Chasing A Spectre (War for Dominance Book 0) Read Online Free Page B

the room stopped, and the door opened.
    “That was fun,” said Milos as the group exited. “I want to do it again.”
    “Focus,” ordered Dantes, “This is where we finally catch him. Follow me.” He led them to the room that he had seen the thief enter.
    “Are you going to burn down the door or break it in?” asked Milos.
    “Neither,” said Dantes. “I will knock. When he opens the door, I will knock him to the ground, and Ghorza will use air shackles to hold him in place.” Ghorza nodded. Of all of the things they had done and seen, this was the first thing that was familiar. Ghorza and Dantes had used this routine to capture a number of criminals.
    “Ready?” asked Dantes. Ghorza nodded.
    Dantes knocked on the door. The group could hear movement in the room, and then something passed in front of the peephole in the door. “ Mmm bhsuejsh!” said a voice from the room. The person in the room walked away from the door.
    Dantes knocked more insistently. The person came back to the door. “ Mmm bhsuejsh!” said the voice from the room again, louder this time. The person started to leave.
    Dantes knocked even harder on the door. This time the door opened a couple of inches to show a chain that ran across from the door to the doorjamb. “ Mjm sdekar,” the voice started to say, but it was interrupted as Dantes slammed open the door, using all of his considerable strength. The chain tore off, and the human was thrown backward to the floor.
    “ Vincula! ” commanded Ghorza. Glowing chains of force appeared on the person, locking him to the floor. The group could see it was the Spectre. The door to the balcony was open, and a crown was on the room’s large bed. A medium-sized mirror sat next to it, along with a small purse.
    Dantes turned to Ghorza with a smile. “It has been a long time coming, but we’ve finally caught him. Red-handed, too.” He turned to the Spectre. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
    The Spectre stared at them, wild-eyed, and then said something in a foreign language.
    “Of course he’s going to pretend he doesn’t speak our language now, too,” said Milos, looking at the figure on the floor. The Spectre was naked, except for a small piece of cloth around his privates. “That’s just pathetic.”
    “Well, we can fix that,” answered Dantes. He glanced at his partner. “Ghorza, can you cast a Translate so that we can be done with this foolishness?”
    “It will be my last Translate,” replied Ghorza, “and I’m almost out of manna, too.”
    Dantes nodded. “That’s fine,” he said. “I think we’re about done here.”
    “OK,” she agreed. She pointed at the Spectre and commanded, “ Convertite. ”
    “We finally have you,” Dantes said, once the spell had taken effect. He nodded at the bed. “And with the crown still in your possession, too.”
    “That’s not mine!” said the Spectre. “I never saw it before.”
    Dantes smiled. “I know it’s not yours; it belongs to the queen. You stole it from her. I expect that the escape mirror sitting next to it isn’t yours, either.”
    “No, none of that is mine,” the Spectre said. “I just found it. Who are you people?”
    “We’re the ones that are here to bring you to justice,” said Ghorza, “regardless of the games you play. First you don’t speak our language. Now you’re probably going to tell us you’re not the Spectre, either, right?”
    “Well yes, I go by the name ‘Spectre,’ but I didn’t do anything. I didn’t steal that crown.”
    Dantes smiled again. He enjoyed catching criminals. He couldn’t torture them, but it was still a lot of fun to watch them squirm once they were caught. “Ghorza,” he said, “would you please do the honors?”
    “My pleasure,” Ghorza said. “ Furta! ” she commanded with a snap. The crown glowed brilliantly, along with the purse that was sitting on the bed. She turned it over and dumped out a pile of gold coins. They glowed as well.
    “The