Mortal (12 page)

"Sounds easy enough," said David.
"Just follow the path. Let’s get to it—"

The witches pointed crooked fingers at
David, then at Jenny and Peter.

"
You
spirit walkers cannot enter
Shadow Cave. It is forbidden. Only natural living creatures can
enter. And even then, they might not make it out alive. Many
mortals have ventured into the cave and have never been seen again.
You are taking a great risk just to step foot into this cave. This
quest you’re on, it better be worth risking your life."

Kara’s sudden burst of triumph was
deflating rapidly. It wasn’t going to be as easy as she first
thought. If the others couldn’t come with her...

"So what happens if we do enter,"
asked Peter politely. "We won’t disturb anything, I promise, we
only seek help."

The witches turned on him.
"Unnatural creatures like you will be destroyed," said the taller
sister while the other sucked on her cigarette once more. "The cave
will sense it. It will want to protect itself from your
abnormality
. It will see
you as a threat, a foreign entity, and it will kill you. And if the
cave doesn’t destroy, then the witch Olga will. She has killed many
spirit walkers before. If you dare to enter, then prepare
yourselves, spirit walkers, to meet your doom." Their yellow eyes
focused on Kara. "Only
she
can enter."

David paced on the spot. "We’re
angels, ladies, and we’re not afraid of any big spooky cave or an
old hag. We’re going with Kara to see the old witch and nothing’s
going to stop us."

He stood with his hands clenched into
fists, daring the twins to say anything.

The shorter sister flicked her
cigarette to the floor and squished it with her pointy black
leather boot.

"We sense something in you," she said,
looking at Kara and ignoring David completely. "We see a special
aura around you. It’s powerful, but we don’t know what it is. It
hides from us, and we don’t have the talent to see
more."

"Like a light," said the other sister.
"That switches on and off."

"Perhaps you might live—after all.
Perhaps the witch Olga will let you live."

"
Jeez. Thanks for the vote of confidence." Kara
sighed.

She felt worse than ever and looked at
her friends. "We should get going. It’s quite the hike up the hill,
and I’m just a mortal. I don’t have a special suit."

"I can carry you if you want." David
flashed his usual smile. "I don’t mind, fair lady."

"I’m sure you don’t."

Kara looked to the witches. "Um, thank
you for your...help."

"We hope you find what you are
seeking, child," said the taller witch as she stroked the cat’s
head. It closed its eyes and purred loudly. "You should take care
of those nose bleeds."

"Huh?" Kara reached for her nose, it
was bleeding again.

The taller sister pulled
out a yellow handkerchief with the initials
F.S
. etched in black and gave it to
her.

"Well, you have a...lovely shop," Kara
said awkwardly, pressing the handkerchief against her nose, "but we
really must be leaving now." She offered back the handkerchief that
was now stained with blood, but the twins waved her off.

"Keep it," they said together. "Good
bye."

"Good bye." Kara pocketed the
handkerchief.

They all walked out the front door,
anxious to get out of the stuffy store and away from the Siamese
twins’ hypnotic yellow eyes. Kara stepped into the street and
gladly gulped down buckets of fresh air.

"Good luck, spirit walkers," laughed
the twins from the threshold of their store. "Don’t say we didn’t
warn you. Prepare to die."

A
fter Jenny had thrown every curse in the
Book of Curses
at the Fay sisters,
the sisters slammed the shop’s door in Jenny’s face. Kara and her
team left the little village and headed south towards the
harbor.

The harbor lay between two giant
masses of rock that meandered out into the ocean. As soon as they
put the quaint cottages behind them, a narrow path of stone
stretched out before them and snaked down along the edge of a
three-hundred foot cliff. And somewhere below the cliff lay Shadow
Cave. Even from the distance Kara could sense a presence about that
cliff, something unnatural and dark.

Frost covered the wild flowers and
dense shrubs that lined the path on either side. The cold air made
every breath harder on her lungs. She was determined to make it to
the bottom without stopping to catch her breath. Without her
elemental power, she was nothing more than a little mortal girl, a
weakling with nosebleeds.

Kara’s leg muscles strained as she
climbed down the winding path. She did her best to match the
others’ pace down the hill, but they were like robots, supernatural
machines that never showed any sign of fatigue. Her puny little
chicken-legs were no match for their powerful M-5 suits.

A pulsing pain began to throb against
the back of her eyeballs. She rubbed her temples and did her best
to hide the pain. She pressed on like a good little soldier and
hoped she wouldn’t get another nosebleed.

"I hope I never see those ugly twins
ever again," said Jenny as she marched purposefully down the
hill.

"I bet they lied to us. I
have a feeling they’re sending us into a trap. It was obvious they
hated us,
spirit
walkers
. I mean, we’re the good guys, and
they still treated us like dirt."

"It wouldn’t surprise me if it were a
trap," agreed Peter. "I couldn’t help but feel creeped out by
them—and those weird yellow eyes? What was up with
that?"

Jenny’s voice rose. "Calling us
abominations, unnatural! I’ll show them what’s unnatural with my
boot up their—"

"Ugh! I don’t want to think about what
they might—" said Peter, with a twisted expression like he just bit
into something sour.

David threw up his hands. "—too late!
I’ve already damaged my virgin mind with a mental image of their
butts."

"Can we talk about something else,
please?" said Kara, a little out of breath.

David jogged over to Kara’s
side.

"Are you doing all right? You know, my
offer of a ride still stands if you want—I don’t mind."

In the sun, his skin sparkled as
though it was painted with liquid diamonds. His arm brushed up
against hers, and a spark vibrated inside her. He smiled; his lips
were just too perfect, too close...

Kara looked away as blood rushed to
her face. "No, I’m fine, but thanks. I think I can manage the rest
of the way without one of my lungs collapsing. It can’t be much
further."

She hoped she sounded convincing
enough, and that it was just the long walk that was responsible for
her flushed face.

"My sole life’s purpose is to please
your, ladyship," said David, his eyes twinkled. "I am at your
disposal," he bowed very low, and Kara heard Peter
snort.

Kara smiled slowly, and she felt her
ears going hot. "Don’t make me laugh. It’s hard enough without
laughing. I need all my strength to keep going down this hill
without falling over," she said in rapid breaths.

David stared at her for a moment. His
smile disappeared. "I hope the legion knows what they’re
doing—sending you in as a mortal." He searched the shoreline below
as they walked.

Kara didn’t answer. She was wondering
the same thing.

She searched his face. It was strange
having David the angel beside her when she was a mortal. They had
fought together, side by side as GAs, their friendship growing
tighter with every new mission. Their special bond was unbreakable.
She knew he would give up his soul for her, and she would do the
same.

And as mortals, she and David had
begun a life together. It had felt natural. But now she felt more
unsure of herself and nervous around him. She wasn’t sure how to
act with David anymore. Even with the memories, it was almost like
the first time they met. Her heart hammered at her chest whenever
their eyes met. Was this because she was mortal now? She felt
confused, her feelings blocked. She wondered if her doubts were an
after effect of the memory projection. Maybe the oracles had
damaged her somehow. It would explain the headaches and nosebleeds—
and the lack of energy.

After an hour descending the valley,
they had made it to the edge of the cliff. Kara cradled the cramp
in her side and looked around over the edge. Her hair and jacket
flapped in the strong wind. The great blue ocean spread out below
them. Massive waves crashed onto the rocks below.

She could see a zigzag flight of wet
stone steps that had been cut into the stone and followed a steep
descent to a small patch of golden sand. It was about a hundred and
fifty feet down from the top of the steps, and each step was coated
with a deadly combination of slippery green moss and snow. A shadow
passed down the cliff, and Kara looked to the sky. The sun had
disappeared under a layer of dark grey clouds that had moved in on
them with unnatural speed. The winds intensified. She had the
feeling someone was watching them.

David stood next to her. "You want us
to take a few minutes break so that you can catch your
breath?"

Kara shook her hot face and wiped the
sweat from her forehead.

"No, I’m fine," she lied. Her head
spun as she hyperventilated.

"Going down is easy, but the climb
back up will be a challenge."

She wondered if she’d survive the
cave—to make the trip back up. She saw David and Jenny share a
look, but they said nothing.

She wanted to rest until she could
breathe normally, but she refused to show them how weak she was.
She could see their doubts in their eyes. They didn’t believe she
could do the mission either—their doubt inspired her to prove them
wrong.

"There’s only one way to find out
where these stairs lead. Come on, let’s go say hi to Olga." She
walked around the edge of the cliff, and the blood began to flow
back into her cramped up legs.

David examined the stone stairway and
whistled loudly. "That’s a lot of steps. You sure you can handle
it?"

"I’m sure."

Kara didn’t wait for David to respond.
She climbed down the slippery steps carefully, one at a time. She
knew that one wrong move—and she’d be doing a double—dive into the
freezing ocean below. David’s boots clomped behind her, and she
could hear Jenny arguing with Peter as they made their
descent.

Icy winds pushed against Kara, almost
knocking her sideways. Debris and snow flapped against her face.
Her foot slipped, but she steadied herself. She squinted into the
storm. It was as though the winds didn’t want them to go down. Was
the wind protecting them—or trying to kill them. Was this part of
the old witch’s magic? Could her magic reach as far as the
cliffs?

Halfway down the steps, Kara was
shivering and sweaty. It was so steep that she could press her
uphill hand against the rocky ledge for support the rest of the way
down. Another strong gust of wind struck her as if giant invisible
hands were pushing it. The clouds were getting thicker and darker.
Someone or something didn’t want them here—

Her feet slipped, but as she started
to slide down the wet stairs towards the cliff, she felt a strong
hold on her arm. Through the gusts of sand, sea, and snow she could
make out David’s silhouette.

"What’s happening," she yelled through
the wind. "It’s like the wind doesn’t want us here?"

"I have no idea," yelled David. "It’s
getting worse—we better hurry and get down."

Kara didn’t like the sound of that. If
she went any faster, she’d slip and keel over into the sea.
Determined, she stepped down carefully and descended the slippery
stones as fast as she could. The feeling of being watched settled
over her again. She looked up.

Grey tornados the size of a garage
sped towards them. At the last minute they shifted course and dove
into the sea below. The water’s surface bubbled and white foam
formed on the top. Suddenly, a pair of giant arms made of seawater
sprouted from the ocean below, as though the god of the sea was
reaching out to them with giant semitransparent gloves. Water
rolled off them in never-ending waterfalls.

"What the heck are those?" cried David
through the storm.

Kara didn’t answer. Paralyzed, she
stared as the enormous hands the size of SUVs curled their fingers
and formed two massive fists.

Like water hammers, the fists came
crashing down on them.

Kara leaped sideways. The fist missed
her by an inch and left her drenched in seawater. Then she saw
Peter flatten himself against the cliff’s ledge just in time to
avoid being smashed by the other fist. Water splashed against his
glasses, as the fist collapsed back into water. But the water
rolled back together, like molecules forming something
solid.