Taming the Muse Prompt 57, BoaS Part 41, Joining the dance, BtVS, PG

[thismaz]

I'm playing with the prompt again.

This story is nearing its completion and since writersconuk, or more specifically since xanpet2000's excellent workshop on plotting, I've realised that the end is even closer than I thought and that there were some elements and attitudes that I had to deal with before the boys got to this point. As a result, I have added some extra bits to the last chapter. You can find the reworked chapter 40 here

Title: Joining the dance
Part 41/44 (incl. epilogue) of the Blood on a Sundial series.
Previous parts, in reverse order, are here or in my memories.
Fandom: BtVS
Prompt: #57 - Barophobia
At: tamingthemuse
Summary: Spike, Xander, AU in Season 2. We are talking slow burn here, people.
Disclaimer: here.
Rating: Pg
Word Count: 1,630



41. Joining the dance

As Xander started unpacking his bag, Spike opened the large, bulky envelope that had been waiting for him at the front desk and spilled the contents out onto the bedspread. Pushing apart the papers and a couple of shotgun cartridge boxes, he picked up a map and spread it out. Xander left what he was doing, wandering over to watch and Spike looked up from his seat on the bed. "Having good lawyers on tap, who understand the dark side of the force, does make things easier. Bit of luck, we won't have to go hunting through back streets and bars." He paused, thinking about what he'd just said. "If a place like this even has back streets." Then, reverting to his original thought, "They can find anything for a good client."

Xander pushed some stray papers out of the way and sat opposite Spike, with the map between them. "And you'd be one of those?"

"Yeah, pet. I've brought them good business over the years. They look after my money and invest it for me. I get good returns, they get their cut off the top, everybody's happy. Acted for me since Dru and I left Darla at the Old Master's Court, during the war." He looked across at Xander. "That would be the Great War, the first one," he added with a smirk. And Xander was again struck by how much Spike must have seen and experienced in his long life, and in spite of having known it - suddenly he knew it. Spike was older than his great-grandfather, probably older than his great-great-grandfather.

Plucking an envelope from the mess, Spike turned it over in his hands and studied the writing on the front. "This is for you," he said, tossing it over to Xander who caught it by instinct.

Cautiously Xander broke the seal and pulled out a distinctive green credit card and a slip of paper with a number on it. Spike took in his open mouthed expression of shock and nodded. "Memorise the number. That'll give you access to sufficient funds to set yourself up, if you need to. Don't spend it all at once, eh?"

Pulling himself together Xander asked, "Will I need to?"

Spike shrugged. "Nah, pet. 'Course not. But this isn't a two bit fight with a nondescript, would-be-master like Flavia. This could be a real battle. Don't underestimate the gravity of the challenge, but don't fear it either." His rare smile spread across his face before it transformed into the more usual smirk. "I can beat this bastard. Been around a long time and I've not met my match yet. And I plan to be around for a lot longer, don't worry."

Giving the edge of the map a twitch, he pointed to a spot in the valley "We're here."

Xander looked at the credit card one more time, then stuffed it in his pocket along with the slip of paper, to consider more carefully later. He turned his attention back to Spike's discourse as Spike ran a finger along a dotted red line, while reading what was written on another typed page from the mess. "This is the footpath up to the tourist lookout point."

"Trail," Xander interrupted. "It's not a footpath, it's a trail."

Spike shrugged. "Call it what you like. We go up to here." He jabbed a point on the map. "According to the lawyers' pet shaman, this Khalroth guy you found the reference to has a den in a cave at the source of this stream."

"Creek. Did you tell them why you wanted to find Khalroth?"

"I'm not stupid, mate. No, they're there to do what I want, I'm not giving them any details of why I want it." He looked back at the map and put his finger down on a point in the middle of nowhere. "So I reckon the cave is here."

Xander studied the map as a whole and the area Spike wanted to get to. "That's not exactly in Sun Valley," he observed. "And it's a long hike. We'd have to set off early." He cast his eyes around, following highway 75 north. "But if we drive up here," he suggested, trailing his own finger over the map, following the line of the highway, "and take this service road, it would save us a lot of time. From there we could strike off south? And if we approached this way," he ran his finger across the map towards where Spike was still marking the position of the cave, "we have the ridge to the east, so the sun will take longer to get over to us. We might still need to camp out for the day, but it looks like an easier route. There could even be tree cover. And one of those space blanket sleeping bags would keep the sun out, if we don't make it in one night."

Spike looked at him, an expression like admiration in his eyes. "Right," he said. "That's good." Gathering the map back up and folded it he added, "So we'll do that, then. Good to have you at my back, mate."

Xander ducked his head. "Nowhere else to go, so yeah, I guess I've got your back. What about ammo? What do I need?"

Spike picking through the rest of the papers, reading some sheets, tossing others aside at once. "Your wooden ones'll be no use, but take some anyway," he suggested, "it's called the Wood of Life for a reason, and you never know." He picked up the two boxes. "Here's a variety pack: more lignum vitae, silver, iron, copper, lead, rock salt; take the lot, we'll play it by ear. There doesn't seem to be any Intel on killing this thing and this note says he's a traditionalist, so formal challenge is probably the order of the day. That's my job. You hold back and keep out of it. Anything you take is for personal defence only, you can't interfere."

"Where have I heard that before?" Xander asked innocently.

*****

They set off well before dark, with Spike doing a dash for the car when Xander brought it as close to the shaded back entrance of the hotel as he could, and the service road took them further into the mountain than the map suggested. When it did eventually end Xander was able to pull up under a stand of trees, out of sight of aerial spotters, and the trek up the mountain was almost pleasant. The full moon was already in the sky by the time the sun set, so Xander hardly needed his flashlight, even though the first part of their route was along the gully floor. Once they began to climb in earnest, the trees were well spaced, so there was no fighting through undergrowth and they made good time.

For three hours they slogged up the slope, resting occasionally for Xander to take a drink from the water bottle in his pack. There was no wind at all and the air smelt clean and heavy with moisture and a hint of wood smoke. Xander stood for a moment staring back down the mountain, up at the stars, so much brighter here than in the town, and at the craters of the moon, trying to see the rabbit instead of the face on it's surface.

The distant cry of a wolf hardly disturbed the peace of the night, but it did pull him out of his dreaming and sent him hurrying to catch up with Spike, who looked back over his shoulder. "Not much further," he said, pointing towards a rocky outcrop silhouetted black against the dark blue of the sky. "I reckon it's just over that rise."

Xander made a show of looking around. "I don't see any crypts, sealed or not."

With his face in shadow, Xander couldn't be sure of Spike's expression, but no doubt Spike could see Xander's face more clearly than he could see Spike's because there was a definite smirk in his voice when he answered, "Might be inside?"

Xander spared him a glare on principle and jerked his shot gun, indicating that Spike should lead the way.

*****

The cave entrance, once they located it, turned out to be a narrow crack in the rock which opened out into a passage, almost wide enough to negotiate two abreast. They dropped their packs and Spike took the lead with Xander directing his flashlight down onto the sandy floor between them, so he could avoid the fallen, scattered rocks which Spike stepped over so effortlessly in the dark.

The unexpected grasp of a hand on his hip caused him to jump, but Spike's breathy, "Shhh," told him that Spike had simply reached back with an order to halt. He switched off his flashlight and crowded up to Spike to find out what had caused the warning. Gradually his eyes adjusted and he became aware of a diffuse golden glow ahead. "Torches," Spike whispered. "Round that bend. Come on."

They edged forwards, the light getting brighter, and then they were in a huge cavern with real Hollywood style torches in brackets around the walls, their flames sending crazy shadows dancing over the uneven surface of the rock walls and causing the cave paintings of men with spears hunting strange beasts to contort, as if they were alive.

From the darkness on the far side, near where a small altar stood, a deep gravely voice addressed them. "Trespass! Who disturbs me?" Out of the shadows two balls of fire appeared, much bigger and brighter than Spike's demon eyes, but eyes none the less. A darker shadow began to form below them as their owner came towards the light. "You seek me, vampire?" the voice boomed.

Next Part

Comments

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

Holy crap. You can't leave it there. Shit! This is potentially very, very bad or very, very good, and I so don't want to wait to find out. I mean, I know Spike has a habit of biting off more than he can chew, but damn! Xander's probably ready to pee his pants.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Ummm... sorry? *g* Not really.
Heee. I have left it there. But I now have the rest of this story clear in my head (if not yet down on paper) so there will be more next Saturday.

[lilithbint.livejournal.com]

Oooohhh this is exciting,
love the tension build.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*grins at you* I am so pleased.
Thank you.

[mofetash.livejournal.com]

drums fingers on desk.....okay....waiting...

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Ummm? Next Saturday....? Promise there'll be more.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_sharvie_/]

Okay, wait! Only 3 more chapters to go?! How? Please don't tell me one of them dies in an unexpected car crash. *snicker* And wow, Xander is scary good with the planning. Spike is really depending on him more and more which can be bad for Xander's soul if Spike gets his way. 3 more chapters!?

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Yep, just 3 more. Car crash? Damn! How'd you guess? *g*
Yeah, Xander's competence levels have been steadily increasing over the last few weeks. I think it has something to do with The Sarge, and something to do with Xander himself, as Giles said, just before Spike kidnapped Xander - "I think you are growing up, my boy. I think there is every hope for you."

[sparrow2000.livejournal.com]

Really nice view of Xander as practical, planning guy, who Spike is coming to depend on. And I felt I was with them every step of the way as they hiked up that mountain. (loved the stuff about stream/creek, footpath/trail!)

Hee, and your Spike makes use of W&H - he always more pragmatic than Angel. And he gave Xander a credit card, for some reason that makes me absurdly happy!


And eek, I'm going to have no nails left by the end of the week!

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

(Just taking a quick dip online, while I wait for varnish to dry.)
I'm glad you enjoyed the word play. I enjoyed putting that in.

Hee, and your Spike makes use of W&H
I never actually *said* it was W&H *g* But I suppose there is unlikely to be another law firm which would provide someone to make Lignum vitae pellets, who would then ask if you are doing a spell. So, I guess you're right.

Sorry about the finger nails, but I'm pleased you are still enjoying. Thanks.

[missus-grace.livejournal.com]

And let the quest for Spike's Holy Grail begin!

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Quest as in physically searching out, yes, here it begins.
Thanks for reading.

[kaydee23.livejournal.com]

I still wonder about Xander and why he's sticking around. I think he could leave and Spike would let him. I think he could acess go off on his own with that money Spike gave him.

I always enjoy seeing this. I'm very intrigued by whatever's in that cave.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

I still wonder about Xander and why he's sticking around.
Is it very unclear why he's still there? I really would be interested to know, if it is.
Certainly, I think you are right, physically he could go off by himself, but where would he go? Yes, he now has a credit card, but Spike only just gave it to him, while they were in the final stages of this planning, and a credit card is not like cash, Spike could cancel the card as easily as he set it up.
I am glad you are enjoying the story. As for what's in the cave, that will come clear net Saturday. Thanks for reading and commenting.

[kaydee23.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know why Xander's staying. He doesn't feel like he has a place in Sunnydale with his friends anymore. He's learned a lot of the truths he learned about the Council of Watchers, Vampires, the Slayer, et cetera are just lies or differing perspectives, depending on who you are. I think he feels changed by his time with Spike, and that they have a connection to him. They're bonded in a way that his friends would never understand, and Spike has taken care of him. He's loyal to him now, and he wants to see this quest of Spike's through. He has an interest in the outcome. Still, he could run now because there's no magic between them, but he hasn't. I just think it's interesting. But Xander's stubborn. When he's made his mind up about something that's it. He needs Spike and he thinks Spike needs him and his help.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a relief. Thank you. I obviously misunderstood your comment, I thought you meant that you didn't know why Xander stayed. *laughs* I'd say you have a pretty good understanding of his state of mind. Thanks again.

[kaydee23.livejournal.com]

Hee. I'm glad. I just was musing about Xander because for so long, getting away was all he could think about it. But now that he can get away, he's just glad to have options again. He's glad to have control over his life and to be able to choose whether he stays or goes. That's what pissed him off the most, he didn't have a choice.

I can't wait to see who or what is in that cave.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to see who or what is in that cave.
Heee, come back sometime Saturday, and hopefully you'll find out.
Thanks again.

[smwright.livejournal.com]

Oh, lovely! As much as I wanted to keep reading, this was a delightful place to stop. Wow. Talk about tension. *g*

I'm so late getting to this today that everyone else has made many of the comments I would have. However, a couple of items of note... I like Spike's forethought with the credit card, but it makes me a little uneasy nonetheless. Will just bide my time and see how that plays out, I suppose. Also, description of the cave from entering through to the altar and cave paintings was just wonderful, very detailed, and I felt like I was right there seeing it all myself.

And now... you're leading to a rapid conclusion? But... but... *pouts*

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

I like Spike's forethought with the credit card, but it makes me a little uneasy nonetheless.
Yes, I wondered if I had gone too far with that, planted too big a flag (although flags get planted for all sorts of reasons). There is a progression in Spike's attitude to Xander and his own fights, from an order to join in the fight with Flavia in the park, to leaving him at home, when he and Jimmy went to check out the blood house, to ordering him to run if Spike didn't come back from the second Flavia fight and finally, to giving him the means to run now. But I did worry that it was a little bit much (as well as probably useless, since if Spike really can't survive this, what are Xander's chances?)

As for the rest... yes, just a couple more chapters and an epilogue. *g* I was so relieved when I discovered that. This is the biggest thing I have ever written, by miles. It will be both a relief and a sorrow to let it go.

[smwright.livejournal.com]

Yes, I wondered if I had gone too far with that, planted too big a flag I always think that, too, but I believe it's a product of the writer knowing what's coming. It's not too big a flag here in my opinion. I don't know what the flag is for! Only that it's foreshadowing of some sort, and we should know that... like the spooky music in a scary film.

It will be both a relief and a sorrow to let it go. I really do understand this, but think... then you can start another saga. *g*

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

It's not too big a flag here in my opinion.
*g* Thanks, that's reassuring.

Another saga? Hmm. Not sure about that, immediately. *g* But I do have an idea simmering.

[smwright.livejournal.com]

But I do have an idea simmering.

Ideas are very good things. *g*

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

Why does the word trap keep reverberating through my mind? :)

I love strategy!Xander and look forward to more.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*tries to look innocent* *fails* *tries again, with slightly better results*

I'm glad you like competent Xander, I must admit, I do too.

Thank you. More on Saturday, promise.

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

Xander has really grown up and become integral to Spike's plans. He's so competent, I'm sure there's something coming 'round the corner to knock the both of them on their asses!

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*g* You could well be right. *g*