CHAPTER 33 - "FULL CIRCLE"
As Damascus sat alone in a chair in the backyard of the Smythe family home, he had his face in his hands reflecting on recent events. He was dressed in a black suit and had just returned from a funeral. The sounds of nature were quiet today as if they knew he didn't want to be disturbed, as if they knew he was a demon and any noise they made may cause him to lash out at them at any moment and devour their life energy.
But he was not angry, and nor did he want to harm anyone or anything. He felt hurt and sad. All that he had had been taken away from him recently by an unforeseen force. Soon after Kassy's death, further tragedy struck the family, and Damascus wondered if Morning Star had placed a curse upon them as punishment for his "attachment" to humanity.
A month after Kassy's funeral, William died of alcoholic poisoning after a heavy drinking binge in a London pub. Investigation into his death at the pub where he collapsed from too much drink said he was sad about his sister's death and was drinking to try to forget. It had cost him his life. Soon after William's death, Beautieuse died of an infection from an insect bite.
After everything was said and all the funerals were done, today's was Beautieuse's, only Damascus, the boys and Bryan remained of their once close-knit, happy family - all resulting after the birth of Damascus's third child that Morning Star had stolen away.
Damascus reflected if what he had said to Morning Star, warning him that taking the child was a mistake. Had it sounded like a threat to Morning Star? And did it set off a chain of events with Morning Star as the puppeteer? He didn't put it past Morning Star and he could not hate his Master for doing so.
Damascus had set aside his demonhood to return to his human roots. Obviously this was not allowed or frowned upon and Morning Star punished him for it. Therefore, he decided, things must return back to a certain demonic normality. When he made his choice to life back in Pompeii, he knew there would be certain sacrifices made. And that meant he would have to set aside his humanity. Over the years, he thought he could balance the two and have the best of both worlds. But he had been wrong.
Bryan came to him, put a hand on his shoulder, breaking his sorrowful reverie. Braydon and Brandon were with him.
At this point, Bryan thought it was time for him to move on, and he was dressed to leave. But Damascus needed one last thing from him. He stood up.
"Please, take Braydon and Brandon with you," Damascus said, almost pleading. "Train them, show them the world. I must make amends to Morning Star for my transgressions…" He looked at his boys. "I…love…my boys, but I do not want them ending up like the others and Morning Star has a terrible wrath when crossed, and I do not regret siring them."
"How do you know Lucifer did these things to William and Beautieuse?"
"It is within his sinister nature to do so. He killed everyone whom I cared for as punishment in his disapproval of me attempting to root myself back to my humanity - for my lack of demonhood."
"So you wish to return to his good graces?"
"In a matter of speaking. I am who I am. Braydon and Brandon are quarter demon, they do not yet possess the skills to protect themselves if Morning Star wishes to harm them. Therefore, I wish to place them in your charge because I know you possess a massive power to protect them if need be. And I am also worried about Decco finding out about them. If you are willing to undertake their care? Temporarily."
"I have no problem caring for them, but as for their training, that is something for their father. And what of their soul nourishment? I can not provide that."
"We are young, Bryan," Braydon said, "but we can handle ourselves in that regard." Brandon concurred.
"But take small bites and chew your food slowly," Damascus said facetiously. "It will last longer."
Bryan snorted a smirk. "I thought demons couldn't have what human's did, but you have proven me wrong, Damascus," he said. "I will care for Braydon and Brandon. You can leave them in my charge with trust. I do not know anything of demon training, but I will teach them what I do have knowledge of - Reaper-deum; their defensive techniques, offensive maneuvers and weapons/deathscythe training."
Damascus shook Bryan's hand. "That will be fine, as long as they will have a working knowledge to protect themselves from my enemies. And perhaps one day, we can be a family again."
"We do not wish to leave you, father," Braydon said, running to Damascus and hugging him. Brandon did the same. "Come with us, we can learn from both of you."
Damascus patted their heads, brushed their hair with a hand each. With Kassy, he had disguised his demon-figures, such as black fingernails, but now it didn't matter. Braydon and Brandon's fingernails were not black, a sign that they indeed took more after their human mother. And he was not offended by that. Kassy was a loving woman and his twin sons were kind and generous just like her. He wished only the best for them, and if having to send them away to protect them while he amended his wrongful transgressions in Morning Star's eyes, then that was what needed to be done, for now.
Braydon and Brandon had tears streaming down their faces. It must have been very hard for them. Only a year ago, they lived happily with the whole family, now everyone was gone, and he was sending them away, for him to go away. Would they be resent of him later in life or will they come to understand his sacrifice? Only time will tell. But at least they will be with Bryan, whom they had known all their life.
He wiped the tears from their eyes, and smiled. "Believe me, my sons, this hurts me more. But I must do this to protect you. Hopefully someday things will change, but you will be with Bryan." He looked at them with a determinate smile. "And trust me, we will meet each other again…"
"We are about to have visitors," Mathu Kelvin said, looking around. The moon was not directly overhead anymore and the "witching hour" had past, but the entire Phantomhive family cemetery plot could still be seen clearly in the moon's hue. He could not see anyone other than present company, however the feeling of others transcended that. "Transients are en-route."
Ronald Knox looked sharply around, as if trying to sense what Mathu Kelvin was feeling. Salem nodded, he appeared to feel it too. William agreed.
Grell was clueless.
"Are you sure?" Knox said, Being only a Grade XX Reaper, he didn't have the power to feel what the others were as their grades were much higher and training more involved. Grell was the same. Mathu Kelvin, on the other hand, was in his own grade. He was a Fallen Reaper.
"The dimensional winds are rifting," Mathu Kelvin answered. "With my powers, I can feel the winds shifting. I can feel two transients moving towards us, albeit cautiously."
"Wait. What are train-sea-ants?" Lukas asked, trying to sound it out.
"Transients," William corrected, "are spirits that move between dimensional gateways."
"Like doorways," Ciel put in.
"Correct, like doorways." William nodded. "It is the same principle of winking in and out, as some say. Much like the blinking of an eye, to be more simplistic. No you see something, now you don't."
"I get the analogy, Reaper." Ciel looked around. "And you Reapers can detect these transients by merely feeling the dimensional winds displaced through an enclosed doorway like air pockets?"
William cocked a brow. "Impressive, Ciel Phantomhive. That is exactly what we can do, some of us." He looked at Knox and Grell. "Those who have been properly trained in it, that is."
"You'll have to show us this trick one day, sir," Knox said.
"I will make sure when we get back to Reaperdum that you and Grell are enrolled in classes."
Mathu Kelvin narrowed his gaze, his eyes unfocused, as if feeling the dimensional winds more in depth. "But they are taking their sweet time," he said. "Do you think they are lost?"
"I don't think so, but they are moving cautiously…" William answered. "Now I feel four of them!"
Mathu Kelvin nodded, his eyes still unfocused. "Two separate sets of transients now," he said. "One set more skilled, and the other…very sloppy. Wait, the skillful pair have vanished."
Suddenly two grossly looking individuals winked in - one was a tall, lanky male with protruding fingernails and long, stringy hair, and the other was smaller male, more robust with chubby cheeks and bald. The tall one wore clothes of a dark yellow and the fatter one wore blood crimson.
"Who the hell are you!" Ciel demanded.
"Well, look Nailz. It appears we have stumbled into a den of rats," the pudgy demon said somewhat facetiously to the lanky one. Then he saw Sebastian lain on the ground near the others. "Is that who I think is it? Then the rumors are true. And if we destroy him, the master may reward us handsomely."
"We are only to report back to the master, Pyro," Nailz said.
Mathu Kelvin scratched a cheek with a finger. "You wouldn't be minions of Decco, would you?" Pyro and Nailz eyed at him. "I will take that as a yes. So the master sends his lowers to fight me instead, does he? I thought the coward might, in attempt to ware me down so he can pick up the scraps like a dog." Kelvin gave the others a brief glance, and they quickly backed away. Then Kelvin erupted into a brilliant electrified, as Knox would say, human lightning rod. "I don't frighten easily; I didn't when I was human and especially don't now. If you want Sebastian Michaelis, then you'll have to get past me first!"
Pyro readied himself, but Nailz put a hand in front to halt him. "We are not to engage unless enticed, those are the master's orders. And if what we see here is true, then fighting will not be necessary," Nailz said intelligently. "The master will come, and I am sure he is watching right now."
"Your master is watching right now?" Mathu Kelvin said, then made a rude gesture with a loud raspberry.
Obviously they did not think highly of that, and Pyro snorted angrily. "He doesn't look too dangerous," he said boldly, and a flaming ball erupted in his hand. "I can also spit fire," he then said.
Mathu Kelvin smiled confidently. "All joking aside - and it is good to have a sense of humor during stressful times to alleviate the tension - I assure you, gentleman, if we do fight, you wont expect to see tomorrow. For I am indeed a very dangerous man."
"An arrogant fighter is a foolish combatant," Nailz said smartly.
"Care to test that theory?"
"We don't have to." And Nailz suddenly raised his right arm and pointed his fore and pinky finger, the fore at Ciel and the pinky at Lukas Phantomhive, with his fingernails slowly beginning to extend. "With a mere thought, my nails can race towards those kids and kill them instantly. How fast do you think you are? This is mere formality. If you attack us, the kids will die. So, what shall your decision be? Hold or attack?"
"And if we chose the latter?" William said, suddenly coming up from behind Nailz with his Deathscythe pincher at the ready. He then not only snipped Nailz's nails, but also both fingers at the quik.
Nailz screamed in horror and in agony, but William didn't give him time to retaliate with his other hand or regrow his fingers that often demon's had the ability to do like some lower base creatures like worms or lizards that lost limbs, and repeated a maneuver he performed to Epimetheus, and punched his Deathscythe through Nailz's back and quickly snipped the demon's "lifeline". Nailz's face froze like a statue, mouth agape, eyes wide open - when his body suddenly solidified and then crumbled to dust. In certain religious cultures, it held the same principle as splashing "holy water" onto a demonic entity to kill it, only with Reapers, they didn't need anything other than their Deathscythe.
"I thought we didn't get involved in human affairs?" Knox questioned.
"As you recently pointed out, Mr. Knox," William replied, "there's an exception to every rule."
Knox smiled.
"Only the fat one's left," Mathu Kelvin said. "And the thing about blubber is, the added fatty tissue is a great conductor of electricity." He went to launch an attack, but Pyro was too quick - and winked out. "No doubt gone to tell his master what to expect." His body still electrified, his eyes crimson red - he expected another attack, looking around. But after a time, nothing came.
"So you are here to help us?" Lukas said to Kelvin.
He looked menacing, but he did just protect Ciel and Lukas Phantomhive from certain danger and death. "I am here until the message and package…" He held up the piece of the Hope Diamond, looking at Sebastian still unconscious lain on the ground, "…gets delivered. After that, you're on your own."
Decco rolled his eyes in disbelief and frustration at what he had just seen through the Eyeball Viewer as he sat on his throne in his lair beneath the Von Strauss Manor. Pyro had returned, and within moments of such, Decco had him turned to stone as punishment, becoming a permanent fixture of his throne room. The demon's face was aghast with shock and horror, his last moments of life before being solidified.
"And Nailz was the more intelligent one, too," Johnny remarked, he too had watched everything occur. "You ordered them not to engage unless enticed."
"Yes, those were my orders," he said straightly, as if not needing to be reminded of them. "And they disobeyed me, as I thought they would. However, I never expected the Reaper to get involved. And I did not achieve what I wanted, namely to see Mathu Kelvin in action to exploit his weaknesses."
"They were stupid, and Nailz threatening Ciel and Lukas Phantomhive was equally foolish, even if he was only attempting to prevent them from fighting. But that's what gave them incentive to attack first. They are all protecting Sebastian Michaelis until he awakens. There may be no way to beat them all."
Decco eyed Johnny. The boy could be right, he thought. With all of them there, the chances of defeating Mathu Kelvin without the others getting involved was slim to none. "I suppose the old adage is true. If you want something done and right, you must do it yourself."
"Not so, father," Johnny said. "There are always other options. I may be a part of you, but I do have ideas of my own. Let me fight him."
"You?" Decco's expressed shock and surprise. "But you're just a kid? And I don't want to risk you."
"I am much stronger than I appear, father. You remember, I was dead for nearly three years - or rather Johnny Lazarus was. Within that time, living in the underworld, I burned with a hatred of what Sebastian Michaelis did to me. But I also have the ultimate power of all - the innocence of a child."
Decco tilted his head confused. "And, what does that prove?"
"Trust me, father. I will make them falter. I will drive them to their knees and sow the seeds of doubt and discord within them, and then I will destroy them including Mathu Kelvin. I will turn ally into enemy. But I will leave you Sebastian Michaelis to kill. You will be able to watch everything from here."
Decco shrugged his shoulders. "Very well. Impress me, son. And if you succeed where Pyro and Nailz failed, you will stand at my side when I become ruler of Hell."
Johnny smirked with a sinister grin and then winked out.
"Think carefully. Should you reject the faith even this once, the gates of paradise will forever be out of your reach," the disembodied voice said from within the amphitheatre.
His "eyes" were on the naked, battered eleven year old boy on the marble rectangular alter covered with a sheet from the neck down, the aroma of blood filling the air.
He had stopped Time momentary - a trick he had learned during his travels to many erotic worldly locations with the use of his powers and training - after he had heard the child "summon" for help. The members of this "secret cult" had actually summoned him to them, in a futile attempt to control him.
Blood sacrifices were given, words of enchantment spoken, sacred script written on the walls, the aroma of incense in the air - but all these theatrics meant nothing to him.
He only came through the gateway for one purpose. He smelt familiarity.
He eyed the child through a blanket of haze made from torchlight smoke and incense, the boy had an almost pleading look in his eyes but also a stare of hatred and malice.
He could feel the boy's soul searing with a delicious darkness at what these group of people were doing to him and to others in an act of betrayal; they were dressed in white ceremonial robes and masks, killing innocent children as blood sacrifice to summon a demon to learn its otherworldly secrets. There was also a hidden dark history within the boy that he felt, but as of yet not privy to, and that interested him.
These people had succeed in summoning a demon, but he was here for this boy. And his purpose was of his own design, not theres. And he would try again to evoke a self-discipline that he had attempted over the years; the act of savoring one's food made it taste more delicious. But he knew things must be set upon firmly so there was no doubt of its validity and so no Other can deny it!
An almost angelic, feathery atmosphere began to fill the amphitheatre. White feathers fell from an unknown source, suddenly, as if attempting to shield the boy from his presence. As if God didn't want him to have the boy. But even this "shield" of protection would not stop him.
He sat perched atop of a high crooked branch with no leaf growth. Just one tall perch.
He was a black crow. The most evil and dark of birds.
"Do you think," the boy began, blood dripping from the left corner of his mouth, "one who is among the faithful, would ever go so far as to summon someone like you?"
He chuckled. "I'll ask but once more, do you wish to form a contract with me?"
"I do!" the boy said adamantly, almost shouting it out. "Now stop asking these tedious questions and let me know if we have a deal?"
He had asked the boy in the beginning why he "summoned" him, but the boy had been elusive in his explanation. Nonetheless, it didn't matter. Now there would be no doubt as to the validity of this contract between a human and demon, as the boy willfully demanded one be made.
The white feathers began to lift and turn black and were sucked away - the shield shattering.
They shot straight up into an abyss, their heavenly presence no more, and he flew forward without hindrance, leaping from his perch, his jetted wings flapping, giving him flight, soaring him through the air towards the boy -
And the boy screamed as their covenant was sealed. But it would be unlike any other demonic covenant, this one would be very special…
He would do what his new master asked of him, then he could take what was promised. The boy's soul.
Happy Birthday, Ciel Phantomhive.
To be continued...