Gods and Mortals: Fourteen Free Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Novels Featuring Thor, Loki, Greek Gods, Native American Spirits, Vampires, Werewolves, & More (263 page)

“AH!” Yelled Kara, as her foot got caught in a tree root. She went straight down to the ground. After a moment, she hauled herself up and sat on the grass. She giggled. “Oops.”

“I love ladies who can hold their liquor,” laughed David. He grabbed Kara by the arm and pulled her up—just a little too hard, for she flew into his arms. David wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. She looked up. His blue eyes sparkled in the moon light. Kara blinked. She thought his face was even more beautiful close up. His full lips parted slightly, as he stared at her mouth. His face was closer now. Warmth spread through her mortal body. She felt on fire. And then she felt his lips pressing against hers; softly at first, and then harder.

The kiss was sudden and fast.

The next thing Kara knew, David had released her and backed away, his face intense. He had a fiery look in his eyes. Her body exploded in tingles and he broke into a wide grin. He knew she was his.

But Kara was in shock.

David was still holding on to her, as though he were reluctant to let her go.
She had never been kissed before. It felt amazing. She grinned.

What the…?
Kara felt a sudden sharp pain in the back of her neck.

She reached back with her hand, and was suddenly propelled back with incredible force. She crashed onto the hard floor. If her body had been human, it’d have been broken. She rolled over. She felt something hard tightening around her neck, like a thick rubber hose. Her neck burned, as though the mortal flesh was on fire. Her body lifted off the ground as she twisted her M suit, trying to break free. But the hold was too strong. Kara looked down and got a glimpse of her attacker.

A shadow demon, three times larger than the ones she saw in Mrs. Wilkins’ apartment, glistened in the moonlight. It had her wrapped around her neck with one of its tentacles. Kara could smell the foul stench of blood and rotten flesh. The demon let out a loud shriek that sounded almost like a laugh.

“Let her go, demon!” David ran towards her, his sword shimmering in the moonlight. He leaped into the air behind her. Kara heard a
swish,
and then felt a release. She hit the ground hard. She rolled over and tugged at her throat, and pulled off the foul tentacle. She scrambled to her feet and watched as the demon flickered, and its solid form disappeared into a black mist.

“Stay behind me!” yelled David, as he ran towards the demon. Kara stared in horror as he threw himself into the black fog, arms flailing as he struck at the creature. “I…HATE…DEMONS!” he panted. And then he disappeared into the mist. For a moment nothing happened, and then David came into view as he jumped out of the black fog. The demon shimmered and flickered into its solid form again. Wailing, it lashed out at David with its many limbs and knocked him off his feet. His sword flew out of his hand.

“DAVID!” screamed Kara. With incredible speed, the creature wrapped its tentacles around David’s body. It lifted him up…and started pulling.

Panicked, Kara understood that the creature meant to rip him apart. She searched frantically for the sword.
Where is it!?
“Crap! Crap! CRAP!”

Kara caught a glimpse of something silver flash in the moonlight. Like a bullet, she bolted after the sword. She grabbed it, the blade heavy in her hand, and turned back. She ran towards the demon, the sword held high in her hand. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do with it once she got there, but she knew she had to save David, no matter what.

The demon slammed David’s body hard on the ground. It lifted him up and started to pull his limbs.

Kara saw her chance. She took it.

She pushed off the ground and jumped into the air, landing on the creature’s back. She thrust the blade down into its head.

Black ooze poured out of the wound like thick tar, drenching Kara in black blood. She pushed off and landed back on the ground. Immediately, the demon wailed and let go of David. David fell to the ground and rolled on the grass. The demon reached behind and pulled out the blade. It shrieked and threw the sword aside. Then the shadow demon flashed, changed into a black cloud, and with a last flicker it disappeared.

Kara ran to David. “David! Are you all right?” She knelt beside him, searching his body for any missing limbs. “Your mortal body seems to have all its parts.”

A silly grin materialized on his face. “I am now,” he laughed. “Man, I’ve never seen a rookie take on a shadow demon like that! Kara, you were fierce! Wait till I tell the guys what you did! That was awesome!”

Kara shook her head. “What, are you
insane?!
You were almost killed!”

“But I live to tell the tale—this is better than the soup I created with demon blood!” David jumped into the air, with no signs of injuries, and started to dance. “We make a great team. We’ll be the talk of the town!”

Kara shook her head and sighed. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Skinny dipping, here we come!”

As they walked towards the water fountain in silence, David’s face was twisted in a wide grin. And Kara’s mind was loud with thoughts only of the kiss.

I
n the following days
, neither of them mentioned the kiss. Kara wasn’t sure if she should bring it up. She couldn’t shut her mind up on the subject either. Maybe David regretted doing it? Maybe it was the aftereffects of the gin and tonic, and he thought he was kissing some gorgeous voluptuous model instead of her? And now, realizing the truth, perhaps he was embarrassed and hated himself for kissing a girl whose feminine curves had been flattened by a giant spatula. She decided to wait for the perfect moment to bring it up, if he didn’t bring it up.

And so, she and David submerged themselves in their work.

After a good combat training workout, they strutted away from the great white tent at Operations with their next job. David handed Kara the file, and they made their way towards the pools.

Kara’s jaw dropped as she stared at the paper. “A drunk city bus driver is going to crash his bus into a busy Chinese restaurant—Oodles for Noodles. Ten dead mortals, including children!” She looked up at David. “
This
is my next assignment? Are they mad? I don’t want to be responsible for this!”

David took the file back from Kara, folded it, and hid it inside his leather jacket. “We all get tough assignments like this once in a while. It’s part of the job.” He clasped his hands on the metal railing and pulled himself up the four sets of stairs onto the pool’s platform. “We stop the accident, we stop all those people from dying,” David said, as Kara climbed up behind him.

“I’ll never get used to this new life,” said Kara. “The life I had before was
so
simple … I didn’t have to save anyone from dying…I just…ate ice cream and painted….” She stared down at the caustics rippling along the surface of the light blue waters as her mind flashed back to the remnants of her mortal life, the simple life. “… and demons didn’t want to suck my brains out and have them for lunch.”

David ignored her and stretched, preparing for the jump. “You have your gear?”

“Yup.” Kara slid a blue and white backpack from her shoulders and rummaged through it. “I got my map, sword, salt shakers, and my
bad-ass
butterfly net,” giggled Kara, as the idea of salt shakers and fish nets as gear was still a little outrageous to her.

David stepped up to the ledge of the pool. “Let’s go. On three—one…two…three…!”

K
ara and David
strutted up Decarie Boulevard. They zigzagged through crowds of students who were cutting class, and some elderly shoppers who dragged their feet as they went. The busy street overwhelmed Kara’s ears with loud honks and running motors. They made their way north, taking in the stink of exhaust.

“What’s the address again?” asked Kara.

“674 Decarie Boulevard, near the corner of De L’Église Street.”

Kara looked up the street. “And we have to be there for 3:45pm…what time is it now?”

“It’s 3:38pm,” said David, as he glanced at his watch. “And I can see the address from here.”

He pointed with his right arm to a one-floor stone building, where Oodles for Noodles was squished in the middle by shops on either side, like the custard from a giant
mille-feuille
. It was just a block away, and they reached it within two minutes.

Kara stared at the oncoming traffic. “Do we know what city bus we are looking for? The number or something?”

“204,” said David. “It should be an out-of-service
bus.”

She turned her attention southwards and searched the boulevard for the bus. She felt an excitement growing in her breast. The idea of being responsible for so many mortal lives made her truly nervous.

“Uh, David?” asked Kara after a moment. “How are we going to pull this off? How can anyone pull this off?” She let her hands fall to her sides. “What’s the plan?”

David turned to face her. “Well, we know the bus loses control and crashes into the 674 building on Decarie, precisely at 3:45pm. So …we have to stop it before the crash.”

“Duh, I
know
. But how? What’s the
super
plan?” She watched David’s eyes flicker as he thought.

“I don’t think out-of-service buses stop for anyone. And the guy is drunk, right? We’ll have to force it.” David scratched the back of his neck as he surveyed the boulevard, his brain working at a million miles an hour. “We have to stop the accident from happening—so we have about five minutes to figure it out.”

At that moment, Kara felt a sharp pain starting to throb on her right ankle. She wiggled her leg, trying to shake off the pain. After a while it seemed to do the trick, and she focused on the job again. Kara searched the oncoming traffic. Her mind flashed back to the day she died and she saw the huge bus coming straight at her. She forced the thought out of her head and focused at the task at hand.

“Are you okay?” asked David, his face concerned. “You look a little upset.”

Kara met his eyes. “Yeah, I’m okay. I was just thinking about the day I died. I didn’t think seeing a city bus again would make me so nervous.”

“It’s normal. It was a pretty traumatic experience,” said David.

“I keep seeing huge headlights coming straight at me.” Kara looked at her feet. “Then I remember feeling hard metal—and then the darkness. I just…I just can’t stop thinking…why didn’t I look before crossing the street? I might be alive again, with my whole life ahead of me.”

“I can see how this assignment has you a little anxious. But you’re a guardian angel now…that is your new life.”

Kara let out a sigh. “I know. I’ll be fine in a minute…I’ll try not to think about my body splattered under a bus.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that.”

Kara frowned. “What? How did you know that?”

“Because I was there.” David turned his attention back to the street.

Kara’s eyes widened. “What? What do you mean
you
were there?”

She stood frozen in place, her mind working overtime, playing back the events of her death in her head. She remembered a hand reaching out and grabbing her. “That was you?”

“Your soul was my assignment—I see it!” yelled David, “Look!” He pointed southwards on the street.

Kara followed David’s gaze and spotted the bus. It swiveled left and right as it made its way north, just a few blocks away from them. “David! We
have
to think of something fast!” She brushed the hair out of her eyes. “What if we can’t stop the accident…what…what would happen after? Would all those dead mortals attract a whole lot of demons? David?” yelled Kara.

In a flash, David ran across Decarie Boulevard. His backpack bounced behind him. He got to the sidewalk and turned around. He watched the oncoming bus and then glanced at Kara for two seconds before looking back at the bus. “We only have one option,” he yelled from across the street.

“What’s that?” Kara struggled with her nerves.

“I’m going to jump in front of it…hopefully he’ll turn the opposite direction and hit the parked cars. That should stop it.”

“That’s your
master
plan?” Kara shook her head. “What if it doesn’t work?” she yelled back, as a group of people eyed her strangely. “What if it crashes into the oncoming traffic? That’s not better!”

David paced on the spot, his hands on top of his head. “Well, if you come up with something better, you better tell me in about ten seconds, kiddo, ‘cause here it comes!”

Kara turned her head. David was right. She could read the
Out of Service
sign at the top. The bus was almost upon them. She looked behind her at the restaurant and saw shadows of people inside, not knowing that this might be their last meal. It was packed.

Kara hit her head with her fists searching for a solution. She bit her lip and looked up the street. A red fire hydrant stood but twenty feet from her.

Without breathing a single word to David, Kara turned and bolted towards the restaurant. With her super-hero-chick M suit, Kara plowed through the glass front door, which shattered with a loud
bang
. Chopsticks fell onto plates as the customers stopped eating and stared wide-eyed and open mouthed at the crazy girl who had just interrupted their meal. Kara knew she only had seconds before the bus came crashing in, killing everyone—including the children.

There was only one thing she could do. She roared, “FIRE!!!!!!!!”

No one moved. They all just stared.

“FIRE!” screamed Kara again. “FIRE! QUICK…GET OUT! GET OUT!” She jumped up and beat the air with her arms.

But no one moved.

Kara searched the small restaurant for any kind of alarm system and spotted one on the wall near the entrance. She sprinted towards the red little box fixed to the wall and pulled the lever. Immediately, an ear piercing ring engulfed the tiny restaurant. The customers looked at each other, and then they all jumped up and started to run. Mothers cradled their babies as they hurried out the door; even the cooks at the far end of the restaurant jumped over tables and pushed their way through.

“Fifteen…fourteen…thirteen…”counted Kara. She waited until everyone was safely out of the restaurant.

“Five…four…” Kara ran out of the front door.

“Two…” The front of the bus rolled up onto the sidewalk and came straight for her.

“One!” She jumped out of the way, and the eight-ton metal monster plowed into Oodles for Noodles. Glass and bricks flew everywhere as a thundering
crash
exploded all around. The bus shuddered to a stop, but not before demolishing a path to the far end of the restaurant. The ground shook as walls and ceiling came crumbling down. The bus was flattened like a soda can by the weight of the structure.

Kara pushed herself up. Rubble was all that was left of the restaurant. She wiped the dust from her face and turned to look at the many stunned faces. Remarkably, no one was hurt. She even spotted the driver of the bus, staggering his way out of the restaurant. “It’ll be the twelve-step program for you, buddy,” she called out.

Kara smiled. She had accomplished her task. It felt great. She heard David’s voice over the chaos.

“Hey! You’re a
genius
. The fire alarm! Why didn’t I think of that?” David beamed as he ran towards her. He put his hands on his waist and cocked an eyebrow. “Gabe’s going to be
very
happy.” He watched the crowds of people who were now taking pictures of the wreckage with their cell phones. “Told you it was going to get better!” He patted Kara on the back, like you would a dog that had performed a task. “You did
really
good, kiddo.”

Kara smiled. “A good day on the job, wouldn’t you say?” she laughed. “I’m just really, really happy no one was hurt.” She looked around. “And no demons showed up…now that’s a first.”

“Yup.” David dropped his bag on the ground. “It’s times like these that make it all worth it, you know… almost as good as…thirty gin and tonics.”

Kara gave David a light shove. “You’re an idiot.” A smile reached her lips. “But an idiot—on a rare occasion—can be right sometimes.”

Kara’s attention went to a mother comforting her crying child. “This does feel awesome.”

“Told ya.”

“Ouch!” A stinging pain erupted on her right ankle. Kara bent over and pressed her hand over it.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know…I have this thing here…” she pulled up her pant leg and heard David gasp. The mark had grown. It was the size of a fist now, sprawling up and around her calve like a spidery hand. It was mad and ugly.

“You’re
Marked!
”

“I’m what?”

“You’re a
spy
!” hissed David. He pushed her roughly away from him. His wide eyes flashed with anger. “How could you? A demon spy!
You’re
the traitor! You’ve been the traitor this whole time, haven’t you?!”

“What? David, don’t be ridiculous…I’m not a
spy
.”

He was yelling now. “YOU’RE MARKED! Only demon
spies
are Marked!”

Kara frowned. “Stop it! You don’t know what you’re saying. I can’t be a spy… I just got here! This must be some mistake…it’s probably not even a Mark, as you say…maybe it’s something else?”

David’s expression darkened. “Don’t try to
fool
me again, traitor!”

His words cut through Kara’s being like a knife. What is going on? Her new angel world was crumbling down just as she had finally felt part of it.

Kara felt her soul breaking. “This can’t be happening to me
.
” She closed her eyes and then opened them again. “David. I…I’m not a traitor,” she croaked, her throat tightening up. “David…listen to me, please …”

“When did it happen, eh? When did you
sell
your
soul
over to the demons?” He shook his head. Disgust wrinkled into his face, as though Kara was the foulest thing he had ever laid eyes on.

“Please stop! Listen to me. I don’t how I got this. I felt some pain on my leg, and then there was this tiny mark…but it didn’t hurt, so I forgot about it. It didn’t hurt again until today.” She stepped towards David.

“Get away from me!”

Kara recoiled, she felt like she just got punched in the gut. “David, please. This is a mistake…I would never do anything to hurt you.”

David studied her face. “All this time I wondered how it was possible that the demons sensed us. Why the higher demons were up our asses all this time? You’ve been playing me this whole time, haven’t you? You were Marked, and you led them to us.”

Panic consumed her as she realized David wasn’t going to believe her. “No. Why can’t you believe me? I’m innocent! I don’t know why I have this thing. It’s not my fault!”

“Don’t play innocent with me,
Kara
. The Legion will take care of you. Mark my words.”

A few days ago David had kissed her, and now he looked at her with such loathing…she wanted to stop existing entirely. She closed her eyes.

“Ah…your friends have arrived!” said David.

Kara opened her eyes and looked around. “What? Who’s here?”

“Have you sent them to kill me!? To finish the job!?” He shouted behind a huge group of people as he backed away from her.

“David! Wait!” Kara took a step towards David and stopped. Two higher demons walked in her direction. They pushed and shoved through the tight crowd, their black eyes fixed on her. She felt a wave of panic wash through her as she backed away. She reached over her shoulder for her bag—but it was gone.