Chapter Twenty-Six
––––––––
AMAROS HAD BEEN ACTING cagey ever since he’d returned with Camriel.
Zoe had a feeling he was hiding something from them.
Whatever it was, it was making him tense and fidgety.
He kept glancing at her in the rearview mirror during the long drive home.
Grace and Camriel were getting along well so far.
The teen wasn’t showing any signs that she felt the same attraction to the blond warrior that Zoe felt for Amaros.
“There’s a bookstore!” Grace exclaimed as they were passing through one of the final towns before heading up the mountain. Small and quaint, it didn’t look big enough to have a bookstore.
Amaros braked and pulled over. He idled at the curb as they inspected the building. “It’s tiny,” Camriel said. “Is it worth even taking a look?”
“I’ll just duck inside and see if they’ve got anything good,” the kid said. She was already undoing her seatbelt.
“I’ll go with you,” Zoe said, unwilling to let her out of her sight.
“Guard our stash, guys,” Grace ordered sternly.
Camriel saluted her. “Call out if you run into trouble,” he told them.
“We will,” Zoe replied, then followed Grace to the small store. She glanced back to see Amaros whispering to his second. He was speaking too quietly for her to hear him.
The door was unlocked and they entered quietly. They already knew the building was empty, but it was best to be stealthy.
“Someone died in here,” Grace said, wrinkling her nose.
“It’s pretty ripe,” Zoe said, trying not to gag on the stench. She peered over the counter to the right of the door. “Don’t go back there,” she warned Grace.
“I won’t,” she agreed. “There’s a lot of romance books here,” she said, gazing at the shelves.
“I’ll check the non-fiction section,” Zoe said as she began to browse.
Finding a few books about plumbing, carpentry and other activities that might come in handy, she stacked them near the door.
Camriel lumbered inside and began carrying them to the truck.
Amaros gestured impatiently, pointing at his watch.
It was almost dark now. They wouldn’t make it back to their base before nightfall.
“I guess that will do for now,” Grace said unhappily.
“We can come back for the rest of the romance books later,” Zoe joked.
“We’ll have to use the carpentry books to learn how to make bookshelves,” the teen said.
“I’ll build you whatever you need, little sister,” Camriel promised. He carried an armful of tomes, so they waited for him to leave the store first. Zoe closed the door, then hurried over to the truck. The warrior stashed the books in the back, then they tied the tarp down again.
“Another storm is building,” Amaros warned them, peering at the mountaintops.
“I hope we make it back and unload the tank before the hail starts,” Grace said worriedly.
“We need to build shelter for our trucks,” Camriel mused. “My brain is telling me there are kits we can build ourselves.”
“My neighbor bought one for his car,” Zoe confirmed. “He had to get someone to pour the cement slab first, though.”
“We’ll figure it all out,” Amaros said, then increased his speed as he pulled away from the curb.
A popping noise made Zoe duck instinctively just as something whizzed past the window.
“That was a bullet!” Grace exclaimed, ducking down as well. “They’d better not ruin any of our books,” she said in annoyance.
Amaros floored it and sped around the corner just as another shot was fired. “Stay here,” he ordered as he pulled over again. “This won’t take long,” he added, flicking a look at Camriel.
The knights climbed out and took off running. Zoe was amazed all over again at how fast they could move.
The girls stayed low as they listened to the sound of a human running in panic. “Die, demons!” he shouted and fired another shot. Glass shattered, then they heard the thud of a body hitting the ground. The man screamed in terror, then a familiar sickening crack sounded.
“He won’t be a problem again,” Grace said in satisfaction as she straightened up.
They’d seen so much death by now that they were growing numb to it. “We’re lucky he was a bad shot,” Zoe said.
Camriel appeared a moment later and checked on them. “Are you girls okay?” he asked.
“We’re fine,” Zoe replied.
“Look what I’ve got,” he said with a grin. “My first gun.” He held up a shiny new rifle proudly.
“Very nice,” Grace complimented him, then gave Zoe a subtle eyeroll.
Amaros’ dark eyes were flashing with anger when he returned to the truck. He climbed in without a word and took off again. Zoe knew he was seething about the ambush. “The world is going to be a lot more dangerous now,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’ll need to treat everyone like they’re our enemy.”
“I already do,” Grace told him without an ounce of humor.
“It sucks that all of the good people are gone,” Zoe said mournfully.
“You’re both good,” Camriel said.
“You don’t know us,” Grace said in denial. “I’ve done a lot of bad things.”
The warrior turned to face her. “That doesn’t make you evil. I can sense you’re good beneath the surface. Amaros wouldn’t have taken you in if you were truly bad.”
“He would have snapped my neck like that loser back there,” she figured, hiking her thumb at the corpse they’d left behind.
“Exactly,” Camriel agreed in satisfaction. “If any of the other cambions turn out to be evil, they won’t be welcome at our base.”
“Maybe they’ll be like me,” Grace pointed out. “Maybe they’ll just be bad on the surface.”
“Amaros won’t execute anyone who doesn’t deserve it,” Zoe said firmly. “Neither will the other knights, right?”
Camriel slid a look at his commander. “Sure,” he said unconvincingly.
“What I mean is, I’ll want to meet them and see for myself if they deserve to die,” Zoe said in a steely tone.
“Zoe has visions,” Amaros told his second in command. “She can see into peoples’ pasts.”
“You don’t want to get on Zoe’s bad side,” Grace warned Camriel. “She has a nasty temper.”
“So I’ve heard,” Camriel said.
Zoe knew he didn’t really believe she could be dangerous when she was enraged.
“Why don’t you show Camriel your talents?” Grace suggested. “See if you can pick up anything from his past.”
“You’re not the one who was eaten by a T-Rex, are you?” Zoe asked with a grimace. “I don’t want to see that.”
“That was Zeigel,” Camriel said in amusement. “That dinosaur gobbled him down like a dog treat.”
They all broke into snickers, then Zoe leaned forward to put her hand on his shoulder.
A vision of Camriel surrounded by enemies flooded into her mind.
They all wore animal skins, but were wielding jeweled swords.
His foes’ swords were a dark gray metal, with rubies rather than diamonds.
Camriel smashed in the skull of a man similar to him in size with his fist. A sword was rammed into his side and he grunted in agony.
He swung his weapon, slicing into three of his assailants.
One of the others lunged forward from behind, skewering the blond warrior in the back.
Grace grabbed hold of Zoe when she sucked in a breath. It was never easy to watch people die. Camriel went down beneath a flurry of stabbing foes. It was a relief when he finally expired.
“Ugh, that’s not a memory I ever wanted to revisit,” Camriel said with a shudder.
“What did you see, Zoe?” Grace asked.
It took her a minute to collect herself. “Camriel was dressed like a caveman,” she said. “He and his enemies were using their swords to attack each other.”
“We didn’t have many clothing options back then,” the knight said defensively when Grace snickered. He shook his head at her, then bowed his head to Zoe in respect. “I’ve seen your awesome and mighty power, Zoe. I won’t underestimate you again.”
“I have talents, too,” Grace said with a pout.
“Is being annoying one of them?” Camriel joked.
Grace’s expression became innocent. “Where’s your shiny new toy, Camriel?”
He glanced at his lap where his rifle had been resting. “Hey! Where did it go?” he exclaimed.
“Look what I found,” the teen said, lifting the gun from where she’d hidden it on the floor. “I’ve got a brand-new gun to play with.”
The knight held his hand out in disapproval and grudging respect. “Hand it over, shorty.”
She gave it back, grinning in delight. “You never even knew it was gone,” she gloated.
“I didn’t even see you take it,” Camriel said. “How did you manage that?”
“With my awesome secret power,” Grace said mischievously. She didn’t explain exactly how she could will other people’s belongings to her hands. He would find out eventually.