The Blood of the Soul

When Darkness Descends

A/N: I went back and changed the names of Liam'sfriends from Giles, Willow, and Xander to Giles, Willow, and Brett. (Pleasenote that Brett is just the name and has some but not a lot of similarities tothe TW Brett as he's Xander's grandkid. I truly had very little plot figuredout when I first started writing this, so, sorry about that!)

A/N: Also, sorry for the two week gap between chapters. My October is suddenly complete chaos, and I swear I had a good reason (I finally started querying my debut novel to lit agents 🎉)

Theo

Spike set the bag of donuts down on the small dining room table along with a tray of coffee. Theo reached for the coffee first, letting the bitter liquid wash over his tongue and ease the last remnants of his anxiety.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as the slayer grabbed a chocolate donut, biting into it heartily enough that some of the frosting smeared across his upper lip. Theo didn't think, he just reached over and brushed it away with the pad of his thumb. Liam glanced up at him, a smile dancing across the lips he'd pressed bruising kisses to moments before.

Theo let his hand drop to his side, hoping that Spike hadn't caught that little moment of affection before wondering if it mattered.

Let Spike see. Let the world see.

Part of him was still in disbelief over what had just happened—might have thought he'd hallucinated the entire thing if not for the way his heart was thrumming just from Liam's sheer proximity. His body was in tune with Liam in a way it hadn't been before they'd shared blood. Before Liam had let him share his body.

Spike set his empty to-go coffee cup on the counter—he'd chugged all in one go.

For maybe the first time, Theo noticed Spike's black finger nail polish and imagined the older vampire snapping his neck with the same lithe precision that he'd demolished the demon hoard in the abandoned building. If he figured out that Theo had killed his son—it was a distinct possibility.

Spike caught Theo's glance, and curiosity narrowed his gaze. Before he could ask anything, though, a phone rang and Theo jolted toward the noise. He unplugged Liam's phone from the wall and handed it to him.

"It's your mom."

The happiness roiling off Liam quickly dissipated, his contented smile slipping into a deep frown. He took another gulp of coffee before answering.

"Hey, Mom, what's up?"

Theo took his coffee to the couch, determined not to eavesdrop on their conversation. Spike apparently had the same idea, because he joined him in the armchair with a book.

"Where are you? Mia came home, but now I can't find her anywhere!" his mother said. At the mention of Mia's name, Theo immediately returned to Liam's side with his heart hammering in his chest.

"What do you mean you can't find her?" That was exactly what Theo wanted to know. If he had to hazard a guess, Theo was willing to bet Mia had escaped again from the mother who hadn't wanted her own daughter back after she ran away to NYC.

"She went to take a nap, but she's not in bed, her phone's on the nightstand, and her bike is gone!"

Liam groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "She's probably just with Willow or something."

"What? Why would she be with Willow?"

"I don't know, where else would she go?"

"Last time she ran away, it was to the big city to be with you!" his mother answered. "That girl is out of control."