A dangerous sorcerer named Felix Faust has come to Sunnydale, intent on raising an ancient demon to subjugate all of humankind. To succeed, he must perform a powerful curse to displace his enemies, transporting them from one time and place and exch...
Buffy and the others followed behind the Red Rider as she led them through the dark woods. There was barely enough light shining down from the moon and stars to light their way, yet Helena seemed to know exactly where she was headed, avoiding every obstructing tree, boulder, and fallen branch.
Buffy had finally settled into the act of horseback riding. She remained sore from it, especially with the wound from Helena's bolt in her rear end. She felt the bruising with every stride of the horse. But she had decided to forgive Helena for it, after everything the girl had been through. "Hey, are we there yet?" she joked.
"Shush!" Helena ordered over her shoulder.
Buffy glared at her. "Did you just 'shush' me?"
"We don't want the Lycanthru to know where we're headed. In case any of them are lurking nearby."
"Oh. Right," Buffy acknowledged. Fine, I'll forgive that, too, she decided privately.
Behind them, Batman followed at a steady pace, while Xander and Willow shared a horse the Lycanthru had left behind.
Willow sat behind Xander, her arms around his chest. She had to steady her breathing, reminding herself she was only holding onto him because they had to ride the same horse, and that's what you do to hold on. Still, she was amazed at how smoothly he handled himself with the reins. She had barely even felt a bump as he led them forward. "When did you learn how to ride a horse?" she asked.
"It's from that curse Ethan put us under at Halloween," Xander explained. "You know, when I dressed up as a soldier, and we all turned into whatever we were dressed as. I still retain all that military field knowledge. I can do lots of things."
"Wow," Willow said, impressed. "What else can you do?"
Xander shrugged. "I don't know. I never seem to know until it comes up."
"Can you fly a plane?"
"Not sure. Best not to try it before making sure."
"Can you defuse a bomb?" Willow asked brightly. "Can you rappel down a wall? Or do push-ups? Can you kill someone?"
Batman hissed over his shoulder. "Can either of you focus? We need to keep quiet so we can keep Helena's location secret."
Xander swallowed. "Yes, sir. Focusing, sir."
They continued through the black forest, finally emerging into a broad clearing, where Buffy spied a small stone hovel. It was little more than a shack hidden deep in the woods, and barely looked large enough to house one person. Was this where Helena lived?
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"Come around back," Helena whispered, dismounting and leading her horse, Crimson, to the rear of the hovel.
Buffy dismounted with the others and followed Helena to the back of the house, where they found a small stable. Instead of hitching up her horse in one of the few stalls, Helena grabbed a pitchfork that was leaning against the wall and began shoving aside hay from the floor. Buffy squinted at her, wondering what had possessed her to begin a mad cleaning spree.
