SoulChaser Read online

  Earthbound Trilogy: Volume 1

  Jason A. Anderson

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  “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 want for the next installment.”

  - Keith Knapp

  Author of MOONLIGHT

  -

  The Starriders Saga

  (as J.A. Anderson)

  Dragon Fire

  Rebels Without A Clue

  P/U (Pranksters United)*

  The SoulChaser Universe

  Earthbound Trilogy:

  SoulChaser

  Heaven’s Eyes*

  Flight of Angels*

  The Jean Archer Quartet:

  The Diamond and the Rough*

  (*forthcoming)

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  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

  soulchasers.net

  chalicepublications.com

  Published by arrangement with the author.

  “SoulChaser” logo designed by Juan Maestas

  Interior illustrations by Donna Thorne

  Author photo by Mark Spencer

  Copyright © 2012 by Jason A. Anderson

  First Edition

  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.

  Chalice Publications

  701 E. 500 N.

  Pleasant Grove, UT 84062

  ISBN 13: 978-0-9830000-3-7

  ISBN 10: 0-98300-003-4

  First Digital Edition: October 31, 2012

  First Hardback Edition: November, 2012

  Printed in the USA

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  For my daughter, Haley, to whom it is lovingly dedicated.

  Special thanks to Dave Farland and Criss Rosenloff for their constructive comments in the early drafts, my excellent editor, JC Carter, for his discerning eye and excellent suggestions, and John Robinson, a superb sounding board.

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  “And I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth: for the first Heaven and the first Earth were passed away...”

  REVELATION 21:1

  -

  Prologue

  Right Here, Right Now

  — Omnious 1: Colonization Calendar 243

  The air smelled of blood and urine as the pedestrians in front of the performing arena panicked and ran. No one wanted to be nearby when the authorities arrived on scene.

  The fourteen dead bodies lay scattered around like playing cards after a brisk breeze. A sticky red pool had already formed across the syncrete walkway. Growing, it reached out with shiny crimson rivulets in all directions.

  One observant pedestrian, a young woman on her first date with a new suitor, spotted movement among the carnage. The eyes of one of the dead boys, a young man in his early twenties, flashed bright green; color then returned to his cheeks and his once dead eyes seemed to brighten. The “glow” of life was returning to this once dead body. The bloody gash across his neck from a passing bullet knit itself closed and the youth managed to climb to his feet. The woman screamed long and loud, then collapsed to the ground beside her startled date.

  Kiah shook the brief cramps of resurrection out of the host’s well-toned limbs. Then he rolled his head a bit to make sure it was still attached at the shoulders. His eyes scanned the carnage, locating the corpse he had been forced to vacate only a minute before. Stepping between severed limbs and a small wad of pulped flesh, he squatted down and patted down his old host. A moment later, he located the SoulStar and pocketed it in the black long-coat of his new host… his new black long-coat. Then he picked his way through the bodies to a clear area on the walkway. He turned, surveying the corpses, not knowing where Kenah might be. They’d both died in that firefight, such as it was. He had no idea if she could find a suitable host for a return to the mission. Lucky for Kiah, h’d charged back down the Hall of Light and dove into one of the fresh corpses. He hoped Kenah had the foresight to do the same thing, but he couldn’t be sure she would. It wasn’t standard protocol, to say the least. Shaking his head, he knew he couldn’t afford to wait. Masaal and his four bodyguards were most likely at Shane Hansen’s office several kilometers across town. He didn’t have long. If he was going to get to the rogue before this host went insane, he would have to move fast.

  Spying a discarded shotgun on the paving stones nearby, he hurried over to it, swept it up in his steady grasp and checked the magazine. Limited rounds in the firearm and he had no idea of its accuracy. Shaking his head, he glanced up and down the boulevard. Making a decision, he broke into a quick run in the direction he thought would lead him to his target the fastest.

  Hovercopter 97 lifted off from Precinct Helipad 24. Its orders: remove the threat of Shawn Hansen, no matter the cost.

  “Don’t worry, Sir,” Office Blake spoke into his black ‘copter microphone. “He won’t slip past this time.” The audio phones in his matching helmet squawked at him for a moment. It was his superior officer berating him for his lack of performance the last three times this same Take Down was authorized. “Not to worry, Sir,” he assured his commander and nodded to the ‘copter pilot. “Move it.”

  “Roger,” the pilot agreed and put the ‘copter into a steep dive away from the precinct building. Officer Blake fought to hold on and not pitch right out of the open hovercopter door. Cursing to himself that in his haste, he’d forgotten to secure his safety line.

  Masaal, in the recently deceased body of underworld boss Shawn Hansen, sat behind his beautiful polished desk on the third floor of the Citiplex Office Complex. He chose his hosts by body type, resources, and availability. Neither compatibility nor cause of death was ever an issue. It was a warm evening considering that this world’s binary suns did little more than skirt the horizon between sunrise and sunset. He still hadn’t adjusted to this planet’s odd daylight hours, the shortest he’d ever experienced. Just over six hours of natural light wasn’t enough time for respectable folks to get anything done. But then he and his henchmen recruits had little worry about “respectable” folks.

  Krista, a knockout brunette dressed in a side-slit midnight blue skirt, a revealing sequin blouse, and spiked high heels, sat on Masaal’s lap behind the large oak slab. Th
e room smelled of a sweet smoke, an illegal opiate on other worlds he’d “visited,” but considered incense on this one. With the lights turned down low, it had a calming effect that soothed one’s jangled nerves, as his were now. He preferred to wind down this way whenever possible. Men’s soft, droning chants echoed from concealed speakers throughout the room.

  At the pedestrian crossing on the street below, the SoulChaser, Kiah, dressed all in black, from his dungarees to his leather long-coat, started across the parking lot of Citiplex Office Complex.

  As he walked unchallenged, he carefully tucked away the memories lingering in the mind of the teenage body he now inhabited. It took self discipline, honed over many years and rogue retrievals, to accomplish the compartmentalizing he needed in order to clear his mind. This body was young and strong and so far had held up well to the new soul inhabiting it. But Kiah knew that he had to work fast, for the body was bound to go insane before too long. It was a side-effect of a soul inhabiting a body that it wasn’t designed for. Just as Kiah was against the clock, so was Masaal. Hansen’s body would last longer than Kiah’s host, since Masaal and Hansen shared many similar interests and passions. However, the evidence of Masaal’s control over the host body would become obvious and once that breakdown began, it spiraled down in an ever-accelerating decline. In another day, maybe two, Masaal would be trapped inside the body of a rampaging madman. Then the blood of the innocent would really begin to flow.

  Approaching the Citiplex building, Kiah found himself relieved that at least rogues couldn’t travel through time. As it was, Time passed differently in the Afterlife than it did in Mortality. One day in the Afterlife could represent an entire year in the physical realm. That both places held to a linear time line, however, made rogue retrievals such as this one easier, since the SoulChasers didn’t have to worry about rogues jumping Eras as well as bodies. And as long as the SoulStar was in the vicinity of the rogue soul, it should keep Masaal trapped in his current host until Kiah could use the relic to return the escapee to the Abyss. Only on the rarest of occassions did rogue souls find that they could move between hosts with the SoulStar nearby. It hadn’t happened for any of Kiah’s retrievals and he hoped it never did.

  Kiah walked up to the front doors, pushed them open, and walked across the lobby to the elevator.

  The tele-com unit on Masaal’s desk chirped for attention. One of his bodyguards crossed to the desk and picked up the handheld unit. He greeted the caller, stepping to the other side of the room as Masaal and Krista became involved with each other.

  After a few short words, the mobster hung up the tele-com unit, just to have it chirp again. He answered it, then held it out to Masaal.

  “It’s for you,” the guard said.

  Masaal separated his mouth from Krista’s, growling in irritation, “Well, bring it over here!” He snatched it out of his subservient’s hand and put it to his ear. “This is Hansen.” Masaal’s look of annoyance turned to one of shock, then understanding. “I see.” He nodded. “No, don’t do anything until you hear from me again, got it?” Masaal set the tele-com unit on the desktop. He could see its reflection beside his own in the flawless surface.

  “What’s wrong, baby?”

  Krista’s sweet voice didn’t even phase Masaal. He stood up and walked over to the wet bar. “Trudou’s car and body were identified out near Deadman’s Rock. Incinerated,” he announced and began to fix himself a drink. SoulChasers! There was no question in his disturbed mind.

  Down the hall the elevator doors opened and the man in black exited. With purpose, he headed up the hall toward the double-doors of Hansen’s office.

  Seeing the determination in his stride, Masaal’s burley guards came to their feet. The guard on the left went for the gun in his breast pocket.

  The figure in black already had his snub-nose, semi-automatic shotgun drawn from his coat. He aimed it at the guard and pulled the trigger.

  “What the—?” one of Masaal’s guards exclaimed, the report of the gunshot echoing beyond the office door.

  A heartbeat later, a second shot rang out, followed by the second hall guard crashing through the office door.

  Kiah stepped into the room.

  Masaal immediately felt the presence of the SoulStar in the Soulchaser’s pocket. He felt his soul locked into the body of Hansen, with no easy means of escape. Had the star not been present, he could have quickly abandoned this body for one of his late guards in the hallway and made his escape.

  “Kill him! I want him dead!” Masaal commanded.

  One of his four guards went for his pistol’s holster snap.

  With one swift motion Kiah brought the muzzle around and pulled the trigger. The blast threw the man several feet back onto the floor. It pelted the wall behind him with fragments of bone, muscle, and buckshot.

  “Jimmy!” another guard across the room exclaimed in blind horror.

  Kiah’s attention snapped to that man, also bringing to muzzle of the shotgun to bear on him. The fatal blast caught the bodyguard in the right side, spun him around, and dropped him to the floor like a lead weight.

  Masaal threw the liquor bottle at Kiah from across the room. The SoulChaser ducked under the projectile and knocked over a nearby table.

  The third gunman moved to retrieve an item from his gym bag, not seeing Kiah take cover. He came up with a submachine gun, then realized he didn’t have a target.

  “Behind the table!” called the last of Masaal’s henchmen.

  Officer Blake sat in the passenger seat of Hovercopter 97. He smiled to himself in anticipation as the air transport swooped low over the city scape. Weighed down with ten ground officers and a full array of armament, it twinkled in the enveloping darkness of sudden storm clouds.

  Before he could get the drop on their attacker, Kiah stood up and shot the henchman’s left shoulder. The fatal wound threw him back over the wet bar and buried him in a shower of shattered alcohol bottles and refreshment glasses.

  Masaal’s fourth henchman fired at Kiah, but missed. Kiah returned fire, but missed as well.

  Krista, caught at one end of the crossfire, bolted for the back door, halfway between Kiah’s cover and the bar. She bumped the guard just enough to knock him off balance and screw up his aim. Kiah didn’t hesitate. He downed the guard with a precise shot to the chest. The man’s heavy body slammed against the retreating woman, sending the two of them sprawling on the carpet.

  “Masaal!” Kiah yelled.

  Solid silence. Two heartbeats...then three...then four....

  Masaal cautiously stood up from behind his desk. He knew he was trapped...with no way out.

  “It’s over,” Kiah said.

  Masaal looked at the shambles around him. The machine gun lay on the floor only a few feet away. “You’re right. You win,” he said in unanticipated agreement.

  Pinned beneath the large body guard, tears began to glisten in Krista’s beautiful eyes. “Shawn?” she asked.

  Both men turned to her. They each seemed to realize for the first time that she remained in the room with them.

  “Get out of here,” Kiah instructed.

  Before she could respond, Masaal crossed to her and yanked her up from where she lay.

  Kiah swung the shotgun toward them. She screamed, now finding herself on the business end of the firearm.

  “Shh, Krista, relax,” Masaal cooed in her ear, soothing her immediate terror. “He won’t hurt you.”

  Kiah’s jaw flexed a bit, revealing the instant tension he felt. Before him, the rogue waited, using the beautiful Krista as a very damageable human shield.

  “More importantly, he won’t kill me, with you here,” Masaal continued. His eyes never left the face of the SoulChaser before him. A wicked yellow gleam shimmered there, as if he dared Kiah to prove him wrong.

  S
o, those are the stakes. Kiah’s grin was cold. “Are you sure?” he asked.

  Masaal chuckled. “You’re sworn to protect the innocent from people like me. But if they get in the way....” He paused his analysis to emphasize his point. “You can’t kill in cold blood.”

  “Your hands are so red from the blood you’ve spilled here...” Kiah countered.

  “Maybe. But hers are not.”

  Both stared at each other in silence, waiting for the other to move.

  Krista realized that her hand rested near the desktop and on that desktop rested a computer keyboard. She snatched the thick plastic keyboard, spun and smashed it into the side of Masaal’s head. When he loosened his grip on her shoulder, she lunged for the shattered doorway.

  Krista’s furious attack startled Kiah into momentary hesitation, which was all Masaal needed. The rogue dove for the machine gun. He pulled it up and squeezed the trigger.

  Kiah caught his breath in agony as hot metal tore into his left shoulder. The velocity of the bullets threw him over the upended table and back against the wall. He could make out the edge of the table, part of the ceiling and some of the wall he rolled up against. The rest of the room receded from his hazy view. Killed twice on the same retrieval? he demanded of himself. That never happens! He knew to the core of his being that Kenah and Joshua would never let him live this down. And in Eternity, never is a long time!