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First lines, cont
One evening he'd been too engrossed in a text to leave. Maria stood by his elbow, keys in hand. He studiously ignored her for several minutes. Finally she spoke.
“I close the shop now.”
“Yes, I’m terribly sorry. I only need five more minutes. This is information is crucial to my research.”
“It’s past sunset. We leave now.” She stared at Giles intently and he grasped her meaning.
“Oh, dear. I believe I have a …” he patted his coat, found the stake. “Yes. Well.”
Thankfully there was only one vampire hunting in the neighborhood, and it wasn’t a stellar specimen. Eva had a strong right hook, but it had been the Holy Water in Maria’s purse coupled with Giles’ stake that proved most effective. Afterwards Maria had ushered them all around the corner to her modest brick home. “I make tea?”
“Oh yes,” Giles answered gratefully. “Tea.”
Eva looked from one to the other. "That thing...that was...that really was..."
"Wampira" her grandmother answered, crossing herself.
"Holy shit! That’s real? No offense Babcia, but I always thought you were crazy. That stuff is real? How much of it is real? All the stories you told me? It’s all real? Holy fucking shit!”
"Precisely," Giles agreed.
After that evening, Maria let Giles take the reference books to the apartment in the basement of her home. He'd work most of the afternoon, then an hour before sunset he and Eva would walk to the store to close up and escort Maria home. After tea and conversation he’d return to the basement to work late into the night.
He didn’t know if it was Eva’s curiosity or her irritation at the books stacked haphazardly around the room that led her to join him in the basement. She claimed she only helped him so he’d return the books to her babcia’s store, but she had a natural aptitude for research. Coupled with the extensive folklore she'd learned from her grandmother, Giles suspected she had the makings of a fine Watcher. She was needed, that much was certain. For all the countless Slayers now populating the globe, there were only a handful of people with the skills and resources to train and assist them. With a little training, Eva could spell the difference between life and death for a young Slayer. The possibility of a new beginning gave him hope that even the stifling August heat couldn't squelch. It buoyed him against the sorrow he felt recalling the destruction of the Council, friends gone, lives lost.
He glanced at Eva, her head bent over a collection of legends from the Algonquin people as she searched for any reference to the river or Hellmouth. He cleaned his glasses and put them back on. He didn't know if this odd new beginning would buttress him against the dread he felt at the ominous news filtering out of Los Angeles of an old ally’s disturbing behavior, rumblings of a terrible and futile end.
He supposed it all remained to be seen. Regardless of his feelings, that was Los Angeles and this was Cleveland and right now his attention needed to be here. He had an obligation.
“I close the shop now.”
“Yes, I’m terribly sorry. I only need five more minutes. This is information is crucial to my research.”
“It’s past sunset. We leave now.” She stared at Giles intently and he grasped her meaning.
“Oh, dear. I believe I have a …” he patted his coat, found the stake. “Yes. Well.”
Thankfully there was only one vampire hunting in the neighborhood, and it wasn’t a stellar specimen. Eva had a strong right hook, but it had been the Holy Water in Maria’s purse coupled with Giles’ stake that proved most effective. Afterwards Maria had ushered them all around the corner to her modest brick home. “I make tea?”
“Oh yes,” Giles answered gratefully. “Tea.”
Eva looked from one to the other. "That thing...that was...that really was..."
"Wampira" her grandmother answered, crossing herself.
"Holy shit! That’s real? No offense Babcia, but I always thought you were crazy. That stuff is real? How much of it is real? All the stories you told me? It’s all real? Holy fucking shit!”
"Precisely," Giles agreed.
After that evening, Maria let Giles take the reference books to the apartment in the basement of her home. He'd work most of the afternoon, then an hour before sunset he and Eva would walk to the store to close up and escort Maria home. After tea and conversation he’d return to the basement to work late into the night.
He didn’t know if it was Eva’s curiosity or her irritation at the books stacked haphazardly around the room that led her to join him in the basement. She claimed she only helped him so he’d return the books to her babcia’s store, but she had a natural aptitude for research. Coupled with the extensive folklore she'd learned from her grandmother, Giles suspected she had the makings of a fine Watcher. She was needed, that much was certain. For all the countless Slayers now populating the globe, there were only a handful of people with the skills and resources to train and assist them. With a little training, Eva could spell the difference between life and death for a young Slayer. The possibility of a new beginning gave him hope that even the stifling August heat couldn't squelch. It buoyed him against the sorrow he felt recalling the destruction of the Council, friends gone, lives lost.
He glanced at Eva, her head bent over a collection of legends from the Algonquin people as she searched for any reference to the river or Hellmouth. He cleaned his glasses and put them back on. He didn't know if this odd new beginning would buttress him against the dread he felt at the ominous news filtering out of Los Angeles of an old ally’s disturbing behavior, rumblings of a terrible and futile end.
He supposed it all remained to be seen. Regardless of his feelings, that was Los Angeles and this was Cleveland and right now his attention needed to be here. He had an obligation.