UnGuarded

UnGuarded

By Ashley Robertson

Published by Ashley Robertson Books

Copyright 2012 Ashley Robertson

Smashwords Edition,

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal
enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to
other people. If you would like to share this book with another
person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not
purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com
and purchase your copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of
this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places,
characters, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of
the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author
acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various
products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used
without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not
authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark
owners.

Thanks to my editor, Stephen Delaney, who I
couldn’t have finished this book without his meticulous attention
to detail and expertise. And a special thank you to my husband,
Baron, for his unending patience, love, and support. Lastly, I must
express my gratitude to Claudia at PhatPuppyArt for creating the
beautiful book cover.

More about the author can be found at

www.AshleyRobertsonBooks.com

1

I WOKE UP IN A PANIC, gasping for my next
breath. My lashes fluttered open, but everything was blurry at
first, swirling, fuzzy points of light blanketed a velvety
blackness. I squinted, then blinked a few times and saw that I was
staring up at a clear night sky full of stars. My back was flat
against the ground, my head resting uncomfortably on top of
something coarse and hard. As I rolled over and pushed up with my
hands, sharp pain spread through my body, letting me know I hadn’t
completely healed yet. But I ignored it and stood up, feeling
unbalanced as I swayed. My arms flapped out as if I could fly, but
I was only trying to keep from falling. After a few grueling
moments, I was finally able to get it together—sort of. I cast a
wary gaze around me. A forest thick with vegetation spread out on
both sides, quiet and secluded, and a road weathered with age split
right through the middle of it. Not too far from where I stood, the
moon projected its light upon the dark surface like a mirage in a
desert, and no matter how much distance I could gain, I knew I’d
never reach the point where its light truly touched.

A deep sigh blew through my lips as a sense
of hopelessness claimed me. Though I was certain I was somewhere on
Earth, I still didn’t know where exactly I was or why I was there.
I glanced down and my chest tightened with panic. Red, crackled
smears covered the tops of my black wedge boots, spreading in
crimson trails up my jeans, which were also ripped and
torn—shredded at the knees. My arms were scratched and bloody, and
the white tee had definitely seen better days. I grabbed my mouth,
holding back a gasp, swinging another gaze around me.

Suddenly, images shot through my mind like a
projector playing old videos. There was a man holding me, running
his fingers through my wavy caramel hair. His eyes were like deep,
sapphire pools, coaxing me into their bottomless depths. He lowered
his lips to my ear. Then, the vision cut out like interfering
static. I drew in a deep breath. More images returned, and this
time I could make out that the man was familiar. He was around five
foot ten, brunette, and had a muscular body from head to toe. I
couldn’t see his eyes this time, not because I wasn’t straining,
but because he was blurry…no, moving really fast. He threw me to
the ground. “Stay down!” he yelled. “They’re coming!”

“No!” I screamed, trying to rise. “Cole!” I
couldn’t move fast enough. Everything was happening too fast, yet
it seemed to be progressing in slow motion.

But as I rose, something grabbed me, holding
me back. Long black arms wrapped around me. Slick, scaly fingers
with claws the size of knives interlocked at my waist, securing
their hold on me. I kicked back, then tried to squat down and twist
free, but the thing’s grasp was too tight, unbreakable. I looked
around in a panic, scanning the area, but couldn’t find a trace of
Cole. I screamed—more like a shriek of pain. Panic seized me. I
blinked.…

The visions stopped. I remembered
everything.

There were headlights off in the distance
ahead of me, slowly approaching. I glimpsed the overgrown forest on
both sides, then swung right and took off running, plowing into the
thick vegetation and swerving around trees and bushes. Their
branches were like skeletal hands gripping me, cutting into the
tender flesh on my arms. But I kept pushing forward, tears building
in my eyes like a stream during a flood. Cole. I’d left Cole. I
needed to get back to him before it was too late. I couldn’t let
them
take him. My pace slowed to a swift walk, and I closed
my eyes, squeezed them shut, letting my aura guide me. My fingers
pressed into my temples, concentrating, directing all of my focus
on Charon, the place where Cole and I had been just before I
accidentally orbed back to Earth.

A few moments later, I was standing on a
land overtaken by war. Smoke rose from fresh craters blasted in the
soft, sandy surface, and black ashes fell like snow. It was like a
smothering fog making it difficult to see, hard to breathe. I
squinted, trying to help my eyes work a little better. There were
mountains all around, a small inlet of water separating them from
me. The water looked black, empty, and lifeless. Small waves rushed
the expansive, sandy shoreline, breaking, splashing, and then
retreating back to sea. I couldn’t remember why I was here. But I
knew this place. I’d been here before, but this wasn’t how it
looked. It was much more beautiful. What happened here? The fresh
smoke proved something recent had occurred. I swallowed hard, my
pulse rushing up my throat. This place was Charon. Or at least
was
Charon.

Everything had come back to me, my memories
connecting like matching puzzle pieces.

“Cole!” I yelled, my voice frantic,
desperate, and afraid. The fact was, I was beyond afraid, because I
couldn’t sense him here. They must’ve taken him alive. If he were
dead, I would’ve known instantly.

I walked around aimlessly, like a lost
puppy, only to find more destruction. I kicked a rock the size of a
tennis ball. It scuffed across the grainy, powder-like surface,
leaving a trail behind it.

Then the air grew thicker—like pressure
building before a storm—and after a moment, I sensed a presence,
familiar, but not friendly. Gooseflesh spread across my skin and my
teeth ground together. “Show yourself, Limos!” I demanded, my eyes
narrowing.

There was a poof of orange, rusty colored
smoke. A draft blew through, clearing some of it away. Limos glared
at me, a hint of fang showing in his open mouth. He was nearly six
foot, long, flowing black hair draping over his even blacker cloak,
and his eyes were the color of blood. “Selene, aren’t you supposed
to be guarding your human?” His voice was a deep, malicious
hiss.

“That’s none of your business!” I snapped,
eyes narrowing into a deeper glare.

Limos waved a hand in the air like he was
shooing a fly. “My apologies. Though I do enjoy seeing you in human
form.” He stepped forward, reaching for me. His fingernails were
overgrown—jagged and sharp, like miniature razors. I swallowed hard
as he moved closer, leaving barely a couple feet between us. He
hesitated a moment, then lowered his hands. “Ah, that’s much
better,” he purred, sounding more like a growl. “Selene, you really
are my favorite angel.”

I rolled my eyes. A chill crept up my spine,
spilling across the back of my head. “Where is Cole?”

“Do not worry, my child. He is unharmed. I
may hold onto him for a little while. That is, unless you are
willing to make a trade?”

I took a small step back. “What trade? What
do you want?”

Limos half laughed, sinister, evil, like the
demon he is. “Oh, Selene, my dear child. I want you. But you
already know that.”

I could feel my pulse quickening, shuddering
up my chest, into my throat. “No. I can’t!” I swung my head to the
right, then slowly to the left, scanning the mayhem previously
unleashed by Limos and his hoard of demon followers. “Please let
him go!” Tears dripped out of my eyes, making cold, sticky trails
down my cheeks. There was an emptiness in the pit of my stomach
that clenched into sharp, excruciating pain.

“Tsk tsk, Selene. Was it not your fault that
Cole even came here?” Limos turned, arm raised, voice loud and
authoritative, saying, “Is this not my world? Look around you, my
child! Your god has abandoned this place. I have claimed it for my
own.” He lowered his arm, took a small step closer. “Did you really
think this world was not on my radar?”

I stared at him, the lumps forming in my
throat making it difficult to speak. I had been wrong about this
world. It had been an even bigger mistake to bring Cole here.
“Limos, please. Don’t do this.”

Limos burst into sinister laughter. A moment
that felt more like an eternity passed as I waited for him to
settle down. “If only you would have followed the rules.” A sly
chuckle rolled off his black, dry tongue. “None of this would have
happened. But I am so grateful to you, my child, that you did not
follow
His
rules.”

I couldn’t reply. Limos was right. All of
this was my fault. I looked past the demon and gazed at the water,
wishing I could jump in and wash away all of my sins. But that was
a human desire. Angels aren’t supposed to sin. Even though we were
created so differently from people, the truth is we are actually a
lot alike. Angels, like humans, have the freedom of choice. We’re
not robots. We’re real living beings. We’re not immune to
punishments if we make a bad choice. That was how Lucifer, one of
God’s most beloved angels, got thrown out of heaven in the first
place.

I found my voice. “I will strike you down!
You do not have any power over me. Release Cole now!” I stepped
forward, keeping my focus on Limos’ eyes.

He rubbed his hands together—slowly,
teasingly. “My child, are you threatening me? You want me to
release that vampire after you brought him straight to me? You are
a fool. If you kept him on Earth where he belonged, I would have
never been able to take him. Your vampire was under the protection
of Typhon as long as he remained on Earth.”

“Typhon will hear about this! He will
challenge you!”