by Wendy Owens
The Sacred Guardians Series
Box Set Books 1-4
Copyright © 2015 Wendy Owens
Sacred Bloodlines
Copyright © 2011 by Wendy Owens
Unhallowed Curse
Copyright © 2012 by Wendy Owens
The Shield Prophecy
Copyright © 2012 by Wendy Owens
The Guardians Crown
Copyright © 2013 by Wendy Owens
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted, in any form without the prior written permission of the author of this book.
This book is a pure work of fiction. The names, characters, or any other content within is a product of the author’s imagination. The author acknowledges the use of actual bands and restaurants within this work of fiction. The owners of these various products in this novel have been used without permission and should not be viewed as any sort of sponsorship on their part.
Cover design by Claudia of Phatpuppy Creations
Editing services provided by Chelsea Kuhel of MadisonSeidler.com
Formatting by Champagne Formats
Table of Contents
Title page
Copyright
Other Books
Sacred Bloodlines
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Acknowledgments
Unhallowed Curse
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Acknowledgements
The Shield Prophecy
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Acknowledgments
The Guardians Crown
Note to readers
Dedication
PART ONE
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
PART TWO
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Books By Wendy Owens
Stand Alone
Do Anything
Wash Me Away
Series
Stubborn Love Series (completed):
Stubborn Love
Only In Dreams
The Luckiest
The Sacred Guardians Series (completed):
Sacred Bloodlines
Unhallowed Curse
The Shield Prophecy
The Guardians Crown
The Tynder Crown Series:
Birth of Fire
Blazing Moon
Blood Spark (coming in 2015)
To my husband, Josh.
Thank you for pushing me when I felt this dream was an impossible one. You helped me see that I’m mighty. Brown coats forever!
Gabe closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cool subway tiles. The pungent smell of urine and burnt electrical wires filled his nostrils as the loud roar of a passing train erupted in his ears. His social worker’s words replayed again and again in his head, “difficulties with home placement,” “a past filled with tragic incidents,” “more time needed to find the right parental candidates.” Gabe knew what that meant, after years of being shipped from one foster family to the next, it was clear what people thought of him. He was cursed. “And why wouldn’t they,” he thought. It was even obvious to himself.
The bustle of the station increased as the train squealed to a halt. Gabe grabbed his ragged black backpack and headed to the nearest set of open doors. He twisted and turned, trying to make his way through the thick crowd. A chill came over him, one that was all too familiar and Gabe found himself filled with dread. Coming to a sudden stop he looked around at the sea of people. Just steps from the train doors he was unable to move. He was staring and searching, his breath now shallow. The voices around him were instantly silenced as a pulsing white noise consumed his mind.
&n
bsp; Gabe’s hands were clammy and he felt his legs weaken. “Are you getting on or what?” the man behind him shouted. The man was wearing a plain, tan trench coat and carried a briefcase. Gabe looked back at him, not able to hear what he was saying for a moment, still distracted by the deafening white noise in his head.
“Come on, some of us have places to be,” the man grumbled as he rudely pushed past Gabe and boarded the subway car. Stumbling to a nearby column, Gabe steadied himself, attempting to regain his composure.
As sounds came flooding back, he heard the buzzer warning that the doors would soon be closing. Gabe looked up and prepared to make a dash for the opening. Before he could make his move, he caught sight of a young woman standing in front of the subway doors. She was wearing a long, black leather coat that was cinched at her waist. There was an odd grey color that surrounded her, creating a halo effect around her entire body. He had seen this before, actually more times than he cared to recall. He even saw the same grey aura the night his parents died.
Gabe stared intensely at her back as she stepped into the subway car. She slowly turned around, her black hair was short, cut just above the chin, which she wore slicked back, tucked behind her petite ears. Gabe thought she looked as though she were trying to remove the femininity from her small frame in any way she could. Her skin was pale; the color reminded Gabe of milk.
He watched, frozen, as the girl lifted her head and looked directly into his eyes. She flashed him a small, wicked smile as the doors closed. He saw her eyes flicker a hint of red. A moment later, the train pulled away. Gabe slid to the cold floor as the crushing weight of impending doom filled him.
Gabe had been plagued by these feelings and visions his entire life. He could remember being sent to at least a dozen different therapists all over the city. Their diagnoses were all the same; however, ‘hallucinations brought on by depression caused by the tragic loss of his parents.’ Some had him writing his feelings in journals, but most of them found it easier to load him up on medication and send him on his way. He had learned a long time ago that the easiest thing to do was to lie about the visions.
Gabe wondered if the therapists were all right. Perhaps he was just crazy with grief. His parents had died when he was only five years old. He found it hard to believe such grief could plague a person for eleven years, but what did he know, he was no ...
A loud explosion suddenly interrupted Gabe’s thoughts. He reached out his hands to try and steady himself as the ground under him shook violently. He threw up his arms to cover his head, plaster crumbling and falling like rain from the high ceilings.
He looked in the direction of the explosion. The tunnel, where just moments before, the train he was supposed to be on had been, had now become a huge cloud of flying debris. Gabe’s pale brown hair blew back from the rush of air. He had to squint his eyes as the ash clouded his vision and larger pieces of plaster and tile began to fall all around him. He rushed to the bench he had been sitting on earlier and slid under it, taking refuge from the dangerous rubble.
The one question all of those therapists could never answer for him was, if his visions were simply a result of grief, then why did a disaster follow each one? Gabe laid under that bench, listening to the overwhelming screams of panic swirl around him. He clenched his eyes tight, trying to make it all disappear, but it wasn’t working. It never did.
Gabe had a trick he had learned long ago from his mother. She told him when he was little that if he ever was scared of something, to count to a hundred and somewhere along the way the object of his fear would disappear. As a child, the fear would usually subside around fifty. After his parent’s death, though, he would often exceed a thousand before he could regain his composure. Gabe stayed hidden, counting, completely losing track of time. Under that bench, counting his safe numbers, Gabe was leaving the world behind—a world that was filled with a wicked darkness.
As Gabe lay there, hoping to go unnoticed, he felt the bench rock. Glancing to his left he saw a pair of combat boots planted firmly on the ground. He wondered with all the screaming and running around, what kind of person would have a seat to watch the havoc unfold?
“Are you going to hide under there all day?” asked the cool, calm voice from above. Gabe decided staying quiet and playing possum was the best solution. He continued his counting.
A few moments passed and the voice asked again, “Well?” An open hand reached down in an offer of assistance to Gabe.
The black mesh, fingerless glove on the hand was unique, but what caught Gabe’s eye was the silver jewelry perched proudly on the ring finger, over the glove. On it was a serpent with a dagger piercing through it, coiled around a tree . The ring looked old and worn, hundreds of years old if Gabe had to guess. Realizing this person was not going away, Gabe took the hand and allowed himself to be pulled from his secure hiding spot out into the open chaos of the subway tunnel.
Gabe pushed himself up from his knees to a standing position while studying the stranger in front of him. He wore faded and distressed jeans - they were a straight leg cut that had been gathered and tucked into his boots. He wore a black v-neck shirt, the type that looked old even when they were new. Over his t-shirt was a heavy green military jacket, but the name badge had been ripped off.
Looking at the boy’s face, Gabe realized that this kid couldn’t be much older than himself. He had thick, sandy blonde hair that twisted and fell in large chunks all around his face. There was slight stubble on his cheeks and chin.
The boy smiled up at him from the bench. Gabe noticed his almost glowing blue eyes. Gabe’s eyes were eerily similar in color. He found this unsettling since he had always been told how unique they were. Gabe was overcome with a feeling of peace and serenity, not something he was used to feeling at all.
The boy motioned for Gabe to sit down next to him on the bench. It was like he didn’t notice all the people around them screaming and crying for help. He hesitated.
“Look, it’s not like we’re going anywhere anytime soon,” the boy said, pointing to the cluster of cops streaming down the stairs. “You might as well have a seat. We have a lot to talk about.” The boy’s voice was calm as he stared directly ahead at the back wall across the subway tracks.
“Do I know you?” Gabe asked anxiously.
“No, but we know you, Gabe Harwood,” the boy replied, a mischievous smile flashing across his lips for only a moment. Glancing all around him nervously, Gabe wondered if he should make a mad dash for the nearest police officer. He had to give plenty of witness statements in the past and the thought of spending the evening at a police precinct did not sound like anything he particularly wanted to do. Rethinking his strategy, Gabe turned and sat next to the boy. He stared at the floor in front of him as if he were studying the detail in the dirt stained tiling. He focused all his energy on resisting the urge to climb back under the bench to his hiding place.
“I know this is hard and it doesn’t make sense, but all I ask is that you listen to everything I have to say. Then you can make your decision.”
The boy’s voice cut through all the chaos around Gabe; it was as if a volume knob in his head had been turned down on all the background noise. The chaos had become muffled and distant. Gabe stared at the boy with a look of disbelief, not knowing if he were even real or just another figment of his imagination like the girl on the train.
“My name is Uri and I’m like you.” Gabe looked up at Uri’s face.
“What do you mean, you’re like me?” Gabe asked.
“I understand you, because years ago, I was in the same place,” Uri answered.
Gabe pushed his lips together, annoyed the stranger would even insinuate he could understand where he was coming from. “Oh yeah, you were in a subway tunnel where a bunch of people had just been killed, and all hell was breaking loose?”
Uri glanced over at Gabe and grinned, he clearly liked Gabe’s hardened and sarcastic attitude. “No, but I’ve seen some dark things in my life.”
> Gabe wanted to ask him what he was talking about. He wanted to know if perhaps he had seen similar things, but he refused to give in to his curiosity. “Look, no offense, but I doubt you could understand anything about my life or where I’m at.”
“Oh really?” Uri replied. “Let me take a wild guess. You feel like you’re cursed. Death follows you wherever you go and you feel completely abandoned. You wish it would all end for you. You think that death would be a release, yet something compels you forward.” The blood drained from Gabe’s face as he listened to Uri speak. “You’re not alone, Gabe, there are many more like us and we want to help you.”
There was silence for a moment as Gabe processed what he had just heard. He tried to convince himself there had to be a simple explanation.
“So what, my social worker sent you? She was worried that not being able to place me in a home would send me into a suicidal downward spiral?” Gabe scoffed as if the suggestion were humorous rather than the truth. “Well, tell her not to worry, I’m fine. I don’t need anyone.” Gabe started to get up from the bench, but before he could, Uri reached out and grabbed his wrist. Gabe felt an ache in his chest followed by a shortness of breath. He looked back at Uri who was no longer smiling, but staring intensely at him.
“Gabe, I was not sent here by your social worker. I was sent here by someone more powerful than you can ever imagine. There are so many things we need to show you to make you understand. If you only believe one thing I say, let it be that we’re here to help.”
Uri shifted in his seat before continuing, “There is so much to tell it really would be best if we could just show you. Please, you must come with me.”
Gabe felt as if he were caught in Uri’s stare and seemed unable to move. As he tried to make sense of the conversation, Gabe caught sight of a glimmer of white glowing light flash in Uri’s eyes. Startled, he jumped back in his seat and Uri’s hand fell from him. Gabe had seen the red glimmer before, but this was new. “Who or what is this guy?” he wondered to himself.
“I don’t know who you are; you could be an axe murderer for all I know. How am I supposed to trust you and follow you? For that matter, follow you where?” Gabe inquired.
“Search yourself, what do your instincts tell you?” Uri asked.
