a voice behind her. Kara whipped around and stared up into the face of a giant man. He was dressed in a white robe, open in the front with a high gold-rimmed collar and gold rimmed cuffs. His handsome face was twisted in grief. A golden glow emanated from his pale skin. “ There is nothing we can do,” said the archangel Ramiel solemnly. “ He—he just exploded into dust in my arms!” Kara lifted her arms dramatically in the air. “What is happening to them?” The archangel’s lips were a hard line. “The cherubs … are all dying.” He gestured before them. Kara followed his gaze and cringed. About half a dozen cherubs, their faces skeletal and sickly, strained to walk. They teetered to and fro, unable to keep their balance. The agony on their faces pained Kara. She pitied them. A cherub shuffled towards them. Hunched over, as though his back was broken, he could barely walk. His shrunken face was lifeless and his eyes were a milky white like a blind man’s. And with a final effort, the cherub fell forward and landed head first on the ground. Within seconds his body exploded in a cloud of brilliant particles. All that remained was a small pyramid of diamonds. She stared in horror at the hundreds of piles of cherub dust. The ground was covered in these mounds. Kara studied Ramiel for a moment. “But, why are they dying? How can they die? I thought the cherubs were immortal?” Ramiel bent down to examine the remains of a cherub. “Cherubs exist as long as souls exist. Without souls, the cherubs will die. They need the life force of the souls to live.” Unconsciously, Kara hugged the soul inside her jacket and stared up into the black sky. Only a few thousand of souls hovered above and around them. It was like staring up into the sky at night, trying to see the stars though the clouds. She set her jaw and squinted at the ground. Millions of dead souls covered the floor. She feared the worse. The cherub’s last words echoed in her ears. Save us. A cry escaped her lips. She was responsible. She knew that she had enabled thousands of demons to enter the mortal world. Thousands of souls lay dead because of her. “The demons are killing the souls,” said Kara. “ Yes,” answered Ramiel. “It is a savage attack. Brutality on a colossal magnitude against the mortal world. We have never been faced with such an atrocity before. The death toll of souls has reached unfathomed proportions.” “ What will happen to the rest of the cherubs?” Kara’s chest ached. She watched the little figures dragging themselves around the chamber. She reached into her jacket pocket. “There are still souls that live. They’re not all dead—here. This is my mom’s. Keep her safe.” Kara handed her mother’s glowing white sphere to the archangel. Ramiel took the soul carefully and studied it. He looked up at Kara suddenly, with a perplexed expression. “How did you get it back? I thought Zadkiel had destroyed it—” Kara sighed. “Long story … but I got her back.” The archangel looked at Kara thoughtfully. “Well, she will be safe here—” “ Kara!” Kara turned to see David jogging towards them. His face was drawn and tight. He gave Ramiel a nod, and Kara found it strange that he didn’t insult the archangel as he usually did. “ David, what’s wrong?” asked Kara, and she started to feel nervous again. “ All the guardians are being called to an emergency meeting,” said David as he jammed his hands in his front pockets, “ on Lieutenant Michael’s orders. We’re meeting at Operations.” “ What’s the meeting about?” Kara suspected that the dying souls and cherubs were part of it. “ No idea. But I know it’s big … something’s going down for sure. I’ve never seen a meeting of this magnitude.” Kara didn’t like the sound of that. She felt responsible. She had been a pawn in Asmodeus’s plan. Without her, the Mirror of Souls wouldn’t have worked, and the demons