Dozens of people boarded a ship bound for India. Among the travelers were a teenage girl with blonde hair and plain clothes. Behind her was a tall, thin man wearing glasses and a brown trenchcoat and matching hat. They hurried onto the boat along with the others and tried to avoid the crowd. They finally got into their room and closed the door.

"It was a clever idea to disguise ourselves, Miss Emma."

"Thank you, Uncle Oscar."

Lily looked at Sebastian, her cheerful expression fading. Remorsefully, she said, "I am so sorry I've put you through all this. You have seen and done so much, even going so far as to…do this."

"I do not know why you're apologizing to me. I've told you that my kind do not feel any emotion. I am simply here to serve you, and as you have said, what you see before you right now is a mere facade. I am who you wish me to be."

Lily nodded and laid on the bed. "I am so weary."

"We should not stay in this room the entire voyage lest we draw attention to ourselves."

"How so?"

"Others would find it odd if we do not enjoy this cruise. I thought a leisure boat would be more to your liking."

"A regular passenger ship would have been more discreet."

"You have nothing to fear as long as we keep up this charade. Now, you said something about a nap."

"Yes. I'm so tired; I can barely keep my eyes open."

"Rest, then. I will be here when you awaken."

Lily was so sleepy that she said nothing more as she drifted off into a deep slumber.

When Lily woke up, Sebastian was sitting in a chair in the room, reading a book. As she sat up, he looked at her and said, "Good evening, Emma. How was your nap?"

"I slept well. I-"

She stopped suddenly. "Emma?" Sebastian asked.

Lily ran out of the room. "Mother? Father?"

Sebastian followed her and asked, "Emma, what are you doing?"

"They're here! Mother and Father are on the ship!" Lily replied, ecstatically. She ran down the halls yelling for them, and Sebastian raced after her.

The butler caught up with her. "Emma, your parents are not here."

"I heard their voices! They said my name!"

Sebastian frowned. "Emma, go back to our quarters. We will discuss this later."

"I know they are here!" She looked ahead of her and raced toward the end of the hallway. She touched the wall, searching for something.

By this time, a lot of the other passengers came out and gave Lily strange looks. Sebastian said, "My niece had a night terror and has not completely woken up. I am terribly sorry for the interruption." Then, he touched Lily's shoulder. "It was just a dream. They are not here. It's all in your head."

"But…" Lily looked at the wall and cried.

"I know, Emma. We must get back to our room and let the other passengers sleep."

Reluctantly, Lily followed Sebastian to their room. As soon as they were in there, she sat on her bed. "I saw them," she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. "I saw them on this boat, down the hall."

"It was an illusion, Emma. Please ease your mind. Dinner is to be served, shortly. We should begin heading to the dining room."

Lily was silent and deep in thought. She didn't seem to hear Sebastian. Finally, she spoke. "I am descending into madness."

"What do you mean?"

"I am seeing things that aren't there. I am hearing sounds and voices that don't exist. It all makes sense now. My mind is truly losing its grip of reality. I can no longer trust my senses."

Sebastian didn't say anything. Lily solemnly looked down at the floor, then lifted her head and locked eyes with him. "We must find my parents soon, before…before…"

The demon nodded.

Lily stood up. "We should go to the dining room." She walked past Sebastian, and they left their chamber.

Dinner was pleasant. The food tasted exquisite, and there was soft piano music to accompany the meal. Lily and Sebastian played their new parts well, chatting with those who spoke to them and otherwise were careful not to draw attention to themselves.

A man in charge of the schedule mentioned that there was to be a magic show after dinner. Lily was reluctant to go, but Sebastian insisted they watch it, if only to make their voyage more enjoyable. Thus, they, along with the other passengers, went into an auditorium after dinner and sat down, waiting for the performance to begin.

Soon, a magician wearing a top hat and cape appeared onstage in a puff of smoke. The audience applauded, and once they stopped, the magician said, "Greetings, friends! I am Palsu the Magnificent, the greatest magician in the world! I will perform feats of wonder for you tonight, sights you have never beheld before!"

A female assistant brought out a table and set it down. Palsu cried out in pain, for one of the legs of the table was on his foot. The assistant shrinked away as the magician yelled at her. Then, remembering his audience, he quickly smiled and moved the table. Palsu took his hat off and tapped on it thrice, then reached into it. He pulled out a bouquet of flowers and gave them to a woman in the front row. The crowd applauded.

"For my next trick, I will need a volunteer." He scanned the room. "Ah, young lady, come up to the stage."

He was looking at Lily.

Lily glanced at Sebastian, hesitantly, but he only gave a slight nod. Trying not to reveal her nervousness, Lily walked to the stage. Palsu held her hand, leading her to the side of the stage. The assistant wheeled in a tall box on a dolly and set the box in the middle of the stage.

Palsu opened the box. "Now, this young lady will enter the box, and I shall make her disappear!"

Lily looked unsure, but the magician confidently practically dragged her into the box, and he closed the lid. He tapped on the box thrice with his wand, then opened the lid. Lily was now not inside. The audience clapped, and Palsu and his assistant bowed. Sebastian looked at them, frowning.

The magic show eventually came to a close. Lily hadn't gone back back to her seat. Suspicious, Sebastian slipped away, unnoticed by the others, to search for her.

Sebastian walked by a chamber that was far away from the guest rooms. He heard a muffled noise and peeked inside, where he saw Lily tied and gagged on the floor. Casually, he walked in and said, "Emma, it seems like you have gotten into a bind."

Lily looked at him, and she immediately looked relieved. He took the gag out of her mouth and proceeded to untie her. "She knocked me out and grabbed me from the back of the box."

"Who?"

"Palsu's assistant. I woke up in this room. I have no idea what's happening."

As Sebastian was finishing untying Lily, he quickly turned around and grabbed someone's arm. The assistant was holding a knife pointed toward Sebastian, but she dropped it when he clutched her arm. The assistant looked terrified. She stuttered, "Please don't kill me! I didn't want to do this! He told me to!"

"Who did?" Lily asked.

"Palsu. He told me to kidnap you and bring you here. I don't know what he wants with you, but he said if I didn't do what he said, he'd kill me. I didn't have a choice. Please forgive me."

"If this is true, we must find a way to stop him," said Lily.

"It shouldn't be too difficult. He has limited space to do anything in," the demon pondered.

The assistant looked worried. "You don't know what Palsu is capable of. He's an evil, dangerous man. We won't be able to defeat him."

Sebastian finished untying Lily, and Lily stood up and walked to the assistant and put a hand on her shoulder. The assistant winced, and Lily withdrew her hand. "We have nothing to worry about," Lily stated, "for we have a powerful weapon."

Before any of them could speak another word, a voice behind them said, "Two for the price of one. This is my lucky day."

Palsu was standing in the room with a smirk on his face. "I must say, you've got quite a nose for finding people, my good man."

Sebastian nodded. "I am simply one hell of an uncle. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to retrieve my niece and enjoy the rest of the cruise."

"I'm afraid neither of you will be going anywhere," the magician stated, pointing a gun at Sebastian. "I know people who would love to purchase a beautiful young lady, and as for you, well, you can either die or be sold as servant. The choice is yours."

Lily looked a little scared, but her confidence in Sebastian kept her from being terrified. The assistant, however, pleaded with an expression of horror on her face, "Please, sir, let them go! They did nothing wrong!"

Palsu turned and glared at his assistant. "You are trying to AID them?!" He pointed his gun at her. "Traitor! I gave you a home and a job, and THIS is how you repay me?! You are disposable and are garbage that will easily be tossed out!" He fired.

There were a few moments of silence, then the assistant looked at herself. She was unharmed. Sebastian held the bullet that Palsu shot. The magician briefly seemed shocked, then he smirked again. "You are some kind of a magician, yourself?" he asked Sebastian.

"I do have a few tricks up my sleeve," the demon smiled, slyly. Then, he looked at Lily. "What shall I do with this troublemaker, Emma?"

"End him," Lily replied. "That is an order."

Palsu laughed. "You're letting a child command you? How pathetic."

"I do not have the time nor the patience to explain any of it to you. It won't matter to you, shortly, either way," said Sebastian. He made the first move, but Palsu disappeared into thin air. The demon ran out of the room and found the magician on the deck of the ship.

Palsu yawned. "It is about time you got here. Let's make this quick; I need sleep."

"I assure you, you will have plenty of opportunities to slumber."

They fought skillfully and mostly quietly. Palsu relied on his magic, but even magic wasn't powerful enough to defeat Sebastian. When Palsu was nearly defeated, he stated weakly, "You fight well,…too well for a human. But you…won't win. I still have…more tricks…"

Sebastian sighed. "Tricks mean naught when combatted against a bond. I have someone I am sworn to protect, and you…" He delivered the final blow. "…have nothing."

The demon threw Palsu's corpse into the sea and watched, deep in thought, as it sank into the ocean. Then he walked away.