Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
17th of September, 1884

Careless

by Lord Aloysius Esch

He's been careless. Getting sloppy.
Aloysius is somewhat famous now. He never should have been. At most, an embarrassment to family, a wastrel. Nobody worth noting except to shake heads and cluck tongues with sympathy to his parents and siblings. That was the mission, his mask so he could work in the shadows. But he couldn't hide from every eye. He couldn't stand aside from dangers and watch things burn so he could work in the dark. Or let people die he could save. Or let the guilty maintain sway. It hurts him and he has to do something.
 
Careless.
 
Venowin's stalking and threats, his near murder of Nel and Zayn merged with Aloysius' need to remove the source of problems... and it outran his feet. His heavy hand was careless of the trap of the law, a trap he had no right to avoid, killing a paladin of Caelus in the alley like that. He didn't regret the killing, that didn't scathe him at all. He had done his diligence, offered a way out, and then they finished it. It was the failure of discretion.
 
The intervention at the matchstick factory was clumsy. It was right but walking around with his own face. Confronting Dare Hendrix as himself, even without names got him recognized and he couldn't kill the man just for being an ass. Besides, he agreed to fix the problems.
 
The situation in Bharat was even worse for his disguise. All of them are genuinely famous there, even the villains have names for them. The Relentless Gale... with any luck neither Duchess Mockingbird nor his parents would ever hear of that. So much work on the verge of ruin because he couldn't live a quiet life. But...

Continue reading...

  1. Flowers, Fresh Air, and Husbands
    26th March, 1884
  2. Heartpierced
    July 23, 1884
  3. Careless
    17th of September, 1884
  4. Family Business
    16th of October, 1884
  5. A Salve of Moonlight
    November 3rd, 1884
  6. Memories of Futures Past
    5 March, 1884