Kara stood on a grey concrete platform above the High Council building. A cool breeze lifted the hair around her face. Her mind was numb, and her limbs moved on their own, like a zombie going about the world with a smashed pumpkin as a brain. She blinked. She couldn’t remember how she had walked from the council to the landing zone.
She figured it didn’t matter anyway. The council had convicted her of treason—more or less. They had voted to confine her to Tartarus—where they kept traitors before figuring out what to do with them. She imagined Tartarus to be an eerie dungeon, where sweaty fat bald men waited to torture her on the rack. She visualized them as they tied their victim’s limbs with rope to a wooden frame, and then turned the handle causing the rope to pull the victim’s arms. Eventually with a loud crack, the limbs were torn apart.
It didn’t matter anyway—what they did to her—she wasn’t special, with a gift of elemental power. She was an abomination—Asmodeus, the demon lord’s daughter, the Legion’s enemy. Her mother’s soul would die because of her. And she couldn’t do anything about it.
A faint flapping sound broke her train of thought. Two black specs appeared in the sky like kites caught in an airstream. They drew closer incredibly fast.
Kara had to cover her eyes from all the dust and sand that rose around them as two giant golden eagles beat their enormous wings to slow themselves and land on the platform beside her. Once the dust had cleared, Kara had a good look at them. Like giant birds of war, they wore metal helmets with intricate circular designs carved onto them and large metal breast plates. Silver chains with glowing blue pendants in the shapes of stars swayed and bounced against their powerful chests. Their eyes were a golden brown color like toffee, and their pointed beaks glistened in the light like golden blades. Their talons scraped the concrete floor, and Kara was sure they could easily rip the platform apart. They were identical. The closer of the two eagles turned its eyes on Kara, and she flinched and took a step back.
An oracle rolled his crystal ball towards Kara. “Well, here we are. The prison guards have arrived. They will take you to Tartarus.” He gave her a weak smile, and Kara was grateful it was the same oracle who had escorted her to the council chamber.
Kara’s eyes were fixed on their giant talons. Her stomach tightened. Golden feathers ruffled on the birds’ giant chests, like a silk sheet glimmering in the light. They were magnificent. Kara wondered if she was to climb up on their backs and ride them as on horseback.
The eagles spread their wings and launched into the air with great force. Kara rolled out of the way. She felt pressure as an enormous talon covered her right shoulder. And before she could react, she was lifted off the ground. She glanced down and saw the oracle looking up at her. In the next moment, he was as small as an ant, and then he disappeared altogether.
Kara kicked her legs and hit the great bird’s legs with her fists, but when she saw how high they had flown she figured she’d better stop before they got angry and let her fall. She didn’t believe angels could survive such a fall, even if they were immortal.
They moved surprisingly fast. The floating cities of level six blurred past them. And before long, Kara was soaring in a perfect blue sky filled with only puffy white clouds. The eagles banked and soared into a wall of clouds. Mist tickled her skin and humidity clung to her like damp clothes taken out too soon from the dryer. The mist became a thick white fog, and Kara could hardly see a few inches in front of her. With every stroke of the giant bird’s wings, Kara was slapped with a powerful gust of wind. She shut her eyes and waited for it to end.
The air lost its moisture, and when Kara opened her eyes, blue skies surrounded them again. She couldn’t tell for how long they’d been traveling. It seemed like hours to her, and she wondered when it would end. Or was this part of the punishment? To be dragged forever through a maelstrom of clouds by a giant angry bird.
A single floating object came into view. It was the only structure in the miles of open sky, like a ship lost on the open sea. It appeared the eagles were taking her there. As they got closer, she could see that it was a giant cube. This must be the prison. She felt the last drop of hope drain from her.
It was a massive piece of black concrete with no windows or openings. It floated in the air, surreal and out of place within the perfect blue sky and puffy white clouds, like an alien spacecraft.
It looked dead, a barren entity waiting to suck the life source from its prisoners. No life came from it. Not even the light from the sun reflected on it. She smelled the stink of oil and mildew. The hairs on her body stood up, and dread filled her. It was a place where spirits came to die, a black cube of desolation.
And now Kara belonged here. The council had seen to that.
The eagles banked to the right and dove towards the middle of the giant cube. A small piece from the wall broke apart and lowered itself, like a lonely plank on a pirate ship. With a last flap, the eagles soared towards the small square platform that stuck out from the massive prison. The eagle’s grip loosened on her shoulders, and she fell with a loud thud to the hard surface. The platform trembled as the eagles landed gracefully beside her. She wished they had given her a better landing. One of the eagles cocked his head up.
“This way.” The eagle’s voice was deep and sounded strangely human. Kara couldn’t help but stare at its beak, wondering how it could articulate so clearly.
“This way,” the eagle repeated. A bird of few words, Kara thought to herself.
Kara pushed herself to her feet. A door at least fifteen feet high, tall enough for the eagles to pass, was open in front of her. She couldn’t see beyond it—only blackness on the other side. She forced herself not to tremble. She didn’t want the guards to see how afraid she really was. Kara walked towards the doorway with her head held high.
As soon as she stepped past the opening, tiny green orbs appeared, illuminating the black walls with enough eerie green light for Kara to see through the blackness. Kara grimaced at the smell of oil and the foul stench of bird droppings. She remembered smelling something as dreadful in a car repair shop with her mom, but this was a hundred times worse. Once they had passed the doorway, the platform shook and turned and twisted on itself. With a last screeching sound, the concrete plank thudded shut behind her. Tartarus was whole again, like a giant Lego block.
The eagles pushed Kara forward with their powerful beaks, thrusting her along the dark passages. The glowing spheres enabled Kara to see a bottomless black pit in front of her. There was no walkway. She would fall into the abyss. She started to panic.
“But—But there’s nothing for me to walk on?”
The eagles pushed Kara in the back again, and she took two steps forward. Blocks of rock flew from above and below and came together under her feet to form a stone walkway. Even in the darkness, Kara could see the stones leaving the walls and gliding one by one in front of her, securing themselves together like a puzzle.
Kara stole a look into the dark pit below her. She might already be dead, but she sensed that her spirit would not survive a fall into that impenetrable blackness. What sort of place is this?
The eagles stopped prodding her. She stood in front of a large door carved from the impenetrable black rock—her prison cell, she thought. She could see a single rectangular opening at the top of the door. It was just large enough for a hand to go through, or for someone to peek inside. There was no handle to the door.
One of the eagles’ pendants began to glow more intensely, until the light shone like a brilliant little star, and Kara had to cover her eyes. With a loud screech, the door swung open on its hinges.
Kara felt pressure against her back again, and she was thrown into the chamber. She got to her feet and looked quickly around. The room was about the size of a bathroom.
The eagle looked at her and spoke: “Don’t even waste your time thinking of escaping. No angel or demon ever escaped from Tartarus. If you jump—the Earth’s atmosphere will destroy you. Without Vega, your angel body will not
survive the transition. You will die and won’t come back. It is best if you sit and hope the council will be lenient. Pray that your stay will be short-lived.”
“But I haven’t done anything wrong,” Kara pleaded.
“Of course you haven’t. Just like everyone else.”
The eagle stepped back and his pendant began to glow once more. With a sudden jolt the door swung shut. A gust of moldy air wafted into Kara’s face.
An eagle’s eye appeared in the opening at the top of the door.
“I’ve seen angels wither away in this place, forgotten by the council. You may never get out.” The eye disappeared.
Kara ran to the tiny window.
“Wait! When will the council make their decision? Hey!”
No answer.
Kara watched in dismay as the eagles disappeared into the shadows. She heard a rumble, and watched the blocks twist and break apart from the walkway. The boulders flew away and disappeared into the blackness. Kara heard distant cracks and crunches from the pathway. She waited against the door until she couldn’t hear anything anymore. She stood alone in the eerie silence. She dragged herself into a corner and fell against the stone wall.
Kara stared at the dark grey stone walls that surrounded her. The only light source came from a tiny glowing orb that floated high in the middle of the room. The creepy silence around sent shivers over her body. Every now and again, she heard scraping, like the scraping of finger nails on the hard rock, and distant moaning. She sat with her back against the cold rock surface staring at the hovering globe.
Her mind wandered to what Uriel had said. It just couldn’t be true. She felt a mixture of hatred and fear—fear that she really was part evil demon—and hatred for Asmodeus for using her mother. She vaguely remembered a handsome middle-aged man with black hair and square jaw smiling down at a baby girl. Her mother had pictures of this man all over their apartment. Kara grew up believing he was her mortal father who had died in a car crash when she was five. If what the council said was true, then that was no ordinary man, but the demon lord, the same demon who had tried to kill her.
Kara grew angry. Her mother had cried over his picture—she had loved this man—this man who had lied to her and betrayed her. And now Kara knew the truth. He had conned her mother into believing he loved her, but used her for his own sick purpose.
A flash of rage engulfed her and Kara hit the wall with her fist. All too well did she remember her mother’s pain, and the tears she had shed herself for the father she remembered. But now it seemed that it was just a cruel joke, a joke on a poor lonely mortal woman who deserved better.
Kara cursed silently. You’ll pay for this.
“Ahem,” said a voice behind the stone door, “did someone call for room service?”
Kara’s mouth fell open. The voice that came from the door didn’t sound like that of one of the guards. She lifted herself up on her toe tips and turned her head towards the tiny window.
“Who’s there?” asked Kara. Part of her feared that the voice belonged to the moans she had heard earlier.
There was a moment of silence, and then a voice spoke. “Well, dear Madame. ’Tis your knight in shining armor, m’lady.”
Kara’s anger left her.
“David,” she called, “what are you doing here? Are you mad! You can’t be here! If they catch you—you’ll probably be stuck in this dreadful place like me! Get out of here!”
“Hey, that’s not the welcome I was expecting. It’s hurting my ego,” said David behind the door.
Kara gave out a laugh. “No, seriously. You should leave before they hear you. They’re not the friendliest birds, you know. Hey—wait a minute—how did you get here? There’s no floor?” She felt a moment of panic.
“Don’t worry, m’lady. Your ship awaits.”
BOOM!
Kara fell back as the door shook. Dust and small pebbles broke from the ceiling and came down on her.
“David! Are you crazy! They’ll hear you! What are you doing?”
Another great boom answered her.
“Stand back!” she heard David call from beyond the door.
Tiny red sparks shot out from the door. They made their way up and around the door like spidery red veins, until the door was completely covered by them. The door hissed, cracked and exploded. Chunks of sharp stone zipped past Kara’s face. She rubbed the dust out of her eyes and stared in disbelief. There, behind the door, a sky-car hovered in the blackness. David, Jenny, and Peter looked at her expectantly.
They clambered into her cell one at a time.
“Oh my god, this place stinks.” Jenny pinched her nose. “It smells like ancient bird poop—as if it’s been here forever, and they forgot to pay the maid.”
“It’s a prison, remember?” said Peter as he dusted himself off. “It’s not the Hilton. It’s not supposed to be clean.”
“Guys … what are you doing h—” Kara’s voice caught in her throat. David appeared behind Peter wearing only a pair of blue and white polka dots boxer shorts.
Kara felt a strange tingling sensation on her face and body that she imagined was the sensation that angels would have felt if they were to have blushed. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from David. His socks and boots made him look a little goofy, and she was able to hide her true feelings from her friends.
“I beg your pardon, m’lady,” laughed David, as he caught Kara staring at him. He covered himself with his hands. “This gentleman—” he gestured behind him, “—requested payment of my belongings.” David stepped aside.
The oval-shaped cloud of a sky-car with four upholstered blue seats hovered behind the doorway. Kara recognized the black and white bird perched at the front of the car immediately.
“Sam! How did you get involved in this?” said Kara. She side stepped for a better view.
The bird jumped and did a pirouette. “Sam’s the name, and flyin’s the game!” He lifted his wings. “I was bored, and David here had something interesting to offer. And when he agreed to the terms of my payment—we flew like the wind!”
Kara pressed her hands over her head. She grinned. “I can’t believe you were crazy enough to do this. But I’m glad.” She let her hands fall at her sides. “Listen. You guys have to go back. If the guards catch you, you might get stuck in here for good. You can’t stay. I really appreciate the effort—but I don’t want to have this on my conscience as well. You have to go.”
“We’re not leaving without you, Kara.” David pushed his way towards her. “You’re coming with us, and we’re all getting out of this shit box together.”
“But the guards … they’ll see us.”
“No they won’t,” said Jenny. “We got in here without them noticing—didn’t we?”
“Speaking of guards, we should get going.” Peter peeked around the doorframe. “We don’t have much time. We have to go now.”
As if on cue, the great stone walls started the shake. Dust and pebbles fell from the ceiling. Kara ran to the doorway. She realized that the stone path was forming again. Something blue was shining in the darkness—the eagles—and they were coming fast.
“If you’re planning to break me out … you guys better do it quick!” She pointed to the guards. She hoped the sky-car could out fly the giant birds.
“Let’s go boys and girls! The ship awaits!” David jumped in. The car swayed slightly under his weight. He threw out his arm towards Kara. “Here—quickly!”
Kara stared at his open hand. She knew this was crazy. She knew, in the end, they would eventually get caught. But she was innocent. And they had put her in prison. She made up her mind and grabbed David’s hand. She jumped in beside him.
Jenny and Peter jumped into the back.
“Careful now,” called Sam. “You don’t want to fall into the abyss!”
“Stop talking, bird, and let’s get out of here!” David pointed behind him. The guards were almost upon them.
“Hang on!” Sam pushed his weight do
wn on the T-lever. The sky-car kicked into life and the momentum threw Kara down on top of David. She looked down onto his smiling face. Her body shivered, and she lingered there, on top of him for a moment longer before she rolled off and clambered up onto a seat.
She realized with some concern that the sky-car was rocketing into absolute darkness. Even with the wind slapping her in the face, she could still smell the foul bird droppings.
“How can he see where we are going?” yelled Kara pointing to the bird.
David’s eyes were thin slits. “I have no idea!” he called back.
Kara was uneasy. They would surely crash into the walls and fall into the blackness.
“Don’t worry,” called David. “He knows where we’re going.”
Kara nodded. “Right, that makes me feel a whole lot better!”
She turned her head around and her body tensed immediately. The guards were so close that she could feel the gusts of wind caused by the stones that formed the path. They were going to get caught.
“Can’t we go faster?” Kara called above the wind, and pointed to the guards behind them.
Fear flashed momentarily in David’s eyes. He leaned over to Sam.
“Hey, Buddy. Think you can make this thing go any faster?”
Sam caught sight of the giant eagles on their tail. “Buckle up, dear sirs and madams! This baby can fly!”
Kara barely had time to clasp her belt before the sky-car did a ninety degree turn upwards, then a sharp turn to the left. How the bird saw in this blackness was beyond Kara. Right now, all she wanted was to get out of this crazy car.
With her eyes as slits, she saw light up ahead. As they approached she realized it was a small square opening, only just large enough to fit a sky-car.
David turned and pointed. “This is the opening we made. It’s how we got in. We forced it open with a dagger. Duck!” he yelled.
Kara’s head was between her knees. She felt a sudden pressure. Then brilliant light shone on her closed lids. She opened her eyes.
They were out. She had feared she might never see the beautiful blue sky again. Kara glanced behind her every other second. But the eagles were nowhere in sight. They flew for at least an hour before they finally zipped past the floating city. She spotted the High Council building and felt anger inside.
“We’re out! We did it!” yelled Peter, barely able to sustain his surprise.
“We’re not out of danger yet. Look—” Jenny pointed behind her.
Two monstrously large eagles flew towards them. Their metal helmets gleamed in the sunlight. Their powerful wings stretched out and beat against the wind. Their sharp talons were open and ready. Horrified, Kara watched as one of the eagles folded in his wings, and dove towards them.
“Do something! They’re going to catch us and take me back!”
David reached into a bag on the floor. “They won’t take you back.”
Kara wasn’t convinced. “What do you mean? If they catch us, they will.”
“They don’t want to catch us.”
“What? You’re not making sense.” Kara stared into David’s eyes.
“What he’s trying to say,” interrupted Jenny, “is that we’ve broken the law—they won’t take us back—they’re going to destroy us.”
Kara heard Peter whimper. She watched the eagle diving like a missile. They would fall to their deaths if it hit them.
“Do we have a plan?”
“I’ve got these.” David pulled out a few daggers and two Moonstones. “I don’t know if they’ll even work on those eagles, but it’s better than nothing.”
Kara felt horrible. “This is your plan! You don’t even know if they’ll work!” Kara threw up her hands. “This is really bad.” The guard was rocketing towards them.
“Hey—wait a minute? Where’s the other one?” The second guard had disappeared from view.
“Ahhh!” screamed Peter as he pointed above them.
But it was too late.
The second giant eagle crashed into the sky-car with unbelievable force. Great talons ripped the car apart as though it was paper. Kara and the rest of the gang were thrown out of the car, like dummies in car crash videos. Wind shrieked in her ears as she felt herself drop.
This is the end, she thought. We’re all going to die.
She felt a sudden tuck on her arm. The force of her descent was so intense that it took all her strength just to turn her head to see that it was David who hung onto her.
A burning sensation prickled her body. Tiny particles emanated from her arm, like bubbles from an anti-acid pill dropped into a glass. David’s cheeks and forehead started to disintegrate, like the flow of sand in an hourglass. Fragments of his angel body floated away above them and disappeared into the atmosphere like grains of salt melting into water.
Kara looked for Jenny and Peter. She saw a trail of particles floating behind them in the air like sparks from a fire.
They weren’t going to make it this time.
Kara’s own body’s pieces started zipping past her eyes. They were descending fast through the Earth’s atmosphere, falling thirty thousand feet to their deaths.
“We’re not going to make it, David!”
Kara’s hope to save her mother was vanishing as fast as Kara’s own angel body was disappearing into thin air.
David tightened his grip on Kara. “We’re going to make it!” he yelled over the wind. David looked as if he would evaporate entirely any second. He angled his head down. “Look!”
Kara followed his example and looked down, her eyes tiny slits. A giant mass of turquoise blue ocean spread out below them.
“It’s the ocean! Water! We’re saved!”
“If we don’t hit any islands—we should be fine.”
“What?” yelled Kara.
“Islands.” David pointed down with his free arm.
To Kara’s horror, they were heading for a large island, with mountains and very thick rock. She looked over to Jenny and Peter. They both were looking down at the island. Peter looked up. His eyes filled with fear. Kara’s body tensed. It was her fault they were here. If they died now, it would be because of her.
“Kara—straighten your body like this—” David pressed his legs and arms against his body.
Kara did the same. And when she looked over, Jenny and Peter had copied them.
“Angle your body more to the left! Fast!”
Kara followed David and plunged to the left, like sky divers doing a performance. Through her slit eyes, she could see the island rapidly approaching. She wasn’t sure if they’d hit the water or smash onto the deadly sharp boulders. They had only seconds left before they hit something. Kara closed her eyes for the impact.
But the impact never came.
She dissolved into thousands of flickering lights as she hit the water.
Chapter 11
The Fugitive
Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1 Page 29