Page 29 of Nazab

“Now let’s finish him off,” his companion said with grim delight.

Nazab’s sword had vanished, but he was far from helpless as the males approached him. He didn’t get a chance to take either of the humans down. Turning to face the pair, his cambion arrived in a breathtaking display of righteous anger.

Monica raced towards the men with murder written all over her beautiful face. She reached them and clamped her hands on their shoulders. Her magic washed over them before they even had a chance to react to her presence.

The knight watched in awe as his female siphoned every scrap of energy from her victims. Drained of life and substance, they became mere husks when she released them. “Are you okay, Nazab?” she asked as she struggled to deal with so much raw power.

“You saved my life, female,” he said in awe. “I just wish you could use your magic to expel the bullet from my flesh.”

She grimaced and he wondered if she could feel the slug inside her own body since they shared each other’s pain. “I need to expel this energy,” she said wryly.

“Don’t give it to me,” Nazab said, shaking his head when she took a step closer to him. “I think it’ll become addictive if you use your magic on me too often.”

Monica’s head turned towards the building where the victims were being kept. “I have an idea,” she said. “Let’s set the captives free and I’ll give the energy to them. Then I’ll try to get that bullet out of you.”

“Do you have any medical experience?” he asked, straightening up.

“Most survivors have probably learned some first aid by now,” she said with a shrug. “I’m not a surgeon, but I should be able to dig the bullet out.”

“That’s very reassuring, female,” he said with a rueful smile.

“Can you use mind control on a group of humans?” she asked as they headed towards the police station.

“Not usually,” he said. “But I’m far stronger this time. It shouldn’t pose a problem.”

“Good, because I don’t want them to remember what I’m about to do to them,” she said.

Chapter Twenty-Two

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MONICA’S HEART WAS racing from an overload of adrenalin. Her gut feeling that Nazab was going to be in trouble had come true. She’d felt him being grazed on the side, then she’d suffered phantom agony when the second bullet had slammed into his back. She didn’t feel any remorse for stealing energy from the two bandits. They’d deserved to die slowly instead of quickly and painlessly.

Leading the way to the police station, the cambion felt full to bursting with power. Nazab was smart to turn down her offer to infuse him with the energy. Most people would have jumped at the chance to feel invincible for as long as the power lasted. But it was a false feeling that would ultimately run out. She’d never considered the possibility that it could become addictive. Now that he’d pointed that danger out, she would be more careful with how she used her skills.

“I can sense eight people inside,” Nazab said when they reached the police station.

“Can you handle that many minds at once?” Monica asked. He nodded as he opened the door for her. “Maybe you should use it on them before they see me,” she suggested.

Nazab concentrated, then she felt him send out a wave of magic. “It’s done,” he told her, then he crossed to a door that led to the holding cells.

Three men and five women were being kept in the cells. They were all filthy and had matted hair. Their toilets were full and the stench made Monica’s eyes water. “Ew,” she complained softly. “These poor people,” she murmured. “You need to find the keys to their cells so I can share my extra energy with them,” she said.

Nazab went hunting for the keys and the cambion studied the victims. Even with blank expressions, their eyes looked haunted. Their souls were gray, so none of them were angels, but they didn’t deserve what the marauders had planned for them.

Returning with keys, her knight unlocked all of the cells. Monica entered the first one and put her hand on the two females’ shoulders. She shared her energy with them and they both immediately looked better. It wasn’t a cure for their bruises and other injuries, but it would help them recover more quickly.

She visited each cell and doled out the extra power until it had been depleted. “That’s it,” Monica said when she felt like she was back to normal. “I hope it’ll help them to get away from here and find somewhere safer to stay.”

“We should send them to the other town,” Nazab suggested. “Most of the townsfolk there have gray souls.”

“They wouldn’t even let me stay there,” Monica reminded him wryly.

“I’m sure they’ll change their minds if these survivors arrive with the supplies I found,” he said with a grim smile.

Monica frowned in confusion. “The bandits had supplies, but they were still cooking and eating humans?” she asked in disgust.

“The canned food won’t last forever,” her warrior said philosophically, but he was just as disturbed as she was.