Gods and Mortals: Fourteen Free Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Novels Featuring Thor, Loki, Greek Gods, Native American Spirits, Vampires, Werewolves, & More (257 page)

K
ara forced her eyes open
. She stared at a grey marble floor. Half of her face was squished against the cool ground. She felt her knees folded under her and her butt in the air. Walls with wood panels surrounded her. She pushed herself up and sat on her heels.

An enormous primate sat in the operator’s chair. Although he was sitting, his frame reached the top of the elevator’s ceiling, his bald head grazing the top. His long hairy arms brushed the floor and his fat behind drooped on both sides of a wooden chair. Bright orange fur toppled over his red slacks and covered every inch of him…a jumbo-sized orangutan.

Kara scrambled to her feet and checked herself out. She studied the orangutan for moment and cleared her throat. “Hey there,” she said and gave a little wave. “You’re not chimp 5M51.”

The orangutan rotated its head in Kara’s direction. It blinked, and then whirled around in the chair to face her. A small pair of round spectacles rested crookedly on the bridge of his flattened nose.

“What floor, Miss?” It lowered its head to be at eye level with Kara and pushed the spectacles up with an exceptionally long finger. “Hmm?”

Kara raised her eyebrows. “Right …um …” She glanced down at the crumpled file still clutched against her chest. “Uh…I think I’m supposed to go to Level
Four
?” She looked behind her half expecting David to suddenly appear. She wished he was here with her.

The primate watched her. His watery eyes darted to the file she held near her middle. In one slow movement, it lifted its arm and pressed the number four brass button on the control panel. Long strands of orange hair swayed below his arm. “Level Four!” He said loudly, his peach colored eyes bewitching her.

“Thank you,” she managed to say staring at the floor. “So …you work with chimp 5M51?”

“CHIMP!” interrupted the primate furiously. “
I
am no
chimp!
Do not mistake me for one of that
dreadful
lot. My species is superior.
I
am an orangutan. Orangutan 7PT9, if you please,” he said as he puffed out his chest. He straightened his spectacles and wrinkled his face in contempt.

“Okay then, orangutan 7T-something-something…?”

Kara sighed as she waited in a long and uncomfortable silence. The elevator ascended to a higher level. She noticed the orangutan staring at her. “Why do you keep staring at my head?” she said after she couldn’t bear it anymore. “Is my head on the menu or something? What is it?”

The orangutan dropped his eyes and stared at the floor. “Hmm…no reason. I wasn’t staring at your head.”

“Yes, you were.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“You just did it again! I saw you!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 7PT9 lifted his chin and faced the control panel. His left eye stared at Kara.

Kara bit her lip. “Whatever.” She hid her head behind the file. Her hands shook. “Stay calm. Level Four can’t be as bad as Level Three,” she said to herself.

Her mind flashed back to what had happened to Mrs. Wilkins moments ago. Images of shadow demons flashed before her eyes. A tiny ball of light hovered above Mrs. Wilkins’s dead body. Kara frowned and lowered the file. She wasn’t sure she was guardian angel material. She wrapped her arms around her chest. What happens to guardian angels who’ve lost a soul? Kara leaned against the panel. Her body trembled. She waited.

Suddenly the back of Kara’s head bounced and hit the panel as the elevator jolted to a stop.

“Level Four: Hall of Souls!” yelled the orangutan.

“Okay, here goes nothing. Wish me luck!” Kara clasped the file against her chest and stepped up to the elevator doors, only to feel a sudden tug on her head.

“OUCH!” Kara rubbed her injured scalp. “Are you crazy! What? Is my head a dandruff buffet to you? What is
wrong
with you
monkeys
!” she yelled.

The orangutan lifted his chin in the air. “Ah, correction…not
monkey
, Miss, but
orangutan.
” He turned and faced the control panel. “Level Four,” he called again as he sucked his fingers.

Kara glared at the orangutan. “Cannibal,” she hissed under her breath.

“Tasty,” replied the primate.

The doors swished open. Kara stepped forward. “Wow…”

She stumbled out of the elevator with legs made of jelly. She stood in a never-ending ebony sky. The Hall of Souls sparkled like a great field of fireflies. It reminded her of the sky above the farmer’s fields behind her grandma’s house at night, of watching the lightening bugs as they lit up the black skies like twinkling stars. The corners of her mouth curled up.

Kara trod forward on black marble floors. As she ventured deeper into Level Four she came to realize that her fireflies were, in fact, millions of dazzling spheres hovering in the air. Soon she found herself surrounded by light. Brilliant globes floated all around her, as though Christmas lights draped down from the sky. She peeked through the glowing spheres and caught a glimpse of something huge and white. It flickered in the midst of the great hall. The white shape glistened and grew brighter, like an enormous flame. A humid breeze caressed her cheeks. Soft humming filled her ears. She closed her eyes and sighed.

“Whoa!” cried Kara as someone crashed into her. She tripped and fell to the ground, then rolled over onto her elbows. Her aggressor walked away in the opposite direction and disappeared behind a wall of light. “Excuse
me!
” growled Kara. She struggled to her feet. “What am I…
invisible?
” She marched on, then stopped dead in her tracks.

Hundreds of golden-haired children scurried around the majestic space. They made their way through thousands of floating globes and carried what looked like large glass jars. Their Forget-me-not-blue robes swished behind them. Kara stared at their identical faces.

Three-wheeled vehicles sped erratically across the floors, driven by the same golden-haired kids. The back seats of the little cars were overloaded with more glass jars. They clinked together as the vehicles dashed through the walls of light and out of sight.

Kara was surrounded by a Cirque du Soleil extravaganza. She peered over the kids’ heads. A sparkle caught her eye. She walked towards it. After a moment, she stepped into a clearing. A desk chiseled from a large block of glass stood on a raised platform. Catching the light from the globes, it sparkled like a giant diamond. A great man sat behind it.

Kara’s feet vibrated below her and the mass of glowing globes hummed in unison, as though millions of fireflies took flight at the same moment.

But where was David? Had something happened to him? He was supposed to be right behind her. She shook
her head, trying to purge the images of David being ripped apart by demons.

“Uh …excuse me?” said Kara to a flock of kids. She forced a smile reminiscent of David’s. “Hi …can you help me? I’m not sure what to do with this?” She held up the file.

They ignored her and walked away, as though she was invisible.

“Thanks for nothing!” yelled Kara. Tapping sounds caught her attention. She turned around. “David! Ah…not David.”

A pair of guardian angels with golden stars on their foreheads emerged from a wall of shining spheres. They marched past her, looking somber, and headed towards the glass desk. Kara decided to follow them.

They walked in single file towards the desk. It glimmered like a crystal in the sunlight. A rainbow of colors spilled onto the black floor. The desk was covered with books, with a large flat-screen computer monitor sandwiched between them. A massive man with a furrowed brow sat amongst the clutter of books and papers. He was dressed in a white robe, open in the front with a high gold-trimmed collar, his long sleeves folded on the desk. Gold cloth trimmed the wide cuffs. His face was handsome and serious. A golden glow emanated from his pale skin. And as Kara tiptoed closer, she noticed his forehead was marked with a golden shield, crisscrossed with two silver swords. He terrified her.

The two guardian angels dragged themselves up to the desk and spoke with their heads bowed. Kara stayed a few feet behind them. She fumbled with her file. The thought of addressing this man made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Perhaps no one would notice if she ran away. After a moment, the man looked up and gave them a malicious and calculating look. One of the angels held out a file. The man grabbed it and flipped it open. In a quick movement, he beckoned to the driver of one of the three-wheeled contraptions. The vehicle swerved around, sprinted towards the dais, and jolted to a halt. The guardian angels climbed into the back seat. With their heads bent awkwardly, they squeezed themselves into the tiny space. They raced out into the fields of glowing spheres. Kara stared after them.

“Where’s David?!” whispered Kara. Her body tickled unpleasantly. Her mind was working hard. She bit her lower lip. Her hands shook and she teetered back and forth on her heels like a seesaw. After a moment, she edged forward. Her eyes were glued to the large man’s hands. She halted with the file clasped tightly to her middle. She waited. He didn’t seem to notice her at first. He studied the pages of a thick, leather-bound book. Kara recalled images of her once-upon-a-time-happy life back on Earth—alive—where angels and demons existed only in her paintings, and where she was enjoying a juicy piece of pepperoni pizza, with grease dripping down the corners of her mouth…

PLOP!

Kara stared wide-eyed at her file on the floor.

The giant man lifted his perfect head and examined her. “Name, class order, and rank,” demanded a booming voice.

Kara forced the words out of her mouth. “Uh …I-I’m, Ka-Kara …” she stammered as she bent over and picked up the file. Her fingers trembled. “Um, I don’t know my class order, but I know I’m a
rookie
?” She pushed herself up.

His flaring blue eyes searched her for a moment. He held out his hand in front of her. “Give me the file,” he commanded.

Kara obeyed and handed him the file. Her hands trembled, and she clenched them into fists.

The man sat back and flipped through the file. His head snapped up. “You are the rookie, Kara Nightingale. Your class order is # 4321. You’re back from your first assignment…where is your Petty Officer?” He lifted his brows and looked behind her.

“Um …I’m not sure. He was supposed to be right behind me…” Kara said nervously. She turned her head around, searching behind her. “He…he told me to come here to Level Four. That’s all I know.” She clasped her hands behind her back and fumbled with her fingers.

The man eyed her in silence for a moment. He looked back down at the file. “Tell me, what is the name of your Petty Officer?”

Kara blinked. “David McGowan.”

With eyebrows raised, the man pursed his lips and looked up at her. “I see,” he said flatly. “You’re with
David
.”

“Ah…do you know him? Are we in trouble or something?” She let her arms fall at her sides. “Do you know where he is?”

“I will have to report this.” At that moment his hands moved over a keyboard. His brows dropped slowly and shot up every few seconds as he typed. After what seemed to Kara to be a very long five minutes of staring at someone’s fingers there was a loud
tap, tap,
and Kara turned to see David jogging up to her.

“Ah…there you are, Kara,” said David, smiling widely. His hair was a bit messy, Kara noticed. But other than that he appeared fine. He turned to the giant man, “Hello, Ramiel. You miss me? Oh, Mighty One?”

Kara glared at him.
“What took you so long?”
she
whispered. “I’m dying here!”

David dropped his duffel bag on the ground. “I was delayed. You know…demons.”

Ramiel glared at David. His blue eyes blazed. “Well, David McGowan, I see you haven’t lost your sense of
humor
,” he said coldly. His face twisted in discontent. Kara stole a quick look at David, just long enough to catch him winking at her. She turned around.

“I see you have
abandoned
your rookie on her very first assignment? I’m sure Lieutenant Archangel Gabriel would be interested in this information,” said Ramiel. “Never playing by the rules…are we, David? Believe you are
above
the rules? You’re not setting a very good example for your rookie. Putting her life in danger—this isn’t good for your record.” He waved a large finger annoyingly at Kara, and then his eyes moved to David. He gave him a reproachful stare.

David smiled, studying Ramiel’s face. “You’re always so kind to me, Your Lordship. But don’t worry, she was never in any danger—I took care of it.”

Ramiel cocked an eyebrow. “We hope you will guide Kara and help her embrace her duties as a guardian angel…without the loss of her soul or
rule
breaking.”

David flashed his perfect teeth and put on an innocent look. “Me?
Rule
breaking? Never, Your Blessedness! I am a true believer in playing by the rules…you just remember that,” he beamed.

Ramiel’s expression darkened. His beautiful face creased in contempt. With a loud
screech
he pushed back his chair and stood up. He towered over Kara and David easily. “As I understand it, you’re on very
thin
ice already as it is, David. Unfortunately for you, the Legion is tired of your mess. You lack discipline. I better not hear of any foolish business like jumping out of airplanes or going after seven higher demons by yourself! What kind of example are you setting for the rookies?!” he roared.

Kara wondered how many other rookies David had trained before her. He couldn’t be that bad, could he?

David lifted his right hand, palm facing Ramiel. “Cross my heart and hope to do die—oh, wait a minute. I’m already dead!” he laughed.

Ramiel’s scowl was frightening. Kara had a feeling that, if he wanted, he could probably squish her and David into jelly. Instead he threw the file at David, who caught it easily. “There is a
soul
to be burned.” He sat back down and immediately returned his attention to his keyboard.

David opened the file and scanned through it. He closed it and turned to face Kara. His beaming face transformed quickly to a gloomy one. “Um…this burning soul business isn’t the most pleasant, you know. But, hey…better get it out of the way. Let’s go.” David turned around and grabbed Kara by the arm. He pulled her along with him.