Netherworld, Soul Guardians Book 4

by Richardson, Kim

  Kara trembled. Her soul blade slipped from her hand and hit the floor. Sickness washed through her. She ached to be close to the sun, but at the same time she knew it would be harmful to her. The pull towards the sun intensified. It took all of her strength to remain where she was.

  “W...what are you doing to me?” She had never experienced such out of control power. It overwhelmed her. “Stop it!”

  A throbbing pain exploded in her head. The more she resisted, the worse it got. She concentrated on Jenny and tried to numb the pain. She had to get out of here before it was too late.

  The sun cracked and shimmered. “You cannot resist us, Kara Nightingale. You belong with us. The more you resist, the more it will hurt.”

  “I’m not one of you. And I think it’s pretty freaky you know who I am. Well, maybe not as freaky as talking to a sphere.”

  Kara’s head burned, but at least she knew why now. She ignored the pain. “I don’t belong here…I belong with my friends. Let me go!”

  A boom thundered throughout the room. A wave of heat hit Kara, and she stumbled. She regained her balance and fought to escape the sun’s pull, but its power was too strong. She was trapped. She started to panic as she felt herself being sucked closer and closer.

  “You are a creature of the netherworld—an organism of immense dark power. You are one of us, Kara. We can feel the darkness inside you. We have been waiting for you. We knew this day would come. It is inevitable. You can feel it too. You know we speak the truth. The power that flows through your soul comes from us…and belongs to us. Come Kara, come and join us.”

  Kara’s right foot slipped. Her body dragged forward two steps and halted. She fought to resist the pull. Her body tingled with sharp pricks of pain. With a groan she pulled at her restraints. “Yeah, well, I don’t think so. I’m not one of you. I don’t have darkness. I don’t belong here. I belong in Horizon with the rest of the angels. I’ll be leaving now—”

  Current lashed out of the green sun. A tendril of green electricity wrapped itself tightly around Kara. It coiled around her legs and pinned her arms against her sides. She struggled to move, but she could only move her head. Her body was lifted in the air. She averted her eyes as the tendril pulled her ever closer to the sun. She hovered before the great green sphere. Her skin burned. Lethal heat seeped into her wounds. Kara cried out as she felt her angel flesh boiling. The green current snaked over her body, slicing and burning every inch of her. She wrestled desperately against her restraints, but to no avail. The more she kicked and fought, the tighter the tendril squeezed. After a moment, she let her body go limp.

  “Do not fight us, Kara. The more you resist, the more we will hurt you. Let yourself go—join us. The darkness exists in you just as it existed in your father. You cannot deny what you are. You are part of us, and soon we will be reunited. It is the only way. You belong with us. You can never leave.”

  Weakness washed through Kara. She was in a dream-like stupor, unable to concentrate. Her eyelids fluttered. “No…I…don’t…belong…here—my friends…” Although the heat from the sun still burned her the tendril released a little. Her head bobbed. “Have…to…help them.”

  Cracks and thunder rumbled around the chamber. Kara’s head fell backwards. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her consciousness wavered. Was this a dream? Where was she? Mom?

  “Soon you will not remember your friends or your family. Your memories will fade away, and you will forget them. You will forget your mortal and angel life, and become one with us. You cannot hide from what you are, Kara. The darkness lives within you. Embrace the darkness and let go. Here is where you belong.”

  In the dull fog of the half-sleep, Kara struggled to think. Her head snapped back up. She strained to open her eyes. Her lids fluttered, but didn’t open “N...no. My friends. Must…get out. You…can’t…keep me.”

  The heat intensified. “You cannot go. You will never leave. Your power and consciousness will join ours. Soon you will understand and be glad. You will come to understand the full meaning of your existence.”

  With the last of her strength Kara managed to ask. “My friends….David?” Her head fell on her chest. The tendril twitched. Coldness seeped through her like an icy shower. She flinched as the cold spread inside her body all the way to her finger tips. It reached her neck, and then her head. She shivered violently and then was stiff.

  “Ah, yes, David. David. David. David.” The voice repeated loudly like a broken record. “You will not need him anymore. All you need is us. To be with us. You will see.”

  David’s smiling face appeared in her mind’s eye. His sparkling blue eyes—his perfect lips. They had become inseparable since she started work at the bookstore. Their affections for each other had grown. Kara clung desperately to her feelings towards him. A surge of warmth rippled inside her core, and the coldness tapered for a moment. But then David’s face rippled and disappeared. The coldness subdued the heat, and Kara struggled with her memories. They lifted away and vanished. Her mind became clouded. Parts of her mortal life mixed with her angel life, until only fragments remained. She couldn’t make sense of her memories anymore. David slipped away from her completely.

  “No!” Kara fought against it. She held onto a partial image of David. She wouldn’t let this thing take her memories. “Stop! I won’t let you do this!”

  “Do not resist, Kara. Soon you will not care anymore. David will not exist for you. Your friends will not exist—only the dark power. You will be happier, trust us. You are a creature of darkness—your power and consciousness will join ours.”

  “I…don’t want to…I won’t...”

  With David’s image in her mind, Kara concentrated. This thing wanted to kill her memories. Her strength was going. The blackness was trying to suck her back in. “I won’t…let you…do this to me.”

  “But you must. You will see. It is already happening. You cannot stop us.”

  Kara concentrated on her elemental power. It was her only way out. She focused on her hatred. Anger boiled inside her. A flicker of power answered. It grew. Kara fed it everything she had. The heat of her elemental power diminished the cold. Some of Kara’s memories came back—images of her mother, David, even Jenny and Peter, flooded into her head. She let her power sweep through her. In her desperation to cling to her life, she focused all her strength on her anger. It spread like a wildfire.

  “Kara…what are you doing. Stop this. You belong to us. You cannot leave us.”

  Kara ignored the voice. She felt the sun’s anger trying to push out her elemental power. But she resisted. Her wild elemental energy surged with white hot power. It poured into her like a life source.

  “Kara, no, stop! You cannot do this! No!”

  A smile twitched on Kara’s lips. “Yes I can.”

  With a sudden burst of energy, Kara’s body flared with a golden blast of light like an exploding star. The ground shook and the chamber was illuminated with hues of gold. Kara felt the pressure release around her chest, and she fell to the ground. The green tendrils withered and disintegrated.

  “No! You cannot escape!”

  Another tendril of green sparks lashed out from the sun, but Kara jumped out of the way and the tendril swept the ground near her boots. Another two whipped out and attacked. Kara rolled and jumped out of their reach.

  She threw out her palm. Nothing happened. Tiny sparks of gold snaked around in her hand and went out. Her elemental power wasn’t strong enough. She had used up all her power resisting—she couldn’t strike at the thing with it. She could feel her power was draining away.

  “Kara you belong with us! With us!”

  The green entity shimmered. It grew. Its body rippled and grew until it was five times its original size. Kara backed away. Soon it would fill the entire chamber and squish her.

  “You belong with us! With us!” The green sun expanded some more. It swelled like a giant water balloon about to burst. The chamber shook. Dust and stones fell on K
ara’s head. It was her cue to get out.

  She turned and bolted. She ran the way she had come. She heard the entity wail once more, and then her boot steps echoed in the silence. The remnants of her elemental power were just enough to keep her running.

  She dashed down the dark passageway. Mist poured around her feet, but she ran faster. The fog rippled and rose. She pressed on. She could see shadows of the crab demons scurrying around. Any minute now a horde of them would attack. She counted the seconds in her head and prayed she could squish them with her boots.

  With all the strength she could muster, Kara pushed her legs as fast as they would go. The thought of seeing David again fueled her with more energy. She cursed the green sun for trying to take him away from her. In the gathering blackness she had felt a connection to the darkness the sun had spoken of, but she refused to dwell on it now. She ran for her life.

  A wave of crab demons jumped on her. Their teeth perforated into her flesh, and Kara did her best to pull them off her without stopping. She had followed the mist to get to the sun, so she would follow it out. That was her plan.

  Between kicking and hitting the crab demons, Kara lost track of time.

  She shivered at the thought of being trapped inside that green entity forever—

  Another volley of crabs attacked. Kara cried out as she plucked them from her face and chest. Their razor sharp teeth cut through her angel skin. She wished she had a moonstone or firestone with her, so that she could blow them all into a crab cocktail. But she had no such luck. She had to keep on running. With a renewed sense of determination, she ran wildly through the mist. The eerie darkness still surrounded her, but she started to smile at the sound of the bones and shells breaking from the weight of her boots.

  The sound of crushed shells tapered off. The mist lifted. She ran down a passageway and into a gloomy lobby. Black windows lined the opposite end. Without hesitating, Kara ran to the first window and kicked it. Glass shattered at her feet and Kara hesitated for a second. An arm reached out through the opening. She recognized David’s brown leather jacket immediately. She locked her hand into his and was hauled through the window to safety.

  Chapter 15

  The Transformation

  “Kara! What happened to you? We thought we’d lost you.”

  David embraced Kara tightly. She let herself fall into his arms. She fought the sob that threatened to burst and shivered in his embrace.

  “The door opened…and you disappeared. We tried to kick it down, but it wouldn’t budge. And then it vanished. Just like that, there was no more door.”

  Kara pushed herself away from David gently. She lifted her eyes to his. “I was in—” She examined his face. “David! Oh my god, your eyes! What happened to your eyes? They’re all black—and your face! Your skin!”

  David turned away, his shoulders slouched. “I know. I look hideous. Don’t look at me. Peter’s affected too. Whatever it is—we both have it.”

  Peter sauntered towards them. His skin had lost its natural pink pigment and was a chalky white color. His face was drawn, with dark circles under his eyes. All the whites in his eyes had disappeared, and only impenetrable black sockets remained. He looked much worse than David. He looked like a walking corpse that would collapse at any moment. He forced a smile.

  Kara grabbed David by the elbow and steered him around to face her. He didn’t meet her eyes. She took his face into her hands and studied it for a moment, never letting go. She shuddered.

  “I’m freaking out here. Your eyes are completely black, David. And your skin is clammy and white. What happened? Who did this to you?”

  Kara inspected herself. “Are my eyes black? How’s my skin? Do I look like you?”

  David shook his head solemnly. “No. You look pretty awful yourself. But nothing like us.”

  “Thanks. So my eyes are not black?”

  “No. They’re their normal brown.” David pulled away from Kara. He stood quiet for a moment. “No one did this to us…it just happened. I guess whatever this thing is—it’s only affecting Peter and me. And it’s getting worse by the minute.”

  Kara watched David carefully. He was slouching, as if he had trouble standing. He kept avoiding her gaze. Whatever this thing was, it was attacking them like a disease. They looked feverish and sweaty. But something nagged her. “I’m afraid to say this…but you look like—you look like—”

  “Higher demons.” David cut her off. “We know.”

  Kara grabbed David’s arm and pulled him towards her. “But how is that possible? It makes no sense. You can’t just become higher demons. You’re angels. This is crazy. This sort of thing just can’t happen.”

  “I don’t think it’s crazy.” Peter lowered himself to the ground and held his head with one hand. “It makes perfect sense. Angels can’t roam the demon world, only demons…or those with demon essence like you, Kara. I think since we…since we took some of your essence…we were able to survive here. But now it’s claiming us.”

  “Claiming you?” Kara repeated frustrated. “No. No, that can’t be. It must be something else. Something we haven’t seen yet. Angels don’t just transform into demons. It’s not possible. There has to be another explanation. I mean…if what you say is true, then I should already be a higher demon. And I’m not. I have the essence in me. Why haven’t I changed?”

  Peter shrugged and pursed his lips. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re different somehow. You’ve always been different, Kara. Maybe you’re just not affected the way we are—because your essence is true. We mixed ours with yours…and I’m guessing it wasn’t enough. I think the netherworld sensed it, and it’s changing us.”

  David raked his hair with his fingers. “I think Peter’s right. This place...” he gestured with his hands, “is turning us into freakin’ demons. Demons! Kara! I hate freaking demons! And now I’m becoming one. It’s the freakin’ twilight zone.”

  Kara paced on the spot. Her eyes narrowed. “No. You’re not turning into demons. I refuse to believe that. There’s got to be a way to stop the transition. Maybe we can reverse the process somehow.” Panic threatened to close her throat.

  “We can’t.” David’s voice rose. “We’re turning into higher demons, whether you like it or not. It’s the truth. And it’s happening. We can’t stop it. It’s too late for us.”

  Kara ignored the comment and turned her palm up. She examined the cut across her hand. It was nearly invisible. Her brow creased in thought. “Then let’s get more out of me. Maybe with a little more, it could reverse what’s been done.”

  She lifted her hand to them.

  “No.” David took her hand and squeezed it gently. “It was one thing to extract your essence in the mortal world, but who knows what would happen here. You saw what happened. It might kill us all.” His black eyes searched hers. “And I know taking it made you weaker. We’re not going to do that again. We can’t all be useless—we owe that to Jenny.”

  Kara knew David was right. If they took more of her essence, she wouldn’t stand a fighting chance against Lilith. She couldn’t let her win. Jenny’s soul depended on her.

  With a dismissive shrug Kara looked away from David. His black eyes brought back memories of higher demons.

  She looked around. “Wait a minute? That’s strange? Why aren’t the buildings moving anymore?”

  Peter shook his head. A frown creased his forehead. “We don’t know. They just suddenly stopped. I think it has to do with what’s happening to us. I believe this world treated us like parasites, and it wanted to exterminate us. But now…since we’ve changed—it stopped.”

  A chill rippled through Kara. Peter’s words made sense. She knew she had to get her friends out of here soon. “Well, at least it’s happening at a slow pace. We should be able to get to Jenny soon and get out. Before this sickness gets the best of you.”

  “Actually, it’s been happening really fast.” David stared at his hands. After a moment he looked up and pointed. “As soon as you
disappeared into that building, I noticed Peter’s eyes change. And then he told me mine had changed, too. It all happened in a few minutes.”

  Kara walked over to David and put a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, but that was at least an hour ago, and we won’t be down here for much longer—What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Kara, you think you’ve been gone for only an hour?” David and Peter shared a nervous look.

  Kara shifted uncomfortably. She looked at them both and shook her head slowly. “Just about. Okay, maybe a little more or less. Why? What’s the matter?”

  “You’ve only been gone about five minutes.”

  Kara’s mouth fell open. “What? No way. I’ve been out there kicking crab demons and fighting against a giant green sun that wanted to suck out my brain for at least an hour. I’m sure of it.”

  David arched an eyebrow in wonder. “Demon crabs? A giant green sun? Sounds delicious. What happened in there?”

  Kara sighed and recounted the events. When she was finished, she crossed her arms over her chest. “So you see, it’s been more than five minutes.”

  “Well, not to us, Kara.” Peter pushed himself back on his feet. He teetered for a moment and then steadied himself. “Maybe wherever you were, time had no meaning. But right here, where we stand, it does. You’ve been gone for only five minutes.”

  David gave Kara a tight smile. “So, you see. Peter and I don’t have much time. If we’ve changed this much in five minutes—in an hour, we’ll be cooked and ready to serve. For real.”

  David’s face was drained of color. Kara noticed strands of white hair against his temples. She remembered his dying face before he disintegrated in her arms back in Horizon. She couldn’t go through that excruciating experience again. She wouldn’t let David die a second time.

  “Then let’s get you two out of here. I’ll come back for Jenny later—”

  “No.” David cut her off. “We came here for Jenny. I’m not going anywhere without her.”

  “Me, too.” Peter put on a brave front, but Kara could see the terror spreading across his pallid face. “We just can’t leave her here to die. And I know she’d do the same for us.”