“This isn’t right. What—what are you going to do to them?” Kara pulled at her restraints.
Asmodeus smiled mischievously. “Ah—be patient, my dear. The fun has just begun.”
He clasped his hands behind his back and strolled around the room, staring up at the millions of mortals. “Now, boys—bring me my special mirror.”
Grutus and Xenor jumped down the platform and disappeared behind a door. A few moments later, they reappeared caring a magnificent antique mirror. Kara wanted to touch it. It was carved elegantly in a red wood, with strange symbols etched along the sides. The glass in the center was pitch black, and no reflection came from it. It stood as tall as a full grown man. The demons put the mirror in the center of the room, between Kara and the wall of mirrors.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Asmodeus walked over to the mirror. He slid his hand up and down the wooden edges, caressing the details. She could see the hunger in his eyes as he stroked it lovingly.
Kara looked away.
“They say eyes are windows to the soul, don’t they. But they are mistaken. Mirrors are the windows to the souls, and you my dear—are the key.”
Kara looked up uneasily. “What? What key? What are you talking about?”
Asmodeus laughed softly. “Isn’t it obvious? I need your special power, Kara. Without you, the mirror wouldn’t work. But through you—the Mirror of Souls will come alive with elemental power and open gateways into the mortal world through every mirror that has a reflection. And out of all those mirrors my servants will emerge on the other side. The entire world will be filled with demons tonight, my dear. We will crush the mortals, eat their souls, and take possession of Earth.”
Kara trembled. This was all her fault. The end of the mortal world would be her fault. She knew it was a trap, but she still went to try and save her mother. It was a selfish act, she saw that now. She was only thinking of her feelings, and those of her mother. She never once thought she could be responsible for the total annihilation of the human race. She faced the worse outcome possible. If only she would have stayed in Tartarus, none of this would have happened, she realized.
She clenched her jaw. “I won’t let you. You can’t use my power—so your scheme won’t work,” she hissed.
“HA!” Asmodeus flew over to Kara with extraordinary speed and landed softly in front of her.
He scowled. “It will work, and you will give me your power, my dear. You were foolish enough to enter my realm. I knew you would come for your mother—it was only a matter of time—so I waited. And now that you are here, why wait?”
A flash of black electricity hit Kara in the chest. She cried out in pain. It burned through her angel skin like liquid acid. A warmth flowed through her and then slipped away. She opened her eyes. Golden light covered her body. Long trails of light spilled away from her, twisting and turning. And then a golden beam shot out from her and hit the Mirror of Souls. Kara felt her energy being sucked away and into the mirror.
The mirror glowed a brilliant red. After a moment, millions of golden beams shot out from the Mirror of Souls and hit the mirrors surrounding the chamber. The beams of light looked like the strands of thread in a giant golden spider web. Kara’s head fell forward. She felt weak.
“Stop…stop!” Kara forced the words out of her mouth. Her body trembled as the mirrors drained her of her energy. She knew she was slowly dying. Soon she would disappear completely. David’s face flashed in her mind’s eye. She knew she would never see him again. Her lips trembled.
Asmodeus threw his arms in the air. A wicked gleam in his eyes. “It’s working! It’s working! Soon the world will be mine! Go my servants. Go and have your feast as I promised!”
Black tendrils slowly slithered out of the Mirror of Souls. The air was filled with the stench of rotten flesh and blood. Shadow demons and other lower demons materialized out of the mirror for an instant before they shimmered and became black mists. They intertwined with the golden beams emanating from the Mirror of Souls like black and golden braids.
Kara flinched when they reached the mirrors that lined the room.
She could hear the screams coming from the other side, behind the mirrors. She heard a child whimper. A demon’s roar. Then silence.
“Stop! Please stop! I’ll do anything you ask—just don’t do this.”
“Too late for that, my dear. Besides, you are doing what I ask. You are giving me power! The power I needed to work the mirror! The mortal world will die because of you, my child!”
Screams and wails filled the room. The chamber trembled. Kara lifted her eyes, and as soon as she did she wished she hadn’t. In the mirrors around the room she could now see terror reflected in all the mortal’s faces on the other side, terror and the recognition of death. It was almost too much for Kara to bear. She hoped desperately that the Legion had listened to Gabriel and believed him. She had to believe some mortals would survive.
She wiggled in her chair. Her mind was on the verge of darkness. Part of her wanted to give up and let herself flow away.
“S—stop,” Kara stammered, her voice a whisper. “Please…stop…please.”
But Asmodeus didn’t hear her. He danced around the room laughing.
In one of the mirrors Kara could see a girl her age scream as a shadow demon ripped out her guts. Her lifeless body crumpled to the ground in her bedroom.
“NO!” Kara twitched. Her desperation suddenly replaced by anger. “Stop!”
The room vibrated under her feet. She felt a tiny surge of energy within her belly. She focused on it, trying to draw it out. She had to.
Asmodeus raised his fist. “Feed my children! Feed! Take them! Eat them! Destroy them!”
Kara’s body started to shake. Warmth gathered in her belly and spread to her toes. It moved up to her fingers and finally to her head. She felt the wild power of the elemental take over. She abandoned herself to it.
Her leather restraints melted away. Her power fed on her anger at Asmodeus and kept growing stronger. She wanted to kill them—kill them all.
A burst of energy flew out of Kara and hit the Mirror of Souls. The mirror burst into a million tiny shards of black glass.
Chapter 19
Shattered dreams
“NO!” ASMODEUS RAN OVER TO THE shattered mirror. But it was too late.
The connection was cut. All the golden beams and black tendrils evaporated, and the millions of mirrors exploded with a roar. Pieces of glass showered the ground, like sheets of brilliant rain.
Asmodeus turned to face Kara. His face distorted into something evil and sinister. A beautiful face was now ugly and contorted.
“You have tried to ruin my plans once again, daughter,” said Asmodeus.
A smile twitched on his lips as he drew his cigar from his mouth and blew ringlets of smoke, “—but you are too late. My pets have already entered the mortal world. Soon all the pathetic mortals around the world will be eradicated. And I have you, daughter, to thank for it. You were conceived for this. And now, unfortunately, I have no more use for you—KILL HER!” he roared.
Grutus and Xenor drew their weapons and charged.
Kara felt her power drift away from her body. She knew it was dormant now. She felt tired. The last surge of energy had drained her completely. She knew she didn’t stand a chance against the demons without her power, so she did the only thing she could—she ran.
Kara grabbed the jar with her mother’s soul and bolted through the door.
“Stop her!” Asmodeus roared and pointed. “Stop her you fools!”
Kara didn’t look back. She hid the jar under her shirt and pushed her way through the drunken demons in the casino. She hoped they wouldn’t notice her. Then she heard a commotion and turned to see Grutus pointing to her. The entire legion of higher demons stopped gambling and focused on her. They charged.
Kara pushed and kicked her way towards a blue and red neon exit Sign. She ducked under the armpits of a demon throwing dice. The exit was nea
r.
“Get her!”
Kara reached the door and pushed her way out.
She found herself in the windy desert again. Dark, dead and barren, the desert attacked Kara with sand tornadoes and tried to knock her down. She couldn’t see past five feet. To her relief, the blood carpet still lay rolled out. She hoped the elevator would be at the other end.
With her eyes shut into slits, Kara bolted down the carpet. She heard the doors swing open behind her, but she didn’t stop. Images of her mother and David gave her the fuel to keep on going.
To her amazement, Kara reached the end of the carpet. But when she looked around, she couldn’t see the elevator. It was gone.
“Oh no!” cried Kara desperately. She heard the loud stumps of many feet. Angry roars reached her ears. She looked around the grey desert. Where could she go? Where could she hide? What was the name of that cockroach?
“Jean-Pierre, where are you! JP I need you!”Kara called out into the wind and sand.
There was a sudden pop and a swoosh. Kara turned around.
“Ah! Mademoiselle, Kara! I knew you could not resist mon amour!” The cockroach stood in the doorway of the elevator, and batted his eyelashes.
“Oh, thank god!” Kara scrambled in, careful not to break the glass jar. She looked out the door. “Quick! We need to get out of here. They’re coming! Shut the door!”
“ ‘Ou iz coming, ma chéri?” Jean-Pierre stuck his head out. “I don’t see anyone?”
In a few seconds the demon horde would reach the elevator, kill Kara and eat her mother’s soul.
Kara crawled over the cockroach and grabbed a foreleg. “Please—I beg you! Close the doors now! They’re almost here…I’ll…I’ll…give you a hundred kisses if you close—”
The elevator snapped shut. Instantly there were loud booms, and Kara could see the imprints of sledge hammers forming on the metal doors as the demons tried to beat their way in behind her.
Jean-Pierre threw off his top hat. Then his cane. He waddled over to Kara, his black eyes glistening in the reflection of the crystal ball that held her mother’s soul.
“I am ready, my love.”
The elevator shook. The demons pounded on the door. The crystal ball jumped and jiggered.
She regretted her offer to kiss him, but decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to hurt the feelings of the French cockroach now.
“Okay—” Kara leaned towards Jean-Pierre. His antennae were bent into a heart shape over his head, “—here goes nothing.”
Another thundering boom. The door wouldn’t last. She had to get the elevator moving.
“I am counting, you know.”
Kara cringed. “Sure. You can count. Let’s just do this quickly!”
After giving him one hundred small pecks, and wiping her mouth on her sleeve, Kara backed away. Jean-Pierre jumped into the air and rocketed around the small elevator.
Kara secured the jar with her mother’s soul tightly in her arms.
With another great strike, the door ripped open. A hand reached in.
Kara jumped back. “Quickly! We need to go! Now!”
“Oui, mon amour. I can take you back to urth—and zen you can go back to ‘orizon.”
“That’s fine. Good enough.” She stared at the hands reaching in. “Go!”
Jean-Pierre stretched out his forearm and pressed the Up button.
Kara was thrown on the ground with the sudden pull from the force of the elevator. The demons were gone. She breathed a sigh of relief. A moment later, the elevator stopped, and the doors swished open.
“Merci, Jean-Pierre,” said Kara.
“Au revoir, my love.” The giant cockroach bowed and pressed his four arms to the left side of his chest. “I ‘ope to see you again soon.”
God, I hope not, thought Kara. She flashed her teeth and jumped out.
Chapter 20
Going home
KARA JOGGED ALONG THE RED DUNES in Operations. Would the High Council hear her out now? Would they believe her now, even if she was Asmodeus’s daughter? She clutched her mother’s soul to her breast and ran faster. After what Jean-Pierre had done for her, she made a mental note always to be kind to bugs, especially cockroaches. Even if it had been disgusting to kiss him, he had saved her life.
She spotted the tops of the blue training tents. She longed to see David. She hoped he wasn’t in too much trouble. She kept her eyes down. She didn’t want to attract unwanted attention. Especially now. First she wanted to reach Gabriel. Then, if all went well, she would take her mother’s soul to the Hall of Souls.
A few GAs stopped their combat lessons and stared. Some pointed. Kara pressed her chin into her neck and jogged faster. But before she could find Gabriel, Zadkiel emerged in front of her. Kara cringed
“I’ve been waiting for you,” said Zadkiel, his voice dripping venom.
Kara backed away, clutching the glass jar protectively. “What—what do you want? Where’s Gabriel?” She searched for Gabriel’s white tent but Zadkiel stepped to the side to block her view.
“Gabriel is not here right now.” Zadkiel’s dark eyes and black eyebrows made Kara want to run away. “He is indisposed at the moment.”
Zadkiel eyed the glass jar. His eyebrows shot up. “I’ll take that now.” He lifted his large hand from his robes.
Kara recoiled. “No. This is my mother’s soul. And I’m taking it to the Hall of Souls where she’ll be safe.”
Zadkiel snarled. His face wrinkled in contempt. “I will take this now—give it to me, or you’ll be sorry.” His lips turned up at the corners.
Kara shook her head like a stubborn child. She felt panic crawling inside her. What was happening? Where was Gabriel?
“Give me the soul, guardian.”
Kara lifted the jar in the air for a moment, staring at the tiny white sphere hovering inside like a light bug. She shrugged and handed the jar to the archangel.
“So, are we going to the High Council?” Kara asked expectantly. “I have to explain what happened. I went to the Netherworld—I saw Asmodeus. He’s planning to destroy the entire mortal world! He’s released thousands of demons through mirrors. We have to stop him—”
Zadkiel held up his hand in Kara’s face. “No, you are not going to the council.”
Kara frowned. “What do you mean? I have to tell them what happened. This is really important—at least to debrief?”
“You will not need to debrief where you are going.”
Kara looked into his eyes. She feared what he would say next.
Zadkiel laughed softly. “I’m taking you where you belong, demon filth. I’m taking you to Tartarus. And trust me, this time, you will not escape.”
About the Author
Kim Richardson is the author of the SOUL GUARDIANS series. She was born in a small town in Northern Quebec, Canada, and studied in the field of 3D Animation. As an Animation Supervisor for a VFX company, Kim worked on big Hollywood films and stayed in the field of animation for 14 years. Since then, she has retired from the VFX world and settled in the country where she writes fulltime.
To learn more about Kim Richardson, visit:
www.kim-richardson.blogspot.com
www.goodreads.com/author/show/2053448.Kim_Richardson
www.facebook.com/KRAuthorPage
http://twitter.com/Kim_Richardson_
More books by Kim Richardson
HORIZON, by Kim Richardson
The third book of the Soul Guardians Series, coming soon!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapte
r 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
About the Author
Elemental, Soul Guardians Book 2 Page 17
