𝙃𝙄𝙎 𝘽𝙐𝙏𝙇𝙀𝙍 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙊𝙍𝙄𝙂𝙄𝙉𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝘼 𝘿𝙀𝙈𝙊𝙉

Chapter 8: An Unlikely Partnership

CHAPTER EIGHT - "AN UNLIKELY PARTNERSHIP"

A secret underground chamber hidden deep beneath the Lazarus mansion in the England countryside was barren except for one thing: the mummified corpse of Johnny Lazarus, son of Wilhelm Lycan Lazarus III.

The body of the ten year old boy was wrapped in bandages much like the ancient Egyptians did to their honored dead and covered in honey sap to preserve tissue from decaying and adorned with jewels, which was the ceremonious religious "fee" to be presented to the ancient gods as gifts for passage into the Underworld. And the boy lain on an alter with torch light dancing throughout this rather large square room, much like an ancient tomb, the light from the torches illuminating the room brightly.

The alter and the walls were made with white marble and carved on their surface were integrate Christian and other symbols of life.

Wilhelm believed in the Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And he believed in angelic beings and demons, for you can not have a Heavenly Father and a Dark Lord without their minions. Wilhelm had never seen either one, but he knew they existed and knew that a demon had slaughtered his dead precious boy during a horrific ceremony of sacrifice by men of a sadistic and sinister nature.

When his son had been kidnapped by the now infamous child kidnapper of London, despite this man's identity still unknown, Wilhelm had begged that every resource at his deposal be utilized to find him. But when it was learned that a familiar, but secretive group of men who sought to undermine the Crown by methods of their own madness, had "purchased" his son from the kidnapper, and then learned of his demise by some "otherworldly" being that the Inner Circle had summoned from the dark reaches of Hell, he condemned them all to a fate worse than death!

Five members of the original group had survived because they were unable to attend the sacrificial ceremony that night, later called the Great Death.

Wilhelm then hired two notorious serial killers to murder the rest of the Inner Circle in their own amphitheatre, where the ceremony had taken place, through the services of an known, criminally-inclined, associate named Mathu Kelvin.

However, despite his well-profiled associations with many of the underground criminal affiliates in and around London, Mathu Kelvin, nephew of Bryon Kelvin, a recluse philanthropist, had not been seen in months, along with Sasha and Samuel Ironstadt, the two serial killers had had hired to murder the Inner Circle members. And his spies did not know where they had gone underground.

He was made aware of an incident at the Phantomhive mansion some months back involving the last remaining heirs to the Phantomhive name - Ciel and Lukas Phantomhive, and their very well-do-to butler - and ever since then, these three men had not been seen since. Feared dead. And involved in something far more sinister than anyone could have imagined.

Everyone except Wilhelm.

Wilhelm knew these men had attended the ceremony and somehow survived and were granted clemency if they would kill the remaining Inner Circle members. They agreed, although Wilhelm noticed they did not fear death - as if the concept of death was beyond them any longer. They were questioned about the Great Death, but neither could provide any concrete details of what really happened. Except that each of them feel the presence of evil when the slaughter began.

They did, however, notice one child missing in the carnage: Ciel Phantomhive. And he now presided with a mysterious butler at his side, and most recently, his fraternal brother, Lukas, reemerging after seven long years being somewhere. Although, he was very tight-lipped about the whole affair of being missing. He only said that he had amnesia of those years and was unable to identify the man who kidnapped him, and who may have murdered his parent's five years later, kidnapping his brother, and so on...