“But guys, what about Santo? He’s waiting for us,” cried Peter, and he nearly tripped on a crack on the sidewalk.
Kara steadied him as they ran. “We’ll meet him later. I’m sure he’ll understand once he sees my face all over the news. Maybe he already knows—”
A black SUV appeared up the street.
It ploughed through metal garbage bins and benches on the sidewalk as it sped toward them. They leapt out of the way just in time. The SUV fishtailed and swiveled to a stop, tires screeching and burning rubber. Kara blinked through a sickly grey mist. The doors flew open, and four Seirs leaped out of the SUV, with death blades glimmering in their hands. The black kohl that rimmed their eyes made them look like ugly masked jesters.
The largest mortal Kara had ever seen took an enormous stride towards her. His gargantuan body towered easily over the other Seirs, making them look like children rather than full-grown men. She had never imagined that humans could be as large as archangels.
The giant’s pallid face was oblong and warped, as though someone had hit him with a shovel and the skin and muscles had stayed that way. His white flaky eyebrows crunched into a frown, and he lowered his massive head and cocked it slowly to both sides, like a tyrannosaurus examining its prey. Kara saw her reflection in his dull blue eyes. He gave her the creeps.
“Your soul is mine, angel,” said the giant, in a guttural voice that sounded more animal than human. He pointed a great fat finger at her. “I’m going to rip you apart with my bare hands and eat you.” He made a twisting motion with his hands, and his face cracked into an ugly smile.
Kara called to David from the other side of the SUV. “Go. Get Jenny and Peter out of here. It’s me they want.” Kara pushed Peter roughly behind her.
“What? And leave you here with all the fun?” yelled David. He shook his head and laughed. “I don’t think so. I’ve been waiting for a long time for this. Shotgun on the green giant.”
“Your soul is mine!” repeated the giant Seir. He ignored David’s comments completely, and Kara wondered if he was a little deaf.
“Not the brightest giant, are you?” Kara continued to push Peter back with her hand and lowered her voice. “Peter, get ready to run—when I say run.” She heard him whisper in reply, and squeezed his arm reassuringly.
“Mine!” the giant lunged, his hands going for Kara’s throat.
“Run!”
With a great leap, Kara ducked and sidestepped around the massive man. His fat fingers grazed the top of her head and pulled out a chunk of Kara’s hair in the process. She let out a yell. The ground shook under her feet, like the aftershock of an earthquake. Kara felt his presence behind her and ducked and rolled onto the ground just in time to avoid another blow to the head from his giant fist. She whirled around. The other three Seirs had formed a circle around her. The giant stepped forward and closed the circle.
His sick eyes desired Kara. His plump fingers twitched at his sides, and his fat lips moved, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. Drool dribbled from the corners of his mouth. She wanted to throw up.
Her eyes locked with Peter’s through a gap between two Seirs, and she gave him a reassuring smile. She couldn’t see David.
With their faces twisted in hunger, the Seirs flicked their death blades in their hands, taunting her to strike, laughing horribly. Kara could see in them the demons they would eventually become.
Over their sickening laughs, she heard the racket of hundreds of mortals coming their way. Soon they would reach them. She had to find a way to get out without hurting any of the mortals. But there was nowhere else to go. She was trapped.
“Hey, fart-face, over here! Yeah, you heard me, you oversized ogre.” David leaped onto the hood of the SUV. He winked at Kara and then jumped down into the middle of the Seir circle. He landed in a puff of dust next to Kara.
“Are you freakin’ mad?” hissed Kara.
“Maybe just a little.” David smiled impishly. “There’s nothing I won’t do for love, baby.”
Kara wanted to slap him. “It’s decided. You’re totally mental.”
David studied the giant and made a face. “What the heck are they feeding you? You’re monstrous, you big beast,” he laughed. “Is that a giant beer belly?”
The giant didn’t take kindly to that. He came at David with incredible speed. Muscular arms reached out towards David’s head. David parried, but the giant was too quick, and David’s smile evaporated as the giant squeezed him in his beefy arms.
Kara teetered on the spot. The three other Seirs advanced cautiously towards her. Grinning, they watched the giant, as if they were waiting for David to die before they took care of Kara. She had to get to David.
The giant grunted and squeezed. Bones cracked. Skin tore. A wicked smile distorted the giant’s face. David’s skin thinned under the pressure. His angel essence started to seep through the pores like a strainer. His M-5 suit ripped and dissolved like tissue paper soaked in water. The giant was going to squish his angel life out of him.
“Come on, big guy. Is that all you’ve got?” croaked David, his face paled as he struggled in the man’s grasp.
Kara stepped forward, ignoring the warning in her head, as the warmth of her power tickled inside her.
The giant laughed and crushed David’s body more furiously.
David struggled to lean forward . . . and kissed him on the lips.
The giant stumbled back, and David fell to the ground. The giant Seir spit repeatedly in shock and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
David was already on his feet. He slammed his boot into the giant’s kneecap. The giant yelled, and David scrambled through the giant’s legs and reappeared next to Kara, laughing.
“You’re totally insane, you know that.” Kara couldn’t hide the smile on her face. “He could have killed you.”
David’s smile widened and batted his eyelashes. “Nah, I think he likes me. Uh oh.”
The remaining Seirs came at them, blades thrashing furiously.
“Let’s go.” Kara leapt onto the SUV. David followed closely behind.
She ran up the hood and onto the roof of the vehicle. The SUV rocked with their weight, and Kara struggled to keep her balance.
Behind them, angry wails filled the air as mortals spilled into the street from every direction. A death blade grazed her arm, cutting into her mortal flesh. Ignoring its stinging pain, Kara jumped down to Peter and Jenny. She threw her hands in the air. “Go. Go. GO!”
Without a second to lose, Peter and Jenny tore down the street, in the opposite direction from the mortals.
“David, let’s—” Kara expected to see him beside her.
The Seirs had circled around the SUV, like a pack of hyenas moving in for the kill. David stood on the roof of the SUV.
“David!” Kara dodged another death blade. It swooshed past her head and crashed through a parked car’s rear window. Two Seirs broke from the group and came at Kara. “David, come on!”
“Coming, my darling.” David ducked a blow and side kicked a Seir in the gut. He fell into the other two, and all three fell off the other side of the SUV. David leaped down and landed beside Kara, beaming.
Kara rolled her eyes and grabbed a fistful of his shirt. “Come on, you idiot.”
Grinning, David followed Kara as she rocketed down the street. Within seconds, they caught up to Jenny and Peter.
“Where are we going?” cried Peter, holding on to his glasses as he ran.
“I have no idea. Keep running.” She knew they couldn’t keep on running like that. Eventually their mortal suits would deteriorate, and then they’d be easy targets.
Another mob of mortals appeared ahead of them. They skidded to a stop. Behind her hundreds of mortals blocked the way out. The Seirs ran ahead of the group with the giant at their lead, running like an angered bull.
David stopped on the spot. “We’re so screwed.”
A 1940’s Ford sedan raced through the mob. Mortals jumped
out of the way as it tore down the street. With tires shrieking, it fishtailed and stopped at Kara’s feet. The doors flew open.
“Quick, get in.” Santo sat behind the wheel and gestured with his hand impatiently.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Kara and the others climbed into the back seat.
Santo pressed the gas pedal to the floor, and with an earsplitting squeal the car sped forward and disappeared down the street.
Chapter 7
Elder Odis
Santo had killed the engine and told them they would make the rest of the journey on foot. He had been very quiet along the drive. The only piece of information he had given them was that the safe house in downtown Toronto had been compromised, and that he was taking them to another one. His reluctance to give them any more information made Kara uneasy.
Santo led the way along the winding gravel road. Kara and the others crunched along behind him. Blue Jays and Chickadees chirped happily as they swung from tree to tree, and Kara wondered if they were announcing the arrival of angels in their forest. A light rain slipped through the branches of thirty-foot high hemlock trees and wild raspberry bushes lined the road on either side. Kara loved raspberry pie, especially her grandmother’s. She’d give anything to taste the sweetness of it on her tongue just this one time.
The smell of earth and pine filled her nose as tall grasses swayed back and forth in the soft breeze. Kara was glad to be out of the city, with its rowdy noises and stuffy exhaust-filled air.
Mosquitoes buzzed around Jenny’s ears searching for blood. She cursed and smacked at her own face. Somehow the bugs enjoyed her essence, but not the others’.
Even Santo seemed immune to the bugs. He strode ahead of them purposely, his face pulled in a tight scowl. Kara watched him as he scouted the land, his hand clutched around the hilt of his sword at all times. His suit and fedora hat seemed out of place in the wilderness, but he carried himself easily, as though he had been here countless times before. She realized that she couldn’t even hear the sound of his boots scraping the stones in the path. His steps glided over the gravel, soundless, never touching. She wondered where he had been brought up. Santo was indeed a great mystery.
After they had walked for half an hour, the road veered to the right, but Santo continued straight through and crossed a wild field. David and Kara shared a look, and then followed quickly behind. Within moments the wall of trees ended, and a light grey sky peered down at them. It was as though giant doors had opened and let the sky in. The darkness of the forest lifted, and Kara felt her mood rise.
A single log cabin sat on a small rise. Hidden amongst the tall hemlock trees, it was the only manmade edifice for miles. It looked out of place in the middle of nowhere. Large logs formed a wraparound porch that was littered with handmade chairs and broken flowerpots. Red and blue striped curtains were drawn over the windows. The smell of onions and cabbage reminded her of her grandmother’s cottage. The eerie similarities made her tense.
Santo stepped up to the front porch. Strips of red paint peeled from the front door. Dried leaves slid around the porch in tiny whirlwinds. The floorboards creaked under his weight and sounded like the creepy music from an old organ.
Kara climbed up the steps two at a time. “Santo, what are we doing here? You haven’t said much since we got out of the car.” She kept her voice low and hid the anxiety in it. He had saved her and the others many times, but the fact that he was silent and keeping things from her now made her nervous.
“You’re here to meet Elder Otis,” said Santo casually.
Kara looked confused.
He elaborated further. “There are elders amongst the Sensitives, the wisest and eldest of our members. The elders are the leaders of our groups—they lay down the laws—and we abide by them. Our world is divided into seven districts, and each district is governed by an elder.”
Kara pondered this new information. Of course being somewhat new to the entire GA thing, she wasn’t as educated in terms of the supernatural as her comrades. Their calm expressions told her that they already knew. She felt a little annoyed.
“I had no idea.” Kara’s eyes followed Santo’s deep scar across his face. He caught her looking, and she looked away abashed. “So...what does he want with us?” she blurted out, hoping to make the uncomfortable situation disappear. She looked at a piece of peeling paint on the door.
“That’s all I can tell you for now. He asked to speak to you directly, Kara. I don’t know anything else.”
Kara frowned and looked at the others. David leaned on the front railing and crossed his arms over his chest. He raised his brows questioningly. Jenny and Peter only shrugged. What was going on? Why did this elder want to speak to her personally?
Santo knocked twice, then once, and after a beat, once again. The curtain in the front door window swayed and then went still. After a moment, there was a click, and the front door screeched open.
A man with a deep frown and large square jaw moved in to the threshold, his broad shoulders grazing the edges of the door. His dark tailored suit revealed his bulging muscles, and the hilt of his sword glimmered in the light. His eyes were hazel, as he surveyed the group for a moment. Kara felt he looked more like a wrestler than a Sensitive. He curled thick fingers into a fist and raised his right hand before Santo. A golden ring in the shape of a dagger shone from his finger. Santo did the same, and both men touched fists and then lowered their hands. Kara noticed that Santo wore exactly the same kind of ring on his right hand. She wondered why she had never noticed it before.
“Welcome back, Santo,” said the big man, in a booming voice that matched his physique.
“Thank you, Tabbris. It’s been a while, my old friend.”
Tabbris smiled. “It’s been far too long. Come, Elder Otis has been expecting you.” He backed away from the door and cleared a path for the others.
“The big guy must be the body guard,” whispered David in Kara’s ear. She shifted her weight and rubbed her hands on her jeans. This new territory was making her edgy.
“Come.” Santo walked through the entrance, and Tabbris shut the door behind them. Like a redwood tree, he stood tall and proud with his arms crossed on his large chest and his back to the door. Kara shared a sidelong glance with David and then followed Santo.
She stepped into the large room. The air was hot and smelled of mold and damp carpets. The only light came from two small table lamps tucked away in the far corners. Pots and pans hung from a wooden beam above the small kitchen that occupied the right side of the cabin. A woman busied herself stirring a large pot over a hot stove. She wore a white apron over her black pantsuit. Her grey hair was pulled back into a tight bun. She looked up briefly as they entered, her green eyes sharp, and then returned to her pots.
A group of Sensitives sat in chairs around a large stone fireplace in the middle of the living room. The logs sat untouched. Their grim faces were hid under the rim of their fedora hats. Kara half expected to see her grandmother knitting by the fireplace. But the rocking chair sat alone.
An old man lay comfortably on a small couch positioned near the rear windows on the left side of the cabin. Covered in a red and black wool blanket, he looked more like a mummified corpse than a living man. Long wispy white hair edged his nearly bald head, and blue spidery veins laced his scalp.
Kara was still uneasy, but the strange scene was compelling.
Parchment-thin skin covered his sunken face, which almost disappeared into thousand of wrinkles. His long white beard grazed the floor. His skeletal arms were folded on his chest, which rose and fell in an imperceptibly slow rhythm. Kara had never seen anyone so old, so ancient and still breathing.
Century old intelligence reflected in his eyes as he watched Kara from across the room. She shifted uncomfortably on the spot and laced her fingers behind her back. With tremendous effort, the old man raised a bone-thin finger. Shaking, he motioned for Kara to come forward.
Santo pressed a hand on her back
and pushed her forward gently. “Go, Kara. It’s all right; he doesn’t bite. And please address him as Elder Otis.”
Obediently, Kara stepped forward. She stole a look behind her and watched David, Jenny, and Peter take seats in a nearby couch. David’s worried expression made Kara feel worse. She crossed the room cautiously, afraid that any sudden loud noise would make him explode into a cloud of dust.
She stopped at the edge of the couch and looked into his blue eyes. She tried to smile, but her lips were numb. Feeling like an idiot, she tried not to stare.
Elder Otis smiled, exposing his pink gums. His eyes disappeared under a wave of wrinkles. “It’s nice to finally meet you, guardian angel, Kara Nightingale.”
His voice was rough and nearly a whisper. Kara had to lean forward to hear him better. With a shaking hand he patted an empty space beside him. A large golden ring with a lion’s head and emerald eyes wrapped his bony index finger. It probably fit him years ago, but now it rolled to the side and looked two sizes too big.
“Thank you.” Kara sat very gently, afraid that she might crush him under her weight. Elder Otis kept smiling and stared at her for a long moment before he spoke again.
“I’ve been waiting to meet with you, Kara.”
With her eyes wide, Kara raised her voice and articulated each word carefully. “Me, Elder Otis? But why?”
“It’s okay, child. I’m not deaf,” laughed the elder. He started to wheeze and then coughed. Kara sat frozen. Immediately, the woman from the kitchen came with a glass of water. She held it to his mouth and helped him take a few sips. He waved her off after a moment. The woman put the half-full glass on a side table, gave Kara a stern look, as if this had been her fault, and shuffled off. Kara shifted towards the edge of the couch. She rubbed her palms against her thighs.
“I’ve been waiting to meet you, because you are very special,” continued Elder Otis. He smiled again, and his pink gums reappeared. “You see, the prophecies speak of an extraordinary angel that will come in a time of great misery in the mortal world” He raised his emaciated hands and laced his fingers as he continued, “an angel with tainted powers, with a rare combination of dark and light energy, who will save the human race from total annihilation.
Seirs, Soul Guardians Book 5 Page 6
