t ask and ye shall receive
Tara didn't think Willow had had any caffeine when she wasn't looking. It was theoretically possible that the bounciness came purely from the gorgeous spring day.
"We ought to just peek into the Magic Box," Willow said, "it's on the way to the Cultural Fair. Maybe pick up some business cards to give to folks, since Anya won't let us run a tab, like Giles did. Then maybe she'd give us some store credit."
Tara smiled fondly. "I don't think the word credit exists in Anya's vocabulary. Unless it's credit card."
"Probably not. Here we are!"
Willow bounced into the shop. At the counter, Anya turned with a bright smile, which immediately faded into the familiar "Oh, people we like who hang out here but who probably won't buy anything" look. A customer was perusing one of the magic books for sale, comparing the text with something on a Palm Pilot. In the back part of the shop, Xander was on a ladder changing a light bulb in the ceiling fixture.
"Hello, lovely ladies," he called. "What brings you to our fine establishment today?"
"Hi, Xander!" Willow called. "And hi, Anya. We're on our way to the Cultural Festival down by the river. Why aren't you at work, Xander?" She gave him a scolding glare. "Are you playing hookie?"
"Au contraire, mon amie," he said, climbing down the ladder. "My team is ahead of schedule and they let us off early. So I came down to give my favorite girl a hand."
"It's a wonderful system," Anya said. "He works for free, and I get someone strong and decorative to do the boring heavy lifting."
Xander bowed. "We bloom where we are planted. So, Cultural Festival?"
Willow began rapidly explaining all the things on display at the Festival. Tara put in the occasional comment, but most of her attention was on Anya, who had gone to answer the phone. Anya was whispering to whomever had called, and she kept glancing at Xander. She looked very thoughtful when she hung up.
Xander saw her and frowned. "Who was that, Ahn?"
"Someone who you said just this morning that you didn't care if you never heard from again because you didn't give a damn what vampires were up to, so I don't think you want to know."
Willow blinked. "Giles?" Xander muttered and turned away.
Anya lowered her voice. "He says he found out when Glory needs to open the portal, dawn three days from now. And his minions have found where, there's a tower being built in the junkyard by Glory's demons and those crazy people she's making."
"Well, that's wonderful," Willow said. "Now we know when and where we have to avoid." She blinked. "Giles has minions?"
Anya waved her hand. "His minions, Spike's minions, somebody's minions."
"How is Spike?" Tara asked.
"Healing, apparently. I heard him in the background, yelling at Giles and telling him what to say." She turned to watch happily as Xander folded up the ladder and carried it back to the training room.
"We should tell Buffy," Willow said decisively.
"Probably so." Tara swallowed her disappointment at losing a day she'd hoped to spend solely with her lover. After all, this was important.
Willow looked at her closely, then frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry, baby. We'll call Buffy, then go on to the festival, it won't take very long. I wonder how he figured it out," she added. "I wonder if he used magic or the books or--ooh, maybe he called up one of those demon informants of his and asked."
"Honey," Tara frowned, "I don't think you should sound so excited at the idea of calling up demons."
"I don't see why not. How is it any different than going to Willy's and asking about stuff there?"
Tara stared at her, but Willow seemed completely serious. "I'm pretty sure the kinds of demons that hang out at Willy's are different from the demons you have to summon. You generally have to promise them things, and they're a lot nastier."
Willow shrugged. "OK, I know that lending your body to something like Eyghon is pretty stupid, but just summoning one into a circle strong enough to hold it doesn't seem that risky. And you could learn so much."
"But that means consorting with creatures from the lower planes, from the hell dimensions themselves. Those kinds of creatures are truly evil, they offer bargains that you don't want to keep."
"So you don't accept them. We've dealt with evil, nasty things before. The Mayor, he was spooky."
"Yes, I remember you telling me about him, how he wanted to turn into a true demon. Those kinds of forces, they're not the sorts of things you should just play around with."
Willow hugged her. "Honey, it's not like I'm asking you to summon one yourself. I don't blame you if you're scared of them--
Tara pulled away. "I'm not scared of them, I'm scared for you! The powers of evil are a whole different level than the scaly things at Willy's."
Willow blinked, hurt. "You don't think I could handle something like that."
"That's not it at all." Tara put her hands on Willow's face. "You're strong, so very strong. But someday something's going to be stronger. That's what I'm afraid of. And if it's something evil and horrible, it could do--terrible things to you."
"I'm not stupid, I wouldn't try anything I didn't think I could handle."
"Like that My Will Be Done charm?" Tara said very softly.
Willow jerked away. "That was an accident, Tara. And I've apologized for that, over and over. If you and Giles had your way, I wouldn't do anything more involved than--than charm warts off of people or bless the pigs or something. I'm stronger than that."
"I know," Tara nodded sadly. "And I'm not. I never meant to hold you back--"
"Oh, honey, no, that's not what I meant--" Willow tried to take her hands, but Tara stepped back.
"It's all ri