Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1

by Kim Richardson

“Uh…bonsoir,” said Kara remembering her mother’s French lessons. “Ça va?” she smiled, giving him her best nonchalant attitude. She batted her eyelashes.

  The policeman was not impressed. He hit her with his baton on the arm. “You are a foreigner,” he said in perfect English. It wasn’t a question.

  “Boy, you have no idea,” whispered Kara.

  “What did you say? Are you making a joke? What are you doing in the middle of the night … climbing down from la Tour Eiffel? Visiting hours are over. What were you doing up there?”

  Kara did her best to hide her injured stomach with Thor. “Nothing, sir—I swear … I was just … sightseeing. That’s all.”

  The policeman looked up and spoke as another police officer jogged towards them. “Je l’ai trouvée, Francois. Une gamine.”

  With his baton, the policeman poked at Thor. “What is wrong with your dog?”

  “Uh” Kara looked down at Thor. “He’s just sick. I was on my way home to get him his medication … so I’ll be on my way now … see ya.” Kara took a step forward, but the policeman stood in front of her.

  “Your identification please,” he said in an aggressive tone. Kara didn’t move.

  “Your passport, please,” he repeated getting annoyed.

  “I don’t have any.”

  The policeman side glanced at his partner. “You are a foreigner—and you are telling me you have no identification? How did you get into the country without a passport? Do not play with us, young lady.”

  The situation was getting worse by the minute.

  “I—I lost it. I—tried to find it, see … that’s why I was here so late. I must have dropped it before, when our tour visited the Eiffel Tower this evening. When I got to my hotel, I realized that I had lost my passport—so then I came here—hey! What are you doing?”

  The policeman grabbed Kara by the elbow and pulled her towards a police car. He opened the door and pushed her into the back seat. Kara lost her balance and fell head first into the seat. It smelled of cigarettes and sweat. There were nasty brown marks on the seat, and Kara winced hoping they weren’t what she thought they were.

  This is really bad, she said to herself.

  “Please! I didn’t do anything! You can’t do this!”

  The policeman shut the door and climbed into the front seat. Kara watched as his partner settled himself in the passenger’s seat.

  “Where are you taking me?” Kara yelled. But they just ignored her.

  They drove off, speeding recklessly through the tiny streets. Kara started to feel lightheaded. Her M suit started to fail her. She could feel its essence starting to pull away. It wouldn’t last till morning, and she didn’t know how long they would keep her.

  Five minutes later, the car stopped, and Kara peeked out of the window. A tall brown stone building stood before them. A great blue white and red French flag rippled in the light breeze. The car door opened.

  “Get out.”

  Kara obeyed and wiggled out of the car clumsily with Thor still cradled in her arms. He was still unconscious.

  With no escape without betraying her true identity, she decided to follow the men into the police station. They walked down a hallway and opened a door. Kara looked inside. It was a small room with a single table and two metal chairs facing each other. She felt pressure on her shoulder. A policeman pushed her forward and then forcefully pushed her into one of the chairs. She glanced down at Thor. He didn’t open his eyes.

  The door opened and a police woman walked in. She glanced at Kara.

  “Come.” She waved Kara to follow her towards a large beige photocopying machine in the corner.

  The police woman grabbed Kara’s right hand and pressed her index finger onto a small square platform. A light appeared. It moved slowly from top to bottom. She took another of Kara’s fingers and did the same as she scanned Kara’s fingerprints.

  The police woman looked suddenly confused. She looked at Kara, then back at the scanner.

  “Mais—je ne comprends pas?” said the police woman.

  “What is it?” The policeman came over and studied a small screen above the machine. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

  “Give me your hand,” he ordered. He took Kara’s hand aggressively and pressed each of her fingers on the scanner again. Kara feared what was going to happen next.

  He looked up at the screen and narrowed his eyes. “You … you have no finger prints! How can you not have finger prints?”

  Kara shrugged and tried to look as innocent as she could. Play the dumb little girl, she told herself.

  “It is not normal. Who are you?” he roared. “Why did you remove your finger prints? Are you a spy, disguised as a little girl?” He hit the machine hard with his hand, making Kara jump.

  There was a sudden click as the office door shut behind her. Kara whirled around and met the cold stare of a higher demon.

  In the blink of an eye, he reached around behind the police woman and slashed her throat. Blood squirted from the gash, and the woman fell to the ground. Kara stumbled back, horrified.

  “Arrêtez!” yelled the policeman.

  He pulled out his gun. But before he could shoot, the demon wrenched the gun out of his hand, and broke his arm with a horrendous crunch. The demon squeezed the man’s throat with his hand. There was a loud crack. The policeman slipped to the ground.

  “Thought you could hide from us, little angel?” laughed the higher demon. He licked his blade and grinned. His pointed teeth were running with blood.

  Kara stepped back slowly. She had no more weapons. She couldn’t count on her own power. When she gently placed Thor on the ground under the table, Kara noticed two tiny spheres hovering above the dead police. She felt her body leaning towards them. She had to save them.

  But the demon was faster. He snatched them up and swallowed them.

  “Mmmm … delicious. Don’t even think about escaping. There is no escape. You’re coming with me.”

  Sudden pounding erupted from behind the doors. She heard the muffled voices of more police officers trying to kick down the door.

  “My master is waiting for you, Kara. He’s been patient enough. He’d like to have a word, you see. And for my reward for bringing you in—I get to eat your mother’s soul. I’m going to enjoy it very much.” The demon roared in laughter and licked its lips.

  Something heavy crashed against the outside of the door. She knew it would come down eventually. The demon would kill them, too.

  “I’ll kill you if you touch my mother’s soul,” Kara growled, feeling a sudden animal aggression.

  “Ha! Look at you—you are injured—you won’t last long in this world. Your pathetic mortal body is dying. It is weak. Just like all the rest of the mortals—pathetic! We should rule this world, not mortals. All they care about is money. What good is money when you are weak and have no power? Why should they be allowed to roam this world? We are the true beings.”

  “Humans inhabit the Earth. It’s the way it is. Get used to it, demon.”

  The higher demon curled its lips. “Not for long. They will soon be faced with their final emancipation. Soon the pathetic little mortals will be no more. They will be crushed—and we will take what’s ours.”

  Kara shook her head. She remembered the smell of the lavender soap her mother had used every morning before work, and the way she had always put her hair up in bun, with loose strands of hair that constantly managed to escape.

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  The demon raised its eyebrows, pleased that it had information that Kara did not. He lifted his head arrogantly. “Tomorrow at midnight—portals will be opened into the mortal world—and every single home around the Earth will have a surprise midnight visitor.” The demon raised his hand and then clamped it shut, as though he were strangling someone.

  He looked at Kara and smiled. “You cannot stop this, little one. No one can. Not even your insignificant Legion. No. You will witness th
e death of all the mortals—and then we will take back the Earth.”

  “The Legion will stop you. You’ll never be able to do this.”

  The demon grinned. “They cannot stop what they don’t know, now can they? Predictable fools, these angels. But you, my dear, are special. And my master wants a word with you.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.” Kara backed away.

  The door burst open. Five police officers hesitated at the doorway for a moment. They spotted the bodies. They looked at Kara and at the higher demon—then they started shooting.

  Bullets grazed Kara’s head as she ducked under the table. She watched in horror at the demon’s supernatural speed. He attacked two of the men and ripped them apart like sheets of paper. He stood in the middle of the bodies with an evil grin.

  And then he howled in pain. Thor clamped his mouth around the demon’s leg. The demon grabbed the dog and threw him against the wall. The last three police officers launched their assault. Kara rolled on the ground and reached Thor. She picked him up.

  “This is our chance—while the demon is occupied elsewhere,” he urged, “now!”

  Without glancing back, Kara ran through the doorway. Thor bounced against her chest as she ploughed through desks and chairs. She ducked behind a large desk as a horde of black-booted police with automatic weapons raced towards the room where the higher demon was killing the others. They would die too.

  “Kara! We must leave!”

  With a last glance towards the police officers, Kara bolted through the door and ran out into the busy night-time street, her eyes adjusting to the darkness and street lights.

  “Stop running. You’ll look suspicious.” Thor twitched uneasily in her arms.

  Kara slowed to a walk. The Death Blade’s poison ate away at her M suit. She felt light headed. She looked at her arms. The M’s skin was thin; she could easily see her angel body’s brilliance. She guessed she had a half hour left before her entire body crumpled, and exposed itself to every kind of demon possible. She would be an easy target then.

  “I have to find water … my mortal suit won’t last long.”

  “There’s a water fountain at Saint-Lambert Park. At this time of night, you can slip in without being noticed.” Thor lifted his flat nose and sniffed. “It’s this way.” He cocked his head to the right.

  Kara walked furtively along the street, cradling Thor tightly against her chest. The streets were crowded. Music flowed from the many shops and tiny cafés that edged the cobblestone sidewalks. The smell of alcohol and coffee filled her senses.