Chapter 17: Sebastian POV

I stood by the window, looking at the front gates. The Tutor had left them behind an hour ago, but I still stood, watching as the skies darkened and threatened more snow.

"Are you listening?"

I turned to the Master and nodded. "Calculations for the Funtom Candy Collection. Yes, the numbers have increased."

He stared at me and I stared back. "You were muttering to yourself."

I looked at him and frowned. "I was not saying anything."

"You were thinking loudly than, because I heard something from you as I was talking." The Master sighed and got up, walking to the window. "Speak."

"It is nothing."

"Sebastian," he said, his voice laced with a warning he would command me if needed. I smiled; he was a shallow man at times.

"I was reflecting on the actions of yesterday and this morning. Specifically when it came to the Tutor."

"Miss Mr. Hyde already?"

"Not as such," I said. I was surprised in the honesty that was in that answer. I had grown accustomed to feeling something other than Human when he was around. Now the house was full of the pungent Human smell. The servants were below, cleaning the dishes and packing food in boxes to be delivered to the town later that afternoon, to help feed the poor. My Mistress was tending to the young Master, who seemed to have settled down.

"My Lord," I ventured. He looked up at me slightly. "About last night. I should tell you that I fought a Demon."

He looked at me and sucked in a breath. "What? One was bold enough to come here?"

"It seems my hunch about the young Master being possessed was correct. However, I think there is something else still in him."

"Get it out of my son - I don't care how you do it - free my son of this damned Demon!" he hissed.

"Of course, my Lord." I paused and mulled over his words, so close to an open order I took it. Of course I want to keep the young Master from harm, and any Demon that still remained, or even a lingering essence of one could damage one so young. I looked at the Master; he was a 10 year old child and frail. But his conviction was strong and he guided me to what he believed he wanted, what he needed. The young Master was not crying out for protection, for vengeance, or for… I paused and looked out the window.

"What makes Humans desperate for a Demon to save them? What makes them push all religion and faith away?"

The Master laughed. "You just now are asking deep complex questions? How long have you been a Demon?" He shook his head and sat back in his chair. "Is this an exercise of the mind? See how much is left in my conviction to hand over my Soul versus keep it for the sake of my family?" He looked over at the silver framed portrait of his wife and son. He picked them up and looked at me. "You are deeply concerned for my well being, which includes my son. Including my staff which you long ago brought around to protect me. What is your plan for my son?"

I looked him over and walked to stand by the edge of his desk. "I believed that the Demon I fought yesterday was, in fact, the same that was within the young Master. However, I am not sure it was all of it. Demons are… like parasites," I smiled. I let my smile widen and let a little of my Demonic hunger slip out as I looked at him. "We latch on anything we can, the stronger, the better. A Contract makes an assured meal, a completion most satisfying for the things we must do in order to have it. Some don't wait for permission, but slither in and wrap themselves around a Soul, lingering, eating, nibbling, changing the host. A sweet lady becomes a monster to children. An innocent child suddenly snaps the neck of a play thing. A rational Human murders innocents. Demons, low level, almost powerless, Demons are taking these bits of Humanity and eating away. Soon, only a shell will exist. And then that shell is cast off. No need for an empty Soul, devoid of feeling, delicious intent, direction. A walking corpse."

I straightened and turned my head. "Nasty creatures. No culture and no appreciation for the slow build, the slow watching and cultivating. For I have provided you protection, for my benefit. I have helped you prosper, for my benefit. I taught you all you needed to know so you could move in and out of society, be intelligent and understand that in the end, I will be feasting."

"Sebastian, please, stop," the Master whispered. I looked down at him. Sometime when I was talking he had slipped off his patch and looked up at me, the Contract bright and shining. "I chose this in desperation. I have endured it because it has given me satisfaction. I will not allow you to villainize what we have. It has benefitted us mutually. But my son - my son! - he may have done something by accident to invite a Demon in. My child," he ended in a whisper. "Save him. And by god, make sure that Tutor comes back. I know you are unsure about him, but he seems to be breaking through to the boy underneath. The child I have never gotten to know."

I stood and watched him weep, as I nodded. "Yes, my Lord."

A prickle went through me as I stood watching the snow. I looked around, half expecting to see something for the Other Side walk in. Nothing was around, nothing on the grounds, as I surveyed my small kingdom I had built. It was faint, and I narrowed my eyes to pinpoint it. I shook my head and watched as a flock of black birds rose from the trees by the gate. "Seek," I muttered in my tongue. "Where is Mr. Hyde?" I looked passively at the hard ground below; it would have been nice to send the cats out to play and seek, but the birds would not be so hindered by the cold.

"The Tutor," I said at last. "He… he saw something this morning."

I heard the Master shift and gulp. "What?"

"The remains of the Demon inside the young Master."

"What? How?"

I took in a breath. The Master was the only Contract I had that knew about Demons at such a deep level. Cohabitating with one for almost 20 years had given way to many questions and answers, some innocent, others probing. Now I shifted into the old familiar Tutor role.

"When Humans look at Demons, they may not see that they are in fact physically appealing manifestations. I could have chosen any form to take, but I deemed this one the best for the task, and, frankly, I think it is pleasing on the eyes."

"Vain, are we?"

I smiled. "I am a Demon, my Lord. I will not deny it is part of my being. However, there are signs. Such as my mark, or my eyes."

The Master looked at his patch and then slowly at me. "Vincent's eyes… they changed?"

"For the briefest of moments, they did, my Lord."

"And the Tutor saw this?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"So he may not come back…" the Master sighed. "Lizzie is going to have a right fit about that."

I looked him over; what an odd connection to make. "Are you not concerned that he may talk?"

"What will he say? My son's eyes changed? You hear how absurd that sounds?"

"To a Human, yes."

"Ah, yes, your theory Mr. Hyde is not Human. You have a theory on what he is?"

"Several, but not sure if I wish to share them." I looked at him and held up a hand. "Not yet. Let me confer with my network and then I will have more solid answers."

He nodded and turned back to the piles of files. "Do make it soon. I think the King is trying to break my hand again with all this work."

I looked over and smiled. A broken body but a whole Soul would not stop me from feasting. I slipped out of the room, going to make tea and pick up any deliveries left at the gate. It was usually Finnian's job to see to the gate, but they were cleaning, and I liked the uninterrupted perfection.

As I walked down the side path I thought about the last mischievous act that the young Master pulled on the Tutor. He had run off in a fit of giggles as the Tutor struggled with his hat. I paused beside the gate, and looked up at the threatening sky.

"Ah, of course. Daniella."

How could I have missed the same eyes from the bar and the way her hair was cut? And now that I knew Mr. Hyde was Ms. Hyde, I should have put it all together as soon as I had found out the Tutor's real sex. I heard the crows in the distance, squawking, yelling, telling me what they had found.

The flash of what the crows saw flooded my mind, and I saw the Tutor dismount and go down an alley, the case in hand and opened a door. A door that wasn't a door. A door that also showed me something I had not fully entertained. A red coat was seen as the door was closed and a familiar toothy smile.

"Oh dear," I said, picking up the now frozen jugs of milk by the gate. "Reapers."