Horizon, Soul Guardians Book 3 (6 page)

Peter’s eyes were fixed on the orb for
a moment. He moved a trembling hand to face the orb towards the
south part of the tunnel. The light dimmed inside the orb, as
though controlled by a dimmer. He then brought the orb slowly
around in a circle until it shone a little brighter. He looked up.
“It’s that way. I’m sure of it. I’m picking up faint traces of your
mother’s soul energy. But I’m picking up something else too.
Something’s interfering with the readings. But I can’t make out
what it is. Could be demons—or new breeds.”

Kara sighed in relief. Her mother’s
soul was here, in this horrible meat cave. But there was still the
matter of the archangel Zadkiel. She had witnessed his show of
power at the council earlier. He wouldn’t make it easy for her, she
knew, but she would find it nevertheless.

“
How long do we have until
the Rift closes, Peter?” asked Kara, and she looked at a rippling
part of the flesh wall she guessed was the rift’s
source.

Peter pursed his lips. “About … twenty
minutes … maybe more, maybe less.”

“
Then we don’t have much
time.” David wiped his blade on his jeans and then pointed towards
the tunnel. “Just more walls of cooked ham. Nothing to it.” He
stalked along the walls, his boots making loud suction noises as he
pulled them out and pushed them in, again and again.

Kara glanced down the eerie tunnel.
The cracks and pops of falling flesh were nauseating. Its sickly
red walls made the hairs on the back on her neck stand up. Evil
lurked here. She felt it in her being. Kara reached into her jacket
and drew out a soul blade. The silver dagger reflected the red from
the walls. It looked more like a blood dagger now than a soul one.
She brandished it before her.

“
We can’t underestimate
Zadkiel. He was clever enough to fool the council all these years.
Who knows what he’s capable of? And what he’s already done. Stay
sharp. There’s probably more than this sticky stuff in here. I just
want my mother’s soul back.”

David turned and looked at Kara. “I
don’t underestimate him. He’s still the same bald idiot as
before... just that now he prefers to sleep in this five-star meat
hotel.” A mischievous smile flashed across David’s face, lightening
Kara’s mood.

The group ventured cautiously inside
the tunnel. Its sinister walls made Kara feel claustrophobic. With
Kara in the lead and Jenny following closely behind her with her
bow and arrow at the ready, Peter was sandwiched between them.
David held the back. They walked like this for a few minutes,
glancing back over their shoulders every now and again. Kara felt
uneasy. She noticed the walls seeped more and more of that pus-like
liquid. Walking became increasingly difficult. With every step they
took, more liquid oozed out of deep gashes, like squeezing the
water out of a sponge.

Suddenly, the ground shook.

Clumps of flesh dropped from the
ceiling with sickening splashes. Kara steadied herself, her blade
held up before her. She heard a distant rumble, like the growl of
thunder before a storm. And then it stopped.

“
What was that?” whispered
Peter, the whites of his eyes gleaming in his petrified
face.

Kara met David’s concerned expression
but didn’t answer. She gripped her soul blade and saw Jenny in the
corner of her eye nocking an arrow. Unconsciously, Kara took a step
back towards Peter.

A loud growl split the silence. The
ground trembled with more intensity, and Kara thought they were in
the middle of some sort of quake. But she knew that was impossible.
She felt a tightness around her leg. Suddenly, she was thrown
across the tunnel. She hit the wall. Her body sank into the soft
tissue, as though the walls were made of Jell-O. The decaying
stench burned her nose, and Kara’s fear escalated. She struggled to
move. Her limbs didn’t respond. It was as if she was Krazy Glued,
pinned against her will. She felt her body being pulled back deeper
into the wall. She glanced down and winced. A large red tentacle
was wrapped tightly around her legs. Hundreds of open suction cups
revealed pointed teeth, like gaping mouths ready to feed. Yellow
liquid rolled off the large tentacle.

Someone screamed.

Peter was completely covered by the
tentacles. They wrapped around him like a giant boa constrictor
crushing its prey before swallowing it whole. She watched him
struggle against the creatures and felt instant pity for him. Kara
saw a dozen or more tentacles sprout out of the walls and lash at
David. With two soul blades in his hands, David slashed and sliced
at the creatures. Thumps of severed tentacles littered the floor
around him. And soon David was covered in the foul-smelling
liquid.

Kara yanked her head to the left.
Jenny stabbed a horde of tentacles with her arrow. She punctured
one right through its body, and it retreated back into a hole in
the wall. Kara watched in horror as a dozen more tentacles shot
from what Kara believed were sores, and launched themselves at
Jenny. Two grabbed her legs and another two knocked the bow and
arrow out of her hands. Jenny tripped and fell face down against
the ground. A slippery tentacle advanced towards her face. It
whipped out at her; the suction cups stuck to her face. The
tentacle radiated from the inside, like a light bulb beneath a
shade. Kara heard Jenny’s muffled scream and a last suction cup
wrapped around her face. The tentacle shuddered and moved, and Kara
saw light move inside it, as though it was swallowing. Kara
realized in horror that the creature was drinking Jenny’s essence.
Her eyes flicked over to Peter. He had a suction cup over his face
now.

With a tremendous effort, Kara freed
her right arm. With her blade still wrapped tightly in her hand,
she brought it down and cut through one of the tentacles. It landed
with a thud on the ground. Another tentacle came at her from the
opposite wall. But she was ready. It flew towards her at great
speed, and Kara met it with a side slash. She cut through the flesh
easily. Yellow and red liquid sprayed the walls. She felt the
ground shake. Twenty more tentacles shot through the walls and came
for her. The more she cut, the more tentacles came back.

Frantically, Kara cut through the
remaining tendrils around her legs. Chunks of tentacles sprawled
around her boots. She looked up. Another tentacle lashed at her.
She jumped out of the way and rolled on the ground. She jumped up
and was immediately assaulted by another wave of tentacles. Kara
ducked, jumped, and sliced her way to her friends. Yellow liquid
sprayed her face, and she saw David pull Peter free from the
creature’s grasp. Peter’s essence was seeping through large gaps in
his face. His skin was translucent; she could see the brilliant
light inside him. His skin was barely holding him together. He
looked sick.

David glanced towards Kara. “Help,
Jenny!” he yelled over the commotion, as he squished a severed
tentacle beneath his boot.

Kara kicked and slashed her way
towards her friend. She could hardly see her anymore. The creature
had covered Jenny completely in a tangle of red stringy limbs.
Frenzied, Kara began to slice pieces off, careful not to cut Jenny.
She could see David standing before Peter and doing a good job at
cutting the tentacles off of him.

A sharp pain stung the back of Kara’s
head. She fell forward and reached out. She wrapped her hand around
a slippery mass that stuck to her head. It felt strangely like a
helmet. She moved her fingers around and touched a suction cup. She
shivered. She felt a tingling sensation on the back of her head,
like millions of little pricks at the same time. She felt her
energy draining away and knew the creature was sucking out her
essence. With her blade still clutched in her hand, Kara reached
behind her head and stabbed the creature repeatedly. She felt a
release and finally pulled the suction cup from her scalp and
tossed it. With her strength renewed somewhat, Kara assaulted the
creatures again. Chunks of limbs rolled onto the ground like logs.
Soon Kara could see Jenny, and with a final effort, she yanked the
last meaty tendril from her friend. Jenny collapsed in her arms,
her eyes barely open.

Kara shook her gently. “Jenny? Jenny?
Can you hear me?”

Jenny’s skin was nearly transparent.
Kara could see gaping wounds over her entire body. White light
spilled through them. It had been a mistake to bring them with her.
Jenny’s and Peter’s wounds were too severe. They had to go
back—

The ground trembled... a sucking
noise... she turned to see dozens more tentacles sprout from the
fleshy walls. Dread rippled through her. How were they going to
escape?

“
David! We can’t stay here.
We need to take Peter and Jenny back!”

Kara dropped Jenny to the ground and
sliced the head of the nearest tentacle. Another ten tentacles
lashed out at her.

And then all at once, the creatures
retreated. Like worms wiggling into the ground, the tendrils
recoiled back into their fleshy walls.

A man stood at the far end of the
tunnel. His red robe billowed around him. The light of the torches
reflected off his bald head. Zadkiel! Even in the distance, Kara
could see the malevolent smile across his face. He held a small jar
in his right hand. And in the jar was a ball of brilliant
light.

Zadkiel laughed softly. “You are so
predictable, Kara Nightingale. Just like all the others—a
mortal-loving blundering fool. I knew you would follow me. I knew
you would come for your mother. I’ve been waiting for
you.”

Kara was relieved to see the luminance
of her mother’s soul.

“
Give it back. And I’ll let
you live.”

She raised her blade. Her anger had
awakened her elemental power. She called it forth, and it answered
eagerly. She could feel it opening up inside her like a blooming
flower. She saw the fear in the archangel’s eyes. He tried to hide
it, but she saw it, nonetheless. He wasn’t so sure that she
couldn’t kill him.

Zadkiel’s face was a hard
mask. “Your mother is a very
ordinary
angel. She has no special
talents. I don’t know why you risk so much for her—for her
miserable soul. It’s pathetic really.”

Kara lowered her eyes. “I don’t care
what you think. You’re going to give it back.”

The archangel leaned
forward a little, his broad shoulders hunched. “I don’t like
threats
. Especially
coming from the mouth of a stupid girl. Besides, you’re in no
position to make them. Look around you. Your friends are dying. And
believe me, they will not last long in the mouth of an ungor
demon.”

“
The mouth of a what?”
David looked widely around. He tested his blade against the soft
red walls. “We’re in the mouth of some demon?
Seriously?”

The walls growled as if in
answer.

Kara looked over to Jenny and Peter.
Their skin was as thin as tracing paper. They were in bad shape.
She had to get them out of here.

“
Unfortunately for you, the
ungor answers to me,” said Zadkiel.

Tentacles lashed out, and wrapped
themselves around Jenny and Peter. “Make any sudden movements … and
it will kill your precious friends.”

Kara stumbled forward. “Let them go!
What is it that you want? My mother’s soul means nothing to you. My
friends mean nothing to you. Where’s Asmodeus? Why are you still
here?”

“
To deliver a
message.”

His tone was smooth, but Kara detected
a hint of deceit. She was sure this was a trick. “What’s the
message?”

“
The Legion must not
interfere. They are too late. Mortals are weak, and they do not
deserve their world. They are destroying it. It is time to take it
back. Besides, it is too late for the Legion. The Legion cannot
interfere … or it will suffer the consequences. I have to thank
you, Kara. You were an important piece to my master’s plans.
Without you, it would not have been possible. Soon we will rule the
mortal world.”

His words hit Kara hard. “Asmodeus
will never rule Earth. The Legion won’t allow it.”

The corners of Zadkiel’s mouth lifted.
“But that is not for them to decide, demon spawn. Yes, I call you
by your true name, Kara. It’s time you stop lying to yourself. Do
you really believe that you are a good little angel? You are a
demon like your father.”

Kara recoiled, terrified
that what he said might be true.
No.
It couldn’t be true. She was a
guardian angel, sworn to protect the mortals. She pushed the doubt
out of her mind and scowled at him. “I am not a demon. I’m a
guardian angel—”

“
Wrong again, demon. Soon
you will understand … and you will join us. It is only a matter of
time until you figure out which side you’re on. My lord asks you to
join him now, on his crusade—and he will spare your
life.”

Kara looked at him hard. “I will never
join him. I’d rather die than join a monster. You are trying to
destroy the world that I love.”

“
So be it. You will rot
with the rest of them.”

“
I’m tired of your crap!
I’m not listening to this anymore. Give me my mother’s soul. Right
now! It’s two against one, and the odds are in our favor. Give me
my mother’s soul … or you’re going to die.”