Read The Guardian (Callista Ryan Series) for Free Online

breath. He paused, waiting for her to speak. “Where is here, exactly?” she asked.
                  “Oh, forgive me,” he replied. “I have gotten ahead of myself. Where we are now is an extremely discrete section of the Daintree rainforest.”
                  He waited for recognition to dawn on her face, but Callie drew a blank.
                  “Australia,” he said kindly. He paid no mind to Callie’s suddenly wide eyes. “This is a sanctuary for us, a place where we are safe from the human species.”
                  Callie felt her mind go blank again. Australia? How was it possible? She had been in a suburb outside of San Francisco not twelve hours ago, hadn’t she? Well, the time difference might have been a factor she wasn’t considering, but still….How could she be halfway around the world without even knowing it?
                  “But enough about our history,” the man said. Callie tried to make herself concentrate, even though the word Australia was circling in her mind. “Callista, there is something very serious that has been building over the past few thousand years.” He spoke as though directing himself to a child. At this point, Callie didn’t blame him. “A small army has been growing in the Greek islands, and the numbers have grown large enough now that this army actually poses a threat to my people. Do you understand?” he asked.
                  No, she wanted to say. She didn’t understand anything at all about what was going on. She didn’t want to try. But instead, she answered, “Yes.”
                  “We have been looking for someone lately to help us tip the scales, just in case this army decides to attack. Our people are not violent by nature, and so we have allowed this enemy to survive over the years. But recently, times have become unstable, and certain threats have been made. We have been searching for a weapon to use to our advantage. Am I making myself clear?” he asked, his gaze piercing into her eyes.
                  She returned the look with her own blank expression. He seemed to want something from her, she just wasn’t sure what that was.
                  “We have been looking for this weapon for hundreds of years now, Callista. And today we have found you. You might be—well, we don’t understand exactly what you are. But I am willing to strike a deal with you, so to speak. I will give you what you want, in exchange for your cooperation,” he said.
                  “What are you talking about?” she asked, beginning to grow uncomfortable. The fatigue had exhausted the fear and anger in her; now, she simply felt awkward, like an outsider. “Did you put something in my drink?” she asked dazedly, looking around for the small woman.
                  “Callista, focus. There is not much time,” the dark-haired man said. She suddenly found his voice intriguing. Low, like a murmur, but authoritative and commanding. And now, as the sun was beginning to set, his eyes looked almost pale blue. “If you allow us to study you, if you consider helping us, then you have my solemn word that we will return you safely to your sister as soon as we are through. You would have to promise us your silence, of course, and we would obviously monitor that promise. However, other than these demands, I do not see why you would not be able to continue leading your life as before. If we can simply use you to hold this army at bay, we will be more than happy to help you.”
                  Callie fought back a dopey smile. “ You ? Want to study me ?” she asked, finding this somewhat hilarious. “You have wings !”
                  “Yes, we do. Do we have a deal?” he asked soberly, unfazed by her belligerence.
                  She swallowed, slipping back into serious thought for the moment. “What if I