UnGuarded (31 page)

It was just past midnight and I was crouched
behind a large weathered tombstone in the middle of a cemetery
somewhere in New Orleans. The name and dates weren’t legible, so I
had no idea who lay here. But that wasn’t the reason I was in some
God-forsaken graveyard in the middle of the night. About a yard up
the hill from me were two vamps, and somewhere in front of them was
an innocent human girl about to be drained of all her blood—and
then brought back as their vampire slave. According to the blazing
red ankh on my wrist, and the churning waves of nausea in my
stomach, it was my job not to let this happen.

Darius had been right about the ankh showing
me where to go and what to do. When my wrist first ignited with a
mild burning sensation, my guide told me to close my eyes and clear
my mind, and then the ankh would show me where to go. Once I had
the old cemetery plotted in my head, I concentrated on being
there—and moments later, I was.

And since there wasn’t much time, I needed
to get moving. I shook off my overactive nerves, squaring my
shoulders as I rose. At the same time, I unmasked my aura, much
like I had when I was a guardian angel. It took only seconds for
the vamps to turn around. One was an older male with a tall, thin
frame, long dark hair flowing over his shoulders. The other was
slightly younger with lighter hair, neatly cut around his ears, and
a shorter, stockier build. They took a few steps toward me with
their fangs already out, their eyes morphing into the deepest shade
of blue. The fact that I could see so clearly was because I still
had the ability to see at night. Just another perk of my new
job.

“Hey boys,” I drawled as I moved closer, my
boots eerily crunching over sticks and other debris.

“Who the hell are you?” the older one called
out through a snarl.

The younger one’s gaze narrowed, and then
they were both closer and I’d never even seen them move.

My ankh heated up, and I glanced down to see
it the brightest fiery red it had ever been. And of course when I
did that, the two vampires lunged at me. In a rush I jumped back,
just missing a swinging fist from the younger one, but then the
older one struck from the other side. I threw up my right arm,
blocking him, the impact reverberating like prickling needles, and
I knew he’d almost shattered my bone. I ignored it and threw out my
left hand, sending an energy ball straight into the younger
vampire; at the same time I jumped up and kicked the older one
square in his groin. When in doubt, a girl’s got to play dirty.
Right?

Since I knew the younger vamp would be down
for a bit, I focused on the older one hunched over before me,
grabbing himself and moaning profanities. As I approached I forced
some power into my right hand, bending down to ram my fist straight
into his chest. When I yanked out my hand, his gooey-coated heart
was cradled in my palm. I squeezed my fingers around it, crushing
it to a pulp, and he let out a final shriek and fell back. The
remains of his heart were already turning to ashes when I threw it
down and wiped my hand, then set off toward the younger vamp that
had crawled several feet up the hill.

A painful, feminine moan erupted, and my
gaze lifted from the vampire to the girl, draped over a tombstone
with crimson trails covering both arms. I fought the urge to go to
her, and returned my attention to the younger vampire that was now
even further away.

“You can run, but you can’t hide,” I
taunted, taking slow, steady steps.

“What…what…do you want?” he panted as he
kept crawling away.

Even though I was taking my time, I was
gaining on him pretty quickly. “Oh,” I said, bringing my hands to
my hips, “I wanted your friend, and now”—I took the final step
separating us—“I just want you.” I reached down, scooping a massive
handful of his hair in my left hand and pulling him up to stand
beside me. But since he was still having balance problems thanks to
my little energy ball, I needed to keep holding him up.

The girl moaned again. She’d be awake soon
and I needed to finish this creep off before that happened. “Sorry
I don’t have more time to chat,” I said musingly.

“No, please,” he begged. “I’ll leave the
girl alone. I promise never to mess with her again.”

“I’m sorry,” I said at once, not feeling the
least bit of remorse. “It’s not up to me.” I glanced down at the
blazing ankh on my skin, then sent all my power to it and thrust my
fist inside his chest. Moments later, his heart was ashes, blowing
from my hand in the soft breeze.

Then I rushed to the girl and gently slid
her off the tombstone, rolling her over and catching her in my
arms. Some of her soft brown hair stuck to her face, held there by
dried tears or blood. I brushed it back as I lowered her to the
ground, feeling an instant pit form in my stomach. She looked
young—really young, barely sixteen, I guessed. Her clothes were
bloody and torn, and chunks of dirt were caked underneath her
fingernails. She sighed, low and deep, then her body shuddered and
wriggled.
No time left
, my cautious mind warned. I needed to
tap into her aura to see where her home was. I nervously glanced
around, hoping to see Darius lurking somewhere nearby. But when
another minute of searching turned up nothing, I returned my
attention to the girl.

There was movement behind her eyelids. They
fluttered and twitched and she seemed to be gaining a sense of
awareness. I gazed at the crimson streams on her arm, still moist,
and smelled the wafting scent of metallic spice—yet somehow it was
inviting me closer, tempting me with its fresh aroma. I’d raised
her arm to my watering mouth without even realizing I had moved. My
breath caught and I tried to draw back, but I didn’t want to. It
was like a part of me I didn’t recognize was in charge, reminding
me of the changes my body underwent when I’d still been a guardian.
And now, it’d grown strong enough that my doubts—or even common
sense for that matter—couldn’t stop it. My tongue lashed out and
slid down her arm, her blood coating my tongue and slicking down my
throat. I growled with delight, then slightly turned her, exposing
more of the warm, red fluid on her neck. Another sigh escaped her
lips, followed by a few more moans. Panic slithered up my spine,
momentarily bringing me to my senses and forcing me to focus on her
essence. Even though I’d become aware of what I was doing—really,
really aware—it still didn’t stop me from lapping her blood. Then,
suddenly, an image of a room rose up in my mind. After casting my
view a full three hundred sixty degrees and confirming no one else
was around, I pushed with my entire mind to go there.

At once, we were in the room, definitely her
bedroom with a white and pink canopy bed in the center and a small
white desk and matching dressers on either side. Since I couldn’t
shape-shift her into something clean, I gently laid her on the bed
and rushed to the nearest bathroom—which thankfully was attached to
her bedroom. Moving as quickly and stealthily as possible, I
grabbed a few washcloths, wetting them in the sink and lathering
one of them with a little hand soap.

Five minutes later, she was as cleaned up as
I could get her without a full-on shower, and I was rummaging
through her dresser for some nightclothes. Her dress came off in
one swift tug over her head, and just as I was putting on the tank
that matched the pajama shorts, she gave one last sigh and opened
her eyes. My breath caught, but thankfully I remembered to turn
translucent. She stared in my direction, straining to see, and I
knew she’d think there was a ghost standing over her if I didn’t
leave. So I pushed all my thoughts to the field where Darius
trained me and silently mouthed “good-bye” to the girl as I
vanished.

“Well done,” I heard my guide’s voice
moments before my eyes landed on him. He stood in the open field,
sun shimmering on his light-colored skin, and his red eyes seeming
even more vibrant than the last time I’d looked at them.

“Thanks,” was my sincere reply.

His lips quirked, then curled into a frown.
“Though I fear we may have a problem.”

I felt my eyes widen. Without a doubt, me
drinking that girl’s blood was definitely what he was talking
about.

“It appears that vampire blood still thrives
inside you,” he said, confirming my fear with a grimace. “Even in
your renewed body.”

“I…I told…I told Raphael—”

“You told your former archangel that you had
given blood,” he interrupted with fury, “not that you’d ingested
theirs!”

“My friend…um…the vampire, he thought I was
dying,” I stammered as my nerves twisted inside me. “He was only
trying…to help.”

Darius folded an arm in front of him,
rubbing his chin with his other hand. “Perhaps that is why you were
chosen for this, although it seems some details have been kept
secret, even from me.”

“I’ll tell you everything!” I exclaimed,
waving a hand in the air. “I’m not trying to keep any secrets from
you!”

He lowered his hand from his chin and held
it up, palm toward me as if gesturing me to stop talking. “There is
nothing else for you to tell me. When you were a guardian angel you
could sense the aura of any being, anywhere. But now, you must
taste their blood to acquire information from them.” He lowered his
hands to his sides, giving me a sincere look. “It seems we are
still learning what gifts you possess, and what you can no longer
do. The more power you have within you, the better you will perform
your job and keep the balance between good and evil.”

“So I shouldn’t be worried about the fact I
just drank that girl’s blood as if it were nothing? Like I’d been
doing it all my life?”

He shook his head, his jaw tightening. “I do
not believe so. Nothing happens by accident.”

I mulled over his statement for a moment,
then my mind shifted to Cole, Caitlyn, and Luke for at least the
thousandth time. I’d brought them up a few times while Darius was
training me, only to get nowhere with his riddle-themed answers.
But now felt like good a time as any to try asking again. Hopefully
this time, I’d actually get somewhere with him.

“Darius,” I called out, feeling a wave of
boldness come over me as I stepped forward. “I need to know that I
didn’t sacrifice myself in vain. I need to see them. Please.”

He considered me for a bit. “And if they no
longer live, what difference would it make to see that?” was what
he ended up asking. Good, at least I didn’t get shot down.

A lump barreled its way up my throat, but I
swallowed it back and found my voice, saying, “Please. I just need
to know. I promise it won’t affect my job.” I glanced down at my
wrist and the ankh was its normal black color—when it wasn’t
alerting me to battle good and evil, of course.

Several tense moments passed, and just when
I thought he’d respond with all the reasons I couldn’t find Caitlyn
and Luke, or even Cole for that matter, he surprisingly came back
with something else instead. “You are free to find them,” he looked
at me hard, his gaze unfathomable, “but you must remain hidden from
them should they be alive. Because you can no longer sense their
auras without first drinking their blood, it will be most difficult
to locate them. That is, of course, if they live.” He paused and I
waited for him to change his mind. “I will summon you if I need you
before the ankh’s next call” was all he added, then he vanished
without another word. Anxiety thickened inside me as I blankly
gazed across the expansive, plush field, wondering how I could
possibly remain unseen if in fact Caitlyn and Luke were alive. Or
better yet, would I really be able to stay hidden from Cole?

The last time we’d been together, he watched
me kill myself for someone else. He’d probably be so disgusted with
me that it really would be best not to ever show my face around him
again. But I love him, and love has a funny way of pulling you
close to those you feel that way for. So even though Cole wouldn’t
be the first person, or vampire, that I’d be visiting, I still knew
without a doubt that I’d be seeing him soon enough.