justbelowfreezingnow.Sherelated
thisfacttotheothers.PeterlookedimpressedbutJohn
justsmiled.
"Beafrosttonight..."hebegan,andanunearthlywail
splittheair,cuttinghiswordsoffshort."Whatthe
Hell?"
Thathadunnervedhim,Peterwasgladtonote.Again,
heavysilenceastheywaitedforsomethingelsetohap-
pen.Nothingdid,exceptitgotcolderstill,sothey
shuddered,despitetheheavyrobestheyworeovertheir
clothes.
"Ithinkweshouldgo,"Sallybegan;shesoundedea-
gertogetoutofthere.Whetheritwasbecauseshewas
half-frozen,orwhetheritwasbecauseshewasafraid,
shecouldn’tdefineinherownmind.Whatever,she
justwantedtoputdistancebetweenherselfandtheat-
mosphereofthissuddenlyunappealingplacethatwas
rapidlycomingtofeellikedeepestwinter.
"Oh,c’mon,Sal,justafewmomentslonger?"Peter
wasevenmorebreathless;excitementmadehisvoice
shake.
"Idon’tsee..."Sallybegan,thenstoppedabruptly,
transfixedbywhatwashappening.Johntoo,wasstar-
ing;stillhisexpressionwassceptical.Butnotasscepti-
calasbefore.
"Areyoudoingthat?"heaskedPeter,referringtothe
blooddrops,thatwerenowrisinginthinstrandsup
intotheair,toformtheexactshapeofthe"doorway"
thatPeterhadcutwiththeknife.Petershookhishead
3
vehemently.
"No..."
Therestofthecandlesblewout;thetemperature
droppedseveralmoredegrees.Sallyhitchedinasob-
bingbreath.
"What’shappening?"sheaskedinahighquavering
voicethatsoundedlikealittlegirl’s.
"It’shappening,ofcourse,"Petersaidfromoutofthe
darkness,sighingwithexhilaration."God,it’sworking.
We’regonna..."
Anothereldritchshriek,louderthanbefore.Theblood-
defineddoor-frameshimmerednow,clearlyvisible,like
skeletalstripesofredneon.Thetriostood,hypnotised
bywhattheywereseeing.Foronce,Johnhadnothing
disparagingtosay.Hismouthjustopenedandclosed
likealand-strandedfish’s.
"Ithinkweshouldgetoutofhere."Sallyagain.Now
shesoundedfrantic.Heropenmindwassuddenlyway
tooopen.Opentodeadvoicesthatwhispered,teased,
andsentasanepersonmad."OhGod,can’tyouhear
them?"Yes,madnessinhervoice.
Moreshrieksnow,highpitchedsobbing.Screaming,
gobblinglaughsthatheldthesecretsofinsanity.And
abovethecacophony,anewsound.Thatofawhirling
windthatincreasedastheruby-neonlightfadedand
theoutlineofthedoorwaybecameblackonblack.
Johnwasthefirsttocrack.Itissaidthatwhenasceptic
hashisviewssuddenlyandforciblychanged,hewillbe
theonewhohasthemostintensereaction.Soitwas
withJohn.Rushingtothedoorofthetomb,hetugged
ontheironhandle.Founditwouldn’tbudge.
"Jesus,guys,comeandhelpme..."
NoreactionfromPeter,whostared,transfixedatthe
blackhole. Issuingfromit,borneonthephantom
wind,nebulousshapes.Nothumanforms,butwisps
ofvapour,liketendrilsofsmoke.
Johnwasn’tcertain,buthethoughthecouldmake
outfeatureswithinthemists,thesparksofthingsthat
mighthavebeeneyes.TheywhirledaroundPeterand
Sally,entwiningthemselvesaroundthem,asthoughex-
ploringthewarmththeyemitted.Thetemperaturein
thetombhadgonedownevenmore.Thebreaththe
humansexpelledwasnowturningtoicecrystals.
"Helpme,"Johnsaidagain,buthisvoicehadfallentoa
whisper,andhedidn’tthinkeitherPeterorSallyheard
him.Hishand,numbedfromthebittercold,hadfallen
awayfromthedoor.
Sally,hesaw,washyper-ventilating,herhandather
throat,asthoughbreathingwashard,gettingharder.
Johnthoughthesawafingerofmistprobeatherlips,as
thoughtryingtogainentry.Shetriedtothrustitaway,
butitencircledherhandsandJohnsawtensoftiny
iciclesformthere.Amoanburstfromhermouthand
themistimmediatelyleapedtowardheropenmouth,
pusheditselfinside,anddisappeared.Sallygaveafi-
nal,strangledsound,andJohnwatchedinhorrorasshe
becamestillandsilent,evidentlyfreezingfromthein-
sideout.Withasoundlikebreakingglass,herbody
shatteredintoahundredtinypiecesandmoremist
emergedfromthewreckageofaonceprettygirl.
"Pete,forChrist’ssake..."Johnmanaged,butlikePeter,
hewasparalysedbywhathehadjustseenandwasstill
seeing.
Thedoorwaywasexpandingnow;infiltratingmoreinto
therealworlduntilthedifferencecouldbarelybeseen.
Johnbriefly-almostmindlessly-wonderedifitwould
eventuallyopensowidethatitwouldtakeoverthe
wholearea.Thecity.Theworld.ThenPeterstarted
sobbing.True,Johncouldn’thearhimproperlyoverthe
screechingandwailingoftheentitiesthatweresteadily
issuingfromthegateway,buthesawtearsstreakinghis
thincheeks,watchedastheyfrozetohisskin.
Peterclutchedhischest,hisfacesuddenlycontorting
inpain.
"OhGod..."LikeSally’s,hisbreathingbecamerapid.
Johnranbacktohelphim,finallyfreedfromhisterror-
inducedtrance.WhenhereachedPeter,hesawthathis
friend’slipswerebecomingblue,andnotjustfromthe
intensedropintemperature.PeterfellintoJohn’sarms.
"Pete?"Johnsaid,tryingnottothinkthatPeterwasdy-
ing,thatSallywasalreadydead."Pete?"
Noreply,justthoseharsh,labouredbreathsandthe
agonisedexpressionthatindicatedsuddenheartfail-
ure.PeterwentlifelessinJohn’sarms,andJohnknew
thatalltheshakingandpleadingintheworldwouldn’t
bringhimback.Andworse,Johnwasnowalonewith
theunquiet,eternallyrestlessDeadhehadhelpedto
summon.Briefly,hewonderedifPeterandSallywere
amongthemnow...
Lookingtowardtheever-growingrentintheair,he
knewhehadbeenwrongtodisbelieve.Knewthatthere
werethingsbeyonddeath.
Andknew,ashewatchedsomethingterriblebirthing
itselfintothelivingworld,shamblingtowardhim,that
thosethingswereworsethananythinglifecouldever
dishout.
Becausesomedeaths,henowunderstood,werenotthe
end.SomedeathsdidnotleadtoHeaven,Helloreven
rebirth.
Somedeaths,Johnunderstoodevenasheslowlydied,
wereeternal...
4
One
Hallowe’enNight2018
Seventhirtyp.m.
Sittingbeforeherdressingtablemirror,Buffyreflected
thatthelastthingsheneededwastoattendaHal-
lowe’enball.What,shewondered,applyingasecond
coatofmascara,wastheretocelebrate?Asfarasshe
wasconcerned,ghosts,demons,ghoulsandanyother
denizenofthesupernaturalraceswerenothingtoget
excitedabout,letalonethrowpartiesintheirhonour.
Maybeshewastoosensitive-okay,shewastoosensi-
tive-butasfarasshewasconcerned,theycouldallgo
tohellandstaythere.Makeherlifeeasier.
"Notsoexcitingmaybe,"sheadmitted,muttering
throughablood-redmouth,poutingatherself."But
definitelyeasier."
Still,therewasnogettingoutofit,althoughshe’dtried
herhardest.Eventhisafternoon,she’dpurredaround
Morganinanattempttogethimtophoneandcalloff.
ButMorgan,whocouldseerightthroughher,hadjust
grinnedandremindedherthathe’dalreadyaccepted
theinvites,thecostumeswereready,andbesides,did
shereallywanttodisappointWillowandXander,who
werelookingforwardtoalittlefun?Droppingthesweet
innocentact,whichneverfooledMorgananyway,she’d
goneoffandsulkedforalittlewhile.Then,decidingto
accepttheinevitable,she’dcomeupstairsataroundsix
anddecidedthatshe’djustaswellmakethebestofit.
Butshestilldidn’twanttogo.
Buffyknewthatatleastpartofherreluctancewasbe-
causeoftheoccurrencesof-oh,hadtobealmost
twentyyearsagonow-thatHallowe’ennightinSunny-
dale.Wronglyassumingthatherthen-lover,thevam-
pireAngel,wouldlikeherbetterasademureeigh-
teenthcenturydamsel,shehadhiredabeautiful,old-
fashioneddress.
Mistake.Theownerofthecostumehireshophad
turnedouttobeEthanRayne,anevilmagicianasso-
ciateofRupertGiles.Raynehadcursedtheclothes
andturnedtheirwearersintothecharacterstheyhad
dressedas.Consequently,BuffyhadlostallherSlayer
powersandbecameauseless,faintingfemale.Almost
gotherselfkilled.Buffydidn’tmuchfancythathappen-
ingagain.Averygoodreasonfornotgoingtonight.She
hadneverdressedupforHallowe’ensincethatnight.
Justincase.
Still,shouldn’tbeaproblemthisevening,Buffy
thought,standing,twirlinginfrontofthefull-length
mirror.Tonight,justtobeonthesafeside,shehad
dressedasanAmazon,oneofthelegendarymythic
raceoffemalewarriors.True,shethought,shelookeda
littlelikethatcharacterintheoldTVprogramme,Xena,
butbetterthatthanbecomingasimperingwimp.In
fact,Buffythought,smirkingalittle,shequitelikedit.
Herdresswasblackleather,afewinchesaboveknee
length.Sewnfromthewaistwerestripsofthinlybeaten
silverymetal,thatwereinturnjoinedtoanornately
decoratedsilverbreastplate.Aroundherwaist,a
studdedleatherbeltfromwhichamockswordhung.
Aroundherneck,asilverchoker,andonherarms,
snakebraceletsslitheredupwardfromthickwrist-lets.
Hershoulderswerebare,andshehaddustedopales-
centshimmer-powderoverthem.Herhair,shehad
gelledbackandplaitedintoasinglethickbraid,dec-
orateditwithsilvertwine.Thefinaltouchwasapairof
leathersandals,whichlacedallthewayuptoherknees.
Allinall,Buffythought,narrowingkohl-rimmedeyes,
shelookedprettydamngood.Dangerous.Andatleast
noonecouldaccuseofhernotmakingtheeffortinthe
costumestakes.
Shestudiedherselffurtherthen,notfromvanity,but
fromasuddensenseoftotalweirdness.Hereshewas,
thirty-eightyearsold,frozenintimeasayoungwoman
inherearlytwenties.Nolines.Nosignswhateverof
growingolder.Neverwouldbe.Totallybizarre,thinking
aboutit.Toneverfeelthenaturalagingprocessesthat
nearlyallhumanswentthrough.True,shecouldstill
getill,butherillnesseswereneverlongdrawn-out;her
immortalbodyrestoreditselfquickly.True,shecould
feelpainandbewounded,butthewounds-thephys-
icalwounds,anyway-mostlyhealedwithinafewmo-
ments.Unlesstheywereserious,ofcourse.
Onceshehadfeltlonelyinherimmortality,hereternal
youth.Nowsheacceptedit,mostlyfeltblessedforit.
BecausenowshehadMorgan,thethreechildren,and
Morgan’sson,thepriestRamirez.Siximmortalstofight
evilnow,notjustherone.AndWillowandXander,of
course,although...
Abangonthedoor,whichthenopened,interruptedher
musings.Afigureswathedfromheadtotoeinblack,so
thatonlytheeyeswerevisible,pokeditsheadround.
"Youready?"Thetone,slightlymuffledbythecostume,
suggestedmildimpatience.
"Yeah,yeah."
"Forsomeonewhowaswhiningonlythisafternoon
abouthowmuchtheyreallydidn’twanttoattendthis
event,you’vecertainlypulledoutallthestops."
Buffywrinkledhernose.
"Justaswelllookgood,"shemuttered.Asmile,then
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