The Moonlight Guardian

By Michelle Congdon

Seventeen yr old Ella McMillan's life has been all about ballet and working hard to survive high school so that she can chase her dream of dancing on the world's greatest stages.
However, that all quickly changes after surviving a terrifying attack that should have ended her life... But she was spared and now 'they' know a secret that she has no idea of.
Ella's life soon begins to spiral out of control, with everything she'd read about in books and watched in movies as a child suddenly becoming frighteningly real.
Hunted for her 'rare' blood, she finds herself stuck under the protection of an unbearable, ill-tempered boy and an irritating classmate, who claim they're a fallen angel and a shape-shifting warrior. How completely absurd.
As stranger events occur, Ella soon realises that in order to stay alive (which is becoming a never ending struggle) and if she wants to uncover her mysterious past, she has to decide whether to entrust herself with her unlikely companions or to flee.
But who is there to trust when everybody is harboring their own dark secrets? And where is there to run to, when your enemy can easily find you? Could there be another reason why the demons are after her? Or is the real danger coming from somebody close to her?

The Moonlight Guardian is the first installment in the Moonlight Series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michelle Congdon
• Release date: Nov 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301667956

Michelle Congdon

Michelle Congdon resides in Sydney, Australia. She has a Dalmatian named Jett, who to this day continues to hold an 8 year grudge against her after she had to leave him with her parents when she moved to the big city- this only proves animals are much like their owners. Michelle enjoys reading books of all sorts of genres, watching way too many movies and TV shows (and Disney cartoons), singing out aloud to her favorite hits and going on adventures involving food and travel. Michelle is loud, talks a lot and shares an ever-growing list of fictional husbands with a friend. From when she was a small girl, she has always had an overactive imagination and has tried to put it to good use by sharing her stories with anyone willing to listen.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Acknowledgements

About the Author

The

Moonlight

Guardian

by Michelle Congdon

The Moonlight Guardian

By Michelle Congdon

Copyright © Michelle Congdon 2012

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are either a product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover image by: © CathleenTarawhiti 2007- 2012 | Deviantart.com

© angel1592Stock 2008- 2012| Deviantart.com

Cover design by: © Patrick Congdon 2012

To my beloved niece, Elle Rose.

For the day that Mummy finally lets you read my 'scary' stories.

You've got to be kidding me!

Before I had the chance to react to the overly dramatic voice, the letter I was holding open in front of me was snatched out of my hands. Rather than seize it straight back, I let my slender, tomboy-ish best friend hold it up to her nose to examine it. She had tough-looking brown eyes; a short, black, pixie cut; and big-time attitude, so I wasn’t one to argue.

You’re the luckiest person I know of, Ella, came another voice at my other side. It belonged to Kelsey. She and my best friend Brooke were joined at the hip. Although I only knew Kelsey through Brooke, she and I got along just fine. The two girls were an exact replica of each other – well, except for the obvious fact being that Kelsey had fiery red curls and deep-green eyes … Okay, the truth was that the three of us were pretty similar. Maybe that’s why we got along so well. We were also the three most popular girls at Arden Missoni High – and that totally kicked ass.

But we had our fair share of differences, too. Although the two girls had enough attitude between them to bring down the entire school, I was a bit more reserved – not a whole lot more, I can assure you. I was also taller and had long, blonde hair; blue eyes; and a stick-thin frame – due to a life dedicated to ballet lessons.

School had just ended for the day, and Kelsey and I went over to join Brooke, who was still focused on the letter, frowning. Was she expecting to find something faulty with it? I knew she wouldn’t though: it was the real deal.

It was an acceptance letter from Yale University. I’d already read it – obviously, because I’d been the one to collect it from the mail box earlier that morning before going to school. But I’d wanted to show the girls the mysterious and unwelcoming letter. Other people would’ve said I should be jumping up and down with joy because my future at a prestige college was secure. Unfortunately, however, that wasn’t the case; instead, I was eyeing the suspicious-looking letter on which the all-too-familiar Yale logo was printed on the top-right corner, and I was feeling nothing but confusion and utter disgust.

I had a few problems with the picture that’d been painted: one, it was only October, and college submissions wouldn’t be open till November; two, I hadn’t actually applied to go to Yale; and three, I had no intention of ever going there. Yes, I was thinking about going to a college, but dancing was more important to me. I was going to join a prestige ballet company instead and travel the world, dancing on the world’s greatest stages. I didn’t want to go to a school full of academics; it just wasn’t my thing.

Okay, so I have something to confess: the letter wasn’t the first peculiar thing to cross my path. When Kelsey had mentioned I was the luckiest person she knew, she was kinda right – although I myself wouldn’t call it luck exactly. That’s why I had this feeling of disgust. Every year since I could remember, on my birthday, small presents would arrive on my front doorstep. They’d never have a return address or even a sender’s name on them. Up to the time I turned eight, the presents had always been fancy porcelain dolls. Then they’d turned into jewelry: small, intricate bracelets and lockets that had strange symbols and swirly floral markings engraved on them. On my sixteenth birthday, a mysterious trust fund, containing a considerable amount of money, had appeared out of nowhere. I’d questioned both my parents about the absurd account and the rest of the gifts, but they’d insisted that everything I’d been receiving was just from a long-distance relative, a mysterious distant cousin Elizabeth, who I’d neither seen nor heard of until my birthday had crept around the corner.

I wasn’t as easily convinced. I knew that Mom and Dad were hiding something from me; I just couldn’t work out what it was. They’d never, ever mentioned how rich this relative was before the account had shown up – and anyway, it wasn’t as if we were living under the line or even needed the money.

My parents and I lived in a large townhouse, over in Brooklyn Heights. It was a very nice place, and both of them worked extremely hard to earn that kind of lifestyle. But this unexplained account was way out of their league. I’m talking about money that meant I’d never again have to worry about my college fees or the cost of following my dream of dancing around the world.

On my seventeenth birthday, earlier this year, I’d received a strange but beautiful gold ring. It had a thin band and a large, greenish-blue gemstone shaped into a smooth, rounded triangle in the centre. What was so strange about the ring was that in normal light, the stone was that greeny-blue color, but under bright light, it magically changed into a purplish-red or raspberry-red color. I had no idea what it was, but I didn’t really care. The gifts had become so irritating. Why wouldn’t my parents just come clean about it all? And why couldn’t this Elizabeth relative just come over and say happy birthday to me and give me a hug like any normal person would?

It was all just too much for me to handle, with my already busy life and what not, so when the ring had arrived on my doorstep, I’d placed it in the same spot as all the other presents I’d received over the years: the bottom drawer of my dresser. The account remained untouched.

And now I had this: the acceptance letter. I hadn’t shown it to my parents yet, but no doubt they were going to act the same way they always did whenever I received any suspicious gift: blasé.

I didn’t think submissions were even being accepted yet, Kelsey said, scratching her head.

They’re not, Brooke informed her; it’s another creepy ‘doing’ from Ella’s secret admirer. Then, turning to me and handing me back the letter, she added, I still think you should go to the police.

"‘Creepy’ is definitely the right word," I groaned, rolling my eyes. But what were the police going to do about it? They’d just laugh at me and tell me I was being a brat – because who on earth complained about receiving unwanted gifts and gigantic trust funds on their birthday? I scrunched up the piece of paper and stuffed it into my school bag. I was going to have to deal with that later, because I had a much bigger problem on my mind: breaking up with my boyfriend, Austin.

Brooke caught the look on my face and grabbed hold of Kelsey’s arm. "Come on, babes – El has something very, very important to do right now."

Kelsey studied me for a moment. Her face changed when she finally caught on. Oh, right . . . I can’t believe you’re actually going to call it quits, Ella – you two were meant for each other, and he’s so hot.

I scrunched my face up at her. And I appreciate that you’re making this so much easier for me, Kels. I said goodbye to my two friends and began to make my way to the front of the school, where I knew my soon-to-be ex-boyfriend would be hanging out.

Austin Grey was the star quarter-back and captain of our school’s football team. He was tall, blond haired, green eyed, full of muscle, drop-dead gorgeous, kind, loving, funny and smart, and have I already mentioned drop-dead gorgeous? Yeah, okay, I know what you’re thinking: the popular girl with the sport-star boyfriend – the power couple. But we were more than just that. We’d been friends since our day-care days, and when we were twelve, we’d started dating after a dare, put on us at a party. After that, we’d just never broken up. I guess we’d realized we liked each other and we always had for as long as we both could remember. We were the perfect couple. He came to all of my dance recitals, and I attended all of his football games. Despite having to divide my time between school, dance practice and work – so I didn’t have much spare time at all – I’d never, ever missed a game.

And now, you’re wondering why on earth I was breaking up with him. The truth was I really didn’t want to, but with all the pressures of senior year, approaching exams, the skeletons in my family’s closet, an upcoming ballet showcase that was going to be the ‘make or break’ for me to snag a top dance company, not to mention my casual job, I just didn’t have the time for any other pressures in my life. Our relationship was at that next level, and I knew that Austin was really eager to take the next step. But I wasn’t. I wasn’t sure why. I loved him – well, at least I think I loved him. But then, if I really did love him, I wouldn’t have been questioning this important decision now, would I? I’d asked him to wait a bit longer, told him I needed time to figure it all out, but I knew that my excuse was wearing thin on him.

As soon as I stepped outside, Austin spotted me long before I reached him. His brilliant, boyish smile lit up his face as he watched me make my way over. He was with his friends Tyler and Ricky – boys who were also on the football team and were just as big and just as cute. They were sitting down on one of the metal tables outside, as expected, enjoying the afternoon sun. I watched Austin shoo Tyler away so that Tyler was forced to sit on the other side of him, beside Ricky. Austin then pat the new empty spot beside him as I approached. Hey-a, babe. Austin smiled as I took a seat. He instantly threw his great, big arms around me and gave me one of his strong, firm kisses.

And I kissed him back . . . Oh, I loved his kisses. Focus, Ella – that’s not what you’re here for! I pulled away, hoping he hadn’t noticed my sudden hesitation. Luckily, we were interrupted.

Hey, Ella, where’s Brooke? Tyler asked me. The guy had a mega and very obvious crush on Brooke. It couldn’t be helped, she was gorgeous, but I was convinced that Brooke was interested in a guy named Brad – another very attractive guy at our school, who looked so god-like it wasn’t funny. Tall, blond haired and muscular, with sun-kissed, bronzed skin and unusual amber-colored eyes, he was the very image of a Greek god. I’d convinced myself he’d fallen from Mount Olympus and he was now doomed to roam with us mere mortals. It was a little strange that Brad looked so fit, because I’d never known him to play any sport, and nor did the boys ever see him near the gym.

Brooke had never admitted her feelings for the guy, though; she’d always pointed out that they were just long-time friends. Even though I sometimes had my doubts, I also kind of believed her – because I was pretty sure that Brad had the hots for me. No, I wasn’t some stuck-up cow who thought every boy at the school loved me; Brad just gave off a creepy vibe whenever he was around, or he’d make small comments about the way my hair looked, or how good I smelt, and that I was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. Yeah, as I said, creepy. And he knew I was dating Austin, so things weren’t made easier. Austin couldn’t stand the guy, which meant Brooke could never invite Brad to do anything with us.

I don’t know,’ I answered Tyler; I left her and Kelsey back in there." I pointed back towards the glass doors I’d come from. I heard him sigh from disappointment. But I didn’t let his reaction fool me: neither Tyler nor Ricky was boyfriend material. They were nice enough guys, but all they really cared about was booze, girls and football, and not necessarily in that order. I sometimes worried that because Austin was friends with them, he’d turn out just like them. But I had to trust him; after all, we’d been together for five years.

Are you coming to Jazlyn’s party on Saturday night, El? Ricky asked, leaning forward to try to see me over Austin. "Apparently, her father’s out of town for the weekend and her older brother’s home – so the party’s going to be huge."

I might try and go for a little bit, I replied, feeling a bit bummed; I have dance practice and then work on Saturday, and then practice again on Sunday. Even though I liked my chaotic life, I really did enjoy a party and having a bit of fun. I really hated hearing the stories about parties I’d missed because of work commitments or dance recitals.

Ugh! Ricky responded. Sometimes I wonder whether you’re actually thirty, not seventeen.

But you’ll be there for the home game on Friday night, right, babe? Austin asked, interrupting his friend.

I felt a pang of guilt . . . Okay, I needed to come clean – it was now or never. I took a deep breath and opened my mouth to speak –

But Austin cut me off. Boys, can I please have a minute alone with El?

Crap! I thought. I should really have taken up drama classes when I was younger. My face always gave me away.

On cue, Ricky and Tyler left without uttering another word; they’d probably sensed the tension between us as well.

I could see Austin looking at me, and I knew he was trying to pick out what was playing on my mind.

Au –

No, Ella, he interrupted again. I know what you’re about to say – it’s written all over your face. I just . . . Let me talk first. He had his hands in between his lap, and he’d bowed his head down, not looking at me. He was really nervous. Did he already know what I was about to say? But how?

You do? I blinked at him.

He took a deep breath before lifting his head and speaking. Look, I knew you were going to find out sooner or later; I just really wanted to be the one to tell you, not have you found out the way you have through somebody else.

What the hell was he going on about? What are you talking about, Austin? Tell me what? I saw the expression on his face quickly change. At that exact moment, he must have realized that what I had to say was something completely different from what he’d accidentally blurted out. But what on earth could have Austin working up a sweat to tell me?

Ellie-bug, I love you – you know that, right? What I did was a mistake, and I feel terrible for it. Please don’t let it be –

My eyes shot open. I felt my chest, my whole face, burn up with anger. I knew where this conversation was headed. I wasn’t stupid, but Austin, of all people – how could he? You cheated on me? I jumped off the table fast and stood directly in front of him, my hands on my hips, my jaw clenched. He looked close to crying, but I really didn’t care. I had no sympathy for him. How dare he?! Who was she, Austin? I hissed through my teeth.

Babe, please keep your voice down, he said, looking around us cautiously.

"Don’t tell me to keep my voice down! I sneered, pointing an accusing finger up at him. Tell me who she was." I knew I was making a scene, but I was angry, and I had my pride to save.

Marcie, he eventually replied, in a tiny voice, staring back down at the ground in front of him.

"Marcie? Marcie Myers? You cheated on me with that whore?" Marcie Myers was a cheerleader and mega-whore. Between sneaking under-age into bars to hook up with older men and hooking