Chapter 1

He walked the night. Alone restless. ready.clad in black, masked, he was a shadow among shadows, a whisper among the murmurs and mumbles of the dark.

 He was watchful, always, for those who preyed on the helpless and vulnerable. unknown, unseen , unwanted he stalked the hunters in the steaming jungle that was the city. He moved unchallenged in the dark spaces, the blind alleys and violent streets. like smoke, he drifted along towering rooftops and down into dark cellars.

When he needed he moved like thunder, all sound and fury. then there was only the flash, the optical echo that lightning leaves after it streaks the sky.

They called him Nemisis, and he was everywhere.

He walked the night, skirting the sound of laughter, the cheerful sound of celebrations. Instead he was drawn to whimpers and tears of the lonely and the helpless pleas of the victimized. Night after night, he clothed himself in black, masked his face and stalked the wild,dark streets. Not for the law. The law was too easily manipulated by those who scorned it. When he walked, he walked for justice, with justice there would be retribution and the balancing of scales.

Like a shadow, he watched the city below.

Nicki Maraj moved quickly. She was always in a hurry to catch up with her ambitions. Now her neat, 6inch heels clicked rapidly on the broken sidewalk of Urbana's east end. it wasn't fear that had her hurrying back to her car, though the east end was a dangerous place to be-especially at night-- for a lone attractive woman. it was a flush of success. In her capacity as assistant district attorney , she had just completed an interview with a witness to one of the drive by shootings that were becoming a plague in Urbana.

Every time Nicki brought a case to trial, she felt she was repaying a part of that debt.

One of the doorway shadows shouted something at her impersonally obscene. A harsh feminine cackle followed it. Nicki had only been in Urbana for eighteen months but she knew better than to pause or to register that she had heard at all.

Her strides long and purposeful, she stepped off the curb to get into her car. Someone grabbed her from behind.

"oh baby, aint you sweet."

The man six inches taller than she and smelled of alcohol. in a split second it took her to read his glassy eyes, she understood that he wasn't pumped high on whiskey but on chemicals that would make him quick instead of sluggish. Using both hands, she shoved her leather briefcase into his gut. he grunted and his grip loosened. Nicki yanked away and ran, digging frantically for her keys. Even as her hand closed over the jingling metal in her pocket, he grabbed her, his fingers digging in at the collar of her jacket. she heard the linen rip and turned to fight. Then she saw the switchblade, its business end gleaming once before he pressed it against the soft skin under her chin.

"gotcha." he said, and giggled.

she went dead still, hardly daring to breathe. in his eyes she saw a malicious kind of glee that would never listen to pleading or logic. Still she kept her voice low and calm.

"I've only got twenty-five dollars."

Jabbing the point of the blade against her skin, he leaned intimately close. 

"uh-uh baby, you got a lot more than twenty-five dollars." he twisted her hair around his hand, jerking once, hard. when she cried out he began to pull her toward the deeper dark of the alley.

"go on scream," he giggled in her ear. " i like it when they scream. go on." he nicked her throat with the blade. " scream."

she did, and the sound rolled down the shadowed street, echoing in the canyons of the buildings. in doorways people shouted encouragement to the attacker. behind darkened windows people kept their lights off and pretended that they heard nothing.

When he pushed her against the damp wall of the alley way, she was icy with terror. her mind, so sharp and open, shut down, " please," she said though she knew better, " don't do this."

He grinned. " you're going to like it." with the tip of the blade he sliced the top button of her blouse, " you're going to like it just fine." 

like any strong emotion fear sharpened her senses. she could feel her own tears, hot and wet on her cheeks, smell his stale breath and the overripe garbage that crowded the alley. She would be another statistic, she thought dully. just one more number among the ever increasing victims. Slowly, then with increasing power, anger began to burn through the icy shield of fear. She would not cringe and whimper. She would not submit without a fight. It was then she felt the sharp pressure of her keys. They were still in her hand, closed tight in her rigid fist. Concentrating, she used her thumb to push the points between her stiff fingers. She sucked in her breath, trying to channel all of her strength into her arm. She sucked in a breath, trying to channel all her strength into her arms.

Just as she raised it, her attacker seemed to rise into the air, then fly into a stand of garbage cans.

Nicki ordered her legs to run. The way her heart was pumping, she was certain she could be in her car, doors locked, engine grinning, in the blink of an eye. but then she saw him.

He was all black, a long, lean shadow among the shadows. He stood over the knife wielding junkie, his legs spread, his body tensed.

"Stay back." he ordered when she took the automatic step forward. His voice was part whisper, part growl, 

" I think..."

"dont think," he snapped without bothering to look at her.

the junkie leaped up howling, bringing his blade down in a deadly arc. Before Nicki's eyes, there was a flash of movement, a scream of pain and clatter of the knife skidded along the concrete.

in less than the time it takes to draw and release a single breath, the man in black stood just as he had before.

"that was..." Nicki searched her brain for a word, "impressive. I I was going to suggest that we call the police."

He continued to ignore her as he took some circular plastic from his pocket and bound the still moaning junkie's hands and ankles. he picked up the knife, pressed a button. The blade disappeared with a whisper. Only then did he turn to her.

The tears were already drying on her cheeks, he noted. She was extraordinarily beautiful, he observed dispassionately. her features were soft, delicate, almost fragile. Unless you looked at her eyes. There was a toughness in them, a determination. Her jacket was torn and her blouse had been cut open to reveal her icy blue lace and silk bra.

He summed her up, not as man to woman, but as he had countless other victims, countless other hunters. The unexpected and very basic jolt of reaction he felt disturbed him. Such things were more dangerous than any switchblade.

"are you hurt?" his voice was low and unemotional and he remained in the shadow.

"no. no not really." there would be plenty of bruises both on her skin and her emotions. "just shaken up. i want to thank you for.." she had stepped toward him as she spoke. In the faint back splash from the street light, she saw that his face was masked. As her eyes widened. "Nemisis." she murmured. " I thought you were the product of someone's imagination."

"I'm as real as he is." he jerked his head toward the figure groaning on the ground. he saw that there was a trickle of blood on her throat. For reasons he didnt try to understand, it enrage him. " what kind of fool are you?"

"I beg you pardon."

"this is the sewer of the city. you don't belong here. no one with brains comes here unless they have no choice."

Her temper inched upward, but she controlled it. He had after all helped her. " I had business here."

"no." he corrected. " you have no business here, unless you choose to be raped and murdered in an alley."

" i didn't choose anything of the sort." as her emotions darkened. " i can take care of myself."

his gaze skimmed down, lingered on the shredded blouse then returned to her face. "Obviously."

"I've already thanked you for helping me, even though i didnt need any help. i was just about to deal with that asshole myself."

"really."

"Thats right. i was going to gouge his eyes out." she held up her keys. " with these."

he studied her again, then gave a slow nod. " yes, i believe you could do it."

"damn right i could."

" then it appears that i have wasted my time," He pulled a square black cloth out of his pocket, wrapped the knife in it and gave it to her.

" you'll want this for evidence."

the moment she held it, she remembered that feeling of terror and helplessness. " i'm grateful."

"i don't look for gratitude."

Her chin came up as he threw her words back in her face. " for what then?"

He stared at her, into her. " for justice."

"this isn't the way." she began.

"its my way. weren't you going to call the police?"

"yes. i have my phone in my car."

"then i suggest you use it."

" all right." she was too tired to argue back.

Five minutes later, after calling 911 and giving them the details of her situation she walked back to the alley.

"they're sending a cruiser. hello?" with a puzzled frown, she looked up and down the alley.

he was gone.

"damn it, where did he go?"

he was almost close enough to touch her. But she couldn't see him. that was the blessing and the curse.

He didnt reach out, he only watched her, imprinting on his memory the shape of her face, the texture of her skin, the color and sheen of her hair.

When the sirens cut the night, he could see her rebuild a mask of composure, layer by layer. As he stood alone in his own half world between reality and illusion, he could smell the subtle sexiness of her perfume.

For the first time in four years, he felt the sweet and quiet ache of longing.