He reached the archway just as she did, grabbing her arm. "Left! Now!"
They plunged into a narrow, covered passage. It was dark, the air thick with the scent of mildew. Steps led down into deeper blackness.
"Down!" Gabriel ordered, pulling her along.
They scrambled down the slippery steps, the sound of their pursuers echoing above. They reached the bottom, finding themselves in a cramped, low-ceilinged space. It smelled of damp earth and stagnant water. An sewer access?
"Which way?" Lucy whispered, her breath ragged.
He couldn't see a thing. "Damn it," he muttered, fumbling for his phone in his pocket. The screen glowed, a weak beacon. The passage stretched ahead, bifurcating into two tunnels, water dripping from the ceiling.
"They won't follow into this," he said, hoping he was right. "Not without lights."
"They know this place," Lucy said, her voice trembling slightly. "They use tunnels like this."
Gabriel froze. Her tone was too certain. "How do you know that?"
She didn't answer immediately. Footsteps echoed from the steps above. They were coming down.
"Left," she said urgently, pointing down the left tunnel. "There's an exit to the old market square, near the fountain."
"You've been in here before?" Gabriel asked, starting down the tunnel, keeping his phone light low.
"Something like that," she replied evasively, staying close to his side.