And here it is! The next chapter! Once again, I apologize on how long this took. I hope everyone enjoys!
Rayne sits up in her bed quickly, panting and sweating. A sudden rush went to her head forcing her to lay back down. Her head pounded in pain. She pressed her hand against her head to try to subside the pain.
How long have I been out for? She wondered.
She slowly sits back up to looks around the room. She noticed a glass of water on her bed side table. She grabs it, drinking it down quickly. Very refreshing. She set the glass back on the table. She pushed her blankets off her and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She sat there, trying to summon enough strength to lift herself off. She took a deep breath and slowly stood up, still feeling very weak from the recent events. She walked over to the mirror to check herself out. Her face was pale and the shadows on her face made her look gauntly. She touched her cheek, barely recognizing herself.
Rayne turned around and headed back the bed. A corner of a book peeked from underneath the pillow. Confused, Rayne sat on the bed, positioning the pillows so it would prop her up and pulled out the book. The cover read Creatures of the Night, the same book she found in Ciel's library.
Interesting, she thought, how did that get there?
She opens the book to where she left off, where it talks about reapers. She flips the page and sees a picture of what looks like Undertaker but his bangs are not covering his eyes and a pair of half-framed silver-square glasses rested on his nose. An insert underneath the picture reads Legendary, now retired, Grim Reaper. Known for reaping the wife of the famous Robin Hood.
Interesting, I didn't know he was a reaper, Rayne thought. She continued looking through the pages. She turned to a section of the book that reads Commix.
Commix. This section is for the mix breeds between one creature with another or with a human.
Rayne's eyes went wide, this could be her chance to find out more about who she is. She quickly flipped through the pages till she reads Commix of Demon and Human.
The cross between a demon and a human is the rarest breed. Many die within the womb from the human mother being too weak to control the demon or the baby is too weak for the demon mother. But there are rare instances where the baby lives. Typically, the child wants to fit in to the life they are in, either human or demon. So, they try their best to fit in and they end up becoming two different creatures. It's similar to multiple personality disorder where one half don't remember what the other has done.
When the commix tries to fit in with humans, their demon side can become unpredictable. When they are in a situation of fight or flight the demon side can come out and obliterate anyone that is in their way.
There is a way to control one side. The commix must destroy the side they do not want. It is very dangerous and can end up destroying them completely. The spell to destroy the human side is-
"You're awake," Sebastian says, smiling at her.
Rayne jumps a bit from the sudden voice and looks up at Sebastian. He is carrying a plate of scrambled eggs and another glass of water. She sets the book aside and smiles back at him.
"I am," she says as he sets the plate on her bedside table, "How long was I out for?"
"A month," he touches her forehead, "no fever. Good." He then grabs her chin, "You look very under nourished. You should eat." He sets a bed table over her legs then set the plate on it.
"Thank you," she grabs a fork and brings the eggs up to her mouth. This taste so good, she thought.
He sits on the bed next to her with his legs off the edge. He sees the book on the bed. "What are you reading?" he asks.
In between mouthfuls, Rayne managed to say, "A book about different types of creatures like demons, reapers, commix, etc."
"Commix?"
"You know, like mix breeds. Like me, half human half demon."
He reads the page that she left open. His smile slowly turning into a frown.
"You're not considering this, are you?" he asks barely looking up from the book.
Rayne pushes the plate away, finished the meal. "Of course, I am."
He quickly closes the book. "I won't let you."
"What? Why not?"
"Because this can kill you," or worse, you can destroy the beautiful, powerful, demon side.
"Then I wouldn't be a threat to anyone anymore. Then I wouldn't have nightmares of harming people anymore. I already lost the ones that I love, I don't have much to lose now," she stated.
"I'll help you control it," he smiled an obviously fake smile.
"You'll teach me," she said, disbelieving.
He slides the book under his arm, "I can teach you. I am a demon after all." He winks.
"Alright, if you can teach me how to control the demon side, I'll do it. When do we start?"
He grabs the plate and the bed table and starts heading out the door. "When you are rested up. I'll be back in an hour."
Sebastian shuts the door behind him. He has just figured out his feelings for her, He can't lose her now. He must hide the book where no one will find it. He started heading to his room.
Rayne lays back down on the bed. "Well this is boring," she mumbles to herself.
Within a week, Rayne was feeling great again and could get back to work. She walked into the kitchen wearing her maid uniform. Inside the kitchen, the four servants were standing, waiting for orders from Sebastian.
"Good morning, everyone," Rayne smiles meekly.
May-Rin, Bard, and Finnian all jumped up and hugged her tightly. They were all talking at once, happy to see her back.
"You three are going to send her back to bed if you hug her any tighter," Sebastian stated in the doorway, bringing the cart of tea back from their master's study.
They quickly let her go while apologizing. Rayne giggles. They line up in front of Sebastian, waiting on their orders.
"May-Rin, dust and mop all of the guest rooms," Sebastian ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
"Finnian, you will be watering the flowers. The watering can is by the green house."
"Ok!"
"Bard, you will be preparing some bread."
"Sounds good!"
The three servants ran off to do their job.
"And Rayne," Sebastian turns to her and smiles, "Can you go pick some fruits and vegetables from the greenhouse? I think we will use them in the young lord's lunch. Then once you do that, meet me back here and we can train."
Rayne blushed slightly at his smile. She isn't used to him being this kind to her. She nods and heads to the green house after grabbing a basket. She quickly grabbed some fruits and vegetables and throws them into the basket, excited for training. She's ready to control this monster side. She is ready to feel relaxed for once and not in constant fear.
She quickly heads back to the kitchen and sets the basket on the counter. Sebastian was nowhere to be seen. Rayne decided to do something till Sebastian comes. She grabs the basket of fruits and vegetables and headed over to the sink. She ran the fruits under that water to wash the dirt off. She pops one of the sweet blueberries into her mouth.
"Stealing a blueberry wasn't part of the orders," Sebastian whispered into her ear. Rayne jumped with the sudden feeling of the tall man behind her.
"Jeez, Sebastian. I could have choked on that blueberry."
"Lesson number one, learning how to detect others nearby."
Sebastian steps back as Rayne turns around. "Alright, how does it work?"
"Go to your room and try to track what I am doing."
"Sounds easy enough."
"Good! Now get to it."
Rayne smiles and heads to her room. She sat on her bed cross legged. She closes her eyes and concentrated, trying to focus her energy on Sebastian. Her face wrinkled and tensed, trying to focus harder but nothing was happening. How does he expect her to do something nearly impossible?
She lays back onto the bed, trying to relax. She closes her eyes once again. She's not going to give up so easily. She tries to imagine what he is doing at that moment.
He's probably in the kitchen right now, preparing for the master's lunch, she thought. The earl is probably in his study, working on some papers for his business. Finnian is probably in the garden as ordered but instead of using water he is probably using herbicide. Bard is in the cellar, trying to figure out the ingredients to make bread. May-Rin is probably in a guest room…on the third floor, in the east room. But these are easy guesses.
Rayne was unsure what to do so she decided to go see if her guesses were right. She peaked in the kitchen to see Sebastian preparing the lunch.
"You're supposed to be in your room, Ms. Rayne," Sebastian called without looking up from the chopping board.
Rayne entered the kitchen and jumped up on the table. "I know but it's boring. Besides I couldn't conjure up the senses to find you."
"You did find me though, correct?"
"Yeah, but anyone could have guessed you would be in here. You're usually here or with the lord."
"True, but it's a start."
"How do you do it?" she asked.
"Well, considering I am a full demon, it happens quite naturally," he smiles. He looks at his watch then adds, "I am ahead of schedule about an hour. Let's bring this training outside, shall we?"
Rayne followed him into the garden at the edge of the forest.
Sebastian then turns to her. "Now, I want you to sit down and focus on my aura."
Rayne does what was asked. She sat down and closes her eyes, focusing Sebastian's power. She could feel his demon aura. She can feel how powerful he is, how strong he is. She then senses him moving quickly away. As he does this, Rayne loses his aura. Her face scrunches as she focuses harder, nothing. She then feels a hand on top of her head. She looks up to see Sebastian leaning against her, grinning with his eyes close.
Rayne lets out an exasperated sigh and falls backward so she is laying on the grass. "I'm never going to get this."
Sebastian bends over at a ninety-degree angle to look down at her. "You just started learning, Ms. Rayne. You can't expect to get it the first time."
"I know but I thought it would come a bit easier than this."
"We can try again tomorrow. The young lord is calling me, I must go."
"Alright, we'll try again tomorrow." Rayne watches him practically disappear into thin air.
Sebastian enters the study of the young lord. "You called?" he asked, giving a slight bow with his hand over his chest.
"I have been notified by the queen that people have been disappearing around England. We must go and investigate," Ciel implored, finishing up his paperwork.
"I will prepare your bags and the carriage, sir. Would you like to take Rayne with us?"
"Yes, she can come. How is she anyway?" Ciel set down his papers to look at his butler, worried about his maid.
"She is doing much better, my lord."
"Good. You are excused."
Sebastian bows once again and leave to prepare for the trip.
Rayne looks up at the town house in awe. She never knew Ciel had a town house. Though she really shouldn't be surprised, he is rich and all. Before Sebastian opens the door, an Indian boy no older than seventeen opens the door, just behind him is an older Indian man with white hair.
"Ciel!" he exclaims, grinning from ear to ear, "I wasn't expecting you to come so soon!"
Ciel ignores him and continues inside. Sebastian smiles at the two. The Indian boy finally sees the maid and blushes.
"And who is this angel?" he manages to say.
Sebastian stifles a laugh at the mention of an angel. "This is Rayne," Sebastian says, motioning a hand towards her, "she is our new maid."
Rayne curtseys at the boy, "It is very nice to meet you, Mr…." she trails off.
"This is Prince Soma. And I am Agni," the older Indian says, kissing Rayne's hand. Rayne blushes, never seeing this much affection from a man before. No one notices Sebastian's smiling turning into a frown at Agni's gesture.
Sebastian puts his hand on Rayne's back and pushes her forward gently to bring her inside, "We really must get busy with our case, we can talk later." They head upstairs after their lord.
Rayne sits on the bed while Ciel was sitting at a desk, looking at a map. "The queen has mentioned that the disappearances are somewhere around here," he points to the map, "tomorrow we will see if we can find any leads. We will also head to the investigation department and see if there are any connections to the disappearances."
"Yes, my lord," Sebastian bows and Rayne curtseys.
Ciel stands up before adding, "We should leave as early as we can tomorrow before the prince wakes up."
Rayne giggles softly then exit to leave Sebastian to help the young lord prepare for bed. She heads downstairs to where the maid's quarters were at to get ready to sleep.
The next morning, the three headed out for the investigation. They first stopped at the investigation department building to see any connection to the people that were missing. Rayne stayed outside as the two went inside since it was more appropriate for a lord to just be with their butler than with their maid. As she waits, Rayne practices sensing Sebastian. She tries to feel his aura, tried to sense where he is and what he is doing, but nothing is happing to no surprise.
"Are you here alone?" A voice calls in front of her. She opens her eyes to see a tall man with dark brown eyes and short blonde hair in front of her.
"No, my master will be coming back soon," she says. She felt something weird with this man but she couldn't figure out what.
He sits next to her, smiling. "So, you are a maid? Who is your master?" he asks.
Rayne watches him, unsure whether to answer him. Before she could decide, Ciel and Sebastian exits the building. The man next to her quickly stands up and walks off after saying good bye to her.
"Who was that, Rayne?" Ciel asks.
"No idea," she replies as she continues to watch the strange man. Then she turns to look at Ciel, "So what did you find out?" she asks.
"We couldn't find any connections besides being in England. They are all different statuses, genders, occupation. For now, we will walk around and see if we can find any clues."
Rayne nods. They walk around for a while, trying to find any clues. Ciel keeps talking, trying to fit pieces of the puzzle together, Sebastian is off doing some more investigation, and Rayne continues to walk with Ciel, not paying attention. Her mind was somewhere else. She had a weird feeling but she couldn't pin point what it was.
As they walked, her feeling kept getting stronger. She stops abruptly in front of a tall run-down building.
"What are you doing, Rayne?" Ciel asks, getting annoyed.
"I'm not sure, my lord, but I think something is wrong in there."
Ciel raises an eyebrow then looks at the building, "We will go check it out. It's not like we have anywhere else to go." He starts to go inside and Rayne follows.
Ciel pauses, unsure where to go. Rayne steps up in front of him, "This way, my lord." She leads him through the twists and turns of the hallways till they find a staircase going into the basement. She motions to Ciel to stay quiet by bringing a finger up to her lips as they descend the stairs.
The basement was like a dungeon. There were bodies in each cell, some obviously dead, others very weak.
"It's the missing people," Ciel whispers, "What happened to them?"
Rayne was silent for a while, confused. Something was missing from some of these people, but what was it? Then she finally realizes what was wrong, "They are missing their souls."
"What?" Ciel's eyes widen.
"Someone's coming," she said as they hid behind the wall of an empty cell.
They heard someone walk up to one of the cells, open it, then screams from the person rang out.
Rayne covers her ears when hearing the screams. She couldn't take it. Screams bring back terrible memories of her past. She felt a hand on her shoulder, she looks up to see Ciel looking at her with a stern face. The screaming has stopped and whoever was there was now leaving.
"We should leave," Ciel said, Rayne nods her head and exits the building. They headed back to the manor where Sebastian was waiting for them.
"Hello, my lord. Ms. Rayne," he nods to them.
"We found the missing victims and the culprit," Ciel declared, sitting on his bed.
"Have you?" Sebastian asked, a bit surprised.
"It was a demon and he was sucking the souls out of the poor victims," Rayne spoke up.
Sebastian looked impress. She could sense things after all. Maybe she can only do it in certain situations, he thought.
"We must let the reapers know and have them take care of it. This is more their job anyway," Ciel says.
"I will let Undertaker know so he can notify the other reapers," Sebastian said as he jumps out the window.
Ciel watches him leave then turns to Rayne, "Are you alright? You have been quiet all night."
Rayne looks at her young lord and smiles, "Never mind, my lord. Just a bit shook up, I suppose," she lied. Something was bothering her. She couldn't stop thinking about the demon. There was something different about them, something Rayne couldn't get over.
Why did the demon aura feel so familiar?