UnGuarded (5 page)
Authors: Ashley Robertson
“Look at me,” Leather Boy roared, reminding
me it wasn’t Cole I was dealing with. He seized my shoulders and
started shaking me pretty hard. I squeezed my eyes, straining with
every muscle in my face. “Fine! If you’re gonna play hardball, well
then, so can I!” He grabbed my ponytail, or at least what was left
of it, and yanked my head to the side.
A small whimper slipped off my tongue.
“Please don’t do this. I just need to find Luke,” I pleaded, voice
small. I was close to using my powers, but a part of me kept hoping
I wouldn’t have to.
I could feel Leather Boy’s breath on my
neck. It was warm, evidence he’d just recently fed, but that didn’t
mean he’d skip the opportunity to eat again, though. My breathing
was deep and short. My heart was pumping as if I’d just run a
marathon. Vampires can sense fear. They can also feel the
vibrations of a rapidly beating heart. But did he know I was an
angel? Most vamps don’t recognize our signature; however, that
demon most certainly knew who I was.
“Damien, don’t. Let her go.” I didn’t
recognize the voice, but refused to open my eyes to see who it
was.
“Stay out of this,” warned Leather Boy, aka
Damien I’m guessing, his breath still hot on my skin.
It was eerily quiet for a very short moment
and then I was jerked to the side, slipping free of Damien’s grasp.
There was a loud
thwack
and a few other muffled noises
banging and scuffing close by. I stepped back, opening my eyes.
Damien was on the ground. The brunette vampire was on top of him,
slamming his fists into his face. Damien held up his arms, trying
to block the attack. Some big badass vampire he was now.
I saw the demon take a few steps back,
shifting its eyes from the fight to me. When it saw me staring
back, it flashed around and bolted away. It knew where Luke was—I
was sure of it. Adrenaline shot through my body, and I was running
after it before I realized my feet were moving. The sound of the
vampire brawl was growing distant, though I was pretty sure I’d
heard Damien begging for mercy.
“I won’t hurt you. Please. I just need to
find Luke!” I shouted to the demon, now about twenty feet away. The
little voice in my head was tempting me to zap it with a bolt of
lightning—using my energy for electricity alone shouldn’t be enough
to send a beacon to my boss, but if I was wrong and Raphael found
out I was here, my whole plan would be blown.
“Never! I will never help you!” It growled
back—literally. Its body burst into ripples that looked more like
rapid waves underneath the skin. A dark cloud materialized around
it, and I stopped running. The cloud hovered a little longer before
completely dissolving away, leaving a deformed lion-thing in its
wake. It didn’t have any fur except for its raggedy, patchy mane,
which was still that pale yellow color. Its skin was gray and scaly
like a lizard’s. A loud growl rumbled from deep inside its throat,
after that it lowered its head close to the sidewalk, red eyes
glaring at me. Then, surprisingly, it took off running the other
away instead of lunging at me in full attack mode. I was left
standing alone, debating over and over in my mind if I should use
my powers to track and hold it until it talked. My only other
option—go in and ask nicely—had just failed miserably.
Pain and hopelessness in their rawest forms
expanded in my heart, tightening my chest. “Cole,” I said under my
breath, shaking my head slowly, my hands curled into fists, hoping
that motion alone would hold me together. Though it seemed to be
working thus far, I knew it wouldn’t last much longer. I was on the
edge, peering into an abyss of emptiness, desperate for anyone or
anything that could help me save Cole.
A hand gripped my shoulder, and I startled,
quickly spinning around. God, please don’t tell me it’s Damien back
for round two. Could this day get any worse? But it wasn’t
Damien—it was the brunette vampire. I looked at him cautiously,
warily, stealing a breath before asking, “What do you want?”
His lips curved into a small smile,
revealing a glimpse of fangs. “I thought I would help you…since
you’ve gone to so much trouble to find me and all.”
I studied him for a moment. His hair looked
soft and shiny, like silk lying out in the sun. It hung along the
sides of his head, modestly framing his perfect, creamy face. He
stood casually, arms crossed over his chest, his left eyebrow
slightly raised. I’d guess his age was somewhere around twenty-five
in human years, which was a littler older than the age I went for
in my human form. “You’re Luke?”
He nodded. “Why are you looking for me?”
Hoping the truth would be best; I dove into
explaining the situation. “I was told you could help me by, um, an
acquaintance. A vampire has been kidnapped by an otherworldly
demon. I’m willing to help Typhon—”
Luke held his hand out. “Whoa! Wait just a
minute. How do you know all of this? I can buy that you know about
vampires, and even demons. But no human knows about Typhon.”
I stared at him a moment, the reality of
what I was doing hitting me. But I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t turn
around and leave. Cole needed my help. More importantly, I needed
to help Cole. My face felt flushed, a mixture of raw emotions and
the sting from the position I was in. I swallowed hard. It was time
to get real with Luke. “My name is Selene and I’m an angel.”
He gaped at me, eyes wide with shock.
“Aren’t you out of your jurisdiction here, Angel?”
“Yes, I am. And that’s why I need your help.
I can’t force Limos to show me where Cole is. But if Typhon knew, I
believe he would do something about this.”
“Did you say Cole?” He said that name with
recognition, familiarity, yet there was a mischievous gleam in his
eyes I couldn’t quite place.
I nodded—slowly up and then back down.
“I know Cole. I just saw him the other day.
He can’t possibly be missing.”
“But he is. Limos took him!” I said, my
voice rising.
Shaking his head, he replied, “That just
isn’t possible. Typhon wouldn’t allow
any
otherworldly
demons on Earth without permission, let alone give an opportunity
for one of his dark ones to be taken from him.”
I looked down at the ground and then back
up, meeting Luke’s eyes. A lone tear rolled down my cheek. With a
tight chest and muffled voice, I told him everything. How I took
Cole to Charon and everything that went wrong once we were
there.
He snorted in disbelief. “An angel…romancing
a vampire?” He nearly spat the words. “I’ve never heard—”
“We’ve been together a little over a year.
Fourteen months, one week, and three days to be exact,” I stated
matter-of-factly.
He considered me for a moment, as if he
didn’t know what to say at first. I’d never heard of any other
angel-vampire relationships either, so I guess I couldn’t blame
him. “I’m guessing Typhon didn’t know that Cole left Earth?” was
what he finally asked.
“No, I don’t think Cole told him.”
Another minute of silence.
Luke ran his fingers through his hair. His
head tilted slightly. “If Typhon decides to aid you in this, he
will want something from you in return.”
“I know.” I explained to Luke how I’d made a
deal with an Earth demon just to find him and how I was hoping
Typhon would accept that as part of a deal.
“All right.” Luke turned around and started
walking.
I went after him. “Wait! All right what?
Will you help me?”
He turned around, staring deep in my eyes.
“I said all right. I’m going to see Typhon.”
“Just like that?” I asked, a little
surprised at his willingness to help. Especially without asking for
something in return.
“Yes. And we’re wasting time by discussing
this anymore. We need to know if Typhon will help us.”
“We? What do you mean ‘we’? And why are you
so willing to help me? I mean, I appreciate it and all, but there
has to be something you want?”
“Let’s get one thing straight, Angel! I’m
not helping you for
you
. I’m helping you for Cole.”
My voice was stuck in my throat. I nodded so
he’d know I understood. Yet, there was something mysterious
floating in the depths of his dark eyes—something that made me
doubt him, or at least not fully buy into what he said.
“So I’m leaving now to go see Typhon,” he
went on. “I’ll send word to meet with you when I get back.”
I swallowed, slightly loosening up my throat
so I could speak. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Angel. We will see how
things go in the Underworld.” Luke turned on his heel and walked
away.
“I love him,” I called out, desperation
crushing my heart. “I love Cole more than anything. That’s why I’m
doing what I can to help him.”
He disappeared around a corner without
another word. Of course I was helping Cole because I loved him. But
there was also the guilt of being the reason Cole had been taken in
the first place. Love can make you do crazy things, but when you
add guilt to the mix, crazy becomes stupid, dangerous, and even
life-changing. Everything was moving so fast. I silently prayed
that Cole’s safe return would be even faster.
The next few moments felt vaguely familiar.
Heat flushed across my skin, and then it felt like my insides were
compressing. My vision blurred. I closed my eyes, squeezing them
shut. There was a horrible, disorienting feeling as my body swayed
against a blast of pressure. Right before my mind went blank and my
body went completely numb, I remembered thinking that this was how
I’d felt the last time I’d accidentally orbed somewhere.
My eyes shot open. I sucked at the air, then
let it back out through deep gagging coughs. I looked all around,
swinging my head to the right, left, and even up at the sky. Water
was everywhere, as far as my eyes could see, and my legs were half
submerged in it. A small wave splashed against me, some of it
getting up my nose. I started hacking as I crawled up onto the
shoreline. Small, jagged rocks were mixed with grainy sand, which
bit into my hands and knees as I pushed up onto the compact, dryer
area. My clothes were soaked, jeans torn, my tank top ripped from
the collar to my armpit on one side. At least my bra still covered
me up. There were cuts and scrapes all over my bare feet. Don’t
even ask where my boots went.
A loud grumble erupted nearby. The ground
vibrated slightly, then a woman’s voice shrieked out. Moments
later, her voice echoed against the rocks, singing and chanting.
Its high-pitched notes reminded me of being at the opera, but its
demonic vibe reminded me of Anthemusa, a demon water world filled
with sirens and aquatic serpents. A siren was a water demon. And I
was sitting smack dab in the center of their world.
I pulled myself up, using some of the rocks
to do so, then steadied my balance on the uneven surface. A siren
was approaching, I could feel her presence prickling on my skin a
few minutes before I saw her gliding through the water toward me.
Her lower body was hidden beneath the surface, most likely riding
on one of those wretched aquatic snakes. The upper half of her was
very curvy and feminine. It was in a solid form, even though it was
made completely of water. She even appeared to have long hair
flowing behind her. She came to a stop about twenty feet away,
still half covered by the waves rushing by. “What do we have here?”
she asked. Her voice was expressive and sharp, each word sounding
like part of her enchanting song.
I shook my head, finally gaining my memory
back and feeling annoyed with yet another orbing accident. “I
apologize for coming here. I mean you no harm and will be going
soon.”
“Oh no, don’t go,” she purred as she floated
a little closer. There was definitely something under her but I
couldn’t see enough of it yet. “Please stay for a while. Sing with
me, angel. Our voices can rain down on the land in a beautiful
harmony.”
“I don’t think so. Like I said, I’ll be
going soon. Please respect that.”
She frowned. Tiny drops of water fell from
her arms as she raised them above her head. “You cannot leave. You
just got here.” Her eyes darkened. They looked like bottomless
water pits. “I will not let you go. Not until you sing with
me.”
Sirens knew that angels wouldn’t sing with
them. But they still couldn’t handle a refusal of any kind. Why in
all the worlds did I accidentally orb here? I took a small step
back but couldn’t go much further. A wall of rocks, about waist
high, prevented me from moving. Unless I turned around and climbed
over it, I wasn’t going another step, but there was no way I was
taking my eyes off the angry siren.
She slithered a little closer. I swallowed
hard. Please, God; tell me I still have my powers. I searched
inside myself, pulling at the corners of my heart and mind, willing
the energy to come to me. Instantly, I could feel it swelling in my
veins. My arms tingled with the electricity from inside my body. I
opened my hands wide, letting the power move to the tips of my
fingers. I moved my hands out in front of me, very slowly and
cautiously. The siren stopped approaching, her eyes glaring at
me.
The sound of wind chimes erupted in the
distance. I let out a deep sigh of relief, and my body started
glowing a radiant creamy white.
“No!” she wailed. “No, you cannot go! I will
get you. If you ever return, I will get you!”
I flashed her a smile as I closed my eyes.
And then I was sucked away—far, far away from Anthemusa.
