Mr. Patterson’s smile faded away completely. He looked put out. He had just given them their best chance, and they had spit it back in his face. Jenny’s expression softened when she realized she’d upset him.
“Sorry Mr. P, but it’s not good enough. I don’t know if I’m willing to risk my angel life on a theory.”
“It’s the best thing we’ve got.” Kara stood up.
Her pain was barely noticeable, if she didn’t think about it too much. She fluttered her wings and stretched the stiffness out of them. She yanked up her gloves and made fists with her hands.
“We don’t really have a choice. Just think about it for a minute. We already know that these creatures are even more powerful than the archangels. We know the legion had already tried and failed to destroy them. And I have a strong feeling that the archfiends are just as strong as they ever were, maybe more now that they have these knights. The legion won’t be able to stop them, so our best chance is to follow Mr. Patterson’s plan. We have to try.”
She wasn’t about to tell everyone that this plan might save her, too. She was determined to proceed, with or without them.
“So, how do we stop these knights? Where do we start?”
Mr. Patterson looked grim. “That, I do not know—”
“Fantastic,” grumbled David. He kicked a chunk of drywall on the floor. “A great start to the master plan.”
“All I know,” said Mr. Patterson after he had glared at David and had gripped his crystal in one hand like a baseball, “is that these creatures will be more powerful than anything you’ve ever faced. We don’t know even what they look like—”
“More good news,” said David.
“They’re probably riders of some sort, maybe riding on a beast.”
The old man lowered his voice and turned to Kara. “This is where your wings will be most useful. Maybe they are a blessing in disguise.”
“I seriously doubt that,” said Kara, hiding her frustration. She knew Mr. Patterson was only trying to make her feel a little better. He cared about her, and that always brought her great comfort. But she also had the feeling that he knew more about her wings and her transformation than he was letting on.
“The best advice I can give you is to follow the trail of carnage, and you will find them.”
Mr. Patterson paused and tapped his crystal ball thoughtfully. “How to defeat them is another great mystery, but take comfort in knowing that everything has a weakness. It’s only a matter of finding what that is.”
He gave Kara an encouraging smile. “Starting now, we have four days to stop the knights from completing their mission.”
He turned and looked at David. “We know it will take seven days for the knights to break the seals. Unfortunately they have a three day start on us.”
David growled. “So we’ve already lost three days. Super.”
Kara’s wings quivered with anticipation. She was restless to get started and did her best to hide her smile. The sooner they got rid of the knights, the sooner she’d be back to normal. At that moment she didn’t care how all-powerful these supreme beings probably were, she only cared about ridding herself of her mutation.
Though she’d never admit it, Kara didn’t really know what to expect when they faced the first knight. Her weapons training and fighting skills had made her an exceptional guardian. She knew this. But her body ached and hiding the throbbing pain in her wings was nearly impossible. They all thought her wings would be advantageous, but they didn’t know how much she suffered. She had to keep up with the charade for everyone’s sake. Whatever dangers lay ahead would decide the fate of them all, the fate of the worlds.
Their plan was going to work, because it had to.
“Four days left. One day for each knight. Sounds reasonable enough, and the day is just beginning,” she said almost to herself, nodding. “Piece of cake, right?”
“If you say so.” Ashley’s expression was dark.
“Look,” said Kara. “Just think of them as demons—only bigger and more powerful—but they’re still malevolent creatures that have infected this world. And it’s still our job, our mandate, to protect the mortal world with whatever it takes. And we’re going to do what we do best. Hunt them down and destroy them. All of them.”
She felt David’s eyes on her but she ignored him.
“It’s already been three days since their escape. How do we know if they haven’t broken one of the seals already? And how will we know when they do?”
“Of course, we thought of that.” Mr. Patterson held his crystal with one hand and rummaged inside his jacket pocket with the other. He pulled out four gold rings.
“The oracle mothers were able to forge these four rings from the same material that was used to create the Keeper’s key. The materials are connected with the seals. They’re bonded. If a seal is broken, one of the rings will disappear. And as you can see, no seal has been broken, not yet.”
He held out his hand. “Come on, take one.”
To Kara’s surprise, David was the first to grab a ring and slip it on his finger. Then Jenny and Peter each grabbed a ring.
One ring left. But Kara couldn’t move.
She suspected that she shouldn’t take the last ring. What if it didn’t work because of her transformation? The ring should go to an angel who wasn’t tainted, an angel of pure essence. She pressed her hands into fists. Besides, she was wearing gloves. The ring wouldn’t fit over them, and everyone would see the marks on her hands if she took them off. She couldn’t risk it. Not yet.
She turned away from the ring momentarily and looked at Ashley.
“Take it,” said Kara. She was surprised that the words had come out so easily, even though she felt a pang in her chest. “Take the ring.”
Ashley shook her head. “No way. We all know it should be you, Kara. Besides, I’m new to your club, so I’m practically a rookie. But if you want the truth, I’d really rather not have that responsibility. Just being here with all of you is enough for me.”
Kara knew Ashley still mourned the loss of her friends to the Reapers. Some part of her still blamed herself for their deaths, even though there was nothing she could have done to save them. Joining with Kara’s team had helped Ashley in her recovery, but she’d never truly recover. Not really.
“I wouldn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, especially yours.” Ashley grinned with a sincere friendship that was loyal and would never break.
Kara wanted to smile, too, but she feared the repercussions of revealing too much too soon. Should she take the gloves off? No. It was too soon. She wasn’t ready. They weren’t ready. She wasn’t ready to see the fear and disgust in David’s eyes when he discovered the black veins on her hands and body.
“Go on, Kara.” Mr. Patterson moved forward and offered her the last ring, like he had already decided it was going to be her.
“Ashley is right, it should be you. You should be the bearer of the last ring.”
She couldn’t take her gloves off, so she grabbed the last ring and examined it for a moment. It was heavier than any gold ring she’d ever handled, more like two rings in one. Then she put it in her pocket.
“So you really think the archfiends will get locked up again if we can stop the knights?”
Kara tried to put the ring out of everyone’s minds, so no one would ask to see her to put it on her finger.
“I do.” Mr. Patterson gave her a bitter smile.
“And we must. Because if we don’t succeed, then all living things in this world and Horizon will cease to exist.”
Chapter 4
Hubei, China
After a quick stop back to level three so that they could replenish their M-5 suits, Kara took the time to check with other Counter Demon Division guardians and monitors to look for signs of anything abnormal.
Now, back on Earth and while it was covered in darkness, Kara had discovered in their short stay at CDD that the most obvious anomaly had been with the farmlands. The liv
estock and the crops were failing and one of the biggest agricultural producers in the world was beginning to have difficulties. And even though it was a largely due to the lack of sunshine, Kara couldn’t overlook the darkness there. She had to check it out.
So she and her company returned to the mortal world to search for signs of the four knights of the apocalypse. And the best place to start was with the darkness in the farmlands.
Time was running out.
The guardians stood in a deep valley of rotten fields and barren meadows. The rolling hills and black mountains stretched into the darkened sky. Kara tried to picture what the scenery might have looked like in the morning sun, when the vegetation thrived in hues of gold and green, kissed by the rays of the sun. As it was, she stood on gray, withered plant life. Millions of acres of vegetation had burned and withered away. The rice crop looked like a giant ashtray.
She felt sick. It reminded her of the Netherworld, a barren, sick world of darkness and shadow. It was wrong. All of it.
“So this is China?” Kara’s anger rose as she moved her boot over a black liquid that looked like ink. Most of the plants looked as if they had been doused in it.
“Actually, we’re in the province of Hubei,” said Peter as he bent down and examined the black liquid on a wasted plant. He rubbed it between his fingers.
"The land of fish and rice… I read that somewhere. It must have been quite beautiful before…”
“Before the archfiends did this,” answered Kara angrily.
“Or should I say their little pet dogs. I bet they did this. It’s part of their mission, right? To destroy life on earth. Well, they’ve already started with a bang that’s for sure.”
She felt David watching her. He kept glancing at her gloves, but he never asked about them, and she was thankful for it.
“It’s really sad to see all this land gone to waste.” Jenny knelt beside Peter and made a face.
“What is that black stuff?”
“I’m not sure.” Peter brought his fingers to his nose and winced. “Smells like bile. I think it’s some sort of secreted acid, maybe some sort of regurgitated substance.”
“But how did it get there?” said David. “Who or what secreted it?”
Peter wiped his fingers on his pants. He stood up but didn’t answer. They all knew the answer to that question.
As an uneasy silence passed between the guardians, Kara felt a chill crawl up her wings.
Was just one of these knights capable of such devastation? Did they wield such power?
She shuddered at the thought. Mr. Patterson had said that all things had a weakness, and she believed him. She would find it.
A faint clicking sound caught Kara’s attention, like the rustling of dry leaves. But there were no leaves and no trees for miles. “That sound…do you guys hear that?”
Everyone froze.
“I don’t hear anything,” whispered David, breaking the silence. “What did you hear exactly?”
Kara searched the barren land and strained for the sound again, but all she could hear was the faint swishing of wind.
“I’m not sure. It’s gone now, but it was like a creepy clicking sound.”
“Probably just a small animal.” Ashley’s eyes were hard, and she didn’t look convinced.
“I think this place is making us hear things.” Jenny scanned the area. “I don’t like the way it makes me feel. It makes me feel like death.”
Kara had to agree with Jenny. There was something evil lurking somewhere. She felt it, too. Whatever it was, she felt like it was watching them. Waiting…
After another moment of silence, David said, “Probably just the wind. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Everything here is dead.”
But Kara wasn’t convinced. She had heard something. She was certain. But what was it?
“What’s up with that smell?” Jenny moved in amongst the dead crops, her face twisted in disgust. “It’s not the bile, and it’s not coming from this field. It smells like raw sewage left out in the sun all day.”
Her brow furrowed. “Smells like demons.”
Kara picked up the scent. It was just to the north of where they were. Jenny was right.
Curious, and before anyone could stop her, Kara jumped into the air and stroked hard with her wings. Immediately, she soared into the air and flew toward the smell.
The smell was coming from beyond the small hillside to the north. It wasn’t easy to see. Everything looked gray and in shadow. A quick glance below her and she smiled. David, Peter, Ashley and Jenny were running below her. It gave her great pleasure to be able to do something that they couldn’t.
She would miss this, the flying, her wings. She assumed that she would return to normal once they had destroyed the knights and sent the archfiends back into their cage. The way the air rolled over her leathery wings was exhilarating. But if all worked according to plan, she would only have four days of flying left. She would get her four days’ worth.
With a final bank to the left, she pulled back and arched her wings high above her head. She rolled them back and forth, her feet brushed the ground, and she landed with a slight hop. She beamed. She had landed with more grace than usual. Did the others catch that? As she turned, her smile died.
Below the hillside a vast bowl stretched beyond the horizon and disappeared into shadow. The ground was littered with the corpses of dead animals.
Thousands and thousands of cows, goats, sheep, chickens, and pigs were piled on top of one another in a giant, open grave. Their bodies were emaciated. Their skin was pulled so tight around their bodies that it was almost transparent.
How could they have died of starvation in only three days? They looked as though they had been drained of blood, of their organs, and only skin and bone remained. Even their fur and feathers had fallen off. Their eyes were empty sockets, and their bodies were stained in that same black liquid.
Kara knew they had died in pain. It was the most horrific thing she’d ever seen. It didn’t feel real. It was too gruesome. No demon had the power to wreak such devastation. Only a god, a dark god, could have done this.
Instead of crying out for the fallen, Kara’s rage poured through her like hot oil. She had to blink the dark spots from her eyes. She wanted to destroy the archfiends…she wanted to kill them all…
“Oh. My. God.” Jenny collapsed to her knees beside Kara, her hand on her mouth. Peter knelt beside her and put his arms around her shaking shoulders.
“This is sick.” David looked about as angry as Kara.
“There must be millions of dead animals down there. How did they all end up like this? It’s like they were picked up and thrown in this valley to die. What kind of monsters could have killed so many?”
“The archfiends are as powerful as gods,” said Kara. “And the four knights must have a lot of that power. It’s pretty clear that they did this. It’s their mission to destroy life so that they can break the seals for their masters.”
“I don’t know what I was expecting. Mr. Patterson did say they were nothing like we’ve ever faced before. But this…”
She lost hope. She didn’t know how she could have imagined she’d be able to defeat the four knights of the apocalypse if this was any indication of what they could do. How would she defeat even a single one of them?
Kara heard that strange clicking sound again, as though someone was sharpening hundreds of knives.
“But which one did this?” asked David. “Death? It’s gotta be Death.”
Kara surveyed the devastation.
“I don’t think it’s the one called Death. This is the one called Famine. It killed the crops and the animals. It destroyed our source of food, and now millions of people are going to starve. Death would have left the crops and just focused on the animals.”
Her face became hard as she realized the truth to her words.
“Do you think we’re too late?” asked David.
Kara could only look at him.
Ashley stepped forward, a long silver sword hung in her hand. “Check your rings. We’ll know if one of them is gone.”
As one, David, Peter and Jenny stuck out their hands. Their golden rings glimmered on their fingers. Kara reached inside her pocket and felt around for the ring. For a horrible moment she couldn’t find it. The gloves made it hard to feel anything. But then her fingertips touched something solid, and she pulled out her golden ring.
“We’re not too late,” she said hopefully. “The seals are all still intact. We still have time—”
Suddenly Jenny screamed.
Kara looked where Jenny was staring.
The animal corpses moved. The tangled bodies rolled and pushed awkwardly. Their limbs moved without purpose. Their stiff bodies jerked and popped like bad animation.
And just when she thought the animals were possessed and were coming back from the dead, millions of insects poured out from the mouths and eyes of the dead animals. They pushed the corpses aside as they scuttled toward the guardians like a moving carpet. Their glinting red eyes glared with eerie intelligence, and their black carapaces glimmered in the soft light.
At first Kara thought they were spiders, but then a swarm took flight like an angry black cloud. Earsplitting noise filled the air as the insects beat their wings. It sounded like knives being honed. And as they got closer, she recognized them. Locusts. Millions of locusts.
“Well, now we know where the secretions came from.”
Peter glared at the wave of bugs and swung his blade around like a fly swatter. “I hate bugs.”
Kara hated bugs, too, especially locusts. She hated how they used to cling to her clothes when she would go for long walks in the fields at her grandmother’s cottage. She remembered the neighboring farmers complaining about how they ate entire fields of corn in a matter of hours. There was something really creepy about how much they could eat.
But these bugs looked different. They were bigger, much bigger, and they were as black as night. From what she remembered, normal locusts didn’t devour animals.
“Is it me or are their beady eyes staring at us?” asked Jenny.
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