Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1

by Kim Richardson

  Kara did not want to be demon dog kibble. She liked the stranger’s grip on her hand as they raced down the street, even if it did feel a little electrifying. He was fast, really fast, with super strength. He had to be an angel. There was no other explanation, unless he was Superman’s half-brother. He pulled her along like a doll, as though she didn’t weigh anything at all. Her feet soared above the pavement and only touched solid ground every few seconds. It was the closest thing to flying she’d ever experienced. She stole a look behind her.

  The hound demons ran like giant grey wolves on steroids. She wasn’t sure the stranger’s super speed would be fast enough. They made her skin crawl. And soon they would catch up to them.

  “Behind—us—the—demons,” said Kara trying to catch her breath. “Go—faster!”

  Suddenly, the stranger spun Kara around, and in the same movement he propelled his body forward and threw his dagger with his other arm. It sliced through the air like a bullet and perforated the closest creature’s head with a thud. The beast stumbled and toppled over with an ear splitting howl. Kara covered her ears with her hands as the demon hound convulsed and twitched, its skin sizzling and popping like oil in a frying pan. Within seconds there was nothing left but a small pile of black ashes in the white snow.

  Kara searched the darkness for the other creatures. Something moved up the street between two buildings. But when she blinked, whatever it was had disappeared.

  “Where did the other two go? They were right there?” she said.

  “I don’t know, but they’re not far. Probably watching us right now, waiting for us to make a mistake.”

  Kara inspected the remains. “Is it dead? It looks pretty dead to me.”

  “For now. Its spirit is back in the Netherworld where it belongs,” answered the stranger.

  He swept the ground near the kill, picked up his silver dagger, wiped it clean on his jeans, and sheathed it back inside his jacket. “We can’t stay out here it’s too dangerous. I have to get you to the safe house where the demons won’t be able to sense us.”

  Kara brushed the ashes with her boot. “What are these things anyway? One minute they were solid, and the next they just disintegrated into dust, like some weird spontaneous combustion phenomenon.”

  “Hound demons are hunters and guardians of the Netherworld. They’re expert trackers and killers. Think of them like police dogs, only bigger and a million times more evil—and they’re here to kill you. Someone sent them after us.”

  The stranger grabbed her hand jolting her with electricity again.

  “They found our scent, and once they’re locked on to it—there’s nothing to be done. They’ll hunt us down forever if they have to. They’ll never stop until they destroy you, and more will come. We have to get out of here—it’s not safe for you anymore.”

  As if on cue, an angry pack of giant rabid hound demons crawled from the shadows and advanced slowly towards them. The growling hounds lifted their noses in the air, smelling their scent. Kara felt like a hundred ants were crawling up her spine. Her heart pounded in her ears.

  “I’ll never be rid of them, right? They’ll always find me no matter where I go?” She knew it was true.

  “You’re like a demon—magnet,” said the strange David, glancing quickly at her. “You’ve always been. But this is weird—I’ve never seen so many at once. Usually they’re sent as a pair—not a pack. I can’t fight them all. We’ll have to make a run for it.”

  The hounds howled and charged.

  “Unless you want to become a new brand of dog food, we have to go!”

  He pulled Kara and ran until her legs were on fire and felt like concrete blocks. Every breath was like swallowing razor blades. Her throat was raw. She couldn’t keep going. The guy who called himself David didn’t even break a sweat. Maybe angels didn’t have the need to perspire? She hoped he would need water and rest. How far was the nice warm safe house?

  The foul smell from the hound demons burned Kara’s nostrils. She swallowed back the bile in her throat and tried to breathe through her mouth, but the cold air scorched her throat.

  They sprinted down another dark street, turned a corner and tall street lamps illuminated the dark like brilliant stars, and Kara could see where they were going. The David guy didn’t seem to mind the darkness. Did angels see in the dark? Kara shivered in a cold sweat. If she didn’t get warm soon, she would get sick or die of exhaustion.

  The wild wails and scraping nails of the beasts tearing down the street behind them were so close that Kara could almost feel their foul breath on the back of her neck. If they didn’t get to safety soon, they were dog—chow.

  A green street sign caked with snow read: Saint—Marc. The street was covered in drifting snow and the shops that lined either side were dark and closed.

  All except for one. They raced towards the soft yellow light that emanated from a shop nestled between Mario’s all you can eat Pizzeria and One—eye Bill’s Bakery. As she staggered forward, Kara turned—her heart skipped.

  The hound demons were feet away. Their putrid hot breath made her gag. She lost her footing and tripped. In an instant the stranger grabbed her jacket and pulled her up just as a giant claw slashed so near her face she could smell its stink of rotten flesh.

  The stranger pushed Kara forward, to protect her with his body.

  He turned to face the demons.

  He hit the first one between the eyes with a powerful blow, and the beast fell to the side—only to be replaced by another larger one. Its sharp fangs snapped towards his face and the tentacles on its head lashed out at him like a nest of hungry snakes. He screamed and when he pulled the barbed tentacle from his neck, brilliant light seeped from the gash on his skin.

  Kara was breathing hard. She heard a grunt and turned to see rows of pointy teeth that glimmered in the dark like the jaws of a great white shark. Red eyes glowered with hatred. Kara was staring at death. Instinctively, she kicked out with her leg and managed to make crunch her boots into its head.

  The creature howled and leaped for her throat—

  The front door of Jim’s Old Bookstore exploded open.

  Mr. Patterson charged madly into the street with two glowing crystal balls the size of grapefruits in his hands. He whipped them hard towards the demon hounds, one after another, like a baseball pitcher. The stranger pulled Kara down, and the crystals soared inches above their heads.

  The ground shook. Thunder and lightning cackled overhead, and an intense white light illuminated the street.

  The demon hounds’ bodies blazed in white fire. The creatures tore at their own skin, howling. And then they dissolved and the fire subsided. Except for the piles of ashes on the white snow, the street was deserted. The hounds were destroyed.

  Kara stood up on shaky legs—amazed she could still stand. She held the cramp at her side. Her throat burned with every intake of air, and she choked and coughed as she fought for air. She wiped her wet face with the sleeve of her jacket.

  “Filthy creatures! How dare you show yourselves on my street! Go back to the Netherworld!” spat Mr. Patterson.

  He paced around the street, kicking up snow as he went.

  “And don’t ever think of coming back, you hear? I’m warning you, keep your dogs on a leash! The light will always prevail! Darkness will never conquer the light!”

  Kara had no idea who he was ranting at out there in his Hawaiian shirt and green Bermuda shorts.

  Mr. Patterson turned and beamed at Kara and the stranger.

  “Ah! Finally, there you are. You’re a half hour late. I was beginning to worry. Messy business this is, sending hound demons in the streets—my street. Dark days are coming, mark my words—I have seen it. We mustn’t linger, there are worse things than hound demons out tonight. Come inside, quickly.”

  He waddled past them hurriedly, mumbling to himself and then disappeared through the front door of his shop.

  “Mr. Patterson?” Kara watched
her boss disappear behind the door.

  She tensed, a cold shiver on the back of her neck. The stranger was staring at her like she was some sort of experiment gone wrong.

  “So...this is your safe house? Is this for real? I work here!”

  “Come on,” he said. “We’ll explain everything to you inside.”

  Before she could argue that she wasn’t going in until he explained himself, the guy turned and pushed open the front door. Curiosity and the fear of more hound demons got the best of her. As she stepped across the doormat she could hear muffled voices. Wind chimes sang faintly from above the front door as she pushed in.

  Jim’s Old Bookstore was in its usual borderline—hoarding state. The air smelled like a mixture of old glue and mildew, and the single flickering light bulb on the loose wire in the center of the shop illuminated the dust particles like miniature snowflakes. Crooked stacks of books teetered perilously in piles that went all the way up to the ceiling.

  Mr. Patterson stood behind a glass case on the right side of the shop, frantically polishing a crystal ball as if it were stained, and he couldn’t get it out no matter how much he buffed it.

  Movement in the back of the store caught Kara’s eye. A girl around her age emerged from behind a bookshelf. She looked like a combat elf, with sharp features and a short purple pixie—like haircut. She wore a purple bomber—style jacket, black cargo pants and matching purple boots.

  A shy, nerdy—looking boy with glasses followed closely behind her. He fidgeted nervously and eyed everything in the shop with great interest. He was dressed in the same military—style black clothes, and finished the look with a green T—shirt that read, Nerds rule! Their skin gave off a subtle glow, just like the stranger’s.

  The girl came skipping towards Kara. “So—how does it feel? Are you filled with disgustingly sappy mortal emotions? Are you all giddy inside? Do you feel like crying all the time? God, I miss a good cry. Is it different from when you’re in an M—suit? I bet it is.”

  The girl smiled, her large green eyes sparkled like giant emeralds.

  Kara stepped away from the girl.

  “You’re an angel, too—aren’t you? And him,” she said, pointing a shaking finger at the boy.

  It was warm inside but somehow she was still shaking. She wrapped her arms around herself. Why were there angels in Mr. Patterson’s bookstore?

  She watched as the girl and the stranger who called himself David exchanged a worried look.

  “She doesn’t remember anything,” he told them. “It didn’t work.”

  His face was deflated, and he kept glancing at Kara as though she might fall to pieces at any moment. She felt as if she had just walked in on a private conversation, everyone knew what the subject in question was—except her. It annoyed her a little.

  “But they told us it would work on her?” said the boy with the glasses. “This doesn’t make sense—oracles don’t usually get anything wrong?”

  The girl examined Kara closer.

  “Nothing, really? You don’t know who I am?” she asked Kara, and then she lowered her voice, as if somehow that would help her remember. “It’s me...Jenny, your gal pal. I was the first GA to greet you on your very first day at CDD. Don’t you remember?”

  Kara shook her head.

  “Never—seen—you—before—in—my—life,” she said.

  Kara was cold—her teeth chattered together. Her nose began to run, and she wished she had a Kleenex.

  “Oh dear,” said Mr. Patterson.

  He placed his crystal gently beneath his glass counter and made his way towards them. His bare feet slapped the wood floors, and his large footprints smeared the top layer of grime. “Now we’re in a pickle.”

  “You think? You oracles told us that it would work. Obviously, it didn’t.” The strange David guy paced around the room in a rage and punched the nearest bookshelf. It wavered and a selection of books banged to the floor.

  Mr. Patterson ignored the guy’s tantrum and clasped Kara’s hands into his. His eyebrows shot up. “Dear me, your hands are cold as ice!”

  “I lost my mitts,” said Kara grumpily. “My mom knitted them for me.” Her throat throbbed and her eyes began to burn.

  She hated herself for forgetting about her mom. Her mother still needed medication—she had to get out of here. She forced herself not to think of her mother. She didn’t want to cry in front of these strangers.

  Mr. Patterson smiled kindly. “Well, let me fetch you a cup of hot chocolate to warm you up. And if I’m not mistaken, I think you’ve left a pair of mittens here. Just a second dear.”

  “I’d like that, thank you,” said Kara.

  Mr. Patterson disappeared behind his counter, clicked on a microwave, and returned moments later with a cup of hot chocolate and a pair of grey and black wool mitts.

  Kara wrapped her stiff fingers around the warm cup. She took a sip. The hot chocolate warmed her and soothed her throat. It rejuvenated her.

  “So that memory—charm thing didn’t work, then, huh,” said Jenny looking worried. “That’s a real bummer. They said they could only do it once—so what are we going to do? Ariel told us that Kara was the only one going on the job as a mortal. It’s not like we could do it?”

  “It’s much worse than that,” said the stranger David angrily. “Somehow, she’s attracting more demons than before. That pack of hound demons nearly finished us. Whatever the oracles did to her, they marked her as an easy target. It’s like she has a sign on her forehead that reads, free soul for demons—come and get it.” He turned to Mr. Patterson and his expression darkened.

  Mr. Patterson frowned. His eyes disappeared into his wrinkles. “Oh, dear, I’m afraid we had not thought about that. If you’re right, then she’s tainted—in more than one way. Her true self is exposed.”

  “Exposed?” Kara watched the scene unfold like a miniseries on television except that it was about her!

  “Like a guardian without an M—suit,” said Mr. Patterson matter of factly.

  Jenny’s jaw dropped. “A skinned chicken. Now that sucks.”

  The stranger David pulled at his hair. “I should have never let her do this! I should have known it wouldn’t have worked! The legion has always used her to their advantage. And now she’s as good as—”

  “As what?” said Kara, “...dead?”

  She stared at the guy, challenging him to speak his mind. He opened his mouth, but no words came out, then he looked away. Something about his nervous expression made her uncomfortable. Could there be some truth to what he was saying?

  “Oh, man,” the nerdy guy with the glasses rubbed his forehead. “How is she supposed to complete her mission like this? She doesn’t even know who we are. We should head back to CDD and brief Ariel. I mean—we’re stuck aren’t we? It’s not like we can move forward with the mission now, with her like that.”

  “This royally sucks.” Jenny threw herself in a chair and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Mr. Patterson,” said Kara as she edged into the group. “What’s going on? Do you know these people?”

  She wanted to say angels, but she felt it would just be too weird asking him that.

  Mr. Patterson sighed. “Yes, dear, I do. And so do you, but you just don’t remember.”

  “But I don’t.” Kara shook her head and did her best to hide her annoyance. “I’ve never seen them before. I think I would remember them—they glow in the dark.”

  “See? What do we do now?” shouted the stranger David, before Kara could ask another question. “We’re finished! There’s no way we can get to the witch now. Let’s face it, the mission’s over. We’re done.”

  Kara frowned as she repeated the word witch in her mind. What was that about?

  “It is not as bad as it seems. We foresaw a few flaws in the procedure,” Mr. Patterson twirled his white beard between his fingers. He was silent for a moment then said, “I believe she just needs a little push—in order for her memorie
s to return. But we must move quickly before the projection wears off completely.”

  The stranger David stopped dead in his tracks. “What kind of push? You better not mess this up more. I’m afraid I might go a little crazy in your store.”

  With a hop in his step, Mr. Patterson scurried over behind his counter. He pulled the sliding top across and grabbed the largest of his crystal balls. As he held it up, it glistened in the light like a miniature moon. He grinned like a schoolboy.

  “We need to jump—start her brain.”

  Kara’s mouth fell open. “You want to do what to my brain?”

  Mr. Patterson suddenly looked a lot like a miniature Dr. Frankenstein—he had a crazed mad—scientist look in his eye.

  “I don’t think I want you to do anything to my brain,” she continued, “I like my brain the way it is, thank you.”

  The tiny old man hurried over, cradling his crystal ball like a newborn child. “It won’t hurt, dear, I promise.” His eyes widened. “Actually, it might sting just a little—”

  “It’ll bring back her memories,” interrupted stranger David, “you’re quite sure it’ll work? Are you a hundred percent positive, old man?”

  “We’ll just have to see, won’t we? But I believe that just the right amount of crystal propulsion should do the trick. Just a little zap! But we must hurry.”

  Mr. Patterson measured Kara. “I can hardly see the projection on her anymore. It’s fading. Quickly now.”

  Kara frowned. “H—e—l—l—o—I’m right here! And I don’t want anyone doing anything to my brain. Do you hear me?”

  Mr. Patterson ignored Kara and looked over to Jenny. “Penny, can you bring your chair over here, please.”

  Jenny shook her head and shrugged. “Penny was our dog, Mr. P.”

  She jumped up and shoved her chair over to Kara. “Sit,” she ordered with a huge smile. “You be a good girl now.”

  Kara stood her ground. “Just a second, none of this is making any sense—”

  The stranger David reached out and held Kara’s hand. She cringed at the electric shock that pulsed through her palm again. “Trust me, Kara. You need to do this. It’ll all make sense soon, I promise. The Kara I know would want this. She would want to remember—she would want to finish the mission.”

  Kara pursed her lips. She was in a room packed with angels and Dr. Frankenstein, who was about to fry her brain. No big deal. To top it off, demons were trying to kill her, and her mother lay dying from an incurable virus. What could be worse? She couldn’t shake off the feeling that the stranger David was telling the truth—somehow she trusted him.

  Against her better judgment, she sank into the chair and shrugged. “Now what?”

  “Hold this in your hands.” Mr. Patterson handed the crystal ball to Kara.

  “It might feel hot and you could get a shock, but whatever happens...don’t drop it,” he said. “It would be very bad if you did. Stand back everyone!” He let go of the sphere, lifted his arms dramatically, and jumped back.

  Kara wanted to reply that she wasn’t planning on dropping it, but as soon as her hands touched the crystal, her body stiffened, and a series of images flashed in her mind’s eye. It was like a television had turned on inside her head.

  She saw herself fighting misshapen demons with glowing red eyes. Then she jumped into a pool of salt water and watched as her body sparkled and dissolved into tiny particles. Next she was tied to a chair as a mechanical man drained her of her blood. The images changed again, and she saw herself fighting against a group of evil—looking bald men with eyes tattooed to the back of their heads. She wanted to scream. The images shifted—golden electricity danced along her body until she was ablaze in golden fire.

  She clamped her hands tightly around the crystal as a wave of cool energy washed through her. Her legs shook. The crystal suddenly felt heavy in her hands. Her hands started to sweat, and she felt her fingers slip. She strained to hang on. Faster and faster the images flashed inside her mind, until she felt she might go mad...

  Silence. The last images wavered and disappeared. Kara blinked. Sweat dripped down her back, and her heart raced like she had run a marathon. She rolled the crystal ball gently in her clammy hands.

  She remembered. She remembered it all!

  Kara looked up—she recognized his face. He had been telling the truth all along.

  “David, I’m so sorry.”

  David beamed. “Welcome back.”

  Chapter 6

  Boscastle village, Cornwall