UnGuarded (12 page)

There’d been many visitors to see
Caitlyn—coming with smiles, leaving with tears. Rob and Stacey were
here about an hour ago. Stacey was a complete wreck by the time
they left. Rob wrapped her up in his arms, trying to comfort her,
while keeping himself steady and calm at the same time. No easy
feat—I knew that personally.

Still, for the whole past hour, my mind was
racing in loops about what had happened with Luke. Cole had
expressed his territorialism for me on countless occasions, so I
was very familiar with just how jealous vamps could get. But I
wasn’t Luke’s—I was Cole’s. Despite that, Luke was behaving as if I
should be his, and I feared that little preview of his temper would
only be the beginning if I chose to continue my alliance with him.
Add the fact that I had less than twenty-four hours before that
dreadful meeting with Limos, and my problems just kept getting
worse. I wasn’t prepared to go without Luke. I needed his help, but
could I risk bringing him with me now, after what had happened? I
was in the biggest mess of my existence, and I seemed to be digging
myself deeper in the hole.

So, I welcomed the distraction when Corrine
appeared. She hovered in the back corner of the room by the window.
“Raphael has requested a meeting with you.”

“About our charge?”

“I don’t know, Selene,” she smarted. “I’m
just here to relay the message, and”—she glanced over at
Caitlyn—“watch her.”

“Fine.” I returned her tone. “I’ll be back
when I can.” I closed my eyes and vanished without bothering to say
good-bye. When I opened them, I was in Europa. No fainting. No
amnesia. No disorientation. I never got those unpleasant side
effects when I was following the rules—though it still didn’t bring
a smile to my face. Instead of a cloud, I stood near a waterfall,
humming and splashing upon the rocks. Mist sprayed off the
overflowing water, hovering like a hazy sponge above the pool
below. Lush green grasses coated the ground, feeling cottony-soft
on my bare feet. There were colorful wildflowers everywhere. It
reminded me of springtime in the mountains back on Earth.

Since Raphael wasn’t here yet, I went to the
water’s edge and sat down. I took the torn and muddy edge of my
gown and submerged it under the cool, crisp water. I rubbed back
and forth, scrubbing the fabric as hard as I could, but when I
brought it up out of the water, nothing had changed. The filth
still clung to it—as if it were now a part of the dress. The rips
weren’t something you could just sew up anyways. What I wore was
merely a reflection of my aura, a mirror into my soul, which was no
longer perfect and clean. I was beyond repair.

I sensed Raphael behind me and turned,
gazing up at his face. He smiled slightly as he moved closer,
sitting down beside me on the grass. “Selene.” The smile faded as
he continued, “I have been shown the futures of your charge.”

“Will she be okay?”

He took a deep breath. “No, she won’t. There
are two possible outcomes, and both of them end in her death on
Earth.”

“No!” I wailed, pounding my fists into the
grass. My heart rammed against my chest, I could hear its violent
rhythm in my ears. “What happens to her?” I asked, my voice
small.

Raphael rubbed my back but it provided no
comfort. “One of her paths reveals she won’t awaken from the coma.
After months of holding out hope, it is decided by her mother to
pull the plug. The other path shown to me was that your charge will
wake up, but her brain is severely damaged.”

“How damaged?”

“She’ll be in a wheelchair and won’t be able
to care for herself.” He paused a moment, then added, “And she will
not remember anyone from her life before the accident.”

A surge of tears built up, nearly choking me
as a massive gash ripped through my heart; then everything inside
me seemed to freeze, leaving me empty, numb, and more broken than
I’d ever known an angel could feel. My head slumped to the side and
clumps of wavy hair fell over my face. Raphael brushed some of it
away, but it swooped back down like a falling curtain. Without
looking up, I asked, “Isn’t there anything I can do? Anything
you
can do? To help her.”

“Yes. We let her go. Her suffering will soon
be at an end.”

I peeked up through my fingers. “Please,
Raphael. It’s too soon. She has so much life ahead of her.”

His face softened as he reached for me,
removing my hands from my face. Instead of letting go, his fingers
intertwined with mine. “You may have disappointed me beyond words,
but you are still a wonderful asset and I will not lose you. Do you
understand?”

I shook my head. “But if my charge
dies—”

“You will be reassigned another charge, and
some of your powers will be returned. You have been given another
chance.”

Was I hearing him right? Another chance? But
what about Caitlyn? “What do you mean by another chance? I don’t
want a new charge! I want Caitlyn healed! If my powers will be
returned, then give them to me now so I can help her!”

His grip tightened. “It is not completely up
to me how this will work. Caitlyn is going to die on Earth. Her
spirit will go on to live with
him
.”

I knew that his answer should comfort me,
knowing that Caitlyn would move on to the light, but it was just
too soon. It wasn’t her time. She still had a life to live on
Earth, and because of me that time was being cut short.

“You were always so stubborn,” he said, his
voice softer. “Please just let this go, Selene.”

My breathing grew shallow, my chest
compressed with sorrow. “But I—”

“You have been chosen.
You!
You’ve
been given a second chance when most other angels would surely be
fallen and forgotten.”

I jerked away from him, throwing up my
hands. “But why me? What have I done to deserve this? It’s my fault
Caitlyn will die. My fault! How can I possibly be reassigned after
that? What if I make the same mistakes all over again? What if
another charge will die at my hands?”

A wave of anger flushed his face. Raphael
glared at me, taking several deep breaths. “You will obey me! A new
assignment will be given and you will take it! Do you
understand?”

I swallowed hard, desperately seeking the
right words. “If you were me, you’d try to find a way to help your
charge.”

He leaned over, delicately brushing his
thumb across my cheek. “No. If I were you, I’d accept this second
chance, and be happy my charge was moving on to a place where she
could no longer suffer.”

I gave a long sigh. Time. I needed time.
“Can you please give me some time to think about everything?”

Raphael looked at me, hard, his gaze
unfathomable. “You can think about this all you want, but the
decision is made. I’ll give you a week to say good-bye to your
charge.”

Grief welled but I forced it down; still
there was nothing I could do about the numbness inside, filling me
almost to the point I’d suffocate on it, thinking about how I
wasn’t ready to say good-bye to Caitlyn. How could this be
happening? I leaned over and picked up a shiny, black pebble, and
tossed it into the pool. Ripples danced across the water like
subtle vibrations. “Why have I been given a second chance?” I
asked, my voice soft.

“I can’t answer that question. It is as it
is. But it’s been a great help for you not having that
vampire
around.”

Vampire. Cole. His name stuck in my throat,
and it took me a moment to respond. “That
vampire
will
return”—my voice was full of certainty. “He’ll be back on
Earth—”

“You are forbidden to fall back into
whatever relationship you had with that dark one! You’re better off
without him, so I suggest you pray that he doesn’t return! I cannot
promise a third chance for you, Selene!”

My chest tightened, and the clenching in my
stomach intensified. My heart burned as if acid were being poured
over it. I wanted to defend Cole and our relationship, but it was
pointless to even try. Raphael would never understand. No one
would. Shrugging my shoulders, I shook away those thoughts.

My archangel placed his hand on my arm and
said, “I’m sorry if I’m hard on you, but it’s only out of love.
You’re an angel, a magnificent guardian. Now go to your charge and
prepare your good-byes.”

“I’m not ready to see her yet,” I said
somewhat absently. “I need to be alone for a little while.”

He nodded slowly. “Of course. Corrine will
stay with her then, as long as you need.”

I stared at him, unable to say another word.
His face softened, then he disappeared. I felt defeated. Caitlyn
was dying. And all of this was my fault. Slowly, I got up, though
my shoulders stayed hunched as my feet tracked along the edge of
the pool. I had just chucked another pebble, gazing out at the
sparkling water, when another angelic presence appeared behind
me.

I swung around to face my new visitor. “What
do you want, Beck?”

He waved his hands in front of his tan,
shimmering chest, in full surrender. “Sorry, I just thought—”

I marched forward, pressing my fingers into
his shoulder. “Don’t patronize me! You were spying! I know you
heard everything that just went down!” I lowered my hand and
stepped back. Through squinting eyes, I asked, “So, why are you
here?”

His head dipped and a wave of his soft,
blond hair sloped across his face. He brushed it back with his
hand. “I thought I could offer some help. There might be a way to
save your charge, but it’s risky and dangerous.”

My hands settled on my hips. “What are you
talking about? How?”

“First”—he swung his head to the other
side—“you must give me your word that you’ll tell no one that it
was
I
who spoke of this to you.”

“Fine. Yes,” I replied, impatience in my
tone. “Now tell me.”

Beck walked past me and kept moving slowly
along the edge. “You could sacrifice yourself for your charge.”

I rushed over, falling in step with him.
“What do you mean? How would I do that?”

He flashed me a look like that of someone
telling something they shouldn’t: mischievous, arrogant, and
transfixed. “I meant it exactly as I said. You could give your life
for hers.”

“I never knew that was possible,” I stated
in disbelief. “How do you know about this?”

“It was written in the ancient sea scrolls
of Rhea. Their contents claim that a guardian angel, stricken with
grief over the looming death of their charge, surrendered their
breath so that the charge would get a second chance at life on
Earth.”

“Surrendered their breath? How? You mean the
angel became fallen?”

Beck stopped walking and stared at something
far across the water. “Selene, no one knows for sure what that
means. But what if it doesn’t result in an angel falling? What if
the angel merely ceases to exist?” He glanced at me, studying me
with his eyes. “All I know is that the angel who made the sacrifice
was never seen again, nor were the scrolls of Rhea.”

“But we can’t ‘cease to exist,’” I replied,
dumbfounded, my mind seeking memories, sifting through hundreds of
thousands of years, trying to find anything that would support my
friend’s story. Maybe there were one or two cases where an angel
seemed to just vanish, but was that enough to justify Beck’s claim?
It’s not like I had a lot of options—none, actually—so did that
make me desperate enough to grab onto anything that might be able
to save my charge? Maybe it did. After all, Beck was an old friend
and he was only trying to help me. “How do
you
even know
about these scrolls?” I eventually asked.

“Sicily overheard her archangel telling
Vitas about it,” he informed. “I guess it’s some kind of old, silly
story that gave both of them a great laugh. But after they finished
talking about it, her archangel made the comment that ‘there was
always truth behind fiction.’”

“And that comment gave you the impression
those scrolls really exist?”

He nodded. “I believe so. You could always
ask your archangel for confirmation.”

I snorted. “Yeah right! He’d never confirm
that, even if it were tr—”

“And,” Beck interrupted, “I did overhear a
conversation between a couple of demons not too long ago, one of
them mentioning the very same scrolls.”

I harrumphed. “That confirms nothing!”

“Doesn’t it though?” he asked, brushing a
hand through his hair. “It’s not like I was asking those demons for
information. I accidentally overheard one of them say that the
scrolls were well guarded—or something like that. I can’t remember
verbatim what that thing said, to be honest.”

Could this really be an option? Though I
believed Sicily’s gossip much more than I’d ever trust a demon, and
yet my old friend did have a good point. If the demon didn’t know
Beck could hear it, then there’d be no reason for it to lie, would
there? Still, even if I considered this, Raphael would never
approve, and I told Beck so.

“You’ve never been a saint at following the
rules” was his quick response. “At least it’s another option.”

Fresh hope sparked inside me, fueling
excitement…and an idea. “We should go to Rhea and look for those
sea scrolls. What have we got to lose?”

“Wait just a minute!”—Beck’s temper flaring.
“I never said anything about me going anywhere!”

“But you said you could help!”

He settled a little, voice returning to his
normal tone. “I
am
helping by telling you this in the first
place. I will not accompany you, should you choose to go.”

Feeling disappointed, and losing some of
that renewed hope, I asked, “Why would you tell me this option but
not offer your hand in aiding me?” I raised my eyes and glared deep
into his. “You know I cannot go to Rhea alone.”

Beck met my gaze squarely. “I said it was
risky and dangerous. That place is swarming with demons and God
only knows what else. Besides, I can’t cloak myself the way you
can. They’d spot me coming a mile away. But promise me if you go,
you’ll take your boyfriend with you.”