Black Witch

Driven to hopelessness by grief, Alyssa Flumina, a skilled witch and potions master, is pulled into the past by one of her potions and into the arms of an equally desperate Ciel. But desperation and vengeance are a dangerous combo, especially when a contract with a demon is in the mix.

~Victoria Super Omnes~

Chapter 24

"So he went in this building?" Lau asked, staring up at the huge wall before us.

Ciel frowned. "This looks like..."

"The home of Harold West Jebb," I supplied, cutting off Lau before he went on one of his round about rants. "He's involved with the import of various goods."

"I've only met him once," Ciel said. "He is rather creepy, not to mention his criminal record is quite lengthy."

"Imported goods, huh? Then me and him are in the same business," Lau said.

"Why would Agni want to visit such a person?" Soma pondered, looking troubled.

"He mostly imports Indian spices and teas. He runs a general store named 'Harold Training'. He also runs 'Harold's Hindustani Coffee House'," Sebastian supplied. "Meena's name appeared on a few of Lord West's papers. According to what I read, his business mostly took place in the Bengal area. The hanging business may have hurt business, however, but most of the damage seems to have been avoided due to Lord West being absent during the incidents."

"I suppose this means we need to go in," Ciel sighed.

"If it is your wish," Sebastian said, and before I could do anything he'd grabbed Ciel around his waist and spirited him over the fence.

"Such a gentleman," I muttered. I placed my hand on the wall and charmed the bricks so that they shifted aside on their own, creating a passage big enough for Lau, Soma and I to pass.

"How did you do that?!" Soma demanded.

"Do what?" I asked, subtly wiping his and Lau's memory.

"Next time, I'm staying with Alyssa," Ciel said, fixing his jacket.

Low growls made my ears perk up and I turned to see three mean looking dobermans snarling at us. As soon as I spotted them, they rushed to attack.

"Ciel!" Soma yelled, stepping forward, but he was too far back. He would never make it in time. Suddenly I felt a familiar aura wash over me and the dogs started whining and bending their heads in submission.

Sebastian... this was his aura. He was threatening the dogs and they were responding according to instinct. Of course they would fear a demon. There was no way they could win against him.

"Huh? The dogs are backing off?" Soma exclaimed.

"Such cowardly dogs the Lord West has raised," Sebastian sighed, sounding smug.

"You're just too scary," I said, stooping down and holding a hand out for a dog. The smallest one meekly made its way forward, mindful of Sebastian and rested its muzzle in my outstretched hand.

I heard him snort but he said nothing as I patted the dog.

"Yo earl!" Lau called. "Look over here! Over here!" Lau called, cheerily waving around a set of keys around a wickedly long needle standing over the bodies of a few unconscious guards.

We all gave Lau similar looks of disbelief and exasperation.

"Aww come on now, it's not like I killed them!" he defended. "I just put them to sleep."

"Ugh, fine," Ciel said, blowing on his hands. "Let's get a move on."

As the others followed Lau in I gave the dog one last pat one the head but was surprised when it whined and recoiled from me instead.

I frowned. That was strange... to say the least. The Fluminas are always so in touch with nature that I've never had an animal scared of me before. Yes a few have been wary or disrespectful but... scared? Never.

I grew even more confused when it tucked its tail and ran off, taking its partners with it.

What was going on that had them so scared?

"Alyssa, we're going in," Ciel said, breaking me out of my pondering.

"Coming," I replied, brushing my hands off as I watched them run all the way to a small gate hidden amongst some bushes. I froze when a hand emerged to greet them. A slender hand encased in black gloves. A long arm followed attached to a wide chest.

"No," I whispered, feeling a dull throb begin at the back of my head.

Pale lips curled into a smile as a gloved hand brushed a silver lock of hair out of his face. His eyes were still hidden by the same mask he had worn the first night of Viscount's party.

Frozen with dread, I watched in some sort of morbid fascination as he raised a finger to his lips and made the sign for silence.

Frozen in place, I watched as he bowed and walked away, long hair moving elegantly behind him, until he melted into the shadows.

As soon as he disappeared, I turned and ran inside, terrified and wary of the pounding in my head.

~VICTORIA SUPER OMNES~

"No guards inside?" Lau commented, noting the absence of any other humans once we entered. I stuck close to Ciel, both for comfort and because I was scared that Caius could hurt Ciel while trying to get to me.

"I can hear two people upstairs," Sebastian informed us. All of a sudden I really regretted the distance between us. All I wanted was to tug on Sebastian's sleeve and tell him what I'd seen but a cool look from him combined with my pride made me not do anything. "Let's go."

As we moved upstairs, the voices Sebastian had been talking about grew louder until we could hear what they were talking about.

"You did a good job!" We heard. Up ahead there was a door that was slightly ajar.

"Why give me that expressionless face? Take a cigar and loosen up, okay?"

We peered into the room, careful not to disturb the door, and saw Agni sitting on a sofa looking rather uncomfortable as Harold West Jebb paced the room.

"THese are grade A Havana cigars. I got these babies from James Fox, he has a Royal Warrant," he boasted. Agni did not look comforted. "Oh well, it's your problem. Everything is going as planned. In one week it will all be decided." He grabbed Agni's right hand tightly. "Only with this 'Right hand of God' will I realize my dream. I've been planning this for three years so I'll definitely complete it!" he declared. I frowned. What kind of plan could Harold West hatch for 3 years?! I thought the man had an attention span on 3 minutes!

"And if I help you accomplish this..." Agni said hesitantly. "Meena will..."

Meena? This was about Meena?

"You said Meena?!" Soma demanded, barging into the room before any of us could stop him.

"You foo-!" I covered Ciel's mouth before he could be heard.

"Do you want to be caught!" I hissed.

"He would recognise our faces," Sebastian said. "We should wait for now and see what happens."

"P-Prince!" Agni stammered.

"Agni, what's going on?! You know where Meena is?" Soma demanded.

"So this is your master, Agni?" Harold queried, looking snide.

"You... you're the one who kidnapped Meena?!" Soma demanded. "Agni! Beat this guy!" Soma ordered. West looked unperturbed.

"Agni! What are you waiting for?!" Soma demanded when he realized his butler hadn't moved.

West smirked. "Agni, throw out this fussy prince!"

"HUH?" Soma was stunned.

"Can't you hear me?" West said, still looking as smug as ever. Agni's shoulders were shaking.

"It seems they're starting to argue," Sebastian said.

"Duly noted Captain Obvious," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well, back to what we were talking about before," Lau said. "It does seem as though Lord West is involved in all this. It also seems it has something to do with the Black Market... so then... this is in the Earl's jurisdiction!"

"Indeed..." Ciel replied, giving Lau a tired look. "Reporting this to the Yard now could be problematic. Perhaps we should just go home now." Then he sighed. "Then again, however nice that would be i have another idea," he said instead. "I want to watch a little while longer. This time I will save this foolish prince."

"But he'll recognize us," I said, confused.

"Yep," Ciel said, unconcerned.

"Leave it to me," Sebastian said. "I have a good idea." I carefully schooled my face into a blank expression. Somehow I felt this idea would be way out of Sebastian's norm...

I glanced back in the room just in time to see Agni actually raise his hand to strike Soma. Was he actually capable of harming Soma?!

Completely forgetting about Sebastian's 'plan' I was ready to burst out to block Agni's attack when a familiar black suit appeared did exactly that.

It was... a deer?

"That's his plan?" I sputtered, holding back my laughter as I watched Sebastian counterattack with a large stuffed deer head as his 'mask'.

Everyone was silent as they tried to register the ridiculousness of a man with a deer head in their midst meanwhile I was curled up on the floor with tears streaming down my face trying not to make noise.

"Who the heck is that?!" I heard West scream.

"I am a deer sent to collect the prince," Sebastian replied and I went into another fit of giggles. Sebastian was a freaking DEER!

"Using a stuffed deer... good one mister butler," Lua said.

"How is it good?" Ciel asked incredulously.

"Good?! It's bloody brilliant!" I managed to say, wiping tears out of my eyes.

"This is probably one of the prince's spies!" West screamed.

"No. I am just a deer to the core," Sebastian replied and I was laughing again.

"Agni! Destroy him!" West ordered.

"Destroy him?! I can't!" Agni protested.

"Unless you want me to take back my promise then do this!" West screamed shrilly. "Do it now!"

I sobered up instantly. If Sebastian and Agni were to fight again a lot more than just two foils would be broken this time.

A tensed as a bloodcurdling scream left Agni's lips and he rushed for Sebastian.

Quick as a flash, Sebastian had grabbed Soma and whisked him out of harm's way leaving Agni to smash a chest of drawers.

"Not the chest I got at General Trading!" West screamed. More crashed followed as Agni tried to place a hit on Sebastian and ended up with other items instead. "Cut it out! That's my one of a kind Tiffany Lamp! My wooster Tableware! My lock hat!"

"Things are getting a bit wild. We should leave Earl, Miss Alyssa," Lau said, dodging a flying tea cup. Ciel protested loudly as Lau picked him up and carried him in one arm, fleeing out the window.

"Seba- Mister Deer!" I yelled, a half smile still on my face. "This commotion is attracting too much attention. We need to leave! Now!"

"As you wish," was his reply. I slipped two potion vials in my hand and threw them down at Agni's feet. As they broke, the potions reacted badly with each other forming a thick black smoke which Sebastian and I used as cover to jump out of another nearby window.

I took one last glance back and caught a glimpse of Agni with tears streaming down his face.

~VICTORIA SUPER OMNES~

Watching Sebastian trying to get the deer head off was just too funny. Apparently it was easier to put on that take off because the deer stubbornly refused to relinquish Sebastian's head. Or maybe it was just taking revenge on him for wearing his head as a mask.

Revenge of the deer. hehehehe...

"Are you sure you don't need help with that?" I asked, chuckling as Sebastian's hands tightened around the head.

"I'm fine as is," he replied testily.

I rolled my eyes but still smiled. "You're fine with a deer stuck on your head."

"I'm getting it off."

"You could just break it you know. It's not like West is here to go complain to Agni," I laughed.

"Then that would be a bigger mess to clean," he replied.

I threw my hands in the air. "All right, that's it. We're taking this thing off now!"

"Alyssa don't you-"

I took him by surprise, quickly grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to sit on the edge of a nearby couch.

"Stay still," I ordered, hiking up my skirt to unstrap my wand from its holder on my thigh. "And stay quiet," I warned, sensing his pending protest.

"Engorgio," I said, tapping my wand on the stag's head. The bust began to swell, widening at a quick pace until I tapped it again and it stopped.

Setting my wand aside, I easily lifted the head off of Sebastian's coming face to face with the demon in question.

Ruby eyes glinted slightly and I suddenly felt self-conscious again, remembering our earlier spat.

"There, it's off," I said, trying to play down my awkwardness. I moved to set it aside but was stopped by Sebastian's firm grip on my wrist.

"Wait," he said, his grip tightening slightly. "I feel like I must apologize for my behaviour earlier today."

I felt my mouth twitch to make a -most likely sarcastic- remark, but held my tongue instead.

"It was a tad uncalled for-"

"A tad?"

He glared and I put my hands up in mock surrender.

"To be quite fair you accused me of having a crush on him," I said. "When I most obviously do not."

He looked uncomfortable. "For that I apologize. I'm not too sure what came over me. I acted on impulse and I hurt you."

I bit the inside of my mouth and looked away, uncomfortable with having his face so close and eyes focused only on me. I actually felt my face heat up as well. What was wrong with me.

"Good, at least you apologized," I said, glancing back at him. I gave him a small smirk. "But next time you want to accuse me of liking someone, choose the person who doesn't have a God complex about their master, okay?"

A chuckled slipped past his lips and I felt my heart race.

Then, I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I leant down and pressed my lips against Sebastian's cheek in a soft kiss.

When I pulled back I think Sebastian was as shocked as I was.

"Thanks for the apology," I said hurriedly.

His shock turned to a sly grin. "Maybe I should apologize more often," he smirked, squeezing my wrist.

I blushed but, for some reason, made no attempt to move my hand.

"As if..."

~VICTORIA SUPER OMNES~

Awesome sauce. My motivation's back thanks to all the reviews from the last chapter. I guess I still have first story jitters cuz I still get scared that people don't like the story. Thanks for boosting my self confidence!

Just to make a point clear in case it wasn't too clear in the last chapter; Alyssa and Andromeda are two different people entirely. Two different souls, two different personalities... the whole nine yards. Andromeda is a different soul residing in Alyssa's body while trying to take possession of her.

As to why Alyssa can't fight back even though it's her body, that will be explained in another few chapters.

Thanks for your support minna-san!

~Rayne