Aristocrats of Evil

4

"It's rather large, isn't it?" Ciel stared up at the Campania. "How does such a thing float?" 

"I could explain it to you, if you'd like," Moriarty offered. 

"No thanks," Ciel grimaced. "I would not like a maths lesson at the very beginning of the day." 

"It doesn't really have much to do with maths per se...more of-" 

"Enough, please, you are already giving me a headache," Ciel winced, rubbing his temple. 

"'Are you feeling under the weather?' asks Emily," Snake stated. Each one of the snakes hovering around him poked their head forward in Ciel's direction. Tongues attempting to sniff him. 

"Shall we?" Sebastian gestured to the Campania. 

"Right then, I suppose we shall," Ciel took the first steps. 

...

"The longer I'm here the more I..." Moriarty stared at the staircase spiraling around in front of him. Not quite identical to the one where he met the detective but close enough all the same. 

"Still admiring the golden ratio are we?" 

"What?-" Moriarty turned his head to see where the voice had come from but he wasn't there. 

"I said it is a very nice staircase, isn't it?" An individual with half of his hair lighter than the bottom half grinned somewhat foolishly at Moriarty. His eyes were the same as those of a reaper's. Moriarty felt something churn in his stomach. Repulsion? Fear? Or a connection? 

"That it is, sir," Moriarty nodded. 

"Ah, no need to be formal with me," he waved his hand in the air and laughed. "The name is Ronald." 

"Liam." 

"Liam?" Ronald took out a small book from his suit jacket. He flipped through very confused. "That's odd." 

"What is?" 

"You're not schedu- ah, no, sorry, just talking to myself," he laughed a bit and shoved his book back into his jacket. "It was nice to meet you. Hopefully, we won't be seeing each other around." 

"Don't you mean...you hope we will see each other around?" Moriarty stared, trying to pick up each detail he could about this man. 

"Trust me," Ronald smiled, "you really don't want to see me again," he waved and turned, making his exit. 

"If anything were to confirm it, I'm sure that would," Moriarty crossed his arms. "I wonder if all 'reapers' are like that..." 

Moriarty began to make his way back to Ciel and his servants but a flash of red caught his attention. He glanced in the direction and saw the same eccentric individual he'd seen when they'd gone to see that odd undertaker. 

"I'm getting the sense that a tragedy is about to befall us..." Moriarty sighed. "One isn't that strange...but two...? That could be a great deal of deaths. And that stench..." Moriarty pinched the bridge of his nose. "Is this reaper attribute? To smell the stench of death so strongly?" Moriarty continued to ponder these questions as he wandered back to the others.