Page 66 of Amaros
AMAROS COULD HEAR THEsounds of abuse coming from the upper floor.His rage flared that evil was already spreading across the world.What was left of the authorities were helpless to stop the carnage now that anarchy was so rampant.
“Are we going in together, or splitting up?”Camriel whispered when they reached the final floor.All three of the kidnappers on this level were busy assaulting their captives.
“We’ll split up,” Amaros replied.“They’ll be too preoccupied to be aware they’re in danger.I’ll take the rooms on the right.”
“I’m ready when you are, boss,” Camriel said, adopting a common term humans liked to use.
At Amaros’ nod, they started down the hallway.Camriel turned into the open door of the first room on the left that held an assailant.The human was dead from a knife to his throat before the woman he was assaulting realized what had happened.
A couple of rooms down on the right, Amaros strode inside and used his bare hands to snap the thug’s neck.His victim screamed in terror, but he was already striding away.She was tied to the bed and naked, just as he’d expected.Young, she was probably Grace’s age.
Camriel waited for his leader to enter the fourth and final room where a female was being tortured.Amaros sensed the human was waiting in ambush.He must have figured out something was wrong.Moving in a blur, the warrior darted inside before his opponent could react.
Belatedly pulling the trigger on his shotgun, the man blasted a hole in the door.Amaros broke his neck, then put his finger to his lips to try to shush the wailing victim.She sobbed even harder, masking the noise of the sniper on the roof.
“I’ve got him,” Camriel said, head cocked back to look upwards.Following the faint sounds of footsteps, he found a maintenance room down a short hallway between two bedrooms.He spied a ladder through the open door and waited out of sight in the hallway.The sniper was cursing beneath his breath as he began to descend.Hands grabbed hold of him before he reached the bottom.The knight used his handy new knife to end the sniper’s life, then wiped the blade on his filthy fleece shirt.
“That’s all of them,” Amaros said in satisfaction from the doorway.“The women are too traumatized for us to free them.We should get Zoe and Grace to cut them loose.”
“What are we going to do with them?”Camriel asked, keeping his voice down.“Some of them have black souls.They’ll be just as dangerous as the men who captured them.”
Amaros let out a small sigh.“I know,” he agreed.“If it was just us, I’d end them, but our females might object.”Camriel gave him a sly grin.“What?”Amaros asked in annoyance.
“‘Our’ females?”his second repeated.“It sounds to me like you’ve already made a decision about your future.”
“I haven’t decided anything yet,” Amaros refuted as they headed towards the stairs.“I need to consult with the rest of my unit first.”
“No, you don’t,” Camriel argued.“This decision is a personal one.I’ve already made my choice.I just need to find my cambion and convince her to become bonded to me.”
Amaros envied the warrior’s staunch committal to having a real life and a real future.Deep down, he knew he’d already chosen to stay here with Zoe.But it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of his team to expect them to follow his lead.“I need to stay impartial,” he admitted.“Like you said, it’s a personal decision.Do you really think all of the knights will want to become permanently tied to anyone, let alone a cambion?”
“We’ve been enemies with Chaos’ minions since our creation,” Camriel conceded.“Their offspring have always been evil, but once our brothers meet Zoe and Grace, they’ll at least think about it.”
“I guess we’ll have to see,” Amaros said fatalistically.Some of his warriors were stubborn.It would be hard to convince them to give the cambions a chance.Others would leap at the opportunity to change their destinies.He couldn’t predict exactly what would happen.He could only hope that Fate had their best interests at heart.
Camriel had taken stock of the lush resort’s bedrooms and furniture during their raid.“I’m thinking we might not need to build as much furniture as we thought,” he said.
Amaros glanced around the foyer as they reached the first floor.“There’s a lot of furniture here we could take,” he said.
“As well as doors, beds and maybe even windows,” his second suggested.
“We could gut this place and use the materials to outfit our base,” Amaros agreed with a grin.
“Why don’t we just move in here?”Grace asked as she and Zoe strode in through the back entrance.They’d heard the commotion upstairs and figured the fight was over.
“It’s too big, with too many windows and entrances,” Amaros said.“It’s also in plain sight of the road.Our current base is hidden and it will be much easier for us to erect a ward.”
“Besides, Fate led us to our home,” Zoe reminded her.“That’s where we’re supposed to live.”
“I can’t wait to sleep on a real bed again,” Grace said with a wan smile.
Camriel felt for the teen.She’d gone through a lot already and now she’d been forced to kill to survive.“You pick the bed you want and I’ll break it down and transport it to our base,” he told her.He was rewarded when her eyes lit up in a genuine grin.
“How are the captives holding up?”Zoe asked Amaros.
“We haven’t released them yet,” he replied with a grimace.“They’re in pretty bad shape.We thought it would be better for you ladies to cut them free.”
“I’d want to avoid men if I were them,” Grace agreed, becoming solemn again.
