Spike looked up from Conner's cage and asked, "Go? What do you mean, pet? We have Conner and there is no way that Buffy and company could possibly know where we are. We are safe, love."

"No you're not." Conner said, having been feigning sleep for a while now, "My father is on the way and he is going to kill you, Spike, and your little skank girlfriend there." He knew Spike on sight and could only guess who the redhead was.

Casually, Willow walked over to the cage, using her magic to pull Conner's face to her, "Don't call me a skank." She ordered before slapping him hard enough to draw tears. Again, her eyes went black with the power of the spell that she was channeling and she looked at Conner, crouching in the corner, staring at her with hate filled eyes. "The boy is right, Spike. They are on there way. I was wrong, Conner is the weakest link in the chain but he is also the most protected. The boy has a link to Angel, akin to the one that you and I share, but it is so much deeper than that. Angel is tracking Conner through the bond."

"You can't block the bond?" Spike asked, more of a statement than a question, "Of course not, it's too deep for you to touch. Right then." Gathering up some stuff, he took one look around and muttered, "Good thing I wasn't really attached to this place." and followed Willow out into the night.

Willow paused outside of the warehouse and cast something. Spike shot her a questioning look and she flashed him a quick smile, the black draining from her eyes. "Just a little spell to keep them busy while you and I go after our goal."

Mystified, still Spike grinned at his Willow, "Anything you say, pet. You run this show and I'll try to keep up."

"You'll do better than that." She tossed a sexy grin in his direction, "You always do."

"Someone is casting spells." Anya said as they neared the warehouse. "I can't tell you who it is, they are cloaking their identity but there is definatly magic being performed."

Buffy looked at Anya and said, "Right." The group gathered around Buffy, all were present except for Dawn whom, against her protests, had been left at home. "Anya and I will go through the front door, Xander and Oz the back, and Angel, you take the skyline. Everyone move." As soon as the group was in place, Buffy nodded to Anya, wishing briefly that Willow was there to help coordinate the attack, and kicked down the door. Immediatly, the two girls were set upon by three vampires even as Xander and Oz kicked down the back door. Anya and Buffy were fighting back to back while Xander and Oz fought their way over to the two girls. Angel came crashing in through the skyline and the group quickly dusted any remaining vampires.

Looking around the room, Angel quickly picked up the trace of the bond and set off, intent on rescuing his son. Kicking down a door, Angel stopped in the doorway, staring into the room. The others crowded around him, also staring in silent disbelief at the room. "Conner." Angel cried, seeing his son in a cage and made to step into the room.

Grabbing his arm, Anya hauled him back from the doorway, and hissed, "Don't." Angel nodded, frustrated, as they all stared helplessly at the room. The room had been transformed into a giant maze of hedges, one that looked like it could take years to traverse and the image of Conner in the cage was also magically illuminated so as to be seen from the great distance the entire group knew that they would have to cross to get to him. "This is not a spell." Anya stated, frowning at the room. "Someone has actually opened a portal to another world and this is what their world looks like. Or at least part of it."

"So what do we need to do?" Buffy asked, sharing a quick look with Angel, worry apparent on both of their faces.

"Save-K'nor." Oz blurted out. When the others shot him quizzical looks, he shrugged and said, "Hey I spent a lot of time in libraries. This is the world of the god Save-K'nor, the god of puzzles, conundrums and mazes. See," he pointed to the floor. On the cobblestones, there was a design of an unlit latern surround by a hexagon, "That is his symbol. Somehow, we have entered his realm and we have to complete the maze to get to Conner."

*That would have to be one powerful spell.* Was the thought that flashed across everyone's mind. "Shit." Angel breathed, looking over the mass of hedges, "Well we can't walk on top of the walls." Reaching over he tried to shove his way through the hedges, only to be shoved back hard by some force, "And we can't get through them either."

"Dawn!." Buffy exclaimed. At the blank looks that everyone gave her, she swore "Damnit, we left her at home. One of us needs to go back and protect her."

Oz stepped up and looked at them, "She won't thank you for a babysitter, Buffy."

"I know," Buffy said, looking down at the floor, "but I can't just leave her all alone in the house for hours, wondering what happened to all of us. Besides, whoever it is that set this up probably knows that we are all here and they are counting on this maze to keep us occupied. They are counting on us not being at the house."

Anya started for the door, "I will go." She was almost at the doorway when it slammed shut in front of her, the force of the slam making her stagger. In the dead silence that followed, all of them heard the bolt being slammed shut. Running to the door, Anya ran into a force field of some kind, one that she could not break through and neither could anyone else. As the field began to close in on all of them, they were forced to enter the maze. "Well, I guess we don't have a choice now." Anya said as she backed up, away from the field.

Buffy kicked at the field, suceeding in nothing other than bruising her foot. "Gods," she swore before giving it up, "Come on guys, the sooner we start, the sooner we can get to the house. I hope."

"So where exactly did you send them, pet?" Spike asked as he picked up his staggering Willow, the spell she cast took a lot out of her.

Willow curled up against Spike's chest and said, "I opened a portal to another god's world and I sent Conner there. With any luck, they will be there for a while but time in that portal lasts longer there than it does here."

Spike could feel his love shaking in his arms, "We need for you to get some food in you, pet. That spell took most of your energy and I can feel you tremble." Setting her down on a bench, he stalked down a quiet alley, sensing the presense of food. He was in luck, a teenage couple were making out right down the alley. Noting how close they were to the Bronze, Spike smirked and swooped in for the kill. Dragging his prey back to Willow, he watched her feed, watching the color return to her cheeks, the warmth return to her hands. The witch blood did that, as they both knew, and he liked the hot feeling of her skin, especially when he was... Throwing off that train of thought, Spike sent his mind down more constructive paths and tore his eyes off the erotic site of his mate feeding.

Willow drank in the blood hungrily, musing to herself how much she had changed since she had gotten Spike to turn her. Once, she would have run screaming before sucking on blood, now it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to her, ,just like loving Spike was. Stealing a glance over at her lover, she half smiled. Buffy was a damned fool for turning down what he offered her. Oh well, her loss and my gain.

Spike caught that half smile and asked, "And what do you find so funny, love?"

"Oh," Willow said, licking the blood from her lips slowly, teasing Spike with the motion, "How stupid some people are. You know, you present them with a truth and they refuse to accept it. Then they throw it away and someone else," she lowered her lashes and looked at Spike slant eyed, "has sense enough to see what was discared. More the fool the person that lost the truth than the one that snapped it up as soon as they found it."

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about a certain blond we have both had the misfortune to become acquainted with, are you now, pet?" Spike asked, amused at her, "Because you know, you stepping into my life like you did has been the greatest thing that ever happened to me. And I mean that, love."

Willow finished draining the last human and smiled, feeling much restored, "I know, baby." Rising in one fluid motion, she held out her arm for Spike to take, "Now, I bet that there is a certain sister of a slayer that is home alone right now. And I just bet that we can get her to come out and play with us." Jauntily, the two of them started walking down the street, towards the Summer's house.

Anemone - Chapter 14 - Coming Soon