| Title: Queen of the Night Author: Starlett Chapter 3 Wes had made the mistake of turning the TV on, and was mesmerized by a B-grade horror film when the phone rang. "Hello," he said with some relief. "Wesley? Is that you? It's Buffy." Her voice came across the line, clear and a little bit breathless. "Buffy? I wasn't expecting to hear from you." "I know. You thought I'd be Giles." "Yes...I.... Is everything all right?" he asked, concern creeping into his voice. "All is fine. You probably didn't know that Giles went back to England," she said. Her voice was a little too bright. Wes winced. "No, I didn't. Why, if you don't mind my asking?" "No, perfectly okay. He went back after the last time I died. I think he realized that he actually had a life there." Wes could hear the stark pain she was trying to cover. "I'm sorry, Buffy," he said. He pushed his glasses on top of his head and rubbed his eyes. "But how did you know I called?" "The Magic Box is still open. Anya's running it and she passed your message on to me. So what's up? You need help?" "I was actually hoping for Giles. We've got a research issue." The line was silent for a moment. "Yeah, we've been having some difficulty in the research department, ourselves. But we've been doing a ton of reading, so maybe we could help, anyway. Two heads are better and yada yada." Wes chuckled, though he was unsure whether Angel would want Buffy pulled into the situation. The history between them might make it more difficult than it already was. But Angel had an equally disturbing history with Giles, and he'd been okay with Wes calling him, so.... He made an executive decision. "It's Cordelia." "Is she okay?" "No, Buffy, she's not. She's dying." "What? How?" He knew Buffy and Cordy had never been the best of friends, but in Buffy's voice he could hear real concern. It gave him hope that, if nothing else, Cordy would be supported from all sides as she faced this challenge. "The visions. They're not made to work in a human body. It's too much for her system to handle." "Oh, God. What can we do?" "I was hoping Giles might have some books, or know someone who could help us." Again, Buffy was silent. "Nothing is ringing any bells in the research department." Wes's spirits sank. "I've got an idea, though. Hang on a minute." He heard her hand cover the mouthpiece, then her muffled voice calling for Willow. There was a clatter of feet, then voices. The phone changed hands. "Hello? Wes?" Willow asked, her voice the same, girlish lilt it had always been. "Yes. Hi," he replied. "How are you?" she inquired. "I'm fine, thanks. You?" "Been better, but thanks for asking. Buffy tells me Cordy needs help." They were so quick to rally around each other in times of need. He'd always admired that about them. "Yes, that's right." He briefly explained the situation. "That's awful," Willow said. "I'm so sorry. Tell Cordy I said so, okay?" Wes nodded. "Any ideas?" "Yes, actually. But I'll need to call you back." "All right." His heart started to pound. What if this were a genuine lead? "Shall I wait up?" "I just need to make a quick phone call." "Great. Ring me back at Cordy's." "All right. Hang on. Buffy wants to say goodbye." The phone changed hands again, and then Buffy's voice returned. "Willow's got some good contacts," she said. "Maybe it'll pan out. How's everyone else? Okay?" He knew she was asking about Angel. "Just fine," he said. He didn't feel it was his place to bring up Connor, so he didn't elaborate. "Good. Tell them I said hi." "Will do. Talk to you guys in a bit?" "Yeah. Bye." He thumbed the off button and laid the phone on the end table. Then he picked up a book and started to read, though his mind was nowhere near the page in front of him. Title: Queen of the Night Author: Starlett Chapter 4 About 30 minutes later, the phone rang. The bad movie was still playing, and Wes was, again, mesmerized. "Hello." He closed the Grimoire he'd been ignoring and set it on the couch next to him. "Wes, it's Willow." "Great. Now tell me what you've got," he said, pulling a pad and pencil off the coffee table and settling on the sofa. "Okay, you know the apothecary where I get my herbs, right?" On TV, the ubiquitous blond girl was just about to meet a nasty end. He rolled his eyes. There was no way an intelligent female would run *away* from the parking lot and into the woods. And that wasn't at all what happened to the blood when one's throat was slashed. "Yes, I remember the place," he said, turning the TV off with a decisive click. "Well, the woman who owns it sells to lots of people. Witches, acupuncturists, shamans, that sort of thing." "One stop shopping, I suppose," Wes commented, hoping she'd hurry up and get to the point. "Yeah, kind of. So, I called and gave her a rundown on Cordy's deal, you know, with the visions." "Uh huh," Wes said, doodling little shapes on the pad. "And she said there's the old guy who comes in there sometimes. A Chinese guy who specializes in the sort of thing Cordy's going through." Wes stopped doodling. "What exactly do you mean?" "Evidently it's pretty common for the etheric body to wig out. People get all sorts of weird things happening. Can't eat, can't sleep, mudras, which are like involuntary spasms. Sometimes you can even go crazy." "Oh, I understand. Yes, yes, of course." Wesley nodded and wrote "etheric" and "mudra" on the first line of the note pad. "So this guy, um, hold on, I've got his name somewhere...." "Wait, Willow, I don't think you could exactly say that Cordelia is experiencing a spiritual awakening, which is what you're speaking of. Her problem stems directly from the visions." Wes heard a rustling sound on the other end of the line, then Willow came back on. "Here! I got it! Martin Zhou." Wes obligingly wrote "Martin Zhou" on the line under "etheric" and "mudra." "But, Willow..." he began. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Not a spiritual awakening. That's what I said, too. But evidently, Marcia, that's my lady at the herb shop, says that's okay. 'Cuz it all comes from the same place. And she thinks this Mr. Zhou guy might be just what Cordy needs." Wes thought through what Willow had said, his mind piecing together the information like he might fit together a puzzle. "All right, Willow, that's good information," he said, finally. "How might we contact this Mr. Zhou?" Willow sighed. "Well, that's the thing. You can't. I mean, he doesn't have a phone, and he lives in the mountains somewhere. The only time Marcia sees him is when he comes in town for herbs." Wes leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "That's not good news at all." "Well that part isn't. But the part where he's coming into town on Monday for his regular pick-up, that's good news, right?" Wesley grinned and sat up straight. "That's excellent news." Willow laughed. "Yeah, I thought so, too. Marcia says she's only seen him take clients a couple of times, and that we shouldn't get our hopes up because he usually turns people away. But she thought, since Cordy's a special case, he might be willing to talk with her at least. So Marcia says for you guys to drive down, and to have Cordy at the shop early on Monday morning." "Absolutely. First thing," Wes replied. "Well, hey, why not come down tomorrow and spend the night? Everyone else does and Buffy says it'd be fine. Besides, we haven't seen you since we...since her...." Wes heard her swallow. Something, maybe pity for the poor girl, drove him to agree. "I think that would be a splendid idea. We'll drive down tomorrow evening. Does that suit?" "Yeah, yeah, that's perfect," Willow said happily. "I'll tell Buff." "Thank you. I know it's been an incredibly difficult few months for all of us, but for you especially." Just the thought of losing Cordy almost doubled him over with grief at times. He couldn't imagine a world without her in it, and he didn't envy what Willow had experienced when Buffy died. Or when she'd been reborn. He'd heard stories of the magic it took to bring someone back from the dead. Willow said, with a catch in her voice, "Thanks, Wes. That means a lot." "We'll call you tomorrow and let you know when to expect us. Sleep well." Willow snorted. "Ha! Sleep? We're just getting up. It's time to go kick some demon booty." "Well, that can certainly be a satisfying way to spend an evening. Be careful, though, won't you?" "Oh, we're always careful. Much more careful than, you know, before." "Yes, us too. Right, see you Monday." "Cheerio," Willow giggled. The line went silent then the dial tone engaged. Wes sat looking at the phone for a moment before he hung it up. Then he walked back to Cordy's room, pushed open the door, and slipped inside. Next to the bed was a chair, with a footrest in front of it. He sat down, propped his feet up, and watched Cordelia breathe evenly in her sleep. |