Glass crunched underneath the heel of his polished black shoes. The ballroom floor, polished to a mirror-like shine, was covered in the shards of a dozen shattered chandeliers. Moonlight filtered in through the tall, wide windows and cast silver light on the glass and crystal pieces. They glistened like so many stars.
Two hundred people had arrived earlier that evening on the invitation of the Lord Grey; a broken, twisted man whose mind had never quite recovered from the loss of his eldest son. He had hired a band of mercenaries, draining his coffers dry for this event. At precisely midnight, every door was to be locked, and all of the guests were to be slaughtered like goats. Once the killing had ceased, Lord Grey was to take his own life.
Few if any of the guests were fated to survive. All of the best reapers had been assigned to this case. Plans had been cancelled, coffee had been brewed, and the forms for overtime were already sitting in their neat little files, freshly printed. Yet midnight had come and gone, and there was nothing.
Nothing. Not a single soul. Not a single body. Only a minute past midnight, and there was not so much as a speck of blood. The only remnants of the evening were tables upon tables of decadent, half-eaten delicacies and shattered glass. William found this odd, and very disconcerting.
There should be something. He could hear the other reapers searching the halls, doors opening and shutting, every now and then something crashing.
Whatever this was, it wasn't right.
William stepped further into the ballroom, more glass crackling as he made his way across the floor. One wall was nothing but windows, their heavy blue velvet curtains pulled aside to let in much of the moonlight as possible – the glass frosted over with winter night's breath. The opposite wall was lined with mirrors that reflected the windows, making the room appear double its size. Will paused, adjusting his glasses to look around, scrutinizing every corner of the ballroom. Not a chair was overturned, not a decanter was upset. If not for the chandeliers, one would be hard pressed to think anything out of the ordinary had occurred here at all.
The ballrooms doors shut behind him, heavy and ominous. Will froze in place, his fingers tightening around the handle of his death scythe, the other arm gripping his leather-bound book of cinematic records and pressing it closer to his side. He heard locks sliding into a place, their sharp, scraping sound reverberating off the arched ceiling.
"At last," the smooth, cultured voice that slithered across the room was all too familiar to him. "We are alone."
William lifted his chin, but did not turn around.
"Michaelis," he said. "I should have known immediately this was the work of a demon." He had suspected, but he dared hope that this was not the case. Two hundred lost souls…. the paperwork would never end.
"Yes," light steps, hard heels clicking against the ballroom floor. "But not my work. Contrary to what you might believe."
William fought the urge to sneer. He kept his demeanor cool, professional. It was his best defense. "Two hundred souls have been devoured, lost to Heaven, Hell, and everything in between. A demon has made a banquet of the living and, having glutted himself, wiped everything clean without a minute lost. He must have known the number of shinigami that would be descending upon this place. That brand of bravado and efficiency smacks of a particular gall that I know only you to possess."
Sebastian Michaelis stopped inches behind him.
"I am flattered." The demon said.
William tightened his fist so hard around his scythe he felt the blood drain from his knuckles.
"However, you so easily forget that I am merely a dog on a leash." Sebastian continued. "The only soul I wish to consume is that of my master, who was attending the unfortunate Lord Grey's ball tonight."
"So you were here only to preserve Ciel Phantomhive." William affirmed, not sure if this bit of information made him feel better or worse. "How noble you are."
"Not at all. I am simply one hell of a butler."
William's exasperation was climbing. "If your master is safe, why are you here? To lick up the remnants, whatever pieces might have fallen from the other demon's mouth as he ran with his tail between his legs?"
"No," Sebastian said smoothly, and William could have sworn he felt a brush of lips against his ear. "I am here for you."
The reaper sprang forward, spinning around and crushing the handle of his death scythe. The shears dove for Sebastian's belly, but the demon butler caught the base of the clippers in his gloved hands, their razor tips close enough to prick through his fine clothing. He pushed the scythe back, and the very edges of the shears were wet with his blood.
Sebastian sighed. "Another shirt ruined."
Will ripped his scythe out of Sebastian's hands, wasting no time in aiming for him again. Sebastian stepped out of the way, as casually as if it were a dance, and bowed to Will, extending his hand, smiling.
"Shall we?"
William's lip curled and his scythe shot forward again, this time going for Sebastian's neck. Sebastian bent his knees and leaned as far back as he could, throwing back his head and watching the scythe grab the air where he had been. He brought his legs up, grabbing the scythe between the arches of his feet, he performed an impressive mid-air contortion that somehow ended with him back on his feet and Will's death scythe in his hands.
Will fought to keep his expression calm, even though his mind was racing. A demon had stolen his scythe – how was that even possible? It had never happened to him before, not ever. Not in his entire career as a shinigami.
"Such an unwieldy tool." Sebastian said, holding it between two fingertips as if he were loath to even touch it. "And taller than I thought. Overcompensating for something, senior?"
"You are revolting." William said, adjusting his glasses again as if he didn't even notice the loss of his scythe.
Sebastian only smiled again, and tossed the scythe aside. It landed with an angry metal clatter and slid across the floor, vanishing beneath a curtain.
"Do not worry," Sebastian said, reaching into his coat with both hands and pulling out a series of sharp, glistening table knives, clenched between his fingers. "I intend to make this a fair fight." The knives flew from his hands and buried themselves in the mirror behind Will, shattering it on the spot. Will did not flinch.
"I am not going to fight you." Will said, wondering where the hell his employees were. They were also so ready to intrude when he didn't want them around. And now was the time they decided to do their jobs?
If only Grell would come bursting in, revving her chainsaw and screaming something inane, she could distract the demon long enough for Will to retrieve his scythe.
He couldn't believe desperation had led him to wishing for Grell's presence.
He had let himself be distracted for too long. Sebastian's fist slammed into his stomach and William reeled back, hitting the broken mirror behind him, knife-like shards of glass digging into his back. Will felt warm blood streaming down his back, soaking through his shirt and making it stick to his skin. He growled with pain and pulled himself away, lunging for the demon, grabbing hold of Sebastian's lapels and swinging him around, pushing him up against a wall and slamming his head back. He heard a satisfying crack as Sebastian's head hit the plaster. Sebastian's hands came up, grabbing Will's face, his gloved fingers pried Will's mouth open and slid in as deep as they could go, gagging him. Will tried to bite down, but the gloves made it too difficult. He was forced to release Sebastian and pull away. The demon brought his open hand down across Will's face, and then grabbed his hair, twisting his head around and throwing him forward. Will saw the floor rise up to greet him, and he met it face-first. Sebastian's heel ground against the small of his back, keeping him effectively pinned.
"Have you been ordered to kill me?" it just occurred to Will that the blood in his mouth was streaming from his nose.
"No," Sebastian said. "But I don't have to kill you."
William tried to push himself up, but Sebastian ground his heel deeper, keeping him down.
"What can a demon do to a divine being," Will spat blood onto the floor, "short of killing him?"
Sebastian sighed, a longsuffering sound. "You really have no imagination." He slid his foot away, grabbing Will by the shoulders and pulling him halfway up off the ground, letting him sit on his knees. He moved to stand in front of the reaper, slipping his fingers through Will's hair and gripping it tightly, close to the scalp.
William looked at him, cold and defiant above the rim of his glasses. Sebastian reached down, pinching the bridge of William's glasses between his fingertips, he slid them down his nose, trailing them over his lips. They were still warm from being against skin.
"A reaper's glasses," Sebastian said, "are so very important." He pitched them to the side without averting his gaze. William flinched visibly for the first time when he heard them hit the ground.
"All right," Sebastian said, as if he were losing a game of chess. "We are both working men. I will not keep you long. You will not find me to be so inconsiderate a man as that."
William bared his teeth and said nothing.
Sebastian used his free hand to unbutton his pants. He slid them down his sharp hips dust enough to pull his erect cock free, gliding his hand up the shaft before touching the burning tip to William's lips.
William stared at the demon. He couldn't be serious. The reaper's entire body tensed, his fists clenching at his sides He tightened his jaw and kept his mouth shut, glaring.
"Open," Sebastian cooed, stroking the soft place underneath Will's chin while keeping his other hand's firm hold on the reaper's hair. "And if you bite it off, I will drive out your eyes." He slid an elegant thumb over Will's left eyelid, to emphasize his point.
Will swallowed hard. He knew he had a choice. He could do as he was told, or they could stay here all night. Either way, Sebastian was not going to be the first to relent. William licked his lips and then parted his mouth, taking in a deep breath of cold air that made his chest ache.
"Wider," Sebastian prompted, never having to raise his voice.
William closed his eyes and opened his mouth as wide as he could force himself. He felt Sebastian's cock push its way past his resisting lips and sear his mouth with its heat. He gagged around the length and thickness, and all he could bring himself to think was that of course a demon would not be circumcised.
Sebastian used his grip on Will's hair to move his head back and forth, forcing him to slide up and down the length of the shaft. Will was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe, as only one of his nostrils was in working order. His face was turning red, and he opened his mouth even wider until his jaw ached, hoping that would relieve some of the tension. He remained completely rigid except for whatever movements were being manipulated, and he did not move his tongue, he just let Sebastian fuck his mouth. He could feel his own saliva gushing from the corners of his mouth, dripping down his chin and making the demon's cock slick.
Sebastian's thrusts quickened, and William moaned involuntarily, his nails digging into his palms, needing it to end. And then suddenly, it did. Sebastian's cock erupted in his mouth, unnaturally scalding cum burning its way down William's throat. The reaper gagged and Sebastian released his hair to allow him to slide off. William collapsed to his side, wanting to scream but only able to retch. White cum splashed onto the ballroom floor, mixed with his own bile and tears of bitter, bitter shame.
"You are crying," Sebastian said, to add insult to injury.
"My eyes are watering," William croaked, touching his throat delicately. It burned like hell.
"Of course." William saw the demon kneel in front of him. He felt those soft, gloved fingers slide down his cheek and under his chin, lifting it so that their gazes met once more. Sebastian brushed an uncharacteristically rebellious lock of William's ink black hair away before sliding the reaper's glasses back onto his face.
"Until we meet again," the demon smiled at him. A strangely soft, sympathetic expression. But William was not fooled. There was steely malice in the butler's red eyes.
Sebastian stood, his hands slipping tenderly away.
And then he simply vanished.
