Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1

by Kim Richardson

  “Don’t panic.” Kara scanned the square. Mortals sat and leaned against the fountain with drinks in their hands, enjoying the festive air. She ran around the fountain, twice, searching frantically for the others. Nothing. They weren’t there. She started to panic. What had happened to them? Did the Seirs take them? Maybe there was another fountain?

  Angry shouts interrupted the festive music. The same police officers from the Pantheon had seen Kara. They pushed men and women briskly out of their way.

  Without a moment’s hesitation, Kara merged into the crowd. She slipped into a group of teenage girls her age and followed them. She stole a look over her shoulder—the police officers were at the fountain. They circled it, barking at the tourists to get out of their way as they waved their hands in the air dramatically. As she strolled with the group, Kara searched for her friends. What was going on?

  She felt afraid. She knew her friends would never leave without her. Something must have happened. Perhaps they were ambushed by the Seirs and had to jump into the waters? No, there were too many mortals around—it would have been too risky. So where were they? What had happened to them?

  “Vi è il terrorista!” The police had spotted her. They pushed through tourists as they ran across the square towards her.

  Kara groaned. She knew she couldn’t stay in the square—not with the Arath in her pocket. Her friends had obviously split. She decided that she would look for them around the city before going back to Horizon. While her priority was to get the weapon back safely, she thought she still had lots of time to look for them.

  She slipped away from the girls and stealthily disappeared into the flow of humanity. Keeping her face hidden beneath her hood, she left the square and the policemen behind.

  Soon the festive noise of the square was replaced by the sounds of busy restaurants and cars. The Arath dug into her mortal flesh with every step she took, a constant reminder of the urgency of her mission. She gave herself twenty minutes to search for them, before she headed back to Horizon. Resolved to find her friends and the children, Kara took a left turn at the end of the block, and crashed into two police officers.

  Kara smiled apologetically. “Scusi,” she said, remembering the little Italian she learned from her friends back home.

  She studied the men—these weren’t the same police officers that had just chased her out of the Pantheon. These guys were different. Maybe they weren’t looking for a girl terrorist.

  She lowered her head and stepped away from them, but sudden strong hands grabbed her by the arms and pushed her up against a stone building. Her head smacked against the hard stone.

  “Hey, watch it.” Kara’s anger flared.

  She struck out and pushed the officers hard with the palms of her hands. The men flew backwards as though pulled back by an invisible rope. But the police officers recovered quickly, too quickly, and they didn’t seem shocked by her super strength either. Strange? Who were they really?

  Something burned against her chest. Wincing, Kara reached down inside her shirt and pulled out the crystal timer. It shone brightly, and then the light subsided. Her eyes widened. She only had five hours left to find the children.

  The officers rushed forward. Before she knew what was happening, a black blade appeared in one of the officer’s hands. Its black vapors rose around his wrist. In a flash he slashed it up towards Kara’s neck, and she let go of the crystal timer.

  “Non si muovono,” he said, his hot stale breath rose into Kara’s nose. She guessed he had told her not to move.

  He smiled at the shock on her face. He looked at the crystal timer and then back into her eyes. The edge of the blade had burned into Kara’s skin. She blinked the vapors from her eyes. How did these mortals get death blades? The edges of the Arath dug into her M-5 suit.

  The officers hid Kara from passersby with their bodies. They waited. Kara cursed softly. She had made a real mess of things when she was so close to finishing her mission. Gathering her wits about her, she focused on a way of escape. She had to get the weapon safely to Horizon.

  The officers shifted nervously, looking over their shoulders every second. Kara frowned. What were they waiting for?

  The answer came with the loud screeching of tires on the cobblestone street. A black SUV pulled up on the side. The doors flew open and three Seirs scrambled out of the vehicle. Their long black coats swished at their heels as they strode towards Kara and her captors. Their white gloomy faces sent a chill rippling inside her. One of the Seirs held a large black duffel bag. He held up the bag to the officers. One of the men let go of her and stepped forward.

  “Grazie,” said the Seir, and he handed him the bag. “Il pagamento per il vostro fermo.”

  The police officer opened the bag, and Kara could see stacks of multicolored bills inside. The officer smiled and shook the Seirs’ hand. He whistled and the other officer let go of Kara.

  But before she could make a run for it, excruciating pain exploded inside her abdomen as the liquid poison of a death blade burned her core like liquid fire. Kara cried out as the Seirs yanked her around and tied her wrists. A large hand covered her mouth, stifling her screams. The stink of salt and oil rose into her nostrils. The blade ripped deeper into her chest. She stopped struggling, and the Seirs loosened their grips and uncovered her mouth.

  Kara glared at the officers with as much malice as she could. “How could you do this? You’re supposed to be the good guys. You’re the police. Why are you doing this?” she growled, not sure if they understood any English. But she was certain they could read the scowl on her face. The police officers ignored her, their eyes glued to the contents of the bag.

  The future of the mortal world had been exchanged for a bag full of cash. She felt sick. Ignorant fools, she cursed under her breath.

  She watched helplessly as the officers strolled away with their money. This couldn’t be happening.

  The three Seirs leered down at Kara. Their eyes flashed darkly against their pallid faces—they looked more like higher demons than mortal men.

  “What are you staring at? Aren’t you going to kill me now?” Kara spit. “Don’t you want your stupid bounty? Isn’t’ that what all the money was for? Don’t you want my soul?”

  The Seirs just smiled. It infuriated her.

  “My Sensitive friends are on their way—a whole army of them. They’ll be here any minute. You’ll be sorry you’ve done this.”

  “There is no one here to save you, angel,” said the Seir leader. “You can scream all you want for your friends, but they won’t be coming for you. You’re all alone...and you cannot fight back. These so-called powers of yours cannot help you now; you’re defenseless. And your soul belongs to us.”

  Kara frowned. “You’re wrong. They’ll be here, and you’ll pay for this—trust me.”

  The Seir’s face wrinkled into an evil grin. He stroked Kara’s cheek with a dirty finger. The smell of rot filled her nose, and she snapped her head away.

  “Tell me then...where are your friends now, angel? Where is this army of Sensitives?” Raising his arms in the air, he stepped back and gestured towards the street. He smiled at Kara’s worried expression. “You see, the truth is—they’ve abandoned you. They’ve left you for dead.”

  “You’re lying.” Kara fought to control her emotions but she knew her face betrayed her. Perhaps David had left because he didn’t trust her, because of the lying. She should have given him the Arath; at least the weapon would have been safer with him.

  “It’s true,” pressed the Seir, “and by the expression on your face, I am sure you know I speak the truth. They left you here because you are dangerous. A stranger among your own kind, and they don’t want to be around you anymore.”

  Kara wondered if the Seirs could sense the darkness inside her. Was that what they meant by dangerous? She felt a stab of pain in her chest. Could her friends have sensed that darkness? Is that why they hadn’t rendezvoused back at the fountain? No, it couldn’t
be true.

  “David! Help—” Kara’s voice caught in her throat as a hand pressed hard against her mouth once again. A mixture of salt and oil grease filled her nose and something else she’d rather not think about. She would have to figure out a way to get out of this jam without hurting any of the Seirs. Time was running out, and she had to keep her promise to Elder Otis. She couldn’t let Lilith hurt the children.

  Kara felt her feet leave the ground and lift in the air as strong arms grabbed her. The street around her shifted, and she was thrown into the trunk of the SUV.

  She struggled to her knees, but a Seir stabbed another death blade into her lower back. She fell forward, paralyzed by the blade’s sudden poison.

  Someone pulled a dark bag over her head.

  The world around her went dark, and she screamed.

  Chapter 15

  A City on Wheels