Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1

by Kim Richardson

  Kara’s gigantic face appeared on the screens again.

  David whirled around. “This royally sucks. And I thought things couldn’t get any worse. How are we supposed to be incognito with Kara’s gigantic face everywhere?”

  Jenny leaned closer inside the group. “I don’t get it. How did the mortals get a hold of your picture? And why are they blaming you for this. It’s completely insane.”

  Something caught Kara’s eye across the street. A white face stood out from the crowd. His black leather coat grazed the ground with every step as his strong shoulders swayed back and forth. Even from the distance she could recognize the hunger in his eyes.

  “It’s not insane. The Seirs did this. Look.” Kara cocked her head towards the opposite side of the street; the others followed her gaze.

  “I think it’s time to do a little de-clowning.” David reached inside his jacket, but Kara pulled his hand away.

  She shook her head and squeezed his arm gently. “Not here. It’s too dangerous, and there are too many mortals.”

  “Look. There’s another one over there.” Jenny motioned to the left, “Right beside Bobby’s Candy Store.”

  A Seir leaned against the front of the shop. He grinned wickedly, uncrossed his arms, and waved at them.

  David scowled. “We can’t let them get away with this! First with the bounty on your soul, and now this. It’s time for a massive butt-whooping!”

  Peter looked around nervously. “David, lower your voice.”

  A group of men and women pointed their way. “Look! That’s her! That’s the girl who’s been infecting everyone.” An older lady looked as though she was about to fall over.

  “Oh crap, this isn’t good,” whispered David, his eyes wide.

  Kara pulled Peter and David around to face her and lowered her voice. “Let’s start walking slowly away. Pretend we didn’t hear them. Maybe they’ll just go away and forget about us. Come on, Jenny, let’s go.”

  With Kara squeezed in the middle, the four of them waddled down the street like a club sandwich. Their situation had gone from bad to worse in a matter of minutes.

  Kara peeked over Jenny’s shoulder and tensed. Accusing eyes watched her from all around. She searched for the Seirs, but they had managed to disappear in the crowd. Typical.

  The street became unnaturally silent. She could hear the tread of their boots. Cars sat still in the street, their engines killed. The stillness in the air freaked her out—it wasn’t normal. Why were the mortals so silent? She raised her head and peered over across the street.

  “That’s her! She’s the one. Get her!”

  Suddenly men and women dashed down the street after them. They raised their fists and shouted. Even the elderly shook and hit their canes on the street as they shuffled towards her. Their wet eyes glimmered with contempt.

  Kara turned to the others. “Run!”

  The angels tore down the street. The mortals’ angry shouts echoed in her ears. She was a terrorist to them, a killer. Whatever the Seirs and Lilith had planned, there would be time to figure all of it later. They let their M-5 suits push their speed until they were a safe distance from the mortals before they slowed to a jog.

  “But guys, what about Santo? He’s waiting for us,” cried Peter, and he nearly tripped on a crack on the sidewalk.

  Kara steadied him as they ran. “We’ll meet him later. I’m sure he’ll understand once he sees my face all over the news. Maybe he already knows—”

  A black SUV appeared up the street.

  It ploughed through metal garbage bins and benches on the sidewalk as it sped toward them. They leapt out of the way just in time. The SUV fishtailed and swiveled to a stop, tires screeching and burning rubber. Kara blinked through a sickly grey mist. The doors flew open, and four Seirs leaped out of the SUV, with death blades glimmering in their hands. The black kohl that rimmed their eyes made them look like ugly masked jesters.

  The largest mortal Kara had ever seen took an enormous stride towards her. His gargantuan body towered easily over the other Seirs, making them look like children rather than full-grown men. She had never imagined that humans could be as large as archangels.

  The giant’s pallid face was oblong and warped, as though someone had hit him with a shovel and the skin and muscles had stayed that way. His white flaky eyebrows crunched into a frown, and he lowered his massive head and cocked it slowly to both sides, like a tyrannosaurus examining its prey. Kara saw her reflection in his dull blue eyes. He gave her the creeps.

  “Your soul is mine, angel,” said the giant, in a guttural voice that sounded more animal than human. He pointed a great fat finger at her. “I’m going to rip you apart with my bare hands and eat you.” He made a twisting motion with his hands, and his face cracked into an ugly smile.

  Kara called to David from the other side of the SUV. “Go. Get Jenny and Peter out of here. It’s me they want.” Kara pushed Peter roughly behind her.

  “What? And leave you here with all the fun?” yelled David. He shook his head and laughed. “I don’t think so. I’ve been waiting for a long time for this. Shotgun on the green giant.”

  “Your soul is mine!” repeated the giant Seir. He ignored David’s comments completely, and Kara wondered if he was a little deaf.

  “Not the brightest giant, are you?” Kara continued to push Peter back with her hand and lowered her voice. “Peter, get ready to run—when I say run.” She heard him whisper in reply, and squeezed his arm reassuringly.

  “Mine!” the giant lunged, his hands going for Kara’s throat.

  “Run!”

  With a great leap, Kara ducked and sidestepped around the massive man. His fat fingers grazed the top of her head and pulled out a chunk of Kara’s hair in the process. She let out a yell. The ground shook under her feet, like the aftershock of an earthquake. Kara felt his presence behind her and ducked and rolled onto the ground just in time to avoid another blow to the head from his giant fist. She whirled around. The other three Seirs had formed a circle around her. The giant stepped forward and closed the circle.

  His sick eyes desired Kara. His plump fingers twitched at his sides, and his fat lips moved, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. Drool dribbled from the corners of his mouth. She wanted to throw up.

  Her eyes locked with Peter’s through a gap between two Seirs, and she gave him a reassuring smile. She couldn’t see David.

  With their faces twisted in hunger, the Seirs flicked their death blades in their hands, taunting her to strike, laughing horribly. Kara could see in them the demons they would eventually become.

  Over their sickening laughs, she heard the racket of hundreds of mortals coming their way. Soon they would reach them. She had to find a way to get out without hurting any of the mortals. But there was nowhere else to go. She was trapped.

  “Hey, fart-face, over here! Yeah, you heard me, you oversized ogre.” David leaped onto the hood of the SUV. He winked at Kara and then jumped down into the middle of the Seir circle. He landed in a puff of dust next to Kara.

  “Are you freakin’ mad?” hissed Kara.

  “Maybe just a little.” David smiled impishly. “There’s nothing I won’t do for love, baby.”

  Kara wanted to slap him. “It’s decided. You’re totally mental.”

  David studied the giant and made a face. “What the heck are they feeding you? You’re monstrous, you big beast,” he laughed. “Is that a giant beer belly?”

  The giant didn’t take kindly to that. He came at David with incredible speed. Muscular arms reached out towards David’s head. David parried, but the giant was too quick, and David’s smile evaporated as the giant squeezed him in his beefy arms.

  Kara teetered on the spot. The three other Seirs advanced cautiously towards her. Grinning, they watched the giant, as if they were waiting for David to die before they took care of Kara. She had to get to David.

  The giant grunted and squeezed. Bones cracked. Skin tore. A wicked smile di
storted the giant’s face. David’s skin thinned under the pressure. His angel essence started to seep through the pores like a strainer. His M-5 suit ripped and dissolved like tissue paper soaked in water. The giant was going to squish his angel life out of him.

  “Come on, big guy. Is that all you’ve got?” croaked David, his face paled as he struggled in the man’s grasp.

  Kara stepped forward, ignoring the warning in her head, as the warmth of her power tickled inside her.

  The giant laughed and crushed David’s body more furiously.

  David struggled to lean forward . . . and kissed him on the lips.

  The giant stumbled back, and David fell to the ground. The giant Seir spit repeatedly in shock and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

  David was already on his feet. He slammed his boot into the giant’s kneecap. The giant yelled, and David scrambled through the giant’s legs and reappeared next to Kara, laughing.

  “You’re totally insane, you know that.” Kara couldn’t hide the smile on her face. “He could have killed you.”

  David’s smile widened and batted his eyelashes. “Nah, I think he likes me. Uh oh.”

  The remaining Seirs came at them, blades thrashing furiously.

  “Let’s go.” Kara leapt onto the SUV. David followed closely behind.

  She ran up the hood and onto the roof of the vehicle. The SUV rocked with their weight, and Kara struggled to keep her balance.

  Behind them, angry wails filled the air as mortals spilled into the street from every direction. A death blade grazed her arm, cutting into her mortal flesh. Ignoring its stinging pain, Kara jumped down to Peter and Jenny. She threw her hands in the air. “Go. Go. GO!”

  Without a second to lose, Peter and Jenny tore down the street, in the opposite direction from the mortals.

  “David, let’s—” Kara expected to see him beside her.

  The Seirs had circled around the SUV, like a pack of hyenas moving in for the kill. David stood on the roof of the SUV.

  “David!” Kara dodged another death blade. It swooshed past her head and crashed through a parked car’s rear window. Two Seirs broke from the group and came at Kara. “David, come on!”

  “Coming, my darling.” David ducked a blow and side kicked a Seir in the gut. He fell into the other two, and all three fell off the other side of the SUV. David leaped down and landed beside Kara, beaming.

  Kara rolled her eyes and grabbed a fistful of his shirt. “Come on, you idiot.”

  Grinning, David followed Kara as she rocketed down the street. Within seconds, they caught up to Jenny and Peter.

  “Where are we going?” cried Peter, holding on to his glasses as he ran.

  “I have no idea. Keep running.” She knew they couldn’t keep on running like that. Eventually their mortal suits would deteriorate, and then they’d be easy targets.

  Another mob of mortals appeared ahead of them. They skidded to a stop. Behind her hundreds of mortals blocked the way out. The Seirs ran ahead of the group with the giant at their lead, running like an angered bull.

  David stopped on the spot. “We’re so screwed.”

  A 1940’s Ford sedan raced through the mob. Mortals jumped out of the way as it tore down the street. With tires shrieking, it fishtailed and stopped at Kara’s feet. The doors flew open.

  “Quick, get in.” Santo sat behind the wheel and gestured with his hand impatiently.

  Without a moment’s hesitation, Kara and the others climbed into the back seat.

  Santo pressed the gas pedal to the floor, and with an earsplitting squeal the car sped forward and disappeared down the street.

  Chapter 7

  Elder Otis