Seals

by Kim Richardson

  As David aimed his dagger, he saw Jenny holding her own against four tree-like monsters with human eyes and gangly roots for limbs.

  His dagger flew.

  It struck the beast in the neck, and the creature spat up black blood and fell back again with a roar. Vile liquid squirted from the wound in its chest. But it wasn’t finished. It pulled out the dagger and licked the blood from it.

  “Nice,” said David, only too aware that it was about to attack again.

  A scream, a bone-chilling scream interrupted him.

  Metatron.

  He was convulsing on the ground with the archfiend looming over him and shooting tendrils of death into him again and again. She had a terrifying smile of her face.

  Metatron screamed one last time, and then nothing. He stopped moving.

  Panic filled David. He didn’t know if the archangel was dead or if the female archfiend had merely disabled him, but staring at the indestructible Metatron face down on the ground caused David to swallow his shout.

  And then Metatron’s legions came out of nowhere and threw themselves at the archfiend, swords and daggers flying. But she was waiting for them.

  She flicked her wrist, and a flash of black tendrils came hurtling toward the angels and blasted them into dust.

  “You beast! You monster!” Jenny’s cry rang in David’s ears.

  He stared at the lingering particles of dust. The archfiend could have easily killed him like it did the others.

  Why hadn’t it done that?

  He had an overwhelming feeling that it was waiting for something.

  Something black soared above the battlefield. It was smaller than the other six fiends, but it poured a blackness over the retreating angels that incinerated them until there was nothing left but puffs of falling ash. The creature banked suddenly and headed toward them.

  Jenny pointed behind him.

  “David, that’s another one of those archfiend beasts. It’s coming right at us. If we don’t leave now, we won’t make it!”

  David looked around. Netherworld monsters had overwhelmed the field like a plague. There were no signs of angels anywhere.

  Had they all gone? Had they all been destroyed so quickly? Did they all flee?

  He turned back to the flying archfiend.

  David couldn’t explain it, but this new archfiend was different. It didn’t wear the metal armor, and he could tell it was female. He had a strange feeling that the creature was familiar. “David, let’s go!” barked Jenny. She leapt backward.

  The black winged demon flapped toward them and then dove straight for David.

  It moved so fast that David only saw a black blur of wings.

  He whirled, striking out before he could get a good look at the creature. He glimpsed only a flash of withered gray skin and jagged pointy teeth before he sliced his soul blades across its chest.

  It screamed like nothing he had ever heard before. The ragged cloth on its chest ripped open and revealed a bony misshapen chest covered in red veins. The creature’s yellow eyes blazed in fury as it slammed a clawed hand into David’s face.

  Although pain ripped through his cheek, he couldn’t take his eyes off the creature.

  It had Kara’s face.

  Chapter 22

  The Fourth Knight

  David felt the world shifting around him. The dark gods were playing a cruel joke on him because what he saw was impossible.

  “Kara?” he breathed, staring into the face of a memory of the girl he loved.

  The creature snarled with blackened pointy teeth. There was no recognition in its yellow eyes, only death—death and fury. And yet, it had Kara’s face.

  David shook his head.

  The beautiful girl with chestnut brown hair and dazzling brown eyes that he had once known had become a winged creature with claws and dull gray skin. Its long black hair dripped with black liquid. It still wore Kara’s clothes and her boots, although they were torn and covered in filth. It was as though she had tried to rip them off when she had transformed, to destroy what she used to be.

  “Holy souls,” said Jenny peering from behind him. “David, what happened to her?”

  David threw an arm up and pushed Jenny back.

  “I don’t know. I think—I think this is what the oracles saw. What they made her see. The change, the transformation.”

  He looked at the creature solemnly. “This is what Kara had feared she was going to become…become a…”

  Monster.

  But David couldn’t utter the words. It was too painful.

  Did she or it recognize him at all? Was there a little part of Kara that still existed in that thing?

  There had to be. He wouldn’t let himself feel the dread that threatened to take him over.

  Kara had to be in there somewhere.

  “What did you do to her!” barked Jenny as she sprang forward, but David held her back.

  “Kara?” he asked and took a careful step forward. He dared not take his eyes off the creature. He had forgotten about the all the demons, the archfiends, and the war. There was only him and the creature, Kara.

  “It’s me, David.”

  The creature blinked.

  He lifted his hands in surrender, his voice calm, only his lips trembled.

  “You know me. We’re friends remember? Well, we’re more than friends. Don’t you recognize me?”

  The creature tucked in its wings and sank back on its thighs, waiting for a chance to pounce.

  David’s throat tightened, but he forced down his fears.

  “Kara. I know you’re still in there somewhere. It’s me, David.”

  He forced himself to look straight into the creature’s eyes, but he saw nothing, nothing but a dark hunger.

  “Kara. Come back to me. Fight it. Fight it, Kara. You’re the strongest guardian I know. The strongest in all the legion. You can do this—”

  The archfiend landed beside Kara and smiled at the horror on their faces.

  “There is no more Kara.”

  “This creature is no longer your angel friend. In fact, there is no more angel in her at all. She has become a creature of darkness, a mutation of wild and dark power. She is marvelous.”

  The archfiend’s eyes were wide with superiority. “She has become Death.”

  The creature turned at the sound of its name, acknowledging its master, and David thought he was going to be sick.

  “The fourth and final knight of the apocalypse,” continued the archfiend. “She is our most deadly weapon. You angel specks should have yielded to our higher power. But you refused to bow down to us. Now it’s time for you to taste the wrath of a dark god. Kill them! Kill the angels! Kill them all!”

  Death sprang.

  David had only the time to knock Jenny out of the way as the creature slammed into him, claws ripping at his face. He had his blade in his hands, but he didn’t use it. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt her. He believed that Kara was still in there.

  He managed to pin the creature’s hands together and kick her off him, but the creature hovered overhead and then dove again. Only this time it went for Jenny.

  “No!” David ran after it cursing.

  “Here, here! It’s me you want. Leave her alone!”

  Jenny held her blade with shaking hands.

  “Kara, no please. It’s Jen,” she pleaded. “I’m your friend—”

  But Death dove straight for her, knocked her blade out of her hands, wrapped its claws around her neck and squeezed—

  David slammed into the creature so hard that he sent them all tumbling on the ground. The Kara creature let go of Jenny. Without missing a beat, David was on his feet and had slipped behind the creature and held his soul blade to its neck.

  “Stop! Stop this!” he hissed. “Snap out of it!”

  The creature reeked of rot. Kara’s sweet lavender scent was gone. He needed that girl back. He needed his Kara.

  “Just come back to me, Kara. Don’t make me hurt you. So
uls, I don’t want to hurt you. Please stop this and come back.”

  The Kara creature stiffened in his hold, aware of the blade at its throat.

  The archfiend watched with a satisfied smile on its creepy perfect face.

  David glanced around for Metatron, but his body was gone.

  “Fight it,” urged David. His hand shook violently. “Fight it, please. Don’t make me do it, don’t make me—”

  The creature slammed the back of her head into David’s face. He staggered backward and let her go.

  The creature whirled around and hit him with its wing, sending him sprawling to the ground. But he was up on his feet quickly.

  Death lunged at him, but he kicked the back of the creature’s knees and it stumbled. It turned to face him again.

  “Don’t do this,” said David.

  Kara was much stronger than he was.

  He waved his soul blade. “Kara, fight it,” he said more urgently. “I know you’re in there somewhere. This isn’t you. Fight it.”

  But the yellow eyes that watched him showed no hint that Kara was in there. There was only a monster. He could see the hunger in its eyes. He could see the pleasure it took in killing. It was going to eat his angel flesh and devour his soul.

  The creature licked its dry gray lips and showed off its teeth as it snarled.

  “It’s me! It’s me, David.”

  But the creature didn’t recognize him. He didn’t know how to stop this fight without one of them getting killed.

  The creature flicked its wrists, and a beam of shadow shot toward him.

  David tried to twist out of the way, but he wasn’t fast enough.

  He saw black and crashed head first into the jagged rock. His body jerked as white-hot pain shot through his limbs, and then his body was limp and unresponsive.

  He heard footsteps. He heard Jenny calling his name.

  He knew the creature was coming back to finish him off. He was drained. But he tried to gather what strength he had left, not for him, but for Kara. He had to try to make the creature remember. She had to remember who she was before the transformation. He would try to make her remember, even if it meant dying in the process.

  Something hard hit him in the stomach, and he went sprawling, rolling on the ground.

  Why wasn’t it killing him yet?

  As he lay with his back on the ground, he realized it wanted to play with him.

  A tingling in his fingers. Then his toes. He could feel his arms tingling, and although his limbs burned, he winced and willed himself to move. He rolled over and pushed himself up back on his feet.

  He saw that Jenny was on her knees with two higher demons holding her. One of them held a death blade to her neck. Her green eyes were dim, like she’d given up.

  The Kara creature grinned, and David could tell it was glad he wasn’t dead yet. It wanted to keep fighting. It eyed the soul blade he still clasped in his hands.

  David couldn’t see Kara anywhere inside the monster she had become.

  It stepped forward.

  “Remember the first time we kissed?” he blurted.

  It was a long shot, but he was desperate.

  The creature halted, a frown materialized on its face. Was it remembering?

  “We were out together at that club, and you kissed me,” he said.

  He felt a gush of hope and energy.

  “Or was it that I kissed you first.” He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. But you remember, don’t you? How it felt? How we both felt?”

  The creature stared at him for a long moment, and David was positive that somewhere in there it was remembering.

  Kara was still in there, and she was going to wake…

  “Kill him,” roared the archfiend suddenly. Although her face was twisted in rage, David detected a little fear in her voice as well.

  “I command you. Kill this miserable angel speck. We have lots more to kill. Devour this wretched angel soul. Do it. Do it now!”

  The Kara creature watched its master then slowly turned its yellow eyes back on David. But it hesitated. It was unsure.

  “You know me, don’t you?” David’s eyes flashed with hope. “Kara, I lo—”

  “KILL HIM!”

  The creature flicked its wrists. A beam of shadow slammed into David, and he fell back. But he regained his footing, surprised that she hadn’t hit him that hard. He made to grab the creature as it dove for him, but it ducked and dodged not letting him get a hold.

  It lunged at him again, and David ducked and hit the creature in the head with the pommel of his blade. The creature gagged, dropped back a little, and shook its head. Its eyes looked disconnected and stunned. It stood there for a moment…

  David glanced at his blade. He could do it. He could finish her with one stroke—

  But he couldn’t. He watched her and knew he couldn’t hurt her.

  The creature watched him curiously and then roared in anger. It dove at him, fangs bared and mouth snapping toward his neck.

  His blade was heavy in his hands, but still he couldn’t bring himself to use it on her. He couldn’t.

  He fell against the creature. It tried to bite him, but he jumped away and kicked it hard.

  “Enough of this,” bellowed the archfiend. “Kill him now, or I will!”

  Darkness pulsed through the Kara creature’s veins. It boiled inside her and then leaped from her hands in a twisting stream that coursed the distance between them and washed over David.

  It happened so quickly that he was unable to escape the flow of dark shadows that shot out through her fingers like bullets.

  David wasn’t aware that the creature loomed over him. He was barely aware of anything except for the pain.

  A wild grin spread on the creature’s lips. Its yellow eyes blinked at him, and it picked him up in its strong arms.

  David felt his life force seep out of him. The darkness grabbed hold of his soul. It wouldn’t be long now. He felt his own death approaching.

  He was barely aware that his blade still hung in his hand. He could just reach out, slice the creature’s neck, and end it.

  But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

  Even though she was killing him, this monster was the closest thing he had to Kara.

  His Kara…

  His blade fell from his fingers. He closed his eyes and let the darkness come.

  Chapter 23

  Awakening

  Death held the angel in its grasp, squeezing the life force out of it, feeding off of it. It enjoyed killing, especially an angel. It quivered in delight just at the thought of its delicious soul, the sweetness of it. But it didn’t want to kill it right away. Not yet. First, it would play with it. Death loved to see the fear in the eyes of its prey before it reached in and took away its soul.

  Death knew its master was angry with it for not killing the angel right away, but it was curious about the angel. It didn’t understand why, but it felt drawn to this particular angel. It wanted to know why. Why this one? Why was it interested in this angel?

  Death decided it would keep him alive for just a little while longer.

  “Kill it, you insolent creature!” cried the female archfiend. “I command it. Obey me at once, you vile creature. I am your master now, and you will do what I say. Do your duty and kill the angel.”

  Death eyed its master. It didn’t like to be ordered around. It was strong, very strong. It knew its masters were still weak. It knew that the masters were all waiting for the last seal to be broken. Soon.

  But for now, it grew angry. It wanted its master to stop telling it what to do. Death was no one’s pet. Death was its own being, the strongest of the four knights, perhaps even stronger than the masters.

  It smiled wickedly at the thought. Yes. It was powerful.

  As it held the male angel still, it thought about the other three knights. It sensed they were near, waiting in the shadows for the final seal to break. They were all waiting for her to unleash her power, to break the fi
nal seal and kill all the angels.

  But right now Death didn’t care. It only wanted to play with the curious little angel again.

  What had it called it before?

  The angel had called it Kara, a human name. Strange. Why had that name meant something?

  A small light glowed in the depths of Death’s being.

  “I swear to you by the Darkness that if you don’t kill this angel speck now and obey me, I will destroy you!” yelled its master in a fury.

  As Death stared into the archfiend’s angry face, the light in the pit of its core flickered again and grew.

  Death tossed the angel to the ground.

  What was happening?

  It ignored the strange light it felt inside and focused its cruelty on the angel. The master wanted it dead, but Death was going to play with the young angel before she took its life.

  The angel blinked and opened its eyes.

  Death waited. It wanted the angel to stand and fight back. It wanted a stronger opponent. It was more fun with a stronger prey for the chase.

  The angel cried and tried to scramble to his feet, but Death was faster. She grabbed the angel and sent him crashing to the stone floor again.

  Another flicker of light danced inside Death’s chest.

  Death smiled wickedly, licked its gray lips, and seized the boy by his neck. It raised him high in the air, enjoying the fear in his eyes. It relished the fear. The angel struggled, but it was no use. Death was upon him.

  “Kara, please, don’t,” choked the angel.

  What was it about this angel?

  Death was hungry to taste this angel’s life force. Her black tendrils crept over the angel’s body until they covered his face like a spider’s web. She was draining his soul. It was a good and pure life force, and Death enjoyed it.

  “I—love—you,” breathed the angel.