Netherworld, Soul Guardians Book 4 (24 page)

Lilith backed away, horrified. She
pointed a shaking finger at Zadkiel. “No! You lie! My father was
the most powerful archangel there ever was. He told me so. That’s
why you banished him here—because you were afraid of him—afraid of
his great power! He gave you the demon elixir so you could hide in
the netherworld. Without his help, your miserable angel soul would
die.”

“
My father bred the
elemental demon child. He created the Mirror of Souls to open a
gateway between the worlds! He brought down Horizon in a day! And
where were you when all this was happening? Hiding like the
miserable coward you are.”

Zadkiel inspected the folds in his
robes casually. A small laugh escaped his lips. “The demon
elemental was a mistake—a mistake that can easily be corrected.
Your father was merely a pawn. I played him—right up to his death
at the hands of your own sister. And you, too, have done exactly
everything I asked, haven’t you?”

Zadkiel laughed softly. “I wanted
Asmodeus dead. And now if you don’t want to suffer the same fate,
you will do as I say—and kill the abomination.” With a crack, black
tendrils danced dangerously from his fingers.

Lilith’s face twisted grotesquely. She
glared at Zadkiel for a moment, and then she smiled strangely. “I
am not afraid of you, angel. You’re going to die for what you have
done.”

Lilith raised her arms. Gusts of wind
slapped at her clothes, and her hair rose above her head and spread
out like a great white star behind her. Green sparks jumped off her
skin, and Kara thought she might burst into a ball of green flames.
Wild green energy danced around her.

Zadkiel laughed maniacally. Black
electricity flickered on his fingers.

“
You think you scare me
with that? I’ve had enough of you—” He threw his hands out. Black
lightning blasted Lilith backwards with an ear splitting crack. She
crashed in a cloud of wood splinters and dust.

A tall white hat rolled to
Kara’s feet. The clowns were transfixed as they watched their
mistress. Kara kicked the hat with her boot. She resisted the urge
to run to Jenny.
Not
yet
, she told herself.

“
Stupid girl. Did you
really think you could beat me?” Zadkiel lifted his robes as he
crossed the platform towards Lilith. Her hair covered her body like
a white blanket. He leaned over her with a self-satisfied smile.
“You’re just as stupid as your father. Fools. I am the true ruler
of the netherworld. If I have to finish you off to prove it, then I
will. It will be easy. This realm is mine to take—”

Green lightning blasted into Zadkiel’s
chest. He staggered and nearly lost his footing. Lilith came at him
savagely. Her white hair flowed around her like a mist. Her once
beautiful face was twisted in malice. Her white skin was ablaze
with green fire. Lilith was part of the green energy of the
netherworld.

Kara watched and waited.

Kara could see that Zadkiel was
unnerved by Lilith’s power. He composed himself quickly.

A wicked smile twitched on his lips.
“You’re nothing. Just like your father. And I’m going to finish
you!” A blast of black energy shot from his hands. The current was
instantly met with a bolt of green lightning. The black and green
currents intertwined like a flaming braid, dancing between the two
combatants. Sparks scorched the wooden platform. Tiny fires ignited
around Kara. She jumped as liquid green fire sputtered at her feet.
Lilith and Zadkiel were at war.

Lightning lit the air about them. A
blinding bolt struck the platform. The ground shook with the impact
and sent a shower of wood splinters skyward. The clown demons stood
amazed as the war exploded around them.

Kara started to run. She bolted past
the fight and crossed the platform to her left. The giant Ferris
wheel loomed over her like a skyscraper. She leapt over a small
metal gate and threw herself onto the metal wheel. Cold metal stung
her hands as she pulled herself up. She climbed the great metal
lattice without looking down. All her attention was on the crumpled
body thirty feet away.

Within seconds, Kara reached Jenny. A
thick metal chain secured her to a chair. Her skin had the same
pasty white look that both Peter and David had shared. Streaks of
white tinted her purple hair. Jenny frowned in pain, and her eyes
were closed.

Kara balanced herself between two iron
poles. Her fingers tingled with golden warmth. The chain vibrated.
Golden tendrils wrapped themselves along the chain, and it broke
apart with a crack. Kara caught Jenny and held her in her arms. She
shook her gently.

“
Jenny? It’s
Kara.”

Jenny’s lids opened and she looked at
Kara with black eyes. It took a moment before she spoke.
“Kara…Lilith…she wants to kill you. It’s a trap.”

“
I know. Don’t worry about
her. I’m going to get you out of here. We’re going
home.”

Jenny nodded and closed her eyes. Kara
ignored the pain in her chest, pulled her friend over her shoulder,
and began her climb back down.

Lightning thundered and cracked. The
giant wheel shook. Kara jumped to the ground and whirled around.
Green and black lighting lit the air around them. A blinding bolt
struck the ground at Kara’s feet. She jumped back and heard a
chuckle. Four higher demons watched her from a few feet away. Their
sickly sunken faces leered, and death blades twitched anxiously in
their hands.

“
Where do you think you’re
going, little angel?” said one of them. “Our mistress has promised
us a feast of your soul—you’re not going anywhere.”

Kara shrugged. “Figured you’d say
something like that. But no one is eating my soul today. I can
promise you that.”

The demons brandished their weapons
and charged savagely.

Kara stood her ground. A beam of
golden light hit the first two demons. Their bodies lifted in the
air and spun as though they had been caught in an invisible
whirlwind. With a loud crack their jagged bodies exploded into a
brilliant cloud of golden dust. The rest of the demons charged with
renewed vigor and hatred. A death blade came straight for Kara. She
sidestepped, and felt the whoosh of the air lift the bangs from her
forehead. Her anger flared, and she unleashed her elemental
power.

A golden wall rose in the air and
enveloped the demons. When the golden light diminished, the demons
crumbled and disintegrated.

Black and green lightning still lit up
the sky at the other end of the platform. Lilith hovered above the
ground. Her long hair floated behind her as she blasted green
energy from her fingers. Zadkiel blocked her fire with a blast of
black electricity.

Kara heard Jenny moan. Her head lolled
against Kara’s back. She needed to get her out of here. She looked
across the platform. David’s body lay exactly where she had left
it. She secured Jenny on her shoulders and dashed across the
platform to David. She knelt down carefully. His eyes were closed,
and his white skin was speckled with moisture.

“
David? David, can you hear
me?”

David’s eyes opened immediately. He
focused on Kara and smiled. “Do you think I could get a decent beer
in this joint?”

In spite of the urgency of their
situation, Kara smiled back. “You’re such a moron. Can you walk?”
She scanned his body carefully and prayed her elemental power
hadn’t damaged him too much.

David pushed himself to a sitting
position. He leaned over and inspected Jenny. “Is Jenny still with
us…or is she one of them?”

“
She’s still Jenny as far
as I can tell. But she’s hurt, and if we don’t get her out of here
soon…I’m afraid she’s going to be transformed.”

David hauled himself to his feet. He
straightened himself and brushed the dirt from his jacket and
jeans. “Being a demon sucks—majorly sucks. I had some seriously
creepy thoughts. It was like being stuck in a nightmare—and you
could never wake up.”

“
Sounds terrible. You can
tell me all about it later. We need to get Peter and get out of
this horrible place. I don’t think I can stand it
anymore.”

Another boom thundered around them.
Across the other side of the platform two giant fireballs of energy
battled each other as Lilith and Zadkiel attacked each other with
deadly lightning bolts.

David pointed across the platform.
“Hey, your sister’s fighting lord moron over there. I was wondering
what that noise was.”

“
She’s not my sister. Let’s
get out of here.”

Kara steered David by the elbow and
ran back the way they had come. They ran around the rotted white
tent and then between the disintegrating rides where skinless imps
with red eyes still fought over seating arrangements and watched
them pass, but did nothing.

David struggled alongside her. Kara
stole a look behind her—no clowns followed them. Lilith’s green
fireball had grown twice its size. Her green tentacles lashed out
and penetrated Zadkiel’s black energy. She heard a scream, and then
averted her eyes from a blast of brilliant light.

Only a green fireball remained. It
flickered and dissipated. Lilith threw back her head and howled in
laughter. The hairs on Kara’s body sprang up. She turned away from
the terrifying scene and bolted. She never looked back.

Peter sat where she had left him, with
his back to the ticket booth. His jacket hung over the booth, and
he sat in his t-shirt. He broke into a wide grin when he saw them.
His expression softened at the sight of Jenny, but his eyes widened
at the sight of David.

“
David! What happened to
you? You took off so suddenly.”

David shrugged and shook his head.
“I’m sorry man, I don’t remember. Apparently, I changed into a
demon. Yup. The last thing I remember was talking to you about the
awesome cars the sensitives drove—then just darkness—then Kara’s
face looking down on me.”

Peter’s jaw dropped, and he struggled
to find his voice. “...am I going to change into a demon,
too?”

“
Not if we get out of here,
soon,” said Kara.

Peter frowned when he saw Jenny. “Is
she all right? She looks really bad.”

Kara steadied Jenny on her shoulder.
“I know. But she’ll be fine once we get out of here.”

David grabbed Peter’s jacket. “Were
you hot or something?”

Peter shrugged and looked away
embarrassed. “Lilith’s picture was freaking me out. It was creepy.
So I put my jacket over her picture so that her black eyes would
stop watching me.”

With a hearty laugh, David pulled
Peter to his feet. He slapped him on the back. “How you feeling?
Any dark thoughts swimming in that head of yours?” He inspected
Peter.

“
No. I’m still fine.” Peter
put on a brave face. Kara saw his fingers tremble before he shoved
them in his pocket. He had grown paler, and almost all his hair was
white. He couldn’t have more than a few minutes left before he
morphed into a higher demon. Time was of the essence.

Kara scanned the area. “We’ll have to
figure out a way back to the elevator. We’ll have to make a run for
it across the city. And then pray we find the elevator in time. We
need to move fast. Jenny’s doesn’t have much longer. Peter, you
think you can run?”

Peter nodded. Kara wasn’t sure he was
going to make it, but they didn’t have a choice. If she had to, she
would carry Peter as well.

“
Come on!” Kara turned and
sprinted towards the park entrance.

Luckily, the front gates opened with a
combination of singing and screeching metal. She was sure she heard
a voice say, “thank you, come again.” as she ran past the two iron
doors.

They made it past the first buildings.
Peter fell quite a few times, and David hauled him back to his feet
every time. The city was a maze—every building looked the same—but
somehow Kara knew exactly where to go. It was as though a map had
suddenly opened up inside her head. She was confident she knew the
way back.

“
Come on. I think it’s this
way,” Kara shouted. She pointed past a clearing between two
enormous black buildings. She couldn’t explain how she knew where
to go.

She heard laugher.

Lilith.

Kara ignored it and pressed on faster.
Peter stumbled suddenly and fell, and as David tried to help him
up, he collapsed as well.

“
Kara…where are you?” A
voice echoed around the buildings. “Come here…I have something to
show you…”

Kara ignored the voice and pulled
Peter and David back on their feet. “Guys, come on! If we stay
here, we all die. Push yourselves harder. Let’s go.
Hurry!”

She let her elemental power surge
through her for renewed strength. With Jenny balanced on her
shoulder, she grabbed Peter and David by their arms and pulled them
along with her. Jenny bounced on her back, and Kara prayed she
wouldn’t fall off. They didn’t have time to stop.

A grey sky loomed up ahead. They had
nearly reached the end of the city.

“
Kara? Where are you
going?” she heard the voice whisper. “I still want to
play!”