Chapter Thirteen
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“‘YOU DON’T WANT ME AND I don’t want you.
’” Bria Janke’s words still resounded inside Urzra’s mind hours after her magic had worn off.
The knight had been completely convinced the cambion meant nothing to him as he’d walked away from her.
It had taken twenty minutes for his emotions to return to normal.
He’d stopped walking and had just stood there, wondering what he should do next.
“Now here I am, searching for a female who is determined to get rid of me every time I find her,” Urzra said wryly.
He’d backtracked to the dock, but Bria had been long gone by the time he’d arrived.
She’d been out of range of his senses, but he still felt a faint connection to her.
Maybe using her magic on his mind had benefited him by strengthening their strange ties.
“The cambion wants nothing to do with me,” he reminded himself as he kept heading to the northwest. “So why am I chasing her?” he asked himself. It was a good question and the only answer he had was that he was obeying his instincts.
Urzra had sprinted for some of his journey, but only in spurts.
He didn’t want to overshoot Bria and head off in the wrong direction.
She was somewhere ahead of him, but still too distant for him to sense her yet.
The entire day had passed agonizingly slowly as he’d avoided the few humans he’d detected.
Most were scrounging for supplies in neighboring homes.
Things changed when he left the suburbs and headed into areas that were less densely populated.
He didn’t see any bodies or crashed vehicles.
There was just empty silence and abandoned isolated houses.
Cattle grazed in fields, along with horses and even sheep.
Wild animals were on the prowl. They’d already lost their fear of humans, since they’d become a rarity.
He wasn’t even sure where he was anymore.
He just knew he was far from Manhattan, where his enemies were based.
Urzra and his brothers usually only had to wait a short while for their commander to find them when they were released from the Void.
Things were different this time around. Nothing seemed normal, including his strength and speed.
He knew it was tied to Bria, since her own power had been given such a dramatic boost after his arrival.
“What does Fate intend for us?” he asked, loping along the middle of a road.
“She clearly wanted me to find the female, but what am I supposed to do with her? Take her to my brothers and hope they’ll welcome her as an ally?
” Bria had already proven her skills would be of benefit to them.
Convincing Amaros of that might not be easy.
His commander had never relied on outsiders to assist them during any of their wars before.
“Rahab doesn’t have the same mindset,” he said ruefully.
“He’ll use whatever able-bodied humans he can find to help wipe us all out. ”
A scream of terror came from somewhere to his left just as he topped a small rise. Urzra peered at a distant house to see a truck had pulled into the driveway. Four men spilled out, carrying rifles. They began shouting at the occupants to come outside and surrender.
The scream had been from a female and Urzra couldn’t ignore it. He sprinted towards the house and ducked down behind the truck before he could be spotted. All four thugs had black souls. The people who were cowering inside weren’t saints, but at least their souls were gray.
“This is your last warning!” one of the humans snarled. He fired a shot at the front door, shattering the glass. “Send out the women and we’ll spare the men!” he shouted.
“We’ll never let you take us alive!” one of the females inside screamed back defiantly.
“You two, go around the back,” the leader ordered grimly. “Kill the men and tie up the women.”
Anger at their evil arrogance had Urzra rising to his feet. Leaving his backpack on the ground, he called on his sword. “Scum like you don’t deserve to inhabit this world,” he said, stepping out from behind the vehicle.
All four men spun around to gape at him. “Cut him down!” the oaf in charge shouted.
Urzra moved with graceful precision, dodging their gunfire as he lashed out with his weapon. Two of the humans went down with gurgles of surprise when he pierced their hearts. He took the third one down, then the leader broke and ran.
The knight used his uncanny speed to get ahead of the human.
He ran directly into the sword that was pointed at his chest before he saw the danger.
Blood ran from his mouth as he folded to the ground.
Urzra made his sword vanish, then picked up the rifle.
He searched the human’s pockets for spare ammo, then walked towards the house.
Three men had stepped out through the front door. Armed with handguns, they looked spooked, but ready to defend themselves if they had to.
“Gentlemen,” the warrior said politely. “Are your females well?”
“They’re scared, but unhurt, thanks to you,” the oldest male said.
“Here,” Urzra said, offering him the weapon and ammunition. “You need these more than I do.”
The old timer took them and eyed him warily. “Are you one of the good aliens the Mad Prophet has been talking about?” he asked.
“Good aliens?” Urzra asked in surprise. “Who is this Mad Prophet?”
“He’s a crazy dude we’ve been listening to on our ham radio,” one of the younger men said. “He’s been telling us about the evil aliens with red eyes who’ve taken over Manhattan. We saw another gold comet arrive last night. Was that you?”
“Yeah,” Urzra admitted. “I’m searching for my brothers. Do you have any idea where they are?”
“Nope,” the third man said, then left the porch to begin stripping weapons from the dead men.
“All we know is Governor Giamano is gathering people for his militia. He’s trying to get Manhattan up and running again.
The Mad Prophet told us we’ll be turned into slaves if we fall for their lies.
A guy called Xathan talks on behalf of the Governor now. ”
“You know him?” the oldest male asked shrewdly when Urzra’s upper lip lifted.
“Xathan is Rahab’s unofficial advisor,” Urzra said.
“Who’s Rahab?” the human queried.
“He’s the leader of the Soldiers of Chaos, the evil red-eyed alien faction,” Urzra said.
“Amaros is the commander of the Knights of Chaos. We’re the good aliens who have been sent to defeat the soldiers.
” Normally, it was taboo to talk about their true origins, but Fate had changed the rules.
She was using a human to speak the truth over the radio.
“Is our entire country really in danger of being taken over by your enemies?” the elder asked incredulously.
“Far more than just your country is at stake, human,” Urzra said solemnly. “If Rahab had it his way, he’d force the entire world to submit to his cruel regime.”
“What can we do to help?” the old man asked.
“Keep listening to the Mad Prophet,” the knight suggested. The women had moved over to a window and were peering out at him. “He’ll tell you what you need to do and when you need to do it,” he said confidently.
“We’re not the only ones who are on your side,” the second man said. “We’ve done bad things, but not all of the survivors are evil. We’ll spread the word to others like us and we’ll be ready when it’s time.”
He looked like he was the old timer’s son.
The third man was probably his offspring.
Three generations had survived the Rapture together.
Urzra didn’t know what they’d done to have gray souls, but there was still hope for them.
“May Fate smile on you all,” Urzra said with a short bow.
“I need to get going. There’s someone else I need to find. ”
“You’re looking for your woman, son?” the white-haired man asked with a knowing grin. “Try not to screw up like some of the other good aliens seem to have done during the past eight months.”
He was shocked by the implication that he wasn’t the only knight to have a connection to a female in this era.
Urzra wanted to question him, but felt the urge to keep moving.
“I’ll try not to,” he said, knowing he’d already made a mess of things and suspecting it would only get worse.
He loped away with their chuckles following in his wake.