Rebecca hadn't been back upstairs for long before the two girls heard the distinct sound of arguing coming from downstairs. "I think I hear Angel," Rebecca said. "Think he ambushed your da before he could leave?"
Anne shook her head. "I can hear their voices pretty clearly. One of them is a woman, but I don't recognize…" Anne trailed off, something dark flickering in her eyes. She stood up, going towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Rebecca asked.
"Downstairs," Anne replied. I know exactly who that is."
"Who?"
"Connor's wife," Anne said through gritted teeth.
"Connor's married?" Rebecca asked in shock. "Whoa." She jumped up. "Anne, I don't think you should go down there."
"Oh, I think I should," Anne said in response, leaving the bedroom and heading towards the stairs. Rebecca sighed and followed her out.
"I want to see my husband, Angel!" Laura was yelling as Anne entered the lobby.
"And I told you already, Laura, Connor's not here," Angel yelled back. "So get the hell out of my hotel."
"Not until someone tells me where my husband is!"
"He's in hell," Anne said, approaching Laura. "Now get out."
"He's where?" Laura asked, spinning around to face Anne. "And who the fuck are you?"
Anne glared. "I'm the woman Connor loves."
"You're who?" Laura yelled, her voice rising in pitch.
Spike moved in from the sidelines then, taking Anne by the shoulders and pulling her back. "Annie, go back upstairs."
"No!" Anne said, jerking herself out of Spike's grasp. "I want her gone first."
"I'm not going anywhere, little girl," Laura sneered. "Not until I get some answers." Her eyes widened when she saw the cross hanging from Anne's neck. "That's my husband's. What do you think you're doing wearing it?"
Anne bristled at Laura's use of "my husband." "He gave it to me. And Connor's mine," she said, the last word coming out in a growl.
"Um, I don't think so." Laura held up her left hand. "See these rings? They mean I'm his wife."
"You left him, you bloody bitch."
"Look, whoever you are, you're what—twelve? Let's leave these things to the adults, hmm?"
Angel saw the look on Anne's face that indicated she was about to attack and stepped in between the two women. "Laura, Connor's trapped in a demon dimension. We're working on a way to get him out. And Anne, well, I'm not sure what they are to each other, but I'm pretty sure Connor's in love with her."
"Please. She's a child. What would Connor want with her?" Laura sneered.
"I'm not a child," Anne snapped. "And what would Connor want with me? Well, I'm a hell of a lot better in bed than you are for one thing."
At that, Spike said, "Anne, please…"
Laura turned to Spike then. "Who are you?"
"I'm her father."
"Oh. The father of the whore."
Spike's eyes flashed, but before he could do anything, Anne had already punched Laura in the mouth, sending the blonde to the floor. "You stupid bint," Anne snapped. "You care more about trying to bully me than you do about the fact that Connor's trapped in a demon dimension."
Laura wiped the blood of her mouth. "I don't want anything to do with that demon stuff. If Connor chooses to take part in it, well…that's his concern." She got to her feet. "And you'll be hearing from my lawyer, because that was assault."
"Actually, it was battery." Anne paused before yelling, "He's in hell, you daft cow! He didn't choose to go there. The man you're so eager to call your 'husband' is most likely facing horrible tortures as we speak. Can you get that into your thick head?"
"Don't you even presume to know anything about how I feel about my husband. You need to just go." Laura gave her a tight-lipped smile. "There's a playground down the street."
"Actually, Laura, Anne has more of a right to be there than you do."
Anne and Laura both stared at Angel in surprise, but Laura was the first to speak. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you've done nothing but treat my son like something you stepped in for the past ten years. Anne loves him. And that 'demon stuff' you referred to—she's a part of that, and so are the rest of us, which makes you the outsider," Angel replied.
Laura glared at Angel. "Connor's my husband, and I'm not leaving."
Angel threw his hands up. "You know what, Laura? Fine. Stand here in the middle of the lobby and throw a fit like the spoiled brat you are. That's really helpful. I'm going to go back to finding a way to rescue my son now." Angel stormed back to his office, slamming the door behind him.
"He's my husband, Angel!" Laura called after him. She got no response from Angel, though she did get one from Anne.
"He may be your husband, but he's my lover."
Laura turned to Anne, wild-eyed, but Spike pulled Anne back. "Okay, Anne, Rebecca—we're going upstairs. Laura, you come near my daughter, and I rip your bleedin' head off. And I do mean that in a very literal sense." He turned away from Laura and steered the two teenagers back upstairs to the bedroom.
"Both of you stay put," Spike said. "I'm going now to get you two some lunch. Buffy, Cordelia, and Angel will all be downstairs." He turned his gaze on Anne. "I know you're upset, and I'm sure Laura would make a very good punching bag right now, but stay away from her."
"Dad, she…"
"I know, sweetheart, but don't poke the bear in the cage, yeah?"
Anne sighed. "All right."
Spike kissed Anne's forehead and patted Rebecca's shoulder. "Behave yourselves."
Anne's shoulders slumped as soon as Spike left the room. "I didn't think it could get any worse," she said. "Guess I was wrong. How can she call herself his wife?"
"It's probably because she's got the legal documents to back up her claim."
Anne gave Rebecca a dirty look. "She obviously doesn't love him. She's not going to worry about him being in a hell dimension because she doesn't 'deal with the demon stuff?' What a…well, I don't think bitch is a strong enough word, but I'm too mad to come up with anything else right now, so it's what I'm going with. What a bitch."
"Hey, she said that necklace is Connor's?"
Anne frowned at her friend's sudden question as her fingers went around the small silver cross. "Yes. Why?"
"Would you say it's got sentimental value to him?" Rebecca asked.
"I think so. A friend of his in Ireland gave it to him. He always wore it until he gave it to me right before he got pulled through the portal. For luck, he said. Maybe he should've kept it on…"
"That should do," Rebecca said. She walked over to the bedside table and picked up the phone.
"What are you doing?" Anne asked as Rebecca began to dial a number.
"I'm calling a few contacts, seeing if I can get the address of someone in town who can do what I want."
"Which is?"
"Tell us exactly where Connor is. Now be quiet, it's ringing."
Anne grew silent as she waited for Rebecca to make her calls, feeling a spark of hope for the first time since Connor had disappeared.
*** *** ***
Anne and Rebecca had managed to sneak out of the back of the Hyperion without anyone noticing. Rebecca had found someone who could do what she needed, and Anne was willing to follow her. She was game for anything that could bring her closer to getting Connor back.
"So what exactly are we doing here?" Anne asked as they stood outside the door to the shop Rebecca had taken her to. "Just so I know what's going on when we get inside."
"The woman who owns this place is a powerful witch, specializing in interdimensional stuff. Kinda like your aunt Dawn, just not really far away at the moment. She can do pandimensional locator spells. I doubt she can pull Connor out of wherever he is, but she can tell us where to look," Rebecca explained.
"Are you sure?" Anne asked.
"Pretty sure. I'm not guaranteeing it, but it's a good bet," Rebecca said.
"Worth a shot anyway," Anne replied. "If we know where he is…"
"Then we can figure out how to reopen that door and get him out," Rebecca finished for her. "Right now it'll be like looking for a needle in an infinite number of haystacks."
"Right. So what are we waiting for exactly?"
"Nothing," Rebecca said, pushing the door open. "Oi! Anyone in here?"
A middle-aged woman with long dark hair dressed in flowing clothes and an excessive amount of jewelry walked through a beaded curtain. "Can I help you?"
"Are you Melissa?" Rebecca asked.
"Yes…and you are?"
"Someone who needs you to do her a favor," Rebecca replied.
Melissa frowned. "I'm sorry, but I'm not in the business of doing favors for strangers."
"In the mid 1990's, your boyfriend was harassing you. He was going to kill you. A woman helped you with that—she's my mum."
Melissa's eyes widened for a moment before a smile crossed her face. "In that case, what can I help you with?"
"I need someone located. Got himself trapped in another dimension."
"Of course. Shouldn't take me long at all. Do you have an item of the missing individual's that I can use to help focus on his energy?" Melissa asked.
"Yeah. Anne, the cross, please."
Anne looked warily between Rebecca and Melissa before unclasping her necklace. "Here. But…be careful with it."
"I will, sweetheart," Melissa said as she took the necklace from Anne. "Don't worry. I'll tell you where he is very soon, I promise." She smiled. "I can tell you love him very much."
"Yeah. I do."
"I'll be back in a bit. There's some tea brewing in the back if you girls would like some," Melissa offered.
"We'll be fine," Anne said. "Don't drink tea made by people I don't know. It's a long story, involves Krelulian Gack Beasts. Don't really have time to give the details right now."
Melissa frowned. "Sounds…unpleasant. Well, I'll be as quick as I can."
As soon as she had disappeared behind the beaded curtain again, Anne turned to Rebecca. "You're using someone your mom did a vengeance wish for?" she hissed.
"Hey! She's good at what she does. Besides, that was almost thirty years ago, and the guy was an ass anyway."
Anne sighed. "Sorry. I'm just…edgy. I keep thinking about Connor, and where he is right now, and it…I can't take it."
Rebecca put her arm around her friend. "I know. But this will get us one step closer to finding him."
"I bloody well hope so." Anne slumped against the wall, her arms crossed in front of her. She felt tired and lost and she knew the only thing that could make it better was the one thing she couldn't have—Connor. She knew without a doubt that wherever he was, he was suffering. She could feel it in her blood, almost as if she could hear his anguished cries. He was the other half of her soul—her mate—and he was in pain.
Anne looked up sharply when Melissa finally reemerged. "Could you…?"
"Locate him? Yes." Melissa sighed. "But I'm afraid the location I got isn't a pretty one."
"Well, he's in a bloody hell dimension," Anne said. "Knew that much. Not like those are full of hugs and puppies."
"Well, true, but this one's not one of the better ones…" Melissa replied.
"On a scale of one to ten with one being fluffy kitties and rainbows and ten being fiery pits of eternal torment, how bad is this one?" Rebecca asked.
Melissa frowned, pondering the question for a moment. "Eight?"
"Is it worse than Quartoth?" Anne asked.
"No…don't think any place is worse than that," Melissa replied. "How do you know about…"
"Because that's where he grew up," Anne replied. "So tell me where he is now."
Melissa's eyes widened at that. "Well…that's…I've never heard of anyone surviving long in Quartoth, never mind actually getting out. That's quite impressive indeed." She handed Anne Connor's cross as well as a slip of paper. "This is the name of the dimension he's currently stuck in. It's difficult to access from this plane. Not impossible—obviously—but beyond my powers. I'm sorry I can't help you any more than this."
"This is more than I had a few minutes ago," Anne said.
"If there's anything else you need that I can do, don't hesitate to call again," Melissa said. "I owe Anyanka my life."
"We'll let you know," Rebecca said. "Thanks."
"You are quite welcome."
Anne put her necklace back on before giving her thanks to Melissa as well and following Rebecca out of the shop. "So what exactly did your mum do to her boyfriend?" she asked.
"Turned him into a gerbil."
"A gerbil?"
"She wished for him to be a rodent."
"And Anya went for a gerbil?"
Rebecca shrugged. "It's a rodent. Come on, let's get back to the hotel, see what the others can do with this new bit of information."
"Yeah," Anne agreed, clutching the piece of paper tightly in her hand. She still didn't know how to get Connor back home, but she was closer than she had been.
She had a name…
*** *** ***