Guarding Eden: A Midway Novel Book One (Hidden Wings)

  GUARDING EDEN

  A MIDWAY NOVEL

  BOOK ONE

  CAMEO RENAE

  This Book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re -sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  © Text Copyright 2017 Cameo Renae

  Edited by: Victoria Rae Schmitz

  Cover Designed by: Stefanie Saw

  Formatting and internal art by: Aurelia Fray of Pretty AF Designs

  Published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing, LLC.

  Algonquin, IL 60102 USA

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious and are products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual events, or locales or persons, living or dead are entirely coincidental.

  Note From the Author

  The Midway Novels are Hidden Wings Series spin-off’s, so you will know some of the secondary characters if you’ve previously read the series. I tried as best I could to keep Guarding Eden as a standalone, knowing there would be readers who hadn’t read the series, so there will be some information about the world that was previously built up in the Hidden Wings Series. For a more robust reading experience, I suggest checking out the Hidden Wings books before diving into the Midway Novels.

  Chapter 1

  Alex

  “Alexander!”

  Thomas nudged me in the side. “Dude. Wake up.”

  “What?” I sat up blinking a few times, trying to gain my bearings.

  “Ephraim called your name. Looks like you’ve got an assignment.”

  I looked up to see Ephraim standing in the doorway to his office with a file in hand. His brow was furrowed, looking like his patience was wearing thin.

  “I can’t believe it.” I stretched, then hopped to my feet. “Finally.”

  “I have an emergency assignment for you, Alexander,” Ephraim explained.

  “Is it exciting? Something dangerous?” After being pent up in Midway for a few months, I was itching for some action.

  Midway was a beautiful place where the Guardians resided between assignments, but until we were called for duty, there wasn’t much to do but sit and wait. There were areas for fight training, but that got tiring, and was used mostly by the newbies.

  “It could be.” Ephraim shrugged, reading the file. “The assignment is a girl. She’s boarding in a private school in Washington and ran into some trouble with a Darkling. Watchers just alerted us.”

  “How old is she?”

  Ephraim held up the file, examining it closer. “Seventeen.”

  “A high schooler?” Damn, the high school assignments were tedious. They were usually low action. “Why was a Darkling after her?”

  “We think it was a random incident, but she survived. You know the Darkling will be back. It won’t let her live, not after she’s seen it.”

  “Yeah, it’s probably pissed it was a young female who slipped its clutches.” I laughed. “So, I guess I’m heading back to high school?”

  “Yes, you’ll be a senior at Brindle Hall,” he answered, without a show of emotion. “Because you look the part and have quite a bit of experience with Darkling, you will be her assigned Guardian. Our contacts have already started your enrollment process. You’ll start tomorrow morning and will be in four of her six classes.”

  “You want me to be visible?” Being seen was usually forbidden, as there were risks to revealing our existence.

  Ephraim’s eyes skimmed the file. “Yes, we want to make sure she is safe, and there is no more threat. Once you confirm this, your assignment will be complete.”

  “Fine.”

  Thomas laughed. “Dude, you have the perfect baby face. Teenage girls eat that crap up.”

  “Screw you,” I snapped.

  Thomas gave a wide, toothy grin. “You need to lighten up.”

  “You’ve had too many assignments in sunny California.”

  Thomas closed his eyes and smiled. “Yes, the salty ocean and sunshine. There’s nothing like it. Surfing is a lot like flying.”

  “I doubt I’ll be doing much surfing in cloudy, rainy Washington,” I sighed.

  Thomas stood and slapped me on the shoulder. “It’s been three months since my last assignment. I’d love anything that would get me the heck out of here.”

  “I’d gladly give this assignment up for you. You could pass for a teenager.”

  “Maybe, but you have that teen heartthrob deal going on.”

  “What about Dom?” I asked.

  Ephraim narrowed his eyes at me. “Dom’s no longer allowed on high school assignments. There are too many female distractions which feed off his already inflated ego.” Thomas and I laughed at his remark.

  Dominic was a friend of ours—one of the Guardian’s on our last assignment. He was at least a century older and had a lot of experience, but his boisterous charisma always seemed to rub Ephraim the wrong way.

  Ephraim’s foot tapped against the pristine, crystal floor. “Time, Alexander. You’re wasting precious time.”

  I sighed and headed toward him. “My last high school assignment was tiresome. Mortal teens have way too much drama.”

  “Have fun, Alex,” Thomas called, waving with his fingers.

  “After you.” Ephraim stepped to the side, ushering me through the large double doors.

  Inside, I stood in front of his massive desk.

  “You’ll need to blend in. Gain the girl’s trust so you can be around to protect her. Once the Darkling is taken care of, and you are confident there are no other risks, you are free to return to Midway.”

  “When do I leave?”

  “Now. I’ve set up a portal which leads directly to Brindle Hall, located within a small community called Brindle Hollow.” Ephraim pointed behind him while reading a few more notes. “The school is bordering a state park called Cape Disappointment.”

  “What’s the girl’s name?”

  “Eden East. She will be graduating from high school in fourteen days.”

  “Do you think the run-in with the Darkling was a random occurrence? I’m impressed she’s still alive.”

  “We don’t know yet. That’s why we’re sending you.” Ephraim looked up over the file. “The Darkling caught her scent. It saw her face and knows where she is staying. It will come back to kill her, and I don’t think I have to remind you that the only way it will stop is if it dies, or she does.”

  “I know, which will at least make this assignment interesting. I wonder how many I’ll have to kill.”

  “Hopefully, one. Your contact is a Watcher named Isaac. He will escort you to your room, and has been assigned to assist you.”

  I snorted. “Watchers aren’t worth crap.”

  He leveled his eyes on me. “They are vital. He will alert you of any disturbances in the area.”

  “Fine.”

  Ephraim placed the file on his desk. “We are counting on you to keep this girl alive. Right now, her mind will try and rationalize what she saw. Hopefully, you can take care of the threat and convince her otherwise.”

  “Have I ever failed an assignment?”

>   “No, which is why you are going in visible and alone. I will have a portal opened somewhere in the woods near the school, somewhere safe and secret that will lead back here.”

  “I think I can manage a few Darkling.” I nodded. “At least it won’t be all teenage gossip and flirting.”

  “How is your previous injury?”

  “It’s fine. I’ve survived a blade to the gut. It’s what we immortals do,” I replied with a sarcastic grin.

  “I suppose,” Ephraim responded in his unamused voice.

  He then spoke in his Angelic tongue, swirling his hand as if he were orchestrating a symphony. A portal began to swirl and open in front of us. “Everything you need will be provided when you arrive,” he smirked.

  “Thanks,” I said, stepping up to the portal. “Eden East, here I come.”

  Chapter 2

  Eden

  (A few hours prior)

  The stars seemed to sparkle extra bright in the dark, blue sky. I couldn’t help but notice how quiet it was, aside from the crickets chirping. They were singing their love songs, trying to entice and attract the females for mating season.

  I guess I did pay attention in science class. At least that day.

  “Chirp away crickets,” I whispered softly to the shrubbery as I passed by.

  I’d be the first to admit, I was stupid to leave campus on a Sunday night. Megan begged me to go, and she wasn’t even a friend, so I’m not sure what enticed me out tonight. She was a lab buddy, who’d asked me to accompany her to one of the groundskeeper’s houses, who happened to be her boyfriend.

  Nico was a few years older than us, not too bad looking, and had a decent body. I only agreed to go because Megan promised we’d be back by curfew. Yet, here I was, walking back to the dorm alone at almost midnight, hoping our dorm mistress was sound asleep.

  Megan had one too many drinks, so Nico decided to brew a pot of coffee, and promised to have her back to school before dawn. This left me with no choice but to walk the desolate trail up to campus alone. It wasn’t too far, but I hated making the voyage alone, especially at night with the eerie, dark forest looming on my right side. My imagination went into overdrive, making me wonder if wolves or bears would run out and pounce on me, eating my flesh while I was still alive.

  Yeah, I’d probably read too many paranormal books over the years. So, if a cute vampire or werewolf were to pounce on me, I probably wouldn’t mind. But, those creatures of the dark only existed in my secret fantasy worlds.

  In reality, I didn’t have much to worry about. Brindle Hollow was a small community, exclusive to the students, teachers, and the employees of Brindle Hall. It had small homes dotting the landscape a half-mile from the campus, which housed the faculty members and other employees that were not required to live in.

  Behind the campus, curved in a crescent moon shape, was a vast forest of alder and spruce. And beyond that, a state park named Cape Disappointment.

  The half-mile walk was usually scenic and serene, but for some reason tonight, I felt uneasy. I wasn’t sure what it was. There was nothing around me but the trail, and a few scattered lights leading me to the dorms. The rest of the students, except for Megan and me—the dumb ones—were in the dorms, probably sleeping.

  Then, I heard a sound, and a horrible stench wafted towards me. My stomach twisted inside and goosebumps raised the hair over my entire body. My senses seemed to automatically be on alert.

  As I came up to the side of the dorm, I pressed my back against the tall brick wall.

  What if it was a black bear? Or a rabid coyote?

  I glimpsed around the building, and there were approximately one hundred yards between me and the door to safety. I quickly dug through my purse and pulled out the only weapon of defense I had—a can of pepper spray my mother had given me before I’d left home. It was so old, I wasn’t even sure it would work.

  An unsettling growl filled the air. It was deep and sent a cold shiver up my spine, coming right from the direction I was supposed to run. There was no other way in, except to scale the wall or head around back, where there was an emergency door. But if anyone tried to use it, alarms would go off.

  Dammit. I had to see what I was up against. If need be, I’d run around the entire school, hoping I could beat the growling beast and save myself.

  Thank God I didn’t accept any drinks, and I also happened to be a decent runner.

  One eye, Eden. That’s all I needed to peek and see what the hell it was.

  Slowly inching my eye beyond the corner of the building, I glimpsed a dark figure. It wasn’t an animal, or was it? Its limbs were gangly, and the body was hunched over. It had long stringy hair, and its skin was pasty white.

  Just as I thought to run around the back of the building, it raised its face to the sky, sniffing the air. I could see its sunken eyes, black as night.

  I jerked back around the corner, breathing heavily. I’d never seen anything like it—a deep, dark nightmare come to life.

  I was in trouble.

  My heart was racing, and my palms were sweating. With trembling legs, my brain reminded me of how unbelievably idiotic I was for being outside alone.

  Could it be a vampire? Forks wasn’t too far from here, and seeing this creature made me wonder if those folks from Twilight were actually real. But if it was true, then why was this vampire so grotesque and creepy as hell? It looked like the kind that would rip your heart out and hold the beating organ in front of you, so it’d be the last thing you saw before you kicked the bucket.

  I couldn’t make a run for it. Given the length of the creature’s limbs, it’d probably be on me in seconds.

  Where the hell was the security officer? Did he get eaten?

  Oh my God. What if he did?

  This would be all over the news in the morning, and I would be the only witness. Before I could worry about it anymore, the creature’s footsteps dragged closer, and my limbs became weighted with fear.

  Stupid body. Don’t freeze. Don’t freeze. Don’t freeze.

  Placing my finger on the pepper spray trigger, I waited. It must have known I was close because the growls were getting louder. I could barely breathe; my heart was beating so hard I thought it was going to rip from my chest and run away.

  Then, a most disturbing, nightmarish voice whispered, “I smell you.”

  Oh, hell no!

  My knees almost buckled, my body trembled uncontrollably. This thing would haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life. If I survived.

  The creature had spoken though, which put it in the human category. And I was pretty sure it was talking to me. It smelled me. It must have been that stupid perfume I borrowed from Trissa. I didn’t even like it, but she’d insisted. Damn her and her smelly perfume.

  The air was thick with its stench, and the only sounds I could hear were the heavy breaths and rumbles from deep inside the monster’s chest. Its lengthy feet dragged across the gravel, raising my awareness and anxiety.

  It was getting closer, and the thought of impending doom anchored my feet in place. My nose was tingling, my eyes watering from the horrid smell. I tried to hold my breath because if I didn’t, I’d gag and possibly vomit.

  Either way, I decided I couldn’t stand here and let it kill me. I had to at least fight—make an effort to survive.

  I took in a deep breath and willed my legs to move. Then, like the cops I’d seen in the movies, I pivoted my legs until they were spread apart, holding the pepper spray out in front of me.

  The creature’s dark eyes snapped to me, filled with what I could only describe as pure evil. A sinister snarl revealed sharp teeth. Its fingers were long and bony, with sharp claws at each end. Claws that were ready to rip my heart out.

  “Go away!” I shouted, but my voice was weak, shaking just as much as the rest
of me.

  Instead of doing what I willed it to do, it crouched, then bounded in my direction. Before it reached me, I screamed and pressed the trigger.

  “Hey!” a voice hollered from across the campus. A bright LED light aimed at the creature. “Stop, right now!”

  The creature howled as the pepper spray connected with its face. In a flash, it dashed in the opposite direction, disappearing into the trees.

  “Drop your weapon!” the security guard called out, making his way toward me.

  I held up my hands and dropped the pepper spray like I was caught in a criminal act.

  It took him a moment, but when he finally reached me, he was huffing and puffing.

  “Did you scream?” he breathed, stopping five feet away from me. He was tall and hefty, with a plastic name tag pinned crookedly to his chest. His name was Bob.

  At one point in his life, Bob could have been a football player. But not anymore. Now he was a night-shift rent-a-cop, who was out of shape and stuck at Brindle Hall.

  “Yes,” I answered, clearing my throat. “There was something or someone out here, and it scared me.”

  His light finally lowered from my face. “I saw someone run into the woods. Was it another student?”

  I couldn’t tell him the truth. He probably wouldn’t have believed me anyway. “I don’t know,” I replied.

  “There have been a few vandals and trespassers in the past few weeks.” He pivoted and shined his light around the empty campus grounds one last time. His guarded eyes narrowed on me. “You know you’re breaking school rules, right? 10 PM curfew on Sunday nights.”

  “I know,” I sighed. “I wasn’t planning on staying out this late.”

  “I’ll let it slide this time, but don’t let me catch you again.”