“An intruder! The spy we foretold! The Chosen One! She has been delivered to us!”
I lift my head. “I’m not a spy.”
The mage points at me and raises his other hand. Fire leaps up behind him and I can’t see the other mages anymore from how bright it is. I have to lift a hand to shield my eyes to see anything at all.
“You lie. You are The Chosen One.” He takes a step towards me at the same time Charlie grabs my ankle and starts to yank me back behind the boulder. It’s too little too late with the pyrotechnics the mage is putting on.
I sigh and kick at Charlie. “He can see me.”
“Gods damn it,” Charlie groans but he keeps pulling me, albeit…slowly. I smile big at the mage like nothing is wrong and inch back behind the boulder at a snail’s pace. Don’t mind me,I’m just the friendly neighborhood ritual crasher. For a second, I think the mage is going to let it go from the way he’s staring at me but turns out that was just the initial shock of seeing me slowly disappearing behind a rock.
He snaps out of his stupor before I get a third of my body behind the rock and just like that, I’m getting yelled at again.
“Who is there with you? Who drags you so?” The mage yells. The flames grow hotter as they shoot up into the sky. They go so high that it's almost impossible to see the sky. I shield my face from the heat and shrink into myself.
“No one!” I yell and wave him off, “I-It’s magic! I’m totally moving by my magic,” I yell. “Witness my awe inspiring power, for I am a witch!” The rock gives a shudder and I know it’s the demon groaning at me, but whatever. I’m doing the best I can, given the circumstances.
The mage frowns and the flames die down to a simmer. He tilts his head and gives me a once over. “I thought you would be more powerful for The Chosen One but I see now you’re just a pitiful girl.” There’s disappointment in his voice. “You are no Chosen One.”
I resist the urge to flip him off and take a deep, calming breath like I learned from Sunday’s yoga tapes. “Exactly. I’ve been trying to tell you that.” I kick Charlie square in the chest. He falls back against the boulder and I finally stop moving. Thank goodness. “Now if you excuse me, I’m going to just take my leave and you know, slide on out of here.” I start to push myself back out of sight while Charlie makes a grab at my legs.
I have to kick him again for him to stop. “Knock it off.”
I freeze when the mage’s voice booms out across the night.
“No! As pitiful as you are, your very own people gave you away to us. No loyalty among those without honor, eh? You would do well to pick your soldiers more carefully in the future, Harbinger.” The mage points a finger at me as he talks while theflames drop down to a simmer. I can see the other mages now. They’re chanting something. I can’t make out their words. Their voices mingle together, words too low for me to understand what they’re saying, but even if I could understand them I wouldn’t care.
I’m focused on what the head mage is saying.
Harbinger. There’s only one person they could mean.
Buffy.
Someone gave Buffy up. He knew she was going to be on patrol tonight. My intuition perks up and I know exactly who it was that ratted out Buffy to these mages. It was Roy, I know it was. No one else who knew about her plan would have talked to these mages. I have to get back to her and let her knownow.I look around the clearing with new eyes. Before, it was a place from my dreams, but now I see it for what it really is.
This place must be the final destination for her patrol tonight. It has to be with how the mini-demons paved that pathway straight here.
Wait a minute…
If Roy betrayed Buffy, then…then…
Buffy was supposed to be the one standing here. Not me.
“The Bride of the Hell Maw. Our perfect sacrifice. You are The Chosen One.” The voices of the other mages continue to rise as he speaks. “All hail The Bride of the Hell Maw!” The other mages wail, their voices lifting up around their leader as he speaks.
Oh my gods.
“Bring her to me but only a few of you go. She might not look like much, but she is far too dangerous to risk you all. She nearly wiped out everyone in Sweet Tooth. She fought poor Ichabod and tore him to pieces for that demon of hers.”
It isn’t just that they were planning to ambush Buffy.They think I’m Buffy.
My gut goes sour when I hear the founder of Sweet Tooth mentioned. Buffy did tear him to pieces but there was nothing poor about it. He deserved every bit of it.
Who are these crazy people? Why are they besties with the Sweet Tooth’s founder? What the hells is a Bride of the Hell Maw?
As crazy as they are, I’m no better. I believed in a cult too, didn’t I? I followed a demon. I still do. He’s just reformed now and married to my best friend. My best friend that I have to protect right now because she’d do the same for me. Any sane person would run, but I’ve never been all that sane so I stay right where I am. Buffy’s out there fighting demons. She’s tracking the mini-demons that have been attacking Sweet Tooth, and she has a mole in her group. If these mages are fussing with me then they won’t be able to get the drop on her when she inevitably shows up here. I wonder what’s slowing her down. Though, if she’s with Roy then she’s dragging 200 lbs of dead weight behind her so that’s probably why. My lips tug downward, almost a frown but not quite. The most progress I’ve made in breaking my smile yet.
Who knew to get my autonomy back all I had to do was think of Roy’s loser rat face. I can’t believe I almost had to marry him or that he almost killed me.So not cool, Meadow.
