Horizon, Soul Guardians Book 3 (4 page)

Chapter 3

Disappearing Act

A
fter about twenty minutes of apologies and excuses from the
council, for not believing Kara and locking her up in Tartarus for
so long under false allegations, the High Council removed all
charges that were laid against her. Kara was reinstated as a
guardian angel.

Before Kara was excused, Uriel
informed her that he was going to set up teams of the most
dependable GAs to arrest the traitorous Zadkiel and to search for
her mother’s soul. But Kara answered that this was something she
had to do personally. She welcomed the help, but she had to search
on her own as well. Kara rushed out of the great hall with a smile
on her face. She silently thanked the angel Legan for all his help.
He hadn’t been mad after all.

The elevator jerked to a
stop. The doors slid open, and Kara stared out into a sea of
ruby-red dunes. She jumped out and landed with a soft
poof
in the smooth sand
of Operations. She was tickled with glee with the fresh air that
caressed her face and the distant smell of salt water. How she had
missed that smell. In Tartarus, the only smells had been the
constant fragrance of mold and the nose-burning stench of bird
droppings. She could hear the soft splashes and plops of angels
jumping into the myriad of salt-water pools, heading off towards
their next missions.

Kara wiped her bangs from her face and
pressed on. Zadkiel had about a half hour head start, but if she
pushed herself more she might catch up to him. She clenched her
fists and imagined herself punching the malicious smile off his
face. He wouldn’t be so pretty after she was done with him. Every
inch of her being screamed with the desperation she felt. Her
mother’s soul was lost again. She knew she couldn’t fail this time.
She had to find Zadkiel. Kara knew that if anyone could figure out
where the traitor had gone who might help her, it was the archangel
Gabriel.

With the sun blazing against her back,
Kara raced down the rolling red hills. The memory of handing
Zadkiel the glass jar with her mother’s soul helped her gain
incredible speed. Kara felt as though she was flying. Was this
another super ability from her elemental powers? She didn’t know—
maybe it was just the anger. Either way, she couldn’t tell anymore
if her boots touched the sand at all.

A figure came towards her and slowed
down. From the way it moved its square shoulders, she could tell it
was male. He came closer. She felt goose bumps all over her body.
Warmth spread through her like a hot bath. She fought to control
her emotions as she looked into David’s face.

He wore a pair of scruffy blue jeans
with a tight black t-shirt that showed off his muscular chest. His
signature brown leather jacket swayed at his sides as he walked.
Clear blue eyes smiled at her. The beautiful face she had longed
for and imagined so many times in Tartarus was even more beautiful
close up than she remembered. With a lopsided grin, David sauntered
towards her.

He stretched out his arms and lifted
Kara in a tight embrace. She couldn’t find any words to say and let
her face dig into David’s neck instead. She trembled with passion,
with feelings that were forbidden in Horizon, but that were too
strong to deny. She wondered if David felt the same. She didn’t
want to let go. The distant memory of a kiss and his hard body
pressed against hers—she felt him shaking and held him tighter. Her
feet dangled in the air, and David’s strong arms wrapped around her
affectionately.

Kara heard someone clear their throat,
and then a short giggle.

“
I hate to be the one to
break up this happy reunion … but we have a job to do.”

David released Kara, and she turned to
meet the voice. Jenny stood before them. Her short purple hair
glimmered in the sunlight like a crown of purple sapphires. She had
on the same black cargo pants and purple bomber jacket with the
sleeves cut off that Kara remembered. Her eyes were rimmed with a
thick line of black kohl, which made her green eyes stand out. Her
pointy face and delicate features always made Kara think Jenny
looked like a pixie.

“
Can I get a hug too?”
Jenny faked a pout.

“
Come here you big baby.”
Kara pulled Jenny into a tight bear hug. “I really missed you
guys.”

“
We missed you
too.”

Kara looked up. Peter bounced into
view. He wore the same CDD combat outfit as Jenny. It seemed far
too big for him, or was he too small for it, she wasn’t sure. He
pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “You were gone a long
time.”

Kara let out a small laugh.
“Well,
excuse
me
for being in prison. It’s not like I had any visitors or anything.”
She was glad her voice didn’t betray the hurt she felt inside. The
four lonely stone walls of her cell had not been much company for
the past month.

David felt her disappointment. “I
tried—we tried … but they didn’t let us.”

David took a step towards Kara. His
gentle eyes studied her, and Kara felt her chest tighten. “It
wasn’t as easy this time. We couldn’t risk getting caught … it
would have made things a lot worse for you, Kara. Those douche bags
had us watched constantly. We couldn’t do anything without being
followed.”

Jenny let out a long sigh.
“It was
freaking
annoying. I almost punched one in the face.” Her lips
twitched into a smile.

“
So what happened to you,
Kara?” David studied her closely, his blue eyes blazing. “I mean, a
few minutes after you entered the demon realm, all hell broke loose
on Earth—literally. It was as though a dark shadow passed over the
world, releasing evil as it went.”

A few minutes?
Kara was sure she had been in the demon realm for
a few hours at least. It didn’t make any sense. Perhaps time had no
meaning in the Netherworld. It was her only explanation.

“
There were demons
everywhere, attacking mortals,” continued David. “It was nuts. The
sun disappeared, and it became dark as night in the middle of the
afternoon. We figured it had something to do Asmodeus. So, what
happened in the Netherworld?”

All eyes focused on Kara. She wondered
if she should tell them everything. Would they still be her friends
if they knew that Asmodeus had used her to open the portals to the
mortal world? How would they react once she had told them this was
all her fault?

Life had been so incredibly easy for
her back when she was mortal. She wasn’t faced with such challenges
and horrible truths about who she was. She had been a normal
teenager, with the same hopes and dreams for a better life as any
other teen her age. It all seemed so long ago, a memory of a dream.
She knew she would never have it back.

Kara decided to tell them
everything.

She described the events as best she
could. She recounted everything from the giant cockroach,
Jean-Pierre, leaving out the kissing parts, to the Mirror of Souls
and the opening of the portals, to finally how she had barely
escaped. Once she had finished, she stood with her arms crossed and
waited for their reactions.

David cocked his head and shoved his
hands in his jean’s pockets. “You think this is your fault, don’t
you. I can see it on your face.”

Kara hated that he could read her so
easily. “You think? Of course I do. Without me, Asmodeus wouldn’t
have been able to open the portals.” She remembered the beams of
golden elemental current being sucked out of her and hitting the
wall of mirrors, opening a passage for every demon imaginable to
cross over into the mortal world. She shuddered at the
memory.

Jenny grabbed Kara’s hand and
squeezed. Her face was kind. “You have to stop thinking like that.
You can’t blame yourself. He used you. This isn’t your fault,
girl.”

“
Jenny’s right,” said
Peter, who Kara thought looked a little uncomfortable. “You
couldn’t have known about his plans. You wanted to do something
good. You wanted to save your mom.”

“
Yeah, don’t beat yourself
up about it,” said David, his expression thoughtful. “We’ll make
things right, Kiddo. I promise.”

Kara hoped that they were right. She
felt better telling them, but she couldn’t shake off the guilt.
They couldn’t understand what it was like to be forced to do
something terrible, with no way of stopping it. She knew it
wouldn’t matter how many times her friends told her it wasn’t her
fault, she would always feel partly responsible. She had to make
things right again—no matter what the cost.

Kara forced a smile. “Well … I guess
you’re right. I’ll try not to think of it as my fault, but I can’t
promise that I won’t.”

She noticed that David was about to
reply, and she quickly cut him off. “Listen, I need to find
Gabriel. I don’t have much time. He has to set up a team for me to
look for my mother’s soul—”

“
He already did,” answered
David, with a cheeky smile. He lifted his arms. “We’re
it.”

Before Kara could control herself, her
face broke into a smile. “I don’t know how you managed that with
Gabriel … but I’m glad it’s you guys.” She looked from one of them
to the other. She couldn’t have asked for a better team. She knew
she could trust them with anything. “Did Gabriel fill you in about
Zadkiel?” Kara spit out his name. She was surprised at her
hatred.

David cracked his knuckles. “You mean
that lying traitorous piece of garbage? Yeah, he told us what
happened. We all know that Zadkiel was a double-crossing demon
lover. He turned the council against you … and tried to have you
killed. I can’t wait to kick his ass.” David shook his head and
laughed in spite of himself.

“
Okay, listen up,” urged
Peter, his voice louder than usual. He reached into his jacket
pocket and pulled out a small contraption that looked like an iPad.
He pressed his fingers against the smooth screen. “Zadkiel went
through a Rift on Tartarus … near one of the entrances. If we leave
now, there’s a chance the Rift might still be open. But we have to
leave now.”

Kara felt a shiver pass through her at
the mention of the angel prison. The idea of being near those grey
stone walls again and hearing the dreadful incessant moans,
terrified her. She could only hope it would be a fast trip. She
felt a hand press against her shoulder and looked up to find David
staring back at her.

“
Don’t worry, Kara. Those
giant turkeys can’t hurt you anymore. If they try anything, I’ll
have them plucked and ready for Thanksgiving dinner.”

Kara shook her head. “The guards never
hurt me. They never even spoke to me. It’s the solitude that makes
someone go mad.” A cold spasm went through her body as she recalled
the endless darkness and the eerie moaning from the other
prisoners. Legan’s voice echoed in her ears. A wave of shame
rippled through her. She had hardly even thought about him since
she left. After all, it was because of Legan that she was free now,
and she hadn’t even asked the council for his release. She had only
thought of herself and her mother.

Her head felt heavy. “Let’s get out of
here.”

David clapped his hands together. “All
right, ladies and gents—let’s do this!”

After an intense and terrifying ride
to Tartarus, Kara jumped off the sky-car and landed on hard
concrete. She thanked the driver for a safe trip, turned and looked
up at the giant stone walls. Jagged edges like razor blades
perforated the stones. No one would dare try to climb these walls
to escape, they would slice away their hands and feet if they did.
Without handholds to hang on, they would simply plummet to their
deaths.

An opening stood before them at the
other end of the platform. The entrance to Tartarus was a black
rectangle, etched in darkness. It was as though a perfect piece of
the wall had been cut out by giant hands. It was a small hole
compared to the colossal stone cube. Kara strained to hear the
cries from the prisoners. A sudden scraping sound reached her ears,
and Kara looked up and saw a giant eagle pass through the
entrance.

His magnificent golden feathers
rippled in the soft wind like golden waves. He wore a large metal
breast-plate and a metal helmet, and Kara thought that was what
gave him away as a guard. A long silver chain with a glowing blue
star swayed and bounced against his powerful chest. His toffee
colored eyes watched Kara, and she had a feeling he wasn’t so happy
to see her again so soon.

“
The Rift is right here.”
Peter pointed to the right side of the doorway, where a giant wall
of rock rose up into the blue sky and disappeared within the
clouds. Kara hadn’t noticed it before, but now she could see a wave
rolling against the wall, as though a part of rock was made of
water. “This is where he passed through.”

“
Is this another Rift to
the demon world?” David hovered before the Rift. He lifted his hand
and moved it slowly above the Rift without touching the stone. “You
think I can go through this one? Or is it just Kara who can
pass.”

Peter touched the screen on his pad.
He looked up. “I don’t know. I can only monitor the changes in the
fields. I don’t know where the doorways lead to—”