Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1

by Kim Richardson

  After about an hour’s drive, Kara felt the vehicle slow to a stop. The engine died. Doors clicked open and boots scraped pavement. Another click. She felt the release of pressure, and she knew the door from the truck had been opened. A cool breeze brushed against the bag. She tilted her head at the sound of someone standing near her. Where they delivering her to Lilith? Where had they taken her?

  The blades’ poison burned into her mortal flesh. The Arath poked against her thigh. So far, the Seirs didn’t seem to know of its existence. Their interest seemed to lie only with her—she hoped to keep it that way.

  The blade was yanked out of her back, and Kara cried out. The blade in her abdomen remained, digging into her M-5 suit like a flesh-eating disease. Strong hands grabbed her, and she was dragged out of the trunk. She heard the distant murmur of traffic. The festive sounds of the city were gone. Where had they taken her?

  She pulled at her manacles, but it was no use; she wasn’t strong enough to break them. The blades had been in her body for more than an hour, slowly draining her energy away. Kara struggled to keep her wild elemental power under control. It was like trying to tame a wild dog to walk on a leash when the animal desperately wanted to run free. It wanted to fight back, but she knew that if she called upon her elemental power one more time, the darkness would take over, and she would become some kind of evil demon monster. She shuddered at the thought.

  She wished David were here with her.

  Someone grabbed her and hauled her forward, the blade digging deeper with every step.

  “Where are you taking me,” hissed Kara.

  No answer came.

  “Can you at least remove this bag? I promise I won’t open my eyes.”

  Click. Then she heard a loud screeching and the moaning of metal on metal. It sounded as though a large door had been pulled open. Kara was dragged forward a few steps. A deafening bang behind her was followed by another click. Now she could hear the clicking of a clockwork contraption, as though she had stepped inside a clock repair shop with hundreds of working clocks. The floor vibrated under her feet. Were they inside a giant clock? She could hear water above the sound of boots.

  Water. Kara felt a tinge of hope.

  With a sudden tug, the bag over her head was removed.

  Kara blinked away the blackness as the Seirs pulled her along. Her foot caught on something hard, and she tripped. The Seirs settled her back on her feet. After a few moments her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She could see pipes that rang the length of a long hallway. Cracks and large gaping holes dotted the drywall as though a bomb had gone off. Brown stains spotted the walls, and the air was hot and smelled like hundred year-old sewers. The disgusting smell didn’t seem to bother the Seirs at all. Perhaps they were already so rotten themselves that they couldn’t tell the difference between their own disgusting smell and the stink around them. One thing was for sure—they weren’t in a giant clock.

  So what was making all that noise?

  As they ventured deeper into the tunnel, the sewer smell was replaced by an oil smell, like that of an auto repair shop. It clung to her skin.

  Cockroaches the size of rats scattered as the Seirs pushed Kara deeper down the tunnel. Something hairy with the size of a large house cat backed away and squeezed itself into a large fissure in the ceiling. Eight glowing red eyes stared down at her. Kara strained, but she could only see shadows at the end of the tunnel. Where were they taking her?

  The tunnel ended abruptly in a large room with no windows. A rusty metal cage elevator stood in the middle of the space. The ticking noise of the clockwork contraption still reverberated around her. Whatever was causing the floor to vibrate, Kara was sure, was below on another level.

  The Seir leader hauled the lattice gate on the cage open. The other two pushed Kara roughly onto the platform and sandwiched her between them.

  “Where are we going? What’s making all that noise?”

  The Seirs ignored Kara again. With a jerk, the lift started its descent. Metal screeched loudly as the platform dropped into the darkness below. Kara peered over the edge. Nothing but blackness surrounded them. At first the lift moved slowly, but then it dropped fast. Kara lost her balance and fell hard on the metal floor. Struggling against the force of gravity, she managed to get back on her feet. Blurred walls rushed past them, too fast to make out anything. How fast was this contraption going? The rushing of wind drowned out the sound of the machine. They were being pulled deeper into the abyss. Pressure pushed on her chest. Her limbs felt heavy. The lift inhaled her deeper and deeper, like a giant vacuum. The Seirs stood with their legs apart and with their arms at their sides. It was evident that they have made this descent before.

  Kara realized that the only way in and out from wherever they were going was this lift. She would need to get back on it to escape. She would have to get her manacles off and she would have to work the lift somehow. She needed something sharp to cut the manacles. If she could get her arms up and around her head, she could use the death blade in her abdomen to cut herself free...

  Finally the lift swayed, jerked briskly, and then stopped. The Seir leader slid open the gate and stepped down. The other two Seirs grabbed hold of Kara’s arms and yanked her out.

  Still wobbly from the ride, Kara stumbled out of the lift and looked around.

  A vast cavern spread before her and disappeared into shadow. A giant metal machine with massive spiked wheels rested on the floor of the cave. It looked like an angry tank. Its gargantuan body was constructed of thousands of different pieces of steel, copper, and aluminum, knotted into its design like the gears of a clock. Tubes and metal wires wrapped its core like large protruding veins. A row of windows above the nose of the craft looked like dull eyes. Two long metal devices with claws on the ends sprouted from the front of the contraption, and Kara guessed this was how the metal beast dug its way through the rock, like a mole digging paths in the ground. It looked like a cross between a submarine and a giant scorpion.

  The cave shook suddenly as one of the vessel’s engines kicked into life, and clouds of black smoke seeped out through holes around the body of the beast.

  Kara frowned as she inspected the massive vessel. So this is what made all the noise. She could smell moist soil and damp limestone mixed with oil. The loud clanking of metal hitting metal filled the air around them. Black liquid oozed from cracks in the metal, like black blood. Glass spheres dotted the top of the contraption like glowing green eyes. Green electricity from inside the spheres illuminated the cave in a ghostly green glow. Kara was immediately reminded of Morthdu.

  But this wasn’t the netherworld. They were still on Earth, but buried deep inside its core. This giant vessel was something entirely different.

  Finally, Kara found her voice. “What is that thing?”

  The Seir leader strode in front of her without looking back. “The king would like a word.”

  Kara stifled a laugh and then frowned. “The king? You have a king? Seriously?”

  The Seirs ignored her, and pulled her along. The idea of a king Seir sounded bad—very bad. They had to be joking.

  The Seirs pulled Kara down a set of stairs carved into the cave side. The thundering noise of clanking metal echoed above them.

  Soon they reached the bottom and the giant vessel towered over them like a mountain of steel. A staircase led back up into the machine from underneath. The Seirs dragged Kara up the staircase and stood her before two colossal iron doors. Two giant iron sculptures on either side of the entrance looked like soldiers guarding the entrance to the palace. Their rough faces were carved into horrid expressions of fear.

  Kara tore her eyes away. The hot air stung her eyes and she rubbed them against her shoulders. The Seir leader waved his hand and two great iron doors swung open. She followed the Seirs through the entrance into the beast’s belly.

  In the main hull, the jungle of windings and turnings formed a spectacular labyrinth. Even in its grandeur, Kara felt cl
austrophobic. The craft felt wrong. She looked down. Five different levels hung below in an open space, like the lower levels of a primitive cruise ship. Staircases and hallways led away in all directions.

  Groups of Seirs eyed her as she passed them by. She was surprised they didn’t kill her right there despite their looks of hatred. Their bald heads glowed faint emerald under the soft green light, and looked more like tennis balls than actual heads.

  Black liquid dripped onto her head from above. She wiped her face on her shoulder and looked to the ground. Puddles of black liquid spotted the path. The contraption was bleeding on her. Or was it spitting? Kara kept walking.

  A whisper of music seemed to mix with the cacophony of the machine. She strained to hear. There it was again, like the sound of an organ playing. Who would be playing classical music in a place like this?

  Finally they reached a great oval shaped room at the end of the machine. A wall of glass tubes with green current flowing through them hung from the twenty-foot ceiling like moving drapes. Across from them Kara could see the jagged rocks of the cave through a row of windows.

  So this was the bridge of the vessel.

  At the foot of the windows stood a large round metal dais. A great green crystal the size of a grown man rested on the middle of the platform. Green light twinkled inside its glass surface, like little bouncing stars. Twelve Seirs stood below the platform, their attention glued to the dais above. Kara followed their gaze.

  A large statue of a man-like creature sat on a steel throne above them. Its long insect-like iron arms rested on the arms of the chair and four iron legs were bent into a sitting position under it. It had a tiny black head that shifted and rippled, as though it were made of water. Black liquid oozed down the exterior of the statue. Kara could see that soft tissue, or flesh, was tangled within the wires and tubes. It almost looked alive.

  Metal pipes and rock rose up behind the statue like a giant pipe organ. Black liquid bubbled and trickled down its flute-like pipes. On the other side of the bridge, a giant clock ticked ominously. She could feel its rhythm pulse up through her boots.

  Kara’s eyes went back to the statue. So the Seirs were worshiping a statue? How odd?

  The statue moved.

  Kara gasped.

  She stared into the eyes of an abominable creation of metal and flesh. The creature leaned forward in its chair, opened its mouth and spoke with a thundering mechanical voice.

  “Welcome, Kara Nightingale. I’ve been waiting for your soul.”

  Chapter 16

  The Seir King