Sorry this is a day late
Title: Times of Darkness, Times of Light
Author: Justin
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story, nor the setting.
Distribution: Anyone can take it, just let me know
Summary: A demon is hiring vampires as cannon fodder, whilst someone is torturing and burning the local women. A typical day in Sunnydale
The Witches' HammerChapter 1Buffy made a last sweep round one of the graveyards, checking each grave for signs of them having been disturbed. There hadn't been any vampire activity since Buffy and the others had returned from their trip a week ago and Buffy was starting to get worried.
Buffy jumped as a voice behind her said, “I've got some news that might interest you.”
Buffy spun around, Mr Pointy raised, ready to strike. She lowered it as she saw who had spoken, “Spike!”
“Someone's a bit jumpy, aren't they slayer?”
Turning away from Spike and continuing on she said, “I always get nervous when things are quiet.”
Hurrying to catch up with Buffy he said, "Yeah, well then you're going to want to hear my news. There's a nest of vamps over by the east side."
"Well what are you waiting for?" Buffy asked, as she started off in that direction.
***
Buffy crashed through one of the windows of the building. Landing lightly on her feet she pulled a stake out as she scanned the room for any vampires. The only sound was a door banging in another room.
"Oh this is just typical." Realising the building was deserted Buffy straightened up, slipping her stake back into her pocket.
Spike climbed in through the whole in the window, saying, "They were here, I swear it."
"Yeah I know." Opening a cupboard Buffy found a body there. It had been drained of blood and there were several bite marks on the neck. "There was definitely a nest here. So where have they gone?"
"There's been rumours of some demon big wig recruiting vampires."
Buffy spun round to stare at Spike, an accusative expression on her face, "And you're only just telling me now?"
"I haven't heard anything concrete, just vague rumours.” Spike shrugged, “I'm not exactly in the loop at the moment when it comes to demonic activity."
"So what exactly have you heard?"
"Demonic bigwig recruiting vampires. That's it. Oh yeah, I've been hearing the words cannon fodder being bandied about a lot." Buffy nodded, not really liking the sound of this.
***
A large field to the south of Sunydale. A couple of years ago a real estate firm had bought the land in order to build some offices there but legal wrangling had tied the project up, seemingly indefinitely. Right now the only thing disturbing the peace of the area was the sound of two women laughing.
“So Xander thought that your birthday suit was a suit you wore on your birthday?” Tara asked. She was stretched out on a blanket, with the remains of the picnic they'd just eaten next to her. “Surely you're not serious?”
“I am,” Willow, who was sitting with her back against a tree, “And don't call me Shirley.”
Tara just groaned at this.
“You seemed to be busy last night, doing lots of research.”
Tara nodded, “There's a spell I've been thinking about. I was researching it, I'd like us to cast it now.”
"There is?" Willow smirked a little as she added, “Is it a sexy spell?”
"Willow! Sometimes I think you have a one track mind.”
“Sorry,” Willow said, the grin on her face taking something away from the apology.
“You know how things have been quiet lately and how that's been worrying Buffy," Tara explained.
"Yeah, I think it's a slayer thing. When there's nothing going on she has all this extra energy so she starts getting anxious."
"I was thinking we could cast a spell to help."
"You want us to summon a monster for her to fight, in order to burn off all that excess slayer energy?" Willow frowned as she considered the idea, "I'm not sure that's a good idea, I mean there's a lot of ways that it could go wrong."
"No, you goof. I was thinking we could do some investigating, make sure there isn't some big evil brewing."
"Oh yeah, that makes a lot more sense. So that's the spell you were researching?"
"I've been working on a spell for general information gathering."
"Really? So what do we need to do?"
Tara got her notebook out from her pocket and opened it up at the correct page.
Moving to look over Tara's shoulder Willow said, “I don't know how you can read that.”
Frowning slightly Tara turned to look at Willow, “What's wrong with my writing?”
“It's so small.”
“Oh, I need to write small to fit a lot in,” Tara lifted the small notebook slightly as she spoke.
“Well I don't know why you don't get rid of that old thing and get a PDA.”
“My mother gave it to me.”
“Okay, if you need me I'll be over here,” Willow indicated with her thumb, “Trying to get my foot out of my mouth.”
Tara smiled gently, saying, “It's okay.” She reached up her hand to stroke Willow's cheek a moment before glancing at the notes one last time then said, “We'll need a sacred circle.”
“I can do that,” Willow said, “I'm good at the sacred circles with the being circular and sacred.”
Before long they had the ingredients of the spell laid out and were sitting facing each other within the sacred circle. Tara raised her arms and took hold of Willow's hands.
Tara began chanting softly, with Willow following, “Blessed Goddess, we come seeking wisdom. Guide us in our hour of need. Light our way so we do not stumble.”
Everything went dark. “Not what I has in mind,” Tara thought.
As the light gradually started to return Tara began to recognise where she was. "I've been here before," Willow said.
"Me too," Tara agreed.
A moment later an old woman appeared, "Well here you are again dears. Seeking knowledge again."
"Hi," Willow said.
"We just want to know if there's anything brewing that we should know about," Tara said.
"There's always something brewing," Hecate, now a young woman said. "But right now an ancient battle is set to be repeated."
"When will this happen?" Willow asked.
"Soon, dear. Don't worry you will know what you need to know, when you need to know it."
Suddenly, in front of them their was an image of the two of them. Willow was sitting on a bed, whilst Tara was sitting nearby. Willow recognised it as being from the cabin, when they had discovered the poem that Tara had written as a child.
"Why do you keep helping us?" Tara asked.
"We're repaying a debt."
With that Willow and Tara found themselves back in the field.
"That was strange," Willow said.
"You said it," Tara agreed, "So whom do they owe a debt to?"
"And if this is part of a debt why can't they be more specific?" Willow complained, "I mean ancient battle hardly tells us much."
Tara shrugged, "Well I guess my idea of proving there was nothing going on in order to help stop Buffy from worrying hasn't worked out."
"We'd better talk to Giles."
***
Entering the Magic Box Tara went over to Anya saying, "Hello Anya, are you excited about the wedding?"
"Yes I am, thank you. You're the first person to ask me that."
Willow found Giles and told him everything they had learnt from the spell.
"So they gave no hint as to what this battle was?"
"None."
"Well it does fit. Last night Spike told Buffy that something was hiring vampires to use as cannon fodder."
"That doesn't sound good," Willow said. "Oh, I think it has something to do with a poem Tara wrote."
She showed Giles the poem. “One is for the key, weak, yet strong; two is for the slayers, doomed to die young; three is for the witches, doers of good; four is for the vampires, drinkers of blood; five is for..." As he finished reading it he looked up and asked Tara, who had just joined them, "When did you write this?"
"When I was twelve."
"It shows an amazing amount of foresight. When you wrote it the idea of two slayers was unheard of. Also you wouldn't know about the key."
"But Dawn isn't the key any more," Willow protested, "Is she?"
"Well the particular ritual which Glory needed to return home can no longer be performed, but she is still the key."
"You haven't said anything to Dawn," Tara said.
"Yes, well at the moment she has a chance to lead a life as a normal teenager. I don't want to take that away till I actually know something."
"You haven't been able to find anything out?"
"Anyone who knows about the key has gone. The monks were all killed by Glory whilst the knights of Byzantium who survived the conflict with her have disappeared. Though I don't know how."
"They're not exactly inconspicuous," Willow said, remembering the knights habit of going around in metal armour as though it were still the middle ages.
"Quite, yet there is no sign of the order. Which makes getting information difficult."
They all stopped as the door bell rang, freezing when they saw who had come in. Willow had to struggle to resist the urge to walk over and punch the newcomer.
Walking in front of Tara, Giles said in a low voice, "Mr Maclay, I thought that we said everything that needed to be said last time that you were here."
"I'm here to speak to my daughter."
"Force her to go home with you, don't you mean?' Willow said.
"Willow, it's okay," Tara said. Moving in front of the others she said, "Mr Giles is right. We did say everything we needed to."
For a moment Mr Maclay looked angry, but then his shoulders slumped and he looked resigned. "You have every right to be angry. Anyone would be in your place. But please, hear me out. I'm not going to try to make you come home with us, I just want to try to explain what happened."
Tara didn't know what to say. Part of her wanted to tell her father to leave and never come back, but part of her wanted to find out what he had to say. He had never explained anything before and Tara was surprised at this sudden change.
"Okay then. If you come through here we can sit down." They went to the back of the shop and sat round the main table. Willow stood behind Tara, with her arm round Tara's shoulders. Giles and Anya remained at the counter but it was clear they were watching what was going on. "You let me think I was a demon," Tara said staring at her father.
"You're right and that was a terrible thing to do. You have to understand though, that's what my father in law told me."
"Grandpa Stevens told you I was a demon?"
"Not you, your mother. Let me explain. When I met your mother I was captivated by her. By her looks and her charm. I asked her out, not really expecting her to say yes, but fate smiled on me and she did. For the next couple of years we courted and I fell more and more in love with her every day. Finally I decided to ask her father permission to seek her hand in marriage. I can tell you I was very nervous. I mean the Maclays have always been wealthy whilst I was just a poor farmer, there was no way he would agree to the union."
"But he did," Tara said.
"Not at first, first he said the one thing I would never have expected. That his daughter was a demon."
"And you believed him?" Willow asked.
Donald looked annoyed a moment but answered, "I was going to laugh at it, thinking it was a joke, but then I saw his face and I knew he was deadly serious. When he knew I was convinced he asked me if I still wanted to marry Samantha. I said I loved her and would marry her even if she was a demon. Then he explained about how he had had to do things, things he hadn't liked, in order to help her control her demon side. He told me that it would be my responsibility to do the same, not just for Samantha but also for any daughter's that we had. I shouldered the responsibility with a heavy heart because I loved your mother. It wasn't easy but we both believed it was necessary."
"Do you think Grandpa believed it?" Tara asked, wondering how long the lie had gone on, how many women had suffered the way she and her mother had.
"I think so, yes. Who knows when the myth started. But I swear to you Tara I did believe it. I would never have done the things I did if I had had any doubts that it wasn't true."
"So what happened when you found out?"
"Well when I got home at first I was furious about your disobedience, I wanted to just disown you. But then it began to sink in what had happened. What a terrible mistake I had made all these years. I wanted to make it up to you, but I didn't know how. Then I heard that you had died and I thought I had lost the chance to make things straight with you, just like I had with your mother." He stopped talking a moment, seemingly lost for words. "When Beth came home saying that there had been a mistake and you were alive, I knew I'd been given a second chance. So here I am. I want to make things up to you. I want to be the father that you deserve."
"I don't know what to say," Tara said finally.
"I know that this is a lot to take in. I'm staying here a few days." He gave Tara a phone number. "If you want to talk then that's the number, but there's no pressure. I understand if you want never want to see me again."
After Donald Maclay had left everyone gathered round Tara.
"Well I certainly wasn't expecting that," Willow said.
"I know," Tara agreed, "Part of me thinks I must be dreaming."
Willow reached over and pinched Tara's arm.
"Hey!" Tara said.
"Just returning the favour from when we went to see my parents last week."
"So the question is, was he being honest or is this all part of some ruse?" Giles said.
"I want to believe him," Tara said, "But as they say, many times bitten, forever shy."
"I'd suggest taking things slowly," Giles said, "If he is being honest he won't mind you being cautious and you have plenty of time to catch up."
"You're right. I'm not going to jump into anything where my father's concerned."
"Can I ask something?" Anya asked, "It seemed that your mother's name was Maclay, so how come you didn't get your father's name?"
"That confuses a lot of people. The Maclays have always been Matrilineal. I guess it makes it easier to keep the demon myth going if the name isn't always changing." Tara grinned as she said, "I guess you'd say that my father's maiden name was Peterson."
"I'm surprised people go along with that."
"Like my father said, the Maclays have always been wealthy. That helps people overcome convention."
"So you should inherit quite a lot," Anya speculated.
"No. The men inherit the money. The women just get the name and the demon."
"Do you want to see your father again?" Willow asked.
"I don't know. I think I need to."
"Whatever you do, you know I'll support you, right?"
"Always," Tara answered.
***
Debbie woke up to find the room empty. She tried to work out how long she'd been there but couldn't. The days seemed to blend together. There was just the pain and the questions. The room was pretty small, with the only light source being an uncovered bulb hanging above her head. She could see around her a table with instruments on it and a short distance away there was a stove, which he used to heat up his tools. He had said something about not being allowed to spill blood, so he heated the tools till they were red hot. There was no sound round the room. After a few moments Debbie realised that she was alone. Though she knew it wouldn't be for long, he was never away for long.
Debbie woke up again, having no idea how long she had been asleep for. Then it occurred to her. This was the first time since he had brought her here that she'd been allowed to sleep. She listened a moment, but there was no sign of him. She started to think that he had gone. Left her there. Forgotten her. She would have been overjoyed, except she was chained to the chair. Her only option was slowly starving to death. There was the sound of steps leading up to the room and she knew he hadn't forgotten her after all. There was a knock at the door, "Is anyone in there?" It wasn't him.
"Help!" Debbie tried to call out but it just came out as a gasp. There was another knock and then the steps began moving away. Debbie almost sobbed, thinking her chance of rescue was going. Then her gaze fell on the table. Managing to move her leg a little she hooked it round the leg of the table and pulled it over. A few moments later the door opened and a torch was shone in.
TBC
And Willow accepted. 
about Oz the werewolf
) so it would be a shame if it wasn't finished.
Thanks for the feedback
