Page 35 of Urzra

Chapter Twenty-Four

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BRIA MADE IT TO THEoutskirts of the city late in the afternoon, but she was too tired and cranky to approach Urzra.“It can’t hurt to wait until tomorrow to talk to him,” she grumbled after picking him up on her radar.She backed off and chose a house to stay in for the night.The entire suburb seemed to be deserted.She hadn’t sensed anyone in the area during her journey towards Bronxville.

The water was running when she checked the faucets in the kitchen.“Thank God,” she said in relief.“I can finally take a shower.”

None of the light switches worked when she tried them, but she didn’t really need them.She stripped off and washed her dirty clothes while she had a cold shower.Hanging them over the chairs and the dining table, she hoped they would dry by the morning.She’d squeezed most of the water out of them in the shower.

Feeling clean and fresh, Bria wished she could charge her e-reader.Even if she found a generator, she would be too scared to turn it on.The noise would carry and it might draw curious survivors to her.

“Then they’ll probably kill me and steal my stuff,” she said darkly.

She’d been worried that Fate would send another bear after her for delaying her task, but night fell and she remained safe.Turning in a few hours later, she tossed and turned on the lumpy couch.She got up just after midnight to make sure the knight was still there.He was, so she returned to the house and the uncomfortable couch.

Bria was even crankier when she got up the next morning.“What am I going to say to Urzra?”she asked.“Sorry I was such a biarch and Fate made me come back and grovel for your forgiveness?”She snorted out a laugh, already feeling embarrassed.The only reason why she’d come here was because the entity had threatened her life.

“Shouldn’t I get to decide my own destiny?”Bria muttered beneath her breath as she ate her breakfast.Delaying for a few hours, she finally plucked up the courage to get it over and done with.

Leaving her gear behind, the cambion trudged through the empty streets, stepping around skeletons and abandoned cars.She stopped when she realized she could no longer sense Urzra.“He’s left his lair,” she said in annoyance.With only a rough idea of where he’d spent the night, she walked until a tall apartment building came into view.It would do for somewhere to wait, so she entered and climbed to the top floor.

Checking the first door she came to, she realized the apartment had been broken into.All of the doors were standing open slightly, except the one at the end of the hallway.She approached it and sensed it was empty and turned the handle.It wasn’t locked, so she entered.

Straight away, she knew Urzra had been staying here.She could still smell his masculine scent.Plus, he’d taken a shower and his shampoo and soap clung to the couch he’d slept on.

The living room window gave her an excellent view of Manhattan and of the street below.A ham radio sat on the dining table, emitting a low hiss of static.She took a seat on the couch, wishing she’d brought her e-reader with her.A few books were sitting on a pathetic little bookshelf.She heaved herself to her feet and made a face when she checked the titles.They were murder mystery books, which weren’t her usual choice.“They’re better than nothing,” she said philosophically and sat down to read and wait.

Bria became engrossed in the novel despite herself.It seemed like only a couple of hours passed before she glanced out the window.The sun was beginning to set and she had a sudden uneasy feeling.Shooting to her feet, she put the book down and went on the move before Fate felt the need to prompt her into action.

“She’ll probably drop a piano on me if I don’t move fast enough to suit her,” she said in a dour tone.

The cambion could feel her link to the Knight of Order and it drew her towards him.She zoomed across a bridge into Manhattan and angled to the east.Humans were running towards where she could sense a large group of soldiers.A shot rang out and pain ripped through her right knee.She stumbled, but kept going and picked up her pace.

Urzra wasn’t the only one she could sense strongly now.Her sire was also somewhere nearby.She heard Deumos shouting orders as she blasted past the militants.She reached Urzra as the soldiers began to close in around him.He was holding his weight on his left leg and stared at her in astonishment.“Why are you here, female?”Terror emanated from him, but it wasn’t fear for himself that she was feeling.He was terrified forher.

“Blame Fate,” Bria said, praying they would be able to get out of this predicament alive.“She’s the one who sent me here.”Gathering her magic, she dug deep as her father and his cronies moved closer.

“Don’t even think of trying to use your power on me, offspring,” Deumos said with an arrogant toss of his dark blond hair.“Obey me and I won’t punish you for running from me when I found you on that pathetic island.”

Bria wasn’t afraid this time.She was angry.She was furious that she’d had to flee from her home.She was enraged that these evil aliens thought they had the right to try to take over her world.