Flesh and Blood

10

In attempt to gain some self-clarity, Angel took a step into the repurposed mansion's back garden. A lot had happened in the past few days that had changed his, amongst others, life forever. Buffy had given birth to Spike's daughter, which on its own should never have happened, and not just because the fact that the latter was technically dead, but because he never thought in all his undead life that those two would have any sort of relationship. Whether it was romantically inclined or not, Angel did not know. A part of him never wanted to find out. If Buffy chose Spike over him, he would be devasted, but there was nothing he could do about it either. He pondered on the current events that proceeded his arrival in Cleveland.

Isobelle was swiftly snatched away immediately after her mother gave the baby life. Then Whistler was brutally murdered by a witch that was supposed to be on their side. Additionally, the longer Angel was around Buffy, he could feel himself being drawn closer to her, while at the same time feeling like he was being pushed away. The worst thing was that something inside him screamed that she didn't love him like she used to, although he refused to let himself believe it. However, as the night air circulated around him, he could not help but think that Buffy distancing herself from him was a direct consequence of his selfish actions. He had let her down in a major way, and the guilt and self-torture burned deeper than the sun.

As he took an unnecessary deep breath, the faint smell of lavender invaded his dead nostrils. Angel had not seen so much greenery in a long time since he resided in Los Angeles, and even though it was dark, the moon was as bright as the sun, with no city lights to dim its radiance. An array of flowers, ranging from the pale-yellow primula vulgaris to the brilliantly white convallaria, seemed to dance and pulsate. At first, Angel thought he was seeing things, but upon closer inspection, the older vampire confirmed that the flowers were indeed dancing of their own free will; something he had never seen before. He came to his own conclusion that there was Magick rooted in these gardens, as these flowers were not native to the area. The vampire took another deep breath, this time catching a whiff of a familiar smoke. Angel surveyed his surroundings and knew that he was not alone. He then pinned his sights at the orange end of Spike's cigarette in the distance. The pair's unwanted bond told Angel that the other vampire's demeanour had settled slightly now that he was puffing on a cigarette. Maybe Spike would be able to think more clearly.

The waning crescent moonlight that gently illuminated the night sky acted as a warning. The time they had to intervene and stop the ritual from being performed was quickly evaporating before them. If they wanted to save Isobelle from whatever disturbed plans Amy had, they would need to act faster than they were currently going. But with Whistler dead, their direct connection to the Powers That Be was severed, and without that, it was going to be near impossible to get the information they needed.

The ember on Spike's cigarette had stopped glowing, indicating that the vampire may be in a more favourable mood, but as Angel took a couple tentative steps closer to him, the cell phone in his pocket began to ring.

Flustered, he patted along his front pockets and then searched for his phone in his coat. He flipped it open as soon as his fingers found it. "We're on borrowed time here, Lorne. What took you so long?"

"Sorry, Angelcakes! Let me tell you, it would be easier to draw blood out of a stone than to find us a way to connect to the Powers – and even then, all they gave was a brief explanation and spoke a load of jibberish. But let me just cut to the chase. I got there with a little persuading" —Lorne sighed softly before continuing— "I've kinda had to offer my services as a trade. You can thank me later; if I'm not dead, of course."

"What did you offer them? Wait—don't answer that. Just tell me what has to be done."

As Lorne explained how the higher beings could be contacted, Angel noticed Spike walking in his direction. His stance stiffened once the bleach blond stopped in front of him, inspecting Angel as he continued his conversation with Lorne. He eyed his vampire friend briefly, and then turned away to focus on the call.