Chapter One

The overwhelming aroma of the two Parisian women made the demon's mouth salivate uncontrollably. Nykos of the Lothgar brought the sleeve of his dark brown overcoat up to his mouth and wiped thick drool from the coarse hair upon his chin.

He pulled his collar closer about his neck, adjusted the old fedora upon his misshapen head and continued to follow the scent. The women had been shopping and one had bought perfume. Nykos could smell the powerful odour of lilacs beneath the redolence of their sweet young flesh. It made his flared nostrils twitch in eager anticipation.

They were twins, and he wondered if there would be any discernable difference in the taste of the meat. His stomach gurgled. It was well over a week since he last fed and he was anxious to consume this latest prey. The monster followed them through the streets at dusk as the lamps began to gleam and the city of lights came to life. But even as lovers and business-suited men and tourists flowed along the boulevards, across the bridges that spanned the Seine, through food and flower markets and past shops and bakeries... even then, the alleys remained dark, travelled only by those who knew the intricacies of the city's shadows, or who dared not to fear them.