Seirs, Soul Guardians Book 5 (14 page)

Was that amount equal to about an
hour? She dropped the chain back under her shirt and kept walking.
Time was already running out.

David approached her immediately.
“What was that you were holding? I’ve never known you to wear
jewelry. Is that a necklace?”

Kara froze. Pricks ran over her mortal
skin. It seemed the crystals were already testing her loyalty. The
fact that she had stopped made it even worse, as though she was
hiding something and just got caught. She did her best to look
nonchalant. “It’s not really a necklace; it’s more of a lucky
charm.”

“
Well, I guess you can say
it worked. Luck brought you back. Can I see it?”

“
No,” said Kara briskly.
She immediately regretted the anxiety in her tone. David studied
her silently. David was clever, maybe even too clever for his own
good. He might figure it out eventually. Kara had to keep his mind
off it.

The only thing that kept her going was
the prospect of returning to her mortal life with David—and to have
that she needed to find the other piece.

Kara avoided David’s questioning stare
and put on a brave face as Peter and Jenny joined them. “Listen up.
We need to get a move on. We need to find the other piece of the
weapon before Lilith does.”

“
And do we know where to
look? It could be anywhere?” asked Peter.

Kara nodded. “Rome, Italy, in the
Pantheon. That’s where we’ll find the other piece.”

David whistled loudly. “I’ve always
wanted to see the Pope. You think he’ll receive us? I’ve got some
tips for him on his wardrobe.”

Kara nudged David playfully. “We are
not going to see the Pope, you ninny. We don’t have much time, and
we need to scout the entire building. It’s huge. I’ve seen pictures
on Wikipedia—stop staring at me like that, David. We’ll need to
split up in pairs, and we’ll have some help from the Sensitives in
Italy, in case more Seirs show up.”

“
I have a feeling the
freaks will show up,” said David. “There’s still a bounty on your
soul. They won’t give you up so easily.”

“
But at least for now, they
think I’m dead—that should give us some extra time before they
figure it out.”

“
That could take a while.”
David sneered. “All that makeup’s bound to affect their
brains.”

Jenny rocked on the balls of her feet.
“So, when do we depart on our next adventure?” A mischievous smile
spread across her face.

Kara clenched her jaw.

“
Right now. Let’s show
Lilith the meaning of
payback
.”

Chapter 12

Pantheon, Rome,
Italy

W
ord that she had killed a mortal had spread fast. As soon as
she stepped off the elevator, whispers of her name circulated
around the room. Under David’s advice, Kara ignored the voices. She
resisted the urge to slap the suspicion off a few dubious faces—the
devastation of the mortal world far outweighed the gossip. In spite
of everything she had done, they still didn’t accept her. She just
didn’t fit into that perfect guardian angel mold—if ever there was
one. She was a freak—Kara the tainted angel.

All in all, she wasn’t surprised that
Ariel hadn’t appeared shocked when she admitted to killing the
Seir, Ranab. Ariel didn’t even twitch when Kara explained about the
second chance she had been given by the oracles. Ariel sat
pokerfaced until she had recounted her entire tale. Maybe the
archangel knew the truth behind the so-called sacred laws? Perhaps
all the archangels did.

With the jump back to Horizon, and the
lengthy debrief with the archangel Ariel, by the time they arrived
in Rome, the crystal timer indicated that Kara had lost two hours.
Ten hours would still be plenty of time hopefully to locate the
weapon and save the children. .

Kara shuddered as she remembered Elder
Otis’s red wet eyes at the mention of the missing children. His
heart had been broken. On the spur of the moment, she had made him
a promise that she would find them, and she had every intention of
keeping that promise.

The streets of Rome were packed with
tourists and locals. Keeping her head down and peeking through the
gap in her bangs, Kara searched anxiously for billboards or signs
with her face on them. She was still a bioterrorist as far as
mortals were concerned. So far, her picture only appeared in the
newspapers. She couldn’t make out what they said because they were
written in Italian, but because of the use of bold letters and the
overuse of punctuation, it was clearly bad. Kara pulled the hood of
her black sweater over her head.

Lilith hadn’t affected the mortals
here yet, and that was a good sign in her favor. She hoped for more
good omens; she needed them.

Kara and the others marveled at the
ancient architecture. Brown stone buildings loomed over them from
both sides of narrow streets. Small stone and iron balconies draped
in flower boxes gazed down at them. Scooters zigzagged skillfully
through the pedestrians. The smell of fresh bread and coffee filled
the air. Waiters scurried out of noisy restaurants holding enormous
plates of steaming pasta. Traditional Italian music echoed
throughout the city, engaging couples to dance in the streets. The
warm evening air caressed Kara’s cheeks. The ancient city was
chaotic, and she loved it.

Everywhere she turned, there was
something new and exciting to see. The evening sky was a deep
orange streaked with navy blue. Tall iron lampposts flickered on as
she passed. She heard a clonking and turned to see a beautiful
black horse pulling a red carriage with a happy young couple
holding hands. Kara smiled as she passed some local shop owners
gesturing dramatically with their hands as they argued about their
merchandise.

As Kara strolled along the noisy
streets, she unconsciously placed her hand over the crystal timer
and wondered if any other angel had ever been given a similar
extension and had it kept secret from the rest of the angel
population.

“
So, are you going to tell
me about that necklace or what?” David kept his voice low. His eyes
were glued to the timer.

Kara let it go and smiled at him
innocently. “There’s nothing to tell. It’s just a stupid good luck
charm,” she laughed softly and gazed towards the crowds of
people.

“
Then why haven’t I seen it
before?” David persisted. “And why I’m sensing a little jumpiness
in your voice? I know you’re hiding something. What is
it?”

The oracle’s warning echoed in her
mind. “Like I said, it’s just a stupid pendant; it’s nothing
special. Forget it.”

“
Where did it come from?
Who gave it to you?” pressed David.

Kara tensed. “I picked it up on one of
our missions. I can’t remember where.”

David stared at her for a moment.
“You’re lying. And you’re doing a very bad job at it. I thought we
could tell each other everything. I thought we were...close. I
thought we didn’t have any secrets between us. After all we’ve been
through...why are you lying to me, Kara? ”

“
I’m not,” said Kara, the
words burning on her lips. “I told you, it’s just a stupid good
luck—”

“
Fine. Keep lying.” David
walked off leaving Kara staring at him. She felt dizzy suddenly,
her world tipping to the side, and cursed herself for being such a
bad liar. Who was she fooling? She kept her head down and continued
walking.

It was not just the crystal timer.
Kara also felt sheepish about not sharing the feeling of darkness
that had made itself known to her recently. At first she had
thought her elemental power was acting up, but as soon as the
darkness had surged through her, she knew it was different. The
elemental power was always warm—this other energy felt cold and
evil. Kara feared she was becoming a monster. Morthdu had told her
that she was part of the darkness somehow, and it terrified
her.

After walking for some time on the Via
della Maddalena, Kara and the others arrived in a large square, the
Piazza della Rotonda. An enormous stone water fountain with four
statues at the base of a rock supported an obelisk. Couples sat
around the edges and snapped pictures of themselves with their
smart phones.

“
Wow. Would you look at
that? I’ve never seen anything so majestic.” Jenny’s eyes widened
and she craned her neck. “Now that’s impressive.”

The fountain was beautiful,
but it was nothing in comparison to the monumental splendor of the
Pantheon. The ancient Roman building loomed up at the end of the
square, the size of a small mountain. Rows of giant marble Roman
columns held a majestic portico at the front of the structure.
About forty-three meters in height, it demanded attention. Its
colossal stone dome rose behind the portico. Great bronze doors
stood ajar, an invitation to the ancient world within. A large
inscription on the front of the portico read:
Marcus Agrippa, Lucii Filius, Consul Tertium
Fecit.

“
Marcus Agrippa, Son of
Lucius, Consul Three times, built this,” said Peter, as though
reading her mind.

“
Aren’t you knowledgeable?
A real walking encyclopedia,” teased Kara.

She was so impressed by it all that
for a moment she nearly forgot who she was, and why she was here.
But she snapped back to reality when she spotted two men and a
woman dressed in dark suits and fedora hats. They leaned casually
on the columns at the foot of the Pantheon. A small white and tan
English bulldog, Thor, sat at their side. So did a tall grey Great
Dane, the same one who had appeared and helped fight off the Seirs
at Dirleton Castle.

“
Looks as though our
escorts are here,” said David. He stared accusingly at the crystal
timer under her shirt before he walked off.

An ache throbbed inside Kara. If only
she could tell him, explain the situation, he wouldn’t be so angry
with her. She hurried after David. “Come on. Let’s not keep them
waiting.” Peter and Jenny rushed to keep up.

The woman Sensitive stepped forward to
greet them, her long black braid bouncing against her back. She was
tall and slim. Her full lips spread into a smile and her kind dark
eyes sparkled brightly. “Hello, I’m Tatiana,” she said in a heavy
Italian accent. “You must be, Kara.” She held her hand
out.

Kara returned her smile and shook the
woman’s hand with a firm grip. “Yes, it’s nice to meet you,
Tatiana.”

Tatiana turned and pointed to her
group. “This is Tony and Roberto. We are here to protect and help
you find this weapon.”

“
Thank you,” said Kara as
she acknowledged the rest of the group.

Tony and Roberto were easily over six
feet, Roberto being the taller and thicker of the two. They were
both in their mid twenties and smiled graciously.

Kara introduced the others to the
group and then kneeled beside Thor. “I didn’t know you were coming.
But I’m glad you did.” She rubbed his head gently.

“
The smell of trouble seems
to always find you, Kara,” said Thor. He licked his lips. “I
thought you might need my help.”

“
And mine,” said the Great
Dane. His tail wagged happily, and Kara thought it looked more like
a whip than a tail. “

Poochie ’s the name.”

David laughed out loud. “Your name is
Poochie?” He turned and pointed down towards the English bulldog.
“And his name is Thor. Talk about a serious mix up.” David and
Peter laughed.

Kara rolled her eyes and ignored them.
“I didn’t get a chance to thank you for helping us escape back in
Scotland. It was very brave of you.”

“
It’s our pleasure,” said
Poochie, his long grey tongue lolling out of the side of his great
mouth. “Anything to help the legion—it’s all part of the job.” He
sat on his behind and started to scratch excessively.

Roberto stepped forward. His large
frame bulged with thick muscles. “Do you know where the weapon is
inside the Pantheon?” he said in a deep voice with a heavy accent.
The first two buttons of his shirt were undone. Kara could see
scars across his olive colored skin.

Kara stood up. “Unfortunately, no. All
I know is that it’s in there somewhere, and that we have to find it
quickly.” Her hand froze in midair as she resisted the urge to
touch the crystal timer. She could see that David had noticed her
gesture.

“
It’s a very big building.”
Tatiana stood with her hands on her hips as she looked up the giant
structure. “Me, I know, I’ve been here many times. It won’t be easy
to find, and there are many tourists inside.”

“
I know. We should split up
into groups,” said Kara. “It’ll go faster, and it’ll look less
conspicuous.”

Jenny leaned forward and pointed to
herself. “Peter and I can take the right side of the building. You
and David can take the left.” Peter brightened at the idea and a
tiny smile curled at the edges of his lips.

Peeling her eyes away from Peter, Kara
looked at David. Despite the hard look in his eye, he nodded.
“Sounds good to us,” he answered.

Kara sighed silently, relieved that he
would still work with her, even with all her lying.