Archive of Our Own

1983

London, England

Watcher in Training, Department of Acquisitions

That was Rupert Giles’ official title within the council. He had been back with the Council for almost three years, and until recently had spent that time as an intern while finishing up his graduate and post-graduate studies. With his doctorate in hand he received his first salaried position.

His first task was to obtain the Book of Thoth , an ancient Egyptian mystical text, buried in the tomb of Prince Neferkaptah. Or so everyone believed, until rumors in the demon community surfaced about the book being for sale. When the assignment was placed on his desk, the phrases “imperative” and “by any means necessary” were thrown around a lot.

There were literally thousands of books known as the Book of Thoth , most of them were harmless. However there was one book so dark it was sealed in a tomb for thousands of years, where nobody dared retrieve it; for it contained magic so dark not even a demon would want to touch it. It was a book most assumed to be a myth.

He used his contacts in the magic community to see if anyone had heard anything about the sale. One of his contacts, a man who just went by the nickname “The Oracle,” wasn’t interested in a spellbook that dark, but agreed to help him if he heard anything. Two weeks later The Oracle called, someone had contacted him and he pretended to be interested to find out more information. Apparently it worked because when he called Rupert he told him that the book was being auctioned and he had an address where the book could be viewed before the auction.

If the book was auctioned it could be decades before it surfaced again, so Rupert took his findings to his boss. He estimated how much he would need to purchase the text and put in a request for the funds. Denied. He requested the Slayer be made available to help him retrieve the artifact. Denied.

When he asked how they expected him to retrieve the book, they said he was in this job because he had a certain skillset. He couldn’t be sure, but he suspected that his “certain skillset” was Council double-talk for calling him a ruffian.

Acquisitions seemed like an innocuous enough word, he assumed it meant he would be purchasing items. As it turned out his method of acquiring goods needn’t be so legal. In fact, they told him, in most cases, he would be tasked with stealing an artifact, book, or whatever it was they wanted. They did purchase some items from legitimate sources, such as museums, but they didn’t want to give money to demons or sorcerers in an auction.

He hadn’t even been aware this particular department existed until he had been appointed to it, much of their work was done in secret. He shouldn’t have been surprised at the seedy underbelly of an ancient top secret organization of demon fighters, for some reason he had always assumed that all their work went through official channels. They had contacts in the highest office of the government and nearly unlimited resources, it was hard to imagine anything being out of the Council’s sphere of influence.

“How can they expect me to do my job if I’m denied the resources with which to do it?” He vented, pacing around his apartment.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Rupert. Have you thought about talking to your dad? Or your gran?” Genevieve asked him.

“Yes, run to my dad and gran, that will do wonders to the tatters left of my reputation.” He said, rolling his eyes.

“No need to be snippy, I’m only trying to help.” She pointed out.

He sighed and apologized for snapping, then took a seat next to her, placing his hand on her knee. He smiled and turned to place a kiss on her head as she settled against him, placing her hand over his. She was good for him, there was no denying it.

After he agreed to return to the council he had been purposely depriving himself of anything that made him happy. He thought if he even indulged a little he would lose control again. For over a year he lived that way, spending all his time either focusing on his studies, or working part time in the Council’s main library. He would have kept living that way if Genevieve hadn’t walked back into his life.

They had been friends as children, while their fathers worked, they often wandered around the library. At fourteen, she was his first kiss. She took his breath away that day, and she did again thirteen years later when she walked through those library doors, a grown woman.

He struggled to keep his distance, his heart and mind warring. In the end his heart won. Almost two years later, he was more in love with her than he had ever been with anyone else.

“I know, I’m sorry.” He said softly. “I’m just worried. If I don’t complete this task, it’s doubtful I’ll ever have a future with the Council.”

She looked up and kissed him softly. “You’ll be fine, Rupert. You’ve been working hard, and I have no doubt that you’ll accomplish your mission.” She squeezed his hand. “I should be going home, I have to be at work early.”

“You know, if you stayed…” He trailed off, bringing her hand up to his mouth.

She gently pulled her hand away. “You know I can’t, your flat is too far away from the office. Maybe if you lived closer.”

“What if I were to stay with you?” He asked.

“And when my father catches you sneaking out of my room tomorrow morning?” When he didn’t respond she smirked. “That’s what I thought.”

She figured that would work because her father didn’t like him, and he didn’t make much of a secret of the fact. He was as familiar with the rumors as anyone else in the Council, but even if it hadn’t been for those rumors he wouldn’t like whoever it was she was dating. In fact his problem was that he thought the sexual aspect of their relationship was highly improper given that they were unmarried. It didn’t seem to matter to him that they were both nearing thirty years old.

She stood up, but was pulled back down onto his lap by his arms wrapping around her waist. She turned sideways and draped her arms around his neck.

“Why don’t we find a place together?” He asked, nuzzling her neck.

“Because you’re randy and don’t mean that.” She said, smiling as she pushed his face away. “Put a ring on my finger and I’ll move in with you.”

She stood up again and when his arm came up to wrap around her again she playfully slapped it away.

He stood up and walked her to the door. “Will I see you tomorrow?” He asked, placing his hands on her hips.

“Maybe we can get lunch. Meet me in the lobby around one?” She draped her arms around his neck and stepped closer to him.

“It’s a date.” He muttered before kissing her deeply, pulling her body against his.

She returned the kiss briefly before pulling away, however, not one to be deterred he just moved his lips down her neck.

“I really do need to go.” she said breathlessly.

She felt his tongue against her pulse point and she moaned in response. He was the only man she’d ever been with who could undo her so easily. Finally she managed to pull herself back together and she wriggled out of his grasp.

“Lunch.” She said again before opening the door and stepping into the hallway.

He groaned when she pulled away. He leaned against the door frame and watched her as she walked down the hallway toward the stairs.

The next morning

“Rupert.”

Rupert looked up, finding his father in his office. He stood up quickly, accidentally knocking over his tea. He quickly righted the cup, and tried to get all the paper off his desk. When that was done he realized he didn’t actually have anything to clean the puddle that was quickly spreading across his desk. About the time he came to that realization, a handkerchief appeared in front of his face. He looked up at his father. He smiled sheepishly and took the offered cloth.

“I’ve always said you should carry a handkerchief with you.” Edmund reminded his son.

“Yes, Father.” He agreed as he finished wiping up his desk. He held the now soiled handkerchief out to his father, who declined.

“Keep it.” He told him. “I have more in my office.”

Rupert bent down and draped it over the side of the rubbish bin so it could dry. When he stood up his father was watching him. He swallowed nervously.

“What can I do for you?” Even though their relationship was far better than it had been a few years ago, his father still made him nervous.

“I just came down here to see how your first assignment is progressing. Miss Ainsley came by my office this morning.”

“Of course she did.” He muttered. He was going to have to have a conversation with Genevieve. “I’m fine, honestly.” He assured him.

“Very well.” Edmund said. “You should know, the Council doesn’t intend for you to fail.”

“I know, I was told. Any means necessary.”

“That’s not what I meant. They wouldn’t have assigned you to this office if they didn’t think you were capable of the job. Very few people in the Council even know this office exists. The acquisitions department is vital, so we can make sure dangerous artifacts and texts won’t be in the hands of those who wish to use them for evil. You have skills most other Watchers don’t.”

“You mean skills a criminal would have?” Rupert asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“In a manner of speaking.” He could see his son didn’t much like that answer. “I know that’s not what you want to hear, Rupert, but it’s the truth. We may have cleared up all your criminal charges, but that doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about them.”

Rupert looked down at his desk, not sure how he should feel about his father’s admission.

“You have to have figured out by now that the Council is testing you.”

“The thought had crossed my mind.” Rupert replied.

“It’s about more than if you’re capable of doing the job. As I mentioned, we already believe you are. This is about if you’re capable of using magic without it taking you over.” He looked his son in the eye, to make sure he understood the gravity of the situation. They couldn’t very well have a loose canon working for the Council.

Rupert held his father’s gaze. “I won’t.”

“It’s not me you need to convince.” Edmund said.

Despite the troubles Rupert had in the past, Edmund knew how much this meant to his son. They were both quiet for a moment.

“I should get back to work if I’m going to do this before the auction.” Rupert told his father as he uncrossed his arms and placed his hands on his desk.

“Of course. Where is this auction to take place?”

“A small town in California. I fly out tomorrow morning.” He was actually looking forward to the trip, he had traveled Europe extensively growing up but he had never been to America.

“Sunnydale?” His father asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

“Yes, as a matter of fact. How did you know?”

“A hunch. Rupert, be very careful, Sunnydale is somewhat infamous. It has the densest demon population in the world. We would station a watcher there if we thought it would make any difference, but there’s just too many demons, and the Slayer has other obligations.”

“I’ll be fine.” Rupert assured his father.

“Perhaps when you’ve returned you can bring Miss Ainsley around for dinner. Your gran insists. You’ve been with her for some time now and you haven’t brought her around, we may start to think you have something to hide.” His father said, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

“No, nothing to hide. I just assumed it wasn’t necessary since you both work with her. And you’ve known her since she was eight years old.”

“True enough, but we’d still like her over for dinner.”

“I’ll see what I can arrange.”

“Just let us know and we’ll have Ellie cook up something special.” His father told him.

Rupert smiled and watched as his father left his office. Eleanor, or Ellie as they lovingly called her, was their maid, she had been with the family since before Rupert’s mother, Katherine, inherited the house after her father passed, when Rupert was just five. She was well into her sixties now, but didn’t show any signs of slowing down.

Once he was alone again he sat back down and started looking through the files he had gathered regarding the book, and the building in which it was stored. The council had extensive records about the book, but unfortunately the Council wasn’t as well established in the U.S. and therefore getting records wasn’t as simple. As a result, he only had a few pages regarding the ownership of the property. There were no building schematics. When he spoke with someone on the phone with the county clerk’s office, they told him he’d need to come in person and request the documents, and expect to pay a fee.

Since there wasn’t much planning he could do, with regards to getting into the building or determining where the book might be stored, he decided it was time to research magical wards. If the demon population in the town was as dense as his father said, chances are this wasn’t a normal black market auction. If the auction was going to be demons or a sorcerer, they would likely not be using electronic security measures, but instead rely heavily on mystical ones.

He made his way up to the second floor where most of the books were housed. There was a room in the basement where they kept the restricted tomes. If he succeeded in retrieving the Book of Thoth , it would most likely be stored in the restricted section.

He waved to Mr. Davies, the librarian, as he walked past the circulation desk. Mr. Davies had been the head librarian for over forty years, he knew every nook and cranny in the main library. He had even taught Rupert how to use the card index when he was eleven.

He went to the card index and searched for anything with the keywords “wards” and “Protection spells.” He made a list of what looked like the most relevant texts and went searching for them.

He didn’t realize how long he had been researching until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, startled, and turned to find Genevieve. He looked at his watch, he was thirty minutes late to meet her for lunch. “I’m sorry.” He said sincerely. “I didn’t realize what time it was.”

“It’s fine, Rupert.” She held up a bag. “Curry?”

“Perfect.” He said, standing up. He let Mr. Davies know he’d be back after a quick lunch and he followed Gen to her office. “I’m sorry, you know how I get when I’m researching.”

“Which is why I went down to your office. When I saw you weren’t there I knew you must be up here.” If anything could distract Rupert Giles from food it was books. She had never known anyone who could be so focused on something. She handed him his usual order. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stay last night.”

“No need to apologize. As much as I would have liked for you to stay, I wouldn’t want you to do it if you didn’t want to.”

“I did.” She assured him. “But I had to be here at five. We were sent some obscure prophecies from a watcher in Nepal, and I needed to be here to receive them.”

“I understand.” He assured her as he started in on his food. He continued talking between bites.

When he was done he set the empty container down and looked at his girlfriend. “Did you speak with anyone interesting this morning?” He asked her.

Genevieve put her food down and looked at her Rupert. “As a matter of fact I spoke with your father when I got in.”

“Why would you do that when I specifically said last night that I didn’t want him involved?”

”You said you didn’t want to involve him. You never said you didn’t want me to involve him.” She pointed out. “I know, semantics. But Rupert, if you felt like somebody was sabotaging your chance for success then your father should know. I swear, I didn’t know they were testing you until I spoke with him.”

“My father is not your father.” He said. He realized that she might take that the wrong way, like he didn’t consider her family, or that she would never be family. He sighed. “I only mean that my father and your father are completely different people. You have never disappointed your father. I’ve only disappointed mine.”

“That’s not true, Rupert, your father-”

Rupert stood up. “I can’t… I have a lot of work to do, Gen. I’m sorry. Thank you for lunch.” He walked out of her office without even glancing back.

Genevieve watched as her boyfriend walked out. She wasn’t at all surprised by his abrupt departure, avoidance of emotional conversations was a specialty of his, especially ones that involved his often difficult relationship with his father. Last night had been a big deal, he had actually opened up about his frustrations. Given the current situation she doubted very much that he would be confiding in her again anytime soon. Still, she didn’t regret her actions, there were still people in high ranking positions of the Council that didn’t trust Rupert, and she wouldn’t put it past them to actively work against him.

Genevieve quickly finished up her lunch so she could get back to work. She’d let Rupert cool off and visit him later, hopefully by then he’d be ready to talk.

She did come by that night. They didn’t do much talking, though not for lack of trying on her part. Anytime she brought it up he would change the subject. He was still angry, but it was his last night in town and he didn’t want to spend it arguing with Genevieve. Instead they spent the night in each other’s arms.

The next morning, as Genevieve slept Rupert Giles placed a note and a spare key on the nightstand for her to find. He took one last look at her as the sun peeked in through an opening in the curtains, highlighting her blonde hair and the flawless skin of her naked back. If he had his way he would still be in bed, making love to her one last time before he left, but he was never good at goodbyes, and his plane would leave whether he was on it or not.

Southern California

After seventeen hours of travel, Rupert was exhausted, but he still had a two hour drive ahead of him. Driving along Highway 1, or the Pacific Coast Highway as it was colloquially referred to, reminded Rupert of holidays in the mediterranean. The temperature was mild and the air was try, he would occasionally pass Spanish style villas perched atop the cliffs, overlooking the Pacific as he drove North up the coast. It was certainly beautiful, but as a place to be visited, he wouldn’t want to live there.

The sun was just setting as he passed the Welcome to Sunnydale sign. As he looked around he couldn’t tell that there was anything sinister about this small town. The residents were acting exactly as you’d expect in a small town, teenagers were walking down the sidewalk, heading to the park across the street, while younger children raced down the streets on their bicycles, trying to make it home before curfew, adults walked to their cars seemingly without fear.

He pulled into the Sunnydale Motor Inn a few minutes later and checked in, giving them the name “Jonathan Harker.” He thought it rather fitting, but the desk clerk didn’t bat an eye. Rupert paid for five nights in advance and took the key and went to fetch his bag from his car before heading to his room.

As anxious as he was to get started on a plan, there wasn’t much that could be done before he got the blueprints to the building the book was being kept, which would have to wait until the morning.

Two days later

A shiver ran up his spine when he walked into the warehouse. As he looked around, one thing became clear, he wasn’t going to find what he was looking for. Nobody would keep a valuable text just sitting in an abandoned warehouse. Still he searched the entire ground floor, and as suspected, he hadn’t found any evidence of any items that could be auctioned off, mystical or otherwise. He was perplexed by the location, it seemed like an odd place for an auction, especially for such a high-priced item like the Book of Thoth . Something obviously wasn’t right.

Tucked in the corner of the warehouse there was a door and he pushed it open, inside it was dark, but there was a set of stairs leading down to a basement. He took a stake out of his pocket and started down the stairs quietly. Two steps down he felt something brush against the side of his head and he reached up, finding a small chain, he assumed was for the stairwell light. He didn’t want to give away his position in case there were any demons at the bottom of the stairs, but he also knew that demons were far better at seeing in the dark than he would be.

He heard a growl and he knew he was right to be wary. A figure appeared at the bottom of the stairs and one look was all he needed to recognize the demon in front of him as a vampire. And when he looked past him there was at least four more. “Right.” He muttered. “Should have known.” There was a moment where neither he nor the vampires moved. There was only one option at this point. He turned and ran.

However, he wasn’t running away. Five vampires against one man, there was no way they wouldn’t follow him. Sure enough, there were more growls coming from the bottom of the stairs and he could hear them fighting to be the first up the basement stairs.

Once he was back in the main part of the warehouse he looked around, sure enough, there were boarded up windows. He knew he would only get once chance to get the timing right, they wouldn’t voluntarily walk into the sunlight. So while they were still getting up the stairs he ran across the warehouse and started yanking on the  board over one of the windows. He pulled with his fingers but he couldn’t seem to make it budge.

The vampires, at this point, were up the stairs and and running straight at him. Desperate, he wedged the pointy end of his stake under the board and pried it away with all his might. He was about to give up when the first vampire was only ten feet from him, but just in time he heard a crack and the board went crashing to the floor and the sun shone through the broken window dusting two of the demons. The others quickly skidded to a halt. Standing in the sunlight,  Rupert took the time to pick up his stake, which had fallen from his grasp when the board fell.

When he stood back up he was ready for them. He knew as soon as he left the safety of the sunlight they would attack, and if they surrounded him he had no hope of getting away. He could see the wheels turning in their minds, they were looking around, trying to find a way to get to him and he knew eventually they would find it. He needed to keep moving.

He thought about using magic, but he couldn’t even be sure he had enough energy to do any meaningful spells, he had been putting off trying. Something he now regretted, but seemed like a good idea before. He didn’t know if performing magic would be opening a door he wouldn’t be able to close again. While he had been traveling he had used spells to perform exorcisms and other rituals, but those required very little actual magic, the ritual was more important in those cases. Even those he hadn’t done in almost three years.

Time was up. One of the vampires had managed to pick up the board that had been over the window and was about to whack him over the head with it, but Rupert jumped out of the way just in time, of course that also put him back in the shadows and the demons went for him. As they approached he managed to use his magic to pick up small items around the warehouse and throw them at the vampires, but it was mostly ineffectual and they were soon surrounding him. They all came for him at once, he managed to kick one in the stomach, using all his weight behind it. He was able to make him stagger back into the beam of sun, causing the vampire to go up in a cloud of dust. Of course, his celebration was short-lived as the other two were now on either side of him, holding him by his arms as they attempted to drag him, he assumed, back down to the basement.

"Vozdukh, Priyevratis v Kulak! " He said, the vampire on his left flew back. It was a spell he used a lot when he was running around East London, demons were numerous and he was always out late at night, when attacks were commonplace. The spell allowed him to punch his enemy with a fist of air and with far greater strength than he could produce with his actual fists. With his left wrist now free, and the vampire holding his other arm, Rupert was able to shove his stake through the vampire’s heart and the hand clenched around his right arm disintegrating into dust.

He whipped around to see the other vampire had gotten to his feet and started forward toward him again. As the vampire charged him Rupert took a bottle of holy water out of his pocket and threw the water in the demon’s face, cause it to stagger back, howling in pain. He used that opportunity to stake it. He took a deep breath and bent at the waist, placing his hands on his knees. His heart was beating a mile a minute.

He didn’t let himself rest long, he had a lot to do still. He still had to check the basement, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t find the book. He clutched the stake in his left hand, just in case there were more vampires waiting to ambush him. He crept as quietly as he could, and relaxed when he was at the bottom of the stairs and he couldn’t see anyone else in the basement.

As he suspected, there wasn’t anything valuable downstairs, only dead rats, empty liquor bottles, a deck of cards, and some heavy blankets. However there weren’t any dead bodies, aside from the rats of course. He had been in more than one vampire nest in London, there were always bodies in various stages of decay.

He could only think of a three reasons why there wouldn’t be any bodies. First, if they hadn’t been there very long. Most of the evidence pointed to the contrary, the amount of trash suggested they had been there at least a week. Second, if it was a vampire brothel. He’d been to a few with Ethan, he never understood the appeal of a vampire’s bite, but Ethan liked it so much he paid for it. Vampires at suck houses were usually not confrontational, that’s why they worked in the brothels, they didn’t want to fight, or be hunted, they just wanted to exist; not at all like the vampires he’d just slain. The third reason, they didn’t want to bring attention to themselves

Five vicious vampires, going out of their way not to draw attention to themselves, living on rats blood, in a warehouse where he was told one could view an ancient, powerful text before it is to be auctioned in the magic black market. Things were starting to come together in a way he really wished they weren’t.

He needed to regroup. After getting nothing but more questions and a bruised wrist at the warehouse he went back to his hotel to think. He needed to figure out if the information from his contact had been bad, or if there was something he wasn’t seeing. He highly suspected the latter.

“Mr. Giles, it’s the manager, could you open the door?”

Rupert looked up when he heard his name and he was about to open the door when he remembered that he had given the front desk an alias. He peered out the window, sure enough there was nobody at his door, however there was a short, greasy looking man knocking on the door next to his. It could just be a coincidence, but he doubted it.

He opened the door. “Excuse me.”

The manager looked over at him. “I’m just here to collect rent, I’ll be done in a minute.”

“It’s ten dollars a night, yes?” The manager looked at him skeptically but nodded. Rupert pulled out his wallet and pulled out a twenty. “Here’s twenty, if you describe the man staying in that room.”

The manager reached for the money, but Rupert pulled it away. “Description first.”

“Uh… tall, thin, brown hair. Irish, I think. He had an accent like yours.”

“Irish? I’m English you prat.” Rupert said, mildly offended. While he was busy recovering from the slight the manager plucked the twenty dollar bill from his hand and scurried back to his office. “Americans.” He muttered, still hung up that anyone could confuse his London accent for an Irish one, they didn’t sound anything alike. It was also entirely possible that the man was simply trying to goad him, in which case he succeeded.  

He was so distracted, Rupert was back in his room before he realized the significance of the description he’d just heard. When he did, he grabbed his keys and ran to his rental car. The sun was just setting, but he needed to go back to the warehouse.

He slammed on the brakes as he pulled up to the warehouse, the tires screeching to a halt.

As he walked over the threshold to the warehouse he felt it again, a shiver up his spine. He shrugged it off before, assumed it was nerves.

When he was living with Ethan they often threw parties, so people were traipsing through their flat nicking things, mostly cash, but they had valuable books and magical items around and didn’t want to take any chances. So Ethan had an idea, a way to hide items from the outside world. He would create a fold in the fabric of their physical reality, a self contained alternate reality of sorts. It was invisible, but if anyone went through one of the pockets it would send a tingle up their spine. Ethan hid them all over their flat. They were easy enough to get through, it just required concentration. The genius was in the simplicity, most people would walk through them without giving it a second thought, which is what made them so effective.

He stepped back outside, took a deep breath, concentrated on wanting to go through the mystical door. When he stepped forward again he was in a room, it was softly lit, there were rows of chairs, and at the front of the room there was a raised platform. In the front stood a man, his back was to him but he could tell he was tall, thin, had dark hair, and he’d be willing to bet he had an English accent.

He had his suspicions since before he left the hotel, but now he was certain, he knew exactly who the man in front of him was.

“I was wondering when you’d figure it out, Rupert. I say, I think you’ve rather lost your touch.”

“Ethan.” He ground out, just as the man turned to face him. He hadn’t seen him since he went by his flat three years ago to tell Ethan he could no longer keep in contact with him. Ethan hadn’t taken it well.

“Hello, Ripper.” Ethan said, a devilish smile gracing his lips.

Rupert was fuming by this point. “Are you mad? You’ve set up a black magic black market and you’re using my name to do it? Are you trying to get me fired? Or worse, killed?”

“I was trying to get your attention. Behold my success, here you are.” They had both taken steps toward each other, so they were only a few feet apart. “You hurt me, Rupert. You didn’t give me a choice in anything, you just told me how it would be and I was expected to just abide by it.”

“I’m not here for you, I’m here for the book.”

“So I’ve heard. Go on, through that door, I’m not stopping you.” Ethan told him, gesturing to a side door.

He looked at Ethan suspiciously. Surely Ethan didn’t go through all this trouble just to give him exactly what he wanted. He slowly made his way to the doorway, but as he approached flames engulfed the opening, causing Rupert to jump back.

“As I said, I’m not stopping you, but I’m sure that fire probably is. Pity. You didn’t really think I’d just give you the book did you?”

Rupert spun around and faced his former friend. “I did have some hope that you would be mature about this Ethan. You may worship chaos but even you’re not foolish enough to let someone else get their hands on the Book of Thoth .”

“And why, pray tell, do you believe it should be entrusted to the Watcher’s Council? Do you really believe every soul in that organization to be so pure as to be above reproach?”

“Of course not, but I do know it would be secure with the council, and it wouldn’t be used to for evil.” Rupert argued, glancing around, trying to see if there was another way through.

“Really? That’s interesting.” Ethan said with a smirk. “Do you really believe your precious council let a book that powerful sit in a tomb for thousands of years where anybody could get to it?” He asked. Ethan could see realization dawning in Rupert’s eyes. “Or do you think it’s more likely that they had the book the entire time, and sent you to retrieve it when they found out it was missing?”

He didn’t know which possibility disturbed him more, that he couldn’t tell for sure if Ethan was lying to him, or that Ethan’s insinuation could possibly be true. He gritted his teeth. “Break the spell, Ethan. Let me pass.”

“Or what?”

“I think you’d rather not find out.”

Before Ethan could formulate a response Rupert punched his former friend in the stomach. He knew in a physical fight he would beat Ethan with little trouble, which didn’t give Ethan much incentive to fight without a little mystical assistance. He only managed to land a couple of punches when Ethan responded with a protective shield.

Rupert yelled, “Excudo! ” and threw a blast of energy at his former friend, while the protective shield was strong enough to absorb his punches, it was no match for a mystical assault, allowing the spell to send Ethan through the back wall. Rupert knew this was not an even fight. Ethan had far more magic than he did, and his talents would only have grown in the three years since they last saw each other, while Rupert was out of practice. His advantage of having a greater knowledge of spells was negated by his lack of the magic necessary to perform them.

He made his way over to the Ethan-sized hole in the wall and stepped through while the other man was still on the floor, disoriented. He was covered in drywall dust. He imagined it would’ve been a lot worse had the wall been structural rather than decorative, the studs were widely spaced and there weren’t any pipes or junction boxes for him to hit either. Then again this entire building was part of a self-contained alternate reality, he doubted very much that the structure had to be built to code.

“I did give you fair war-” Suddenly Rupert found himself flying through the air as Ethan used the same spell he’d used on the vampire earlier that day. He forgot how painful it was. Luckily he had already stepped around Ethan into the room, so instead of being sent through the wall as Ethan had he landed on a table. It was painful but certainly nothing was broken.

As he stood up, Ethan was already on his feet. “Incendere! ” Giles called out as he struggled back to his feet, causing the drywall around Ethan to catch fire.

Ethan responded with a protection spell, dousing the flames before they could reach him, then he fired back, literally, conjuring lighting. Rupert’s eyes widened when he heard the crack of lighting, but was able to jump out of the way just in time to not be hit. He jumped over a table and pulled it onto its side, using the table top to protect him from Ethan’s spells.

“Caerimonia, Minerva. Saepio, Saepire, Saepsi. Saepio Impedimentum. ” Rupert whispered, buying himself some more time with a protection barrier. He knew it wouldn’t last long, Ethan was powerful, he would blast through it in a few short minutes.

Everytime he poked his head out from behind the table Ethan was ready with another spell. He needed to find that book, the few times he peeked over the table he could see various items scattered around the room, probably the inventory for the auction. He knew of one more spell he could use, if he got the timing right he could end the fight with one last incantation.

As he waited for the barrier to fail, Ethan continued throwing spell after spell. Rupert could feel it beginning to waver under the strength of Ethan’s assault. One more, then it would fall.

Ethan threw one last burst of energy at him and the barrier fell, and in that instant Rupert held his hand palm out and incanted one last spell.

“Vincire! ”

Green energy shot out from his hand and wrapped around Ethan, rendering him immobile. He also wouldn’t be able to use magic while trapped inside it. He approached his momentarily unconscious, former, friend slowly.

“It didn’t have to be this way, Ethan.” He said sadly, casting Ethan one last look before he started looking around for the book.

Ethan had a mountain of inventory to go through, and because of their fight, much of it was scattered around the room. He wanted to pack everything and take it back with him but, impracticalities aside, that wasn’t his mission. He was only after the Book of Thoth .

“Well done, Ripper. You won, now why don’t you let me go?” Ethan asked, struggling against the binding spell.

“That seems very unlikely.” Rupert replied. “Ah-ha! There you are.” He said to the Book of Thoth as he pulled it out from under an overturned table. He looked through it, just to be sure it was in fact the correct book. He stood up and started walking toward the hole in the wall.

“Ripper, you can’t leave me in here.” Ethan shouted, struggling harder.

Rupert just ignored him, he knew the binds wouldn’t hold Ethan forever; and since Ethan was human, however annoying he may be, there wasn’t much the Council could do to him.

Rupert closed his eyes and concentrated as he stepped back through the doorway. When he opened his eyes again he was back in front of the warehouse, the Book of Thoth clutched at his side.

When he returned to his room it had been ransacked. It was at that moment he realized Ethan must have been released from his mystical binds, probably when he went through the doorway, he had suspected that would be the case. Ethan had probably set up a back door in his makeshift auction house, that probably connected to his hotel room, in case someone came after him. Ethan was nothing if not a coward.

There didn’t seem to be anything missing, but there was a note on his bedside table with three words written in block letters:

“BE SEEING YOU...”

“Genevieve.” He called out, getting his girlfriend’s attention as she approached baggage claim.

Her face brightened when she saw him and she ran up and greeted him with a kiss, her arms coming up to wrap around him while his arms wound around her waist, pulling her body against his.

She had received a call from Rupert fourteen hours earlier and she couldn’t have been happier to hear his voice. When she woke up after he left, alone in his bed, she had thought that was the end of it. She thought she had ruined things so badly, by talking to his father, that he no longer wanted to see her, even to say goodbye. She should have known he wouldn’t have done that.

When she answered the phone he told her he had the book and a week long layover, then he told her that if she packed her bags and went straight to Heathrow she would find a ticket to New York City waiting so she could meet him.

He pulled back from the kiss first and rested his forehead against hers. “I missed you, Gen.” He whispered.

“I missed you too, Ru.”

He smiled softly, nobody had called him that in years and it reminded him of simpler times.

When he found the note from Ethan he knew there was no way he could hide his past any longer, not from Genevieve, not if he wanted a future with her. Which he did, desperately. He had already lost too many important people in his life, and he couldn’t bear to add her to the list.

He knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and she was probably angry with him for leaving her in bed the morning he left. So he figured a big gesture was in order. He called the airline and booked his flight to New York City, then he booked the soonest flight from Heathrow to New York.

When all was said and done he was scheduled to arrive six hours before her, giving him enough time to check into a hotel and make plans for their week, including tickets to see a show on Broadway, dinner reservations, and a bus tour through the city.

The first day they spent in their hotel suite, not even coming out to eat, instead ordering room service. They went to sleep that night exhausted but satisfied.

The second day they went and saw a broadway musical, and then ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. They were finished by seven and when they were back in the room he knew he couldn’t put it off any longer.

Rumors about him were commonplace in the Council, his grandmother was the head of the Council, his father was on the board. He didn’t exactly live up to his family name when he started raising demons, so he was a fairly popular topic of conversation. He never confirmed the rumors, and he never denied them. He knew people would say what they thought, no matter the truth.

Genevieve deserved the truth, so he started at the beginning. He told her everything that happened starting when his mum died when he was fifteen, until Genevieve walked back into his life at twenty-seven. He told her all about his past struggles with magic, and how on his trip to Sunnydale he had been forced to use magic and he had kept it under control, rather than letting the magic control him.

None of it was easy, and there were a lot of tears as the night went on, but the hardest story to tell was his relationship with Ethan. She questioned his attraction to her, when he had a sexual relationship with another man. He tried to explain that his relationship with Ethan didn’t mean he wasn’t attracted to women, only that sometimes he was also attracted to men. Although he and Genevieve had grown up in the same postal code she had lived a far more sheltered life, and she was having a difficult time wrapping her head around the concept of bisexuality.

They didn’t make love that night, but any doubts he had about her ability to accept his past were quashed when he woke up and she was tucked against his side; as if there was no place in the world she felt safer.

On their last night in New York, Rupert took Genevieve to Rockefeller Plaza to dine at the Rainbow Room. It was there, on the 65th floor, overlooking Manhattan, that he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. When they went back to their room the night ended as their first one had.

London, the day after their return

Thud

Rupert dropped the Book of Thoth on his father’s desk, causing the older man to look up at him.

“Ah, very good. I never doubted you for a moment.” Edmund said, looking up at his son.

“When I was doing research, in the beginning, I read that this book was sealed in an underground tomb for thousands of years.” Rupert said.

“Yes, I believe that was the case,” Edmund replied.

“That’s interesting because Ethan, you remember Ethan, he’s the one that had the book, he lead me to believe that the Council had the book the entire time. That is, until he stole it.”

“I suppose that’s a possibility, the books in restricted storage are archived separately, very few people have access to the list. Though I can’t imagine how he got his hands on the list, or the book itself. I say it’s still far more likely that he was lying to you, and it was exactly where legend says it was..”

“Perhaps.” Rupert said, watching his father’s body language for any signs that he might be lying. He didn’t seem to be, but he was never the easiest person for him to read. “By the way, I asked Genevieve to marry me, and she has accepted.”

That got his attention. Edmund’s eyes snapped up to look at his son. He stared in stunned disbelief before a grin finally broke out across his face. “Congratulations, Rupert. I wondered why you were so insistent on taking a holiday before bringing the book. Of course, this means we must have her over for dinner.”

“Yes, I know, I’ve already called home and told Gran. We’ll be over this evening around six.” His father gave him another congratulations and a pat on the shoulder. With that, Rupert went back down to his office in the basement so he could type up his field report.

“Giles.”

Rupert looked up in time to see his supervisor drop a file onto his desk.

“New assignment.”

As Rupert pulled the file in front of him and opened it to the first page he couldn’t help but think that maybe the acquisitions department wasn’t such a bad place to be. Perhaps, for now, it was exactly where he needed to be.