CHAPTER 10 - "LUKAS PHANTOMHIVE - PART 2"

Leic looked out the bay window of his new quarters. He thought about smashing through the glass and escaping into the countryside, but then what? The Phantomhive property was vast, and he had no where to go. Even though he felt like a prisoner in the Phantomhive mansion, he opted to stay of his own volition, and vowed to behave.

But he felt disturbed, as if his mind had been…invaded…if that was the right word for it. Ever since he had awoken this morning, it had been a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. It felt like someone had entered his dreams and had viewed them through his own eyes. He couldn't remember what he dreamt, but the feeling of this other presence inside him last night lingered in his mind like a disease. And it felt evil.

To counteract this feeling, he tried to calm himself. He was sitting cross-legged on the bay window ledge with his arms over his knees in a mediated position. He felt natural doing this, as if he had done it many times before - or had it taught to him. He could control his breathing and alleviate any anxiety he felt. And the serenity of the rolling hills and grasslands he saw outside the window helped his mind calm and focus.

In the distance he saw the ruins of the own Phantomhive mansion, or part of it, sitting undisturbed near the river that surrounded the property. The nearly destroyed stone structured wall that he saw had a buttress half moon carved window with Roman architecture style to it much like the colossal Coliseum of Rome, that once played host to thousands of specters and hundreds of games, all to witness gladiatorial sport.

Suddenly his head ached with pain and he put his hands up clutching it. It was as if seeing that stone structure triggered something in his mind. His mind was foggy, but he couldn't get over the feeling that he had visited the Italian country at one point in his life. And it wasn't on a vacation.

He saw a man's face wide-eyed with concern as the muzzle of a gun was pointed at him. The man was a tall, young gentleman with short black hair and with a few days worth of stumble on his face dressed in English attire. He looked an assassin, dressed all in black. The man's back was pressed against a stone wall of the Coliseum of Rome.

Liec felt like he was the person holding the gun at the man. But he had never held a gun in his life, or so he could recall. And yet this didn't feel like a dream, more like a memory.

There was something familiar about this man; he had committed a crime against someone Liec knew, but Liec couldn't remember what the man had done to deserve such a strong feeling of betrayal in Liec pointing a gun at him. Yet his emotions were so fiercely strong, as if the man had hurt a family member of his. Liec had his finger pressed around the trigger of the gun feeling no remorse of killing this man. It was like something was driving him on, and there was a soft voice in his mind speaking to him "Kill the man, your master commands you…number six…"

A hard knocking at his quarters door shook him out of his thoughts, and the suddenness of it almost made him fall over. He caught himself and twisted 180 degrees quickly, planting his feet on the floor.

He would be polite, he told himself. They would come, how could he stop them? Whoever it was had the only key to the lock of his door. "Come in," he said.

The key unlocked the door and it opened. Standing at the threshold was the last person he ever expected to see. And he frowned, seeing Ciel. But he didn't have his creepy butler with him.

"You're not welcome here," Liec said, all politeness removed.

Ciel smiled, as if amused by the hollow demand of Liec's words. "This is my home, Leic, I go where I please, and where I please to go is here, to speak with you."

Leic turned his back on his brother. "I have nothing to say to you. Get out!"

Moments passed without Ciel saying anything. "You are not acting like a true Phantomhive. Mother and Father would welcome anyone into their home regardless of their nature."

Liec turned around. "You've done little of that! Ever since I arrived here, you've accused me of scandalization and conspiracy. If anyone is acting ill- naturely, it's you! I don't know what happened to you, but you're a bitter person because of it."

Ciel clenched a fist at his side. "Murderers butchered my family, burned down my home, and tortured me! How do you think I should react? With forgiveness and with sincerity? Should I just accept it? No! I will find those responsible and I will get my reprisal! And now, I find out I have a twin brother I never knew about. There are secrets abroad. And I've been thinking of what to do with you."

"Just let me leave and I'll stay out of your life forever."

"I can't do that. I want answers first. Like why Mother and Father kept us apart."

"If I knew that, I would tell you! But if that's what you came here to learn, you're mistaken. I don't know. And I don't remember your mother and father. I do remember a kind man, however, who cared for me when I was very ill. But other than that, my memory is foggy."

"Describe this man," Ciel demanded.

"I don't remember!"

"You don't remember or you won't remember!"

"I will not be interrogated like this!"

"Then tell me what I want to know!"

"Stuff it!"

Ciel clenched his teeth from the insult. "Fine! If you believe you're a prisoner in my mansion, then you'll stay one until you tell me what I want to know! And don't even think of escaping, my servants will stop you!" Ciel left, slamming the door.

The sound of the door startled Liec slightly, but he wasn't daunted by Ciel's threat. And he wasn't lying that he didn't know anything about his past. He was just as frustrated as his brother by all this. But he wasn't totally convinced they were brothers despite looking alike. There was just something…not right.

He crossed the room to a wall mirror and gazed at his reflection. Except for an eye patch, this was his brother's face - this was his face. And yet, for some unexplained reason, it felt…wrong. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. It felt like he was wearing a mask. But a permanent one. Or could it just be that he hated his brother and didn't want to look like him?

Ciel Phantomhive was resentful. He was raised in a house of privilege and wealth, and he could do a lot of good for the people of London. But all he seemed to care about was vengeance against those who murdered his parents. Liec wasn't told what had happened.

My parents? Leic thought. No, my father was a kind and considerate man who cared for his family, his extended family - all his adopted children. Quite a lot, I recall.

He yearned for his father's embrace now. He was scared all alone in this strange place. His father always knew what to say to bring happiness back to his heart, and he always had a hug to comfort his children.

Liec tried hard to remember his father's face, even his name, but his memory would not let him.

Sebastian was waiting for Tanaka inside his room when the elder butler returned. Sebastian had taken the desk chair and sat patiently in the middle of the room facing the door for the man's arrival. As a demon, he was very patient. In waiting to devour his master's soul, he had proven such. He had been waiting almost an hour for Tanaka, not even knowing when he would return…

Before reading Tanaka's diary, Sebastian thought the questions he had for the man could wait until later. But, in learning Liec, or rather Lukas Phantomhive, had been thought dead and was instead possibly kidnapped by someone Tanaka knew from the Phantomhive's past, he opted to forego any professional niceties of invading Tanaka's room and demand some well needed answers.

Sebastian had a duty to his master, and if it lead sooner to learning the true nature of Ciel's parent's death, it would bring about a quicker end to his farce of a butler title, and then he could devour his master's soul.

With every passing day, his hunger grew. But he put it aside for the moment.

Not surprisingly, Tanaka was taken aback by Sebastian being in his room. "Sebastian? Why are you here?"

"The door was unlocked, so I let myself in," Sebastian said. He rose to his feet. He towered the elderly man by a clear foot. "Tanaka, there are a few things we need to discuss and now is as good a time as any."

Tanaka stood professionally by the door of his room. "And what would you like to discuss with me?" his voice a little annoyed by the invasion into his private domain. "I serve master Ciel, I serve the Phantomhive household, but it gives you no right to - "

"Enter your room?" Sebastian finished. "Quite, and I understand your frustration. As I said, the door was unlocked. I wish to speak with you on a rather important matter and it involves the master."

"If this is about tomorrow's itinerary, can it not wait until later? I am feeling tired. You know I am not a young man anymore. We have an agreement. I conduct my duties with periods of rest in between."

Sebastian sighed. "I am not disputing the agreement. I wish to talk to you about young Leic. He is Ceil's brother, isn't he?"

"His appearance speaks for itself."

"But there's something more to him, isn't there?" Sebastian held up the diary that he had hidden behind his back when Tanaka came in. And Tanaka expressed utter shock seeing Sebastian with it. "Forgive my impertinence in reading it, but I came to your room to speak with you about other matters divulged to me by a third party and my curiosity got the better of me."

"That is private! You had no right!"

"Indeed, but the deed is done. And secrets have been revealed."

"Then you know."

"Of a sort, but not all secrets have been unlocked. The entry on the day Lukas Phantomhive - not Leic - arrived to the Phantomhive mansion heralds more questions; let us discuss them. And perhaps we can solve a grave injustice done."

Tanaka agreed.

Still angry with his encounter with Leic, Ciel stormed the hallways of the mansion. He still dwelled on a conspiracy happening with Leic, but that theory began to fade as each day passed. It had been several days since his "twin" appeared at the mansion with amnesia and he still had not gotten any answers from him.

Two questions filled his mind most: First, where had Leic been all this time? And second, how come he had no memory of Leic? He had always been told he was a single child with no siblings. Until he had concrete proof, he still kept that belief. But he couldn't deny this boy had his face.

I feel violated. I should not. But that is how I feel. There is something going on here that is beyond my scope of understanding. However, there may be one man I can ask for clarity as he is always abreast of all assortment of dark information, even more privy than myself in regards to underworld goings-ons. All it will take in payment is a funny joke. And yet I am not in a jocular mood at the moment.

Nevertheless, perhaps his butler could help. He always had an uncanny nack for making the Undertaker laugh. Some of jokes were very crude, disturbing and sickly, but they always seemed to make the man burst out with boisterous laughter.

It was ironic, however. Nothing made Ciel laugh these days. Despite the portrait of his family with him smiling broadly and carefree, it was almost like that they was an entirely different family and he was the outcast, as if Leic was that carefree child.

And that Leic was right in a way, that he was wearing a mask moulded to his face that only sought the destruction of his enemies…

Ever since that fateful day when he called upon Sebastian, he had become someone something else, and that he felt his eye patch hid not only the covenant seal that bonded him and the demon together in contract but also buried his true self underneath.

He had lost that happy innocence: when his mansion was burned, when his parents were murdered, when he was kidnapped, when he was stripped naked in front of masked covered men and women in white robes in an underground amphitheatre, when he branded with the Mark of the Beast, preparing to be slaughter him in an unsightly ritual to join his parents. The world had turned an ugly place that night.

The only laughter he could produce now was either fake or when something sinister happened to his enemies. He couldn't even break an honest smile with Elizabeth, his betroved. They were arranged to be married when they reached a certain age. She was a royal, as was he. It was proper for royals to marry other royals. But while she enjoyed their childish prenuptial status, he considered it a nuisance. The only thing that filled his mind was revenge - vengeance upon those who sought to destroy the Phantomhive name. His family pride was everything to him.

And now, with Leic's return, he demanded to know why his parents had decided to raise one child and gave up the other. Could Leic's amnesia be genuine? So many children are given to orphanages these days because just can not afford them. It is commonplace. That was not the case with his parents. They were rich beyond the plains of avarice. Ciel was born into a privileged family, as was Leic. And yet they gave him up?

Was Sebastian's theory about children having different parents, but still having lookalike children not really a theory at all? Rare indeed, but like most tall tales or even children's stories - the Brother's Grimm, he recalled - could there be at least some validity in it?

That would only conclude one thing, and he could not heed to the idea that his father had fathered a child with another woman. It would ruin the Phantomhive name forever. Perhaps he had considered this before and not believed it, but that's why he had to keep Leic locked up for now until he learned more.

He suddenly recalled one other person that could shed light on these and other matters. The only man who had been at his father's side from the beginning. If anyone could enlighten him on his father's involvements, this man could.

He had never asked Tanaka anything about his father's past before - why ask a butler about family matters? But maybe now it was time.

Tanaka finished telling a story of Vincent and Rachel Phantomhive to Sebastian. It was about one of their missions assigned by the Queen that he had been told about by Vincent. But even for a demon, Sebastian was horrified at its kind. Human's can be such cruel creatures, he thought.

Tanaka took a sip of water from a glass Sebastian had provided after the story had been told, and the elderly man sat down upon his bed weary.

"The very nature of a man kidnapping children and brainwashing them to commit murderous acts is appalling," Sebastian said. Although throughout his years, he had seen a great deal grossly more acts committed by humans against their own kind, and even to children, but never anything so callous. "And what became of the children in the warehouse?"

"They were all found dead a day later in the warehouse, each of them with self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the head - when the Phantomhive's went back with Scotland Yard. Happily the Phantomhive's got out of the warehouse unscathed despite the children shooting at them."

"So these twins - Sasha and Samuel Ironstadt - were never caught?"

"They remain at large to this day, and are suspected of murdering many more people. Just recently an aristocrat was found murdered in his mansion with two men who appear to have no association with him whatsoever, business-wise or other. All were shot in the head a point blank range."

"Indeed, I remember reading about this mystery two days ago in the newspaper," Sebastian mused.

"Lukas could have been kidnapped during his surgery and his parent's told he died during the operation; this would explain his appearance here now," Tanaka said. "They never viewed the body. Vincent and Rachel were told Lukas's face was horribly scarred and it would traumatize them to see their son this way."

"And you suspect this Byron Kelvin may have something to do with Lukas's kidnapping?"

"No one has seen Byron Kelvin for several years and speculation has circled that he died of a staff infection during a cosmetic surgery gone wrong. Rumor has it he was one of those people by the way he acted. He enjoyed beautiful things and beautiful people and that included children…"

Sebastian did not need it to be explained. One of those people was suggestive of a man who enjoyed the company of other men. While the sexual relations of human's was not an interest of his, in this era, much like other times before, it was considered an act of deviance and against the will of God - they were labeled mentally unstable, and often were crucified and murdered on the spot for it. It was commonplace in ancient times and equally acceptable, but now centuries later, the very thought of it was blasphemous against the law of nature and Man, or so thus religion was considered.

But if Byron Kelvin was indeed one of these people, could he have taken it several steps further…towards children? He liked beautiful things and beautiful people and that included children…

The thought sickened Sebastian. And yet he thought it comparable to the contract he had with Ciel Phantomhive. He was in essence raping the young boy of his sanity and his soul, once he finally located all those who wronged him. Although, in retrospect on the night in question of his sacrifice by those of the Inner Circle who removed his innocence by wanting to kill him, Sebastian was cultivating a devilish soul to devour. And yet he had no problem with this, to satisfy his hunger.

He was a demon, evil incarnate - what did he care?

"So what we need to do is find these twins," Sebastian said. "Ask them some questions."

"I doubt that would even help," Tanaka said. "You may not know this, only being with the young master for a little over two years - I am not even aware Ciel knows - but the Phantomhive's have a rich history in the underworld," Tanaka began to say. "The phrase: Silence is golden is like currency."

"The young master rarely speaks about his parents, as if to hide the pain of their deaths," Sebastian said. "But I have been privy to a few of his parent's escapades, as far as the master knows them. Your story was new. I do not think even the master knows this one."

Tanaka took another sip of water. "I would hope he doesn't, children can be quite impressionable at his age and scared as well. You remember how he was after reading the stories by Edgar Allen Poe."

Sebastian nodded, remembering the night Ciel awoke in a fright after reading the tale of The Tell Tale Heart. The young master never told him what his nightmare was about, but by the look on the boy's face, it had frightened him dearly. An improper sleep made him moody and restless all the next day.

"I seem to recall, the media still has reports of children mysteriously disappearing even now," he said.

Tanaka nodded. "And this frightens me. And with the sudden appearance of young Lukas now, I fear there is a conspiracy amiss against the young master, but I heed not know for what purpose."

"How did you recognize Lukas in the first place?"

"There was just something about his eyes, they are the same as Ciel's - wide-eyed and free. Well, the same before the incident that changed the young lord. You can change a person's face, but you can not change their eyes. They are the window to the soul, as it is said."

Sebastian had heard this said before. And considering Tanaka had been the Phantomhive's butler at the time of both Ciel and Lukas's birth, he could see how Tanaka could recognize Lukas Phantomhive by this method, but it was in no ways conclusive. To Tanaka, he believed it to be so however, so Sebastian was inclined to accept it, for now.

Tanaka shook his head. "But why would such a fiend do such a thing to an innocent child? And erase his memory as well?

Sebastian mused thoughtfully. "You said that the children the Phantomhive's encountered during this particular mission were all brainwashed and that they witnessed the young boy Richard Thompson III kill himself before them with a single command by the twins."

Tanaka nodded. "And they encountered several more children in other missions and also the twins, but never to that extreme," he said.

"I suspect young Lukas may have been brainwashed to forget who he was and then surgically altered to look like the young master for some ominous purpose," Sebastian said, although it was only theory. "But I also suspect something went wrong, something they didn't expect from young Lukas, an inbred instinct given to him by his parents that even he had no idea he possessed, even on an subconscious level - that of survival, and he was finally able to flee his captors from wherever they were keeping him all this time; and he found himself here but with amnesia of who he was and even where he had fled from."

Tanaka eyes widened with utter disbelief and shock. "Are you saying that Lukas may be one of these brainwashed children?"

"I am unsure at this point. What I do wonder about is if and when he regains his memory, what will his brainwashing entail? Is here to kill the young master and take his place? If so, why, and for whom will he take orders from? But he will merely be a puppet, and they may dispose of him when his purpose is complete, albeit short. Perhaps our young master was correct in his fears of keeping a close eye on his brother. But we can not blame the child. He is a victim in all this."

"I agree," the sound of a young boy's voice said. Ciel turned the corner into Tanaka's open quarters door to face both butlers. "But we must still take every available precaution."

"You heard?" Tanaka said shocked by Ciel's appearance.

"Quite nearly everything," Ciel said calmly. "I was standing in the hallway, listening. I came to speak with you, Tanaka, on a similar matter of my parents, and it appears the questions I had have been answered quite amicably. While I do not harbinger a grudge against you for keeping this information from me about my parents and my brother, I do not enjoy being kept in the dark about such important matters, especially when it comes to family. The pride of my family is everything!"

"We apologize, my lord," Sebastian spoke for the both of them.

"There is still more I must tell you," Tanaka said. "Your parents took you to a medium and erased your memories of your brother because you were so distraught by his death."

"That would explain why I do not remember him." Ciel then waved a hand in the air as to dismiss the matter. "Now that things are out in the open, what do you do about it? If indeed Lukas, as is his real name… is indeed brainwashed but has amnesia at the moment, how can we eradicate this programming so stored in him if he is here to cause destruction to us…and restore my real brother back to me?"

"We must try to prevent the activation of his 'programming' first," Sebastian suggested.

"And how do you suppose we go about doing that?"

But before answering, Sebastian stopped, sensing something. And he remained still as if listening to a noise only he could hear, to identify it. He heard the racing of heartbeats in the distance. Lots of them. There was a threat to the mansion. It was the same feeling he had when he first sensed Lukas's presence on the grounds being chased by two men on horseback.

"What is it?" Ciel asked concerned.

Sebastian turned his head to the bay window, then looked out.

Tanaka followed him, then Ciel.

Each saw the same thing. Approaching the mansion were a group of well armed men approaching the mansion from the back countryside.

Sebastian felt they were militaristically trained or were hired mercenaries hired by someone and possessing menacing intent towards the mansion and its occupants.

"I'm afraid the Lukas issue will have to wait, my lord," he said with a slight grin. "It appears we have guests."

"They must be here to take back master Lukas," Tanaka voiced. "We can't let that to happen!"

"Then we must show them the Phantomhive hospitality," Ciel said with a baleful smile, when Sebastian looked at him. "Inform the others. We must prepare a warm reception. Use all available resources."

Sebastian bowed. "Yes, my lord."

And they each went to prepare for the immediate attack.

To be continued.