Horizon, Soul Guardians Book 3 (13 page)

Moments later, Kara strolled amidst
tall grasses that swayed back and forth in a soft breeze. David
came running up before her, did a summersault, and dashed back into
the grass. Kara shook her head and sighed. He was blatantly mad.
David ran and laughed like a crazy person, pushing the M-5 suit’s
strength and enjoying every bit of it.

It was midday, and the sun’s rays
pierced through openings in the tall evergreens. Buds of light
green covered the trees; a hint of spring lingered in the air.
Green hills rolled out for miles in every direction and out of
sight. Kara heard the sound of rolling water. A small creek wound
through the hills and disappeared into the thick forest. Tall trees
with yellow leaves flickered in the sun like gold.

But then Kara noticed that the forest
was unnaturally silent, as though no animals lived there. Kara
couldn’t hear any birds or squirrels busying themselves with the
coming of spring. It wasn’t normal—something was amiss.

Hiding in a valley of
tangled forest, was the abandoned Italian castle,
Castello di Zena. It was a mystery falling to
pieces, resplendent in the tall grass. Overgrown vines scaled the
sides of the castle walls and up the keep, as though draping it
with leaves to keep it warm. Large boulders lay crumbled at the
base of the castle. A whole east wall had fallen over with time and
was now the home to weeds and shrubs.

Kara felt pressure on her arm. She
turned around. David had his finger to his lips and pulled her down
with him behind a large bush. He pointed to the castle. Kara
scanned the grounds. Dark shadows moved amongst the tall grasses.
Demons. There were demons everywhere. Four giant demons that
resembled bears, but with yellow horns protruding from their heads,
guarded the main entrance. Kara counted a dozen more walking the
grounds. But that wasn’t the worse part. Hundreds of lesser demons
crawled and snaked around the castle, their bodies swollen and
infected; leaving dark stains on the grounds. Kara felt suddenly
sick. She noticed that the demons never ventured too far away,
always keeping to the grounds. The castle was heavily protected.
Kara knew they were protecting something precious inside the
castle.

She felt the hairs on her arms rise.
Asmodeus was in there, she was sure of it. Kara pictured the demon
lord on a golden throne with a jeweled crown, slicing the throats
of every angel that didn’t bow down and kiss his feet. Kara was
anxious to share a little father-daughter time. She had a lot on
her mind.

“
I bet he’s in there,”
whispered David, knocking Kara out of her trance. “It wouldn’t be
so heavily guarded if he wasn’t.”

“
Should we report
back?”

David shook his head. “No. We need to
be one hundred percent sure he’s in there. For all we know, this
could be a decoy. We have to try to get in somehow.”

Kara inspected the main entrance
again. Four massive demons were not impossible to fight, but the
hundreds of lesser demons joining in would be. If things started to
get complicated with the larger demons, she knew the others would
be upon them in a blink of an eye. Not a great plan—they would have
to sneak in somehow. There had to be another way in. Everyone knew
castles had secret entryways and miles of underground tunnels. They
would just have to find one.

“
Let’s go around and see if
there’s another way in that’s less guarded.”

“
Good idea.”

David led the way, and the two of them
slid down a long slope and landed in two feet of wet marsh. After
Kara voiced her disgust they stealthily made their way around the
east side of the castle. Still fighting their way through the
marshes, they passed the fallen east wall, and David motioned for
Kara to stop. He threw out his arm. Kara saw that he pointed to a
small opening behind a stone wall. It must have been a doorway
once, Kara thought. The demons didn’t seem interested in the area;
they were all still watching the front of the castle.

Kara looked at David and
nodded.

David drew a soul blade. It sparkled
in the sun and blinded Kara for a moment. He clenched his jaw. Kara
could tell by the deep frowns on his forehead that he was thinking
hard. A real warrior, she thought as she watched him step out of
the marshes. She was glad they were a team again. Kara brandished
her blade and followed closely behind him.

With hunched backs, they made their
way across the grounds as quietly as they could. Kara threw nervous
glances behind her as they hurried across the grasses.

No demons came.

They were almost there. Kara could
make out the white-washed walls of bird droppings as they moved
closer to the castle. A rotted door lay but a few feet from the
opening. The hinges were still attached, a reminder of where the
door once had been. David jumped over large rocks and debris. Kara
followed closely behind.

A sudden earsplitting wail erupted all
around them.

Kara froze in her tracks. The howl had
come from behind her. David spun around. Kara saw fear flash in his
eyes momentarily. She gripped her dagger and turned around. A horde
of grotesque monsters with extra heads and gaping maws with razor
sharp fangs stared back at her. Beasts of the Netherworld gathered
around them. Some had humanoid shapes while others were
animal-like. They drummed the wet earth with their twisted limbs.
Smaller demons with black oily skin crept out of the forest. Kara’s
skin crawled. She recognized the demons she had faced in the
asylum. Hunger flashed in their red eyes. Hundreds of bent shapes
gathered. It was an army of demons.

Kara recoiled at the stench of rotten
flesh. Her eyes burned.

Another wail cut through the air,
louder than all the other sounds. Kara heard an eerie answer to the
call. The ground rumbled. More demons came. The demons were calling
in backup.

David pulled out a firestone from his
jacket. “Kara—stay close!”

He threw the red globe into the mass
of oncoming demons. There was a thundering boom, and red light
detonated. Chunks of demon flesh flew into the air and sprayed the
grounds in black liquid. Other demons roared angrily. A large demon
with a bull’s body and lizard head sprang in attack. Its yellow
eyes were fixed on Kara. Droplets of black slime slipped off its
body as it charged.

Kara readied herself. The beast
attacked. She smelled its sour breath as it neared. In the next
moment, she side-stepped, twisted her body, lifted her arm and
slashed her blade. The beast’s body crumbled to the ground. Its
head rolled off.

“
Not bad.” David laughed
nervously. “You think you could do that again … a few hundred
times? Watch out!”

Kara felt a stabbing pain on her leg.
She cried out. A small demon had latched itself onto her leg, and
was chomping away at her M-suit’s skin. She stabbed it in the head
and threw it off easily. She thought about making a run for the
opening, but more demons blocked their way. Kara felt panic rise in
her. They were surrounded.

“
Any genius plans, David?
Now would be the time.” She reached inside her jacket pocket, from
which she pulled a firestone. “I’ve got only one of
these.”

David’s face was grim. “Maybe this
wasn’t such a good idea. We need backup. You think we could make a
run for it to the hills?”

“
Let’s do it.”

Kara threw her firestone into the wall
of demons. There was an explosion, and suddenly a clear path. Kara
knew it would last only a few seconds. She pushed her M-5 suit as
hard as it would go and dashed towards the hills, slashing at the
demons that stood in her way. She was surprised at her own
strength. Nothing seemed to stop her. She only looked back once she
was out of the demons’ reach.

“
David, I think
we’re—”

David was not there. Panic overwhelmed
her.

“
David!”

Kara ran back down the hill.
Desperately, she searched for David. But he was nowhere to be
found. Anger replaced her fear. She flew over tree stumps and rocks
as she ran towards the demons at the bottom of the hill. They were
piled on top of one another, slashing at something beneath them.
There was a struggle, then a scream. She recognized the
scream.

David was underneath them.

Chapter 10

The hidden truths

H
orrified, Kara screamed in rage. Her vision blurred in her
madness. She felt the elemental power within her waken. She called
to it as she ran. It answered. She thought only of saving David.
Nothing else mattered. Not Asmodeus. Not the Legion. Just
David.

Kara dashed down the rest of the hill.
She could see David’s arms flailing beneath the throng of demons
who held him down. They tore at his flesh. Kara heard him scream
again. She flinched at his pain. They were hurting him.

She was almost there.

Her vision changed, and everything was
covered with hues of gold. Kara rejoiced in her power. She would
destroy every last one of them. She tossed her soul blade. She
didn’t need it anymore. With a final jump, Kara landed in front of
the mass of creatures. Her wrath burned at her core. She only saw
death. Her fury escaped with a thunderous roar.

“
No!”

Golden light flickered and danced in
her palms like electricity. The demons stopped and looked
up.

“
Get away from him!” Kara
threw out her hands, ready to launch her attack—

Then she recoiled.

The demons scattered away from David,
suddenly, as though they were frightened. They fixed their eyes on
Kara; they waited.

“
What the hell?” David sat
up and rubbed his head.

Kara noticed a few bite marks, but
other than that he appeared to be fine.

“
What did you do? How did
you make them listen to you?”

Kara was dumbfounded. She hadn’t even
released her power. She had only told them to get away, and they
had listened to her. Kara strained to keep her emotions intact, her
elemental power ready and waiting within her, just in case she
needed it. But the demons had done what she asked. They had backed
away from David, and were standing there—waiting. It was as though
she was their master somehow. She decided to test out her theory a
little further.

“
Demons, I want you all to
sit down—and be still—until I tell you to move.” Kara watched
anxiously as the entire mass of demons sat down. It worked again.
They obeyed her.

“
Well, I’m glad I had an
M-5 series on.” David inspected his body with a silly grin.
“Otherwise, I think I would have been reduced to angel
jam.”

He pushed himself up and walked over
to the closest demon. “Let’s test this further, shall we?” It was a
pitiful creature with no eyes and a large gaping mouth full of
yellow teeth. Black liquid oozed from the many sores around its
body. David stabbed it with his blade. The creature howled,
twitched, and then fell over, dead.

“
Interesting. The little
bugger didn’t even fight back. How did you do this, Kara? It’s as
if they’re listening to you—you’ve somehow become their boss. I
mean, why now and not before … what’s different?”

Kara shrugged. David had a point. “I
don’t know. I told them to stop … and they did. It just happened.”
And then it hit her. She knew. With the elemental energy still
flowing freely inside her, she felt another presence inside, like a
bond. She felt a connection to these creatures somehow, and she
knew without a doubt that the demons felt the same connection to
her. They recognized her elemental power. She was the one who had
released them into the mortal world. She was their
master.

“
I think I know why.” Kara
looked at David.

She turned away, afraid of what he
might think when she told him. “They’re connected to me somehow …
because of my elemental power. It was my power that allowed them to
cross over into the mortal world. And I think they recognized it
when it surfaced. I think … I know they will do as I
say.”

David pursed his lips. “Very
interesting. Might come in handy. So they’ll just sit there and
wait?”

“
I think so.” Kara surveyed
the demons. A gentle breeze brought with it the stink of rotten
flesh and something more revolting that Kara didn’t want to think
about. Hundreds of pairs of red eyes watched her silently.
Intelligence reflected back in some of them, whereas others had
only a bleak expression. Some were just bodies without
consciousness, twisted and misshapen.

They waited patiently for her
instructions. She thought of the only thing that made
sense.

“
Demons. I command you to
leave the mortal world. I want you to go back to the Netherworld
and stay there. You must never return here, and you must never hurt
a human being again. Now go.”

David came to stand by Kara. They both
watched in wonder as the creatures got up swiftly and disappeared
into the forest one by one. In less than three minutes, the grounds
were empty.

Flocks of multicolored birds chirped
happily and squirrels chattered as they chased one another up a
pine tree. The air smelled of pine needles and spring blossoms.
There were no more traces of demons anywhere.