Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1

by Kim Richardson

  Kara shook her head. This didn’t make any sense. Mortals can’t ingest souls. The Seir king was more metal than flesh, but he was still a mortal, more or less. Or was he?

  Kara winced as the blade’s poison burned her mortal flesh. Soon she wouldn’t be able to stand anymore.

  “This is crazy. You can’t ingest souls,” she said after a while, her voice echoing around her. “You’re mortal; it’s not possible.” She figured the king was delusional.

  The Seir king smiled for the first time and revealed rows of sharp metal teeth like tiny daggers. “But you are wrong, angel. I am no mere mortal.” His smile widened at her confused look. “I’ve been around for many centuries—no mere mortal could live that long, could they? I am something different entirely.” His liquid-like face rippled into a grin.

  “What are you then, a machine? How do you continue to live so long?”

  From what she could see, the Seir king was probably over a hundred. But centuries, she doubted that. She examined his metal torso. It looked more like a futuristic warrior’s breastplate. She wondered if there was a heart beating underneath all the wires and tubes.

  The king raised his arms and pressed his hand against his metal chest. “You see, I’ve been recompensed for my pledge to the netherworld—a prolonged life,” he twirled his finger in the air, “with added benefits.”

  Kara noticed that his eyes had widened at the mention of benefits. “What kind of benefits?” she asked—figuring he was expecting her to. He seemed keen on having this conversation.

  The king made a fist and held it in the air dramatically. “Power.”

  Kara made a face. Of course, it was all about power with them. The more power they got, the greedier they became. Seirs were just like demons in that respect, perhaps that was why they longed to be reunited with their cousins from the netherworld.

  “I get the power thing, but it doesn’t explain how you’ve lived for as long as you say you have.”

  The king leaned forward in his chair. “By experimenting with cybernetics and by dealing with dark powers...powers that would have killed a normal man. But mostly my extended life is a result of dabbling with angel essence.”

  Kara felt her soul drain from her. Her knees buckled. “A...angel essence? No...that’s impossible! That doesn’t make any sense.” She sensed her own essence bleeding out as she stood there before him.

  His evil smile confirmed her suspicion. “Yes—up till now—regular pitiful angels have satisfied me by prolonging my life, under the teachings of the netherworld of course. But now that I have you...” His eyes widened. “All is changed.”

  The king Seir had been using the souls of angels to prolong his life, but how? The notion was sickening to Kara. It was mad. It didn’t make any sense—he was still mortal. She was dealing with a madman.

  She stared at the creature-man before her and wondered how many thousands of angels had died to prolong his life. The thought sickened her.

  “Whatever your plan is with me...it’ll never work,” Kara spat. “You’ll die, my essence is different from that of the other angels. It’ll kill you. ”

  “Kill me?” laughed the king. He stood up proudly on his four legs. “Look at me, I am more creature than man. I cannot die. And soon I will be immortal!”

  “All things die,” said Kara under her breath. She grimaced at the sound of his mechanical body clanking. Black fluid seeped through translucent tubes around his body, like leaking blood transfusions.

  “When I discovered of your existence,” continued the king, his metal legs screeching like chalk against a blackboard. “I started to plan. I knew your soul would soon be mine. I was patient. I’m a very patient man. I waited until the perfect opportunity arrived and I took it.

  “With your angel soul, I will pass through to the other planes and become the most powerful demon in the netherworld. Your special mix of angel, elemental, and demon essence will give me incredible powers. Why settle for a life as a mere higher demon, when I have within my grasp the chance to become a creature of unimaginable power. I will be king of the Seirs, but better yet, king of the demon world as well! Nothing will match my power. Lilith will bow down to me!” The cave walls shook, and Kara felt a tremor pass under her boots.

  “I have been waiting for centuries for this opportunity, and now it is mine to take,” said the king with a satisfied smile as he sat back on his throne. “Nothing stands in my way. I will have your essence. All of it.”

  Kara felt a feeling of déjà vu. Asmodeus had used her elemental power as a portal to the Mirror of Souls and brought demons through to the mortal world. She had felt responsible, and it still weighed on her heavily. Now this Seir king wanted to use her, too. Her elemental power quivered with resentment deep inside her.

  She knew she didn’t have much time left. The only way out of this predicament without injuring anyone was to run. She needed to escape with the weapon and to find the way back to the lift somehow. With the death blade still in her chest, and the manacles around her wrist, her chances were slim. How to get them off? The only blade she had to cut them with was the one sticking out from her chest.

  Her elemental power bubbled inside her, and she fought to control it. What would happen if she used it? She couldn’t risk hurting anyone. She would have to escape old-school style—like a regular angel.

  A deafening roar shook the craft as the engines kicked into life.

  “But Lilith is already on her way,” said Kara, as she tried to ignore the sounds of the engines. “She’ll be here any minute, and she’ll stop you. She’s not as useless as you think. I’ve seen her power.”

  The king laughed. “The Grimmer never stays longer than a few hours below a city. We’ll be out of Rome within minutes after the ritual. She will never find us. And once I am all powerful—I will destroy her.”

  Kara’s eyes went to the giant clock. The two hands were nearly touching each other at the number twelve.

  Loud screeching interrupted her as two Seirs pulled a large trolley towards the throne. The wheels skidded along the metal platform, making a sound like that of daggers dragging along a stone wall. A giant chair made of iron sat on the trolley. Tubes with black liquid wound around the arms and legs like thick black veins. Wires and clockwork contraptions were also wrapped around the chair like a skin. Tiny particles of white sand were scattered around the seat in small piles. Kara noticed that more of the same specks of sand were sprinkled around the arms of the chair.

  The Seirs dropped their chains with a loud clang and stepped aside, waiting.

  “Cut the manacles and put her in,” said the king and a wicked gleam flashed in his grey eyes. “Make sure her arms are straight—it helps the essence to flow smoothly.”

  With a jerk, Kara’s arms were pulled back and then she felt a release. Her arms fell to her sides and her manacles fell to the ground. Light spilled from large lesions around her wrists. She rubbed her wrists—her hands were free.

  Mistake number one.

  The Seirs each grabbed an arm and threw her into the chair.

  “Let go of me!” Kara struggled against their iron grips. “I don’t want to sit. I’d rather stand. Get off!”

  The Seir king laughed. “Oh, but you will sit for me, one last time, angel.” He wiggled in his seat anxiously. “I long to taste your essence, and I’m sure it will be...delicious.”

  Metal restraints were locked around her wrists and ankles, but they weren’t made of the same metal as the manacles—they were plain old iron. With enough strength, she could probably break them. She gazed at the death blade sticking out of her abdomen. It was draining her energy. She would never be strong enough to break the metal.

  She stared down at the seat. Something about the brilliant little particles unnerved her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. They twinkled in the eerie green light like tiny specs of sugar.

  “I see you’ve already made your acquaintance with some of your lost kin,” said the king
mockingly. “But don’t worry, they were nothing compared to you.”

  Kara’s jaw dropped as she stared at the remnants of other angels. Desperately, she bucked in her seat, trying to lift herself from the chair, but the metal restraints were too strong. Burning pain shot through her body with every move as the death blade continued to deplete her energy. She wanted to scream, to cry. She trembled as she stared at the remnants of other dead angels, wondering if she’d become a handful of shiny sand like them.

  “You’re sick,” said Kara at last. “How...how could you do this?”

  “Don’t look so distressed, angel,” laughed the king, his mechanical voice sending chills down Kara’s back. “You’ll be joining them shortly, I promise you.” He waved his right hand. “Let us begin. I am ready.”

  A sudden pain erupted from Kara’s right arm. “What are you doing?” she yelled as she looked down at her arm. “Stop that! Don’t touch me!”

  A Seir had perforated her mortal skin with a large grey needle. A transparent tube was attached to its end.

  “The ritual, little angel,” sneered the Seir. “We need your special essence—and we’re going to take it all, drop by drop until we bleed you dry.”

  More pricks, and the cool sting of needles perforated the skin on both of her temples. Soon Kara’s arms, legs, and head were covered by tubes.

  Kara glared at the king. “It will never work; my essence will kill you. Stop this now before it’s too late.”

  “On the contrary,” said the king, “your essence will give me the strength to rule above all. And now I will have it.”

  Once the Seirs had finished working on Kara, they moved over to their king. From the chair they pulled another selection of tubes with metal plugs at their ends. The king leaned back into his chair, grinning. With echoing clicks, his disciples connected the plugs to openings like electrical outlets around his head, torso, limbs, and over his entire body until he, too, was covered by long transparent tubes. Hunger flickered in his cold grey eyes.

  Disgusted, Kara looked away. She pulled at her restraints, but it was no use.

  With all the tubes finally connected, one of the Seirs walked back to the side of Kara’s chair. He wrapped his hands around a metal lever and yanked it down.

  With a sudden jerk, the chair vibrated violently. Immediately, green electricity shot down the sides of the chair and wrapped around Kara like thousands of razor blades cutting into her flesh. She felt as if she were falling into a deep lake and was not able to swim back up to the surface. She looked down and flinched. She felt increasingly cool as her golden essence was sucked out of her and then back into the tubes attached to the Seir king.

  Kara watched horrified as her golden essence hit him. His eyes widened as it flowed inside his body. His grey eyes began to shine a brilliant golden color. The ecstatic smile on his face made Kara want to vomit. She wished she could spit in his face.

  The death blade cut deeper into her mortal flesh. Her abdomen was paralyzed by the blade’s poison. Her teeth chattered, as her body seemed to pull in opposite directions—as though the blade’s poison fought against the suction on the tubes. She noticed gaps in the fluid flowing through the tubes.

  “Get the blade out of her chest,” said the Seir king, his voice soft and nearly human. “I don’t want to lose anymore of her essence. I need all of it,” he said greedily. “Every single drop.”

  “Yes, my king.” A Seir rushed over to Kara’s side and pulled the blade from her chest.

  Mistake number two.

  The blade had done a number on her M-5 suit. She was incredibly weak and felt as though the blade had burned a hole through her chest. But now that it had been removed, she wasn’t sure if she still had the strength to break free from the chair and get the weapon back.

  The king laughed out loud. “Yes! Yes...I can feel it. I can feel the change. This is extraordinary. Your essence is stronger than I had anticipated...it has more power,” he laughed hysterically. “Soon I will become the most powerful demon of all!”

  Kara shuddered. Pain erupted all over her body. A gush of icy cold current surged through her. Her skin burned in the coldness. Golden mist began to coil around the tubes like vapors. She lost the strength to hold up her head. It slumped forward. Her M-5 suit was melting into brilliant golden particles. Soon she would be nothing but a pile of golden dust.

  The oracles’ warning echoed in her mind, if she hurt any more mortals it would be over. But what did it matter now? It was pretty much over. Lilith was on her way, and she would get the other piece of the weapon. Kara couldn’t even feel the crystal timer against her chest anymore. She wondered if it were still there or if it had vanished already, knowing that she had failed. It had given her a sense of urgency, and now she felt nothing.

  Her soul was dying.

  Suddenly, like a light switch, a surge of elemental power escaped her body. She hadn’t called upon it—it just came about, as though it had a mind of its own. She felt its warmth leave her.

  Now the king would truly become powerful, another madman to rule the netherworld. Hungry for power, soon he would take the mortal world, and then Horizon.

  The Seir king closed his eyes. A gratified look marked his face as he sucked in Kara’s essence. A soft golden glow bathed his iron limbs and torso in golden light.

  Suddenly, the king’s eyes snapped open. A strange terrified look dotted his face.

  “Something’s wrong.” His body jittered and twitched. “Something’s not right—” the king screamed as his body convulsed violently. Golden tendrils of mist coiled around him. He looked like a mummified Egyptian king. Black liquid like a fountain sprayed out from knobs and mechanical parts all over his body.

  “Stop the connection! Get these off of me! Get them off!” wailed the king as black liquid oozed from his mouth and his eyes.

  The three Seirs jumped to their king’s aide. They fought to keep him still as they desperately tried to pull out the plugs from his body.

  “Get them off, you fools! Get them off!” screamed the terrified king.

  “They’re not coming out,” cried a Seir as he yanked at the plugs. “It’s as if they’re melted into the openings—they won’t come off.”

  The king bucked like a crazed bull, his body spraying black liquid onto the floors and onto the faces of the Seirs. “Get her out of the chair! Stop the connection!”

  The Seirs ripped the tubes out of Kara’s body. They snapped open the iron shackles around her wrists and ankles and hauled her out of the chair. She stumbled to the ground.

  Mistake number three.

  The king’s frantic wails echoed around the great cave like a frightening storm. More Seirs came to their king’s aid, as they desperately tried to stop the bleeding.

  Kara was hauled to her feet. “Fix him!” ordered a Seir as he pushed her in front of the king. “You’re an angel—save him—or I’ll kill you!” He raised a blade to her throat.

  Kara held back a smile as she stared at the horrified Seir king. She shook her head. “I’m already dead. What he needs is a doctor—preferably Dr. Frankenstein. I’m just an angel. I can’t save him . . .” The king’s screams drowned her voice.

  “Told you what would happen,” she whispered under her breath. A Seir pushed Kara out of the way, and she bumped into a side table.

  The Arath twinkled in the light. Looking around to see if anyone was watching, she grabbed the pyramid. Instantly, a shock of power stung her palm. She gritted her teeth as a cold chill rippled through her. She felt it reverberate all the way from her head to her toes. The ancient power seemed to welcome her—she could feel it.

  She knew the legion had hidden these weapons because they were dangerous. Stealthily, she pocketed the Arath. She didn’t know what it would do to her.

  In a state of panic, the Seirs were doing their best to save their king, pulling out tubes and wires, and trying to empty him of her golden essence. They had forgotten about her.

  Time t
o go Kara, she told herself.

  With one last look upon the agonizing pain on the Seir king’s face, she turned on her heel and ran.

  She stumbled down the platform and staggered out of the room. She blinked the black spots from her vision and hoped she was going the right way. She heard footsteps behind her and flattened herself against a wall, squeezing herself between tubes and wires. The sound of steps tapered off, and she stumbled deeper down the hallway. She couldn’t see where she was going and used the wall to steady herself. Where was the entrance again? The sound of the Grimmer’s engines roared behind her. Was the entrance in this direction? She didn’t recognize the way. She was nearly blind and exhausted.

  Hope renewed her strength—the weapon was in her pocket, and she still had time to get out, if only she could find the way. She stumbled through a tunnel. Had they gone this way? As her eyesight improved, she saw the lower levels below and the faint green light from the strange spheres. She held on to the side of the tunnel and walked slowly, the sounds of the king’s screams echoing behind her. At least she was going in the opposite direction . . .

  Something caught her foot and Kara fell forward and down a flight of stairs. She landed hard on a cold stony surface and rolled to a stop. Sighing angrily, she pushed herself up . . .

  Fifty pairs of tiny eyes stared at her through a large iron gate.

  Chapter 18

  Freedom Run