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The Silken Cage: Journey	By : margotlefaye Category: -Buffy the Vampire Slayer > Het - Male/Female > Angel(us)/Buffy > Angel(us)/Buffy Views: 21206 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel or any of the characters therefrom. No profit is being made from this work of fanfic, which is intended as commentary on the original, not as a derivative work. No infringement intended.

Chapter List
- 1-The Silken Cage: Journey
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Part 7
- 8-Part 8
- 9-Part 9
- 10-Part 10
- 11-Part 11
- 12-Part 12
- 13-Part 13
- 14-Part 14
- 15-Part 15a
- 16-Part 15b
- 17-Part 16
- 18-Part 17
- 19-Part 18
- 20-Part 19
- 21-Part 20
- 22-Part 21
- 23-Part 22a
- 24-Part 22b
- 25-Part 23
- 10
- 11
- 12
Buffy had drifted into a deep sleep, to judge by her breathing and her heartbeat. Angelus continued to hold her close, enjoying the warmth of her body pressed to his cool flesh. He was pleased with himself and pleased with Buffy. Just when he thought he had all the bases covered, all the angles figured, she came up with a new twist. Well, wasn't that one of the things he had admired about her, from the start? He knew she would never break, but he had expected her to simply give in to the sensual side of her nature, and to accept his dominance over her. Instead, she had asserted herself, even in her captivity, turning the tables on him by becoming the aggressor.
He loved it.
A spirited Buffy, fighting him back, or demanding to be treated as an equal, was ever so much more fun than a broken Buffy. Damn, but she would make eternity interesting. And when he finally got around to turning her, and sprung his little surprise…Angelus grinned. Maybe he wouldn’t wait until she was thirty. He was a long way from ready to take things that far, but perhaps waiting another twelve years wasn't really necessary. Well, there was no need to decide such matters right now. He had, in the most literal sense, all the time in the world.
Although there were some matters that required more immediate attention. Reluctantly, Angelus eased Buffy down beside him, settling her on the bed. She murmured sleepily and snuggled into her pillow. He drew the comforter over her, and waited to make sure she remained asleep. Satisfied that she was still out, Angelus rose and dressed quickly in his discarded clothing. He left their suite, locking the door from the outside. True, he was taking a risk, but he was pretty confident that Buffy would still be in bed when he got back. He wouldn't be long.
And if she were so foolish as to try to escape…well, he hadn't wanted to punish her too severely while they were here, but he prided himself on being adaptable.
A moment later, he was knocking on the door of Mai's apartments. Robert answered immediately. Angelus smirked. Of course he had been expected. Robert stood aside, bowing slightly as Angelus entered. With Mai in residence, a formal invitation was hardly needed. Once the vampire had crossed the threshold, Mai's servant discretely disappeared into one of the rooms at the far end of the suite. Mr. Sung was nowhere in evidence.
Mai herself was stretched out on a couch. She had changed her silk dress for an even more expensive and exotic silk kimono, and her long, black hair was unbound, trailing down her back like a river of night, to pool in darkness about her rounded hips.
"My lord is well come," she greeted him formally, her usage archaic. She regarded him calmly, but Angelus wasn't fooled. He smiled wolfishly. She made a very tempting picture, and he wasn't particularly known for resisting temptation. If Buffy hadn't already sated his appetites several times over, he would have accepted Mai's offering--and he knew it was an offering--with alacrity. He had fond memories of their first encounter, the one that had put her in his debt.
It had been in San Francisco, about 1850. She had been betrayed by a demon with a grudge against her house, drugged with a potent, magically enhanced brew and was on an auction block in a highly discrete, highly expensive brothel. Sheerest luck that boredom and restlessness caused him to wander into the establishment that night, and that he recognized what the lovely, seemingly oriental girl truly was. Buying her services for the evening wasn't a problem. Liberating her from those foolish enough to think they owned her was another matter. However, the adventure alleviated his boredom nicely and placed the powerful creature deeply in his debt. Once Mai recovered from the drugs, she was very demonstrative in her show of gratitude.
Very, very demonstrative.
Angelus smiled down at her, remembering some of her more enthusiastic expressions of thanks. He let himself slide into game-face and bent to kiss her. She sighed deeply, and he felt her own fangs come down. He forced her mouth open, and let his tongue slide in to play lightly with her own tongue before sweeping it over her fangs. She was clearly aroused, a drop of venom already pearling on one razor sharp tip. Angelus greedily licked at the drop. The venom of the Lamia was a dangerous delight. In small doses it had a deliciously narcotic effect on humans and most demons. Gradual exposure often led to addiction, though. And in full strength, the venom was death for any but another Lamia. Or a vampire. Vampires shared kinship with Lamia and were as intoxicated by the substance as full Lamia were, and as immune to the dangerous side effects. For a vampire, there was nothing short of the blood of a Slayer that provided quite the kick of Lamia venom. And it was a wickedly effective aphrodisiac, as well: the reason why human myths depicted Lamia as always irresistible–and always fatal–lovers. Too bad he was too tired to play.
Mai lifted her gaze to his, and he saw a well-remembered heat within the obsidian depths of her eyes.
Then again…
Angelus hauled Mai up and into his embrace, deepening the kiss. She twined her arms around his neck, clinging to him. Angelus twisted, and sat with her on the couch pulling her across his lap. Holding her squirming form close with one hand, he used the other to pull open her robe, then stroked the cool, smooth flesh beneath. He didn't waste time on preliminaries, but slid his hand between her thighs and thrust one finger into her cool, wet depths. Her thighs clamped around his wrist, trapping his hand, and he chuckled against her mouth. He pulled out a bit, then drove in harder. He took her answering hiss as his cue and added two more fingers in rapid succession, then swept his thumb across her swollen clit. He pumped into her in a merciless, almost vicious rhythm. In moments she was screaming her pleasure into his mouth, her fangs releasing their delicious load of poison for him. He sucked it down, licking at her tongue and fangs to make sure that he got every drop. It burned going down, like fire in his belly. Almost as sweet as Slayer's blood, almost as intoxicating.
Almost.
Pushing that disconcerting reflection to the back of his mind, Angelus flicked his thumb across Mai's clit once more, triggering another short, intense climax, and another spurt of poison to savor. She broke their kiss and allowed her head to fall back with a contented sigh, lids closed over her obsidian eyes. Angelus grinned down at her, and twisted his fingers ruthlessly inside. Mai's eyes flew open as he began to force yet another climax from her, dipping his head to capture the drugging venom once more. Only when he was sure that he had thoroughly sated her, and drained all of her delectable poison, did Angelus fasten her kimono once more, and set her aside with a last, perfunctory, kiss.
"Lovely greeting," he said to her, before seating himself in a chair opposite the couch. Mai regarded him thoughtfully, through heavy lidded eyes.
"Pleasant enough," she conceded. "But not the greeting with which I had hoped my lord would favor me."
"Another time, Mai," Angelus said, his voice, though still pleasant acquiring a subtle warning note. Lamias excelled at subtlety and the note was not lost on Mai. She frowned at him, seeming more puzzled than angry. Angelus kept his face neutral, inwardly fuming. This was a complication he did not need. He had no desire to offend Mai. He did not need to fall afoul of the powerful Lamia kin groups. Lamia might not walk in this world often, but their minions did so, keeping their eyes on their master's lucrative businesses in both the underworld and in the more legitimate branches of commerce. The web Angelus had told Buffy of had been spun by the Lamia, as much as anyone else. Cold hard cash wasn't all that useful in the demon dimensions, but the things that cash could buy had value. Most important to the Lamia, however, was the power their success brought them. Power was the only real currency that mattered, to the Lamia, or to Angelus.
Angelus considered the demoness before him. Mai was regretful, not enraged. He hadn't precisely rejected her, and she was still in his debt, after all. Still, he would have to handle her delicately. She was useful as well as beautiful. Power was the main reason he had come to her rescue in San Francisco and he wasn't about to give up that power just yet. Had she not been what she was, the difficulties Mai had found herself in all those years ago would have amused him. Demons were short on compassion and long on viciousness. Their contempt for those who were weaker was boundless. They enjoyed seeing others of their kind taken down. But the chance to put the Lamia in his debt–and through her, everyone in her kin group, or "house"–had been too rich a prize for Angelus to forego. And then again, the erotic delights to be had were the stuff of vampire legend.
The legends hadn't lied.
So, why wasn't he in a rush to re-experience those particular delights? Angelus frowned, pushing the question aside. Buffy had already taken care of his needs. Several times. That was all.
Mai had her own observations on the matter.
"I never thought my lord would take a human mate," she said. "I never thought you'd take a mate, at all."
Angelus stared at her, surprised.
"What were Darla and Dru, then?" Over the course of their association, Mai had come to know both vampiresses. Intimately.
"My lord was with Darla out of loyalty," Mai said as she swung her legs gracefully over the side of the couch and rose, heading toward a sideboard upon which a brandy decanter and two snifters waited. Mai continued to speak as she poured generous servings of amber liquid from the decanter into the snifters. "And yet, my lord made Dru. Now, that one obsessed you. Darla and I wondered if you'd abandon us totally when you discovered her. But even when you were hottest for the little nun, you included us in your games. And you allowed Dru to make Spike very quickly." She handed Angelus a snifter, and sank back onto the couch. "Had she even been my lord's property for a decade when he permitted her such a liberty?"
"The game paled once I turned her," Angelus said dismissively, saluting Mai with his glass before taking a drink.
"They always do, my lord," the Lamia said agreeably, raising her own snifter to her lips.
"What is it you want Mai?" Angelus asked with growing impatience. Mai looked at him calmly.
"What I have always wanted," she said. "To serve my lord completely and faithfully, and fulfill my obligation."
"Ah. Obligation." Angelus smirked at her, taking another sip of brandy. That was something he could understand.
Mai inclined her head. "My lord's pleasure is my own," she said, as she had said earlier. Angelus smirk grew. Yes. As long as she was under obligation to him, anything that pleased him would indeed please her. At least until her debt was paid.
Which would be, if all went as he expected, upon the conclusion of his visit. Angelus sighed, thinking about the complication presented by the dark beauty before him. Caught up in his plans for the sensual conquest of his Slayer, Angelus hadn't given much thought to his amorous history with Mai. Certainly, given the appetites and proclivities of Lamia, who were rarely faithful and almost never went back to a lover from whom they had parted, he hadn't really expected to renew that aspect of their relationship. He had wanted to concentrate on Buffy, on teaching her every facet of passion, enslaving her senses, her soul, her spirit, as well as her flesh. That was something that couldn't be done overnight. And while she was proving as innately sensual and abandoned as he could have hoped, she was still very, very new to sexuality. She wasn't ready for everything he wanted her to learn.
Then again, hadn't she just proved that she was nothing if not resilient?
Was he, he wondered, overlooking a very interesting opportunity? He would have to give the matter some thought. Buffy had to be handled delicately. As did Mai.
But the opportunity of handling them both simultaneously was an intriguing one.
"You've done a lot which has pleased me, Mai," Angelus said now. "This place is charming, and perfect for what I plan. I knew I could rely on you to see that my needs were met."
"And yet I have failed my lord," Mai said now, setting her snifter aside. "The blood I secured was fresh. But it did not suit. My lord was kind not to reveal my inadequacy before my servants."
"The fault may not be yours," Angelus admitted, and told her briefly about the blood he had thought tainted.
"Then this was not the first time. But before that, when you began your voyage, the blood was good?"
"The first few bags were better than good," Angelus told her. "They were premium. I got the shipment when I left LA, kept a few bags for immediate needs, and sent the rest on to the ship. I wasn't told of any problems in transit, and believe me, if there had been any, I would have been told. The first bag seemed okay. A bit of a let down after Slayer's blood, but I've had that happen before."
"Slayer's blood?" Mai said. "You killed another Slayer? My lord's prowess is incomparable."
Angelus chuckled. "I haven't killed her yet." Mai's eyes widened, and she sat up, alarmed.
"The girl in your possession–the human you have marked as your mate–she is the Slayer?"
"The one and only," Angelus confirmed. "Well, at least since she put the other stupid bimbo in a coma."
"My lord, I don't understand. There is only one Slayer. What has this other person in a coma to do with that?"
"There's only been one Slayer because no Slayer before Buffy was ever so good at getting away with breaking the rules," Angelus said. Briefly, he recounted Buffy's story, explaining her death and revival, the calling of a second Slayer, Kendra's murder at Dru's hands, and Faith's calling. He went on to tell her how Faith had betrayed Buffy, and how in the ensuing battle, the older Slayer had put the younger in a coma. He skirted his own history with Buffy. He didn't care to dwell on the time he had spent under the soul's dominance. He sketched in his capture of Buffy, concluding with his abduction of her and their arrival in Mai's domain. Mai listened attentively, drawing her own conclusions, conclusions that came closer to the truth than Angelus might have guessed. She had her own sources, and there had been odd rumors, which began to make a kind of sense with the information he had just imparted. Mai would consider those later. For now, she had a more immediate concern.
"My lord, is this wise?" Mai she asked Angelus.
Angelus chuckled again. "Believe me, I have her under control."
"Such a creature, my lord, is never under control," Mai warned him. He arched a brow at her, and Mai settled back, resigned. She was not about to argue the point with the Scourge of Europe. She forced herself to become calm again before she resumed speaking. "It shall be as my lord wills. However, if you indeed wish me to guard her during the day, and allow her the freedoms you have suggested, perhaps I should bring more of my own servants to aid me in the task."
"Buffy won't give you any trouble, Mai." Angelus explained about the Watcher's test, and the drugs. This, at least, Mai found amusing.
"How like them!" she said, returning to the sideboard and bringing back the decanter. "Merely surviving to turn eighteen should be proof enough that a girl is worthy of her calling. As if those foolish old men were responsible for one being called, in the first place. Do they think they know better than the Powers That Be?" she asked as she refilled Angelus' snifter and then her own
"Probably," Angelus said dryly, then sipped his Brandy.
"I could almost pity the Powers, afflicted with such useless servants." Mai seated herself on the couch once more. "I suppose we have the Watcher's Council to thank that we don't have more experienced Slayers surviving their idiotic tests and wreaking havoc among us."
"Buffy survived their test," Angelus said, a bit of pride in his captive's success surfacing.
"You admire her for that," Mai observed. "And yet, it gives point to the danger of keeping her. If she triumphed over the vampires she faced while unable to fight, what makes you think that she won't find a way of escaping you?"
"Because I know her. I know the way she thinks, and the way she reacts." Angelus stared off in the distance, remembering. "I once told Spike that force wouldn’t get it done with Buffy. She's not like other Slayers. I told him that to kill this girl, you have to love her. The truth is, that's also how you get to keep her your prisoner."
"You love her?" Mai said uncertainly.
Something went through Angelus at her words. He ignored it, laughing instead.
"I love her frequently and at every opportunity. Which is why, my dear, I wasn't quite in shape to love you as you deserve, this evening."
"I see," Mai said slowly. "And does this loving also include drinking from her?"
Angelus didn't even bother answering the question. He merely raised his brow at Mai, amazed she would even ask.
"Ah," Mia nodded, her thoughts confirmed. "Tell me, my lord, how much of her blood did you drink before you noticed that the supplies you brought with you were no longer palatable?"
Angelus nodded. Mai had just voiced his own unpleasant suspicion. "I've been drinking from her, off and on, since I captured her. About a week. The first time, I took enough to make her loose consciousness. After that, I paced myself. I didn't take any more from her until two days after, and then, only a few sips. But almost every day since, I've drunk from her at least once."
"The Slayer accepts this?" Mai couldn’t imagine a Slayer permitting what must seem a violation to her. She knew the sexual pleasure that vampires took from feeding. It was a pleasure she herself appreciated. So, she was pretty sure that Angelus must be drinking from the Slayer when he bedded her. That he was bedding a Slayer at all was almost unthinkable. That the Slayer hadn't found a way to kill herself rather than allow him to feed from her was astonishing, as well. Mai was not reassured by Angelus' assertion that he had matters in hand. And his next answer did nothing to reassure her, either.
"Accept it?" he laughed. "Mai, she will beg me to drink from her." Mai hid her astonishment. No vampire had ever succeeded in keeping a Slayer captive. And while there were rumors of killings that had been preceded by rape, Mai had always doubted those stories. It seemed to her that if a vampire were so foolish as to prolong a Slayer's death when he or she had the advantage of one, then any Slayer worthy of her calling would be able to break away and turn the tables on her captor.
That Angelus had done so, that he had kept this girl with him for a week, that he had, if Mai understood the significance of those matched rings, publicly declared her his bound mate, was nothing short of astounding. Not only had the like never been done before, the like had never been imagined before. Truly, Angelus was a vampire to be reckoned with; a demon among demons and a credit to the line of Lamia that had created the breed. Her own status, through her association with him, would rise among the kin groups when this particular triumph became known.
But could Angelus keep his captive indefinitely? Mai wasn't sure that was really possible. Though his capture of the Slayer would only enhance the reputation which had previously won for him the title of Scourge of Europe, so that even if he lost possession of her–even if she slew him–he would still be remembered as one of the most fearsome of his kind ever created, Mai had no wish for such a reversal to occur while Angelus was in her own territory. She would have to look into strengthening her defenses. Fortunately, Angelus stay was not to be a long one. Having decided what course of action she herself should follow during his visit, Mai turned her attention to the problem he had raised.
"It's common knowledge that after draining a Slayer, a vampire's next few meals aren't as appealing to him, or her," Maid said now. "No blood is quite so tempting to the vampire palate as that of the Slayer."
"True," Angelus said, finishing his brandy, and setting his snifter down on the end table beside his chair. "And the truth is, Mai, none of the Slayers I've taken before were as delicious as Buffy."
"Indeed," Mai said tranquilly, filing away this tidbit for later consideration. "But that deliciousness may exert a price, my lord," she pointed out diffidently. Angelus nodded.
"The thought had occurred to me," he said. "When you handed me the glass, and it tasted as foul as the stuff I'd brought with me, I realized that tainted blood wasn't the problem. Buffy's blood has spoiled me for anything else."
"My lord is taking this rather well," Mai commented.
Angelus shrugged. "After I was cursed by gypsies, I lived for decades without tasting human blood. If I could survive that, I can survive this."
"She cannot possibly provide enough blood to sustain you," Mai protested.
"No, she can't," Angelus admitted. "But I'm not sure that she needs to. It seems to me I have several options. The blood I've been drinking tastes foul, but I can drink it if I have to. And, if I refrain from drinking any more of Buffy's blood for, say, a week or two, perhaps I'll lose my aversion. If not…I've only tried human blood, so far. One thing that I remember from my previous Slayers kills was that while the blood of other humans didn't interest me for days afterward, I didn't mind animal blood.
"Then I will arrange to have some brought here," Mai said. "If animal blood is still palatable, my lord can wean himself from his addiction."
Angelus raised a brow at that description of his situation. It was not how he himself saw matters. But he did not point this out to Mai, instead murmuring vague terms of appreciation which she could, if she wished, interpret as agreement.
The conversation turned to matters of business, power, and finance. Angelus entrusted Mai with certain commissions that would bear fruit before he arrived with Buffy in Japan. She suggested steps he might take which would be to their mutual advantage. They spoke together for another quarter hour. Meanwhile, Angelus found himself growing more relaxed. The brandy he had drunk, though it did not affect him as strongly as it would a human, was still pleasantly warming. And the Lamia venom he had drained from Mai was beginning to have its usual affect.
A vision of Buffy as he had left her, sleep tousled, recently sated, and naked in a wide bed, came to him. Angelus felt his passions begin to stir once more, and decided that he had spent enough time on the required civilities with Mai.
"I'll be taking Buffy to dinner in a few hours. You'll have the blood for me upon my return?" It was not a request.
"My lord shall have it before he departs," Mai promised.
"Then I will see you later this evening, Mai."
"As my lord wills," she replied. Angelus smiled and took his leave.
Mai stared at the door, which had closed behind him, considering. She had not been deceived by Angelus' seeming agreement that he should wean himself from the Slayer's blood. And his elegant refusal of Mai's own invitation was most unlike him. She knew just how deeply Angelus' appetites ran. Neither Angelus maker, Darla, nor his most favored female victim, Dru, had ever so enslaved him that he turned aside other offers. Yet, while he had toyed with Mai, he had not taken his own pleasure with her. What was this Slayer, that she had so enthralled one of the most fearsome demons ever unloosed upon a hapless world? Well, Angelus had entrusted the girl to Mai, and there would be plenty of opportunity to observe her over the next few days.
And perhaps, Mai might do more than merely observe…
Mai poured herself another brandy and contemplated her options.
Returning to his apartments, Angelus didn't spare more than a momentary thought for the lovely demoness. He understood enough about Lamia to suppose that she was planning how to profit from his capture of a Slayer, which he knew would enhance his reputation, and thus Mai's own status, amongst her people. The idea amused him briefly, before the venom he had ingested forced his attention to other matters. Dismissing Mai from his thoughts, Angelus took the steps to the upstairs suite two at a time, and made quick work of unlocking the door. Heat burned along his veins, and his cold, dead flesh seemed afire. He was already half undressed by the time he reached the bedroom where Buffy still lay asleep. His shoes, socks and pants were gone by the time he reached the bed.
Bending over the sleeping girl, Angelus woke her with considerably more than a kiss.
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The Silken Cage: Journey