Chapter Eight

"Do you see that?" Mrs. Hill asked Finnian, watching smoke escape Lillian's bedroom window. At first it looked like a light mist, almost clear and white, until suddenly, it turned to a deep black and the smoke began escaping in large clouds.

"Mrs. Hill?!" One of the household maids ran from the back of the home, looking desperately for the lady of the home. "Mrs. Hill!" She exclaimed, running towards her boss and shrieking as glass shattered from an upstairs window. "My lady, we must leave. The home is on fire!"

"I see that," Mrs. Hill replied, curiously, "Prepare a carriage, and Finnian-" she began, but Finnian was already gone, running straight into the home as the rest of the household staff exited in a rush.

It was strange to him that Lillian's mother had felt no concern for the wellbeing of her daughter. It was safe to assume she would make it out okay, but the flames had begun to grow heavy and the young gardener had yet to see the girl in the direction of any doors or windows. "Lillian!" He called, smoke filling his lungs, "Earl Phantomhive! Sebastian!"

The smoke was becoming thicker and thicker, making it so Finnian could barely see in front of him, yet he carried on calling and choking the names of his friends. It didn't take long for the coughing to become hacking, and then a struggle to gather air. Moments later the boys vision became a blur, with stars dancing against blackness, and his body became limp as he tumbled into the arms of someone he was unaware of.

The crackling of the fire grew louder, and the warmth it let off made it easy for Finnian to fall into a peaceful slumber in the arms of Sebastian, who was running the bodies of both Finny and his master outside of the home as quickly as he could.

He knew of the Earl's asthma, and tried his best to take a smokeless route, but running into it was inevitable. The Earl was still conscious, wheezing in the arms of his demon and reassuring Sebastian that he had yet to lose his tastey anytime soon.

The demon managed to exit the home right before the door collapsed, running the furthest distance he could from the smoke and immediately checking on the wellbeing of the two who had fallen into slumber. He was fully aware of Finnian and how he was known to recover for the worst experiences, and with his heart rate already increasing and his breathing stabilizing he knew the young gardener who had been experimented on in his youth would be fine in only minutes. The Earl on the other hand was a different story.

Sebastian immediately began CPR on the sleeping boy, a technique he had learned from many past experiences, for this was not the first time Ciel had managed to get cornered in a room full of smoke, and Sebastian was determined to make sure it was not the last time it would occur either. Although he would not admit it aloud, the demon had taken on a fondness to the boy, and though he would gladly take the child's soul in the end, he was not going to let it happen without fulfilling his end of the contract.

The demoned continued his CPR, reevaluating the situation. From the moment he had heard the name of Lillian's demon, he had known he and his master were in great danger, and he should have left immediately. He also knew if he had done so his master would not be pleased, and thus he had stayed, something he was now regretting.

Lucius was not a demon. No he was something much stronger; the child of Satan himself. Lucius was the son of Lucifer, and both held powerful strengths, especially when it came to things involving light, for that was the origins of the devil himself, the fallen angel of light.

The home came tumbling down in one swift movement, gutted out from the inside out, yet the flames still continued.

"Master," The demon began to plead as he continued his efforts to recover Ciel's breathing and awaken him once more, "Master you need to wake up."

Finnian was soon by Sebastian's side, aiding him in his efforts without question. The gardener was an interesting fellow in Sebastian's mind, for a human that is. He was used as a human guinea pig the majority of his life, and now, he was trying so desperately to bring back a child who held much more power over him. Finnian never seemed to hold a grudge, no matter his past experiences, and this fascinated the demon to watch how the boy and his master interacted in different ways.

Moments later the boy began queezing, attempting to sit up as he held his stomach and crinkled his face into one reflecting an obvious amount of pain. "Se-bas-tian," Ciel wheezed, "Ki-kill her."

"I can't do so unless you say the word, my Lord." Sebastian pressed, almost begging the boy to demand the task be done.

The boy reached for his eyepatch between gags, ripping it off with the little strength he had recovered, "Sebas-tain, I o-order y-ou -"

"Oh hush up," Lillian had her fingers wrapped around the boys throat, "You're such a bother when you speak."

Pouncing, Sebastian attempted to push the girl off, but Lucius was behind him, grasping the demon's wrists with a strength not even Sebastian could match. "Master," he struggled, wiggling in Lucius' strong grip."

"Sebastian, father will be very unpleased with your behaviour, fighting against his son," Lucius whispered in the demon's ear, "It's quite unacceptable don't you think?"

Finnian, being confused by it all, had remained still, that is until he saw the hand of Ciel reaching for him, his eyes, one blue and one not, pleading for his help.

"F-f-"

Finnian ripped Lillian's hands from the master's neck, pinning her to the ground with tears in his eyes, "Who are you!?" He screamed as the girl struggled beneath his weight, "Who are you?!"

"Release me!" Lillian fought, not meeting the eyes of the teary boy on top of her. He smelled like roses fresh from a garden, and his eyes were so full of pain and innocences she could not meet them, in fear she would lose her composition and poise and too break down.

"Are you not the girl who helped me during my nightmare? Are you not the girl who danced with me? Who noticed me as more than just a gardener," his tears rolled from his cheeks, hitting the girls delicate cheeks. She looked so fragile to him, so powerless, and yet she had caught the slightest glimpse of her true intentions, "Was I just another piece in your game?"

"Sebastian!" Ciel stood above the girl, a look of victory on his face once more, "Kill her."