PART ONE

 

 

Normal.  What was normal? 

 

It was one of my biggest questions in life. 

 

For most people, the question was, ‘what was the meaning of life?’ but not for me.  Oddly enough I never pondered that question at all.  Maybe it was because life meant something different to me than other people. Normal people didn’t know what was really going on with the world.  They were blind to the evils that surrounded them. 

 

But not me.

 

I knew from first hand experience what lurked in the night.  I’m one of them or was one of them…or…actually I’m not quite sure what I really am. I know that I am someone who had been given another chance at life. A chance to be something that I wasn’t initially meant to be.

 

Normal.

 

My origins are well, definitely not normal to say the least.  The product of two vampires created out of desperation and lust.  Not really something you want to see yourself as, but it is what it is.  And I thought I had a grip on what and who I was. And I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing.  Going to school, dating, making friends I was just enjoying being a kid.

 

Until about six months ago.

 

Six month’s ago it all started…the dreams. 

 

Now I was not unaccustomed to strange dreams.  Believe me I’ve had many.  But usually they consisted of demons and death.  They were cold and dismal. Most of the time they scared the shit out of me. Of course I would never admit it to anyone, but there were some pretty freaky dreams that probably would have scared the crap out of even Him.

 

Him.  I wondered how he was? I wondered if he was still alive. I hoped that he was.  We had come to an understanding with each other the last time we’d seen each other. There was resentment on my part toward him, but I also admired and respected him.  He did what he thought was best for me; he gave me a second chance at life, even though it cost him greatly.

 

Anyway, these dreams were different.  These dreams filled me with warmth and belonging, a sense of completion. They made me feel something that I hadn’t, until that moment, realized I’d been missing.  Wholeness.

 

I almost didn’t recognize it for what it was because the feeling was so foreign to me.  I mean, yea I have a normal family now that loves and takes care of me, and treats me with respect. But the fact is that there is still a part of me that never actually feels as if I belong there.  It’s like I fit but I don’t.

 

I always knew that and I always just assumed it was because of what I really was, and that being that, I could never really fit in to a normal world.  But I ignored the self-doubt and questions, and I tried to be happy and just enjoy it.

 

And I did for a while, until the dreams came and showed me what I was missing. Of course, they changed too. I guess everything does eventually.

 

Anyway, it started with the beautiful face of a young woman.  She had short blonde hair and brilliant green eyes. She was small. Petite.  But I could sense her strength, her power.  It called to me.  She seemed like a person who lived for the now. Someone who was free in a sense but still trapped by something I couldn’t see. Something that had control over her. Something that she went along with yet struggled against at every turn.

 

Destiny.

 

A destiny that you knew to be yours yet you weren’t quite sure if you wanted the weight of responsibility that came with that destiny.  Sometimes just saying that word made me shudder. It was so…heavy. It was a word that for some people meant absolutely nothing yet for others, like the beautiful girl in my dreams and myself, it meant everything.  It was a blessing and a curse. At least, that’s what I’ve heard; I haven’t actually experienced the blessing part yet. But I figure all things in good time.

 

In any case, my heart opened to her and what she was feeling. I could easily relate to it and I was drawn to learn more about who she was.

 

Now the dreams themselves weren’t 3D or anything like that; it wasn’t like I was actually there participating in the events that unfolded.  Those dreams I’ve had and they are definitely freaky.  No these dreams played out like a movie.  It was like I was sitting on a couch watching a video of someone’s past through a lens that never let you see the whole picture.  You know like it was foggy or someone had their thumb across the lens, it just wasn’t clear.

 

But it didn’t matter how much of the picture I saw, the emotions that came with it were strong and clear, crystal clear, and the dreams soon became my obsession. She soon became my obsession. The funny thing was that I got the feeling that I wasn’t the only person obsessed with her. There was a distinct feeling that she was someone special.  Someone who had loved and lost much.  Someone who was still striving to get it right.

 

I didn’t know how I knew that, but I did. I knew that she was still out there somewhere, struggling with whatever life continued to throw at her.  And I also got the sense that she wasn’t doing that good of a job. She needed help.  She needed someone.

 

There was resurgence in me to know more. There was also the uncanny feeling that someone wanted me to see this woman. There was definitely a higher being playing this movie just for me. And I found that I couldn’t look away.

 

The morning after the first dream I went on with my day like a normal guy, except my mind was always on the mysterious woman and hoping that she would come to me again.

 

And she did.

 

She was still smiling, but her eyes held a note of sadness to them as well.  I could feel an inner turmoil inside of her.  I could feel an incredible sense of love and passion quickly followed by guilt, sadness and confusion. 

 

I sat on my dreamscape couch, my eyes riveted to hers. She was beautiful. Her face was a glow with a sparkling veneer of white. Love surrounded her. Love was in her soul and heart.

 

Yet there was darkness around her as well.  A violent darkness that pushed at the boundaries of love. Attacking it violently. Trying to brake the bond. This was what she fought. This was the sadness that was in her eyes, the sadness that I wanted to stop.

 

I called to her. I tried to talk to her. But she disappeared again.

 

The next night, the dream was, well, I am a teenager so the only way I could describe it was a wet dream. But don’t get me wrong it wasn’t a raunchy sex dream, and it wasn’t a wet dream on my part. For some reason, even though the girl was undoubtedly beautiful, I felt no stirrings of desire for her.

 

No…the dream was of her. It was as if I felt everything that she felt.  Longing, fear, passion.  Passion actually doesn’t even describe what I felt.  I have never felt anything like it before.  It was strong and it was honest.  There were no lies attached to it. It was pure. The purest I had ever felt in my miserable existence.

 

I’d thought that I had experienced passion with Cordelia.  But that was nothing compared to this.  This was blinding in its intensity. Overwhelming.  I felt like an intruder. I was embarrassed to watch.  And I don’t get embarrassed easily at all.

 

The funny thing was that I couldn’t see anything or rather anyone but her. I sensed another presence, but he always remained in the shadows.  Never showing his face never speaking. He was just there, loving her back. Giving her everything that she needed and desired.  Worshipping her even though I sensed an inner turmoil in him.  Like he was more afraid of what was happening than she was. 

 

The following night, she came to me again, tears streaming down her face, her eyes bloodshot red with sadness and loss.  I cried out for her needing to help her, to comfort her. But she couldn’t hear me.

 

Her pain ripped through my soul, and my heart clenched with grief. I felt like I had lost someone. Someone important to me. Someone important to her. She didn’t stay long that night. She left on wail of misery, a wail of pain and sorrow that stayed with me.

 

When I woke up I was miserable all day.  I felt so alone.  Like there was a part of me missing. I walked through the rest of the day like a zombie.  In fact, I was so detached that I went home and took a nap. Praying that she would come to me again. Come to me and explain our grief.

 

She did. But there were no explanations.  It was as if time slipped by.  She was smiling again, but it didn’t reach her eyes. The people around her were blind to her pain and her misery, the grief that filled her every being.  I couldn’t understand how they didn’t see it. I mean it was plain as day to me. I saw it; I felt it, and I wasn’t even there.  My heart ached for her and my anger rose at the blindness of the people around her.

 

The nights went by and the dreams continued.  They were mixed up emotions of surprise, happiness, guilt, happiness, love, guilt.   She would be smiling one night, her eyes full of love and hope, and then the next night, she was morose, uncertain, sad.

 

One night she didn’t even come to me at all.  It was the faceless man who came instead.  I still couldn’t see his face or hear his voice, but his pain was clear enough. He was conflicted. He was being haunted by what he wanted and what he knew he had to do.

 

I felt for him. His desperation. His guilt. His pain. I understood that he was doing something, though I didn’t know what it was, that he knew he had to do but didn’t want to do.  Hurt her.

 

After that night, she didn’t come as frequently as she used to.  But come she still did. 

 

She was different.  She was hollow inside yet her face wore a smile.  She was lonely yet people constantly surrounded her.  She was a farce.  And no one saw it.

 

Then one night he reappeared and they were together again. It was like the first…wet dream…only different. There was no pain or fear in this dream, there was only love and passion. There was a deep connection between them like they were finally getting what they always wanted.  Each other.

 

It lasted for hours that dream. As I slept late into the day, the dream changed from warm kisses and laughter to arguing and crying.  Misery once more strapped itself to their hearts, my heart. I could hear her deep gut wrenching sorrows and I could feel his world slipping away. Once more giving up that which he wanted most.

 

The dream ended oddly, though, even for me. 

 

Normally when either one of them left me there was just blackness.  An empty void of space.  But at the end of this dream, there wasn’t any of that.  Instead there was a bright light shining around them as they clutched each other.  Two figures appeared from the sky hovering over them with sadness in their eyes and smiles on their mouths.

 

They didn’t speak; the one just waved her hand toward them. 

 

There was a smoky fog that swirled around Her then lifted up and to the man that stood next to the woman.  He cradled his arms and the smoky fog settled calmly in his arms.

 

As I watched that smoky fog, feeling very…close to it, the woman’s eyes looked right at me, smiling she said.  “Not yet child.” 

 

They disappeared and I haven’t seen them since.

 

I began to wonder if maybe everything had been some sick delusion on my part.  Maybe it was my own issues with what and who I was that was manifesting into my dreams. Causing these strange apparitions. I mean after all this time there was never any actual connection to the players in my dreams, they never spoke directly to me, never actually looked me in the eyes. Yet these two people that looked more like Greek gods than anything else, did.

It shook me and I woke with my heart beating in my chest and the feeling that I was being watched, I’d even swear that I heard soft amused chuckling in my room.

 

I had no answer for the way the dreams suddenly changed, like I said earlier, everything changes so it wasn’t a surprise to me. It was like the second part of the movie was about to start and I was being told to sit back and watch.

 

The dreams continued to torture me with their elusiveness.  She would appear then reappear always the same expression on her face. Like she was just doing her job. Like she had already given up so much that nothing else mattered to her. She wasn’t able to sacrifice anything else. She was resolved with the fact that something was going to happen and she was just waiting for it.

 

I waited as well with baited breath through the long hours of the day.  She had touched me so much that she was now a part of my life.  I knew these dreams were bits and pieces of her life and they wrapped around me like a comforting blanket, like I was meant to know.

 

The days and months went by and one night I was sleeping soundly. I hadn’t seen her in a few days when she was suddenly there.  She stood atop something, not a mountain, not a building, but some kind of structure.  I sensed something in her that I never had before…peace.  It was as if everything that she had been living for met at this point. She was ready, to do what I had no idea, until she jumped.

 

I screamed, my arms reaching out to catch her as I woke up sweat covering my body.  My ears rang with the soulful cry of the stranger from a distance as if he had watched it to. I cried the rest of the night for the loss of someone that I knew meant something to me but I didn’t know what.

 

Three months went by and neither one of them returned to me.  I was left with just an empty void of nothingness.

 

Until one stormy night in October. 

 

The wind howled loudly, the tree limbs smacked against the windowpane and I thrashed in my bed as the dreams returned.  She returned.

 

But these were not happy dreams of a lover’s reunion; these were dreams of awakening death. 

 

I saw her…her hair matted and lackluster, fear and confusion in her eyes that once radiated confidence and power. She was lost.  She was alone once more in a room filled with people. And no one understood.

 

But I did.

 

I understood her sense of not belonging.  Like she was not normal.  Different. 

 

As time went by and the dreams continued they got worse. Each one more desperate and more painful then the last.

 

It went on like that for a while.  I was beginning to think I was going crazy. The people around me thought I was losing it. I was so in step with the mysterious woman in my dreams that I could think of nothing else.   I slept every chance I got, trying to reach out for her.  Trying to help her.  I stopped going to school. I stopped dating. I even stopped talking to my parents.

 

My only thought was to help her.

 

Then one night, another showed up.  This one was not like the other. His face was hidden but his black being was not. He fed on her open wounds.  He existed only to haunt and torment her.  To draw her further into the darkness that she had become.

 

And she followed.

 

I screamed at her not to. But his pull was too much and she succumbed to his power and fell into his web of darkness. 

 

Those nights were not dreams at all but nightmares.  I was forced to watch as she let herself be abused, let her self be taken violently.  My heart cried for the willingness that I felt in her soul.  The fact that she felt she deserved what she was getting ripped me to shreds. But she didn’t stop.  It was like she was addicted to a drug. The drug of pain.

 

After months of those nightmares, my entire family stopped talking to me. They even seemed a little scared of me.  And I can’t say I blame them.  I became like her, empty, unemotional, uncaring.  Nothing mattered to me anymore. I was, like her, just going through the motions and doing what was expected of me. I didn’t think there was any light at the end of the tunnel. It felt like this was it.  It felt like she had given up and so did I.

 

Then one night as I braced myself for the onslaught of pain and misery, she floated above me.  She seemed at peace. Like she had come to some sort of understanding of what she had been doing, or rather, what she had been letting happen to her.  There was a new sense of awakening inside of her.  Like she once more had hope and it filled me.

 

Time went by and every night she would visit and her sense of self got stronger. The pain disappeared.  And she even smiled.

 

There was one night that I felt hope and longing. Like the way she felt when the dreams first started. And I sensed him…the stranger, the one that had sacrificed so much for her so selflessly.

 

That night as I watched, the fog cleared. They kissed passionately holding on to each other like neither one ever wanted to let go. Then she pulled away and the stranger’s face appeared before me and her voice spoke, the name she spoke echoing off the walls of the barren crypt.

 

“Angel.”

 

I woke up shaking my head from the dream.

Angel?

 

I started to chuckle feeling really stupid and blind.  Why had I not realized it before?  The almost uncanny feeling that I knew the faceless stranger from somewhere was always in the back of my mind, but I never thought about it for long.

 

But it all made sense now, the guilt that I had always felt from him. The disdain that he felt for himself.  That was Angel.  My father. My real father.

 

I settled back against the pillows my mind wandering into the past and the recollection that I had heard hushed whispers in the hotel about someone that they didn’t like to talk about. Someone who had meant more to my father then anything in this world. Someone that Cordelia had been jealous of.

 

It had to be her.

 

But who was she?

 

Why did I feel a connection to her?

 

Why did I feel as if I owed her something?

 

I knew in my gut what I had to do. What I was supposed to do. The reason why someone, and there definitely was a someone, was sending me these dreams.  Why else would she come to me every night?  There was a reason for everything. So I knew there was a reason for this.

 

I jumped out of bed that night and dressed quickly. I packed a bag not caring what I packed and left a note for my parents.  I was off to LA. To see the man who was my true father. 

 

I had no idea where he was but I’d find him or someone that could give me answers. I had to. Because the dreams would not stop I knew that in my heart.  She needed me.  And I would do everything in my power to help her.

 

 

********************

 

 

Two hours later I found myself sitting on a plane going to Rome.

 

I know I said I was going to LA and I was. It’s just that when I got to the airport and I stood in front of the board reading the arrivals and departures my eyes were drawn to Flight #202 to Rome.

 

It was really weird and I shook my head a couple of times to try and clear my vision, because like the dreams, it was foggy.  I could read nothing on that board but that flight.

 

I took it as a sign and I found my feet carrying me over to the ticket counter.

 

“One ticket to Rome please.” I handed the ticket agent my new passport and my father’s credit card, I’d pay him back later, never once questioning why I was suddenly getting on a plane to Rome and not LA.

 

Settling back into my seat my eyes closed and I found myself drifting off to sleep.

 

She was there. She looked different, older.  She was still beautiful but her face showed the maturity of a beautiful woman who had lived long and hard. And not the face of a young woman filled with hope.

 

She was with someone.  Someone who was using her. Tricking her. 

 

My hands gripped the armrests as I watched him approach her.  He smiled at her as he pulled out a long deadly looking knife. He waved it in front of her face and then trailed it down her chest and to her stomach.

 

He laughed at her heartlessly as she tried to grip his wrists, tried to hold him off. But she couldn’t stop him, she wasn’t strong enough and he plunged the knife into her gut.  My eyes widened with fear as I realized that her belly was swollen with child. The gleaming silver knife was embedded inside of her belly and blood oozed out of the wound.

 

She screamed her face turned white and pale and she fell to the floor, grasping her round belly, tears falling from her eyes as the demon laughed at her.

 

“NOOOOO!”  We screamed together.

 

I woke up violently, my pulse racing as my eyes scanned the plane.  Everyone was looking at me strangely. Like I was some stupid kid annoying them with their pleasant flight.

 

The flight attendant quickly came over to me.

 

“Are you alright sir?”

 

Am I alright?  No I’m not alright you fucking idiot!

 

“What?”

 

“I said are you alright sir? Perhaps you’d like a drink of water?”

 

“Water?” 

 

She was looking at me like I was going to be trouble. I could read it in her eyes. She was wondering if she would have to go and tell the pilot about the whacko in the back of the plane.

 

I shook my head at her settling back in my seat trying to calm my racing heart. “No thank you, I’m…okay. Sorry. It was just a nightmare.”

 

She smiled at me kindly and reaching above me pulled a blanket and pillow out from the overhead compartment. “That’s okay sir. Just relax it’s a long flight.”

 

God she wasn’t kidding.  That ten-hour flight to Rome felt more like twenty hours to me.  Because every time I closed my eyes I saw it again.  I rubbed my hands on my jeans countless times trying to erase the blood that my mind saw on them.

 

Her screams echoed in my head, I couldn’t stop it.  I knew these events either happened already, which meant I was too late, or they were going to happen, which meant I still had time.  Still had time to find the mysterious woman and save her and her baby.

 

A baby. 

 

I turned my head looking out at the soft clouds that floated in the sky and I was reminded of the Greek Gods from my dream, and the fog that the man had lovingly encased in the safety of his arms.

 

A baby.

 

The woman’s words echoed in my head. “Not yet child.” 

 

What did it all mean?  A whimsical man would think that they were related.  Now I’m not actually a whimsical person at all, but I’ve seen things that I never would have believed to be true, so what made this any different? They were tied together somehow I just hadn’t figured out how yet, but I would.

 

I didn’t sleep anymore, I couldn’t.  I willed my self to stay awake not wanting to relive the images again and again, which is what I knew would happen if I closed my eyes.

 

I felt confident, for some reason that this event had not happened yet, which left me relieved.  It was just a vision of what was to come. They were showing me that I had to move quickly. That I couldn’t let anything stand in my way of finding her.

 

There was something special about this baby, something about this baby that the darkest evilest of evil wanted dead. And I couldn’t let that happen. I felt like the baby’s protector.  I felt suddenly like this was what I was meant for, what I had been created for from the beginning, to protect the one who truly was The Destroyer. Someone whose destiny was way bigger then mine.

 

I motioned for the flight attendant, I think she told me her name was Jayne. She smiled as she made her way down the aisle.

 

“Can I get you something sweetie?”

 

“Coffee. And lots of it please.”

 

She looked at me oddly, like what was a kid like me doing asking for coffee. But she didn’t comment she just shook her head and headed back up the aisle.

 

I started to wonder about my line of thinking.  Could it be that I wasn’t really The Destroyer after all?  I always knew I was different, always knew that my calling was one that differed from others, but even after being told that I was The Destroyer I never really felt like that.  I mean, I did, but now I wonder if that was only because that was what everyone was telling me. So I believed it.

 

What if the Powers above actually had something else in store for me? A fate and destiny that no one knew about.  I knew about prophecies and stuff like that, The Destroyer was a prophecy and when I was born, everyone just assumed that it was me.

 

But what if I’m not?

 

What if Wesley had been wrong?

 

What if The Destroyer hadn’t been born yet and I was…something else?

 

What if that fog that had been so lovingly taken from the beautiful woman was actually The Destroyer?

 

What if those Greek Gods knew of the woman’s fate, knew of the trials and tribulations that she would have to go through and took her baby away from her before she even knew it existed. Only to return the baby to her when the time was right. 

 

I softly laughed shaking my head, whimsical indeed.  How farfetched was that? 

 

“Here you go sweetie.” Jayne, the flight attendant, placed the steaming hot cup of coffee on my tray.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“You just let me know if there’s anything else you need.” She patted me on the shoulder, winked then walked back to the kitchen area.

 

I watched her walk away, my eyes automatically following the sway of her hips. I couldn’t help it I was a teenager and she had a nice figure.  Feeling eyes of disapproval on me, I turned to see an elderly woman sitting across from me. Her eyes were crossed and her mouth was stern and tight as she shook her head at me like I was being a naughty boy.

 

I smiled at her and turned away looking back out the window, my hands wrapping around the warm cup and bringing it to my lips.

 

God that tasted good.  Warm, comforting. 

 

I took pleasure as the warm brew coated my throat. It felt like this little cup of happiness was going to be the last warmth and comfort that I would feel for a long time.

 

 

********************

 

 

After my plane arrived I stood outside the airport having absolutely no clue where I was going.  I didn’t even speak Italian!  Something that didn’t even occur to me when I got on the plane.  But I stood there looking around hoping that there would be some kind of sign or something that would tell me where to go.

 

I waited and waited but nothing happened and I started to feel a little foolish. But then as I looked to my left things got foggy. I shook my head then looked to the right.  It was like tunnel vision.  Everything around the sidewalk was blurred but the sidewalk itself was clear and shimmering with light.  The light ended like a spotlight on a pristine white cab that sat idle at the curb. The bright light pulsed brilliantly around the car pulsing like it was alive.

 

I chuckled. I was getting used to this now.

 

I walked over to the cab and leaned down to speak with the driver.

 

I took a step back at what I saw sitting behind the wheel.

 

It was an apparition of blinding beauty and kindness. A woman all in white with long following white hair that encased her entire shadowy being, her hair flew all around her like she was in a middle of a whirlwind. She was ethereal. She was goodness.  She was a goddess.

 

She didn’t speak she only smiled at me, waving her hand. Her movements were otherworldly, like it was in slow motion, waving me to get into the car.

 

Now anyone of those ‘normal’ people that I spoke of earlier would have high tailed it and ran as quickly as they could. But not me. I understood and as stared into her eyes I saw a glimpse of heaven.  That’s the only word I could think of to describe it.  It was just heaven.

 

I smiled back at her, nodded my head in compliance and opened the back door.

 

The second I closed it, the car sped down the street.  Once again moving in a wraithlike fashion…tunnel vision. 

 

Everything around me moved quickly and fast, like a speeding train. Yet my own movements and that of the goddess were in slow motion.  Her hair slowly flew past my face, and I closed my eyes as the sweet smell of lavender filled my nose. 

 

It was so surreal. I felt like I was floating on a cloud. She looked at me through the mirror, smiling the whole time.  Her face was honest and pure, kind. I smiled back then looked back out the window at all the sights and sounds of Rome that were quickly passing me by.

 

I never thought I’d see Rome this way…in a blink of an eye. I hoped when my mission, which is what I was on, was over that I would be able to explore it more.

 

Suddenly the car stopped.

 

I looked up into the mirror. The goddess smiled at me, her hand gesturing out the window and to her left.

 

I turned and looked out.

 

There was a small church sitting back from the road.  A rusty old fence surrounded the church and the overgrown fields that surrounded it.

 

Fields?

 

I turned in my seat and looked out the back window and then to my right.  Fields were everywhere there was no more Rome, at least not the city part of it.

 

I looked back at the goddess; she smiled at me nodding her head.  My door opened and as I grabbed my bag, I took a deep breath and stepped out, facing the church that looked as if no one had inhabited it in a long, long time.

 

Turning around once again to say thanks to the mysterious apparition I was surprised to see the car gone. I was alone on road somewhere in Italy in front of a dilapidated church and my only means of transportation disappeared as quickly as it got me here.

 

“Great.”

 

Turning back around to the church I started walking.  I was here for a reason that much I knew, so I could only go forward.

 

I opened the gate, the hinges squeaking showing the fences age and lack of use.  My feet carried me across the stone path. I took in the unsteady appearance of the stone stairs. I swallowed placing my foot on the first step getting nervous when it crackled and dust fell off of it and to the ground.

 

I took another step and another, quite surprised when I made it to the door without collapsing to the ground in a heap of old stone.

 

My hand reached out and touched the doorknob.  It felt…warm, inviting, and I turned the knob slowly unafraid of what I would find inside, if anything.

 

The door creaked as it opened. I was pushed back by the force of the wind that emitted out of the church as the door opened. Dust and particles flew all around me making me sneeze.  I stepped inside the musky church as the light from the sun spilled in through the door and lighted the otherwise dark and dismal room.

 

I stood there, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dimness then I stepped further inside.

 

It was a small church, the wooden pews, only four rows, sat upon a stone floor and faced an altar of white marble.  Well I supposed at one time it was white, but now, it was gray and dirty.  There was hay scattered here and there throughout the small room and as I walked further inside my boot heels clicked against the stone, echoing off the barren walls.

 

What was here that I had to see?

 

I heard something, something that sounded like a flap of a wing. I looked back then quickly ducked as a white dove flew over my head, just missing me.

 

Looking back at him crossly, stupid bird almost kamikaze right into me, he landed on a statue looked right at me and began to coo.

 

Now this was definitely different for me. I don’t think I could ever recall a time when a bird was yelling at me to do something.

 

When I didn’t make a move, he cawed louder. It rang in my ears painfully, the sound crating down my spine.

 

“Alright! Stop please!” I shouted at him.

 

He did and when I looked back up at him I’d swear I saw a shrewd smile on his face.

 

I walked over until I stood in front of the statue that he was perched atop.

 

“So…what now oh wise one?”

 

Yeah I know probably shouldn’t have been so flippant but hey, I did say I’m just a teenager right, and being told what to do by a bird was a little unmanly.

 

The bird just continued to stare at me like he was waiting for something.

 

“Well…I’m here, what are we waiting fo…..”

 

The last syllable never came out of my mouth, as the floor was suddenly gone from beneath my feet.

 

“HOLY SHITTTTTT!”

 

I screamed as I fell, surely to my death, god knows how far or for how long. My hands reached out for something to grab on to but I couldn’t reach the vines that were growing out of the stonewalls.

 

“SOMEONE HELP ME!”

 

I screamed again, I knew it was futile but hey I had to try. Plus it was a natural response when your heart was practically bursting out of your chest with fear as you plunged down a dark and musky hole, which could only be described as a well of some sort.

 

After what felt like a lifetime, I landed with a loud thud on mossy covered stones.

 

“That hurt.”  Slowly standing up I looked around; surprised to find that I wasn’t hurt at all there wasn’t even a scratch on me.

 

“Ah…cool.”

 

“He looks like his father, do you think he will prove as worthy?”

 

I spun around to the soft question and the blaring light that came out of the shadows.  Out of the light, they walked side by side, all in white, bands of flowers around their heads. Looking as ethereal as the goddess that got me here.

 

“Who are you?” I asked cautiously taking a step forward.

 

“We are the Oracles.” The woman answered.

 

The Oracles why did that sound familiar?  I remembered hearing something about Oracles from Wesley and my father, when they talked quietly one night at the hotel. I also remembered hearing that they were dead.

 

I clutched my bag, my eyes crossing as I took a step back. “What is this some kind of trick?  You can’t be the Oracles.”

 

They looked amused, “Why is that?” the man asked.

 

“Because the Oracles are dead. You can’t be them. The dead don’t walk”

 

They turned and chuckled to themselves. “You father is dead, yet he still walks.” The woman said smiling.

 

“Good point.”

 

“Relax young Vindex we have not brought you here to harm you. “

 

“Vindex?” 

 

Now I was in college, I did come from two vampires, I lived with a brilliant scholar for quite awhile, so I was no stranger to Latin. I just didn’t understand why they were calling me that.

 

“Why are you surprised, you yourself had begun to wonder did you not? About your true existence?”

 

“Yeah wonder, didn’t really think it was true.”

 

She chuckled. “You are a strong smart young mortal, you are fit to be called the Vindex.”

 

“What?  I don’t understand.  My father, Wesley, the prophecy…”

 

The woman turned to the male, “Mortals always think they know and see everything.” They smirked at each other. “We only allow you to see what we want child and nothing more. At the time, it suited are needs to have them believe that you were The Destroyer. But now the time has come to fulfill your true destiny.”

 

Shudder, god I hate that word. I started to get angry.  That was the worst period in my life. I was a mess. I thought I was nothing but evil. What else was I supposed to think? The product of two evil creatures could only be evil. It took the pain of my father’s unyielding sacrifice for me to see it any other way. And now they were telling me that it was all for nothing!

 

“The Destroyer is not evil child. The Destroyer is in fact the complete opposite.”

 

“Stop reading my mind. I don’t understand.” In the back of mind I knew I must have sounded like a whiney child but damn it there was a tight hum in my head like there was someone in there poking around and it was very uncomfortable, intruding, and it wasn’t making me a very pleasant person to talk to.

 

I shook my head trying to get rid of it as she stepped closer to me. “The Destroyer is the Vindex a protector. His sole purpose is to be guardian to the Child of the Scintillate and to destroy whatever evil comes for the child.”

 

“The Child of the Light?”

 

“Indeed, the child conceived out of the purest love and devotion from two beings that were never meant to be to begin with.”

 

My father and the mysterious woman.  These people were the ones in my dream.  “It was you!  You took the baby.”

 

“Yes.  We had no choice.  There was much for her still to do, much for your father to still do.  The time was not yet right for the Child to be born.”

 

“Do they know?”  I couldn’t see my father giving up on a child that he knew existed. Especially if it was with the mysterious woman in my dreams, the love of his life.

 

“No child they do not.  Yet.”

 

“I don’t understand why bring me here and not them?”

 

“Because child, your father, has…changed.  Since he battled the dragon, his soul has darkened; he has lost hope and has become cold and unfeeling.  He is not a suitable protector for the Child of Scintillate. He would falter and give in to the evil that surrounds him.  The Child would fall to evil as well and that is not acceptable.”

 

My eyes crossed, I didn’t like what they were saying and I got angry. “How dare you say those things about my father!  After everything that he sacrificed to fight for your side, this is how you repay him!  With accusations and distrust!  Hasn’t he proven himself to you people time and time again!”

 

I guess she didn’t appreciate my yelling at her. Because the light that surrounded them turned angry and swirly. She floated right up to me and I took a step back, suddenly a little afraid.

 

“Young Vindex do you forget just what your father was before he had a soul?  Do you so easily forget the thousands of innocent people that he callously murdered and raped for fun!”

 

“NO but that’s in the past, that wasn’t him!  He’s repented for those actions, he’s fought for good!”

 

I know. I bet you never thought you would hear those words out of my mouth. But it was true and I knew that now and I was man enough to admit that I had been wrong.

 

The woman floated back her face once more serene and peaceful. I briefly looked over at the male who just stood in the shadows watching quietly. I couldn’t help but smirk at him; it was obvious who wore the pants in this relationship.

 

“He has, valiantly so but those sacrifices hardly make up for the evil that he has done.  The scale is not balanced yet young one.  And at the rate he is going, it may never be.”

 

“What!  What does that mean? Just where the hell is my father!  I have to find him.”  I looked around frantically searching for a way out.

 

“No!” 

 

My body was slammed back into the wall and the woman was before me once again. ”You’re destiny does not lie with your father boy. You are the Vindex, your time has come to protect that which has not yet breathed life.  That which has been conceived and waiting in limbo to spread its wings. That time is now and you are needed.  She needs you.”

 

She stepped away and waved toward a wall of water that appeared out of nowhere.

 

“It’s her.”

 

I whispered unable to believe that I was actually seeing her…alive…while I was awake.

 

I took a step closer my hand reaching out for her. She looked like some kind of superhero.  Her lithe graceful body flew through the air her feet landing squarely on the jaw of a vampire that she easily took out with the stake that suddenly appeared in her hand, that he had not even seen.

 

“Yes.  With her lies your destiny.”

 

I was drawn to her, my eyes riveted on her as she dusted off the vamp dust from her black leather jacket.  My breath gasped as I saw five more vamps come out from the shadows, slowly circling her.  I watched as a catlike smile appeared on her face, her mouth moved as she spoke to them.  I saw the perplexed look on the vamps face and I wondered what it was that she said to them.

 

Five vamps all of them a lot bigger then she was, fear crept into my heart, fear that I was going to lose her when I’d just found her.

 

But it appeared that I had nothing to worry about, because I stood there and watched as she systemically took out all five of them in a matter of seconds.  I was shocked. I had never seen anyone take out that many demons at once in so little time. Well that wasn’t totally true, I had seen my father take out as many in as little time, it was something to watch, as this was now. My respect for the mysterious woman grew, as I finally understood the cause of her pain and inner conflicts that she had been dealing with her whole life.

 

This I understood completely.

 

“Who is she?”

 

“Her name is Buffy. She is The Chosen One.”

 

I’d heard that before. “The Chosen One?  You mean a Slayer?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“No that can’t be.  I’ve met the Chosen One and she has dark hair.  Her name is Faith.” 

 

Which was true, the one time that I had run into her was about two years ago. It was right after the big battle and I went to see my father, to make sure that he had survived.

 

I’d walked into his apartment and she was there.  They were arguing loudly.  I tried to hide in the shadows to hear what they were saying. Unfortunately, the only thing I could make out before my father sensed that I was there was something about slayers and that my father was a pig headed jackass.

 

That actually made me giggle, which was probably what grabbed my father’s attention that I was eavesdropping, because everyone knew that my father was a pig headed stubborn jackass but no one, at ever told him, at least I never heard anyone tell him. 

 

Faith, she said her name was, walked by me her eyes were dark and they drilled into mine, tracing every feature on my face like she was memorizing it.  She then shook her head sadly, and said to my father, “She has a right to know Angel.”  Then she left.

 

When I asked my father about her, he was gruff and standoffish, simply saying she was a slayer, a woman from his past and that was it. 

 

“No child, you have met the Other One. She…” she gestured to Buffy, “is the only true Chosen One.”

 

“I don’t understand why are you showing me this?”

 

“Because your destiny is two fold.”

 

Riddles?  I hated riddles. Why did all these mystical people have to talk in riddles? It seemed to me that there would be a lot of time and confusion saved if they would just say what they really meant.

 

“What the hell does that mean? You said my destiny lies with her? What do you mean twofold?” 

 

“You’re destiny does lie with her, her and The Child of Scintillate.  And her destiny lies with The Champion.”

 

And circles, they all liked to talk in circles.

 

“The Champion? You mean Angel.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“But you said that he was not worthy.”

 

“No I said he was not suitable to guard the child. And he is not. At least not now.  He has many demons to overcome, as does she, before they can reach their destiny.”

 

“And what’s their destiny?”

 

“That is for them to discover, not you. Your destiny is two fold because you must protect the child and you must bring two lost souls back together as one.”

 

Did I hear her correctly, she expected me to protect a baby that wasn’t born yet and get my father and Buffy back together?

 

“Yes.”

 

“God will you stop that, it’s really annoying.” I yelled as my hands automatically came up to my ears, trying to calm the tight hum.

 

She only smiled at me knowingly and I looked back at Buffy. 

 

My heart opened for her and all that she had been through, all that she had sacrificed for the side of good.  As she walked through the darkened graveyard looking for more evil, I could feel her heart breaking. I could sense that she was as lost now as she ever was. 

 

There was also something else around her, something dark and forbidden.  Like there was an evil cloud hovering over, watching her, following her. I was infused with the primal need to protect.  My hands clenched at my sides, with the sudden unexplained rage I felt for her.

 

But she didn’t seem aware of the evil that surrounded her.  She was just there. Doing what she had to do, like it was any other day.  She was alone.  My eyes traveled down her slim fit figure, she was so tiny and so…not pregnant.

 

“I don’t understand how any of this is supposed to work.  She’s not even pregnant!”

 

“No she is not…yet. On the eve of her twenty-fifth birthday the Child of Scintillate shall be given back to her.”

 

Watching Buffy stiffly move through the graveyard, I thought that she didn’t seem much like a woman that could take any more…surprises. In fact, she looked like or rather I should say, she felt like, she would crack.

 

“Oh and how is that supposed to happen, Immaculate Conception?  I’m sure that will go over very well.”

 

The woman’s eyes narrowed at me. “Do not be sarcastic boy. “

 

Boy? I couldn’t stop my eyes from wandering down my own frame did I look young? I sure as hell didn’t feel like a boy.

 

“Sorry, I’m just trying to understand all of this.”

 

“The only way for her to receive the baby back is during conception.”

 

“What?”

 

I gulped I had a distinct feeling where they were going with this and it made me a little uncomfortable.

 

“The baby may only be brought back to her at the time when The Champion and The Chosen One are joined once more, both in spirit and in body. As it was all those years ago.”

 

I chuckled, I couldn’t help it, I was a pimp!  My new esteemed destiny was to pimp for my father and the love of his life. Wasn’t this interesting.  The big bad destiny I always thought I had was really nothing more than a sex planner.

 

“Do not think frivolously of your destiny. It is much more than that.  It is bigger then anything you could possibly think of. “

 

She walked around the water that still glimmered as Buffy made her way to the lighted street.  “It is the only way to bring the child back to the living plane. It is your first and most important mission. If you do not succeed in bringing them back together then the baby will die.  Its soul will wither away to nothingness and never exist again. You have one week to accomplish this mission, one week before her twenty-fifth birthday.”

 

“Oh one week! Wow, you guys are gracious with the time aren’t you?”

 

“It was not supposed to be.  You were supposed to have been here a long time ago. But your father changed everything when he turned back time, when he gave you another chance at a life that you were never supposed to have. Time was then needed to show you your destiny.”

 

“The dreams?”

 

“It was the only way to show you without making you go insane.  That required time.”

 

My eyes lowered and my gut churned sickly.  I knew it.  I knew I was never supposed to have a second chance.  My father changed destiny, changed everyone’s destiny by doing what he did.  Maybe even changed hers.  And now he was being punished.

 

“So this is why you haunt my father, because he changed destiny?”

 

She softly chuckled, “Destiny, in many ways, is like mortals.  It is fickle.  It is not something that is written.  Destinies change with the choices that are made.  Your father made a choice. And so destiny changed to coincide with decisions that were made by him. So you see, it is not us that haunt your father. Hell’s demons are doing that.”

 

With a wave of her arm the image changed. I stepped forward when my father appeared. He was fighting, what looked like ten disfigured dogs. I’d seen pictures of them in one of Wesley’s books years ago; they were legions of the underworld, trackers for hell’s bounty hunters.  He was fighting them off two at time, like a man crazed, an animal just like the dogs. He seemed so different. So inhuman.

 

“After the great battle your father lost many of those that he loved.  The soul that he cherished and protected began to darken. His only mission was to kill and destroy Evil. He has forgotten what it means to be touched by love and humanity. He was successful in his plan, perhaps too successful. He did much damage to the underworld and the First Evil. It is that deed that has led The First Evil to put a bounty on his head. They crave revenge. So he runs now. He runs from the hounds that track him and his own inner demons.”

 

I watched as he killed the last of the dogs, his face that of the demon that he loathed was feral yet satisfied with the kill. He seemed so different so unlike the last time we talked.  He shook his jacket out and I could see the smile on face as he started to laugh.  He was shouting something to sky. His arms stretched wide to the sky, and I knew without hearing what he was saying, that he was damming evil, egging them on for more. I saw the sky crackle angrily but nothing happened. He shook his head like he new that would be their response then he turned and walked away into the night.

 

The water shimmered and he was gone.

 

I began to feel something that I never had toward my father…guilt.  I felt guilty because my father changed his own destiny by doing something that he thought was right for me. It was because of me that he was now where he found himself to be…at the gates of hell.

 

So it seems that he and Buffy were not the only ones that had inner demons. Trepidation filled me, how was I going to do all of this?  I was just a kid, a kid that had been living a lie.  I sighed outwardly; this wasn’t going to be easy.

 

 “That is your destiny.  You are The Vindex, the protector of The Child of Scintillate. It is your duty.”

 

Duty, another heavy word that I was starting to really, really hate.

 

“You must begin your journey. Time is precious.”

 

“Yeah well wait a minute. Buffy doesn’t even know who the hell I am, and on top of that I don’t even know where my father is! How am I supposed to do all of this!”

 

Did they think I was superman or something!

 

She didn’t respond she only smiled that annoying friendly smile that at this point, I just wanted to wipe off of her serene face.

 

“Your journey begins now.”

 

The light dimmed and I saw their forms get misty…”Wait!”

 

But it was too late they were gone.

 

There was a pulling in my stomach and I fell to my knees clutching my gut.  When I opened my eyes I was in a graveyard surrounded by the bloody dead bodies of ten headless dogs.

 

I stood on my shaky feet and felt the goosebumps rise on my arms. It was cold and damp.

 

“Okay, definitely not in Kansas anymore.”

 

I calmed myself and concentrated on my powers, powers that I really hadn’t used in a very, very long time. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to track him but I caught a scent that was familiar so I followed the trail through the graveyard and came out to a road.

 

I looked up and down the road that seemingly led to nowhere.  Breathing deep I got the scent and started walking.

 

I walked not knowing where I was going, again, not even sure what I was feeling at the moment.  I found myself in a situation that I wasn’t sure I would be able to pull off. 

 

I mean first off, my father, who I think I already said was a pig headed stubborn jackass to begin with, was close to losing everything that he had worked for. I wasn’t too sure exactly what frame of mind he was in, but the feeling I got was that he was not completely sane.

 

Not that I blamed him.  I mean I know that if I had lost as much as he had I’d lose my mind too. Honestly, I don’t know how he held on for so long. Any lesser man or demon would have given in a long time ago.

 

And the fact that it was pretty much my fault made me feel guilty, but also gave me a better understanding of why I was The Vindex. It was my turn to give back something to him and to Buffy.  Something that would set their destinies straight. 

 

I was nearing a small village with a new purpose in my stride.  I didn’t understand why the Oracles sent me here first. Personally I would have liked to start with Buffy, much less complicated, no history. But I guess that wasn’t my decision to make.

 

As I walked further into the village, thatched roof cottages lined the road. There was an eeriness to this place, it was like I stepped back into time. There didn’t appear to be anything modern in the village. It was weird. I still had no clue where I was. But I was getting used to the weirdness that my life had suddenly become so I didn’t pay it much thought.

 

There was an inn up ahead, The Raven’s Claw, it said on the sign that swung eerily in the breeze. I was just nearing the door, my hand going out to open it, when I was violently thrown off the road and into the deep forest next to the inn. 

 

I quickly stumbled to my feet, my eyes searching the darkness for whatever attacked me.

 

“Connor?” 

 

The figure emerged, all in black. The yellow eyes of the demon staring at me incredulously.

 

“Connor what the hell are you doing here? How did you find me?”  He had a fistful of my shirt in his big grip and I could feel the breath that didn’t fill his lungs as it hit my face with his angry words.

 

I couldn’t believe the fear that ran through my veins; fear of my father.  I have never in my life been afraid of my father. But I was now. I could feel his anger, his hatred, and the control they had over him. He would kill me if he had too, and I didn’t think he would have any regrets about doing it.  The darkness was close to him now and that scared me. “I’ve…I’ve come to help you.”

 

He studied me his eyes full of distrust. “Help me? Help me what get to hell faster?”

 

“No…the Oracles they sent me.”

 

He growled and threw me up against a nearby tree, his snarling face leaning down into mine. Okay, I guess I shouldn’t have said that.

 

“The Oracles…” he spat out like it was a disease. “…are dead. And even if they weren’t why would they send you to help me.  Is this a trick?”

 

“No.  They’re not dead I swear it!  Dad please you have to listen to me.  They sent me here to set things right.  Your destiny…you have to fulfill your destiny.”

 

He released me and my feet touched the ground. I sighed relieved not to be hanging in up in the air anymore.

 

His lip curled up with disdain as he spoke, “Destiny.  I’m through with their ideas of what destiny should be.  There is no such thing as destiny. It’s all a lie to get you to do what they want.  They are the only ones that gain from this supposed destiny.”

 

Clearly he was fed up with the whole destiny thing and hey I totally agreed with him, but it still didn’t change the fact that he had one.

 

“Dad I understand you’re angry, but you’re not thinking clearly, you’re not looking at the big picture here.”

 

“I don’t see the picture!  HA! No I finally see the big picture.  All those years, were bullshit!  Everything was for nothing! NOTHING! Everyone still died and I still got nothing! No reward, no Shanshu, I wasn’t even given my soul!   No the big picture is quite clear to me…kill. Kill them all.  Kill as many of them as you can because if you don’t they’ll kill you.”

 

He really had flipped his lid. “Dad what are you talking about? They didn’t give you your soul? You have your soul, you always did!”

 

Before I even finished my sentence, I was hit with a wave of nausea as the movie began to play. It was like I was dreaming again, but like before the fog cleared, I could see everything and I was wide-awake. The other thing that was different, I couldn’t feel Buffy like before, this time I felt only my father.

 

I felt the incredible pleasure and happiness he felt.  How his soul soared to the sky, free and loving.  Perfect happiness. The next second I felt pain incredible pain like my heart was being ripped from my chest. I saw my father fall to his knees and I felt his soul leave his body. 

 

When he stood, it was the demon that stood.  And I understood what it all meant. I remember hearing Cordelia whispering something about how a moment of happiness for Angel was death to the rest of us but I never understood it. I did now.

 

The fog cleared and I looked up to see my father walking away, he hadn’t even noticed that I’d zoned out.  I shook my head, clearing the visions; I guess this was a new trait that came with being The Vindex. It was kind of cool, but it would take a while to get used to the dizziness.

 

“Wait Dad! What about Buffy?”

 

He stopped in his tracks. His shoulders got even tenser if that was possible. I could sense the million different emotions that ran through him.   He turned around.

 

“What do you know about Buffy?” he asked quietly.

 

“I know that she’s your life. I know that she’s the reason you did everything.  I know…that you love her.”  Yeah I was taking a chance.  Of course I didn’t really know any of those things, for sure at least. I just sensed it.

 

There seemed to be a softness that entered his eyes, for one brief moment, then rage filled them again as he stormed over to me.

 

“You know nothing boy!”

 

I briefly wondered why everyone liked to call me boy when they were enraged. It bothered me, because I was no way a boy, but yet everyone seemed to do it and it was really pissing me off.

 

“I know what the Oracles showed me.  I know that you two loved each other. And I know that your destines are entwined. She’s in trouble Dad, or she will be, soon. You have to go to her and help her.” I shouted in his face.

 

“Oracles.  Bah don’t mention them to me again Connor.  As for Buffy, we were over a long time ago.  Let her…lover…save her now.”

 

Lover?

 

“What lover, what are you talking about?”

 

“Ha they didn’t show you that did they?  The almighty Oracles.  They didn’t show you how she’s been whoring herself with The Immortal?”

 

The Immortal?   I hadn’t seen anyone other than Buffy in the visions, but I did feel the evil that surrounded her and was trying to trick her.

 

“Well no not exactly, but I felt him.  He’s not good for her, Dad. She needs our help.”

 

He chuckled, “Connor, Buffy doesn’t need anyone’s help, she never has.”  The sadness returned to his, “especially from me.”

 

He turned walking away once again.

 

I ran after him not knowing what else to say to get him to listen to me, the next words just poured out. “But Dad the baby…we have to save the baby.”

 

He stopped and turned around; he looked weary and tired, like I was just pestering him with fairytales of nonsense. But he took the bait.

 

“What baby?”

 

“Yours and Buffy’s.  My sibling.”

 

 “What bullshit are you talking about now Connor? There is no baby there never was.”

 

He sounded sad. To my ears it sounded like that was something that he had always wanted but was never given.

 

“No that’s not true, The Ora…” he growled, “…they showed me what happened.”

 

Now at the time that I received the original ‘visions’, I think it’s safe to say that was exactly what they were, I didn’t really see anything or know anything for sure.  And of course I had thought about this exact same scenario on the plan. And yes the Oracles pretty much told me as much. But for some reason it never really clicked until now. Now it all played out in my head as I talked and I saw everything that happened that day.

 

“The day that never was.  She conceived that day Dad.  A baby.  You had a baby with Buffy!”

 

He didn’t believe me but I succeeded in pissing him off again. Well I guess one emotion was better then non. He stormed over to me his face red with rage.

 

“LIES!  All lies Connor don’t you see that!  The Oracles are lying to you.  There was no baby!  She would have told me!” He didn’t look too certain about that.

 

“No she didn’t know Dad.  The Oracles they took the baby away because it wasn’t time.”

 

He snorted at me like I had just proved his point, “Ah it wasn’t time. I see. So let me guess, now it is time right?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

I saw where this was going damn it.

 

“How convenient for them,” he leaned closer his voice soft, “Connor don’t you see? It’s just as I said they’re tricking you.  They’re using you for their own means.”

 

“No Dad that’s not true.  I saw the baby I saw everything!”

 

He stared at me, like he was soaking in my features. I saw guilt, sadness and regrets in his eyes, all things that I desperately wanted to change, for him, for Buffy but mostly for myself.

 

But with a shake of his head, he plainly told me he wouldn’t allow me to do that.

 

“Connor go home.  Get as far away from me as possible. Go live the life that I wanted for you.” He walked away.

 

“The life I was never supposed to have!” I called out to him and he stopped.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“That was not my destiny Dad. I wasn’t supposed to be given another chance at life. I didn’t need one.”

 

“What?”

 

The look on his face was pure surprise and shock.  That was good…that meant he wasn’t that far gone.

 

I approached him slowly, my voice lowered.

 

“Dad, I’m not The Destroyer.  The prophecy you guys read was not entirely true. There was more to it. When you changed my life you altered destiny and now I only have one week to get you and Buffy back together, to save the baby!”

 

I thought I had him, until I said the word baby. Then he just shook his head sadly at me again.

 

“Connor I don’t think you’re well. You’re talking nonsense.”

 

“No Dad, it’s not nonsense, it’s my Destiny. I’m the Vindex.”

 

“The Vindex?”

 

He said it like he had heard it before. I could see his mind working trying to figure out everything that I told him and whether or not it was true.

 

“You’ve heard of it?”

 

“The Vindex, the guardian of The Child of Scintillate.”

 

I smiled at him, a true smile, the first one I’d made in a long time. “Yes, that’s right. You have heard of me…I mean it.”

 

He huffed, and turned away again. “It’s a myth, nothing more.”

 

I ran after him, “no it’s not Dad, it’s me, I’m the Vindex and The Oracles they showed me everything, they sent me here to get you.”

 

“Connor. I’ve had enough of your games.  Go home.  Leave it alone. They’re full of shit, and the sooner you realize that the better you are. Besides, I’ve got business to do. And I can’t do it with you on my heels.”

 

“What!  No Dad Buffy…”

 

“Buffy…doesn’t need me.  She has her lover to take care of her.”

 

There it was again, the sneered jealousy whenever he said that word.  Okay, so he was still in love with her, and he was damn well pissed off and jealous that she was with someone else.  That was good. I could work that.  My father was nothing if not a possessive man, I’d seen that time and time again.  I was also getting vibes that he knew this person, and that he didn’t like him, that could also work in my favor.

 

“And if she were going to have a baby, it wouldn’t be mine.” 

 

I saw the pain those words made him feel. It was like I could see inside of his soul. He spoke the words of something that he desperately wanted, a life with Buffy. But he had been broken too many times by everyone, perhaps even by Buffy herself. So he had given hope, and he was angry with her and the world around him.

 

He wasn’t going to listen to me. He didn’t want to listen to me.

 

Fine, if that’s how he wanted to play it, I could play it that way too.  He wanted pain and misery; I’ll give him pain and misery.

 

“Alright fine go on then go and kill more demons, go ahead and blacken your soul even further. You’re no good for her you know that!”

 

He laughed, and it was cold and hollow, not the reaction I was hoping for. “Yes I do. I’d been telling her that for years.”

 

“Yeah well, fine. I’ll go find her and I’ll go save her and YOUR baby.  I’m sure the Immortal will love to raise a child that’s not his. A child that belongs to his nemesis! If he doesn’t kill it first!”

 

He faltered in his steps, but very briefly, then he waved his hand in the air disappearing into the night.  I couldn’t believe he just walked away and left me here in the middle of nowhere.

 

“Well can’t you at least tell me where the hell I am?”

 

He didn’t answer me.

 

“Well that went well.”

 

I looked around the dark forest great what the hell was I going to do now?  My nose twitched as the smell of the dead dogs started to fill the small clearing turning my stomach upside down.

 

I picked up my bag and headed in the opposite direction of my father.

 

I wondered if I would always get those cool vision thingies.  I assumed that they came with the new destiny so I think it was safe to say that I would.

 

God what a predicament I found myself in.  Having a father who needed help but was too stubborn to see that and even if he did see it he most likely wouldn’t ask for it, just made my job much more difficult.

 

And let’s not even talk about Buffy.  I mean I don’t even know her!  There were certainly no delusions of a warm and fuzzy greeting from her.

 

I really had to come up with a better plan. But before I could even think about Buffy I first had to find out exactly where I was and then I had to get to Rome.

 

 

 

Part Two