Chapter Thirty-Nine
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PASTOR LARRY HOGAN had just finished giving one of his daily sermons.
He was chatting to people who’d waited behind when the door to the function room opened.
One of his parishioners stuck his head inside and gave him a frantic wave.
“It seems I’m needed, folks,” Larry said regretfully.
They knew where he lived if they needed urgent counselling and they let him go.
Stepping into the hallway, the priest frowned when he saw how pale his visitor was. “What’s wrong, son?” he asked.
“A group of survivors is heading this way, Pastor,” the man replied.
“I’m sure the wards will make them move on, just like they’ve done for everyone else who’ve wandered in our direction,” Pastor Hogan said.
“This mob seems different,” his parishioner insisted. “I think you should take a look for yourself, sir.”
Larry wasn’t about to ignore a potential threat. He followed him to the room Xanthia Xen had set up. Computers sat on a few desks, all displaying images from CCTV cameras. Most were devoid of people, but one screen showed a few dozen survivors.
Everyone who was working the current security shift was crowded around the monitor, anxiously watching the group.
“Let me through, folks,” the preacher requested. They made room for him and he studied the screen intently. “They don’t look dangerous,” he said.
“They’re all armed, Pastor,” someone pointed out.
“Only idiots would walk around without a gun,” someone else muttered.
“I’m talking about their expressions and their general demeanor,” Larry said. “They aren’t scowling or arguing. They seem peaceful.”
“It could be a ruse,” the man who’d come to retrieve him suggested.
“They’ll be within range of the ward in one minute,” the young woman manning the computer said.
Watching in tense silence, their anxiety rose when none of the survivors suddenly veered away. “The ward must have failed,” one of the men said. “We need to send some people out to cut them off before they reach us.”
Pastor Hogan had a hunch that this wasn’t an attack or an accident. “I’m going to speak to them,” he decided.
“You can’t go out there alone, Pastor!” one of the crew exclaimed. “Find some guards, quickly!” she said to one of her colleagues. The young man hurried out of the room.
Larry wasn’t concerned, but he also wasn’t stupid.
“Send an email to Xanthia and notify her about this,” he requested.
The cambion had used her magic to create a system for them to ask for help if they needed it.
Telephones still weren’t working and walky-talkies didn’t reach wherever their base was.
Using magically enhanced computers was their only option.
The priest left the security room and strode away from the building. Night was about to fall and he didn’t even have a flashlight. Trusting his people, Larry was soon surrounded by armed guards. One of the females handed him a flashlight and he switched it on with a nod of thanks.
Leading the way, the preacher came to a stop when he saw the mob approaching and held up his hand to wave. The man and woman in the lead held up their hands in greeting and grinned. “Boy are we glad we finally made it!” the female called out.
“We’ve come a long way,” her companion added. “We followed the signs and they led us straight to you.”
They were now close enough to converse at a normal volume. “I’m Pastor Larry Hogan,” the priest said. The strangers introduced themselves one by one, showing no signs of hostility or alarm that guns were trained on them.
“Did we miss the greeting party?” a familiar voice said from behind Larry.
He turned and smiled when he saw Amaros and his lovely mate. Zoe was the one who’d spoken. “You’re just in time,” he said, disappointed that they hadn’t brought their son with them, yet understanding that they didn’t want to put Arakiel in danger.
Amaros scanned the newcomers first and gave his female a small nod. They’re not dangerous, he said into her mind.
I’m still going to scan them, Zoe replied, just as he’d figured. “I’m Zoe,” she said and held her hand out in greeting. “What led you here?” she asked as the lead female shook her hand.
“I had a dream,” the woman replied. “A mysterious woman wearing a black hooded cloak told me to follow the signs that would lead us to salvation.”
“And here we are,” her partner said proudly.
Zoe picked up that they’d all had hard lives, but none of them were evil.
In fact, they’d helped others along their journey and their souls had become lighter for it.
“That mysterious figure was Fate,” she said when she’d shaken the last hand.
“Let’s get you settled into your new homes and you can tell us more about your journey,” she said.
Thanks to the efforts of her family, all of the apartments in the block had been cleared of corpses.
They’d all been made ready for new arrivals.
Amaros returned to their base and came back with some of his brothers and their females.
He didn’t think anything was going to go wrong, but he preferred to have backup just in case.
Apartments were allocated to the newbies, then they all gathered in the function room. Hot coffee and snacks were brought in, then the survivors told them about their journey.
“What signs did you follow?” Zoe asked curiously when they were done.
“Animals kept guiding us,” someone said. “A deer was the first animal to show us the way.”
“Then it was a rabbit,” a male said.
“All sorts of creatures steered us in the right direction,” a middle-aged woman said with a grin. “We even had to follow a bear for a while.”
“That’s amazing,” Grace said in awe. They’d all warmed to the teen straight away, of course. It was impossible not to love the littlest cambion. “You’re the first group of survivors Fate’s led here,” she told them. “I bet more people will start showing up soon.”
“What did she mean when she said we’d find salvation?” someone asked.
“Have you heard a guy talking on the radio about good and bad aliens in Manhattan?” Zoe asked.
“Sure,” a female replied. “We brought a ham radio with us. We call that guy the Mad Prophet.”
“Everyone calls him that,” Grace said with a smirk and a few people chuckled.
“Everything the prophet said is true,” Zoe told them. “Both alien factions are real and some of the good aliens are in this room right now.”
Gasps of shock and fear issued from the survivors.
“Don’t be scared,” Grace said earnestly. “The Knights of Order don’t hurt good people. They were created to destroy bad people. Fate sent you here to help us win the war against the Soldiers of Chaos.”
“How do we know they’re really from another world?” a newbie asked skeptically.
“Show them your sword, boss,” Grace said to Amaros with a cheeky grin.
Grace always knew how to defuse a situation and he trusted her judgment. Amaros called his sword from the Void and more gasps came from the survivors.
“Is that real?” a guy only a couple of years older than Grace asked.
“It’s real,” Amaros confirmed and swung it through the air. The dude was impressed by the whooshing sound it made.
“We’ll do everything we can to help,” their female leader said and her partner nodded in agreement.
“We’re glad to have you folks in our family,” Pastor Hogan said. He wasn’t surprised that Amaros and Zoe had given them the all-clear. From what Grace had just said, this was just the first of many groups of newcomers they would soon be receiving.
“We have someone who can heal any injuries you might have,” Grace said and gestured at Qi. “This is Dr. Qiana Forgan. She was trained to be a trauma surgeon, but she can heal people by touch, too. Give them a demonstration, Qi.”
The doc gracefully rose from her seat and approached someone who was wearing a sling. “How did you break your arm?” she asked as she put her hand on the woman’s shoulder.
“I tripped over a rock and fractured my wrist when I broke my fall with my hands,” the female said ruefully.
Qiana’s power sank into her. “How does it feel now?” she asked.
“The pain is gone!” her patient said in shock. She lifted her arm up and squeezed her thin wrist. “It’s completely healed and the swelling is gone!”
“Are you an alien, too?” someone asked.
Qi laughed and shook her head. “I was born on this planet,” she replied. They’d all agreed not to mention the cambions were half-alien or who their sires were. It was best to let the humans believe some of them had been granted their power from God.
Amaros and Zoe took Pastor Hogan aside while the doc scanned and healed everyone who needed it. “Notify us each time a new group arrives, Pastor,” Amaros requested. “Only people Fate guides here should be able to pass through my wards, but Anarchy might decide to play some tricks.”
“It’s best for us to check them out,” Zoe agreed.
“I’m glad Xan’s magic allows us to contact you,” the priest said. “There’s already enough danger out there without Anarchy sending assassins to wreak havoc.”
Snipers had almost killed several of the knights in the past. Only Dr. Forgan’s innate skill had saved their lives.