In Thrall - 5/7 - B/W/T - NC17

["Hunter Ash" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

In Thrall, Part 5
Red Moon Rising, Book 4

Author: Frau Hunter Ash 
Copyright © 2002 by Hunter Ash. All Rights Reserved.
Email: carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx Feedback welcome!!
Homepage Addy: http://www.hunterash.com/ 

Disclaimers: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, 
Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, and God only knows who else. The storyline, 
however, is the sole property of the author. This story cannot be 
sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made 
for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright 
notices.

F/F romance: the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship 
between people of the same gender and may even include 3 at the same 
time <G>. If this offends or is illegal for you, then please leave.  
Come back when you are older, have an open mind, moved, or changed 
your laws. 

Spoilers: up to New Moon Rising

Summary: Dracula has moved against the Scooby Gang in his effort to 
claim both Buffy and Willow.  

Rating: NC-17 (US) 18 (UK) R (Aus)

Pairings: B/W/T, An/X, A/C, G/J 

Author's Note: A Special "Thank You" to Joan the English Chick 
(pisces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) for her transcripts

Buffy vs Dracula Written
by Marti Noxon, directed by David Solomon.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Giles found Tara working over Willow's laptop the next morning as he 
entered the kitchen for morning tea.

"Everyone else asleep?" he asked.

"Yeah," Tara answered with a frown. "Willow, I-I kinda expected her 
to sleep late but I-I found Buffy in her bed last night?"

"I'm sorry," Giles asked, confused.

"We-we went to bed t-together," Tara tried to explain. "When I woke 
up, Buffy wasn't t-there. I found her alone in her room."

Giles added his frown to hers.  

"Any idea why?" he asked.

"Sometimes she does t-that," Tara said slowly. "When she's restless 
and c-can't sleep but I t-thought she was sleeping fine last n-night."

"Maybe she woke up in the middle of the night," Giles suggested.

"We didn't go to bed until the middle of the night," Tara grumbled 
and Giles had to smile.  

"Yes, well, anything on the research?"

"Yes, a lot on both the r-real Dracula and the v-vampire," she 
answered with a smile.

"Good," Giles smiled, he always felt better when they had research 
and information when facing an enemy. "Let's get everyone awake and 
over here and plan our next move."

Within an hour everyone was awake, taking turns in the shower and 
having breakfast. Buffy had appeared puzzled being in her bed when 
Tara woke her up but accepted the explanation she was probably 
restless and tired.

Willow was grumpy and hard to wake up and took up Tara's attention as 
the blonde witch worked at getting her lover coherent and upright.  
Tara didn't notice Buffy feeling her neck with a frown.

Buffy grabbed clothes and headed for the shower as Willow sat up 
yawning.

Tara watched Willow carefully and was ready when the hacker witch's 
eyes widened with memory. Tara quickly sat down next to her and 
wrapped an arm around Willow's shoulders.

"What do you remember?" Tara asked.

"Everything I think," Willow said softly. "Outside, confusion, 
Dracula, fighting back and getting bit. The rest is a blur."

"Not bad," Tara grinned at the short description. "You went into a 
trance to answer Giles' questions about the attack and fell asleep."

"Where's Buffy?" Willow looked around, confused. She was certain the 
Slayer would have wanted to be there when Willow woke up after a 
vampire attack, especially an attack from Dracula, Prince of Darkness.

"In the shower," Tara answered softly. "She didn't sleep well after 
you were attacked."

"Oh," Willow answered softly.

"Let's g-get some f-food and orange juice in you, you d-did lose a 
little b-blood last night," Tara suggested.  

"Okay," Willow said agreeably.

Buffy came down shortly to join them for breakfast and for Tara to 
head for the shower, the Slayer wearing a turtleneck sweater and 
jeans.

Another hour and everyone was gathered in the living room, including 
Detective Brad Santiago, another member of the Scooby Gang.  

Willow curled up on the sofa with Buffy between her legs on the floor 
and Tara sitting on the back of the sofa behind her. She blushed a 
bright red as Giles and Buffy described the attack on the witch the 
night before to Xander, Anya and Brad.

Xander, paced restlessly, licking at his donut behind the sofa.

"Well," Willow said, trying to shake off the feeling everyone was 
looking at her and possibly judging her for getting bitten by the 
Prince of Vampires. Carson especially seemed to be watching her 
closely. "I think we have Dracula factoids."

"Like anything would be enough to fight the Dark Master," Xander 
mumbled and Anya looked at him strangely.

"A lot of it we already knew from Sunnydale Living 101. Major 
turnoffs: wood, fire, crosses, garlic. Turn ons: cool clothes, 
minions?. Uh, long slow bites that last for days?."

"Yeah, well, that bastard hasn't done much for us, has he?" a voice 
demanded from the doorway and they all turned to find Spike watching 
them. "Goddamn glory hound's done more harm than any Slayer. Gets 
himself in a book and suddenly everyone knows our weaknesses."

Willow smiled as Spike walked in and threw himself into a chair.

"Glad to see you back," Willow said softly as Buffy growled at him.  

Spike took in Carson with an even glare.  

"You must be the new pet around here?" Spike taunted.

"At least I still have my teeth, boy," Carson growled back.  

"Who're you calling `boy?'" Spike demanded. "How old are you, punk?"

"Older than your sire," Carson said easily and Spike shifted in his 
seat, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

"Well, Red says you're okay," Spike grumbled.

"You two quite done?" Giles demanded, silencing both 
vampires. "Spike, what do you know about Dracula?"

"Bloody poof owes me 12 pounds," he complained.  

"What about his special powers?" Brad asked, taking notes. Ever 
since becoming involved in the affairs of the Slayer, the detective 
had done a lot of research on his own.

"Nothing but showy gypsy stuff," Spike complained. 

"Fog, bats? Mental control?" Buffy snapped.

"Okay, okay," Spike griped. "He had something special from the start 
if the rumors are true. He was a bastard in real life, you know 
that, right?"

"Vlad Tepes, Vlad the Impaler," Willow nodded. "Known for his 
brutality and his ability to inspire fear throughout several 
countries. One of the few Slavs who could actually turn the Turks 
back. He's considered a hero in Romania to this day."

"Right, an entire forest of stakes planted in the ground and at least 
one or two bodies on each stake," Spike described. "He either was so 
bloody evil before he was turned, or his demon was so powerful, it 
gave him special stuff."

"So what's special about him?" Tara asked.  

"Besides the fact your girlfriend has fang marks in her neck and I 
can sense him all over her?" Spike taunted. "Thought you didn't go 
for the boys anymore."

Tara tightened her arms around Willow as the witch looked away, 
ashamed and Buffy growled.

"And what about you, Slayer?" Spike demanded. "He loves Slayers, has 
he moved on you already?"

"Yes," Buffy snapped. "Willow wouldn't let him in and got bitten for 
it!"

"Enough!" Giles shouted. "Now, Spike, what can you tell us that 
would be helpful or should I pour those five bags of blood in the 
refrigerator out?"

"No! Uh, well you're not going to catch him napping in a crypt.  
Dracula has to have his luxury estate, bug eaters, protectors, brides 
and special dirt, don't he?"

"Meaning we should check out mansions, that sort of thing?" Brad 
asked.  

"No, you should go home to your wife and kids and the Slayer should 
get out of town," Spike said seriously. "Willow's been bit and 
you're all over your heads with this one."

"You're welcome to leave, Spike," Buffy growled. "Why did you come 
back, anyway?"

Spike snarled, flashing his fangs. "Like I care about any of you, I 
just like the free blood."

"Well, grab a bag and take a hike if you're not going to help," Anya 
quipped.

"Hey, I didn't say I wasn't in," Spike protested.

"What about you, Carson?" Giles asked. "What do you know of him?"

"Only that as a human he was a monster, as a vampire he was a 
nightmare even for us," Carson confirmed. "Those titles of King of 
Vampires, Prince of Darkness and all were earned."

Spike snorted but everyone ignored him.

"He makes a Master Vampire look like a Sunday school teacher," Carson 
advised. "Useful stuff, he likes to live in style. Which means you 
can rule out the usual dumps vampires haunt."

"Will you stand with us?" Willow asked softly and Carson shook his 
head, looking away from her eyes.

"I won't be able to reach any vampires while he's in town, they'll be 
at his beck and call," Carson said slowly. "I?I don't know if I 
could stand against his call. I'm leaving town for a while, probably 
to LA. I won't be of any use to you and could be used against you."

Willow got up and knelt down in front of the vampire. She took both 
his hands in hers as he looked up, an expression of misery on his 
face.

"I understand," she said softly. "It's the reason I ran away, 
remember?"

Carson smiled slightly. "Yeah, danke."

"Bitte," she said softly and kissed his forehead.

"Well, Dracula's smart enough to figure that we probably know his 
habits and he's lying low," Xander suggested.

Willow returned to the sofa and climbed over Buffy, back to her 
original position. "Actually, my research backs Carson and Spike up; 
he's not the lay-low type of guy."

"So we start checking out the nicer places," Giles 
suggested. "Right, Buffy?"

Buffy blinked and looked up, confused. "Huh? Sorry, guess I'm tired."

Xander continues to pace nervously, tapping his fingers.

"It's okay," Giles frowned. "What else, Tara?"

"Well, his modus operandi is different from other vampires. He will 
kill to feed but he'd rather have a connection with his victims.  
Those damned mental powers to draw them in."

Tara tightened her arms around Willow, trying to reassure her lover.

"He?we know he can control minds, appear in dreams, or make you think 
it's a dream when it's really real life," Willow rambled with a 
frown. "And that stare. He just kinda?looked right through you.  
Did you feel it, Buffy?"

"No," Buffy said firmly and stood up. "No, I didn't."

Tara managed to look confused and Willow slightly hurt.

"See," Xander said eagerly. "Buffy didn't feel it. I think you're 
drawing a lot of crazy conclusions about the Unholy Prince."

Anya turned to stare at her boyfriend and Xander quickly glanced away.

"Well," Giles said slowly, chewing on an earpiece of his 
glasses. "The point is, though he goes through the motions of an 
intimate seduction, the end result is the same. He turns his 
selected victims into vampires."

Buffy stopped her own pacing, appearing to be startled.  

"Wow, that is intimate," Xander said in a quick voice. "Dracula's 
gifting these ladies with his own blood, and blood is the life."

Xander noticed the strange looks everyone seemed to be giving him and 
shrugged. "Well, according to vampires!" he corrected.

When everyone turned back to Giles for answers, Xander's hand shot 
out onto Buffy's bookshelves, grabbing a spider and stuffing it in 
his mouth.

"Well, we must be aware that he, well, he tends to form a 
relationship with his prey. It's not enough for Dracula to take 
them; she has to want to be taken. The victim must?burn for him."

"Meaning he's going to try and seduce me again?" Willow squeaked.

"Yes, pet," Spike nodded. "Unlike the rest of us, he doesn't just 
grab someone, drain them and decide whether to turn them or not. He 
picks his `brides' carefully and he adores Slayers. You also seemed 
to have gotten his attention and gotten him all randy for you."

"Spike!" Carson growled.  

"What, just cause you have the hots for her?"

Carson and Spike were on their feet in a flash and Willow shot out 
her hands. Both vampires snarled and struggled but found they 
couldn't move.

Giles almost fell out of his chair as he took in the sight of 
Willow's black eyes and the energy dancing from her hands.

"Sit down," she hissed. "Both of you!" 

The vampires found they could back up but not move forward. They 
reluctantly sat back down and Willow dropped her hands and collapsed 
back into Tara's arms.

"Will?" Buffy asked softly.

"Drained," Willow panted.

"What?" Joyce demanded.

"That burst of magickal energy just drained her," Giles 
explained. "She shouldn't have done that after losing that blood 
last night."

"I'm okay, just weak," Willow whispered and struggled to sit 
up. "Stop it, both of you. Carson cares for me but understands I am 
Buffy and Tara's, no questions. Spike, on the other hand, has it bad 
for Buffy but won't admit it. Now, both of you leave it alone.  
Dracula said he wanted me and Buffy," Willow admitted. "Because 
she's the Slayer and because I've dealt with dark magick. He's not 
getting me and he's not getting Buffy."

"Not if all three of us stick together," Tara said firmly. "Our love 
and light conquers any darkness each of us has."

"I'm going to find him and kill him now," Buffy said in an irritated 
voice.

"I don't think you should go by yourself, Dracula is a serious 
threat," Giles protested.

"Don't worry, it's daytime and I'll be fine," she said as she opened 
the door. Spike yelled in surprise and dived out of his chair as 
sunlight hit it.

Tara somehow extracted herself from around Willow and dashed out the 
door behind Buffy, catching her lover at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey," Tara said. "What's with the turtleneck?"

"Nothing, why?" Buffy frowned, her hand rubbing her neck.

"Something's off," Tara frowned as well. "Part of you is shielded. 
You fell under Dracula's thrall!"

"I am not under Dracula's thrall!" Buffy protested.

"Then show me your neck, Buffy," Tara insisted, holding Buffy's arm.

"This is ridiculous," Buffy snapped and tried to pull out of Tara's 
grip but the witch muttered something in Latin and Buffy couldn't 
move her hand. "What? Let go of me!"

Tara could hear the others coming out of the house, watching them 
closely. The blonde witch could feel Willow's confusion, fear and 
growing suspicion most of all.

Tara, saying a quick prayer to several Goddesses, ripped at Buffy's 
turtleneck, tearing the neck away, revealing fang marks to everyone.

Buffy looked as if she had been punched and left dazed. She sat down 
slowly on the stairs and put her head in her hands, beginning to cry.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Giles asked softly.  

"She didn't want to worry us," Xander suggested quickly. "Just 
scratches, right, Buffster?" 

"Right, two deep, puncture type scratches that look just like mine," 
Willow said bitterly.

Buffy sought out Tara and Willow's eyes. "I'm not sure why I tried 
to hide it. It?uh?there was just this voice, telling me to cover it."

"Thrall," Tara said firmly.

"You're saying that Dracula has some sort of freaky mind control over 
her?" Xander demanded. "No other vampire can do that and she's even 
faced a Master. You're watching too many Creature Features, man."

"But," Buffy said slowly. "It does seem like he has this?control 
over me, I?even though a major part of me is resisting."

Xander, unseen by anyone else, saw a fly on a nearby hanging plant 
and grabbed it. It followed the spider into his mouth and down his 
throat.

Tara frowned as Willow walked over to her and Buffy.  

"I swear to you both that I am yours! I am your girl and I'm going to 
stay that way!" Buffy said firmly and almost desperately.

Tara sighed and wrapped her arms around both Willow and Buffy.

"It's just not easy," she said softly, tears flowing down her 
cheeks. "Both my loves bitten by the same vampire. Neither of you 
are getting near him again!"

"Tara is right," Giles nodded. "You should, you should both stay out 
of sight. The rest of us will look for Dracula."

"We can't stay here, he already got inside once," Buffy protested.  

"You can stay with us," Xander volunteered. "I'll make sure they 
stay put and protect them."

"Good, excellent idea," Giles agreed.  

"I'm going back to my place and grab my stuff," Carson said softly as 
they walked back into the Summers' house where Spike and Carson 
waited. "I'm outta here at dusk."

"Think I might go with you, mate," Spike said and shrugged at the 
surprised look on everyone's face. "With this damned chip in my 
head, Dracula will just brush me aside. Bad for the reputation, 
right?"

"Or he'd kill you for being against the natural order of vampires?" 
Carson suggested and Spike's eyes flashed.

"Alright, let's plan," Anya suggested and everyone gathered around 
the family table.

"Tara, you do a protection spell on the house to prevent him getting 
back in," Giles instructed and Tara nodded.

"How did he get in?" Joyce demanded.

"Well," Giles hesitated and glanced at Willow. He removed his 
glasses and began cleaning them.

"Me?" she squeaked. "I did not! I remember saying no!"

"Mind control," Brad reminded them from his notes. "You said he can 
make real life seem like it was a dream. Maybe he told you not to 
remember, like he told Buffy to hide her bite."

Willow was horrified and it showed. "I don't remember? What don't I 
remember? This is so not cool!"

"Will!" Tara said sharply. "We'll handle it! We?we'll keep you both 
safe until w-we track him down in the d-daylight and kill him."

"Buffy and Willow will go to Xander's," Giles continued. "Before you 
go, Willow, can you research on the web what parts of town he might 
take up residence in? We can mark the most likely places on the map."

"I can do that," Willow said, her eyebrow furrowed in `resolve' 
face. "I can be useful."

"Brad, Tara, Anya and I will look for Dracula," Giles 
continued. "Joyce will drive Carson and Spike out of town shortly, 
in the trunk. I don't want him getting his hands on them at dusk."

"I am not leaving town, Rupert!" Joyce protested. "Not with everyone 
in danger! My daughter and Willow were bitten by Dracula!"

Giles nodded and walked up to his fiancé. "I know, but they'll be 
safe with Xander. A vampire can't enter a place unless invited and 
Dracula is very, well, he doesn't bite males often."

"Thank you!" Xander exclaimed, shuddering at the thought. "I am so 
not gay!" 

He noticed the glare he was suddenly getting from his best friend, 
the Slayer and their other girlfriend. "Uh, not that there's 
anything wrong with it!" he tried to backtrack. "Especially women! 
Women together is so cool! Just not me! Not that some guys aren't 
kinda cute, not that I would notice, of course."

"Xander!" Anya shouted. "Shut up."

"Yes, dear," he answered softly.

Joyce looked at Willow and Buffy, questioning.

"Its okay, Mom," Buffy said softly. "I'd feel better if you were out 
of town. I don't know if I can handle him."

"We'll handle him," Tara said firmly, and leaned between Buffy and 
Willow, wrapping her arms around their shoulders. Both Slayer and 
Witch leaned into her.

* * *

Willow shuffled her feet as Joyce backed the family car as close to 
the house as she could get. The station wagon was loaded with thick 
blankets and the back windows had been blackened out with black trash 
bags. Brad thought it was subtle enough that Joyce might not get 
pulled over for the dark windows as long as the back window and 
windshield was clear.

Carson tried to smile and raised Willow's chin.  

"I have to leave," he said softly.

"You could help," Willow said softly, her eyes filling with tears.

"No," the former Father Karnstein shook his head. "The others won't 
admit it and the thrall won't let you see it, but you are Dracula's 
already, Scarlet."

"No," Willow whimpered, quickly glancing around to see if the others 
were listening but everyone was moving around. They were either 
packing Carson's things they had retrieved from his crypt, or Spike's 
stuff in the car, or hovering over maps of the city.

"Ja," Carson insisted. "Dracula can call me to him with that magick 
of his and I would rather die than hurt you and the others."

"I fought back last night!" Willow hissed, trying to keep her voice 
down. "I know I did!"

"Yes, and that makes you even more intriguing to him," Carson said 
ruefully. "Willow, my friend, Dracula is going to grab you again, 
use that magick of his and bring out that dark side we've been 
fighting against. He will do exactly what An... that other vampire 
did to my Siobhan and I can't go through that again."

Willow's head dropped.  

"I won't betray Buffy and Tara," Willow whispered.

"You won't have a choice, Scarlet," Carson said softly, pulling her 
into his arms and holding her. "He's too powerful, even for a Slayer 
and two witches."

"You believe I'm damned," Willow whimpered, tears soaking his shirt.

"You knew that would come when you called that spell. You may not 
believe that a vampire can pray," Carson said softly. "But I will be 
praying for you and the others."

Abruptly Carson released her and was gone into the kitchen.

Willow, knowing that was as far as he could go to get away from the 
conversation without actually stepping into the sun, dashed up the 
stairs to her room.

Tara and Giles watched Willow run up the stairs, Carson dash into the 
kitchen and Buffy sitting in the shadows, frowning and both were 
worried more than they were saying aloud.

Willow didn't come back down to say goodbye to Carson, Spike and 
Joyce.

* * *

With Joyce, Carson and Spike gone, the remainder of the gang sat down 
in the living room for a moment.  

Giles, watching from the kitchen doorway, noticed Buffy and Willow 
sitting in separate chairs, both looking miserable. He looked over 
and saw Tara watching her two lovers closely, the worry apparent on 
her face.  

Brad and Anya were looking over the city maps and circling potential 
Dracula sites and Xander paced restlessly.

Giles motioned for Tara to join him.

"Okay, I've never seen those two looking so miserable," he 
commented. "Not even when Buffy was bitten by Oz. What's going on 
inside with them?"

"I don't know," Tara admitted. "Their shields are up and they won't 
let me in or each other."

"We've never entered a fight this fragmented and shaky," the ex-
Watcher muttered, sipping his tea.  

"You don't think we can win," Tara said, her voice flat.

"I?I'm not sure, truthfully," Giles admitted. "The three of you are 
becoming so powerful that it's frightening and we've formed a 
fantastic team. But look at it, two sides of your triangle have been 
bitten and are possibly under control of the most powerful vampire 
we've ever seen."

"I-I think they are under his t-total control, even if they d-don't 
realize it," Tara agreed.

"Why?"

"What I g-get from t-their thoughts and emotions are s-so jumbled," 
Tara tried to explain. "Willow is f-feeling hopeless and Buffy isn't 
thinking, she's in a daze."

"What did Carson say to her?" Giles asked.

"I don't know, she won't say," Tara complained.

"Let's get started," he said finally, setting his half finished cup 
of tea down. The ex-Watcher hated having sent Joyce out of town but 
felt a lot better knowing she was out of reach from Dracula and the 
fight. "Xander, why don't you walk Willow to your place and then 
Buffy?"

"Why not both together?" Anya asked.

"Well," Giles hesitated. "I?uh?"

"He's afraid we'll run off and Xander won't be able to stop both of 
us," Willow said bitterly.

Giles looked defensive. "Actually, that's correct. I have to figure 
out how to protect all of you with Dracula already having his fangs 
in two of you."

Buffy's eyes flashed angrily, finally showing some sign of life and 
coherent thought.

"I understand, Giles," Willow said wearily. "It's okay."

Buffy frowned, watching Willow stand up and grab a backpack of her 
things. "Will?"

Willow bent down and kissed Buffy's forehead gently.  

"I love you, Buffy," she said softly. "I'll see you in a bit."

Tara whimpered and drew Willow into a tight hug.

"Please, Willow, let me in," she begged.

"I?I can't," Willow whined, her eyes filling with tears again. "Come 
to Xander's tonight after searching, we'll try."

"Okay," Tara nodded. "I love you, Willow."

"I love you, so much," Willow whispered and turned to Xander. "Let's 
go, Xan."

Giles continued frowning.

"Let's go and find the Dark Prince," Anya said enthusiastically to 
Brad. The detective shook his head.

* * *

Willow was tired. The mental stress and the blood loss from the 
night before was getting to her and she basically ignored Xander's 
ramblings as they got close to the apartment he shared with Anya.  

The witch was also worried; she truly couldn't remember inviting 
Dracula in. If she couldn't remember that, what else wasn't she 
remembering?

"Willow," Xander's voice cut into her thoughts and she looked up at 
her friend.

She didn't see his fist crashing into her jaw.

"Master wants you," Xander muttered, dragging her into an alley where 
a car was waiting.

* * *

Buffy began pacing after an hour and Giles was looking at his watch 
every two minutes.

"Anya, please call your place and confirm that they got there," Giles 
requested and Anya quickly dialed the phone.

Anya listened for several moments and then hung up the phone almost 
violently.

"No answer!" she snapped. "If he's out partying with some other 
female, I will rip his testicles off!"

"Anya!" Giles snapped and Buffy grabbed up her bag of Slaying 
items. "Where are you going?"

"Something's wrong, Willow and Xan are missing," Buffy snapped 
back. "Where do you think I'm going?"

"Do you even have a clue?" Brad demanded. "I'll drive Tara over 
there and we'll see if they even got there. If they didn't, then 
we'll back-track and see if we can find out anything on the street."

"Okay," Buffy agreed reluctantly. She was an action type person, she 
wanted to be doing something but the Slayer also knew she wasn't 
thinking clearly.  

"We'll stay here and keep trying to call them," Giles said.

Buffy looked out the window as Tara hugged her from behind.

"Why didn't she call if she's in trouble?" Buffy asked softly.

"Maybe he's blocking her again," Tara suggested.

"But he can't come out in the daytime," Buffy protested.

"He has? what did Willow call them, minions," Giles reminded them.

"But would they be able to stop Willow's mental calls?" Buffy asked 
and Giles frowned.

Buffy turned to kiss Tara before she left with Brad.

"We'll find them, Buffy," Giles said firmly.

"Not if Dracula has her," Buffy whispered, touching her neck.

* * *

Willow moaned and wiggled her jaw. "I am so tired of being hit, 
kidnapped and?and?"

Willow frowned as she looked at the fur-lined leather cuffs around 
each wrist. A padlock connected each cuff to a length of chain and 
the chains led to metal rings embedded in the stone walls.

Stone walls? Willow thought she had been transported through time or 
space and was in some medieval castle. The bed was large with a 
canopy of dark burgundy velvet. The coverlet on the bed matched the 
canopy and Willow was pretty certain the sheets she was between were 
silk. Black silk. Willow looked down and discovered she was in a 
dark green silk nightgown.  

The witch pulled, tugged and struggled against the leather cuffs and 
growled in frustration.  

"Alright, goddamnit! I'm awake!" she shouted, her werewolf senses 
hearing someone moving in the hallway.  

The door opened and Dracula walked in.  

The vampire Prince was dressed in a burgundy silk shirt, black 
trousers and vest, without the cloak this time. He looked just as he 
had the night before.

Willow's eyes flared with anger.

"I'm not yours!" she shouted.  

"You are as much as I can hope for at this point," he said calmly.  
The Dark Prince crossed the room gracefully and sat on the edge of 
the bed. "You are stronger than I had thought."

"Glad to surprise you!" she snapped and tried to move away from the 
hand reaching out to touch her legs through the sheet and 
blanket. "What now? You? you bite me again, t-turn me and send me 
after my f-friends? Gotta remind you t-that I'm a werewolf, you know, 
natural enemy of vampires. Don't get along type thing."

"Other and lesser vampires perhaps," Dracula smiled at the 
witch. "All those that walk in the darkness serve me. You included 
wolf-witch."

"No!" Willow shouted and struggled against the bindings.

Dracula merely smiled and placed a palm in the center of Willow's 
chest. The witch's body jerked as if hit by lightning and her eyes 
snapped open black.  

"Oh Goddess," she whispered, her body trembling. "What?"

The vampire smiled and laid his hand on her chest again. Willow's 
body writhed and twisted. When Dracula removed his hand the witch 
was breathing heavily and staring through black eyes.

It took a full five minutes before Willow could focus on the vampire.

"Goddess, what?what?" she panted.

"A taste of what you've been denying yourself," Dracula 
said. "Magick without restriction."

"You were a witch before you were turned," Willow whispered.

The vampire smiled. "No, I was a sorcerer before I became this, but 
something more. I wasn't?turned. I was nearly killed during a 
battle and by sheer will alone I became what you see."

"I?what?"

"I wasn't turned by a vampire, I simply turned myself so I could 
continue to exist," Dracula explained. "Now, I can show you how to 
have that much power."

Willow looked and felt confused. "No, no dark-side, bad Jedi stuff."

"You will," Dracula promised as he bent his head to her neck.

Willow cried out and her body jerked as his fangs sank into her neck 
again. "Please don't," Willow whimpered and tried to struggle until 
she was light-headed. The witch no longer fought back when she 
tasted Dracula's blood at her mouth.

Willow wasn't sure but she was sure she heard Xander's voice.

"Is she okay," his voice was demanding. "Did you gift her with your 
immortality?"

"No, she will be useful as a human for awhile," Dracula's voice 
drifted to her. "Her magickal ability is astounding and she's half 
way there."

"Uh, Master, and me?"

"In time, strange one," Dracula answered. "All of those close to the 
Slayer will be mine."

//Tara! Help me!// Willow screamed mentally.  

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