Chapter 12

Inside Motel room 103 at the Sunnydale Motor Lodge, the blinds remained shut, keeping out the late afternoon sunlight. Kelly and Valerie sat on the foot of the bed nearest the door, looking through the pages of Valerie's copy of the Vampires Handbook.

Kelly said, "These 'Hunting Trips' do look very intriguing." She read, “‘Dining in Mexico. All the hombres you can eat, all the time.’ We can really pig out.”

Valerie pointed to a full colored glossy photo that accompanied the list.

"That hombre's the kind of game we'd be hunting. Wouldn't you just love to try out your brand new fangs in a neck like his? I know I sure would."

"No." Kelly told her, "To be perfectly honest, I think I'd like to try them out on Brandon, or Dylan."

"Same here."

"Or Steve, or even my stepbrother David."

"All very tempting."

"But that's not gonna happen. I'm gonna use self control. Just 'cause I'm now a vampire, it doesn't mean that I can't still be a responsible, law abiding citizen."

"Same here." Valerie said, "I'm gonna be a good girl from now on. My fiery romantic interlude with Egbert was enough for me."

From beyond the window they heard a car drive up and stop just outside the door. Kelly got up, went over to the blinds and opened one of the slats a crack.

"They're back!" She said, "They're not alone. There's a woman with them."

Valerie asked, "The Vampire Slayer?"

"Who knows?"

Valerie's fangs extended. "I'll be in my room. Knock three times when it's safe."

She hurried away from Kelly, dashed through the open adjoining doors, shutting them both behind her. Kelly was now alone in Room 103.

The door to the outside opened, letting bright glaring daylight into the room, as Dylan and Brandon entered with a red haired woman with freckles. Kelly put her open hands over her eyes, cringing away from the light. Her fangs instinctively extended.

She shouted. "Shut the door! Please! Shut the door!"

Dylan did as she asked, and the room returned to its safe dimness. Kelly calmed down.

"It's okay Kelly." Dylan said, "Things are gonna start to get better right now."

The red haired woman looked at Kelly's fangs uneasily. She smiled. "Hi Kelly. I'm Willow Rosenberg. I'm a Witch, and a very powerful one."

Kelly looked uneasily at Brandon and Dylan. "A very powerful Witch?"

"But I use my power for good." Then Willow added, "Usually."

"Just 'usually'?"

"Well, there have been some very bad moments, when I've really lost it; and gone over to the dark side; but once I've worked through my rages, I've always come back to being good again."

"That's good to know." Kelly remained uneasy. "You're not in any kind of a rage now, are you?"

"Nope. Just trying to be helpful. I'll be doing what I can to restore your soul."

Brandon repeated the word, "Rages?"

Dylan was carrying a foot deep, white plastic bag. He reached in and pulled out a dark haired woman’s head, shrunk to the size of a baseball. This was not like the crude shrunken heads, which had been produced by savages in the Amazon Jungle. Her features were not distorted. Her lips and eyelids were not sewn together. The consecrated head wore lipstick, false eyelashes, a pair of earrings, and had neatly set hair. Her eyes were shut, but her lips were parted, displaying a pair of miniature fangs.

"Here" Dylan said, "is what we’ve come here for. The Consecrated Shrunken Head of Faith the Slayer-Vampire Slayer, originally from Boston."

Kelly stepped up to him, to take a close look at the head.

He told her, "If you're gonna stand this close to me, please retract those fangs."

She did as he asked.

Then she asked, "This can restore a vampire's soul?"

Brandon said, "We've been told that it can, when someone with magical powers speaks the correct incantation in Latin. Miss Rosenberg here does have those powers, and she knows the language."

“No I don’t.” Willow told them, “But that’s okay. It doesn’t actually have to be in Latin. The spell works just as well in English or Spanish, or in any dead language, or living language too.”

Now the door to the adjoining room opened. Valerie stepped through the doorway, back into Room 103. Her fangs remained extended.

"Hi guys." She spoke to Willow. "Have you got the ability to make this a two for one operation?

The woman spoke nervously, "Two vampires?"

"It's okay." Kelly told them, "We've both been drinking pigs’ blood. I'm no longer hungry. How about you Val?"

"That all depends on her."

Willow's voice trembled. "A two-fer's no problem. The thing is, the operation can only be performed, one restoration at a time."

"Go ahead." Valerie told her, "We've got plenty of time, and neither of us is going anyplace, ’til it gets dark."

"Good enough." Willow told them, "I think it's best for me to start with the vampire who's the greatest danger to others. Would any of you have any idea, which one of these gals that’d be?"

Brandon, Dylan and Kelly all pointed at Valerie.

"She is!"

Valerie rolled her eyes and sighed.

She said, "Then good for me. I get to go first."

"Okay." Willow said, "This shouldn't take too long."

She reached out cupping her hands, where Dylan placed the Shrunken Head. Then Willow stepped up to Valerie, holding the dead woman’s consecrated head in front of her, with Dylan at her side. He reached in his pocket and took out a cross.

Brandon had also stepped up to Kelly, and taken a cross out of his own pocket.

She and Valerie both cried out, and shielded their eyes while cringing.

"Sorry girls." Brandon told them, "While she's performing the restorations, Miss Rosenberg'll be standing within pouncing distance of a vampire, so we have to play it safe."

Willow repeated to the trembling Valerie, "It shouldn't take all that long."

"Okay!" Valerie snapped, "Get on with it!"

Then Willow began the incantation.

"Hear me oh spirit of this undead,

Body from whom her soul has fled.

This shrunken head does now restore,

Her soul into her corpse's core...”

While Willow spoke, Valerie prayed silently, “Lord have mercy on us poor sinners here.”

Then Valerie gasped. "Uuuuh!" She spoke softly. "Good-bye Egbert."

Willow also gasped while looking startled.

She asked Valerie, “You’ve been one of Egbert’s pitchforkings?”

Valerie asked her, “You know about Egbert?”

Willow nodded, “I met him once, during one of my darkest rages.” She had a dreamy look on her face. “He gave me a really great prickling with the prongs of that pitchfork of his. Didn’t want him to stop. Ever.”

“Yeah.” Valerie chuckled. “I know what you mean.”

Now Kelly leered playfully. “Yeah. Valerie here’s been telling me about Egbert. She says he gives great pitchfork.”

Willow leered back, “No guy’s ever forked me better.”

Now Dylan asked, “Just who is this ‘Egbert’?”

“Oh! Sorry.” Willow shook herself. “Back to the restoration. Let’s see. Where was I?”

“It’s okay.” Valerie told her, “I’ve stopped cringing.”

Kelly spoke. “So have I.”

Valerie stared straight at the cross in Dylan’s hand, without any fear. Kelly did the same with the cross that Brandon was holding. Both vampire women reached out, and touched those crosses without being harmed.

Kelly said, “I think this means that both our souls have been restored.”

“That’s right.” Willow told them. “I told you it shouldn’t take all that long. My work here is done.”

Valerie said, “And now I’m suddenly hungry.”

Kelly added, “So am I.”

Willow said, “Oops!”

The red haired woman moved back a few steps from Valerie, reached in her handbag, and pulled out a foot long, sharp wooden stake. She raised it to her shoulder height, and stood trembling, looking back and forth between both Kelly and Valerie.

“Hey!” Brandon said, “What are you doing? You’ve just gave them their souls back!”

“Sorry.” Willow told them, “You see, now that their souls are restored, they’re a pair of hungry vampire girls, who can no longer be held off by those crosses you’re holding. I should have explained that before, but it completely slipped my mind.”

Kelly spoke sharply, “Calm down lady! We’ve got all the blood we need right here!”

She pointed toward the cooler on the floor.

Valerie added, “And it’s all the legal stuff.”

Dylan asked, “That should be enough, shouldn’t it?”

“Hopefully.” Willow shook her head, “No guarantee about that.”

Brandon asked, “Do you want either Dylan or I to give you a ride back into town?”

“No. It’ll be better for everyone here, if both of you drive me back and don’t return.”

Dylan asked, “Don’t return? Forget it! They’ve got all the blood they need right here.”

Willow said, “I still wouldn’t trust either of them.”

Brandon said, “But you don’t know Kelly. With her soul restored, she’ll be the woman she was before; and the way she was before, was never violent.”

Willow looked at Valerie. “What about her? Before now, could you trust her?”

Dylan and Brandon both looked uncomfortable.

Valerie sighed and rolled her eyes again. “It’s okay. As long as I’ve got enough pigs’ blood to drink, everyone’ll be safe with me. Listen. Dylan and I are part owners of a nightclub in Los Angeles. I’m not gonna do anything that’ll lead to me losing my share in it. Is that good enough?”

Both guys shrugged and nodded.

Dylan said, “Sounds reasonable to me.”

Brandon said, “Right.”

Kelly nodded her head.

“Okay.” Willow told them, “If you guys want to spend your time with a pair of sexy vampire gals, I understand it; but remember, you’ve been warned.”

Miss Rosenberg, still holding the shrunken head, went to the door and opened it, letting in the glaring light of late afternoon, causing both Kelly and Valerie to cringe out of its way. Then Kelly growled. Willow hurried out the door and slammed it shut behind herself.

Kelly then moved over and stood with her back against the door, blocking the way out. Her fangs were now extended. Valerie also moved and shut the door to the adjoining room, while she extended her own fangs.

“So tell us, guys.” Kelly asked, “Just what do you two want to do with us sexy vampire gals, who are suddenly both very hungry, and against who you no longer have any defense?”

“That’s right.” Valerie grinned. “What do you say, Mr. McKay. How’d you like to party, with a gal who’s got a nice big pair of fangs on her, for you and she to play with?”

A grinning Kelly asked, “How about you Brandon? Want to see what kind of fun we can have?”

He and Dylan glanced nervously at each other.

Brandon asked uneasily, “You girls are both kidding, aren’t you?”

Valerie asked, “What do you say Kelly? Are we kidding?”

“That depends. Does your guy Egbert have a friend? The next time you go to meet him; I might want to come along and make it a double date.”