Chapter Twenty-Three
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URZRA’S HOPES THAT Xathan would be assassinated were dashed the next morning.
The ham radio crackled, then the hairless soldier with a voice as smooth as his dark skin spoke.
“Good morning, survivors! This is Xathan, talking to you from Manhattan, the new heart of America. Governor Giamano’s loyal employees are on track to have supplies delivered at the end of summer.
If you’re determined to join us before then, make sure to scrounge up as much food as you can.
We have clean running water now, so there’s no need to bring a large supply of water with you. ”
The radio went silent and Urzra blew out a disappointed sigh.
“So much for the humans’ plan to execute Xathan,” he muttered.
He’d spent the night on the couch, tossing and turning as he worried about Bria.
It seemed his instincts hadn’t taken the hint that the cambion didn’t want him.
“I guess not even Fate can force my female to follow her destiny,” he said morosely.
He’d woken up sometime during the night, convinced he could sense Bria, only to realize he was wrong.
She didn’t show up on his radar at all. He’d pushed his sorrow to the back of his mind and was determined not to think about his female.
Maybe the pain of being rejected would ease if she wasn’t at the forefront of his mind constantly.
Sitting around staring at the walls wasn’t getting him anywhere.
He decided to start searching for his commander.
It was possible his brothers were based in one of the other boroughs.
They would have warded their base so they couldn’t be detected.
As long as they stayed under the radar, their enemies wouldn’t even know they were there.
“I’ll start in Queens,” he decided, then used his map to figure out the best way to get there. He would pass through the Bronx on his way there and would scan for them during his trek. Searching during the day wasn’t the smartest move, but he couldn’t stand to remain in the apartment any longer.
Tucking the map into his pocket, Urzra sprinted in a blur of movement along the route he’d chosen.
He made it across a couple of bridges without the mercenaries noticing him.
Rahab’s lackeys had been waiting for him at the far end of Long Island.
He hoped they weren’t spread all throughout Queens as well.
Moving quickly, but cautiously, the warrior began scanning for his brothers.
He would sense them even if a ward was in place.
Just as he’d planned, Urzra crisscrossed Queens, making sure he didn’t miss any of the buildings.
Humans were swarming all over the place, searching for food.
They loaded the supplies onto trucks that drove across the partially unblocked bridges to Manhattan.
“Another one of our troops was murdered last night,” he overheard a man say in a hushed tone. Urzra paused to listen, stepping into a building that had already been searched.
“How many of us have died or gone missing now?” someone asked.
“Too many,” the first guy said bleakly.
“Do you think Creel Lawson’s prepper goons are responsible?” a female asked in a frightened tone.
“Nah, it was a white guy who vanished and was found in the East River,” the man replied. “I don’t know who is picking us off, but the poor guy had been torn apart. He was just chunks of flesh. The only way he was identified as one of us was from the white armband on what was left of his arm.”
The female made a gagging noise and two of the men chuckled. “It isn’t funny!” she exclaimed quietly. “I could be murdered by one of those preppers at any moment because of the color of my skin, or be slaughtered by the sicko who’s been sneaking around at night!”
“I hear you, sister,” one of her colleagues agreed. “I see the way the preppers look at us Black people. They want us all dead or to turn us into slaves.”
“You mean slaves like the conscripts we’ve been sending to the farms and factories?” another male said wryly.
“Someone’s got to get the food production up and running again,” the other man said defensively. “But we shouldn’t be delegated to manual labor just because we’re not white like you guys.”
“Let’s not argue,” the female said to defuse the tension. “We need to stick together. None of us want to be sent out of the city. We’ve got it good here. Let’s just watch each other’s backs and maybe we’ll all stay alive.”
“Did you hear someone tried to assassinate Xathan?” someone asked as they continued on with their search.
“I heard he cut the guy’s throat in Creel’s office,” a male replied.
“He’s hot, but he’s way too crazy for me,” the female said. “All of Rahab’s dudes are nuts. Their red eyes give me the creeps.”
“Do you really think they’re aliens like the Mad Prophet says?” one of her coworkers asked. They were still talking too quietly for their voices to carry very far.
“Nah,” someone else said. “Aliens aren’t real. They’re just big and have red eyes because of the steroids they take. Drugs can make people go insane. Whatever they’re taking is something new. They must have come up with them before the Rapture.”
“They should have run out of them by now,” a guy pointed out. “It’s been eight months since everything collapsed and chaos took over.”
Urzra grimaced at his choice of wording.
Chaos definitely had the upper hand after God had triggered the Rapture.
Rahab had a firm hold on Manhattan and was using Governor Giamano as his puppet.
It was only a matter of time before the commander of the Soldiers of Chaos took charge.
For now, Rahab seemed to be growing an army of mercenaries and thugs.
Every human Urzra had seen wearing a white armband possessed a black soul.
The female had spoken of solidarity, but she would stab any of her colleagues in the back if she could benefit from it, just like the rest of them.
“No one can be trusted in this city,” Urzra murmured as he continued his search.
Queens was a large borough and it took him most of the day to scan it. The sun was sinking low in the sky when he sensed some foes on the edge of his radar. There were two groups and they were heading straight towards him.
Retreating, the knight began sprinting back to the bridge he’d used to cross into Queens.
He halted when he sensed four soldiers blocking his path.
They weren’t aware of him, so he checked the map to search for another route to use.
The other two groups of five enemies appeared on his radar again.
They were moving too swiftly for him to avoid being detected.
“A knight is here!” a familiar voice shouted.
“Deumos,” Urzra muttered in annoyance, then he took off.
All three small groups of enemies gave chase. He sprinted towards another bridge that would take him to Manhattan, praying to Fate it wasn’t blocked this time. It was, so he now had a total of eighteen Soldiers of Chaos at his heels.
“Block the Brooklyn Bridge!” Deumos shouted into his walky-talky. “Urzra is trying to escape!”
Thinking fast, Urzra knew he couldn’t take on this many foes and survive.
Rahab was hellbent on capturing him and he had no desire to be tortured.
He’d made the same vow as his brothers to end his own life whenever he was taken prisoner.
The warrior would only resort to that if he had no other choice.
Grimly determined not to fall into Rahab’s clutches, Urzra picked up speed. He turned down an alley and ran faster than he ever had in his lengthy life before. He doubled back and zoomed towards the bridge that would hopefully now be unguarded.
Deumos sensed him change direction and rallied his squad members. He shouted orders into his walky-talky, trying to box their quarry in.
Urzra raced across the bridge he’d originally taken to get to Queens and sensed ten soldiers heading towards him.
They intended to cut him off. Despair that he was about to be captured turned to shock when he sensed his female’s presence.
He tripped over an obstacle in surprise and sprawled on the ground.
Deumos shouldered his rifle and squeezed off a shot. The bullet tore into Urzra’s knee as he rose to his feet. He snarled in rage that not only was he about to become a prisoner, but so was his female.
Bria Janke raced into view, beautiful gray-green eyes wide with fear and determination. Their gazes locked and he motioned for her to run.
“Don’t kill them!” Deumos shouted as twenty-eight soldiers surrounded the pair. “Rahab wants them alive!” he reminded the warriors.
“Why are you here, female?” Urzra asked, holding his weight on his good leg. He couldn’t hide his terror for her safety from her.
“Blame Fate,” his female said. “She’s the one who sent me here.” With that startling announcement, he felt her harness her power.