Chapter 12: The Miller’s Son
FAITH & BUFFY’S ROOM – 6:30 PM
FAITH’S POV
There’s a place between consciousness and slumber where I allow myself to just feel, accept, be. It’s where the Powers that Be taught me to control my anger and fears. It’s a place I haven’t been in a very long time. I’m glad Buffy hasn’t come to wake me yet because I need to be here right now. Last night was really fucked up. The fact I tortured the vamp doesn’t bother me, he deserved it, no question there. What’s freaking me out is how much I enjoyed it, that’s the problem, that’s why I’ve been here for hours, that and Richard’s letter.
Talking to B helped this morning after we got back. Wrapping myself around her body, feeling in tune with her, that was my first step to calming down; it always is. Christ, I was so fucking upset; this whole week has been an internal fight for control. Then last night I finally lost it, really lost it. This is what I needed to center myself again, to feel the calm wash over me. It’s taken me all this time to get the vision of Richard draining Isabella out of my head. That particular scene has been replaying over and over since I read that fucking letter.
B’s pushing the research even harder now. The bastard has obviously been stalking us for a while, slithering in and out of our lives like the snake he is. I can’t help but wonder how much he knows about us and how it’s all tied up in the prophecy. I guess it would have to be for him to… oh, wait… B tingles…she’s here, running her fingers through my hair, kissing my forehead… hmmm, what a perfect way to wake up. I open my eyes.
“Hey,” I huskily groan out as I reach for her, my voice still thick with sleep.
She smiles at me, “Hi baby,” she allows me to drag her down for a hungry kiss. Pulling back for air, she lightly traces my lips, “Hold that thought for later. You need to come downstairs, Vi is on the phone. She found the information mother load on Richard.”
“Shit, why didn’t you say so?” I jump out of bed and throw on a sweat shirt.
Laughing, she rises, “Cause it only took a minute to wake you just right.”
“And that you did,” I turn to her and bury my face in her neck, wrapping her up in a much needed hug. God, I can’t begin to describe how her touch soothes me. Pulling back, I smile, “Come on, let’s get down there before you distract me any more.”
Not letting me out of her grasp, “How do you feel?”
“Better,” I nod, “much better,” I pull back a little and lace my fingers together at the small of her back. Taking in her wary look I smile, “Really, babe, I’m ok.”
She takes my face in her hands, “You weren’t ok this morning.”
“Buffy,” she raises an eyebrow at me using her full name, “The PtB taught me ways to - ”
Then she leans in and kisses me, “I know, you told me.” She rubs her thumb against my cheek, “I just worry about you, Faith. You don’t let anyone in,” she sighs, “you don’t even let me in.”
“Hey,” I press into her hand, then bow my head to touch hers, “How about you meet me on the back deck tonight after the troops have hit the hay? We’ll talk, really talk, ok?”
She looks up at me then smiles as she nods, “Ok.”
When we get to B’s office, we find the rest of the gang there waiting for us. B goes over to her desk and I take a seat next to Emma. B leans over the phone, “Ok, Vi, we’re all here, go ahead.”
“Hey,” she calls out, “let me give you guys some background first, ok?”
We all murmur our assent. Then Vi begins: “Richard Welch was born in Pulborough England on 14th January 1468. He was the only child of Paul and Ann. Paul was a Miller by trade and Ann a Seamstress. Richard led a relatively uneventful life until he joined the undead on his 25th birthday in 1493.”
“We don’t know who his sire is yet, but we do know Richard staked him almost immediately, so it’s going to be hard to figure it out. I found the actual written account describing how Richard was turned in the church cemetery. His sire bound the pastor at St. Mary’s and made him watch. So at least we know where he got that sick fetish from. The cleric’s diaries are quite descriptive.”
Tuning Vi out for a second, I look at Emma and wonder what I would have done had he tried to make Dennis turn her in front of me.
‘Stop it,’ her thought comes crashing into my head.
‘Hey,’ I shoot back, narrowing my eyes at her, not appreciating the intrusion.
‘Whatever… like everyone in this room doesn’t know what you’re thinking,’ she rolls her eyes at me.
I can’t help but laugh, then stop when everyone looks at me, “Oh, sorry.”
“Can I continue?” Vi asks.
Buffy looks back and forth between me and Em then shakes her head, “Go ahead Vi.”
“Right, so according to the pastor’s diary, after the sire turned Richard, he explained to them what a vampire was and how they live forever. He then detailed all the things that could harm or destroy them. Once the sire finished, he ordered Richard to feed on the pastor. Richard in turn fed on his sire, staked him then released the pastor. The diary goes on to say he left Pulborough, never to return.” She takes a breath, “So Dawn, Andrew, is that enough for you to get started while we continue to work this end?”
“Ab-so-fucking-lut-ly” Andrew jumps up, “You have any other names at all, anything else we can use to narrow the search?”
“Well, the pastor’s name was Ian Macgregor, he was from Scotland, ok duh, like you didn’t get that from the name. Sorry guys, it’s late and I’m a little punchy.” She sighs, “He came to Pulborough in 1450 and was like a second father to Richard. I still have to dig for his later diaries, but I went through all the ones at the church.”
Andrew’s face is pensive, then you can practically see the light bulb go off over his head “How did he die?”
Vi laughs, “I was hoping you could tell us that.
His smile widens as he turns to leave, “You guys are on your own for dinner, I’m so on this.”
Dawn gets up to follow him to their office, then she stops and rests against the door jam, “I’ll give you guys an update in a couple of hours, ok?”
Buffy smiles at her as she nods, “Cool, go ahead, work your cyber-magic.”
Dawn smiles back then looks at Emma, “We’ll find him.” She states plainly, there’s no question in her mind.
“I know,” Em says softly, “Thanks, Dawn.”
“Hey Will,” Vi asks, “You still there?”
Red moves over to B’s desk, “Yeah, Vi, I’m here.”
“Cool, I’m not sure but I think I also have at least a lead on a Wicca. Like I said, not certain, but there are quite a few entries in the pastor’s diary about a village woman called Eva who ‘practiced the herb-lore’ and we all know what that’s code for.”
B cuts in, “What specifically makes you think it’s connected?”
“She disappeared the same time Richard did, never to return. And you’ve always told us, ‘there’s no such thing as coincidence.’” Vi pauses, “Will, I know I’m probably going out on a limb here, but I have the feeling they teamed up together for mutual protection. She could watch over him during the day and he’d protect her at night. I know it couldn’t have been easy to be a witch then, they called it the ‘dark ages’ for a reason.”
Red’s eyes sweep around the room, then rest on the phone, “It’s probably not far from what happened, in fact it’s very believable.” She bites her lip, “We need to see those diaries Vi.”
“I know, I’m working on the pastor but she’s a tough old bird. Almost had a cow when I scanned a few pages, she made me stop.” Vi sighs, “I’ll try again tomorrow, guys, I’m not giving up.”
Ken furrows her brow then catches Buffy’s eye, “Tell her we’ll deposit £5 million into the church’s coffers for the honor of having an expert in 15th century English history make a copy of the diaries on acid free paper, then sealed for all time so they can be properly displayed”
We all look at Ken a bit speechless, but it’s Buffy that actually says, “Gods, Kennedy, you’re a freaking genius!”
She just shrugs, “Nah, if my parents’ money taught me anything, it’s to make people think they are getting the better end of the deal. This way the pastor will think she’s getting the cash and museum quality copies, while all we’re getting are moldy originals. Moldy originals that no doubt are laden with information our gang of geeks will work out in no time,” she laughs.
Vi concurs, “You really are a genius, I’ll call Austin and get his team out here.”
Ken just smiles, “Just make sure she thinks you are buying them for some eccentric, rich American. Everyone loves to make fun of us.”
“Alright I’ll let you guys know what’s going on tomorrow after I’ve sealed the deal,” I can hear the weariness in Vi’s voice.
“Hey Vi?” I call out.
She perks up a bit, “Hey Faith, how you liking those 9mms?”
“They’re fucking awesome babe, just wanted to say thanks for them. Ken and I did some major damage last night,” she can probably feel my smirk across the 4,000+ miles that are separating us.
“I knew you’d love them,” she laughs. “Are you and Em gonna be around in the morning? I have your written accounts but wanted to ask you guys a couple of things. Problem is my lap top died and of course I forgot my charger so I have to wait till I buy one tomorrow to power it back up.”
I turn to Em with a raised eyebrow. She looks at her watch, “Hey Vi, I’m working the night shift this week, 8pm to 8am, so how about we call you at 9am? That’s what, like 2pm by you? Is that ok? If you need me to try and get out early - ”
“No, no, that sounds perfect. Look, I’m gonna crash now; I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow. Oh, and tell Dawn to send me an email if they find anything tonight.”
Buffy nods, “Will do, not to worry.”
“K, goodnight.”
“Bye” “Goodnight” we call out.
Emma gets up, “I really gotta get to the hospital. I’ll see you guys in the morning ok?” She gets up then walks over to B and rests her hand on her shoulder, “Thanks for before.”
“Anytime,” B nods as she reaches up and covers Emma’s hand with her own. Hmmm, I guess they finally had that talk. “Be careful, Em.”
Emma bobs her head, “You bet, see you all later.”
After Emma leaves, it’s just the four of us. I look around, and each of them seems to be in their own little world. Then I feel a hand on my arm.
“You ok?” Ken asks.
Turning to her, I lean back in my chair, “Yeah, fine,” I say dismissively as I try to banish the thought of Dennis turning Emma from my mind. “What did Dawn and Andrew have to say about the letter?”
“Nothing yet,” her eyes meet mine, “Don’t worry, they’ll find something soon.”
Nodding, “I know.” I look down then back at her, “I’m sorry I freaked ya out last night, Ken. I’m good now, just needed to chill for a bit.” She clasps her hand on my shoulder. I’m about to ask Red if she thinks she can trace the Wicca when Nicky comes racing in.
“I totally kicked Clem’s butt in foosball,” she pants out as she jumps up on my lap.
Clem trails in behind her and lingers in Buffy’s doorway looking all kinds of sheepish, “She totally did,” he nods then smiles, “got any snacks?”
“Hungry?” I ask Nicky as I pull her into a hug.
Leaning into me she nods, “Yeah, Clem and I worked up an appetite.” Arms still around my neck, she pulls back a bit, openly appraising me, “You seem,” thinking for a second, “better.”
All eyes are on us now, “I am,” I narrow my eyes as they search hers, “You’re not even trying to read me are you?”
“I don’t really have to; I can see it in you.” She lays her head on my shoulder, “But I do feel your peace, it feels nice. I missed it.”
Pulling her closer, I take a deep breath and will myself to keep this “peace” as she calls it. I look up and notice the smiles on everyone’s face. I smile back, “How ‘bout I order some pizzas then you can help us do some research?”
She leans back and looks at me wide-eyed, “Really?”
“Faith…” Uh oh, B doesn’t sound too excited about my plan.
Both of us look over at her, “Come on B, she knows the web better than I do. She can be my assistant. What do you say?”
Nicky raises her eyebrows then begs, “Please Buffy? Please let me help.”
“Oh my God, like I can resist the two of you ganging up on me,” B laughs then shakes her head, “Ok, ok.”
DINING ROOM – 9:00PM
WILLOW’S POV
Well, Vi was right about Eva, she was a Wicca. I found her in the Coven’s database:
- Name: Eva Stokton, b.1 May 1470; d. ?; m. No; Talents: herb healing, telekinesis, telepathy, precognition; Last known location:Pulborough, England, 14 January 1493
“Holy crap!” Andrew yells out, his mouth full of pizza. Dawn leans over and reads his laptop screen.
“Andrew!” Both Buffy and Faith admonish as they give him stern looks while glancing at Nicky’s reaction.
Turning red he apologizes, “Sorry, really… I just found the trail, I changed the order of my string of search words and I found it!”
We didn’t just hack into the Council’s bank accounts back in 2003; we also restored their file servers. It didn’t matter that the headquarters in London was blown to pieces, there were server redundancies sprawling over 17 countries on 5 continents. So the incalculable treasure trove of information gathered for centuries was never lost to us. Andrew and I not only increased the bandwidth to hold more data but also added 8 more redundant server locations to hopefully ensure we would never be down for any reason.
Andrew was giddy as he called out the stream of cities and countries Richard was reported in. He scrolls down to the end and enters Cleveland, USA. “That’s 36 reportings over 6 centuries, man, no wonder no one knows about this dude.”
Pulborough, England - 1493
Faro, Portugal - 1497
Nimes, France - 1500
Mostyn, Wales - 1525
Norrbotten, Sweden - 1542
Stuttgart, Germany - 1579
Petrodvorets, Russia – 1589
Antalya, Turkey - 1594
Bhopal, India - 1597
Onon, Mongolia - 1620
Guangzhou, China - 1632
Narita, Japan – 1644
Fairbanks, USA - 1656
Seattle, USA - 1677
Calgary, Canada - 1698
Arlington, USA - 1705
Chicago, USA - 1721
Nain, Newfoundland - 1726
Jacksonville, USA - 1742
Kerewan, Gambia - 1758
Mombasa, Kenya - 1795
Figuig, Morocco - 1796
Thessaloniki, Greece - 1803
Tanis, Egypt - 1821
Chokwe, Mozambique - 1849
Bukit Panjang, Singapore - 1864
Melbourne, Australia - 1895
Namo, Guam - 1902
Palmerston North, New Zealand - 1908
Kauai, USA - 1913
Los Angeles, USA - 2002
San Cristobal, Venezula –2004
Akumal, Mexico – 2008
Mataveri, Easter Island – 2011
Buenos Aires, Argentina – 2024
Cleveland, USA – - 2024
“Buenos Aires and Cleveland are the only places he allowed himself to be seen twice in one year. And you guys realize he is allowing himself to be seen. He’s totally doing this for a reason. There must be a reason for the years, the places… hang on, I’ll be right back.” Andrew gets up and goes into his office.
Faith is up at looking and Andrew’s screen as she chomps on her pizza. It seems like she’s spacing, you know like looking through the computer, then she narrows her eyes. After a moment she widens them.
“Ok, Faith, what?” I ask as I watch the numerous facial expressions.
She shakes her head, “Mother fucker.” “He’s barely around, or showing himself in the 1900’s then bam, where does he show up? LA in 2002, remember what happened in LA in 2002?”
“Angel and others,” Buffy says softly.
Faith still looking at the list continues, “Riley and Sam were killed in San Cristobal, Venezuela in 2004.” Ken jumps up and looks at the screen as Faith puts it all together, “then he,” she takes a breath, “he killed Isabella in Akumal in 2008…”
“And Jessie was killed on Easter Island in 2011,” Buffy looks at Faith, eyes hardening.
Faith gives her a tight smile, “I guess then Buenos Aires and Cleveland are just little “in your face” appearances for us as we seemed to miss the other ones.”
“Wow, Faith, that’s brilliant!” Andrew exclaims as he come back in dragging a huge map of the world. “Babe? Ken? Can you grab the ends of this while Nicky and I clear off the table?”
They clear the table then lay out the map. Nicky jumps up on a chair to see better and leans against Buffy, “You are going to have to wear ear plugs the way Faith curses,” she says to her as she glares at Faith.” Faith just shrugs then looks at the map.
Andrew disappeared downstairs for a second returning with a box of poker chips. He opens the box and starts to place a chip on each city Richard was reported in. Realizing what he’s doing Faith and Ken grab some and together they place a chip on each. We all look at the map, trying to make some connection. It seems so random, I can’t see - ”
“Incredible isn’t it?” Andrew says as he stands back from the table, arms folded across his chest.
I know I speak for everyone when I say, “Huh?”
“He moves in triangles, well sometimes not perfect ones, but triagles nonetheless” he points to the map. “You see?” He looks around for a reaction and receives none. Then…
“Triangles have 3 sides…” Ken talks it out.
Nicky looks up, “Like the pyramid in my vision.”
“Wait, 36 cities, 36 divided by 3 is 12 – as in 12 planets,” I sputter out.
Faith runs her hands through her hair then shakes it out, “Looks like we’re nearing the end of the game if he’s being this obvious.”
We played around with some theories while Andrew took copious notes. No one realized what time it was until Nicky started mumbling in her sleep. She had crawled up on Faith’s lap a while ago and must have fallen asleep. She was in on the discussion of how Richard’s movements were according to some plan related to the prophecy, so she must have crashed after that. Faith took her up to bed then rejoined us. We called it a night around 1:30, leaving Buffy and Faith still discussing how Richard could have gone from the Miller’s son to the errand boy of the Anunnaki.
Faith is right though, things must be happening soon for him to be so blatant. I shake my head and look over at Ken who’s fast asleep, still not on the right time after the all-nighter yesterday. Letting my hand trace down her cheek and jaw, I think: how many times can we ready ourselves to die? to lose each other? to save the world? Oh, Goddess, are we going to be able to do it again?
BACKPORCH – 2:23 AM
BUFFY’S POV
Taking a healthy sip of Cote de Rhone I lean back into Faith. We’re out on the back deck, sitting on the chaise lounge. I’m sitting between her legs, lying back against her chest. Her arm is loosely clasped around my waist and mine is resting on hers, gently laced. This is nice, one of our few stolen moments. The others went up to bed a little while ago. Faith grabbed a bottle and glasses with one hand, then me with the other and came out here for our “date”.
Looking up at the mass of stars I finally speak, “Do you think we can see Nibiru from here?” I place my glass on the table next to us.
“Dunno, probably can by now, I’m guessing there’s not too much time left.” She too gazes up to the sky, “You know, I’ll never get over how many stars you can see here, not like Boston, shit we were lucky to see like 4,” she laughs.
Rubbing the back of my head to her chin I ask, “How you feeling, baby?”
She tightens her grip on me, “Wrapped around you? How could I not feel good?” Taking in my silence she sighs, “I’m not good at this B.”
“I know,” I lightly stroke my fingertips over her arm, “You don’t have to say anything babe, just know I’m here if you need me.”
Ducking her head into my neck she murmurs, “I know. It’s just hard to talk about stuff sometimes.” My eyes fall closed as she kisses my neck, “It’s always easier to just feel.”
“Yeah, you’re very good at that,” I manage to breathe out.
She groans into my hair, “What happened with Emma… it brought me back to that hell dimension Buffy. I wasn’t in control and they fucked with my head.” She lays her chin on my shoulder now almost whispering in my ear, “They would beat me until I lost consciousness. When I woke they would, would show me things… bad things, then the cycle would repeat, every day…” she sighs steadily, “everyday.”
I stretch my arms behind me, encircling her neck as I kiss her cheek. She’s never spoken to me about those 2 ½ years. Yeah, I got my own sneak peak, but after that night, we never talked about it again. “What did they show you, baby?”
She sighs again, “Mostly you,” she stops and I know her eyes are closed remembering what is no doubt etched in her mind forever, “but sometimes Dawn or Ken, being killed. I was always there, watching, not being able to do anything about it.” She pulls me tight into her again, “Or sometimes you would be there watching them beat me, cheering them on.”
“Faith…” I turn and look up at her. Fucking bastard PtB, I swear if they were corporeal I would smack the shit out of both of them!
She kisses my forehead, “I knew it wasn’t you, at least most of the time I knew. Sometimes it was easier to think it was.” She drags me back against her as she continues, “but being helpless watching that vamp bite Emma… Jesus, Buffy.” She shakes her head, “it was like being back there. It freaked me out,” she shakes her head, “really freaked me out. That’s why all week I was feeling so out of control, then torturing that vamp last night…” She runs her hands up and down my arms, “I know it’s gonna sound crazy, but something was nagging at me when we found out Richard killed Isabella, it’s like it kinda shocked me out of it and I didn’t realize why at the time.”
“You know why now?” I ask as I lean my head back into her chest.
She reaches out, finishes her wine then places her empty glass next to mine, “After I managed to chill out when I woke up, and what we figured out tonight, then right now here with you, I realized he was pulling our strings, manipulating situations to achieve desired results, just like I did when I was with the PtB.” She stops but I know she has something more to say, “Except with him he’s tweaking reality to make our lives worse not better.”
