Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1

by Kim Richardson

  “Kara! What happened to you? We thought we’d lost you.”

  David embraced Kara tightly. She let herself fall into his arms. She fought the sob that threatened to burst and shivered in his embrace.

  “The door opened…and you disappeared. We tried to kick it down, but it wouldn’t budge. And then it vanished. Just like that, there was no more door.”

  Kara pushed herself away from David gently. She lifted her eyes to his. “I was in—” She examined his face. “David! Oh my god, your eyes! What happened to your eyes? They’re all black—and your face! Your skin!”

  David turned away, his shoulders slouched. “I know. I look hideous. Don’t look at me. Peter’s affected too. Whatever it is—we both have it.”

  Peter sauntered towards them. His skin had lost its natural pink pigment and was a chalky white color. His face was drawn, with dark circles under his eyes. All the whites in his eyes had disappeared, and only impenetrable black sockets remained. He looked much worse than David. He looked like a walking corpse that would collapse at any moment. He forced a smile.

  Kara grabbed David by the elbow and steered him around to face her. He didn’t meet her eyes. She took his face into her hands and studied it for a moment, never letting go. She shuddered.

  “I’m freaking out here. Your eyes are completely black, David. And your skin is clammy and white. What happened? Who did this to you?”

  Kara inspected herself. “Are my eyes black? How’s my skin? Do I look like you?”

  David shook his head solemnly. “No. You look pretty awful yourself. But nothing like us.”

  “Thanks. So my eyes are not black?”

  “No. They’re their normal brown.” David pulled away from Kara. He stood quiet for a moment. “No one did this to us…it just happened. I guess whatever this thing is—it’s only affecting Peter and me. And it’s getting worse by the minute.”

  Kara watched David carefully. He was slouching, as if he had trouble standing. He kept avoiding her gaze. Whatever this thing was, it was attacking them like a disease. They looked feverish and sweaty. But something nagged her. “I’m afraid to say this…but you look like—you look like—”

  “Higher demons.” David cut her off. “We know.”

  Kara grabbed David’s arm and pulled him towards her. “But how is that possible? It makes no sense. You can’t just become higher demons. You’re angels. This is crazy. This sort of thing just can’t happen.”

  “I don’t think it’s crazy.” Peter lowered himself to the ground and held his head with one hand. “It makes perfect sense. Angels can’t roam the demon world, only demons…or those with demon essence like you, Kara. I think since we…since we took some of your essence…we were able to survive here. But now it’s claiming us.”

  “Claiming you?” Kara repeated frustrated. “No. No, that can’t be. It must be something else. Something we haven’t seen yet. Angels don’t just transform into demons. It’s not possible. There has to be another explanation. I mean…if what you say is true, then I should already be a higher demon. And I’m not. I have the essence in me. Why haven’t I changed?”

  Peter shrugged and pursed his lips. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re different somehow. You’ve always been different, Kara. Maybe you’re just not affected the way we are—because your essence is true. We mixed ours with yours…and I’m guessing it wasn’t enough. I think the netherworld sensed it, and it’s changing us.”

  David raked his hair with his fingers. “I think Peter’s right. This place...” he gestured with his hands, “is turning us into freakin’ demons. Demons! Kara! I hate freaking demons! And now I’m becoming one. It’s the freakin’ twilight zone.”

  Kara paced on the spot. Her eyes narrowed. “No. You’re not turning into demons. I refuse to believe that. There’s got to be a way to stop the transition. Maybe we can reverse the process somehow.” Panic threatened to close her throat.

  “We can’t.” David’s voice rose. “We’re turning into higher demons, whether you like it or not. It’s the truth. And it’s happening. We can’t stop it. It’s too late for us.”

  Kara ignored the comment and turned her palm up. She examined the cut across her hand. It was nearly invisible. Her brow creased in thought. “Then let’s get more out of me. Maybe with a little more, it could reverse what’s been done.”

  She lifted her hand to them.

  “No.” David took her hand and squeezed it gently. “It was one thing to extract your essence in the mortal world, but who knows what would happen here. You saw what happened. It might kill us all.” His black eyes searched hers. “And I know taking it made you weaker. We’re not going to do that again. We can’t all be useless—we owe that to Jenny.”

  Kara knew David was right. If they took more of her essence, she wouldn’t stand a fighting chance against Lilith. She couldn’t let her win. Jenny’s soul depended on her.

  With a dismissive shrug Kara looked away from David. His black eyes brought back memories of higher demons.

  She looked around. “Wait a minute? That’s strange? Why aren’t the buildings moving anymore?”

  Peter shook his head. A frown creased his forehead. “We don’t know. They just suddenly stopped. I think it has to do with what’s happening to us. I believe this world treated us like parasites, and it wanted to exterminate us. But now…since we’ve changed—it stopped.”

  A chill rippled through Kara. Peter’s words made sense. She knew she had to get her friends out of here soon. “Well, at least it’s happening at a slow pace. We should be able to get to Jenny soon and get out. Before this sickness gets the best of you.”

  “Actually, it’s been happening really fast.” David stared at his hands. After a moment he looked up and pointed. “As soon as you disappeared into that building, I noticed Peter’s eyes change. And then he told me mine had changed, too. It all happened in a few minutes.”

  Kara walked over to David and put a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, but that was at least an hour ago, and we won’t be down here for much longer—What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Kara, you think you’ve been gone for only an hour?” David and Peter shared a nervous look.

  Kara shifted uncomfortably. She looked at them both and shook her head slowly. “Just about. Okay, maybe a little more or less. Why? What’s the matter?”

  “You’ve only been gone about five minutes.”

  Kara’s mouth fell open. “What? No way. I’ve been out there kicking crab demons and fighting against a giant green sun that wanted to suck out my brain for at least an hour. I’m sure of it.”

  David arched an eyebrow in wonder. “Demon crabs? A giant green sun? Sounds delicious. What happened in there?”

  Kara sighed and recounted the events. When she was finished, she crossed her arms over her chest. “So you see, it’s been more than five minutes.”

  “Well, not to us, Kara.” Peter pushed himself back on his feet. He teetered for a moment and then steadied himself. “Maybe wherever you were, time had no meaning. But right here, where we stand, it does. You’ve been gone for only five minutes.”

  David gave Kara a tight smile. “So, you see. Peter and I don’t have much time. If we’ve changed this much in five minutes—in an hour, we’ll be cooked and ready to serve. For real.”

  David’s face was drained of color. Kara noticed strands of white hair against his temples. She remembered his dying face before he disintegrated in her arms back in Horizon. She couldn’t go through that excruciating experience again. She wouldn’t let David die a second time.

  “Then let’s get you two out of here. I’ll come back for Jenny later—”

  “No.” David cut her off. “We came here for Jenny. I’m not going anywhere without her.”

  “Me, too.” Peter put on a brave front, but Kara could see the terror spreading across his pallid face. “We just can’t leave her here to die. And I know she’d do the same for us.”

  Kara shrugged. S
he knew she couldn’t talk David into leaving, and Peter was just following David. There was still a chance they could retrieve Jenny and get out before things got any worse for them. It was a slight chance, but right now what other choice did she have?

  “Then I suggest we get a move on. Jenny is probably in worse shape than the two of you. She’s been here a lot longer than us. If we hurry, she might still have a fighting chance—”

  Music interrupted her. A symphony of harmonious tunes echoed from a distance. It felt strangely out of place, and yet Kara welcomed it. “Do you guys hear that? The music…can you hear it?” Her spirits lifted with every note.

  “I hear it,” said Peter. “It sounds classical. Dark classical, I think.”

  “Yeah. I hear it too.” David pointed behind them. “It’s coming from over there. I think we should check it out.”

  Kara remembered the same type of music coming from the casino. She remembered its bright lights and card-playing demons. “I think it’s coming from the casino. If Lilith’s anything like her father, she’s there with Jenny. And she’s expecting us.”

  “Then let’s go say hello to the ice queen.” David drew a soul blade from his jacket. “Here—I think you’ll need this. It’s my last spare.” He handed it to Kara who took it gladly.

  Once they were ready, the three of them marched through the quiet street, a little slower than before. The silence felt eerie compared with the screeching of the wails of the metal city. The city that had wanted to devour them a few minutes ago, now lay as silent and unchanging as the dead. They walked through the ominous city in silence. The tread of their feet joined with the sound of the distant music. Red eyes glowed in the dark. Shapes moved in the shadows. The wind brought hoarse whispers in languages that Kara couldn’t understand. But nothing attacked them. They passed stone edifices and tall glass buildings that soared into the darkness above. Kara saw silhouettes of creatures through the darkened windows, but still nothing came at them.

  In the midst of everything, Kara realized that her pace had slowed dramatically. The others couldn’t keep up with her, and so she had reduced her pace to match theirs. Her nerves twitched inside her.

  She stole a look over at David. His brows were knit tightly together. His lips moved in an unnatural way, almost as though he were chanting. His face was sunken; dark circles tinted his black eyes, and most of his hair had gone white. She forced herself to look away.

  The music intensified. It was gothic, with loud violins and thunderous trumpets. She could hear whispers of laughter. The opaque darkness dwindled, and Kara could see light over the buildings like the breaking of dawn. The structures were less dense and smaller in size the further they went. Red lights flickered above the buildings for a moment and then moved out of sight. Curious, Kara walked faster. Again red lights spread out in a semicircle as they flickered into view above the city. They went up and down in a circular motion and disappeared behind a building. Finally, Kara passed the last stone edifice and turned a corner.

  She stood before a large park the size of a baseball field. A fifty-foot high wrought iron fence with metal spikes on top surrounded the park, and a cloud of mist hovered over the ground. Kara was reminded of her nasty little experience with the crab demons.

  But this mist was different. Black withered trees swayed grotesquely in the wind; their broken limbs cracked and split apart. A choking stench of decaying flesh and blood rose around them. Green lightning shot from dark clouds above and illuminated the scene in an eerie glow. Brilliantly lit carousels rotated smoothly, their lonely steeds galloping in an endless race. Different rides were situated throughout the park, but one stood out amongst the others. In the distance, a giant Ferris wheel turned gradually in a clockwise motion. Red and orange lights flickered in rhythm with the wheel as it turned. Empty metal seats swayed to and fro.

  Then Kara saw her—a young woman was tied to one of the seats with a metal chain. Her short purple hair gleamed in the soft light. Her head hung down. Even from the distance Kara could see her sickly white skin. She appeared to be unconscious.

  “Jenny,” whispered Kara, horrified.

  Great iron doors mounted on granite columns blocked the entrance. Intricate carvings ran down the length of the doors with two creepy sculpted faces on each side. Kara could see a metal lock fastened between the doors. A neon sign above the doors glowed with red and green light—it read; Welcome to Lilith’s Extravaganza.

  David stood next to Kara. “This is really going to suck.”

  Chapter 16

  Carnival Extravaganza