Title: Death Sealed X

Author: Caliadragon

Fandom: Buffy

Catagory: AU

Pairings: None really

Archive: Any list I send it to, those with previous permission and my archive.

Warnings: Character Death, Torture

AN: Set not long after the First has been defeated. Faith is a vamp. The LA crew is in Sunnydale. Spike is souled, but not chipped. He still has moments of dementia.

Summary: Vengance seeks its next target.

Thanks to Edi for the beta.

You can read the first 9 parts here:

Death Sealed X
by Caliadragon

Black as night
Cold as hate
He is death
He is the blight
Tonight he meets light
Tonight he dies
Tonight Vengeance prevails

Craig Beman looked at the grave markers in front of him and felt cold rage fill him. Everything he had worked for was falling apart. Three of his compatriots were either dead or missing and their families beyond his touch.

Jake and Mike's families really held no interest to the Dark Warlock. In truth they were just a passing thought. His mind was on Tony Harris' family. The wife and son had acted as a power source for him for several years now.

Craig had known the minute he met the family that the young boy and his mother were a perfect power source for him. They were both so innocent and pure. Anthony had once been a good man, but as they say power corrupts and Anthony was a perfect example of that.

Craig had placed many spells on the man's family over the years. Unlike his foolish friends, Craig knew what existed in the darkness of Sunnydale. He also knew that the boy had been fighting the darkness over the years.

Unknown to Xander, he had been helping Craig along for several years. The boy and his friends had eliminated many of Craig's less than satisfied customers. The Mayor, the Master and countless other demons.

Through it all he had used blood, pain and sex to bind Anthony and the rest of their little circle to him. The fools had never realized that the dark desires that they gave into were feeding him and his power.

In the last few years Craig had seen most of his plans backfire or fall apart. He wasn't sure how or why Xander was thwarting him or even if he knew that he was doing it. All Craig knew was that the boy had thwarted him. He had even broken the spell that Craig had placed on the little Wizard. Andrew had overcome the compulsion that Craig had placed on him. Warren had been killed, unfortunately. The boy was improving in his schemes. The First had had great plans for the boy.

Somehow Xander had overcome the spell he had placed on the White Witch in their group. She should have finished raising the temple, but the boy had overridden the panic and pain that he had infected the girl with.

His employer had been very disappointed with the outcome and Craig was glad that Xander and his friends had managed to defeat the First. Craig really hated to think what the founder of evil would have done to him in the long run.

With a sigh Craig turned away from the graves and walked into the rapidly falling twilight. As he walked from the cemetery, three men appeared in front of him, and three women behind him. Craig raised an eyebrow as he realized who they were.

"We've come for you, Sorcerer," Tara said coldly.

She was the one who had cas t the last spell to seek out the latest of the men who had harmed her friend. What she had been shown stunned and enraged her. How the Scoobies had managed to miss this man's part in all of their troubles over the years Tara did not know, but she was going to be a part of his destruction.

Craig sneered at the little witch. Even surrounded, he was not afraid. He knew very well that he was strong enough to out match any of them, or so he thought. In seconds, spells and hex's began to fly. Screams of pain and rage tore through the air and shouts of triumph and loss echoed in the night.

As the last spell tumbled around them, power hung heavy in the air. Wes and Andrew sat on the ground slightly dazed. Giles was holding Dru and trying to shake off the effects of a debilitating hex.

All four turned their attention to the last two standing. Willow turned to her lover and smiled. Raising Tara's hand up to her mouth she kissed it gently then turned he r attention back to the dark wizard. Craig Beman lay in a bloody heap. The last spell that Tara had thrown had cursed him with all of the evil that he had ever inflicted.

There was no way to identify the twisted and vile creature that lay in front of them as human. Tara took a deep breath and looked down at her family and smiled. Shifting her hold on Willow, she used the last of her magical reserves to shift them away from the scene of their battle.