I write this because I fear for my life.

I have heard the rumors of what he has done to other girls, the way he has tormented them, killed them in their very beds. And that was with the human girls. I know that he will do worse to me.

We were reintroduced tonight, Lucius Abaddon and myself. He is a handsome man, with fair features and vivid green eyes. Like Levi, he has features that are too pretty, too appealing. He is a poisonous flower that is dangerous to look at, much less touch. I remembered him too well, remembered his hands and his eyes and his mouth.

There I was, finished for the night and preparing to head to my bedroom when I was stopped, not by Levi but by his assistant, Chester.

He said, "There's another gentleman here be want'n to see ya."

"I have finished my shift. Levi gave me three and I just finished with the last—"

"Well, ye got a fourth now." He nodded his head in the direction of my lounge. "Best get back in there and straighten up. He'll be here in a minute." Chester's fingers tightened on my arm slightly and he leaned in so that he could speak soft to me. His breath smelt of cigars and  cheap whisky. "Tread carefully, Rosalie. It is Luc—"

On instinct I reeled away from him, my back hitting the wall behind me.

The devil himself had come knocking on my door. My body went cold and, as hard as I tried, no words would come. Calm. You are calm. You are only ever afraid if you let yourself show it. My resolve must have slipped slightly because Chester spoke up in assurance.

"You needn't worry yourself, lass. He has no reason to harm ya."

The second try succeeded and I managed a winning smile. "I'm not worried, I merely have an urgent request. Where is Levi?"

Chester stepped towards me. "Lucius isn't a tolerant man. Neither of us can be afford'n to keep him wait'n. Why don't ya tell me what it is ye need and I can relay it to Desmott when I see him?"

I fluttered my eyelashes at him and adjusted my posture so that he had a nice view of my cleavage. If words didn't work, body language usually did the trick. "It's urgent. Please, just let me speak with Desmott and I'll get right to Lucius. I would not dally if it were not incredibly important."

"I'm not even sure he's in—"

"Go and find out if he is. I need him." I pressed my open palm against his chest and shot him a suggestive look. I would like to call myself a lady but in that moment I was more than willing to do whatever it might take to get within earshot of Leviathan Desmott. "Please, Chester. For me?" I made sure he got a decent view of my breasts as I said, "It will only take a second."

"Don't touch me." Chester moved away, adjusting his vest and shrugging off my hand, as if I were soiled, and my very hand could taint him.

My self-control slipped and I frowned. "Relax, Astaroth, whore does not catch."

"Desmott isn't here. I'm in charge. Do ya hear?" He shook his head and waved a hand at me. "Get to your lounge and serve your customer, I won't be to blame if he's kept wait'n one second longer."

Once my carefully built wall of nonchalance was cracked I allowed the rest to tumble. "You will come and knock on my door when the hour is up?"

Chester nodded. "We always do, aye?"

"Yes. But you will not forget. You will come yourself, or Desmott. Please do not forget me, Chester."

He held up a finger and replied, "One hour."

I shall not write what the hour was like nor what Lucius himself was like, I will merely say that he is as beautifully terrifying as when I last saw him. I was a child then, perhaps no more than five or six, and he was a god to me. He has since dropped in status, my feelings moving from awe to outright terror of him.

As a five year old I was, perhaps, safer from him. I was not yet above the working age and as such was not on his watch list. As I have grown, and diverged from the expected path, I have become more of an object of interest. Foolish as I am, I somehow grew to view my warden as my brother and my devotion to Leviathan Desmott has become something that may prove to be my downfall if it is not ceased. It is because of my growing up, and my friendships since then, that my opinion has changed.

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.—My father would kill me if he caught me reciting such things. Still, it rings true. I am different, changed because of time and years of living through the same hell over and over again. But I shouldn't write such things here. Not where father could find it.

He would be ever more displeased to find that I have attended mass, not once, but three times in the last month. I do not go for the service or for the spiritual comfort, for I gain little from either. Rather, I go to the church because it is where my father does not go. It is uncharted, unattainable, ground to people like my father. Even Levi, who I see as far gentler than any other of his kind, does not dare trespass there for fear of retribution—but I do. I go even if I do not claim the faith or pray.

This is the first sin for which I will surely pay. This sin counts when the others do not. This is the first real sin I have committed of my own volition—and Satan himself hath witnessed it. As retribution he has come to me and threatened my life and the life of my friend.

Before the hour was finished, before Desmott or Chester's fist could knock against the wood as my salvation, Lucius reminded me exactly who he is. I was sitting on the edge of the cot, watching as the clock above the door moved closer to the hour mark. I usually timed it myself, sure that I would be paid every farthing that was owed to me, but tonight I was afraid, which made me clumsy.

"It's a shame what happened to the son of Berith. I hear he was a good worker." Lucius lay on his back next to me. I did not spare him a glance, too afraid to speak in his presence. There had been no formal introductions or words between us when he'd first arrived. I'd taken my clothes off and that had been that. Now, though, he was chatty. I wished he were not. "Did you know him well or was it all a game to you, hm?" When I did not respond Lucius placed his palm against my naked spine. I flinched away from the cold of his touch and he chuckled. "I asked you a question, daughter of Gressil."

I wanted desperately to curl into a ball and pull the blankets above my head. I wanted desperately to get the answer to this question right—for there most certainly was a right answer and Lucius Abaddon certainly knew what it was.

"I was not close to him. We'd only been recently introduced." It was not a lie.

His fingertips danced up my spine and I begged myself to remain still. "Is that so?" Three taps along my spine, three words—one question.

"Yes, sir."

His hand found the pins in my dark hair and began pulling tendrils loose, until my face and back were covered in long red, brown curls. I pride myself in my neat appearance, in how creased the folds in my skirts are, how well arranged my hair is, how my lips are always the perfect shade of pink. With every curl he unpinned he unwound a small part of myself—I can hide behind pretty things, I have to. I fear the girl underneath, what is inside of me, is far more ugly than even I can imagine. I believe that this man can see that and he will not allow me to hide from myself.

"And what of you? You were spared."

"Yes, sir."

"Come now, daughter of Gressil. I am certain you have more to say for yourself than that. I am, after all, judge and jury. Convince me why I should not strangle you here, in this bed."

Was I supposed to look at him? I was unsure what to do. To look at him seemed like a challenge, to avert my eyes seemed cowardly. My father has raised me in his own image. To Gressil fear is weakness. Should it not also be weakness to this man? In the time it took me to decide not to turn around, he was speaking once more.

"I am only newly back to England. Do you know what I was doing while in America?"

"No, sir."

His hand found the back of my neck and he gave it a firm squeeze. "Speak up, daughter of Gressil. I am losing my patience with you."

I did not know for certain what he had been doing while abroad, but I had my guesses. Levi is often clumsy with his ledger and I had read more than one of his correspondences with Lucius over the past six months. I knew that Lucius was in America searching for something, or someone, and that it dealt directly with our enemy.

What I knew, that I believe Lucius does not, is that Leviathan is also searching for this same thing. The two of them are seemingly working together, but I am uncertain of Levi's loyalties as of late. I also know that Levi would want me to keep that a secret.

I spoke quickly, hoping I sounded unconcerned. "I do not know what you were doing in America."

"Shall you take a guess?"

I said the first thing that came to mind. "Sight seeing?"

He laughed, deep and hard. "No, my dear. I was most certainly not sight seeing for I have no appreciation for this world. It was a mistake."

I refrained from frowning and instead whispered and reverent, "Yes, sir."

His hand on my neck tightened again and this time he did not let up right away. "And she is back to repeating herself once more. Did your father not send you to school?"

"Yes, sir." I stuttered and muttered a quick, "I'm sorry, sir."

His hand relaxed and went back down to the base of my spine. "Do you know what I do for a living, daughter of Gressil?"

"You are a doctor."

Five fingers began their slow climb once more. "And what is it that I do?"

I had to think hastily, weaving through what information I was actually meant to know and what I had just deduced throughout my lifetime. Despite everything, my answer still came out sounded bland. "You...You use your work to search out the enemy?"

"As of late, yes." He sighed, obviously tiring of his guessing game. "I have a special interest in the human body. I want to know what places cause harm—" he dug his fingers into the crevice of my shoulder blade and I tried to pull away. He sat up and caught my arm, holding me still. "You will not move away from me again."

"Yes, sir—I mean, I'm sorry, sir—I..." I trailed off flustered and unsure what else to say.

He ignored me. "As I was saying: I enjoy inflicting pain. But I wouldn't have you believe that I am without reason for such actions, because no one ever is without reason. Not ever. Do you know what my reason is?"

This I knew and had been drilled on since I was of an age to talk. "You hate the enemy and all that are his." And I too needed to learn to hate. 

I did hate. 

I hated the man touching me.

"Good girl. Lovely, pretty girl." His fingers unwound their grip on my arm and came to rest on my shoulder. "That is correct."

Silence fell and I once again turned my attention to the clock. Where was the rap on the door signaling the hour's close? Surely the time must be over. It felt like days had passed.

He leaned his forehead against my back and breathed against my skin. "Tell me about Leviathan."

I closed my eyes and tried to keep my tone even and unconcerned as I replied, "He is your friend, surly you know more than I do."

He lifted his head from my skin, ran his tongue up my spine, across the patch of skin where my shoulder met my neck and scrapped his teeth against my earlobe. Soft, hot breathes tickled my skin but I did not move. Did not breathe.

He said, "Leviathan trusts you. Keeps you in his confidence. I am sure of it. After all, it was his order that saved you from death after your insolence with the son of Berith. You broke a law, one of the only laws placed on your kind. He saved you from execution.

"I'm a good worker—"

His trailed his hand up and down my spine again, that mouth still licking at my ear, causing every muscle in my body to seize up instinctively. "There were good workers before you and I am certain there shall be good workers after."

"He does not tell me things. Perhaps you would be better off asking Levi—Mr. Desmott, as I am sure he would be more equipped to answer your questions as it was his choice to save me."

"Does Leviathan know that you have been leaving this theater to go to church?"

His hand pinched at the skin on the back of my neck as if I were a naughty dog and not a grown woman. I yelped and tried to twist from him, causing the grip to tighten and the pain intensified as his nails dug into flesh. Through it all, he remained calm.

His tone bearly raising as he said, "You will sit still and you will listen."

After a split second more of struggling, I relented and fell still.

"I shall ask once more, daughter of Gressil, why should I not end your miserable life right now?"

"I am a good worker."

"If works were not enough for God why then would they be enough for me?"

"I am sorry."

"Your father would be ashamed. I assure you, he would have far less mercy than I. If it were in his will, he would have killed you as soon as you began looking at that neph boy."

"It was a mistake."

He laughed and leaned forward, gripping my chin and pulling my head to the side, so we were nose to nose. "Of that, we can both be certain." His hand slithered around my shoulders until this large palm rested against the front of my neck. "I could kill you now, take away the air from your lungs. No one would come to save you. You are my property after all. You work for me. You owe me your life for I have let you keep it up until this very moment."

"Please—"

"Do you hear that?" He whispered, "The sound of your heartbeat? It is my will that allows it to continue as it does."

"I'm so sorry. Please don't—"

"I did not say you could speak, daughter of Gressil. It would serve you well to learn some manners. I will have to speak to Leviathan about how he trains his whores. How will you ever lead a man astray if you cannot keep you insolent mouth shut? If I do not ask you a question, you do not speak. Do I make myself clear?"

When I did not answer he shook me by the neck.

"I understand."

"Splendid." He relaxed his hold but did not remove his fingers as he continued, "Tell me what you know of Leviathan."

"He trains and places prostitutes in prominent theaters—"

"Don't tell me things I already know."

"I do not know anything else." I realized my mistake too late. I had been careful to give half-truths, to keep myself on the line so that he could not sense when I was being deceptive.

My slip up did not go unnoticed by him. "Liar."

I hurried to rectify the wrong I'd just committed. "Leviathan has been missing from work recently. I am certain he has good reason. I am sure it is for the cause."

"For the cause?" Lucius scoffed. "My dear girl, I am the cause. His whereabouts should never be unknown to me. He is being deceptive, but he has forgotten that I am the master of such things."

"I know no more than that."

Lucius used his leverage on the front of my neck to haul me backward until I was pressed against the mattress with his fingers tightly wound about my throat. He put his weight against mine, holding me still while he slowly tightened his grip on me. "I have lost my patience with you, daughter of Gressil. I shall give you one more chance at this, one more chance to redeem yourself—not because I believe you deserving of it, but because it suits me to do so."

His fingers slowly dug into my airway and I gasped. I twisting violently against him as he used his elbow to crush the air from my lungs as his other hand kept me from inhaling more. I was suffocating, spots obscuring my vision as my body fought for oxygen.

"Now, you shall work your way into Leviathan's confidence. I do not believe this shall be difficult for you since, judging from his efforts to save you previously, the two of you are already quite close. You will find out what he has been up to and you shall report it to me. Your life and his swing in the balance, daughter of Gressil; if he has done no wrong against me then he has nothing to fear from your inquisition." He let go of my throat and I sputtered, inhaling deeply, terrified he would do it again, hurt me again. "Do I make myself clear?" There was no 'or else' for I knew exactly what he would do if I were to deny him his request.

Before I could answer the knock at the door sounded and Chester called that the hour was finished.