Author's Note: I just realized something rather important. Kindle ate my scene breaks on Tangled Mirror. Yeah, the book I entered in a writing competition and I just got the email that it was sent to the judge two days ago. And if I try to go in and fix it, I'll be disqualified. Thanks Kindle.
And yes, I'm procrastinating again. Kat and Nikolai...why are you fighting me so hard?!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or any of its characters. I only claim Serena, as well as the demons and descendants that I introduce.
A Demon's Mate
Chapter Seventeen
Serena stood at the bottom of the stairs while Sebastian coaxed his Master out of his room. During dinner, Soma had attempted to put himself into the mission. After much arguing, Agni had reminded the Prince that he had already promised to attend Druitt's Christmas soiree. The invitation having come from the lord's nephew at the theater last night. Thankfully, the two had already left when Ciel went up to get ready.
She heard something and saw Ciel coming in full disguise. The outfit may have been appealing earlier, but with the addition of the gold dust and jewelry, the Earl was absolutely gorgeous.
Sebastian was a dark shadow behind the teen as they descended the stairs. He caught her staring and growled. Serena brushed it off as they hit the foyer and walked around Ciel to get the whole of his disguise. When she faced him again, the girl smiled and let out a low whistle.
"Well, I'd buy you if I had the money."
Sebastian growled again, louder.
"You couldn't afford me."
"Oh, could I trade?" She smirked at the demon standing over her. He towered over her, eyes glowing and teeth bared. "Oh, calm down Feathers. It's a joke. You know, funny, ha ha."
"Again, are you two done yet?"
Serena smiled and came back to the Earl. "The point is you look great. So, we're ready to go then."
"You're not going."
"What?!" She looked back to Sebastian.
"I cannot search the mansion and watch you both at the same time."
Ciel raised a hand to stop her protest. "Serena, the men there tonight would expect you to be for sale. This is no game. It is far too dangerous for you to go."
"But..."
"No." Ciel glared. "My answer is final."
Serena huffed at both of them and turned her back.
"Well, this sucks."
Ciel walked around her headed for the door. Sebastian had already readied the carriage with plenty of hot bricks since any cloak would smudge the gold dust on the Earl's skin and any shoes were out of the question as well. The demon picked up his Master at the door and gave Serena a nod before going out into the cold.
When the door closed, she pouted.
"Sexist bastards."
************************A Demon's Mate***********************
"What to do now?" Serena leaned against the door for a pouting moment. "No wonder these people throw parties all the time. They were bored out their minds."
She started away from the door when an idea struck. Looking around the hallway, she ducked her head out the door to make sure that the carriage was well on its way. An evil smirk took over her face as she shut the door.
'What are you up to, my mate?'
Serena jumped at the smooth voice that seemed to come from all around her.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said to the empty house.
'I detect a faint hint of evil through your mind.'
"Evil is your thing, isn't it? Besides, aren't you supposed to be watching Ciel?"
'We are picking up Mr. Lau now.'
"Well, shouldn't you concentrate on what you're doing versus what I'm doing?"
'What are you doing? Thinking about the London sights?'
"I'm not doing anything and I'm not going anywhere. Scout's honor."
'What does honor have to do with scouting?' The demon's confusion was easy to hear and she shook her head.
"Oh, nevermind."
The red head waited until she was sure that the conversation was over and raced for the door she had seen Sebastian come out of when calling them for dinner that night.
The servants' part of the townhouse was just as stripped down as the manor's. Her footsteps echoed off the simple, plaster walls and bare, wood floors. The kitchen was larger than she would have thought and imagined that it had originally been intended for far more servants than the earldom currently employed.
'How many servants do you need when you have a demonic butler at your beck and call?'
Serena winced at the thought and waited for some kind of reply. She had tried to not think of anything while on this little adventure so as not to draw Sebastian's notice.
'Nothing. I wonder if there is a distance limit to his little mind reading trick?'
Attached to the kitchen was a pantry that could have easily held one of the large bedrooms. Shelves lined the room, mostly stocked with foods that she figured Agni had purchased for Soma. She didn't think the large amount of spices were something that Sebastian would use for Ciel and there wasn't nearly as much sugar as the manor's kitchens. The door off the pantry led to a much smaller dining room for the servants.
Back in the hall, another door led to an office. Just as stripped down, the shelves behind a large, standing desk were filled with books that had no titles. She pulled one down and opened the cover. All of the pages were filled with rows upon rows of numbers. At the bottom of each page was an initial that she realized was Ciel's.
'Must be the estate office.'
Not understanding the notations, Serena slipped the book back on the shelf and turned to the desk. It was almost as large as the earl's desk at the manor and stocked with fresh account books, pots of ink, and steel fountain pens. She found the book that was currently being used but still didn't know what the headings were.
'Okay history buff likes it, the rest of me is still bored.'
The door across the hall opened into the Earl's dining room and she saw the back of it looked like the paneling that lined the room. Going further down the hall, there were several doors that led to the noble's part of the house.
'Well, no wonder there's never really a wait for anything. It's still kind of creepy that the servants could pop up anywhere in the house. That's probably why the authorities always suspect servants first when anyone is murdered in this time period.'
The sound of the front door slamming carried through the hallway and Serena turned to go back.
'That was quick. Ciel must have chickened out.'
With a sigh, the red head looked to the set of stairs nestled in the corner but went through the door in front of her that led into the main hallway.
"Ciel?" She called while walking toward the front doors.
Instead of an upset Earl and his black clad butler, a man dressed in red looked back at her.
His red hair, much brighter than her own, fell down his back and almost blended with the red coat her wore. Electric green eyes glared from behind red glasses with little skulls hanging from the frames. Sharpened, dagger-like teeth shown from the red-painted snarl of the man's lips. The chainsaw the man carried started up.
"So, you're the hussy trying to steal my man!" He swung the power tool up and started toward Serena.
"Oh, shit!"
The girl screamed as she ran for the stairs. The grind of the chainsaw was the only sound she heard and stole any hopes of a plan. There was only the need to run, to get away. Every beat of her heart that she heard in her head matched the pounding of the boots behind her. Long skirts seemed to help the reaper, trying to trip her with every step. Pulling the tables that lined the hallway behind her, she tried anything to slow him down. The girl heard Grell's heeled boots crunch through the heavy wood and broken glass vases as though they were nothing.
'Why didn't I remember Grell? He was one of my favorite characters in the series. Maybe I should be thinking horror movies. Why does the stupid girl always run up the stairs?!'
"I'm not trying to steal anything. This was his idea!"
"Liar. Thieving harlot!"
She heard more glass breaking as she spotted the door that led to the servants' part of the house and remembered the other set of stairs that led back down. She realized the chainsaw's buzz was farther away than before and turned her head.
"Out of my way, demon!"
Another man stood between Grell and herself. Long, black hair was tied up in a ponytail high on his head and blended into the black of his leather coat swirling around the man's legs as he dodged the reaper's weapon. The man was easily as tall as Sebastian and moved with the same fluidity she'd seen in the demon. He turned to her and Serena saw the same swirling, red eyes and canines gleaming sharp in the moonlight from the broken window he had used to enter the house.
"You might want to keep running." The demon's voice was sarcastic and carried a hint of a strange accent as he turned back to Grell. "I may slow him down, but I'm not going to die for you, Princess."
Serena brushed off the comment and darted into the servants' passage. She heard Grell's frustrated growl behind her and ran faster. The rough stairs were easier to navigate with her silk shoes than the carpeted ones of the main staircase, letting the girl run faster. Her skirts were still a hinderance and she pulled the cloth up to her knees as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
She ran to the first door that she knew led back to the other side of the house and made a beeline for the front door. Pounding behind her caused the girl to look up. Grell was coming back down the main stairs. The demon was right behind him, reaching out for the red coat the reaper wore. She heard Grell's angry shout as she pulled the front door open.
Undertaker was running toward her as Serena ran down the front stairs. The man caught her as she fell on the last stair, the force pulling them both down. Grell's chainsaw was louder than ever and she realized the reaper had caught up to her when she stopped to open the door. Undertaker swung them around and threw up his own massive scythe, stopping the other reaper.
"Oh, look. I made it in time." The white haired man giggled as he kicked up against his scythe's blade where it blocked the other's, knocking Grell back.
"Less talky, more killy."
"Spoken like a true demon's mate."
Undertaker stood, a smile on his face as he waited for the other man to get to his feet. The chainsaw's blade started back up and Serena scurried back. She ran into something hard and turned to see the demon from earlier.
"I'm Teo, by the way." He introduced himself while sliding an arm under her knees to lift the red head and pull her away from the impending fight in front of them.
"Serena."
"You know the consequences of what you're doing, Grell." Undertaker's voice filled the air with an uncharacteristic seriousness.
"I don't care. I'll kill that worthless tart, even if I have to go through you to do it."
"I believe I will take that as a confession."
William T. Spears stood on the outer wall surrounding the mansion. Flanking the reaper were six more, all dressed in suits, with their death scythes out and ready.
"Arrest the grim reaper Grell Sutcliff on grounds of attacking someone not on the To-Die list as well as one act of aggression violating the Council's treaty with the Elders."
"Treaty with the Elders?" Serena looked between the reapers as Teo lowered her back to the ground.
The reapers converged on Grell as a single unit. William stood to the side as they separated the red reaper from his death scythe quickly and wrestled him to the ground. Curses filled the front lawn as Grell was chained and hauled back to his feet. He continued to fight the other men every step of the way as they escorted him off the property. As they passed Serena, Grell made another bid for escape. Teo stepped in front of her to glare at the chained reaper.
William waited until the reapers had fully removed Grell before turning back to Serena. The red head stepped out from behind Teo despite his protest.
"I apologize for this incident, Miss Walton. Sutcliff is a little hard to control." William bowed to the red head.
"Perhaps the problem is your management skills, Mr. Spears." Teo smiled as he dug at the reaper.
"Perhaps you demons should keep a closer eye on your precious mates."
"Maybe if you bloody reapers..."
Serena jumped in between the two men, Teo at her back, and pushed against William's chest.
"Let's all just take a breath here. I think that there has been more than enough fighting tonight."
"Obviously not." The demon bared his teeth.
"Demons can't stand not shedding any blood." William sneered.
"That's enough!" She shoved them both and got nowhere. "Now, I've had enough of this tonight. If you can't be civil than both of you shut up!"
The men stared at Serena as the Undertaker laughed hysterically behind them. She turned back to Teo.
"Is this the famous red-head's temper I've heard so much about?"
"I thank you for saving my life, but why are you here?"
"I seek permission from the Elder to hunt in his territory."
William snorted. "Of course you're looking for a meal."
"Quiet!" She pointed at the reaper before going back to the demon. "Sebastian isn't here at the moment. You're welcome to wait."
"Thank you, my lady." The demon bowed and stepped back.
Serena spun around to address William. "Why are you here?"
"We received a report that Grell had heard about you and was headed in the direction of the Phantomhive house."
"Thank you for stopping him."
William pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. "I need to get back."
He glared the demon that was currently looking around the grounds.
"However, I do not think it is wise to leave that here."
Undertaker giggled behind him. "Don't worry, I'm staying. The council asked me to smooth the Elder's ruffled feathers."
"Very well." William bowed to the other reaper before turning back to Serena. "I apologize again. The vermin is right. It's my job to handle Sutcliff and I failed."
"I wouldn't call it failure. I have a feeling that controlling Grell is..." She struggled to find the right word. "Impossible."
The reaper rubbed his forehead. "I fear that you are correct."
Serena laughed.
"I will assure you that he will be kept on a tighter leash from now on."
"Thank you."
William bowed again and sent one last glare at the demon before taking his leave through the front gate. The red head started to shiver as she finally felt the freezing temperature outside.
'There's a reason I told Soma that this outfit was too cold to wear.' She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to warm up. 'Screw that. Everything is too cold to wear here. Why do people fight over this country, anyway? Bunch of frozen dumbasses.'
She heard Undertaker laugh again as he came up behind her and slid an arm over her shoulders. The man directed her back to the house.
"So, you are a reaper?"
"Shh, that's a secret. I'm retired now."
Teo laughed as he followed behind them into the front hall. "Retired. That's a good one."
"Well, I'm supposed to be."
Serena stopped at the damage she saw. Slashes lined the walls and furniture was either broken or thrown about the rooms that she could see.
"Ciel's going to be..." Her vision blurred as darkness closed in.
"Oh, adrenaline's running out." Undertaker's laugh sounded miles away as the floor rushed up to meet her.
************************A Demon's Mate********************
Serena opened her eyes to see the ceiling of the parlor staring at her. She sat up slowly and looked around. The room was perfect, not a book out of place. In the hall, she was met with the same. Nothing was wrong and the house was empty.
"That was some dream, but I don't remember going to sleep." The red head walked through several rooms before going back into the servant's part of the house. She heard noise from the kitchen and sped up.
"Sebastian?" She pushed the door open quickly, expecting to see the demon making tea or whatever Ciel had ordered this time. Her smile fell when Undertaker and Teo looked up from the small table in the corner. The night's events came rushing back and she rubbed her temples, trying to put off the headache.
"Sorry. Not the demon you're looking for." Teo guided her to another chair at the table and stood back. "The Elder has not returned yet."
"So I guess all that really did happen."
"Yes." Undertaker giggled as he set a cup in front of her.
"How long was I out?"
"Only about a half hour. We figured that you were going to be out the rest of the night."
Serena winced. "I can't believe I fainted. What a girl."
"You are a girl."
"I know but that's such a girly thing to do." She took a sip of from the cup and almost spit it back out.
"It will stop you from going into shock." The reaper giggled as he threw back whatever swill was in his own.
"If it doesn't kill me."
"There's nothing toxic in it."
She put the cup down and went to the pantry. "Chocolate helps with shock too. And tastes a whole hell of a lot better."
Teo laughed and she noticed that there was nothing in front of his seat at the table.
"Would you like something Teo?"
Serena froze, remembering that he was a demon and she just offered to feed him. She turned back and the demon in question was watching her with a smirk, knowing exactly what she was thinking.
"Don't worry, my lady. I'm no match for an Elder and I'm well aware of that fact."
"So, I guess that Sebastian is pretty strong then?"
Undertaker burst out laughing so hard the pans hanging from racks fell to the floor. Serena put her hands over her ears to deafen the crash. Both the red head and the demon watched him. Finally, Teo looked back to her and answered as though speaking to a child.
"Yes, the Elder is strong."
"Well, don't make fun of me. It's like I'm an expert on demons or anything." She bristled and bit down on the chocolate bar hard.
"That was hilarious. It was so funny," the reaper smirked. "I believe that it is worth some information."
"Undertaker. The Elder will not be pleased."
"London's demon has no power over me. Besides, I know nothing personal. Only the general knowledge of demons that I have picked up over the years."
Teo shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"I suppose that if anyone could stand against him, it would be you."
The reaper giggled into his sleeve. "Of course. Why do you think the council asked me to run interference between them and Mr. Butler?"
"I guess that you're kind of a big deal?" Serena looked at the Undertaker. When he said nothing, Teo answered.
"The Undertaker is a legend, even amongst the demons. It's rumored that he's an ancient, one of the first grim reapers, if not the first himself."
"Wow." She thought for a minute. "Wait, this isn't like the Dread Pirate Roberts thing, is it?"
"What?"
"The Dread Pirate Roberts. It was a pirate that would train a successor when he was ready to retire and the successor would take over the name. That way the legend lived on and everyone thought he was invincible and lived forever."
"No. I'm the only reaper that carried the name Undertaker that I know of." Both of the men laughed.
"Why are you two so chummy? William can't stand demons, but you don't have a problem with Teo or Sebastian."
"That's why Mr. Spears will never move up to being a council member, despite his skills. Even demons have a purpose in the grand scheme of things. As long as they follow the rules, they're nothing to fear." He giggled. "Unless you make a contract with them."
"Demon's respect strength and the reapers are one of the few beings with the strength to kill a demon." Teo answered. "Undertaker is one of the strongest reapers, so he is shown respect."
"There is a fragile balance between the reapers and the demons. It is essential that this balance be kept because of the sheer amount of power both hold. The last time a war occurred between the two, the world was almost destroyed."
Serena stared between the two in shock. "I guess that's the treaty that you were talking about?"
"Exactly. One of the things prohibited by the treaty is attacking a mate that is not on the To-Die list."
"Several mates were lost as they were easy targets for the reapers during the war." Teo supplied.
"Several of the reaper's spouses were lost as well." Undertaker reminded the younger demon.
Serena could feel the tension that started rising.
"Alright, both sides did something that they shouldn't have. Let's all just calm down here."
"The council must realize how serious this is to send out one of the legendary reapers." The demon leaned forward in his seat.
"How serious is it?" The red head looked to Undertaker.
"If I cannot calm your mate, Grell's attack could be seen as a direct break from the treaty that was set up long ago. As he is under Spears, who has a known hatred for demons, it could be considered that his attack was sanctioned." The reaper took a sip from his cup again. "The demons would have an excuse to rise behind your mate and declare war on the reapers all over again."