Netherworld, Soul Guardians Book 4 (9 page)

The young woman pressed her hands
against her hips. “Then let me enlighten you, dearest Kara. You
see—you killed someone I loved.”

Kara stared at her
incredulously. “What? I didn’t kill anyone. Why don’t you stop
playing games and start telling us the real reason we’re here. Tell
us the truth.” Kara caught David’s eye. He mouthed,
what the
—?

The young woman pointed a manicured
red nail at Kara’s face. “Oh, this isn’t a game. What I want from
you is simple. You took the only person I held dear to me…and
killed him. And now I’ve brought you here to make you pay for what
you have done.”

Kara took a step forward and did her
best to sound truthful. “Look, I swear to you. I didn’t kill any
mortal. I couldn’t have. I only just learned that it’s impossible
for angels to do so. There’s no way I could have. Trust me, you’re
wrong—”

The young woman cut her off, “I’m not
wrong.”

She glowered angrily at Kara. “—and he
was no mere mortal, you stupid angel. I don’t know how you did it,
but you did. You killed him.”

“
I didn’t kill anyone, I
swear to you,” pleaded Kara. But something inside her was telling
her differently. She squirmed uneasily on the spot and looked to
David for help. He could only shrug.

“
You killed him!” she
turned in rage, clenching her fists as she screamed. “He’s gone
because of you!” Her voice thundered and the ground shook. Metal
containers wailed and dust fell from the high ceiling and settled
around them.

Kara waited for the young woman to
compose herself. She shook her head a little. “I don’t know who you
mean? Who?”

The young woman watched her a long
time. Her voice was cold. “You killed my father.”

Kara leaned back. “Your father?
But…but…that’s impossible—”

“
My father was Asmodeus.
And you killed him.” Her black eyes glared at Kara.

Kara’s words caught in her throat. She
heard her friends gasp. She remembered Asmodeus enveloped in golden
fire—his dying wails filled her head. She remembered the hatred she
felt for him when she had held David’s dying body in her
arms—killing Asmodeus had been an act of revenge and of release—she
had never regretted it. And she would do it again in a
heartbeat.

“
Who are you, really?”
demanded Kara.

A mischievous smile spread across the
young woman’s lips.

“
I’m Lilith. Your
sister.”

Chapter 7

A Surprised Visit

“
K
ara,” said David. “What’s going on? What’s she talking
about?”

Kara shook her head and didn’t answer.
She stared in bewilderment at the girl who called herself her
sister—could it be possible?

“
I don’t have a sister,”
Kara spat. “If I did, I would have known. My mother didn’t have any
other children. You’re lying.”

“
I’m your half sister,
silly,” said Lilith casually. Disdain tinted her delicate features.
“We share the same father, but not the same mother,
dearest.”

Kara watched Lilith in silence.
Asmodeus had tricked her own mother into believing he was some
regular Joe; it was certainly possible he had tricked other mortal
women, too. Kara felt cheated and disgusted. She pulled at her
restraints and felt the sting of the wires. Could this creature be
telling the truth? Could she really be her half sister?

“
Well, I don’t see any
family resemblance,” interrupted David. “Although you did inherit
your father’s bad taste in suits—and you seriously need a tan.”
Ranab slashed his blade into David’s leg. He cried out and fell to
his knees. Then he peered up at Ranab and smiled.

Lilith disregarded the incident and
focused on Kara. “My mother was a sanskrit—a creature part demon
and part mortal. She was such a bore. Sanskrits are so incredibly
dumb and useless. Unfortunately, I had to dispose of her—she was
always getting in the way of my plans—a real nag. She didn’t
understand who I was—always telling me I was crazy. We daughters
rarely get along with our mothers, do we, dear sister?”

“
Maybe your mother was
right,” said David. “She saw that you were a total spaz and tried
to do something about it—” Ranab backhanded David hard across the
face. He went down, but he struggled back up and glared
triumphantly at Ranab.

Kara remained silent. Hatred rose
inside her like a tidal wave. This girl had killed her own mother.
She was definitely a dangerous psychotic.

“
You’re insane. You killed
your own mother. How could you? She gave you life, and you killed
her.”

“
Of course I killed her.
She was
so
annoying,” continued Lilith, “but I treasured my father. He
taught me everything I know. He showed me how to control my powers
and taught me how to get more. He also told me about you, you know.
I loved my father very much.”

“
Really, how touching!”
hissed Kara.

Lilith pursed her lips. “So, you see,
now you leave me no choice, sister dear. You took someone I loved,
which means that I’ll have to return the favor—”

She rushed forward in a white blur of
lightening speed. Kara heard Jenny cry out before she knew what was
happening.

Kara blinked.

Lilith had grabbed Jenny by the hair,
and with a wicked smile she hauled Jenny away from the
group.

“
No!” Kara ran forward and
fell. Pain shot through her back. Liquid fire burned into her core
as a blade was jammed into her spine. She lifted her face from the
ground.

Jenny fought against Lilith’s hold,
but it was no use. Jenny’s hands were bound, and Lilith was much
more powerful.

“
Please stop. Take me—it’s
me you want. Don’t hurt her!”

The air beside Lilith shimmered like a
heat wave. A strange groan erupted, a gargle, and then a suction
noise, like when the bathtub finishes draining. The air around
Lilith and Jenny wavered and grew in diameter until it was a
ten-foot tall and five-foot wide black hole. Kara could see the
shadow of a tunnel behind them. Shapes cavorted and disappeared
into the gloominess. Kara heard grunts in a guttural language she
couldn’t understand. But one thing she knew for sure—she was
staring right into the depths of the netherworld.

The seirs raised their fists and
chanted in another language. Their bodies shook, and the painted
eyes on the backs of their heads looked even more disturbing as
their heads twitched from side to side.

“
Mistress, what do you want
us to do with them?” Ranab bent down and pulled his blade out of
Kara’s back. She bit down on her tongue and held back a scream. The
blade’s poison attacked her like a sickness, her body was
weakening. She knew the others were in bad shape as well. She heard
Lilith circle behind her, and Jenny’s boots drag against the
concrete floor.

“
I want Kara alive,”
ordered Lilith. “I have plans for her. Kill the others.”

Kara struggled feverishly to stand. A
weight held her down. Her wound tore, and she cried out in pain.
She twisted her head and saw the white leering face of a seir. He
laughed and stepped on her some more.

He stamped his red leather boot inches
from Kara’s face. The pointed tip neared her eye.

“
I hope to see you soon on
the other side, dearest sister. If you want to see your friend
again, you’ll have to come and fetch her. Let the games
begin.”

“
What? Wait!”

With Jenny dragging behind her, Lilith
stepped into the Rift and disappeared.

“
No!” screamed Kara. She
could just see Jenny’s silhouette inside the Rift. There was still
a chance she could get her out. Jenny’s body was already
deteriorating. Her terrified green eyes were disappearing into the
Rift.

She bucked and kicked out her legs.
She didn’t care if she hurt the seir; she only cared about Jenny.
She had to reach Jenny before it was too late.

With one last kick, she nailed the
seir in the groin, and he tumbled down beside her. She rolled over
and pushed herself to her feet. Another seir slashed his weapon at
her. She wrestled with her manacles; the burning wire cut deeper
into her flesh, but they wouldn’t break. Kara ducked. The blade
sliced the air, and she stuck her foot out and tripped
him.

Kara checked herself immediately. She
was still there.

The others caught on quickly. David
slammed his body against the nearest seir. The man was caught off
guard and crumbled to the ground. Another seir came at him, but
David slipped out of his grasp easily. Peter dodged and squirmed
his way out of the circle of seirs.

Seeing her friends managing themselves
for the time being, Kara ran towards the Rift. The dark hole
wavered and groaned. She was almost there. She could still see a
shade of Jenny’s purple hair on the other side. Only a few more
paces—

Something grabbed her wrists, and Kara
was propelled backwards. She landed face down on the hard concrete
floor.

“
Where do you think you’re
going?” Ranab kicked her savagely in the back. Her wound split open
some more, and Kara cried out. “Your friend’s probably already
dead, you know. Angels can’t survive the netherworld.” His pallid
face broke into a wicked smile. “Too bad the mistress won’t let me
kill you. I love a good challenge.”

“
Why are you doing this?”
Kara growled and ignored the excruciating pain in her back. “You’re
human—how can you side with demons. They can’t be trusted. They’re
using you. They’ll kill you someday.”

Ranab chuckled softly, and Kara was
appalled by his manner. “It’s very simple. We have been promised
immortality. Serve the netherworld—and we will live forever. It’s a
very good offer. Only a fool would not accept. There is
unimaginable power in the netherworld. And soon I will have a taste
of it.” His brown eyes gleamed with desire, and Kara wanted to
throw up.

“
Humans are mortal. You’re
not supernatural. You can’t cross into the netherworld. You’ll die.
Can’t you see she’s lying to you? This is all a game to her. She
doesn’t care about what happens to you.” Kara wiggled into a
sitting position. The gleam in his eyes made Kara
uncomfortable.

Ranab raised his fist in the air. “Let
me fill you in on a little secret. We won’t be mortals for long.
Soon we will cross over and become powerful creatures of the
netherworld. Then we will never die—”

“
We’ll see about that—”
David slammed his body hard against Ranab. The seir tripped over
Kara’s legs and fell. David laughed, pleased with himself. “Enjoy
the view from down there, clown face? Come on Kara. Let’s
go!”

Kara jumped to her feet. She glanced
over to the Rift. It was gone. The space was quiet—as though it had
never even been there in the first place. An icy chill rippled
through her body. Jenny was gone.

Kara kicked Ranab as he tried to get
up. She dashed along the passageway and ran skillfully with her
hands tied behind her back. She caught up with David.

“
So we can kick and punch
them—but just not kill them?”

David shrugged. “I guess so. We’re not
dead yet.”

Peter had avoided the seirs as well
and ran towards them. His face was drawn, and Kara knew they needed
to find a water source soon and get out of there.

“
Get them!” Ranab roared
behind them. “Don’t let them get away!”

Kara looked around frantically. “Back
door! Hurry!”

They bolted towards the great iron
doors at the opposite end of the warehouse. David ran at her side.
Peter trailed behind. Kara reached the doors within seconds and
searched for a door knob or lever, but there wasn’t any. She kicked
the door with all the strength she could muster. It creaked, but
didn’t open. It was like kicking a block of concrete. David slammed
his body against the doors. They didn’t budge.

“
Okay, on three,” said
David. “One…two…three!” Both he and Kara slammed their bodies
against the great iron doors. But still the doors remained
intact.

Peter kicked the doors in frustration.
“It’s no use. They won’t open. We can’t get out! They’re going to
kill us!”

“
That’s right, little
angel. Your time is up.”

Kara whirled around.

Ranab sauntered towards them. Nine
gloomy white faces glowered behind him, with death blades swinging
at their sides. Their black leather coats flapped at their heels.
Kara unconsciously took a step back.

The seirs’ leader sneered.
“We’ve played your games long enough, little angels. Our mistress
has promised us your skins,” he lifted his blade in the air and
pointed at Kara. “Except for that one, of course. You see, little
angels—it’s time to take your punishment for entering my city
without permission. We’re going to show you how
we
like to play. It’s like I said
before, entering my city comes with a price.”

“
Yeah, and what price is
that, circus freak.” David glowered at the seirs.