Can't Look Back (War for Dominance Book 1) by Chris Kennedy

there.”
     
     

Chapter 20
     
     
    Ghorza opened the tunnel door a crack and looked around. A member of the Magisterium, she knew the locations of several tunnels that could be used to sneak in and out of the city. All were booby-trapped in case the enemy found them, but the one she led John through was still clear. So far.
    Seeing no one around, she pushed up the trap door, which led into a small shed. Disguised by some of the best illusionists in Norlon, the shed appeared old, decrepit and unworthy of a second glance from the outside. The building was empty, although the smell of smoke was much stronger now that they were closer to the fighting. They could feel the pounding of siege machines trying to tear down the city’s inner walls not far away. Ghorza didn’t think that it would be long before the enemy forces were upon them, if they weren’t here already.
    She cracked open the door that led out of the shed and looked around to see what was outside. Satisfied no one was watching, she opened it the rest of the way and whispered, “Come on!” before running across a small lawn to a house. John followed close behind.
    “Stay here,” she ordered when they reached the cover of the building. “The owner of this house is a member of the Magisterium. I will see if he is home and can give us any information.” John nodded, and she slipped through the back door of the house.
    While he was waiting, John heard a commotion coming from in front of the house and went to look around the corner. The building next to the house was a small cafe. The restaurant was vacant, except for one table in front that was occupied. He was in luck! The devil they had been looking for was at the table, along with three of the largest creatures he had ever seen. John didn’t know what they were, but they had to be at least nine feet tall, maybe taller, and weighed many hundreds of pounds. They almost looked comical, dressed in tattered furs and sitting on benches that were too small for them. All of them seemed oblivious to the events going on around them.
    “Hey—” John started to call out, but a strong hand clamped over his mouth, lifting him from his feet and pulling him back around the corner of the building.
    “Quiet!” whispered a gruff voice that smelled of sulfur. The voice pulled him back further and slammed him backward into the wall. His head snapped back against the building’s bricks, causing him to see stars. As they cleared, he found himself looking into the face of the real teufling. John didn’t have to be experienced with demonic facial expressions to tell the half-devil was angry. His tail flicked back and forth at the edge of John’s vision; John knew it could strike him, and he would never see it coming.
    “Come to gloat with the rest of your evil creatures now that you’ve taken the city?” the teufling asked. “If there’s one thing in this life that I am sure of, it’s that you won’t last long enough to get that drink with your friends out there!”
    “It’s not like that at all!” John whispered back. “I’m here with Ghorza. We were looking for you. We went to find you at the mountain, but you were gone. We came back to the city, but it was already in flames.”
    “A likely story,” Dantes said. “And you just happened to be going to meet that group out there?”
    “I thought the teufling was you,” said John. “I’m looking for you. I came here to tell you that you’ve all been tricked. The real Spectre is still on the loose!”
    “The real Spectre?”
    “Yes, the real Spectre. He used me to trick you. He got away and came back here...probably to take part in the destruction of this city.”
    “And I’m supposed to believe that?”
    “It’s true,” said Ghorza’s voice from behind him. “We’ve been looking for you, and if you would let him go, we can tell you all about it.”
    Her voice soothed his anger. Dantes let go of John and turned to find Ghorza looking down at him.