Chapter Nineteen
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PAIN WAS LODGED DEEP inside Urzra’s chest as he sprinted away from his female.
He knew he’d only known her for a couple of days, but his heart still ached from his loss.
Maybe Bria was right and he had become obsessed with her.
He could see why she was wary of him after the way he’d stalked her for so far.
“Bria doesn’t want me and I have to let her go,” he told himself as he raced back the way he’d come.
His cambion couldn’t see the potential they had together.
Or maybe she was frightened of the link they shared.
Neither of them had ever experienced anything like it before.
He’d been eager to explore the possibilities, but his female just wanted to remain in her safe, isolated solitude.
He hated himself for his parting jab, knowing it would hurt her. There was no chance Bria would change her mind and come searching for him now. Not after he’d dropped that guilt bomb on her.
“You’re a moron, Urzra,” the knight scolded himself. Despair clung to him as he found a highway with signs leading to Manhattan. It was a long way away and he slowed his pace so he wouldn’t wear himself out too quickly.
It was late afternoon by the time he reached the outskirts of his destination.
He decided to wait until nightfall before attempting to infiltrate the city.
First, he needed to do some research. With that in mind, he located a gas station and searched for some maps.
Finding maps of the city and surrounding areas, Urzra kept his senses alert.
He’d avoided several patrols of humans wearing white armbands.
They were all armed with assault rifles and seemed to be militants.
“Now to find a temporary base,” he said, leaving the gas station and peering around.
He spied a tall apartment building a few blocks away and loped towards it.
This area was eerily empty, as if every inhabitant had up and left.
Half of the population had been raptured.
More would have died from various other causes, but there should have been some survivors around.
Just as he’d suspected, the building was empty when he scanned it.
He entered and climbed the stairs to the top floor.
The apartment at the end of the hall had been left unlocked.
He pushed the door open and couldn’t smell any decay.
The knight closed and locked the door, then crossed through the kitchen and dining area to the living room.
The large window gave him a view of Manhattan in the near distance.
A tall building speared above the others.
It was lit up even during the day, acting like a beacon to draw people to the city.
Urzra expected to find Amaros and his brothers once he reached his destination. Instead, he hadn’t sensed any of his fellow knights at all so far. He hadn’t seen or detected any of their enemies yet either.
Spreading the maps out on the coffee table, he sank down onto the couch to peruse them. “Manhattan Island is tiny,” he said with a frown. ““It isn’t big enough for both us and our foes to have our bases there.” His commander must have chosen somewhere else to use as a lair.
Urzra scanned the map, amazed at how huge New York was.
There were five boroughs and he was in Bronxville, close to the Bronx.
He already knew Rahab and his squad had taken over Manhattan.
It would be very dangerous to enter the city, but what else was he meant to do?
Wait around forever for Amaros to find him?
Their enemies had already been here for eight months.
He’d missed out on all of the action so far and he didn’t want to miss out on anything else.
He spent an hour memorizing the map of Manhattan, trying to figure out where Rahab’s base could be. It would be suicide to approach it and try to spy on his foes. But it couldn’t hurt to get an idea of what they were up against, or so he told himself.
“I need a ham radio,” he muttered. Xathan spoke on the same channel as the Mad Prophet, so he might glean some information from both men. It was the only plan he had. He still had a couple of hours to wait until nightfall, so he decided to search the building.
Urzra broke into the other apartments on the top floor first, then descended to the next level.
He was on the fifth floor when he heard a faint hissing noise.
It was coming from the end of the hall through a partially open door.
The knight strode down the hallway and saw a pool of blood on the tiles just inside the apartment.
Pushing the door open, he examined the scene.
“There was a fight to the death in here,” he surmised.
Dining chairs had toppled over and bullet holes were in the living room walls beyond the dining table.
The assailants had broken in and had opened fire on the inhabitants.
Blood on the carpet in the dining room indicated someone had died on the spot.
Someone else had been dragged to the door, then carried away.
The hissing noise was coming from a device sitting on a sideboard.
Urzra crossed to it and his mind told him it was a ham radio.
“That’s exactly what I’ve been looking for,” he said, glad his search was over so soon.
He examined the radio to see it ran on batteries.
He carried it back to his lair and placed it on the dining table.
It was probably tuned to the correct channel.
If not, he would have to scroll through them until he lucked out and heard someone speaking.
The low hum of static came through the speakers as he resumed perusing the maps.
Once night fell, Urzra folded up a map of Manhattan and shoved it into his pocket.
He left the building and loped through the streets towards the closest bridge.
Humans wearing white armbands were stationed on the far side of the bridge.
One side of the structure had been cleared of clogged traffic.
The other side was slowly being cleared from what he could tell.
Urzra was about to sprint past the militants when he sensed four of his foes. He backed up before they could detect him and waited to see if they would give chase. The soldiers seemed to be on patrol and moved out of his range.
“I’m definitely stronger this time,” he murmured, glad his skills had been given a boost. His senses would help keep him alive as he performed his reconnaissance of the city.
He zoomed past the humans before they could register his presence and deftly avoided the soldiers who were on patrol.
Just as he’d planned, Urzra headed to Central Park.
It looked magical all lit up against the darkness of the buildings that surrounded it.
Lights were on in only a few of the towering structures. Most seemed to be empty.
Urzra hid in the shadows of some trees away from the lighted pathways.
He’d intended to head to the tallest building next, but was having second thoughts.
There were far too many soldiers moving around in packs of four or five.
They weren’t actively searching for him, but they knew he’d arrived two nights ago.
A group of humans on patrol were strolling towards him. They were wearing camouflage gear beneath their white armbands. They stopped and looked around to make sure no one was close enough to listen to their conversation.
“Is everything all set for tomorrow?” one of the men whispered. He had ginger hair and an unruly beard.
“Yes, sir,” another man replied, saluting him. “The target will be lured into position and the shooter will be waiting for him. It should all go smoothly.”
“You’ll have an alibi if anything goes wrong, Mr. Lawson,” another man said. “But I’m sure our plan will work perfectly.”
“It had better,” Mr. Lawson said darkly. “I want that creature gone from the Empire State Building. He has no place in our new world order.”
“I can’t believe they let him talk over the radio every day,” another male wearing camouflage said in disbelief. “You’ll be taking over his job soon, sir.”
Mr. Lawson chuckled with quiet glee. “Governor Giamano already trusts me. He has no idea I aim to take his position from him as soon as we get rid of his freakish guards with red eyes.”
The group moved on and Urzra filed the information away.
They were talking about assassinating Xathan from what he’d just gathered.
Then they intended to try to take Rahab and his squad down.
Smirking at that unlikelihood, the knight decided to head back to his base.
He would wait to see whether it would be Xathan speaking over the radio, or if someone else would be giving the next broadcast.
Urzra made it back to Bronxville without mishap and locked himself in the apartment again. He stared out through the window, thinking about Bria. He wondered if she was happy now that she had her wish and she was all alone again.