Can't Look Back (War for Dominance Book 1) Read Free

and I like this world. The women are tall and pretty, and I’m rich. There are magic rooms to ride up and down in. This will be so much fun!”
    The other two looked at each other and shrugged again. “Works for me,” said the devil. “I’m happy to strand you here, too.” They left, leaving John with the midget.
    “Naughty, naughty, naughty,” the midget said as he sat down on the bed. He shook his head. “You have been a very bad boy.”
    “But I didn’t do anything!” John wailed. “I really didn’t!”
    “You can stop the denials,” the midget said with a laugh. “I know you didn’t do it.” He pulled a small mirror out of his bag and gazed into it, saying something that John strained to hear, but couldn’t. The midget’s face melted, and John recoiled in horror as the midget’s flesh turned liquid and rearranged itself according to some predetermined pattern. The midget’s face took on a very sinister look.
    “But, but, but,” John stuttered, close to tears, “if you knew I didn’t do it, why didn’t you tell them?”
    “That wouldn’t have been very smart,” the midget replied, patting his face into place as it hardened, “since I was the one that really did take those things.” He got up. “That reminds me.”
    The midget walked out onto the balcony and pulled a handful of shelled peanuts from a pocket. Placing them on the table, he waved over the railing. Within seconds, a flock of crows flew in and started feeding. “Thank you for bringing those things up for me,” he said, stroking the one closest to him.
    “So you are just using me to take the blame?” John asked as the midget returned to the room.
    “Of course I am,” the midget replied. “You are as stupid as those other two fools. They got so excited when they saw the crown that they will go home and destroy their only way of coming back here before they realize it’s a fake. You’re helping me start my new life.”
    “But, didn’t they do something to see if the crown was stolen?”
    “Indeed they did,” replied the midget. “They checked it the same way they always do, which is why I had the forgery made out of gold and gems I had stolen previously. She looked to see if it was stolen by “the Spectre.” The crown glowed like it was stolen by me because it was stolen by me...just not from the time and place, nor by the person that they thought it was.” He pulled a crown from his bag. The gems in this one shone with an internal light and brilliance that the other crown didn’t have. John was awed; he knew it was the most valuable thing he had ever seen.
    The midget began a belly laugh that was both gleeful and maniacal at the same time, leading John to decide that the midget was not entirely balanced. A shiver went down his spine. If the midget was crazy, he might do anything to tie up loose ends, and John was definitely a loose end.
    “Wha...what are you going to do with me?” he asked, dreading the answer.
    “With you ?” The midget laughed, walking over to gaze at his reflection in the mirror on the dresser. He pulled a chair over to the dresser and reached forward to adjust something on the mirror. “Nothing. You are trivial to my plans. No one in my world knows you exist, and no one in this world will believe you if you tell them about me.”
    John knew he was right. He could never tell anyone about this; they would lock him up and throw away the key. “But what about you?” he asked. “What are you going to do?”
    The midget smiled as he stepped up onto the chair. “What am I going to do?” he asked. “Anything I want to.” He stepped through the mirror and was gone.
    John passed out.
     
     

Chapter 2
     
     
    John woke up to a banging sound. As his came to, he realized that the banging noise was someone knocking on his door. He rolled over, stiff and cold from lying on the floor wearing nothing but his underwear. Suddenly, it all came back to him. His room had been invaded by the three