Oaklie finally released her knight and looked at his leader.“What do you mean by that?”she asked, bristling that he was implying there was something wrong with her.
“Amaros can sense whether people have spent their lives doing good or bad things,” Arkas said.“There’s no need to worry, Oaklie.”
Amaros put his hand on her shoulder and his power flowed into her.His smile was slightly wider this time.“Welcome to our family, Oaklie.”
“Thanks,” she said, feeling like she was in an extremely strange dream.“Can you stand up?”she asked Arkas.
He nodded and climbed to his feet as if he hadn’t just died briefly.“We’re a mess,” he said ruefully, eyeing their bloodstained clothes.
“We have spare clothing if you need it,” Amaros said.“Grace will show you where the bathroom is.”
“Who’s Grace?”Oaklie asked.
“That would be me,” a tiny blonde teenager with fading pink, green and blue hair said as she entered the mudroom.She was wearing a bulky sweater, cutoff jeans for shorts and thick black tights.She also had frog slippers on her feet.“Come with me, Oak and Ark,” she commanded.
“Good one!”another female said from somewhere deeper in the stone house.“They’re the cutest couple nicknames yet!”
“Who’s that?”Oaklie asked, even more bewildered now.
“That’s Vic.She’s an ex-pro-wrestler and our trainer,” Grace said as the newbies followed her from the room.“Zoe’s our matriarch and oracle.She had a vision one of you was about to get shot.It’s lucky she sent Tor with Qi to save Ark’s life.”
Arkas looked back to see Amaros step through a doorway where other knights and cambions were gathered.The young female led them down the long hallway, then turned left.They reached another huge room that held three showers with curtains and black walls for privacy.There were also three toilet stalls.
“You have running water here?”Oaklie asked in wonder.
“Not yet, but we’re working on it,” Grace said.“We’ve heated up water in the two showers on the left.It should last long enough to wash off all the blood.”With that cheeky comment, she left the room and slid a makeshift wooden panel into place.
Arkas exchanged another look with his cambion.“I’ll take the middle shower,” he said.
“Okay,” she agreed.Towels and toiletries were sitting on small stools next to the two stalls on the left.They grabbed the soap, shampoo and other items and stepped into the showers.Oaklie quickly stripped off and tossed her bloody clothes onto the floor.She quickly washed herself, then washed her long hair.The container she stood in caught the water.She had no idea what they were going to do with it.
Arkas watched the water turn pink as he washed all the blood off his torso.He touched his unblemished chest in wonder, amazed that the blonde cambion and her friend had brought him back from the dead.
“Damn it,” Oaklie muttered from the stall next to his as her water ran out.“We didn’t bring spare clothes in here with us.”They’d left their bags in the mudroom.
“I’ve got your gear here,” Grace said from the other side of the door.“I’ll bring them inside if you stay in the shower for a minute.”
“Okay, thanks,” Oaklie said.This all felt surreal by now.The cambions and knights were supernatural beings like her, but they were all nice and surprisingly normal.
Grace carried their backpacks and duffle bags into the bathroom, then let herself out again.She waited for the knight and cambion to get dressed.“Don’t worry about the water,” she said to them when Ark slid the door open.“One of the guys will take care of it.”
“How old are you?”Oak asked, mentally groaning at her new nickname.She supposed it could have been worse.
“I’m eighteen,” the kid said quickly before the female could tell her she looked fifteen.“What’s your special talent, Oak?”she asked, gesturing for them to follow her to the great room.
Hair still dripping wet, Oaklie was trying to dry it with the damp towel.Arkas had grabbed all of their bags and was striding along beside her.“I can manipulate wood,” she said.
“Awesome,” Vic said as the trio entered the great room.“I can’t wait for a demonstration,” she added eagerly.
“We already saw a bit of what she can do,” Tor said ruefully.“She almost tore Qi and me apart with some tree roots.”
Oaklie felt her face turn red.“I thought you were going to desecrate Arkas’ corpse,” she said defensively.
A pretty cambion with long dark brown hair rose from the plush dark blue couch she was sitting on.“I’m Zoe Zayden,” she said in greeting, holding out her hand.
“Oaklie Woods,” Oak said.Grace snickered and the wood manipulator rolled her eyes at her.“I’ve heard all of the jokes, shorty,” she said, then stiffened as she shook Zoe’s hand.She felt the female rummaging around in her head, rifling through her memories.Not even her shield was strong enough to keep her out.
Arkas sensed Oaklie’s alarm and dropped their bags.He didn’t call on his weapon, since Amaros and his brothers didn’t seem to be concerned.Camriel, Jacquin, Kochab, Semiaza and Tolas were all present.
