Author's note: So many kudos and likes again! And a big thank you to jenmoon1 for your review! I feel seriously happy now! Thank you all for being understanding with my eye problems and the slowness of my updates. I'll be seeing the consultant in September so hopefully be on top form again soon! A special massive thank you to Moneera for your lovely review and support, you have no idea how great it made me feel to read it! Thank you to everyone and enjoy the new chapter!
Sebastian seems to have been taken and Ciel must decide how they will rescue him.
Warnings: Sebaciel (implied, mostly Sitri now being a butt), swearing and gore.
That Butler, Spying
The atmosphere had become so tense as Ciel voiced his worries,
"What if… whatever that creature is… has got Sebastian?" he spoke. It took all his control to stop his voice shaking with fear, the overwhelming fear that something had happened to his butler and it left him open and defenseless. He gently bit his lower lip as all kinds of grisly scenarios played through his mind.
Rachel and Sitri stared at the Earl before sharing a worried glance. Suddenly, Sitri burst out laughing, scaring the other two and even making the coach's horses whinny in fright. Ciel's head shot up, staring at the laughing demon,
"W-what are you-" he stopped as Sitri patted him on the head, his laughter dying down. The demon's eyes twinkled with a knowing look,
"Forgive me, Little Lord. But your worry over Malphas is hilarious! Almost like a fussing wife" he spoke, the odd snicker still coming out. He grinned at the Earl who was flushing pink, "Now, I'll admit Malphas is attractive so I can see why you'd fall for him. But don't let love blind you to the obvious. Malphas won't be brought down so easily"
Both Rachel and Ciel started at this,
"Fall for him?" they both echoed. Sitri leant back, still chuckling, as Ciel felt his mind reeling,
"Y-you're wrong!" he babbled, desperate for excuses, "It's just I'd feel better if he was here!"
"I bet" came the retort, Sitri wiggled his eyebrows with a knowing look. Ciel turned redder and lunged at the demon, pulling him up by his shirt.
"I don't mean like that! I mean… that is… what if…" suddenly all the rage left him as his train of thought continued, his grip on Sitri's shirt loosening "What if… he's hurt? Or… worse…" a sharp pain went through his heart as he pictured Sebastian laying in a pool of blood much like his mother and father were. He had seen what Sebastian could look like dead, after the butler pretended to die during the murderous party at his manor. He imagined the eyes unblinking, drying out as they openly stared at nothing. The skin, cold and growing paler, as the blood froze in his veins with no heart to beat it. Blood seeping into the woollen tailcoat he'd given to the demon when their time together started, congealing and sticking to everything.
A hand landed on his head again and another on his hand, pulling him out of his reverie. He looked up, realising he had been trembling slightly, at the concern on Rachel's face as she squeezed his hand reassuringly and the soft look Sitri gave him.
"What…?" he asked softly, as the demon placed him gently back on his seat. He watched the demon sit back down and realised how open he'd just been. Not only in front of his servant, but also in front of this mocking demon. Ciel flushed again, pride resurging to cover his previous moments,
"I-I mean-" he started, stammering slightly.
"Malphas won't die" Sitri stated, cutting off the earl. This simple statement caused Ciel to blink,
"What?" he asked, all thoughts of embarrassment put aside. Sitri smiled confidently,
"As I said before, Malphas won't be brought down so easily. He's extremely cunning and quick-witted. Whoever has him, he'll have talked his way out of death. Even if he is captured, I wouldn't worry about him dying any time soon" the demon explained then he grinned. "Besides, he has been in far worse situations than this"
Ciel nodded, feeling confident again,
"Yes, you're right" he felt himself relax slightly. He realised Sitri was looking at him expectantly and flushed again, "And I… apologise for my outburst"
Sitri wagged his tail,
"It's fine, Little Lord. Love makes humans do foolish things" he replied, earning a kick from Ciel. Ciel looked away, blushing,
"I'm not in love, you idiot!" the boy hissed, as he crossed his arms. Ciel then became thoughtful,
'So, now we must plan how to save Sebastian. No doubt he is being used as bait by whoever has him; they'll expect us to come and rescue him. But we have no idea who we're dealing with or where they are'
A memory surfaced and Ciel blinked,
"Sitri… earlier in the bathrooms you could overhear Rachel and I speaking, couldn't you?" Ciel asked, looking back over at the pair. The demon grinned mischievously; he had been anticipating the boy asking this.
"Yes Little Lord. Quite clearly" he replied. Rachel looked over with a sceptical expression,
"My Lord, a demon's hearing is extremely sensitive. I'm not surprised that Sitri could hear us" she spoke. Sitri shook his head,
"Actually, it was pretty hard to hear in that place. No doubt whoever is controlling things also made it difficult for us demons to use our heightened senses" he replied. Ciel rubbed his chin as he thought,
"I believe you were also rambling about pipes whilst we were in there, weren't you?" the boy asked.
"How could we forget?" commented Rachel icily, glaring at the demon. Sitri gave a nervous laugh before nodding to the earl,
"Yes, they are a single system that only pushes water through one pump. Meaning water doesn't sit in the pipes" he explained. Ciel nodded, now understanding,
"Which means the pipes are usually empty unless someone turns a tap. And that means, you could use them as a hearing trumpet; you would be able to hear someone in another room" he said, realising what this could mean. "You could turn the pipes to listen to various rooms, provided you were near enough"
"And had a diagram that showed the pipework of the buildings on that college grounds" Sitri nodded to Ciel as he pointed this out.
Ciel nodded and reached into the folds of his cloak, removing the map that Sebastian had given him earlier. He smirked, confident now that he had a plan, and looked up at the grinning demon,
"I guess you aren't just an idiot after all" he commented. The demon bowed mockingly,
"I appreciate your compliment, Little Cross-dressing Lord" he retorted, eyes looking over the dress the earl was still wearing. Ciel growled,
"Shut up!"
Nightfall felt like it took an eternity to arrive for Ciel, who looked out the window as he mulled over their plans.
'What if this doesn't work? That stupid demon could easily be tricking me for his entertainment' he mused. His thoughts then turned towards Sitri's comments on him falling for Sebastian,
'"Malphas is attractive, I can see why you'd fall for him". Sebastian is definitely attractive. Very attractive' the earl's thoughts turned towards imagining his butler, smirking and proud. Then they shifted towards focusing on Sebastian's lips, wondering how they might taste. He turned red, realising what he was thinking, and shook his head,
'What the hell? That's ridiculous! Imagining those sorts of things is…'
He looked around the room, trying to find something to distract himself, when there was knocking at the door. He turned to face the door,
"Enter" he commanded. Rachel walked in, wearing a black cloak. She held up a similar one,
"Young Master, it's time" she said, holding it out for him. Ciel nodded and noticed Sitri waiting by the door, leaning against the frame. The demon grinned at Ciel,
'Time to see if he's telling the truth' the boy mused, feeling anxious as the cloak was wrapped around his shoulders.
It had started to rain whilst they walked towards the wall beside the college gates. Water ran through the streets and spilled from overfull gutters, splattering on the floor below. Ciel pulled the cloak closer around himself, trying to keep his soaked skin warm.
As they came level with the new building of the college, a high brick wall looming between them and its closest wall, Ciel felt a knot of anxiety tie itself again.
'Sebastian could be just behind that wall for all we know' the thought drifted through his mind and he found himself staring desperately into the blackened windows. His hand reached up to touch his eye patch, covering the sign of their contract that glowed steadily underneath.
"Sebastian…" he murmured.
"My Lord, over here!" came Rachel's voice, whispering, and she waved to him from an alley near the building. She pointed to a pipe that disappeared into the masonry. He looked over briefly at the gates further down the road; there was no movement from them, and hurried to where his housekeeper stood. She pointed to the pipe again,
"It's as Sitri said, the pipes are kept clear and you can hear voices inside the building" she whispered, standing aside to let Ciel listen. The boy looked over at Sitri, who was hiding under a piece of roofing from the rain. He frowned,
"Sitri, go stand guard at the entrance to this alleyway. Tell us if any guards come out" he ordered. The demon blinked then huffed,
"And why should I do that, Little Lord? Don't think you can order me around now that Malphas isn't here" the demon retorted, shaking the water from his hair. "Besides, I despise the rain and getting wet"
Ciel tutted and glared at the demon, who was half hidden by shadows,
"Now look here-" he started, turning to face the demon. A hand on his shoulder made him stop and he looked back at Rachel who shook her head, putting a finger to her lips and pointing to the pipe. If they could hear in, people would be able to hear them if he started shouting, and that would certainly attract the guards. Ciel realised this and nodded to her before shooting Sitri another glare,
"Useless demon" he whispered, his voice harsh from the strain of staying quiet. This only made the demon grin in triumph and lean back against the wall.
Ciel rolled his eyes and cocked his ear to the pipe. He concentrated, the splashing rain around them making it harder to hear.
Sure enough, voices drifted out to them and he listened intently.
"I can't believe you've let him escape twice now!" raged a voice. It was female and sounded like someone used to giving orders. Ciel realised it was the voice of the headmistress and listened harder. He heard the smack of flesh meeting flesh, a slap no doubt. This was followed by someone else, a man, mumbling excuses, but it was cut off by Madame Gagnon.
"No more excuses! Find him and dispose of him or it'll be your turn at the wheel next time!" she cried. Then footsteps followed by a slamming door.
'Your turn at the wheel? What on Earth does that mean?' Ciel pondered. He realised someone else was talking now.
"Damn bitch has a mean hit! Who the hell does she think she is?" came the mumbled remark, muffled slightly by someone nursing a stinging cheek no doubt. The scraping of a chair followed by the grunt of someone sitting suggested it must have been some kind of break room.
"It's not our fault the brat ran away before we could get to him! How would we know he'd cause a scene and bolt?" beseeched the voice. The glug of a bottle and a chuckle, this time from a different voice.
"Don't let her get to you. When this job is over, she won't matter anymore. Besides, I'm more interested in what those girls kept saying. A woman shot lightning at a naked man in the bathrooms? And the new girl, who turned out to be the Watchdog, knew both of them" the new voice, male again, was softer and more eloquent.
"Oh please! Ridiculous gossip from girls with nothing better to do! Being cooped up in here; it's no wonder they start imagining naked men appearing!" snapped the first voice, setting down the bottle. The other voice sighed softly,
"Perhaps. But it would pay us well to look into this, we can't afford to lose him again" came the reply. The first voice huffed, scraping back his chair,
"Well it doesn't matter for now anyway! No one would be going anywhere in this weather so we better get the next delivery ready" Ciel heard the door open and footsteps.
"Of course, my friend" the second voice still sounded doubtful. Then the door shut and Ciel couldn't hear anymore.
'The second guy sounded like he was either high class or well educated' Ciel considered the voices and realised they sounded familiar. 'They were the men from the train attack!' He clenched a fist, remembering the pain in his broken arm. The rain and the cold had made it ache again.
'So, they knew we survived the train wreck and followed us here? But how did they know we were still coming?' He considered this and the fact that they had been talking to the headmistress. 'The college is involved with this gang sent to kill me. They must have somehow known who I was before we even got to Paris and sent word to the gang to come here' He considered the letters and application forms they'd used to admit him to the college. They never used his name or even posted them from the manor, just in case someone tracked the delivery back, but still, someone had known who he was and when he would arrive. Someone must have kept tabs on them somehow.
Ciel's eyes drifted back to look at Rachel, who was watching him with concern. As he looked at her, she leant forward,
"What did they say, My Lord?" she asked in a hushed voice. Ciel considered her expression carefully,
'Although Sebastian said she isn't connected to the gang, could she have somehow lied? It seems all too convenient how this gang knew our whereabouts the entire time'
Ciel shook his head, dislodging the thought. If Rachel was involved then she would have killed him as soon as Sebastian was captured.
'Besides, what use does a dead person have for mobs and civil unrest? That would appeal far more to…' Ciel felt his eyes now drift over to Sitri, who was watching them from under his shelter.
'To a demon' the boy realised, now focused on said demon.
Sitri's eyes seemed to glitter, mocking the earl, and his calm expression reminded Ciel of Sebastian's right before he killed someone. Ciel gulped at the connotation and stood upright, weighing his options. Rachel stood up next to him, now looking worried,
"My Lord, what did you hear? Is Sebastian inside?" she asked, scanning the boy's face for any clues. Ciel shook his head,
"The people inside didn't mention him and I couldn't hear anyone else in the room after they left. But they were the gang who attacked us on the train. They knew that we had survived and that we were coming to the college" Ciel spoke softly, his eyes never leaving Sitri. The demon had stood up now, staring back at the boy,
"So someone has been telling them everything as it happens?" the demon asked, eyes never leaving the boy's. Ciel gritted his teeth,
"Yes, it would seem that way" the boy admitted, his fists clenched so tight they shook. Sitri walked out from under his cover and smirked,
"I wonder who could be doing that?" the demon remarked, his voice still casual. Ciel glared at him, his mind still considering what to do.
'If I call him out now, I'm defenceless. If I at least play dumb until we're inside, there's a chance I can get to Sebastian before this idiot decides to pull anything' Ciel resolved himself to this and tried to relax.
"Who knows? At this point, it could be anyone" the boy replied, trying to sound flippant. The demon's eyes flashed briefly and he grinned wider,
"Yes, you're right of course" Ciel supressed a shudder of fear and headed to the mouth of the alley. Rachel looked between the two, bemused, and started to follow her master.
"So, what shall we do now, My Lord?" she asked. She raised a questioning eyebrow at Sitri, who simply smiled back at her. Ciel watched out the corner of his eye and sighed,
"We must find a way inside and see if we can find Sebastian. It would appear that even Madame Gagnon is involved in this case, so going undercover again would be useless" the earl explained. He heard Sitri chuckle and turned to scowl at the aggravating demon. Ciel let out a cry as he saw the demon lunging forward and grab him by the middle, hauled off his feet and dangling under the demon's arm.
"W-what? Unhand me right now!" he cried, kicking out at Sitri. The demon laughed at the tiny flailing human. Rachel rushed over, but was stopped by a stern look from Sitri. The girl paused, looking torn, and watched the scene,
"If you want in, Little Lord, I'll get you in" the demon jeered before walking towards the wall, he gestured for Rachel to follow. Ciel continued struggling,
"W-what are you doing? I told you to put me down! Rachel, do something at once!" the boy cried out and noticed they were walking closer to the wall.
'If he intends to jump it, we'll definitely be seen! What is this maniac thinking?' Ciel's mind raced as they got nearer to the wall. Rachel followed silently as they stopped right in front of the wall. Sitri smiled at her, offering his elbow for her to hold and touched the wall with his free hand. Ciel ceased his struggling as he watched this,
"What exactly are you plan-" a rush of wind, black shadows overcame them. Ciel gasped and noticed Sitri's eyes glowing pink. He intended to use his demonic powers to get them in. The demon grinned a grin full of sharp teeth and pressed the wall, which stretched under his touch. They stepped forward and all became darkness. Ciel found his voice muffled as he cried out, his vision completely black.
'Just where is this maniac taking me?" he thought.
That's it for now! Is Sitri really fooling Ciel? And where is he taking him? What about Sebastian? Please like, review and share! All support means so much to me! And I'll be quick as I can with the next chapter, with the limited screen time. I look forward to seeing you all in the next chapter! Take care!