Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1

by Kim Richardson

  Kara followed David, Jenny and Peter past the thousands of anxious faces who stood in line to be sorted into their new guardian angel lives at orientation. Their voices buzzed like millions of bees as they waited in the holding chamber that was as large as ten football fields. The air was humid with a smell of the sea. Most of the newly dead that Kara passed were happy, but amongst the cheerful faces a few miserable looking souls stood out.

  A young boy of about fifteen with disheveled brown hair in a black t—shirt and faded jeans nibbled on his nails. He shook as if he were about to write his final school exams and hadn’t studied. Kara remembered how terrified she had been when she had died and found herself amongst thousands of dead folk for the first time. The unknown is a terrifying thing. She felt sorry for the boy, but soon he would be all right. His petty officer would take care of him, just like David had taken care of her on her first day.

  Her eyes wandered over to David. Were they ever going to have a normal life together? It seemed every time they felt like they were getting somewhere as mortals, they would get called back to the GA squad. She had never truly shared her feelings with David as a mortal. It would have been so much easier if she could remember the adventures they had shared as guardians, but as mortals their relationship had to grow on its own terms. He knew she liked him, but it was much more than that. She could never bring herself to say it—the words simply died in her throat like a bad cough. What if he didn’t feel the same way?

  Kara felt like a fool. She was on guardian angel duty. Any kind of emotion was taboo. Her feelings towards David would have to wait. She had more pressing matters to worry about. She could see the tiniest of frowns on David’s face. She could tell he was worried—and with good reason—the legion was sending her out on a suicide mission.

  At first she had thought Ariel must have been joking. But Archangels never joked. The entire CDD unit had stood frozen, waiting to hear if she would dare to confront the dark witch as a mortal. She had stifled a nervous laugh and then had nodded her head.

  It still felt like a dream. To be a guardian angel, you had to be an angel, not a mortal. And yet, here she was on her way to meet with an oracle who would help her prepare for this extraordinary quest.

  They passed several different offices with colossal wooden doors and flashing neon signs that flickered and buzzed. A door stood ajar and Kara could see a room with papers scattered on the floor and half a dozen oracles scurrying around on their giant crystal balls.

  She followed David down a hallway. Kara could feel Jenny’s anxious eyes on her the whole time, but she ignored her. She didn’t want anyone to know how nervous she felt. She wanted to jump out of her angel skin, get back to the mortal world and help her mother. Thinking of her mother gave her the courage she needed to keep walking.

  Think of mom...

  The hallway ended suddenly, and they stood in a large opening. A single door was set against the far wall in the massive space. It was like a Super—store with only one door for the main entrance. Bigger and bolder than the other doors in the orientation area, it seemed out of place.

  David walked up to the door and scrutinized it. “This is it.”

  Kara stepped closer and examined the door. It was ancient, with half—moon scuffmarks on the front that had worn away the stain on the wood giving it a two—toned effect. There was no handle. Above a large wooden frame was a brightly lit neon sign:

  Manufacture Division # 000—0001

  Below the neon sign, someone had taped a note:

  CAUTION, MESSY OFFICE

  ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!

  “Sounds like my old bedroom,” said Jenny. “I used to drive my mom crazy with my clothes lying all over the floor. She was such a neat freak. I told her I was expressing myself.” She twirled on the spot. Her purple hair sparkled against the neon lights, and Kara thought she looked like a military fairy with her combat boots and purple bomber jacket.

  “Nothing wrong with being a little neat,” said Peter looking as though someone had taken away his favorite toy. “It makes finding things easier when you’re organized.”

  Jenny pressed her ear against the door and wrinkled her face. “I can hear voices and some sort of tapping. Maybe they’re rehearsing some tap—dancing moves for the next big Horizon dance—out challenge. I can totally picture the oracles line dancing with those giant crystals.”

  Peter pulled Jenny gently from the door. “Oracles don’t dance, purple—head. They see into the future.”

  Jenny blew him a kiss and twirled away laughing.

  “Shall we?” said David. And before anyone could answer, he kicked the door. It swung open easily. David marched across the threshold, followed quickly by Kara, Jenny and Peter. With a boom, the door shut behind them.

  The gigantic circular room looked to be the size of half a level in Horizon—a world in itself. A cluster of sliding contraptions lined the perimeter of the room like a moving train. Golden smoke puffed out of the chimneys of this steam—powered assembly line. White fluff covered the floor like a foot of snow. At first Kara thought it was snowing, but quickly realized that the white flakes raining on them were from the hundreds of oracles chiseling away at huge boulders of transparent rock overhead. They stood on their crystal balls above a moving platform and sculpted their masterpieces feverishly.

  Kara watched in awe as an oracle transformed one of the giant pieces of rock into a perfect crystal ball in a matter of seconds. The crystal shimmered and a light emanated from inside it. The oracle clapped excitedly and flung his tiny arms around his newborn crystal, sobbing in happiness.

  She had never seen so many oracles in one place at the same time. The tiny men were hard at work, and Kara felt as if she had just stepped into Santa’s workshop. She smiled. It was all strangely beautiful.

  The sound of hammering and the constant puttering of the machine engines thundered around them like a great storm. Apart from the oracles working on the boulders, other oracles swept up mountains of the white fluff onto a second level where it was stored out of sight. Deep paths snaked around the chamber floor in intricate designs where the oracles had ploughed trails for the pedestrians. A few oracles stopped hammering and waved happily at the group.

  “Come on, let’s find who’s in charge here.” David lead the way on one of the trails, he was the only one who didn’t seem impressed with their surroundings. Kara knew he was worried and angry. He hadn’t said much since they left CDD.

  Kara rushed to catch up to David, and Peter pulled Jenny along as she waved at the oracles. The sound of their heavy boots was muffled by the soft white particles from the crystals. After a few minutes of walking, they stood before a large in—ground pool. Steam rose from the silver—colored water that sparkled in the soft light. Twelve crystal spheres were half submerged in the water like eggs in a pot. One single crystal rested in the middle. Directly above it was an enormous spinning model of the solar system, with planets orbiting around the sun.

  David whistled loudly. “Anyone care for a skinny—dip?”

  It was the first time he had smiled since Ariel had told them all Kara would have to go on her next mission as a mortal. Kara needed him to smile, to show his usual confidence. His scowl hadn’t reassured her. She needed David’s encouragement and strength—if he didn’t believe she could do it, then how could she believe she could?

  Kara forced a smile. “Not sure the oracles would be happy to see your uncovered self.”

  “You never know, they might enjoy the show.” David’s expression darkened and hardened again.

  Kara’s knees buckled, and she felt her last thread of confidence drain away. She reached out and grabbed David’s hand. “David, don’t be angry. I need you to believe in me—”

  “Uh...guys,” said Peter, his eyes were wide, and he cocked his head forward.

  Instinctively, Kara let go of David’s hand as an oracle sped towards them.

  “Hello, hello! Welcome, welcome!” The oracle’s silver
robes billowed behind him like a large rippling flag. He reminded Kara of a circus clown she had once seen performing a balancing act on a great rubber ball. White fluff rose and sprayed out on either side of his great crystal ball, like giant waves from a soaring boat. He came to a stop in front of them.

  The oracle clapped his hands excitedly. “Welcome guardians! This is a very exhilarating occasion. We are going to perform the very first memory projection.” He jumped with his finger in the air, slipped and steadied himself before he fell. “I do hope we get it right, it’ll be our very first attempt with a non—oric.”

  “A what?” said Kara, smiling in spite of herself.

  The oracle gave her a curious look. “A non—oric, of course—non—seers, non—clairvoyants—those without the inner eye. We’ve never done it before with a non—oric, so we’ll just have to see what happens, won’t we.”

  “Great, that’s comforting,” grumbled David. He crossed his arms over his chest and if Kara didn’t know any better, she’s have thought he was about to punch the oracle.

  The oracle’s piercing blue eyes searched the group and settled on Kara. His eyes widened. “And you must be the lucky winner! You are Kara, are you not?—the one with the tainted essence—the guardian chosen for the very special, never—heard—of assignment. A one—of—a—kind mission for a one—of—a—kind guardian.”

  The oracle’s eyes shimmered, and Kara felt he might have been searching her body for her tainted part. She was being dissected like a lab rat, and she hated it. She fidgeted on the spot uncomfortably.

  “Yup, that’s me. I’m the lucky one.”

  She didn’t feel lucky at all, in fact she felt as though she had been cursed. She looked over to Jenny, who gave her a worried smile. She felt the first stages of panic rise in her chest. Straining to remain calm, she looked over to the oracle.

  “Oracle, so what’s this memory projection? I don’t remember ever hearing about it before,” she said, glad her voice sounded even.

  The oracle took a moment before answering. “Memory projection is what we oracles use to see the future, or the future of the world. It is a powerful tool, yet not an exact science, mind you.”

  The oracle scratched his head, lost in thought for a moment. Wisps of his long white hair wavered on the top of his head like tall grasses. “It’s not always a hundred per cent accurate, you see. Futures change. They evolve and disappear only to be replaced by new ones. With every decision one makes, the path of one’s future changes. Sometimes the future we see does not come to pass. In certain cases we can also use memory projection to change the course of the future, to alter one’s path. But meddling with the future has its risks. Altering the future can be devastating...but let’s not get into that right now.”

  The oracle tilted his head and lost his smile.

  Kara was even more confused. It was no wonder the oracles were always a little bit off. She rubbed her temples feeling a jumbo headache on its way. “So how is this supposed to work on me? I’m not even sure why I’m here. How is this memory—projecting thing supposed to help me on my new assignment? Do I have to see into my future or something?”

  The oracle stared into space. “Hmm? I’m sorry dear, what were we talking about?”

  Kara frowned. “The memory projection? Remember?”

  The oracle shook out of his trance, his smile returned. “Well of course dear! This is so exiting!” As he leaned forward slightly, his crystal ball squished the top of Kara’s toes, and she just had enough time to pull them out before they got stuck. “You have been chosen to perform your next mission as a mortal.”

  “We already know that,” interrupted David, “why don’t you tell us something we don’t already know.”

  The oracle’s eyes had a cheery glow in them—the look of a mad scientist eager to demonstrate his latest invention. “You see, once you return to your mortal body,” continued the oracle, “all your memories and abilities as a guardian will be lost to you. You will have no recollection of your guardian angel days. You will not remember your friends here, or me, for that matter. It will be just like before when you returned to Earth after your previous assignments. Your memory will be erased—”

  The oracle snapped his fingers.

  “...which is why we have decided to use the memory projection on you. It will help you remember and see through the veil of the supernatural. You’ll be able to see your friends as guardian angels, and your eyes will be open to your enemies.”

  Kara could already see fragments of the supernatural as a mortal, but she kept that to herself for now. She didn’t want to confuse the oracle. “So...once I’m back in my mortal body, I’m going to remember my mission as a guardian angel. Okay, I get it. Will it be instantaneous?”

  “We hope so,” said the oracle, not looking too convincing. His fingers twitched nervously at his side.

  “Is it dangerous?” demanded David. “You said you’ve never done this before to a non—oric. So, you’re not even sure it will work, am I right?”

  The oracle folded his hands together. “We are fairly certain it will work on Miss Clara—”.

  “Fairly certain is not certain.” David’s voice rose, and he stepped forward towards the oracle.

  “So there’s a chance it won’t work. What if something goes wrong, did you think of that? What if something bad happens to her? What if this hurts her, or she loses her mind? Have you thought of that?”

  “It’s all right, David,” said Kara. “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she lied and clasped her trembling hands behind her. “I’ve agreed to do this. It’s my job. I have to stop the dark warlock from taking more souls. I need to save my mother. If I have to be mortal to do it, then so be it. It’s a chance I have to take.” She realized she sounded braver than she felt. She hoped that David was buying her performance.

  “This is crazy!” David’s voice trembled with rage. “She can’t do this as a mortal! She won’t be strong enough. Mortals are just a bag of blood and bones. She’ll be vulnerable to demons, to the Seirs. She won’t be able to defend herself. She’ll be tortured and killed. I won’t let you do this to her!”

  “But you must,” said the oracle in a soothing voice.

  “I won’t!”

  “But you will.” He fixed his eyes on David. “Clara must complete her mission as a mortal guardian. It is the only way to get close enough to the dark witch. As a guardian angel, you know the importance of the mortals and their souls. It will be your job to protect her once she joins her mortal body. She will rely on you and this group to protect her. We do not know if her elemental abilities will surface. But it is a chance we must take—for the sake of all the mortal souls in the world.”

  Kara didn’t like the sound of that. As a guardian angel, she could always rely on her special elemental power, even though it was unpredictable. At least it was there as a safety net. Now she was going back out there to fight a demon with nothing. She felt naked, as defenseless as a mortal.

  The ground shook suddenly, and Kara turned to see eleven more oracles approaching on their crystal balls. Their big smiles should have reassured her, but they didn’t. She tried to smile back.

  “Ah, here we are,” the oracle smiled brightly as he greeted his brethren. “Now we may begin.” The eleven oracles rolled their crystal balls around the pool in a straight line. One by one the oracles settled themselves in front of the pool and jumped off their crystal balls to land on the other crystals that were submerged into the water.

  “It is time, Tara.” The oracle stretched out his grubby little hand towards Kara. “Come now, we shall begin the memory projection.” He joined the other oracles in the pool.

  Kara’s skin tingled. It was too late to back out now. She caught Jenny staring at her and offered her a brave smile, even though the worry in her eyes gave her away. David’s cold gaze was fixed on the pool, and Peter tried unsuccessfully to blend into the background.

  As she took a step forward, David gra
bbed her arm and steered her towards him.

  “Wait, I have something for you.” He pulled up the sleeve from his jacket and untied a thin brown leather bracelet. “Give me your wrist.”

  Obediently, Kara held out her left arm and watched David as he tied it securely around her wrist. Just by the way he was handling it, she knew it was important to him. She had seen the bracelet on David’s wrist many times, but had never thought of asking where he’d gotten it or why he wore it. It had never seemed important at the time. It looked like a regular leather bracelet with strips of leather braided together with a few multicolored beads. Was this David’s way of saying their relationship was going to the next level?

  “Why are you giving me this?” she asked awkwardly. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton balls. He had never given her anything before, and it made her even more nervous.

  “It’s my lucky charm,” said David. “I’ve had it since my first assignment as a guardian. I was overconfident and stupid, and I failed to save the mortal. He was a guy around my age...he even kinda looked like me in a weird way. Anyway, I managed to save his soul, but it wasn’t good enough, I should have saved him, too. He had this bracelet on him, so I took it to remember him...I never wanted to forget.” He stared at the ground for a moment. “It’s always brought me luck, and I think you should have it now.”

  Kara felt like her chest was going to burst. She didn’t know what to say. She wanted to kiss him, but everyone was waiting for her and watching.

  “David...I can’t accept this...”

  “Didn’t your mother tell you it’s impolite to refuse a gift?” He teased. “You need this more than me, and I’ll feel better knowing that you have it.”

  She rolled the bracelet gently over her wrist. “Thanks David, this means a lot.”

  “Miss Tara!” called the oracle. “We need to start the projection. Hurry up please!”

  Kara and David locked eyes for a moment before she pulled herself away reluctantly. With her fingers still twisting the bracelet, she made her way to the edge of the pool and watched her silver reflection waver in the water, like a foggy memory of the girl she once was.

  With some effort, the oracle leaped above the water and landed effortlessly on a crystal ball. “Right then,” he said. “You must stand on the middle crystal, Tara. Once you’re settled, then we shall begin.”

  Kara was just about to tell him her name was Kara and not Tara, but she bit her tongue. She looked around. She felt like she was part of some weird ritual where the girl would be placed in the middle of a circle and then cut into tiny pieces as offerings to some pagan god. All of a sudden, the pool seemed very cold and uninviting.

  Someone grabbed her hand and pulled her around. Jenny smothered Kara in a bear hug and whispered in her ear. “See you on the other side, girl.”

  Kara smiled uncertainly and let go of Jenny gently, like she was forced to do so, even thought she didn’t want to.

  “Good luck, Kara,” said Peter awkwardly. “I’m sure everything will be all right. We’ll see you soon.”

  Kara smiled and tried to answer, but the words died in her throat.

  David edged closer and interlaced his fingers with hers. His face was so close that she was tempted to kiss him. She forced the thought out of her head.

  “If it doesn’t feel right, you jump off.” His blue eyes pierced into hers. “If it hurts, or you know something is wrong, you get off. You get me?”

  Kara found her voice. “I will, don’t worry. I’m sure the oracles know what they’re doing...hopefully. ”

  But Kara was terrified. It took her some time to let go of David’s fingers.

  She stood by the edge of the pool. The water looked like melted iron. Her feet felt like concrete blocks.

  She lifted her right boot and stepped into the pool.

  The silver water only rose to her knees, and she relaxed a little. She swished her fingers through the water. It was thicker than normal water, like liquid soap. It was cool, but not uncomfortably cool. She climbed easily on the top of the crystal in the middle of the circle and stood up, waiting.

  She looked to David who gave her a thumbs up and a quivering smile.

  “One more thing,” said the oracle, “If you die as a mortal, then the link will be lost. And we will not be able to perform another memory projection on you. It can only be done once. If we do it again, your soul will be destroyed. A mortal soul cannot take that much projection.” All the oracles bobbed their heads up and down in agreement.

  “So if I die as a mortal, then I won’t be able to finish the job,” said Kara. “The dark warlock will win. I get it.”

  “Sometimes sacrifices are inevitable,” said the oracle. “The blood of the one that walks alone will free the souls.”

  Kara wasn’t sure what that meant. She hated when oracles spoke in riddles, and she didn’t feel like trying to understand it at that moment, since she was already scared to death.

  “Let us begin.” All the oracles lifted their arms in the air. Kara watched anxiously and wondered if she should lift her arms, too. She grabbed hold of the bracelet and twisted it with her fingers, grateful for its small comfort.

  Crack!

  Electricity filled the air above the pool. Kara’s clothes and hair flapped in an invisible wind. A coolness sucked out the hot air. The oracles reached out and clasped their hands together in a circle around her.

  Kara watched mesmerized. Their blue eyes glazed over with a golden color. They started to chant in a language that Kara couldn’t recognize. As their chanting grew louder, thunder rumbled overhead. Jenny and Peter stepped backwards with fear in their eyes. But David stood still. His fingers were curled into fists and his eyes locked onto Kara with an expression as if to say, ‘say the word and I’ll come get you’. Part of her wanted him to.

  Lightning flashed from crystal to crystal, until they were all connected like a white—hot spider web. Kara’s feet slid, and she strained to keep her balance. The silver waters bubbled and mist coiled above its surface. She didn’t want to slip and fall in.

  Suddenly the water from the pool rose all around and formed a ring around Kara and the oracles. David and the others disappeared behind the wall of rolling water. She was inside a tornado of water. The chanting grew even louder. She thought she heard David calling out to her, but there was too much noise to hear anything clearly.

  A bright light burned her eyes. It was miracle she still stood on the crystal ball. She blinked the blotches away. Images appeared on the water like a giant movie projection. Kara watched amazed as images of people, places and things blurred passed her as though they were on fast forward. The images began to slow until she could make sense of them. She saw faces of different men and women and children. She saw a field of orange poppies swaying in the wind, then a city’s skylight.

  Then the images shifted, and she saw her reflection in the water.

  She saw herself walking down the street with her portfolio and cell phone. A scream died in her throat as she witnessed her body slam against the front of a bus. The images changed. She saw herself standing in the elevator with Chimp 5M51. Then she was a guardian, fighting shadow demons with David. The image shifted again, and she saw herself at a breakfast table, laughing with her mom. A blur, then she was in the Netherworld fighting a higher demon with David. More and more images of her life as a mortal and as a guardian flashed before her eyes. She felt dizzy. She wavered on the spot. Her body felt cold. The visions spun faster and faster. Her head throbbed, and she screamed. Her mind was on fire. A bolt of energy flashed through her like chill. She looked down. Her body was enflamed in white fire.

  The white fire exploded. Kara screamed, and her body disappeared.

  Chapter 4

  Amnesia