Page 38 of Amaros

They hurried outside to see storm clouds heading in their direction.Heaving everything out of the truck, they stored it in the north wing.They chose a room without windows, which reminded Zoe that her room was exposed to the elements.“We should move our sleeping bags,” she said to Grace.

“Good idea,” she agreed.Thunder sounded, shaking the stones slightly and they picked up their pace.

Amaros was right behind them, since his bedroom was only two doors down from theirs.They moved their gear into another pair of rooms across the hallway, this time only one wall apart.

“Our stuff should be safe here,” Zoe figured.There were no signs that the room had suffered water damage in the past, but it was rapidly getting dark outside.

“I’m going to move the truck beneath the trees,” Amaros told them.

“What if branches fall on it?”Grace asked.

“I’ll cover it with a tarp,” he replied.“I don’t want hail to smash the windows.”

“We’ll help,” Zoe offered.He nodded and they raced back outside.Amaros had stored a couple of tarps behind the back seat and grabbed two of them.He drove over to a cluster of trees to the left of the building.They helped him throw the tarps over the vehicle, tying them down tightly.It wouldn’t stop large branches from denting it if they fell on the truck, but it would protect it from the rain and hail.

Hail began to pelt down just as they left the shelter of the trees.Grace was struck in the shoulder and swore beneath her breath.“Why am I always the one being injured?”she shouted above the noise of the deluge.

Amaros and Zoe grabbed her hands and sprinted for cover.“Are you okay?”Zoe asked as they skidded to a stop inside the north wing.

“I’ll live,” Grace grumbled, moving her shoulder up and down to test it.“It’s just bruised, nothing is broken,” she reported.

They moved through the stone hallways and took one of the short connecting passages to the main wing, then stood near the entrance to watch the storm.Lightning forked from the sky, illuminating the rapidly darkening sky.Hail the size of their fists smashed into the rocks, trees and ground.A torrent of water poured down, turning the ground to mud.

“I’m glad we moved the tank,” Zoe said as a particularly large piece of hail left a deep dent in the ground.

“Me, too,” Amaros agreed.

Feeling a vision coming on, Zoe reached out blindly.The warrior grabbed her wrist and Grace put her hand on her lower back.“What’s wrong?”she asked.

Zoe could sense their anxiety for her welfare, but she was already caught in a trance.She saw a meteor falling from the sky and knew another Knight of Order was about to arrive.

Chapter Twenty

––––––––

HEADS IN MANHATTANand the surrounding area turned as the meteor hurtled towards the ground.Beautiful gold light left a blazing trail in its wake.The mayhem and murder paused for a short time as people stared in wonder.Everyone waited for the sound of the space rock to hit the ground, but there was only silence.