Mortal (3 page)

Kara felt a pain in her chest. She
knew how much David loved his job as a guardian. This had something
to do with her, she was certain of that. "That’s impossible, you’re
a great guardian. I’m sure you’re wrong, David."

"Am I? It doesn’t feel like it."
David’s expression tightened. He pulled out his soul blade and
flicked it between his fingers. "It’s the only thing I’m good
at—fighting demons. There’s nothing for me as a mortal, no real
future. I don’t have any real talent like you. My parents don’t
have money for me for college. Well, maybe that’s a good thing, I
hate school anyway."

Kara wanted to say that she was there
for him as a mortal, but her words died on her lips when he turned
away from her. It was like being stabbed in the chest. Maybe he was
right. Maybe he felt tainted by association with her. Was there
something else?

She had to admit, it was great to be
back. She wondered what the other GAs would think. Peter and Jenny
would be on her side; she knew that, but what about the others?
Would they accept her return? The guardian angel legion had been
wary of her ever since they discovered her demon father and her
elemental abilities. Kara was different. She would always be
different. She set her jaw. Whatever happened, she would just have
to wait and see. She pushed her doubts away resolutely.

She watched David for a moment and
said. "I think something bad is happening to my mom."

David edged closer to her again. "The
flu virus, yeah I remember. How was she before you
left?"

Kara lowered her eyes, did her best to
ignore the reproving stare from the operator, and told David about
the mysterious green runes on her mother’s face.

David fixed his eyes on Kara. "That’s
some seriously freaky stuff. Never heard of glowing green tattoos
on anyone’s face before, what do you think it is?"

Kara dreaded to think what it might
be. "The more I think about it now, the more it sounds like some
demon virus. I wouldn’t put it passed them, they’ve been very
resourceful in the past."

"I think you might be right," David
said. "But don’t worry, whatever it is, Ariel will
know."

Before Kara could answer,
the elevator stopped with a loud
ting
, the doors slid open and Kara
followed David out into Horizon. She was glad to put some more
distance between herself and the ancient white monkey.

The Counter Demon Division looked
exactly as she had remembered. Hundreds of guardian angels rushed
up and down metal stairs from second and third floors or busied
their fingers on keyboards as they sat at desks spread out around
the giant circular room. It was like being on the bridge of a great
battle ship. GAs were huddled together around holographic screens
that flickered with images of major cities around the mortal world.
Were they looking for demon Rifts? What other possible threats
could the legion fear?

As Kara and David made their way
quietly between desks with holographic screens, a silence spread
across the great room. Heads lifted, and Kara could feel their
stares burning the back of her head. She straightened herself and
prepared to challenge them with her own stone cold look. But her
expression softened as she realized they weren’t the angry faces
she’d expected. They were dumbfounded, speechless, with their jaws
hanging open. They were in shock. They had not expected to see her
again.

Kara followed David to the large round
desk on a raised platform in the middle of the chamber. Their
footsteps echoed around them unnaturally loudly, as though they
were walking on drums. Kara couldn’t wait to sit down. A dozen
stone-faced angels sat around the round desk and watched Kara
warily.

Then she saw Peter and Jenny, whose
grins were larger than life.

Jenny jumped from her seat and wrapped
her arms around Kara’s neck, "I told Peter you’d be back. I told
him you would. I just knew it!" Her green eyes sparkled as she let
Kara go.

"Hi, Kara," said Peter.

He fumbled clumsily with a flat metal
contraption on the table. "You can’t imagine how happy I am to be
wrong. I didn’t think we’d see you again." He laughed nervously and
pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Well that’s a first," said David. He
smacked Peter on the shoulder, and they both started
laughing.

Kara smiled at her friends. "It’s nice
to see things haven’t changed around here."

"Jenny got reprimanded for punching
another GA," blurted Peter suddenly.

"You didn’t?" said Kara, looking at
Jenny who shrugged with a smirk on her face.

"I don’t know what he’s talking
about." Jenny picked at her fingernails.

Peter laughed. "It was
awesome. The guy had it coming though. He was teasing her about her
hair—and then
whack
! It was great!"

Kara smiled warmly, grateful to be
back amongst her friends again. "I still can’t believe I’m here. It
still feels like a dream." She looked around the table.

The archangel Ariel sat at the end of
the table. Her mocha colored skin shone under the light, making it
look almost golden. She looked like a goddess who didn’t want to
attract too much attention. She wore a simple short-sleeved black
shirt and black cargo pants. Her toffee-colored eyes measured Kara
for a moment, and then she spoke.

"Welcome back, Kara
Nightingale."

"Thank you," said Kara awkwardly.
"It’s good to be back."

She looked over to the angels sitting
around the desk and smiled. None of them smiled back, so she
lowered her eyes and stared at the desk instead.

"Thank you for bringing her back to us
in one piece, David," said Ariel. Kara detected a little irritation
in her tone.

David looked utterly abashed by the
statement. "I’m offended by your tone, your supreme godliness. I
promised I would get her back safely, didn’t I? Which, as you see,
is what I did, your royal holiness." He pressed his right hand on
his chest. "I am an angel of my word, your grace."

Ariel favored him with the faintest of
smiles. "We shall see." She gestured to them with her hand.
"Please, sit down. We have lots to talk about."

Jenny pushed an empty chair towards
Kara. David flung himself dramatically in an empty chair between
Kara and Peter, who did his best not to laugh at David’s theatrical
performance. But Kara could see the stress on David’s face. He was
putting up his usual front. Under his cheeky grin, she knew he was
hurt.

"Well then," began Ariel,
her voice was smooth but demanded attention. She interlaced her
fingers on the table. "I’m sure you have lots of questions
regarding your return, Kara, and I will get to that in a minute.
And from the expressions on the faces here, I can see that most of
you were not expecting to see Miss Nightingale amongst us again.
Your eyes do not deceive you—she
is
back. And I am very glad for it." The archangel
smiled tenderly at Kara.

If Kara had any blood in her system
her face would have been tomato-red. But at the same time, she felt
an overwhelming gratitude towards the archangel. Being back with an
archangel’s approval was bound to help smooth things over for her.
She looked over to David who winked at her. Typical.

But Kara’s smile quickly faded.
Sitting across from her was a guardian with hazel eyes and a long
blond braid. She was a little older than Kara, with sharp features
and a plain face. She looked as if she loathed Kara, as if she
would have spat at her from across the table if Ariel hadn’t been
there. What was her problem?

Kara shifted uneasily in her seat and
looked away.

"Although I cannot disclose to you the
details of Kara’s reinstatement as a guardian," Ariel continued,
"rest assured it was with the best interest of this legion and
honored our mandate to the mortal world. The matter was brought
before the High Council, and Kara has been granted the same
privileges as any member of the CDD unit."

For the first time, Kara heard the
muffled discontent of the other guardians around the table. The
blond girl whispered to the angels seated next to her, but Kara
couldn’t make out what they were saying to each other. But from the
pinched and disgusted expressions on their faces it was clear to
her that they were not as pleased as the archangel that she was
back. The hostility edged around the great table like a sudden
frost. With the exception of Jenny, Peter and David, it was clear
that the other field agents were unsympathetic to her miraculous
return. They all loathed her.

Ariel gave an impatient shake of her
head, and her short curls bounced lightly above her head like soft
springs. "It is time to put aside any petty differences you might
have—and I don’t care to hear them."

Ariel’s voice rose dangerously. "I see
only guardian angels seated before me, and I will not have any
divisiveness amongst you, especially now that everyone needs to
work together on this special assignment. You have all sworn the
same oath, and we are all here for the exact same reason—to fight
evil."

Ariel glared around the table, waiting
for anyone to defy her. The guardians didn’t move a muscle and so
she continued.

"Once again the mortal
world is in great danger and in need of our help. An ancient evil
plagues the Earth and is taking innocent lives. It is a great
malevolent force that moves like a tidal wave from town to town. We
have been unsuccessful in our attempts to uncover its weakness and
defeat it. We’ve already lost five teams—and we cannot afford to
lose any more. Needless to say, this will be a very
challenging
assignment."

"What’s the new threat?" interrupted
David as he interlaced his fingers behind his head. "It sounds
pretty bad. Are we talking Seirs again? Because if we are, I’d like
to volunteer to be the first to give them a serious kick in
the—"

Kara kicked David from under the table
and glared at him. Something in Ariel’s eyes told her that the
archangel wasn’t in the mood to have her patience tested by David’s
shenanigans. Grinning like a schoolboy, David laughed playfully
before settling down again.

Ariel cleared her throat. "The Seirs
present a constant threat, but this is something far worse than
mere mortals, David. This new threat is something we haven’t seen
in over a century."

"The suspense is killing me," mumbled
David under his breath.

Ariel looked at the faces around the
table and said calmly, "This new enemy is a dark
warlock."

David leaned forward on the
table. "A warlock? Seriously? With the long black cloak flying on
his broomstick shooting spells? Whoa! I thought they were only a
myth. I used to role-play as a warlock in
Dungeons & Dragons
." He leaped
from his chair and started to mimic himself riding on an imaginary
broomstick. "I’ve always wanted to fly on a broomstick—"

"Can you shut up and let her finish,"
said the same blond girl that had given Kara the look of loathing.
Her voice was like ice. She smiled defiantly. "Warlocks don’t fly
on broomsticks, stupid. But you wouldn’t know that. I guess the
rumors are true...you’re just a pretty face with nothing between
the ears, David McGowan."

David’s face hardened.
"Relax,
friend
. No
need to get your panties in a bunch."

He sat down and crossed his arms over
his chest. Kara could almost see the steam shooting from his ears.
Kara felt her temper rise as well. She glared at the blond girl,
and to her surprise she was not looking at David at all, but at
Kara—and with the same distasteful look on her face as
before.

"Enough!" Ariel hit the table with her
hand, sending a great boom across the chamber. "I don’t have time
for your childish games. You are soldiers of Horizon, guardians of
Earth—act like it. Now listen up. I will not repeat myself. Are we
clear?"

Kara turned away from the girl. Why
did she loathe her so much? Kara had never even seen her before.
What was her problem?

"Good, now let us continue," said the
archangel with a touch of venom in her voice.

Ariel’s eyes darted to
David for a moment. "Warlocks are masters of the demonic arts. They
can summon demons as their minions, and they use an ancient evil
called dark magic. A
dark
warlock can
take his victim’s soul and leave the body behind to
die. A dark warlock is an evil trickster o
f
the worse kind imaginable."

"Sounds like a few angels I know,"
whispered David so only Kara could hear. She silently prayed that
he would stop. Ariel looked livid and ready to kill anyone who
interrupted her again.

"Mortal souls have a unique, pure
energy," explained Ariel. "When you combine the energy of many
souls together—it becomes a great power—and warlocks crave power
for themselves. The warlock has already begun collecting souls
across North America, and soon he will plague the whole earth with
his dark magic. With the energy from millions of mortal souls, he
will become unstoppable. The mortal world as you know it will cease
to exist. All living things will die."