Ciel really did not want to go down the dilapidated stairway. But he knew he had no choice. Rosalind Thomas' death had alerted the Queen to the fact that the threat was still at large. She had even sent the Double Charleses to bring a letter a couple of days before, at which time they had heavily implied that he should work harder on the case. After all he didn't want to disappoint Her Majesty, did he?

The Earl followed Sebastian into the dark passageway beyond the fireplace. It smelled damp and was even chillier than it had been in the library. They descended the stairs, footsteps echoing on the walls. The single candle Sebastian held didn't provide much light and it was nearly impossible to see exactly where they were going.

"Are we getting closer?" Ciel asked.

"Yes," Sebastian said. "The fledglings energies are much stronger down here."

They reached the bottom of the stairs and came out into a small open space. Three tunnels branched off in different directions. Of course it couldn't be as simple as he'd hoped.

"Which one?"

Sebastian crossed to the tunnel on the right and paused for a few moments, then moved to the center one and repeated the action. The one on the left earned a nod. "This one. I can hear them at the end of it."

Ciel strained his ears but he knew that his hearing would never match Sebastian's. He could hear nothing but water dripping and the sound of their own hurried footsteps. He was quite aware with every step he took that he was growing closer to the vampires, fledgling vampires at that; young beasts who would probably have no control over their actions. He gripped the gun in his pocket, knowing it would probably not do much harm to creatures of the supernatural variety. Still, he was grateful to have the illusion of protection.

The tunnel seemed to go on forever. At least it was better lighted than the stairway had been. There were torches burning every few feet.

"So, how do you plan to stop them when we get there?" Ciel asked.

"It will not be pleasant," Sebastian said. "I'll have to run them through."

"Oh," This honestly wasn't anything new to the Earl. He had seen his demon stab plenty of people before. He suspected he had the knives and forks hidden somewhere about his person. "And that's all?"

"I am hoping so," Sebastian said. "They've only been turned for a few months now. At least some of them have to be developing slowly."

"I wonder if he keeps them down here all the time," Ciel said. "Or if it was just for the party."

"I couldn't say," Sebastian replied. "The only one I've seen on my observations was Edmund and obviously he is being very well taken care of."

Ciel thought about Adeline upstairs. He wondered where she was. If she was still snooping around or she'd been smart and gone back to the carriage.

The tunnel ended with a large door set with several locks. Ciel could hear something now. There were noises coming from the other side of it, a kind of scratching. It made gooseflesh spread across his skin. He refused to be afraid, but who knew exactly what lay on the other side of the door.

"Shall I open it, young master?" Sebastian asked. Ciel nodded. "Alright, stand back."

Ciel moved away as Sebastian blew apart the door. The thick wood splintered easily and the locks separated and fell to the floor with a series of clatters. Dust rose up from the debris, hanging in smoky clouds and obscuring their view of the room within. He really did not want to go in there either, but the sooner they disposed of the fledglings, the sooner they could go home.

There was about two seconds of silence, then the first young vampire shot through the opening. He was like the pair from the morgue, the alabaster pale skin and slight under eye shadows, but that was where the similarities ended. This one looked slightly less human and more like a wild animal. His eyes were wide and glowed with a golden yellow light. His mouth was open and from it protruded rows of sharp teeth, each one similar in size and shape to an ice pick. Based on what little information on vampires Ciel had come across while trying to research the case, these didn't seem to match the descriptions.

Sebastian was on the creature in an instant. It hissed and swiped at him, but he dodged the attacks easily. He jammed a knife into the vampire's chest and it squalled, falling backward. Ciel was momentarily mystified; it hadn't put up much of a fight at all. Then the figure began to sit up again. Sebastian grabbed the creature's head and ripped it off with a sound that Ciel hoped dearly to never hear again.

"Was that really necessary?" He asked, feeling the bit of champagne he'd forced himself to drink earlier coming back up his throat.

"It appears some of these might be a bit more resilient than I had thought," Sebastian said. "But decapitation is also an effective form of vampire slaying."

This told Ciel that Sebastian was probably going to do it again. He drew out his gun as two more fledglings burst through the doorway. These two were also young, a boy probably no more than a couple of years older than he was and a girl slightly younger than Adeline. He really didn't want to watch Sebastian slay them. He'd not expected that they all would be so young. Despite the fact that they had been kept behind a severely locked door, all the fledglings appeared to be well cared for, clothed and groomed in ways that would have had them all easily blend into upper-class society. Exactly like their makers.

"Their age actually makes perfect sense," Sebastian said as the pair charged at them. "Younger victims actually have a less likely chance of succumbing to the effects of the change. Not to mention they're malleable, Silas and his family can raise them up to be whatever they want. If they live, they'll be around for hundreds of years, and therefore there's more opportunities to continue the bloodline."

Ciel tried to focus instead on Sebastian's voice instead of the battle. He was really no good at these things, preferring to always stand to the side while Sebastian did the dirty work. Because as a human, he knew he was weak, though he liked to pretend otherwise. He wished that there was a way that they could just kill all of them at once instead of the way things were currently going, slowly, so he had to see each victim before Sebastian ceased their life.

Something like they had done with all those children during the circus investigation. But they had been human and their bodies fragile. These creatures, though they were no doubt slighter versions of what Silas and his family was, had become stronger and faster than their human counterparts could ever have hoped to achieve.

More of them were pouring through the doorway now. Ciel drew his gun, firing with abandon. There was too many. They'd been aware of at least over twenty, counting Edmund, but there seemed to be way more than that. They were closing in on him. The gun clicked, it had run out of bullets. Ciel ripped off his eye patch. He didn't want things to happen this way, but he knew that a bloody battle was the only way that they were going to win.

"Sebastian destroy them all, any way you can," He called. "This is an order!"

"Of course, my lord," Sebastian said. "Close your eyes."

Ciel did as he was told, for once without a word of protest. He truly didn't want to see what Sebastian was going to do. But he heard it, even though he covered his ears too. For what seemed like forever, but probably was only a few minutes, the air was filled with growls, screams, and snaps. Every so often he would hear that tearing sound that meant yet another vampire had had its head separated from its body. A horrid smell began to fill the chamber and Ciel felt nauseous. He swallowed hard, forcing the bile back down his throat.

"Young master, it's over," Sebastian said. "They're all gone."

Ciel raised his head and looked up at the butler. Sebastian hadn't emerged entirely unscathed but his wounds appeared to be superficial. He'd lost his gloves somewhere along the way, or perhaps he'd removed them, Ciel didn't know. He could see that Sebastian's nails still were more pointed and sharp than usual. His eyes were fading from the glowing magenta blaze. The Earl sighed and pushed himself to his feet, not wanting to look at the carnage around them, but finding it impossible not too.

"Are you sure they're all dead?" Ciel said, though just by taking a cursory glance he didn't see how they could be anything but.

"Yes, my lord," Sebastian said. "As you ordered."

Ciel nodded. He glanced at the torches lining the sides of the tunnel. "We'll burn them just to be sure. Their families aren't going to want to want them anyway in this state, and for most of them, considering they are young, their parents were probably slaughtered long ago in the forest."

He started back down the tunnel, leaving Sebastian to finish the job. He never wanted to be here in this place again. As he walked he reminded himself that the task was only half over. They still had to deal with three pureblood vampires. Not to mention Adeline's brother. He couldn't let Sebastian tear Edmund's head off.

"It's done, young master," Sebastian said as he appeared at the Earl's side.

"Good," Ciel replied. "Now let's end it."

They emerged back at the start of the tunnel and started toward the stairs. And that was when something knocked into him from behind. His body went flying forward and he hit the stairs, feeling the wind knocked out of him. Gasping for breath, he lay stunned for a few moments, registering a bit of pain in his knees and ribs, before long spindly fingers wrapped around his arms and flipped him onto his back. The hands continued to hold him, practically cutting into him with their grip. He was staring into the furious face of Camille Beaumont.

"You…" She hissed. Her eyes were blazing in that same golden intensity as the fledglings had. He could see her fangs within her mouth, each at least two inches long and deadly looking. "You brat! You dare to come in here and kill my children?"

Ciel opened his mouth to speak, thoroughly terrified, but the words stuck in his throat. He just continued to stare at her as she inched closer and closer. She was going to kill him. No. She was going to turn him. And that would be worse than dying. He wished he hadn't wasted all his bullets earlier, but truthfully knew that they wouldn't have done anything except maybe have slowed her down.

He shut his eyes, willing Sebastian to come and save him. Sometimes the butler liked to make him suffer a bit before stepping in; hopefully this wouldn't be one of those times. Camille was not hesitating. He could smell her breath, heavy with blood and wine, drawing nearer. Her talons tightened their grip on his arms.

Then suddenly she started screeching and her weight lifted off of him. Ciel's eyes snapped open. Sebastian was standing a few feet away; his clawed hand protruding from the center of her chest. He was holding her heart, which as he had explained back at the morgue, was indeed about a third the size of a normal human heart, black and charred looking. Ciel watched the demon crush the shriveled organ. It seemed to crumble into dust and he yanked his arm back through, tearing the remaining heart out with it.

Camille remained animated for a few moments more. She continued to scream as the rest of her began to become charred and shriveled, as though being run through and the loss of her heart had sped up her aging process. Within seconds she went from being extraordinarily beautiful to something Ciel was sure he'd probably only see in his worst nightmares.

She turned her eyes toward Sebastian. They were now no more than two fading golden pinpricks in the darkness of her face. "You…demon…Silas will make you pay for all of this."

Camille collapsed upon the floor, her body dissolving into ashes.

"Are you alright, young master?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes," Ciel said. He was sure that he'd end up very bruised and his knees were scraped, but otherwise he was unharmed. He'd definitely had worse.

Sebastian hoisted him into his arms and started up the stairs. The Earl held on tightly to Sebastian's neck.

"I guess they did figure out what you are," Ciel said.

"Yes, but was it before or after I put my hand through her?" Sebastian asked.

"This is no time for jokes," Ciel said. His body had been thrumming with adrenaline, particularly during the altercation with Camille, but now he could feel it ebbing and he was tiring. This was bad. They weren't done yet.

They emerged back out into the library. Sebastian set Ciel down, and he wavered a moment on his feet as he surveyed the room. Camille had come downstairs. That had to mean that the rest of her family was aware of what was going on.

"Sebastian, start a fire in here as well," He instructed. "A real one. All these books, it should go up no problem."

Sebastian bowed. Ciel retied his eye patch and grabbed the poker from the fireplace. Then he started out of the room. He walked back down the hall, passing countless rooms, wondering where the three remaining vampires could be hiding. Truthfully, he guessed it could be anywhere. The estate was massive.

He came out into the ballroom again. It looked completely different without all of the other guests. It was vast and empty, seeming to stretch on for miles. Ciel didn't like how open it was. He felt exposed. Perhaps there was another, less vulnerable way to get towards the entrance hall. He turned and started back down the hall. As he turned the first corner he nearly ran into Edmund Crawford.

Ciel thought for probably the millionth time that he didn't know why he presumed it ever wise to go off on his own whenever he and Sebastian were handling a difficult case. There had been many things they had dealt with that tried their skills, but none of it had been of an incredibly deviant supernatural variety until now. Vampires loose in a manor should have topped the list of times he shouldn't separate from Sebastian. As usual he hadn't wanted to listen to reason.

Edmund regarded him curiously. Ciel stared back at him. He tightened his grip on the poker and wasn't sure why he didn't just try to bury it in the older boy's chest. Perhaps it was because he reminded the Earl of Adeline. But she had told him to do it. To end her brother's suffering. So why was he standing there like an idiot?

Edmund began to growl. It sounded like the warning a rabid dog would make right before it charged you. Ciel wondered if he should run, but decided against it. The vampires were faster. That much he knew. He prepared to drive the poker into—

But the next thing he knew he was being slammed against the wall in the hallway. A vase on a nearby table exploded as his arm swung out and knocked it to the floor. He tried to break free but Edmund was too strong. Even for a fledgling vampire, he seemed to have adapted to the change well.

"Edmund," He tried.

"How do you know me?" Edmund said. "How do you know my name?"

Ciel opened his mouth to tell him that they had literally just met at the party, but he never got the chance to answer because Edmund grabbed him by the throat. The vampire was crushing his windpipe in his grip and he was quite sure he was going to pass out. Why hadn't he made a move sooner? Or called for Sebastian. Damn, why had he left Sebastian?

"S-sister," He choked out. "Y-y-our—sister—a-a-live."

He thought he saw a flicker of recognition pass over the young man's face, but he was getting quite delirious. His chest felt tight and the edges of his vision were beginning to go black. He heard dull thudding footsteps and there was a muted crunching noise. The pressure on his neck tightened for a moment, and then began to slacken, and fell away entirely. Ciel slid down the wall to the floor, gasping, sucking in great gulps of air. He coughed, the inside of his throat feeling raw. The scene swam before his eyes.

Edmund was still standing. The point of a great wooden stake was sticking out of his chest. As his vision began to grow clearer, Adeline appeared out of the shadows. She stepped in front of the vampire.

"Hello, brother," She said. Her voice was heavy with tears.

"Adeline?" Edmund whispered. "Is that you?"

"I'm so sorry I had to do this to you," She said. She reached out and brushed some hair off his face. "I hope you'll see mom and dad."

Edmund continued to stare at her. Ciel felt as though he was intruding on a very private moment, but he couldn't move. Between Camille and now Edmund he was spent, his energy was totally sapped, and his entire body felt like it had been bounced down the grand staircase at the manor. Twice.

"Thank you," Edmund took a step toward Adeline, but sank to his knees. She dropped down beside him, resting her brother's head in her lap. "Thank you for saving me."

"I love you," Adeline whispered. She leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Rest easy now."

Life left Edmund's eyes soon after that. Adeline stayed still until the very end. Then she gently transferred his head to the floor and worked to pull the stake out his back. Ciel had never been so grateful for her stubbornness. If she'd been a typical lady and gone to wait in the safety of the carriage…

"Where did you get that?" He asked as she pulled the pointed bit of wood free. He was shocked at how hoarse his voice sounded.

"Undertaker," She replied.

"Undertaker?" Ciel exclaimed. "When did you go to see him?"

"This morning, before the party," Adeline replied. "After breakfast and before Elizabeth made me try on a dozen dresses. I figured it might be good to give him an update on the investigation, since he seems to be familiar with vampires. I told him we were getting ready to go after them for good and did he have anything that might help." She reached out a hand and pulled Ciel to his feet. "Oh, and he appreciates a lady's jokes as well."

The Earl gaped at her. He hadn't thought Undertaker had been all that helpful the first time they'd visited him regarding the matter, which was why he hadn't seen it important to go back. Clearly this had been a mistake. Or perhaps Undertaker had deemed to be more helpful to an apparent damsel in distress. Or he'd not forgotten how she had complimented his coffins…

"Let's go," Adeline said. "Where is that butler of yours?"

A/N: This was a very long chapter compared to any previous. I think so far only this one and one other upcoming have passed the 3k mark, but I couldn't find a good part to cut it off at without affecting the action. We will be staying with the vampires for the rest of the weeks updates. It seems everyone is interested to see where things are going and I really hope that you like way things turn out. (or not, always good to have opposing viewpoints)

promocat: there was certainly no shortage of action in this installment

Minight51: They are always getting into something. Thank you so much. I am glad for your excitement.

Dardar1: Yeah, creepy set of stairs in a fireplace en route to vampire fledglings, seems legit to want to go down there. ;)