Soul Mates
                           ----------

               A “Cordelia: the Vampire Slayer” story
                       By J Douglas Burton




   It was dark in the graveyard as Cordelia stealthily threaded her way 
through it. The pall of blackness clung all around, seeming to stick to 
the bone-white gravestones that jutted out of the moldy ground at 
random intervals. Sounds wafted over to the Slayer’s sensitive ears on 
the crisp night breeze, sounds of a skirmish, but as yet she had seen 
no sign of this encounter.
   A mausoleum stood before her, a massive block of unimpressive stone 
– elaborate housing for dead bones that no one remembered. Cordelia 
rounded the solid, squared structure and caught her first glimpse of 
the scene she had previously only heard on the chill air.
   There, just beyond the mausoleum in a small patch of unused land, a 
group of demons clustered together. They were of varying types – a 
couple clothed, one hirsute, another reptilian – and stood gathered 
around a, quite human, female. She was blond, pretty, and backed up 
against a rickety wooden fence, trapped in at the mercy of some rowdy 
demon boys. Well Cordelia wasn’t about to stand by and allow something 
to happen to the girl. She was the Slayer, after all.
   Cordy leapt into the air with barely a sound, extending one foot 
which collided with the back of the lizard-like demon. He fell forward 
with a strangled, gurgling cry against the unsteady fence. Her other 
foot lashed out, striking a fence post which snapped in two, sharp top 
angling out towards Cordelia. Another hit sent the demon crashing onto 
this lethal point, impaling him effectively.
   One of the more human-looking demons, with shaggy hair and two small 
horns adorning his grayish forehead, snarled, rushing the Slayer. She 
ducked down, straightening back up as he hit her, sending the beast 
hurtling over her shoulder. He landed with a thud on the ground, and 
Cordy swiftly and effortlessly staked him.
   The hairy fellow, almost werewolfian, approached more cautiously, 
his burning red eyes fierce yet wary. Cordelia kept her muscles tense, 
ready to move in an instant. Her hard gaze held the demon’s, locking 
them together so they nearly shared one mind.
   Then his chunky paw swept out powerfully toward the Slayer’s left 
side, razor claws extended. With an impressive twirl which sent her 
chestnut hair whirling about her head as a soft umbrella, Cordelia 
avoided the strike, winding up behind the furry creature. She wasted no 
time planting one strong foot on his back and kicking out as hard as 
she could.
   The demon hurtled forward, unbalanced, and his head shot downwards, 
sticking straight into the tight-packed dirt. Taking a moment’s relief, 
Cordy cocked her head and grinned at the amusing sight of this vile 
creature’s ass sticking comically up before her. Unable to resist, she 
aimed a strong kick at this hairy butt. With his head jammed into the 
earth, the demon’s body was sent shooting forward and the force snapped 
his thick neck with a sickening crack.
   Quickly, Cordelia turned on the spot to face the green-skinned demon 
wearing jeans and a sweater. He looked frightened as the Slayer 
advanced, which merely firmed her resolve. With a sudden jerk of her 
arm, Cordelia shoved her wooden stake swiftly at his chest.
   Before the Slayer knew what was happening, the blond girl had leapt 
in front of the demon, arms held haltingly out to her sides. The stake 
kept its forward momentum, plunging deep into the center of the girl’s 
torso.
   Her blue eyes widened, her jaw slackened, as her flimsy white top 
began to stain red around the wooden stick jutting from it. Cordy 
stepped back in horror, both hands held, trembling, to her wide mouth. 
The blond girl’s eyes shut tight for a moment, and as she braced 
herself, she tugged the stake roughly from her chest.
   Cordelia began to realize that she had no idea what was going on as 
the girl continued to stand there, alive and strong, though in extreme 
pain. What was this?





   “So, you two are… together?” Cordelia asked, trying to make sense of 
the little she had just been told.
   The Slayer rested now against a tall white grave-marker, while 
Shona, the blond girl, lay painfully upon a patch of sparse grass. The 
green-skinned demon (who Cordy had learned was called Brayak) stood 
before Cordelia, trying to explain to her what was happening here.
   “Yeah,” he said softly, his black eyes gazing meltingly at Shona, 
whose own expression softened despite the pain as she smiled up at him. 
“She means everything to me.”
   “So,” Cor continued, still very confused, “why were you… ?”
   “Fighting?” Brayak finished. His lips tightened as he remembered the 
encounter, the bony ridges above his eyes lowering. “Those other demons 
were trying to kill me. They… disapprove of our relationship.”
   Without thinking, Cordelia replied, “I can understand that.” Then 
she wished she had said nothing.
   “Oh really?” Shona asked wearily from the ground. She grunted in 
pain as she got up to her feet. Brayak jumped over to help her up, his 
discolored hands cradling her tenderly as he did. “Is there something 
wrong with being in love?”
   “With a demon!” she replied, suddenly feeling incredibly 
hypocritical. How many nights had the Slayer spent with Angel – 
essentially a demon in a human’s body? But that was different – Angel 
had a human soul too.
   A sad look taking over from the strained expression of pain on her 
face, Shona said, “Do outward appearances really mean that much to you? 
Brayak is a lovely, decent person. When I look at him, I don’t see 
green skin, or a bony face. All I see is the man I am in love with.” 
She hugged Brayak with one arm, keeping her still-bleeding wound away 
from him.
   Cordelia wanted to object. She wanted to say that he wasn’t human. 
That it was gross. That it was wrong! But she couldn’t.
   She sighed, all of her prejudices failing her. Anyone, no matter how 
blind, could see the love between these two people. It was electric, 
nearly physical in the air. How could she deny it?
   “It’s okay,” Brayak said, less hostile now. “We’re pretty much used 
to this by now. Humans, demons… Everyone’s out to get us.”
   “Why?”
   The demon snorted lightly. “You know. You felt it yourself. The 
anger, the hatred. My kind is repulsed by this relationship. They say 
it’s unnatural, that we have to be stopped.”
   Confused, Cordelia objected, “That doesn’t mean they have to KILL 
you!”
   “With Brayak and me,” Shona said softly, “it’s not that simple.”
   The demon lowered his eyes. “I’m a Terrian demon,” he explained 
sadly. “When Shona and I… got this close, I took her soul.”
   “What?” the Slayer gasped, choking.
   “It’s okay,” Shona assured her quickly. “I knew the consequences of… 
what we were doing. I was well aware of what would happen. I let him 
have my soul, of my own free will.”
   Tapping his chest with one bony green finger, Brayak said, “It’s 
here. Her soul is inside me now. And there it will remain until the day 
I die.”
   Cordelia began to feel something, a growing compassion for these two 
scorned lovers. She couldn’t imagine living in a society that would 
kill her for her love. There was a nobility in them, a tragic nobility. 
In a gentle voice, Cordy wondered, “What happens when…” she swallowed, 
“when she dies?”
   “I won’t die,” Shona explained simply. “As long as Brayak holds my 
human soul within his breast, I won’t ever age or die.”
   Impressed, Cordy admitted, “I guess that’s a plus.”
   With a sad smile, Brayak disagreed, “Not really.”
   “What do you mean?”
   The demon looked at his lover, who nodded in acquiescence. Shona’s 
white top with the stringy shoulder straps had stopped soaking up blood 
from her chest, and she grabbed the bottom of it and pulled it up to 
her chin, baring her chest for Cordelia.
   There, between Shona’s pale breasts was a gaping hole where the 
stake had entered. Blood stained the skin around it, becoming thick and 
sticky now. But this was not the only wound. At Shona’s right side was 
a deep cut, narrow as from a long knife or sword, with a dark red 
interior. A long slice separated Shona’s belly, the wound opening and 
closing as she moved. Numerous other nicks and cuts decorated her 
torso, along with more than a few severe burns.
   She began to turn around to reveal her back, but Cordelia stopped 
her with one hand. Quietly, respectfully, she told the woman, “I get 
the picture.” Shona nodded, lowering her shirt again, covering her 
modesty. “Must have been some fight.”
   Brayak shook his head. “They never touched her. I made sure of 
that.”
   “Then… what?” Cordelia was confused. “How… ?”
   “These happened earlier,” Shona informed her. “Years earlier, most 
of them.”
   Suddenly a door opened in her mind, and Cordelia realized the truth. 
Shona never healed – at least not completely. Her body had been totally 
arrested in its development and even though she would never die, 
neither would she be healthy and whole ever again. A tear welled in 
Cordelia’s left eye for this poor woman.
   “Does…” Cordy choked, trying again. “Does it… hurt?”
   “Every minute,” Shona said intensely.
   Brayak looked suddenly pained. Forcing himself to meet Cordelia’s 
gaze, he told the Slayer, “If it was up to me, I’d let her go. Believe 
me. Every time a demon, or a human, comes after me, determined to slay 
me, a part of me hopes he’ll succeed. At least then Shona would be 
released from her pain.”
   “No,” Shona said firmly, squeezing her lover tightly. “I love you, 
Bray. I can’t ever let you go. Don’t ever think that. Not EVER!”
   Swallowing a lump, Cordy asked, “How long have you two been… alive?”
   Shona removed her gaze from the demon to look resolutely at the 
Slayer. “Neither one of us can remember.”
   Cordelia sighed. She just couldn’t comprehend any of this, it was 
all so alien to her. To love a demon, and love him enough to take 
eternal pain upon yourself to protect him… She couldn’t imagine it.
   “So what do you say?” Brayak asked her, one arm around his pained 
lover. “You still gonna kill me?” There was almost a longing in his 
black eyes as he asked this question, a desire to die so that his true 
love would be freed. But his firm stance and gentle arm about Shona’s 
shoulders told Cordelia he would take every moment with her he could 
get.
   “Get outta here,” the Slayer said with a sigh, wondering what her 
Watcher would say about her decision.
   Brayak relaxed then, patting his lover’s shoulder. Shona’s eyes 
shone gratefully at Cordelia, and the two of them left slowly, free for 
the moment from the threat of death.
   When they had gone, Cordelia sank to the dirty ground, held her face 
in her hands, and wept. Sobs racked her body and tears flowed freely 
from her weeping eyes. It became difficult to breathe through the 
sorrow, and she felt like screaming in despair.
   But mostly, Cordelia wasn’t crying for Shona and Brayak. She was 
crying for herself. Because Cordelia knew, without a doubt, that she 
would never know a love like that as long as she lived.





                              FIN