Aside the order, Sebastian had to question why he was there. Why did he care so much about a human? She wasn't his master. She wasn't his prey. She wasn't anything other than interesting.
Why?
Why did he care if she was safe? Why did he care if the wicked earl touched her?
All it came down to was an order the young master of his had given him.
Right?
The infernal screams of the dead and the dying filled the hallways. The rats scattered from the flames as if the manor was truly alight. So long as he was the flame and the cult the rats. A glimmer in the corner of his eye called out to him. His feet obliged to stop and his body turned to look at the armor.
"Should I ask why you are here?" Sebastian growled.
The angel only chuckled, "Shouldn't I ask you why you are?"
"My mas-"
"I meant why you -really- are here?" Matarius cast his eyes downward, "What are your feelling towards her? Surely you aren't just doing this because of a little lord's orders."
He almost hesitated, "My feelings do not matter."
"Says the demon that was just distracted in thought."
Sebastian furrowed his brow. If his feelings truly didn't matter, why was he fighting so meticulouly? Why did he care whether or not he retrieved the young miss unharmed? Why did he care if the earl harmed her? As long as she was alive he was to bring her back. As per his master's orders.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
Not that it could possibly even work out between a human and a demon.
"I don't see why it could not. You're stubborn enough." Matarius commented.
"Enough with meddling with my thoughts." He growled. "Haven't I told you it's not wise to-"
"Toy with a demon. Yes, yes, I know. That's the point." The angel grinned, "What better way to get you to do something than to rile you up?"
The angel only chuckled at his look that had plastered itself to his face. It was true, he had to admit. The anger burned through him with such raw emotion that it utterly pissed him off.
The fact he wasn't just here under orders. The earl touching Rose. His precious Rose.
"Instead of wondering what could have been, why not worry about getting her back first...?" Matarius smirked.
Sebastian paused and allowed his form to dissolve into the familiar shadows. Darkness consumed his body in lue of nothing more than his piercing eyes and devilish grin.
"You needn't tell me twice."
5...
The demon purged the remaining halls of all souls.
4...
Hushed whispers echoed through the now empty halls. A muffled chant started. Ah, a sacrifice. He grinned.
3...
She was crying. The young miss was crying and in pain. He felt the anger rise again.
2...
If it was a demon they were trying to summon, that was precisely what they would get. Whether or not he completed what he was intended, it didn't matter. They would get the demon that they summoned.
1...
At least he wouldn't be hungry for quite some time.
0...
Sebastian heard the impact of the sharp knife be brought to flesh. The festering smell of blood burried into his senses. The final preparations for the most dramatic of entrances was in place.
One by one the candles faded to nothing more than rising smoke. The room dimmed to only five candles, each surrounding the bloody young miss.
Quiet gasps filled the room, one after another. Sebastian glanced around the room, willing the locks upon the door to fall closed, effectively keeping the rats inside.
Not that they would be able to make it to the door.
"It worked!"
"A demon!"
More hushed whispers. All of which he didn't care about. What merited any of his attention was the bloody mess still laying upon a seal covered stone slab. She was barely breathing and the wound in her chest would not be closed easily.
Oh, dearest Rose.
"Please! I want the highest of all powers-"
There was a bubbling noise caught in the speaker's throat before his insides imploded on themselves. The speaker collapsed into a puddle of unspeakableness.
Of all the irritating things that humans were, the worst of them had to be greedy. Wanting this, needing that. Killing whatever-whoever-was in their way.
Greedy enough to plead to a demon regardless if the man next to him was now nothing more than a lump on the floor.
Sebastian reached out for the young miss, letting his hand brush against her cheek. His black, clawed fingers brushed away the tears that had formed in her eyes.
"You are pleased with our sacrifice?"
Sebastian reconized that voice. The grin in the words was more than apparent.
"She was a part of the first one we summoned you on."
Sebastian rested his gaze back upon Rose. She stared up at him half lidded and pain ridden. The room had fallen to complete silence with the deaths of the rest of the dirty rats.
"I knew you would return if I used her again."
James Atkinson allowed his words to taper to silence as the demon towered over him. He could see the malevolence written in the darkness and the un-worldly essence in the demon's eyes.
"Y-you can have her. You can have my soul as well..."
Sebastian chuckled, "And what shall I give you?"
"Money... power... I want everyone to know my name." The wicked earl demanded.
The demon's tongue graced the though as it glided over his wicked smile. The butler moved closer to the earl, forcing him to back step and collide with the stone table.
James found his grip on the cold stone, "You can have anything you want from me." He repeated.
Sebastian loomed over the wicked man. He stared him down and bore his unwavering gaze into James's eyes, looking into his very soul. It was a pleasant sight, all mangled and ripped apart with evil.
"Do we have a deal, demon?"
The butler reached out and pulled the earl closer to his face. He allowed his nails to dig into the fleshy cheek. The pure delight of seeing him afraid was more than worth his order to retrieve Rose. However, unless he finished his -play time- soon, he wouldn't have much to retrieve.
"Answer me! Do we have a deal?!"
Sebastian grinned before tightening his grip. His nails bit eagerly into the flesh underneath them.
"No."
Humans were insatiable, delicious creatures.
Always wanting, rarely giving. Innocence broken the first moment possible.
Yet Sebastian had other plans than being digested for Earl James Atkinson. Perhaps after 100 years of suffering he would decide what was the correct punishment.
The butler dropped the limp body and kicked it aside. Rose was still a priority for him. After all, she was still the main reason he was there.
She had slipped into a completely unconscious state, her head lolling to the side and crimson life falling from her lips. Her chest was still agape with a blade still buried into it.
Sebastian outright refused to lose her again.
Rose was gathered into his arms as his form slipped back into a more friendly appearance. He'd rather her awaken and not be frightened by his looks.
"Are you finished in here?"
He didn't stop as he turned to the door. The butler was stopped in the threshold to the hallway. The angel glared back at him when their eyes met.
"Surely you can feel it." Matarius continued.
Sebastian narrowed his eyes. There was no denying that he could feel it. The seal burned through his body with a yearning for payment. The contract he held was nothing short of a collection left.
"And when you eat your little Master, what will happen then? You won't be able to stay with her."
"Unless you plan to go somewhere with this, I suggest you silence yourself."
"Very well." The angel looked down on him. "I would like to make a deal with you."
Such words made him chuckle. A Divine being making a deal with a demon? The same demon he loathed? Such instances rarely happened and it tickled him to the core in anticipation.
"The deal will only be agreed upon that you always protect Rose, even in death. Give up your life for her if need be. Tend to her every demand and defy no orders."
An eternity with his Rose? To care for and surround her life? To receive the duties of a guardian angel in return for the allowance of him to stay with her.
"And what will you give me?"
"You may devour my soul upon the agreement."
Sebastian smirked. Oh, what a pleasant surprise this was becoming.
"So, demon." He continued, "Do we have a deal?"
" A Divine soul for a girl? I'm surprised. What merits this?"
"She was always happy with you." The divine being lifted his hand, gingerly setting it on the young miss's cheek.
A blistering light errupted from her chest, halting the flow of blood and giving her the precious time back.
"Regardless of your being a demon or not, as a guardian angel, I must do what is best for her... no matter how much I despise the idea of selling my soul to a wretched being like you."
Sebastain chuckled softly, "And where should the mark be placed on her?"
"Her neck."
"Very well."
Matarius straightened his stance. "Do we have a deal?"
Sebastian grinned wickedly with a devilish smirk.
"Yes."
It's almost over... I would graciously request feedback (Even though this chapter wasn't the greatest :c)