A Highly Valued Employee

Chapter 8

Cordelia sat with Dawn, at a cluttered old desk, under a single dim fluorescent light, in a small office, in the back of Salvation Chapel. Each woman had a large porcelain mug of pigs' blood in front of her.

Dawn sat with her back to a large cross on the wall. Cordelia faced the cross, while reading from a Bible in front of her.

"'If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; but if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'"

Dawn asked, "How do you do it Cordelia? You're sitting here, with a large cross on the wall, and you've got your bare hands on a Bible."

Cordelia said, "I live by faith, and the grace of God, Dawn.

"Now to get back to what I just read. It is God who cleanses us, with the blood of Christ. Not we ourselves. What we have to do is accept Him as Savior, and confess our sins."

"Well," Dawn confessed, "I do lie sometimes. I talk dirty. I cheat in school. I used to shoplift; but I don't anymore. I like to screw; and when my mother was alive, I cursed at her."

"Is there anything else?"

"Well right now, I'm wishing that you were alive, so I could bite you and suck your blood 'til you die."

"And I'm feeling the exact same way about you Dawn."

Dawn asked, "Tell me Cordelia, since you've received Salvation, have you killed anyone?"

"Yes. I am still a carnivorous predator; and the need to hunt, kill and eat, can be overpowering. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, and sometimes my appetite makes the final decision; but you cannot lose you're Salvation. The only unforgivable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I'm not doing that, and neither are you."

Then Cordelia added, "So do you know what you're going to do now Dawn?"

"I have no idea. I asked the vampires to let me stay dead. I suppose that was too much for the Slayer's sister to ask. I'm a major trophy."

"How about going back to Sunnydale?"

Dawn spoke sharply. "I can't go back! Everything's gone to Hell without Buffy! Anyanka the Vengeance Demon has reverted to being completely evil. She ordered that all of Willow's charms, and spells, and books on witchcraft be burned; and Willow along with them. Anya's the one who invited the vampires to come into the house, and kill me."

Cordelia said, "Listen Dawn. Willow isn't dead. I got a call from her yesterday. She's come to the City, and she's frantically worried about you. She doesn't know what's happened to you. She asked me to give her a call, if I should see you."

"Then please make that call."

"She also has no idea what's happened to Xander."

"He's one of the vampires who came into the house, but he refused to kill me!"

"Then the Vampires have been victorious. All is well in Sunnydale."

"What! By now there's probably not one person in Town, who hasn't been vamped!"

Cordelia said, "Then all is well in Sunnydale for you Dawn. Remember, you are now a vampire yourself, as am I, and as is every member of this Chapel's Congregation."

Dawn looked puzzled. "This is a Church of born again Vampires?"

"I've got fangs. You've got fangs. Some of God's people got fangs.

"There are even some employees of Wolfram and Hart Corporation, who worship here on Sunday nights."

"Wolfram and Hart? Would one of them happen to be named Harmony?"