The Fourth Soul: (Cards of Death book 4)

by Tamara Geraeds

  “It’s a pentagram,” Jeep and I say at the same time.

  Mom steps closer from behind me. “Does it hurt?”

  I shake my head. “No, I don’t feel my arm at all.”

  A soft clinging reaches us. It seems to come from the ceiling. The symbols on the walls lose their glow, and the black hole is completely dark again. The scratching has ceased. Everything goes quiet, and the bell stops moving. The feeling returns to my arm, and I flex it a bit to test the muscles. “It feels fine.”

  “Can we go back inside?” Mom asks, looking around nervously.

  When I nod, she climbs back through the porthole and sticks out her hands to help Mona through.

  Suddenly, a warm breeze moves between us.

  The Shield takes out their weapons in a split second while Mom backs up wide-eyed.

  An envelope flutters into the tunnel and lands near the entrance. Even if I didn’t recognize the scribbly lines on the back, I would’ve known what it was. “Looks like we finished sealing that hole just in time. The new Cards of Death have arrived.”

  I want to walk to the entrance of the tunnel to pick up the envelope when a chilling howl rips up the silence. Light bounces off the walls, and the ticking of nails on stone draws closer.

  With a quick nudge at the buzz near my heart, I conjure a lightning bolt. But D’Maeo jumps at me and extinguishes it with his hands. “We don’t know how many there are. We should go back inside.”

  I look back at the growing shadows cast by the approaching demons. “Okay, let me just get the cards.”

  The old ghost shakes his head. “No time, we’ll have to pick them up later.”

  When we turn to the porthole, the others have already gone through. Maël’s wand is aimed at the tunnel to our left.

  As soon as I’m back in the hidden room, D’Maeo shuts the porthole behind us and seals it.

  “We should’ve taken the envelope,” I whisper. “We can take on a couple of demons, can’t we?”

  “Depends on how many a couple is,” he answers.

  Four flame-covered demons enter the tunnel. The head demon, leading the way, has a tiny body in one of its mouths. It hangs limply between its teeth, and its see-through wings are torn.

  “Is that a fairy?” I ask as I shield my eyes against the sudden brightness of the fire.

  “Yes,” Maël answers softly. Her jaws are clenched, and she grips her staff tightly as she says, “It is a sacrifice.”

  “What? We have to stop them!” My hand is already moving to the locks of the porthole, but I freeze when the head demon lets out a deafening growl.

  “I think it just noticed that we shut the black hole.”

  Jeep pushes the rim of his hat further up. “And it doesn’t look very happy about it.”

  Charlie chuckles. “Of course not. I think they wanted to use their sacrifice to open the black hole further, you know. Now they’ll have to start over again.”

  The demon drops the fairy and looks at it with its lips curled back. One of the wolves behind it steps closer and lets out a questioning yelp.

  The head demon turns to the smaller wolf that bends its heads immediately. It shivers as the bigger wolf opens both mouth and roars. Its tail lashes out, creating red gashes on the other demon’s back, that flinches, but makes no sound. Then it brings its head to the ground and gobbles up the fairy without chewing.

  CHAPTER 9

  We avert our eyes, and Vicky slams a hand over her mouth. “Oh God, that poor thing.”

  Mona slowly looks up again. “At least she was already dead.”

  Charlie swallows. “How can you be so sure? Maybe she was just unconscious.”

  “No, the spark inside her had died.” She wipes a tear from her eye. “She was a light fairy. Their hearts are illuminated, and the light shines through their skin. They are the only pure-hearted fairies in the world.”

  The demons have turned around, and I watch them warily. “So now they have to kill another one? That’s great.”

  “Yes, and they are very rare. They have been hunted throughout the centuries for their healing light. Only a few remain.”

  I take out my athame. “We should kill those demons.”

  Mona puts her hand on my arm and lowers it. “They will just send other demons to finish the job. We should make sure this black hole stays closed so they won’t get the opportunity to make a sacrifice.”

  I run my hand over my face. “Well, what if they stay here to make sure we don’t close the hole again?”

  Sparkles fly from her hands as she raises them. “Then we’ll have to fight them.”

  D’Maeo is still watching the wolves. “They’re leaving.”

  “Maybe we can block the tunnel when they’re gone. So they can’t―” The rest of my words get stuck in my throat when the head demon stops in front of the envelope and sniffs it.

  “No, no, no,” I whisper. “Leave it.”

  But of course, there’s no such luck. The giant wolf takes the envelope in its mouth and strides off with a content look on its faces.

  “No!” I yell, and without thinking, I open the locks and jump through the porthole.

  While the others shout protests behind me, I run after the demons with my athame raised and the bell still in my other hand.

  The flickering light of the demons’ flames retreats quickly. I come to a halt after the next bend. Everything around me is pitch black, so I turn in every direction and wave my weapon from left to right.

  “Wow, watch out,” Charlie’s voice says an inch from my ear. “I’m not fond of knives in my gut, you know.”

  “Sorry,” I say, tucking away my athame and conjuring a bolt of lightning.

  I stare at it intently, telling it to change shape and burn brighter. To my surprise, it obeys. Within seconds, it has formed into a ball. Lightning wriggles within it, casting a bright light over us.

  Charlie shields his eyes. “Can you make it a little less blinding?”

  “Sorry.” I tune it down and nod my head at the next bend in the tunnel. “Are you coming?”

  The Shield materializes behind us, giving the ball in my hand approving looks.

  “It’s probably not very wise to take that bell with you,” D’Maeo points out.

  “Right.” I push it into his hands and beckon the others.

  Vicky has taken a candle, and I light the way with my ball of lightning so we can move fast.

  Soon, we reach the entrance of the mine, but when I squint in every direction, there’s no sign of the wolves.

  We stand there for a minute, listening and scanning the surroundings, but the rustling of forest animals and the cheerful songs of different birds make it impossible to determine which way the demons went.

  A feeling of dismay mixed with anger courses through my veins and makes my foot shoot forward and kick the rocks. All kinds of curses rise up and come out in a sort of hysterical stutter. My hands squeeze into fists so tightly that it hurts.

  Vicky’s arm brushes against mine. “Don’t worry, we’ll take them out later.”

  I turn my head to her, meeting her beautiful eyes. My jaws protest as I clench them with force. I take a couple of deep breaths before I reply, afraid of what will come out if I don’t. “It’s not about the stupid demons, Vick. They have our Cards of Death. Without the cards, we don’t know who to save.”

  “You underestimate our resourcefulness, babe. The demons will be back. That black hole is important to them. So all we have to do is set a trap.”

  “She’s right,” Jeep says with his hand on his hat to prevent the rising wind from taking it.

  I wish I could share their optimism. “Even if we catch one, or several, there’s no guarantee that they will be carrying the cards. And if they’re not, how will we find out where the cards are? These demons don’t usually talk.”

  “We can make them talk by using a spell,” Vicky counters.

  “Okay…”
I lick my lips. “Say that we do, and we find out where the cards are. We’ll have to go get them, return home, find out who the cards point to and save that person, all in half the time we needed before.”

  Finally, Vicky seems at a loss for words.

  “So you see.” I stretch out my arms. “We’re screwed. We’re going to lose another soul to the Devil.”

  “We’re not screwed yet,” Jeep says. “Because we know what the demons look like. So not only can we set a trap for them, but we’ll be able to spot them from a mile away.”

  “And we know which sin to prevent,” Taylar adds.

  “Which is what?” I ask, unwilling to give in and let go of my anger.

  Taylar shifts his feet. “I can’t remember.” He gives me a sheepish grin. “But we can look it up!”

  Charlie steps out of the tunnel and puts his hands around his mouth. “Do you hear that, demons? We’re going to find you! You’re not getting another soul!”

  I grab his flowery collar and pull him back inside. “Are you crazy? Provoking demons? What are you thinking?”

  He straightens his shirt with a quick tug. “I’m thinking it’s time we show them we’re not afraid anymore, you know.”

  I turn away and start walking back. “I’m pretty sure we should be.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Mom throws herself around my neck as soon as I step through the porthole. “Don’t ever do that to me again! I thought you’d been killed!”

  I hold her for a minute and stroke her hair while the others climb back after me and close the porthole.

  Eventually, I push her a bit back so I can look her in the eye. “I’m sorry, Mom, but you’ll have to get used to this. There are nine circles of Hell, so five more to go. Five more souls to save and a lot more demons to fight, I’m afraid.”

  She wipes her wet cheek with the back of her hand. “Well, I don’t want you to fight them.”

  “Come on, Mom, you know it doesn’t work that way. We don’t like it either, but we’re destined to do this.”

  Jeep leans against the porthole and twirls his hat in his hands. “Actually, I quite enjoy it. If I have to be here, I might as well kill as many demons as I can.”

  Taylar slides his shield onto his back. “I have to agree with Jeep.”

  Mom is frowning at them, and I smile. “Okay, so most of us don’t like it. But whether we do or not doesn’t matter. This is our task, our mission. If we don’t succeed, the Devil will take over the Earth.”

  Mom rakes her fingers through her hair.

  “That sounds like fun,” she says sarcastically.

  She turns and leans against the wall. “I really don’t want you to do this, Dante.” A heavy sigh escapes her lips. “Look what happened to your father. What this magical world did to him.” She stares at the ceiling with the back of her head resting against the wall. “You’ll never be safe if you keep fighting.”

  “I know and I’m not happy about that either.” I shoot her a pleading look. “But I can’t turn my back on the world. If I don’t fight, Satan will find his way to Earth and he will kill everyone. Including you and all my friends, Mom. I can’t let that happen.”

  Mom stretches out her arms to me, and I let her pull me into another hug.

  “Look at how wise and grown-up you’ve become. I’m so proud of you,” she whispers in my ear.

  “The only reason I’m still standing is because of my friends, Mom.”

  “No, it’s not.” She raises her voice so everyone can hear her next words. “You are brave, caring and smart. I can see why you were chosen. And you are right. No matter how hard and dangerous it is, you have to fight.”

  Her words awaken my confidence again, and the nodding all around me lifts the last remains of the gloom that settled in my heart when we lost Kale, our third soul. I still feel sad and frustrated about it, but the confidence of everyone around me makes me think that we can still win this.

  I kiss Mom on the cheek and turn to D’Maeo. “Thanks for keeping the bell safe. I should shield it again, and after that, we’ll set a trap at every entrance to the silver mine. Even if we can’t get the Cards of Death back, we’ll block their way to the black hole with every means possible. It’ll drive them berserk.”

  With the help of Charlie and the Shield, the bell is out of sight in no time, and it doesn’t take long to prepare the spell to create a couple of demon snares either. All the while, Mom watches with fascination as we work in the hidden room.

  She shudders when I mix the ingredients. “Are you sure this is safe?”

  I get to my feet with the bowl and incense stick in my hand. “Absolutely, we’ve done this spell before. It worked well.”

  “I don’t know, Dante, burning your own hair and adding your blood? It looks like dark magic to me.”

  I freeze mid step. Due to all the haste and stress of the last days, I haven’t really thought about it, but she’s right. With a question on my lips, I turn to D’Maeo, who is already watching me with a broad smile.

  “I understand your concern,” he says. “It was only a matter of time before you started to wonder about this.” He paces up and down the hidden room. “Do you remember what we told you about the stories that magic kind bring into the world? About how they twist it and add things that aren’t true?”

  It sounds like this is going to be a long story, which brings out the idea of putting some chairs in here. Since there’s nothing to sit on now, I lean against the wall. “Sure.”

  “Well, this is one of the things that warlocks and sorceresses spread throughout the non-magical world. They wanted to make people think that using hair and blood in a spell is a sign of evil, while it really isn’t. Most often―”

  “Wait, wait.” Mom raises her hand. “Sorry to interrupt you, but I have a question.”

  D’Maeo stops pacing and nods at her. “Go ahead.”

  “Warlocks and sorceresses?”

  “Oh yes, those are the names we use for evil wizards and witches.”

  “So, a witch is always good?”

  “No, no, a witch or a wizard is either good or bad. Good witches are called Magicians, good wizards are Mages.”

  Mom taps me on the arm. “You should write all of this down.”

  I chuckle. “I’ll do that later once we’ve finished these demon snares.”

  “About that,” Mom continues. “When do you call a monster a demon?”

  D’Maeo shoots me an exasperated look. “Demons are monsters that come from Hell.”

  I beckon the others and walk past the old ghost to open the porthole.

  “What about…?” The rest of Mom’s question is lost when I step into the mine.

  Vicky follows close behind me. “Are you leaving D’Maeo with your mom?”

  The grin on my face is hard to hide. “Sure, we can handle this, right? And Mom has a right to answers. D’Maeo seems like the right person to answer them.”

  When all the others have joined us, I wave at D’Maeo to close the porthole behind us. I glance quickly at Mom and raise an eyebrow. The gray-haired ghost gives me the thumbs up.

  “See?” I say. “They’re fine.”

  The secret tunnel with the pulsing symbols on the walls is still open, so I pull the birdcage before walking the other way.

  We peer into the tunnel carefully, but everything is dark, and nothing seems to move.

  “Let’s start with the main entrance to the mine,” I say.

  At a steady, but cautious, pace we make our way through the tunnels. The water is rising again. It’s been a while since they pumped it out. The smell of smoke and tin that usually puts me at ease is now overshadowed by a mixture of rat droppings and mold, but even if it wasn’t, I doubt I’d ever feel safe here again. Half of the scent of smoke might have been caused by demons all along.

  We reach the entrance, and the Shield goes invisible so they can check for demons or other Devil worshippers.

&nbs
p; “All clear,” Vicky says as she reappears.

  I step into the sunlight and sweep the road and the forest around us. “Okay, stay on the look-out. I’ll do this as fast as I can.”

  With the substance in the bowl, I draw a circle in the entrance, leaving no space for any kind of creature to slither through. Then I draw a pentagram within the circle and light the incense stick with my finger. I looked up the words when we were in the hidden room, and I repeat them in my head before I start spreading the incense around the circle.

  I open my mouth.

  “Tra…”

  My throat itches, and I cough. Still walking, I try again.

  “Tr…”

  Vicky turns her head. “Did you forget the words?”

  I clear my throat. “No, I remember them. Something is off.”

  “Trap all demons, young and old,” Vicky says.

  “I know.” I wet my lips, keep my eyes on the incense smoke to make sure the whole circle is covered, and start again.

  “Trap…”

  A lump rises in my throat so fast I bend over, coughing violently. I feel like Ron puking slugs in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, except nothing comes out of my stomach as I retch.

  Something is wrong.

  CHAPTER 11

  Vicky rushes to my side and strokes my back. She takes the incense stick from me before I drop it. “Are you okay? Do you need some water?”

  “Why?” I ask. “Do you have some in your endless pocket?”

  She smiles. “No, but I could get you some.”

  I straighten up and wipe my mouth. “I’m fine.” I swallow, but the itch and lump have gone. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  Vicky follows my gaze to the pentagram. “What? What is it?”

  “It’s dissolving.”

  “How is that possible?”

  I take a deep breath. “Trap all demons, young and old. Make their powers dead and cold.”

  Vicky raises her eyebrows.