The Demon Carnival

Chapter 10: Loss

Sebastian:

I growled as I started to step forward. Annamarie put a hand on my arm and I looked over at her. She shook her head. I glared at her as I tried to pull away. Is she insane? Pierre is going to kill Jasmine if we don't stop him. Annamarie turned back to Pierre.

"Let her go, Pierre. Now." Pierre laughed.

"Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for her? Will you finally give me what I want most?" Annamarie scowled.

"Let her go first. Then we can discuss negotiations for my soul." Pierre laughed again.

"Your soul for her freedom. That is how this works. You give me what I want and I will give you what you want." Annamarie stepped forward.

"Fine. Feel free to take it."

My eyes widened as I reached forward to grab her wrist. It was too late. There was a bright flash of light and a force of magic that knocked everyone off their feet. When the light faded, Jasmine's head was lolling around as Pierre sucked her away, killing her.

"No," I said, dazedly.

I tried to get up, but some force was keeping me stuck to the ground. I looked around for Annamarie and spotted her trying to get up, too. She was trying to stop Pierre, but she had a dazed look in her eyes, too. A beam of dark gray light shot out of her hand and hit Pierre. He fell backward, dropping Jasmine, who slumped to the ground in a heap. The moment I could get up, I ran over to Jasmine and cradled her in my arms. She wasn't breathing.  Annamarie ran over to me, with her parents and her friends right behind her. She looked at me, sadly.

"Sebastian, we have to leave her. She's gone."

Annamarie:

I never expected that we were going to lose someone on what was just supposed to be a rescue mission, but that is exactly what happened. It was like Pierre knew we were going to leave Jasmine alone and attacked her. He ate her entire soul until there was nothing left. The moment we were able to, we all ran over to Jasmine. Sebastian cradled whatever was left of her in his arms. It broke me to see him with tears streaming down his face as he cradled his friend in his arms. It killed me to have to tell him that we had to leave her, that there was nothing left to save. Moments after I did, she faded away, as if she'd never existed.

"Where did she go? Where the bloody hell did she go?" Sebastian screamed. I grabbed his arm, pulling him to his feet. I pulled him alongside me, as I led my friends and parents back to our boxcars.

"This way! Follow me!" We ran off, with guards chasing us, though they only followed us so far before they had to give up. We made it back to Sebastian's and my boxcars, without too many problems. "The one on the left is mine. Feel free to head inside. Don't leave until I come back. I need to take him into his."

I didn't wait for their answer as I brought Sebastian into his boxcar. I set him down on his cot and sat beside him, too afraid to leave him alone just yet. He had stopped crying, but he was still shaking. I let go of him, stood up, and headed for the stove. We need some peppermint tea. It'll calm us both down. I started boiling the water as I looked around for his tea bags. I found them in a drawer to the left of the stove and searched for some peppermint tea.

"Annamarie?" I didn't turn around.

"Yes?"

"Will you stay here with me?  Just for tonight?" He asked, in a small voice.

I froze. Did he just ask me to stay here? With him? Alone? I shook off whatever thoughts were creeping at the back of my mind, leading in a direction I wasn't ready to go in. We're...friends, I think. He's just asking for some comfort. He just lost someone he deeply cared for. I sighed. I think we both did. I quickly finished the tea and walked back over to him, handing him a mug.

"Yeah, I'll stay here as long as you need me to," I answered gently. We sipped our tea in silence. When we finished, I stuck the mugs in the sink. "You should get some rest. Losing Jasmine was a stressful thing to have to go through. You'll need your strength and energy for tomorrow." I heard rustling as I washed our mugs.

"What about you? Shouldn't you get some rest, too? You used a lot of power tonight." I smiled at Sebastian's concern. I'm tired, but probably not as much as I used to get. Besides, I don't want to make him uncomfortable.

"My power is like a muscle. The more I exercise it, the less effort it takes to use it and the less tired I get using it." I heard Sebastian sigh as I dried off the mugs and put them away.

"You cannot ignore sleeping, especially on a night like tonight."

I dried my hands and turned to face Sebastian. Then, I froze. He was comfortably lounging on his cot in a pair of boxer shorts. My breath caught in my throat and I dropped the towel I was holding. I cleared my throat and stood up straighter.

"I know I can't just stay awake, but...I didn't want to overstep my boundaries." Sebastian laughed.

"It isn't overstepping if I ask for comfort on a difficult night." I nodded and picked up the towel. I set it on the counter and walked over to Sebastian's cot. He gently took my arm and pulled me down beside him.

"Take as much comfort as you need."

"Thank you, Annamarie."

"You're welcome. I think we both need comfort tonight. And...um...you can call me just Anna if you want." I felt Sebastian snuggle his head in my lap.

"Anna."

I smiled as I curled up against the headboard. The sound of my nickname easily rolled off his tongue. Something about it felt absolutely right like he was supposed to call me that. I patted my lap. Sebastian laid his head down and took one of my hands. I gently set my free hand on his head and slowly brushed my fingers through his hair. Eventually, Sebastian fell asleep, snoring lightly. I smiled, giving a huge yawn. He looks so peaceful. Slowly, my eyes began to slide closed and I nodded off, still brushing my fingers through his hair.