Chapter Two
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NAZAB SPEARED FEETFIRST into water and sucked in a breath, inhaling some water.
He grinned when he realized he’d been released from the Void again.
His feet touched down on a smooth, flat surface.
Propelling himself into the air, he spat out a mouthful of water and looked around.
The liquid only came up to his neck, so he didn’t need to tread water.
“This looks something like an Egyptian bath, but a lot blander,” the knight murmured.
He turned in a slow circle to see he was on a rooftop made of gray and white substances.
His mind told him it was concrete and tiles.
He was surrounded by tall buildings. The bath was huge and about fifty feet long, but much narrower.
“It’s a pool, not a bath,” he corrected himself.
Climbing out, Nazab saw a hose at the far end of the pool.
It had filled the pool to overflowing and the excess water poured into a drain.
He couldn’t sense anyone in the building beneath him, or in the ones on either side.
Few of the towering structures had lights on.
He could see buildings in the distance that appeared to be occupied.
One was taller than the others and blazed with colorful lights.
“Is most of this city empty?” the warrior asked in a disturbed tone.
His hand went to the back of his head and he frowned. He could sense a presence, yet he couldn’t detect his commander or brothers.
The presence grew closer, then he grimaced when he recognized what it was. “Why is a cambion running around without supervision?” Nazab asked in dismay. “Where is the creature’s sire and how long have the Soldiers of Chaos been here?”
A small mob of humans raced past the building, chasing the cambion and he let out a loud sigh.
He knew what his duty was, so he loped over to a metal door.
It was locked, but he kicked it hard enough to slam it open.
His first task would normally be to find clothes.
He didn’t have time to search the rooms his mind told him were called apartments.
Descending to the first floor as rapidly as he could, Nazab saw a discarded towel on the floor in the lobby. He snatched it up and tied it around his waist, then emerged from the building.
He’d only had a fleeting sense of the mob, but their souls had been dark gray. It was obvious the cambion was leading them into a trap. Even three or four-year-old cambions could sprint faster than humans could run. They were also freakishly strong for their size.
“I hate this part of my job,” Nazab complained as he took off in the direction the people had been running towards.
It only took a couple of minutes to catch up to them. He could sense the cambion somewhere ahead, but he couldn’t see the creature yet. Some of the soldiers’ spawn could use magic even at a young age. He needed to be careful and strike before the little monster could kill anyone.
“It’s no use, Monica!” a male called out in a taunting tone. “We’ve got you cornered! Come out and we won’t hurt you! We’ll just tie you up and take you to Governor Giamano!”
“You saw what I did to that merc, Wallace!” the cambion called back. Her tone sounded frightened, rather than angry. The mere sound of it stirred something inside him. Obviously, she wasn’t a child at all, which deepened her mystery.
Nazab moved closer to see the road ended in a cul-de-sac.
He used a parked van for cover as he assessed the situation.
The cambion was hiding in the backyard of a house that backed up against a high-rise building.
The fences on either side of the property were high, but she should have been able to scale them easily.
“Don’t make me shoot you, Monica!” Wallace shouted angrily. “You two, circle around and cut through that yard,” he whispered, unaware his prey could hear him. “Fire a few shots and force her out into the open.”
It was a good plan, but they had no idea they’d been lured into an ambush. Monica would no doubt kill the two males who were hurrying into position. While the mob’s clothes were filthy and ragged, their hair was immaculately cut and styled. It was a strange anomaly, but an unimportant detail.
Up this close, Nazab could sense their souls weren’t just dark gray now. They’d edged into black. Now that this had happened, there was no hope of redemption. Evil would take over and he would be forced to kill them all.
Sending his senses towards his foe, the knight almost let out a gasp of shock. The cambion’s soul was gray rather than black. It wasn’t even dark gray, but pale. The men and women who’d cornered her were far more of a threat to humanity than she was.
“What the hell is going on?” Nazab murmured in confusion. Normally, it would be his duty to cut down any cambions he encountered. This time, the being who should have been his enemy was the one who was in trouble. His instincts were telling him to rescue her from the humans.
“Why can’t they just let me go?” he heard Monica whisper in despair. She obviously had no idea a Knight of Order was so close, or she would have tried to flee by now.
Hearing her plaintive tone made his strange protective urge rise again. Nazab wondered if she had the power to manipulate emotions. If so, why wasn’t she using it to force the humans to fight each other?
The two men reached the fence that divided the two properties and fired a few shots between the narrow gaps.
Monica screamed in pain and Nazab flinched when he felt a bullet score his left bicep.
He didn’t have a mark on him when he glanced at his bare arm.
The cambion raced out from behind a detached garage to run down a pathway along the side of the house. Tall shrubs hid her from his view.
“I’ll shoot her in her good leg to disable her,” Wallace whispered to his friends and readied his weapon.
Monica dashed out from between the house and the garage and Wallace fired at her.
She’d been expecting it, due to her enhanced hearing, but she still barely managed to avoid it.
Nazab stepped out from behind the van and locked eyes with the cambion.
She skidded to a stop and they stared at each other in something close to recognition.
The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, she had blue eyes and strawberry-blonde hair in an intricate braid.
Five-foot-five, her skin was pale and her clothes hung on her.
She’d obviously had a sturdier build and now needed to find clothing that fit her better.
He noticed she was wearing mismatched shoes that weren’t even the same size.
Her eyes dropped to his groin and she snickered despite her dire situation. Nazab looked down to see he had a raging hardon. He’d never been turned on just at the mere sight of a female before. He was just as surprised by his reaction as she was, if less amused.
Nazab’s head turned when he sensed danger. Not just one, but over a dozen soldiers appeared on his radar. He had seconds to decide what to do before he would be surrounded.
Another shot was fired, snapping the knight’s attention back to Wallace. The human’s soul was completely black now. Monica let out a noise of pain as the bullet winged her. Again, Nazab felt like he’d been the one who’d been grazed. Shallow furrows were now on her left bicep and her right thigh.
Snarling in rage he couldn’t explain, Nazab called on his sword.
Monica gaped at him as he used the weapon to dispatch the mob.
She cowered away when he advanced on her, but hurting her was the last thing he had on his mind.
“Hold on, female,” he said as he swept her off her feet and into his arms. “I’m getting you out of here,” the warrior said grimly.
Her arm went around his neck just as his enemies arrived.
“Nazab!” the soldier in the lead shouted when he reached the far end of the cul-de-sac. “Bring my offspring to me and your life will be spared!” he called out.
Turning to face his foes, Nazab saw the resemblance between Monica and the soldier immediately. They shared the same reddish-blonde hair and blue eyes beneath his foe’s red tint. “Thamuz,” he said in distaste with his upper lip lifting.
Phul, Lachial and Vetis were in the group who stood at the far end of the short street. There were seventeen Soldiers of Chaos in total, with dozens more waiting in the background.
“You’re one of the good aliens, right?” Monica asked.
He glanced at her to see she looked terrified.
“Yes,” he confirmed. “I’m afraid we’re about to be surrounded, female,” he said, noting the soldiers in the background were beginning to spread out to the left and right.
The two humans who’d shot at her from the other property were fleeing for their lives.
He sensed them scaling the fence to gain entry to the next property.
“Is that guy really my dad?” she asked, gesturing at Thamuz.
“He is,” Nazab said with a frown. Surely she had to know her own sire.
“I’m going to loan you some of my energy to get us the hell out of here,” Monica said, then put her hand on his chest. “Use it wisely,” she warned him, then she unleashed her magic on him.