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It wasn't unusual for Ciel's sleep to be disturbed. Nightmares tormented her to the point that she was glad to be awakened by any passing sound. She'd been living partly in hiding for the last four years, on the run from her parents and their army of doctors. Paranoia kept her senses sharp and every little noise could rouse her from even the soundest of slumbers.

This time, however, when she awoke, it was to find that she wasn't alone in her room. For a moment, she thought that it was her brother, sleep-dazed and thinking longingly of the days when he'd creep into her room and wake her up to go off adventuring with him. Clarity returned to her mind (her brother was dead!) and Ciel realized this couldn't be him. Automatically, she reached for the switchblade she slept with under her pillow, flicking it open.

Only then did the noise make itself clear to her. Words, but nothing she could understand. Words that sounded like a corpse trying to speak with a cleft throat, syllables hissing out of wounds instead of mouths. The creature was rocking back and forth, and Ciel quickly averted her eyes in case it had any hypnotic powers. Straining to make sense of the words could put her under a spell, too. Was this, like the duck, some left over from a spell she had sought to perform and failed at?

"Melchom!" She called out, nerves winding tight as she flicked out the knife. She tried to keep any note out of panic out of her voice, not wanting to encourage the creature to come closer or feed off her fear. There was a night light on her bedside table; Ciel switched it on and tried to direct its light towards the creature but the darkness seemed to swallow the light.

"Melchom!" This time, she couldn't quite disguise the rising unease she felt. She fumbled for her cellphone, intending to text Melchom and tell him to get his undead demon paymaster a** up here. This wasn't any human creature. That was clear. That made this strictly Melchom's province.

There was no sign of Melchom, leaving Ciel responsible for trying to deal with this situation. The creature was in the corner closest to the door, otherwise she would've made a bolt for it already. She swallowed a deep breath and under the blanket, surreptitiously flicked the switchblade open. "Hello. Are you lost? I am already contracted to the demon Melchom, and in no need of any other demonic services."

There was a slight change in the muttered words, but Ciel didn't take that as a positive sign. The thing was still there. Her knuckles were white around the blade of the knife, now, and Ciel was already looking to the nearest window. They were on the second floor and there were no trees nearby. If she tried to go out that way, she'd break an arm or leg at the least.

"Go away!" She tried commanding it, then switched to the dispelling words of power and exorcisms she knew. She rattled them off in a quick string, even though she knew that her lack of ability to summon Melchom probably meant she wouldn't be able to get rid of this thing either.

Nothing happened. Ciel glanced down at the floor for a moment to make sure that nothing was waiting there to grab her, or under the bed, then pushed the blankets away and stood up. The switchblade was grasped tightly in one hand, the girl's face resolute as she stared the creature down. Or tried to. Without seeing any eyes, it was impossible to know if it was even paying attention to her.

"I'm warning you, leave right now or--" She took a threatening step towards it and it disappeared instantly.

Ciel blinked.

Well. That was easier than she'd expected.

...Unless it was a trap and it was waiting in that corner invisibly. The girl gnawed on her lower lip, then decided to try summoning Melchom again. Surely if he appeared, that meant that the creature was gone since it was no longer blocking Ciel, right?

Now, finally, all her fear rang out in her voice as she screamed:

"MELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLCHOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!"

You awaken from troubled dreams, a cool draft raising goosebumps on your arm. The first thing you notice is a window, one that you had shut, wide open--and then, waving a little in the breeze, is a piece of fabric, light gray in color and smooth to the touch. Your upbringing tells you that it's expensive; not many people could afford silk of this quality and color, especially not in this area. Picking it up brings a feeling of foreboding, of approaching doom.

Looking out the window yields nothing. Your yard is undisturbed. When you mention it to your demon, they don't know what you're talking about.

No way was there a demon in your room...