Attention, violence is mentioned in this chapter!
As his eyes widened in horror and as he drew in a sharp breath through his mouth, Serena knew he had recognized her. And she liked the expression on his face, which now seemed even more frightened.
"Sinister ...", he stammered softly and croaking, "Sinister ...". Serena raised an eyebrow in question and looked down at him coldly. Probably his brain was so dizzy from the panic that permeated him that he could not make decent phrases, she guessed.
"I'm glad you remember me.", Serena replied and just could not make the wicked grin disappear from her face. She enjoyed this situation too much and tasted her triumph.
"But that ... you should not be here.", he managed in a thin voice, and Serena raised an eyebrow coldly in a cold hearted way.
"Should not I be here because you sold me, my mother and my little brother back then? Because you thought I was still sitting in some cellar of a wealthy pervert, living my life there?", she growled, feeling the cold rage slowly creeping up inside her.
"I ... I ...", he stammered on, while Serena now slowly came towards him and leisurely pulled out a long, narrow knife, which she had plugged in just before their departure. Panic, Fiaid's eyes wandered to the knife in her hand, and his tremor grew even stronger.
"Te ... tell me what you want. We can certainly come to an agreement.", he now tried to avert the impending disaster and Serena was sure that it took all his strength not to let his voice cancel. A scornful snort escaped Serena and she felt that she could not stay that quiet for much longer. Everything about him turned her into hate and rage. Even in this situation, he still tried to change her mind with money or other possessions. As if there was nothing else in this world, Serena thought angrily and pressed her jaws tightly together. She kept on walking slowly, because she just could not stop. It was as if her body almost automatically moved towards him.
"As if there's anything that I want from you.", Serena hissed like an aggressive snake and narrowed her eyes to slits. Now she stood directly in front of him and looked down at him, in his wide-open eyes. Single veins already appeared on his face, testifying to his fear and despair.
Slowly, Serena leaned down and grabbed him by the neck with her left hand. She felt the wetness of the sweat on his skin and grimaced in disgust, for this was anything but pleasant. But in this way, she had better control over him. With her right hand, she continued to hold the knife and put it threatening to his throat as his breath became shorter and flatter.
With a cold, terrifying expression on her face, she leaned in slightly, so that their faces were close together. His disgusting smell of cigar smoke and sweat popped into her nostrils, but she tried to fudge it as best she could.
"However, I have one more question for you, Fiaid.", she hissed again, resuming the role of a malicious, dark serpent who had now driven her prey into the corner. Shortly Serena recognized a very faint glimmer of hope in his eyes, he probably believed he could somehow save himself.
"Where is he?", she whispered softly and threateningly, but she was sure that he could still hear her, "Where's my little brother?".
Fiaid swallowed hard and turned away from her, as if he could no longer look her in the eye. Serena's heart immediately made a restless jump, because if he responded that way, it could not be good.
"I ...", he began softly in a weak voice, shaken by his hysteria, "I do not know.". Then Serena's initial concern turned to pure anger and roughly she shook his head with her left hand, causing him to be flung back and forth.
"What does this mean? You do not know?", she growled at him and became noticeably louder, "Do not fool me!".
"It's the truth!", he exclaimed after Serena had stopped shaking him, "I was only ... responsible for you and your mother. Bryan took care of the boy.".
Serena drew in a sharp breath, for Bryan had been a name her father had named her just before his death. Bryan Erchyll, the man who was also on Serena's death list. But it was frustrating that she still could not find out anything about Hyder's stay.
"Bryan? Bryan Erchyll?", she asked, her voice still hissing and the man below nodded quickly and anxiously. She snorted derogatory and stared at him with hateful eyes. She hated him even more for not being able to tell her where her little brother was, even though she knew that it was not his fault.
But now she really had no use for him anymore and her patience decreased with every second. For so many years she had waited for that one moment and now she was not able to delay it for much longer.
"Well then, Fiaid.", she began slowly, her grip on the knife in her hand tightening, "My father slit his throat. I think it's only fair that you die the same way.". His already wide-eyed eyes grew even bigger and he seemed to be gathering his last reserves of strength and starting to move weakly, as if trying to free himself. As if he could accomplish anything with it, Serena thought coldly and looked into his horrified eyes one last time before she slit his throat with a precise and vigorous motion.
It was strange, because Serena had just wiped out a human life herself, but she felt nothing. Neither disgust, nor remorse, anger or grief. Rather, a cold, dull emptiness spread through her as she looked at the lifeless body in front of her, where the blood ran from his throat and turned the bright robe dark red. Now she knew how it felt to kill and she continued to stare rigidly at the corpse. In a certain way she was confused because she felt no remorse for the murder of a man, yet she felt triumph or satisfaction. She had finally killed one of those monsters, had finally done a part of her revenge! For years she had imagined what it would be like and now she was sitting here, unable to feel anything. It was probably the uncertainty about her brother's condition that made her think so, she guessed, as she slowly loosened the grip on Fiaid's neck and pulled her left hand back. Her hand, too, had turned wet and dark red with the blood that ran from his throat and smelled like death. How could it be that she felt nothing? She wanted to feel triumph, she wanted to enjoy it, to pay him back! But nothing like that happened and she wondered about herself.
There were two soft hands on her shoulders from behind, and still slightly moved, Serena turned her head and looked directly into the face of Sebastian. He knelt behind her and gave her a friendly look from his red eyes. It was an absurd situation, because right in front of her lay a blood-spattered corpse and behind her a demon knelt, looking friendly, as if she had not slit a man's throat. But Serena enjoyed that look of her butler, it gave her security and let her slowly return to reality. Only that look of the demon helped her to remember and realize that it was not important what she felt now. The important thing was that she found Hyder and could take revenge on the other two men. She did not need anything more.
And even though it was the most inopportune time, being close to Sebastian made her heart beat faster again, and she felt her cheeks blush slightly. It was the same feeling she had already felt at the Phantomhive estate, the urge to be near him, and every time she felt it, her fear of it increased. Because somehow she had the impression that it was not right to feel something like that.
"I have to admit, I'm impressed, Lady Serena.", he whispered from behind and when she felt his voice so close to her ear, she immediately got a goose bumps. Slowly his hand moved from her right shoulder and then very gently took the bloody knife from her hand. It was almost as if a small load were falling off her as he took the weapon from her and let it disappear out of her sight.
"You are impressed?", she asked quietly. Carefully, he straightened again and supported Serena lightly so she could get up better.
"I am, indeed.", he replied with a velvet voice while he helped her up thoughtfully, "It has been a very long time since I saw a human acting and killing so coldly.".
Serena looked into his eyes and for a brief moment she thought she recognized something there, something new. She was almost certain that he looked at her differently than usual, but she could not quite explain what it was.
"Are you just complimenting me on how I killed a human?", Serena asked, continuing to look him in the eye. An amused, almost affectionate smile appeared on his face, showing his perfect white teeth. Serena noticed that his canines were strikingly pointed, and that was only the case when he was about to return to his true demon form, but she briefly asked herself why he was in that condition. After all, this was not necessary and Serena had not ordered him something like that.
"I like cold-bloodedness. This is a virtue that people appreciate much too little.", he whispered with a velvety voice and just this sound made Serena's heart beat even faster. Only one short step separated them from each other and his hands were still resting on her arms. Normally, she got on well with such proximity, but at that moment it felt a bit different than usual.
"And the stranger's blood on you and the determined look in your eyes are also excellent, Lady Serena.", he added, bringing Serena off completely. He had never spoken to her like that before, but she also had to admit that she liked it when he complimented her, even if the situation was a bit confused.
Actually, it was almost perverse, after all, behind them was a corpse whose life Serena had just finished and her left hand was almost completely stained with strange blood. But there was an exciting though bizarre crackle in the atmosphere as Serena simply looked her demoniac butler in the eye and could not take her eyes off him. Such a situation had never been between them before and now Serena was sure that Sebastian really did look at her a little differently. Appreciative, even lovingly.
"Oh, I hope the blood is not sprayed on your clothes, sweetheart. Blood stains are very persistent.", a strange voice suddenly cut the atmosphere and frightened, Serena winced. Sebastian instantly responded with lightning speed and spun around to the voice that had come from somewhere behind him. Almost automatically, he pushed his body between Serena and the potential source of danger, shielding her from it. Cautiously, Serena peered over his broad shoulder into the dark corner of the room where the voice had come from. Were there more guards left? But why did they say such absurd things? Besides, she found it a bit odd that Sebastian had not noticed that person, although his senses were a lot better than those of an ordinary person.
Serena now heard a faint clacking like as if two feet would pay on parquet floor, then heard footsteps coming gradually towards them. "And somehow I'm also sorry to bother you, because you looked so familiar with each other.", the voice said and Serena felt her face turn redder. Sebastian remained surprisingly calm and just looked into the dark corner where the voice came from.
"Who is that?", Serena whispered softly behind Sebastian's back and he turned his head slightly to give her a quick look.
"I dont know. Please stay behind, Lady Serena.", he answered quietly and she could almost hear the concern from his voice. And if her butler Sebastian was worried, then she had every reason to be too. Slightly intimidated by this new situation, she pressed herself close to her butler's broad back and felt a little more protected. Besides, she could peer better over his shoulder, because even though she was upset, she was still curious who was standing in front of them.
Now, a person from the darkness slowly stepped into the dim light of the candles and surprised Serena raised her eyebrows, because she definitely had not expected such a person.
In front of them stood a young man with very feminine features and a pointed chin. His long, dark red hair surrounded him like a thick coat, reaching almost to the floor, and with a cheeky grin he revealed a series of pointed, angular teeth that looked almost like a shark's teeth. On the narrow nose sat red glasses, over the edge of which he looked with piercing, bright green eyes on the two in front of him. As well as his glasses and hair, his long, flowing coat was deep red in color, but underneath he wore only plain dark trousers and a vest. Although his appearance was rather bizarre, he nevertheless had a certain impressive charisma that Serena could not escape. But at the same time she wondered who exactly this mysterious man was and what he wanted here.
"But if I look at the young man like that, it's actually quite good that I interrupted you. So something of him remains for me.", the red-haired man said laughing now and Sebastian cocked his head in confusion. The same thing happened to Serena, who still could not fully understand what this man was saying.
"Who are you?", Sebastian asked threateningly, but still with a certain courtesy in his voice. The man with the red hair laughed again and sounded almost like a schoolgirl.
"Oh, how nice that you ask, sweetheart.", he hailed, confidently placing a hand on his hip, "A name you will not forget so quickly: Grell Sutcliff.".
Published on 13.03.2019
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