Author's Note: I know that I really need to wrap this up, I had no intention of this going this far. I keep getting ideas and soon, I'm just going to write them down and I may do a one shot series later. For right now, this will be the last arc before the end.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or any of it's characters. I only claim Serena, the demons and the descendents that I introduce.
A Demon's Mate
Chapter Thirty Nine
Serena smiled as they pulled down the drive of the manor house and felt the same excitement that she had in the past when the house came into view. Haagenti had gotten a hold of Sebastian and authorized the return of the Carthrage guard demon but the red head still wanted to see them all again. The Elder had also pulled a car out of nowhere and sent her along with Lucien and Edwin without another word. When she asked why he was trusting her not to run off for America, he informed her that he had blacklisted her passport, with a smile.
The idea still made her fume. "Pushy demons."
"Is there a problem, my lady?" Edwin looked across the front seat and saw the red head glaring at something. "Do you wish to return to the hotel?"
"No. Sorry, I was just thinking about something else." Serena waved it off and looked at the house as he stopped in front of the stairs. The footman appeared at her door, opening it with a smile.
After getting out, she noticed that Edwin didn't get out of the car. "You're not staying?"
"No, my lady." The demon's eye shifted to the roof of the house. "You have more than enough protection here and I have been summoned elsewhere. You only need to call me when you are finished with your visit. We will not be far."
Serena followed his line of sight but didn't see anything. "Okay. I guess I'll see you later."
"Have a good evening, my lady."
The car was already on it's way down the drive when she reached the top of the stairs. 'Really, who has he got watching this house that they scare Edwin?'
The butler was waiting at the door, looking a little stressed. He still welcomed her to the house with the proper form beaten in through years of training and work. "Miss Serena, welcome back. My lord and lady are not at home at present."
"That's okay, I came to see Alex actually." She smiled, still wondering why he was nervous and showing it. If anything Jameson became more nervous as soon as she said the boy's name.
"Well, that may not be possible. Master Alex is a little out of sorts this evening."
"He's sick?"
The man looked away from her. "Not exactly."
A thud came from the floor above them and Serena looked up. A feeling of dread hit her and she shoved the man out of the way before running for the stairs. The butler stayed behind her the whole time, trying to change her mind. Begging her to give them a moment to inform Master Alex that she was here. There was nothing he could do to bar her way as Malory had already told them all that Serena was a welcomed guest and had full permission to see her son. All he could do was plead from behind her.
At the top of the stairs, Serena heard yelling coming from the direction of what had once been Ciel's office. The butler was still behind her as she noticed that there were no servants in the hallway, no footman stood ready to run errands or notes, no maids were tidying up.
Throwing the door of the office open, Serena only had a moment to see the ring of servants around the outer edge of the room before a book came flying at her head. She ducked in time for the butler to grab it out of the air.
"Don't touch me!"
Serena pushed to the front of the group, expecting to see one of the servants doing something to the boy and the rest watching. Instead she saw Alex with another book in hand, prepared to throw while a maid was kneeling on the floor trying to get closer to the small boy. The fireplace behind him gave a magnificent backdrop for the rage written all over his face as he threw the book in his hand. It sailed easily past Serena's face and the relief from finding a child throwing a tantrum instead of what she had feared, turned quickly to anger.
"Hey!" She pointed at him, feeling her own rage. "You hit me with one of those books and I'll beat your ass with it."
"Serena?"
The maid on the floor looked at in horror. "Miss Serena, you can't."
"You all bow to him, I don't." She looked back at the boy. "Make your choice."
She could see the wheels in his head turning, deciding which way to move in this unexpected situation. Blue eyes flicked over the assembled in the room that were waiting to react. Dropping the book, Alex ran forward and wrapped himself around her leg. Serena heard a sniffle and saw the servants relax a little.
Waving her hand behind her, the red head waited until she heard the door close behind the last person. When it was just the two of them in the room, she looked down at the boy that was still holding her leg.
"Give it up, kid. You let your mask slip too far."
Angry blue eyes looked up at her before letting go of her leg and stepping back. Serena sighed and slid down to sit on the floor that was littered with the remains of his tantrum. Alex stood in front of her, not sure of what to say as he wiped the useless tears from his face.
"So, what's up?"
"They left me alone," he said simply. As though that one sentence explained everything while conveying the expectation for her to be on his side.
"And you think that entitles you to act like a raging brat?"
"They left me alone." He looked away. "I don't like to be alone."
"Honey, you're in a house full of servants. You aren't alone." Serena held out her hands, trying to coax the Alex to her. Instead, he pulled further away.
"It's not the same. They're here because my parents pay them to be here. They're not here because they want to be." He stomped his foot on the floor and Serena had to remind herself not to laugh at the picture he made.
"Well, if someone was throwing stuff at you, would you want to be here?"
After a moment, he shook his head.
"Are you shaking your head because you get it or because you know that's what I want to see?" She caught the small glare he shot her and laughed. "I got you now. It seems that genius does run in the family, even the extended one."
"What do you mean?"
"Your ancestor was a genius too, as well as a master at showing the world the face they wanted to see." She rubbed a hand over his hair. "This exact same face."
"He's the one the man in the garden tells me about. The one that looks like me." Alex smiled as he figured it out.
"That's right, but unlike you, he had respect for the people that served him, at least a little."
The boy pouted and she was reminded of Ciel again. Smiling, she pulled him into her arms. Cuddling the child, she laid her head against his. He was just so cute.
"Don't you think that you should apologize?"
"I never have before."
"I thought so. What's the deal? You throw a tantrum and they call your parents when it gets so bad."
"And then they come home."
"Alex..." She shook her head and stood. "Come on. Look at it this way, an apology will renew your whole adorable facade while throwing them into a false sense of security for the next tantrum you have."
Alex looked thoughtfully at her then smiled and nodded. Taking her hand, he led them out of the room at a run. The servants were still assembled in the hall, waiting to see the little lord.
He bowed while still holding Serena's hand. "I'm sorry that I was acting like an ungrateful brat and I am happy that you all are here with me while my family is away."
The performance was perfection and Serena watched each of the adults' faces fall into a smile. Several of the maids looked like they were restraining themselves from hugging the little boy with his contrite face and solemn voice. Each bowed back to him and Alex gave them all a brilliant smile. Jameson was just as susceptible as the rest and came forward with a smile.
"Would you like to have tea with your guest, young master?"
Serena's head shot up and she stared at the butler. Of course, it wasn't unusual for Jameson to call Alex that. It was who he was. Knowing that didn't stop her from feeling a pang in her chest.
"In the garden!" He jumped with a brilliant smile as the butler nodded. Grabbing Serena's hand, he pulled the red head toward the stairs. "Come on, we can play marco polo in the maze."
She laughed and shook her head as she followed him. The rest of the house watched them go and she could tell that his tantrum was already forgotten.
********************A Demon's Mate*******************
"Marco!" Serena waited at the intersection of three paths and listened for an answer.
"Polo!" Alex's giggling voice came from her right and the red head took off in the direction.
She knew that they needed to go inside, Alex really should have been in bed a while ago. They had no business running around the hedge maze at 10 at night. The red head reasoned that the longer she kept him busy, the more time his parents would have to mingle with other adults. Claire and Annabelle had been invited to a slumber party with one of their friends and weren't expected home until late morning. They had the house to themselves, except for the servants and most of them had gone to bed. There was only the night staff and Jameson now, surely watching their little game through the upstairs windows.
Serena found herself at another cross roads. "Marco!"
Waiting for a few moments, she never heard an answer.
"Marco!" Still no sound came back at her.
"Alex?" The red head picked a direction at random, heading for the direction that she last heard him. She kept yelling, getting no answer as she picked up her pace. She looked down each path as it appeared. There was no one else around.
Finally, Serena heard a faint voice excitedly babbling down a different path. She took off running, following the sound through the turns and dead ends. Alex's voice grew louder the closer that she got and she could hear him talking about what had happened the last couple of days.
Rounding the last corner, she found the boy waving his hands as he described the tower he had built by himself and he little town around it. Leaning against the bushes, was a shadowed figure listening intently as the child showed how big the tower had been before he knocked it down with his cavalry officers.
"Alex."
"Serena! You found me." Alex ran over and grabbed the red head's hand.
"Yeah, even after you stopped answering me."
He had the grace to look a little sheepish. "Sorry. But, look, he came back." The boy pointed behind him to the man in the shadows.
The demon bowed a little when she looked at him.
"I was telling him what he missed." Alex turned back, letting go of Serena and going back to his friend. "We can build another tower now that you're back. It'll be even bigger since I'll have help this time."
The red head watched as he babbled on about the tower that they were going to build. Now, it was going to be as big as the house and they could ride real horses through it and it wouldn't fall down because they would build it out of real bricks instead of his blocks.
"And Serena can be the princess in the tower and you could find a dragon that will guard her and she'll have to stay forever."
She laughed at the thought. If anyone could find a dragon, it would be a demon. Serena shook her head as she saw the little genius revert back to being a simple kid in front of his 'friend'. Absently, she wondered if this was an act too, or if he really became that excited to forget all his plans and manipulating.
Alex started yawning between sentences and Serena took the chance to interrupt. "I think it's time for someone to go to bed."
"No!"
The red head saw a flash of fear go through his eyes before he grabbed the demon's hand and sunk into the shadows with him.
"I need to tell him about my lessons."
"He's not going anywhere, Alex. You can tell him all about it tomorrow."
"But," he started. Alex looked up when the demon took his hand back and gave the boy a little push toward Serena.
"Come on." Serena held out her hands and watched as he drug his feet walking toward her. The shadow had disappeared but she could tell he was following them out of the maze from somewhere. There was a strange comfort knowing he was watching, but the feeling of off was still there as it was the first time she came here in this century.
As the doors leading into the lighted house came into sight, Alex stopped and looked up at Serena. He looked like he wanted to ask something but wasn't quite comfortable with it.
"What?"
"Will you stay?" His voice came out quiet, barely a whisper. "Until my parents get back."
"Tell you what, how about I stay the night?"
"Okay." Alex brightened considerably and tightened his grip on her hand.
"What is the big deal about not having your parents here anyway?"
His voice was small and it was obvious that he didn't want to tell her. "I get scared when I'm alone."
"Then you get angry? Yup, you're a Phantomhive alright."
"No, I'm not." His huge, blue eyes blinked up at her, confused. "I'm a Carthrage."
"A long time ago, your family used to be called the Phantomhive's."
"Oh."
"But, that's a secret. You can't tell anyone."
He nodded with a serious expression that was out of place on his young face.
"Why are you scared to be alone? Nothing is going to get you here."
Alex looked around at the garden for a moment. When his eyes met hers again, that serious expression was still there.
"You told me a secret, so I can tell you one. Right?" He scuffed his foot against the ground, not really looking at her.
Serena knelt on the ground so that they were somewhat eye level. "Of course you can."
"I'm scared to be alone because there's another little boy in the house."
"If he's bullying you Alex, you should tell your parents."
He shook his head violently. "They can't see Jonathan. No one sees him. He only comes when I'm alone and the man in the garden isn't here. He shows up in my mirror and talks to me when I'm trying to sleep."
She felt the demon that had been following them step closer behind her.
"What does he say to you?"
He started to back away, shaking his head. "I shouldn't have said anything."
"Well, you did. So spill."
"I want to go inside." Alex started up the stairs, but Serena pulled him back.
"I want to know what this boy says to you."
"I'm not supposed to tell. I'm not supposed to say anything." He looked at the ground as he kept trying to pull away.
"Alex, he scares you." Serena waited for him to nod. "Then we should get rid of him. We can't do that unless we know something about him."
Her heart broke when she saw a little tear course down his cheek, a real one this time.
"He won't hurt you, Alex. I promise."
"It's not me. He says that he'll hurt Daddy and Mummy and take them away. That he'll get rid of Claire and Annabelle and I'll be alone all the time. He says it'll be just like before, but they've always been here. I don't understand." He threw himself at Serena and she curled around the small body as he cried into her shoulder.
"Shh, it's okay. Nobody is going to hurt your family." She stroked his hair as he cried. Picking him up, she looked at the demon in the shadows once more. "You, don't go anywhere."
He bowed in acknowledgment and watched as the two went into the house.
Sometime later, Serena had finally gotten Alex settled into a fitful sleep in her guest room. With the excuse of wanting to think, she had laid on the bed and stared at the canopy. After a few minutes, Alex had crawled into the bed with her and curled around the red head. A short time later, his eyes had closed and his breathing evened.
She reached for the phone that she had left on the bedside table and scrolled through the list of contacts looking for the number Edwin had programmed into her phone earlier. It had barely rang when her call was picked up.
"My lady, are you ready to return?"
"No. I'm actually staying here for the night." Serena stroked the head that was laying on her shoulder.
"I see. Is there something that you needed?"
"Are there any other demons at this house?"
"There is only the one guard for the family, my lady. Elder Haagenti has demons in London, however, I was told that all others are ordered to stay away from the Carthrage House and family."
Serena sighed. "There is something here, Edwin. Alex has been seeing a little boy in his mirror."
There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment.
"My lady, I apologize, but have you considered that perhaps the boy is seeing things that are not there?"
"No. I felt something was off the first time that I came here, but I chalked it up to the demon that Sebastian left here. It's not him though, I feel safe when he's around. This is something else."
"I see." The demon was quiet, thinking about what she said.
"Do you know how to get a hold of Haagenti?"
"Yes."
"I want to talk to him, ASAP."
"I will contact the Elder on your behalf."
"Thank you."
The call cut off and Serena set her phone on the table again. Her eyes traced the room, another guest room that was just as anonymous as any other, and fell on the mirror above the vanity. Even though Alex had said that he only saw the other boy in his mirror, she still shivered at the thought of someone watching her.
Moving slowly, she slid out from under Alex. After tucking the blankets around him, she started to walk around the room. Thinking about what he had told her, she felt pulled to the mirror again. The red head went to the armoire and looked for something to cover the glass. In the back, there was an extra set of sheets and she took one. As she stood in front of the mirror, something, a feeling in the pit of her stomach, made her scared to cover it, scared to even go near it. Twisting her hands in the cotton, she took a step back before shaking herself and throwing it over the frame.
The window opened and she jumped. Haagenti smirked as he stood in the center of the room. Serena saw shadows slide through the opening, one taking up residence on the other side of the bed. Lucien and Edwin came up on either side of her.
"You wanted to speak to me?" The Elder clasped his hands in front of him as he watched Serena.
"I want to know what the hell is going on in this house."
Haagenti raised an eyebrow at her tone. "I do not understand. This house has basically remained your mate's territory and I stay out of it. His demon stays here full-time, his other demons come here to check periodically. I have been known to stop by and check myself, but not very often. It was part of our deal that I make sure that nothing supernatural happens here. However, if something is going on, those three would know more than I."
"But if you're the Elder of London," she pointed a finger at him. "All the demons have to check in with you. And Edwin has already said that there are no other of Sebastian's demons here. So, it has to be coming from your area."
"I'm not sure I like what you are implying." The Elder pulled himself up straighter, taller.
"I'm not implying anything. I'm saying that you're failing."
Haagenti snarled at the red head and took a step closer. Edwin and Lucien stepped in front of her. Both knew that they could not defeat him, but they couldn't let the demon harm their Elder's mate without a fight. Even the demon watching Alex had come closer, ready to leave the shadows if needed.
The Elder took a deep breath and stepped away from the trio. He took a moment to pace the room a little and calm himself down. When he looked back, Serena had pushed Edwin and Lucien away.
"Edwin has told me what the claim is. Has it not occurred to you, that perhaps the boy is lying?"
"He's too frightened to be lying." The red head crossed her arms as she faced the demon. "He would also have to have knowledge of the Phantomhive family that he doesn't have yet."
Haagenti walked over to the mirror that she had covered and pulled the sheet away. Going back to the center of the room, he waved the others to stand back.
"I will look for something unusual. To do so, I will have to raise my power level to make anything unusual come to the surface. You will probably pass out."
Serena nodded and went to sit on the bed next to Alex. She felt it start. A thickening in the air, a prickling along her skin that accompanied the beautiful voice that rose from the demon's throat. Her pulse sped up as she felt the power surround her. Darkness edged her vision and she looked around the room again, knowing that she was going under.
In the mirror, she saw an angry face of a boy morphing into a man before everything went black.
******************A Demon's Mate**************
Serena opened her eyes again and saw Haagenti leaning over her. The demon stood back as soon as she woke. Sitting up, she saw Alex was still asleep.
"You were correct."
She watched the Elder admit his mistake and saw the anger at having to do so. She also saw that the mirror had been covered again, this time with the heavy drapes that used to cover the window.
"Where are Edwin and Lucien?" The red head looked around her, taking in Alex still sleeping in the bed beside her. The boy was much more peaceful than she had seen him earlier.
"I sent Edwin to delay the Carthrages' return home. Lucien is fetching the Undertaker."
"Undertaker?"
"Whatever is in this house, it was once human." Haagenti looked around the room. "We will need a reaper. A powerful one."
Serena noticed someone else was missing as well.
"Where's Alex's guard?"
"I sent him to retrieve one of my house." He watched her for a moment. "Whenever a spirit manages to evade the reapers, it attaches itself to something physical. One of my demons has the ability to see this object for what it is."
Serena got up and stretched, feeling uncomfortable.
"The effect will last for a while." The Elder stepped back.
"This is you?"
"Yes. Being surrounded by another demon's power when your mating hasn't been completed, is always uncomfortable for the mate. Your body rejects the pull of another's power and leaves you feeling like you want to run away. Because your body feels threatened."
"Well that's lovely."
He smirked. "We should go downstairs, Undertaker will be here shortly."
Serena put a hand on Alex's head. "I'm not leaving him. Especially without his guard here."
The demon walked forward and picked the child up, only to put him back down immediately.
"What is it?"
"Whatever is here, it's feeding off of him. I can feel the connection between them." Haagenti wrapped Alex in the sheet from the bed so that no part of their bodies would come in contact before picking him up again.
"I wanted to ask, Alex said that the other boy shows up when the man in the garden isn't here. But, I thought that he was supposed to stay at the manor." The red head hurried to catch up with him as they passed the servants that had passed out in the hallway.
"It is not a child's soul in this house. Evil spirits will sometimes appear as children to make the living invite them in. I am unsure of how the spirit was able to mask itself so well. As for the boy's guard, he follows the family anywhere they go. However, he does have permission to leave the family to feed occasionally. It is normally in times when there is the least amount of threat to the earl or his heir."
"So he leaves for years at a time?" As they walked through the halls, Serena noticed that the servants were all asleep in their places as they passed.
"You are thinking of your demon, who has to contract. Only Elders make contracts because they feed on mortal souls. Lower demons feed on essence. He could be back in as little as an hour or less if needed. In times when he needs to stay, he can use the servants of the house in a pinch."
"Oh." She grew quiet as she thought about it. "Why doesn't anyone call him by his name?"
"Most demons are protective of their true names. Names have the power to bind us, which is why our contract holders give us a name to bind us to them for the duration of the contract."
"But I know Lucien and Edwin's names."
"They are your guards and yours to command."
"But, Malory knows their names too."
"It was their choice to give it," he said as if he would never have done something so stupid.
They reached the bottom of the main stairs at the same time that the door opened. Lucien ushered Undertaker into the main hall with a bow. Serena watched as the smile on his face disappeared. The reaper stopped in the middle of the floor and looked around the space.
"I see why you wanted me, even though William would have been happy to come." He walked around, his heels clicking on the tile. "It's ancient and very powerful to have stayed this long. And stayed hidden from so many demons. Even I never noticed, and I have been in this house, in all its incarnations, on several occasions."
"Why can you feel it now?" Serena asked as she took Alex from the demon.
"Elder Haagenti's power must have flushed it out. I also believe that he has bloated himself with power from feeding on our little friend here." Undertaker waved to the boy held in the demon's arms. "It is hard to hide himself now."
"You speak as though you know who it is, Undertaker." Lucien spoke up hesitantly.
The reaper nodded, not a trace of his usual humor on his face. "The first Earl of Phantomhive developed quite a taste for the occult when he started looking into the underbelly of London society. When I first came in, I felt him as though he were standing here with us."
"The occult." Haagenti scoffed. "Humans meddling in things that they should stay away from."
"You know, you're insulting how people call you." Serena glared at him, but the demon just smirked.
"You don't need to call a demon. They'll come on their own, if you're tasty enough." Haagenti handed Alex's sleeping body to Serena and looked to the double doors.
The door opened again and a beautiful woman walked in. She was tall, long legs exposed by her short dress ate up the floor as she came to bow in front of her Elder. Heavy, brunette waves fell down her back and swung toward the floor as she bowed, her red dress giving a glimpse of her generous curves. Serena shifted next to Undertaker.
The reaper smiled at her and mouthed, 'feeling a little intimidated?'
'Shut up.'
'I'm not speaking.'
She glared at him and they saw the others had noticed them. The woman looked down on Serena before turning back to Haagenti.
"Corrine," the Elder growled. "You will show respect to an Elder's mate."
The brunette looked away, chastised. When Corrine looked back up, she bowed to Serena. But nothing hid the arrogance that radiated from her perfect body.
"Forgive me." She straightened, looking over the red head again. "It's just that I thought that my former Elder's mate would be more..."
Haagenti snarled and grabbed the other demon by her heavy hair. The sound of cracking echoed through the hall as he forced the demon onto her knees, her forehead on the floor. Serena started forward, but Undertaker grabbed her arm. The reaper shook his head and watched the display, his expression completely closed.
"I see you need to be reminded that you are beneath her."
They all remained still for a moment as the demon on the floor considered her position.
"I'm sorry, Elder."
"Don't apologize to me." His hand tightened in her hair and Corrine cried out.
"I apologize, Lady Serena."
"Better." Haagenti twisted his hand one last time before letting go.
Serena watched the other woman pulled herself and noticed the hatred that was written over her face as Corrine refused to look at her.
"You were brought here to look for a trinket that a soul has attached itself to. Nothing else." Haagenti waited for her to acknowledge his order. "I suggest that you get started before I forget your usefulness."
"Yes, Elder." The brunette stepped away from them, still not looking at Serena, and walked around the hall. Serena could feel little flicks along her skin as Corrine moved around the room, using her power to search.
"I think that we should get Alex out of the house. If whatever here is feeding on him, than if he leaves, wouldn't that take some of his power away?" Serena looked down at the boy in her arms.
The sound of something snapping was their only warning. Undertaker grabbed Serena, throwing the red head and her burden across the room as the chandelier hit the floor, plunging the room into darkness. Lights came back on in intervals along the halls, but there was nothing in the main hall, leaving them all in the shadows. She felt someone grab the boy from her arms and saw a flash of black. Undertaker urged the two out of the house, using his deathscythe to cut through the double doors that had shut and locked as they got to them.
"Get him away from here. Off any land that belonged to Phantomhive or Carthrage at any time."
Serena struggled to sit up, holding the back of her head. A groan above her made the red head scramble away. One of the paintings on the wall dropped where she had been. The reaper pulled her to her feet and looked around for anything else. Paintings flew from the walls, decorations soared at their party. Everyone crowded around Serena, keeping the human in the middle of them as the wreckage continued. Finally, there was nothing else to throw and tremors through the floor took their turn.
"He's made the entire house into a weapon." Undertaker looked to Haagenti. "To Jonathan, it all still belongs to him."
"Why is it going after her?" Corrine nodded to the red head.
"She got Alex to talk about it. Serena was the one that called us all here and she was the one that made Haagenti check the house. She's also the one that suggested that Alex leave. He's trying to scare her." Undertaker stepped around the shattered chandelier, looking at everything.
"Mission accomplished."
The reaper laughed as Serena pulled a piece of glass out of her hair. Looking into a mirror, the only thing still on the walls and that showed the hall behind her, she gasped as a face appeared next to hers.
The face screamed and a dark mass came from the glass and shot through her body. She heard the yelling and snarls behind her as she felt the same pain as in the past, the same blood filing her chest, her lungs struggling for air once more. The marble floor was harder than the snow-covered ground that she had fallen on before. The hand painted ceiling different than the starry sky she had looked at in the past.
"Serena!" Undertaker skidded on the floor into her line of sight.
"It's happening...again."
"What's happening?" Haagenti knelt down on her other side, looking for an injury.
"Shot."
The demon looked over her body, confused. "Serena, you weren't shot again."
"Feels...like it."
"It's an illusion." Undertaker leaned closer. "It's just an illusion. He's making you remember that night, but you're not injured."
"Her pulse is out of control." Lucien spoke up from watching the corners of the room.
"Her mind thinks that she's dying." The reaper ran his hand over her chest and waved it in front of her face. "Look at it, see the proof. There's no blood. You were not shot again."
"He's trying to push her into a heart attack." Haagenti put his hand on her chest and felt the organ's erratic beat.
"It's not so simple. If her mind thinks her body is dying, the body will follow what the mind believes." Undertaker took her hand, felt the coldness that covered her skin.
"Serena. Stop it, right now." Haagenti shoved the reaper out of the way to make sure that she looked at him. "There is nothing wrong with you and I refuse to believe that you are weak enough to die over an illusion."
"Touch her."
"What?"
Undertaker stepped away and waved the other demons to the girl on the floor. "She can't stand for other demons to touch her. All of you, put your hands on her skin."
Corrine wrapped her long fingers around one of the girl's wrists as Lucien took the other. Serena jerked as though trying to get away from them. Haagenti moved to kneel by her head and laid his hands on either side of her face. Undertaker circled around them, watching the rest of the room. He could hear her moaning, trying to get away, and her heart started to gain a rhythm.
"Haagenti, use some of your power on her. It will push whatever Jonathan is trying to make her see away."
Green eyes looked at the demon above her, fear the only emotion in them as the Elder opened his mouth and began to sing.
Beautiful notes blended with Serena's scream and echoed through the house as she jerked away, throwing herself to the side. She coughed and gagged as she tried to catch her breath, her hands shakily holding her over the marble floor as the illusion faded. Slowly, her arms let go and the red head curled in on herself on the floor. The demons stayed away as she shivered on the floor.
"God, what do you feed on?"
"Greed." Haagenti moved closer to her again.
She jerked away from the hand he held out. "It's freezing."
"Wrath and envy and lust are hot. Greed, sloth, and pride are cold sins."
"What's gluttony?" She shook violently again.
"Depends on what you glutton yourself on."
"Why don't you die?" A voice screamed around them and Serena looked over to the mirror again. A black mass moved within the confines of the frame in a pattern, twisting and turning back and forth, faster and faster. She watched as Undertaker walked quickly to the framed glass and smashed it with his scythe. As the pieces fell to the floor, the red head felt the weight on her chest lessen, letting her breathe a little easier.
"It's the mirrors. He can see everything in the house through them, but it's also how he pushed his power through." Serena put a hand on her chest. "The pain went away as soon as you broke it."
"So, we need to break all the mirrors in the house." Lucien stood and brushed the crystal from the broken chandelier off his pants.
"Wait." Haagenti helped Serena to her feet. "We can't forget that his hold on the house is connected to whatever his soul is tied to. There will also be a place in the house that he hides. A place of power."
"That's normally in the basement." Corrine looked at her nails as she spoke. "Humans think that the darkness of being held in the earth helps them concentrate."
"No, the ballroom." Serena grabbed the Elder's arm. "If it hasn't been remodeled in the last hundred years, the ballroom is nothing but mirrors. If mirrors are his power, then the ballroom..."
"Is his place of power." Undertaker came over and took the red head's arm. "You and I will go to the ballroom and smash the mirrors. Haagenti should go with Corrine, he can amplify her power to find the relic easier."
"What do I do?" Lucien looked at all of them, feeling useless.
"Go through the rooms of the house, the basement and the attic as well, and smash all the mirrors that you find. That will make it so he has nowhere to run and will stop him from seeing what we are up to. Get everyone else out of the house. He'll go after anyone to keep us busy."
The blonde nodded and set off, soon followed by the sound of breaking glass. Haagenti held out something to Serena as she and the reaper passed. She was surprised to see an iron bar.
"Cold iron is traditionally used against magic. One of the few things that the humans got right. Break all the mirrors on your way and don't think about the bad luck."
Serena nodded with a small smile and followed behind the reaper into the darkened house.