Chapter 6

Ciel's POV:

Sebastian's arms tightened around me and he drew me even closer to him as we both stared at the man standing in the doorway. It was Mr. Caldwell, yes, but…his eyes were glowing. Was he a demon? "Sebastian," I said, locking my hands around one of Sebastian's arms. "What is he?"

"Elemental," Sebastian said. I could actually feel him trembling.

"What's an elemental?" I gasped, frightened. Sebastian was afraid. Sebastian was afraid!

"Since a demon is infinitely more powerful than a human, an elemental is infinitely more powerful than a demon," Mr. Caldwell said, coming into the room. His eyes were still glowing and the smile on his face…I didn't want to know what he was thinking. Anything that made him smile like that was something I really didn't want to know. "To a demon, I am a demon. Sebastian, I thought you were told to stay in bed?"

Sebastian flinched at his tone. It was quiet, but so intense that a shout would have seemed quieter. "Yes," he whispered, still holding me.

"If that's the case, then what are you doing here?"

"I called him," I said quickly. "He had to obey. The contract demanded it."

"Oh, did it, now?" Mr. Caldwell said, looking the two of us over. "Hmm, I can see that it did. How troublesome." He reached out and took hold of Sebastian's hair. "This contract of yours…so very troublesome, Sebastian. What shall I do with the two of you?"

"Please," Sebastian gasped, wincing when Mr. Caldwell pulled his hair. "Please do not punish the young master! He…he didn't know that I was supposed to stay in bed!" If anything, Sebastian sounded even more afraid than I was!

Mr. Caldwell smiled and I shivered. "I told your young master that he would have to wait until I took him to see you, yet he called you. Such a bad child!"

Sebastian hugged me closer, making it almost difficult to breathe. Fear made my stomach turn again, and I twisted away from Sebastian just in time…

"This is why I don't want you to punish him," Sebastian said as soon as I'd finished being sick again. "He's ill. We have to take care of him."

Mr. Caldwell was still staring at me, staring at the vomit on the floor, and how close it had come to his shoes. "I see." He moved so quickly that I didn't realize what was happening until it had already happened. Suddenly I was sitting on Mr. Caldwell's hip and Sebastian was over his shoulder and we were being carried out of the room and down the hallway.

"Where are we going?" I demanded, still scared.

"The infirmary, youngster," Mr. Caldwell said, his eyes losing their glow as he headed down the stairs. "Hush, now."

"Ciel Phantomhive" and "obedient" did not belong in the same thought or sentence, yet, I was perfectly obedient until I was settled in a bed in the infirmary. The doctor and Mr. Caldwell had helped me change into a fresh nightshirt, I was allowed to rinse my mouth and brush my teeth, a drink was brought, and I was tucked into bed. I was beginning to feel more like myself, and I was profoundly grateful when Sebastian was tucked into the bed next to mine. With him there, I felt as if I could face anything that might happen.

"Augustus, who's this?" the doctor asked, looking at Sebastian.

"This is Stephen's Uncle Lewis."

Dr. Evans' eyes became hard. "What?"

"Our little Stephen and his friend there are very good actors," Mr. Caldwell continued. "Stephen is actually an investigator named Ciel Phantomhive and he was sent by the Queen to investigate us, and 'Uncle Lewis' is his faithful butler called 'Sebastian Michaelis.'"

The doctor stared at me, stared at Sebastian, and then back again. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Mr. Caldwell said. "Sebastian came here to retrieve his master, but he fell afoul of the wards I've set up."

Doctor Evans stared at him. "So they worked?"

"Did you doubt it?"

"A bit," the doctor admitted. "I've never seen anything like it, so…well, now I believe they work."

"I'm glad," Mr. Caldwell said. "Doctor, do you feel up to having these two in the infirmary?"

"Shouldn't be a problem," Doctor Evans said.

"Sebastian requires special care, so I'll see to that myself," Mr. Caldwell said. "I'll leave Ciel's care up to you entirely."

I couldn't believe it. Just like that, everything was set up. Doctor Evans went back to one of the shelves by his desk and Mr. Caldwell left.

"Where's he going?" I whispered to Sebastian.

"I don't know," he said, still sounding nervous.

I still couldn't believe that Sebastian was actually afraid. I'd known that Marcellus had made him significantly nervous and that on more than one occasion he'd intimidated him, but I couldn't believe that he was truly afraid. Nothing frightened Sebastian. Not thunderstorms or snakes or...wait, I was thinking like a human. What would a demon be afraid of? Someone more powerful. Hmm. "Sebastian?" I whispered, stealing a glance at him.

"Later," he whispered back.

Doctor Evans returned to our sides again. "All right, Ciel, what seems to be the trouble?" He paused and smiled at me. "Ciel is your true name, right?"

I fought down the urge to hit him with a pillow. "Yes, that's my name. My stomach's upset, I have a fever, and my joints ache."

Doctor Evans nodded. "A few of the other children came down with that last week; it makes sense that it's still wandering around somewhere. How many times have you been sick?"

"Two."

After taking my temperature and examining me, Doctor Evans gave me a cup of willow tea to take my fever down. I hated willow tea since it was so bitter, but Doctor Evans stirred in a few teaspoonfuls of honey for me to make it more palatable. When his back was turned, Sebastian grabbed the honey jar and added some more for me.

"Thank you," I whispered. I could afford to be kind to my servant since he'd done me a kindness, I supposed.

"You're welcome."

I fell asleep soon after I finished the tea and woke up later to the rattle of dishes on a tray.

"Good to see you're awake," Doctor Evans said. "How are you feeling?"

I pulled the covers over my head. I wanted to go back to sleep.

Fwip! The covers were pulled off of my head and I scowled, more than ready to kill. "Can't I go back to sleep?"

"It's time you had something to eat," he said lightly, helping me sit up and wheeling a table into place so I could reach the tray. "I hope you're hungry."

Remembering what had happened to the last bit of food I'd had in my stomach, I shuddered. "Not really." I eyed the bowl of broth and the bread with some misgiving.

"It's been a few hours since you were sick, so it should be all right for you to try eating. Sebastian, Augustus will be bringing your meal later."

Sebastian nodded. "Thank you."

Doctor Evans went into his office then, leaving me with the admonition to try eating a little.

Immediately, I turned to Sebastian. "What can you tell me?" I demanded.

"His description of himself was accurate, young master," Sebastian whispered. "He's powerful enough to kill me with a brush of his fingers, just as easily as I could kill a human with a brush of mine."

"What can we do?" I asked, picking up a spoon and stirring the broth.

Sebastian gave a bleak chuckle. "For the first time, young master, there is nothing I can do. It is beyond me entirely."

I'd never thought I'd hear such a thing from Sebastian. I was used to hearing him say that he was able to handle anything, that he could accomplish anything, but I was hearing that he couldn't do anything in this situation. "You're the Phantomhive butler," I reminded him.

"It is with the deepest regret that I must say that I cannot do anything, young master."

He was serious. "I see."

Sebastian glanced at my tray. "You should eat that before it gets cold, young master."

I scowled at the food. I knew that if I put anything in my stomach, it wouldn't stay there, so why bother? I took a spoonful of broth, tore off a piece of bread, dipped it in the broth, and ate that. I waited. Nothing was happening, so possibly it was all right for me to eat. "He's more powerful than you," I said, returning to the most important matter at hand.

"Yes."

That simple word gave me all the answer I needed. "What can you tell me about him?"

"Only what I know," he said. "In the old days, humans worshiped them as gods. They're born very powerful, and for all the years they live, they add to that power. Compared to them, we demons have only a human's strength. They are much older than demons and much, much more powerful. Their natures are...complex." He stopped and looked pointedly at the tray.

I swallowed a few more spoonfuls of broth and took another bite of bread. "What do you mean their natures are complex?"

"Demon motivations are pretty much straightforward," he elaborated. "Human motivations are more complex, but elemental motivations...well, there's no fathoming them."

"And Mr. Caldwell?" I pressed. "What have you learned about him?"

Sebastian shivered. "I hesitate to say this, but I am afraid of him, young master."

"Just because he can kill you?"

"It goes beyond that," Sebastian insisted. "I can't read him at all, I can't predict what he's going to do, I don't know what he's planning, I don't know why he's keeping me here or what he wants or..."

Ever since our contract had been formed, I'd never seen Sebastian like this. He was always calm, cool, and collected. 'Panic' never approached him, and he was never, ever 'flustered.' Right now, he was so frightened that he was almost babbling.

"Calm down, man!" I snapped. "This isn't like you."

He fought for control and sighed. "I apologize, sir. I know this isn't like me."

"Can you take a guess as to what drives Mr. Caldwell?" I asked, hoping that Sebastian would use his brain and think. He'd spent a great deal more time with Mr. Caldwell, so he would have a better bet of figuring the man out.

Sebastian seemed to think about it. "I do know that he adores his daughter, Cecilia. For some reason, he's been living as a human."

I was glad Doctor Evans was in his office. He would have been mightily confused by our conversation at this point. "Why would a powerful being like an elemental live as a human?"

"That's the real question, isn't it?" Sebastian said thoughtfully. "He was even married to the girl's mother and interacted with their family and...to me, it doesn't really make sense, but if I had to guess, I'd say that he wanted to experience life as a human for a while."

"Why?"

"Humans live very fulfilling lives, sometimes," he admitted. "People love you, you love others, you have their companionship..."

"So...he was lonely?"

"Possibly."

I thought about this. A lonely elemental? "How many elementals are there?"

"They're rare," he told me. "Very, very rare. There are a large number of humans compared to demons and the same proportion holds true in relation to demons and elementals."

It looked like the lonely theory was the only one that would make sense at this point. Something occurred to me. It was a stretch, but it was possible. "Do you think he might have started this Sanctuary thing because he was lonely?"

"Possibly, young master, but right now we're only speculating. He could have done this for any reason."

I nodded and took a little more broth and bread. "What about you? Why is he keeping you here? Wouldn't he have killed you just to be done?"

He shuddered. I couldn't believe my eyes. The last time I'd seen him do that, he'd been human, and Grell had been talking about their wedding...

"He said that he's keeping me alive because I interest him," he explained.

"You interest him?"

"He said that I interest him because I live so easily among humans," Sebastian added. "I don't know why that should interest him, but it does."

I stirred the broth again and thought about it. "Hmmm. Well, that explains why he's keeping you here. Why is he so adamant in keeping me here? Why is he so devoted to taking care of human children?" I kept thinking. It was possible that all his time spent among humans may have made him fall into the habit of thinking like a human and so, he'd gained a deep regard for the safety of human children. Because the "safety" of the "charges" he kidnapped depended on no one from outside his wretched organization finding out about it, that might be why I was being kept there. Either that, or he was insisting on my remaining there simply because I was still a child.

"There's something I think might interest you, young master," Sebastian said suddenly.

"What is it?"

"Augustus, that is, Mr. Caldwell, knew your predecessor."

I stared at him. My mind refused to take it in. "He did?"

Sebastian nodded. "He told me so. I think he was as drawn to your father as I was drawn to you when you and I formed our contract."

I knew that Sebastian thought my soul was mouth-watering. There were times when I'd glanced at him and surprised him with the oddest look on his face...one that resembled yearning and was rather close to obsession... "Sebastian, did he...do you think he...?" I didn't want to think that a demon had swallowed my father's soul, even though that was the fate that awaited me.

"No, young master. He did not." He stopped and thought about it.

"What are you thinking?"

He glanced at me and seemed very reluctant to answer.

"Do I have to order you?"

"Order him to do what?"

I froze. Mr. Caldwell was back, and right behind him was Cecilia, who was carrying a tray.

"Ah, nothing," I said quickly. I had to get his mind off of our conversation. "Hello, Cecilia!"

"Hello, Ciel."

Uh-oh. She didn't sound happy to see me.

She set the tray down on a table and glared at me. "Why did you lie to me like that?"

"I was undercover!" I protested.

Her eyes narrowed. "Were you really my friend, or was that 'undercover' too?"

"I liked talking with you and I enjoyed your company, if that's what you mean," I answered. "I'm sorry I had to lie to you. I didn't like doing it, but I had to keep my real name and what I was doing here a secret."

"He's rather like Sherlock Holmes, isn't he?" Mr. Caldwell said brightly.

"That's not funny, Papa."

"So sorry, my dear."

Cecilia turned and looked at me again. "You're forgiven, since you were following someone else's orders, but don't you ever lie to me again. Understand?"

I was not used to dealing with ladies when they were angry. Elizabeth occasionally lost her temper with me, but she couldn't really be called angry...more annoyed than anything else, really. What was I supposed to do when a lady was angry with me? I would have to wing it, I supposed. "I understand," I told her. "I won't lie like that again."

She smiled and nodded. "Good." She turned to Sebastian. "I hope you're hungry, Sebastian."

Sebastian cringed, but he didn't say anything. While Cecilia and Mr. Caldwell served Sebastian his meal, I finished my own meal and did some serious thinking. The two of us were in trouble and we would have to find a way out of it. If we didn't...well, I didn't want to think about it.

Sebastian's POV:

I hugged my master even closer when I heard Augustus' voice. I had never been able to sense him coming, either by scent or sound, and now he had come once again without any warning. I didn't know what to do or even how to protect my young master from him. Yet again, I wished that Marcellus was there. I had the strong feeling that he might know what to do about an elemental.

The one thing that any demon fears is someone who is stronger. Augustus wasn't just stronger, he was strong enough to slaughter countless demons. He could crush my skull with just a touch of his hand. He could kill me, and then I wouldn't be able to protect my young master. My master would be entirely at Augustus' mercy, if he had any. Panic overwhelmed me and I could feel myself shivering. Oh, I hated this. I was the Phantomhive butler and a demon from an ancient, powerful line and here I was, acting like a frightened puppy!

I was surprised when Augustus took us both the the infirmary. Surprised, but very glad. A human doctor would examine my young master and make sure he received the care he needed. If he and I were in the infirmary, then Augustus couldn't do anything to "punish" the "two bad children" who'd disobeyed his orders. Sometimes the tone of his voice or a choice of words reminded me of Sir Charles, but of the two of them, Augustus was far, far more dangerous.

Augustus explained the young master's and my ruse to the doctor with only a few words and that was that. I was relieved when I heard that the young master's illness was not the first of its case in this house...if other people had had it, then that meant that the young master's illness was truly an illness rather than due to his nerves. Whenever he had an attack of nerves then he was usually ill for close to a week and weak and shaky for a few days afterwards. I'd nursed him through three fits of nerves since entering his service and through several periods of "edgy" feelings and a fit of nerves or edgy feelings were not what he needed right now. I was not in a condition to take care of anyone, either. Most frustrating, that. How could I be the perfect butler if I couldn't even get to my feet?

I pushed such thoughts away and fought to think about our situation. Perhaps with a human's thoughts in addition to mine, the young master and I might come up with a solution to our predicament. I had to be patient, however. Shortly after the doctor gave him a cup of tea to take his fever down, the young master fell asleep and he didn't wake up until a supper tray was brought for him. He seemed unenthusiastic about eating, but I coaxed him while we began our discussion. He and I talked and speculated about Augustus' motivations for keeping the both of us. (If we understood his motivations then we might have a chance of predicting his next actions.) I did give him the information I'd managed to glean from my talks with Augustus. I could tell that the fact that Augustus had known his father upset him. He knew that one day I would swallow his soul, but he didn't wish that fate for anyone he cared about. I reassured him on that score, but he guessed that I'd been worrying about that ever since Augustus had told me. A demon didn't necessarily have to eat someone's soul in order to enjoy it...they could just take a taste...

My worries must have given away too much of how I was feeling, because the young master picked up on them. He could tell that something about it still bothered me and he was on the verge of ordering me to tell what I knew when Augustus arrived along with Cecilia. Saved by the madman and the rabid nurse...oh, how ironic.

I did not want to eat. There was bone marrow soup with a healthy helping of elemental blood and some bread made with foxglove and I wanted none of it. Still, I knew better than to say so. I fought to swallow each spoonful and each bite and finally, at last, it was gone.

"Very good, Sebastian," Cecilia said, removing the now-empty tray. "You feel better now that you've eaten, right?"

My throat was still burning from the amount of blood that had been in my soup and I fought to be polite. (I had a sneaking suspicion that Augustus had put that much in my soup just to punish me.) "I'm certainly revived."

"Glad to hear it," she said. "I'll be back in a little bit to settle you for the evening, all right?"

'Settle for the evening' meant she would help me wash and change. In the infirmary, and with the young master in the same room. Oh, my bruised and battered dignity.

"I've done quite a bit of thinking over the last few hours," Augustus said quietly, taking a seat. "Why did both of you disobey me?"

"I'm sorry, but I must obey my master," I said. "I have a contract with him."

He nodded, as if I'd given him the answer he'd expected. "Ciel, why didn't you wait until I took you to see Sebastian like I told you to?"

I could tell that the young master wanted to demand what business it was of Augustus'. I could see all of his old stubbornness starting to come back. He was wondering just who this man thought he was to demand an explanation, but...Augustus was an elemental. There was nothing I could do in this situation to protect him or tip the scales in our favor, so the young master would have to tread carefully with his answer.

"I felt so sick when I woke up," he said quietly. "Usually when I feel that way at home, Sebastian's the only one who can make me feel better."

Augustus was thinking about what he'd said. At last, he nodded. "I see."

"Don't punish Sebastian," the young master pleaded, surprising me. I knew that humans came to care for those around them, but did he actually care for me so much?

"And why not? He disobeyed me."

"But I didn't give him any choice! I gave him an order."

"So aren't you at fault for issuing an order?"

Not good! I wanted the young master punished as much as he wanted me to be punished. "The young master's ill," I protested. "He needs to rest and get better, not endure a punishment!"

Augustus looked from me to the young master and back. "Both of you are acting as if I'm about to beat the living daylights out of you! Honestly!"

I glanced at the young master just as he glanced at me. Did we really give that impression? True, Augustus was frightening, but...

"I'm not about to beat two children just because of a little disobedience," he said at last.

"Sebastian's not a child," my master reminded him.

Augustus flicked his eyes at me and smiled. "Compared to me, he's a child."

Wonderful. I was back to being a "child." Was there no justice in this world?

"I think you've both been punished enough with worry over the past few hours," Augustus said. "I have to admit, your own fears were far more effective than anything I could have thought up on my own."

The irony of this was just sickening. We'd punished ourselves. Augustus hadn't had to do a thing.

"If the two of you promise to behave, that is, if you promise to stay in bed and rest, then I'll allow you to stay together. Do you agree?"

We couldn't agree fast enough, it seemed. We both promised at the same time, which made Augustus chuckle.

No, there was no justice in this world. Not only was I a "child," I was amusing, to boot!

"I'll warn you both right now," he said suddenly, surprising both of us. "Any misbehavior on your parts, from either of you, will mean consequences. Do you understand?"

Oh, we understood. We hastened to assure him of that. That only made him laugh again.

"Now, is there anything you want to ask me?" he asked.

I wished that he hadn't asked that.

"Sebastian told me that you knew my father," my young master said darkly.

Augustus smiled and for a moment, his eyes glowed. "I did."

The momentary appearance of his true nature didn't faze my young master. "Was he one of your meals?"

I'd always known that my young master was brave and fearless, but I hadn't known he was so...so...reckless! It was one thing for me to ask the question but quite another thing for a human to ask it! Did he have no sense of survival?

Augustus threw his head back and laughed, surprising both of us. "One of my meals? Now, why should I wish to swallow his soul when I could admire it where it was?"

That surprised both of us. My jaw actually dropped and I stared at him. "Forgive me, but don't you have to eat?" If he didn't eat souls, what on earth did he eat?

"I do, but I wasn't about to eat Vincent's soul, even though it would have been delectable," he continued. "No, it was much better to leave Vincent as he was. I was very saddened to hear about his death, Ciel. He was captivating."

My master didn't say anything for a moment, but I could tell he was thinking. "Captivating? What on earth do you mean?"

Augustus shifted in his seat and reached out to smooth my master's hair. "There's a quality that some humans have that draw others to them. These humans can be beautiful or ugly, young or old, but that quality will always shine through. It is rare, though. It is so rare that it does not have a name. Your father possessed it, and it looks like you have inherited it. Invariably, humans who have such a quality have very rare and delicious souls."

My young master considered this, but he said nothing. I could tell that he was fighting to absorb what he'd been told.

"I have to confess, I did take a taste," Agustus said idly.

I nearly fell out of bed. A taste? It was possible for demons to taste a human's soul without eating the soul, but it was something very delicate. Also, you had to have a human's permission to do it. How on earth had he managed that?

"WHAT?" my master barked.

Augustus laughed again. "Just a little one, I promise. Your father and I were at a party and he had a bit too much champagne. When I asked his permission to have a taste, he agreed. I think he enjoyed it."

My master was staring at Augustus as if he wasn't quite sure if what he was seeing was real. "I don't think I want to know. I really don't...I mean, what do I say to something like that? Thank you for not devouring him?"

"There's not anything you need to say, Ciel," he answered. "I didn't hurt him and he didn't even remember it, so there's nothing you need to worry about."

My master absorbed this and seemed to shake it off. "Mr. Caldwell, I'd like to ask you something different."

"Yes?"

"What are your plans for Sebastian and I?"

He smiled again. "You'll stay here, of course."

"Why?"

"Because I want you both to stay," he said. "I think your father might be glad that I'm watching after you, and of course, I wish Sebastian to stay."

"Why do you wish Sebastian to stay?" my master wanted to know. "He isn't a child. I thought you only wanted to take in children."

"Do you remember what I told you about that unique quality that some humans have? It's even rarer in demons, but against all odds, Sebastian has it. I want to keep him with me. He's quite captivated me."

My master glanced at me and looked concerned while I tried not to die of embarrassment. Of all things, why had he had to say that?