Mortal Read Free

the
s mell of
burning flesh. She could barely see through the layer of snow that
stuck over her eyes. Then a low growl came from behind.
    Kara turned the flashlight in the direction of the noise. Too
late.
    She
soared through the air and smacked into a parked car with a
sickening crack. The flashlight flew out of her hands, hit the car
and landed in pieces on the ground. The light flickered for a
moment and then went out.
    She lay crumbled on the ground, broken. She couldn’t
move. She
looked into the red maddened eyes that glared down at her. She
thought of her mother. The beast wailed in
fury. It was
going to tear her apart. It raised its giant clawed arm for the
kill...
    A glowing red sphere flew across the night sky and hit the
creature. The sphere exploded on impact like a firebomb. Instantly,
the creature’s body was engulfed in red light. Its ear splitting
wails filled the night sky and then the red light went out and the
creature vanished.
    "Kara!"
    A young man kneeled down beside her.
His bright blue eyes glistened with concern. She had a strange
feeling she’d seen his handsome face before. But it didn’t matter.
It was too late. She knew she was dying. She thought of her mother,
waiting alone in her room. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. Kara
didn’t care if she lived or died—she only wanted the pain to
end.
    Let it end...
    "I’m so sorry, Kara, this wasn’t
supposed to happen. You weren’t supposed to feel any pain. This is
all my fault!"
    As she felt her life slipping away,
she looked at him more carefully. His skin glowed as though a halo
surrounded him. His blond hair illuminated his head like a golden
crown. Who was this stranger?
    "You’ll be all right soon," continued
the stranger. "The guardian angel legion needs you. This is only a
changeover...this isn’t the end."
    Kara struggled to keep her eyes open.
She was hallucinating about legions of angels—a sure sign that the
end was near. She felt so cold.
    The stranger took her hand, and she
felt a little warmth from his. She tried to speak, to ask him who
he was, but her lips were like cement blocks.
    "Man, you’ve always been a freaking
demon magnet, you know. They’re always looking for your soul," she
heard the stranger say. "I’ll never let them take you. You’re safe
with me now. I’ve got you."
    As she succumbed to the darkness, her
last thought was that this guy was definitely just as crazy as her
mother.
    And then she didn’t remember anything
else.

Chapter
2
A new threat
     
     
     
    K ara tried to avoid the unblinking stare of the ancient primate
and looked to the ornate wood panels of the elevator instead. She
could see her anxious reflection in his single round monocle. He
was nearly hairless, and the sparse hairs he did have were
snow-white. If the elevator jerked again, he looked as if he would
burst into a cloud of white dust. Even though she’d taken the ride
to the fifth level in Horizon many times, the old operator always
gave her the creeps.
    With its rich wood panels and tan
marble floors, the elevators always made her think that they
belonged in some grand hotel. She traced her fingers gently along
the golden-wing crests carved into the wood panels. She was
shaking. She hid her trembling hands behind her back and shuddered
lightly. She had abandoned her sick mother.
    Kara turned towards David. "I didn’t
think I’d ever see the inside of this elevator again. The oracles
had made it clear, my GA days were over. Don’t you think it’s weird
that I’m back? I keep thinking I’m dreaming, and any second now I’m
going to wake up and forget everything."
    "You won’t, ’cause you’re not
dreaming," said David with a hint of a smile in his
voice.
    He was much calmer inside
the elevator. He had only just stopped apologizing for being late to escort her back
to Horizon.
    "I’m really glad you’re back. Things
just aren’t the same without you. You’re part of the legion—in a
big way. Probably one of the best