UnGuarded (2 page)

“That is where you are wrong, my child. I
have grown stronger. Typhon will not do a thing.”

I wanted to strike Limos that very moment.
But I knew I couldn’t. Angels can’t strike demons without
His
permission. And I definitely didn’t have
His
permission. If I had just kept Cole on Earth, none of this would’ve
happened. Hindsight can be such a bitch sometimes.

Limos cocked his head sideways, watchful
eyes all over me like an unwanted and prying visitor, which he was.
“Are your stints of amnesia increasing when you orb?”

My eyes went wide. How did he know about
that? I couldn’t answer him. I couldn’t let him know just how much
I understood his question.

“So it
is
true?” he exclaimed. “Your
eyes gave it away, my child.” That evil laughter returned, rumbling
out of his mouth like a tidal wave of evil. “You no longer have
him
on your side. But you’re not fallen yet. No, not yet. If
you were a fallen angel, then I could easily acquire you.” A sly
smile curved his lips. “I suppose I should test the waters and take
you for my own right now!” He lunged forward, fast—so fast he was
impossible to see.

I gasped, stepped back. But he was already
there. Too close, his arms opened wide, ready to grab me.

Out of my body a jolt of electricity burst
forth, radiating a light so bright it pierced the dark,
smoke-filled world around me as if it were a miniature sun. Limos
jumped back, ducking down, hands over his face to shield his eyes.
He shrieked in agony, hissing words, begging me to stop, to turn
off the light. I closed my eyes, stealing a moment to express my
gratitude, and then sucked in a deep breath, swallowing the light
inside my body as if I were a vacuum.

I walked over to Limos, crouched down beside
him. He lowered his hands enough to peer at me, red eyes wide with
shock. “You are still under
His
protection!” he wailed. It
definitely was not a question.

I nodded, feeling a touch of a smile on my
lips. “Put Cole back on Earth where he belongs, and I will forget
the past few hours ever happened.”

“You have won this one, Selene! But we both
know your time is limited. Soon you will be fallen. And then you
will be mine.” Limos lowered his head, curling his body into a
ball, and vanished inside the rusty orange cloud that had brought
him to Charon.

I took a deep breath and rose. How was I
going to get Cole back? I didn’t have anyone I could go to for
help. My only chance was if Typhon would help me—except going to
the Underworld would not only take too much time, but came at a
high price. The Underworld was off limits for angels. I definitely
couldn’t orb there. And even if I could, my powers most likely
wouldn’t work there. I’d be a sitting duck, er, angel, with demons
of every kind running all around me. I cringed at the thought. No,
going to Typhon wasn’t my answer. Somehow I needed to get a message
to him, and the only way to do that was through one of his
followers. But there were two big problems with that. The first was
that I’d be breaking another “angel” rule for the vampire I loved.
The second was that you just cannot trust a demon.

2

I FOLLOWED MY CHARGE IN the shadows, until
it was just the right time for me to appear in human form. Caitlyn
Harris dashed through the double glass doors of the research
center, two oversized books tucked in the crevice of her arms. She
was an attractive young woman with a very promising future. Rich
brown hair framed her heart-shaped face, swaying just below her
shoulders as she rushed to the only available table. A pair of
jeans and a red polo shirt fit snuggly around her slender,
five-foot-six body.

There were several rows of bookshelves
stretching to the ceiling, surrounding the study area where Caitlyn
claimed her spot and pulled out her chair. After she placed her
books on the table and got a little more situated, she let out a
deep, satisfying sigh. She’d just leaned forward, ready to dive
into her work, when she looked across the table and noticed me
sitting there. Startled, she jumped back in her chair. “Selene!
Where did you come from? I didn’t see you when I came in here!”

I half laughed, mindful of keeping my voice
low. “You were in a hurry. I don’t think you noticed much of
anything.”

Caitlyn smiled, running a couple of fingers
through her straight, silky hair. “I’m a little behind with a few
of my classes. Feeling the stress of it. You know?”

I nodded. “I completely understand.” I
glanced down at my lap and then back up at Caitlyn. “I’m still so
excited that we’re both here. This past year has been amazing.”

“Are you kidding? It’s better than amazing.
It’s perfect.”

And it really was—for Caitlyn anyway. She’d
been accepted at Bridgeton Institute while working on getting a BA
in Earth and Space Science at Florida Atlantic University.
Bridgeton Institute is an elite school offering advanced programs
in her field. Since I’m her guardian angel, I followed her across
the country, all the way to Denver, Colorado, where BI was
located.

“I’m thinking about meeting Stacey and Rob
tonight,” Caitlyn said. “I need a break from the books.”

“Where at?” I tucked a few wisps of hair
that had fallen out of my ponytail behind my ears.

“Brix. Eight o’clock.”

“Okay.”

“Okay you’ll come?”

I smiled. “Of course.”

“Stacey said that Jack might come.” Caitlyn
smirked. She quickly pressed her hand across her lips, covering
them up.

I frowned. But kept my mouth shut. An
argument about Jack wasn’t on my list of things to do today.

“Don’t look at me like that!” Caitlyn
scolded.

I quickly diverted my attention to my lap and
started tracing circles in my jeans with my index fingers. I could
feel Caitlyn’s glare burning a hole in my head, so after a brief,
uncomfortable moment of silence, I looked up. Some of her hair had
draped across her face like a curtain, and both arms were folded in
front of her chest. “I’m sorry,” I said, voice small and cautious.
“I just think you should be careful with him. I don’t know if I
trust Jack.” And then I added, “Yet,” hoping to make it sound a
little better.

“It’s not about YOU trusting him! I’m the
one that likes him. You should trust ME! And what about Cole? I
never give you crap about him! He’s the one that’s shady!”

I bit my lip, holding back my angered words.
Tears began welling up in my eyes. Cole. I’d been doing my best to
keep him off my mind while I’d been guarding Caitlyn. She’s my
charge, my responsibility, my number one priority. If anything
happened to her, it would be my butt on the line. But if anything
bad happened to Cole, it would be my fault. MY fault. I brought him
to Charon. He would’ve never been there if it weren’t for me. The
guilt was becoming unbearable. The desire to find him was pushing
to the surface of my emotions.

But I needed to keep Caitlyn my first
priority. And since Jack had come around, that’s meant a whole lot
more work for me. He was bad news. I could see the shadows
surrounding his aura. He was not fully controlled by darkness, but
his mind was open to it at the moment. If Caitlyn didn’t take
careful steps around him, her foot would get stuck in his web. One
of my additional assignments had been to prevent that from
happening. At all costs.

“Cole won’t be there tonight,” I said
flatly. “I promise to be nice to Jack.”

Caitlyn unfolded her arms, dropping them to
her sides. “Selene, what’s wrong?”

I fought to keep the tears in my eyes, but
one spilled out, slicking its way down my face. “Everything is
fine.” I got up and took a small step back, keeping my eyes on the
tops of my sneakers.

“No it’s not.” I heard her chair scoot back,
then hurried footsteps marching my way. “Is it Cole? Did something
happen with you two?” She gently rubbed my back, slow, careful
strokes.

I didn’t know what to say. My eyes were so
full of tears, another drop couldn’t fit in there. I swallowed
hard. “We’re just taking a little time apart.” My words were
choked.

“Well, you guys have been inseparable. It’s
okay to spend some of your time with other people. I’m sure you’ll
be back glued to each others’ sides before long.”

I sniffled, forcing a half smile.

Something caught her attention. Caitlyn
wasn’t looking at me anymore. Her brown eyes had slid to the side,
were curving around my face. My chest tightened. I knew who it was
without even looking. His black aura constricted around my spine
like a boa constrictor. I stepped out of my embrace with Caitlyn
and turned to face Jack, the twisted center of her attention.

“Jack.” Caitlyn hopped over to him like a
bunny in an open field. He was six feet tall with a toned body,
square jaw, dark auburn hair cut short and spiked on top. He opened
his arms and squeezed her inside them. I didn’t find it
affectionate. It was actually more territorial than anything else.
What the heck did she see in him?

“Hey sweetie.” He kissed her cheek and let
go of her.

I couldn’t think of a better reason to be
invisible. I didn’t want Jack to look at me with those possessive,
controlling, snake eyes of his. “I’ll see you tonight, Caitlyn,” I
said, and then gave a slight nod toward Jack. “Enjoy your
afternoon.”

“Selene! Where are you going?” he asked,
voice loud and sarcastic. “Don’t leave on my account.” His dark
eyes slanted into a glare, lips smirking just enough to show a
glimpse of teeth.

I shook my head, felt a flush of heat spread
all over my cheeks. “I’m not. I was already heading out when you
got here.”

Out of nowhere, something jerked in my
stomach as if I’d been punched, but I pretended nothing had
happened, since it wasn’t anything to do with my human company.
With anger blossoming inside, I quickly turned on my heel.

“Bye,” Caitlyn called after me.

“Whatever. I guess we’ll see you later,”
Jack said, his voice still a little too sarcastic for my taste.

“Lucky me,” I mumbled under my breath.

A quick wave with my hand and I was out the
doors of the research center. Massive oak trees lined the sidewalk
that led to a few other classrooms and the campus café. There was
an expansive, grassy park area on the right, just beyond the oaks.
Shadows below fluffy white clouds danced around, careless and free.
My stomach twisted into a knot so tight, it almost brought me to my
knees. I caught my breath and ducked behind one of the bigger
trees, then blinked away my human form, becoming invisible to
everything and everyone around me—except the demon trying to get my
attention.

“What do you want?” I asked with annoyance,
staring into his beady, obsidian eyes. Moros looked like an
oversized Komodo dragon. I’d prefer him to be in human form, but
what can you really expect from a demon? His gaze slid up and down,
taking in everything he saw. In my angel form, there’s a
luminescent glow to my skin. My white dress was a soft cottony
satin and flowed all the way to my bare feet. My hair was the same
as when I was in human form—caramel in color with voluminous waves,
gliding down to the small of my back, and my eyes were the deepest
shade of green, almost like emeralds.

“I’m with Jack today. Haven’t been able to
find his angel.” Between each word, his forked tongue spattered
hisses and sighs.

“And that’s why you’re bugging me? I already
know his angel won’t be with him today. Why do you think I’m on
overtime with my charge?”

“It doesn’t have to be so difficult between
us. You and I both know that Jack will have Caitlyn.” The hisses
seemed to give his words a thick Russian accent.

I rolled my eyes. This was an endless
argument that Moros started with me every time Jack came around
Caitlyn, but he’d never gone out of his way to get my attention
like he had today with the stomach punches. Something else was up.
I didn’t have to be invisible to talk to him, but it would’ve
looked like I were talking to an imaginary friend. Besides, I was
more than ready to be unseen, thanks to Jack. “Moros, this is not
why you’re annoying me. Get to the point. The real point!” My body
started glowing like a nightlight.

Moros slithered back, squinting his
reptilian eyes. “Put that light out and I will tell you.”

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and
then slowly opened them. The glow on my skin was gone. “Speak.
Now.”

“There are rumors spreading that Limos has
Cole.”

Cole. My heart split inside my chest. I
needed to help Cole, but I could sense Moros was going to be more
of a problem than I needed at the moment—especially since he was
throwing out extra threats on my charge. Next time I meet with
Raphael, my boss and archangel, I was going to give him a piece of
my mind. Leaving out the part about Cole, of course.