Disappearance-2

He's never let me astray. Never.

Surrendering himself to Sebastian's guidance, Elijah stood before him and focused his thoughts.

He remembered the feeling, something was humming inside his veins.

It had sparked when he'd seen her– the girl at the piano and the fragments of her memory.

Focusing on his feelings, he reached inward into crucible of his fury. The disgusting mark on Carmilla's severed flesh and her desperate state made him feel conflicted and angry.

Something inside him erupted,

Not light. Not ice.

A phoenix's rage.

Born of ash and injustice.

Fed by sacrifice.

Burning with the promise of rebirth through ruin.

The power exploded through his veins like liquid sunlight. It overshadowed his emotions. The anger he felt was waning as a new resolve developed in his mind.

His body felt like it was being drowned in molten lava. But the fire didn't burn him.

It soothed his mind, clearing all his emotions.

He found clarity beneath his anger as his vision started to turn red and his body appeared as if it was fuming with a red aura.

His mana core was ignited by his instincts. The air in his lungs seemed to be on fire.

A quick slash and the crimson beads of his blood poured over the mark.

Carmilla's muffled moans filled the surrounding. Her soul was being cleansed, every fibre of her soul was being consumed by blood.

Destruction and rebirth. Just like a phoenix rising from the ashes, her soul was being restructured. Her eyes rolled back, only the whites of her eyes remained visible.

The pain was soon over and the mark was removed. However, it was just the beginning.

Sebastian placed Carmilla's head back in the cage as he casted a spell on Elijah. The wound on his wrist healed.

"Young master, I'll now prepare the contract."

Elijah nodded in agreement.

In a moment Sebastian prepared a magic circle on the ground and placed the cage in centre.

He poured magic energy and glyphs on the circle started to glow, emitting a faint blue light.

Standing beside Elijah he stated the terms to Carmilla.

" It's a contract of service. The terms of the pact include–

-you shall use all means available to you to follow master's orders;

-You will answer his summons immediately and as soon as possible;

-You cannot hide anything from him-thoughts, plans, or past deeds.

- If asked, you must answer truthfully.

-You will not act, plot, or allow any risk to the Master's life, honor, or lands.

-This includes political games, or forbidden magic....

...…..

...…

-Any breach of the contract and your life will end.

Do you accept?"

Sebastian's words rang in the hollow air between them.

A smile appeared on her crimson lips. The silence stretched– long enough for Elijah to see his own reflection in her glacier like blue eyes. His eyes still glowing red.

"Yes, I accept.

You have given me a new life." Her words broke the silence. She continued in an urgent manner,

"I have lost my connection with them. We have to hurry, they might have a way to track us here."

"You don't need to worry about that. Everything is already prepared." Sebastian moved aside.

"Young master, please stand inside the circle."

Elijah entered the circle, a mystical force pressed against his chest. Something was forming inside his body as the ritual began.

Air crackled as a part of Elijah's shadow detached itself and formed a small bird.

It moved.

It flew straight towards the gilded cage. Passing through the cage bars like mist, for a moment it hovered before Carmilla's face. Then it dissolved, forming dark tendrils which slithered into the gap of her lips.

The ritual was over.

The magic circle vanished. Elijah felt a connection being forged between him and Carmilla.

He could now sense her presence like it was his own shadow.

"Use your blood arts and prepare three bodies. I believe you understand what I intend."

Sebastian started erasing the traces of his magic.

Elijah observed everything like a spectator as his body returned to normal. He just stared blankly in awe, thinking about the plans he had made.

Everything he thought about doing. Things which were too difficult for him. He observed something which surpassed his expectations and his earlier method seemed like a child's play.

A smile escaped his lips. In his emptiness, he finally understood.

I was never the captain, only the ship swallowed by tides.

All that planning…..

Is this fate ?

No, I would say it's a beautifully crafted joke.

Sebastian gave his blood to Carmilla and healed her body.

She soon found herself complete and ready for the next phase of the plan.

————-/////——————/////———-

Two corpses lay on the ground– Carmilla's body ripped to shreds while Sebastian's body devoid of any blood and deep cuts all over. Both without any clothes.

Carmilla was the one responsible for making them while Sebastian created fake tracks of a fight and injuries on the bodies.

He was now dressing up the bodies in their clothes.

"Young master, I'll need some of your blood." Carmilla stood before Elijah and asked in a hurried manner.

"Sure."

Go ahead drain me.

She formed another body, Elijah's body, which was butt naked.

Sebastian came forward and dressed Elijah's corpse. Everything was almost done, the surroundings looked horrifying and grotesque.

Perfect for their objectives.

However, Elijah's body was still looking fine and not like a corpse, which it was supposed to be.

Sebastian was hesitating while Carmilla didn't want to take chances as the Contract was already formed.

"Let me."

Elijah knelt beside his corpse. Closing his eyes he saw the boy he'd been.

The smile deepened, edged with a new madness.

How fitting.

The only thing I could do is kill myself.

Opening his eyes he observed the motionless body sprawled before him on the damp forest floor. As Pale as moonlight.

He rose, the air thickened as his hand found the hilt of his blade. The steel whispered free of its sheath.

With a single slash the edge severed neck from the spine.

The head tumbled away, rolling to rest in a cradle of ferns while he moved away from the blood which rushed out through the severed neck.

The iron scent clotted the air. Elijah observed with an emotionless smile as the crimson pool reached his boots.

No triumph. No remorse.

Only the stillness of a task complete. He was merely a hand that had turned the final page.

"Young master, we must leave now."

And thus, I have died again.

Elijah nodded and they left.