Your Guardian Angel (The Guardian Angel Series Book 1)

by Skyla Madi

  Camilla released me from her embrace and handed me a little red box tied tightly shut with a pretty rose colored bow.

  “Open it!” she urged.

  I pulled the ribbon open slowly and pulled off the lid.

  “Oh my god…”

  It was a beautiful gold necklace with a big red heart-shaped pendant. I tried to say something about it but I couldn't. It was so beautiful. I looked up from the gift to Camilla's face; her facial expression told me she was satisfied with my reaction.

  “Thank you so much,” I managed to squeeze out after several long seconds.

  “You are more than welcome. After everything that has happened in the past year, you deserve something nice. It's a ruby for Ruby!”

  Her melodious laugh echoed through my room. At times like this, I was so lucky that I had a best friend like her and just as lucky she was a part of my family.

  “There's something else,” she said.

  “Oh no, Cam, please, this is more than enough.”

  “This one is from Camilla and me,” Aunt Jen exclaimed, pulling a red dress from a long bag.

  I gasped at its beauty. If words could describe perfection, this would be it. I was itching to try the halter neck on. Suddenly, I felt excited. I tried to picture myself in it, at my party, my new necklace hanging from my neck. I marvelled at the way the knee length fabric flowed so elegantly.

  “It’s something to wear to your party.”

  “It is so beautiful, you have both overdone it today, I would have been happy with just a card.”

  “You deserve more than just a card,” Aunt Jen chuckled.

  I took the dress from her hands and laid it gently on my bed.

  “Come on. Let’s have breakfast,” Aunt Jen suggested.

  “I’ll meet you in there.”

  They left my room and I opened the mini fridge that Aunt Jen had concealed in my dresser. The bags of blood, I had to drink cold. Even thought they were in a fridge, they still felt warm against my cold skin. The donated blood does the job, but it still doesn’t quench the burning desire of taking it forcefully from a human. Feeling the pulsing of their heart through the thick liquid as I sucked it from them was exquisite. It’s sweetest right before they die, when their pulse slows down. In my mind, I pictured Camilla and Aunt Jen’s pulsing arteries, so thick and juicy. The acidic venom tickled my mouth as I swished it around, contemplating their death. Quickly, I pushed my teeth into the bag of blood, slurping back the D-grade red liquid. I needed to calm the constant desire for human flesh before I kill the only family I had left. The hunger, the blood lust, it made me want to tear into human flesh with my ridiculously sharp fangs. I never knew if I'd be able to hold myself back the next time a human walked by. The smell of their blood wafting by my nose, put them in more danger than they realized.

  After breakfast I helped with the last adjustments and additions to the party decorations downstairs, which surprisingly took me to lunch. I guess time goes quickly on your birthday.

  I was hungry again. Whilst Aunt Jen and Camilla were eating their lunch in the kitchen, I drank mine in the perfect solitude of my room. I would join them, but Aunt Jen isn’t as comfortable with it as Camilla is.

  Licking my lips and retracting my fangs, I joined them in the kitchen.

  We sat around talking in between making food and drinks for the guests, and before we knew it, it was five-thirty and the party was scheduled to begin in half an hour.

  “Shower time,” I mumbled to myself as I pulled my blue fluffy towel from the hook behind my door and transferred it to the hook on the wall in my bathroom. I didn’t have to shower, I have no bodily fluids. I only shower because I was accustomed to my human routine. I turned on the hot water and steam filled the bathroom, blurring my mirror. I inched on the cold tap, reducing the steam slightly. It didn’t matter whether the shower was hot or cold, my body barely noticed the difference between the two.

  I was out almost as soon as I started. I did, after all, have less than half an hour to get ready. I didn’t want to waste my time on something I didn’t need.

  The soft fabric of my dress welcomed my body as I pulled it over my head. I felt like Angelina Jolie in Mr and Mrs Smith, except my dress was red and knee length, but just like hers, it clung to all the right places. Once I did my hair and applied minimal make up, I dare say I looked just as sexy as Ms Jolie herself.

  I needed a full stomach if I was going to be surrounded by sweaty teens, especially drunken sweaty teens. I pulled two bags out of the hidden fridge. My fangs popped out by themselves as I brought one of the bags to my mouth and pierced it.

  “I knew it.”

  I retracted my fangs and dropped the bag. It hit my carpet with a light thud, leaking blood everywhere.

  “Darren! The party starts in ten minutes.” I cleared my throat, trying to sound friendly. “And it’s downstairs.”

  “I know,” he said, striding over to me. The smirk that had spread across my face made me want to kill him where he stood.

  “If you touch me, I will kill you.”

  “You can try, but we both know how pathetic and weak you are.”

  “You don't know anything about me. I gave you a pretty good warning at school today, don’t make me repeat myself,” I snapped.

  “I know everything about you. It’s my job. And that ‘shove’ you gave me at school, you caught me off guard.”

  “Your job is working front counter at McDonald's.”

  Darren’s dark eyes narrowed in on me as he smirked; once again, it made me want to kill him.

  “You're a vampire, and my 'profession' will soon be to hunt your kind.”

  I tensed my muscles as Darren circled me, coming to a stop behind me. I cringed as I felt his warm breath on my ear.

  “You are a vampire in my jurisdiction, which means I have to kill you… Unless, we can make some sort of temporary arrangement…”

  I shook under his grasp as his grimy hands slid around my waist and then down to my thigh.

  Grabbing the base of my dress, he began to slide his hand upwards, lifting the fabric as he went. He kissed my neck, unflinching at its temperature. I could no longer bear the thought of his touch. I turned fast and pushed him, my bed thudded against the wall as he slammed into it.

  I didn't run, I couldn’t. I wasn’t going to involve Aunt Jen or Camilla, or ruin the party they worked so hard on. I was going to have to take care of him myself.

  “Lucky shot. Normal vampires are hard to kill, extremely hard, but you, you’re like killing a child, so weak and defenseless.” Darren chuckled as he climbed to his feet, putting a hand in his back pocket.

  I felt more and more frustrated every time he called me weak. I had done a good job at defending myself against him, so far.

  I stood in an attack stance, just waiting for him to jump at me. From his pocket, he pulled out a wooden object and he lunged at me. I didn't move, not because I couldn't, I'm faster than Darren. I didn’t move because I didn’t want to. What was the point in living like this? I couldn’t even go a year without being hunted down. If I let Darren kill me now, it would save me having to wait for the next people to come. When would the two strangers from school attack me again? What if I came across another vampire and they saw how weak I am? What if I want to die? I want to be freed from this awful state. Is it selfish of me to want to die, to end my suffering?

  Glass hit my face and Darren was knocked into the wall, he didn’t move. He was out cold. A hard object hit my chest and I was pinned to the floor. The smell and the feel of it made it obvious, it was another vampire.

  Hank? No. this vampire was an old one. The older vampires get, the stronger they are.

  “Hello, half cast,” he whispered.

  Fear shot down my spine, my body was shaking. There was a bitter taste in the back of my mouth that I couldn't seem to swallow. My breath was coming out in uneven gasps. I didn't know what to do and I could barely think over the rising tide of cold fear in my chest.
My eyes began burning with tears and I realized they were squeezed shut. I opened them slowly and my heart leapt into my throat. His face was white; his eyes were black and sunken deep into his skull. The veins that ran under his skin stood out and his wry smirk exposed two big fangs.

  “What do you want?” I cried.

  “I know what you are, goddess,” he growled. “I'm not the only one that knows, either. Last I heard, Hank was after you as well.”

  I flinched at Hank’s name.

  “I don't know what you’re talking about; I’m a vampire, not a goddess.”

  He moved his hands to my throat and squeezed hard. The pressure would have turned human bones into powder, but for me, it was only enough force to cause discomfort.

  “Do not play dumb with me; I can rip your head off in one swift move. I’m going to have to kill you before Hank gets the chance to—”

  Before he could finish his sentence, I heard footsteps. I inhaled deeply through my nose as familiar scent filled the air, so sweet and delicious.

  Could my night get any worse?

  The old vampire smelt them, too; he reacted quickly, but the others were a step ahead. A man threw silver chain mail on top of the vampire before he could get up. He screamed in pain as a man with short dark hair pierced the vampire’s heart with a stake. The vampire exploded into dust, leaving the chain mail to fall directly onto my body. I screamed in agony; there was no doubt that Camilla and Aunt Jen heard it.

  The pain was excruciating, it was as if acid was being poured all over my body. Another scream escaped my body as the man that killed the vampire pulled the net off me and quickly scooped me up into his arms. Instantly I could feel my body healing. I felt weak, like I always did when my body healed itself.

  My body jolted and cool air hit my face; we were outside. I could hear the thudding music from my party getting further and further into the distance.

  “Where are you taking me?” My voice was quiet and drained.

  “Rest.”

  I flinched; someone injected something into my neck and as I slowly became drowsy, there was no doubt it was the same serum that made me pass out yesterday.

  “Happy Birthday to me,” I mumbled sarcastically. I couldn’t pin point it, but there was something reassuring about his voice. I put all my faith into that, letting my body take me away into a deep, recovering sleep.

  “Happy Birthday,” he whispered.

  Sage Sanctum

  I opened my eyes and squinted painfully around a brightly lit room. My feet hit the concrete floor as I jumped off the bed. The room bore an uncanny resemblance to a prison cell. I approached a painfully obvious two-way mirror that conspicuously took up the entire wall.

  I needed an escape plan. I looked at my options; I could smash through the mirror but I would definitely cut myself. If I did so,, I’d need time to rest and heal, and that would be a luxury I surely wouldn't have.

  Perhaps I could try and rip the door from its hinges and just run for it? I approached the door cautiously. It wasn’t the fact that the door was lined with silver that stopped me in my tracks. It was a scent; how did I not notice it before? My fangs throbbed and my mouth was tickled as venom slowly leaked its way in. I wasn't alone in this room. My eyes followed the dull bricks along the wall until they rested on a woman who was sitting on a stool. I made a mental note to kick myself for not paying proper attention to my surroundings later. The woman sat, swaying back and forth.

  A heavy clank from the door rumbled through the room. I was scared, but I couldn’t let these people know it. Two men entered the room, the sweet scent rushed in through my nose once again. Whatever they were, they smelled delicious. I stood facing them, my posture confident and my face hard.

  A short, old man walked in behind them. Analyzing the two men that now stood behind the old man, I noticed the blond man was holding a silver chain prepared for any attack. I tried to stare them all in the face unflinchingly, exposing no trace of fear or any of the other emotions that were jolting down my spine and threatening to overcome me. Even though I was locked up in their cell, I wasn't going to let them know they were winning.

  “Are you vampire hunters?” I blurted out.

  I hope I was the only who noticed my voice was shaky. The man on the left laughed at my question and his long, dirty blond hair bounced around his shoulders. His long hair hid most of the structure of his face. He wasn’t an ugly man. I mean, he wasn’t hot, but he wasn’t totally gross, either.

  “Has she eaten?” the old man asked the handsome man on the right, ignoring my question completely.

  “No, sir. She just woke up,” the man replied.

  Immediately, I recognized his voice. He was at the school when I was attacked, and he was the one that carried me last night, Eli. He was handsome, very handsome. His hair was short and classic but styled messily. It exposed his high cheekbones and manly jaw structure. His hair could almost be mistaken for jet black but the deep brown could be seen around the edges. I dragged my gaze away from him and focused on the old man.

  “I don't drink directly from humans.”

  The blond guy scoffed.

  “Then how do you survive?” asked the old man. Kindness laced his tone.

  “I live off donated blood, from a bag.”

  “Where do you get the blood?” Eli asked.

  “My aunt gets it from the hospital she works at.”

  The questions were simple, yet overwhelming. I couldn’t help but feel like I was letting them into an intimate part of my life, one that very, very few people knew about.

  “And why should we believe you, vampire?” the blond snapped.

  I couldn’t work out why his voice he sounded so familiar. The chain swung around his hands, making a slight grinding noise as the silver links rubbed against each other.

  The chain.

  He was the one that attacked me at school. Anger rose in my chest, I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to make him cry in pain like he did to me, but I couldn’t, not if I wanted to get out of here alive.

  “Don't believe me. I don't care,” I growled at him.

  I made eye contact with the old man again. "I haven't taken blood from that crazy woman nor have I attacked you three."

  “Vampires… you're all lying, unnatural killers,” the blond boomed.

  I lurched forward a few steps and stopped in an attack stance, keeping my eyes locked on the rude, arrogant blond. He smirked and loosened the silver in his hand like he was going to lasso me.

  “Tay, stop,” the old man stated calmly. “Ruby, don’t start a battle you can’t win.”

  Little black shoes pointed out from under his smoky grey robe as he took steps towards me. His guards attempted to block his path but the old man nodded his head; it was an obvious indication to let him pass.

  The long white hair that cascaded down his chest bounced up and down with each step.

  “May I?” he asked. He extended his arm towards me, taking my hand in his. I twitched at the warmth of his skin and the acidic scent of his blood.

  My mood change from confused and angry to relaxed and kind of happy, he was doing something to affect my mood and emotions.

  “What are you doing to me?” I demanded, snatching my hand back.

  “One of my many abilities; I can't make people do what I want or implant memories like you can, but I can influence your feelings. I can make you feel what I want you to feel.”

  “She’s a vampire!” Tay growled through clenched teeth. “She doesn't have feelings.”

  Anger filled my chest and then disappeared when the old man took my hand in his again.

  “If she was a complete vampire, I wouldn't be able to control her emotions.”

  Complete vampire? Questions formed in my mind by the dozen but no words came out of my mouth.

  “Give us a moment alone, please; both of you.”

  “No way,” Tay protested.

  “Sir, I don’t think that’s a good Idea…” Eli informed him.
>
  “Now.”

  Reluctantly, Tay and Eli left the room, leaving the door ajar behind them.

  “Where am I?” I murmured awkwardly.

  Granted it wasn’t the most important question, but if I asked questions in baby steps, perhaps my brain would absorb all the information, fitting the pieces together like a puzzle.

  “You, my dear, are at Sage Sanctum.”

  “I'm at Sage?”

  I had heard about Sage Sanctum through Mum. She said it was a school hidden somewhere in a forest, protected by various charms and spells. It was a place where young gods and goddesses could learn about their world and how to use their magic. They could explore their powers and purpose without the threat of vampires.

  “Aren't there various charms and spells keeping monsters like me out?” I continued.

  If I was at Sage Sanctum, then I knew exactly who I was talking to: Mr Ivan Aleksandrov, the headmaster of Sage and a powerful wizard.

  “Yes, but you aren't exactly on the school or town grounds. You’re in a holding cell, deep underground on the outskirts of the safety border.”

  The excitement that built itself in my chest slowly deflated like a balloon with a pin hole in it. In order for me to attend Sage I have to be pure… I have to be a goddess.

  “What is going to happen to me? I can't stay in this cell forever.”

  What were they going to do with me? I wasn’t a goddess, so I couldn’t be a part of their student body. A dark feeling filled my stomach and I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe they were going to kill me. What other reason would they have to keep an ex-goddess and potential threat to their kind locked up underground?

  “You will be moved to better housing; once again, on the outskirts of the safety border.”