Page 20 of Nazab

“I wish I knew,” Nazab said wryly. “Did you feel strange when you were making that speech to the townsfolk?” he asked.

Monica nodded before he even finished his question. “I felt like someone else was talking through me, like I was just a conduit.”

“I believe Fate spoke to the humans through you, female,” he said. “She does that sometimes when she has an important message to impart.”

“It felt like it was really important for them to know the truth about the war that’s coming,” his mate said. “I’m happy to be Fate’s mouthpiece if it’ll help us beat the bad guys.”

“I’m sure she’ll take you up on that offer if it becomes necessary,” Nazab said. The warmth he felt growing between them increased as they walked through the darkness in search of shelter.

Chapter Fifteen

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MONICA COULD HEAR A creek somewhere in the distance as they chose an abandoned house to use for the night. Nazab checked the building to make sure it was safe before she entered it. “Are you going to clean the dust away again?” she asked with a small grin.

“Do you want to eat at a table that’s covered in filth?” the knight asked with one eyebrow cocked.

“I’m kind of used to it by now,” she said, turning a bit glum. “Governor Giamano’s goons only turned the power on in Manhattan. None of the other boroughs have electricity yet. I’ve been living in filth for close to a year.”

“It must be very difficult for the survivors to cope,” Nazab surmised as he began opening cupboards in the kitchen. “All of their former conveniences became useless and they’re forced to do everything for themselves again.”

“Pretty much,” Monica agreed. She went about closing the drapes, then switched on a camping lantern that had been shoved into one of her backpacks. She helped the knight clean the dust off the table, chairs and living room furniture. “I’m going to check the bedrooms,” she said next.

“You think the previous occupants were raptured?” Nazab asked.

“Their car is in the driveway,” she replied. “The doors were all locked before you broke in. There’s a good chance they vanished from their beds.”

Carrying the lantern, Monica climbed the stairs to the second floor. The first bedroom she came to was empty of furniture, but was crammed full of moving boxes. “They must have moved here just before the Rapture,” she figured.

“I can smell old decay,” Nazab warned her. “Wait here and I’ll take a look.”

The cambion saw the door across the hall was standing open a few inches. Crossing to it when Nazab headed to the final bedroom to the right, she pushed the door open and entered. A crib stood in the middle of the room. The walls had been painted light blue. Stuffed animals sat on a pale blue dresser that she knew would be full of baby clothes.

Nazab joined her just as she crossed the floor to peer into the crib. “The parents weren’t raptured,” he said gravely.

“Their baby was raptured and they chose to end their own lives?” she guessed sadly. The missing infant’s clothes and nappy were still beneath the blanket. Staying in this sad home had lost all appeal.

“So it would seem,” her companion said. “Should we search for another house to stay in?”

“I’m used to sleeping on hard surfaces, so I’m okay to crash on the floor downstairs,” Monica said.

“You can sleep on the couch, female,” Nazab told her. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“If you insist,” she said, dredging up a wan smile.

They filed back into the hallway and returned to the first floor. Monica had lost her appetite, but checked the supplies the townsfolk had given her. “It’s not a bad haul,” she said. “But I’ll need to grab the supplies we left at the other house.”

Nazab had decided not to return to their temporary base until morning, just in case the townsfolk tried to find them. He didn’t want them to discover their lair. He’d placed the ham radio on the coffee table and turned the volume down low. They would both hear it if anyone spoke, since they would be sleeping in the living room.

Monica ate a small meal, then they both decided to crash. She took her prosthesis off and left it propped up against the couch within easy reach. Normally, she kept it on just in case she needed to flee during the middle of the night. With her hulking protector lying on a blanket on the floor, she felt safe for the first time since the world had become so unstable.

They both slept restlessly and were up at dawn. “I’m going to take a bath in the creek,” Monica said after breakfast.

Nazab had been staring out the window next to the front door, keeping his eye out for trouble. His head snapped towards her. “The water could be contaminated,” he said.

“I don’t plan to drink it,” she said with a grin. She knew he was picturing her wet and naked by the way he kept his body angled away from her. “I need to wash my hair and the clothes the townsfolk gave me. I don’t want to wear something that I could catch cooties from.”

“I saw a basket in the laundry last night,” he said, now sounding a bit hoarse.