UnGuarded (3 page)

“Selene,” Moros hissed. “I like Cole better
than I like Limos. Perhaps we could make a deal and I would help
Cole get back to Earth?”

“I cannot make a deal with you!” That’s what
I said, but that silent voice inside my head was desperate to hear
Moros out. So I stood there and stared at him, waiting for him to
continue. Hoping I wouldn’t have to ask.

“Abandon your charge for one hour, just one
teensy-weensy hour, and I will tell you who can help you.”

I shook my head, trying to force a “no” off
my tongue, but my voice was caught on the massive lump in my
throat. My chest was so tight I could barely breathe. I sucked at
the air, drinking it in as fast as I could. It burned the back of
my throat, penetrating my mouth with hot, fiery flames. My skin
crawled with tension like there were tiny electric shockwaves
zinging along my arms, crawling up my neck, spilling all over my
head. I glared at Moros, feeling regret, pain, betrayal, fear,
desperation.

If I betrayed Caitlyn for just an hour,
Moros would help me save Cole. But what would he push Jack to do to
Caitlyn while I was gone? Was it worth Cole’s undead life to give
my human charge over to the monsters? But all Moros was asking for
was an hour. Surely I could repair whatever damage he did in that
small window of time. And then I would have a lead on how to save
Cole. Everything was going to work out for the greater good in the
end. I just had to believe that. I was in love with Cole. Caitlyn
would want me to save him if she knew what had happened. She’d be
okay. She’d probably enjoy having an unsolicited hour of time with
Jack anyway. And what if I can talk Raphael into putting Jack’s
angel back on the clock? Then at least Moros wouldn’t have free
reign with him.

Everyone has a choice. After a few grueling
moments, I’d made mine.

After making the deal with Moros, I got the
name of a vampire who could help me, and a location where I could
find him. Moros and I arranged his “free” hour for tomorrow night.
That meant Caitlyn was safe for now, and with that thought came a
flood of relief. At least I didn’t have to regret my decision
yet.

Once Corrine showed up, it was time for me
to get busy. Corrine was an angel, temporarily contracted to be a
backup guardian angel for Caitlyn and two other charges. She was
sort of like a substitute teacher. She wouldn’t be the first choice
for the job, but if the primary angel wasn’t available then she got
the call. Corrine is around five eleven, with light blonde hair cut
short around her long, narrow face. The white dress looks a little
misplaced on her broad, sizeable shoulders. She’d been helping me
with Caitlyn for the past year. Apparently the higher-ups thought I
couldn’t handle round-the-clock shifts anymore. Unfortunately, ever
since I met Cole, I’d have to agree with them. Even though Grote
(the demon that usually trails Caitlyn) hadn’t been around for a
couple of days, I still couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated,
a little jealous, and full of a lot of guilt. No one and nothing is
supposed to come before a guardian angel’s assignment, and that
particular someone that was dividing me from my job didn’t even
have a halo over his head. And now even bigger monsters had
kidnapped him.

But before I could find this new vampire
ally, I needed to meet with my boss. And that was definitely not
going to go well. No, not at all.

3

I DIDN’T LIKE THE WAY Raphael was looking at
me. His arms were folded in front of his broad chest, and his fair
skin glowed, tinting it a luminescent tan. There was an inquisitive
look in his gleaming blue eyes. His long auburn hair flowed like a
lion’s mane behind his head, while a cloak the color of fresh snow
swept behind his body, reminding me of a train on a wedding dress.
He took a few steps toward me, his white satin pants sliding up his
bare feet. If it weren’t for the cloak, he’d look just like any
other male angel. But he wasn’t. Archangels were the most supreme
beings to exist. Every angel strived to be one, yet most weren’t
capable of what it took. I had been so close. But then I fell in
love with a vampire.

“Selene!” Raphael exclaimed, throwing his
arms in the air. “What in the world am I going to do with you?”

I stared down at the ground, took a small
step back. My feet squished into the billowy surface as if I were
walking on pillows. Europa, the world where angels lived, was more
beautiful than any paradise I’d ever seen. There were vast meadows,
rich in grasses, plants, and flowers, divided by streams of cool
blue water. A snow-peaked mountain range rose up in the distance.
Tens of thousands of angels floated over the fields like sheer,
weightless spirits. Soft fluffy clouds hovered a couple thousand
feet above the ground, casting shadows on the paradise below them.
That was where Raphael and I were standing.

“Selene!” he roared. “I’m talking to you!
Look at me.”

My head tilted upward, eyes slowly rising to
see his angry face. “I won’t apologize again,” I muttered.

“You left your charge! She was unprotected
for seven minutes!”

“I stepped outside to go invisible. I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“Enough!” Raphael shook his head slowly.
“Selene, you are the one who prefers human form to guard your
charge. Figure out quicker ways to transform, or I will disable you
from changing over!”

An argument built up on my tongue, but I
knew it wasn’t a good idea to go there. “It won’t happen again. But
perhaps if you put Jack’s guardian back on, it would be easier to
deal with his demon.”

Raphael ran a frustrated hand through his
hair. “Jack’s demons are not the only things we have to keep your
charge safe from.” He took another step closer, reaching for
me.

I took his hand. He gently rubbed the top of
my fingers with his thumb. I stared at his face, waiting for him to
finish lecturing me. I’d heard it a hundred times before, each time
stinging with guilt a little more. He let out a deep sigh, then
pressed on. “You were one of my best guardians. Everything has
changed since you have fallen for this vampire. Do you not see that
it is causing more harm than any good you can imagine? If you do
not find your way soon, I fear you will be lost forever. Once you
are fallen—”

“No!” I exclaimed. “Please. I don’t want to
hear it. Why am I not allowed to love? Because I’m an angel?” I
pulled my hand away, turned around. I didn’t want him to see the
extra moisture welling in my eyes. “Then why do angels feel love at
all?”

“We are created from love. It is a good
thing to feel it, to know it, to touch it with our hearts, hold it
in our hands.” Raphael came up behind me, placing his hands on my
shoulders. “That is what separates us from the darkness. And that
is why you cannot be
in
love with something from the
darkness.”

“Cole isn’t evil!” I pulled out of Raphael’s
grip, swinging around to face him.

“He is a vampire! They are born of darkness!
They follow the darkness!”

A tear finally escaped my eye, weaving down
my cheek. “But Cole is different. If he could be something other
than a vampire, he would. If only I could change him, make him
human.”

Raphael came closer, gently placed his arms
around me. “It is not possible to change species. Nor would it be
possible for you to love him the way you do if he were human. You
must call it off with this vampire. Before it is too late.”

“Why must I pay such a price for simply
falling in love? How can that possibly mean I am dark and evil when
love is created from purity and light?” I sniffled, burying my face
deeper in Raphael’s cloak.

He let out a deep sigh. “Just because I am
your superior, your mentor, does not mean I can make sense of every
question you ask. It is good to love all things, both good and
evil. It is our duty. Our honor. Our privilege. But we have a job
to do. We are angels. We must obey those rules or we are thrown
down to Earth, or perhaps some other unpleasant world, to be
controlled by those in charge there. If that were ever to
happen”—Raphael squeezed me tighter against him—“you would never
return to Europa. You would be enslaved by demon guardians and you
would be tortured for all eternity.”

Those words should have been enough to make
me forget all about Cole. So why wasn’t it enough? Not only was I
risking my charge to be with Cole, I was risking my life, my
responsibilities in being an angel. I’d already lost the chance to
be an archangel. How far would I go before falling indefinitely?
Why was love so strong, so blinding, and yet so satisfying? Why do
we risk everything we hold to be true in the name of love? When you
know it’s wrong, when you’re certain it’s not good for you, why is
it still impossible to shut your feelings off?

I didn’t bother asking Raphael any of these
questions. He spoke in riddles, and I really didn’t even think he
knew all the answers anyway. But there was one more question I
needed him to answer before I left. I wiped my face and started
walking, gazing down at the beautiful, brilliant world just below.
As if sensing there was more to say, Raphael fell in step with me.
The clouds went on as far as the eye could see, so we locked arms
and just walked for a while.

Once I finally built up some inner strength,
I asked, “So, have you decided if you’ll put Saber back on Jack?
Please?” I looked up at Raphael’s face. It was solemn and very hard
to read.

“Why is that so important to you? Saber has
a new assignment.”

“Please, Raphael. Moros is up to something,
I mean he’s always up to something, but this time it feels
different, more dangerous.”

Raphael’s lips quirked, but he didn’t answer
right away. Maybe he was seriously considering my request? I
playfully tugged his arm. “Come on. I could use the help. So could
Corrine. Just temporarily, until we get through whatever this is.
You could put a different angel on Saber’s new charge and that
would free him up to help watch Jack.”

Raphael stopped walking. I stopped with him.
“It would be just temporary.”

“Yes!” I nodded, beaming my eyes at him.
“Just until we find out what Moros is up to.”

“So be it. The arrangements will be made.
Saber will return to Jack tonight. But once Jack’s new guardian is
assigned, I am pulling Saber off.”

“Thank you! Thank you!” I stepped up on my
tiptoes and kissed Raphael’s cheek. By the time my heels hit the
ground Raphael was gone. I was alone in the clouds.

I wouldn’t have even needed to ask for
Saber’s return to Jack if we had a more efficient way of assigning
new guardians to new charges. Jack had sort of been bumped to the
bottom of the list since his behavior had gotten out of control.
There wasn’t much we could protect him from if he wouldn’t listen
to us. But we couldn’t abandon humans indefinitely. We were angels.
No matter how difficult, and evil, some people could be, there was
still a guardian angel somewhere nearby—unless, of course, they
were in the middle of transitioning a new guardian. That usually
took about a week in human terms.

My secret mission to save Cole wouldn’t stay
under wraps for long. Nor would my agreement with Moros. The truth
always seemed to leak out at the worst possible times. The building
pressure of getting caught weighed heavily on my heart, almost as
much as the guilt did. Moros was going to be livid when he
discovered Jack’s guardian was back on the job. But since that
wasn’t part of our deal, it was going to make leaving Caitlyn alone
for that hour a whole lot easier, and hopefully my punishment not
quite as severe.

“Hey, Selene!”

I swung around, finding Beck just a few feet
behind me. His soft blonde hair spilled around his narrow face.
There was a gleam in his eyes like sapphires in the sun. His skin
glowed like a faint light on the horizon, shimmering a yellowish
orange. A gust of wind fluttered around us, pressing his white
pants against his legs. He took a small step forward, a broad smile
stretching across his face. There was something in the way he
looked at me. I didn’t like it.

“I was hoping to catch you,” he panted,
voice low and soft. “I’ve been hearing crazy rumors.” He placed his
hands on his hips, arching his left eyebrow. “Are you still seeing
that vampire?”

I rolled my eyes, turned around, and picked
up my pace. “I’m not talking about this!”

“Come on!” He grabbed my arm, a little
rougher than he should have. “Please talk to me. I’m your friend!
Remember?”

He was right. He was a great friend. But
ever since Cole came into my life, Beck was more of a gossiping
friend. I didn’t like my private business spread all over Europa
like some horrible virus outbreak. With that thought I pulled free
and started walking again. “I don’t want to talk right now.”