Author's Note: Tired. So tired.
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 Forty One
"We should find Haagenti. Hopefully, he's found the relic that Jonathan has attached himself to."
Serena, still floored by the information about the souls, merely nodded and followed behind the reaper.
In the hall, they passed the souls who were gathered together and watching the duo as they headed for the stairs. A tremor passed through the house and the red head looked back to the group as she grabbed onto Undertaker's robes. The souls had clustered tighter, their eyes darting around the open area for the source as the walls shook and the destruction that already littered the floor rattled and danced.
Serena felt the tremors harder as they went up the stairs. Undertaker grabbed her arm and yanked the red head up the last of the stairs. A rift appeared in the center of the staircase and swallowed several of the carpeted planks they had recently ran over. Not wasting any time, the reaper pulled her down the shaking hallway.
Destruction nipped at their heels in the form of falling beams from the ceiling and flying paintings. Serena hated the small scream that escaped every time that something fell near her and the way that her head ducked at each bang and screech of wooden wall frames. The door to the Earl's office was open and the two ducked inside as the door slammed shut behind them.
Silence. No walls rattled, no floors quaked. There was nothing in the small room to indicate that anything was going on outside of it. Haagenti was instantly on the offensive and Serena was glad that she was behind Undertaker when the demon struck out at them. The clang of the reaper's death scythe rang through the room and made Corrine jump from her place in front of one of the bookshelves.
Undertaker kept his weapon up as the room froze in the face of the deadly Elder.
"Jonathan got to you."
Serena peeked around to saw swirling red eyes glaring at the reaper.
Slowly, Haagenti straightened from attack that had been deflected. The red head watched as he pulled himself together, calmed himself down, and stepped away from them. Undertaker kept his scythe in front of him, but she saw his body relax a little.
"You have to remember that he works through illusion. There is no reality in what he shows you, in his power."
"Yes well," Haagenti took a moment to straighten his clothing. "You have yet to experience one of his little gifts."
The Elder waved Corrine back to her search. She ran her hands along the bookcase in the back of the room. Just across from the Earl's seat, it was the last along that wall. Corrine snarled as she pulled at the shelf closest to her.
"It's back here. I know it, I just can't see how to get to it."
"Sebastian brought a jewel box back in here. What you're feeling must be where the safe is." Serena peeked around Undertaker again.
The reaper didn't move, keeping her behind him as he watched Haagenti.
"Do you know how to get to it?"
"Not a clue."
"Figures." Corrine went back to studying the bookcase and missed the glares from everyone in the room.
"He's gotten to Corrine too, using her anger. I would suggest just ignoring her." Haagenti waved her back to the bookshelves.
The red head glared at her. "Don't worry, I will."
Corrine turned back to glare at Serena and started to come forward. Undertaker shifted to raise the scythe he still held at Corrine. The demon looked at the blade for a moment before taking a step back.
"Good choice." The reaper took a step back himself and lowered the weapon.
"Corrine, isn't there something that you're supposed to be doing?"
The demon still glared at Serena as she spoke to Haagenti. "Yes, Elder."
"Why is there nothing happening in here?" Serena tugged on the back of Undertaker's robes to bring his attention to her.
"There are no mirrors in here as well." He kept his eyes on the two demons as he answered.
"That's not all." Haagenti walked over to the empty fireplace and slid his hand along the inner edge. "I feel wards around this room. Placed by your mate. His seal is carved into the bricks inside here."
"This was Ciel's favorite room. He spent most of his time in here. It makes sense that Sebastian would put wards in here."
Corrine snorted and said something under her breath. A growl from her Elder made the demon quiet down.
"Malory also said the she would find Alex in here while his guard was gone."
"Jonathan couldn't touch him in here." Undertaker said.
Their attention was drawn back to Corrine as she snarled at the shelf again. "It's here. Not right here, but this is how you get to it. I have to go through here. But it's solid."
"There must be some trick to it." Haagenti walked to stand behind the other demon and stared at the shelf.
Serena gasped and grabbed Undertaker's arm. "Has there been any other Earl, after Ciel, that had the same violence follow him home?"
"No." The reaper laughed, catching her line of thought. "The last time that this house was rebuilt, it was done by your demon."
"Now, I know that there is some trick to it."
"Yes. Demons that make their homes in our area of Hell have a fondness for protecting treasure." Haagenti ran a hand along one of the shelves.
"But, Sebastian never had a problem spending money. He said that if I lost a diamond necklace that Ciel would just replace it. He wasn't worried about it at all."
"It's hard to explain. True, we are not going to kill for it, but we do like to have it. We like to be comfortable. Besides, he had no problem spending someone else's money." The Elder smirked. "Your mate has quite the hoard of his own that you will have access to."
"What for? From what I understand, I won't come back here. So, what's the point?"
"Just because you won't walk the Earth again, doesn't mean that you will have no occasion to wear something nice. Demons do interact with each other. Don't you think that he will want to show his mate off?"
"Like a trophy wife?" Serena sneered at the idea while making a mental note to let Sebastian know that she wasn't going to be okay with that.
"In a way. Having a mate is a matter of pride for demons. Especially Elders. There are many that do not. It's mostly because our mates are cherished and we like to give them the best of everything." He smirked at her.
"Have you ever heard the phrase 'Love don't cost a thing'?" Serena tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and turned back to the bookcase before anyone could notice the blush on her face. Looking at the books, she could tell that all of them were old. They were probably first editions bought by the Earls as they had been released and cared for as time went on. Several had marks on the spines where they had been pulled out and read while others looked like they had never been touched at all.
Her eyes read the titles and her mind realized that many looked familiar.
"Undertaker, when were all these titles released?"
The reaper came beside her and laid his chin on the top of her head as he looked over the shelf. Serena glared and wished that he could see her irritation.
"I would say that most of these were released in the eighteen hundreds. The others were already classics that noble families were expected to have on their shelves." He giggled and she felt his chin dig into her head.
"So, we know that Sebastian built this."
"And no one has figured out the secret." Undertaker cocked his head to the side with a smile.
"What do you mean?" Serena pulled away to look at the grinning reaper.
"When the little Earl died, there was an inquiry into his finances. His will didn't list all the assets that he should have had and no one could find the missing money. The Midfords tried the hardest to find it, even brought the servants back into the house before it was given over to the Carthrages. No one ever found it though. Many just thought that he had spent more than anticipated or didn't make as much as they thought. Wondered if maybe his books had been tampered with."
"How much are we talking that's missing?"
Undertaker shrugged. "About half. There were records of art and jewelry that the little Earl had bought that were never found."
"Wow, that has to be a lot of money." She looked to Haagenti. "Would Sebastian have taken anything with him when he left?"
The Elder shook his head. "We cannot take anything through the gate with us. Whatever was here, is still here."
"Then how do you have a hoard?"
"Earth isn't the only place with jewels. Besides, we can recreate things that we have seen while walking this plane."
Serena blinked but glared when Undertaker's head landed back on hers.
"Haagenti," the reaper's chin dug into her scalp again. "You have spent the most amount of time with Mr. Butler. What do you make of this?"
The Elder looked at the shelf, analyzing everything on it. His fingers touched a couple of the books before letting go without doing anything. The rest of them looked for some clue, something out of the ordinary. Serena cocked her head to the side, checking her idea.
"It can't be that simple."
"What?" Haagenti stooped down at her side to see what the red head saw.
"These books." She pointed to one, then another, then another. "They all have a sin in the title."
The reaper smiled. "They're in a pattern."
Serena pushed Undertaker back and went to stand next to the chair Ciel used to sit in. Her eyes took in the whole picture.
"I've seen this pattern, I just don't know where."
"It's the seal that was in the little Earl's eye." The reaper laughed as he stared at the shelf.
"That's it!" She snapped her fingers. "It's a little different than what's shown in the anime and manga. I only saw it once, so I didn't recognize it at first."
Serena came back and pulled one of the books that had a sin in the title. It moved about an inch, but wouldn't come off the shelf. Letting go, she pulled a different book that wasn't part of the pattern that they had seen. It came off the shelf easily and she looked at the others before sliding it back into it's place.
"They are all part of the whole, but I wonder if you have to pull them all in a specific pattern. Maybe that's what no one has figured out yet, there could be thousands of combinations." Haagenti rubbed his chin, never taking his eyes off the books.
"I believe you're right." Corrine waved them out of the way and started pulling books. After the first book, the others slid back into the shelf on their own when her fingers left the spine. She pulled the last in the pattern, after looking back at her Elder, and they all waited.
Nothing happened.
"Perhaps, they have to be pulled in a certain amount of time. Corrine, pull them at our speed."
"I don't think so." Serena put up a hand to stop them. "Ciel would not have let Sebastian keep something from him. He wasn't concerned about money either, but he wouldn't have something that belonged to him where he couldn't get to it. The safe has to be able to be opened by a human."
As they watched, the first book slid back into it's place on the shelf.
"Looks like times up." Undertaker giggled.
"Is the pattern wrong?" Haagenti looked at Corrine.
"I saw the Elder put his symbol on something a long time ago. I pulled the books in the same way that he drew it."
Serena raised her hand to cut into their conversation. "Pull the books again."
"What?"
"Pull the books again."
"Fine." Corrine went through the pattern again, pulling each book as she had before. When she got to the last, the red head came up beside her and put her hand on another book.
"Why would Ciel, who hated the church, and a demon have a copy of The Lord's Sonnets on the bookshelf?" Serena pulled the book and they all heard something slide behind the shelf.
Sliding a hand along the wood edging the shelf, Haagenti found a niche in the wood. It was only large enough to put the tips of his fingers in, but it was enough for him to pull the shelf away from the wall to reveal an opening large enough to fit a single person through. They could see a path made of stone that was completely dark. Serena charged forward but found a hand on each shoulder. She looked up to see Undertaker and Haagenti.
"Maybe you should let one of us go first. Your mate may have more surprises waiting along the way."
"Alright, but I don't think there will be."
The Elder smirked down at her. "We like to protect treasure remember."
"But a booby trap would have put Ciel in danger if he went in here without Sebastian."
"That is a good point." Haagenti still went forward and Undertaker pushed her between the two of them. "But can you see in the dark?"
"No." She pouted as her hand grabbed a hold of his shirt.
******************A Demon's Mate*********************
The little group moved through the small hallway that was only wide enough for them to move in a single file line. After a small set of stairs just beyond the bookcase, there was only a hall. Serena kept her hand fisted in Haagenti's shirt as he walked in front of her. There was no light at all and she had finally closed her eyes and let the demon lead. She could hear Undertaker walking behind her, his hand resting on her shoulder. She knew that Corrine was bringing up the rear, but she couldn't hear the demon, not even her stiletto heels on the stone they walked down. It made her a little nervous not knowing where the other demon was, in the dark. She felt Haagenti turn to look at her and realized that she moved closer, almost lining their bodies together.
"Sorry." Serena moved away and bumped into Undertaker. "Sorry."
"It bothers you to not be able to see." The reaper steadied her on her feet and came closer.
"One good thing about a small hallway is that there is no way for anyone to come at you from the sides." Haagenti started walking again, feeling the tug of Serena's hand still in the back of his shirt.
"I suppose." She reached back and felt Undertaker take her hand. Closing her eyes again, she followed behind.
She lost track of time as they moved, always forward. As her feet scuffed the ground, Serena realized that they were moving down at an angle. She could smell something like the wine celler, earth just beyond the stones that surrounded them. Haagenti stopped and Serena almost ran into him.
"We're here."
Serena tried to peek around the Elder but she still couldn't see in the pitch darkness. Haagenti waved a hand and light flooded the hall. The red head felt a burn at the sudden light and shut her eyes again. When she was ready, she looked again and saw that Haagenti had lit torches that were set up at the end of the hall. A set of rod iron gates were in front of their group, in their center was the Phantomhive coat of arms. Beyond them, Serena could see the light reflecting off something shiny on the other side. The Elder pushed against the gates but they didn't move.
"End of the line. How do we open them?"
"What if it has something to do with the seal again?" Undertaker leaned around to look at the gates. "It does have to do with the seal. Just not the demon's."
"What do you mean?"
The reaper went to the gate and looked at the coat of arms again.
"This isn't correct. If you don't look closely, you don't see it." He laid a finger on the vulture's wing and a piece of the iron moved. "The wings are down and the motto is wrong as well. If you just take a passing glace, you won't see it, but it's the Phantomhive coat of arms. After the little Earl died, everything Phantomhive was buried. No one would know this if they had found it."
The reaper moved the pieces around and another clicking sound was heard. He pushed lightly on the gates and they squeaked open. The rest of the group surged forward, eager to get a look at the treasures that had been hidden away for a hundred years. Haagenti snapped his fingers and the gas lights that had never been upgraded came to life.
Serena stared wide-eyed at the room in front of her. Jewels spilled from hand carved, wooden boxes that were inlaid with precious metals. She pulled a sheet that was hanging over the nearest object and was surprised to see a perfectly executed landscape that was bound in a beautiful frame. Another sheet revealed a hand-carved chair. Set into the wood were jewels that winked in the light from the nearest gas-lamp.
"This a rather impressive hoard for someone so young." Haagenti looked at the treasures while scratching his chin.
Corrine went past them all and held her hand over the jewel boxes that were sitting on an intricately carved, antique table. Her eyes were closed as she waited for some kind of sign. They watched as her eyes popped back open. She grabbed the box that her hand had been hovering over and dumped the contents onto the floor at their feet.
Serena knelt down and picked up a familiar diamond necklace. Her fingers ran over the glittering piece and a smile came over her face.
"I seem to remember seeing that before." Undertaker knelt next to her.
"I wore it to the theater with Ciel and Prince Soma."
"No. I saw it before that."
"He said that it had belonged to his mother."
"That's it. Vincent had given it to Rachel as a wedding gift." The reaper looked a little sad for a moment and took the necklace from her to put it back with the rest. "They belong to the family now."
His fingers picked up another piece that was tangled in with the rest. It's long, golden chain held diamonds along every half inch and Undertaker looked at it carefully before sliding it into his pocket.
"We'll use this to attach the souls in the hall to."
"I got it." Corrine held up a single yellow jewel hanging on a long chain, her face bright with triumph.
All around them the house shuddered.
"Time to go." Undertaker pulled Serena to her feet. "He knows what we've been up too since the moment you touched that."
"We have to get that out of the house as soon as possible." Haagenti took up his place leading the group again as the gate shut behind them and the lights were extinguished.
The trip was quicker this time that they knew where they were going and knew that there was no traps along the way. Undertaker was behind her again, pushing her to go faster, her hand still holding Haagenti's shirt to find her way in the dark.
The light from the study greeted them as they approached the end of the passage. Haagenti went first and ducked back into the passage, shoving Serena back into Undertaker.
"He's found a way into the study."
They heard something hit the bookcase with enough force to shove the wood back and cut off some of the light coming into the passage. The stone walls around them shook once more then everything stopped.
"He's waiting for us, waiting for us to come out."
"He has us blocked. Jonathan is done with just trying to scare us away. He'll try to do real damage now." Haagenti tried to look out again but something else hit the front of the bookcase.
"Jonathan has decided to use what power he has amassed to stop us from taking his relic out of the house." Undertaker looked at the back of the shelf with an unusual scowl on his face. "Haagenti, you take the jewel. It will be easier for you to get through the house by yourself. We'll stay here and watch Serena. There isn't much that can be considered deadly here."
The passage shook again and one of the stones from the ceiling fell behind them. Serena jumped and attached herself to Undertaker.
"I think that we're leaving the passage."
"Stay behind me." The reaper pulled her to the side of the passage and, after a little maneuvering, got in front of her.
Of course, that left Serena with Corrine behind her. The red head had transferred her grip to the back of Undertaker's robes and tried to ignore the small amount of panic she felt at having a demon that had already thought of taking a shot at her a couple times tonight at her back. Now, there was no barrier between them.
'Note to self, don't say anything with the angry demon behind you that may be considered, in anyone's definition, offensive.'
Undertaker gave a nod to Haagenti after he took the necklace from Corrine and the Elder burst through the small opening. Behind them, the passage shuddered and Undertaker followed Haagenti out with Corrine pushing Serena.
As soon as they were in the room, the assault began again. Beams that formed the ceiling fell through the plaster and blocked the path to the door. They watched as the Elder had to stop every step or two to clear the obstacles from his way across the small room. It was obvious that his mind still wasn't on the task at hand. His movements were slower than they could be, not as fluid as they should be and they could see the trouble it took for him to focus on the attacks coming at him.
Serena heard the glass from the window behind them break as Undertaker took the brunt of the flying objects in front of her. Corrine flew past to help her Elder escape the room. All the furniture in the room had been pulled to block the doorway. As soon as the demons pulled the pieces away from the door, the furniture flew at the reaper instead. Undertaker pulled his scythe out again, using the blade to cut through the heavy wood.
She cried out as something sliced through her arm. Looking behind her, Serena saw the pieces of the broken window, jagged and sharp, rising in the air. They heard a yell and saw Haagenti and Corrine finally break through to the door.
"Help him get out of the house." The reaper directed Corrine and felt Serena yank on the back of his robes. Looking behind, he saw the glass and cursed.
Folding his scythe back up, the reaper pulled Serena around as the glass flew toward them. The red head watched the pieces imbed themselves in Undertaker's body with a wince. She cried out again as one of the heavier books pelted her in the back. The reaper turned them again but saw more glass rising out of the corner of his eye.
"Damn it! Come here." Undertaker pulled Serena against his chest and flipped the robes off his shoulders.
Serena watched as great wings rose from the reaper's back. Instead of black or white, the feathers were a silvery gray as they came around her and stopped the assault of the various objects hitting her body. Undertaker pushed her to kneel on the ground, keeping her in the cover of his body and wings. She watched as the feathers at the bottom of his wings stiffened and with a jerk, they planted themselves in the plush carpet.
In the eye of the storm surrounding them, Serena's fingers touched the silver feathers before she knew that she had reached forward. She frowned as she touched the silky feathers and they moved slightly to show that they were not silver, but soft white with black feathers underneath. As the storm raged outside of their protection, Serena felt strangely peaceful as they waited.
"Do all reapers have wings?" She looked up, her fingers still stroking the soft feathers.
"No," he answered simply.
Her next question was already on her tongue as everything stopped around them. Everything that been flying around the room dropped to the floor, each with a thud of it's own. They heard the heavy furniture hit the ground and felt the shake through the floor as Undertaker raised his head out of the cover of his wings.
"Haagenti must have gotten out of the house."
With another jerk, the feathers pulled out of the floor and his wings opened from around them. Undertaker helped her to her feet as his wings folded back and he picked his robes up from the floor.
"Why do you have wings?" Serena watched him, feeling a little suspicious.
"Now is not a good time to get into it." He pulled the chain that he had taken from the vault out of his pocket. "We should see how many souls are left after that last attack."
"They had better all be there." The red head scowled as she marched to the doorway, the door long gone.
Outside, the damage was impressive and Undertaker insisted on going first. He led her through the halls of broken beams hanging from the ceiling and over ripped up carpet and floor boards littered with debris. The house looked like a tornado had ripped through it and left the structure minutes from falling in around them. There was nothing untouched. When they got to where the main staircase should have been, a voice came from the new hole between the floors. A pale hand rose from the darkness and waved at them.
"I appear to be stuck." Lucien laughed, a little embarrassed.
Undertaker giggled as he looked down into the cavern and jumped. Serena heard a groaning of wood and screech of metal as she looked into the darkness. She jumped back letting out a little scream as the blonde demon burst up in front of her and landed on the floor with a smile.
"Do you have to scare the crap out of me?"
"You make it so easy." He teased her but the smile fell quickly.
Lucien came closer, looking at her intently. There was a betrayed look in his eyes that made her fidget a little and look away. As Undertaker landed beside them, Lucien turned on the reaper with a snarl.
"Let it go, demon. She didn't drink it and it was necessary." He growled and moved to Serena.
Lucien stepped in front of his Elder's mate and growled.
"I'll help her down." His hand slid under the red head's knees and the other behind her back. In a moment, he lifted the girl and jumped over the hole that that had once been the grand staircase. As they hit the first floor, Lucien let her go quickly. She felt the reprimand in the way that he turned away quickly and realized that she was missing something important.
"What is going on here?"
Lucien sent her a glare, so out of place but not taking away from his beautiful features.
"Reapers share blood as part of their wedding ceremonies. And you took blood from him."
Serena blinked at both of them.
"I told you that it was necessary. Her skull was cracked. Would you rather I let your Elder's mate die, on the floor of the ballroom this time?"
"I would rather that you have protected her, and there would never have been a need for you to give her your blood in the first place."
"Maybe you should have stayed with her."
"It will be the last time that I trust you with her."
Serena let out a whistle and drew their attention back to her.
"How about we argue about this later? You know, when the crisis is completely over." She looked at Lucien specifically. "Undertaker gave me his blood in an emergency, not a romantic sense and I will take the blame for it from Sebastian."
"If the Elder ever comes for you at all with that reaper's blood running through your body." The sneer in his voice left her to believe that he wouldn't in the same situation.
The red head glared at him as he turned away from her before she looked to the souls that had gathered around them after they landed on the first floor. Undertaker held out the necklace he carried and looked to the souls.
"We're going to use the somewhat of the same premise that Jonathan did. You'll feel a pull when you touch one of the jewels. Don't fight it. This is the easiest way to transport multiple souls and make sure that no one gets lost. One soul per jewel."
"Why don't you just use your death scythe?" Serena asked as Lizzy came up next to her.
"It's a little different with disembodied souls. The scythe is meant to sever the soul's connection to it's physical form. When that connection is already severed, you need something else to transport the soul." He waved the souls to gather around him.
"I'm not sure that will be needed."
They looked up at hearing Haagenti right outside the hole in the wall where the front doors used to be. Serena went to the frame and looked out. She suddenly jumped back and ran behind Undertaker.
The man from Hyde Park smiled from the bottom of the front stairs.
"I see that you found your way back here."
She peeked out from behind Undertaker. "I did."
He nodded to the souls behind the two. "I'll take them."
Serena looked behind her to the souls that had gathered close to look outside. Each looked to her, unsure to make a decision on their own. Fear of leaving their home and prison after so long, only to go into the unknown without guidance stopped them from moving forward.
"But," she looked behind her again. "Undertaker said that they would drift away if they just left the house."
"Light is always there to those who accept it." He smiled at her and held out a hand.
Serena felt a light breeze at her side and saw a hand on her shoulder. Vincent gave her a small smile as he slipped past the trio, pulling Rachel's confused soul behind him. She watched their bodies disappear, just fade away, as they stepped over the threshold. Two, small balls of light bobbed their way across the sky and settled into the outstretched hand. The red head started forward when the first soul sank into His palm and vanished.
"It's alright." Undertaker grabbed her arm. "He'll hold them until they reach their destination."
One by one, each soul made their way past the three at the door. Each made the decision to leave behind their awareness of self, awareness of who they were, in favor of the light and another chance. Finally, only two were left.
Serena smiled at Lizzy over her shoulder, Arthur at the blonde's side. She took a breath and felt a heaviness in her chest.
"I guess this is goodbye. Again."
The blonde nodded. "I understand now, what it was between Ciel and Sebastian."
Serena winced.
"It's okay. I don't blame him. After all this," The soul waved her hand to encompass the destruction around them. "I understand what true evil is. Sebastian may be a demon, but he had more honor than the human that trapped us here. He raised Ciel to be a good man when he could have taught him to be a much different person."
The red head looked at her strangely and Lizzy smiled.
"I became a lot better at reading people as I got older. As much as you want to be with him, you're still unsure if you could fully love a being that kills and devours people's souls. But you know that that was exactly what Ciel wanted. And, I think that we've seen here that humans can be a lot more evil than demons. At least the souls that he contracts with know what they are getting into and call for him." She looked around the destroyed house. "None of us never asked for this, but that didn't matter to Jonathan. All that mattered was what he wanted."
"Evil isn't a matter of what you are, but who you are." Arthur smiled and looked out the door.
Following his line of vision, Serena saw the dark figure of the demon that guarded the family, Alex still asleep in his arms.
"It was what Ciel wanted, even if that's not what he got in the end." Lizzy gave the red head a wave and a watery smile before stepping out of the house.
Serena felt the tears falling down her face as she watched the blonde disappear, Arthur right behind her. She felt a much heavier weight on her shoulder and looked at Undertaker.
"It's only fair, she mourned you."
She nodded and looked up again. The man was gone and Haagenti was staring at her, his grip on the necklace tight. She saw his eyes lingering on Undertaker's hand.
"Lucien, go get Edwin and the Carthage's. Alex should be returned to his family. This house is far too dangerous for a child to wander in." The Elder turned back in time to see the guard bow to him and disappear into the night.
"But..." The blonde looked at Serena and Undertaker.
"Lucien!"
He bowed his head and took off without looking back. Haagenti looked at Serena, his expression blank.
"I didn't notice it earlier, with Jonathan clouding my mind. I would suggest that you decide on what you want for your future and stick with that decision." With that, the Elder vanished into the darkness and left Serena feeling a whole new wave of guilt.
Undertaker pulled her away from the doorway and into a section of the expansive hall that seemed the most sturdy. Corrine watched them, her contempt disguised behind a blank face now that Jonathan's hold on her emotions was gone.
"They really want me to feel like shit over this, don't they?" She whispered as she brushed another tear off her cheek.
"Demons have a code close to the old samurai. The 'death before dishonor' kind of thing." Undertaker smiled. "Taking my blood is a big deal to them."
Serena nodded. "So, what do we do now?"
He directed her to a corner of the hall that was the least destroyed and let her lean agains the wall.
"Since I never noticed that Jonathan was still here and holding souls in this house, I called someone who will be able to see through any lie." Undertaker smirked. "Just to be sure."
Corrine scoffed from her place across the hall and Serena glared.
"What is your problem now?"
"It's ridiculous. An Elder's mate should be leading, not following someone else."
"Well, considering that I have no clue how to handle this or that it was even possible, I think it would be a good idea to follow Undertaker. Would you rather I take charge and royally screw this up?"
The demon rolled her eyes and Serena started forward. "Your actions are none of my concern."
"Except to criticize. You've hated my guts since the minute that you stepped through the door tonight and I want to know why. When the hell did I ever do anything to you?"
Behind her, Undertaker laughed with a burst.
"I was pushed out my house because of you. Excuse me if I am less than accommodating to you."
"Because of me? What does that have to do with me?"
"I should think that was obvious." Undertaker giggled from her shoulder.
"What?" Serena looked over. "I don't see what being pushed out has anything to do with me unless she was Sebastian's..."
"I was the Elder's lover when he was home. I was told to leave because he didn't want us to meet." She scoffed. "And now, his little mate needed my help."
"It is rather ironic." Undertaker commented from his place behind her. "The one demon that could track treasure that you needed was the same one that he pushed away because he didn't want you to meet."
"Are you still..." Serena waved her hand around and felt a blush come up her throat. "Doing that with Sebastian?"
"Did you not hear? I was thrown away. I haven't so much as seen the Elder since then."
"Do you still want to?"
Corrine blinked at the human in front of her and cocked her head to the side. "I admit that it was a pleasant diversion, the Elder is quite skilled. However, I had no illusion that our arrangement would continue should he find his mate. There was no need to force me to leave."
"You're taking this awful calmly." He turned his head on her shoulder to see Serena's face.
"You all are acting like I thought he was a virgin before we met. Highly doubtful. I'm sure he's had plenty of...friends. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't be surprised if he had had something going on with Ciel." She shot Corrine a glare. "As long as you're not still seeing him, and don't want to try, I see no reason to be upset."
"Just intimidated, right?" Undertaker giggled and jumped back from the elbow he felt coming at him.
"Shut up!"
Corrine continued to stare as the two argued, her eyes following them back and forth. She saw the red flush on Serena's face, once embarrassment that was now anger. She had never seen an Elder's mate act so simply, let alone play with a reaper.
Serena finally gave up trying to catch the laughing reaper as he danced around the wreckage that littered the floor. Undertaker smirked, still staying out of reach as she fumed. He laughed more at the irritated huff as she tossed her hair behind her and turned her back on him.
"I thought that you said that you had called someone to check the house." Serena crossed her arms over her chest, still looking away from him.
"I did. He should be here shortly." The reaper looked uncomfortable. "There's no way any soul will escape his notice."
"Why does that worry me?" Serena turned and tried to peek at his eyes but his hair had fallen back down to cover them. A smile found it's way back to his face at the little game.
Suddenly, he turned to the door frame and put up a hand to stop Serena. Corrine gasped and looked as well. The brunette sank to her knees, not taking her eyes away from the open space. Serena looked confused at both of them for the stillness. She didn't see anything coming.
"What is it?" The red head poked Undertaker's arm but the reaper didn't notice.
"Lord Lucifer." Corrine whispered and bowed her head.
A man stepped through the space where the doors had once been. Silver hair cascaded down his back and framed a face that could have been sculpted by a master of beauty. Skin as pale and smooth as marble held eyes the color of golden peach, making her think of the soft light of the early dawn. As he strode toward them, Serena finally noticed how tall he was. Easily taller than Sebastian and Haagenti, long legs ate up the floor as he came closer. Power clung to his skin, emphasized by the impeccable suit that draped his lithe frame.
A hand came over her eyes and Serena let out the breath that she hadn't realized that she had been holding. She reached up to hold Undertaker's wrist and took a few more breaths to calm herself.
Undertaker's voice was strangely void, no emotion coming through it at all. "You may want to dim yourself a bit, Father."