It was two days after the party at the Viscount Druitt's and Lilliana had snuck out of the Midford Manor after nightfall to dance in the rain. After all, she loved everything about the water element. Her rejoicing had taken her into the dark streets of London. Even though they were empty and most everyone should have been asleep, she made sure to conceal her markings and her magick, just in case. She wore the dark blue dress as an homage to the water element under her black velvet cloak that hide her pale skin and blended with the night. If only I could feel the rain on my skin again, she thought. Even that did little to dim her joyous mood, however.
As she continued her rain dance through the streets of London, she became aware of a demonic aura a few blocks east. Her heartbeat quickened. Could it be him? She wondered. Anticipation hammered through her veins as she headed in the direction of the aura. Keeping to the shadows, Lilliana played it safe and cast a spell concealing her entire presence, not just her magick. She swiftly moved through the darkness. At the entrance of an alley with a single streetlight, she spotted them. The butler and his young master. It is him, she thought excitedly. Her heart was pounding and her eyes shone.
She had to cover her mouth and hold her breath to keep from laughing out loud and revealing herself when she saw the little Earl become frustrated with his butler's affections toward the stray black cat. Her heart warmed a bit at the sight and she touched the locket hanging around her neck. Will he coddle my familiar as he is that street cat? Her cheeks darkened. Will he coddle me like that?
Furiously she shook her head to dispel the thought before gasping as a scream ripped through the air. Horrified, she watched the little Earl and his butler run toward the sound. She followed as swift as she could while still staying in the shadows. When she turned the corner, she quickly found a hiding place but flipped the hood of her cape over her head now due to the nearby streetlamps and watched in dismay as the reaper she had sensed at the Viscount's party walked out of the little house covered in blood. Another victim, she thought sadly. Lilliana hoped her soul would find rest.
She watched from a distance as the reaper revealed his true self and would have giggled at his flirtatious attitude with the obviously disgusted Sebastian if she hadn't felt her stomach twist when he did so. Even without touching this demon, the way she reacted to him alone had her nearly convinced that he is, in fact, her soul mate.
The woman Elizabeth had told her was Ciel's aunt walked out of the building next. Madam Red, if I remember correctly. Is she really the one who put the reaper up to all those murders? Poor Ciel, she thought. Lilliana's breath caught as Madam Red became enraged and the reaper charged at Ciel with his death scythe. Her green eyes were worried as Sebastian swiftly caught the scythe in front of Ciel and deflected the attack. While she knew something like the Asian man's swords at the party wouldn't harm him, Sebastian could easily be injured with a reaper's scythe. Injured, or worse…
Lilliana watched from her place in the shadows, concealed by her cloak and the pouring rain, and prayed to Mother Earth that the demon wouldn't be harmed. She knew that, even if it meant exposing herself, she would use her magic to protect him. Somewhere in the back of her mind was a voice chastising her for her foolishness, risking herself to protect a demon who might not even be her soulmate. Lilliana decided not to listen to the voice. She knelt to the ground, taking comfort from the steadiness of the earth and the caress of the rain, and watched intently as the demon and reaper began to battle. Sebastian moved so gracefully as he dodged the reaper's attacks that took him further and further from the little Earl until he was pinned under the scythe against the far alley wall.
Lilliana's heart clenched at the sight but the angry voice of Madam Red and the pained cry of the young boy made her head whip around. Her eyes widened at the sight of the blood on the boy's arm and she suddenly knew that it would be up to her to protect him. Madam Red grabbed Ciel by the throat and held him to the wall. Lilliana became angry. So very angry. How could she do this to her own flesh and blood? Her family! As a witch, family was everything. Familial blood is the source of her magick and strength. It was everything.
In her time with Elizabeth, she had learned a lot about the little Earl's sad past. He was, after all, her favorite subject to talk about. This boy who had lost so much and sacrificed everything was about to lose yet another family member. Lilliana's gaze hardened. But I refuse to let him lose his life!
Madam Red shouted her hatred and raised the knife. Lilliana quickly whispered in the ancient language, drawing strength from the earth and energy from the rain, to cast one spell. An illusion spell. For a fleeting moment, the face of Madam Red's beloved sister, Ciel's mother, replaced the frightened one of Ciel. Her monologue had revealed her hidden pain and, as a result, her greatest weakness. Lilliana used it and prayed it would be enough to save the boy.
It worked. By some miracle, it worked. Madam Red dropped the knife and the boy, her hands flying to her horrified face. She staggered back from Ciel, crying. To her horror, Sebastian sacrificed his shoulder a second later to the reaper's scythe to disengage and protect his master. Her heart hammered in her chest and worry flooded her mind as the coppery scent of blood followed him. Lilliana desperately checked to make sure she remained concealed and that her spell's energy waves hadn't attracted the attention of the reaper who was now pulling his bloodied scythe out of the brick wall.
Though Ciel had stopped Sebastian from killing his aunt, Lilliana got a sick feeling in her stomach as Grell approached her. She wanted to do something, anything, to keep this from going the way her gut was telling her it would. But nothing came.
And then Madam Red was gone. Wiped out with a horribly loud, grinding noise from that wicked death scythe. The reaper had killed her. Lilliana felt the tears fall from her shocked eyes and was suddenly more grateful for the rain, as it could wash all the blood from the cobblestone of this cursed alley. As the reaper and demon watched her cinematic record, Lilliana bent from her kneeling position to bow and place her head on the cobblestone. She couldn't risk being heard, so she prayed silently to the Mother Earth asking for healing, understanding, acceptance, and compassion for the poor little Earl who had been dealt such a cruel hand. She asked the earth to cradle her departed children and nurture the living; she asked the water to cleanse the blood and nourish new life; she asked the air to bring whispered comforts to the suffering; and she asked fire to warm the hearts of the cold and weary.
As she prayed, Lilliana intimately felt the connections of her magick with all the elements she called. They warmed her body and comforted her. When she raised her head again, Grell was walking away and Ciel was repeating his order to kill Jack the Ripper. Her heart again clenched with worry as the fight between reaper and demon commenced. At least this time, he won't be distracted by keeping Ciel safe, she thought. Their voices floated to her, muted slightly because of the rain.
"Heaven? You must be joking. I know nothing of Heaven," Sebastian said, smirking at the reaper from his perch atop the scythe.
Lilliana nearly melted. Oh, but that voice is heavenly to me..
The rain stopped and the light of the full moon shone down on the street. She was sad she wouldn't get to dance more in the rain, but she was also painfully aware of how much more difficult it just became for her to stay hidden. She was pulled from her musings to catch Sebastian's monologue about his devotion to his master.
"I belong to my master. My soul and my body, down to the last hair, are his."
Lilliana was surprised to feel her gut clench painfully. Am I…jealous? Her lingering doubts about whether this extremely attractive demon was her soulmate were dwindling rapidly. She was trying very hard to block out the conversation the two were having on the rooftops now, shocked at the extent of her jealousy between Sebastian's continued devotion to his master and Grell's shameless flirting.
Soon enough, the duo were exchanging blows again. To her utter surprise and complete horror, Lilliana watched Grell slash Sebastian across the chest with his death scythe. Blood flew and her heart stopped. No, the word echoed in her head. No, no, no, NO! The reaper was ranting about Sebastian's cinematic record. That meant…
"No!" The word was a desperate whisper leaving her frozen lips. Her mate markings, even concealed still, burned like fire and she knew. The pain and panic she felt clouded her thoughts and she instinctively called upon her magick. She again drew strength from the earth and energy from the puddles to softly chant a healing spell that she hurtled through the air toward Sebastian's wounded chest like a fireball.
Sebastian's head snapped up as soon as he felt the magick hit him.
He was thoroughly confused by the completely unexpected and incredibly powerful healing spell that closed his chest wound and stopped the reaper from accessing his cinematic record. Sebastian found himself frowning. Where did this magick come from? Why would a witch want to heal a demon? Why can't I sense their soul?! Sebastian loathed not knowing the answers just as much as he hated being caught off guard.
He addressed the reaper again, determined not to show his sudden distraction. I must finish this quickly, he thought. He once again goaded the reaper into battle, mildly surprised that the magick was powerful enough to completely close and heal the wounds on his shoulder and chest. While he did enjoy inflicting pain to the reaper who had molested his ears with such horrid nonsense earlier, he had to admit that he was still sulking a bit and channeling his frustration into the fight.
Sebastian was so caught up in this that when he kicked the reaper off the roof, he was actually surprised to see the bloodied buffoon on a collision course with his master who was still kneeling at Madam Red's side. He was shocked and mildly appalled to have forgotten his master's presence. Swiftly, he intercepted the reaper and addressed the young lord.
"I am sorry," he said, bowing slightly. "I seem to have misjudged the distance, my lord."
With his master in front of him, Sebastian refocused his attention on maintaining his image as the Phantomhive butler, though it took everything he had to quell the simmering wrath of a frustrated demon. He returned to the reaper that had landed a short distance away, intent on finishing this and fulfilling his master's orders. He hadn't counted on another reaper's interference. Sebastian found himself mildly frustrated that he had been prevented from finishing the job, though he was more than happy to be rid of that screeching, red-haired idiot.
He sighed, still feeling the echoes of his frustrations, and returned to the young boy's side. "I apologize, my lord. I allowed half of Jack the Ripper to escape." The boy's pale skin brought a frown to the butler's face and he raised a gloved hand to his cheek. Concerned, he added, "You're chilled to the bone, master. Let's hurry back to the house now. I can make you some hot tea to warm you up."
"That's a good idea," his master replied weakly.
Sebastian escorted the young lord back to the carriage hidden a few blocks away and risked dashing back to the alley to investigate. It bothered him to no end that he couldn't sense the origin of the magic and the rain had made it nearly impossible to discern any fresh scents. Just as he was about to give up, he came across a small nook hidden in shadow.
Frowning, he saw the faintest impression of a small, bare footprint in the dirt. Looking around, he noticed the nook had full vantage of the alley and the rooftops. So this is where they were hiding, he thought. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, desperate to catch a scent of the hidden audience. His brows drew together. Is that…lilies?
Sebastian was tempted to scour the area for the guest who had to have fled as soon as he left the alley with his master. However, it was more important for him to get his master back to the townhouse and he was already pushing the limits of his absence. He was no less frustrated, but at least he knew slightly more than he did before. That would have to be enough for now.