Seirs, Soul Guardians Book 5 (5 page)

Then she heard clapping.

“
Bravo! Bravo! What a
performance! Encore! Encore!”

Kara released David and they both
turned towards the edge.

Lilith stood amongst the angry mob.
She was dressed in a tight red leather suit, and her long white
hair rippled behind her like a cape made of mist. Her black eyes
and pallid skin shone against the moonlight.

“
Will you look at that?
Four little angels afraid of a few mortals? Quite pathetic,
really.”

The mortals wailed and backed away
like a frightened pack of wild animals as Lilith walked causally
amongst them.

“
What did you do to them?”
hissed Kara.

Lilith pressed a hand on
her chest and raised her brows innocently. “Me? I didn’t do
anything. Now, why would my
own
sister accuse me so quickly without any proof? A
little harsh, don’t you think? What is it the mortals say—innocent
until proven guilty?”

“
Cut the crap, Lilith. I
know you did this. It has your signature all over it.”

Lilith flattened the front of her
jacket. She watched the crazed men and women with
delight.

“
Well—if you must know—I
did! Don’t you think they’re better off this way? They seem much
happier, don’t you think? Mortals are a weak species, and
so
overrated. All their
mindless expectations, desires, and hopes are gone.” She snapped
her fingers. “And now they’re brainless beasts, just as they should
be. Soon they’ll be a never-ending supply of food for my
pets.”

She pulled her sleeve up her arm and
uncoiled her fingers. A triangular object sat in her palm. Its blue
light sparkled against her white face, and she held the object up
towards the mortals. Her lips moved, but Kara couldn’t hear what
she was saying. The light inside the pyramid intensified, and her
hand disappeared in the blue glow.

Suddenly, the ground trembled with the
force of an earthquake.

The air cracked around them as though
hundreds of fireworks had just gone off. Wind slapped at Kara’s
face, and she blinked through clouds of dust. She jumped back as
stones broke apart from under her feet, tumbled down the side of
the wall, and crashed on the ground below. Cries rose above the
wailing winds. A powerful gust pushed Kara off balance, and she
strained to regain her footing.

The winds died and silence spread
throughout the courtyard like the calm before a storm.

Then hysterical laughter erupted all
around and cut through the eerie silence, as though a live audience
from a television show had just been instructed to laugh at that
exact moment. Men and women fell to their knees and rolled on the
ground. With their arms wrapped around themselves, they began to
choke on their fits of laughter. Pain and fear masked their faces
as they convulsed in their hysteria. White foam dribbled from their
mouths, and then they were still. After a moment, their bodies
sparkled like crystals. Glowing spheres formed and rose, hovering
over the bodies.

Lilith walked among them, gathering
and ingesting the souls as though they were cupcakes. Her eyes
burned with white-hot power. As she stood, her hair rose up around
her, spilling out as if it were blown by an invisible breeze.
Lilith licked her fingertips and smiled at Kara.

Kara opened her mouth, but no words
came out. She felt sick with guilt, and she wasn’t sure she could
watch any more. “Stop it! You’re killing them!”

Jenny moved beside Kara. “You
psychotic monster, you better stop this—or you’ll regret it, I
promise.”

Lilith smiled. She stepped over a few
bodies, careful not to soil her red boots. “What? Are you going to
stop me? Janet, isn’t it? You really should consider a make-over.
You look like a boy with that dreadful purple hair.” She waved a
red manicured finger at her playfully. “Don’t forget that we have
unfinished business, you and I; I haven’t forgotten.” Jenny looked
nervously over to Kara.

The air on Lilith’s left began to
glisten like a heat wave. A strange groan erupted and then a loud
suction noise, as though a pipe had finished draining. The air
wavered and grew in diameter until it was a giant black hole, large
enough to fit an elephant.

Kara glared at Lilith. “So how did you
do it? How did you change them like that?”

“
Wouldn’t you like to know?
I’m sure it’s killing you inside, little sister.” Lilith giggled
and raked her fingers through her hair. With her chin in the air,
she pressed her hands on her hips and surveyed the remaining
mortals. A self-satisfied grin materialized on her face.
“Hmm...they can’t do much damage to you if they’re laughing like
this.”

Lilith raised her hand and voiced some
words. Thunder reverberated throughout the courtyard. The winds
lifted. The ground shook, and then silence fell.

One by one the mortals pushed
themselves back on their feet. They kicked the dead out of their
way angrily. They slashed with their fingers at each other’s faces,
gouging at their eyes, wild for blood and death.

Feral wails erupted in the night air.
Kara averted her eyes; she had preferred them laughing.

Lilith smiled wickedly.
“Ah...this is
much
better. I will leave you now. I wish I could stay and play,
but I really must be going. So many things to do and so little
time. But I leave you in very capable
killing
hands. How ironic. Killed by
the very thing you protect.” She met Kara’s glare. “If they don’t
get you, then my pets will. It’s time to say goodbye to your
pathetic angel souls—ta-ta...” She turned on her heels laughing
hysterically and stepped into the rift. With a crack, the rift and
Lilith vanished.

“
God, I hate that bleached
freak,” spat Jenny.

David leaned closer. “Even with a tan,
I’d still hate her.”

“
Look, we’ve got company,”
said Peter.

A group of Seirs strolled through the
main entrance. Their white faces stood out from the gloom. The
sound of their heavy boots reverberated in the square like the
beating of drums. Their long black leather coats swished at their
heels as they made their way across the courtyard.

“
We meet again, little
angels,” called out one of the Seirs in a raspy voice that Kara
recognized as that of their leader Ranab. “I’ve been very
displeased since our last meeting, slipping away from us like that.
I’m afraid
this
time your Sensitive friends are not here to save you. It’s
time to say bye-bye to your angel souls.”

Ranab led the group. His bulky muscles
rippled beneath his black clothes. A wicked gleam glowered from his
dark eyes, and a large vein throbbed on his thick neck. He turned
his head, and Kara winced as the ever-watchful eyes tattooed at the
back of his bald head stared up at her.

“
I was wondering when we’d
see the hellhounds.” David cracked his knuckles. “We can’t kill
them—but no one said I couldn’t bash their faces a
little.”

Kara pulled David around to face her.
“Don’t. I think it’s best that we don’t touch any of them, even if
it’s unintentional. All mortals are off limits, you know
that.”

David clenched his jaw and scowled. “I
just wished I could...just once.”

“
Uh...guys...look.” Peter
pointed down towards the horde of wild mortals.

Some of the frenzied men and women
stopped attacking one another and turned slowly towards the
newcomers. Their glazed eyes focused angrily on the Seirs. With
sudden fierceness, they lunged at them.

The Seirs formed a circle around the
mad mortals. Their blades shimmered in the soft light, and the
sound of metal hacking flesh rang in the courtyard. The smell of
blood reached Kara’s nose. Deadly cries filled the night air. The
mortals crumbled to the ground. As the glowing spheres of their
souls rose and hovered above their bodies like giant fireflies,
Kara stepped forward, “Quick. We have to get the souls.”

But David caught her arm and pulled
her close. He cocked his head down towards the bodies. “It’s too
late. Look.”

A Seir drew a black net from his
jacket. With a sweep of his arms, he trapped the souls like fish
caught in a fishermen’s net. He hauled the net over his shoulder.
The trapped souls clung together and bounced against his back. Kara
shivered in rage.

“
Won’t you come down and
play with us, little angels?” Ranab strolled casually towards the
wall. His face broke into a large grin and exposed a mouthful of
rotten teeth. He picked at them with a death blade. “You can’t stay
up there forever. Your bodies won’t last all night, but we
will.”

“
He’s right you know,” said
Peter in a low voice. “We only have another hour or so before we
start deteriorating. And then we’ll be really helpless.”

Kara turned and faced the others.
“Right. We need to figure out how to get out of here without
getting killed. Did anyone see another way out besides the main
entrance?”

“
I did.” Peter leaned
forward and lowered his voice. “On the west side...it’s boarded up
for renovations. We might be able to get through, but it’ll take
some effort.”

“
So I guess the only way
out is through the main entrance.” Kara studied her friends’
anxious faces. “It’s not the best option, but right now it’s all
we’ve got.”

“
We’re trapped. Lilith
tricked us—she knew we’d come here—and now we’re stuck.” Jenny
shifted nervously and fumbled with her fingers.

Kara squeezed her shoulder gently.
“Not necessarily. We just need to make it through the gateway.
There’s no way that the mortals or the Seirs can catch up to us
once we’re out. We’re too fast for them.”

“
That’s right, amigos.”
David flashed his pearly whites and jogged on the spot as though
preparing for a marathon. “We’ve got super speed like
The Flash,
and all
they’ve got is gingivitis and a serious case of
dumbass.”

Kara suppressed a laugh. “So all we
need is a diversion.”

Barking resonated throughout the
courtyard and interrupted her.

An enormous grey dog dashed through
the main entrance. His dark coat shone in the moonlight. Muscles
rippled along his powerful body as he galloped elegantly like a
horse and halted in the middle of the courtyard. Buckets of drool
dripped from his large pointed teeth as a thunderous growl erupted
from his throat. The Seirs took a step back.

“
That’s our diversion!”
David beamed and threw himself down the wall. Jenny and Peter
exchanged a look and followed quickly behind.

Something moved in Kara’s peripheral
vision. Another small dog waddled into the entrance. Thor. Kara
hoped that no harm would come to her sarcastic little friend, and
she watched helplessly as he threw himself into the bloody
battle.

In a flash, she hauled herself easily
over the edge. As soon as her feet hit the ground, Kara bolted
towards the gatehouse. Her M-5 suit’s energy flowed through her as
the rush of oncoming battle erased everything else.

She ducked as a death blade’s black
vapors stung her eyeballs as it flew past her. A wispy breeze
brushed over her head and lifted her hair. The smell of musk filled
her nose momentarily, and then someone swore.

Kara ran on.

She leapt over bodies and avoided the
thrashing arms and blades that came at her from every direction.
Over the loud angry roars of mortals, she heard David laugh and
curse a selection of profanities at the Seirs. They followed him
feverishly around the courtyard, like a pack of dogs chasing a
rabbit. He was having too much fun for his own good.

Kara sidestepped around two charging
Seirs and increased her speed. Cool wind brushed against her face.
Flailing arms grazed her, and she was super-charged for the last
few feet. The gatehouse came into view. Almost there . .
.

Pain exploded in her back. She cried
out and fell face first into the hard ground. As she spit the dirt
from her mouth, a large black boot slammed the ground right in
front of her face. Kara raised her head.

Ranab sneered wickedly and stomped her
fingers with his boot. “Told you, you wouldn’t get away from me
this time, angel.”

Chapter 4

Lock, Stock and
Barrel

K
ara gritted her teeth and held back a scream. She desperately
tried to pull her fingers free, but Ranab was too heavy. She was
paralyzed. The blade’s poison dripped down into her back and burned
like liquid fire. She could feel her elemental power rising to the
surface.

“
Get off. I don’t want to
hurt you, Seir,” said Kara.

Ranab threw back his head
and laughed. “Hurt me? You
can’t
hurt me, little angel. Don’t you remember? It’s
against your sacred laws. No angel can harm a mortal. You can’t
even touch men like me that slaughter angel souls for fun. A little
stupid, don’t you think?”

His bald head gleamed in the
moonlight, and the gloom of the castle’s interior walls shadowed
his face. His sickly white skin and long black coat reminded Kara
of Nosferatu, the vampire from the 1922 horror film. But instead of
craving blood, he was after her soul.