David’s eyes were cold and determined. “We have to warn them.” He secured his blade inside his jacket. “We have to move fast, Kara. I saw a creek not too far away from the castle. Let’s move.”
Kara only nodded, still numb with the truth of what she had discovered. It was the truth. As soon as the words had escaped her lips, she knew it was true. She shivered. Her dear father was going after Horizon.
They ran back through the tunnels and out through the east side of the castle, faster than Kara would have imagined possible. The M-5 suits proved themselves yet again. The sky was a dark brown, and Kara instantly knew without looking at her watch that they had taken up their full hour. Gabriel had warned them to be back within an hour. Jenny and Peter were probably already back from their mission by now. Most probably they’d announced that their location was a decoy—and had been left wondering if Kara’s and David’s was the real deal. No one would have suspected that Horizon was the real target. Asmodeus had played his cards right. The question was: when did he plan on striking?
They galloped across the main grounds, and Kara soon heard the soft rush of the creek. Most of the Legion’s guardians were out in the mortal world, saving lives. They had left Horizon unprotected. It would be an easy target. The father she hated had come up with a brilliant plan. It would be a massacre. The Legion would have to call in all the troops and ready themselves for an attack. She had to warn them. Time was running out.
Kara’s mind raced faster than her legs. Gabriel would know what to do. They had to reach him first.
“There’s the creek!” Kara heard David call up ahead.
The stream rushed down purposely, as if commanding them to make haste.
David grabbed Kara’s hand and squeezed. “Ready?”
Kara squeezed back gently. “Ready.”
Together they leaped into the air and landed with a loud splash in the icy spring waters.
Kara opened her eyes moments later.
A grey haze masked her vision. She blinked several times. She shivered and looked around. Fog lingered waist high above the ground. A thinner mist stirred slowly from above like moving clouds. It was everywhere. There was no sky, and no sun. The fog appeared to go on forever.
She looked down. Fog coiled around her legs like snakes. Through the vapors, her feet pressed down against grey concrete floors. She remembered having a dream like this once, where she stood alone and lost in a vast field of rolling fog. A strange metallic smell lingered in the air.
Something felt wrong to Kara. She was definitely not in an elevator, so where the heck was she? She had always found herself in one of the elevators with a snotty primate when she had jumped back from a mission. But there was no primate to greet her this time, just a field of fog. How did she get here?
She remembered David’s handsome face. She remembered jumping into the creek with him moments ago. She couldn’t see David anywhere.
“David! David, where are you?”
No reply.
Panicked, Kara ran blindly into the wall of fog calling out David’s name but just an eerie echo answered her. Strange, she thought. She stopped running and flailed her arms in the fog, searching for David or anything solid. She cursed the mist.
A dull thud came from far in the distance. Kara strained her eyes to see through the mist. It was no use. It was like trying to see with a blanket over your face. Kara’s chest ached. Where was she? And what had happened to David?
She heard a tapping sound. It sounded like footsteps. They were coming towards her. She couldn’t see. Who or what was coming towards her? The footsteps became louder. She remembered that she still carried one of David’s soul blades, and she pulled it out. She waved the blade easily in her hand. No matter what was coming, she was going to put up a fight.
The wall of mist separated.
“Kara! Thank god.” David’s worried expression faded into one of intense relief. He rushed up to Kara and wrapped his arms around her. He squeezed her tenderly.
While she enjoyed being held by David, she pushed him back gently. “David, what happened? What is this place?”
David shook his head. “I have no freaking idea,” he said warily. “Never been here before.”
“Why didn’t we make the leap to the elevators?” Kara looked around again, hoping to see the disapproving glare of one of the primates. But there was only fog, spread out as far as the eye could see.
“Something must have happened to disrupt our transition.” David’s face was tense. “I don’t know where we are, but I know we’re not in Horizon.” David turned to Kara. “Is this the Netherworld?”
“No.” Kara shrugged as she remembered the demon realm. Evil lurked in the shadows there, and voices had called out to her. She’d had an eerie feeling of malevolence following her in the Netherworld. She shook off the memory. “Trust me, the demon realm is foul—really foul. This … this feels … empty.”
“Well, it’s not exactly helping our cause.” David paced, his face pulled tight. “If there’s a way in—there’s got to be a way out. We just have to find it.”
Kara nodded. “You’re right. We landed here somehow. There has to be a way out of this miserable fog.” She whirled around on the spot. “Where do we start? Everywhere looks the same.”
David glanced ahead. “Let’s go this way.” He pointed straight ahead. “Looks like the fog is clearing up. It might lead us somewhere.”
Kara followed David closely, for fear of losing him in the thick mist.
A dark figure materialized before them.
Kara tensed and brandished her weapon. She watched David doing the same in the corner of her eye. They stood together, side-by-side, and waited.
The fog lifted, and the silhouette of a tall man glided towards them. He wore a long black robe that rippled behind him as he neared. A rope belt was tied around his waist, from which dangled a set of keys. She could hear the slight clang of them as he neared, but no footsteps. It was as though he floated. A hood kept his face in shadow, and when he got closer, Kara saw that he had no face. Kara shivered involuntarily—it looked demonic to her.
David stepped forward and waved his blade, a smile on his lips. “I wouldn’t come any closer—monk—unless you’re looking to meet your maker.”
The being stood still, as though it was studying them. After a moment it spoke. “I am the Keeper,” said the creature, and Kara wondered how it could form a voice without a mouth to articulate words. The voice was hoarse and high pitched. Kara thought perhaps the Keeper was female. A very ugly female, she thought.
David cocked his head, but didn’t lower his blade. “Keeper? Never heard of you. What kind of demon are you, Keeper? Keeper of souls? Keeper of little children?”
The Keeper shook its head. “I am not a demon, but a supernatural entity, like you.”
“You’re nothing like us.” David glared at the creature. “Where are we, Keeper? And don’t try any of your demon tricks.”
The Keeper raised its arms before them. White skeletal hands appeared beneath rolls of sleeves. Thin translucent skin was stretched over the bones. “You are in the eighth plane. And I am its Keeper.”
Kara leaned closer and grabbed a fist full of David’s jacket. She whispered in his ear. “What’s the eighth plane?” David shook his head and shrugged. Fear nipped the back of Kara’s mind. But there was no time or place for fear. Her priority was to get the crucial information to the Legion, before Asmodeus attacked.
Uncertainty spread over David’s face. “We’ve never heard of the eighth plane. Tell me, Keeper. How did we get here?”
The Keeper tilted its head to the side. “Just like all the other spirits before you … your supernatural bodies passed through the veil … and entered the eighth plane.”
Kara didn’t like that answer, and she was in no mood for more riddles. She thought she might have better luck with this creature than David did.
“Okay, so tell me. What is the eighth plane, Keeper?” asked Kara.
> The Keeper folded its skeletal hands calmly before it. “The eighth plane is a realm for spirits that have lost their way. It is a place of refuge, a gathering. It is nowhere and everywhere at once.”
It was Kara’s time to step forward. She shook her head. “Wait a minute. So you’re saying our spirits got lost? We got lost on the way back to Horizon?”
“Yes.” The Keeper bowed its head lightly, and Kara thought it looked sad for a moment. “Unfortunately, your spirits couldn’t reach Horizon. And so they have passed through the veil to the eighth plane.”
“But how is that even possible?” David asked, and Kara could hear the frustration in his voice. She felt her own irritation rise. “Spirits can’t get lost. There’s no such thing as the eighth plane. You’re lying. You’re trying to trick us, demon! Tell us where we really are … are we in some demon realm?”
The Keeper stood quietly for a moment before answering. Kara noticed its fingers twitch, and she wondered if it was getting nervous. Only liars get nervous.
“I am not trying to trick you,” continued the Keeper. “I am no demon trickster … but the Keeper of the eighth plane. I’m afraid the doorways to Horizon have been closed.”
Kara flinched. This couldn’t be happening—not when the Legion’s survival depended on them. She took a step forward toward the Keeper. She pointed to the creature with a trembling finger. “What do you mean by closed? How can they be closed? That’s impossible!”
“There is an imbalance in the planes.” The Keeper looked up into the endless fog, and Kara wondered where his eyes would be on that milky face.
“Something is happening in our spirit world at this very moment. This anomaly somehow has caused a fracture in the planes. That is why your bodies have come here … to the eighth plane.”
Panic ate through Kara, like acid eating through metal. “What anomaly? What fractured the planes?” Her father’s image echoed in her mind. She tightened her grip on her blade.
“Only something of great power could tear a hole in the veil,” answered the Keeper. “We are … unsure of its origin … we do not know where the source of this power comes from, but we are certain of the damage it has caused to our world.”
Kara exchanged a look with David. She could tell by the look he gave her that they both agreed as to where this source came from, and who the source was. They had already wasted too much time speaking to the faceless Keeper. They needed to get out, and fast.
“There’ll be more damage soon if you don’t send us back quickly,” pressed Kara. “We need to leave, and we need to leave right now. We have to warn them!”
The Keeper shook its head sadly. “I am sorry, but I cannot.”
Kara’s temper rose, and before David could interject, she cut him off. “You must! You don’t understand. There is going to be a huge war. Angels are going to be killed. You have to send us back—now!”
“I’m sorry,” repeated the Keeper, its voice gentle. “Once your spirit has entered the eighth plane, it can never go back. It will remain here … forever.”
Chapter 12
On stage
Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1 Page 52
