Page 51 of Nazab

––––––––

NAZAB HAD DILIGENTLY been training Monica how to shoot during their search for his brothers. They spent most of the day searching locations and a few hours shooting targets afterwards. He’d found a cache of weapons and ammo in an abandoned bunker on someone’s property a few days ago, so they were fully stocked now.

Waiting for his female to wake up, the knight was getting tired of moving to a different base every day. He wished they could stop somewhere for a while, but they both felt the urge to keep moving. Monica’s skills were improving each time she used them, which was almost daily now. People with black souls riddled the country. They targeted other survivors and either killed them outright for food, or made their lives a misery.

“Amaros will understand why we’re taking so long to find him,” Nazab murmured, hoping it wasn’t just wishful thinking. It was a switch being the one to search for his commander and brothers. He wondered if they’d all had as many adventures as he was having before they’d located Amaros.

“I wonder if their females are as remarkable as mine,” he mused quietly and seriously doubted it. Monica was already the most dangerous cambion he’d ever encountered, including the ones who could wield fire, lightning and shadows. Her ability to weaken her foes was growing stronger with practice. He had no idea what her limits would be. In time, his cambion might be able to draw the life out of an entire army, or at least debilitate them enough that they would be unable to fight. She wasn’t even aware of just how amazing she was.

Nazab was abiding by her two-month no sex rule and enjoyed kissing and cuddling her. They didn’t share a bed because his female was worried she might cave in. While he wanted her desperately, he would wait until she was ready.

Monica rose a short while later and went about her usual routine. “I’m ready to hit the road,” she said after finishing breakfast. The venison jerky they’d made had spoiled pretty quickly and she’d had to throw it away. They’d found plenty of food in the bunker along with the ammunition, so he hadn’t hunted another deer yet.

“We have six locations to search in this area,” Nazab said, handing her the map so he could drive. “We should be able to scout them all if we don’t run into any trouble.”

Monica snickered at his high hopes. “I love how optimistic you are,” she teased him. Sometimes, they had to miss out on training if it was too late by the time they returned to their bases.

Leaving most of their gear behind, they carried weapons and the ham radio to the truck. Monica guided him to the first site, which was empty. The second one was occupied by humans with gray souls, so he left them in peace. They were on their way to the third location after taking a lunch break when the Mad Prophet spoke.

“This message is for the stealer and her man,” he said cryptically.

“Is he talking about us?” Monica asked.

“Yeah, I am,” the oracle said as if he was in the truck with them. “Some people are in dire need of your help. You’ll find them past the bee farm.”

He went silent and Nazab exchanged a look with his female. Monica was behind the wheel and pulled over. “I remember seeing a sign for an apiary a few miles back,” the warrior said.

“There was a sign for a town,” she recalled. “We turned off to avoid it.”

“I guess we’ll need to pay the townsfolk a visit after all,” Nazab said grimly.

Monica swung the truck around and floored it back to the bee farm. They heard gunfire in the distance when she turned onto the road leading to the town. Parking beneath some trees, they grabbed their weapons, then Nazab scooped his female up and sprinted closer to the settlement.

Several trucks were blocking each end of the main road. Men with black souls had converged on the town. They’d caught the survivors when they were gathered together in the town hall and they had the building surrounded.

“Send your youngest women out and we won’t burn the building to the ground!” the leader of the bandits shouted when the gunfire ceased.

“Over our dead bodies!” someone shouted back, then fired at him through a broken window.

Nazab took in the scene, sending out his senses to determine how many foes they were facing. “I can detect nearly fifty marauders,” he said with a frown. “There are almost a hundred people inside that building. They’ll die if the bandits set it on fire.”

“I’ll be able to weaken them all,” Monica said confidently.

“You’ve never tried to drain this many foes before,” Nazab said.

“You don’t think I can do it?” she asked.

Sensing her vulnerability, he smiled. “I know you can, female,” he said. “I’m looking forward to watching you render them useless. Just be careful not to take too much of their energy.”

Monica grinned back at him for giving her the support she needed. “I won’t overload myself,” she vowed. “Let’s move a bit closer so I can reach them all.”

Taking her hand, Nazab quickly escorted his cambion to a house closer to the town hall. The bandits were shooting at the townsfolk each time one of them glanced through a window.

“I’ll give you to the count of five, then we’re going to force you out!” the leader of the invaders shouted. Several intruders were getting Molotov cocktails ready to throw through the windows.

Monica harnessed her power as the black-souled miscreant began his countdown. She sent her magic out and it settled on the humans who had the town hall surrounded. Her skills had been honed to the point where she could exclude the people inside the building. The cambion siphoned off their energy just as they were about to launch the flaming bottles of alcohol through the air.

“Nice timing,” Nazab said in admiration as the bandits dropped the bottles at their feet. Screams of agony rang out as the bottles smashed and fire engulfed several men.