In the end, she opted for horseback riding, because she could wear the necklace she still meant to pawn concealed beneath her shirt, and she was likely to get farther on horseback than she would under her own steam.

It was also fairly easy, on horseback, to keep enough distance between herself and Mai that she could avoid a reactivation of whatever spell the demoness had used. All morning long, Buffy pretended a docility she didn’t feel, trying to lull Mai into a false sense of security, as if escape were the last thing on her mind.

For a while, it was. Kauai on horseback, waterfalls tumbling from lava cliffs into the lush jungle below, was indeed a breathtaking sight. Buffy could almost forget her desperate plans to escape in her enjoyment of the scenery. Almost. But, she took note of the trail they were following, the way that trails branched, and the branches that seemed to head back toward Hanelei. Around noon, Buffy suggested they stop for coffee at a roadside stand that catered to riders. Mai didn’t put up much of an argument. Buffy led the way, not letting Mai get too close. This time, she asked their waitress for directions to the women’s room, and made no objection to Mai coming along. However, on the way back, Buffy used the pretext of admiring the view to lean over a table on which a number of coins made up part of a tip. She surreptitiously palmed a few of the coins--less than a dollar, which should be all she needed-- before Mai quite caught up to her. Buffy tossed the demoness a guileless smile, then slid back into her seat. She pocketed a few of the cubes in the sugar bowl at their table as a treat for her horse. She figured it was going to need it. As they drank their coffee, Buffy mentioned that she was hoping to spend more time on the beach before dinner. Mai was agreeable to turning back. Buffy followed as closely as she had all morning --until she reached the fork she had been waiting for.

It didn’t take much to pretend that her horse had gotten a stone in its shoe, to dismount, and persuade an impatient Mai to help her check. As Mai was peering at the hoof, Buffy grabbed one of the large, ornamental stones separating the path from the jungle, and knocked her unconscious. The demoness toppled to the ground, and Buffy lost no time remounting her own horse, slapping Mai’s on the flank to encourage it to bolt from the vicinity, and taking off.

She felt the barrier at the bottom of the path. Her horse pulled up, neighing and shaking, unwilling to go through. But, Buffy could feel the barrier was much, much weaker than it had been the day before, and she wasn’t about to lose this chance. She coaxed her reluctant mount back toward the invisible barrier, speaking soothingly. She threw a nervous glance behind her. How soon before Mai came to her senses and came hunting? Buffy didn’t have time to wait around. She calmed her mount, then set her heels to it. It snorted in discomfort, but obeyed her commands.

She felt like she was riding through a very large spider web, with a thousand sticky strands, each pulling at her, trying to hold her back. Invisible strands wound about her throat, choking her. The horse whinnied in dismay, but she kept urging it forward, fighting the strands, feeling them tear and shred as she fought her way through them. At one point, the horse reared up, pawing the air in desperation, but she clung to him and kept her seat in the saddle, fairly desperate, herself. Finally, finally, the last strand gave way, and she was free.

Buffy leaned low over her mount’s neck, and urged it to race down the path toward Hanelei. It was as eager to get away as she was. They made it to the outskirts of town in something less than an hour. Buffy dismounted, and offered the winded horse the sugar cubes she had saved for it. Then, she shooed it away, trusting it would find its way back to its stable. Hopefully, that’s what the other horse had done, before Mai could catch it. If not, pursuit might not be far behind. Buffy found an alleyway to duck into, and stripped off the long-sleeved white shirt she had worn over a pink camisole top she’d managed to purchase while Mai was occupied elsewhere on their shopping spree the day before. She removed her necklace, and tucked it into the pocket of her jeans, then made quick work of pinning up her hair, and using the scarf carried in another pocket to cover her head, concealing her hair color. Having changed her appearance as much as she could, she left the alley and headed toward the more populated area of town.

It was late afternoon before she found a public phone, and she almost wept in relief when, this time, she got a dial tone. She deposited her coins, and punched in the number she needed. The call was collect, of course, and Buffy took a deep breath when asked to give her name, knowing her voice would be recorded and replayed for Giles, imagining the shock it would be for him to hear her, when he was certain he had buried her a day or two before. "It’s Buffy, Giles." She only hoped he was at home.

He was.

"Buffy! My God, how? The coroner--"

She couldn’t help the sob that broke from her, hearing his voice, but she didn’t have time to give in to her emotions, and forced herself to go on. "It was a trick. Someone else dressed in my clothing. I’m okay, but, Giles, it’s almost dark and he’ll come looking for me."

"Angelus?" Giles said grimly.

"Yes." Buffy told him where she was and what her resources were. Giles asked if she had enough coins to make another collect call, then told her to hang up, and try to get to the more populated area of town. And, no, she was not to pawn the necklace: that would be the first thing Angelus would check for. She was to call him back in half an hour, and he would tell her what to do next.

It was the most nerve-wracking half-hour of her life. Buffy stuck to the lengthening late afternoon shadows, trying to be unnoticed, and staying alert for any pursuit as she made her way deeper into the town. Every car on the road, every person on the street was a potential threat to her freedom, if not her very life. She was relieved when she could call Giles again. He had booked a room for her at one of the better hotels in Princeville, using the name of Elizabeth Brighton. Her suite was paid for. Ms. Brighton’s father would be joining her later that evening. That nearly set Buffy crying again, because she couldn’t believe she would be seeing Giles in a few hours, but he was still giving her instructions. Before she went to the hotel, she was to find a cab, and go to a particular shop, where she would be provided with cab fare, a suitcase, also paid for, as were its contents.

"How did you manage all that?" Buffy laughed shakily, wiping away tears.

"The Watcher’s Council has contacts in the most unlikely places," Giles said wryly. "I want you to change clothes before leaving the shop, to further throw off the possibility of pursuit. I don’t think he will be able to follow you, but I don’t want to take chances. I can’t risk losing you again, now I’ve just got you back."

Buffy started to cry again, Giles told her be brave. Promising to call as soon as she got to her room, she hung up, and went looking for a cab.

An hour later, she was curled up in a chair in her suite, talking to Giles once more as she clutched a stake in her hand. Several had been in the suitcase she’d been given, and holding onto one of them made her feel marginally more secure. Giles would be arriving at Lihue Airport in a matter of hours. Buffy started crying again. Giles told her to be brave, and hung up so that he could catch his flight. Buffy was reluctant to break the connection. She felt somehow safer knowing that Giles was on the other end of the line. But, it was a foolish thought. She wouldn’t really be safe until she was off the island altogether.

No: she wouldn’t really be safe until Angelus was dust.

Buffy dashed the tears from her eyes, stood up, and walked over to the large window, overlooking Hanelei Bay. Another glorious sunset was before her, but she couldn’t really enjoy this one. Sunset meant that Angelus was free to join the search for her, himself, and no matter how illogical it seemed that he could find her in this tourist-filled city, when she had left no trail he could follow, no witnesses he could question--even the WC contact didn’t know where she was going, or who she was--she couldn’t quite convince herself that she was free of him.

Her suite was luxurious. Another step taken for her safety. Giles thought it was doubtful that Angelus would think to look for her in a four-star hotel when, as far as he knew, she hadn’t a penny on her. He might suspect that she’d contacted Rupert, and been sent a ticket home, or that she was trying to get passage on another freighter. Most likely, his minions would be scouring the waterfront and the airport for her. She was safe. Or, so Giles had repeatedly assured her. Buffy took his assurances. But, she also bolted her door.

She would have felt just a bit safer if Giles could have found a private home for her to stay in, where any vampire would require an invitation, rather than a hotel room, which, as a public accommodation, didn’t offer even that slim protection. Of course, given the servants Mai had at her disposal, it probably didn’t matter. Giles felt she would be better off in a more public setting, where there were security guards and surveillance cameras to ensure the well-being of the guests.

As if such things would ever keep Angelus from what he wanted. She had not shared that thought with her Watcher. There was nothing more that could be done, and Giles was anxious enough. Once he arrived, Buffy might actually begin to feel as safe as she was supposed to be.

Until then, she couldn’t keep torturing herself with doubts. Giles had suggested she get something from room service. Though she took his advice, ordering a simple burger and salad, she was too anxious to do more than pick at her food. Finally, she gave up, pushed the cart with her half-eaten dinner out into the hall for the staff to retrieve, then headed for the bathroom. Perhaps a soothing bubble bath would help relieve her lingering soreness, and relax her too-taut nerves.

She spent a long time in the bath. Her tears mingled with the hot water covering her aching body. She had, impossibly, succeeded in tearing through the bars on her silken cage, and flying free. But that freedom wasn’t bringing her the peace of mind, the happiness, it should. Irrational or not, she couldn’t convince herself that she was safe. She could swear she felt the bond between them, alerting her of his nearness, a reaction that was most likely caused by the state of her nerves. And, even if Angelus couldn’t find her now, she knew that he wouldn’t give up looking. The bitter truth was, until she put an end to him, it wasn’t safe for her to return to her normal life at home. He would make every effort to recapture her, and he had the resources, she understood now, to expend on those efforts. If she doubted the intensity of his obsession with her, she had but to look down at the ring weighting her left hand.

A week ago, the solution to her problem would have been obvious: keep an eye on the cargo ship that had brought them from Sunnydale, and if Angelus tried to board it, a well-placed crossbow quarrel would ensure that he never set foot on deck. If he didn’t try to return to the vessel, she could stay on the island long enough to get her Slayer strength back, and track him down. Most likely, those were the very things Giles would suggest. He was probably bringing her weapons with him, in addition to the stakes he had provided in the suitcase, and would insist that she put an end to Angelus, for her own safety.

The problem was, she wasn’t sure she could. Not anymore. In the few days of her captivity, her demon lover had taken possession of more than her flesh. She was afraid that she was in love with him, just a bit, and the idea horrified her. Not only was he the quintessence of evil, but her heart still ached for Angel. But, Angelus was part of Angel, and she found that some part of her loved him, responded to him. She was afraid that she no longer had the clarity, the strength, the will, to put an end to him. Maybe, in a month, or a year, she would regain those things. Now, all she wanted to do was weep.

Another bitter truth: one of the things she wept for was the loss of Angelus. As badly as he wanted to find her, as badly as she wanted to remain free, there was yet a small, undeniable part of her that wanted nothing more than to be found, to surrender utterly to her demon’s desires.

That was something she would never be able to explain to her friends, something she would never admit to them at all. She couldn’t even justify to herself her need for a cold-blooded murdering beast. How could they possibly understand? The only thing she could do was mourn her double loss: Angel, his soul forever banished to the ether, and Angelus, whom she would herself have to banish from the earth. As the bubbles faded in her bath, and the water began to lose its heat, Buffy’s tears continued to fall.

Eventually, she cried herself out. She got out of the tub, wrapped herself in the fluffy bathrobe the hotel provided, dried her hair, and headed back to the bedroom. Which was no longer as empty as it had been when she left it for her bath.

"Hello, lover," Angelus purred, the caressing note of his voice belied by the murderous rage in his eyes.