Seirs, Soul Guardians Book 5 by Kim Richardson Page B

sacred oath; they all had. Her guardian angel days
would end with a cold shower.
    “ Kara
Nightingale!”
    Kara jumped. The three oracles sat
above their crystal balls with their tiny arms crossed over their
chests. Their bare feet peeked from under their long silver robes.
Their expressions were unreadable. With feet like blocks of
concrete, Kara sighed and dragged herself over to the desk. Her
shoulders slumped as she stood and waited. She clasped her hands in
front of her and picked at her fingernails nervously.
    The oracle in the middle fumbled with
some paperwork. He flipped open a file and his eyebrows rose. After
reading for a moment, he slammed it shut with the palm of his hand.
Finally, he laced his fingers and looked up at Kara.
    “ So...Miss Clara. You have
killed a mortal with intent ,” said the oracle in a
concerned tone.
    Kara lowered her head. “Yes, oracle.”
It sounded much worse when she heard it out loud from the mouth of
an oracle. She felt ashamed, as if she had been scolded by one of
her teachers after she had done poorly in a test.
    “ Hmmm.” The oracle drummed
his fingers on the desk. “The price of breaking this sacred oath is
very severe. Angels are guardians of the Earth, soldiers sworn to
protect all mortals...but you have taken a life.” He looked sad.
“Do you understand the seriousness of your actions?”
    Kara nodded. “I
do...but...I was told if we killed a mortal we would suffer
a true death.”
Kara pointed behind her to the showers. “But I just saw the cherubs
take the souls away.”
    The oracle’s face wrinkled
into a smile. “You are quite right.” He leaned back and twirled his
finger around his long white beard. He shared a look with the other
two oracles and their faces beamed contentedly. “You see my dear,
if angels knew the truth...then they would not be so reluctant to kill a
mortal, now would they? It’s best they believe they will die a true
death if they break the sacred law. Don’t you agree?”
    “ I guess so. What does this
mean? What happens next?”
    He blinked up at Kara. “Those who
forsake the oath will have their guardian status removed, with
immediate effect. Their souls will become mortal—they can never
become guardians again. It’s not a true death, per say, but it is a
guardian angel’s death—so to speak.”
    Kara didn’t comment. She knew what she
had done, and was prepared to pay the price. At least her soul
would live on. Maybe she could even have a regular life with David.
She wondered if her friends would be able to stop Lilith. Would she
get the weapon? This entire mess with Lilith was her fault, and now
she wouldn’t even be able to help.
    “ Ending a mortal life is
very serious,” continued the oracle. “You were sworn to protect
them, no matter how vile and evil they might be. It is the
law.”
    Kara looked the oracle in the eyes.
“I’m not sorry about killing Ranab. I’m sorry I broke the rules,
but he was going to execute the elder. It was a judgment call, and
I made a choice. Maybe it was the wrong one according to the laws,
but I’m not sorry I did it. I’d do it again if I had
to.”
    The oracles were speechless. They
huddled together and spoke softly to each other. Kara leaned
forward, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying.
    Kara stood waiting as they went on
speaking to one another. She was getting a little annoyed. Had they
forgotten about her completely?
    “ Ahem...excuse me,
oracles?” she burst out suddenly. “So...do I go stand in line with
the rest of the guardians?”
    The oracles turned slowly to face Kara
once more. The expressions on their faces were more hopeful. The
oracle on Kara’s right spoke next.
    “ No.”
    Kara’s jaw dropped. She stared at them
dumbfounded. “No? I’m not sure I understand. I thought you just
said that I wasn’t going to suffer a true death. I thought my soul
was safe. This is different because I killed a Seir, isn’t it? I’m
not going to have a normal