The Rescue From Hell

“You again?” He exclaimed in frustration. “How many times have I tried to summon the Devil and instead YOU show up?”

The dark haired man in black smirked and crossed his arms. “It’s actually kind of amusing that you think a mere mortal such as yourself could summon the Devil.” He cocked his head to the side. “You do know that because you’re mortal you could never have enough power to summon him up?”

Christian rolled his eyes. “Yeah, like I haven’t heard that before.” He paced around the room, too preoccupied to be annoyed that the man in black was straightening his tie and smirking at him in that smug, self-satisfied way that drove Christian crazy. He pushed his hands through his thick blonde hair, completely at a loss at what to do, or even if even there was anything he could do. He sighed and stopped pacing, instead closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Can’t you put in a word for me or something Sebastian? I mean, you are his butler, right?”

Sebastian’s mouth curled into a snarl so menacing it made a shiver run down Christian’s spine. There was a fire in his coal black eyes that made him look like what he actually was, a several thousand year old demon that had enough power in one finger tip to blast Christian’s body into dust, rather than a self-centered butler. “I'm not his butler,” his voice was cold and tipped with steel. “I'm a Messenger of Hell.” He placed a hand on his dagger.

Christian raised an eyebrow. “You look more like a butler to me. I mean, look at how you’re dressed.”

Sebastian smirked and leaned casually against the wall, pulling out his dagger. He ran it through his fingers as he talked. “Just because I have a sense of style doesn't mean you have to get lippy. Besides…” he turned to face Christian his eyes so cool and serious that Christian wondered whether the fire he had seen in them earlier had been a trick of the light. “I’d advise you to play nice. Right now I'm your only hope of saving Celine.”

At that Christian’s anger dissipated and he flopped down into the overstuffed armchair behind him. He dropped his head into his hands and looked sadly at the badly drawn star on the wooden floor. Man, the principal’s definitely going to give me a hard time about that.

“You’re only helping because you’re love with Celine too, and you can’t stand the thought of me saving her.” He looked up at Sebastian. “I don’t know what she ever saw in you.”

Sebastian stood up straight and looked into Christian’s eyes.  “She knew I was the only man she could be close to without having to worry about his heart.” His face was a carefully crafted mask of calmness, but there was something hiding behind the deep black of his eyes that made Christian uncomfortable. It was some deep, intense emotion that Christian couldn't identify or understand. “I don’t know what she ever saw in you.”  He stared hard at Christian.

Christian sunk down even further in his chair. “She knew I wasn't someone who couldn't express his feelings for her.”

Anger and pain flared in Sebastian’s eyes and his face tightened. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but checked himself, glaring at Christian for a long, painful moment. Christian dropped his eyes and Sebastian leaned back against the wall, still playing with his blade. Neither of them spoke for several minutes, and there was no sound in the room except the crackle of the roaring fire. Finally, Sebastian spoke. “This isn’t going to get us anywhere. We can fight it out after we get her back.”

Christian looked sadly into the fire. “She sacrificed herself for me, to protect my heart.” He touched his chest. “Why did she do that?” He listened to the crackling flames, painful memories flooding his brain.

"It all had to come to an end eventually, Christian." She smiled at him sadly, her large blue eyes full of tears. "Besides, at least I got to meet you first."

Christian held out an imploring hand, but her figure was already disappearing. "Celine ,wait!"

But before he could even finish his sentence she had vanished into thin air. All that was left of her presence was the faint, lingering smell of her perfume.

"DAMN IT!" He slammed his fist into the wall, not even caring about the searing pain in his knuckles or the large hole in the wall. His world felt like it was falling out from under him. He'd never see her again. He'd never again see her smile, never again hear her musical laugh, touch her mahogany hair, kiss her soft lips. He would never be able to hold her in his arms, feel her warm body against his. He would never be able to tell her he loved her.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" He yelled. He accentuated each word with another blow, the hole in the wall representing the hole in his heart.

Sebastian sighed, putting away his dagger and running his hand through his hair. “I've never known what goes on in that head of hers.” He looked over at Christian. “Besides, what did you think you were going to accomplish by summoning the Devil? Were you intending to bargain with him?”

Christian nodded, keeping his eyes on the fire. “I thought maybe…well, I don’t know what I thought. Maybe that if I spoke to him he might change his mind.”

Sebastian exploded, anger and incredulity bursting from his mask of cool indifference. “Change his mind? Christian, this is the Devil we’re talking about! Did you honestly think that just by talking to him you’d get him to change his mind?”

Christian jumped up, his blood boiling. “Well it’s a fat lot more than you've been doing!” He struggled to keep his voice down, knowing that his room-mate was sleeping just next door. His cool blue eyes were aflame.

Sebastian whipped out his dagger, his handsome features twisted into a snarl. Two red blotches appeared on his pale cheeks and his eyes were once again burning with all the flames of Hell. “What the hell do you think I've been doing since I've heard?  Do you honestly think that you've had more success than I have? I'm a demon for God’s sake!”

“Keep your voice down dammit! Ian’s sleeping next door.”

“In case you've forgotten asshole, you’re the only one that can hear me.”

Christian groaned and flopped back down into his armchair. “Fighting like this will get us nowhere. Got any bright ideas Butler?”

Sebastian tucked away his blade. “At the moment, no. What about you, Asshole?”

Christian dropped his head into his hands. “No.”

Sebastian sat in another armchair and stared intently into the fire. Christian stretched himself out in his armchair and stared blankly at the ceiling, trying to will an idea to form in his brain.

For a while there was no sound in the room except for the crackling fire and the occasional snore from next door.  Both of them were trying hard to come up with an idea to save Celine first, and while Sebastian was hundreds of years older than Christian, he was just as hard-headed and competitive.

“It’s a pity she can’t just take his heart,” Christian murmured, closing his eyes. “Maybe at least then we’d have a chance of taking him out.” He sighed. “Though there’s still the Lady to consider…”

Sebastian's eyes widened and he shot up from his chair, causing it to fall to the ground with a clatter.

Christian eyes snapped open and he sat up. "What the hell, man? You do remember me saying that Ian was sleeping, right?"

"Forget that!" For the first time ever there was smile on Sebastian's face, something Christian couldn't ever remember seeing. "I know what to do now!"

"What?” Christian's heart started racing, so relieved he didn't even care that Sebastian was the one with the first idea. "It would be nice if you shared it with the rest of us, you know."

Sebastian grinned wickedly. "You’ll be sorry you ever got smart with me after we pull this off.”