Dread curled in Dawn's gut, and she couldn't find a way to agree with Krez's enthusiasm.
"Krez's lord will be pleased! Krez will get place of honor."
The snakes slithered around the bend in the tunnels, and Dawn gasped as she saw two large black marble doors in front of them. Somehow, she didn't see this going well for her.
Again, Krez began to bounce up and down and clap. "Here! Here!"
"Joy of joys," Dawn muttered under her breath, trying not to shiver.
The doors opened slowly, letting both the snakes Krez and Dawn were on as well as the ones trailing behind to enter. They went down a long hallway made of the same marble as the doors, the walls illuminated with torches.
The further they went, the more the dread inside of Dawn continued to grow.
Finally, they were in a large room, a raised dais in front of them. The snakes came to a stop. A large, reptilian demon sat upon a throne, his golden eyes blinking almost as rapidly as Dawn's heart was beating.
Krez scurried down off the side of his snake and ran to the stairs in front of the dais, his head bowed. "I have brought Krez's lord his Key."
Wordlessly, the large demon rose from his throne and made his way down the stairs, his eyes never leaving Dawn. She noticed a glittering gem around his neck and wondered if it was the amulet that had been stolen from Aiden.
The demon snapped his fingers and Dawn felt the air around her crackle as the force field fell. Then, he reached in and grabbed her by the neck, pulling her up so her feet were dangling over the ground. As she struggled, his long, snake-like tongue darted out and licked her cheek, making her wince in disgust.
He dropped her to the ground. "She is the Key," he said in a deep, hissing tone. "I am pleased."
Krez scurried over, then bowed again. "Krez do good for Krez's lord."
"Yes. You have done very well."
"Krez can have reward?"
By now, Dawn was fairly certain this demon was Chalchicomehuel, and the thought did not offer her any respite.
"Yes. You may take the Key to your chambers and do what you will with her. Just remember, there must be enough blood in her for the ritual."
Krez began to clap again. "Krez thanks Krez's lord."
Dawn trembled, the thought of being at the mercy of that slimy little freak enough to make her stomach turn. "You don't really want to send me with him!" she protested. "He…he might break me before you can use the Key!"
Chalchicomehuel reared back and slapped her, sending Dawn toppling to the ground. "Never speak to me in such a manner! You are less than swine to me." He looked down at her, his reptilian mouth curling in something that may have been a smile. "Besides, I want you broken. It will make it so much easier to bleed you once the time comes. Krez, take her."
Krez bounded to Dawn and grabbed her by her arm, dragging her behind him as he rushed down a hall. She grimaced in pain, tears in her eyes that she didn't let fall.
Somehow, she'd find a way out of this…
"I'm going to wager that giant black castle looking thing rising out of the sand is the evil bloke's lair," Spike said, squinting as he looked out over the desert.
"Yes, that would be Chalchicomehuel's fortress," Aiden replied.
"So how do we get in exactly?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah. There's not enough wood around for us to build a giant bunny to hide in," Emma added, completely straight-faced.
Buffy and Aiden stared at her blankly. Spike couldn't help but smirk. He knew there was a reason he'd liked that girl from the start.
"I believe our best course of action would be to simply walk through the front door," Aiden said after a beat.
At that, all three of his traveling companion's turned to stare at him, nearly-identical cries of "huh?" sounding from both Buffy and Emma.
"We would be no match for Chalchicomehuel's guards; however, the ones he employs around the perimeter tend to be the slower-witted creatures, chosen for their brawn. One of my strengths has always been cloaking spells, and I don't think any of them would be able to detect one. Closer to Chalchicomehuel, the guards will be more cunning, yet fewer in numbers, giving us a better chance of surviving a battle."
Spike and Buffy shared a look, a sort of silent communication seeming to pass between them before they both nodded. Buffy turned back to Aiden. "Okay. We'll go with that."
"I should go ahead and perform the cloaking spell now. The closer we get to the fortress, the more of a chance we have of being spotted."
"Then do what you need to do so we can get in there and save my sister," Buffy replied. "And, you know, the universe, too."
With a short nod, Aiden closed his eyes and began to chant.
Krez pushed open a door and dragged Dawn into a room, throwing her onto a straw mat that may have passed for a bed. He looked at her, his tongue darting out from his mouth as he clapped and bounced. "Krez like pretty little Key. Krez happy pretty little Key is Krez's toy now."
"Believe me, buddy, it is so not mutual," Dawn snapped, her eyes narrowing as she rubbed her sore arm.
Krez hissed, then bounded quickly to her, perching himself on her chest. He snarled, swiping at Dawn's face and scraping her skin with his claws. "Pretty little Key learn respect for Krez."
With a glare of pure hatred, Dawn spat in the demon's face.
Krez screeched and jumped back, wiping at his cheek. "Pretty little Key suffer for that!"
However, Krez's recoiling gave Dawn just the moment she needed. She rolled off the mat, trying to crawl away. Krez leapt onto Dawn's back, hissing as he grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head into the stone of the floor.
Blood began to pour down the side of her face, but Dawn pushed herself forward against Krez's weight and reached out. Her hand went under a piece of the floor that had broken, and she pulled it up with a grunt.
Krez yanked her hair again, but Dawn bucked up, throwing the demon from her body. He tumbled to the ground with a yell, and Dawn turned herself around so she was facing him and struck out with the broken piece of stone.
The stone made contact with a satisfying crunch, and Krez howled in pain. He rolled around on the floor, his hands over his bloodied face, and Dawn came in again, beating him repeatedly until he was still.
Dawn pulled herself up, her chest heaving with exertion as she glared down at Krez. She wiped the blood of her face, then dropped the stone down, letting it hit the demon's battered body one more time.
Were she her sister, Dawn figured she'd have a witty quip at the moment. As it were, all she did was kick him in the side.
That was satisfying enough for her.
She glanced around the room, her stomach turning when she saw a collection of what she could only guess were torture implements by a set of chains, and knew she had narrowly escaped that fate. She shivered at the thought, then took a step closer, searching for something she could use as a weapon. She had just placed her hand on a small dagger, when suddenly, she went down to the ground with a scream.
Slimy, reptilian hands wrapped around her neck, and she heard a sinister voice against her ear. "Krez truly make pretty little Key suffer now."
Dawn coughed, struggling to breathe. Krez's hands tightened, and she knew if she didn't get up soon, he may kill her now. She let her body fall limp.
Seconds later, Krez released her, and she heard him hum with glee as he got off of her and moved towards his torture wall.
In a blink, Dawn was on her feet, her hand still clutching the dagger she'd taken. Krez turned, hissing, and Dawn struck, plunging the dagger into his chest. The demon's eyes bulged, strangled sounds gurgling from him as he slipped to the ground.
Again, he lay still, his forked tongue hanging from his mouth. Dawn, however, didn't trust him to be truly dead this time, and she knelt beside him with the dagger and brought it to his neck. She then used it to remove his head, wincing at the blood splatter and nauseating sounds.
For once, she longed to be fighting a vampire. Dust was so much cleaner.
She stood, now covered in blood, both her own and Krez's. His head lolled beside his body, the yellow eyes staring blankly forward, yet no longer seeing anything. She trembled, relief at overcoming one danger mixing with the fear of soon facing another.
She watched Krez for long moments, making sure he didn't manage to grow a new head or something.
He didn't.
Again, Dawn wondered if she could access the part of her that was the Key from here. She closed her eyes, trying to make a connection with the mystical energy force.
Several minutes and nothing happened. It was if something was blocking her, keeping her from opening another doorway.
Dawn wondered if maybe that was for the best. Granted, she wasn't in the best of situations now, but were she to suddenly pop herself someplace else, it could be worse.
She just couldn't imagine quite how anything could truly be worse at the moment…
Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, yet her face was set in determination.
She would get out of here alive. There was no way she was letting that freak Chalchicomehuel use what was inside of her to destroy the world as she knew it.
Her hand wrapped tightly around the dagger, Dawn stole from the room.
Chalchicomehuel's fortress loomed above them, the sky over it seeming even more ominous than the rest. Buffy had been unable to keep from having her doubts about Aiden's cloaking spell—she'd seen too many magical mishaps in her day—yet it seemed to be working as the guards were paying them no attention.
"The entrance we will use is there," Aiden said, pointing forward.
"Isn't that the front gate?" Spike asked.
"Yes," Aiden replied.
"And those guards standing beside it won't notice it opening?" Spike questioned, his eyebrow rising.
"Not the way I plan to open it, no," Aiden said. "Trust me, I do not wish for this to fail anymore than you do."
"Then let's storm the castle," Buffy said, then frowned. "Or, you know, quietly sneak through the front door."
The four of them began to move again, Spike's hand coming down instinctively to curl around Buffy's. She gripped it tight, giving him his hand squeeze in response to reassure him.
Even with what they were facing, having him there with her made it seem a little easier. She knew he'd always have her back.
The guards around the door continued to stare forward, oblivious to the fact that their castle's defenses were being breeched. They were so stony faced they reminded Buffy of the guards outside of Buckingham Palace, and she fought back a snicker at the thought of the bulky, reptilian demons in tall, fuzzy hats.
Spike cocked an eyebrow at her and she mouthed, "Tell you later." He gave a short nod in response.
Aiden put his hand against the entrance, a light bursting forth that had Buffy shielding her eyes, yet still, the guards saw nothing. Apparently, Aiden hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said he was good with cloaking spells…
The space between the two large doors began to widen until there was enough room for them each to pass through. As soon as they had, the space disappeared again.
"Well, you're just all sorts of handy," Spike said to Aiden as he looked back at the doors.
"You should see me do party tricks."
Spike stared at the usually-stoic man before he realized Aiden was making a joke and grinned. Apparently, there was a little more to him than what appeared on the surface…
"So where to now?" Emma asked, trying not to get discouraged by the long, dark corridor facing them. It wasn't nearly as narrow as the caves, and she'd survived them…
"We find Chalchicomehuel. I should be able to…" Aiden closed his eyes, concentrating for a moment before they opened again and he smiled. "Yes. The amulet is calling to me. Let's go."
"Sodding amulets," Spike muttered as he followed the other three down the corridor. "This bloody thing better not make me burst into flames."
Thank you so much to everyone who provided me with words of encouragement for the last chapter. They really were a boost to my muse! I'm trying to get this one finished so I can post the rest of it, and hopefully, there won't be another hiatus.
Please review!