Page 73 of Ramiel

Caterina squinted out through the windshield.“Do you think it could be your brothers?”

“I doubt it,” he said.“Amaros is too smart to light a fire that produces that much smoke.Besides, it’s too warm to warrant one and we don’t need to cook any food.”

“It must be a large camp,” his cambion said.“I have a feeling we need to investigate it.”

“Me, too,” he said, but he had a bad feeling at the same time.“I can see a dirt road just ahead,” he said, then turned onto it.Driving for a couple of miles, he nudged the truck off the road and parked behind a dense cluster of trees.“We’re only half a mile from the camp,” he said.“I’m going to sneak in and take a closer look.”

“Be careful,” Caterina said, then leaned over to kiss him.He kissed her back and their passion ignited once more.Drawing away reluctantly, Ramiel opened the door and got out.He left the keys in the ignition, then hurried away.

Agonized screams echoed through the trees when he was halfway to the camp.The knight remained hidden by the foliage as he sped closer.He came to a stop and climbed a tree to get a look at the camp.

He sensed eleven people clustered at the center of the clearing.Twenty-two humans were spread out around the camp.Reaching a thick branch, the knight pulled himself up and straddled it.Just as he’d expected, bandits had captured some victims.Meat was roasting over a fire to the left.It wasn’t beef or pork.A body lay on the grass, naked and bleeding from the gaping wound in his throat.

One of the captives was vomiting in the crude cage in the middle of the encampment.No one tried to comfort her.Naked and covered in bruises, they were all shellshocked and traumatized by their ordeal.

Heavily armed, the cannibals were occupied with various tasks.Three stood over the fresh corpse, discussing how they would chop it up.Others were building a shelter.None of the pitiful structures they’d already constructed would last for long in a strong wind.A few men were standing guard.It was obvious they were ready to cut down anyone who tried to cause trouble.

All of the prisoners had gray souls and didn’t deserve their fate.“I can see why we were sent here,” he said in a low voice.These people needed his help and he wasn’t about to let their suffering continue.

Ramiel returned to the truck and Caterina unlocked the doors.She could tell by his grave expression that it wasn’t time for them to leave yet.“What did you see?”she asked when he slid behind the steering wheel.

“A pack of cannibals have eleven people with gray souls locked up in a cage,” Ramiel said.“It’s too dangerous to try to free them yet.I’ll need to wait for the sun to go down first.”

“Won’t they have lamps, flashlights and firelight?”Caterina pointed out.

“They’ve already got a fire going,” he said with a grimace.“I spotted lamps as well, but there should be enough shadows to offer me cover.”

“I’m going with you, but I’ll stay back,” his cambion said.“I’ll only use my power if I need to.”

“Do you have any throwing knives?”he asked in a hopeful tone.

She grinned and reached over to the back seat to grab a backpack.“I stole a bunch of kitchen knives from the bed and breakfast,” she said.“They’re not my usual weapons, but they’ll do in a pinch.”

“This is why Fate put us together, female,” Ramiel said.“You’re my perfect match.”

“Right back at you, stud,” she replied.

It was tempting to clear their belongings from the back seat and get naked together, but it was too risky this close to the bandits.

Waiting for nightfall, they left the truck.Ramiel led the way through the dark woods to the edge of the camp.Caterina gave him a quick kiss, then moved to stand behind a tree.The knight studied the marauders to pinpoint their current locations.Twelve were clustered near the campfire, eating and laughing at crude jokes someone was telling.Four were abusing two women over to the right, taking turns with them from the looks of it.The other six were standing guard.They were even more vigilant now that the sun had gone down.

It wouldn’t be easy for Ramiel to sneak in and take them down silently and without detection.There was little cover to hide him.His best bet was to use his speed to his advantage.With his plan set, the warrior called his sword from the Void and sprang into action.

Moving too fast to be detected by the humans, the knight rammed his sword into a guard’s chest.He took the second one down before the first one collapsed.The other four were on the other side of the camp, so he sprinted around the outskirts, staying in the shadows.

“Hey, what happened to him?”one of the cannibals eating human flesh asked when he spotted one of the dead guard’s bodies.

Ramiel swiped his sword across the throat of a guard when he turned away.The next one standing ten yards away saw his comrade fall.He opened his mouth to shout a warning, but metal punched through his chest, silencing him forever.

Amazed that his luck had held so far, Ramiel knew it wouldn’t last for much longer.He cut down the fifth guard, then the final one saw him.Weapon already held in position to shoot, the human pulled the trigger.