Chapter 28: Sebastian POV

I waded through the blood, making the house look like a slaughter house. My cravings had now vanished, diminishing with each Soul I ripped out and claimed as my snack. Bits of flesh were under my nails and I picked them clean. I caught my reflection in the mirror and paused. I was a Demon. Each and every meaning of the word. I took without regard, I drank deep and without thought. I could destroy and not be remorseful.

But… I found myself staring too much at my blood streaked face and my hands came up to wipe it off, rubbing it more, smearing it into my cheek. Another face came to settle in my mind, from the depths of Hell there rose an almost terror in me as I tried to scrub my face.

Daniella was becoming a Demon.

Someday, soon, she would do the very same and leave bodies behind. Uncaring, because of the Hunger. The pain of craving. So far her Hunger had extended to physical food, not the Souls of those around us. I ran to the bathroom and pushed on the water, rubbing, watching the blood go down the drain.

"I have never seen a Demon so panicked," William said, leaning into the doorframe. "May I ask what the cause is?"

"Why did you let Danny become a Demon! Surely you could guess how hard it would be!"

He raised an eyebrow over his glasses. "For who? Is he suffering?"

I snarled and walked over to him, my hands dripping with water, all the blood gone. "Yes."

He looked me over and then met my gaze. "I think you are the one who is suffering. I wonder if he will not be so easy to be taken into being a Demon," he said, looking over his shoulder at the carnage. He looked back at me. "I should tell you I made some special arrangements when Mr. Hyde saved your Master's son."

I narrowed my eyes. I took a small step towards him. I eyed his Scythe and calculated, the pain, would be worth it. "What did you do Reaper?"

He flipped his notebook open and flipped a few pages. I felt myself losing patience. "Ah," he finally said, tapping the page. "I filed papers to have her elevated to a higher Class Demon." He pushed his glasses up and looked over me, sighing as he said the next words, "Same as you."

I backed up a step and looked at the Reaper. We had plenty of reasons not to trust each other, not to circle the same territory. He had no reason to let Danny become such an elevated Demon either. The fear of watching Danny tear into flesh, into a Human, taking a Soul, washed over me. "He… he would die if he had to kill a Human," I muttered.

"I can't change it. I was actually rewarding him." He sucked in a deep breath and looked at the sink, still bloody on the sides. "Mr. Hyde was due a full Retirement for all he did in the Special Unit. He would have been allowed to Ascend, actually," he said in awe. "It's an honor to be finally be forgiven for what we did. But he chose to come back and defy orders. I… I understood that loyalty the moment I saw him laying beside the boy, his own life ebbing out of him." He looked at me and sighed. "He was dying, a good, proper Human death. But he deserved to do more - to protect and do what he did so well. What we can't always do. Give hope to someone who needed it."

I fell against the sink and looked at him. "You sound like you wish you could do the same for yourself."

"Not the Demon part," he said with utter disgust. "But to move to Retirement? It has some appeal. I would, of course, miss our lovely and stimulating conversations."

I snorted. "So as… Mr. Hyde goes through the changes, becomes Born as a Demon… his Powers will only increase? That explains the bouts of fever and frenzy of emotions."

"Is… is Mr. Hyde suffering because of my decision on his behalf?"

I looked at him and thought about it. Was Danny suffering? A little. I think I suffered more because I had to always fall back and not push, and so badly did I wish to push. Her smile settled into my mind and I thought about how she softened a little more into a beautiful women, gave into the idea she could be the brave man and the delicate woman she had fought to find a balance for. Did she suffer?

"No… no Mr. Hyde is embracing the changes best he can. I… am doing my best to support him."

"That, oddly, comforts me," William said finally. He snapped his notebook closed and leaned into his Scythe as if it was a walking staff and looked up at it. "Mr. Hyde's Scythe, it was lost in the transfer of papers from Reaper to Demon. I do hope it stays that way."

My eyes narrowed for a moment and then I raised my eyebrows. "He is also classified as an 'Ex-Reaper.'"

"In the official records, yes. So, hypothetically, should the item be found, it may contain some elements of being a Reaper." He turned away and once more faced my destruction. "However, should something happen like that, we may have to call in the other Departments. Best you guide Mr. Hyde to be a Demon who knows how to work within the rules. Not like this," he added as he tapped his Scythe on the floor and shot me a look.

I struggled with the thought of telling William about Danny further. No, best if she reveals it, I reminded myself. I suddenly felt grounded by just thinking of her. The carnage before me would happen to her, but I could be beside her, pick her up if it was too much. I could hold her as she passed through all the stages of realizing the full spectrum it was to be a highest order Demon. To help her with her first Contract. I smiled; I was dreaming as is if we could build a family, long lines of moments of Contracts and discovering what forever would mean.

My earlier interaction with my Master came back. I felt ashamed for letting my Demonic side completely take me under. I hadn't been so lost in a while. The last time I had hunted was the first time I met Daniella. And one Soul had satisfied me. I left the house, cleaning my fine clothes with a simple wave. I had a new theory and a new request. I had to test them both, and I raced back to the Manor, eager to see if I could be grounded and still a protector, all without venturing outside my protected territory.