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| Sebastien |
The moment Sebastien stepped through the manor doors, he pulled Raphael aside and asked him, "Where's Lord Caedis?"
"Still down in the conference hall somewhere," he mumbled. "Why?"
"I need to speak to him," he said as he morphed into his human form.
"Hmph," Raphael huffed and walked off.
Sebastien waited as patiently as he could, his legs trembling, his heart racing. Once everyone left the hall, he used his claws to cut his palm and smeared his blood on the very middle floor tile. The marble trembled and transformed, revealing the staircase which led down to the conference hall, and he raced down as fast as his legs would carry him.
When he reached the doors, he heaved one open and sprinted across the conference hall and to the door between the rows of seats. He pulled it open and navigated the narrow corridor to its end, and with a breathy, frantic huff, he pushed open the oak double doors—
He froze when he saw both Caedis and Zalith naked on the couch; Caedis was on his hands and knees, and Zalith kneeled behind him—they stopped fucking the moment Sebastien burst in and sharply turned their heads, setting their hostile gazes on him.
"Get zhe fuck out!" Caedis yelled furiously.
Sebastien immediately darted out of the room and pulled the doors shut behind him. Seeing his bosses having sex was traumatizing enough but knowing that he was about to get the scolding of his life was worse. He knew that he was supposed to knock.
He shook his head as he walked back towards the conference hall, trying to unsee what he'd just seen, but he could hear their moans echoing down the corridor, and holding his hands over his ears wasn't enough to block out the sound.
When he got to the conference hall, he pulled out one of the seats and sat down. He waited, tapping his fingers on the table. But the longer he sat there, the heavier his angst became. Seeing that...thing out in the woods after such a long time horrified him. He couldn't shake the anxious chill that ensnared his tense body, and the longer he let the fear consume him, the harder it became for him to fight off the haunting, dismaying memory of that night.
The door behind him swung open with a loud bang—
Sebastien jumped to his feet and turned to face Caedis just in time to see his infuriated face—and his fully clothed body. His boss snatched his collar and pinned him down on the table.
"'Ow many fucking times do you need to be told to knock on zhe fucking doors?!" Caedis exclaimed, anger seething from his hell-fiery eyes.
"I-I'm sorry," Sebastien stuttered, meek in his boss' enraged gaze. "I-I really need to tell you so—"
"Zhen use a fucking phone!"
"It's the phantom!" he exclaimed, panting.
The furious look on Caedis' face slowly contorted into a confused one.
"I saw it," Sebastien continued. "Antlers, red eyes, the runes."
Caedis gradually released his grip on Sebastien's neck, and when he stepped back, adorning a concerned, pondering expression, Sebastien stood up straight and stared at him.
"It wanted Jackson—it wants Jackson," he said worriedly. "It almost had him, but we got there in time to send it running. But it was him, My Lord, I swear."
A tense silence fell over them as Caedis wordlessly thought to himself. The expression on his face journeyed from concerned, to angry, to cautious. He then set his gaze on Sebastien and said, "Show me."
Sebastien admittedly felt nervous about sharing his memory with Caedis, but he didn't have a choice. He slowly lifted his hand and edged it shakily towards his boss' face, but Caedis hastily placed his middle and index fingers on Sebastien's temple and his thumb along his jawline, and then he grabbed Sebastien's wrist and made him put his hand on his face.
Once he positioned his hand correctly on Caedis' face, Sebastien closed his eyes and concentrated.
"Show me zhe exact moment you saw 'im," Caedis ordered.
Sebastien nodded and recalled the moment he saw the antlered wolf. He felt Caedis digging around inside his head, like a snake slithering through his brain. But he stifled a whimper and stopped himself from grimacing, waiting for the moment the memory was over and Caedis let him go.
But the seconds dragged on into minutes; Caedis examined the memory over and over again, and Sebastien was beginning to get a headache. He held on, though; he knew better than to question his boss.
"Vhere's Jackson?" Caedis suddenly asked as he let go of Sebastien and backed off.
As his skull throbbed, Sebastien rubbed his temples and groaned quietly. "Uh...he's upstairs...with his pack or something." He shook his head and frowned hauntedly. "It's him, right? From Alder Estate."
Caedis nodded slowly. "Ve knew 'e vould show 'is vace again—vas inevitable. 'E needs a new body, and vould seem zhat 'e's chosen Jackson to be 'is vessel."
"What do we do? We've already delayed the lab mission so much already, but we can't send Jackson back out there with that thing, can we?" he asked anxiously.
His boss adorned the same expression he always did when he was thinking. Every moment that ticked by made the silence feel more tense, and when he finally spoke, his words were firm and decided. "Ve can't postpone zhe lab mission again. My gvandson vill be vith you, as vill several of Cyrus' volves. Ve know zhe phantom can't visk getting 'urt, so 'e von't come near Jackson if 'e 'as allies avound 'im. Zon't take your eyes off 'im; make sure 'e alvays 'as at least vive of you vith 'im at all times, and if you so much as see a glimpse of zhe phantom, you summon me. Understand?"
Sebastien nodded. "Y-yeah, I understand."
Caedis pulled a small glass vial from his pocket. He cut his palm with his claws, and then he let his blood drip inside. Once it was pull, he plugged the vial shut with a small cork and handed it to Sebastien. "You vemember zhe vords?"
"Of course, My Lord," he said with a nod as a shiver of trepidation shot through him. He'd only ever seen others summon a powerful deity, but he was confident that he'd witnessed it enough times to get it right.
"Go. Let everyvone vest vor zhe night. You vill leave at dawn vor zhe lab," he instructed, and then he turned around and disappeared through the double doors.
Sebastien looked down at the vial of blood. In his hand, he was holding what was probably one of the most precious things in this realm. Anyone who wasn't loyal to Lord Caedis could take it and wreak horrific destruction; someone who knew how to transmute could transform it into anything they desired—money, power, or even someone they'd lost to death. But not Sebastien. No. He'd do exactly as Caedis instructed—if he needed to.
| Jackson |
While he lay on the couch with his head resting on Damon's chest, Jackson tried to work out who to ask about the antlered wolf. He was already sure that Sebastien wasn't going to give him answers, but there had to be someone else around this place who knew something, right?
"If there's anything I'm gonna miss about this place, it's getting this stuff," Julian said as they greedily chewed their Slappy's burger.
"You know it's super unhealthy, right?" Lalo replied.
"So? It's delicious," Remus said and sipped loudly from his drink.
While everyone started arguing with Lalo, Damon looked down at Jackson and asked him, "Are you okay?"
He nodded as he glanced up at him.
"Are you not hungry?"
"Not really," he admitted. Not only was he eager to get answers about that monster, but seeing everyone so relieved and content made him think of Wilson. Despite what happened, he missed his friend; however, he knew that their relationship was now likely at an end.
Damon started fiddling with Jackson's hair. "Are you worried about that creature?"
Jackson sighed deeply. "Yeah...but I also need to talk to Wilson. I'm not ready to have to make a choice; I know I have to, though."
"You don't have to talk to him now," Damon mumbled. "You could leave it until we're back from the lab."
He could feel himself about to consider it, but he dismissed the idea before it could take root. If he didn't face Wilson now and make up his mind, he'd never do it. "I can't," he said sullenly. "I need to do it before we go. I don't wanna leave him here for God knows how long while we go out there to find the lab."
Damon looked disgruntled but muttered, "All right," in response. "Would you prefer Tokala or Wesley in there with you?"
"Probably Tokala," he answered.
"I'll go and tell him what's happening," Damon said as he sat up.
"And I should probably find out where Wilson even is," Jackson said with a frown.
Damon nodded and got off the couch; he headed over to Tokala.
Jackson got up, too, and when he saw Raphael pass the room, he hesitated. He didn't want to talk to him; he'd probably get snapped at...or worse. Maybe he could go and find Amos or Elias.
But just as he was about to head for the door, Sebastien stepped in.
The white-haired demon loudly cleared his throat, and when everyone looked at him, he said, "I spoke to Lord Caedis. You can all rest for the night, and we leave for the lab first thing in the morning."
"Like...right away?" Julian asked nervously.
"Yeah. Dawn," Sebastien confirmed. "Heir Zephyr's coming, and so are Amos and Elias."
"Why?" Wesley questioned.
"Extra protection for Jackson. That antlered wolf could still be out there waiting for a chance to snatch him, so Lord Caedis wants to make sure that doesn't happen. Now get some rest. We've got a long journey ahead of us tomorrow." He then turned around—
"Sebastien," Jackson called as he hurried over to him.
Sebastien sighed deeply and walked towards the door. "I already said, I'm not answering any questions about—"
"N-no, I actually just wanna know where Wilson is. I need to talk to him," he said, following him down the hallway.
The white-haired demon shot him an unsure glance. "Aren't you two having problems? It's probably best to leave it until you've got to the lab."
Jackson shook his head. "I already told Damon; I don't wanna leave Wilson here with a bunch of strangers for God knows how long. I want to try and resolve all of this shit before we leave. I mean having him around would help, especially with that...thing out there, right?"
Sebastien stopped walking and sighed deeply. "I don't know, man. It's your call. He's in room twenty-three on the second floor." He then walked off, leaving Jackson alone.
Now that he knew where Wilson was, Jackson felt a little more nervous. But he wasn't going to put off their inevitable conversation; Wilson deserved better than that.
He made his way back into the lounge his pack were resting in and joined Damon and Tokala. "Well, Wilson's on the second floor," he told his mate.
Damon's disgruntled expression thickened.
"So...we're going now?" Tokala asked unsurely.
"I wanna see if we can sort this out before we have to leave for the lab," Jackson said with a nod.
The Alpha huffed irritably.
Jackson didn't want to argue, especially not in front of everyone. If he and Wilson could come to some sort of agreement, then maybe everything would be okay. But if Wilson didn't calm down, then Jackson was afraid that he might have to choose between him and Damon...and he already knew who he was going to pick.
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