Nevermore

Nevermore Ch. 3 The Passenger

The usual warnings of future shota/yaoi/homosex still apply. I don't own these characters, I just enjoy making them do my bidding. My sexy bidding.

Warning: This chapter contains descriptions of blood and gore.

This chapter is full of plot bunnies that are hopping around. Also, I couldn't help but add a little innuendo here and there (because I'm a pervert).


….


Ciel had slipped in and out of uncomfortable and restless sleep for the remainder of that horrible evening, crumpled in his butler's arms as if the demon's warmth and touch could protect him from the other demon that had settled into his mind to launch an attack on his soul.

The next day, the young Earl had gone through his schedule with all of the enthusiasm of a wet sock, leaving a business meeting with a shipping company representative quite unenthused. His thoughts were on other matters.

The matters of demons.

Before and even after he and Sebastian had erected their contract bond, Ciel had never really given thought to different types of demons, or even their hierarchy. He'd simply thought 'a demon is a demon' and hadn't cared to explore the idea further. Ciel regretted that now.

After all of his scheduled appointments and responsibilities for the day were dealt with (thanks to no small amount of help from Sebastian who practically refused to leave his side now that there was a danger imposed upon the boy), Ciel settled into his study. It was there that he sat idly twirling his father's ring about his thumb, eyes scanning the page of a book on occultism with a diligence he had definitely not shown during his earlier obligations. Then, always the ever helpful one-hell-of-a-butler, Sebastian stepped into the room with a pot of tea and apple scones. "If I may be so bold, Young Master, I don't believe you will learn anything of use from that book you have there." His look was apologetic even as he served the tea (without looking!).

"Any suggestions then? The bible, perhaps?" Ciel stated with no small degree of sarcasm. Despite the time he lived in, he really hadn't ever taken the time to bother reading the ancient book. He'd always rather regarded it as a set of outdated reasons to obey rules that existed solely for the purpose of keeping power in the hands of a particular few and found it ironic that he, the keeper of a demon, was someone who held great power in spite of that.

Sebastian smiled. "Not quite." The tea, served in an elegant rose and vine patterned set of Haviland china, was placed quietly in front of Ciel, the handle turned expertly toward the boy's right hand. "If you are to find answers within books, it may be helpful to seek something… older, or someone older." A scone was cut away from the circular cluster without disturbing the powdered sugar and white chocolate drizzled on top. Sebastian placed it onto a small matching plate and slid it into place right beside the tea, which Ciel then plucked from the desk to sip at.

"You're a demon. What do you know?" Ciel wasn't stupid; he'd caught the hint. He'd just been rather apprehensive about asking Sebastian since there was something niggling at the back of his mind saying 'don't trust him or anything he says'.

At times the voice was louder and stronger, but it had no control over his actions and only served to annoy him thus far. He imagined that it had to do with his 'passenger'.

Ciel was right.

Brushing an inky black fringe out of the way and behind an ear, the butler smiled demurely. "I know a bit more than you, Young Master, but not enough just yet." For a moment the demon looked apologetic before the look disappeared and he slipped into more words. "For example, there is, as you may have guessed by now, more than simply one demon type." He paused for a moment to flash that insufferable grin of his. Ciel simply sipped his tea and waited. "Perhaps it is exhibitionistic to betray this information, but I myself happen to be a soul taking demon – as you well know. I take an entire soul at once but do not require them to live because I have a physical body that exists within the waking human world. I tend to only pursue more… exquisite, pristine, or otherwise exceedingly rare souls. There are various others who are more… specific in their means and needs, such a succubae and incubi, who use sex as a means of stealing souls for example, usually in dreams or while a human is intoxicated. Uncouth, rude things they are." Sebastian appeared to have a bad taste in his mouth when speaking of their kind. "No sense of aesthetics at all, no emotions either…" He paused.

Ciel rolled his visible eye and nibbled at his scone. "That is obviously not what's plaguing me right now, Sebastian."

The demon feigned a 'hurt' expression. "Oh, but Young Master, I've only just brushed the tip of the information I have for you." As purposefully frustrating as ever, the demon was, of course, playfully withholding the information that Ciel REALLY wanted. However, he would give it to him. They did not have time to play games.

"What I think is plaguing you right now is likely a spectral being, one who cannot have a physical body on the human plain at all. They are very weak demons. Parasites, really, but quite terribly difficult to get rid of. Their specialty is taking over minds and slowly eating souls over long periods of time. They disgust me, personally. The problem is that they, while weak, have no physical form that I could destroy. I am at a loss for as to how we could get rid of it."

Ciel had stopped snacking for a moment to think. "It hasn't quite taken control of my mind, you know." He stated somewhat defensively – he was no weakling who was just taken over by some weak demon parasite! He huffed, idly licking melted white chocolate from his fork.

Sebastian wore an unreadable expression while watching this. It was quite improper of the young Earl to lick his utensil in such a fashion, but… he just hadn't the desire to make him stop. Even with the faintest of dark beneath the Earl's eyes from a lack of proper sleep, it was still so hard to tear one's eyes away from that ton-

"This nasty thing hasn't been eating my soul, has it?" Sebastian blinked once but appeared no different than before, despite having snapped back to attention from… la dee dah.

"Not that I'm aware of. I suspect this may be due to our contract." Ciel nodded in agreement before going back to his scone and tea.

"As little danger as this thing appears to pose, I cannot continue to avoid sleep. I… I just cannot do it." Ciel's eyes went unfocused for a moment, remembering the sights and smells and the pain that the dream from the previous night had dragged up from his memory banks. The nasty, evil little bastard. "Could a priest exorcise it?"

Sebastian frowned darkly at this. "Possibly, but I do not know how that would effect our contract. Do not forget that I am a demon as well." His smile was far too polite.

Ciel stared. "We could make another one." He stated matter-of-factly, something that surprised his demon butler. "The same one, even, over again." Ciel paused. "Unless it would exorcise y-"

"No." Sebastian appeared almost… offended? "It would take much more than a human priest to eliminate me, Young Master." Ciel, though he normally would have been irate at having been interrupted, seemed relieved by this information. "Alright. Well, then I suppose that could be a… last resort. I have a feeling that we are going to visit Undertaker. Sooner than later I imagine, yes?" As he finished his tea, the teen appeared quite unimpressed with the idea of visiting the coffin-making lunatic again; however, said coffin-making lunatic was a very old reaper, which made him potentially quite useful.

Sebastian nodded blandly, that omnipresent fake grin never leaving his lips. "We ought to leave as soon as possible. Shall I prepare a carriage for the morning?"

"Yes."

….

The time between tea and dinner went without another episode like that of the previous day – no panic attacks, no wide eyes, no trembling fingers. Ciel spent the afternoon before dinner reading what religious and occultist texts he could find within his father's rather extensive library. He'd known his father had a wide array of interests, so it wasn't surprising that his predecessor had also taken an interest in the 'beyond', or for Ciel himself, the not-so-beyond.

It would seem that as long as Ciel was aware of himself, he had control over his mind and even his demon passenger's most desperate attempts at controlling him were met with failure.

However, Ciel Phantomhive was only human. He could not stay awake forever.

When it was time for dinner, the Queen's watchdog looked more like a droopy-eyed puppy. He'd become complacent and sluggish from lack of sleep – after all, he, the spoiled little noble, wasn't used to missing so much sleep at once, almost two nights worth, really. Sebastian had to lead him into the dining room by hand, and for the sake of his Master's pride, he defied the temptation of plucking the boy from the ground and simply carrying him there like a doll. Though it seemed odd for the time of day, Sebastian served dinner with the oddest of drinks – coffee, suggested by Bard, of course, a rare idea from him that wasn't disasterous. It was as sweet as sin and black as the night. It should help his master stay awake, seeing as the boy appeared to be nodding off into his soup before the main entre had even been served.

Ciel understood the reasoning behind the coffee but directed a fingertip toward the cream at the center of the table. Sebastian sighed inwardly, half in exasperation at his master's inability to consume anything that wasn't sugary and dessert-like, half with some sort of strange endearment for that very same quality. The demon carefully delivered a healthy portion of the thick milk cream into his Master's coffee before stepping back behind him a few steps. Ciel drank it down swiftly, appeased by the softened taste but still not particularly fond of the bitterness. He moved onto his soup and then found himself peering down at the reflection of his face within its shallow depths. Ciel stared. Something was off about it. The soup was a clear and cold oxtail broth with green onions, and though the color of his visible eye was distorted some, it certainly shouldn't appear red.

Red eyes.

Ciel dropped his spoon into the soup with a clinging clatter and a splash as he spun around in place, eye locking with Sebastian's, wide like before. He said nothing, but shook minutely. Sebastian understood the silent command and ushered the other two (useless) house servants from the room. "Young Master?" The devil questioned slowly, stepping in closer.

The wide-eyed teen scrambled with one hand at the back of his head, tugging the ties on his eye-patch until they came loose. Both eyes were now visible. "Are my eyes red, Sebastian? What is this thing doing to me?"

Wordlessly, Sebastian swept in and placed a gloved but warm hand upon the boy's porcelain cheek, the mark of their contract thrumming beneath the fabric of his glove as it came close to it's twin in Ciel's eye. "It is trying to shake your resolve. Ignore all that you can. As long as you have control of your mind, that… parasite… cannot so much as touch your soul." The demon smiled.

"You are good at keeping control, aren't you Young Master?" Sebastian's face swam within Ciel's vision and the boy couldn't tell if it was fatigue or the passenger trying to trick him again. How dare anyone or anything try to control him! He was Ciel, Earl of Phantomhive, a powerful, feared, and respected noble! His vision cleared, suddenly. "Sebastian. Bring out the next course. I don't think I like this soup very much. Bring another cup of coffee, as well. I have a feeling that I need to stay awake again tonight." The tiny noble turned around to sit straight, his posture perfect.

"Yes, My Lord." Sebastian practically purred, reluctantly removing that gloved palm from his master's smooth cheek so that he could bow respectfully, then take the half-eaten bowl of soup and its drowned spoon back to the kitchen. He grinned to himself, feeling rather… proud? Yes, Sebastian was proud of his Young Master.

Sebastian brought out the main dish not a minute later, along with a fresh cup of coffee. The rest of dinner proceeded without any spectacular event (except for Maylene and Finnian somehow managing to collide into each other while Maylene was carrying dishes).

That evening, Ciel did not wish to retire to his bed – understandably so. Instead, more time was spent in the library before he exhausted the supply of books on the occult that he had available in his library. None seemed particularly helpful, as most pertained to religion, ghosts, and séances, which were really quite useless as they were only half right when even in the same proverbial ballpark at all. With a huff, Ciel cast a dreary sapphire eye toward the glowering grandfather clock at the other end of the grand room. It was well past midnight. Ciel felt heavy and his body ached. Perhaps he could have Sebastian prepare a cup of tea, or perhaps some more of that strong coffee that Bard had suggested. "Seb-" Ciel yawned mid summon, whimpering pathetically at how dreadfully tired he had become. He could keep sitting up, standing, and walking around, but eventually he was going to fall asleep – standing or not. His delicate legs trembled when he attempted to remove himself from his seat, though they still held his weight.

Sebastian was already there with his hands at the young earl's waist, preventing him from wobbling. Ciel hadn't needed to call him, as Sebastian was keeping a close watch on him, moreso than usual, actually. "Sebastian, prepare more…ah…" Ciel frowned, having trouble concentrating and keeping his eyes open. Sebastian very nearly felt little demon butterflies flapping about in his stomach. What a little doll!

"Coffee, sir?" Sebastian offered, finishing the boy's previous thought. Ciel nodded, but then shook his head. "To hell with this, I am going to have a nap. You will awaken me in precisely one hour, earlier if something out of the ordinary occurs. I simply cannot function anymore without some sort of rest, even if it is poor." Ciel knew how vulnerable he would be while sleeping, and he couldn't say that he wasn't afraid of what he would dream, but sleep was necessary to function properly and if he didn't sleep on his own terms, he would certainly pass out at some point, possibly without Sebastian's watchful eye there at that moment to wake him. "Stay with me tonight." Almost imperceptibly, Ciel's cheeks flushed a delicate rouge at the request.

"Of course, My Lord." Sebastian lead them down the hall toward Ciel's opulent bedroom and plush bed. As usual, the demon peeled back the bedsheets and prepared Ciel's night shirt, then proceeded to disrobe the boy with the swift motions of a machine, as if not seeing or feeling the pale expanse of pearly skin he exposed with every button he plucked open and layer peeled back. He had forced himself not to react, after all, he was one hell of a butler. If he made Ciel uncomfortable… well, he might not allow him to dress him in the future!

A yawning Ciel brought Sebastian's eyes upward as the nightshirt was slipped over the boy's slender shoulders and lithe frame. The boy was so pale, it was a wonder that he didn't get freckles. Then again, he avoided the sun like lepers and plague. Sebastian folded the worn clothes into a laundry basket to be taken to the wash by Maylene later. The eye-patch was removed then, and soon Sebastian had tucked in the young master who only managed to get halfway beneath the comforter by himself. So exhausted, the poor little human.

"Good night, Young Master."

….

The last thing Ciel remembered was an affectionate grin upon Sebastian's face before the candles had been blown out and his eyes had closed –

And the passenger had awoken.

This time, the memory didn't feel familiar, as if it wasn't his own. There was blood pooling at his feet, which wore red granny boots. Red. So much of it… everywhere. On the walls there spatters of grotesque semi-coagulated blood and slivers of discarded flesh. They were in an efficiency that smelled of dankness and the stench of human blood. He was doing something, something very important and very intricate – it had to be perfect and precise or else it would be ruined and he would have to do it again.

Sebastian sat in the room, feeling as if he were alone, despite the softly breathing young Earl as he slept. It was a dangerous sleep.

The well-sharpened blade cut through Mary Kelly's abdominal muscles like beef tenderloin, the sound of it wet and slick. She was already dead, but still warm. The tip of her nose had been sliced off, as well as sections of flesh from her arms. The dead woman's breasts had been cut off as well, then placed on the side table just right of the bed. He could have sworn he felt tears on his cheeks as her middle cavity was unzipped and insides rifled through with gloved hands, red sleeves rolled up to the elbow. Some part was being lifted out, connections sliced away. The distinctly female part was examined momentarily before being placed aside.

The butler watched his master's sleeping form through the dark. He did not need light to see. A groan signaled to Sebastian that he needed to wake up his little master, but before he was even up out of his seat – and do keep in mind that Sebastian is quite fast – Ciel was sitting up in bed, eyes staring blankly at Sebastian and hands groping around blindly.

Ciel couldn't remember who he was or why he was here, only that he felt a shuddering, painful rage that poured through him like ice-water, cooling his veins. Someone else was in the room, he could tell, but that person exited the tiny apartment for whatever reason, leaving him with that rage and that tiny, sharp instrument in his gloved fingers. Feeling heavy and intense anxiety and anger push through his chest and arm, the instrument wielding hand began slashing violently at the dead woman's face, rendering her more unrecognizable with every mindless gash that went deep enough to pass through fat and muscle, not just skin.

It was surreal to see Ciel climbing awkwardly over the bedsheets, stumbling around until he grasped something – a letter opener – and lifted it up, expression one of absolute anguish as he swung it toward Sebastian, missing. In a flash, he was holding the boy down on the bed and had the knife-wielding hand held down against the comforter hard enough to make the flesh around his grip go slightly pale. Bodies pressed together almost hard enough to hurt, Sebastian called to his master to return from his sleeping-hell world. Ciel responded with a whimpering groan, wrist and body going limp and eyes closing. He did not awaken but the violence was gone for the time being. Sebastian growled darkly, leaning in so that his lips touched the shell of his master's ear. His voice was a dangerous hiss and a growl at the same time, though warm against the sleeping boy's ear and neck. "If I catch you tainting my master with your filth again, I will personally enter Hell and seek you out just so that I can suck the used souls out of you until you shrivel into nothing and disappear. Consider that a promise." Sebastian did not dare leave the boy again, but the boy also appeared to have entered a state of peaceful sleep. Sebastian was not technically breaking the rules by allowing the boy to sleep longer, as he had awoken Ciel from one state and into another.

Instead of one hour of sleep, Ciel got six. Not only that, but he awoke to the warm chest of his butler, who's arms were looped tightly around him. "L-let go!" He stammered, cheeks heating up and flushing a bright rosy hue. Sebastian smiled, suddenly off of the bed as if he'd never been on it – and looking perfect, too. How the hell did he… Ciel shook his head and simply sat up. "I dreamed that I was Madam Red Last night. I think, somehow, I was seeing her memories… or what might've been." Ciel paused for a moment, pondering sadly. "After that… nothing. Thankful, sweet nothing." The black nothingness had been welcome after his horrific dreams of rape and murder, all memories – just not all belonging to him. Not anymore.

"You seem to calm when I restrain and make physical contact with you. I believe your parasitic friend might just be afraid of me, somewhat." Sebastian's brow lifted elegantly as he regarded Ciel's reaction, which was to yawn. "Then sleep with me tonight."

"Master, I'm flattered but it's really hardly appropriate for– " He started.

"Sebastian, I'm not in the mood for your lip. Don't we have an Undertaker to deal with today?" Ciel flushed a bright red and frowned, displeased at the lack of a breakfast in front of him and Sebastian's readiness to taunt and flirt with him so early in the morning – as usual.

As if on cue: "Yes, of course, Young Master. I have made arrangements with a well-reputed teahouse on the way to the undertaker's place of business. I hope you don't mind stopping for breakfast there. I didn't wish to leave you alone with that parasite long enough to prepare a meal this morning while you slept, forgive me." Sebastian looked almost legitimately apologetic, though honestly he had enjoyed the opportunity to be in such close contact with his master for so long the night before. He didn't regret a moment of it (except perhaps having to stop the young master from stabbing him in the face with a letter opener).

Ciel nodded but said nothing. "Well then, let's get you ready and we will be on our way." The butler's gloved hand perched over his heart, his smile demure.

"Alright."

….

Okay, so that chapter ended a little… weirdly, timing wise, but hopefully I made up for that by introducing the plot, or something similar to a plot (I've never actually written a story before this, Lol!).

BTW: Mary Kelly, the last Victim of Jack the Ripper (who, in the manga, was Madam Red), was of course a real person, as we all know. I'm a total serialkillerfag and actually have a book with post mortem crime-scene photos and whatnot, and the nasty stuff described in the dream sequence were actual mutilations on the woman's body. I swear I didn't pull all that out of my ass. I just thought it would be interesting to add that in there – yes, he cut off her tits!

*To clear up a question/statement thingy from a review (from the other fanfiction site): Yes, Ciel is possessed… kind of.