Gods and Mortals: Fourteen Free Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Novels Featuring Thor, Loki, Greek Gods, Native American Spirits, Vampires, Werewolves, & More (267 page)

“Awesome,” said Kara, as the corners of her mouth lifted. Brooke looked bad-ass with that dagger in her hand, and she moved with great skill. As a Petty Officer, she was a few years ahead of Kara in terms of combat training. She was also strong and athletic.

Having had hours and hours of combat training herself, Kara felt pretty confident that she and Brooke could rescue this elemental child. How hard could it be, really? She hoped that they would get the real safe house where the child was being held captive. Her instincts and her strong desire to get her old life back were strong motivation to rescue the child.

Kara smiled as she grabbed a long curved silver sword from the weapons stand. She brought it up close to her face and saw that the stars embedded along the blade formed seven tiny circles. She rotated her wrist and watched the blade flicker in the light. It was as light as a feather and cool against her skin.

“It’s a soul blade. Usually rookies aren’t allowed to use them—too powerful—but I think in
your
case, they’ll make an exception,” David looked over to Gabriel and raised his voice to make sure that Gabriel had heard him.

Gabriel, who seemed very interested in a white globe on one of the many littered tables, didn’t look up.

“You’re going to need these, too.” David pulled off Kara’s backpack and started to fill it with red and white orbs. He held up one of the red orbs. “The red ones are called firestones—smash it near a shadow demon and it will implode, swallowing the demon with it.” He arched his eyebrows as he waited for Kara to respond.

“Okay,” Kara said.

He placed the red orb in her backpack and then held up a white orb. “The white ones are moonstones—they give off rays of light that are harmful to any demon, even the higher demons. Like this…” David’s arm shot up in the air with the orb within his hand. “You don’t have to be too close; I’ve used it at about fifty feet away, and it worked.”

“I’ve packed a whole bunch, too!” Brooke bounced into view, her ponytail flailing behind her. “And…one of these!” She pulled out a white net, the size of a large trench coat. She looked at Kara and David, her blue eyes sparkling, “Shadow chains. I’ve used them once before and they were
amazing!
We trapped the shadow demon in it, and it couldn’t transform into shadow anymore…and we killed it!”

She flashed a smile at David as she stuck out her hand. “Hiya, I’m Brooke.”

David took a step forward and took Brooke’s hand. “David,” he said, as he gave her his trademark wink. “David McGowan.”

Kara was jealous of the attention he showed Brooke. He used to bombard her with his winks, but he hadn’t winked at her since he had seen the mark on her leg. She’d been feeling disconnected from him ever since, like she’d lost a best friend. She looked up at his beautiful face and his lips. The memory of the kiss flashed before her. She shook her head, trying to clear it, but other images came flooding in…images of his strong arms wrapped around her body, of him holding her close. It was too much. She looked away.

“You’re
that
David?” Brooke raised her eyebrows. “You’re kidding!” She let go of the shadow chains and pressed her hands against her shaking head. “I can’t believe it’s really
you
!” She studied his face, “I’m a
huge
fan!”

David flipped his leather jacket collar up and jammed his hands in his pockets. “Yup…that’s me.” He cocked an eyebrow.

“Okay, lover boy…we…” said Kara, as she pointed to herself and then to Brooke, “gotta go save the kid! Life-quest, remember? Chosen ones?”

“I know, I know.”

David helped Kara finish packing her bag with some extra salt shakers and an extra soul blade, the size of a dagger. She hid it under her jeans, strapped around her calf.

“Kara Nightingale! Brooke Miller!” An oracle rolled towards them. Silver cloth glistened in his hands. “Your Sparks…here.” He stretched out his little arms and handed them their gloves. “Hurry up now! You don’t have much time left. Off you go! Off you go!” He waved his arms impatiently.

Kara stared at her Sparks. Twinkling like diamonds, they hardly weighed anything.

“Ready?” said Brooke.

Kara shoved her gloves in her backpack, zipped it up, and threw it over her shoulders. “Ready.”

She followed Brooke and David and the three of them walked over towards the pools. They passed tents with groups of guardian angels practicing their combat training. She could hear the clangs of metal on metal.

They approached the first rows of pools. The air was thick with salt and loud s
plashes
and
plops
surrounded them. Kara looked up and saw Group 2, Lindsey Steel and Carlos Lopez, standing near the edge of a pool. Their lips moved in unison…and then they jumped. With a
wallop
, they hit the water at exactly the same time. A second later a brilliant light shot up through the water, and they vanished.

Kara bit her lip and followed Brooke to the metal staircase, David at her shoulders. Brooke climbed the steps easily and waited for her on the platform.

David grabbed Kara’s arm. “Hey.” David turned Kara around to face him. “Remember what I taught you in combat training…how to parry, how to riposte, and how to attack?”

She nodded. “I do.”

“There’s still so much we didn’t cover yet…you’re just a rookie.” David’s face twisted in a frown. “You shouldn’t be doing this!”

“I
want
to do this, David. And I’m happy I was chosen. This is my chance to go back home…to finish my life…to have my life back. There are so many things I still want to do…to experience. Don’t you understand how important this is to me?” She searched his blue eyes. “Besides, why do
you
care? I’m a
traitor
, remember?”

David winced and stepped back, his face wrinkling into a scowl. They stood staring at each other for a moment without moving, without saying anything. Kara saw a shadow of pain glistening behind his blue eyes. “Just be careful,” he said softly.

Kara studied David’s face for a moment. She could still sense his suspicion, as though he wore it like a heavy coat.

“I will,” she answered.

Securing her backpack, Kara grabbed the metal staircase and pulled herself up to the top. She stepped beside the grinning Brooke. The pool’s reflections rippled along the water’s surface. The smell of salt filled her nostrils.

“You ready?” said Brooke.

Kara took one last look down at David. She watched him as he gave her a slight nod. His face had no expression. “I’m ready,” she said as she turned to face Brooke, and cleared her mind of thoughts of David.

Brooke flashed her teeth. “Okay, on three?”

Kara nodded.

“One…”

She blinked.

“Two…—”

If she had any spit, she would have swallowed.

“THREE…—!”

Kara pushed herself off the ledge of the pool and plunged into the water beside Brooke.

K
ara opened
her eyes and blinked in the blackness. Vega still made her feel a little dizzy, but right now the darkness troubled her. She tried to blink the blackness away, but it didn’t work. She wiggled her mortal suit’s hand up to her face, but she couldn’t see it. There was only blackness. The air was tight, and she could hear the faint drippings of a water pipe.

“Brooke?” whispered Kara. Her eyes strained to adjust themselves to the darkness that they couldn’t penetrate.

“I’m over here,” Brooke whispered back.

Kara heard the scrape of feet on concrete, and after a moment she felt a hand touch her shoulder.

“I think we’re in a basement. See if you can find a light switch on the wall to your left…I’m gonna try over to the right.” Brooke let go of Kara’s shoulder, and Kara heard her footsteps go in the opposite direction.

“Okay.” Kara was in complete darkness. She forced herself to calm down and thought about what she was going to do once she was alive again. When her nerves were calm, she struggled to move her feet. After five steps, her hands touched a cold hard surface.

“I’ve found a wall.” Kara slid her hands up and down and tried to feel for a switch of some kind. She heard a faint
click
behind her, and the lights went on.

“Found it,” declared Brooke, at the opposite end of the basement.

The basement was unfinished, with a dirt-filled concrete floor and open walls with exposed insulation. Cobwebs fell from the ceiling like see-through curtains and covered some scraps of old wood furniture that were piled in the corners. The room looked forgotten.

“There’s some stairs over here.” Brooke pointed to her right and waved Kara to follow. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Wait!” said Kara. “Is this 1228 Pine Avenue?”

Brooke shook her head. “No. The Legion wouldn’t transport us to the safe house directly. But we’re probably really close.”

They climbed out of the basement, pushed open a heavy wooden door, and found a hallway. The old oak floors creaked as the girls sneaked down the hall, trying to find the way out. A musty carpet smell lingered in the air…just like in Kara’s grandma’s house. She loved that stink. She was certain this house belonged to an elderly person. They came to a foyer, which opened to the front door. Even in the dark, Kara could make out the flowered wallpaper covering the walls. Brooke mouthed, “This way,” and trod towards the door. She turned the lock very slowly and pulled open the front door.

They stepped down three concrete stairs onto a sidewalk. A full moon shone down from a black sky. The cool September wind, carrying the smell of wet pavement, caressed Kara’s cheeks, while a light drizzle of rain patted her hair. She wiped the wet from her cheeks and turned to face Brooke.

Brooke turned her head, “Look…we’re on 1194 Pine Avenue West.” She pointed to the black numbers that were nailed to the front of the Cape Cod style house they had just left. “We’re just a few blocks away.”

Kara glanced at her wrist watch. “It’s 8:40 pm. We have 20 minutes to get there.”

At that moment, thunder exploded above their heads and released a deluge of rain. The angry skies had sucked in the moonlight, and only the old street lamps showed them the way.

Squish, squish
.

Their shoes pattered onward, squashing the water out as they trod up the street. Crooked grey maple trees swayed back and forth in the wind.

After only a few minutes, Kara was drenched. The rain felt strange against her mortal suit. It felt cool, but it was as though the wetness didn’t seep through, like it stopped midway. Glancing down at the sidewalk while she walked, she saw two dead birds: red cardinals, their necks twisted, resting in small puddles of water. A feeling of dread crept inside her. She kept thinking back at what David had said to Gabriel…that this was an impossible mission, and that the Legion was sending them to their deaths.

Brooke stopped abruptly, and Kara nearly walked right into her. They had arrived at a street corner. The heavy rains had turned to a soft drizzle. Kara glanced up and read the street sign: Cedar Avenue. They were close.

A tingling sensation spread inside her as she surveyed the area. She imagined her old life, where she painted and had a family.
I’ll have my family again soon.
A group of teenagers appeared on the opposite side of the street, giggling without a care in the world.
That’ll be me soon enough.

They crossed Cedar Avenue and were back on Pine Avenue. After four strides, Brooke stopped again. She stared in front of her. Kara followed her gaze.

1228 Pine Avenue was staring back at them. It was an old Tudor-style home with a worn down paver walkway covered in black puddles. An overgrown cedar hedge covered most of the front of the house. There was no light coming from inside. It stood alone in the dark. And all the curtains were drawn.

“Come…” whispered Brooke, as she steered Kara by the elbow towards the neighboring house’s cedar hedge. She crouched down, peeking through the trees. Kara followed her example. There was no movement inside the house, from what Kara could see. Brooke slipped her backpack from her shoulders, settling it on the wet grass. She opened it and pulled out the blueprint of the house. Kara leaned in for a closer look. She could see that there were three floors to the house: a basement, a ground floor, and a second floor. She could see a back door exiting from the kitchen area.

“Two ways out,” whispered Kara. “The front and back doors.”

After a moment, Brooke looked up and met Kara’s eyes.

“What do you think if we separate?” she whispered. “If the elemental is here, they probably put him in the basement,” she pointed to the blue rectangular shape on the paper with “Basement” written under it.

“Demons like dark and dingy places, and my feeling is that he’s there.”

Kara looked down and studied the blue print. “Okay.”

Brooke raised her eyebrows. “So, since you’re still a rookie, I was thinking you could check out the ground floor…” Her hand moved over a few inches as she pointed to a new drawing, “Check out that area, and then we’ll rendezvous back near the front door in about ten minutes. The child might not be here in this house. But if you see the child, come back to the rendezvous spot, wait for me, and we’ll go back in together with our Sparks.” An intense look flashed in Brooke’s blue eyes as she stared at Kara. “You think you could do that?”

A gust of wind brushed Kara’s bangs into her eyes. “Yes,” she whispered back as she glanced at her wristwatch. She sensed that Brooke had faith in her abilities and wondered if she should tell her about the demon’s Mark—that she was innocent—but decided against it. Tiny rain drops started to fall again.

“I’m ready,” Kara said after a moment. “I can do this. I know I can.”

She studied Brooke’s face. “But, are you sure you can handle the basement alone?”

“Don’t worry about me. I haven’t lost a fight yet!”

With determination spread across her face, Brooke shoved the blueprint back in her bag. She rummaged through it and pulled out a long soul blade and two firestones. She pocketed the firestones in her blue jeans and grasped the soul blade in her right hand. Kara copied her and pulled out her soul blade from her backpack. She jammed two firestones into the large front pocket of her hoodie sweater.

Brooke nodded and the pair threw their packs on their shoulders and stepped out of the cedar hedge. Glancing around, Brooke went up the front stairs first. Kara followed a step behind, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. With her hand gently placed on the door handle, Brooke turned it slowly counter clockwise, and with a soft
pop
, she pushed the door open.

Their eyes were already adjusted to the darkness around them, and they could see the inside of the house in shadows of grey. They walked into a large foyer, which opened up into a hallway with two rooms on either side of them. The air was stale, with a lingering faint stink of mildew. Although it was dark inside, Kara could tell the house was abandoned. The stairs to the second level stood at the end of the foyer. She knew from studying the blueprints of the house that the entrance to the basement was through the kitchen. She turned and looked at Brooke, who gave her a nod. Kara nodded in return, and with her soul blade in her right hand she pulled out a Firestone from her pocket, grasped it tightly, and stepped into the room to her right. She felt Brooke moving on her left, but she was as silent as a cat.

Kara glanced at her watch: 9:02 p.m. She had ten minutes to scout out the first floor and then rendezvous back in the foyer. She sneaked inside the large room. She could make out a large sofa and chairs. The air was stale as she crept on. Keeping close to the walls, Kara saw an opening at the left end of the room. She walked carefully towards it. She gripped the soul blade tighter in her hand…any tighter and she was sure her mortal fingers would snap off. She stepped into the opening to her left and was in a hallway. She blinked. To her right was the kitchen. A soft ray of street light came in through the kitchen window above the sink…enough to make out the old nineteen-fifties style kitchen with metal kitchenette table and matching vinyl and metal chairs. She brought her left wrist to her face and glanced at her watch: 9:06 p.m.—she still had five minutes.

Straight in front of her was a room, probably a bedroom. The door was closed. She strained for any sound and heard nothing. Nervously, she turned the door knob and pushed open the door. The door swung open and revealed an empty bedroom. Kara dropped her shoulders and closed the door. Moving down the hallway, she came face to face with another closed bedroom. She pushed open the door, and again it was empty. She shut the door behind her and glanced at her wrist watch: 9:12 p.m. She turned to her right; the foyer stood empty. Kara walked back into the foyer and watched the faint light in the kitchen down the hall from where she stood. She would see Brooke coming back from the basement from here.

9:15 p.m.

Kara blinked and looked up at the stairs leading to the other level.

9:22 p.m.

The rain hit the foyer windows with soft continuous taps. Kara started to feel uneasy. Brooke should have been there by now.

9:31 p.m.

Something was definitely wrong.
You’re responsible for your partners,
she remembered the oracle telling them.

CRASH!

The loud noise came from the basement, as though a wall had come crashing down.

Kara sprinted down the hall and entered the kitchen. She turned to her right and saw the doorway to the basement. She rushed to it and started to descend to the basement. She could hear muffled voices…male voices. Quickly, she stepped down the rest of the stairs. It was darker down in the basement. The windows had been covered up with newspaper. She followed the voices, her soul blade in front of her as she stepped deeper into the blackness.

BAM!

Kara jumped. She heard a woman scream. They were torturing her. Kara ran blindly into the dark, following the voices. A faint light shone from a room at the end of the hall. She ran towards it; the door stood ajar. The voices were clearer now.

“Commander Urobach…kill the angel female! I want to
taste
her soul…” said a hoarse voice. Kara could hear someone moaning. Brooke.

Heavy boots thumped the ground. “Not yet, Zelar,” said another voice, as smooth as silk. “Be patient. She still hasn’t told us what we need to know.”

“You want me to rip off another arm, Commander?” said a high-pitched third voice.

Trembling, Kara edged forward and then flattened herself on the wall. She inched forward. Hidden in the shadows, she stared in horror. Brooke lay semi-unconscious, spread-eagled on the ground. Her left arm was missing, a luminous hole near her shoulder. Three men stood around her. Even from a distance, Kara could see their black eyes—higher demons. Two were dressed in the same grey suits Kara had seen before, and both carried death blades. Black mist emanated from the shafts. But the third man stood out. His long leather jacket swished at his heels as he paced around Brooke. Standing about six-foot-seven, he towered above the other two. His black, oily hair hung loosely over his shoulders. He carried no weapons. He crouched down near Brooke’s head, wiping her wet hair off her face.

“Come on now, little
angel…
tell me, who else is coming?” asked the same silky voice. “How many guardian angels has the Legion sent after the elemental?” Urobach turned his attention away from Brooke for a moment and looked over to the opposite side of the room. A rusted metal cage about the size of a large bird cage rested on the floor.

And inside the cage, Kara saw a young child. He was wearing only a thin pair of white and blue pajamas. She could see him shivering. His eyes were red, and dried tears smeared his dirty face.

Urobach turned his attention back to Brooke. “How did the Legion know where to find us, eh?” He stood crouched over her, his black eyes searching. “If you don’t answer me, I will hurt you.”

After a moment, Brooke struggled to open her mouth. “I...I don’t know,” she croaked. Pain flashed in her eyes. “I was given an assignment…they told me where to go …”

The Commander’s lip curled into a smile. “Tut, tut, tut…. I’m afraid, little
angel…
that is not a good enough answer for me…” With frightening speed, he jumped up, and black electricity shot out of his fingertips and attacked Brooke. Her body convulsed up and down. She cried out in pain. Kara watched in horror as Brooke’s mortal body sizzled. Brilliant light shone through tiny holes all over her body. Her angel core was spilling out. She was dying.

Without another thought, Kara jumped through the door frame. “STOP! YOU’RE KILLING HER!” She lifted her weapons in front of her and prayed silently that she was going to make it out alive.

Urobach snapped his head around towards the doorway. He stopped his attack on Brooke. His eyebrows shot up on his forehead, and an evil grin materialized on his face. “Well, well, well …what do we have here, my friends?” The Commander’s black eyes widened, as though he was trying to suck her energy out. The other higher demons turned to face her, their bodies bent.