Seirs, Soul Guardians Book 5 (24 page)

Relief washed over Kara. What the
oracles said made sense. Her actions spoke for themselves. She was
a badass guardian angel—but now her career was over. Emptiness
welled inside her like a giant hole.

Something nagged at her in the back of
her mind. “Um, if I’m made mortal again, what about the terrorist
thing?”

“
All taken care of,” said
the oracle to her right. “The events caused by Lilith and the Arath
have been wiped out, so to speak. They have been erased from the
mortal world. It’s as though they never happened. All is well in
the mortal world, once again.”

“
So...that’s it then,” she
said as she fought down the emotions that threatened to take her
over. “I’ll never be a guardian angel ever again. It’s all over for
me.”

The oracles nodded sadly, “It
is.”

The oracle on Kara’s left shifted
uncomfortably on his crystal ball. “I’m sorry, but the law is the
law. You killed a mortal, and you must suffer the consequences, as
other angels have done before you. But know this, Tara—only an
angel of pure heart would have sacrificed their soul for the life
of a mortal. It speaks greatly of you, and we will never forget
it.”

“
Thank you,” said Kara, not
knowing what else to say.

“
You have served the legion
well, and we thank you,” said the same oracle. With a smile, he
lifted a grubby little arm and pointed it to the shower stalls
behind Kara. “And now your mortal life awaits you.”

“
Right.” Kara sighed and
looked over to the showers. She remembered the grim faces of the
angels that stood in the showers. Her time had come. The cherubs
waited silently by the showers, their eyes all fixed on
her.

“
May the souls protect you,
Clara Nightingale,” said the oracles together.

Dragging her feet, Kara walked over to
the first shower stall and stepped in. She saw her sad face
reflected back on the glass walls. In the corner of her eye, she
saw the cherub with the glass jar move closer towards her. She
raised her head and looked up at the large showerhead, wondering if
the water would hurt.

Even in her saddened state, Kara was
glad to have had the experience of being a guardian angel. Angels
existed, and they existed to protect the mortals from demons. It
had been a supernatural experience of gargantuan proportions, and
she had loved every minute of it. She would do it again in a
heartbeat—if she’d ever have the chance again.

But now she looked forward to a normal
life. A mundane life with David, she hoped.

“
See you on the other side,
David.”

Kara reached out and pulled the chrome
lever on the right of the shower. Sparkling water gushed from the
shower head. It hit her face and washed over the rest of her body.
The water was warm and smelled sweet, like sugar, not at all like
the salt water from the pools in Horizon. Tiny crystals formed over
her body until her skin was completely covered in a coat of
glittering diamonds.

Drowsiness came over her. She tried to
keep her eyes open, but her heavy lids fluttered shut. As the
particles started to dissipate, Kara finally allowed herself to
drift into sleep. The water spilled over her and disappeared into
the drain.

With a last shimmer Kara, the guardian
angel, was no more.

Chapter 22

A Mundane Life

“
M
r. Patterson? Where does this one go?” Kara held up an old
book. She wiped the layer of grime from its cover and read the
inscription. “Uh…
Nineteen Eighty
Four
, by George Orwell.
Where do you want
me to put it?”

“
In the classic novel section, dear.” Mr. Patterson gently
polished a fist-sized crystal ball. He raised it above his head and
twisted it in his hand slowly, marveling at its brilliance. Placing
it back gently beneath the counter, he reached in and pulled out
another identical crystal from his collection. He started polishing
it with a piece of white cloth.

The crystals
were the only things in the entire bookstore that
Kara wasn’t allowed to touch, which only made her want to touch
them more. As she watched him gloat over the crystals, she wondered
what his attachment was to these brilliant spheres. Why were they
so important to him? Were they priceless? They looked like regular
crystals you could buy at the local new-age shops. So why couldn’t
she touch them?

She
watched the old man spit and then buff the crystal in his hand as
though he was trying to wipe out a stain on an old shoe. Maybe Mr.
Patterson was a clairvoyant when he was away from the bookstore.
That would explain the odd times when he would shuffle around the
store, mumbling about top news reports before they were released to
the public. He always seemed to know more than he let on,
especially when it came to her future. He had known about her
acceptance to Dawson College’s Art program even before she had
opened the letter.

“
Do you want me to help you polish those when I’m done with
this stack of books?” Kara gestured to the remaining pile of books
on her metal trolley. “I don’t mind, really.”

Mr.
Patterson didn’t even look up. “No thank you, dear. You know I
don’t allow anyone near my crystals.”

“
I know, but I thought I could help . . .”

“
It’s quite all right, dear. Only the hands of a true seer
can manipulate the essence of the crystals.” Mr. Patterson examined
his crystal more closely. “There is a unique bond between a crystal
and its handler—one cannot see into it without the special
eye
—so to speak.”

Kara sighed and shook her head. She’d gotten used to Mr.
Patterson speaking in riddles. Most of the time she had no idea
what he was talking about,
so she would nod her head and pretend that she did
just to keep him happy. Maybe one day he would trust her enough to
handle at least one of his precious crystals. She wondered how they
would feel against her palm.

Having placed the rest of the old books in the classic
novel section, Kara hauled the metal tr
olley to the back of the
store.

“
Clara,” called Mr. Patterson from behind the counter, still
eyeing his precious crystals. “Would you mind putting the
closed
sign on the front
door? It’s almost five o’clock.”

“
Sure, Mr. Patterson.” Kara parked the trolley and crossed
the store. A wooden sign with the word
open
painted in white hung from the top of the
front door by a single string. She flipped it over so that the
word
closed
was now visible against the door’s glass window.

Clink
.

“
Oh dear!” screeched Mr. Patterson.

Kara turned around. Mr. Patterson stood with his arms in
the air
and
a panicked look on his face as a crystal ball bounced off the
counter and rolled across the floor towards Kara. It sparkled as it
rolled slowly towards her. She reached down . . .

“
No!”

Kara picked up the crystal
ball. She peered closer and noticed a
light inside, as though a light switch had turned on. Suddenly, a
series of images flashed in her mind’s eye. She saw herself
fighting a man with black eyes and white skin. Next she stood in an
elevator with a large and angry chimpanzee pointing a finger at
her. Then she stood in a large round chamber with a glass dome, in
front of her a group of men and women dressed in robes sitting
around a half-moon desk. The image changed—now she was covered in
wisps of golden current. And then she stood before a massive
creature with rotting flesh and gangly sinuous arms. It opened its
maw . . .

“
I’ll take that
, thank you.” Mr. Patterson took the crystal from
Kara’s hand and walked away hurriedly.

Kara
stood frozen as the images in her head blurred and then disappeared
all together. Frowning, she tried to make sense of what she has
seen, but the images wouldn’t come—she couldn’t remember. It was
like when she’d wake up from a dream, and seconds later couldn’t
remember what the dream had been about. With every passing second,
the images vanished from her mind entirely, until there was nothing
left to remember.

“
What just happened?” she asked, looking around the
bookstore. “My head feels funny.”

“
Nothing dear. You were just locking up, that is all.” Mr.
Patterson shuffled back towards the counter and placed his crystal
ball into the glass compartment. He locked it with the key that
hung from around his neck and started to wipe down the counter with
an old multicolored rag.

“
I was?”
Kara stood in the middle of the room with her hands held
out in front of her, feeling a little light headed. She sighed and
dropped her hands. “Great, I’m losing my mind . . .”

“
Of course not,” said Mr. Patterson. “You’re just a little
tired
, that
is all.”

The wind chime sang
as the front door flew open.

“
Sorry, we’re closed—”
Kara’s heart shot into her throat.

David sauntered into the store
. His blue eyes flashed dangerously.
“Hey, Kara. I thought you might still be here. Feel like going for
a bite to eat?”

Kara bit down on her tongue to stop the smile that
threatened to creep
onto her face.

“
Sure,
I was just locking up.”

“
Great.” David smiled,
and she quickly looked away. The blood rushed to
her face, and she was afraid he could hear her heart beating
through her chest.

David stroked his finger along a row of books. “I thought
we could catch the
seven o’clock show at the Cineplex afterwards...if you
don’t have any other plans...”

A smile broke onto Kara’s face
as her heart pounded in her ears. “I
don’t have any plans tonight. A movie sounds great.” She caught
David smiling at her and she looked away.

She
inspected herself discreetly. Her jeans were covered in
grime—not exactly an appropriate date outfit. Normally, she would
have gone home to change, but she wouldn’t dare say so now, in case
she jinxed their second date. Besides, David didn’t seem to
notice.

“
See you tomorrow, Mr. Patterson,” called
Kara
.

She
ignored the butterflies fluttering in her stomach and made her way
towards the front door. David beamed at her with a playful glint in
his eye. Kara dug her nails into her palm. Even if this was only
their second date, she felt more nervous this time
around.

Mr. Patterson looked up from the
counter and smiled. “Enjoy yourselves. I’ll see you tomorrow, Kara,
bright and early.”

Kara closed the door behind her and
followed David across the street. Although her nerves still
prickled inside her, she allowed herself to relax a little and to
enjoy walking next to David. She felt a sense of comfort and trust
with him—not to mention a persistent feeling of having known him
before, as though they had somehow met before in another life.
Whatever force pulled them together, Kara surrendered herself to it
gladly.

As she reached the sidewalk on the
other side of the street, a sudden feeling of being watched came
over her. She looked over her shoulder. Mr. Patterson stood by the
front door of his shop. After measuring her for a moment, he smiled
and waved. Kara waved back, wondering why he was watching them so
intensely. Maybe he was being overly protective of her, although
she didn’t know why. She felt safe with David. With a smile on her
face, she turned and followed David down the street.

As she got to the end of the block, a
short man with wispy white hair and a beard waddled up the sidewalk
towards the bookstore. He clutched a small crystal orb and was
barefoot. He hopped over the cracks in the pavement as though it
was a game of hopscotch. His blue shorts and colorful shirt flapped
in the air, and with a last hop he landed in front of the door. His
bony knees cracked as he stood up straight. He glanced at Mr.
Patterson and grinned.

“
Hello, Jim.”

“
Good evening, Sam. Ready
to punch out?”

“
Five o’clock sharp, as
usual.” With his hands on his hips, they both turned around and
looked down the block. “She’s one of a kind, that
Clara.”

“
Indeed.” Mr. Patterson
stroked his beard with his grubby little fingers. “She is truly in
a class of her own—a real fighter that one, a pure soul—pity we
can’t use her as a guardian anymore; I’m rather very fond of her.
In fact, she occupies a special place in my heart.”

Tucking in his beard, Sam
crossed his arms over his chest. “You know, Jim, I was
thinking

we could
use her talents again. She did save Horizon and the mortal world.
She is quite unique—there is no other angel like her.”

“
I agree.” Mr. Patterson
nodded his head. “Such extraordinary talent and bravery—it is very
rare. It would be a great shame to waste her tremendous
abilities.”