8

 I sprang upright. My dreams were becoming more vivid, I'm remembering more of what had happened. I put my face in my hands and took a deep breath as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I had been sweating profusely during my slumber. An angel had sent me to hell? I suppose I'd always known that, but never really thought about just who had sent me.

 I got up off the couch and go to the glassless window. Morning had just begun to peek over the horizon, and no one was outside yet. I'd slept better than I had the past few nights. A breeze blew into the house and set a soothing chill to my skin.

 A vehicle pulled up the driveway and the first of the construction crew got out of the car. The day was slowly coming to a start.

 I went through the tasks I must accomplish today. I must furnish the new Ravenwood manor. I must find a cook, a gardener, and a housekeeper. And then I must track down and kill Basilisk. I didn't wish to get Sidney involved in this battle. Basilisk wasn't the type to take hostages, I believed he’d shoot her on site. I could not have her there simply because she’d make my job more difficult than it needed to be. With Armani she was out of the threat of danger, for the most part. Before i go i set the fire and prepare a pot of tea and a couple scones for when Sydney wakes and wrote her a note.

 

 Once all is done I set out to complete my assignments. First I stopped by a furniture store in Brinebell, and picked out the furniture for every room in the manor, from the ballroom to the Mistress's bedroom. All of the items were made from ebony wood and were upholstered with a fine purple velvet. I hand picked a silken bed spread for all the rooms and made sure the kitchen was stocked with the finest utensils. After that was taken are of I set to taking care of the staffing issue. There were three predetermined individuals I had chosen to take up position as staff at Ravenwood Manor.

 My first stop is somewhere in Chinatown in New York City. It was night and several expensive vehicles were parked in front of a restaurant. There were two groups of men primarily. Mobs, one is the Italians and the other is the reigning gang in this district. The two groups were meeting to discuss a treaty of sorts, though not everyone looked at all happy about it. Near the Chinese gang's vehicle stood and old man with a long white mustache and beard, obviously the leader of the group. He was talking with another man, this one younger and much more fit. He had a shaved head and a kind face undeserving of its involvement in the violent gang.

 "Please master, there's no good to come of this meeting. My instincts are telling me this is a set up. These Italians are not to be trusted." The younger Chinese man pleaded

 The older man backhanded the bald man, "I will not tolerate having my judgement questioned! Too many have died at their hands. You should know better than anyone the pursuit of peace." The old man scorned

 "Yes, Master, I understand but..." The man began

 "Silence!" The old man demanded, "Luis Singh, you will wait out here until this is over."

 The bald man, Luis, submitted reluctantly. "Yes Master, as you wish."

It wasn't long after that she shots began. From inside the building gunshots echoed, from both sides. Civilians fled the scene frantically. The fire fight didn't last long and soon after the Italian exited the building. Luis, panic stricken, jumps behind the vehicle he arrived in; an attempt to keep from being spotted. The Italians drove off quickly before the police arrive on scene. I had to move quickly.

 I walked up behind Luis and cleared my throat.

 He whipped around and lashed out at me with a powerful kick.

 I grabbed his heel and casually continued to speak. “Luis Singh, I represent the Ravenwood Family. I’m here to offer you a position with regular wages, room, and board. What do you say?”

 “Who the hell are you? How’d you know my name? Are you Italian?” He fired off questions.

 “I’m Deveroh Valentine, butler of the Mistress Ravenwood. No, I am not Italian. I’ve been following you for quite some time. You’re a monk who immigrated from China after losing your fellow monks in an attack by the Italians, due to the drug wars waging over in your country. You met the older gentleman from earlier, Mr. Wong, shortly after arriving. He saw your attire and knew your predicament and offered you a position with his organization. You’ve been miserable working for him for just over a year and a half now. And before you ask how i know this, I am simply one hell of a butler who is particular about whom his master hires.” I smiled patiently

 “Wow, I’m impressed. Well i don't see how I’ve got much other choice at the moment. I have only one request for you.”

 I raised my eyebrows curiously.

 “Let me go outside please. Its been so long since I’ve been able to be outside. I used to spend all day outdoors in china; tending the rock gardens, training, and meditating. I don't care about anything else.”

 “Good.” I smiled warmly “You can be in charge of the gardens on the estate. Along with protecting the Ms. Ravenwood with your life, since I understand that you are a master in your foreign martial arts.” I gave Luis instructions on how to get to the estate and carried on my way. One down, two to go.

The other two that i took on as staff for the manor were Carol Bush as the Maid and a Professor Shawn Barber as the cook. Carol, by trade, was an assassin and Mr. Barber was one of the leading names in demolition chemistry, though he’d recently lost most of his credibility being excommunicated for experimenting with genetically arming certain animals.

With this task taking care of i was able to focus on the main objective of the day; locationing one Basilisk and exterminating it. Then all that would be left is Michael and Sidney’s soul was as good as mine. I shook my head, as I made my way rapidly to Terrabon, killing Michael wasn’t going to be that easy, not like killing some pathetic human. Killing the angel, once an archangel ages ago, was not going to be a simple task. I’m sure that I’m capable of such a bewildering feat though, surely I was with as much death as I spread through the past centuries.

Terrabon was a large city located on the other side of Brinebell. I wish I’d known this while I was out here last time, It was a pain in the a*s to have to travel all the way out there again. Then again, that was the life of a butler. Luker wasn't kidding when he said slums, it was a mess. The houses here were made of aluminum scraps and looked hastily assembled. The Snake Pit wasn't hard to locate however, it was one of the few real buildings in this area.

  I opened the door to the establishment and got hit by a suffocating bank of smoke as it billowed to pollute the surrounding air. How these men were still alive I had no idea. Inside was dimly lit with neon signs on the walls advertising local brands and profane decor. There was a bar along the far wall and tables scattered about. A circular area in the middle was lower than the rest of the floor. There were only a few circular tables down there, full of lowlives. I'm sure every person in this building was wanted by the police for one reason or another.

A large. dark skinned man walked up to me and looked me over. “What’s a dandy like you doin’ here?”

“I’ve buisness with someone here named Basilisk. Do you know where I could find him?” I answer simply

"What kinda business?" The man asked

I smiled slyly, "Important business. "

The man stood there, staring at me, in thought for a moment before he nodded his head. "Okay, follow me." The man led me down into the circular area, to a table surrounded by men with high powered rifles and automatic machine guns. A man was sitting in the middle of the group. He was big, more muscular than the rest of the group, and had thick dreadlocks covering his head. I could see that one of his eyes had gone blind and had milked over. He wore loose fitting clothes that sagged around his arms. He was smoking something in a long spindly pipe.

He looked up and cocked an eyebrow at me. “Who dis?” He asked in a heavy accent, a puff of smoke escaped his mouth as he spoke.

“He says he-”The man started

“I represent the Ravenwood Family, so I assume you know why I’m here.” I say matter-of-factly

Basilisk's amused smirk vanished and was replaced by a concerned scowl. “So de Ravenwood Family dis still around. Dat little girl didn’t die ehh? And now she has sent you ta try an’ kill me?” Basilisk chuckled. He raised his empty hand half way and lazily motioned for me to go, “Get rid of dis man.”

The men around him didn’t hesitate a second and opened fire. Bullets jumped through the smoke and hammered into me, sending me back with each hit. One caught me on the shoulder and sent me spinning into the ground. I just laid there for a moment as they ceased to shoot any longer.

 Basilisk got up from his seat and stood over me. “No one can kill me bra. Michael told me dat you was comin’ ta kill me jus like de udders. An’ now he’s on his was to visit de girl.” Basilisk goated

He knew? Michael counted on me not wanting to put Sidney in harm’s way and planned to get to her when I wasn't around. He planned to take her from me. I gritted my teeth in anger as a black mist seeped out between my teeth and mingled with the smoke in the room. How dare he.

“You know, Michael said dat you were gonna be tough to kill bra. He couldn’t ‘ave been more wrong.” Basilisk continued ranting

I shot to my feet and grabbed Basilisk by his neck. I pulled him in close and spoke, “Surprise.” The black mist jumped at Basilisk like fire as I spoke. “He was right. Trying to kill a Devil is just murder.” I blew the black mist into his face and it began to bubble and blister. “A gift from a friend of mine, you know him as death.” I said and pushed him away. My whole body started to emit the smoke as I reverted

Basilisk’s face continued to bubble and began to melt off the bone. He held his face and ranted about something in his native tongue. His left ear ran down his face before falling off into the black cloud on the floor.

The other men now have begun to panic and hop around as the decaying mist ate away at their legs. They didn’t realize it was hopeless at this point, the mist was a parasite of a sort and once it began eating  it didn’t stop until there was nothing left but bone. Sometimes it didn’t even stop there. The men eventually fell and became completely submerged in the mist as their legs had decayed beyond the point of working properly or supporting their weight. A frightened cry sounded as each one of them fell. They were quickly silenced as the mist’s deadly fingers crept down their throat and ravaged their bodies, eating it from the inside out.

The other people in the Snake Pit had begun to flee while they were safe on the upper portion on the floor.

 Amongst the chaos I found myself grateful that Jack had given me an immunity to this ability. A truely horrifying way to die. I looked down at my outfit and frowned. A perfectly good tailcoat had been ruined. I couldn't focus on that; every second I stood here Michael got closer to Sidney. No I couldn't dawdle, I had to return to the manor at once. I rushed out of the Snake Pit, not caring if I still looked like a Devil. I raced back to Havenveil as fast as I could go. I arrived in mere minutes later.

Everything seemed normal. The manor was still in tact and everything undisturbed. Something was unsettling though, there was someone else here. I could sense their presence.  I walked into the house wearily. I couldn't distinguish the presence I felt. I could tell it definitely wasn't human, and I wasn't strong enough to be one of the Judges. It was angelic in a sense, but it also had the sinisterness of a demon. Michael's presence wasn't like this, his was an almost overwhelming angelic aura. I continued up the stairs and made my way to Sidney's room. It was empty. Despite my efforts it was too late. I swore to myself loudly. I turn on my heel to rush out, I know where Michael is.

 I was hit by something as I tried to leave. I fell back and before everything went black I was able to make out some sort of a shape. A person with wings, but there were no horns, nor was there a halo. It was a fallen, an angel in judgement.

Author's Note

How is it?