Page 58 of The Devil You Know
When Seth reached the bottom, he found a muddy trail leading to a rusted and bent chain-link fence.
The maw of the Church Hill Tunnel gaped wide and ominous, reminding Seth that a locomotive and its engine crew were forever entombed inside beneath a cave-in, beyond the concrete wall that—in his dreams—blocked off the passage.
Nothing about tonight felt normal.
The moon seemed too bright, and now that he had reached the entrance, the night had grown so silent around him that he swore all the sounds had been sucked out of the world.
But as Seth stared into the tunnel, he caught a glow where none should be, far down into its cavernous length. Gradually, the light intensified, and Seth saw the silhouette of a man striding toward him.
As the glow grew brighter, it revealed the man’s face.
Evan.
“We don’t have much time,” Evan told him. “We’ve got to go. Take my hand, and no matter what you see or hear, don’t let go. There arethingsinside that will try to stop us. Fight—but hang on.”
Inside the tunnel, the light that illuminated the center of the passageway left shadowed areas along the stone walls. Their footsteps echoed.
The scratch of claws on rock sounded from the dark places, along with the wet slurp of something moving through the mud.
We’re not alone. Did I really think it would be easy to leave?
“Keep moving,” Evan told him. “We’ve got to get to the other side.”
That confirmed Seth’s suspicion that tonight magic made the tunnel into a portal.
Creatures slunk from the shadows to block their way—huge, misshapen black dogs with red eyes and long fangs. They were easily as large and solid as a full-grown man, covered with matted, dirty dark hair.
Grimsa memory supplied, naming the beasts. At least a dozen of the monsters emerged, circling him and Evan like a wolf pack on the hunt.
Evan squeezed his hand, reminding Seth not to let go. “The warlock sent them to stop you from coming back,” Evan said. “We’ve got to get past them to the door in the center of the bright light. If you die here, you die for real—so just don’t.”
Strong, sinewy bodies sprang at them, teeth bared. Full-throated growls echoed like the rumble of a freight train. Thegrimssnapped and snarled, trying to knock Seth and Evan to the ground. Seth knew if they went down, those fangs would tear open their throats, and the long claws would rip them to pieces.
“Fight—but keep moving toward the far end,” Evan ordered. Fighting one-handed was a challenge, but Seth hadn’t come this far to fail. He jabbed and swung at the hounds with the wicked sharp blade, doing his best to keep them at bay.
One of thegrimslaunched itself at Seth, more than a hundred pounds of muscular monster. Seth thrust his blade up, piercing its heart. Evan slashed with his machete, slitting the throat of thegrimclosest to him and spraying them both with hot blood.
All the while, the two men slowly shifted closer to the exit despite thegrims’attempt to herd them back the way they came.
“They can fight all night—but we can’t.” Seth huffed. He was soaked with thegrim’sblack blood but hadn’t been bitten. Four of thegrimswere down, but eight remained.
“We’ll make it,” Evan assured him.
“We’d better,” Seth replied, although he had doubts. They could die in this tunnel, trapped between realities. Knowing that Evan had come for him meant everything.
“The door won’t stay open forever. We’ve got to get to it before the magic fades,” Evan told him.
“Can we outrun them?” Seth asked, fearing he knew the answer.
Evan shook his head. “Only as a last resort—and the odds won’t be in our favor.”
Seth felt like a stag ringed by wolves. The pack moved in uncanny unison as if they shared a mind. Two of the beasts lunged. Seth dodged and dropped to his knees, then surged up with the knife and drove it through the creature’s throat and into its skull. He kicked the body loose of his blade, never letting go of Evan’s hand.
If they had all night and boundless energy, they might fight their way clear. But the glow at the far end of the tunnel had begun to dim. He didn’t want to miss the chance to go home, and he sure as hell wasn’t willing to let Evan get stranded here with him.
Gunshots echoed like thunder as Jesse emerged from the shadows. One after another, thegrimsfell.
The last twogrimsattacked in a flurry of fur, claws, and teeth. Seth and Evan were ready, beheading one and eviscerating the other. The beasts collapsed in bloody heaps.
