Chapter 12

Kate didn't even feel the impact of the fall. Probably because she, Hannah, and Alois had fallen right into a river at the bottom of the cliff. With the rain pounding down on them from above and the river's strong current, Kate could barely tell which way was up and which way was down, especially in the darkness.

The only thing that kept her from becoming disoriented was the glowing of Hannah's eye.

"Where... the master..." Kate barely heard Hannah say. She found herself looking around for the pale-skinned boy; Alois may have been a huge pain in the ass, but Kate wasn't about to let someone die when she could do something to prevent it from happening. Then she heard it; a faint splashing a little ways ahead of them.

Can Alois even swim? Is he drowning? She wondered in her head. Kate didn't even know much about how to swim herself. In fact, she was surprised that she had managed to keep her head above water for this long. All she did was start kicking, going with a current, and she was instantly propelling forward. Hannah was following right behind her.

After a few moments she'd practically ran into something warm. Well, warm compared to the freezing water around them. Kate put her hands in front of her and grabbed whatever she could. It turned out to be the back of Alois's shirt.

"Get you hands off of me!" He sputtered, nearly choking as he tried to get the words out.

"Shut up and let me help you, brat!" Kate snapped. She started swimming toward one of the banks, dragging Alois along with her in the water. It was very slow-going. With the current pushing her downstream, it was hard for Kate to work her way to the side. But suddenly, Kate felt something tugging on her right arm and helping her along. It was Hannah.

Together, the two of them got Alois on to dry land before getting themselves out of the river. The Trancy earl was lying on his side, coughing up water and taking in heavy breaths. Kate was catching her breath as she leaned against the wall of the large cliff that towered above them. Hannah, aside from being sopping wet, looked as if the whole ordeal hadn't happened.

"You... You should have... just let me... drown." Alois snapped suddenly. He was panting heavily, so his words came out slow and broken.

"Well, I guess I really am still too much of a weak human, huh?" Kate muttered. That's when she noticed that Alois was shivering terribly. With the combination of the water and winter night, he must have been freezing cold. If they didn't do something soon, Alois would die from hypothermia, making it a waste to have pulled him out of the river in the first place.

Kate was surprised when she saw Hannah take Alois in her arms. He looked like he wanted to protest, but honestly he was just too tired. It looked rather cute, in a way; seeing Hannah sitting on her knees as she hugged Alois close to her body. Kate realized she was pretty cold herself, but it wasn't anything life-threatening.

After a while, Kate could hear Hannah and Alois whispering to each other. She couldn't really hear what they where saying; something about a person named Luka. Not that she cared. It was none of her business. As soon as she rested up a bit and she had regained her strength, Kate would try to find a way back up to the top the cliff. Back to where Ciel was...

I hope he's okay... She thought. Surely he is, with Sebastian and the others there...

"Your name is Kate, right?" Hannah asked. The sudden question startled Kate, snapping her out of her thoughts. She hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. "And what is your relationship with Ciel Phantomhive?"

Kate felt herself start to blush. Why would Hannah -someone who was almost a complete stranger to her- ask such a personal question like that? It was none of her business.

"What... Why do you ask?" The half-demon demanded.

"You care about him, yes?" Hannah said.

"I think you already know the answer to that..." Kate murmured, sliding down against the cliff wall into a sitting position.

"Even if Claude loses, Ciel already sold his soul to Sebastian Michaelis." Alois whispered softly. Part of Kate knew this, but another part of her was naïve enough to think she could find another way.

"Tell me, would you be willing to form a contract with me in order to spare Ciel Phantomhive's life?" Hannah wondered. Kate was taken aback by that question. It had to be the most suprising one Hannah had asked her so far.

"And then I would die?" She remarked.

"I would only be able to consume the human half of your soul. The half that is demonic would remain, making you a full-fledged demon." Hannah explained.

"How could you spare his life?" Kate asked.

"By making his a demon as well."