Mortal (7 page)

She was beginning to think this guy
was a little off. She should be wary of strangers, but somehow she
felt comfortable around him. It was like being around an old
friend, even though he wasn’t. She pulled her hood over her head
and shifted her weight uncomfortably. Something was off about him
all right...but what?

Kara exhaled, her breath coiled around
her in a white mist. But the stranger’s mouth was mist-less. He
didn’t appear to be breathing at all. Kara waited and watched for
vapors to come out of his nose. Nothing. A tinge of fear rippled
inside her. If he wasn’t breathing, that meant he wasn’t human. If
he wasn’t human...then what was he?

The guy pulled up his sleeve and waved
his bare arm in front of Kara. "You don’t see it glowing? You don’t
see through the veil?"

"Glowing? Veil?" Kara
laughed nervously and stepped back. She didn’t want to offend him,
but he was acting a little schizo, and he still wasn’t breathing.
"Are you feeling all right?" she said, "Are you sure
you
didn’t bump your
head—"

The rest of Kara’s words caught in her
throat. Suddenly, the stranger’s forearm started to glow faintly as
though liquid light flowed through his veins. She looked up. Where
his skin had been a normal beige color moments before, it now
radiated a soft yellow light. She could see two stars etched across
his forehead, as though he had been branded.

"What are you? You’re not human!" Kara
backed away from him again, frightened. What if he was a demon
disguised as a hot guy, just to trick her? The stranger had
appeared at the exact moment that the creature that had attacked
her had disappeared. What if they were working together?

The stranger lifted his
hands up. "Kara, don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you. It’s me,
David
. Don’t you
recognize me? You know me, remember? We’ve fought in the legion
together. We’ve combated demons, saved mortal souls, we’re
friends—well, maybe more than friends."

"I don’t know you," said Kara. But
somehow it felt like a lie. She let out a sigh of frustration.
"What is going on? Why do I feel like I know you and then don’t?
And please tell me why you’re glowing?"

"Because I’m in my M-suit—my mortal
suit. I’m an angel, Kara," said the stranger in a soothing voice.
He drew closer and reached out to grab her hand.

ZAP!

Kara jumped back. An electric shock
surged through her from his touch. It was like touching an
electrical outlet with her fingers.

"What was that?"

The stranger shook his head
bewildered. He stared at his hands. "I don’t know. It’s never
happened before. Maybe because you’re mortal, and I’m in my
M-suit."

Kara took another step back. She
couldn’t find her voice. She breathed heavily and stared at the
stranger through her icicle-clustered eyelashes that kept sticking
together every time she blinked. In a weird way, she believed him.
But how could she? She was definitely losing her mind. Angels?
Could he really be an angel? He was freaking glowing!

"You can see through the veil now, the
cloak that hides us from regular mortal eyes," said the stranger,
as relief spread quickly to his face. "That’s how you can see my
skin glowing a little; it’s my angel essence beneath this mortal
suit. It’s how you were able to see the demon that attacked you.
You can see angels and demons, Kara."

That part she knew was true. Lately
she had been seeing more and more ghastly creatures in the night.
She always felt them near her, their evil sneaking up on her. But
angels?

Kara watched the snow nestle gently on
his head. "So, how come I can see these demons, like you say?" She
thought about telling him that her mom could see them, too, but
decided against it. He was a stranger after all. She didn’t want to
tell him her whole life’s story.

"Because you’re part
elemental."

"I’m what?" Kara nearly
choked. Wild-eyed, she stared at him.
Elemental
, she repeated. Somehow that
word did sound familiar.

The stranger David kicked
the ground in frustration. Puffs of snow flew in the air. "I knew
it wouldn’t work!" he yelled. "I knew it! I told them, but
nooooo
, they didn’t
believe me. Idiots!"

Kara pressed her hands on her head.
"What didn’t work? You’re not making any sense. What’s an
elemental? If you know so much, then how come I can see these
demons? And why are they attacking me? Tell me—"

"Soon." He grabbed her sleeve, careful
not to touch her skin and steered her towards him.

"I need to get you to the safe house.
Come on. Let’s get you out of the cold." He pulled her into a jog,
but Kara wrestled out of his grip.

"Let go of me! You know something
about me, don’t you? Why can I see these things and you...I’ve seen
you before, haven’t I? I can see it in your face. You’re hiding
something. I’m not going anywhere with you unless you tell me
what’s going on."

Kara crossed her arms over her chest
and stood her ground.

"It’s complicated," said the stranger
a little annoyed. "Very complicated..."

"I like complicated." Kara raised her
brows. "Go ahead. I’m waiting."

He let out an exasperated sigh. "You
won’t even believe me if I tell you. It’s pointless, and we’re
wasting time. We should go before it gets dangerous—"

"Try me."

"Fine," said the stranger. "You’re a
guardian angel, just like me. You can see demons and angels, just
like me. And right now you’re on a special assignment as a mortal.
There—you happy now? Good, we have to go—"

"This is crazy," said Kara, even
though she felt everything he said was true. "I’m not going
anywhere with you. I don’t know you."

The stranger grabbed her by
the shoulders and made her face him. "
I’m
David. It’s me. There is no other
David. I know this isn’t making any sense right now, but believe
me;
I’m
your guy.
Trust me on this, Kara.
I’m
David!"

Kara stared into the stranger’s blue
eyes. They were a lot like David’s, which was weird. He had the
same nose, same square jaw, same hair, same little scar on his
chin, same little dimples when he smiled, he even smelled like
David, but at the same time he appeared different. He wore the
brown leather jacket, black T-shirt and faded jeans that looked a
lot like David’s. In fact, they were identical in every way, down
to the maroon stain on the jacket’s left shoulder.

Her jaw fell open. "Where did you get
these clothes?"

He turned his head quickly, as though
he heard something. Then he pulled a silver dagger from his jacket
and stood protectively in front of Kara. Somehow, she wasn’t
surprised to see the weapon in his hand. She looked over his
shoulder and followed his gaze.

A shadow clambered down the street
towards them. It was huge, with glowing red eyes and gangly limbs.
It moved like a wild animal, but somehow its movements were jagged
and twisted. At first, Kara thought it was a regular dog, but it
was too big to be a dog. It moved into the light. Instead of fur,
tentacles covered its back like coiling snakes. It focused its
glowing red on Kara. Black pus oozed from its body and dripped onto
the snow like hot oil. A gust of cool wind brought with it the
smell of rotten flesh. Its unnatural growl cut through the eerie
silence. A chill rolled up her spine. Kara winced at the sound of
its nails scraping the pavement, like knives down a blackboard. Her
heart pounded in her ears. Then a second identical creature joined
it, then another. As soon as she saw them, she knew they were
evil.

"Hound demons," said the stranger
through gritted teeth.

Kara took a step back. "They don’t
look very friendly—"

He grabbed her hand, and Kara felt a
jolt of electricity surge from his fingers.

"They’re not. RUN!"

K
ara did not want to be demon dog kibble. She liked the
stranger’s grip on her hand as they raced down the street, even if
it did feel a little
electrifying
. He was fast, really
fast, with super strength. He had to be an angel. There was no
other explanation, unless he was Superman’s half brother. He pulled
her along like a doll, as though she didn’t weigh anything at all.
Her feet soared above the pavement and only touched solid ground
every few seconds. It was the closest thing to flying she’d ever
experienced. She stole a look behind her.

The hound demons ran like giant grey
wolves on steroids. She wasn’t sure the stranger’s super speed
would be fast enough. They made her skin crawl. And soon they would
catch up to them.

"Behind—us—the—demons," said Kara
trying to catch her breath. "Go—faster!"

Suddenly, the stranger spun
Kara around, and in the same movement he propelled his body forward
and threw his dagger with his other arm. It sliced through the air
like a bullet and perforated the closest creature’s head with
a
thud
. The beast
stumbled and toppled over with an ear splitting howl. Kara covered
her ears with her hands as the demon hound convulsed and twitched,
its skin sizzling and popping like oil in a frying pan. Within
seconds there was nothing left but a small pile of black ashes in
the white snow.

Kara searched the darkness for the
other creatures. Something moved up the street between two
buildings. But when she blinked, whatever it was had
disappeared.

"Where did the other two go? They were
right there?" she said.

"I don’t know, but they’re not far.
Probably watching us right now, waiting for us to make a
mistake."

Kara inspected the remains. "Is it
dead? It looks pretty dead to me."

"For now. Its spirit is back in the
Netherworld where it belongs," answered the stranger.

He swept the ground near the kill,
picked up his silver dagger, wiped it clean on his jeans, and
sheathed it back inside his jacket. "We can’t stay out here it’s
too dangerous. I have to get you to the safe house where the demons
won’t be able to sense us."

Kara brushed the ashes with her boot.
"What are these things anyway? One minute they were solid, and the
next they just disintegrated into dust, like some weird spontaneous
combustion phenomenon."

"Hound demons are hunters
and guardians of the Netherworld. They’re expert trackers and
killers. Think of them like police dogs, only bigger and a million
times more evil—and they’re here to kill
you
. Someone sent them after
us."

The stranger grabbed her hand jolting
her with electricity again.

"They found our scent, and once
they’re locked on to it—there’s nothing to be done. They’ll hunt us
down forever if they have to. They’ll never stop until they destroy
you, and more will come. We have to get out of here—it’s not safe
for you anymore."

As if on cue, an angry pack of giant
rabid hound demons crawled from the shadows and advanced slowly
towards them. The growling hounds lifted their noses in the air,
smelling their scent. Kara felt like a hundred ants were crawling
up her spine. Her heart pounded in her ears.

"I’ll never be rid of them, right?
They’ll always find me no matter where I go?" She knew it was
true.

"You’re like a
demon-magnet," said the strange David, glancing quickly at her.
"You’ve always been. But this is weird—I’ve never seen so many at
once. Usually they’re sent as a
pair
—not a
pack
. I can’t fight them all. We’ll
have to make a run for it."

The hounds howled and
charged.

"Unless you want to become a new brand
of dog food, we have to go!"

He pulled Kara and ran until her legs
were on fire and felt like concrete blocks. Every breath was like
swallowing razor blades. Her throat was raw. She couldn’t keep
going. The guy who called himself David didn’t even break a sweat.
Maybe angels didn’t have the need to perspire? She hoped he would
need water and rest. How far was the nice warm safe
house?

The foul smell from the hound demons
burned Kara’s nostrils. She swallowed back the bile in her throat
and tried to breathe through her mouth, but the cold air scorched
her throat.

They sprinted down another dark
street, turned a corner and tall street lamps illuminated the dark
like brilliant stars, and Kara could see where they were going. The
David guy didn’t seem to mind the darkness. Did angels see in the
dark? Kara shivered in a cold sweat. If she didn’t get warm soon,
she would get sick or die of exhaustion.

The wild wails and scraping nails of
the beasts tearing down the street behind them were so close that
Kara could almost feel their foul breath on the back of her neck.
If they didn’t get to safety soon, they were dog-chow.

A green street sign caked with snow
read: Saint-Marc. The street was covered in drifting snow and the
shops that lined either side were dark and closed.