The Guardians (MORE Trilogy) Read Online Free Page A

his shoulder. “I should go.” He started to leave but glanced back. “Why do you walk?”
    “What?”
    “From Ava’s to here. Why do you walk instead of shifting?”
    Caleb shrugged. “I like to walk.”
    Tiernan nodded once before he turned to slip away, melting into the shadows. Caleb went into his apartment building as the Protector took up a post outside, far enough away that Caleb couldn’t sense him unless he was trying, but close enough to he could monitor his movements.

    Early the next morning, Caleb was jolted out of a deep sleep by the vibrating of his cell phone on the nightstand. He glanced, bleary-eyed, at his alarm clock, groaning when he saw it wasn’t quite six o’clock. He didn’t have class for three hours. Caleb was not amused.
    He fumbled for the phone, sighing heavily when he recognized the number on the screen, and answered the call with a barely intelligible, “Foster.”
    “Good morning, sunshine,” a cheerful voice responded.
    “Bel.” Caleb sat up against the headboard, rubbing at his eyes. “Do you know what time it is?”
    “Oh, don’t give me that. If I recall correctly, the last time you called me, it was the middle of the night, and you dragged me out of a rather comfortable bed.”  
    Maribel Castro had been the first person Caleb had turned to when he’d gone on the run with Ava the previous fall. Although a trusted associate of the Council, Bel was also involved with a splinter group called the Guardians—former Protectors who took issue with the way the Council handled Half-Breeds. The result of a forbidden union between a human and a member of the Race, Half-Breeds were considered unstable—unable to handle whatever Race gifts they might inherit—and a potential threat to Race secrecy. The Council sent out Protectors to track down such people for containment and, in some cases, extermination. So when Caleb had been sent to detain Ava—then deemed a potential Half-Breed—he’d turned to Bel and the Guardians to protect her. The plan had been simple—get to a safe house and then on to the Guardian Colony in Ontario.  
    Ava, however, rarely stuck to plans.
    “Caleb? You awake?” Bel’s prodding jerked Caleb out of a near-doze.
    “Yeah, yeah. I’m here,” he mumbled. “What’s up?”
    “We need your help. Nothing fancy. Just transport for a Half-Breed up to the Colony.”  
    Caleb yawned but slid out of bed and grabbed a duffle bag from his closet. “When? Where?”
    “You’re to rendezvous with Balaam in Milwaukee tonight, six o’clock your time for the handoff.” Bel paused, and Caleb could hear the shuffling of papers over the phone. “Balaam will lead any Protectors south while you shift the Half-Breed, Evan, north.”
    Caleb nodded even though Bel couldn’t see him.  
    He was familiar with Balaam’s ability to mimic any Race member or Half-Breed. Because of their individual mental capabilities, each gave off a unique electrical signature. Balaam was able to imitate that.
    Caleb frowned. Correction. Not every Race member gave off the signature. Ava didn’t, and Caleb wasn’t sure why. She’d been fitted with a psychic block as a baby, which blocked her Race abilities; it was possible that parts of the block were still in place and that was why she didn’t give off a Race imprint. It was just one more mystery among a host of them where Ava was concerned.
    He yawned, his jaw cracking as he threw some clothes into the duffle bag. “Six o’clock. Evan. Milwaukee. Got it.”
    “Don’t be late.”  
    Caleb tossed the phone onto the bed and finished packing. He needed to meet Ava for coffee and tell her he was leaving for a few days. Caleb didn’t like it, but it actually helped that he knew Tiernan would be watching her. Even if he was sent to protect the Council from her, he knew that if push came to shove and any Rogues showed up, Tiernan would protect her from them .  
    Not that she really needs it .  
    He smiled. Ava had become a