Seeking Vengeance

 Chapter 29 - Following the Trail

I drank a lot more after that. When I heard Buffy coming in, I tried to stand up, but that proved rather more difficult than I'd have thought. Buffy took one glance at me, and went into the bedroom.

She returned a few moments later, ready to patrol.

"Now, wait a minute, Buffy. You can't go patrolling on your own. You know the rules. Just wait, and I'll have some coffee, and then I'll come with you."

She didn't even say anything, she just looked at me with, looking back, I think it was pity. Then, I didn't know. She turned and walked out of the door without looking back.

Some time later, I managed to get myself into bed, and I slept like the dead. The next thing I knew, she was pawing at me as I struggled to wake up. It was still dark outside but I knew I'd slept for a while. Buffy was back from patrol, and needed me. Despite the state I was in, she was affecting me, stroking me to hardness. For a moment, I didn't think about anything other than the sensation of her hands on me.

Of course, when I tried to move, the headache made itself known. With the headache, came the memory of being angry.

I opened my eyes, and there she was, looking as she always did - beautiful, and so sexy. I admit it, I switched off my brain. It just seemed easier than fighting with her. We had sex, well, she did everything, I just lay there and let her do what she wanted. We slept then.

The next thing I knew was when she got up to go and shower. Remembering the night before, I quelled the nausea I was feeling and checked the bed for signs of vamp dust. There was nothing, and then I spotted the clothes she had been wearing thrown on the floor. I checked them too, but they looked normally dusty. Staking-vamps-dusty rather than screwing-then-staking-vamps-dusty. I was relieved.

I called work, told them I was still sick. Which was true. I felt sicker than I had in a long time.

I got myself some orange juice, and drank it down. I certainly didn't feel like anything more solid, but I knew I needed the fluid intake.

I was just pouring myself a second glass, when she came in, and took the carton from me so she could pour some for herself. She started to look in the fridge for something to eat.

As I became more lucid, I remembered everything that had happened. Ok, so she went on patrol without me. But, it looked like it was just patrol, so, no problem. And, I really wasn't in a fit state to go with her anyway.

Before that, though. She was selling her blood. I needed to know what that was for. I found some aspirin and swallowed it with the orange juice.

She was sitting at the table, eating what looked like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with her juice. Peanut butter for breakfast? I forced myself to ignore what she was eating, because it wasn't doing anything for my stomach.

"Buffy," I said, quietly, as I sat down next to her. "What happened yesterday? Why do you need the money?"

She looked at me carefully, as if trying to gauge my mood before she answered. "Look, it's something that's important to me. I can't tell you anything else."

"So, where's the money?"

"It's safe, not in the apartment."

"Don't you think I've got a right to know?" I demanded, my voice increasing in volume, and my headache answering in kind.

"No, I don't. This is something I've got to do for myself."

Well, what could I say? I could feel myself getting angry again, but the headache and nausea made it too difficult to do anything about it.

She got up, and I knew she was getting ready to go out.

"Where are you going?" I demanded.

"Out."

"You're not going to give any more blood."

"No, not today."

"Don't go."

"I've got to, Xander, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything."

Maybe if every movement hadn't been agony, I'd have tried to stop her, but something about her told me that this was one time she wouldn't let me.

And, with that, she left.

It took a couple of hours before I felt up to going out, and when I did, I found myself back where I'd been the day before. It was the only clue I had. I went into the bookstore, where the owner recognised me.

"She's not here," he offered.

"You don't mind if I just check," I said, not waiting for an answer before going to the room behind the shop. She wasn't there, but then she'd told me that.

I went back outside to the main shop.

"Has she been in today?"

"No, she hasn't. Inconvenient, too, because my customer was counting on a steady supply."

I ignored that comment. "What does she want the money for?" I demanded.

He shrugged. "Who knows with women? I never did understand them."

"Who buys Slayer blood?" I asked.

"You'd be surprised. It's a powerful addition to any number of spells, and then there's its aphrodisiac qualities. The amount I took yesterday could make a hundred doses of Ylar elixir - it's extremely valuable in the demon community. Of course, it's reputed to be fatal to humans."

'That'd be right,' I thought. 'She's certainly going to be the death of me.'

I left the store, and walked down the street. I found myself outside the Magic Box. It was closed - the damage Willow did too extensive for a simple repair job.  Being there reminded me of my visit from Anya. As if I wasn't confused enough, there was Anya giving me cryptic advice about making the right decision. I made up my mind to put what she'd told me to the back of my mind. It's not like it made any sense, and I had more than enough to worry about with Buffy anyway.

That's when I spotted the store two doors away. It sold such a variety of things, you'd be hard-placed to categorise it. The owner prided herself on the number of things she sold that were hard to get anywhere else, but I'd often wondered exactly who wanted the things she sold anyway. I'll never know what made me go into that store, but I did.

I vaguely recognised the woman behind the counter. She was a motherly soul, and I know Anya had liked her. I think she used to talk to her about us, and that didn't make me feel too comfortable.

"Hey, there, long time no see," she greeted me.

I mumbled something, I don't even remember what.

"I was so sorry to hear you and Anya had split up. You always seemed so good together. We used to chat, you know, when things were quiet."

"Yes, well, it was right for both of us."

"So, have you come back to finish that research?"

That got my attention. "What research?"

"Well, your friend, the blonde girl, she was coming in here regular until a few weeks ago."

She had to mean Buffy.

"Yes, I wanted to carry on with the research."

I admit it, I was confused, but I tried not to show her that.

She took me into the back of the store, and from there, up the stairs.

"Have you heard from Mr. Giles? I know I said I'd store his books, but I just wanted to know how much longer. He was very kind, and all, I mean, after his store was attacked by vandals. He told me I could take any of the stock I thought I could sell, if I'd just look after the books for him. Was it family business that took him back to England again so suddenly?"

"Er, yeah," I answered, without really being too aware of the question.

"Well, here we are," she said, opening one of the doors that opened from the hallway. "Mr. Giles said you or Buffy might need the books, so I know it's ok. Funny books, though. Some of them aren't even in English."

For just a second, I thought how irritated Giles would be at the state of his books. They weren't on shelves, most of them just stacked around the floor close to the walls of the otherwise empty room..

"Buffy left things just like this," she offered. "I'll just go back down. You don't want me chattering and disturbing you, and I can't leave the store like that."

"Thanks," I managed, before I made my way to the centre of the room. There were books there too, and unlike the others, some of these were open. It looked as though this was where Buffy had been working. There was a stack of books to one side, and a smaller stack to the other. Most interesting was the pile of opened books in front of where I assume she'd been sitting.

I picked up the top one, and scanned it. It had a lot of short articles on a variety of organisations and sects of demons.

I picked up the second, and that seemed to be a history of the practice of hiring non-human assassins.

The third, was all about the Order of Taraka. Why was Buffy interested in the Order of Taraka? I'd have thought that she had enough of them when Spike set them on her. I mean, after bug-man, the sight of maggots still makes my stomach clench uncomfortably.

I looked further down the page, and found details of how to contact the Order. It involved a spell, but, compared to the ones I saw Willow using, it seemed pretty simple, with only a few very simple ingredients, including a piece of crystal.

Come to think of it, there was a piece of crystal hanging at home, over the window in our bedroom. I'd actually remarked how pretty it looked when the sun caught it.

I knew I had all the information I was going to get there from the books. Now, all I needed to know, was did Buffy want someone killed? And if so, who?