Chapter Eleven
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“THIS IS SO TWISTED,” Monica murmured beneath her breath as she reached the second floor again.
She wished she hadn’t told Nazab about her theory now.
She’d stupidly stepped over the edge and was in freefall.
Instead of falling into the unknown together, she felt as if she was isolated and alone.
“What did you expect, stupid?” she growled at herself, speaking too quietly for the knight to hear her.
“As if a hot guy like him could possibly fall for someone like me.”
Her bottom lip trembled, but she refused to shed any tears. Clearly, the Mad Prophet was wrong about the Knights of Order protecting their females from harm. Or maybe she just wasn’t the right woman for Nazab. If this was the case, then why could they feel each other’s pain?
“Maybe Fate made a mistake,” Monica said sulkily, shoving a bedroom door open a bit too hard. It banged against the wall and a book fell off the bookcase just to her left. It landed on her head before falling to the floor.
“Monica?” Nazab called out, no doubt feeling the bump that had just formed on her skull.
“I’m fine,” she said. “A book just fell on me.” He let out a low chuckle and everything inside her clenched. How could he turn her on so much when they weren’t even in the same room?
She bent to pick up the book to see it was an ancient road atlas.
“This could actually come in handy now that GPS is screwed,” she said.
The bedroom had been used by a teenager, judging by the desk and homework scattered across it.
She’d slept in the bedroom next door. It had belonged to a teenage girl.
Seeing a backpack lying beneath the desk, Monica bent down and dragged it out, waving away the dust that wafted into the air. She opened the bag and found a letter from the school inside. “Bingo,” she said in triumph, then put the backpack down.
“Did you find something, female?” Nazab asked. It was weird, but useful that they could talk to each other without shouting.
“I think so,” Monica said, taking the road atlas and letter back downstairs.
She’d never used a road atlas before, so she sat down at the dining table to examine it.
Nazab sat beside her, instantly ruining her concentration.
He was just as affected and crossed his legs in a feeble attempt to hide yet another erection from her.
It was obvious he wanted her on a physical level.
The fact that she was a cambion was the problem.
“Here we go,” she said, then flicked through the book. They worked out how to find the house in the book, then searched for a town.
“This would be far easier if we had a map on one page instead of needing to flick through hundreds of pages,” Nazab complained.
“No kidding,” she agreed. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and find some maps when we look for a ham radio.”
They located a town and spent a few minutes mapping out the route. “I’ve memorized the way,” Nazab said confidently. “We should leave immediately.”
“I want to get changed first,” Monica said. “People can be weird when they see my leg. It’ll be safer if I put my jeans back on, even though they need to be washed.”
“We’ll both need to search for appropriate clothing,” Nazab said, glancing down at his tan trenchcoat.
Smirking, Monica headed back upstairs. She took the shorts off and pulled her jeans back on, hoping she would be able to find something in the town that fit her. The teen’s skinny jeans didn’t fit over her prosthesis. Nazab was standing next to the door when she returned downstairs.
“It’s a few miles to the town,” the knight said. “Would you like me to carry you again?”
“We’ll get there a lot faster if you do,” she figured.
“I’d be able to sprint properly if my prosthetic leg wasn’t so cheap and crappy,” she added unhappily, feeling like a burden.
Nazab picked her up and she wrapped her arm around his wide shoulders again.
“Try not to lose your coat,” she said, then snickered at his sour expression.
“I’ll do my best,” he said, then followed the route in his head. Stopping when the settlement appeared, Nazab put Monica down. “We should scout the town and see if the humans are dangerous,” he said.
They moved off the road and used trees for cover as they ran closer. Monica cursed beneath her breath when her prosthesis nearly fell off again. It always came loose no matter how often she adjusted it.
“Dozens of people are living here,” Nazab said when he scanned the town. “Most of them seem to have gray souls.”
“Only a few have black ones,” she agreed when she sent her senses out. Her skills had been boosted with his arrival. “Do you feel stronger than usual?” she asked.
He gave her a startled look, then nodded. “It must be connected to our link,” he figured.
They peered through the trees to study the town. Both sides had been blocked by vehicles. Humans were on patrol with rifles and pistols. They looked like they were alert for trouble.
“Dear God,” Monica said in horror as she watched the townsfolk.
“What’s wrong?” Nazab asked.
“Look at their hair!” she exclaimed quietly. “Someone’s hacked it off for them and it looks horrible!”
He hadn’t paid any attention to the humans’ appearances and snickered. “I see what you mean,” he agreed.
“Maybe they’ll trade us a ham radio and some clothes if I offer to cut their hair,” she mused. “The women can’t possibly be happy with those ugly haircuts.”
“It’s too dangerous for us to approach them openly,” the warrior refuted. “Two of the nearby guards have black souls. They’ll probably shoot before they ask us what we want. I’m not willing to risk your life just to get what we need.”
He seemed sincere and a small warm glow reignited inside her. Monica knew it must have been a shock for him to meet a cambion with a gray soul. He needed time to adjust to her existence and try to figure out why they’d been paired together. “What’s your plan?” she asked.
“I’m going to use my enhanced speed to move closer and avoid detection,” Nazab said. “I should be able to find a ham radio if they have one. You should wait here and I’ll return as soon as I can.”
“What about clothes?” she reminded him.
“We can scavenge for clothing in abandoned houses,” he suggested.
Monica made a face at that thought, but she was already wearing a shirt that had belonged to someone who’d been raptured. “Try not to get caught,” she said. “I’m not sure if I can rescue you from dozens of armed humans.”
“I’ve faced worse odds, female,” he said wryly. “But I’ll call your name if I require your assistance.” With that, he sprinted away.
“That’s probably the only time he’ll ever call my name out,” she muttered dourly.
“It doesn’t look like we’re going to be a happy couple like his brothers and the females they’ve found.
” She didn’t know if the other knights and their women were in happy relationships, but her gut told her this was most likely the case.
“Fate should have picked someone who is whole for Nazab,” she said, feeling miserable that she didn’t measure up.
She doubted that any of the other women who’d been chosen were missing any of their limbs.
It wasn’t easy to push aside her self-pity, but Monica did her best. Like it or not, they were stuck with each other for now. With luck, Nazab would find a ham radio and the Mad Prophet would have some wise words for them. She hoped so, because she’d never felt so lost before.