Whoo! This is bar none one of my favourite chapters so far. I'm excited to be delivering this to you. *Giddy laughter*

Going on with things:

WARNING: This chapter DEFINITELY has horror elements to it (crappy ones, because I suck at those, but horror nonetheless). On the bright side, we are now officially entering the meaty part of the story, so you can say sayonara to the beginning/intro stuff! (All 4 chapters of it...ugh. I really need to work on making those shorter.)

Going on – into the dark forest!

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CH V

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The ride across the border went without much incident – they were stopped at one point to ask if they intended to take the pass, but Sebastian managed to handle it. They insisted that if they were going into the mountains that they take a different horse, and so Ciel begrudgingly waited for Sebastian to hook up the larger, more muscular horse to the body of the carriage before going on. A steady tapping on the window alerted him to the swift descent of rain, and as they climbed into the pass areas, it began to pelt harder, making hollow whacking noises on the roof. Ciel tapped the roof lightly, getting the demon's attention.

"Are we alright to keep going in this weather?" He asked, out of courtesy more than want to stop. He knew Sebastian would be fine whatever, but he wasn't sure if the horse would be alright with the slick, unpaved roads ahead.

"It's only a bit of rain, m'lord. Besides, it seems to be passing." True enough, the inside of the carriage became eerily silent as the rain faded out.

"Go on then. I want to be there no later than noon tomorrow, if possible." He tapped the roof again to indicate he was finished speaking, and felt them increase speed.

Ciel was very nearly asleep when suddenly, the entire carriage lurched forward with an abrupt stop, sending the young Earl toppling into the floor with the force of the momentum they had been carrying.

"Oof! Sebastian, what the hell?" Ciel cried, quite upset at being so rudely awakened. He could hear his butler about to respond, but he was cutoff when the horse pulling them suddenly made a terrible whinny, and the carriage jerked backwards, again knocking Ciel off his feet and back onto the seat cushions.

"Whoah! Steady now!" Sebastian yelled, trying to get the horse under control.

"Sebastian! What is happening out there?"

"Something seems to have spooked the horse, my Lord." Ciel scoffed. Figures they'd get a horse that would spook so easy. Ciel stopped his thought then, however, remembering suddenly that there was supposed to be a large, predatory animal on the loose. The horse cried out again, and the entire carriage shook up and down violently as it reared, quite frightened by one thing or the next.

"Sebastian! Get us out of here!" Ciel called, afeared that the thing spooking the horse might well be out to eat it.

The carriage lurched forward again, taking off at an unprecedented speed. The spooked horse ran without any care for who was holding it's reigns, refusing in panic to listen to any command Sebastian tried to give it.

"Woah!" Ciel cried as they flew over a pit in the road. "Sebastian, slow down!"

"I can't my Lord, the horse is too panicked to listen to me!" Sebastian tried pulling back on the reigns one more time, but rather than make the horse stop or slow, the sudden pressure on it's bridle and the disorienting angle of it's head against it's neck drove the horse to careen to the side of the road, where a rather deep drainage ravine had been made by the rains. Sebastian pulled his hardest without hurting the horse to direct it back onto the road, but the panicky creature couldn't pull the weight against the inertia. As soon as Sebastian felt the wheel of the carriage clip the edge of the ravine, his own survival instincts kicked in, and he leapt from the vehicle, watching as if in slow motion as the entire carriage, horse and all, keeled onto it's side, the horse screaming out of fright from the fall. Trying to right itself against it's restraints, the horse kicked and thrashed violently against the carriage itself, snapping off chips of wood with it's sharp hooves as it did so. Not having much time to think, Sebastian decided his master, in the padded carriage, was temporarily safe, and went about freeing the frightened horse. A simple snap of the leather bands that kept it put sent the creature on it's feet and sprinting away down the off-road path they'd been taking.

'No matter. I can catch it later.' Sebastian thought, practically ripping off the door as he went in to see if his master was safe.

He had to suppress a chuckle when he seen the young Lord, upside down with bottom up and feet dangling over his head, glaring daggers at him. "So you save the horse first, eh? I see how it is." He grumbled bitterly.

"With all due respect, your life wasn't in as much immediate danger. Besides, I can always retrieve it."

"Yeah, yeah, quit your chatter and help me out of this contraption!" Sebastian obliged, taking his master's hand and helping him twist himself to right before carefully picking him up and carrying him out of the carriage.

"Is the carriage alright?" Sebastian set his master down and went about inspecting it, and to his dismat found it unrepairable.

"I'm afraid not." He said, coming back around to his master's side. "The entire axle has been broken to splinters, and the back wheel is missing some nine of it's spokes."

"So, in other words, it's not fixable."

"Not immediately, no."

"Great." Ciel huffed sarcastically, shivering from the autumn chill. He looked around, but could hardly see anything in the dark. A sudden light shining from behind him made him turn to find that Sebastian had somehow salvaged one of the lamps.

"How are we supposed to get to Inverness now?" Ciel complained. He did not like how things were turning out.

"Well, my lord..." Sebastian came up behind him now, using the lamp to light their path. "It would seem we have no choice but to walk." Ciel looked up at him incredulously.

"Walk? Are you mad? In the dark? In October?!" Ciel upstarted. "I'll freeze to death!"

"Maybe not, if I were to carry you. The temperature doesn't really bother me, nor does it affect my own body temperature all that much." the butler offered sincerely. "You could also take my coat, if you were want to. As said, the cold doesn't particularly affect me, though I can't say I prefer it." Ciel thought about it with a frown.

"Fine. We 'll at least walk until we find a suitable place to make camp." Ciel stated, walking on ahead, though he was careful not to leave the light of the lamp.

"Are you coming?"

"Are you not sure it would be better for me to carry you? You did say it was cold enough to kill you after all." The demon mocked.

"I'll stay on my feet as long as I'm able. You can carry me when I get too tired." Sebastian sighed, having expected a grander response.

"Yes, my Lord."

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"By the way," Ciel uttered after they walked for a ways. "W-what do you s-suppose spooked the horse?" Ciel kept his jaw from chattering as best he was able, but as the temperature dropped, it was becoming more and more difficult to keep the shivers that were wracking his frame under control.

"I am unsure myself. I did sense something ahead of us, but it was there and gone so quickly that I could not ascertain what it was."

"Do you think it w-was the cat?"

"Perhaps." Sebastian looked down at his pitiful master, a small smirk coming onto his face.

Ciel nearly lept from his skin when a sudden weight fell on both shoulders. Turning to look, he found his butler's coat draped around his shoulders.

"I'm fine." He lied. "I d-don't need it."

"Nonsense, you're practically convulsing with shivers." Sebastian chastisized lightly. "Besides, you quite recall what happened last time you were in a stressful situation and caught cold." Ciel didn't like to, but he did. Not favouring another asthma attack, he begrudginly accepted the coat, pulling it around himself. He would never admit it to anyone, but the scent of his butler on the coat, wrapped around him as it was, was...comforting, in it's own way.

As Ciel was going along, Sebastian's hand pressed firmly against his chest abruptly halted him. He was about to ask what he was doing, but in that instant the demon's body language changed just as abruptly as he'd been stopped, his posture crouched and face alert for danger. Ciel felt the urge to stay quiet then, some instinct telling him to stay silent but alert. The stayed like that for a moment before Sebastian's posture changed again, his stance becoming more erect as his head tilted to and fro, listening for something.

"Sebastian –" Ciel whispered just above a breath, his hair beginning to stand on end for more reasons that the chill in the air, which suddenly seemed to get colder, even beneath the wool coat he wore. Suddenly, there was darkness as Sebastian blew out the lamp, grabbing his master and pressing him uncomfortably against his chest.

"Sebastian –" Ciel was about to complain, confused and frightened by the unexpected darkness, but a hand over his mouth cut off his voice. He was pushed down then, and his butler's heavy body mounted over him in a protective stance as the demon's aura became increasingly tangible. Ciel's heart hammered hard and fast in his chest like a rabbit's, his muscles shaking with adrenaline as his fear escalated.

"Se-" He was about to make another inquiry about what was happening, when an eerie noise reached his ears from in front of them. It was a laughing sort of noise, but whatever throat it came out of was definitely not human. The laughing was pitchy and animalistic, reflective of a hyena, but decidedly different as well. And like hyenas, there seemed to be more than one as the sounds echoed from around them on three sides. Shrinking as much as possible, Ciel plastered himself to the wet earth, terror beginning to seep from his bones. A long, high-pitched cry from one of the three creatures made Ciel shudder – but nothing quite made his stomach churn like the sound his own butler made, a long, raspy hissing escaping his throat as a warning to whatever happened to be onto them. Ciel dared a glance up towards Sebastian's face, and even in the darkness could see his fangs shining and on full display to these creatures.

The sound of branches being rustled in the brush made Ciel's heart skip a beat, his body quaking now with the suppressed urge to flee. Before them, in the darkness came a silhouette of some sort of beast, with long, bat-like ears and what appeared to be two swishing tails. It's long teeth could be seen glimmering in the faint moonlight, which was obstructed by clouds. It made that horrible lauging call again, and two others like it appeared from the brush as well. Ciel felt panic begin to grip at him, clawing him backwards as he tried to hide more completely beneath his butler's body. The demon's aura flared, making Ciel even more afraid, if that was possible, his breath coming in short, painful gasps as he tried not to be tangled in them – again.

Sebastian let out another low, raspy, drawn-out hiss, bearing his fangs to these creatures just as they bore their own. After a minute, the three seemed to reconsider their options, pacing back and forth in front of them on forelegs that were much longer than their hind ones. Seeing them move put a different perspective on things, and Ciel mentally compared their size to the average border collie. Not huge, but still foreign enough to be frightening. His mind was put a little at ease once he actually registered how small they were, but it didn't say that way. One of the three made a mock-lunge at Sebastian, trying to scare him away by lifting it's forelegs above it's head and stamping them hard on the ground. In doing so, however, even in the dim light, Ciel noticed something strange about it's legs, for there appeared to be a leathery membrane attaching it's elbow to it's body, – only the way it was situated and stretched...

Ciel came to the uncomfortable conclusion, then, that it's legs weren't legs at all.

They were wings.

"Sebastian, get me out of here, now! That's and order!" Ciel said in desperation, somehow finding his voice amidst his very short-lived mental reprieve. Before he could even register what was happening, they were moving, bounding along through the treeline. Out of breath, Ciel panted, only to be startled again when he heard a harrowing screaming coming up from behind them.

"Sebastian!" Ciel cried in panic, gripping him like a lifeline. In a way, he was his lifeline, for now anyway.

He dared a glance behind them, only to have his earlier suspicions proved – the damn things could fly like bats and were presently chasing them from above the treeline.

"Young master, please hang on tightly – I'm afraid this might be a rough ride." Was all the warning he was given before his body was jerked suddenly to the side as Sebastian made a right-angle turn. Ciel closed his eyes tightly, wishing, not for the first time, that this was a nightmare he could wake up from.

He heard and felt Sebastian reach up as one of them came down to grapple and toss the screeching creature away from them. A sudden free-fall made Ciel nearly lose his stomach, but he recovered himself enough not to be ill once they hit solid ground. The sound of Sebastian's shoes running on stone reached his ears, and he drew the conclusion that they had hit some rocky outcrop, or else had dropped into a cave or tavern of some sort. Peeking just enough to see that there was still light around them, he decided on the former.

They went on at a speed Ciel didn't even want to consider for a while more, before gradually coming to a halt. Sebastian set Ciel down on unsteady feet, having to catch him once while he regained his balance.

"Just what the bloody hell were those things?" Ciel asked, breathless despite not being the one who had been sprinting. "And where are we?"

"I am unsure of our exact location – however, those beasts certainly explain the disappearances." Ciel caught the tone in his voice that indicated he wasn't saying something.

"And? Do you know what they were?"

"I know what they are," He said solemnly, a rare scowl coming onto his face. "They're demons." He said after a moment. "Though what on earth they're doing in this world, I don't know." Ciel panted, trying to come to grips with this information.

"Seems like we're running into demons left and right here lately." Ciel said. "Though I always did think it odd that we've never run into one before. I mean, I knew you couldn't be the only one." Ciel huffed. A light chuckle from Sebastian put his attention back on the black-clad butler. "What I think you mean is that we haven't run into any that you've been aware of." Ciel blinked at the thought, all others stopping to heed the magnitude of that one. It did make sense, when he thought about it, but...

"How many have we passed that you didn't say anything about?"

"Why would I say anything?" Sebastian countered. "They were of no immediate threat to you, so I had no reason to point them out. Besides which, none of them were quite as powerful or as old as Alistar or myself. Even if they had started a confrontation over territory or worse, you, then they probably wouldn't have attacked, provided they had their wits about them." Ciel grew agitated at his butlers crafty way of dodging the subject.

"You're avoiding the question." He said pointedly.

"Because honestly, my Lord, I don't have a definitive number. Unlike you, who is human, and rather like a lamb, always having to be on the lookout for the wolf in disguise, I don't tend to keep tabs on where the other wolves might be hiding in the flock, though believe me, they're out there. It's none of my business to mess with, and as long as they stay well out of my way, of no concern to me." Sebastian shrugged with just as much casualness as he'd said the words with. Figures he'd do something like that.

"Hmf. Well, in any case, we should figure out where we are." Ciel looked up, seeing that they were under a clear sky now.

"Can you navigate us in the general direction we are supposed to be going?" He asked, watching the stars. A hand on his shoulder called his attention, and he realized then that he was standing on top of a pale gray-ish rock, it's colour obvious in the moonlight now that the skies had cleared.

"What are you doing?" Ciel asked as Sebastian pulled him backwards lightly.

"Before we go anywhere, I think you should rest, even if it's for a few minutes." He advised. "You've had quite the frightening experience, young Lord. If you continue to push on, you might very well faint or else become ill."

"I feel fine." Ciel huffed, trying to shrug him off. It didn't work, however, and the demon's hand remained glued to his shoulder. He was being serious.

"I really don't think you are. You have a lot of fight still in your body, and it's making you restless. Once you calm down, I think you will find yourself quite drained." Sebastian explained, pulling the Earl back towards a large spruce tree that had rooted itself into a large crack in the stone. "Though you did not have to fight for your life, the same effect was achieved by the panic you were experiencing." He continued, sitting beside the tree and pulling his Lord down beside him.

"Come now. You need to rest." Sebastian kept one arm around his waist as the little Earl made himself as comfortable as possible without leaning on his butler, knowing it was futile to resist him when he was like this. He ultimately failed to get comfy on the hard stone, and as the fight in his veins began to leave him and the exhaustion Sebastian had spoke of began to take hold, he couldn't resist the only-somewhat softer body of his servant, and leaned against him without care. As he grew more weary, he felt Sebastian's hands reposition him gently into a vastly more comfortable pose, though he couldn't say he knew which one – not that he cared much as he slowly drifted to sleep, praying that his dreams wouldn't be as frightful as the living nightmare he'd just experienced.

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Ciel woke just as dawn broke over the crest of the mountain, leaving the forests around them still in twilight but painting the sky above them a brilliant peach colour. When he shifted to stretch, he realized that something – or more specifically, someone – was behind him. Looking back, he found with a glowing blush that he'd been positioned, somehow, to rest against his butler's chest, with his body situated somewhat between his legs. Looking towards his face, the earl found him to be feigning sleep, though a deep, even breath against his back might have fooled anyone else.

"Sebastian, wake up." Ciel barked, shifting to stand himself, only to find his body quite weary. He needed to eat something.

Turning to the demon still lying there, he watched Sebastian open his eyes slower than he'd of expected, and seen him for the first time ever actually stretch.

"Were you actually sleeping?" Ciel inquired, now feeling a little bad if he'd woken him.

"Not really. I believe the term you might use is cat-napping." As if to compliment that statement, he leaned forward on all fours and stretched in a rather cat-like manner, spreading his arms in front of him before bowing his back down until his chest nearly touched the ground before springing back up and arching his back the other way.

"I must say," He complained. "That tree is rather uncomfortable." He rose, visibly stretching his legs as he did so. Catching his master staring, he smirked.

"Even I need to stretch my muscles sometimes. Besides, I wasn't planning on coming so close to falling asleep. It's rather odd, since I don't actually need to sleep." He shrugged. "Perhaps I've gotten out of shape. After all, I don't get much decent exercise nowadays." He looked at Ciel meaningfully, causing the Earl to glare.

"I need to eat something." he voiced, holding his stomach as a particularly nauseating hunger pain flushed through his abdomen like a wave. "But to cook anything out here would take too long."

"If you will, my lord," Sebastian said, calling his master's attention. "When we were...ahem, escaping, last night, I did happen to see what looked like a small village in the northernly direction. I am not sure, with the coming daylight, if I would be able to spot it again amongst the foliage, but I think we could get there on foot, if I were to carry you, within an hour or so." Ciel turned to him with a glare that was as incredulous as it was angry.

"Idiot, then why didn't you simply go there last night?!"

"Because there is a clearing area between us and it; to have carried you into open spaces with those beasts looking for us would have been simply begging for them to swoop down and carry you off – and you know very well that I won't let that happen." Ciel frowned at the familiarly eerie smirk on his face, moving to stand on the edge of the rock they had found themselves seated on. Looking around him, he found themselves to be in quite a thick area of the wood, with a wall of underbrush and brambles effectively surrounding them on every side except the one he figured they'd come in from, which was to the western side, behind the tree they'd slept on. Peering through the narrow opening (and wondering how on earth Sebastian managed to squeeze through such a narrow space without making any noise that he could recall) he found a sort of game trail, and figured it must have lead up to that free-fall drop they'd encountered last night.

"You jumped off something rather high last night, correct?" Sebastian looked confused by the question, but answered nonetheless.

"Yes. Those creatures chased us off a nearly vertical cliff. I didn't have much of a choice but to jump." Sebastian replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Because, I want to know if we are even on the right side of the mountain." Ciel said, looking around him. "If we've gone back down it the way we came up, then maybe there's a road or something that will lead us to a pass. I'd honestly prefer to avoid whatever local goons live way out here in no-man's-land if I can." Ciel complained, sighing. Sebastian chuckled sardonically.

"That coming from the mouth of someone who was just complaining about being hungry." Sebastian came up behind him, standing there purposefully. "I am sure that these people are not so inhospitable as to not welcome the rare traveller. Besides, there's a chance they know something about those demons we ran into, as well as the disappearances." Ciel looked back at his butler thoughtfully, before heaving a deep sigh of resignment.

"Fine. But I'd rather we didn't stay any longer than we have to."

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"Ugh..." Ciel moaned as he climbed up an unforgiving slope, his body entirely fatigued from hunger. His legs were beginning to shake from the exertion, and he felt the whisps of faintness touch his brow with every step.

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry you, my Lord?" Sebastian asked, almost mocking him with how easy he made climbing this damn hill look.

"I need to move, unless you'd like me to be sick on you. My empty stomach is making me feel ill, and your jostling around isn't helpful in keeping what little is in there down."

"As I've told you, I can go slower. But you were the one who said you wanted to get there and out quickly..."

"Oh, shut up. It's just as much your fault as mine." Ciel paused a moment, huffing. He had to bend over as a wave of dizziness hit him, and didn't bother to fight it when Sebastian came and placed a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"If you insist..." the demon muttered. He gently tugged on Ciel's shoulder, encouraging him along. "Come, we are almost over the crest – " Once more, his butler's hand on his chest was halting.

"Oh, not again." He nearly groaned, but looking ahead of him, this time actually seen what had given his servant pause.

There, at the very top of the hill some ten meters before them was what looked to be a man, dressed in a pale green and gold robe of sorts that seemed to shimmer in the light. His long, wavy blonde hair was parted to the side, leaving one half of his face mostly obscured from sight. He approached them with a casual air and slow, graceful strides, as though he were purposefully making himself seem less threatening.

"Welcome, newcomers." He announced in a smooth timbre voice as he gradually descended. He stopped some four meters in front of them, and Ciel noticed that he was incredibly tall – nearly as tall, if not more so, than Sebastian. "I trust you are the Phantomhive boy?" He looked down at Ciel then, tilting his head in a hawkish fashion, though his gaze was level and calm. Quite startled to find his name, never mind his face, known way out here, he blinked.

"How do you know my name, or even recognize me for that matter?"

"It is not you I would recognize." He looked to Sebastian then. "Your butler is hard not to identify, even in his human form." Ciel's mind froze.

"How –"

"Because he isn't human either." Sebastian explained before Ciel could even ask, his own gaze hardening defensively.

"Fear not, I have no interest in your prey." The man – or whatever he was – said smoothly, holding up his hands placatingly. "Besides which, I do not eat souls, but rather am quite privy to the meat and bones, particularly when freshly dead." The man shrugged. "So unless you plan on leaving his corpse behind on this particular day, then I'm of no threat to your...investment." Ciel swallowed, deciding this pale creature was likely a demon as well.

"Come." He said, turning away as if automatically expecting them to follow. "You come to the village seeking shelter, I can assume, or else are here to see Alistar." Ciel exchanged looks with Sebastian then.

"Alistar?"

"Yes. He did say you might come here." The man walked on, pausing at the top of the hill again. Ciel quickly climbed up to his level, being sure to keep some distance just in case. He turned to Ciel again with a familiar kind of smile. "He is also my mate, if you might recall." Ciel did recall, and looking over this man, had a hard time believing he had been that pheasant-like bird from before.

"You're Alistar's mate?" Ciel asked with just as much disbelief.

"Oh come now, no need to be rude. Is it that difficult to imagine?" He said off-puttedly before perking up. "The name is Gabriel, by the by."

"Gabriel? Odd name for a demon to take." Sebastian commented. Gabriel only shrugged.

"It was given to me by a human I once lived with. She often likened me to the Angel because of my pale, curly hair – the amusing nature of it made it stick, and so that is now my name." He turned then, and began to go down the hill, at which point Ciel seen, through the brush below, the outline of a little hamlet.

"Well, are you coming? I'm sure Alistar will want to know you're here."

"Wait," Ciel said, halting. "Didn't Alistar say something about where he lived...?" Ciel thought on it, trying to recall what it was he'd said.

"Fear not," Gabriel said, waving him down. "So long as you have a contract, the demons here won't hurt you."

"Demons?" Ciel inquired, half disbelievingly, half in surprise.

"Yes," Gabriel smiled then, opening his arms in a welcoming gesture.

"Welcome to Via ad Inferos, the village of demons."

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Ok, ok, so we are moving things along! What will Ciel do when confronted by a village full of demons that, as far as he's concerned, are out to eat him? How deeply into the world of his butler's belonging will this case take him? Read to find out!

A note:

Via ad Inferos literally means "the way back to Hell", so you can expect something from that!

Until the next chapter, I bid you farewell!