"Yet again the Scotland Yard have been no help in solving the case." Ciel sighed, unsurprised.
"Guess we're making another trip to the undertaker." He predicted.
"Yes. We've just arrived." Sebastian announced. Ciel stepped out of the carriage and walked up to the old building, looking up at the large sign over it.
"He will likely want a laugh. Shall I go in on my own first?" Sebastian asked. Ciel nodded his agreement. Soon there was booming laughter shaking the building. Ciel took it as his sign to enter. The undertaker was still recovering from his laughter when he saw the young Phantomhive enter.
"Ahh. You came back. I presume you're here about the recent murder cases." The Undertaker said knowingly.
"Yes." Ciel confirmed.
"Do you have any information?" the Earl asked. The man nodded.
"Five murders in the last month all had some things in common."
"Continue." Ciel urged.
"The murders took place at night. All victims were handsome men, all drained of blood, with bite marks on their necks." The Undertaker finished. Sebastian's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but quickly went back to normal before anyone could notice. Ciel appeared unaffected by the clear resemblance of vampiric involvement.
"Is that all?" he asked in a bored tone. The Undertaker nodded.
"Come back soon!" he waved goodbye as the two left.
Sebastian helped the boy back in the carriage and climbed in after him.
"Do you think it's the work of vampires?" Ciel asked once they'd started moving.
"So you haven't completely out ruled the possibility." Sebastian stated.
"You seemed affected and surprised, which for you usually means it's a real possibility. Besides, you would probably know about vampires' existence if they do exist. So yes, I'm willing to acknowledge the possibility." Ciel explained his reasoning.
"So do you believe it could be vampires?" Ciel asked again.
"Five murders in one month isn't many. If it is vampires, it's only one. But you're right; I do believe it's possible, however, there have been frauds like this before. Also, the fact that they're all men could be important. Vampires are more picky eaters when they're first turned before they get used to the new lifestyle and stop to care, when humans become just food." Sebastian explained. Ciel nodded in understanding. The two passed the rest of the ride in silence, Ciel looking unseeingly out the window, deep in thought.
-o-
Several hours later, Ciel was sipping some tea in his London home, still puzzling over the murder cases and new information. He started slightly when he heard a knock at the door.
"Come in." he called. Sebastian entered and set a file on the desk.
"I've come up with a list of suspects as you asked, and narrowed them down to one person." Sebastian said. Ciel looked down at the paper.
"Sarah Blacke, age fourteen. Comes from a moderate class family. The dead bodies of her mother and father were found a month ago, but they don't know what happened to her." He read.
"If you look at the date she disappeared compared to the date of the first murder case, you'll see she disappeared just before." Sebastian pointed out. Ciel nodded, taking the information in.
"So far it fits, but we don't even know if she's alive, let alone where to find her. Keep searching for information, but first, go make me something sweet." Sebastian nodded.
"Yes, my lord." He agreed before leaving to prepare a sweet treat for his young master.
-o-
It had been three days without any further leads when news came of a survivor that wanted to speak to Earl Phantomhive.
"Thank you for coming. I was worried you hadn't gotten my message." A tall dark haired man greeted them.
"Jacob Hunt?" Ciel asked. The man nodded and stepped aside to let the boy and his butler in. They entered a sitting room and Jacob and Ciel sat down. Sebastian remained standing behind Ciel. Once everyone was settled, Jacob snapped his fingers and a maid came out and started serving the tea.
"Thank you, Claire. You may leave now." Jacob dismissed once she was done. She gave a little bow and exited the room.
:We heard you were attacked two nights ago. Is that correct, Mr. Hunt?" Sebastian asked, initiating the conversation. Jacob nodded.
"Did you see what the person looked like?" Ciel asked.
"It was fairly dark, but it looked like a young boy a bit older than yourself." Jacob described.
"He was wearing old dirty clothes and at first I thought he was a pick-pocket. But then he went for the neck." He explained.
"Then what happened?" Ciel asked.
"When I tried to shove him off the first time, I noticed his chest was padded with what be bandages. He was pretty strong for his size and I couldn't get him off. He bit me but got distracted by something and I took advantage and finally got him off. He ran off before I could do anything else." Jacob explained.
"You said he bit you. Did he leave any marks?" Ciel asked. Jacob nodded and pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing a bandage on the side of his neck. He removed it, revealing two slightly messy bite marks.
"The flesh tore a bit when I was struggling, but otherwise, he didn't feed like an animal." Jacob ensured. Ciel nodded.
"Would you be able to show us where he went when he ran off or do you have something of his that we could give to a dog to scent trace?" he asked.
"I was still dizzy when he ran and I didn't see where he went, but I can show you where it happened. And I'm sorry I don't have anything of his." Jacob apologized.
"That's fine. Shall we go see?" Ciel asked.
"Sure." Jacob got up and the other two followed him out. It was early afternoon and the birds were flying around the rooftops. Jacob led them to a nearby alley.
"This is the spot." He said, motioning to encompass the alley. Ciel turned to face Sebastian.
"Look for anything that might of snagged on something like one of those crates or a garbage bin or something. There might be a trace of him here." Ciel ordered. Sebastian nodded and began looking around. In the middle of the alley, Ciel found a couple drops of blood, but nothing big.
"Is this yours?" he asked, turning to Jacob. Jacob nodded.
"Bochan, I found something." Ciel and Jacob looked over at the butler who had just returned. Ciel motioned for Sebastian to lead the way. Ciel and Jacob followed him down a connected alley through a gap between two buildings. When they came out the other side, they were in a small square area surrounded by buildings. There were no windows facing in but one of the walls had a wooden door in it. Ciel and Sebastian turned to Jacob.
"Do you know this place?" Ciel asked. Jacob shook his head.
"I inherited the estate only a couple weeks ago and am still getting accustomed to the area." He explained. Ciel nodded and turned, walking toward the door. He raised his hand to knock, but Sebastian beat him to it. There was no answer. Sebastian tried the knob but found it locked.
"Stop." Ciel ordered when Sebastian moved to kick down the door. Sebastian lowered his foot.
"We don't need to kick in someone's door pointlessly. Do some research and find out who the building belongs to, what it's used for and any additional information." Ciel ordered
"Yes, my lord." Sebastian bowed. Ciel turned back to Jacob.
"Thank you. You've been very helpful. I'll let you know if we need any further help. Would you like us to escort you back home?" Ciel asked.
"Yes please. I'm not quite sure how to get back." Jacob accepted, looking around for the gap in the buildings. Sebastian turned and led the way back to Jacob's estate, and he and Ciel left soon after.
-o-
"So did you find out the information I asked for?" Ciel asked as they walked down the alley to the spot they'd been earlier. They'd decided to act as bait and see if the culprit came out.
"Yes. The building was owned by the Blacke family, but has been abandoned for several years. Since Mr. and Mrs. Blacke both died, Sarah was to inherit everything when she came of age. Until then, her uncle was entrusted with the family's matters. If she died, then her second cousin inherited everything. However, since Sarah hasn't been confirmed dead, everything is in debate. Currently it still belongs to her dead parents." Sebastian explained.
"And its use?" Ciel asked.
"It was an old residence they bought with the intention of demolishing and building a business on the land. However, after they bought it, they lost a lot of money and weren't able to follow through." The butler finished. Suddenly Pluto stopped and began sniffing.
"What is it?" Ciel asked. They were back in the alley and it was possible Pluto had picked up a scent to follow. Pluto bounded off and Ciel and Sebastian raced after him. They arrived back in the small courtyard they'd seen before and Pluto was scratching at the door. Ciel and Sebastian looked at each other before Sebastian approached the door. He grabbed Pluto's collar and lightly pulled him back, patting his head reluctantly for a good job. Pluto went back to Ciel who took his leash again. Sebastian tried the doorknob and it opened easily. Sebastian stepped into the dark building and Ciel followed him in with Pluto. Ciel couldn't see in the dark like Sebastian could and he clinged to the demon's jacket to guide him through the dark. However Sebastian had stopped moving. He could sense something and was trying to decipher where it was so he could block Ciel from any danger. Sebastian and Pluto looked up when they heard an almost silent sound too quiet for Ciel's ears. Sebastian soon realised he was staring at a pair of red eyes from a dark figure crouching in the rafters watching them.
-x-
Oooh, cliffhanger! Anyways, let me know if this is worth continuing. I don't usually write such long chapters :P but who knows, maybe I'll try something different for this story. Also, I might change the rating for this later if necessary, but I don't think it will go higher than T. Review!