Soulseeker

by Maria Krause

1816: a different contract, a different name. The demon Sebastian is known to his young mistress as 'Thomas Darcy', an incredibly capable valet-her valet. She sacrifices her soul for the sake of her younger sister and ends up embroiling her whole family in a massive conflict. One-and-seventy years later, Sebastian Michaelis can't help reminiscing about his days as Thomas Darcy.

25. Twenty five

Chapter XXV

Sebastian stood in the main hall, before the crooked front doors. Moonlight seeped through the cracks that hadn't been there seventy years ago. It took him less than a minute to fix them but they weren't the same. He recalled, as he pulled them open, how he first—

"Meow."

Sebastian snapped out of his nostalgic trance. He lowered his gaze on the dark figure at his feet, blinking repeatedly to ascertain that it wasn't another illusion. That the green-eyed shadow on the doorstep really was a lump of black fur shining in the moonlight.

"Meow."

Smirking, he knelt before the cat and picked it up. A golden medallion dangled from its neck. "Hello…Jack."

Jack hissed and sprang from Sebastian's arms. Its graceful gait enchanted the demon and he followed the cat to the lake beyond the shrubbery.

"Your name is not really Jack, is it?"

Jack mewed affirmatively.

"Who are you, then?"

"You would really like to know, wouldn't you, Darcy darling?"