Alexa's Travels: A Prelude by Angela White Read Free Book Online Page B

adjusted, but it was not a place of prosperity, and the thought of finding what she needed was distant in her mind as Alexa and her small army moved toward the dusty town.
    The fighters been on the road together for almost half a year and their movements were smooth, matched. The four men paced her long stride exactly, and Alexa was proud of the small herd she’d gathered. Today, if she were lucky, there would be a fifth warrior - the Magician. Except for Daniel, each of the males with her had been gathered in the same fashion she was about to use. Only the settings were different.
    A small movement in the distance caught the attention of Edward, the one who had been with her the longest. He wore his rugged good looks proudly now, unlike when they’d first met. His full lips and hard jawline no longer hinted at how miserable he’d been before joining her quest.
    “Dust whirls. Too low for a storm.”
    Her voice was tightly laced with approval, “How many riders?”
    The Horseman studied, “At least five, maybe with spare mounts.”
    “Coming here too?” Billy asked softly. He had massive hands and thick forearms that had killed upon her orders and were ready to do so again.
    “Aye. Mind your six, my pets. And remember your lessons.”
    She increased her pace, wanting a safe cushion of time in town before the riders came. She wasn’t sure why, but there had been too many battles won on instinct alone to ever ignore it. “Watch form.”
    The males moved into a rotating pattern around her billowing cloak as she scented the air. The town looked abandoned, and Alexa used her senses to evaluate, relentlessly searching for danger. She would not lose those with her.
     
    The air was thick with watery rot - no smoke, no sweat - just decay. It tasted no better, harsh with the chemicals still lingering even now. At that thought, she drew up enough saliva to spit.
    The dust had settled thanks to the late night rain, but the hardpan under their feet was parched. They could hear the angry roar of the river, but it was no more upset than usual. For such as this world got, things were normal, calm. But for that slightly closer dust whirl in the distance, she might have suspected there was no threat here at all.
    The road into River City began to slope downward, and the thick, sickly trees thinned into no cover at all by the time they hit the bottom. Half a mile or so away now, they were clearly visible.
    Nearby, Ft. Collins still stood as a reminder of the horrible struggle for survival that had started it all. The town that had protected NORAD had fallen with it. They couldn’t see its charred frames or its tattered skeletons, but they’d passed it on their way here and stepped lightly until it was out of view. Ghosts lurked in such places. That was common knowledge.
    “Cover switch.”
    It was impressive to see five warriors in long cloaks remove and replace their hats with slightly larger versions at the same time, without losing pace or form. Each one was done with a simplicity that wasted no energy, but allowed an artistic flair that made the woman leading them tighten her lips against the pride.
    So they could switch to bulletproof hats in one neat move. Could they walk for a week straight? Shoot the leaves off trees? Fight to the death? This time, she allowed the tiny grin to liven her usually expressionless face. Yes. Her men could do all that and more.
    “The church has people inside. A dozen?” Mark, her newest man, announced.
    Alexa didn’t respond. The green letters tattooed across his ten knuckles said more about him than anything else - I WILL… KILL U . It was a warning and description in one. Mark had been a criminal when she came for him, in an underground slam with the other killers, but that hadn’t stood in her way. When Alexa left Boulder, he’d been at her side.
    The landscape hardened around their boots, becoming more jagged, and they picked out signs of the world that had once been with uneasy eyes.