Lady Clifton's blue eyes were unrelenting. Sebastian was going to claw them out.

She had waited until Heath and Ciel disappeared upstairs before gesturing to the chair across from her.

"You may sit," she informed him coolly.

He smiled, and bowed again.

"You are very gracious, my lady. If it is all the same, I prefer to stand, in the event that my master should call."

"How very attentive you are." She said. "How entirely… at his service."

The implication was heavy. Sebastian was not about to give in to her goading.

"Your husband was an admirable man." Sebastian said, to change the topic. Lady Clifton nodded her agreement, tugging on the hem of her cuff thoughtfully.

"Yes," she said. "A very engaging personality, it is part of what makes his business so successful."

He noted how she did not bother to correct him. This affirmed in his mind that the true Lord Clifton was absolutely deceased.

"He is, of course, also a bit eccentric." She continued. "But I believe that all rich men are, to some degree. Your little lord, for instance, is quite the idiosyncratic individual."

"There are moments." Sebastian allowed himself to step closer to her. He could see a spark of interest in her eyes, but he was not sure exactly what she was interested in. Sex? Very unlikely. She was receptive to him, but she did not read lust. It seemed closer to fascination – as if he were something to be pulled apart and studied. Not very much ever fazed him, but the mental image of this woman dissecting him like a corpse in a medicine lecture made his skin crawl.

He hoped Ciel ordered her death before the night was out. It was only a shame her soul was claimed. In another time, he might have relished the taste of something so bitter.

He stopped just inches away from her, and dropped down to one knee beside her chair. That caught her off guard. She looked down at him, one fine eyebrow raised.

He placed his hand on top of hers. She did not pull away, but her entire body tensed. He held her gaze, searching for a crack in her guard, the smallest break that would allow him to slip inside and know what she was thinking. Even now she was proving to be unwavering. He had an abundance of unanswered questions, and they were all linked back to why she had summoned Heath in the first place. It had not been simply to kill her husband, Sebastian was sure. She did not seem so narrow-minded as that.

"We both know," he said, taking a chance, "what we are."

"What you are," she responded, her words quiet.

"What Heath is." He tilted his chin up.

She smiled. It was an entirely alarming expression.

She had small teeth as well. They looked like they were better suited for the mouth of a child.

"My husband." She said, turning her hand around underneath his and gripping his wrist.

He did not move. "For how long?"

"Until the day I die." She tugged on his hand, leaning in and speaking close to his ear, "I am just as clever as you are, Sebastian Michaelis."

He highly doubted that.

"You are better off in a contract with me than your brat, no matter how precocious he might be." She said. "He will not last much longer, and to be mine is far more rewarding, I can assure you."

Sebastian lowered his head and grinned. "You do not know very much about how we operate." He said. He threw his head back and looked at her, his expression entirely solemn, his eyes glowing bright, blood red. "I am bound to my master until our contract is complete. And then I intend to make a meal out of him. Besides, I would never dream of depriving Heath what little he is…" he glanced down at her lap. "…Gleaning from this deal."

She smacked him, he ring scraping across his cheek. He caught her hand in his and stood swiftly, pulling her along with him, dragging her into his arms and pressing their bodies close together. One hand ended up pressed against the small of her back, the end ended up around her throat, satin gloved fingers applying the smallest amount of pressure. He could feel her throbbing pulse.

"No matter how hard you try," he brushed his lips over her ear. "You will never be anything more than human. And at the end of their lives, all humans just become the next course for someone like me. Like Heath."

"Heath," she choked, her voice barely audible.

Sebastian squeezed tighter. Her hands flew up to grab his wrists.

"Heath, Heath!" her voice climbed, her panic settling in. Sebastian felt the other demon's presence behind him before Heath ever had a chance to speak.

"That is enough, Sebastian." The older demon said. His voice had changed, somehow, but Sebastian could not quite pinpoint the shift. "How about an accord? You release mine, I will release yours."

Sebastian stiffened, his fingers sliding away from Lady Clifton's throat. His hand slid down her neck and stopped at the curve of her breasts before he stepped back, and she also stumbled back a pace, her eyes livid, her coloration a fading purple.

"Sebastian!" Sebastian heard his master's voice behind him, spitting out the words along with the taste of Heath's fingers.

"Heath!" Lady Clifton growled, her hands going up to delicately touch her throat.

"This is an order!" both voices rang together, clashing mid-air like steel blades. Ciel ripped off his eyepatch, the seal of their contract burning. Lady Clifton swept up her hair, the seal behind her ear glowing bright red like a brand.

"Kill the boy," Lady Clifton hissed, her eyes narrowing. "Subdue his demon butler!"

"Kill them!" Ciel snarled, tiny fists clenched. "I want them both dead!"

Sebastian turned on his heel to face his master. Ciel was ruffled, but otherwise unharmed. Sebastian bowed, touching his lapel, his black hair sweeping over his cheeks.

"Yes, my lord." He said.

Heath slid his jacket away from his shoulders, tossing it lazily to the side. His smile was idyllic as he brushed back his thick blonde hair, his shirt sliding up to expose the mark on his hips.

"Yes, my dear."

One, two steps, and then he sprang. Sebastian barely had time to move out of the way before the demon lord landed on his feet right where the butler had been standing. His eyes gleamed, charcoal grey irises splitting apart to allow streaks of startling bright red.

"Sebastian. Se-bas-tian." Heath rolled his hot cherry tongue over his lips, drawing out every syllable of the younger demon's name. "Don't worry. I like it better when there is a struggle."

Sebastian did not deign to reply. He sank into a fighting stance, more interested in tracking the other's movement. Heath had undeniable agility and speed, but he was arrogant. That was going to work against him.

Glass shattered. Sebastian did not turn until he heard the boastful roar of a motor, and a familiar voice.

"Knox, your enthusiasm is commendable. Please refrain from such dramatics."

Heath growled, irritated, twitching visibly – violently - now.

"Now really," the demon lord was annoyed. "Did they have to break the window?"

"Good evening, senior." Sebastian kept his eyes on the demon. He knew Will wasn't here for him, not this time. Heath was the bigger threat.

Will did not reply, but Sebastian hadn't really been expecting one. Ronald revved his scythe again, possibly too excited at the prospect of killing something.

"Do you like my hair, William?" Heath laughed, his voice echoing oddly, sounding like more than one person was trying to speak at once. "I know how you feel about demons and our inky heads."

William narrowed his eyes, starting to regret every thought he ever had that this demon might consider amusing. He clenched his scythe, the shears shooting forward, making a straight path for Heath's neck.

Sebastian moved out of the way, sweeping out his arm, he grabbed Ciel around the middle and lifted him into the air. The reapers were not here for him, they would take care of Heath, and the master's safety was the demon butler's priority.

"Heath!" Lady Clifton hissed through her teeth. Heath glanced over to where Ciel and Sebastian were covering ground, and his brow furrowed, annoyed. He set his teeth and knocked Will's scythe out of the way with his forearm, wishing for his hatchet. He couldn't remember where he had left it.

"My dear," Heath said. "Avert your eyes."

Lady Clifton did so, turning her head and raising her hand to shield her gaze.

And then he began to change.

Heath's head flew back as far as it could go, his Adam's apple jutting. His mouth fell open, wider than any human could have made it, the corners of his mouth splitting, giving him a red smile. He screamed and a dozen or more spindly black arms, composed entirely of dark smoke, shot out from his mouth, talon-like fingers groping at the air, a multitude of voices rising to join his.

"S-Sebastian!" Ciel gripped his butler's jacket tightly, Sebastian's nose filled with the stench of his young master's fear. "What… what is that?"

Heath's back arched, and more hands burst from his flesh, ripping through his jacket, blood and shredded meat flying everywhere- covering the room in wall in gore. Heath's body began to rise until it hovered about an inch from the ground, and the arms whipped around like so many furious tentacles, writhing and gasping at nothing in particular.

"Whoa, whoa!" Ronald hefted his scythe, aiming the chopping blade at the demon in front of him. "Boss-!"

Will's response was dead in his throat. He stared at the demon in front of him having never, never seen anything like it.

He raised his scythe reflexively when he saw one of the arms coming for him. It wrapped around the pole, while another grabbed the blades, trying to twist it out of his hands. Will snapped out of his daze just as Ronald slammed his scythe into the black hands, and they dissipated.

"Holy mother of fuck!" Ronald stared at William, wide-eyed. "Are you seeing these things, or…?"

"I see them, Ronald." William adjusted his glasses. The next pair of hands that came for him he sliced off at the wrists. A dozen voices screamed, but the arms just disappeared as soon they were rendered useless. Will knew that here was no real way to hurt the demon unless he could plunge his scythe into the source, but the hands were making it impossible to get to Heathe, himself.

Another black hand went for Sebastian, too fast for the demon butler to move out of the way. Its wicked, grasping fingers pulled Ciel from his arms, another one – even faster – grabbing the butler by the neck and throwing him into the wall.

His head cracked when he made contact, and plaster broke apart.

Ronald jumped into the air, one foot set on his scythe, he dove for Heath's head with a whoop. A black hand came for him, grabbing him by the face, nails digging into the side of his head. Ronald screamed and dropped his scythe, thrashing, as he felt the pressure increase – the demon trying to crush his skull. A long, driving finger dug a sharp nail into his eye, and it burst in a spout of gore.

Will jumped as well, aiming only to save Ronald, at this point. He wrapped his arms around his junior, driving his clippers down towards Heath's head. Another hand knocked his scythe out of the way – they seemed to be multiplying two for every one that was defeated. Will growled and jerked his scythe upward, ripping the hand out by its root, flinging it away and then slicing his shears through the wrist of the one that held Ronald. He and the younger shinigami fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Ronald was sobbing as blood gushed down his face, and Will held him close, covering him with his body to protect Ronald from the onslaught of reaching demonic fingers.

"What demon are you?" Will demanded, only to have a harsh cackle thrown back in his face.

"We are Legion," a din of clangorous voices filled the room, speaking in perfect unison. Heath's mouth, of course, could not move. "We are One."

Legion. A legendary demon. William was more confused than ever.

Ciel kicked and clawed at the hands that were holding him, but it was to no avail. Another long hand wrapped around Lady Clifton's waist. She stiffed but to her credit, she did not scream – nor could she bring herself to pull her hand down and gaze upon the true form of the demon she had dragged into her world.

She had no idea what she done. Not a single idea. William knew, then, that they were all going to die.

A loud, all-encompassing roar – like a hurricane wind in the middle of the sea – and the voices all rose to scream at once. William covered his ears and lowered his head, watching as Ronald winced visibly, white jelly and bright red blood pouring down his face from his ruined eye. William kept himself in that position until the roaring had subsided, and when he looked up, Heath had vanished – and taken Ciel and Lady Clifton with him.

All that remained in the townhouse were two reapers, one of whom was badly injured, and a very agitated demon whose master had just been abducted.

For a long time, no one spoke. The only sound was Ronald's scythe, still growling happily, as it laid heavily on its side, its blades chopping through empty air.