Mortal (28 page)

"Kara, what is it?" asked David seeing
Kara’s mystified expression. "Why are you staring at your
hands?"

As the realization sunk in, she looked
up at David and Jenny. "It’s gone."

"What’s gone?" asked David and Jenny
together.

"My power—my elemental power. I used
it all...and now it’s gone. I’ll never be elemental again—I’m
normal. The Chief said so."

"
The
Chief?" asked David. "The big
Cheese? The head honcho? Mr. VIP himself? No way?"

Kara described her conversation with
the Chief.

David and Jenny just looked at her,
but they weren’t sure what to say.

Jenny was the first to speak, "Are you
okay with that? I mean, that was a huge deal for you, wasn’t it,
being elemental and all? I was always kind of envious of you, you
know—having a special power."

Kara laughed. "I wouldn’t be envious.
It’s weird, but I feel amazing, like a huge weight’s been lifted
off my shoulders."

She focused on David. "I can finally
be normal—and maybe have a normal life." Kara and David studied one
another, and she knew he had put it together. He smiled, his
sky—blue eyes danced playfully.

Jenny pouted. "So you’re not a
guardian anymore? That sucks. Are you sure?"

"Quite sure."

"And you’re happy about that," asked
Jenny a little more put out.

"I am. I truly am."

Before Kara could explain
further, the ground shook and thousands of brilliant spheres flew
up from a gap in the ground. It was like an upside-down waterfall.
The black sky was immediately illuminated with thousands of
brilliant white spheres. Kara felt as if she had just stepped into
space and was staring at a newborn galaxy. The souls hovered for a
moment in front of Kara—almost as if they were saying
thank you
—and then they
shot up into the dark sky like stars until they disappeared into
the night sky. Kara knew the souls were safe.

"Where do you think they’re going?"
asked Jenny.

Kara breathed in the cool air. "Back
to their bodies. They’ll be reborn into children—life will
continue."

All the pent up emotions that she had
stored up since the start of the mission were released with the
restoration of the souls to the sky. Hot tears fell down her face.
It was over. Finally.

With her heart in her throat, Kara
walked over to Lilith’s body and kneeled. Her sister’s skin was
snow-white. She had a serene expression on her face. She didn’t
look dead—she looked like Sleeping Beauty, so calm and peaceful.
Carefully, Kara untied the leather bracelet from around her own
wrist and tied it gently around Lilith’s left wrist. As she folded
her sister’s hands on her chest, she noticed that her skin was
ice-cold and had started to turn grey.

"It’s brought me luck, now it’s yours.
May it bring you luck wherever you go." She bent over and kissed
her sister’s forehead.

Kara leaned back, and Lilith’s body
glowed with brilliant particles, as though it had been painted in
diamonds. Kara covered her eyes and watched as her sister’s soul
lifted in the air and disappeared into the sky. And when Kara
looked down again, Lilith’s body had vanished.

"Can someone help me up?"

Kara turned to see a battered yet very
alive Gideon. She rushed to his side and squeezed the old man in a
tight embrace.

"You’re choking me girl! Let me go.
Let me go." His face was blackened, and his hair was still smoking.
He looked like a blown out candle.

Beaming, Kara let him go. "I thought
you were dead! I thought the warlock killed you."

After wiping himself down, Gideon
stood tall and proud. "Tut—takes more than warlock magic to kill
old Gideon. I’m a witch doctor." He smiled, and Kara knew there was
more to Gideon than he let on.

David smacked Gideon on the back.
"Never thought I’d be pleased to see you and your dead pets again,
grandpa." He poked the dead fox’s glass eye with his finger and
jumped back when he saw Gideon’s angry face.

"I see all is well, then," Gideon’s
smile returned. "I said ya could do it. And ya did, Kara, you
really did."

Kara felt the blood rush to her face.
"Well, I couldn’t have done it without you."

Jenny stood beside her, as Kara held
out her hand. "Thank you Gideon, for helping us. Truce?"

She waited as if she thought Gideon
might take a swing at her.

At first, Gideon just glared at her.
And then his expression softened, and he shook her hand.

"Didn’t think I’d ever shake hands
with the dead. I must be going crazy in my old age."

He looked at Jenny and
David. "But I’m happy to know Kara has such good friends looking
out for her, even if ya are
spirit
walkers
."

Jenny and David laughed. Kara was
amazed that the witch doctor had warmed to her spirit
friends.

A reflected yellow light in the snow
caught Kara’s eye. She knelt down and pulled out Olga’s pendant. It
looked brand new, exactly like the first time she had seen it. She
held it in her palm and thanked it silently.

"Look who’s decided to join the
party," announced David.

Ashley and her team strolled into
view. Ashley’s expression soured when she saw Kara. She crossed her
arms. "What’s going on here? You’re supposed to be on a mission,
not a stroll in the park. Where is the warlock? Did you let him
go?" she laughed cynically, and her team followed her
example.

"No, he’s dead," said Kara cheerfully.
"I killed him—and the other ones. The warlocks are all dead. They
won’t be bothering the legion anymore."

Ashley’s expression
crumbled.

Kara met Ashley’s glare. "I
guess we didn’t need your
backup
after all. The mission was a success—without
you."

Kara paused for a second and then
continued, "You tried to make me feel bad about being different.
You wanted me to fail and to feel like a freak so you could laugh
at me, didn’t you? You wanted to turn the legion against me." Kara
sneered. "So who’s laughing now?"

"I am," laughed David. He pointed to
Ashley and her team and began laughing like a lunatic.

Ashley lowered her eyes. "Who is
this?" She pointed at Gideon, who jumped back in surprise. "Using
mortals to do your bidding is a capital offense. I will have to
report you." Ashley’s cold smile returned. "Ariel will be very
angry with you—you won’t be in her good favor for long."

Kara laughed softly.
"That’s Gideon, a witch doctor—and my friend. And you can write up
a ginormous report on me all you want. Why don’t you run along and
tell Ariel that we didn’t need you after all—that she had made
the
right
decision
in sending me and my friends on this mission—and not
you."

Ashley spun around and stormed out the
park without another word, her minions following her like
sheep.

Kara shook her head and laughed.
"Listen, guys. I only have a few minutes left before I—"

"Disappear on us again," said David.
"Thought that might happen again."

"Well, I’m looking forward to a normal
life for a change," said Kara. She held up the witch’s pendant.
"Gideon, take this. I can’t keep it. I’m sure Olga would want you
to have it."

The witch doctor’s eyes brightened,
and he took the pendant carefully in his large hands.

He beamed. "I would have loved to see
that old bat one more time, but I guess we’ll see each other soon
in another life." He pulled the pendant over his smoking black
afro.

"Goodbye, Gideon, and thank
you."

"It was a pleasure," said the witch
doctor, and he bowed.

Kara turned and hugged Jenny. "I’ll
see you again—I’m sure of it. This isn’t really good bye you
know."

Jenny stepped back. "I know. You
deserve a normal life Kara—for a little while at least," she
winked.

"We have to get going soon, too," said
David. "We’ve been in our M-suits for a long time."

"He’s right. And I’m anxious to know
how Peter is doing," said Jenny.

Kara felt a cool flutter pass through
her like a shiver. She looked down at herself. Her body was
becoming transparent, like a ghost.

"It’s happening." She trembled with
excitement and happiness. She couldn’t wait to see her mom healthy
and safe, and to start her new life with David.

"Say hi to Peter for me, and tell him
I’ll miss him."

"We will," said Jenny, despite her
smile her eyes were sad.

David laced his fingers with Kara’s.
"I’ll see you soon, my little witch. You can cast a spell on me
anytime."

As she held her friends’ gazes one
last time, she felt David squeeze her fingers. Then she
vanished.

T
he people on the streets were starting to annoy Kara. She
narrowly missed a head-on collision with a man with a face like a
horse. She spun around, doing a three-sixty as she ran along the
street. Sweat trickled down her forehead. As she swiveled sideways,
jumped onto the sidewalk and shot through the oncoming crowd, she
balanced her portfolio and thought about her big
presentation.

She’d hardly slept for the past few
days. She’d been too freaked out. She had even skipped her
breakfast—since anything going down might come right back
out.

Today was her interview
with
Ubisoft
, the
giant video game design company. Her future was in their hands, and
she felt like a total spaz. She had been practicing her speech for
weeks and had carefully arranged her portfolio with her best 3d
model renderings. But now her brain was numb, as though someone had
pressed the delete button and erased her mind.

She pressed her cell phone against her
ear. "Okay—I just got onto Saint Joseph Street, so I’ll be there
like in two minutes."

"Well, you better hurry," said the
voice on the line. "I can see a line forming inside, and I think
they’ve already started some interviews. Hurry up, or you’ll be
late."

"I’m
not
late! I still have ten minutes
before my interview. I’m almost there."

A laugh came through the speaker. "I’m
just saying—this is supposed to be the most important day of your
life—and you’re late. You’ve been talking about this for
weeks."

Kara dashed along the busy street.
"Excuse me! Coming through—coming through—super important
presentation coming through—"

Breathing hard, she squeezed herself
through the crowd. She nearly tripped on something and cursed, she
couldn’t afford to fall down right now. Her heart was in her
throat, and her lungs were raw from running. If she were late,
she’d never forgive herself. As it was, she would arrive red-faced
and sweaty like a pig—a great first impression.

"Okay, I can see you now," said
Kara.

David was leaning against
Ubisoft’s front brick exterior. He wore his favorite brown leather
jacket with the collar rolled up, and his blond hair sparkled like
gold in the sunlight. He looked like a mix between a young James
Bond and Han Solo from
Star
Wars
. Their eyes met, and her heart did a
somersault. Even after dating for the last few months, he still had
that effect on her. Every time she saw him, she felt weak in the
knees. She felt as though they had been together for years—it just
felt natural to be with him.

"I thought we might catch a bite to
eat after your interview," said David through the
speaker.

Her cheeks burned. "Let’s see how the
presentation goes first. I might want to jump into the Saint
Laurence River if it goes badly. God, I hope it goes
well—"

"Stop worrying. It won’t go bad—you’ll
get the scholarship I’m sure of it. If I can get a scholarship for
Mechanical Engineering, there’s no way you won’t get hired.
Besides, I feel like it’s going to be a good day."

"I hope you’re right."

Kara took a deep breath and sprinted
onto Saint Laurence Boulevard. As she ran, her cell phone slipped
out of her hand and hit the ground with a crash.

"
Urgh
, I’m such a klutz!" She crouched
down to grab her phone.

A flicker of movement appeared in the
corner of her eye.

"WATCH OUT!" Someone shouted. She
stood up and turned around.

A city bus hurtled towards
her.

Kara watched in horror as a city bus
came charging straight at her.

She closed her eyes and braced herself
for impact—

But the impact never came.

Someone grasped her left arm and
lifted her off the ground. She floated in the air momentarily as
someone pulled her away from the bus. Her portfolio flew out of her
hand, and she landed a few feet away. The bus skidded to a stop and
ploughed through the spot where she had stood moments
before.