Chapter Twenty-Two
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AMAROS HATED LEAVING the females behind, but he didn’t have a choice. “At least they’re out of sight and they have weapons,” he said as he streaked along the sidewalk. Leaping over bodies and other obstacles, he didn’t get winded as he ran for a solid hour.
Things were just as bad as Grace had predicted when the knight reached the Bronx. Murder seemed to be a common pastime judging by all the corpses he’d spotted. A cacophony of screams came from everywhere. Most were caused by pain and anger. Some were from people who’d lost their sanity.
He could sense humans hunkered inside their homes in the apartment buildings he ran past. They were too afraid to venture outside, but hunger would force them to eventually.
Just as he’d figured, food stores were being guarded by groups of armed men and women. He moved too quickly for them to see him and challenge his presence. It took two hours of sprinting before he finally sensed Camriel.
He knew the moment his second sensed him.
Joy came through their brotherly bond. The warrior left his hiding spot and began racing towards him.
Amaros halted in a park and hid among some trees to stay out of sight.
Humans were roaming in packs, armed with a variety of weapons.
Two mobs approached each other, shouting insults and threats.
Someone fired a gun, then mob rage took over.
“How quickly they’ve become savages,” Amaros said, not particularly amazed. Humans were always prone to turning on each other in his experience.
Pools of blood, body parts and intestines were scattered all over the park when the clash came to an end. Only a few survivors were left to limp away, figuratively licking their wounds.
Several dogs that had been abandoned slunk out from hiding. With their tails between their legs, they snatched up whatever flesh they could sink their teeth into and took off.
Glad the girls weren’t there to witness that spectacle, Amaros hoped they were okay. He couldn’t sense them from this far away. There only seemed to be humans around, not to mention the pets that were rapidly turning feral.
Camriel wasn’t as fast as his leader, but he was making good time. Amaros mentally calculated all the repairs that needed to be made to their base while he waited. The larger knight finally appeared an hour later.
“Right on time,” Amaros said as the blond warrior crashed through the trees.
“Brother!” Camriel exclaimed with a grin, then picked Amaros up and hugged him hard. “It’s good to see you again,” he said, putting him back on his feet.
“And you,” Amaros replied with a grin. “I see you had trouble finding clothing to fit.”
Camriel glanced down at the gray sweatpants that were too short and tight.
His white t-shirt was just as bad. The sneakers he’d found were a size too small as well.
“I scrounged what I could,” he said sheepishly.
“I thought it would be better to stay out of sight. The inhabitants of that city I landed in have all gone mad.”
“We’ll talk on our way back to the females,” Amaros said, wanting to return to the girls as quickly as he could.
“What females?” Camriel asked in confusion.
“I have a story for you, brother,” Amaros said. “You’re not going to believe it.”
“I can’t wait to hear it,” Camriel said, grinning in anticipation as they took off at a sprint.
“Fate has given us a choice,” Amaros said as he retraced his path. “She told me that this is supposed to be our last war. Order and Chaos will be creating new warriors to take our places.”
Camriel was outraged by that news. “Order is discarding us after all we’ve done for it?” he asked in betrayal.
“Not if Fate has her way,” Amaros said. “She bargained on our behalf and has been granted a boon.”
“Why do you seem so reluctant to discuss this with me?” Camriel asked shrewdly.
Amaros had a few seconds to think about his reply as they dodged around a pile of crashed vehicles.
“Fate will allow us to remain here on Earth if we win our war, instead of returning to the Void and being decommissioned,” he explained.
He liked the new vocabulary humans had invented.
It was far more expressive than their former languages.
“Speak plainly, brother,” Camriel requested, tired of dancing around the issue. “How can we stay here? What deal did she make with Order?”
“Fate will relinquish some of her power to enable us to remain here,” Amaros said without looking at his second.
Camriel became suspicious. “What’s the catch?” he asked.
“We must bond with females and share our power with them.”
Camriel laughed, but his commander remained stoical. “You’re not joking,” he realized.
“I’m serious,” Amaros confirmed. “She told me we’ll become the permanent guardians of Earth. We’ll never have to return to the Void.”
Camriel came to an abrupt halt, yanking his leader to a stop as well. “I’m in,” he declared eagerly. “Sign me up. Let’s do this. I’ll bond myself to the first sane female I see if it means I’ll never have to return to the Void.”
“There’s more,” Amaros said with great reluctance. “I’ll tell you the rest after you’ve had a chance to think about it.” He took off at a sprint again, with Camriel right beside him.
Intrigued and excited about this enormous change of their usual plans, Camriel was keen to reach these females his commander had waiting for them. There had to be something special about them. Clearly, they were the ones who they were supposed to become bonded to.
Flicking a look at the eternally cheerful blond knight, Amaros suppressed a groan.
He’d chickened out and hadn’t told Camriel the full truth.
He’d decided it would be easier for his second to meet the girls first. Maybe he would feel a bond with Gracelyn.
The thought of his brother in arms being attracted to Zoe gave him a chill.
He couldn’t allow any of his men to claim the cambion. She was meant for him and him alone.
“What happened to cause all this destruction and insanity?” Camriel asked, gesturing at the bodies that surrounded them.
“Something called the Rapture,” Amaros replied. “It seems God called His faithful followers and everyone with a mostly pure soul to heaven. The survivors aren’t handling it very well.”
“Chaos and Order aren’t behind it?” his second queried.
“Fate never mentioned we would be facing this challenge,” Amaros said. “Deities have their own plans for humanity in each dimension. Sometimes, their decisions work for Order’s champions like us and sometimes against them.”
“I’m guessing all this panic and murder isn’t going to do us any favors,” Camriel figured, grimacing at a ripe corpse as they streaked past it. “This is right up Chaos’ alley.”
“Our enemies will be able to recruit soldiers to their cause simply by promising them a steady supply of food and water,” Amaros predicted. “Both will be in high demand, since the world is currently in upheaval.”
Sprinting hard, they continued to discuss their enemies and the new base they would be using, while avoiding the humans who were roaming the streets.
Amaros sensed Zoe as they neared the house where he’d left the girls.
Relief that she was okay swept through him.
He’d been more worried than he’d expected at leaving them behind.
Casting a look at Camriel, he hoped his second would cope well with being presented with the females.
Old prejudices were hard to let go of, especially if he didn’t feel a bond with either of them.