Netherworld, Soul Guardians Book 4 (14 page)

“
Kara, listen. We think
it’s going to work.” David approached her carefully. “You have to
trust me on this. You’re going to need our help on the other side.
I’m not letting you go alone this time. Forget it. This
is
going to work. I know
it will. Just give it a chance.”

“
And if it doesn’t? What
then?” Kara clenched her jaw.

“
Then we’ll both go back.
Promise.” David’s eyes shone with concern. “But I have to try
first. If it doesn’t work, then we’ll go.”

Kara was touched that David thought
himself her protector, but she was afraid for him. Afraid of what
might happen once they stepped into the demon’s realm. Having
allies was a plus—she could most definitely use their help—what
harm could it do? If they could pass unharmed, then it was worth a
shot. Jenny’s soul was worth a shot.

She sighed loudly. David cupped her
hand in his and stared at her expectantly. Their eyes locked for a
moment.

Reluctantly, Kara gave David both her
hands. “This better work.”

He turned her palms over.

Carefully, David pressed his blade
into Kara’s right palm. With a twist of his wrist, he sliced
through. A sting pained her, but she showed no emotion.
Immediately, light poured from the wound and illuminated their
faces in a golden glow. The cut was deep. Golden droplets fell to
the ground at her feet. With another sting, David sliced Kara’s
left palm.

Satisfied, he then pressed the blade
in his own hand, and sliced his palm. His M flesh parted slightly
and rays of white light showed through his wound. White liquid
poured down his wrist. After he cut his other palm, he turned and
grabbed a petrified Peter.

With a small moan, Peter closed his
eyes, and David cut both his palms. Peter’s face was illuminated in
rays of white light.

“
And now we all hold
hands,” said David.

The three of them clasped their hands
together and formed a circle.

At first nothing happened, and then
Kara felt a soft tingling in her palms. Her eyes met David’s
momentarily, and he gave her a reassuring smile. A surge of warmth
passed through her chest and escaped through her hands. She felt a
cool release flow through her like a stream. Tiny golden sparks
danced around Kara’s hands. They coiled around her arms and circled
around David’s arms first and then Peter’s, until the three of them
were covered in spirals of gold. Her elemental power rose without
summoning. She felt it pass along her arms and escape through her
hands. She heard Peter and David laugh. Her head fell forward
slightly, and she felt the energy drain from her a little, as from
a virus from when she was mortal. But it wasn’t enough to alarm
her. Slowly, her energy flowed from her body.

A violent jolt shook them. Golden
wires of current spiraled and twisted around them savagely. With a
loud crack, the golden tendrils tightened their grip. Kara’s face
and clothes were buffeted violently in the strong winds. With a
sudden boom, the lights above exploded and showered them with
pieces of hot glass. A blast of golden light lit the air around
them. The ground trembled and Kara’s hair stood on end.

“
Something is wrong!”
shouted Kara over the raging winds. She tried to pull her hands
away, but she couldn’t. It was as though they were crazy-glued to
each other. Peter looked towards the ceiling. His eyes widened.
Kara followed his gaze.

A dark cloud formed above their heads.
It swirled and closed in on them. Blinding lightning bolts flicked
and struck the ground at their feet. The entire structure shook and
rattled. It threatened to collapse on them at any moment. Thick
chunks of plaster fell on their heads and exploded from the walls.
Floorboards creaked and shot up in the air. Kara heard Peter cry
out above the whistling of the wind. Another lightning bolt struck
directly in front of them.

Kara groaned. This was wrong. She
shouldn’t have let them talk her into this.

The dark storm was all around them.
Lightning crackled through the darkness. It howled and threw
another volley of lightning bolts.

“
Kara, it’s burning!”
shouted David above the howling wind.

Kara staggered forward as David
wrenched his arms in the other direction. Their hands wouldn’t come
apart. He cried out in frustration.

Desperately, Kara gave a sharp tug of
her hands. Nothing.

Peter’s face was screwed in agony. She
watched his lips move in a silent cry. Kara pulled at their hands
with excruciating force. Nothing. They were all cemented together.
She felt if she pulled anymore, she would rip off their arms. The
smell of burning flesh rose to her nostrils. Mist coiled around
Peter and David’s bodies. They were being roasted.

Kara closed her eyes and concentrated.
Blocking out Peter and David’s howls, she searched for her power.
She called it forth. At once, a warm energy surged within her. It
drew back in, as though her body were a vacuum and sucked the
remnants of her power through her hands. It rippled through her
palms and down inside her.

Suddenly, a ball of white-hot power
formed in the middle of their circle. The ball grew. With a sudden
explosion, Kara, Peter, and David were propelled into the air and
crashed against the walls.

Stillness. Kara rolled over and looked
around. She blinked through a haze of light smoke. Tiny fires
burned in the cardboard boxes and clothes on the floor. Scorch
marks painted the walls with ugly black stains. She hauled a piece
of broken drywall off of her legs and looked over to Peter and
David.

“
You guys okay?”

David pushed himself up and wiped his
jeans. Clouds of white dust rolled off his clothes. “I still have
all my parts. Peter? You okay, man?”

Peter pushed himself to a sitting
position. He nodded and adjusted his glasses. “What the heck
happened? Did you guys feel that?” He spit out dirt from his
mouth.

Kara jumped to her feet. She scowled
at them for a moment before her expression cooled. “I’m guessing a
side effect to your master plan—I knew this was a mistake—and by
the looks of everything, I’d say it was a very big one.”

“
Oh, come on! It was
awesome,” beamed David as he stretched. “I’ve never experienced
anything like that. It was as if I could feel you guys pass through
me. Man, that was freakin’ weird.”

“
Yeah,” said Peter and his
eyes widened. “But I’m not sure what the whole cloud thing was…and
the lightning? What was that all about?”

Kara pressed her hands on
her hips. “Maybe it was a warning that this was a
bad
idea.” She put out
one of the fires with her boot. “But how do you feel now,” she
asked nervously. “Do you feel any different? Sick?
Weak?”

“
I don’t feel sick. But I
do feel a little light headed…as though I’ve had a few too many
drinks.” David laughed.

Peter was silent for a second, and
then he lifted his brows. “Not what I expected. But I feel
surprisingly well. Hopefully it’ll still work. I’m not sure
though…after the whole lightening attack.”

“
It’ll work. I’m telling
you.” David rubbed his hands together. “Ok. Let’s get this party
started—”

An elderly woman stormed into the
basement. Her heavy chest rose and fell as she gasped for breath.
Her red and white flowered print dress swayed and settled around
her large middle. Her white hair was pulled back into a bun. Her
large grey eyes were frightened. She lifted a bony finger and
pointed. “Demônios! Vocês são demônios!” she howled.

“
What did she just say?”
whispered Kara. She watched the old woman intensely. Something dark
gleamed behind her in her other hand.

“
My Portuguese is a little
rough. But I think she just called us demons,” said Peter, and he
gave Kara a shrug.

“
Great. That’s all we need
now.” Kara approached the woman carefully. “Please, I don’t speak
Portuguese. But we’re not demons.” She pointed to herself and shook
her head. “See, we’re angels…no dominoes.”

The woman recoiled. She raised her
other hand. A dark object rattled in her grasp.

“
Oh, man! She’s got a gun.
This is
so
not
good.” David slapped his forehead with an open hand.

“
David, quiet!” Kara lifted
her hands up. “Please…we mean you no harm—”

BANG!

The woman’s hand jerked back. Smoke
rose from the barrel. A little throb of pain vibrated in Kara’s
chest, and then it was gone. She staggered back. She pressed her
hands on her chest. The woman shot her.

At first she started to panic, but
then she realized that she couldn’t die from a gunshot as she was
already dead. She heard something hit the floor behind her. Kara
knelt and picked up a brass bullet from the gun. It felt warm
against her palm. She stood up and lifted her shirt. Slowly, she
moved her hand over her abdomen. Her skin was whole except for a
tiny whole above her belly button. There was no pain. The bullet
had gone right through.

“
Diabo! Diabo!” The old
woman threw up her hands and wailed. The gun fell to the ground
with a soft clang. She turned on her heel and ran up the stairs at
a speed Kara thought would be impossible for such an old woman with
such a large belly. Kara heard a few crashes, a deafening scream,
and then silence.

“
Well, that went well,”
laughed David. He walked over the staircase and shouted. “Any more
old ladies care to take a shot at us? There’s a senior’s
special—two for one—if you hurry.”

Kara pressed her hand against her
chest again. The hole had disappeared. “Wow. I’ve never been shot
before. It felt really weird.” Kara examined her stomach again. The
wound had already healed.

Peter walked over to the staircase and
peered up. “We better hurry up before her entire family comes back
with shotguns and demon repellent powders.”

David bobbed his head. “He’s right. We
don’t want to make the five o’clock local news—although I do enjoy
my five minutes of fame—just not mixed up with grannies and
guns.”

Kara eyed the Rift cautiously, “Then,
let’s get out of here.”

Peter crossed the basement and stood
before the Rift. “Well, it’s now or never.”

He glanced nervously at the shimmering
wall. “Who wants to go first?” He began to smile.

David took Peter by the arm and pulled
him away. “Sure. I’ll be the guinea pig. Let’s find out if this
worked.” David stepped in front of the Rift. He lifted his right
hand and pushed it through. After a second he retrieved it. His
hand was unscathed.

“
It worked!” Peter danced
on the spot, his face beamed. “I knew it! I knew it! I’m a
genius.”

Kara shifted uncomfortably. Part of
her was glad their scheme had worked, but another part dreaded what
would happen next. She didn’t want them to risk their souls with
her. “Guys, before you get too excited—you know Lilith’s leading us
into a trap, right? We might not make it back.”

David took Kara’s hand gently. “We
know…and we’re going. I’d do anything to save Jenny, even if it
meant we might not make it back. We owe her. She’s our friend,
too.”

Kara sighed. “I know. I’d probably do
the same if I were in your shoes. Okay, let’s do this. Jenny may
not have very long. Remember, I’ve got to get information for the
Council, too. I’m going to need some time to figure out if there
are other Liliths.”

“
Any ideas how you’re going
to do that?”

“
No. But they’re depending
on me. I’ll figure something out. Now, be careful and watch your
backs. This place is foul, really foul. Never let your guard
down—ever.”

“
We won’t.” Peter shoved
the dagger back into his backpack. He swung his pack over his
shoulders and planted his feet. “We’re ready.”

“
Good.” Kara gave Peter a
smile. Whatever adversities waited for them on the other side, she
prayed that Jenny would still be in good enough shape to make the
trip back. Who knew what Lilith had already done to her? She would
find out very soon.

Kara stepped forward and teetered. A
spell of dizziness washed over her suddenly. She pressed her hand
on her forehead. Her vision blurred and then sharpened.

“
Kara? Are you okay?” David
grabbed her elbow and steadied her. “What’s the matter? How are you
feeling? Kara?”

Kara strained to open her mouth, but
it was like trying to force open a brick wall. A wave of sickness
rushed through her. A cold ache spread to her limbs, like from the
symptoms of the flu virus, but worse. “What is
happening?”

“
Kara?”

The spell lessened. Her strength
returned gradually. She pried open her mouth with great difficulty.
“I—I’m okay now. It passed.”

“
Are you sure?” David’s
expression was a mix of concern and regret. “You don’t look so
good. You look a little sick. Maybe this wasn’t such a good
idea.”

“
No, no. Don’t worry about
it.” Kara straightened. “I’m feeling much better. It was nothing.
I’m fine, seriously.”