them.
The Seirs formed a circle around the
mad mortals. Their blades shimmered in the soft light, and the
sound of metal hacking flesh rang in the courtyard. The smell of
blood reached Kara’s nose. Deadly cries filled the night air. The
mortals crumbled to the ground. As the glowing spheres of their
souls rose and hovered above their bodies like giant fireflies,
Kara stepped forward, “Quick. We have to get the souls.”
But David caught her arm and pulled
her close. He cocked his head down towards the bodies. “It’s too
late. Look.”
A Seir drew a black net from his
jacket. With a sweep of his arms, he trapped the souls like fish
caught in a fishermen’s net. He hauled the net over his shoulder.
The trapped souls clung together and bounced against his back. Kara
shivered in rage.
“ Won’t you come down and
play with us, little angels?” Ranab strolled casually towards the
wall. His face broke into a large grin and exposed a mouthful of
rotten teeth. He picked at them with a death blade. “You can’t stay
up there forever. Your bodies won’t last all night, but we
will.”
“ He’s right you know,” said
Peter in a low voice. “We only have another hour or so before we
start deteriorating. And then we’ll be really helpless.”
Kara turned and faced the others.
“Right. We need to figure out how to get out of here without
getting killed. Did anyone see another way out besides the main
entrance?”
“ I did.” Peter leaned
forward and lowered his voice. “On the west side...it’s boarded up
for renovations. We might be able to get through, but it’ll take
some effort.”
“ So I guess the only way
out is through the main entrance.” Kara studied her friends’
anxious faces. “It’s not the best option, but right now it’s all
we’ve got.”
“ We’re trapped. Lilith
tricked us—she knew we’d come here—and now we’re stuck.” Jenny
shifted nervously and fumbled with her fingers.
Kara squeezed her shoulder gently.
“Not necessarily. We just need to make it through the gateway.
There’s no way that the mortals or the Seirs can catch up to us
once we’re out. We’re too fast for them.”
“ That’s right, amigos.”
David flashed his pearly whites and jogged on the spot as though
preparing for a marathon. “We’ve got super speed like The Flash, and all
they’ve got is gingivitis and a serious case of
dumbass.”
Kara suppressed a laugh. “So all we
need is a diversion.”
Barking resonated throughout the
courtyard and interrupted her.
An enormous grey dog dashed through
the main entrance. His dark coat shone in the moonlight. Muscles
rippled along his powerful body as he galloped elegantly like a
horse and halted in the middle of the courtyard. Buckets of drool
dripped from his large pointed teeth as a thunderous growl erupted
from his throat. The Seirs took a step back.
“ That’s our diversion!”
David beamed and threw himself down the wall. Jenny and Peter
exchanged a look and followed quickly behind.
Something moved in Kara’s peripheral
vision. Another small dog waddled into the entrance. Thor. Kara
hoped that no harm would come to her sarcastic little friend, and
she watched helplessly as he threw himself into the bloody
battle.
In a flash, she hauled herself easily
over the edge. As soon as her feet hit the ground, Kara bolted
towards the gatehouse. Her M-5 suit’s energy flowed through her as
the rush of oncoming battle erased everything else.
She ducked as a death blade’s black
vapors stung her eyeballs as it flew past her. A wispy breeze
brushed over her head and lifted her hair. The smell of musk filled
her nose momentarily, and then someone swore.
Kara ran on.
She leapt over bodies and avoided the
thrashing arms and blades that came at her from every direction.
Over the loud angry roars of mortals, she heard David laugh and
curse a selection of profanities at the Seirs. They followed him
feverishly around the courtyard, like a pack of dogs