Horizon, Soul Guardians Book 3 (9 page)

Kara pulled out the golden key and
turned it over in her hand. “I never thought they’d let me back in
… after everything that’s happened.” She struggled to control her
emotions.

Jenny’s eyes gleamed. “Well they are
letting you back in. Cassiel asked for you personally—said the team
wasn’t complete without Kara. He wants you back, girl.”

“
Really?”

“
Yup.” Jenny pulled on the
ends of her purple hair and twirled them around her fingers. “It’s
crazy in there. The entire unit is going mental.”

“
It’s not just
your
unit that’s going
mental,” said David. He watched the hoards of guardians intensely.
“I’ve never seen the Legion so agitated. I can see the fear in
their eyes. They’re afraid of what’s out there. They’re afraid to
die—a true death.”

Kara could see the fear spreading
across some of their faces. “They should be afraid. They’re not
just saving mortal lives from some freak accident anymore. They
have to fight against demons.” She bit her lower lip and spoke
softly. “The new breeds are going to tear them apart.”

David’s handsome face crumpled into an
ugly look of concern. His mouth was a hard line. Kara wanted to
reach out to him.

“
Well, it’s definitely
bad.” Jenny’s eyes were filled with worry. She sighed. “We should
get going.”

Kara struggled to restrain herself
from grabbing David’s hand. She didn’t want him to fight without
her. The thought of losing David was unimaginable. She didn’t think
she could go on if something were to happen to him.

He seemed to be thinking the same
thing. “I don’t like it,” he said finally.

“
What?”

He turned to Kara. “That you’re going
back to CDD. The unit’s been breached. You remember what happened
with those douche bags. You can’t trust anyone.”

Kara gave David a
reassuring smile. “I know. I’m sure Cassiel is aware of it also. He
won’t let anything happen to me. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.
It’s
you
I’m
worried about.”

David’s blue eyes sparkled. His lips
curled into a smile, and he pressed his hands to his chest. “I knew
you loved me—ouch!”

Kara punched him on the arm. “Be
serious for once! This isn’t a joke. You’re always getting into
trouble, David. Just … be careful, okay?” She couldn’t believe how
lightly he thought of himself. It made her furious.

David lifted his arms in protest.
“Okay … okay. Don’t worry, I can take care of myself.” He pulled a
soul blade from inside his jacket. With his hand wrapped around the
handle, he raised the blade in the air and examined it closely. The
blade glistened in the sun. “I’ve been waiting for a chance to
practice my moves on a few of those new breeds. I’m telling you …
they’ll be running the other way when they see me
coming.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “David. Promise
me you won’t do anything stupid. Promise me.”

David grinned. “Me? Do anything
stupid? Of course not, cutie—I’m the most responsible, most
law-abiding angel in all Horizon.”

Even with all the theatrics, Kara knew
David well enough to know that he was hiding his true feelings. He
was terrified, just as she was. The more he fooled around, the more
anxious he truly was. And that only made Kara more
nervous.

“
See you guys later.” And
with that, David trotted down the slope and joined the mass of
guardians heading for the pools.

Regretfully, Kara watched
David disappear under a wave of angels. She clenched her fists as
she remembered the half-breed demon who had sucked the life source
from her rookie Tom so easily. She knew many angels would die
today, probably thousands.
Would these
faces make it back?
How many angels had
the necessary skills to fight higher demons?

Kara flinched as she remembered the
sounds of terrified children screaming and the hungry cries of the
demons. She was to blame. She was responsible.

“
Come on, Kara.” Jenny
tugged on her shirt and urged her along. As she galloped down the
slope, puffs of red dust flew up behind her like a cape.

Reluctantly, Kara followed Jenny
towards the elevators. She could only hope that CDD would be the
answer to Asmodeus and his demons—but something in Michael’s manner
earlier told her that it wouldn’t.

Chapter 7

Teammates

K
ara shoved her CDD case in her front pocket and followed
Jenny through a maze of cubicles and chairs. All around them, the
Counter Demon Division was alive with sounds. Kara remembered the
division being a pretty hectic environment, but this was more like
anarchy. Papers fell from the levels above and covered the floors
in a white carpet. Angels shouted at each other from across the
chamber. They pushed and shoved one another. Some ran around the
room, jumping over chairs and desks like deer. Their eyes were
filled with panic. They were not the confident faces Kara had seen
before.

Screams pierced the cacophony of level
five, and Kara could not help but watch the large holographic
screens that were mounted in the center of the chamber and along
the walls. Every screen showed images of terrified men, women and
children. They screamed at the top of their lungs as four-legged
demons, with raw-red bodies plagued with oozing sores, ripped
easily through the mortals’ flesh with their sharp black talons.
Blood spurted onto the walls of the rooms on the
screens.

Kara heard another scream. It was
coming from the holographic screen right in front of her. A young
girl with dark brown hair and large brown eyes cowered against a
wall. Blood trickled down her petrified face from a large gash on
the side of her head. A shiver rolled up Kara’s back. The girl
looked like a younger version of herself. Something dark flashed
across the screen. Kara wanted to warn the girl, but she stood
transfixed. A moment later, a shadow demon materialized, grabbed
the young girl by the neck and ripped out her heart. Kara forced
herself to look away.

She tried to focus on the task at
hand, but the screams overpowered her thoughts. Death stared back
at her from every screen, a reminder of her failure. A reminder of
what she had done.

“
You coming?” Jenny
appeared beside her and knocked Kara out of her trance. Jenny
looked at the screens and then at Kara, “We can’t do anything for
them now. I know it’s hard not look … or not to feel anything—but
we have to stay focused.” She pressed her hand gently on Kara’s
shoulder. “Come. We should go.”

Kara lowered her eyes. “This is my
fault, Jenny,” she whispered, keeping her eyes low. “All of it.
They’re all dying because of me.” Her bottom lip
trembled.

“
You couldn’t have known
what he intended to do with you, Kara,” said Jenny gently. “You
can’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault.”

A wail came from one of the monitors.
Kara flinched. She didn’t dare look at the screen. “Without me,
this would never have happened. The portals were opened . . . with
the mirrors and me … with my powers. I’m partly responsible. I was
part of it.”

“
Kara—look at me. You can’t
blame yourself for a madman’s plan. You’re a good person. You would
never have wished this on anyone. You’re not a killer. You’re a
guardian angel.” Jenny’s green eyes pierced Kara. “We
will
make this right. I
promise.”

Kara only nodded.

“
Come. Let’s go.” Jenny
grabbed Kara’s hand and pulled her along.

Half-heartedly, Kara followed Jenny
through a mess of desks and chairs to the center of the round
chamber. The archangel Cassiel sat at a great table surrounded by a
few dozen guardians in black uniforms. His light brown hair was as
disheveled as Kara had remembered. He wore black cargo pants and a
tight black t-shirt over his muscular chest. He fixed his hazel
eyes upon her. It made her uncomfortable. She recognized Peter’s
petrified face. He gave her a smile, and pushed his glasses up his
nose with a trembling finger. She looked away from him and
flinched.

Al and Devon sat at the
table.

A snicker curled on Devon’s lips. His
dark eyes sent a chill through Kara. Both boys had hair the color
of ravens, but Devon’s had a bluish tint to it, making it stand
out. His hawk-like nose was the center of his sharp features. He
regarded her like prey. She strained to remain calm. She wouldn’t
let them see her distress. Her eyes moved to Al. His pale skin
looked sickly in the light. His black eyes were half-hidden beneath
massive eyebrows. She remembered the beam of golden light that had
blasted from her hands uncontrollably and struck him in the chest.
Although she had gone to prison for her lack of control, she still
did not trust him. She had seen the death blade in his hand. There
was no mistake in that. He had intended to use it against David,
and she wouldn’t let that happen.

Al’s face betrayed no emotions. Like a
mask made of clay, it was dead and fixed upon her. She knew things
were going to get ugly. How... she couldn’t tell, but she couldn’t
suppress the nasty feeling that welled inside her.

Cassiel pushed back his chair and
stood up. “Ah! At last, Kara! Back amongst us, where you belong.”
His face beamed, and he made his way towards her. He threw his arms
out and embraced her. “Welcome. Welcome back Kara.”

Kara made a face because her head was
shoved into his arm-pit. The giant man released her finally and
motioned for her and Jenny to sit at the great table.

With his arms clasped behind his back,
Cassiel took a turn around the table and settled behind Kara’s
chair. “The CDD has been given the mandate to seek out the demon
lord. We must locate his command center—we know he’s there. We must
pinpoint its location. We must seek him out.”

Seek him
out
, repeated Kara in her head. She knew
it wasn’t going to be easy. The demon lord was no ordinary
demon—and no fool. He is the king of the Netherworld, their prince
of darkness. Kara wasn’t sure they could pull it off. How do you
kill an archangel, especially one who doesn’t want to be
found?

Kara felt pressure as Cassiel placed
his hands on the backrest of her chair. The chair moved a few
inches.

“
A single guardian cannot
vanquish the demon lord,” Cassiel instructed them. “So I don’t want
anyone trying anything stupid. He is too powerful. He would crush
you like a peanut. Listen up! If one team discovers the whereabouts
of the demon lord, they will report back to CDD immediately. You
will not try and take on the demon lord yourselves. Are we clear?
No one is to approach him!”

Kara was thrown forward a little as
her chair jerked.

“
Your orders are to seek
out the command center and report back—with a confirmation of his
location. As soon as his identity is confirmed, I will make the
necessary calls and wait for further instructions. It is imperative
that we succeed. We can’t afford any mistakes.”

Kara felt pressure against her chair
again, as though Cassiel had put his entire weight upon it. She
looked up and all eyes were on her. Immediately she stared at the
table.

“
Again. I don’t want anyone
trying to be a hero. You got that? Good. Now each team will be
given a specific address. We know of five probable locations. You
are to scout out the locations, and try to get a positive
identification of the demon lord—if he’s there. Remember what I
said, no one is to strike. You must wait my instructions. Teams are
as follows.”

Hatred welled inside Kara. She picked
at the table, half listening, as Cassiel called out the names of
the first teams. She wasn’t sure she could just sit tight and wait
for backup if she spotted Asmodeus. After what he had done to her,
she wanted him to pay. She wanted to hurt him like he hurt her. It
was payback time.

A commotion shook her out of her
reverie. She thought she heard her name called. She looked up.
Everyone was staring at her. What had she missed? She looked from
Peter to Jenny—their eyes were filled with distress. Jenny gave
Kara a slight shake of her head.

Kara mouthed the
word,
what?
But
Jenny’s eyes were glued above Kara.

“
So there you have it,
guardians,” Kara heard Cassiel say above her head. “Get to
it!”

At once, the field agents took to
their feet and joined their teams. The sounds of heavy boots
scurrying away erupted all around them. Kara took the opportunity
to run over to Jenny and Peter.

“
What? What’s going on? I
was in my head … what did I miss?”

Peter and Jenny exchanged a worried
look. Jenny took a step towards Kara and whispered to her. “You’re
teamed with Al and Devon.”

“
What!” Kara was outraged.
She looked over to them. Both Al and Devon were leaning against
their chairs, staring back at her. Evil grins spread on their
primal faces. They enjoyed seeing her squirm, she realized. She
turned quickly away. How could Cassiel put her with these traitors?
They had tried to kill David. She hated them. And she was certain
they hated her too. She was sure they would try to hurt her
again.