Dahlia: A Novel of Dark Desire

Prologue

He could feel his palms trembling slightly as his ears strained to pick out noises in the dark. There weren't supposed to be any guards here tonight. So where were the soft steps coming from? He felt his heart race, beating against the worn journal in his jacket. He couldn't be caught. Not here, not with this. There would be too many questions that would reveal him as an outsider.

He turned a corner and froze. Two guards stood before him, their backs were turned but they couldn't help but notice him now. Panicked he moved, fast as a snake, drawing his sword. He clapped his hand over the first man's mouth and slit his throat. Blood sprayed out into the night. Before the dead guard had time to drop, he had turn to the other guard and run him through as well, slamming the man's head into the wall and muffling the shout. He felt the guard's blood soaking his jacket as the man's life expired. Leaving both bodies on the ground he fled into the night, praying he wouldn't encounter another. His master would have preferred the retrieval of the journal to be discreet but it hardly mattered. Soon enough they would start to see the plan unfolding. Their arrogance would leave them blinded to its end though. They'd look outside their walls when the true threat lay within. His master would take the tools he needed, take the demon masquerading as a woman, and use them to destroy everyone within the walls.