An earsplitting sound like a malfunctioning ambulance siren resonated throughout the dome. Tourists dropped their maps and trampled over themselves to get away from the awful noise. A cacophony of screams and shouts filled the air. The marble floors trembled under the hundreds of stomping feet. The scene was chaotic.
With a tug the Arath popped out easily, and Kara grasped the weapon tightly. It fit perfectly in her hand. The edges of the crystal were not sharp but smooth and warm like a boiled potato. Kara flinched as a humming sounded from inside the pyramid, as though it were filled with bees. Blue light flickered and grew inside the weapon, bathing her palm in hues of blue. A dizzy spell came over her suddenly, and the world around her started to spin. Without warning, the Arath’s power struck out at her. A cold chill rippled through her, as waves of power throbbed inside her body and hissed angrily as though in warning. Her body stiffened, frozen like a statue, as ripples of the weapon’s energy gushed through her. Finally, with a tingling sensation, the power subsided.
Kara shifted her weight and relaxed a little, trying hard to hide the panic on her face from the others. A prick of pain stabbed her palm, and she stretched out her hand to examine it closely. Three tiny puncture wounds marked her hand in a perfect triangle. The weapon had marked her. Or did it bite her? It surely felt like a bite to her. She tossed it up in the air. It felt cool, and her dizziness had gone.
She hauled herself over the cordon just as others rushed closer for a better look. Tatiana and the two men stood protectively in a half circle around them. The frantic tourists spilled out the dome like sand from a funnel.
“You got it!” squealed Peter over the ruckus. His eyes widened at the sight of the weapon, and he leaned forward examining it closely. “To think something so small can have such great power. It’s a real mystery. It makes you wonder why they created this thing in the first place. They must have been mad.”
Jenny eyed the Arath apprehensively. “It’s pretty. Figures that Lilith would like it—she’d probably wear it around her neck like a necklace.”
David and Kara shared a look. His blue eyes pierced into hers momentarily. She tensed as he looked away, stone faced. He was still angry with her. It pained her that she couldn’t do anything about it. She only wished she could tell him...
“She’s going to be very angry when she learns about this,” continued Jenny and smiled sheepishly. “I wish I could see that pasty face of hers when she realizes that we have part of her precious weapon.”
Kara sighed, “Well, it’s not over yet. She still has the other piece of the Arath in her possession. And we still need to find the missing children.”
“Do you feel anything from it?” bellowed David over the deafening alarm. “Like its power or something?” He looked as though he was expecting her to lie again.
“Kind of,” yelled Kara, trying not to betray her emotions. “I felt a bit of its power just before, but it’s gone now. It was like a vibration. But I wouldn’t know how to use it. It’s not like any weapon I’ve ever seen before.”
She picked it up with her other hand and held it in the light for the others to see. A myriad of colors shone from the Arath. It was incredibly beautiful.
Mortals shook their furious heads at her, calling her a thief in many different languages. She would have to add thief to her list of occupations now.
“Better put it somewhere safe for now.” David looked over his shoulder and clenched his jaw. “I saw a Seir in the crowd a few minutes ago. I can’t see him anymore...but I know the clown’s in here somewhere, and I’m sure there’s more than one.”
Even with the mortals leaving the dome, it was still large enough to hide half a dozen Seirs.
Kara nodded and dropped the Arath into the front pocket of her jeans. “I saw him too, but he vanished just like the other one. It’s as though they’re playing a game of hide-and-seek. It doesn’t make any sense—they’ve never hidden before—they’ve always just attacked.”
“I don’t think they’re hiding,” said David. “I think they’re planning something.”
Kara frowned. “Like what?”
“Uh...guys? We’ve got company,” yelled Jenny, her eyes wide as she pointed towards the entrance to the Pantheon.
A group of large men in navy blue uniforms trundled through the great brass doors. Their hats had gold badges, and guns hung from white belts tied around their waists. The scowls on their faces were frightening.
The alarm ended.
A ringing echoed in Kara’s ears, and she wiggled a finger in her eardrums to try to get the annoying noise to stop. But the humming remained. She heard shouts and screams—the mortals seemed even more agitated now that the Rome police had arrived. They slipped and fell on the slippery marble floor. A few tourists were filming Kara with their smart phones. She wondered if they had caught everything on their cameras.
Snap, snap. Kara was blinded suddenly by the flash of a camera. She blinked away the black spots, and when her vision cleared she could see a young girl standing in front of her.
“Alison, I got her!” she squealed. She waved her phone over her head and ran back to a group of giggling girls.
Kara flipped her hoodie over her head. But it was too late.
The police officers were all looking her way. One of them studied the screen from his phone. He looked up and measured Kara for a moment, and then back at the screen. With a stern look on his face, he held his phone up for the other officers to see.
“Che è la ragazza,” Kara heard him say, his voice echoing against the walls of the dome. Now that the Pantheon was nearly empty, it sounded as though he stood right beside her. His dark eyes never left her. “Lei è il terrorista.”
With his hands in his pockets, Peter spoke with the side of his mouth. “I don’t speak Italian, but I know he just called you a terrorist.”
“I knew this day was going to suck,” said David. “And I still haven’t had the chance to kick a single Seir’s butt.” He sighed and smiled. “Life is just not fair.”
Tatiana rushed over. “This is not good, my friends. The police think you’re a terrorist, Kara. They think you’re responsible for the outbreaks around the world. But how can that be?” She gave Kara a suspicious look.
“I know, I heard, I’ve seen—it’s a long story.”
“They will shoot you,” said Tatiana, her face grim. “And us, if we get in their way.”
Kara turned to see David smiling and posing for the same group of girls that had snapped pictures of her moments before. Typical. She rolled her eyes and looked away.
“We can’t let them shoot us,” whispered Peter. “For one thing, we’re being filmed—bullets can’t harm us—they’ll see that as soon as they start shooting.”
“He’s right,” said Jenny, eyeing the officers. “We can’t be seen getting shot. If this gets out on the net—our cover will be blown.”
“Not to mention our jobs,” said Peter.
“Then we better get a move on; they’re getting ready,” said Kara.
The police officers drew their guns. The commanding officer barked out orders in Italian—the officers charged.
“Let’s go!”
Kara bolted across the dome. In the corner of her eye she saw Tatiana, Tony, and Roberto split apart and charge the police. Angry shouts echoed around the dome, but she didn’t stop to see the outcome; she only prayed they wouldn’t get shot.
With Jenny, David, and Peter running alongside her, the angels tore across the marble floors.
“Stop!” Kara heard someone shout behind her in a heavy Italian accent. “Stop, or we shoot! We shoot!”
Kara glanced over her shoulder. “It’ll be easier if we split up—”
Bang!
A bullet grazed her cheek.
“Are they mad? We’re not even armed!” shouted David as he jumped over a stone bench.
Bang! Bang! BANG!
“Down!” cried Kara.
The four of them fell to th
e ground and flattened themselves against the cold marble floor. A whoosh of bullets passed over their heads. A volley hit the floor next to her face and bounced back up.
Kara reached out and grabbed a spent one. She compressed it between her fingers. “These are rubber bullets! Why are they shooting at us with rubber bullets?”
“Probably because real bullets would ruin the building,” said Peter, and he pocketed a few rubber bullets.
“If they can’t kill us with these things, why are they shooting at us?” asked Jenny.
Peter examined the bullet closer. “They would definitely knock a mortal unconscious or break a few ribs.”
“It’s our lucky day, I guess,” laughed David. “They can’t kill what’s already dead.”
The floor vibrated against Kara’s chest. Boots echoed around them. She pushed herself up onto her elbows. The police officers were only a few feet away.
“Up! Quickly!”
They hauled themselves to their feet and ran, their M-5 suits giving them an easy twenty pace lead. A sudden pressure hit Kara in the back—and then again. Rubber bullets ricocheted off her and fell to the side like ping pong balls. Kara tried hard not to laugh. The officers would eventually realize that something was wrong with them.
Kara stumbled and pretended to be hurt. Moaning, she wrapped her hand around her middle and slowed her pace a bit. She met David’s puzzled expression and winked.
David’s face brightened. “You’re a swell actress, Miss Nightingale. You should be on Broadway. Can I have your autograph?”
“Don’t make me laugh, David. We are on camera—we should look as if the bullets hurt.”
The others caught on and slowed their pace. The police officers fired their rubber bullets at them, hardly ever missing their targets, but the angels kept on running. Angry shouts echoed behind them in Italian as they ran. The officers were livid; soon they would figure out something was amiss.
“We can’t keep on pretending,” said Peter, as he dodged a bullet. “We have to get out the front doors.”
Kara knew he was right. “Let’s split up; then it’ll be harder for them. It’s me they want, anyway. I’ll lead them on while you guys make for the exit. We’ll meet back at the fountain.”
“There’s no way I’m leaving you alone, I’m coming with you,” said David, his face determined.
“No. Go with them. I’ll see you guys in five minutes. And take Thor and Poochie with you.”
David looked hurt, but the others nodded.
“On the count of three...” Kara slowed down. “One...two...three!”
The angels split.
Kara doubled back and ran directly at the wall of police officers. They were almost upon her. At the very last moment, she sidestepped. Parrying bullets, she pushed her M-5 suit just a little. Stunned expressions marked their faces as she blurred past them. With thuds and the sound of flesh hitting flesh, the officers crashed into each other and fell down like pins in a bowling alley.
They scrambled back onto their feet rubbing their limbs and shouting. As far as she could tell, only their pride had been hurt. Kara stood and smiled at them for just a moment. It infuriated them.
They came at her with renewed fury, brandishing their guns before them. Bullets hit her in the chest as she stumbled back, still acting the part. In the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of purple hair near the great brass doors. Jenny had made it through the exit.
Her plan was working. If the policemen only chased her, the others would be safe.
Kara waited until the men were close again, and then took off around the dome. Once she saw David disappear through the doors, she ran one last time around the Pantheon. She dodged as many bullets as she could before making her way towards the exit.
The giant brass doors came into view. Without any tourists to compromise her real identity by snapping away with their smart phones and cameras, Kara pushed her M-5 suit and rocketed out the doors. The police officers scrambled behind her, bewildered by her speed.
Kara ran into the square. It was packed with mortals. Music blasted, tourists were dancing, and the smell of beer and food filled the air.
Kara stood by the fountain and looked around.
But David and the others weren’t there.
Chapter 14
The Betrayal
Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1 Page 98
