Heaven's Eyes Read online

  Praise for SoulChaser

  “Spreading the divine battle of angels and demons across multiple worlds, the SoulChaser Universe paints everyday life on Earth against a much larger canvas. When the stakes are eternal, death is one small step on a giant ladder.”

  - James Wymore

  Author of the ACTUATOR SERIES

  “With an intriguing premise and bloody good action scenes, SoulChaser takes us on a paranormal adventure where death hunts among us, even as we don’t realize it....”

  - Chris Marie Green

  Author of VAMPIRE BABYLON

  “A fast moving tale of Kiah, a SoulChaser going after a rogue soul from the Abyss, both of them jumping from human to human in the pursuit. And in the bloody chaos that follows, Kiah’s lady-love suddenly disappears without warning or explanation. Read on.”

  - James C. Glass

  Author of VIPER OF PORTELLO

  “Just finished SoulChaser and I loved it! It hits the ground running and doesn’t let up until the final page. It all added up to some epic story-telling and I honestly can’t wait for the next installment.”

  - Keith Knapp

  Author of MOONLIGHT

  NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover it is considered a “stripped book” and you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the publisher nor the author has received any payment for this copy.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, places and reference materials portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or used fictitiously. Any similarities to persons living or dead are purely coincidental and are a product of the author’s imagination.

  SoulChaser: Heaven’s Eyes

  soulchasers.net

  SoulChaser Universe

  soulchaser-universe.com

  Published by arrangement with the author.

  “SoulChaser” logo designed by Juan Maestas

  Cover and interior design and layout by Jason A. Anderson

  Author photo by Mark Spencer

  Interior illustrations by Donna Thorne

  Copyright © 2016 by Jason A. Anderson

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the author, except for inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

  SEG Books

  P. O. Box 1287

  Pleasant Grove, UT 84062

  s

  soulChaser

  Earthbound Trilogy - Book 2:

  HEAVEN’S EYES

  a novel by

  Jason A. Anderson

  JC Carter & Criss Rosenlof

  Editors

  A SEG Bookd Publication

  segbooks.com

  Once again, this is for Haley. I will always be proud of you. Love you, sweetheart.

  -

  Special thanks go out to the Rogues Gallery: JC Carter, Criss Rosenlof and Ryan Thorne, best friends and sounding boards. “Blood On Blood”, my brothers.

  -

  Many thanks to the staff at Kirkham Motorsports for letting me tour their finely crafted automobiles.

  Hell has come to Shadow Valley... and the town doesn’t even know it, yet.

  Prologue

  “Forgive and Forget?”

  Somewhere in the air over Central California, USA

  The bright crimson stream arched over head. The putrid stench of decay mixed with the smell of rusting metal permeated the air. A screaming guitar riff bled into a woman’s shrieking wail as Vein Drain’s shock-metal anthem “Blood On the Waters” pulsed and echoed around him like a living creature.

  Blood, thick and wet, pooled around his plain brown shoes... dripped from the ceiling above onto his ordinary gray coat... rivulets streamed down the pale wall, like crimson tear streaks on the face of an innocent child.

  As the song’s menacing lyrics unwound, a phantasmagoric montage of images played out in his mind. A man’s severed hand, two embracing children turned to stone, the luminescent outline of a dragon embryo as seen through the egg’s thinning shell, an emaciated alchemist slowly lowering a lump of lead into a burbling cauldron.

  From somewhere lightning flashed, changing the scope of the Technicolor masquerade all around him.

  “Mr. Andrews?” A woman’s gentle voice came through to him almost as a faint echo on the wind.

  A holiday clown with a white face, colorful stripes streaking back from its eyes, a big red nose and wild red hair... its mouth, a silver zipper, splitting into blood-dripping laughter.

  “Mr. Andrews, are you alright?” Her soft voice again, though this time the concern it held cut straight through the wailing winds.

  Now he lay on his back, staring up at a guillotine blade poised above him... the gleaming silver streaked crimson exactly where it would sever his own head from his shoulders. The wooden collar which locked his head into place offered no leniency as he thrashed around, trying to wrest himself free from it, but the heavy iron shackles secured his limbs and torso to the guillotine table. His gaze turned sharp as a razor’s edge when he noticed the blade quivering a touch, upset by his struggling. Before he could say anything, the waiting knife dropped.

  “Mr. Andrews!” The lovely face of the brunette stewardess looked down at Jake Andrews, concern evident in her stare. “Are you alright?”

  The return to reality from the dream-state jarred him so much, Jake could only shake his head, trying to clear the macabre images from his mind. Without speaking, he raked his fingers through his short red hair, careful not to upset the portable computer on the seat tray before him.

  “Is there anything I can get you?” the young flight attendant asked. “Would you like a pillow or for me to dim the lights for you?”

  Jake looked around at the collection of red-eye flyers in First Class. His seat was the only one with a light on above it. Everyone else had the sense to grab what shut-eye they could before landing in LAX.

  After a heavy sigh, Jake smiled at the young woman and shook his head. The “near sleep” fogginess refused to clear, even as she chattered in a half-whisper about calling her if he needed anything.

  With a smile and nod, he dismissed her and turned his attention back to the computer. The frightening image of the bleeding clown face stared out at him from the glossy screen, frozen in a gruesome rictus of a smile.

  Feeling about overwhelmed by the myriad of potential crises that came from working with the most notorious shock rock’n roller in the business, Jake closed the video player. As an afterthought, he clicked through a couple of directories until his personal email account sprouted on the screen. From the main messages list, he located the digital letter that had arrived in his inbox prior to takeoff. After a moment’s hesitation, he opened the missive, even though he’d already memorized the short letter. Beneath the letterhead for his former college and his home address, it read:

  Dear Mr. Andrews,

  Our administrative staff has recently undergone a complete overhaul. In conjunction with the shift of personnel, we have revisited all student disciplinary actions taken over the last eight calendar years. Yours was among those that we reviewed. After further consideration, as well as evidence presented to us after the disciplinary court, it is our pleasure to rescind your expulsion and return you to ‘Good’ standing here at the school.

  We hope that you will accept our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this may h
ave caused to you and look forward to you attending our esteemed university.

  Jake couldn’t help but hrumph his disdain at the audacity of the letter’s tone. Just a few short years ago, he would have jumped for joy at the possibility of having his school record wiped clean... especially since he really was innocent of all accusations. But so much had happened since then, it almost made being kicked out of college seem trite. For a time, the deaths of friends and loved ones had washed the panorama of his memory with a stark reality. Yet now, less than three years later, he found himself reaching for the reigns of a special effects extravaganza, uncomfortably reminiscent of Nightmare Manor itself.

  Rubbing his forehead, Jake stared at the frozen video image and wondered again if he was jumping at shadows, or if his gut was right and once again he was about to get in way over his head.

  Trying to reconcile Chaz Black’s “demon rocker” image in conjunction with the performer’s proposed “Terror-Copia Haunted Theme Park”, with the news from the college, compounded with the late night flight, would only lead to another screaming headache.

  In an effort to avoid the pulsing throb that seemed inevitable, Jake cleared the image screen of all its program windows. From within the computer’s desktop image, piercing blue eyes peered at him from beneath a lock of sun-yellow hair. The little boy was smiling and reaching out for the camera, as he almost always did whenever Jake took a picture of his two-year-old step-son. Nathanial Andrews, or “Natey” for short, was always glad to see his father, often greeting him with his endearing smile and sometimes a heart-warming laugh. With the echo of the boy’s giggle soothing his jangled nerves, Jake finally slipped into restful oblivion.

  Chapter 1

  “Rumors of Revolution”

  Collingloria Military Academy

  Softly, almost as a caress, the young woman wiped her classmate’s blood from the silver carving blade onto her left pant leg; the crimson liquid joined and congealed with the rest of his cooling blood.

  A choking, retching sound drew her gaze to the dying teen’s eyes. The last telltale signs of terrified astonishment still glimmered there, surrendered to momentary panic, then dull lifelessness. His well-muscled body sagged against the ropes that bound him upright to the backside of the old tree.

  “We have to hurry! We won’t be able to stay much longer!” her companion hissed from where they gathered on the distant end of the academy’s exercise yard.

  Warm blood filled the silver goblet the killer held up to the boy’s severed neck. As the crimson pool reached the goblet’s rim and threatened to spill over onto her pale, milky skin, she pulled it away and handed it to her worried partner.

  With the blood packed away in the box a few moments later, along with the rest of their alchemical ingredients, the duo abandoned their freshest kill, retreating into the school’s deep afternoon shadows.

  “Sorry if I sound impatient,” Pol grumbled to the misty apparition of his mentor, Joshua. “It’s just that Brenden and I are ready to move, and being told to wait without a reason is very frustrating.”

  Joshua stood motionless. His white skin looked even paler, given his translucent nature for this mission update. If Pol focused carefully, he could not only see right through his mentor, but he could also tell that in reality the man stood about an inch above the floor.

  “You need to calm yourself, Pol. The last thing you need is for them to get spooked because you acted too soon.” Joshua’s voice was strong, firm, despite his ethereal nature.

  Pol jumped up from sitting at the foot of his cot and said, “This is infuriating! We’ve located the host that Helann is using.”

  “The rogue, Helann, is not the only person you have to worry about, Pol.”

  “Once we have her in custody, it’s only a matter of time before Brenden gets the identity of her partner,” Pol exclaimed. “It’s a miracle we located Helann at all. I’ve never seen a female rogue integrate into a host so seamlessly. Without the SoulStar, we could have spent weeks tracking her.”

  Unwavering, despite the heated discussion, Joshua shook his head. “This debate is moot; until we get clearance from Above, you and Brenden are information gathering only.” An edge was creeping into his voice at having to continually bring the SoulChaser back around to following proper protocols. He’d had two other discussions of this type with Pol and Brenden, and his patience had begun wearing thin.

  Pol shook his head and walked over to the dorm room window. “Kiah never would have put up with this,” he muttered as he stared out into the early afternoon sunlight.

  At the mention of Pol’s old team leader, Joshua shifted his footing and “walked” around to face Pol’s window. “Kiah wouldn’t have been expected to undertake this retrieval for that very reason. His impatience and unpredictability made it a gamble every time he was sent out, and a challenge to keep him from simply running roughshod over even the simplest procedures. You have the skills needed to accomplish the mission, but you need to exercise the patience I know you have.”

  Pol found himself able to agree with his mentor’s assessment and slowly turned and leaned back against the window frame. He couldn’t quite meet his mentor’s eyes, but he was able to relate to the man’s opinion. “I guess that it’s a good thing you sent me and Brenden on this one, then.”

  With a satisfied smile, Joshua nodded. “Be patient, as I’ve said. I get the feeling that you’ll be let loose on these rogues soon enough. Meanwhile, remain close to them, so that once you get the go-ahead any collateral damage is minimized.”

  Pol walked across the dorm room, his passing causing not a wisp of movement from Joshua’s white, shirt-sleeved robe. Absently, the SoulChaser wondered if his nervous pacing would wear a hole in the room’s tight-weave gray carpet. The administrators for the Mahogany Desert Defense facility hadn’t cared about much beyond basic comforts and amenities when constructing the Collinglory dorms. ‘One of everything’ had seemed to be the order of the day: gray carpet, a bed, a built-in desk large enough to allow someone a useable workspace, a free-standing closet and drawer unit done in a faux-wood finish and one window to look out on the bleak, sand-strewn base.

  A sudden knock on the door startled Pol motionless. Glancing quickly behind him revealed Joshua had already faded away. “Come in,” he called, glad that his voice held none of the edginess he felt.

  A young man, one of the academy’s other Elite students, opened the door and peeked in. “All clear, Draek?” he teased. He may have worn the host, Tommy, like a finely refined liquid metal, but Pol recognized the teasing glint from Brenden’s ancient gaze.

  “What kept you?” Pol demanded. He grabbed the jacket to his black school uniform and the two SoulChasers left the nondescript room.

  Brenden shrugged and replied, “Sorry, running late.”

  From his retrieval partner’s vague reply, Pol suspected there was more to the story, but a public hallway was no place to discuss mission objectives. Though his patience wore a bit thin tonight, Pol forced a smile and said, “Tonight, twenty-thirty. I need a complete update.”

  Brenden nodded and they walked on in silence, Pol’s memory slipping into a quiet replay of the conversation with Joshua.

  “Head’s up. There she is,” Brenden whispered and elbowed Pol in the side. His words brought Pol right back to the present. His gaze shifted to the trio of young women waiting at the hallway’s glass doors that emptied outside. The afternoon sunlight beyond created a silhouette of the three young ladies. “Great,” he muttered. “They’re all together again.”

  “You know what they say about ‘trouble coming in threes’,” Brenden reminded him with a wide smile as the two slowed to a stop before the female trio.

  The young woman that Pol’s host, Draek, had been romantically involved with peered up into his face with intense blue eyes. New to the military school, the rigors of the int
ense lifestyle didn’t show on her face yet. Pol found her beautiful. His piercing gaze didn’t seem to intimidate her.

  “I didn’t see you at the gym earlier,” Danae mentioned to him, even as Brenden and one of the other young women, Claudia, exchanged a touchingly innocent kiss.

  The third girl in the trio, Beverly – the one the SoulChasers had determined now hosted the rogue soul, Helann – shook her head. The escaped soul wore the body as a living disguise, but seemed to be having difficulty mimicking the dead girl’s behavior. Pol knew little of Beverly; she hadn’t talked much – easily the quietest of the three girls. Beneath the blond locks and silver, wire-rimmed glasses, Pol found Helann’s host pretty... in a “girl next door” kind of way.

  “Um... Tommy and I were sparring in dojo four,” Pol replied, barely remembering to use Brenden’s host’s name. Internally, he smacked himself for letting his guard down and almost slipping up.

  “That figures, doesn’t it, Danea?” Helann decided, poking her glasses up further on her nose. The adjustment made her eyes suddenly appear to take up the top half of her face.

  Pol managed a smile, standing there with his hands in his jacket pockets. Even as he looked from one girl to another, the SoulStar clenched in this right hand thrummed only mildly, indicating the presence of a rogue soul, but giving him little else to work from. He scowled inwardly, wondering why the Devine relic never seemed to respond to him they way they always had for Kiah.

  The trio of young women led the way as the five students vacated the dorms and headed across the school’s open central quad. With a student body of almost two thousand, it didn’t take a large turnout to create a scene.

  “Have you ever done a female retrieval?” Brenden asked, pitching his voice low enough it wouldn’t carry and be overheard by the others.

  “No,” Pol replied as discretely. “Kiah and I only ever got assigned the most extreme cases, which hardly ever meant female retrievals. I always thought they had female teams to handle those.”

  The quintet almost made it halfway across the expansive social venue, before the large group of students gathering excitedly near the Physical Education building drew them into their swelling ranks.