Seirs, Soul Guardians Book 5 (10 page)

“
Yes, it is true,” he said,
as if reading her mind. “
You
are the one—the angel of mixed
essence.”

“
You know about
me?”

“
Yes,” said Elder Otis.
“I’ve been following your progress. All the elders have. We are
kept informed about the latest otherworldly events. We share a bond
with the angel realm. It is the reason why we are here—to keep an
eye on the rest of the human population, and to help out as much as
we can. The Sensitives have been dealing with the legion for over
two millennia. After all, we have the same essence flowing in our
veins.”

Kara glanced at the old man’s arms.
Bulging blue and purple veins stretched beneath his paper-thin
skin. Unconsciously, she pressed a hand against her own wrist. Her
skin was smooth and vein-less. It made sense to her that the legion
had created a unique kind of mortals who had teamed up with the
angels to keep the rest of the mortals safe. The legion couldn’t be
everywhere at once, and the Sensitives could take care of the Seirs
when the angels could not.

Elder Otis studied Kara excitedly.
“Your actions speak for themselves, my dear Kara. You have already
destroyed the demon lord, Asmodeus.”

Kara leaned forward. “I feel like an
open book. Is there anything you don’t know about me?”

Elder Otis laughed and wheezed
painfully. He winced every time he coughed. Kara reached over to
the glass of water, and helped him with some.

“
Thank you, my dear.” He
smiled at her. “I thought that was the end for a
moment.”

Kara smiled, too, and placed the glass
back on the table. She folded her hands on her thighs and waited.
Already, she was beginning to form an attachment to the old man. He
reminded her of her grandpa, a very skinny version of
him.

“
We know a great deal more
than you would think,” said the elder, and Kara thought she saw him
wink. “I’ve spent all my life studying the great books. Not all the
prophecies come true—but I am certain that
you
are the special angel from that
particular prophecy.” Elder Otis grinned confidently and nodded his
head.

Kara pressed her lips together and
shook her head gently. “But how can you be so sure if you say that
not all prophecies come true? Maybe you’re wrong. Maybe this one
won’t come true either.”

The elder’s face softened. He spoke
with absolute confidence. “It will. It has. You see, Kara—it has
already begun. You have put the prophecy in motion
already.”

Kara leaned back. She had never
believed in prophecies.

“
So...what else do the
prophecies say?” Kara watched him with great interest. Maybe he had
read some ancient scrolls that she had not seen? Maybe Lilith was
somewhere in there as well...

Elder Otis’s lips quivered. “Well,
that depends. The old scrolls tell us that a young girl will
replace me when I’m gone—which is unheard of—all elders are over a
hundred years old.” He looked away for a moment, lost in thought.
“But that doesn’t concern you, my dear.”

Kara was completely confused. Surely
everything Elder Otis had said should concern her. She leaned
forward and lowered her voice.

“
Do you know anything about
the creature Morthdu?”

Elder Otis raised an eyebrow and was
silent for a moment. “I’ve read about it. The keeper of the
netherworld, they say—a creature of the darkest and most evil
power. But I’m afraid that’s all I know. There wasn’t much about
Morthdu in the old books.” Elder Otis studied Kara’s face. “Why do
you ask?”

Kara shook her head and
leaned back. “No reason. It’s nothing, never mind.” She bit her
lip. “Is there more in the prophecy about
me
? Or this special
angel?”

“
No.” The elder shook his
head. “But it is as clear as rain to me.
You
are this angel, Kara, and we
need your help. The Sensitives are a dying race. Only a few are
born every year, and girls are very rare now. And with the killings
and the kidnappings of the children, our chances for survival are
slim. You need to make things right again. You must stop Lilith
from finding the second piece.”

“
What second piece? What
are you talking about?” Kara glanced back at David. He leaned
forward in his seat; his face was intense.

Kara turned back to the elder. His
bony knees stuck up from under the blanket like knives. “I’m not
sure what you mean. Is this part of the prophecy too?”

Elder Otis shook his head. He lifted a
shaking hand. “Give me your hand, Kara Nightingale.”

He offered his bony white hand to
Kara. Reluctantly, Kara took his hand into hers. She could feel his
long yellow fingernails in her palm. His hand was
ice-cold.

The elder squeezed her hand with a
firm grip. Kara was surprised at his strength. He cleared his
throat.

“
You must stop the demon
princess, Lilith...before it’s too late. Just like her father
before her, she is filled with hatred for living creatures—but what
is worst is her toxic hunger for power. She wants to rule over all
things. She plans to exterminate all Sensitives and enslave all
mortals with her army of Seirs and demons. If you do not succeed in
stopping her, all free people will be murdered or enslaved. There
will be no peace for Earth until Lilith is crushed.

“
She has in her possession
a weapon of great power. You have already witnessed its
devastation.”

Kara frowned and nodded. “The madness
of the villagers in Dirleton,” said Kara after a long pause. “I
knew she had some sort of weapon. I remember seeing something
glowing blue in her hand.”

“
Yes. She has acquired the
first piece.”

“
The first piece? There’s
more than one? What
is
this weapon?”

Elder Otis’s eyes were sad. He
loosened his grip on Kara. He glanced down as he spoke and closed
his eyes. “Thousands of years ago the archangels created a weapon
to control the humans—a terrible weapon called an Arath, a blue
diamond cube of unimaginable power. But when they used it, they
felt a terrible shame about what they had done. The archangels
decided to break the weapon into two pieces, two pyramids of lesser
power, and to hide them in two remote places of the world.
Centuries later, the archangels had forgotten about them, but
somehow Lilith learned of this weapon. She has already discovered
one piece. If she discovers both pieces, it’s enough to annihilate
the entire human race. She will be as powerful as a
God.”

“
That can’t be good for her
giant ego,” interrupted David loudly. His laugh caught in his
throat as Santo shot him a vicious glare. David glanced over to
Kara and shrugged innocently.

“
The weapon responds to the
will of the user,” continued the elder calmly, as if David hadn’t
interrupted him, “which is why this is so grave. If the operator is
evil...then the weapon becomes evil. If Lilith gets her hands on
the other piece, no one...and nothing...will be able to stop
her.”

The elder’s eyes filled with tears
suddenly, and he was unable to continue for a moment.

“
Kara...you
must
get the other part
of the weapon before she does. All will be lost if you fail.” Tears
trickled down his face.

A lump formed in Kara’s throat, and
she squeezed the elder’s hand gently. It pained her to see him cry.
“I will find it, I promise you. I will find this weapon and get the
children back. I swear it.” She shifted her weight and leaned a
little closer. “Elder Otis, do you know where the other piece
is—?”

BOOM!

Both front windows exploded in shards
of glass as two fireballs burst into the cabin. The smell of
gasoline rose in the air, and a giant orange tidal wave of fire
engulfed them.

“
FIRE!”

“
Get the elder to safety!”
someone shouted.

“
Protect the
elder!”

Kara leaped off the couch and stood in
front of the elder protectively, but she was pushed roughly out of
the way by Tabbris who charged past her like a great bear. He
scooped up the elder easily as though he weighed no more than a
little child. Ashes rained down and covered the floors in a soft
grey carpet. Frantic shouts erupted in the cabin as the Sensitives
ripped off the curtains and scrambled to put out the fire, but it
was too late. Flames licked up the walls. The entire cabin would be
in flames in a matter of seconds.

“
Kara! Get out of there!”
cried David.

Flames spilled around the wooden beams
above his head. He ducked and waved for her to come. Jenny and
Peter did their best to try and stamp out the fire with their
boots. Santo kicked open the front door. Immediately, the fire
grew. Santo flailed his arms frantically and urged them out. With
their faces buried in the folds of their arms, the Sensitives
rushed past him and disappeared out the door. The woman from the
kitchen scrambled out behind them cursing loudly about her
dinner.

Kara glanced over her shoulder at the
elder. “Don’t worry. We’re going to get you out of
this.”

Tabbris wrapped the elder protectively
in his strong arms. “Quick, follow me.”

Kara stepped forward.

A wall of orange flames erupted in
front of her.

She jumped back and blinked through
the flames and black smoke. She couldn’t see David and the others
anymore. The elder coughed behind her. She had to get him out. If
the fire didn’t kill him, the smoke would.

Kara took a step forward. Would fire
kill an angel? She stuck her hand into the flame, and three fingers
melted, fell off, and brilliant light poured out from her
hand.

Kara cradled her injured fingers and
cursed herself for being so stupid. She felt an uncontrollable
protective instinct ripple through her. She wouldn’t let any harm
come to Elder Otis. Her anger flamed inside her, and she raised her
hands. A surge of elemental power surged through her body to her
fingertips. Kara could feel a darkness as well. She ignored
it.

Golden electricity danced on her
mortal skin. The power’s survival instinct kicked in.

Kara stepped into the fire.

Golden rays blasted from her body. The
air cracked. She was aflame in a golden shower. She felt
invincible. She embraced her power and let it loose. The rays
soared around with powerful gusts of wind and extinguished the wall
of fire. Smoke coiled from the floor and hovered in the air. The
floor shook. The cabin wailed as burning logs broke off from the
ceiling and crashed on the floor. Embers filled the air like red
rain.

Jenny rushed through the front door
followed by Peter. David bounded towards Kara. She waved him off
with her hand.

“
Go!” Kara yelled. “I’ll be
right behind you.”

Reluctantly, David turned and
disappeared through the door.

Kara grabbed Tabbris’s jacket and
pulled him towards her. “Quickly, before the fire comes back!” She
bolted towards the front door. The big Sensitive cradled Elder Otis
protectively in his arms and charged behind Kara. Black smoke
choked out all the light and nearly blinded her. She ran through
the threshold and leapt off the front porch.

Thirty Seirs stood waiting on the
front lawn.

Chapter 9

The Killing

F
lames cackled, the cabin moaned, and with a thunderous roar
the roof collapsed just as Kara jumped off the front porch. She
landed easily in a soft patch of grass. Tabbris landed with a loud
thud beside her. The heat of the burning remains of the cabin
pressed against her back. The elder’s face was covered in sweat and
soot. She studied his eyes for a moment and was surprised at the
amount of venom in them. With his lips pressed in a hard line, he
glared at the Seirs as though they were the foulest creatures in
the world. His hands were curled into fists. Kara was certain that
Elder Otis had been a force to be reckoned with when he was
younger. She stood up slowly. With her eyes fixed on the Seirs, she
moved swiftly to David, Peter, and Jenny. They were livid. David
bounced on the balls of his feet like a boxer.

The air was filled with smoke. The
fragrance of wild flowers had been replaced by the stench of
burning wood. Grey clouds of smoke hovered all around. It was like
standing in a stinky mist. The Sensitives coughed behind her.
Everyone was out safely. With scorched faces and marred hands the
Sensitives formed a protective wall in front of Elder Otis. Their
long silver swords glimmered in the sunlight and reflected their
grim faces. Santo stood in the lead. With his shoulders tensed, he
looked as though he would pounce at any moment.

Kara surveyed the Seirs. How did they
find us out here? The foul army of white-faced men stared back at
her. Their gloomy black coats were unnatural in the field of wild
flowers.

“
Look, it’s our favorite
Seir, dog breath Ranab.” David clenched his jaw and cocked his
head. “He seems to have added a little more makeup
today.”