The people on the streets were starting to annoy Kara. She narrowly missed a head—on collision with a man with a face like a horse. She spun around, doing a three—sixty as she ran along the street. Sweat trickled down her forehead. As she swiveled sideways, jumped onto the sidewalk and shot through the oncoming crowd, she balanced her portfolio and thought about her big presentation.
She’d hardly slept for the past few days. She’d been too freaked out. She had even skipped her breakfast—since anything going down might come right back out.
Today was her interview with Ubisoft, the giant video game design company. Her future was in their hands, and she felt like a total spaz. She had been practicing her speech for weeks and had carefully arranged her portfolio with her best 3d model renderings. But now her brain was numb, as though someone had pressed the delete button and erased her mind.
She pressed her cell phone against her ear. “Okay—I just got onto Saint Joseph Street, so I’ll be there like in two minutes.”
“Well, you better hurry,” said the voice on the line. “I can see a line forming inside, and I think they’ve already started some interviews. Hurry up, or you’ll be late.”
“I’m not late! I still have ten minutes before my interview. I’m almost there.”
A laugh came through the speaker. “I’m just saying—this is supposed to be the most important day of your life—and you’re late. You’ve been talking about this for weeks.”
Kara dashed along the busy street. “Excuse me! Coming through—coming through—super important presentation coming through—”
Breathing hard, she squeezed herself through the crowd. She nearly tripped on something and cursed, she couldn’t afford to fall down right now. Her heart was in her throat, and her lungs were raw from running. If she were late, she’d never forgive herself. As it was, she would arrive red—faced and sweaty like a pig—a great first impression.
“Okay, I can see you now,” said Kara.
David was leaning against Ubisoft’s front brick exterior. He wore his favorite brown leather jacket with the collar rolled up, and his blond hair sparkled like gold in the sunlight. He looked like a mix between a young James Bond and Han Solo from Star Wars. Their eyes met, and her heart did a somersault. Even after dating for the last few months, he still had that effect on her. Every time she saw him, she felt weak in the knees. She felt as though they had been together for years—it just felt natural to be with him.
“I thought we might catch a bite to eat after your interview,” said David through the speaker.
Her cheeks burned. “Let’s see how the presentation goes first. I might want to jump into the Saint Laurence River if it goes badly. God, I hope it goes well—”
“Stop worrying. It won’t go bad—you’ll get the scholarship I’m sure of it. If I can get a scholarship for Mechanical Engineering, there’s no way you won’t get hired. Besides, I feel like it’s going to be a good day.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Kara took a deep breath and sprinted onto Saint Laurence Boulevard. As she ran, her cell phone slipped out of her hand and hit the ground with a crash.
“Urgh, I’m such a klutz!” She crouched down to grab her phone.
A flicker of movement appeared in the corner of her eye.
“WATCH OUT!” Someone shouted. She stood up and turned around.
A city bus hurtled towards her.
Kara watched in horror as a city bus came charging straight at her.
She closed her eyes and braced herself for impact—
But the impact never came.
Someone grasped her left arm and lifted her off the ground. She floated in the air momentarily as someone pulled her away from the bus. Her portfolio flew out of her hand, and she landed a few feet away. The bus skidded to a stop and ploughed through the spot where she had stood moments before.
A hand was still wrapped tightly around her arm, and Kara turned around to get a glimpse of her savior.
“Careful there,” said a smiling girl with short purple hair and the most dazzling green eyes that Kara had ever seen. She looked like a fairy soldier in a purple bomber jacket with matching purple combat boots.
A shy looking teen boy with glasses and dressed in the same military style helped Kara to steady herself, “Yeah, you don’t want to be late for your big day,” he said.
Kara’s pulse raced. “Huh? How did you know...?” She stared at the pair of them. It took her a moment to compose herself. They both looked strangely familiar.
“Thank you—you saved my life.”
“No problem—it’s all part of the job,” said the girl cheerfully. She shared a look with her friend.
Kara couldn’t take her eyes off the two strangers. It was the strangest thing, but she felt like she already knew them. Even their voices sounded familiar to her ears.
“You guys look familiar—have we met before? Did we share a class or something?”
“Or something,” said the girl. Her green eyes glistened playfully in the sun.
“So we have met before?”
“In another life, perhaps,” answered the boy. “But not yet in this lifetime.”
“Uh...you’ve completely lost me. What does that mean?” Kara scrutinized the two of them. Their smiling eyes gave them away. She could tell they were holding something back.
“KARA!”
David tackled Kara in a hug. He squished the air from her lungs and then released her. “Are you all right? You almost got hit by that bus! What were you thinking—crossing without looking?”
Kara felt stupid for being such a klutz. “I know. I know. I was too absorbed with my presentation. I should have been more careful. But I’m fine—thanks to them.”
She turned to introduce David to her two rescuers.
“This is David, my...” Kara faltered. They had never really talked about it. She felt his eyes on her, but she couldn’t look at him.
“...boyfriend,” finished David. He stepped forward and shook their hands. “I’m her boyfriend.”
Kara’s heart did a jumbo pirouette, and she forgot to breathe. She must have looked astonished because the girl with the purple hair giggled. Kara couldn’t help but laugh, too.
“Take care of yourself,” said the girl. “Until we meet again. Good luck.”
And before Kara could reply, they turned on their heels and walked away. She stared after them until they disappeared into the crowd. She felt sad to see them go—there was something about those two that she just couldn’t figure out.
“You dropped this.” David picked up her portfolio, which miraculously wasn’t damaged. “Someone’s definitely watching over you. You could have been killed today, silly girl.”
Strangely enough, Kara felt the same way. She couldn’t describe it, but she did feel that something or someone was watching over her. Were those two people involved somehow?
But today was going to be a good day; she felt it in her bones. David had just announced to the world that they were an item, and she took courage from that. She was ready to face anything.
David held out his hand. “Ready, hot stuff?” His eyes sparkled like the sea.
Kara smiled warmly and interlaced her fingers with his.
She squeezed his hand. “Ready.”
Kara took a deep breath. They crossed the street together and disappeared through Ubisoft’s front doors.
SOUL GUARDIANS
* Book Seven *
REAPERS
KIM RICHARDSON
Reapers, Soul Guardians Book 7:
Copyright © 2014 by Kim Richardson
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any from or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without t
he permission in writing from the author or publisher. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
First edition: November 2014
For Rosy,
Chapter 1
The Deception
Marked, Soul Guardians Book 1 Page 132
