Page 15 of Urzra

“I didn’t get the chance, Lord,” Deumos lied, cutting his eyes to the side.“She used her magic on me before I could try to forge a bond with her.”

Rahab snorted out an incredulous noise.“She’s long gone by now,” he said.“Get back to searching the other boroughs for the remaining cambions.That’s all you’re good for now.”

Deumos flinched at being dismissed like he was nothing and clenched his fists.With a stiff nod, he strode over to the door and exited from the gym.

“So, Jazmine’s knight still hasn’t arrived,” Rahab said as he resumed pacing.He’d assumed the gold comet had heralded the appearance of the cambion’s mate.Instead, Urzra had been given Deumos’ progeny.“Which knight will become Jazmine’s partner?”he wondered.He didn’t really care.Lachial had firm control of the female.No longer feral, her skills to manipulate shadows would come in handy when her warrior finally showed up.Chuckling beneath his breath, his mood improved enough to strip off his suit jacket and shirt and begin working out.

In her apartment further along 5thAvenue, Jazmine Sedaka sat on the couch, staring at the painting of the boy wearing blue.A small, cruel smile lifted the corners of her mouth.She’d been living here for three weeks now and felt comfortable in this place.As always, the lights were off and she was shrouded in her shadows.Her vision was keen enough for her to make out all the details of her beloved painting.

Lachial had provided her with food and clothing.She’d figured out how to use all of the appliances and was fully capable of looking after herself now.The hardest part was pretending to be docile.

“He has no idea what I do at night when he’s out searching for others like me,” she said, then laughed.It only held a hint of the insanity she now had firm control of.Like all of the soldiers, her sire only needed a few hours of sleep.He was gone during the day as well, but it was too dangerous for her to leave the apartment when the sun was shining.Her skills were far more useful at night.

Jazmine had been testing her abilities every night since her father had brought her here.There were plenty of militants for her to practice on.Using the shadows to hide herself, she stalked the humans when they were alone.So far, she’d killed twenty of them.No one had a clue she was venturing out and slaughtering the people who were wearing white armbands.She took them far away from their friends and coworkers so she could hide the mess she’d made.

“I’m getting better each time I use my talents to kill,” she gloated.Every target she’d taken down had possessed a black soul.The humans who arrived in Manhattan were vetted by the Soldiers of Chaos now.Only the ones who were truly evil were turned into mercenaries.The others were sent to the farms and factories.Every single man and woman she’d slain so far would have killed her in a heartbeat if they’d had the opportunity.

Lachial had almost caught her out of her apartment a couple of times.She’d managed to return just before he could sense she wasn’t where she was meant to be.Not even her bloodlust overwhelmed her new level of focus.Jazmine knew her sanity would probably fracture again if her father died.Their partial link was the only thing keeping her mind stable.He would have to be the last one she slaughtered.She just hoped her skills would improve to the point where she would become an unstoppable force of darkness.Her smile widened as she envisioned the blood that would be spilled on not just the streets of Manhattan, but on every street in this country and beyond.

Lachial was searching through a neighborhood in Queens when he shivered suddenly.None of his guards noticed.They were too focused on scanning the houses around them.It was boring scouring the boroughs for his fellow soldiers’ younglings.Lachial only occasionally got to have some fun by randomly murdering humans now.Rahab had ordered them to use mind control to send the remaining survivors to Manhattan.They were processed and were sent to their new jobs to become slaves.

His thoughts went to his daughter, who was probably staring in fixation at the painting he’d stolen from a gallery for her right now.He would never admit it to anyone, but the female gave him the creeps.Jazmine was now docile rather than feral, yet he sensed she was still dangerous.The cambion would end his life in an instant if his control of her mind slipped.That was why he rarely visited her at night.He always flicked the lights on before entering her apartment if they were turned off.She was always in the same spot on the couch, staring at the boy in the painting.

He almost wished he hadn’t given it to her, but it helped keep her calm.The last thing he wanted was for the shadow wielder to become agitated and tear himself or his guards apart.He’d seen the aftermath of what she could do and it still haunted him.

Chapter Eleven

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GRACE HAD SPOTTED ANOTHERgold comet at midnight when she’d ducked outside to check last night.It had become her ritual now.She didn’t have a knight to wake her up frequently for nookie, so she didn’t need to spend as much time in bed as the other females.Her excitement that maybe this time her mate had arrived died a swift death when she saw Zoe’s expression in the morning.It had taken a single shake of her bestie’s head to inform her that the latest knight belonged to someone else.

Zoe had waited for everyone to be gathered at the dining table for breakfast before she’d broken the news.There had been the usual speculation about which brother had just turned up and what his cambion would be like.Their matriarch hadn’t seen much.She just knew that the pair had already met.

They’d all spent the day working on the ensuites that still needed to be installed.Cam and his brothers had poured concrete in every room, making the entire base level.Zo had decided she wanted redwood floors, so the knights had teleported to a distant forest.They’d returned with a gigantic fallen log and Oaklie had worked her magic on it.She’d formed a bunch of floorboards and Sin had duplicated them.They’d all helped install the flooring, using rubber from a carpet store to cushion the wood first.Sin had created enough of it to cover the entire floor of the base.

Zoe was admiring the glossy sheen as they prepared dinner.“I can’t get over how amazing the floors look,” she said.