Window Of Innocence
Lilah Morgan had joined Wolfram and Hart for money, power, and prestige. Well that, and to bring about the end of days, although hopefully not before she earned her money and power.
Lindsey McDonald had joined the firm for much the same reasons, he and Lilah were both on their way to the top, this made them temporary allies for as long as it took for them to eliminate everyone in their way. Both had half formed plans to finish off the other as soon as the day came when they became more of a hindrance than a help, but until that day they were almost friends.
Or at least they had been, until Lindsey had put his newest plan to impress the senior partners to Lilah, looking down at the file he'd handed her she contemplated what it would mean for her career if she exterminated Lindsey before he outlived his usefulness.
"Why can't you go?" Lilah questioned Lindsey petulantly.
"Because I think this requires your specialist," Lindsey leaned over the expensive maple desk and placed his hand over Lilah's slender, flawlessly manicured one, "touch."
"Run this plan by me again?" Lilah murmured lifting her hand so she and Lindsey were palm to palm.
"The scroll of Assajian."
"The senior partners already have it," Lilah reminded Lindsey, pushing her moisturised hand into his and feeling the resistance as he pushed back.
"Yes, but they can't read it, the scroll is protected by..."
"Very powerful white magic that can't be broken by force, dark magic, or any of those other things we're so good at." Lilah recited from the first time Lindsey had told her.
"You need a white witch to break it, and as you know they are annoyingly hard to manipulate, but I've found one that may be... persuaded." Lindsey finished, distracted by the manner in which Lilah's thumb was running over the back of his hand.
"Tara McClay." Lilah sat back sharply kicking her stiletto pumps up onto the desk, raising an eyebrow as Lindsey lurched forward slightly, surprised with the sudden removal of Lilah's hand. Looking away from her colleague she returned her attention to the file, clipped to the front was a Polaroid of a solemn looking blonde girl, with sad, serious blue eyes. Most of her face was obscured by long blonde hair, 'Dyed' Lilah noted with a smirk as she observed several inches of dark roots.
"And what makes Tara here so very corruptible?"
"Her mother just died," said Lindsey sinking back into the black leather chair opposite Lilah, "poor kid's devastated, she's seventeen and hasn't quite got the hang of her powers yet."
"That's it?" Lilah questioned incredulously, "no evil tendencies? Desire for world domination?"
"She lives with her father and brother, and I think she'd welcome a way out. Look in the file."
Lilah flipped opened the file, which was full of ridiculously dull facts about Tara McClay, "Lindsey why don't you just tell me, I do have better things to do than bone up on facts about some dysfunctional, rural teen..." She trailed off.
"You've found it."
"Signs of abuse." Lilah hated to admit it but Lindsey may have found a way in, people had the useful habit of becoming attached to people they saw as their rescuers. "Ok, if it's just a matter of going and getting the kid why can't you do it? You could do your "I had a tragic childhood, no money, and a horrible father," Speech." Lilah condensed the story she had heard Lindsey tell to witnesses more often than she cared to remember.
"I think it need's a woman's touch."
Lilah pulled her legs off the desk and leaned dangerously towards the other lawyer, "if you think I'm going to go to the back of beyond to play substitute mother to some girl while you take all the credit for work I've been doing here, you've got another thing coming!"
"Lilah, Lilah," Lindsey placated, "I wouldn't dream of taking credit for your work, especially not when mine's so much better. Anyway I don't think Tara needs a parent."
"What does she need then Lindsey?"
The young man grinned, "a Mrs Robinson."
Tara spat into the sink, thankfully the saliva wasn't tinted red this time, the cut on the inside of her cheek seemed to have stopped bleeding. She risked taking a look at her reflection in the cracked mirror, it wasn't as bad as she'd expected it to be, the bruise around her eye was already starting to fade, her lip was red and swollen but not burst this time, and apart for a slight swelling of her cheek there was no overt sign of the cut in her mouth. Stumbling slightly on her way from the bathroom, she collapsed on an overstuffed armchair in the living room, her father's chair, the only one that didn't wobble or have apolstry spilling out. It gave her a perfect view of a picture in an expensive looking silver frame; the photograph was one of a thin-lipped woman with kind blue eyes. It looked out of place in its frame; the only other photos in the room were curled at the edges and tacked to an old corkboard. 'Mom, come back, I need you to protect me from them.'
Until recently Tara's father hadn't laid a finger on her, not since she was ten, when his wife had found out how far the violence had gone, Tara had never discovered exactly what had been said but after that he had never said so much as an unkind word to her if her mother was present. But now she was gone it was a different story, Jim McClay was determined to beat the demon that had killed his wife out of his daughter. The only saving grace was that he hadn't touched her that way; she'd sleep on the streets before she let anyone take advantage of her like that again.
A knock at the door jolted her out of her reverie, 'please don't let it be one of them,' she thought. Even though every rational part of her said that her father and brother wouldn't need to knock, and that it was probably someone selling something she still approached the door with caution.
Opening it revealed a tall statuesque brunette in an expensive looking black business jacket and skirt, the jacket was open to reveal a cream blouse that was buttoned just high enough to be decent, and the short skirt revealed long curvaceous legs.
"Hello," Lilah said smiling to the girl that opened the door, she recognised the girl from the Polaroid under all the bruises, 'I guess Lindsey was right when he said she was being hit, I hate it when he's right', "I'm Lilah Morgan." Lilah extended her hand to the girl, the blonde pulled back sharply into the shadows, looking frightened for a second, then flushing with embarrassment when she realised Lilah wasn't about to do anything aggressive.
"H-h-hey...." Tara shook the soft hand that the gorgeous, well-dressed woman offered, looking past at her street, litter on the road, windows boarded up and every second or third house abandoned. "I-um, T-that is I'm sorry..."
Lilah fought the impulse to look at her watch as she waited for the girl to get her sentence out; instead she focused on maintaining the sexy smile she'd plastered across her face.
"...I-it's just I think you M-might have the, erm, y'know, wrong address."
'For Christ sake, if it takes her that along to get a simple sentence out, I'll be waiting for a month once she starts the spell!' Lilah thought, aloud she said, "no, I don't think so. Are you Tara McClay?"
Tara opened her mouth, then shut it and nodded briefly, giving up on speaking. "I'm a layer," Lilah continued, "I work for Wolfram and Hart," She offered a card to the girl, withdrawing it again when the blonde did nothing more than stare at it with a glazed expression, she noticed Tara's eye's drift over her body, 'Like shooting fish in a barrel,' she thought.
"I-I-I, don't n-need a L-l-lawyer.... S-s-sorry,"
"Are you sure?" 'Time to drop a hint,' "I just assumed that with your father..."
"I", Tara paused, swallowed and looked Lilah in the eye for the first time, "I don't need a lawyer, there's been a mistake."
Lilah noted Tara's fingers had tensed around the door, ready to slam it shut, time to try a different tack. "Perhaps there has, Listen if you change your mind," Lilah leaned forward and caught one of Tara's wrists, firmly enough so she couldn't pull away easily, but gently enough so she wouldn't misconstrue it as a violent act, "this is my cell phone number," she fished a pen out of her pocket and inscribed her name and number on the back of Tara's hand. "Call me if you need anything, I think we can help each other."
With that Lilah turned back to her car, getting into the rented Jaguar she pulled the rear-view mirror towards her to re apply some of her plum lipstick. Leaving Tara to stare dumbly at her tingling wrist.
"You just gave her your cell phone number and left!?" even from 900 miles away Lilah could here the shock in Lindsey's voice, that alone almost made it worth the trip.
"Yes," Lilah confirmed, "She'll come to me, just give it time."
"You sound very sure of yourself," Lindsey snapped.
"I am, she'll be eating out of my hands within a week."
"You should hope she doesn't prefer the warm blooded."
"Lindsey, I know you're stressed but nothing excuses an insult that pathetic." With that Lilah hung up the phone and stretched, lying back on the bed in her suite.
Lilah knew it would be Lindsey's head on the block if Tara didn't take the bait and come to LA to de-enchant those scrolls, as much as Lilah would enjoy watching Lindsey's career, along with some of his internal organs go down the drain, she had her pride. She was the bait, what would it say if she couldn't even seduce one shy, sexually repressed teenager into doing her bidding. No, best make sure Tara took the bait.
Snatching the phone back out of it's cradle she dialled a different number, it was Tara's family situation that would lure the girl into Lilah's waiting arms, so maybe it was time for the blondes family situation to get inexplicably worse.
"Sahyr? It's Lilah Morgan here, sorry to bother you at this hour but I need a hex placed on someone.... I understand you're a busy demon, my firm will make it worth your while...Glad you could fit me in...Nothing like that, I need him to attack his daughter."
"Slut!" Crack. "Bitch!" Crack. "Whore!" Crack. "Demon!"
With each insult her father hurled at her the back of Tara's head smacked violently into the wall, with each impact the red blur on the periphery of her vision got larger and larger.
"Witch!" he let go of her shoulders, as Tara slid towards the floor, her father brought his knee sharply up into her gut, sending waves of pain and nausea coursing from her stomach to her throbbing head. 'Why is this happening to me?' Tara thought miserably as she looked up at the red-eyed man looking over her, it was hardly like this was the first time he'd made a punching bag out of her. He used to do it just to break her, but there was no reason for that, he'd broken her a long time ago.
Clutching her stomach, Tara sank the rest of the way to the floor, "Ever since you were born I knew you weren't right, same demon as her," His eye's seemed to bulge out of their sockets. "Your mother would never let me sort you out, but she's not here anymore!"
"Sort m-me...W-what?" 'No, no, no, no,' Tara's frantic mental voice chanted, 'this can't happen, it won't happen.'
"Take off your skirt. Now."
"No." Tara's voice was quiet, but it was clear and didn't crack. "No."
"How dare you!!!!" The hand that had been undoing his pants flew at Tara's cheek.
"No!" Despite her throbbing head Tara forced herself into a standing position.
Jim McClay stared in shock between his hand, which was frozen in mid air, and his daughter who was staring at his arm through narrowed eyes, muttering under her breath. The unfocused rage he'd been feeling towards Tara ever since that man at the store had bumped into him found a focus, how dare she use magic on him. On him!
"You little..." he swung the fist that had been dangling uselessly at his side up towards Tara.
"Finite incartatum." Fine tendrils of red and purple energies snaked out from Tara's hands and wound themselves around her fathers' arms, legs and neck pulling him to the ground with a sickening crunch. "Oh God..." Tara muttered staring in shock at her fathers' unconscious form, "Oh God help..."
'Shit,' Tara swore internally, Tara almost never swore, but she was panicking now. She'd left her dad unconscious on the floor knowing that if she stuck around for him to wake up the beating she'd just escaped would be the least of her worries.
The pain in her head and tummy had subsided enough that she could walk without wincing, but all that accomplished was she could now devote all her attention to worrying about what she was going to do next.
It wasn't like she had any friends she could go to, and the only living family she had were on her father's side and wouldn't spit on her if she were on fire. But staying out here wasn't an option either, her neighbourhood wasn't exactly the best in town and it would only be so long before one of the men who had shouted lewd proposals at her decided he wasn't taking no for an answer.
She sat down on the kerb; pulling her legs against her and wrapping her arms against her stomach, time to consider her, minimal, options.
The despondent teenager looked down at her watch; maybe her father would have calmed down enough for her to go home.
'Not likely', a more realistic part of her brain chipped in.
Looking glumly at her watch Tara caught sight of the writing on her hand, Lilah Morgan 555-... The dark ink was crystal clear, even though it had been three days ago Lilah had called at the door. For reasons she wasn't sure she wanted to try and justify Tara had taken to tracing over the writing whenever it began to fade. It wasn't like she had ever intended to call Lilah, the lawyer scared the witch, her aura swirled with the colours of vanity and cruelty. But Lilah had said she could help; the only question was what would be the price for her help?
"How did your mother die?" Lilah forced herself to ask patiently, she'd spend the last half hour listing to the story of Tara's life, and she was bored. But the girl had looked ready to flee ever since she'd arrived at Lilah's hotel room, the softly, softly approach was required.
"Um, my dad, he said she was infected w-with a...demon." Tara perched awkwardly on the edge of the queen sized bed, expecting the to be lawyer amused or shocked. But Lilah just looked nonplussed.
"Is that what you think happened?"
Tara risked a glance at Lilah from under her curtain of blonde hair, "You're making fun of me." The witch spoke as though it was something she was used to.
"Of course not," Now that Tara was meeting her eyes Lilah got a proper look at the young witch. She was appealing, in a plain, vanilla sort of way, but she had a pretty mouth that could be put to good use later. Her long yellow skirt swallowed her legs, but her white blouse was stretched temptingly across full breasts, if there was anything Lilah hated it was a woman with the figure of a twelve year old boy.
The older woman moved from her position by the mini bar to sit next to the tense girl on the bed. "My firm deals with some less than human clients. In fact we're known for it." The Lawyer placed a hand on Tara's thigh; she could feel goose bumps rising under her stroking thumb. With her other hand she guided Tara's face round to look at her, "You're a witch aren't you?"
"Y-y-yes," Tara stammered, she tried to ignore the feel of Lilah's stroking hand through the thin fabric of her skirt. "I-is t-that...is t-that what you want me for?"
Lilah laughed dryly, she ran one of the fingers that had been holding Tara's jaw over the girls full bottom lip, "Witches, my dear, are a dime a dozen, you..." She leaned in, pressing her lips to the blondes. She half expected the nervous teenager to pull away but Tara opened her mouth willingly drawing in Lilah's probing tongue. Lilah let her hand drop from Tara's face to trace her collar bone, but not moving any further south not wanting to startle the witch, Tara's hands found their way to Lilah's waist and the brunette smirked internally as she felt Tara's fingers dance impatiently on her hips, she knew the girl was itching to touch skin.
Tara moaned as Lilah pulled back slightly, lashing her tongue out against Tara's bottom lip as she went. The lawyer looked impeccable, not so much a hair out of place, her dark eyes were cloudy and difficult to read. Tara immediately pulled her hands away from Lilah as if she'd been burnt and made to jump up, but Lilah's surprisingly strong hands on her thigh and shoulder held her irresistibly in place.
"I know you want this," Lilah's sultry voice rolled over Tara's hot skin. She was right, Tara had spent most of her life being told she was evil, that everything she wanted in the back of her heart was wrong and perverse, just this once Tara didn't want to be good. Lilah was giving her the opportunity to embrace everything she knew she shouldn't want.
"I do...I-it's just that, um, I've never..." Tara stuttered more than usual
"Well, I think it's about time you learnt how," Lilah said as her hand slid down to graze over a full breast, the nipple underneath her palm hardening instantly at the brief contact. Lilah pushed Tara gently back onto the bed, swinging her leg over Tara's thighs so she was straddling the witches' hips. She shrugged of her jacket, the movement pulling the top button of her shirt open giving Tara a tantalizing view of her satin bra, the lawyer leaned over the younger woman catching her wrists and holding them above the blondes head, she bit back a moan as the blonde rolled her hips under Lilah's. The witches cloudy blue eyes were no longer filled with fear and doubt, but bright with desire.
'Eating out of my hand; up yours Lindsey. My hand and anywhere else I might want to name,' was Lilah's last though as she latched onto the blondes pale neck.
Tara stepped out of the shower in the bathroom inside Lilah's hotel suite; she wrapped a towel around her body and slumped against the door. That had been fantastic, but now she had to consider what to do next, just for a second, when her tongue had been on Lilah and the older woman had been screaming out in pleasure Tara had managed to convince herself that this was all Lilah wanted from her. But of course it wasn't, she had a mental flash of Lilah's moisturised, manicured hand sliding over her thigh and looked down at her own bitten and chipped fingernails. Lilah wanted her for her magic, after all; Tara looked at her reflection with derision; what else did she have worth having?
"What is it you want me to do?" Lilah looked up from her position naked on the bed with a sheet wrapped loosely under her arms to see Tara standing in the doorway from the bathroom wrapped in towel (which suited her a lot better than those gypsy rags she'd turned up in).
"You're an eager little beaver aren't you?" Lilah sneered.
Tara's neck and cheeks flushed bright red, "That day, when you came to my house. Y-you said you wanted my help. What, er, what was it you wanted?"
"What makes you think I haven't got everything I wanted from you already?" Lilah questioned leaning back against the headboard and shooting a lingering glance at Tara's crotch.
"Because I-" Tara faltered, "because I don't think you came here from LA just to have sex with me. I-I think you need something from me."
Lilah fought to keep grin off her face, 'turns out little Tara isn't as much of a doormat as she first appears, get her out of those hideous clothes, do something with that very inexpertly dyed hair and she might not be entirely intolerable to have around.'
"What exactly do you think I need from you?" Lilah swung her legs out of bed, the sheet pooling in her lap.
"Magic...I-I can't help you if I d-don't know what you want."
"Ok, there's a scroll the firm has...come into possession of, we can't read it because of a protection spell. We need a witch to break the spell." Lilah stood and let the sheet fall to the ground walking over to Tara she tucked a strand of wet hair behind the girls' ear.
"If. If I do this want do you do for me?"
Letting her hand play up and down the witches' thigh she whispered, "I thought I'd already done quite a lot for you."
Tara took a step back from Lilah, "What's this scroll? I don't want anything to do with it if people are going to d-die."
Lilah sighed, she was beginning to feel that she'd preferred Tara when she was being all the-meek-shall-inherit. She turned and headed back to the bed. "The scroll could be anything, you see the thing is...We can't read it!" Tara physically flinched, and Lilah immediately regretted snapping, she still needed the witches' help after all. She began to see this little conversation for what it was, a game, a chance for Tara to pretend to be in control. "I'll be honest with you," The lawyer patted the space beside her, and waited for the witch to join her on the bed, "these ancient scrolls are glorified, there is a tiny possibility that it is twelve steps to the apocalypse, but more than likely it's some ancient demon shopping list or love poem. But it will make me look good with my bosses, it'll make you look good as well."
"I-I really d-don't know."
Lilah could see the backbone that had shown in the little witch for a minute begin to crumble, the girl wanted to agree, Lilah could see that familiar hidden desire for a little walk on the wild side. She just needed to give the girl a reason to agree.
"I could get you out of here, away from that family of yours," Lilah waited for a second no response, she ran her fingernails from the blonde girls knee, up her thigh, under the towel to trace patterns on her thigh as she continued, "You could go anywhere you wanted, college, some small town where they'd never find you, even out of the country if you wanted, all on the firm. You wouldn't have to worry about money for a very long time..."
Tara's mind struggled with itself, her mothers voice whispered that Lilah was dangerous, that Tara shouldn't even be considering this, that she should dress and leave before anything else happened. Her fathers voice sneered at her, that she was evil, disgusting, that he'd always knew she would come to a bad end. And part of her agreed with him, she was going to be a demon when she turned twenty, what was the point of trying to be an angel if she was going to turn into an evil thing anyway? And if it meant she got to spent the last years of her human life away from them.....
"A-alright, I'll do it...