Page 8 of Urzra

“What’s the plan?”another guard asked.

“Urzra doesn’t have a gun, so he’s outclassed,” Deumos said.“We’ll approach the house from all four sides to trap them.I’ll threaten to burn it down if they don’t come out and surrender.”He didn’t have anything to burn the house down with, but he was confident he could get a fire started easily enough.

He allocated guards to approach the front and sides of the house and kept the final male with him.Two minutes later, they sprinted towards the building.Crashing through the trees, Deumos sensed Urzra was with the female, just as he’d figured.His grin of victory widened.He was about to nab a paired knight and cambion.It was doubtful they’d bonded yet, since they’d only met either last night or this morning.Rahab would be pleased when they returned with this bounty.

Sensing his team closing in, Deumos halted a short distance from the house.“Urzra!”he called out.“I know you’re in there with my offspring!Surrender peacefully, or I’ll burn this building to the ground!”

No answer came from within, just as he’d expected.A curtain in a room near the back door shifted slightly.He sensed the cambion watching him.Hoping she didn’t have a deadly talent, he loped towards a shed.Just as he’d hoped, he found jerrycans full of fuel inside it.Grabbing hold of one, he carried it outside and held it up.“You’ve got one minute to come out!”he warned them.Counting down in his head, he started towards the house when he reached sixty seconds.

His guards held their weapons ready, aiming their guns at the doors and windows.Complete silence came from within.If the knight and cambion were talking, they were whispering too quietly for their voices to carry.

Deumos reached the back door and made a show of getting ready to pour the fuel onto the door.Then magic blasted outwards, ensnaring him and his men.All five soldiers froze and their minds became fuzzy.

Chapter Six

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BRIA HAD TRIED TO CALMherself down after Urzra left.It always unsettled her whenever memories of her past were stirred up.Reading usually helped her forget her problems and enabled her to push them to the back of her mind.This time, she couldn’t concentrate on the novel.She’d sensed Urzra return to her property an hour or so after she’d used her magic on him.Instead of coming inside, he’d headed towards the beach.

That had been a couple of hours ago and she was still feeling anxious and riled up.She got up to make a cup of tea, heating the water in the microwave, then dunking a teabag in it.She’d become used to drinking tea and coffee without cream and sugar by now, but she missed the small luxuries.

Tossing the used teabag into the trashcan, Bria was heading back to the living room when she sensed someone approaching her house.She groaned when she realized it was the knight.“Why did he come back?”she asked in annoyance.Her magic hadn’t lasted very long this time, probably because he was an alien rather than a human.The knights must have a stronger resistance to her power.

She put her cup on the coffee table, then tracked Urzra’s movements.He reached her house a couple of seconds later and pounded on the back door.“Bria!”he called out, sounding almost like he was alarmed.“We need to leave this island immediately!”

Rolling her eyes at his theatrics, she strode down the hall to the back door.Unlocking it, she yanked it open to glare up at him.“What are you talking about?”she asked, noting he was now fully dressed.His clothes were a bit too small and were damp.His hair was wet as well and she could smell salt water on him.

The knight looked over his shoulder frantically, then stepped inside, forcing her to move back.He closed the door, then turned to face her.“Your sire is coming,” he said.“Deumos has four other soldiers with him and we have to leave this island.”

She could tell his alarm was real and hid a shiver of dread.“How did he know to come here?”she asked.

Urzra’s expression turned guilty and he looked down at his feet.“I borrowed your boat and headed for Long Island.I sensed my foes were waiting for me when I reached land,” he said.“Deumos tried to shoot me, but he missed.I headed back here and they found a boat and followed me.”

“How do you know this Deumos is my father?”she asked, stomach beginning to churn from anxiety.

“You have the same color hair and eyes as he does,” he explained.“Cambions usually take after their sires.”