A Demon's Toy

Four

I sprang up from the couch when I heard the soft knocking on the shed door. I unsheathed the twin daggers I kept hidden beneath my pillow and quietly rolled off the couch onto the floor. I kept myself hunched down as I sidestepped to the small window of the shed. I cautiously peered through the blinds only to see no one standing outside. Still refusing to lower my defense, I made my way to the door. I snatched up my baseball cap from the floor and fit it on my head. I pressed my back against the wall beside the door, daggers at the ready, and swung open the door.

I peeked my head out the door and checked the immediate area before leaving the shed to scout the perimeter around my home. Seeing nothing amiss, I tucked my daggers carefully inside my pants and headed back towards the comfort of my couch. As I approached the door, that’s when I saw it. A creamy white envelope with dried red candle wax sealing the flap closed. A familiar crest was stamped into the wax.

“I didn’t realize people of the 21st Century still did this crap,” I sighed snatching it up. I went inside and slammed the door behind my ears as I laid the daggers on the couch beside me.

“Whoever left this disappeared from sight pretty damn fast,” I mumbled flipping the envelope over. Scrawled across the center of the envelope was my name written in a beautiful script.

I took my dagger and slit the top of the envelope open to pull out the cream colored, tri-folded parchment paper. The letter read:

Dear Miss Kensington,

I am sure you have many questions as to how you were found. Do not fear, this letter is for the sole purpose of offering a job to you, not disclose the location of your whereabouts to the authorities. You will have the chance to bathe and change into the required clothes before meeting the Mistress so do not worry.

If you do choose to accept this job, you will be fed three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Much better than the way you are eating now I presume. Fresh, new clothes will also be provided to you along with the essential personal care to take your daily bath. Not only that, but you will be provided with a comfortably furnished room for yourself.

I have no doubt that you will not refuse my offer. Make sure you are punctual and arrive at twelve p.m. sharp. Tardiness is not tolerated at the Hunt Estate.

Sincerely,

S. Michaelis

Head Butler of Hunt Estate


I blinked down at the letter beginning to grow angry at this man’s arrogance. ‘I have no doubt that you will refuse my offer’? What in the hell was that supposed to mean? And how did he know my fucking name?

I folded the letter back and crammed it into my back pocket. If anything, the only reason I was going to the Hunt Estate was because I wanted some answers from this “Head Butler of Hunt Estate”. As soon as I got my answers, I would take the letter out of my pocket, refuse his offer, and shred the letter to pieces in front of his face.

I searched through a large pile of junk until I found the old, dusty leather trench coat I had stolen a few years ago. Even though fall had just begun, I slid the heavy coat over my arms and onto my shoulders. I snatched up my daggers from the couch and slipped them inside the inner coat pockets for easy access. I tugged the baseball cap over my ears and left my safe haven.

I had no idea what time it was, but as far as I was concerned he could take his tardiness rule and shove it up his tightly clenched asshole.

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I stared up the length of the tall wrought iron gate that had been built to keep out trespassers. I smirked and wrapped my fingers around the iron bars to make sure it wasn’t being protected by electricity. When nothing happened, I crouched down into a pouncing position. I pushed my feet hard off the ground and grabbed onto the top of the gate careful not to penetrate my hand on one of the sharp spikes jutting out from the top. I swung my legs up and over the top to land hard on my feet. I smiled to myself. Having cat-like abilities had its occasional perks.

I waited for a moment just to be sure no rabid dogs were going to be released to attack me for trespassing onto private property. Seeing, nor hearing, any sign of a rabid animal, I stood up from my crouched position and made my way up the long gravel driveway to the concrete steps that led to the front doors. I sneered at the lion’s head door knocker. Why did rich people always feel the need to buy the gaudiest things on Earth just to show off how ridiculously rich they were? I mean seriously it made no sense.

I pulled at the large handle in the lion’s mouth and dropped it. A loud, thunderous boom echoed throughout the interior of the house. Although my ears were flattened against my head because of my baseball cap, I could still pick up on the faint sound of footsteps approaching the door.

My right hand slipped inside my coat to wrap around the hilt of the dagger. As soon as the door swung open, I pulled out my weapon and pressed the tip to the man’s broad chest. He had straight, shoulder length deep brown hair that was parted down the center with deep violet eyes. Another supernatural being?

The man blinked down at me completely unphased by the dagger currently aimed at his heart. He was brave. I gave him that. I dug the sharp, curved tip of the blade deeper into the thin cloth of his uniform so that it was drawing closer to his flesh.

“Are you the head butler, S. Michaelis?” I growled uncaring if I pronounced the last name right or not. The man merely turned to the side, swinging out his arm to motion me inside.

My gaze never leaving his face, I took a few cautious steps inside. I glanced away from him for a minute to quickly scan the interior. Had I not been so completely set on finding the head butler, I might have oh-ed and awed over the foyer of the house. Or just the house in general.

The man swung the door closed making me whip around to face him. He smiled and disappeared inside a room off to the right beside the wraparound staircase. With him gone, I lowered my guard just a bit, but still kept the back of the blade pressed to the underside of my arm. My eyes took in the sight of the room.

On either side of me was a staircase that led up and around to meet in the center above me. There was a hallway that branched off from the top of each stairway. Where the arms of the staircase met in the center was a pair of large, white doors. Below were two thick Roman columns that supported the staircase landing; between the two columns straight ahead of me was a large arch entryway leading into a different room. It was most likely the dining room or living room. On either side of me beneath each arm of the staircase was a door; the one on my right being the one that the man had disappeared through. High above my head, a large, diamond chandelier hung from the pristine white ceiling.

My mouth dropped open at the beautiful sight of the chandelier. I had never seen something sparkle so magnificently with the light.

At that moment, my heightened hearing picked up on the sound of approaching me from behind. I swung around tossing my blade at the person’s head while unsheathing the second dagger from my left pocket. I thrust the curved blade forward aiming for the heart. The idiot who snuck up on me should have been dead from the first dagger penetrating deep into the skull between the eyes.

Instead, my eyes widened when I saw a familiar figure grasping the hilt of my first dagger in his palm with the tip of the blade inches away from his face. His other hand snapped out and caught my wrist before the dagger could harm his perfectly tailored suit.

The bangs that had been carefully groomed across his face fell just a little into his blood red eye. I wasn’t sure what I was more shocked at seeing: him completely hinder my nearly flawless attack or just at seeing him in general standing before me.

“You’re late,” Sebastian snapped.
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