Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1

by Kim Richardson

  Kara stared at the sphere in disbelief. Had she just imagined a talking green sun? No, it couldn’t be. Was this one of Lilith’s games? Like father like daughter, she realized. Asmodeus loved to torment the souls of others. She raised her fist in the air angrily.

  “Lilith! Show yourself! What have you done with Jenny? I don’t have time for your games. Show yourself!” Kara stood her ground and waited. She wasn’t in the mood for any amusements. “You wanted me to come here, and so here I am. Your fight is with me. Let my friend go, Lilith!”

  “Lilith?” said the booming voice. Kara flinched and took a step back. “We are not Lilith. But Lilith exists in us.”

  Kara lifted her head slowly towards the brilliant green sun. Her eyes burned, but she kept staring at it anyway.

  “Uh—and what exactly are you? I’ve never heard of a giant demon ball. Is Lilith your mistress? Do you know where she is or how to get out of here?”

  The humming increased. The ground vibrated and sent ripples through Kara’s feet. The sun shimmered and grew brighter.

  “We are the heart of the netherworld. We are a collective consciousness. We are in everyone and everything. We have existed since the beginning of time. We live, and yet we are dead.”

  “That’s just great,” Kara mumbled to herself. She gave the sun a curious frown. “Well, you obviously know Lilith…can you tell me where she is? How about an angel girl? Do you know where they took my friend? Where is my friend Jenny?”

  Something inside told her the sun was truthful. She wasn’t entirely sure the entity would answer her, but it was worth the try.

  A low rumble erupted from the sun. “The demon Lilith lives in us. She belongs here…as do you.”

  What? While Kara puzzled over what she just heard, a strange yearning welled up inside her. She blinked into the sun’s rays. Overwhelmed by a feeling of longing, she stepped towards the green sun without thinking. When she realized what she had done, she shook the feeling off and stepped back, terrified that she was losing control. She gripped her blade tightly in her hand. She gathered her wits and courage.

  “So…since we’re exchanging information, do you know if Asmodeus had more than one daughter? Did he have more offspring apart from Lilith…and me?”

  The entity was silent for a moment, and Kara thought it might never speak again.

  “The creature Asmodeus had only two offspring—two female entities of great power. Lilith was one…and you, Kara, are the other.”

  Relieved, Kara let herself relax a little. At least that was good news. One Lilith meant only one threat for the time being, until a new threat revealed itself. Kara could now concentrate all her efforts on Jenny. But first, she had to get out of there.

  “Please…where’s Jenny? My friend was brought here by force. She’s very sick. Do you know where she is? I need to find her.”

  The sun shimmered but did not answer.

  Kara tried hard not to show how eager she was to escape. “Where am I exactly? Please, can you tell me how to get out of here? I’ve been to the netherworld once before, but I’ve never been here…in this place…it feels...”

  Kara fought a sudden internal force that pulled her towards the sun again. It called out to her. Part of her wanted to walk up to it, to touch it, while the other part screamed for her to run. She took a step forward.

  Kara trembled. Something wasn’t right. She began to feel even more anxious. She stared at the sun. She could feel an emptiness in her core, where her power belonged.

  The sun hummed and blazed brightly.

  “You are in the realm of supernatural beings, where layers of existence travel along an axis between the worlds—where the dead and the undead meet in darkness. This is where you belong. You know it is true—you can feel it—you belong with us.”

  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 Kara’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