Chapter 21: Sebastian POV

The rocking of the boat brought both Danny and I to several discussions on the last time we were on a ship together - the time almost three and half years ago when she came home from America. The young Master was on his first mission with us and both the Master and Danny were very worried, having fought with the King and Secretary in the dangers of sending the 14 year old child with us over to the battle shores of Belgium. He had sent us with four guards - secretly trained spies really - to help us. Danny still paced the halls of the boat and expressed her displeasure in this.

"As the Earl of Phantomhive I can not disobey," the Master had said to the Mistress, as he packed and had me pack the young Master's clothing in a sparse duffel bag. "I'm not going to fight - I am going to protect our lands. Our home."

Danny had spent the last night at the Manor three weeks ago comforting the Mistress and assuring her that we would do all that was required of us to protect the Phantomhive men. I had agreed with the Master - sending the child Lord Phantomhive was dangerous and unnecessary. I leaned over the edge of the ship, taking in the distance and the steady lights of houses on the shore. I pulled back and joined Danny in her watch over the cabin that the Master and young Master shared.

"We should be landing before dawn."

She nodded and closed her eyes briefly. "Any chance we can simply summon more Demons and be done with this?"

I scoffed. "There are Demons involved - they are the manipulators in this." The boat rocked and I bumped into her shoulder, holding on to the sides of the small passage to stay upright. "Wars are not always a Human idea."

She shook her head and looked up at me as we swayed. "So who started this? War… hurts. It takes someone's Humanity away." She closed her eyes and leaned into my chest as another wave crashed outside. "I suppose the Reaper Society is having a grand time," she whispered ruefully. "I dare say getting some new recruits."

I held her close. It had been a while since she had talked about her life before - before being an ex-Reaper even. I knew that this time in Human history was hard for her to not think back to her own experiences. I was reminded of all the wars I had seen, I had started, I had participated in - on both sides. I was no better than some of the Demons who were eating at the Human's souls that craved power, who craved the deep feeling of control, whose lust for blood was pushing them on. I pulled my anchor closer and felt her sigh into my chest, her salty tears slipping down her cheeks. My very Human Demon. My very emotional Mate. I kissed the top of her head and pulled back as another wave rocked the boat.

"The young Master… why would the King not back down?" she asked, sighing. "I can only imagine what he will see…. On the field… in America, there were boys as young as 12 picking up guns and shooting men. If he has to -"

"You will be with him - and he will be safe." I pulled her to look at me and kissed her eyelashes as she swallowed her fear. "You are a powerful Demon - a powerfully Born Demon. Rare in your powers, rare in your love, rare in your Contract. Cut men down without thought and do not spare anyone - that is what you must do. A Demon has one thing beyond serving their Master - to deliver and devour Souls. Let the Hunger and ruthlessness out. Let that Darkness take over as you protect the young Master."

"You speak as if you must do the same. Yet the Earl's contract has been fulfilled, so why protect him?"

I smiled at her wise words and her point. "Because if he leaves the young Master's life now, it will destroy the child. And, granted, he is strong but I don't wish to destroy him. I wish to support you in building him up to be the finest feast you have tasted - when his end has come."

"Compassion? Starvation?" she asked, smiling at me. "You love Humanity and the Earl."

I sighed and looked past her. "Yes… I made my decision to stand with Humans a long time ago. I have… paid for that. I still may have to," I added, softly. I shook my head as she opened her mouth to ask and I placed a finger on her lips. "You need rest; let us simply lie in bed and not think about tomorrow."

She snorted softly and turned, her hand in mine, leading me to the small room with two bunks we shared, simply as two men to the whole crew. "Tomorrow will come even if we embrace the Darkness," she said, slipping between the sheets and rolling to her side. I shifted in the small space and stretched out my tall frame as best as I could. Her arms wrapped around my torso, her right leg thrown over my legs. I cradled her head and kissed her forehead. "And I will protect the young Master - it is not only my duty, but my heart's desire."

"I thought I had your heart," I teased lightly. "And you go stamping your Mark on his. Tsk, tsk."

She shook her head and tried to wiggle in the small space, I only ensnared her more in my embrace. "If I could make a Contract with you, my love, I would. However, it will be enough to be married on the Earth, and married in my heart, and most definitely married in the bedroom."

The alarms for land soon sounded and we both were back out to help our Masters ready for the next step - meeting the weapon smugglers who had made deals with both the Underbelly and the King. The Master was not only the Earl of Phantomhive, and a powerful figure for the King to show the smugglers good faith, he was the King's Watchdog and was also protecting his role as such. We got into the smaller boat and rowed to shore, meeting two more men, who took us all in, and sighed - they had not expected eight men - well seven men and boy. One of them eyed the young Master and whispered about how they could press him into service. His hand mysteriously was broken soon after. Danny placed a protective hand over the young Master's shoulder and the Master had his gun trained on them from under his coat. The Underbelly was full of deceit and lies. I turned slightly to our own extra men; they were loyal to the King, but were spies, nonetheless. I slipped my right hand toward Danny, and felt her left fingers seek mine. I smiled at her slightly.

"You came with more men," one said in a heavy Russian accent. "I don't trust that."

"Well," the Master said as he walked behind one of the men, "perhaps we wanted to take a bit of the package for ourselves."

I sighed and knew this would happen. I had witnessed many of the off the cuff chats and sudden fights. Not even as consort to royals in Egypt had I been able to have a stable Nobleman as a Contract - something about the powers that was something that the Humans seemed to crave for themselves. Although, in the years observing and being the Masters "butler," I also knew he liked to keep surprising everyone. Sometimes even himself.

The man eyed him and us. "Damn British - you say help, and come to help yourself."

"Perhaps, but we have information," the Master said. "And money," he added, pulling out a stack of bills. "So, shall we continue, or are you mistrusting us already?"

The Russian eyed us again and flicked his eyes down to his companion, who was holding his broken hand and whimpering quietly; I was impressed. Danny had made sure his hand would never be usable again and I knew he was in great pain. "I would have to mistrust you for his sake, but for mine? Na, na, I will take you to the place. Your men don't all look sturdy for the hike," he added, looking at Danny and the young Master.

"We will do just fine," Danny answered, in Russian. The man looked at her and smiled. He chuckled and nodded. When Danny was hired as a Tutor, I had neglected to advise the Master and Mistress to ask how many languages Danny knew. I smiled a little; being a Reaper for 50 years most likely gave her much free time to study things like Russian, Latin, Greek, French, and learn how to play the piano, among other things.

We did indeed walk a while. The young Master did a fine job staying by Danny's side and not letting his fear overwhelm him. At 14 he trusted Danny, if not had some other emotional feelings towards her. I smelled the gunpowder in the salty air and wondered if we all would be taking a handful of weapons, paying the men, or simply dispatching them to whence they came, when we had, perhaps, tortured the Russians. Soon we were turning into a row of small shanty houses and I searched them, trying to find anything, and sensed a Portal nearby. Danny stiffened beside me and she reached under her coat, slowly slipping out her gun. Guns worked on Humans, wounded Beings such as us, and sometimes that was enough when we didn't have much else to go on.

"Come, come…" the man said and the Master went in, followed by the spies, and then the young Master, Danny, and I.

"Yes, there is something else," she said in a sigh. "Go in, I'll stay here." I nodded, handing her several of my knifes - those could kill any of our kind or Human.

"Why he stay out there?" the Russian asked, craning to look at Danny as she passed back outside. She started coughing violently and the young Master started to get up from his chair, when I came over and pushed him back down.

"No, need to get up for me, son," I said. He looked up at me and took in a shaky breath. "He has a bad cold and the air… the cold, it hurts it more."

The men eyed me and nodded. The Russian motioned to his friend, who was bandaging his broken hand. "Something is not right about you Brits," he muttered. "There will be several papers. And you need to get the packages."

The Master rose and leaned across the table. "We were told they were here."

"I don't trek across oceans to get things for you," the Russian hissed back. "You were sent from the King of England to get them, yes? Russia and England - we are allies! We are both protecting against the middle - not to be the next France - even so our borders are being banged against. Britain says they send troops from the West and can help draw the troops there." He looked at us and shook his head. "No… no you not good enough to fight! No deal."

The air around us got thick and I watched as the spies grew agitated as the Russian was talking. Another sizzle went through the air and I turned trying to locate Danny through the front window. She was pacing up the road, and I saw two figures, black clad. One waved their hand at her and she stiffened, I looked back at the Master and those of us inside and watched as this side seemed to also be heating up.

"I'm not sending anyone to the front!" the Master said. "Besides, it's not my call, and I am not advising the King to do so. The weapons, or we walk - with our money."

"You would abandon an ally because it is dangerous?"

"I'm not sending in a child - my child - to the front so you can get money - so yes, I am electing to abandon."

The room stilled. I strode over and placed a hand on the Master and young Master, ready in an instant to whisk them away, protect them, dispatch the Russian. I waited. Both sides were in a standoff and I heard the crack of a gun go off.

"Go see," the Master told the spies, and looked at me, shaking his head with firmness. I was where I needed to be; Danny was a capable soldier in her own right, and a fabulous one now as a Demon. Another crack of a gun and the Russian backed up, digging into his jacket and throwing a worn letter on the table. The worried look on the Russian's face and how the other man hurried to the back made me worry, but I waited. "Sebastian…" the Master muttered. The men looked at one another and spoke again - in German. "Go."

I reached into my jacket and sank two knives into them each, a clean kill, and spread over the Master and young Master, drawing them up and racing them down closer to the seaside where we had landed, leaving Danny now a few miles back where we just were. The young Master stumbled and clung to his father when I placed them on the ground.

"Woah," he muttered. He glanced around and then at the Master and I. "Ms. Hyde… she… is she okay?"

I looked down the road, sensing her, and I sensed she was doing well. One of our spies was down, but why or who was around them made me relax for a moment; Danny was fine and that was all I cared about. The Master touched my shoulder and nodded, releasing me to once more take to the sky, to find my Mate, to help her. I came down on one of the men clad in black and stumbled back when he whipped around - Reaper. But the one beside him… he was different. I ducked the Scythe that was suddenly being swung at me, and Danny landed a clean shot at the Reaper's back.

"Back off!" she growled, losing herself as she lunged at the wounded Reaper. I caught her as the other man lunged at her as well, landing us on her back, I huffed and spread my dark wings, making her start for a moment.

"Angel," I hissed. I reared back and sat up, folding my wings and twisted as the other man stood up and snarled back at me.

"Filthy Demons."

"I could say filthy Angels," I retorted, my knives flying through the air, singing and slicing the cold night air into small puffs - just like my knives. "Oh…" I whispered and the man put his hands up to pull his hood off. "Danny - get to the Master! Its an Archangel!"

I pushed her, pushing her into her Darkness and shoved her as far away as I could. I grabbed the two closest spies that had come with us and did the same, whirling around and losing my own form. What the bloody hell was going on to have the King of Hell and an Archangel come after me?