Chapter Twenty-Three
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RAMIEL CONTINUED TO pretend to be unconscious as the female closed in on him.
She halted for a few seconds before going on the move again.
He swung upside down, keeping his eyes open a mere crack.
The crowd blocked his view of his potential mate as she walked at a normal pace.
How had she moved so fast? Even as he had that thought, he sensed what sort of being she was.
“She’s a cambion!” Ramiel murmured too quietly for anyone to hear him. Shocked and alarmed, past experience told him to cut himself free and strike her down. His instincts said otherwise. Fate had sent him a message through the Mad Prophet and ignoring it would be unwise.
“Hi, there!” the cambion called out. “I’m Caterina Blaze and I’m a circus performer!”
Ramiel’s mind informed him about what a circus performer was and he was intrigued. He couldn’t see her yet, but she sounded young.
“Don’t shoot her yet,” a man ordered. “She might be a keeper.”
The knight felt Caterina moving closer. “Do you want to see what I can do?” she asked.
He had the distinct feeling she was trying to draw the crowd away from him.
If so, it was working. The humans were drifting closer to get a look at their unexpected visitor.
One of them made a lewd comment about wanting to see what she could do between the sheets and a silent snarl lifted the warrior’s upper lip.
Moving into a line, the mob parted long enough for Ramiel to catch his first glimpse of his rescuer.
Caterina was taller than average for a female of this era.
Lithe, she had long curly black hair that was tied in a ponytail.
Her dark eyes caught and held his and he was instantly captivated by her beauty.
“What tricks can you do?” a young woman asked in a jealous tone. “You’re not even wearing a costume.”
“I don’t need to wear a costume to amaze you,” Caterina said.
“I’m a fire breather,” she explained, then took a tiny sip of clear liquid.
Ramiel had seen cambions use fire as weapons before.
He knew she was only pretending that the liquid was flammable.
She conjured a flame on her thumb, then a short jet of fire erupted from her mouth.
“Awesome!” someone shouted in glee, already captivated.
“You haven’t seen anything yet, handsome,” Caterina said and winked flirtatiously.
The crowd closed again and she began a routine using the tricks she’d learned in the circus.
Ramiel quietly heaved himself up and grabbed hold of the chain.
He pulled himself up until he was perched on top of the beam that jutted out from the pole.
As quietly as he could, he unhooked the shackles on his feet from the longer chain, then draped the longer chain over the pole.
From up this high, he had a perfect view of Caterina as she used her acrobatic skills. Using just her feet and momentum, she flipped in a series of maneuvers while leaving streaks of fire behind her.
Impressed with his female’s skill, Ramiel reached out with his senses.
He was stunned to realize her soul wasn’t black.
One of the dogs had heard the chains clinking, but Caterina clapped her hands and sent fire spiraling outwards.
Everyone’s attention returned to her as she threw her hands up and sent out blasts of flame.
Calling on his sword, Ramiel inserted the blade into one of the links of the short chain holding his shackles together.
With a twist of his weapon, the link broke and dislodged the longer chain in the process.
It fell to the ground with a loud rattle.
The dogs barked in warning and the crowd realized something was wrong.
One of the men turned and saw him. “He’s trying to escape!
” he shouted and shouldered his rifle. The metal turned white-hot and he dropped it with a scream of pain.
Ramiel knew his rescuer was responsible.
Caterina used her power on all of their metal weapons, forcing them to drop the guns and knives.
The dogs were wise enough to flee from the battle that was about to be waged.
Standing up, Ramiel leaped off the beam.
He flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet in a defensive stance.
Meeting the cambion’s eyes, he nodded in thanks.
She nodded back, expression grim and aware they were about to slaughter nearly sixty foes.
One of the men bent to pick up a rock and his cohorts followed suit.
Ramiel was painfully aroused by the female Fate had intended for him.
Her eyes dropped to his groin and she appeared to be bemused by his reaction.
The warrior still had a bullet stuck inside his body and his left shoulder was throbbing in agony.
Despite his slowly healing injuries, he was more than a match for these enemies.
Ramiel steeled himself as he began cutting down the humans who were pelting rocks at him.
He didn’t enjoy eliminating unworthy opponents who were far beneath his skill level.
He especially hated killing women. They would just go on to perform more evil deeds if they didn’t wipe them all out, so he did his duty.
He saw his female snatch up a pair of knives that were still steaming with heat. Able to control the temperature of the metal, they didn’t burn her as she swiped at the humans who were swarming towards her.
Sidestepping a wild punch, Ramiel punched his assailant hard enough to cave his skull in.
He kicked another one beneath his chin, snapping his head back so sharply it broke his neck.
A rock hit him in the back of the head and he whirled around, lunging forward to skewer a female in her sixties.
Her look of hatred turned to shock as her life came to an end.
As they battled, Ramiel wondered why Caterina wasn’t using her pyrokinesis to destroy her attackers.
Instead, she chose to cut them down with knives, using her speed that they had no chance of matching.
He felt another rock hit him in the back, then realized the momentary pain belonged to the cambion.
Some of the humans were picking up the guns now that they’d cooled down a bit.
Hissing in pain when the weapon was still too warm, a male pointed it at Caterina.
Ramiel leaped forward to slice his arm off before he could shoot her, then decapitated him for good measure.
The cambion gave him a nod of appreciation, which warmed him for reasons he couldn’t explain.
Allowing the mob to close in around him, Ramiel held his sword out and spun in a rapid circle. Heads and limbs went flying as he annihilated seven humans at once. The shouts of rage and screams of pain had been deafening to begin with. They were now becoming fewer in number.
He looked around to see only twenty or so enemies were left. Caterina was holding her own, but she was a performer rather than a trained fighter. Her speed and reflexes were helping to keep her alive. Cutting his way over to her, he stood at her side so he could protect her, just as Fate intended.
“Why aren’t you using your fire on our foes?” he asked.
“I need to conserve my magic,” Caterina replied without taking her eyes off what was left of the crowd. She ducked when a rock came sailing at her head. “I’ll burn myself out if I use too much at once,” she added.
“Then let’s finish these roaches off so you can recover your energy,” Ramiel said.
With a roar, he leaped forward, sword flashing in the wan moonlight.
The mob didn’t have his uncanny night vision.
They blundered into each other while some used flashlights.
His weapon twirled into action, lopping off hands and heads until the last evil target went down.
Turning to face Caterina, he saw her staring at the carnage in disbelief. “I can’t believe we survived,” she said.
“I owe you my life, female,” he said in deep gratitude. “My name is Ramiel and I’m a Knight of Order.”
“I’m Caterina Blaze and I’m half human and half alien like you,” she said wryly. “I only just found out that I’m a cambion, by the way,” she added.
“We have much to discuss, Caterina Blaze,” the warrior said, which was a vast understatement. He had many questions about how she’d come to be. Rahab and his squad had only been on Earth for the past nine months, yet she was a fully grown cambion.