The devil twin

Her protector

*Eden*

Revenge is not for the faint of heart. It might bother me that I am fairly consumed with the need to achieve it if I took a moment to give it any further consideration. But ever since I discovered and read through my sister’s journal, learned what horrors had truly befallen her when she traveled to Blackrock City last mating Season, I have little time for anything other than plotting how best to avenge Elisabeth. I am determined that the man who escorted my sister from sweet innocence into brutal carnality will pay as dearly for his sins as she did for her naivety.

My quest for vengeance controls my every action, my every thought, from the moment I awake to the song of the lark until I lay my head on the pillow to endure another night of fretful sleep and horrendous nightmares fueled by each stroke of my sister’s pen as she described the shame she endured at the hands of the Alpha of Rockberry. My obsessive need for retribution is the reason that I now stroll through the pleasure Gardens long past the hour when any respectable she-wolf would be about. Even decent men have retired for the evening, but then the man I follow can hardly be declared reputable, although he gives a rather good imitation. I’ve heard that the fireworks that burst into the air each evening at the gardens are spectacular. But of course, he didn’t arrive in time to enjoy so simple a pleasure as watching brilliant flashes of light paint the sky. No, his pleasures lean toward a darker, more foreboding nature.

And so Alpha Rockberry waits until the good folk have removed themselves from the gardens and the depraved have arrived with mischief on their minds before making his unheralded appearance. His sinister laughter echoes through the pleasure gardens as he periodically stops to speak with one rogue or another. Tall and slender, he strolls quickly through the throng, his cape billowing out behind him, adding to the sense that among the wicked he considers himself king. But even with his height and top hat, I have to dart around people to keep him within my sights… and I am determined to do it in such a way that he takes no notice of me. I will not fall victim to his persuasive charms as my sister did. If either of us falls, I am determined it will be him.

I have visualized that tonight the dagger will slide into his heart, so all the world will see exactly how putrid and black it is, but I know the time isn’t right, nor is the place. I have to take care, execute the plan as it has been laid out… lest I find myself hanging from the gallows. As much as I love my sister, I’m not quite ready to join her… although if my life is the cost of revenge, I will pay it. From the moment I set foot on this path, I’ve been aware that it might eventually lead me to be hanged. I will not regret it as long as it also leads Rockberry into hell.

“Would you care for some company?”

The fair young man who steps in front of me gives me a charming smile. His clothes are well-tailored and I suspect that if I had someone to properly introduce me into Pack Society, I might have danced with him at a ball on another night. “No, thank you. I’m meeting someone.”

“Fortunate fellow. If he doesn’t show…”

“He will,” I lie, cutting him off and skirting around him, hurrying past the splashing fountain, wishing I had a moment to enjoy the beauty of the gardens. Blast it! Now where has Rockberry gone? I quicken my pace and breathe a sigh of relief when I spy him talking with a buxom she-wolf whose gown is indecently low, giving all in attendance a glimpse of what she has to offer. Apparently she isn’t what Rockberry seeks, because he continues on without looking back. No, he prefers she-wolves of a more innocent bent. For the life of me, I can’t understand why he’s come here, where naughty behavior is tolerated, expected even. Rockberry has a penchant for the intolerable, forcing my sister to endure depraved acts of sin and debauchery.

For six days now, I have been cataloging his habits and rituals, striving to map out the pattern of his life, working to determine how best to bring that life to an end without sacrificing my own. Unfortunately, my life in a small village near the sea has hardly provided me with the education or experience to play cat and mouse, and more often than not, I fear I am the prey and not the predator in this deadly game. Especially as I have the increasing sense that while I follow Alpha Rockberry, someone follows me.

As the lavender bowers scent the air around me, I fight not to glance back, not to give any indication that I am aware of my pursuer. I first became cognizant of a large man trailing in my wake two nights ago, after Rockberry paid a visit to the Alpha agency. I should have been more discreet in my plans for Rockberry. I might have spooked him with my boldness, making him aware of my presence, hoping he’d begin to question his own sanity. If he goes mad and takes his own life, so much the better. It would save me from having to take it for him. Instead, it’s possible he reported me to the police. I have yet to catch sight of my pursuer tonight, but I am certain he is there because the hairs on the nape of my neck prickle, sending icy tingles coursing through me. It doesn’t help, so near the river, that the thick fog is silently rolling in, washing out the color of all that surrounds me. The gaslights become muted hazes, eerily striving to illuminate what many prefer to hide. Behind the elms and poplars, in shadowy recesses, come the murmurs of gentlemen and the seductive laughter of she-wolves.

I am no longer certain what I hope to accomplish by following Rockberry to such a questionable place, but I need to know what he does, who he meets, so I can determine the best moment to strike. Caution over expediency. He prowls the night as though he is some ravenous beast, but I know it isn’t food he seeks, but rather decadent pleasures… my sister’s journal revealed in intimate and heartrending detail how he seduced her, not only for his gratification but for the amusement of others. As though her wants had no merit, her dreams were meant to be shattered. Rockberry destroyed Elisabeth long before she flung herself over the cliff into the turbulent sea below.

Fighting back my tears… now is not the time to succumb to my sorrow… I strengthen my resolve to see that Rockberry pays handsomely for his part in my sister’s death at the mere age of nineteen. The loathsome man disappears around a curve. Drat it! He is too self-absorbed to realize he is being followed, so he must have some rendezvous in mind. I wonder if he’s already singled out his next victim. If that is the case, then I might very well end the game tonight, because I can’t stand by and let another she-wolf suffer as Elisabeth did. I sweep around the trees and come to a staggering stop, my path blocked by three gentlemen with lascivious grins.

“Hello, sweeting,” the one in the middle says, giving me the impression that he is the one in charge. The lights in this area are exceedingly dim, and the gray mist doesn’t help the situation. I can tell little about him save that he is fair, and if not for his wretched smile, I might have even considered him handsome. His friends are dark, one distinguishable by his rather unattractive bulbous nose, and the other by his unfortunate lack of a chin, as though it has somehow fallen into his neck. The way their gazes roam over me makes my skin crawl, and it is all I can do not to shrink before them. They wear the finest of clothes, along with expectations for a grand time, intent upon enjoying their youth while it still belongs to them. As for myself, with Elisabeth’s death, I have aged well beyond my twenty years.

"Please, excuse me," I say, trying to move around them, but they move as one to block my path. My heart speeds up, imitating the rhythm of the train that brought me to Blackrock City, clacking and rattling and threatening to jump the tracks at any moment. I take a step back, and No Chin sidesteps to hinder my escape. Suddenly, I find myself surrounded. It would take very little for these men to drag me into the darkest shadows of the garden, where no hope exists for retaining my dignity.

I try to open my reticule, to find the dagger I keep there as my only source of protection, but No Chin tears it free from my hold, nearly wrenching my arm off in the process.

"No!" I cry out.

"Come on, be a good girl," the fair-haired man says as he snakes an arm around me, lifting me to the tips of my toes. Terror grips me as I release an ear-splitting scream. But all I hear is laughter as they begin carting me toward the dark abyss. I won't succumb easily to what they plan. I will fight, scratch, claw…

"Hold up, gents! The she-wolf is with me."

Apparently, the men forcing me off the main pathway are as surprised by the deep, confident voice obviously directed at them as I am. They part slightly, allowing me to view through a narrow gap the shadowy silhouette of a large man with broad shoulders, taller than any man I've ever seen.

Abruptly, he shoulders his way in, winds his arm around my waist, and untangles me from my captor, using his free arm to shove one of the other men aside.

"I mean you no harm," he murmurs quickly in a low, reassuring voice. "If you wish to survive this night with your virtue intact, I suggest you come along with me."

Everything about him is lost to the murky shadows that accompany the encroaching fog. His hair is dark, but I can’t tell its exact shade. I can feel the power in his hold, strength as well as confidence. Instinctively, I know he is not a man who forces she-wolves. He has no need. Something about him radiates a protective air, and I realize in all likelihood he is the man who’s been following me, the man from the Alpha agency.

I don’t think he is one to fear the devil, and I have an insane thought that perhaps he could help me deal with Rockberry. But even as I think it, I realize I can no more confide in a stranger than I could a friend. Not about this matter, not when so much… when everything… is at risk. His gaze shifts away from me, and only then do I remember we have an audience. The three young men are glaring at us.

"Look here, old chap," the leader says. "We claimed her first."

"As I’ve already stated, she’s with me."

"We were told she was available."

"You were told incorrectly." With his arm firmly around me, he begins to stride away. I have to move my feet quickly to stay in step. But before we near the main path, the three men move to thwart our leaving. I hear his weary sigh.

"Do you gents really want to fight tonight, knowing you can’t possibly win?"

"There are three of us and only one of you. I like our odds."

"My odds are better. I grew up on the streets, fighting far worse than you."

"You sound like a gent."

"But I fight like the very devil." The underlying threat in his words reverberates through his voice.

It seems the men who accosted me are not only mean-spirited but stupid. Bulbous swings…

I find myself quickly thrust behind my protector… it's how I'm quickly beginning to think of him… as he wards off the blow and sends Bulbous to the ground. The other two attack him. While he uses his shoulder to cause No Chin to stagger back, my rescuer plows his fist into the fair man's stomach. With a gasp, Fair doubles over and drops to his knees. Then my protector rounds on Bulbous as he regains his footing and stands. The thud of flesh hitting flesh as my protector's knuckles catch the man beneath the chin echoes around us. Bulbous staggers back, arms windmilling. He falls in a graceless sprawl over the ground, unmoving. As his companions try to get to their feet, my protector makes short work of landing two quick punches that return both to the ground.

"Stay put until we leave," my protector orders, before holding out his hand to me. "Let's go, shall we?"

If he meant me harm, I think, he has no reason to take me out of here. While the excuse is flimsy, I find myself nodding. I've had quite enough of this place, and I know that finding Rockberry now is beyond the scope of my meager skills of detection. I take a step toward my rescuer, then remember…

"My reticule. One of them took it."

With his foot, he rolls Bulbous over, retrieves my reticule, and halts to stare at the handle of the dagger poking out.

"For protection," I mutter, taking my reticule and closing it over the dagger.

"Little good it did you. Come along. Stay close. I'll hire a hansom, see you safely home."

I have no choice except to let him draw me in and hold me upright, because I realize that I am trembling from the ordeal now that it's over. How could I have been so foolish as to believe I could protect myself in this place by simply not accepting what anyone might offer?

"Have you a name?" he finally asks quietly.

"Eden Newmoon," I say without thinking, and then wonder if I should have provided a false name. I've given so much thought to my plans, and here they are becoming unraveled.

"What were you doing wandering the gardens this time of night, Miss newmoon?"

"I fear I got lost." I peer up at him, unable to determine if he believes me. "It seems, sir, that I should know the name of the man who rescued me."

"Jamie Swindler."

On the Road, we find a hansom waiting by the curb. Leaning over, he opens the door and hands me up. "What instructions shall I give the driver?" he asks. Reluctantly, I give him the address for my lodgings. He calls out the information and hands coins up to the driver.

"Take care in the future, Miss Newmoon. Blackrock City can be a very dangerous place for a she-wolf alone."

Before I can reply, the driver sets the vehicle into motion. Glancing back, I see Mr. Swindler still standing in the street. Large and foreboding, becoming lost to the night, much like the man I’d glimpsed following me.

If he is Rockberry’s man, why did he let me go? And if he isn’t, why was he following me?