Site last Updated - May 13, 2006

Part Four

Willow scrambled to her feet and reached out for Tara. She grabbed the trapped arm and pulled, trying to free her friend. The only result was another cry from the struggling captive.

The light in the room began to fade as Tara's magic orb slowly winked out. For a few seconds they were plunged into total darkness. Then, with a word, Amy's witch light returned, filling the area with a yellow brilliance.

Once the light returned, Willow tried to figure out what was holding Tara, but all she could see was the top of the crate. Tara's arm seemed to disappear a little above the elbow. Willow reached down and watched her own hand slide through the box top as if it wasn't there.

"Tara, it's an illusion -- you have to dispell the magic." She looked up at Amy. "Don't just stand there, help us!"

Tara gritted her teeth against the pain and focused on the top of the crate. "Aperio!"

The illusion dissipated, to reveal a slimy, grayish creature in the box, its two thick limbs wrapped tightly around Tara's forearm. It was about two feet long, with two short legs curled at its side. Two mouths, side by side, were

attached to Tara's arm. Blood was leaking down her wrist to drip from her fingertips. One neon green eye swiveled to stare angrily at them.

Whatever it was seemed to renew its grip, and Tara groaned, slumping to her knees. She landed next to the mace, which Willow grabbed.

"Tara, hang on! Amy -- find something to kill it!" She swung the spiked ball up and over the side of the crate, bringing it down on the creature's head.

Amy shook off her shock and grabbed a set of chains from the other box, swinging it as hard as she could. There was a high pitched whine, and after several more blows, the thing in the box let go.

Tara pulled away, cradling her bleeding arm. Willow dropped the mace and knelt beside the blonde witch.

Amy kept beating the creature, slamming her chain into it over and over until it stopped moving. Breathing hard, she looked up to find Willow trying to stop the blood that was pouring from Tara's wounds.

"Tara?" Willow slipped her vest off and wrapped it tightly around the injured forearm. "Easy, baby, I'm here. I've got you."

Leaning into Willow, Tara groaned. Her hand was numb, but her arm ached and it felt like the thing was still biting her. She felt nauseous and her mouth was dry. Closing her eyes from the pain, all she could do was trust that Willow would take care of her.

It wasn't long before blood was soaking through the vest, and Willow knew there was a real possibility a vein had been opened. The bite was just above the wrist, on the inside of the arm.

"Tara? We need a healing spell. Something..."

Tara shook her head slightly, trying to think. She knew she had no chance of healing herself, but she wasn't sure she wanted to lay the burden on Willow. Giving up the magic had been hard, and even a healing spell might restart the dangerous cycle out of which the redhead had broken.

Amy knelt beside them. "I can do it. You'll need to tell me what to do, but I can do it."

Willow nodded. Part of her wanted to do this, but another part was afraid to even test the magical waters again.

"Need --" Tara coughed, and swallowed. Her throat was dry and it hurt to talk. "Need sage. And a clean crystal."

"Sage, I have." Amy pulled over her purse, which she'd managed to hold onto during their frenzied flight down the hall. "But, a crystal -- I have one, but I've used it before. Is it still okay?"

Tara shook her head. "Not if it was dark magic. It wouldn't work."

Amy's shoulders slumped.

Willow dug into her pocket. "This one should work," she said quietly as she showed them the doll's eye crystal.

"You -- you never used it for dark --"

"I never used it." Willow lowered her head. "Not without you, anyway."

Tara tried to smile, but it was broken by a pain shooting up her arm. She gasped and arched her back a little. Her face went white.

Willow tightened her grip. "Amy, hurry."

Amy nodded and scooted closer to Tara. "I know a general heal injury spell, but -- is there a different one that I should use?"

"No, that's fine." Tara tried not to look as Willow and Amy peeled the cloth off her arm. "Oh, ouch."

Tara's arm was bloody from the midpoint of her forearm down to her fingertips. In the area above her wrist there were two semi-circular sets of bite marks. Most of them were sluggishly oozing, but there were two that were bleeding freely and heavily.

"Okay." Amy slid her own arm along the inside of Tara's, holding the blonde witch's right elbow. With her left hand she took a pinch of sage and sprinkled it around and on top of the wound. Taking the crystal, she held it over the bloody tooth marks.

"You do know this is going to hurt? And it'll knock out your powers for at least a little while."

Tara nodded. "No choice. We can stay here for another half hour without a problem, I think. And as far as the pain --" She shrugged with her good shoulder. "It's not like it doesn't hurt now."

Amy nodded; Willow held Tara's hand as Amy closed her eyes and started to chant.

"Great Mother, bringer of all life, I beseech you.

Brigit, Goddess of moon and healing, hear me.

Life and death are yours to give,

they are also yours to hold.

By Crystal's might, and magic white,

heal this wound by way of light.

Heal your daughter, of mortal birth,

this I ask by fire and earth."

The crystal began to glow, emitting a blue-white light that reached out to envelop Amy's hand and Tara's arm. A tingling began in Tara's elbow and fingertips at the same time, and she squeezed Willow's hand hard as the tingles became a wave of pain that washed through her forearm. She closed her eyes, tears leaking down her cheeks, and pressed back against Willow as hard as she could. When the pain finally ended, she slumped against her former lover, tired and spent.

Willow held on through Tara's painful grip on her hand. Whispering into her ear, she wiped away the tears that fell, and kissed her temple till she finally went limp in her arms. "I love you, Tara." Willow used her sleeve to dry the beads of sweat that had formed on Tara's brow, holding the blonde close as she rested in Willow's lap.

Amy wiped away the blood and what little remained of the sage she'd used. The puncture marks were still evident on Tara's wrist and arm, but had fully closed and were in the early stages of healing. Amy smiled up at the blonde, her own fingers still tingling from the spell.

Tara glanced at the now sealed wound and nodded. Her eyes were very heavy, and she tried to keep them open, but couldn't. "Willow? Gotta sleep." She turned her head slightly and sighed. By her next breath, she was out.

Willow watched Tara sleep for a moment as she fussed with a strand of the blonde hair matted by sweat. Her face was still white, but now calm in slumber. Her jaw had relaxed, releasing the tension that had told Willow just how much pain her love had been in. Tara's appearance was one of peace as she breathed deeply through her slightly open mouth.

But there was still fear in Willow's voice as she asked, "She'll be okay?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine. I -- I think between the pain, and the energy the spell took -- she's just tired. She'll be okay, Willow." Amy tried to sound sure of herself, knowing it was what Willow needed. She was certain of one thing -- Tara's arm would heal fine. But Amy was suddenly really unsure of everything else.

She moved away slightly, leaning against the stacked crates she and Tara had been going through. Her hands rested on her knees as she sat with her legs pulled up in front of her. Amy grimaced slightly at the grime now coating her hands and arms. The dirt had mixed with the oil from the crate and Tara's blood, to form a layer of paste that covered the backs of both hands. Along with that red-tinged grime was an occasional speck of green, the result of the creature's blood splattering over her as she killed it.

She couldn't help but wonder what the hell it was.

A low growl came up from her stomach, and she realized she was hungry. This was quickly followed by the understanding that they were trapped in a dungeon with no food or water. And she was responsible for it.

"Willow?"

"Hum?"

"I'm sorry. I really thought this would be a quick job for you and me. I'd bring you here, we'd wipe the floor with a few demons, and be home by dawn." Amy gestured at the room around them. "I never expected -- this."

Willow didn't know exactly what to say. She was upset about Tara being hurt. About Tara being dragged into this just for being with her on a date. Upset that Amy still thought she could get her to do magic after all this time, by force if need be. Willow stared at the woman in her arms for several moments before replying.

"Amy, this book that you want? It's not worth all this; you have to know that. I know you think I'm a powerful witch, and in truth I had power. But I didn't have control of it. The magic was in control of me. Instead of using the magic, it was using me." Willow looked back down at Tara's sleeping face. "She knew that. She tried to warn me, but I didn't listen." Tears began to form in her eyes. "She was the one that was strong when I was weak. She's the one that understood that you have to have respect, and understand the consequences. You could learn a lot from her. I know I have."

She paused for a moment, then turned to Amy again. "You have the same problem that I did. You've lost control, and that will only get you into trouble." She waved a hand around the room they sat in. "Take a look around you. How fast did your simple plan get out of control?" Willow just shook her head. "You're just as addicted to magic as I was. And it's only going to get worse if you don't try and stop now."

Amy looked down at the floor, and then up at Willow, whose eyes were focused on the blonde asleep in her arms.

She knew Willow was right, at least in part. It was her fault that they were all trapped there, and the plan had gone wrong awfully fast. And the magic lately -- well, she had to admit to feeling a little out of control.

But, give it up, like Willow had? She shook her head mentally.

I have to get to the book, she thought. Then I can make this whole thing up to them. I can get them safely out of here, and I can get control of my life again. I can.

There were shouts off in the distance. Guttural voices could be heard echoing down the hallways. Amy doused her witch light, and Willow huddled down with Tara, covering the injured woman as much as she could.

They stayed that way in the dark for several minutes. More sounds drifted through the air, but there were no footsteps that they could hear. It seemed that Tara's spell was still working.

Amy relit the magic light, and watched for several moments as Willow gently stroked Tara's cheek, whispering in her ear every few minutes. She knew she had to make things right. "First things first," she muttered to herself.

"Willow? Hey." Amy kept her voice down in order to not wake Tara. "Listen, I'm going to go scout around, okay? Follow this tunnel down a little further. You stay put and watch over her?"

Willow didn't even look up."I'm not going anywhere without her. I won't lose her again."

Her voice was soft, but it came across to Amy clearly and strongly. The absolute love she felt for Tara was evident, and had been all along. For a moment, Amy was jealous. Then she just felt guilty.

"Oh. Hey, what about the light?"

"I'll need to take it with me." Amy looked apologetic. "It's kind of attached to me."

"Um ... I'm not so sure I want to sit here in the dark. Any chance of finding a non-magical light source?"

"Don't know." Amy looked around the room. She noticed an odd shaped metal holder on the wall, and stared at it till she realized what it was. "Hey, wait, I think --" Creeping over to the box she and Tara had gone through earlier, she dug through the chains until she came up with a long piece of wood, one end covered in black pitch.

"Exuro." Light flared from the end of the torch, and Amy grinned over at Willow. "Saw it earlier in the box but didn't know what it was till I saw that." She pointed at the metal object on the wall, then moved over to it and slid the torch into it. The room was doused in an almost cheery glow.

Willow nodded. "Nice."

"Okay. I'm going. I won't be long. Maybe I can find.. I don't know. Something."

Willow looked up. "Fine, but be careful and don't break the concealment barrier." She returned to stroking Tara's face.

As Amy got to the door, Willow called to her and she turned.

"No magic." Willow's voice was firm.

Amy hesitated but nodded, then walked quietly through the door and disappeared around the corner.

~~~~~~~~~~

Continue to Part Five

 

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