In the black depths of unconsciousness, Lilliana was tormented by nightmares. Memories danced through her mind, scenes replayed endlessly, thoughts raced around answers to questions that hurt to ask. Sebastian was the star of it all. At some point in the wee hours of the morning, there was a shift. The scenes became unfamiliar and threatening. She felt that a huge, winged something chased her, loomed over her, reached for her. The darkness refused to yield their identity, holding Lilliana captive in the inky blackness. The other presence was suffocating, sickening. "You are unclean! Snuff her out!" The distorted voice seemed to echo in the blackness. Lilliana's heart raced and she searched for anything that could protect her from this menacing evil. Her ears began to ring and she couldn't catch her breath. It was coming for her!
"Mate!" Another presence flared, its voice a distant echo in her spinning head. Sebastian appeared in the darkness some distance away from her. Her heart raced as he started to run for her, and nearly stopped when he was yanked back by a chain that suddenly appeared around his wrist. At the other end of the chain appeared a smug Ciel. Sebastian pulled against the chain, fighting to reach her, but to no avail.
Maniacal laughter from her pursuant suddenly grated against her ears. Nonsense spilled from their lips and Lilliana felt the lightest touch of a feather on her cheek before something incredibly sharp pierced her heart.
Lilliana jolted awake with Sebastian's screams still ringing in her ears. She was sweating and feverish from the pain in her arm and panicked from her dream. Zeela was pacing on the bed beside her, clearly upset. Lilliana reached for their mindlink and discovered it was already open. Zeela had witnessed the nightmare and profusely expressed her concern for what it could mean for their future. The current status of Lilliana's relationship (or lack thereof) with her mate was worrying, for Zeela feared that if they did not complete the mating and bind their souls together soon, Lilliana would no longer be able to access the magick in her blood and her soul would begin to deteriorate.
"We'll figure it out, Zeela, we always do." Lilliana forced a note of optimism in her voice, though she truthfully was quite apprehensive of her future.
Lilliana stretched and winced slightly at the pain in her injured arm, though it was noticeably a duller ache thanks to the Undertaker's ministrations. She ran the fingers of her good hand through her hair as best she could, returned Zeela to the locket, and stood just as the bell above the shop door jingled.
The Undertaker's voice was muffled through the curtain but it didn't hide the edge in his usually cheery voice that sent shivers down her spine. "Back so soon, demon?"
Her heart stuttered in her chest and her face paled. She hated the hope that flared in her chest even as an icy dread filled her stomach.
"A pleasure, as always." She could hear the smirk in his voice. "My master requested that I inquire if you have any knowledge of his companion's whereabouts after the conclusion of yesterday's festivities. He implores your assistance in finding her as quickly as possible, before society notices her absence."
Undertaker was silent for a moment. "You lost the little lady, hm?"
"Regrettably, she got caught up in the crowd while fleeing for safety."
"And the little Lord Phantomhive didn't demand a search yesterday? That's mighty surprising for such a gentleman."
"My first priority is my Master, which required me to escort him home and tend to his needs immediately." Sebastian's answer was primed and proper, yet heavy in its implications.
Undertaker's reply was a quiet, icy rage. "Your only priority in this life, demon, is your mate."
The silence screamed.
"I'm unsure of what you're referring to."
The air rushed from her lungs like she had been punched in the stomach. She quietly whispered in the ancient language of her blood the same words that had hid her presence months before in the alley, when she had saved her soulmate's life. This time she was calling upon it to flee the mate that was destroying her from the inside. The magick moved sluggishly in her veins, requiring more effort to activate and use. She managed to raise the bottom canvas of the tent with her uninjured arm and painfully dragged herself under the material before quietly making her way to the bank of the river and slipping into an unoccupied alley.
She twisted and turned blindly through alleys until the sun was nearly set. Her mind was working overtime, replaying conversations and information since arriving in Europe. Finally, her mind was made up. She stopped walking and raised her head, resigned acceptance in her eyes. "I will confront him and force him to make a decision," she whispered to herself. "Let the waiting games be finished."
It was then that she felt it. A tug at her senses. She cast out her mind and almost immediately recoiled in disgust. "What is that damned angel doing here?" She hissed. Annoyance and anger flashed through her mind with memories of sparkling purple eyes, rejuvenating her energy enough to swiftly make her way toward the rotten soul she had sensed.
Her black cloak swirled around her like a shadow of the night that was swiftly falling on the London streets. Cold wind made her injuries ache and slowed her steps. Finally, she reached an old manor hidden behind a row of shops that appeared abandoned. Fresh footprints in the snow leading to the manor's double doors gave her pause. In the dark, she could barely make out three different sets of prints- one smaller, one medium-sized, and one that had such an odd, shuffling gait that she couldn't even begin to guess what had made it. Something pulled her attention to the right, where she could see the top of a tall, slender tower building in rather dilapidated condition. The rotten soul seemed to be near the top of that tower, so Lilliana decided to bypass the unusual manor and cautiously approach the other building.
The door was unlocked and opened with a small creak that had her holding her breath. Silence and darkness greeted her. Easing inside, she let her eyes adjust for a moment and made her way to the spiral staircase. Lilliana grit her teeth to hold in a groan at the stairs that just kept going. She made it up about a dozen of the wretched stairs when she suddenly felt a low vibration rumble through the tower. No sound, no movement, just a sense that something otherworldly had just occurred. A shiver raced down her spine and she silently cursed the rotten angel that was surely responsible for whatever had just happened.
Up, up, up she climbed those stairs, out of breath and grimacing at the pain in her shoulder and wrist. Finally, she came to a small landing and leaned against the wall to refill her lungs. There was a single wooden door a few steps away. Lilliana caught the faint sound of humming from behind the door and eased closer even as her stomach churned with sudden unease. Holding her breath, she carefully turned the knob and cracked the door open. Inside, she caught a glimpse of a blue coat, a feathered black tophat, and unkempt orange hair. The humming seemed to be coming from this person as they bent over a chair in the corner, hands moving in a way that suggested they were working on or fixing something in the chair. Lilliana's skin crawled as the humming grated her nerves. Another second passed and the person stood straighter and reached for something she could not see. As they shifted further to the side, Lilliana's blood froze at the sight of flaxen curls in a pink bonnet, a matching pink dress with gloved hands primly held in her lap, and empty green eyes that stared forward unseeingly.