Page 5 of Amaros
Tears began to flow again now that Zoe’s worst nightmares had come true.She’d always wondered if she truly was a force of good as her mother had believed.Her mom had never seen the dark side of her personality that she’d suppressed for the past twelve years.The temper she’d kept hidden had reared its ugly head when she’d reached puberty.
“There’s something wrong with me,” Zoe sobbed brokenly.“That’s why God abandoned me and I’m stuck here all alone.”Maybe if she’d remained pure, she would have been chosen as well.
A fresh wave of self-pity washed over her.She sank to her knees in the dirt next to the naked man who’d fallen from the sky.
Absorbed in her sorrow, she started when a hand clamped down on her ankle.Visions of the alien’s memories filled her mind.She saw him fighting alongside his companions in an endless war against their enemies.In between each battle, they waited in a foggy land, held in a strange stasis.
Zoe scrambled away, breaking the contact as the warrior uncurled from his defensive ball.Eyes of the darkest obsidian opened to regard her blankly.His mind was rattled from the fall and the landing.Already, he was adjusting to his new environment.
Crouched on the ground, Zoe stared in awe as the warrior rose to his feet.She couldn’t see any wounds on his body from the impact.He looked strong and ready to fight.She gaped at his perfection even as she blushed at his nudity.Their eyes met and he saw how his nakedness affected her.“Cambion,” he said, upper lip curled in what she could only deduce was mistrust.
“Is that your name?”Zoe asked, averting her gaze as she rose to her feet.She was trying not to be offended by his reaction.She’d been wrong when she’d thought he was an alien.Clearly, he was an angel, although he didn’t seem to have wings.Forces of evil would be sure to rise now that all of the good people had vanished.He must have been sent here to fight them.
“My name is Amaros,” he said haughtily.“I am a Knight of Order.Youare a cambion.”
“I have no idea what a cambion is, but my name is Zoe Zayden,” she said as politely as she could.It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to anger an angel.“Do you need a ride somewhere?”she asked, wondering if she was going insane.This entire night still felt surreal.“The church is only a couple of miles back that way.”She hiked her thumb over her shoulder while looking anywhere but at his privates.He was bigger down there than she’d expected, not that she had much to compare him to.
The warrior reached out to grab her arm, but she’d always had good reflexes and sidestepped him.She didn’t want to see more visions of death and maiming.
“I need to scan you, Zoe Zayden,” he said imperiously.He looked like he was in his late twenties, but acted far older.
“No, thanks,” she retorted.“I’ve had a long night and I just want to go home.”She couldn’t hide the tremble in her voice as she climbed back up to the top of the crater.
Hearing him right on her heels, she picked up her pace and ran to the car.Amaros caught her and spun her around, caging her against the door with his hands on either side of her head.Zoe was five foot seven, but he loomed over her.He had to be six foot three.It was too dark to see his pupils.She wondered if he had any as he glared down at her.
“I need to see if you’re good, or if evil lurks in your heart,” Amaros growled.
“Clearly, I’m evil,” she said with enough vehemence for him to drop his arms and take a step back.She waved her hands around as she began to rant.“I’ve tried to be good my entire life.I hardly ever took my temper out on anyone.I used my visions to help people and what do I get for it?”Her voice had risen to a shout, but she couldn’t stop now.“My mom and everyone I know left me here!Even Betty boob job was chosen and I wasn’t!The only bad thing I’ve ever done is stab Jesus in the heart, but that only happened after everyone but me was raptured!”She didn’t mention her brief, naked interlude from two years ago, or the event that had happened afterwards.
Amaros wore a wary expression with a hint of bewilderment.“Betty boob job?”he said in utter confusion.She burst into tears once more, overwhelmed by the trauma of the past hour of her life.
Chapter Four
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AMAROS DIDN’T KNOWwhat to make of the cambion.She was nothing like the creatures he’d annihilated in the past.They’d been twisted and evil through and through.Zoe Zayden seemed to be delicate and fragile, like the pink flowers on her pretty white dress.