The Scourge of the Demon Hunters—Act 16

Sebastian rested next to Louisa; while he didn’t need sleep, he enjoyed her closeness and the calm he felt when he was next to her. His eyes moved from watching the rise and fall of her chest to the ugly mark that adorned the back of her neck. He wanted so much to be able to remove it, to set her free from the last physical reminder of her time at the Order. Her scars from years of beatings were fading as her strength returned and her demon self grew stronger. Even the scars from her escape were less visible now. But even with the seal broken, the tattoo remained.

Sebastian promised himself that he would find a way and moved his gaze from it to rest instead on her beautiful features that had so ensnared him the first time he had seen her.

As he lay there drinking in her beauty, he heard his name whispered; it was so quiet that it was barely audible, even to his demon ears.

Recognising the voice and knowing where it must be coming from, he drifted his mind to the space between the worlds.

“Malphas, you are here,” said the voice.

“Typhon, we thought you were dead?” Sebastian replied.

“We? Louisa found you, she escaped?”

“Yes, old friend, barely, but she found her way to me.”

“And you will keep your oath to me?”

“Yes, always.” Sebastian smiled as his mind conjured an image of the sleeping Louisa curled in his arms. Too late he realised that Typhon would see what he saw.

“I see, we may need to discuss that later,” his one-time tutor and friend said, his voice hovering somewhere between fatherly disapproval and amusement. “Do you love her?”

“As you love her mother, yes.”

“You will do everything in your power to keep her safe and aid her in taking down the Order?”

“Within the constraints of my contract to my young master, I give you my word.”

“Contract?” asked Typhon.

“Yes, the young Earl Phantomhive,” replied Sebastian, the irony of the whole situation not lost on him. “He called on me after the death of his parents. It was at the Phantomhive manor that Louisa found us.”

“Does he know who Louisa is?”

“Yes, and unlike his father, he has accepted her fully and already commanded me to assist with her vengeance.”

“Good, there may be hope for him yet then.” Typhon’s voice was growing weaker, and Sebastian stained to hear him.

“I grow weary; I won’t be able to maintain the connection much longer. Louisa’s quick action in destroying my heart allowed my essence to leave my body at the point of death. I am trapped, incorporeal, and weak in the demon realm, but I grow stronger every day.”

“You would be proud of the young woman she has become; she channels the same powers as you and does so with such ease.”

“That pleases me greatly, but I came to warn you, those in charge of the Order, they are not human, and they pose a great threat, not just to my child. They must be stopped. You must find the demon sword and destroy it for good, but you must be cautious.”

“I will, my friend. You must rest and grow strong, we will speak again when this is done, and I can reunite you with your daughter.”

Sebastian felt Typhon slip away from the space, his energy spent. He also left, bringing his mind back to the human world. He felt Louisa stir next to him and contemplated waking her to tell her of her father’s existence and his warning. It was already starting to get light; he decided against it. He would speak to her in the morning when she was fully awake and able to digest the news. Kissing her forehead, he slipped his arm out from under her head and slid out of bed.