Shattered Souls (The Toren Series, Book 1)

by Lola StVil

  “Okay…,” I reply, not sure what else to say.

  “In order to ensure that there was a balance and that he didn’t favor good more than evil, a council was created. The job of the council is to maintain the balance, no matter what. The council consists of Time, Death, and Fate. They are super powerful and they take your powers away even if what you did was pretty harmless—like posting their cell numbers on Twitter,” RJ says, filled with regret.

  “That was nice! I have to hand it to you,” Ryder says with a hearty laugh. Parker clears her throat, signaling to them that they need to be serious.

  “Anyway, the council is the second most powerful force after Omnis. But then after that are the angels. There are two classes of angels: the Paradise angels—we call them ‘Paras.’ Paras are brilliant when it comes to flight and battles, and can produce orbs of light that are lethal,” Parker says.

  “Angels protect humans. That’s our number one objective, but the Paras are super anal about it,” Ryder says.

  “He’s right. They’re all like ‘Don’t prank the humans. Don’t jump out from an alley with your wings showing to see how fast the humans run, don’t steal their cars and leave them at the top of Snowy Mountain.’ Blah, blah, blah,” RJ says, sounding genuinely confused by the council’s feelings on the matter.

  “After Para angels, there are ‘Guardians.’ The Guardians were a team of angels who turned out to be far more powerful than the Angel world first thought. They ended up saving the world—a few times. The leader was a guy named Marcus Cane. He could not have saved humanity had it not been for the love of his life, Emmy. The two of them had children, as did other Guardians team members. The children were known in the Angel world as Noru.

  “The Noru were led by Marcus and Emmy’s firstborn, a girl named Pryor. The Noru partied, had sex, and caused a lot of scandal, but more importantly, they also kicked evil’s ass. Pryor is seriously badass. She married her second-in-command, a half demon who demons fear and angels hesitate to piss off. His name is Aaden, but everyone calls him Silver,” Ryder says.

  “Pryor, the Noru leader, married Silver, her second in charge. Got married then what?” I ask, humoring them.

  “The Noru had children. Their offspring were called Toren. They were all pretty impressive, but Pryor’s oldest daughter was by far the most powerful. Hence, she would become the First Toren, meaning she’s the leader,” Parker says.

  “The other daughter is also powerful but fairly young. Anyway, Omnis—the creator of all things—appointed Pryor’s firstborn to be his replacement should he ever be destroyed. So he embedded in her a great deal of power,” Nix says.

  “More power than she had already?” I ask, getting drawn into the fairy tale.

  “Yes. She was not only the First Toren, she was what we call an Echo. That means she held within her the powers of a god. As you can imagine, that made it hard for her parents because their child was being hunted, not just by demons but by angels too. The demons wanted to kill her and syphon off her powers for themselves and the Angel world wanted to imprison her so that evil doesn’t get to her,” RJ says.

  “Wow, sounds rough,” I reply.

  “It was, but they refused to give up their child. They fought to keep the family together. When the girl was six years old, it was foretold that if she reached the age of fifteen, her Echo powers would start to emerge. And since there would be a strong source of good in the world, to maintain the balance, there would be a new evil that would enter the world. That evil would bring about darkness like nothing the world had seen before.

  “So they gave her a tonic that would suppress her powers and shield her from evil. So long as she was kept in the dark about the Angel world, the tonic would continue to work—she would be okay. And she was okay for the past fourteen years. But on her fifteenth birthday, her powers would be mature enough to be harnessed by evil. So from the time she turned fifteen and on, a new protection shield would be cast over her. But in order for it to work, the girl can’t know she’s an angel. If she’s made aware of her family history…we’re all…history,” Parker says.

  “So this girl is the new evil?” I ask.

  “No, but if she comes into her power, it will trigger the next great evil to appear. So it’s imperative that she not know about her powers or who she is or what she’s capable of,” Nix says, glaring at Lucas.

  “Evil isn’t the only group after her. A society of well-intentioned psychopaths, consisting of select humans, Quo—half angels—and angels, banded together believing that if they kill her, it will put an end to the possibility of a new evil. I can’t blame them. The evil before this was…brutal,” Parker says, trying to avoid making eye contact with Nix. In fact, the whole team avoids looking in Nix’s direction.

  “What does this have to do with me? Oh wait! I know. Am I the girl they gave up?” I reply, unable to stop myself from laughing. They don’t reply.

  “Let me see if I understand this correctly. I’m from a long line of powerful female angel warriors. I was given up because if I had been raised in the Angel world and come into my powers, a new evil would do the same and end us all,” I suggest.

  “Yes, and now that Lucas broke the rules and saved you, you know about us. Your powers will come and with it so will darkness,” Parker says.

  “So, you saved me and now evil is coming,” I summarize.

  “Yes,” Lucas says in a serious tone that leaves no room for doubt.

  “You guys talked and I listened. Now, can I go?” I ask.

  “Summit…”

  “Lucas, or whatever your name is, I am done listening to this crap! I don’t know why Ashton attacked me, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll deal with him when I see him tomorrow in school,” I reply.

  “ASHTON IS GONE. YOU WON’T SEE HIM AGAIN! HE’S DEAD! HE’S DEAD!” Lucas says.

  “No, he’s not! Something just went wrong. He lost his mind or something and he tried to hurt me,” I insist.

  “No, he tried to kill you,” Lucas says, grabbing my arm.

  “Let go of me!”

  “You need to understand what just happened!” Lucas shouts.

  “I am not going to tell you to let me go one more time,” I warn him.

  “Lucas, let her go,” Nix says.

  “We have no idea how this Ashton creep knew where she was. We don’t know how many killers Shadow and Serpent sent after her. There could be more. She’s in danger,” Lucas counters.

  “Thanks to you, everyone on Earth is in danger. Let her go,” Nix says. Lucas reluctantly releases me. I turn around and head for the only exit. Lucas calls after me.

  “Fine, go. But you’re not running away because you don’t believe us, you’re running away because you do,” he says.

  I don’t listen to him. I bolt out the door. We are in the middle of nowhere. All I see is a winding dirt road and a dense patch of trees. I go to make a run for it but I’m stopped dead in my tracks by a twelve-year-old girl hovering in the sky. She’s slim and is wearing a white spaghetti-strapped tee shirt and jeans. She has a tattoo below her right collarbone: a beautifully illustrated cracked skull with silver roses growing out of it. Her bright, wild red hair gives her an exotic flair. But what truly makes her stand out is her deep purple eyes—my eyes. She lands right in front of me. Judging by the look on her face, she’s just as shocked as I am.

  “Summit?!” she says in awe. I open my mouth but no words come out. The army of gorgeous lunatics bursts through the front door and runs over to us. They all look at me and silently plead for me to start believing what I see.

  “You can’t be real…this can’t be…. if it is real, if this whole angel thing is real and evil will cover the earth if I know about your world, then why hasn’t anything bad happened yet?” I challenge, trying desperately to hold on to what little sanity I have left.

  Suddenly, the ground beneath our feet begins to shake. Black worm-like figures start to wiggle under the earth we stand on. They gather and grow; t
hey move like the shadow of ten thousand snakes. They spring up from the ground in a gush of dark red blood, spiral around each other, and form a black, twisted, massive blood-soaked tree. It forms right in the middle of our circle. There’s a large engorged black apple hanging off a branch.

  “What is that?” I whisper to Lucas.

  “An invitation,” he says, on high alert.

  “An invitation to where?”

  “The devil’s house.”

  CHAPTER THREE: WINNIE

  For the first time since meeting them, the group seems just as lost as I am. They look over at each other with deep concern and trepidation. RJ reaches for the black apple and Nix stops him.

  “It has Summit’s initials on it. If you touch the fruit on a blood tree that does not belong to you, it will sap your soul. Death will be instantaneous,” Nix warns.

  “You said I was being summoned by the devil. What does that mean?” I ask Lucas.

  “Years ago there was an epic evil that ravished the world and nearly ended it. Thankfully he was destroyed. That left the demon world in shambles. They were too busy fighting among each other to form a formal resistance against Omnis, the creator of all things.

  “In time, however, that changed. A group of top-ranking powerful demons banded together and formed an alliance called the Collective. They are the opposite of the council; instead of seeking balance, the Collective has only one agenda: obliterate good in all its forms and bring about the rise of the new evil,” Lucas says.

  “The Collective isn’t the new evil?” I ask.

  “No, they are powerful but can’t summon the amount of force needed to take on the Angel world and wipe out the humans,” Parker says.

  “And what do they want with me?” I say, certain I will regret asking.

  “I don’t know, but you can’t turn down their invitation. There will be consequences. You will have to see them,” Ryder says.

  “You want me to pluck an apple from a tree—a blood tree—and go to hell to see the devil? Wow, that’s sounds like a great offer. But I’m scheduled to dip myself into a vat of acid. However, I might be able to pencil the Collective in for sometime next week,” I reply as I start to walk off. The girl with my eyes follows me down the road.

  “Summit, wait!” she says. I can’t get over it, she has the very same eyes I do: the exact intensity and hue.

  “Do you know me?” she says, sounding more like a little girl than a powerful angel.

  “No. I’m sorry,” I reply awkwardly.

  “I’m your little sister, Dylann. We used to play ‘Rescue the humans,’ we tried to make a mixture in Mom’s kitchen and nearly blew up the house. And one time Dad left us alone for just three minutes and we managed to—”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t recall any of that. And I’m not your sister—I’m…I’m no one. This was all a big mistake. I have to go.”

  “Winnie!”

  “What did you call me?” I ask.

  “Winnie. It’s Mom’s nickname for you. You used to be obsessed with the TV show Winnie the Pooh. You don’t remember that either?” she asks.

  In the back of my mind, a voice calls out to me. It’s faint and far away but I swear I can hear it. It’s a woman’s voice.

  “Winnie! Fly to Mommy…that’s my girl.”

  “You remember. I can see it in your eyes, you remember us!” Dylann begs.

  “No, I don’t. Just leave me alone! Please, all of you just leave me alone!” I shout.

  Dylann tackles me and slams me down to the ground.

  What the hell is this kid’s problem?

  I try to get up but she pins me down again and tells me not to move. She’s fixated on something overhead. I follow her gaze and spot a black orb whizzing just above my head.

  “Stay down!” Dylann orders.

  My heart is pounding and I can feel adrenaline surging through my body. I stay down on the ground but manage to get a peek at what’s happing. The group is under attack from beings with dark wings and black eyes. They hurl dark plasma-filled orbs at us in rapid succession. When the orbs land, they eat away at anything they make contact with.

  I watch, horrified as a demon sends a bolt of lightning into Ryder’s chest. Ryder tumbles in the air and lands face-first on the side of the hospital building. The demon moves in to finish him off but his sister, Parker, runs to his aid and summons a massive glaring shield to block the demon.

  The demon doubles up on his effort and tries to crack Parker’s shield. Fearing that it might work, Nix quickly goes to help. He holds out one hand, and a bright stream of red plasma springs from his palm. It makes contact with the demon and transforms him into a handful of dust.

  “Nix, look out!” RJ shouts. It’s too late. A set of identical demons tackle Nix and drag him to the ground. They render him powerless by restraining his hands, then proceed to beat him mercilessly.

  RJ turns his attention towards the demons that have Nix. His eyes glow an unnatural shade of blue, and seconds later the twin demons are attacking each other. RJ’s somehow controlling their minds and forcing them to fight each other against their will. But before he can get them to kill each other, a demon comes from behind and plunges a dagger into RJ’s back. The blade cuts clean though his chest. RJ coughs, and sliver colored liquid comes out of his mouth. I’m guessing it’s their version of blood, in which case, he’s bleeding a lot.

  “RJ, hold on!” Parker says as she races towards him. Just as she’s about to reach him, the demon above her sends a sea of red flames crashing down on her head.

  “Parker, look out!” Dylann yells. Parker doesn’t have time to react. She’s about to be burned alive. Ryder exhales loudly and forms a funnel of wind between his lips. He blows the homemade twister towards Parker in hopes of killing the flames before they get to her. But instead, the flames latch on to the twister and form a vivid, wrathful fire tornado.

  The flames are now airborne. They collide with the front of the hospital entrance and blow out all the windows. The impact of the explosion sends Parker catapulting through the air with her wings on fire. Lucas—who was in the middle of battling a demon with the ability to form ice with his hands—skillfully dives down and manages to catch Parker before she falls.

  “RJ is dying. We have to get him to Parker so she can heal him!” Dylann shouts.

  “I’m on it!” Ryder says as he picks up a nearly lifeless RJ and rushes to get him to Parker. But there are now over two dozen demons standing between Ryder and Parker, so getting RJ help is next to impossible. Lucas and Nix battle them but they need help.

  “I’m on my way!” Dylann says as she takes off her necklace and shows it to me.

  “This is a Holder. It’s a bubble that protects you and won’t let anything make contact with you. I’ll place you under here, you’ll be safe,” she says.

  “No! Do not leave Summit alone,” Lucas demands as he summons a brilliant orb and takes out three demons in one shot. A demon with blades for fingers creeps up behind Lucas, poised to attack.

  Dylann sees this and quickly calls out the word “tree.” And just like that, the large tree standing a few yards away comes crashing down on the demon’s head. The demon is badly wounded but he gets up and goes to attack again, only this time, Dylann blows in his direction and a stream of blue flames makes its way from her lips to the demon’s body. He is engulfed in flames and shakes uncontrollably. When the demon stops moving, all that’s left of him is a charred lump.

  I look over towards the right and spot three female demons that have just arrived on the scene. They have skin as white as a blizzard and ruby-red lips. They start to sing and all at once, we are in such great pain, we all scream out. Our eyes and ears begin to bleed. The pain is so intense we can’t hold still.

  Ryder fights against the hurt and makes it to the sky, where the females join hands and float. He approaches them from behind and latches on to their hair. Making contact with the lethal sirens allows him to absorb all their powers. They are ren
dered soundless. We are no longer in pain.

  However, there is no time to celebrate, as a new wave of demons appears and descends upon us. It’s an all-out war. The group is overrun and in serious need of backup. Dylann offers to come to their aid but again Lucas warns her not to leave me alone. They are under attack from every direction, and I have no idea how to help.

  “Do not come over here!” Lucas barks as if reading my mind.

  “You need help!” I shout.

  “Stay away!” he replies, striking blow after blow to the demons before him. He thinks he’s so damn strong and doesn’t need anyone’s help. Argh, stubborn jerk!

  “Fine, die then!” I counter.

  “Guys, we gotta get out of here. There’s more coming, and RJ is almost beyond Parker’s help. If she doesn’t cure him in the next two minutes, he’s dead,” Ryder says. Yet another minute goes by, and I can practically see the life draining out of RJ’s body. But there’s no way they can get past the horde of demons.

  He’s gonna die!

  “Ryder, you need to get RJ to Parker now!” Nix demands as he makes plies of ash out of the demons that dare to tackle him.

  “I’m try’n, man!” Ryder says as he makes his way past to his sister. Parker is still too injured to move towards them and close the gap. But time is running out. In seconds the charmer I just met will be gone.

  “I’m the best-looking angel in the world. No matter what happens, it’s important that you remember that—how did I get to be so damn fine? It’s a gift—and a curse.”

  I just met him, how could he be gone; how could any of this actually be happening? I want to bury my head in my hands. But I can’t. I can’t just lie on the ground while they get hurt. I don’t even know them but still it feels wrong to do nothing. I bolt upright and stand up. My movements catch Dylann off guard. She stands up with me and tells me to get back down as an orb zooms past us.