Elemental (24 page)
Authors: Kim Richardson
Kara crawled over the cockroach and grabbed a foreleg. “Please—I beg you! Close the doors now! They’re almost here…I’ll…I’ll…give you a hundred kisses if you close—”
The elevator snapped shut. Instantly there were loud booms, and Kara could see the imprints of sledge hammers forming on the metal doors as the demons tried to beat their way in behind her.
Jean-Pierre threw off his top hat. Then his cane. He waddled over to Kara, his black eyes glistening in the reflection of the crystal ball that held her mother’s soul.
“I am ready, my love.”
The elevator shook. The demons pounded on the door. The crystal ball jumped and jiggered.
She regretted her offer to kiss him, but decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to hurt the feelings of the French cockroach now.
“Okay—” Kara leaned towards Jean-Pierre. His antennae were bent into a heart shape over his head, “—here goes nothing.”
Another thundering boom. The door wouldn’t last. She had to get the elevator moving.
“I am counting, you know.”
Kara cringed. “Sure. You can count. Let’s just do this quickly!”
After giving him one hundred small pecks, and wiping her mouth on her sleeve, Kara backed away. Jean-Pierre jumped into the air and rocketed around the small elevator.
Kara secured the jar with her mother’s soul tightly in her arms.
With another great strike, the door ripped open. A hand reached in.
Kara jumped back. “Quickly! We need to go! Now!”
“Oui, mon amour. I can take you back to urth—and zen you can go back to ‘orizon.”
“That’s fine. Good enough.” She stared at the hands reaching in. “Go!”
Jean-Pierre stretched out his forearm and pressed the
Up
button.
Kara was thrown on the ground with the sudden pull from the force of the elevator. The demons were gone. She breathed a sigh of relief. A moment later, the elevator stopped, and the doors swished open.
“Merci, Jean-Pierre,” said Kara.
“Au revoir, my love.” The giant cockroach bowed and pressed his four arms to the left side of his chest. “I ‘ope to see you again soon.”
God, I hope not
, thought Kara. She flashed her teeth and jumped out.
Chapter 20
Going home
KARA JOGGED ALONG THE RED DUNES
in Operations. Would the High Council hear her out now? Would they believe her now, even if she was Asmodeus’s daughter? She clutched her mother’s soul to her breast and ran faster. After what Jean-Pierre had done for her, she made a mental note always to be kind to bugs, especially cockroaches. Even if it had been disgusting to kiss him, he had saved her life.
She spotted the tops of the blue training tents. She longed to see David. She hoped he wasn’t in too much trouble. She kept her eyes down. She didn’t want to attract unwanted attention. Especially now. First she wanted to reach Gabriel. Then, if all went well, she would take her mother’s soul to the Hall of Souls.
A few GAs stopped their combat lessons and stared. Some pointed. Kara pressed her chin into her neck and jogged faster. But before she could find Gabriel, Zadkiel emerged in front of her. Kara cringed
“I’ve been waiting for you,” said Zadkiel, his voice dripping venom.
Kara backed away, clutching the glass jar protectively. “What—what do you want? Where’s Gabriel?” She searched for Gabriel’s white tent but Zadkiel stepped to the side to block her view.
“Gabriel is not here right now.” Zadkiel’s dark eyes and black eyebrows made Kara want to run away. “He is indisposed at the moment.”
Zadkiel eyed the glass jar. His eyebrows shot up. “I’ll take that now.” He lifted his large hand from his robes.
Kara recoiled. “No. This is my mother’s soul. And I’m taking it to the Hall of Souls where she’ll be safe.”
Zadkiel snarled. His face wrinkled in contempt. “I will take this now—give it to me, or you’ll be sorry.” His lips turned up at the corners.
Kara shook her head like a stubborn child. She felt panic crawling inside her. What was happening? Where was Gabriel?
“Give me the soul, guardian.”
Kara lifted the jar in the air for a moment, staring at the tiny white sphere hovering inside like a light bug. She shrugged and handed the jar to the archangel.
“So, are we going to the High Council?” Kara asked expectantly. “I have to explain what happened. I went to the Netherworld—I saw Asmodeus. He’s planning to destroy the entire mortal world! He’s released thousands of demons through mirrors. We have to stop him—”
Zadkiel held up his hand in Kara’s face. “No, you are not going to the council.”
Kara frowned. “What do you mean? I have to tell them what happened. This is really important—at least to debrief?”
“You will not need to debrief where you are going.”
Kara looked into his eyes. She feared what he would say next.
Zadkiel laughed softly. “I’m taking you where you belong, demon filth. I’m taking you to Tartarus. And trust me, this time, you will not escape.”
About the Author
Kim Richardson is the author of the SOUL GUARDIANS series. She was born in a small town in Northern Quebec, Canada, and studied in the field of 3D Animation. As an Animation Supervisor for a VFX company, Kim worked on big Hollywood films and stayed in the field of animation for 14 years. Since then, she has retired from the VFX world and settled in the country where she writes fulltime.
To learn more about Kim Richardson, visit:
www.kim-richardson.blogspot.com
www.goodreads.com/author/show/2053448.Kim_Richardson
http://twitter.com/Kim_Richardson_
More books by Kim Richardson
HORIZON
, by Kim Richardson
The third book of the Soul Guardians Series, coming soon!
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