A/N: Just so you know, I wrote the next chapter long before I wrote this one, so I was kind of working backwards when I wrote this chapter. If it seems to get a little rambly at the end it was because I was trying to figure out a good way to merge it with the start of the next chapter
Chapter 19: Grell's Declaration
I wrapped my arms around my waist as I sat on the stairs that led up to the dais, tears streaming down my face. Sebastian had decided to make his appearance and looked absolutely furious that someone had basically tried to kill me in his absence. The crowd of people that still remained in the throne room were all watching me, for after all I had been breathing fire a moment ago.
Light footsteps sounded behind me as Thaleia came down from her throne. She had watched as Tyki and Richard had made their escape, trying to memorise their faces since no-one had been making any attempt to stop them from leaving. She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder before arranging her dress so that she could sit down next to me.
"It's okay to cry honey." She whispered soothingly to me as she wrapped her arms around me, enclosing me in a hug that had Greg wondering what the hell was going on. Her hand brushed against my forehead and she froze, spinning me around to face her. I stared at her with cold eyes that betrayed no emotion as she lifted my fringe off of my forehead.
"Demon…" The word slipped out of her mouth as her violet eyes widened in fear, quickly dropping my fringe back onto my forehead. I scrubbed furiously at my eyes, erasing the tear tracks, before pushing out of her arms and bumping into Sebastian who had appeared behind me.
"Maybe their beliefs are closer to the truth than people give them credit for." I murmured to him as he helped me to my feet. Greg stepped forward, but when he noticed my angry glare he stopped, eying me with a confused expression from where he was.
"Jasmine! Hey, are you alright?" Lavi called, running over to where I was standing, leaning heavily on Sebastian. My foot slipped on the edge of the step and I nearly fell, but my ever present black butler grabbed my arm, steadying me. I was putting on a tough act, but in truth I felt awful. My entire body was shaking, just like the time when I had sparred with Lavi, except this time it wasn't from exhaustion.
Lavi put a hand gently on my shoulder, making me flinch. I tightened my grip on Athena before letting out a shocked gasp and dropping the innocence sword to the ground. My arm was burning, my neck too, and I clutched the part of my arm which was marked with the symbol of the contract as I grit my teeth, collapsing to my knees once more. Lavi knelt down in front of me, trying to look into my eyes, but all I could look at was the faint purple glow showing from the cuff of my jacket sleeve. My head snapped back and I stared up at Sebastian, who was staring at his white gloved hand, which to my wary eye was also tinted.
"Sebastian, I… I don't know what's happening." His eyes met mine and he picked me up in his arms, drawing cries of protest and confusion from the crowd of people in the hall. Lavi climbed to his feet and, after having a silent conversation with Bookman, picked Athena up and gave Sebastian a meaningful look. The demon glared at the exorcist before shrugging, trying not to jostle me too much in his arms.
"Mum…" I could feel my mind drifting, and I was shocked to hear that word coming out of my mouth. I hadn't used that word in three years. Sebastian glanced down at me, just as startled by my outburst as I was. He spun on his heels and marched swiftly out of the throne room, Lavi following as best he could as he attempted to keep up with Sebastian's demon speed.
"Hey, butler guy, what's wrong with her?" Lavi demanded as he ran down the corridors. Sebastian glared at him as he opened the door to my room.
"I have no idea." Hearing Sebastian admit it made me freeze up inside. He was ancient and all-knowing, so if he didn't know then I was in serious trouble. He turned to set me down on the bed, but someone was already lying there.
"Grell! Get the-" I doubled over in Sebastian's arms, coughing. "Get the hell off my bed!" The red haired shinigami pouted before reluctantly moving out of the way, allowing Sebastian to put me on the bed. I collapsed against the pillows, breathing heavily, and let Sebastian continue the interrogation.
"Grell…" He started threateningly, only to find that Grell wasn't paying attention.
"Who's this cutie hmm?" He asked, examining Lavi who had been caught as he tried to get to the other side of the bed. "He has the most gorgeous red hair, even nicer than yours dear." He shot me a sympathetic look. "Where have you been hiding him?" Lavi looked extremely uncomfortable and I tried to sit up, failing miserably.
"Grell… leave Lavi… alone… okay?" I gasped out, clutching my arm and trying my best to glare at the gender confused reaper.
"What are you doing here?" Sebastian demanded, starting to sound irritated. He wasn't used to being ignored.
"Ah Sebas-chan, I wish I could say that I was here to see you, but I'm afraid I'm here on business." Grell then proceeded to sit on the end of my bed and pat my boots with his free, non-scythe wielding hand.
"Explain yourself Grell Sutcliffe." Now that Grell was distracted Lavi moved around the bed and sat on the edge near my head, watching me with worry in his one visible eye. Grell sighed in annoyance, reaching into one of the pockets of his red cloak and pulling out a small notebook. He flipped through it, making a triumphant noise when he found what he was looking for.
"Jasmine Mariabel Phantomhive-Dionysus, 15th June, cause of death unknown." He read off one of the pages before handing it to Sebastian, who glared at the page before reluctantly handing it back.
"Grell… I'm not… dying…" I choked out, letting go of my arm to demand to see the notebook, which he handed over to me. I cautiously flipped through the pages, eyes widening as I came to a realisation. I met his eyes and he nodded, guessing what it was that I was about to ask.
"Yes, you are the only entry that has an unknown cause of death, because that just doesn't happen. If it's 'unknown' to humans it will normally say something like blood loss or heart failure in here." He snapped it shut and put the little book of death away in his pocket. Lavi sent a bewildered glance my way, which I ignored. A wave of heat washed over me and I cried out, bolting up into a sitting position and ripping my jacket off, throwing it at Grell who glared at me, pushing it off onto the ground.
"What the hell is that?" Lavi asked, pointing at the source of the purple glow covering my arm. I tried to glare at him, but it felt like someone was stabbing me in the back of the neck, so I quickly collapsed back onto the bed, accidentally kicking Grell, the bearer of bad news.
"Watch it!" He whined, moving out of the way in the hopes that he would be able to prevent getting kicked again. I curled up into a ball, clutching my arm as it erupted in a more intense wave of pain. Sebastian was pacing the room furiously, not happy in the least with what Grell had predicted to us. If I died here then Sebastian wouldn't be able to claim my soul, since the contract would remain incomplete, and he would have wasted three years on a dead end meal.
"Grell you had better be wrong about this..." He muttered angrily, pausing in his structured pacing to send a threatening glare at the red reaper. Grell shrugged his shoulders, and I swore that I could see a hint of sympathy and possibly almost sadness in his eyes. But it quickly disappeared, and I cried out once more in shock as a cold wave trickled down the back of my neck, meaning that my neck was frozen while my arm was on fire.
"Jasmine!" Lavi held my gaze and I began trembling. I was scared out of my mind. A shinigami's notebook was never going to be wrong, and I was already an anomaly in one way, there was no way it was going to happen twice and let me off the hook.
There were footsteps that sounded out in the hallway and I looked over at Sebastian, who nodded before opening the door and checking the corridor.
"There's no-one out there mistress." I groaned, someone had been listening, and they were a fast runner.
"This really... isn't turning out... to be my day... hmm?" I rolled over onto my back and stared up at the canopy of the bed. The hot and cold flushes were starting to get to me, blurring my thoughts and confusing me. Nothing seemed quite right anymore, I could almost hear a whispering voice that didn't seem to belong to anyone in the room. It was hanging at the edge of my awareness, just loud enough for me to tell that something was there.
"The heart…" The voice finally reached my ears, it sounded like a small child, or possibly a young girl.
"What… do you want…?" I murmured, unsure of whether the speaker would be able to hear me. Lavi watched me nervously as I rolled onto my side.
"You have the heart…" I curled tighter into myself as the cold and heat intensified.
"Grell… I know what you can put… for cause of death… now. Hypothermia… heat stroke… and confusing voices…" They all turned to stare at me, more than a little bit confused at what I had just said. Lavi put his hand on my forehead, somehow not showing any signs of surprise at the scar there.
"What are you talking about Jas? You don't have a fever. Your temperature is normal." I shook my head and rolled onto my stomach, putting his hand on the back of my neck. He immediately drew away, staring at the innocence fragment as it glowed a dull blue.
"Woah, your neck is freezing!" He cried out, glancing worriedly at my glowing arm.
"Mmhm." I mumbled into the pillow, trying to ignore the voice as I rolled back over onto my back again.
"Go to sleep now…" I shook my head.
"No… I don't want… to go to sleep…"
"Who on earth is she talking to?" Grell wondered out loud, watching me from behind his red framed glasses.
"Go to sleep now little exorcist…" I groaned, sprawling out on the bed instead of curling up into a ball.
"Exorcist…? No… don't want to… sleep…" Somehow or another the voice was getting to me, I could feel myself wanting to go to sleep, but I fought it. If I went to sleep now I would probably never wake up again, and I would never forgive myself for it.
"Exorcists?" Grell asked interestedly. "They still have those in this day and age? I would have thought that they stopped using exorcists a long time ago, but apparently not." Lavi stared at Grell incredulously, probably wondering how he had known about exorcists in the first place, and whether he was talking about the same sort of exorcists or if he was talking about the priests who exorcised spirits and such.
I could feel my body relaxing as the fire raged through my arm, gasping as the flames seemed to meet the ice, creating a different sort of pain, a real pain. I shut my eyes and fisted my hands in the sheets, trying my best not to succumb to sleep, but it was overwhelming me, and I could feel my consciousness slipping away from me with every second. Opening my eyes I reached out one arm towards Lavi and he grabbed my hand. It was my right hand, the arm that had the contract mark on it, and I could tell that he could now feel the heat radiating off of my arm. My eyes drifted shut again and the sounds of the world faded away, leaving me blanketed in silent darkness.