Horizon, Soul Guardians Book 3 (8 page)

“
He—he just exploded into
dust in my arms!” Kara lifted her arms dramatically in the air.
“What is happening to them?”

The archangel’s lips were a hard line.
“The cherubs … are all dying.” He gestured before them.

Kara followed his gaze and cringed.
About half a dozen cherubs, their faces skeletal and sickly,
strained to walk. They teetered to and fro, unable to keep their
balance. The agony on their faces pained Kara. She pitied
them.

A cherub shuffled towards them.
Hunched over, as though his back was broken, he could barely walk.
His shrunken face was lifeless and his eyes were a milky white like
a blind man’s. And with a final effort, the cherub fell forward and
landed head first on the ground. Within seconds his body exploded
in a cloud of brilliant particles. All that remained was a small
pyramid of diamonds. She stared in horror at the hundreds of piles
of cherub dust. The ground was covered in these mounds.

Kara studied Ramiel for a
moment. “But, why are they dying? How
can
they die? I thought the cherubs
were immortal?”

Ramiel bent down to examine the
remains of a cherub. “Cherubs exist as long as souls exist. Without
souls, the cherubs will die. They need the life force of the souls
to live.”

Unconsciously, Kara hugged the soul
inside her jacket and stared up into the black sky. Only a few
thousand of souls hovered above and around them. It was like
staring up into the sky at night, trying to see the stars though
the clouds. She set her jaw and squinted at the ground. Millions of
dead souls covered the floor. She feared the worse. The cherub’s
last words echoed in her ears.

Save us.

A cry escaped her lips. She was
responsible. She knew that she had enabled thousands of demons to
enter the mortal world. Thousands of souls lay dead because of her.
“The demons are killing the souls,” said Kara.

“
Yes,” answered Ramiel. “It
is a savage attack. Brutality on a colossal magnitude against the
mortal world. We have never been faced with such an atrocity
before. The death toll of souls has reached unfathomed
proportions.”

“
What will happen to the
rest of the cherubs?” Kara’s chest ached. She watched the little
figures dragging themselves around the chamber. She reached into
her jacket pocket. “There are still souls that live. They’re not
all dead—here. This is my mom’s. Keep her safe.” Kara handed her
mother’s glowing white sphere to the archangel.

Ramiel took the soul carefully and
studied it. He looked up at Kara suddenly, with a perplexed
expression. “How did you get it back? I thought Zadkiel had
destroyed it—”

Kara sighed. “Long story … but I got
her back.”

The archangel looked at Kara
thoughtfully. “Well, she will be safe here—”

“
Kara!”

Kara turned to see David jogging
towards them. His face was drawn and tight. He gave Ramiel a nod,
and Kara found it strange that he didn’t insult the archangel as he
usually did.

“
David, what’s wrong?”
asked Kara, and she started to feel nervous again.

“
All the guardians are
being called to an emergency meeting,” said David as he jammed his
hands in his front pockets, “

on Lieutenant Michael’s orders. We’re meeting at
Operations.”

“
What’s the meeting about?”
Kara suspected that the dying souls and cherubs were part of
it.

“
No idea. But I know it’s
big … something’s going down for sure. I’ve never seen a meeting of
this magnitude.”

Kara didn’t like the sound
of that. She felt responsible. She had been a pawn in Asmodeus’s
plan. Without her, the Mirror of Souls wouldn’t have worked, and
the demons couldn’t have entered the mortal world. She was like
Asmodeus—an abomination to the angel world, a half-breed, bred only
for one purpose—to destroy the mortal world. She clenched her jaw.
She would get her revenge.
You are not my
father
. She made a silent promise to
herself that she would do everything in her power to mend the
horrors she had unleashed. And then it would be payback
time.

“
When do we leave?” asked
Kara, her voice deep and trembling with rage. She remembered
Asmodeus’s joyful face as his demons slipped into the mortal world
and began tearing their way through human hearts.

David raised his brows. “Right
now.”

Chapter 6

The Legion of
Angels

K
ara followed David down the red dunes. The sun beat down on
her head, and Kara felt as if she had a hot hairdryer close to the
scalp. She watched David’s back, but she wasn’t really watching
him. She couldn’t stop thinking about the cherub who had died in
her arms. His withered face haunted her, like a bad dream that
lingered after she had opened her eyes.

Save us
, the cherub had said. What did he mean by that? And why did
he tell her? Was she supposed to do something? Was she part of a
bigger plan? She didn’t know. And she couldn’t shut her mind up
about it.

A loud rumbling reached her ears. Kara
looked over the brow of the dune she was climbing—and stopped dead
in her tracks.

Hundreds of thousands of guardian
angels filled the entire valley below her, a moving sea of angels
readying for battle. They gathered together and formed straight
lines down and across the valley, a perfect square, a full strength
angel Legion. Kara’s body prickled in excitement. She had never
seen so many guardians together in one area. She felt small and
insignificant. A sense of pride welled in her chest. She felt
intoxicated. She wanted to run amongst them, to stand amongst them
all. With an army like this, anything was possible.

She smelled iron and salt water. The
crowd seemed to disperse as she and David made their way through
it. Did the Legion still believe her to be a traitor? She could
hear whispers from the crowd. Anxious faces surrounded her. They
were nervous, like caged animals. Kara tensed.

A sparkle at the head of the Legion
caught her attention. Kara looked over the heads of the crowds. A
giant man made his way across the front lines. Yards of silver
cloth rippled in the wind behind him like a flag made of pixie
dust. Even in the distance, she recognized the archangel Michael.
His golden brown skin shone brightly in the sunlight. His silky
dark brown hair brushed his muscular shoulders, and his hands were
clasped into fists.

She felt a tug on her arm and turned
to see David beckoning her to follow him. He pulled her towards a
small mount of sand. Kara climbed closely behind him. Once they
reached the top, she looked over the thousands of heads and focused
on Michael. He stood with his hands clasped in front of him, his
body hard and stiff like a Greek statue.

“
Guardians,” boomed
Michael’s voice across the desert. His voice was magically enhanced
and all the guardians could hear him as clearly as though he were
right in front of each of them.

“
We are gathered here in
this late hour to
inform
you and to
prepare
you all for what lies ahead.
As some of you have already heard, thousands of portals have been
opened, and hundreds of thousands of demons have been released into
the mortal world. The legion has never faced a threat of this
magnitude before. Innocent men, women, and children have been
attacked in their own homes and ripped into pieces.”

Whispers spread through the crowd like
a wildfire. Kara lowered her head. Was Michael blaming her? She
heard a hint of an accusation in his words. She fought to control
her emotions. She remembered hearing the cries of children as the
demons tore out their hearts. This was all her fault.

Something brushed against her fingers.
She felt a hand interlace with hers. She looked up and met David’s
concerned face. His blue eyes glistened. He gave her hand a
reassuring squeeze. She squeezed back. She never wanted him to let
go.

She wished silently that she could get
away from all of this— that she and David could be together somehow
back on Earth, away from the horrors and the atrocities that seemed
likely to come to pass. But she knew she could never have the
romantic life she had always envisioned with the man she loved. She
was a guardian angel sworn to protect the humans. The mortal world
was in turmoil. They needed to be saved. And Kara had a job to
do.

She lifted her gaze back to Michael,
but not before she caught the disapproving glances from a few
angels. Their faces appeared to be twisted in disgust as they
looked from David to Kara. She forced herself to look
away.

“
Thousands of souls are
dying each day,” continued Michael. “Each second we waste here, is
another dead soul. We have all sworn to protect them. We are the
chosen ones. It is our mandate to save the mortal souls.

“
As of this moment—all
previous assignments are cancelled. Angels, you have but one
assignment. To rid the mortal world of demons!”

His last word echoed throughout the
vast dunes like thunder. Angels jumped into the air and roared like
a giant wave that rose and spread through the crowd. It was both
incredible and terrifying at the same time.

Michael lifted his arms
into the air and called for silence. He waited for the crowd to
quiet before he continued. “Asmodeus believes that he has won. But
he is seriously mistaken. And we will show him. We will strike at
the demon lord’s heart! Our legions will
crush
his armies, and we will give
Earth back to its rightful inhabitants!” He raised his fist. “This
will be the biggest battle this Legion has ever fought. The battle
has just begun! And we will be victorious!”

An explosion of roars erupted all
around. Angels jumped up and batted the air with their fists. Kara
stared into maddened faces. She could practically see the venom
dripping from their mouths. It was hatred—hatred for the demons.
The angels wanted to destroy Asmodeus and his demons just as badly
as she did.

A sudden loud crunching sound echoed
around them. The crowds below them separated, and a mass of more
than a hundred oracles rolled themselves towards Michael. Their
silver gowns and long white beards flowed behind them. The sun’s
rays flickered within their giant crystal balls, forcing Kara to
shield her eyes. They reached the archangel and formed two rows on
either side of him. The oracles waited patiently above their
crystals.

Michael regarded the oracles for a
moment, before turning and addressing the guardians.

“
Guardians. Hear me now. If
the entire human race is annihilated, there will be no more souls
to protect, and we will have no reason to exist. We must save the
mortals to guarantee our own survival. If we cannot rid the mortal
world of Asmodeus’s armies … we will cease to exist.”

Kara saw horror spreading across the
guardians’ faces. It was a falsehood, a half-truth that angels were
immortal. Kara had seen death with her own eyes—she knew that
angels could die.

For a long moment, the vast desert was
silent.

Michael spoke at last. “All guardians
will be paired into groups of fifty and assigned to specific cities
or towns around the world. The Counter Demon Division will remain
intact and will be responsible to track down Asmodeus and seize
him. Our Scouts have pinpointed several possible locations. We will
bring the demon lord to justice. And he will be
executed!”

Kara flinched as a deafening roar
erupted all around her. Images of Jenny and Peter flashed in her
mind’s eye. She missed her friends. She felt a sting at her core
that she wasn’t part of CDD anymore. It had been an exciting post.
They needed her—her powers could help them. The CDD had no idea how
strong Asmodeus really was.

Michael surveyed the crowd for a
moment. Even in the distance, Kara could see the unmistakable
strain upon his face.

“
I will not lie to you and
tell you that this will be an easy battle. Many of you will perish.
But hear me now. Do not let that stop you. We are soldiers first,
and then angels. We will answer our Legion’s call and fight. Fight
till the end! We must protect the mortals at whatever cost. It is
time, Guardians. May Horizon protect you! Oracles...

Kara watched as the oracles rolled
their giant crystal balls back down the red dunes towards the
pools. Their long white beards trailed behind them. The desert
rumbled as the host of guardians followed behind them. The sand
vibrated below Kara’s feet.

Before long the crowd around her
dispersed, and Kara spotted a group of CDD guardians walking
towards the elevator.

“
Kara!”

Jenny jogged up the rise. Her purple
hair sparkled in the sun. Her eyes were wide with excitement. She
was holding a small black leather case. She held it up to
Kara.

“
Here—you’ve been
reinstated to CDD.”

Kara reached out and took the case. As
soon as she flipped it open, she recognized the golden key card
secured on the inside. Without the golden key she couldn’t reach
level five, the best kept secret in Horizon—the Department of
Defense.