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Amnchara	By : QueenB Category: Angel the Series > Slash - Male/Male Views: 2441 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Angel: The Series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Gunn shifted for the umpteenth time and sighed. He hated stakeouts. He’d learned to have patience during his long stint as amateur vampire hunter. But he’d never learned to like them. He preferred to be out there swinging. He picked up his cell phone only to stop when Wesley glared at him.
“Gunn, you’ve briefed your men repeatedly. They’ll call you…”
“When they see somethin’. I know that, English. It’s just we’ve been sitting here since sundown for the last hour and ain’t seen nothin’ yet. The Lee house is quiet. Ditto the Crabtree’s and my boys ain’t reported anything for the other houses on the list. I think this is a waste of time. This Robert boy picked this place clean and he ain’t coming back.”
“That remains to be seen. Angel thinks his younger brother might be in danger and we can’t take that chance with his life.” He paused and then spoke gently. “The Lees have already lost one son. I don’t think they’d want to lose another.”
Gunn didn’t reply but his face went studiously blank and Wesley knew what he was thinking. Gunn had lost his sister Alanna to vampires and had had to stake her. He never spoke about that tragedy but Wesley knew it must have cut deep.
Putting a brave face on it. I suppose we never get over losing our loved ones. Let’s hope we can find Robert before it’s too late. He shook his head and grimaced. Gunn was complaining again.
“It just seems a waste of manpower, is all. All of us for one possible vamp.”
“Perhaps. But Robert may strike at any time and place—or he may come back with company. In that case, you and your people are definitely needed.”
“Guess you’re right,” Gunn conceded. Thinking again of Angel and Groo, he wondered how the dynamic duo was doing.
__________
Angel smiled tightly at Merle. He hated coming to the sewers. The stench was particularly offensive to sensitive vampire nostrils and the oily liquids that oozed underground were hell on the leather. But there was no other way of contacting the stooge.
The demon didn’t care for Angel although it didn’t help to make the vampire too mad. But he wasn’t going to back down in front of the souled one no matter what. After all, a demon had his pride, didn’t he? “Look, I don’t like talking to you. Wesley’s my contact now since he’s the boss man. So where is he?”
“Wesley’s busy. I thought we’d take the time to have a little chat with you.”
Merle shot nervous glances at Groo. Ever since he had been introduced to him, the blue-eyed behemoth had remained silent, pinning the demon with an unblinking stare. Frankly, it was starting to get on Merle’s nerves. “Yeah, well, I don’t like what you call talking. It usually involved smacking me around and leaving me tied up somewhere.”
“Merle, I’ve apologized for that. Besides, I haven’t hurt you yet? Have I, Groo?”
“No, Angel. You have been the very model of restraint.” The Pylean spoke for the first time and smiled in Merle’s direction. It was not a pleasant smile and the demon gulped. “I, however, have made no promises regarding this creature’s welfare. If he remains obstinate about providing information, I can’t be held responsible for what damage I may do to his skin.” He flicked a disdainful glance at Merle’s diminutive stature. “Still, he doesn’t look as if he’d withstand much torture.”
“TORTURE?!?” Merle squeaked. “Hey, no need to get violent. We’re all friends here, right?” He pointed a shaking finger in Groo’s direction. “He so much as touches me, I’m singing to Wesley.”
“Merle, will you calm down before you wet yourself?” Angel asked in a bored tone. “We just want to know about a bunch of kids who’ve disappeared from the slums in Beverly Hills. About five have gone missing and more in the surrounding neighborhood. We’d like to stop this before it gets out of hand.”
“What, you think I hear everything that goes on in this town?” Merle snapped.
“Yes,” Angel replied bluntly.
The demon paused and preened himself a bit. “Well, I do have my sources. But teenaged kids disappearing are too mundane to raise an eyebrow. I mean, come on, Angel. They go missing every day by the thousands and usually from all-too-human causes. Humans.” He sniffed. “They just don’t know how to take care of their own spawn.”
Angel and Groo continued to stare at him until Merle could feel the sweat glands between his buttcheeks start to ooze. Then the vampire shrugged and clapped him on the shoulder hard enough to make him wince. “You know what, Merle? I believe you.”
The demon visibly relaxed. “You do?”
“But I do not.” Without further warning, Groo grabbed Merle, lifted him with one hand and began bending his elbow in the wrong direction. The demon screamed and Groo shook him lightly. “Foolish creature. I’ve barely touched you.”
“Angel! Make him stop! Come on! He’s gonna break a bone! I don’t know nothing about no kids. I swear!”
“Groo, ease up a bit.” When the Pylean complied, Angel leaned into Merle’s ear and whispered softly. “Merle, here’s something you need to understand. Groo comes from a reality where humans were kept as slaves—by demons. So he really doesn’t like demons. In fact, you can say he’s got years of resentment and unresolved issues built up inside him just waiting to get worked off.” He stopped and gazed at Merle meaningfully.
The demon’s lip quivered, tears running from his eyes. “What is this, your version of good cop, bad cop?”
“No, this is more like bad cop, insane cop,” Angel growled. The sun had set several minutes ago and he was getting impatient. “Merle, these kids are in trouble. I know you don’t care. But I do. Now time’s running out for these missing teens and we’re here wasting valuable minutes talking to you. Start telling us what you know or my friend…” he rested a hand lightly on Groo’s shoulder “…is going to get testy.”
“I don’t know about the kids. But I heard something about a new vamp brothel being set up. You know, one of those dirty little F and S places,” he added hastily when Groo glowered at him.
Angel waved for Groo to set the demon down and Merle leant back against the wall, rubbing his arm and glaring at the two of them. “Where, Merle? I want an address and make it specific. I don’t want to be wandering around looking for some hole in the wall. Got it?”
A little more prodding and Merle came up with the address. Angel didn’t thank him; he merely held out three twenties and Merle eagerly snatched them up with his good hand. “Pleasure doing business with you, Merle.”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I hope you and the matching bookend have a great time. A place like this should be right up your alley, Angelus,” Merle sneered.
“Not really, Merle,” Angel answered genially. “And if you’re lying to me, Groo and I’ll be back to give you a matching set of arms.” He lifted up his boot and scowled at the slimy fluid dripping off it. “And did I mention how much I hate coming down here? I have to do it again anytime soon and I’m gonna be testy.”
The two men retreated after Groo had favored Merle with another quelling stare. The blue-eyed man waited until they were clear of the sewers before commenting. “Angel, I do not understand. What is an F and S place?”
Angel hesitated imperceptibly before answering. “It’s a—food-and-sex station.” Actually, a cruder term was fuck-and-suck but he wasn’t going to say that to Groo. “Vampires set up these places and lure humans there on the pretence that they’re some kind of lower-end club. Some humans actually know the score so the vamps don’t bother lying to them.”
“But these children—they are unlikely to be willing victims for such matters, are they?”
“Right. The humans come in, get fed upon by the vamps while they’re having sex with them. Most are allowed to go free. They’re…confused and disoriented from the experience and too embarrassed to talk about it so the vampires don’t get caught.”
The Pylean probed further. “Is it like that place of concubines where we picked up that potion for Cordelia?”
There was a short pause. “Sort of.”
When the vampire didn’t elaborate, his partner switched tactics slightly. “Why would a vampire do this? I thought your kind preferred to kill their victims,” Groo queried.
“If they don’t leave any bodies lying around, they don’t get caught. And most humans are there of their own free will so we tend to look the other way.”
“Merle said this would be…right up your alley.” The unfamiliar phrase didn’t make sense to Groo. “What did he mean by that?”
“He wasn’t talking about me so much as my vicious other half. He thinks Angelus would have liked a place like this. Fact is, I would have hated it. Willing prey weren’t really my style.”
“But…why would humans participate in such rituals? What do they gain out of it?”
Angel’s jaw clenched. He didn’t want Groo to ask any more questions about this. The Pylean must have sensed his wish because he was quiet for the rest of the trip.
The vampire and Pylean parked a few blocks away and cautiously approached their target on foot. Only a block away and Angel stiffened, silently motioning Groo to hide out of sight behind adjacent bushes. From the outside the place appeared to be an abandoned factory warehouse in a weedy, overgrown parking lot. The windows were boarded up and the door apparently locked shut.
Though the vampire could scent the others of his kind, there were too many for him to pick out one particular human odor from the crowd. Reaching out with his senses, he detected over 25 vampires or so inside the building. This could get tricky. Groo’s lowered voice drifted to his ear. “Angel, there are vampires in that building. Should we attack?”
“Not a good idea. There are too many. If the humans we’re looking for are in there, they could wind up getting hurt or killed. I’ll call Wesley and the others for backup.” Pulling the cell phone from his pocket, he kept his eye trained on the building while he dialed Wesley’s number. Speaking as low as he could, he swiftly outlined the details: the size of the building, the location and the probable number of demons and humans inside.
“What do we do now, Angel?” A quick down-chop of Angel’s hand and the vampire pointed out what had caught his eye.
A lone figure approached the building. A boy in a leather jacket swaggered up to the front door and pounded on it. Angel inhaled deeply. This boy’s scent was familiar. Being a vampire had changed it but there was no doubt in his mind. This was Robert Lee.
A slot in the door opened up and a subterranean voice drifted out. It was too faint for human ears to pick up at that distance but Angel caught it easily. “Hey, Rob. Got any fresh meat for us today?”
“Naw. Just got myself a few human strollers.” He burped as if to emphasize the point. “Any action while I been gone?”
“Your girlfriend keeps crying for you.” The word was tinged with a sneer and the invisible speaker laughed.
“She still on that? When’s she gonna get it through her head?” Robert shook his head in disgust. “Maybe I should just drain her. That’d shut her up.”
“Check it with the boss first. He says she’s a nice bit of pussy; some of the others keep coming back for seconds.”
“Whatever.” Robert shrugged. The door opened and the former teenager stepped inside. The heavy metal door shut again and all settled into lifeless stillness.
“They were talking about Mrs. Crabtree’s daughter.” Groo sounded absolutely certain. Angel wasn’t so sure. Given how Robert had prowled his neighborhood for the gullible and foolish, the vampires could have been referring to any other girl.
The Pylean was obviously upset by what he’d heard. “Angel, we need to get inside.”
“No, what we need to do is wait for the others.”
“You heard the miscreant! He is planning on killing that female. If we wait for the others, her life might be forfeit.”
That was true. It seemed there was no help for it. “Fine. But, Groo, they won’t accept your being there. I’m—I’m going to have to do something to make them think you’re mine.”
Once again, the Pylean was baffled. That earlier evasiveness Angel had shown when he questioned him about this place had returned and the vampire sounded…ashamed? But what was there to be ashamed of? “Liam, I don’t understand,” he whispered.
The vampire’s gaze became impenetrable. “They have to think you’re my property. Otherwise, they’ll wonder why a human would follow a vampire into a place like this. So I’m going to have to bite you.”
Groo was surprised but not truly alarmed. “You have to feed?”
“Not really. Just a token bite they can see when they check for marks.”
“Very well.” The Pylean leaned against the bush and arched his neck slightly.
Angel didn’t move only stared at the enticing sight before him. The strong neck lay bare in the evening breeze and he could hear the calm rush of blood that lay just beneath the skin.
It stunned him how trusting his lover was. Any other member of his team would have been nervous or terrified at the thought of his bite no matter how much they relied on him otherwise. Of course, Groo’s trust was partially due to his complete ignorance about what this experience would mean—both to himself and the souled vampire.
Angel stretched over him, letting his body rest slightly against his lover. He didn’t bite at first. He merely licked at the pulse point. Groo’s eyes widened and he gasped softly. His arms came up to clasp Angel’s shoulders, unconsciously pulling him closer.
The licks grew longer, sweeping from the hollow at the base of the throat up to Groo’s ear. Angel laved and suckled at the earlobe. He wanted to be certain Groo felt no pain when the moment came. The man was shifting under him now, his hardened cock rubbing against his own. When he judged by the stifled moans that Groo was ready, he clapped his hand firmly over the Pylean’s mouth and bit into the pulsing vein.
The man’s body bent and a scream buzzed against the cool hand. Grasping fingers dug into his shoulders as the hips bucked insanely against the vampire. Immediately, Angel withdrew his fangs, licking to seal the punctures. Groo was trembling violently, his purpled eyes glazed in shock. “Liam. Liam. What…?”
“Shhh. Relax, Oak, just relax. I know how it feels. It’ll pass in a moment.” The man moaned when Angel drew away, his hands clutching to pull the vampire back. But Angel resisted, casting a sharp eye on the factory. All appeared as silent as before; no one had heard or seen anything amiss.
The Pylean gasped, the ecstasy still whispering through his veins. Angel stared at him anxiously. He’d kept himself from feeding by sheer force of will. But even the small sip he took might make Groo too weak for battle. “Are you all right? I can give you more time if you need it.”
“No, no. I-I can stand, Liam. I just…” He stared in awe at Angel and then at the factory. “Is that why the humans come here?”
“We don’t have time to discuss it, Groo. I need to know if you’re ready now.” Angel’s voice had turned harsh and Groo was startled by his change in mood. His lover’s face was dark and forbidding. Had the experience not been as pleasurable for his love as it had been for him?
Angel checked his pockets for stakes. “When we get inside, assess the situation. If we get separated, wait until you get your vampires alone. Then stake them as quietly and as quickly as you can. Don’t yell; don’t give them a chance to cry out for help. Just stake them and move on. Another thing. Don’t call me Angel. There are vamps who know me by that name. Got it?”
“I understand, Liam.” The Pylean was now subdued and didn’t speak again as Angel marched up to the door.
Angel knew the best way to bluff his way through this was by acting as if he belonged there. So he rapped confidently at the door and stood easily as the eye-slot slid open. The yellowed eyes glared at him. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
He let his face shift and growled. “I’m a new customer, that’s what. Heard this place had just opened and I brought my thrall with me. Thought we could have some fun here.”
“Yeah? Where’d you hear about this place?”
The tall, brunette vampire shrugged. “Word gets around.”
“You got the entrance fee?”
“Depends. How much we talking here?”
The yellow eyes scanned him carefully. “Fifty dollars.”
“Fuck that!” Angel snarled, causing the eyes and Groo to jump. “I can get a hotel room for that.”
“Good luck getting a decent hotel room for that kind of money.”
“Right. Like this place is the Ritz. I’ll give ya $35. You got any choice meat in there I like, maybe I’ll consider upping the ante. Otherwise, it’s no sale.”
“Forty dollars.”
“Thirty-five, eyeballs. Take it or leave it.”
There was a breathless silence while Angel waited apparently indifferent to the outcome of the haggling. Then the eyes came to a decision. “Fine. Fork it over.”
“You think I’m stupid?” Angel held up the money. “Open the door or it’s bye bye bills.”
The slot slid shut and moments later the door creaked open. Behind the door stood the biggest vampire Angel had ever seen. He stood close to seven feet tall and the souled demon wondered if he’d been a refugee from a circus before he was turned. He snatched the money. Glowering at Angel, he snarled, “I’ve got my eye on you buddy.”
“Now, Calvin. Is that any way to talk to guests?” The smooth voice came from behind the lumberjack and the walking bookcase grudgingly edged aside. Behind him, Angel saw a shorter vampire with carefully styled hair. His clothes were good—not great but then any vampire with money to afford better wouldn’t be in a dive like this. His eyes narrowed as he saw Angel and the vampire could tell he was being scrutinized. “That’s a lovely leather coat. We don’t usually see a vampire of your obvious strength and means in an establishment like this. What brings you to our humble neck of the woods?”
Humble neck of the woods? Establishment? Who does this guy think he is, Hugh Hefner? Choking back a smirk, Angel tried to maintain his casual air. “My favorite place got burned down. Besides the cops were on my tail for a while. I figured I’d lay low. Now I’m looking to make a three-way with my boy here and some new piece of tail. Got anything in teenagers?”
The other vamp continued to eye him a little longer. His gaze shifted to Groo and he noted the marks on the big man’s neck. Those appeared to satisfy him. “We’ve got a few on the upper floor. Anything in particular?”
Angel pretended to consider. “I want her young, around 18 or so. A blonde…you know, for the contrast.” He waved at Groo and winked at the other demon.
“I think you’ll like what we have on hand. Right this way.” They walked through another door and Angel heard Groo suck in his breath behind him.
Arrayed on rickety, broken pieces of furniture or even on the floor were vampires and humans in various states of arousal. Most of them were fully clothed, the humans moaning in ecstasy as the vampires fed. A redheaded girl grinned glassily at Groo and then arched against the dirty vamp holding her, clutching his head to her neck, heedless of the roaches running through his tangled hair. She whimpered, “Harder. Don’t stop.” Groo turned his head from her, appalled.
Angel ignored them and kept his attention trained on the head vampire picking his way through the crowd. He could count eight vampires, ten if you included the blonde leader and Goliath at the door. That made at least fifteen more upstairs with who knew how many human victims. They were going to have to tread carefully.
The vampire—who identified himself at last as Rabine (Angel was sure that wasn’t his human name)—showed them to a small room. He clicked on the light and Angel stared at the cringing, nude figure on the floor. Her body was covered in numerous bites and scratches and she bore the marks of blows across her bruised face.
In spite of that, he recognized the girl from her graduation picture. They had found Dora Crabtree.
“How about her? She’s a little the worse for wear but you know how vampires can get when their blood is up.” Rabine smirked at his own joke. “She’s fresh, though. Just got her in yesterday. Will she do?”
“She most certainly will.” Angel offhandedly shut the door. “How much for her?”
“She’s prime. An extra $50.”
“Done.” Angel pulled his hand from his jacket and shoved the stake into the other vamp before he could blink. A look of surprise had barely begun to register on his face before he crumbled into dust.
Groo walked over to the girl, stopping when she shrank away from him. “Fear not, fair one. We have come to rescue you.”
She peered up at him. “Rescue me? What are you talking about? Where’s Robert? I want to see him. He said he was coming back for me.”
The Pylean scowled and took off his coat, draping it over her bare shoulders. “Forget the villain. He was planning on murdering you this very evening.”
She shook her head wildly and started struggling against his grip. “No! No! Robert wouldn’t do that! He loves me! He wants me! These, these things…they’re the evil ones. They did this to him and he had no choice. He had to turn me over to them. But he really loves me! Robert!” She twisted in his arms and began yelling for her boyfriend.
Damn the girl. In a moment, she’d have the entire place down on their heads. Angel strode over to her and cuffed her on the chin. Her eyes rolled up and she slumped unconscious in Groo’s arms. The Pylean gaped in shock at the vampire’s apparent callousness. “Liam! How could you do that? The creature was distraught but she is need of our help not further abuse.”
“And she’d have brought them all storming to the door. Now I want you go out to the other rooms and see if you can find any other humans. Remember to dust the vamps as quickly and as quietly as possible. And keep an eye out for Calvin.” His cell phone rang and he pulled it out. “What?”
“Angel, we’re at the spot. We saw your car. Where are you and Groo?”
“We’re inside. This is a vamp brothel, Wesley. You can’t get through the front door. But we’re gonna do as much damage as we can and then we’re going to leave. As soon as the door opens, you and the others can come in.”
“Right. Are there any other entrances in the place?”
“None that I saw and I wouldn’t recommend busting down the door. It’s one of the old metal ones and that would take some doing. Just sit tight.” He flipped the phone shut and checked on the girl. She would be out for a bit but wouldn’t suffer permanent damage from his blow. Good. He could leave her here while they checked the other rooms.
He closed the door behind him and stepped out. Groo had already preceded him and he saw him exit a room two doors to his right. They nodded sharply to each other and kept moving from room to room.
Dispatching the vampires was ridiculously easy. Most were too busily engaged with their human victims to pay any attention to him until it was too late. The few who had the presence of mind to question him were all caught off guard when he said he was looking for the bathroom.
He’d polished off six so far and anxiously wondered how Groo was doing when he bumped into Calvin as he left another chamber. The huge demon’s face was pulled into a suspicious snarl. “What are you doing here? I thought you were on the other side of the factory.”
Angel smiled innocently. “I was just looking for my thrall. He said he had to go off to use the bathroom and, since I didn’t want him to piss on me, I thought…”
“There is no bathroom here. Like you said, this isn’t the Ritz. So where did your thrall go?” He stopped and peered at the dust on Angel’s coat. “Hey, is that…?” His words were cut short and Angel saw the business end of a stake poking from his chest just before his dust hit the floor.
Groo stood in front of him, the stake clutched in his fist. “Liam, I have not seen the Robert boy. He must be in one of the rooms we haven’t checked yet. Or he may have gone out again.”
“No, if he’d opened the door, the others would have come charging in.” He glanced over the railing. The other vampires on the floor still hadn’t noticed anything. It seemed his plan of silent but deadly sneak attacks was working. Those other vampires had to be cleared out, though. “Groo, I want you to go down there and tell them your master wants one of them in a three-way. Tell them I’m insatiable and the thrall I’m with isn’t enough for me.”
The man’s brows knitted together. Groo was really cute when he was puzzled. “A three-way?”
“I’ll explain later. They’ll understand. We’ll keep doing that at intervals until we’ve cleared out as many as we can.”
“What will you be doing?”
“Staying with the Crabtree girl. If she wakes up and starts yelling, we’ll have a real fight on our hands and there are still humans at risk.” He walked silently back to the room and halted just inside the door. Robert was hunched over Dora, the girl’s throat clutched in his unforgiving grip. He was sucking at her neck, the loud slurping noises mingling with her choked gasps as he drove between her legs. She opened her eyes in time to see Angel’s hand descend with the stake and let out a piercing scream.
Robert ripped his teeth from her neck and snarled, “What the fuck—?” seconds before the pointed piece of wood drove into his chest. His ashes crumbled over her. Dora lay stunned, running her shaking hands over her nude body through her ex-boyfriend’s ashes. Then she flew at Angel, beating his chest with her fists.
“You fucking bastard! You piece of shit! You fucking bastard!” She continued to scream and he cuffed her again, harder this time, so that she crumpled to the floor like a stone. Guess Mrs. Crabtree’s daughter had picked up some additions to her vocabulary.
He could hear voices being raised downstairs and frowned at the unconscious girl. “Now look what you’ve done.” He scooped her up, flung her over his shoulder and ran out the door.
Downstairs, the scene was chaos. Groo had discarded his stakes and pulled his short sword out from under his leather coat. By the short piles of dust around him, he had dispatched at least four vampires already. But others had wised up and were now cowering behind their human victims, holding them between themselves and the battling Pylean. As they edged towards the door, Angel whipped out his cell phone and whispered, “Wesley, get ready to—”
The phone was knocked out of his hand as a vampire from one of the closed rooms charged him. The two grappled as Angel struggled to get a stake and fend off his attacker. With the girl encumbering his movements, the fight was awkward, to say the least. He kicked off the vamp and then ducked when the demon charged again, flipping over the railing onto the floor below.
Finally getting his stake out, he dusted two more vamps in swift succession just as the Wesley, Gunn and Gunn’s crew poured through the open door. The remaining bloodsuckers were easily dispatched and Gunn’s crew went about tending to the wounded and bleeding. Some were able to walk; others were not. But that was the least of the problems.
A few of the human beings were furious. The redheaded girl wailed for her vampire lover and hissed in fury when Wesley attempted to console her. “You fucker! Why couldn’t you mind your own business? They weren’t hurting anybody!”
“Those wounds on your neck tell a different story,” Wesley murmured.
She rubbed her neck and spat at him. “So what? I knew what I was doing! He wasn’t doing anything I didn’t want!”
Wesley gazed at the other assorted humans. “Is that the same with the rest of you?”
One teenaged boy sniffled; Angel put him at about 13 or 14. “I-I met this guy on the web. He told me this was a club for kids with booze and everything. Then I got here and t-this thing jumped me. I j-just wanna go home.” He began sobbing softly and was soon joined by other boys and girls.
The redhead sneered at them. “Buncha dumb kids. As if anybody would set up a club in a neighborhood like this. I knew the score even if they didn’t. Vincent and me, we were…” Her voice wobbled and tears welled up in her eyes. She staggered up, slapped off Gunn’s hand when he tried to steady her and walked into the night with as much dignity as she could muster.
Gunn waved to two of his crew. “Junebug. Toby. Follow her. The way she bleedin’ and staggerin’, she gonna be vamp food before she’s three blocks away. Keep an eye on her.”
The guys nodded sharply. “We on it, Gunn.” They slipped silently out the door after her.
The other kids were piled into the van. Angel was quietly sympathetic for them. These poor children would suffer in body and spirit. Even after they were returned to their parents, they would never be able to tell anyone the truth. They would need therapy but psychiatric care was pointless if you couldn’t divulge the source of your pain. These kids had a long, rough haul ahead of them.
His partner wouldn’t speak except in short syllables. In fact, he had been curiously withdrawn ever since they entered the place. Groo wouldn’t accompany him in the car either and the souled vampire’s worry mounted. Something was troubling his lover; he could only hope Groo would tell him what it was eventually.
The children were delivered to their hysterically happy parents with Gunn and Wesley giving the prepared cover story of having rescued them from a cult. The cult leaders had unfortunately escaped but, as with most such men, it was unlikely they would return to the scene. Their children were safe.
Gunn left with his posse for some serious after-demon-killing partying. Groo refused to leave Wesley’s side even after the last child had been brought back to the bosom of his family; the Englishman wondered what was on his mind. “Groo, do you wish to talk?”
The Pylean took a deep breath. “Wesley, that flame-haired woman and the Crabtree girl. Neither of them wanted to leave their vampire attackers. Perhaps that woman who spoke so fiercely may have been chosen by that creature to be his companion. But the state of Dora’s body suggests that Robert treated her cruelly. He spoke of killing her. Why would she defend him and claim he loved her?”
Wesley shifted uncomfortably in the car seat while he drove. “Well, judging by the pattern of bites on her body, I’d say Dora was being turned into a thrall. That might have been occurring even before Robert spirited her away. We really have no idea how long they might have been seeing each other before he brought her to the factory.”
“Oh.” The alien mortal was silent for a few more moments. “Angel mentioned that word to that Rabine. What is a thrall?”
Was this what Groo wished to talk about? The subject seemed harmless enough yet Wesley sensed there was an undercurrent to the question. Why didn’t Groo discuss this with Angel? “Well, um, a thrall is a human victim who becomes enamoured of vampire bites, sometimes even of vampires themselves.”
Evidently the answer wasn’t as helpful as the other man wanted. “Does the bite always convey such pleasure to mortals?”
His eyes avoided Wesley’s but the Englishman felt the tension in the car crank up another notch. “Not—as such. Most vampires simply tear into their victims like dogs into raw meat. They usually don’t care if they feel pleasure or not.”
There was another silence. “Angel bit me tonight,” Groo whispered.
Wesley tried to be impassive but this was obviously big news. “H-he did?” Then he understood. “Oh, you mean he’s never bitten you before tonight.”
The Pylean nodded unhappily. “Those children in there were fools, thinking their masters loved them when it was merely a kind of subjugation such as what I knew in Pylea. I’m afraid I might be similarly bewitched. Yet I feel Angel’s love for me is genuine.”
“It is, Groo. Don’t have any doubt of that. When Angel loves, it is deep and abiding.” He glanced at the other man out of the corner of his eye. “Might I ask why you don’t discuss this with him?”
“He does not wish to talk to me about thralls. He was upset for some reason when I questioned him. After he bit me, he was ashamed and I don’t know why. It was the most…exquisite sensation. It was like when we komshak and yet he barely touched me. I knew the glimmerings of a delight such as I’d never felt. Then it was gone and he felt shame and I felt shame for enjoying it. Now I don’t know what to think. Is there something about vampires that I am missing?”
Wesley was stupefied by the confessional outpouring. It was heartfelt and embarrassingly intimate and he didn’t know where to begin in answering the young man’s questions. He cleared his throat noisily as he tried to think of a way out of this dilemma. “W-well, there are books that I can lend you. The ones from the Watchers Council are extremely edifying when it comes to information about vampires. They will be more than adequate to your needs.”
The unhappiness in Groo’s eyes deepened. “Books? You mean the hard objects on your shelves with the strange squiggling marks on their leaves? I don’t know what to make of those, Wesley. How can they help?”
The car swerved as Wesley shot an astonished glance at the man beside him. “What? A-are you telling me—you don’t know how to read?”
The Pylean’s brow wrinkled again. “I don’t know that word. Read?”
“B-but I’ve seen you look in the books we have every day, pointing out some monster…” His voice trailed off as he realized. Of course. Groo hadn’t been reading the text. He’d merely identified the demons they pursued. They’d never asked him to join in research; somehow that activity seemed beneath a warrior of his caliber. And his masters in Pylea wouldn’t have bothered with an education when all they wanted from the Groosalugg was his vaunted strength in battle.
Still, to exist from day to day in the modern world without being able to read…the idea was appalling. Nevertheless, he spoke gently to the man. “Very well, Groo. If you cannot read, we’ll go over the books together and I’ll point out the relevant passages. But this is a matter that should be remedied, don’t you think? Almost everyone in our world reads. You should learn how to do so as well.”
“Yes. Angel reads quite well, doesn’t he?” Groo asked wistfully.
“In several languages.” Noting Groo’s crestfallen look, he added, “Don’t worry, Groo. Let’s just start you on English, shall we?”
The blue-eyed man flashed him a grateful look and smiled. Really, Wesley could see why Angel fell so hard for him. The lad was extraordinarily striking. “Thank you, Wesley. You are a true friend. Where are these books of yours?”
“They’re at my apartment. We’re only a couple of blocks away.” Groo settled into the seat, shelving further questions for the moment.
__________

Wesley wanted to sleep but Groo’s questions were endless and he confessed it was stimulating and fun pouring over scholarly texts with someone so curious and avid to learn. It was almost like being back in the Council when students and teachers alike would argue over the meaning of an obscure passage in one of the dustier tomes. And Groo was a quick study. Wesley rarely had to repeat anything to him and he soon learned to pronounce the names of even the most difficult-sounding beasts with only minor stumbling.
But the passages on vampire lust were—embarrassing, to say the least. Even all his time spent with Angel and company hadn’t completely destroyed Wesley’s English reticence on certain subjects. The accompanying pictures were also suitably graphic enough to make him stammer and blush.
Groo apparently had no such compunctions, making Wesley wonder about the sexual mores and morals of Pylea. The large man pored over the nude figures drawn in suggestive poses on the pages. “So when blood is exchanged in this fashion, it’s considered mating? The victim is not changed into a vampire?”
“Uh, um, no. There are rumors that such an exchange causes changes in the human…”
“What kind of changes, Wesley?”
“Well, the human mate becomes stronger, faster, imbued with increased sensitivity of sight, smell and hearing. There are also indications that the lifespan is increased although human mates tend not to speak of such things in order to hide their vampire lovers from the attentions of those who would destroy them.”
“Yes. In that den of iniquity we attacked this evening, many of them mourned the loss of their demon companions. Were we wrong to destroy them?” Groo asked. He had pondered that on the ride to Wesley’s home. He knew he would fight to the death to protect Angel. Yet to another his dark-eyed lover might seem nothing more than a vicious monster. Perhaps he had made the same mistake with those who were slaughtered tonight.
Wesley speedily disabused him of the notion. “I doubt that very much, Groo. You told me Robert was bored with Dora and planned to kill her. It’s likely he brought her under his thrall to make her quiescent to his will and to provide blood and sex to the rest of the vampire clan. It was likely the case with the others as well even if they perceived it as love.” He smiled to ease Groo’s obvious distress. “Think, Groo. If you loved somebody, would you bring them to such a squalid little hole to be displayed among other humans like so much cattle?”
The man’s eyes hardened in disgust. “Never. That scene revolted me.”
Wesley nodded. “Precisely. Those vampires didn’t care about those people. They were merely disposable blood bags to them.”
“Th-then the bliss is an illusion the vampires purposely use to deceive their victims?” That strange tension he’d sensed in the car had returned, stronger than ever, and Wesley was beginning to understand the root of Groo’s anxiety.
He spoke carefully in an effort to sound out the big man and allay his fear. “Groo, you surely understand the difference between what mortals call sex for pleasure and the sex between two people who are truly in love.”
The anxiety disappeared and a dreamy look appeared in Groo’s eyes. “Yes. I never had sex with my princess but the feelings I had for her and the ones I have for Angel tell me I would have known the difference.”
Groo hadn’t slept with Cordelia? That was a bit of shocking news. Wesley didn’t know what to make of that and perhaps he was better off not pursuing that line of conversation. “Well, then. When a vampire takes a mortal mate—not something that happens very often—there is more than just the urge to use and discard the mortal when the vampire is weary of them. There is genuine tenderness and the wish to be with that human, for as long as his mortal life shall run. It isn’t a deception but a mutual commitment for the vampire and the human.”
There was silence again while the Pylean turned over this idea in his head. Then he asked mournfully, “Then why does Angel not mate with me?”
Wesley blushed to the roots of his hair and made a production of closing some of the books to regain his composure. “Y-you and Angel don’t…I had assumed you were together when Angel made his announcement.”
Groo seemed unaware of Wesley’s discomfiture. “Oh, we komshak almost nightly. Tonight is the first time we have been separated since we achieved kyerumption. But this vampire mating you have explained does not occur. Angel never bit me until tonight and then only as a ruse to deceive the vampires within. The experience was painfully brief and he was ashamed afterwards and spoke to me bitterly as if the event had disappointed him. Am I—am I somehow not worthy of this mating?”
Ah, this was the problem. Groo sounded like a hurt, baffled child and Wesley had to resist the silly urge to pull him into his arms and comfort him. For a warrior, he could be amazingly vulnerable. Angel possessed some of this same vulnerability but he hid it better. Over two hundred years of practice had made him adept at hiding his feelings. Gunn’s macho act had nothing on the vampire’s impenetrability.
“Groo, if this is what is bothering you, then you need to discuss it with Angel. I can only give you the technical details of the mating,” he said, gesturing at the books littering the desk. “Whatever problems you and Angel are experiencing must be resolved between the two of you.”
The larger man sighed and closed up the book, hiding the pictures from Wesley’s eyes. “I will see him tonight then before the sun rises.”
The Englishman was startled at the abruptness of his decision. “Um, don’t you think you should wait for tomorrow? Perhaps you need to think about this before you make your decision. You don’t want to do anything rash.”
“Tomorrow will be daytime and Angel sleeps during those hours. I wish him wakeful so that he may heed my words and understand my desire.” He stood and strode towards the door. Pausing only for a moment, he recalled what else they had been discussing tonight. “Thank you, Wesley, for all your assistance. I would enjoy continuing our lessons. You will not tell Angel about…the other matter?”
The man could talk about sex with the frankness of a prostitute yet be bashful about his illiteracy. How very charming. Wesley smiled. “You’re secret’s safe with me.”
Groo smiled gratefully and left the apartment. Too late, Wesley wondered how he would get back without being driven. Then he shrugged. The distance probably wouldn’t bother someone as hardy as the muscular warrior and, if anyone could navigate the streets without fear of attack, it was Groo.
He picked up the books they’d been studying and was going to replace them when he decided to take another peek at the contents. Seeing one particularly explicit engraving, he sat down to read.
“Good Lord. Is it really possible to bend in that position?” he muttered.

TBC
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