We would raise Eyghon in an abandoned church that Ethan knew. He was in good spirits naturally high he wanted to be first. So, we let him be first. I didn’t tell him that Eyghon stayed the longest with the strongest. I didn’t know how mentally strong Ethan was. I suppose he’d have to have been stable to survive an abusive childhood but then he was a victim and Eyghon didn’t like victims.

As I said, he was excited. I put him to sleep in the centre of the circle we had made; Dierdre held the herbs and I recited the invocation. Ethan’s body glowed with a dark iridescence and rose from the floor. Eyghon had arrived. He looked on us, his new disciples with an evil leer. Thomas shuddered he was going to be next and he wanted so much to be Ethan’s favourite as I once was. Eyghon sensed this and took him. I couldn’t stop the tableau that unfolded before us; none of us could. We could only watch as Eyghon in Ethan’s body systematically beat and violate our friend over two hours.

Ethan was exhausted. He was fighting Eyghon his expression varied from triumph to despair throughout his ordeal. Finally, he came out of his trance when Thomas no longer reacted to the abuse. Eyghon fled to the circle laughing maniacally. Ethan fell to his knees and wept. He gazed mournfully at his friend afraid to go near him in case he should cause him more pain. Dierdre approached him quietly and checked his pulse.

"He’s alive." Ethan sighed in relief. He was shaking with cold and shock.

Philip looked to the circle. Eyghon smiled and beckoned him playfully. He shuddered.

"How do we get out of this one Rip? Is ’e going to attack all of us like that?" A good question, that I couldn’t answer.

"We need to get him to hospital Ripper. I can’t do anything for him here."

I looked at Dierdre and shook my head. Questions would be asked. Ethan had collected himself sufficiently to approach Thomas. As his shadow fell across Thomas’s torn and ravaged face he shuffled away in fright. Ethan sobbed anew.

"How do we know he’s safe in the circle?" Philip asked Dierdre asked exactly the same question. It annoyed me. I don’t know what happened next. The emotional energy crackled through the church and I pointed to Eyghon in the circle.

"The circle IS SAFE!" I announced my voice booming off the church walls as thunder broke overhead jagged blue lightning shot from my fingers to surround Eyghon in the circle. I was as surprised as my companions.

We moved Thomas into the van and drove him to hospital. Then we went back home. In the morning, we found out that Thomas’s parents had collected him from the hospital and he had effectively dropped off the face of the Earth. That left us with one short.

Randal arrived in the afternoon, living space and rumours of spare living space were snapped up in Oxford. I didn’t want to initiate him but Ethan was insistent he revealed that he was still partially under the Eyghon’s influence. He felt compelled to welcome Randal into our circle. It was almost a physical need. It was painful to witness as he fought against Eyghon’s will. I relented and Ethan got busy with the tattooist’s needle. We had our fifth.

The next night was a full moon we met at the church. Randal was fresh faced and enthusiastic thrilled to be accepted so quickly into our ’secret society’. My heart dropped when I witnessed his zeal. Was I ever like that? I was second. Ethan put me to sleep. The words of the invocation echoed in my head. Ethan was word perfect but there was no intonation, no passion in his voice he was almost like a machine. I felt a terrible darkness creeping through my soul.

We faced each other Eyghon and I. He wanted me to go and when I didn’t he just shrugged and ploughed past me to take possession. I found myself at a loss, outside my body looking at Eyghon in my place. He smiled seeming well pleased. I couldn’t affect anyone while outside my body. What Eyghon did then chilled me. He stepped out of the circle and laughed in Ethan’s face.

"You stupid Wanker, you’ve cocked up the spell. I’m still here you Pillock!" Ethan was stunned. He looked at Eyghon seeing only me and shook his head. He scurried to the book and re-read the spell.

"When you find the right page old boy call me, I’ll be at the cemetery. I’m peckish." Eyghon snapped his teeth together and sauntered off. I followed flowing through Ethan, who was in my way. My body hurried ahead of me but I found it difficult to follow because someone kept pulling me to the side. Finally, I gave in and went the way my spirit wanted.

I found a young girl struggling under the attentions of a much bigger man. I wanted to help her but what could I do? Suddenly the man flew off her straight through me and landed head-butting a gravestone. The girl scrambled to her feet brandishing a stake and followed him. She thrust the stake she was carrying through the man’s heart and he fell to dust.

She’s a Slayer!

She turned quickly and caught sight of Eyghon in my body. Her stake lifted ready but Eyghon laughed and applauded. Her stake drifted downwards. I was uneasy. Eyghon had said he was hungry. I shouted at her to run but she couldn’t hear me! Eyghon paced toward her slowly. She was fascinated, smiling. I tried putting myself between her and the demon but that didn’t work either. I slipped inside my body unnoticed, in time to witness the full horror of what Eyghon had planned for this young woman.

She was a Slayer who had just killed a vampire, a fellow demon. So, Eyghon exacted revenge by draining the Slayer.

My hands held her throat feeling the trembling of her vein beneath her skin.
My lips caressed her neck,
my tongue licking the tender flesh locating the lie of the vein.
My fangs pierced her skin and
my mouth received the first salt-sweet tang of her blood.
I swallowed wanting more becoming desperate in
my search for this hot balm to soothe my soul.
She was cold, my belly was hot.
She fell from my grasp and I stood silent in the night with her fresh blood dripping from my lips.

Spike shifted uneasily on the sofa. His lips were slightly redder than usual he’d been affected by my story in way’s subtly different to the others. Jack sat on the other sofa with his mouth open in shock.

"You killed a Slayer." Oz stated.

"Eyghon killed a Slayer, I lead him to the Slayer. It was like my father said. I knew when one was near. If I hadn’t raised him she might have lived another six months or so."

"Was that the life expectancy of a Slayer back then?" Jenny asked. She had squirmed apart from her vampire protector.

"Yes I’m afraid it was, Jenny. This was many years before you were born and I was a very foolish young man. I don’t have fangs so how could I have drained her? It was the demon using my body. He made me experience what a vampire experiences just as he made Ethan violate Thomas. It took a vampire to finally defeat Eyghon. I couldn’t. Stick close to Spike he’ll protect you."

Jenny looked up at the vampire’s cool detached features and she curled her hand in his once more. Spike held her hand in a fierce grip and kissed her fingers delicately. He loved her he would wait a lifetime for her.

"Did you ever tell Mum about Eyghon?" Jack asked.

"Oh, yes we didn’t have any secrets. Do you want the rest?" I asked , looking at my watch. "You’d better have the rest."

Ethan woke up when I fell into bed next to him. I was very hot but not tired. He switched on the light and saw the dried blood round my mouth. He leapt from the bed and dashed across the landing to Philip’s room.

"C’mon Phil, open up!" He shouted. The door opened a crack and Philip blinked in the harsh light.

"Somethin’s up with Ripper…" Philip followed him to our room and studied me as I lay on the bed. Not sleeping, not awake.

"He don’t look right, God! Is that blood? What’s ’e done Ethan?"

Ethan was leafing through the books on my desk.

"Shit! He’s the strongest! Eyghon’s still in Ripper.… I got the spell right. We’ve got to get him out. Get the others. Skate’s on Phil!"

Within half an hour, we were back at the church. Randal was next but first they had to get me to sleep and Eyghon didn’t sleep. Ethan finally managed to put me out by whacking me with a panel ripped from the lectern. Eyghon fled into the circle where Randal lay and he was pissed!

Jack felt his father’s forehead he was extremely hot.

"Jack may I have some ice, please?" He closed his eyes while his son fetched a bowl of ice from the kitchen. Giles picked a piece from the bowl and popped it in his mouth. Jack left the bowl.

Eyghon made Randal climb the steps of the church tower. He resisted all attempts to stop him. Ethan tried his best but he couldn’t improvise, he knew the spells by rote you see. He learned improvisation much later on. Randal threw himself off the tower Deirdre was nearest to him but even she couldn’t prevent him from falling.

I came round, whispering to Ethan to close the circle but they couldn’t hear me; they were all outside with Randal. I got to my feet shakily, lights flashing before my eyes. Eyghon was in the circle smiling at me. I don’t know why he hadn’t re-entered my body. Perhaps he decided it would be more fun to observe my reaction to the chaos I had caused. We studied each other; finally, he turned away and dissolved.

I would banish him even if it meant tilting the Earth about its axis!

I walked outside in time to see Randal being zipped into a body bag. Deirdre clung to Philip and the two of them walked away. Ethan looked as though he would leave with them; I stopped him in his tracks.

"We have to banish Eyghon." My voice cracked with emotion. He looked at me as if I were speaking a foreign tongue.

"We can’t banish him." He murmured. "He’s too strong Rupert, I tried I couldn’t banish him. He’s homed in on our Tattoo’s I mixed the ink with our blood. We’re his I’m sorry Ripper, Truly."

My hands were round his throat "You stupid, ignorant bastard!" I snarled in his face. "Do you know what you’ve done? We’ll have to keep initiating people! We’ll never be free of him!" I raised Ethan off the ground I realised that Ethan wasn’t struggling he wanted me to kill him. I let him fall. It wasn’t his fault; it was mine. My responsibility, I had to fix this.

Dad. I had to talk to Dad.

I hammered on the hotel room door. My father answered he looked rough, when he saw me his expression changed to one of dread.

"What have you done?" He asked darkly. My stomach hit the floor as it had always done when he used that tone.

"Eyghon killed a Slayer and my friend, how do I stop him?" My father stared at the floor as he let me in the room. The door closed and he hit me! Lifted me clean off the floor. I’d never seen him so enraged!

"My Slayer." He said his voice raw. "She was seventeen Rupert!" He massaged his knuckles as I checked the location of my jaw.

"I’m sorry." My eyes stung with tears. He rounded on me again and I flinched involuntarily. He helped me to my feet and seemed to shift a gear.

"All the usual banishing hasn’t helped? Who’s been doing it? That Dimwit flat mate of yours?" I nodded.

"Then there’s only one way. You have to give up your life, Rupert…"

"I have to die?" I gasped incredulously.

"You don’t have to die, that’s what he wants. You have to live but differently. You have to forsake everything and become a Watcher. Then you give Twenty-three years of your allotted life span to Eyghon. He’ll leave. He may come back but by then you’ll be stronger and will be able to destroy him." My father was looking at me; my shoulder’s slumped. I was exhausted. "Do you want me to help?" He offered.

"No, I have someone as back-up." I took a breath and headed for the door.

"Rupert." I hesitated. "You’re doing the right thing, sorry I hit you." The door closed behind me. That was the last time I spoke to my father.

Ethan was sitting on the church steps where I had left him an hour before. I stood in front of him and tilted my head back looking up at the stars. Ethan’s hand grasped the waistband of my jeans his sorrowful eyes seeking my permission. I slapped his hand away.

"Don’t ever touch me again, Ethan!" I warned. I stepped past him and grabbed his shirt collar dragging him protesting up the steps into the church. I let go and he lurched to his feet dusting himself off.

Eyghon waited in the circle. He smiled at my approach, the smile of a crocodile. I walked round the perimeter of the circle murmuring the banishing incantation slowly. His smile faded to be replaced by a look of anguish. He fought back.

There was a terrible storm that night and the highest tides of the year. Hurricane force winds ripped the roof from the church exposing Eyghon to the full force of the elements. His wailing cry as he vanished into the depths of Hell shook the walls of the church. I collapsed in the middle of the ruin and rubble. Ethan was unscathed, if a little dusty. He helped me out of the church and into the rain lashed morning. He was holding me close as a car drew alongside us. The door opened and my father stepped out. He took me from Ethan’s embrace without a word of explanation.

I was like a child for three months, then gradually my Watcher instincts took hold and I embraced my destiny.

"Drop a pebble in a well, you embrace a private Hell…" Giles muttered and let his head fall back on the cushions all the gang save Spike filed out of the room.

End of Pt.10

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