最挺拔的雏菊 The Tallest Daisy

伊芙琳在热闹的街上潜行，身体的阴影与夜色融为一体。她的双眼在暗中闪烁着微光，但只有眼神最毒辣的人才有可能注意得到。成群的醉鬼、水手和娼妓在不远处的大街上交谈，天真得丝毫没有察觉到自己正在被黑暗中的恶魔注视着。而这恶魔却将他们看得一清二楚，而且正在用最敏锐的目光审视着他们。

Evelynn slinked through the teeming streets, the shadows of her body blending seamlessly with the night. Her eyes glinted within the gloom, though only the keenest observer would have noticed. Drunks, sailors, and harlots chatted in a nearby thoroughfare, blissfully unaware they were being watched by a demon in the dark. The demon, on the other hand, saw them all with perfect clarity, and judged them with the most discerning eye.

伊芙琳的目光锁定了一个躺在排水沟里的人。他手里还晃悠悠地握着一瓶甜菜酒。换做是平常，这种模样的人她看都不会看一眼。但她现在已经好几天没进食了，她发现自己已经绝望到正在认真考虑，虽然只有那么一小会儿。要干的话简直易如反掌。她只需要把他带进随便哪条小巷里，远离街灯的亮光就好。

Evelynn’s gaze settled on a man lying in the gutter, a bottle of beet wine dangling from his hands. Ordinarily, the demon wouldn’t give a second thought to someone in his condition. But she had not fed in days, and she found herself desperate enough to consider the man, if only for a moment. It would be so easy. All she needed was to lure him to one of the numerous alleys far from the glow of the street lamps.

这个念头很快就被打消了，因为她看到一只蟑螂从那名醉汉的脸上匆匆爬过。这个人已经烂醉如泥、浑身麻木。即使挑起了他的兴致，也是迷糊又迟钝的。她最喜欢在撕破脸皮之前看到猎物急不可耐的表情，可在他身上毫无希望。她甚至可能需要剥下他一整只胳膊的皮才能让他发出一声尖叫。

The thought perished as she watched a cockroach scurry across the drunk’s face. This was a man too inebriated to feel. His arousal would be vague and muted, with none of the urgent attraction she loved to see in her victims before she brought them low. She might even flay an entire arm before he mustered a scream.

这是个严重的问题。通过无数次进食的经验，伊芙琳对自己的口味了如指掌：她更喜欢——确切地说，她更需要——自己的猎物能感受到每一下戳刺、每一口啃噬、每一丝被利爪剜去的血肉。而这家伙木讷呆滞、毫无反应，根本不值得她花费时间。

And that was the problem. Over the course of countless feedings, Evelynn had learned everything about her palate: She preferred—no, needed—her victims to feel every prick, every bite, every bit of flesh she peeled away with her claws. A man in this condition would be dull and unfulfilling, scarcely worth her time.

她放弃了这个醉鬼，继续沿着泥泞的走廊走去。她经过一家小酒馆的窗外，里面幽幽点着蜡烛，潮湿昏暗。一个胖女人一边打着饱嗝一边撞开门，踉跄地走进黑夜，手里还攥着一根吃到一半的火鸡腿。有那么一瞬，伊芙琳也考虑了一下这个女人，或许她能向她示爱、投怀送抱，然后送她进入不可言喻的地狱。

She dismissed the drunk and continued down the muddy promenade, past the windows of a dank, candlelit tavern. A fat, belching woman threw open its door and stumbled out into the night, grasping a half-eaten turkey leg. For a moment, Evelynn considered the woman, how she might woo her into an embrace, and then into the unspeakable hell that would follow.

这个恶魔注视着那个女人狼吞虎咽地啃光了剩下的火鸡腿，根本没有去品尝。在她内心深处压抑着一股忧郁，会破坏掉伊芙琳进食的体验。

The demon watched as the woman wolfed down the rest of the meat, never tasting it. There was something deep inside her, a melancholy that would taint the experience.

伊芙琳更喜欢自己制造的痛苦。

Evelynn preferred inflicting the pain herself.

恶魔继续前进，在城镇的阴影中轻轻滑行，越过另外两个醉鬼，经过一个正在行乞的乞丐，穿过一对正在拌嘴的夫妻。所有这些人都无法提起伊芙琳的食欲。伤害这些人就像是摘掉已经枯萎的花瓣。她更愿意为自己挑选出挺拔茁壮的雏菊，因为只有那样的花朵才会在采摘的时候带来最大的满足感。

The demon moved on, gliding through the shadows of the town, over two more drunks, past a beggar asking for alms, between a couple in the midst of an argument. Evelynn found them all completely unappealing. Hurting them would be like plucking a flower that had already wilted. She preferred her daisies tall and healthy, for those were the most satisfying to cut down.

她的心头升起一个可怕的想法。或许她把猎场选在这个死气沉沉的鬼地方是个错误的决定。或许，说不定哪个瞬间，上个猎物带来的刺激就会褪去，只留下一片虚无——一无所有的空间，原本应有的感觉从此无迹可寻。

A dreadful thought overtook her. Perhaps she’d made a mistake choosing this wretched backwater as her hunting ground. Perhaps, at any moment, the thrill from her last victim might wear off, leaving only the nothingness—that utterly empty space inside her where feelings should be.

这时，她便看到了他......

And then, she saw him…

这位绅士从一家高档酒吧里走出来，从里到外散发着洋洋喜气。他衣冠楚楚却不花哨造作，自顾自地低声哼着一段欢快的旋律，沿街向前走去，一捧花束在他臂弯里活泼地跃动。

The gentleman was positively beaming as he exited one of the high-end pubs. He was dapper without being flashy, and he hummed a jaunty tune to himself as he set off down the street with a bouquet of flowers tucked gingerly in the fold of his arm.

伊芙琳背后的两根鞭绳激动地抽搐了一下。即使隔着很远距离，她也可以感觉到这个男人悠然自得、心满意足。她在这位绅士的背后闪躲腾挪，小心翼翼地既不跟丢猎物，又不打草惊蛇。

The two lashers on Evelynn’s back writhed with excitement. Even from a distance, she sensed this man was completely content in his own skin. She dashed after the gentleman, taking great care not to lose track of her prey or to alert him to her presence.

他走了将近半个小时，终于转弯进入一条人行步道。步道尽头是一幢中等户型的石砌庄园。男人走进了一扇厚重的橡木门。伊芙琳目不转睛地凝望着房子的窗户一扇一扇地被温馨的烛光点亮。一个身材瘦高、端庄朴素的女人身着一袭高领晚礼服走进视线，用温柔的拥抱迎接男人回家。她假装惊讶地接过了男人带回来的花束，然后放进一支干净的花瓶中。花瓶旁是另外一束稍旧一些的花。

He walked for nearly half an hour before finally turning up a long walkway toward a modestly sized, cut-stone manor. At the end of the path, the man stepped through the heavy oak door to his home. Evelynn held her unblinking gaze on the windows of the man’s house as they lit one by one with warm candlelight. A slender, austere woman in a high-necked evening gown entered and greeted the man with a welcoming embrace. She feigned a slight surprise at the flowers he had brought, before placing them in a clean vase, right next to an old bouquet.

恶魔看得兴致盎然。

The demon’s interest grew.

不一会，两个刚刚摆脱了尿布的孩子跑进了房间，双手挥舞着扑到男人的大腿上。他们大大的笑容里点缀着细小牙齿的反光。虽然这一幕就像最典型的和睦家庭，但伊芙琳知道自己将会找到一些东西，只要她再试探得更深一点。

A moment later, two children, scarcely out of diapers, ran into the room and threw their arms around the man’s legs, their wide grins sparkling with tiny teeth. Though the scene played like the epitome of domestic bliss, Evelynn knew what she would find if she probed just a little deeper.

她耐心地等待，看着烛光一个接一个地熄灭，直到最后只剩下客厅的光亮。那个男人独自坐在椅子上，掏出了烟斗。伊芙琳爬出了阴影，她黑暗缥缈的四肢逐渐化成温暖的肉体，后背上恶魔般的鞭绳也消失了，显露出女人的形态，玲珑的曲线让任何人都无法抗拒。

She waited patiently, watching the candles go out one by one, until only the parlor remained lit. The man was alone, settling into a reading chair to draw on his pipe. Evelynn crept out of the shadows, her dark, wispy limbs giving way to warm flesh. Her demonic lashers disappeared behind her back, revealing a shapely female form, with curves too generous for any eye to ignore.

她腰肢轻摆，款款穿过草坪来到窗前。距离窗玻璃还有一臂远的时候，里面的男人就看到了她。男人身体一激灵就坐直了，嘴里的烟斗差点掉下来。伊芙琳伸出一根手指，朝他勾了一下。

Her hips waggled softly as she sauntered across the lawn to the window. She was nearly arm’s length from the glass when she saw the man bolt upright from his chair at the sight of her, his pipe nearly falling from his mouth. Evelynn beckoned with a single finger, motioning for the man to join her outside.

那个人蹑手蹑脚地来到正门口，试探性地开了一道缝，好奇地打量着藏在自己窗外的这位陌生美人。他踩到草坪上向她走来，小心翼翼，同时又满心期许。

The man crept to the front door and opened it tentatively, curious to investigate the strange beauty lurking outside his window. He approached her on the lawn with great apprehension, and greater anticipation.

“你是…………谁？”他局促地问。

“Who… are you?” he asked timidly.

“你想我是谁，我就是谁。”恶魔安慰地说。

“I’m whatever you want me to be,” assured the demon.

伊芙琳与那个人四目相对，她钻进他灵魂深处，找到了自己想要的东西——一丝小小的不甘，即使是最幸福的人，也无法阻止这小小的伤口化脓溃烂。

As Evelynn locked eyes with the man, she plumbed the depths of his soul and found exactly what she was looking for—that tiny lesion of discontent that festered within even the happiest person.

就是这个，她心想。他想拥有却得不到的东西。

There it is, she thought. All that he wants and cannot have.

“我的家……”那个人说到一半，想不出后半句。

“My family…” the man said, unable to finish his thought.

恶魔靠得更近了。

The demon leaned close.

“嘘。没事的，”她在那个人耳边低语。”我知道你想要什么，也知道你为了这欲望感到罪恶。没关系的。”

“Shh. It’s okay,” she whispered in the man’s ear. “I know what you want, and the guilt you feel for wanting it. Let it go.”

她退回来，发现这个人已经不可救药地被俘获了。

She pulled back to find the man hopelessly captivated.

“我可以……拥有你吗？”他问。虽然对自己的无耻而感到羞愧，但他却无法战胜自己奇怪的欲望，想要立刻就在草坪上得到她。

“Can I… have you?” he asked, ashamed of his brazenness, but overcome by a strange desire to take her right there on the lawn.

“当然了，宝贝。所以我才在这。”恶魔说。

“Of course, honey. That’s why I’m here,” said the demon.

他用指尖轻抚她的脸庞，抚摸她圆润紧致的肌肤。她握住他的手，紧紧贴上自己的身体，同时发出一声轻柔而放荡的笑。这位甜美、温柔、幸福的男人今晚只属于她。他有如此多的疼痛可以给予，而她将全部接受。

He touched her face with the tips of his fingers, caressing her cheek. She held his hand firmly to her skin and released a soft, sultry chuckle. This sweet, tender, happy man would be hers tonight. He had so much pain to give, and she would take it all.

他们身后，一阵拖鞋脚步的悉悉索索的声音从敞开的门口传出。

From behind them, the shuffling of slippered feet sounded from the open doorway of the house.

“你没事吧，亲爱的？”那个男人的妻子问道。

“Is everything okay, love?” asked the man’s wife.

“我简直棒极了，亲爱的。”恶魔替那个呆若木鸡的男人回答道。

“Everything’s going to be wonderful, my darling,” the demon answered for the dumbstruck man.

这差事越来越美妙了，即将到手的美味愈发诱人。一朵盛开的雏菊已准备好接受摧残，另一朵则含苞待放，泪眼旁观。

The deal had become even sweeter, and the prospects more enticing. There was one daisy in full flower to pluck, and one bulb to bloom while it watched.