Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1

by Kim Richardson

  Kara held her breath—being sacrificed wasn’t part of her plan. The sword gleamed in Lilith’s hand. Her own half—sister was going to behead her like Anne Boleyn—except that no one would ever know or care. She was a nobody.

  David and Jenny’s movements were slowing. Through the green flames Kara could see their angel essence seeping out through their mortal suits. Their souls would soon be destroyed by the fire.

  The dark warlock bowed reverently toward the obelisk.

  “To make the ritual complete, I need the blood of an innocent, mortal blood. Any mortal blood would do, but I’ve decided to use your blood, elemental.”

  “Kill her,” ordered the warlock.

  Lilith hesitated. She looked at Kara. Fear and regret flashed in her tearful eyes, and the silver sword shook in her trembling hands.

  “Are you deaf? I said kill her!”

  But Lilith didn’t move. She opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again. Her lips were shaking. She locked eyes with Kara, and a silent understanding passed between them.

  The warlock glared at Lilith. “We need to perform this sacrament precisely on the winter solstice—now. It cannot wait. If you don’t kill her, then I will!”

  The dark warlock drew another sword from under his cloak and advanced towards Kara.

  In a flash Lilith lunged at the warlock, her sword high in the air above her head. With force that Kara didn’t think Lilith was capable of, she swung her sword at the warlock’s head. His body shimmered and disintegrated into a cloud of black mist as though all the molecules in his body had separated.

  But the next second, the dark warlock reappeared behind Lilith. He grabbed her from behind and with a great stroke, he slit her throat.

  “NO!”

  The warlock tossed Lilith’s lifeless body to the ground. Her blue eyes stared blankly into the sky.

  Kara felt like she was in a dream.

  “You...you monster! You promised her. She was helping you! How could you do this?” Rage poured through her like hot magma. Her eyes burned and tears fell freely down her cheeks. Her heart pounded in her ears, and her hatred for him intensified. He was going to pay for this.

  The dark warlock laughed. “She was a fool to trust me. Why should you care for someone who wanted you dead anyway. You should be glad, I’ve done you a favor.”

  “She didn’t deserve to die...not like this.” Kara’s voice faltered. She had seen good in her half—sister’s eyes. It had only been there for a second, but she had seen it. Everyone deserved a second chance. People could change, and Lilith had deserved that chance. But it was too late for her now.

  Wergoth brandished his sword. The runes on his skin glowed brighter. “There is nothing more noble than a clean death—you should be so lucky. You should be thankful she died quickly.”

  He glanced down at Lilith’s body, but Kara couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

  “You’re sick. You’re a monster. Your place is back in death, and I’m going to send you there for good,” Her voice rang out confidently. But what she saw next made her want to scream.

  Lilith’s blood was flowing towards the obelisk in a thin red stream. It reached the foot of the monument and disappeared under the snow. The obelisk gleamed and shuddered, as though it had accepted the blood as an offering.

  Kara felt sick and struggled to keep from falling to her knees. A beam of green light exploded from the top of the obelisk and shone into the night sky.

  The warlocks chanted and formed a line in front of the obelisk.

  “The ritual is complete—sealed with the blood of the innocent,” continued the dark warlock.

  He turned to Kara.

  “You are unlucky to be here on this winter night, elemental. I cannot let you live—you are too unpredictable. The more blood we sacrifice, the stronger our hold on the mortal world will be. The blood of two elementals will be far much more potent than one.”

  “Wugnor, Wormar, kill her and bring her blood to me,” ordered the dark warlock.

  The two warlocks separated from the line and surrounded Kara. Green fire danced on their fingers. Their faces were so badly charred by the green runes that she doubted anything human was left in them. Warlock magic held their skin together. There would be no sword fight here. Kara’s skills were useless. They were going to burn her to death with their warlock fire.

  Kara felt elemental energy surge inside her body. But she needed time to concentrate.

  Wugnor attacked, and she charged to meet him. She faked to the left, twirled and landed by Lilith’s body. Not chancing a look at her sister’s face, she picked up Lilith’s sword and sprinted away, just as a shot of green fire exploded where she had stood seconds ago. She was blinded by the smoke, and her lungs burned as she tried to breathe. As she turned, another ball of liquid fire grazed the side of her leg. The heat blistered her skin. She cried out in excruciating pain, as she slapped out the fire with her left hand. She planted her feet, crouched in anticipation and waited.

  Wugnor’s face twisted into an evil grin. “I haven’t had this much fun in centuries. I’m going to enjoy drinking your blood,” he said in a high—pitched voice.

  He lunged again, rocketing green fireballs at her like a tennis ball machine. Swinging the sword above her head, she hit and diverted the fireballs, using her sword like a baseball bat. She sliced through one fireball after another, splitting them into dancing shards of heat. But she couldn’t keep blocking them forever.

  Wugnor laughed at her as he moved forward.

  Kara saw his mistake. She ducked and twisted away from his shots, rotated her body and slashed an upward stroke cleanly across the warlock’s neck. His body fell to the ground beside his head. Kara thought of the headless horseman. Green flames blazed from the body until only dust remained.

  The warlock, Wormar, suddenly slashed his warlock fire at her and burned her in the chest. Kara cried out in pain, as she tried to sidestep the killing flames. She felt her energy draining away. Sweat dripped down her back. The sword hung heavily in her hand. She tried to fight the desperation that was poisoning her, but the warlock attacked again and again. He was outmaneuvering her as she desperately concentrated on not getting burned. Sweat dripped into her eyes. Her vision blurred. Kara’s strength was fading. The sword slipped from her hand. If only she could call her elemental power—for what good it would do.

  Wormar grinned confidently. “Your will to live is admirable, but it won’t last, little child.”

  He stood in front of her with green fireballs poised in his palms and lifted his arms for the killing blow—

  Kara ducked, kicked up her sword, caught it, and in the same movement slashed it across his neck. His head bounced at her feet, and green blood spilled from the stub of his neck. His body burned in green flames and then turned to ash.

  She heard laughter.

  “I’m very impressed by your skills, but you cannot kill us with a mere sword, little elemental,” laughed the Dark warlock. “In fact, there is nothing in this world or in the spirit world that can destroy us.”

  Kara watched the two piles of dust on the white snow. A green glow emanated from them, and then a whirlwind of green glowing ashes rose from the ground. When it dissipated, the two decapitated warlocks stood up with ugly grins on their faces—their heads as good as new. It was going to be harder to kill them than she thought. This sucked, royally.

  Wergoth looked to the sky. “We’re wasting precious time. I’ll kill her, and then we can begin with the other preparations.” He raised his arms.

  A red bottle shot through the air and hit the Dark warlock in the chest. It exploded and consumed him in a ball of red fire. Kara staggered back, blinded by the light and the heat.

  When she opened her eyes, Gideon stood beside her with two more glass bottles in his hands.

  “Where have you been?” she said exasperated.

  “Hiding,” he answered. “Until the time was right.”

  “Yeah...
I noticed.” It came as no surprise—the witch doctor had kept himself hidden from the supernatural world for years. She hoped he hadn’t waited too long.

  “I couldn’t risk getting caught, not until I had the time to explain what you needed to know.”

  Kara didn’t have time to ask him what he meant.

  The red fire dissipated, and the dark warlock stood unharmed in front of them again.

  “Gideon, how good of you to join us,” he taunted. “You’ve saved me the effort of looking for you. I’ve wanted to kill you years ago, but you always managed to slip away from my grasp. You witch doctors are so devious and cunning—I can never tell what side you’re on. All you care about are your pathetic potions and cures. You were never true sorcerers, just outcasts.”

  “Can’t kill what you can’t catch,” mocked the witch doctor.

  The Dark warlock smiled. With a flick of his wrist, he blasted a ball of green fire at the witch doctor. But Gideon was ready. He counterattacked with a bottle of white substance that hit the ball of fire, shattered and enveloped the fire in a ball of white gum—like substance. The fireball plopped to the ground like a giant piece of pre—chewed gum.

  Kara used the distraction to examine David and Jenny. They had stopped moving completely, and their eyes were dull and unfocused.

  “I need to rescue my friends—”

  Gideon held her back. “Not yet.”

  She wrestled in his grip. “What? Why?”

  The other warlocks rejoined Wergoth. Their stench was unbearable. They stood ready and waiting for another onslaught.

  Gideon loosened another glass vial on his leather belt and lowered his voice.

  “He will come at me with all his power, now. The more he uses, the weaker he becomes. Using magic comes with its price—it’s not infinite. He has already wasted most of his powers performing the ritual. After he strikes me down, is when he’ll be most vulnerable—he will have had to use most of his powers out to get me—and that is when you must strike him down. If you try before that, it won’t work, and you’ll die!” said Gideon.

  “But, that means...you’ll be...” Kara couldn’t finish the sentence. Gideon was going to sacrifice himself. “No. I won’t let you.”

  “Don’t worry about me dear—I’ll be all right. You are the only one who can stop them. You don’t have a choice—this is what needs to happen. Kara, I need you to focus your powers now. Tap into your emotions and search for the light. Let your light guide you.”

  It was hard to concentrate, but Kara gave it her best shot. She felt a flicker of power.

  “I feel something, but it’s not going to be enough...”

  “Very good, my dear,” Gideon sounded delighted. “Keep working at it.”

  “But—”

  All at once, balls of green liquid fire began to fall from the sky.

  Kara jumped out of the way, but the heat scorched her back, and she slammed into the ground.

  Gideon was propelled backwards. He landed hard, and Kara heard a horrible crack. But the old man stood up on his shaky legs, his face set.

  “Let’s see what you got, darklings.”

  He whipped two bottles at them. In the air, the bottles transformed into a giant orange net. It fell on the warlocks and paralyzed them momentarily.

  With a crack, the net melted into an ugly orange soup. The warlocks looked really angry now.

  “I’ve had enough of you, old fool!” The Dark warlock charged, blasting a beam of green fire from his hands.

  Gideon threw a handful of yellow powder into the air. It formed a protective wall around him. The warlock’s beam of fire bounced back off the wall like a rubber ball and blasted him in his own flames.

  Wergoth screamed in rage. He began to chant, raised his arms, and released another powerful blow. Gideon’s wall shook, and then it collapsed. As he reached for another bottle, a fiery ball hit him in the chest, and he fell to the ground, his body covered in green flames.

  Kara ran over to him. The smell of burnt flesh rose from his badly burned face and hands. His eyes were closed, and she couldn’t tell if he was breathing.

  “Gideon, please don’t be dead.” She shook him gently, but he didn’t open his eyes. “I need you.”

  “He was an old fool to think that he could beat me. I am a dark warlock, the most powerful sorcerer in this world. He was nothing but a potions master, a soup maker,” he laughed. “You can’t kill a warlock with seasonings and soup.”

  “He was more than that—he saved my life. He was my friend,” she hissed.

  “You’re going to pay for this, warlock.”

  A sly smile formed on Wergoth’s face. “I’m going to enjoy killing you, elemental. Then I’m going to feast on the souls of your friends.” He lashed out.

  The forced knocked Kara off her feet. She could smell her own hair burning.

  Kara stood up, staggering and confused. Crackles of green energy trailed around her. The warlocks’ sickening wet laughs sounded all around her.

  She glowered at them all. “I’m going to save my friends—and my mother!” she cried.

  Wergoth fixed Kara with a look of pure hatred. “No, you’re going to die at the hands of warlock fire, a slow painful death.”

  The dark warlock’s skin sizzled with electric power. He raised his hands. “Good bye, elemental.”

  Before she could react, he hit her with another blast of liquid green fire.

  She went crashing down. She cried out in excruciating pain, but managed to roll over and extinguish most of the fire. The flames had scalded her arms and burned through her jacket. She smelled her own burned flesh. She choked as the green vapors burned her lungs like acid. With the last of her courage, she focused on her light. She was just able to push herself back on her feet. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she tried to tap into her power. A pulse started to vibrate through her.

  Too late.

  Another ball of fire blasted into Kara and knocked her down again. They were going to kill her slowly for fun. She was only just conscious, but she could still hear their sick laughter.

  She turned toward Gideon, but he lay exactly as before, no sign of life.

  “Gideon, what must I do?” her voice cracked.

  Suddenly, the pendant rose from Kara’s neck. It hovered for a second, and then it broke free. Soaring through the air like a bullet, it struck the obelisk. It stuck to the structure, as though it were magnetized. Kara watched as the tiny stone began to shine with a brilliant yellow light. It pulsed and swelled like a breathing heart. It stuck there on the obelisk, glowing as if it were trying to tell her something—

  And then it came to her, like a tiny voice inside her head. She knew what to do.

  She crawled to her feet, trembling. She concentrated on that little piece of light that still lingered inside her. Her light was the key. It was a spark of hope—of life.

  She searched deep inside herself, just as she had done many times before as a guardian. She called it forward. Her light pulsed and awakened.

  She blinked the blood from her eyes and strained to keep from falling over from exertion. She could feel little tremors beneath her feet, as though the earth herself was responding to her. She stepped forward. Her eyes blazed with rage. She radiated power.

  The earth beneath her feet rippled and moaned like an earthquake.

  The dark warlock turned towards her, a moment of panic on his face.

  Power coursed through her body. And then Kara let her power go.

  A bolt of silver lightening shot from her and hit the obelisk. The giant structure lit up as though it were on fire. Kara and the obelisk were connected by a stream of silver light. Her body trembled as the connection held. She strained to empty herself of all of her light, until there was nothing left but an empty core. She exhausted herself—nothing had happened. She stood in the silence for a moment.

  Then, with a thundering crack—the obelisk exploded.

  Shards of rock and pebbles shower
ed the ground. Where the obelisk had once stood was now a giant gaping hole the size of a garage. The ground began to shake again, and hundreds of glowing green symbols and runes sprouted from the earth and floated into the sky. They glimmered for a moment and then dissolved.

  “NO! This cannot be! This cannot be happening! This is impossible!” the dark warlock wailed hopelessly.

  Tendrils of silver fire wrapped around the other five warlocks, and bound them tightly in unbreakable chains. The warlocks howled an inhuman sound as the silver flames consumed them. Their bodies bubbled and hissed and finally disintegrated.

  The dark warlock screamed as his body, too, was consumed by the silver electricity that coiled around him. He rolled over, howling in pain. A silver glow emanated from his chest and spread slowly all over his body until he was covered in silver light.

  “You cannot kill a dark warlock! I AM FOREVER!”

  He spat up thick black liquid as he wailed and clawed at his own flesh. He lifted his arms in the air as if he were praying, and then his body crumbled into dust and disappeared in a gust of wind.

  Kara drew in a shaky breath as her silver tendrils snaked over the ground around the hole. Like a brilliant tornado, it lifted with it the millions of shattered pieces of the obelisk. In a whirlwind of pebbles and sand, it rose in the air. Piece by piece, the spinning silver energy glued the obelisk back together. When the final stone was back in its place, the whirlwind dissipated. The obelisk gleamed in silver light and cast a moonlight glow over the park. Its runes shone brilliantly for a moment, and then the ancient rock shuddered, and the markings returned to their natural cold grey color.

  Kara smiled at the magic. It was beautiful.

  And then she collapsed.

  Chapter 21

  Saying goodbye