This one was... alright. He felt calmer once it was over. The fear of what he was doing had stopped registering after the first time he did it and he was glad for that. If he stayed afraid of spilling a little blood, he was never going to successfully summon a demon. It was obviously something that was going to take practice if he was going to pull it off on his own and he was going to need a lot of practice. Two children wasn't enough. The third may enlighten him a little more, but he doubted that he would perform a successful summon for some time at the rate he was going.
Gilles cradled the limp body in his arms, holding the boy under his arms, watching as his head tipped to the side, eyes open, lips parted, never to take another breath. He had to think of them as containers holding the ingredients that he needed. By slitting their throats, he was releasing the energy that the demon required.
That was what he was told, at least. Something along those lines.
After his first failure, he almost gave up entirely out of frustration. It felt like such a waste. A waste of his time, a waste of a perfectly fine child. When he took some time to cool his head, he realized that there wasn't much else for him to let go of anymore, though. He had already lost nearly all of his fortune, so anything more couldn't be half as bad as what he had already suffered through. If he could manifest Barron through sacrifice, then he was sure he would help him restore his riches to what they once had been.
With a sigh, he lowered the body to the cellar floor. The thrill had gone stale after so much pondering. The first time, he had been so flooded with adrenaline that he did all sorts of things with the child, but this one was just dead now. There wasn't any excitement left in the room. And Barron hadn't appeared.
Sitting himself down on the stone floor next to the child, he pulled the book of spells into his lap and leafed through the pages to find the specific page he had dog-earred. He pulled off the hat on his head which obscured his light and squinted to re-read the page.
For what he could tell, it was flawless. It had to be skill that kept him from performing the ritual on his own. The alchemist he received the book from was accomplished and knew how to handle magic of this level but something kept them from making it work. Being the one who wished to form the contract, Gilles had to collect the offering himself, but it hadn't been enough to make him appear.
In his rage, he had denounced the alchemist and made off with his book and the remnants from his first sacrifice and made attempt number two by himself. His offerings weren't enough or his skill wasn't high enough – perhaps both. But could it have been something else? That thought worried and frustrated him deeply. Without experience, he wouldn't know what a wrong turn looked like if he took one.
He wasn't going to be able to do this alone. If his alchemist couldn't figure out how to summon a demon of great strength then he was going to have to find another who could.
First road block: Where in good France does one regularly find highly skilled practicioners of the magical arts?
This thinking was making him much too nervous. He placed a hand down on the boy's clothed belly and stroked him slowly like a cat, one, two, three until he felt his heart calm down. It helped, but not greatly when his head was still filled with other worries. He had to summon this demon soon. It was hard for him to show his face in public after being rejected by his in-laws, family, and even the king. It was enough to make him want to cry, thinking about his dwindling funds.
The boy he captured had a few francs on him, which would be enough to buy something for dinner. That was something.
Standing, he brushed some dust off the back of his pants and picked up the book and put it under his arm. He grabbed the boy by the back of his shirt collar and dragged him to the fireplace. He lit the fire and found himself a proper chair to sit in to read while he waited for the flames to grow. He'd divide the parts in a little while. At the moment, he just didn't feel like he had the energy for it.
Later, after separating the useless parts from the essential components of the body he required for summoning, Gilles watched the severed limbs turn to ash in the fire. He was more restrained this time, which meant less blood on his clothes so he didn't have to do much to make himself look presentable again before he headed out.
When he reached the door, he looked down at the book in his hand and made the quick decision to leave it at home instead of bringing it with him. Should anyone catch a glimpse of what wizardry he was trying to master, he would be hung without a moment's thought. Once it was back in his room, he slipped out of his home into the evening light.
By now, it felt as though he had memorized every word of the spell's directions and even had the illustration of Barron himself burned into his mind. He wanted the demon badly; so badly that he was willing to immediately try again.
He wanted his livelihood back again, his honor, his old way of life. But most of all, he wanted the excitement of war to return. He wanted the luxury and extravagance of his fortune. If he couldn't go back to the way he was before he desired these things so strongly, then he wanted to give in completely. He wanted to get another taste of what it felt like to be on the verge of life and death and bask in that desire and fulfillment.
There were still some people out during the evening hours. Most children would be inside, but there were some who ran around like stray cats, playing as if they had not a care in the world. They were the most unsuspecting; he realized that quickly. It was interesting how he always saw the children before but thought absolutely nothing about them until they became like his prey. Then their reckless antics seemed comical to him. Did their parents not realize how easily they could be snatched from underneath them?
For Barron, he reminded himself as he snuck along the deep shadows cast below the shops' awnings. They were sacrifices. Ingredients. Little mice...
There were two boys playing with each other in the middle of the street. A woman from the bakery across the street yelled at them and they both laughed rudely. She yelled again and they did nothing but continue to play. Harmless little nuisances.
He didn't want to do anything that he would regret. In the event that someone noticed that their child was missing, he didn't want anyone to recognize his face or even find him suspicious. It wasn't like his life could get any worse at this point, but he really prefered to keep his life so he could continue to pursue the ultimate excitement.
A girl stepped out from the opposing bakery on his side of the street and practically forced her bread upon him, insisting that he try it. But to try it, that would mean that he had to buy it and his funds were precious at the moment. He patted her on the head, feeling her fragile warmth beneath his fingers and then waved her away. Unfortunately, in the second she took to accost him, he also lost sight of one of the boys.
That would be alright. He prefered to take one at a time for now – better than arising more suspicion. It may have been hasty for him to even stalk children who lived so close to his home, but he wanted to get some gears turning soon. For Barron.
Just as he walked out from beneath the awnings, a man walked up to the boy he was prepared to follow. He was young himself when he got a little closer to take a look at him. The man had a soft, round face, but had sharp eyes like a fox. Intrigued, Gilles creapt a little closer in an attempt to hear their exchange of words. The man was soft spoken but there were excited punctuations in each sentence that stood out.
Interesting-!
-fun!
-me!
It was no use. The words he caught couldn't form any kind of discernable sentence, but he didn't believe that this man was of any relation to the boy. For a moment, he turned around and pretended to inspect one of the nearby buildings until he heard them start walking. He turned around once he thought them to be a safe distance away and then began his pursuit.
A lively child such as he would make for an entertaining night indeed. It would be a shame if he didn't get to play with him and Gilles' determination grew at the prospect. Who was this man, though? He was awfully friendly. Did he intend to kidnap the boy?
Not while he was watching.
Suddenly, he became even more excited, realizing how wonderful it would be if he could pretend to rescue this boy should things begin to turn unsavory with this man. If he grabbed him with the intent to kidnap him or harm him, Gilles could rush in at the last moment to scare the man away and save the child. Then he would take him home with the promise of shelter for the night from vicious predators and he would take care of him until he let his guard down around him, his savior.
Then, well...
His grin grew as the sky grew darker. He tailed at a slow pace, his feet treading confidently as he followed them from the street into the alley behind the shops.
Where is he taking him? he wondered. Maybe he was wrong after all. Maybe this man really did know the boy... Even if they weren't related that didn't mean he wasn't a family frie-
A friend wouldn't conceal a knife behind their back like that, that much he knew.
So he was right – about the dangerous part. There were two wolves on the hunt in France tonight and this one was about to get his prey in the sloppiest of manners. Frustration and anger boiled beneath his skin at the sight and at the thought of another claiming something of his. When the knife was revealed to the boy, Gilles felt himself seeth and whatever happened next was beyond his control.
He pointed at the man threateningly and called in a loud voice, "Stop right there!"
At his yell, the man turned his head sharply. The boy, too surprised to scream, pushed the man away and started running.
"What are you doing? Don't let him get away!" he said – and paled the second the words came from his mouth. Instead of pointing at the man in front of him, he was now pointing toward the direction the child had taken off in. He thought it wise to straighten his back confidently; might as well go all the way with this turn of events now that it had reached this point. He didn't know where he was going exactly, but the stranger in front of him had suddenly become his accomplice.
He sputtered nervously and nodded, then took after him with his knife in hand.
"Don't harm him!" Gilles called. "Wait until I get there."
"Alright!"
It was just a kid. There was no conceivable way he could outrun two grown men. This stranger was fast, too. Before the boy even reached the end of the back alley, he had him tackled to the ground with a hand covering his mouth to stifle his screams.
Gilles approached slowly, contemplating his next actions before he reached them. He took a few breaths, forcing himself to look calmer than he was for the sake of the act he wished to put on. Sighing, he lowered himself down onto one knee in front of the two of them and gently put a hand over the one the stranger held to the boy's mouth. Sensing the calm stillness of his hand, the boy relaxed visibly as they moved their hands away.
"My apologies," he said kindly. "There is no excuse for my friend's actions. I simply wanted him to get your attention for me and look to what lengths he went!"
The boy still appeared apprehensive and the man looked at him with an extremely perplexed face.
"Wha-"
"Hush, Edmond," he said, throwing out whatever fake name he thought of first. With him silenced for the moment, he brought his attention gently back to the boy. "Pardon my servant. I needed some help in my home tonight with some pests. You see, I'll have guests coming tomorrow and it simply can't do for there to be so many mice in my home. I was hoping to find someone small who could search out their hiding places for me."
"W-why did he have a knife?" the boy asked, lips quivering as he looked to the man next to them.
Gilles laughed heartily. "Perhaps he thought you were a little mouse yourself! He isn't bright at all, you see. He is only suited to be a servant at best and then hardly even that."
'Edmond' snickered. "I see..."
"You see? He doesn't even deny it himself. I believe you owe this boy an apology, don't you though, Edmond?"
Going along with this ruse, the man chuckled softly and bowed his head in apology. "Very sorry to frighten you. I didn't intend to harm a hair on your head."
It was well obvious that he had intended to do more than harm a few hairs, but the boy seemed to be too frazzled now to consider what a fate he had just narrowly escaped. No, instead he had just been placed into another trap and was completely unaware. This would be great. Whether he was going to bring 'Edmond' back with him to his home or not was yet to be decided. If he was pretending with him like this already then Gilles realized he may make an interesting companion. For whatever reason, he was after children himself.
Gilles helped the boy to his feet and took the knife from his new accomplice, surprised that he didn't resist him at all. In fact, once they were standing, he bowed to Gilles and stepped behind him respectfully.
"So what do you say?" he asked the boy, extending a hand. "Would you like to earn a little extra money tonight? I can provide you with a meal as well for your trouble."
He tried hard not to let his excitement show on his face when the boy took his hand and shook it firmly.
"Let us be off then. We should pick up a few things before the shops close."
His new friend was very cooperative, holding his items for him as they shopped for vegetables, pretending to keep the respectful distance that all servants must maintain, even agreeing to make the food himself once they had returned to his home. Still, he was a stranger and having a stranger in his home made Gilles feel unease.
He got the child after all. That was what mattered for now. The problem was dealing with it in front of him. Without a doubt, he meant to kill that child himself. So far, it seemed that he would be alright sharing this kill with him. The remains were his, though. Gilles wasn't about to give up even a small portion of his satisfaction to someone he didn't know.
First, he sat the boy at his table in the dining hall and told him to wait a few moments for him as he disappeared into the kitchen after his other 'guest'.
The door was closed softly behind him as he entered, careful not to surprise the one who was slicing vegetables. 'Accomplice' or not, this was still a person who was likely a murderer who was now armed with one of his kitchen utensils. He knew he had to take some caution around him.
On second thought, maybe he should have closed the door a little more loudly. Now he wondered what he would do if he accidentally surprised him. Hopefully he wasn't prone to throwing sharp objects.
He cleared his throat slightly and the man gave but a small start and turned his head around. Now that he had a better look at him, Gilles realized he could consider him fairly attractive. One would be lucky to have a servant with such fine features around to look at and it made Gilles wish that he knew what to call him other than 'Edmond', which certainly couldn't have been his actual name.
"So, it seems that you really are pretending to be my servant. You know how to cook?"
He nodded. "I cook for myself. I should be able to make something pretty decent with the things you just bought."
More importantly... "What were your plans for that child?"
The other held up the knife to his lips as he tilted his head in a curious fashion. "Same as yours, I assume? I mean, I was just going to take him out right there, but I thought things would get a lot more interesting if I played along with you. We're still going to kill him, right? Cuz if we aren't, I'm afraid you've gotten yourself in my way and that doesn't make me happy."
Gilles made a face and clicked his tongue. "Of course I intend to kill him," he responded, keeping his voice low. "But I need his parts for a ritual. As long as you don't interfere..."
The man shook his head and held up a hand. When he looked back up at him, it was as if his eyes were sparkling. "You can trust me, sir! I'm getting more interested the more you talk. What a night this is! I'll let you handle things your way and I'll assist when needed."
Hadn't he just been considering finding help for his experiments? If he was a thrill-seeker like himself then he could potentially make a very fine assistant.
"Your name can't be Edmond, correct? By what name should I address you?"
The other straightened proudly. "Uryuu Ryuunosuke! Just Ryuunosuke is fine."
What kind of name was that? Was that a fake name or a pseudonym? Gilles wasn't sure he could even repeat it with the correct pronunciation. Actually, having such unique features, he wouldn't have been surprised if it were something foreign. That was fine.
"I am Gilles de Montmorency-Laval, baron of Rais. It's a pleasure to have you tonight, Mr. Ryuunosuke."
The man – Ryuunosuke – turned a bit red and smiled. "No, no. Just Ryuunosuke. No need to be formal with me. I'm supposed to be your servant tonight, remember?"
Gilles left the kitchen after that, entrusting Ryuunosuke with dinner preparation. In the meantime, he sat down with the boy and apologized once again for his servant's behavior, telling him that he would receive punishment later and had already spoken to him about how to properly behave in front of their precious, young guest. He even explained the mouse situation to him in thorough detail, even if he wasn't going to be finding a single mouse in his home that night. It was just to kill some time.
Ryuunosuke returned shortly with food and set it out for both of them. Before he turned to leave to head back to the kitchen, Gilles held up a hand and called him back to the table. "We have enough chairs, so do keep us company, would you?"
He wasn't dressed well enough to be the servant of a baron, but the boy hadn't noticed thus far so it was presumably of no issue. Ryuunosuke fetched himself a plate and then returned to the table to enjoy the meal with them. The kid really didn't question anything once he had food in his mouth, only smiled appreciatively at the two of them as if they had just become his two new favorite people as he took one bite after another.
To be honest, the food Ryuunosuke made was delectable. If he could get him to stay, he would have him make food like this every day. It was difficult to make food this good with the kind of funds he actually had, however. He was only able to afford it tonight because he had the extra money he pinched from the child he killed earlier in his pocket.
The boy finished before either of them, although Gilles was taking his time because he enjoyed watching him enjoy himself too much. Meanwhile, Ryuunosuke kept his eyes on him with every raise of his fork as if he were waiting for the moment when he would strike.
Ryuunosuke was a guest as well and it would be rude to keep him waiting any longer either. He dabbed his napkin lightly to the corners of his mouth and folded it back neatly next to his plate. Without further ado...
"Did you enjoy your meal?" he asked kindly.
The boy nodded, blushing when he compared his own clean plate to that of the two others. "I did. Thank you very much, sir."
Next to him, Ryuunosuke was visibly squirming in his seat, clearly finding it too hard to hold back how excited he was getting. Gilles would have to teach him how to not look so obvious. If anything, he was just going to confuse the poor boy if he noticed how he was acting. Not that the boy wasn't already confused after a night like this, but Gilles believed it was best to be straightforward in certain situations.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. After all, a boy had to die for you to enjoy it," he said, watching as the boy's face fell as his words sunk in.
The child swayed in his seat. Next to him, Ryuunosuke was watching him from the corners of his eyes and was trying not to let a grin overtake his face. This was the point where it was alright if both of them got a little excited, though. The cat was out of the bag so it could only go farther downhill for this kid anyway.
"Edmond, I think I know what we should have for dinner. Keep an eye on our guest for me while I go fetch a knife from the kitchen."
Indeed, it was a lot more convenient this way, with another who could watch the children for him if he had to take a moment for himself. He stood from the table and went to the kitchen. He opened the drawer and was about to pull out one of his long carving knives until he saw Ryuunosuke's wide butcher's knife. Closing the drawer with his hip, he picked up his knife and next went to find the spell book where he left it in his quarters.
When he returned to the dining room, Ryuunosuke had subdued the child to a degree. He was talking to him softly and this time, Gilles could hear every word. He was saying reassuring, gentle things to keep him from yelling, but tears were still rolling down the boy's face.
"Now, follow me, please. I have yet to show you where the little pests are."
Book under arm, knife in hand, he led the two down to his cellar and closed the door behind them, sliding the lock down with a soft click.
"W-why would you have dessert down here?" the boy asked, trying to rationalize any way that this situation could turn out in his favor.
Gilles chuckled. Children were so unaware of how sweet their voices became in fear. He lifted his hand that held the knife and pointed it directly at him. Ryuunosuke's fingers tightened on his shoulders. "Because," he said. "This is where I keep the pests."
It wasn't terribly clever of him, but Ryuunosuke really seemed to enjoy that one. His face was red and his lips twitched with a mischievious little smile.
Gilles wanted to get on with it, but he was starting to get really interested in the way his new friend was responding to his methods. He wanted to know more about this interesting young man. The best way that he could think of to do that was to see how he handled things. Stepping forward to the middle of the room where Ryuunosuke held the child at bay, he turned the knife around in his hand and held out the handle for Ryuunosuke to accept.
"Slash his throat."
Almost as quickly as the knife was returned to its owner, his arm flew at incredible speed, creating a clean cut straight across his neck. The cut was created so quickly that it didn't even seem to leave a mark until the child took a breath and then the cut bloomed with red and then exploded in a spray of blood that coated his clothes in red.
"You can let go now," he told him. He held his hand back out for the knife, which Ryuunosuke willingly relinqueed to him.
The boy collapsed as soon as he was let go of, falling to his knees where he clutched at his throat and tried to scream. It was already over for him, though. With a cut that deep to a main artery, he wasn't going to last long at all. In fact, he could already see the life fading from his eyes.
He kicked the child over onto his back and pressed his shoe down over his throat, taking great pleasure in the way he shrieked and clawed powerlessly at his pantleg. Sitting down next to the sputtering, pitiful child, he opened the book to his marked page.
"Oh," Ryuunosuke said in a mystified voice, coming down to sit next to him. "You have a magic book."
He sounded familiar with it. "I've been attempting to summon a demon and it seems that I need many sacrifices to please him before he can be successfully summoned," he explained as he began unbuttoning the child's shirt. The boy's eyes had rolled back but he was still coughing blood and making burbling noises. Gilles loved seeing how far they could go now before they breathed their last. This one seemed resislient.
Last time he waited a while, but this time he felt like showing Ryuunosuke the parts he would need in case he was willing to help. He sunk the knife into the boy's middle and sliced him open to where the knife met his pants. The child squirmed helplessly and Ryuunosuke held down his his for him as he pushed his hands into his insides to find the necessary parts.
By the time he pulled the last of his ingredients from the boy, he was already gone but Ryuunosuke kept his hands firmly on his hips.
As far as he was concerned, they were done here. He separated and arranged the organs on the floor and Ryuunosuke watched with wide eyes and a gleeful expression. His night had turned interesting from the moment they met and now he wondered what he should say to invite Ryuunosuke to stay with him. He stood back up to inspect his work and put out a hand to help the other up with him.
He was ready to ask him, but realized with some embarrassment that the night's preceedings had caused a bit of a physical reaction in him. He moved the book to cover himself but noticed with no small amount of surprise that Ryuunosuke had a similar reaction from their activities.
"May I..." Ryuunosuke began, his eyes half lidded, his cheeks a bright red that could rival the beautiful blood that spilled from inside their young guest. "May I call you 'master'? It would be my honor to help you. Please, allow me to stay with you!"
Such an honest and forward request made Gilles want to play around with him, but it also pleased him in an unspeakable way to meet someone who appreciated his aesthetics. To think that there was another with this sort of reaction when nobody else could begin to understand his extravagant tastes...
"No," he said and paused, just to see Ryuunosuke's crestfallen expession. That would be the last time he ever wanted to see him looking sad. "It would be my pleasure to have you."
Ryuunosuke laughed and laughed and when he was done, flung his arms around him in a tight embrace, putting his forehead against his new master's shoulder. He was very close and Gilles couldn't resist the disgusting urge he had to rub himself against him. In turn, Ryuunosuke let out a beautiful moan and held him tighter until their chests were flush together.
All too soon, he released him and stepped back.
"Would you like to go finish dinner with me?" he asked.
Oh, he was a gentleman, was he? There were all kinds of unexpected things about him, weren't there?
"I would like that very much," he said, smiling.
"Bring the book with you?" Ryuunosuke requested. "I'd like to have a look at it."