Chapter 2
I stalked leftward toward the noises. They grew louder as I reached the mouth of a dark alley.
I peeked around the corner and beheld a dingy corridor of trash-strewn pavement and algae-covered brick walls.
A few abandoned trash cans dotted the area, their bent and dented bodies reflected in the pools of pothole water.
Four men stood in the middle of the alley.
Three of them surrounded the fourth, a bent figure in a long overcoat and elegant black shoes.
His white-gloved hand grasped a black, smooth cane, which he leaned heavily against. The man’s black hair was combed back to reveal a high forehead and angular cheekbones, and the ends of those strands stopped at midneck.
His companions wore quite different attire, dressed as they were in ragged short-sleeve shirts and mud-stained pants. Their short hair stuck out at odd angles, creating a halo of malevolence around their dirty faces.
One of the motley crew nodded at the shorter man’s duds. “You have to have a coin to spare, looking like that.”
The man they surrounded spoke, and his baritone voice had a distinct accent that I guessed was German. “I have no money that you would find useful, gentlemen, now if you would please allow me to pass.”
The hunched man tried to slip past them, but the leader stepped into his path. “Come on! Don’t be going so soon! We’re not done with you, yet!”
“I only desired to pass through here. If you would be so kind as to allow me to go on my way, I will not bother you.”
“There’s a toll to pay for passing through here,” the man insisted as he reached into his pocket and drew out a slim object. My heart skipped a beat when a five-inch-long blade sprang out. “Now hand over whatever ya got, old man.”
The hunched gentleman chuckled. “Old? My friend, you have no idea how old I am.”
The man with the knife scoffed. “And I don’t care, either. Just give me everything ya have.”
“I would not be so hasty to demand of others that which you have no right to.”
A dark cloud settled on the knife-wielding man’s brow, and he took a step closer. “Quit yapping and hand it over.”
“Leave him alone!”
The words escaped my mouth without thought, and I recognized my folly the moment the men whipped their heads around to face me. Threatening looks turned to ones of supreme, lustful interest. I took an unsteady step back as one of them moved toward me.
“What have we here?” he cooed as a grin curled onto his lips. “A little thing lost in the dark?”
I stumbled back and dipped my hand into my pocket for my phone. One of the men sprang forward and grabbed my wrist, twisting it. Pain shot up my arm, and a strangled cry escaped me.
“That’s what you get for watching us!” their leader snapped at me.
The heavy hand of the stranger clapped down on one of his shoulders. The vagabond jerked his head around, and the stranger spoke in his low, calm voice. “I would ask that you release the young woman.”
The man sneered at his victim and reached out to grab his offending hand. “Let go, old man, or I’ll-”
The ‘old man’ straightened out of his hunched posture, and his height was such that he towered over even the tallest of the men.
The folds fell away from his cloak, revealing a slim figure.
The gloom of night couldn’t dampen the bright blue eyes that now stared down at the men with an intensity that took my breath away.
His voice cut through the grim night like a bolt of lightning. “You will not hurt her.”
Two of the assailants scuttled back, my captor included, their mouths agape at the transformation. Their leader shook off his shock and glared at the man. “Yeah? And who’s going to stop us? You? You’re just an old man, and there are three of us! Now get ‘em!”
His cohorts gave a great cry and lunged at the man. The stranger stepped back and threw their leader in their path. They bowled into each other and dropped to the ground. The stranger had a peculiar smile on his face as he slipped around their flailing bodies and over to me.
“My sincerest apologies, gentlemen, but you gave me no choice,” the stranger mused as he looped an arm through mine. “Now, we shall be going.”
The leader managed to untangle himself, and by extension, the others, and they sprang to their feet, a line of trembling, red-faced fury.
“You’ll regret that!” he snapped as he drew his hand behind him and pulled out a knife from a back sheath.
The blade shimmered in the starlight as he held it up to his face, his reflection a grotesque distortion that reflected his soul. “Now you’re done for.”
The fiend lunged at the man and thrust the knife into his gut. I let out a scream that echoed up and down the alley. Even his compatriots stood frozen, their mouths open.
Then something clattered to the ground. My whole body trembled as my wide eyes lowered to the ground. Something shimmered at the feet of the stranger. I blinked, and the article came into focus.
It was the blade of the knife.
The fiend stumbled back, his mouth agape and his bulging eyes staring unblinking at the stranger. He grasped the broken knife in his trembling hand, but his grip was untrustworthy. The weapon fell from his shaking fingers and clattered to the ground beside its broken tip.
A few quivering words slipped from his pale lips. “W-what are you?”
The man brushed out the wrinkles on the front of his coat. “Merely a stranger.” He paused, and his cool blue eyes flickered up to the trio. “You would do well to avoid other strangers in the future.”
The men shrieked and scrambled back, running over one another in their haste to escape. They vanished in a few seconds. That left me with the man and the broken parts of the weapon.
He turned to me, and a smile graced his lips. “You have nothing to fear from me, Miss-?”
I replied more out of habit than anything else. “Grace. Grace Holt.”
The stranger inclined his head. “A lovely name, Miss Holt. I must thank you for your help.”
I swallowed hard and managed to shake my stiff head. “I-I didn’t really do anything.” My eyes invariably dropped back to the blade. “And it looks like you never needed me.”
He took a step toward me. “On the contrary. I need you a great deal.”
I cast a suspicious side eye at him. “Why?”
“I am a stranger to your city, but I have heard there is a wonderful view of the river at one of your parks. May I ask that you guide me there?”
I pointed a finger at his chest. “First, you have to tell me how you did that. That guy looked strong enough to shove that knife through you.”
The man smiled and set a hand over his chest. “I have an armor over me that prevents any such attacks from coming to fruition.”
I squinted at the shadows over the front of his clothes. “I can’t even see where the blade stabbed you.”
The stranger dropped his hand to his side. “I see my presence makes you uncomfortable. I would not wish to impose further on your kindness, so I will bid you goodnight.” He bowed his head to me and turned away.
“Wait.” I wasn’t sure why I spoke up. Maybe it was just plain curiosity, or maybe it was my natural desire to help people.
It was his eyes. They looked so sad.
He paused and half-turned toward me. “Yes?”
I bit my lower lip. “I. . .I could show you the way to the river. It isn’t far.”
How I was to regret my kindness.