Muse: Descended From Myth, #1

By Erin McFadden

The Brotherhood of the Guardians has existed for thousands of years to serve a single purpose: the protection of Talents, the mortal descendants of the original nine Muses. 
Twenty-one year-old Daniel Lyoncourt has trained his entire life to join the Guardians. Daniel is prepared to risk his life in order to keep his Talent safe, but when he's assigned to nineteen year-old Anna Saint-James, he discovers that his life isn't the only thing he could lose. Anna has no idea how special she is and knows nothing about her abilities. He must teach her to control her gifts, keep her safe, and hope that he can find a place in her life as something more than just her bodyguard.
All power comes at a price. Like all Talents, Anna must one day make a choice: lose all of her powers, or ascend to a higher plane, leaving behind everyone she loves.

***Reviews for Muse***
" Simply put, I loved this book, from start to finish. I loved the characters, the story, the action, the sarcasm, the obscure references to television shows and movies of my youth. There were awwww moments, there were angry moments and there were moments that were truly laugh out loud. It was a coming of age story, a love story, an action packed roller coaster wrapped up in a neat little package. " ~Michele, Book Geeks Unite

"I wasn’t ready for how fast this book sucked me into it’s gravitational pull. From page one I was hooked. The author seamlessly draws you into a world where being a Muse can be dangerous. I really enjoyed the storyline and plot of this YA novel, it was different than most of the young adult books out there. I’ve read lots of YA novels and this is one of the best I have read in a long time." ~Jessica, Nerd Girl Official

• Language: English
• Publisher: Erin McFadden
• Release date: Apr 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386454199

Book preview

More books from Erin McFadden:

WHIMPER

This is the way the world ends...

TALENT

Descended From Myth: Book Two

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dedication

For Andrew and Ella,

You're my everything.

acknowledgments

Special thanks to the following:

My wonderful critique partner, Jessica Foster. You have been an excellent stalker, and I appreciate the time you've lavished on my writing to no end. Tag, you're it!

Thanks also to my friends and beta-readers who pointed out a million different issues along the way. Branden, Adam, and Kyle, thank you for pushing me to keep going, even when I didn’t know if I should.

This book would never have been finished if not for the unfailing support of my family and friends. You all have inspired me to reach for the stars.

Thank you!

Table of Contents

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

About the Author

chapter one

I held the thick envelope in trembling hands, desperate to know the information it held, but terrified of it at the same time. My entire future could be printed on those pages, but I couldn't bring myself to tear open the flap. I slowly sat down on a stool next to the chipped kitchen counter, afraid that if I didn't, my knees might buckle. My mother wasn't home yet, thankfully. I didn't know exactly how she'd react when she saw the packet with its stark black Guardian emblem, but I knew for certain she wouldn't be happy.

"This is what you've been waiting for, what you've been working for," I whispered, trying to psych myself up. I needed to sit down and read before Mom and my sister came back from the store.

How is it possible you can take on a guy twice your size in the training room without flinching, but a stupid envelope has you completely freaking out? my sister drawled, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

I jumped about a foot, trying to shield the envelope from Kaitlyn's view, even though she obviously knew I had it. When did you sneak in? I demanded. I thought I'd have a little time to adjust to the idea before I had to defend my decision to the family.

"I've been here for almost half an hour and I didn't sneak anywhere. You were too zoned out to notice. You going to open it, or do you want me to?" she asked, rolling her eyes as she grabbed for the envelope.

Kaitlyn was fifteen going on thirty, and convinced that while I might be her older brother, she knew more than I ever would. The scariest part? I was starting to agree with her. I kept the envelope clasped against my chest, away from her grasping fingers.

I'll open it when I'm ready, I protested. "Preferably in private! How soon is Mom coming home?"

Kaitlyn glanced at the clock on the microwave, then out the little window overlooking the parking area we shared with the neighbors. I'd say in about two minutes, since she's parking the car right now.

I stumbled back, practically toppling the stool over as I headed toward my bedroom and solitude.

Daniel! Kaitlyn called after me, making me pause in the hallway. Is it about Dad? she asked hopefully.

Inwardly, I swore at myself for letting Kaitlyn get her hopes up, even for a few minutes. I tried to keep my voice casual when I called back, No, kiddo. This is about me. It's only my next assignment. I ducked into my room before she could ask any more questions. Kaitlyn was far too perceptive.

I flopped onto my bed, careful not to bend the thick envelope, and listened to my mom and sister putting groceries away in the kitchen. My mother has dreaded the day this envelope would arrive. She knew it inevitably would, but I doubt she had any idea it would come this soon. The Guardians were stretched extremely thin. Under normal circumstances, they would never have considered promoting me to a Watcher at twenty-one. Even now, if I was anyone else it probably wouldn't have happened. But, I have a legacy to fill. I'm a Lyoncourt, and the Lyoncourt men have been Guardians since the Brotherhood was formed over a thousand years ago. My mother's family is much the same. Since the 1400s, at least one Dominico male in each generation has been a Guardian. As the only son, I didn't have much choice. I was born a Guardian, but it still took an intense amount of work to prove it to the rest of the brotherhood.

Now, I was finally going to be a Watcher. Sixteen years of training and it was finally time. If I could only bring myself to open the damn envelope and find out which Talent I would be spending the rest of my life protecting. I paused, listening for footsteps in the hall, and decided that I had to take the plunge.

Please, please, please…be a man. Please, let it be a man, I whispered to myself as I cracked the seal on the envelope. Don't get the wrong idea. I don't have a thing for other guys. No, it’s because I know that someday I'd like to get married, have a family, and actually be in love with my wife. I don't want to be like my father. I don't want to be so desperately in love with my Talent that I'm gone for weeks at a time without bothering to call. I don't want to miss birthdays, Christmases, and anniversaries because there's someone else who is always more important than my family. I know I'm going to have to give up a lot to protect my Talent, but I don't want it to be my heart. I've watched my mother cry too many times to ever be able to do that to another woman. I saw my father sink into the bottom of a whiskey bottle when his Talent chose to leave him. After that, he vanished completely.

I won't ever be him. Never, I whispered with as much conviction as I could muster. Exhaling deeply, I slipped the file out of the envelope with my eyes squeezed shut. I slowly opened them and saw her face for the first time.

Oh God. No. Oh no. I dropped my head on the plaid comforter, willing away the image burned into my brain. Wavy strawberry blonde hair and big green eyes would haunt my dreams tonight. It was a curse, being placed with a Talent who looked like her. I already knew I would give up my life for this girl. I would protect her with everything I had. Maybe it was genetic, or maybe it was my training, but I'd have to guard my heart from her at the same time. If I fell for her, I'd never recover. Any woman I met for the rest of my life, I'd compare to her. Whether I wanted it or not, she would be my most important relationship. I could only hope she would end up being worthy of the sacrifices I would inevitably have to make.

I took a few minutes to mourn the family I'd probably never have, not if I couldn't really belong to them. Then I quietly packed the whole idea away in a corner of my mind marked to be forgotten and started reading the rest of the file. If I was going to keep her safe, I had to know everything there was to know about her. I started pulling apart the packet, immersing myself in the information so I wouldn't have to keep thinking.

The Guardians rated Anna Saint-James as a moderate level Talent. She had a stable family, but was adopted. For some reason the file didn't contain much information about her biological family, not even a mention of her lineage. Normally, a Talent would be categorized with the name of the Muse he or she was descended from. Anna's file only said there were irregularities in the record. I had no idea what irregularities were involved, because for some reason, all of the documents about her parents were absent from my file.

Her current Watcher, Henry, had been a temporary placement for a little over a year. His Talent had ascended, but he wasn't quite ready to retire. They decided Anna, a young girl of rather modest Influence, would be easy for him to supervise.

Henry's last Talent was famous. A brilliant actress, she had the ability to suspend an audience's disbelief, to make them feel as though every role she played was absolute truth. She made millions for Hollywood and traveled all over the world. Henry acted as her chauffeur and bodyguard. She stayed mortal for much longer than most Talents, and didn't have to make the choice until she was 44 years old. The tabloids speculated she died of a drug overdose, or of a broken heart after her latest love interest had left her for his newest co-star, but Henry and the Guardians knew the truth.

You see, the price of being a Talent is that one day, they must make a choice; remain in the mortal world and lose the abilities that have defined their existence, or ascend to the Realm of Influence. I have no idea what happens after. The details have never been shared with us. We are the ones left behind, because in the entire history of the Guardians, a Talent has never chosen to remain mortal.

Now that Anna was leaving home and starting to travel, even getting involved with a television production, it all hit too close to Henry's past for him to continue. He'd asked for a replacement, and I was the one who'd eventually won the honor. There was a pretty fierce competition between four of us to be the next Watcher. We didn't know then who the Talent would be or when the spot would open up, but we'd fought for it anyway. Somehow I’d come out on top.

I'd have to join Henry on location. I would shadow Anna with him for a few weeks. I'd learn what I could from him regarding possible threats, and then take over. I'd be her Watcher, her primary protector, for the rest of her natural life—or mine.

My bedroom door crashed open, ripping me from my obsessive studying. My mom stood in the doorway, eyes wide and wild. Kaitlyn must have tipped her off after all. She stared at the papers spread around me with a look of disgust, before snatching up one of the glossy photos.

What the hell is this? she snarled. Tell me that you aren't throwing your life away on one of those...those...spoiled, pretentious pushers!

Mom, I protested, trying to think of a way to calm her down. Her father had been a Watcher, my Dad had been a Watcher, and she was tired of playing second fiddle to the Talents. I understood her frustration and I could sympathize. I'd had a father who'd missed out on most of my childhood, too. I have a responsibility to the Brotherhood. I'm not going to back out of being a Watcher after I've worked for so long to get here. You can't expect me to do that, not when you know what it means for me.

"I know exactly what this means for you, Daniel. Don't think that because I'm not a Guardian myself that I don't know all the dirty secrets. You think that you're going to be the one Watcher who doesn't lose himself? You think you're even going to try? she huffed, waving the picture in the air. She's a Talent, Daniel. She doesn't only think she's better than you, she knows it. She can have anything and anyone she wants. She'll play with you for the fun of it and not care when it eats you up inside. Talents are manipulators. That's what they're born to do."

I couldn't argue with her. She was right. I'd never met Anna Saint-James, but there was no reason to believe she wasn't exactly like my mother predicted. I'd met eighteen of the twenty-four known Talents and they all fit the profile. Plus, every Watcher I knew had the same problems. For one, no one can spend a substantial amount of time in contact with a Talent without falling deeply, irrevocably in love with them. It's not necessarily romantic love, but the type of love that allows you to put that person before yourself, your family, your friends, before anything else in the world. The second problem was really the biggest; the Talents did not in any way return their Watchers' devotion. They grow up knowing that they are destined for great things, and Guardians are simply bodyguards or babysitters.

I know it's a thankless job, Mom. I know. But I also know how dangerous it would be for the Talents to be out there without us. You know what can happen when they aren't properly guided. Wars, genocide, horrible things happen.

Mom stood, shaking her head, her arms clenched tightly across her chest. She looked so tired and so scared. I'd never seen her look so completely defeated by life before. I cautiously stepped over to her and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into a hug.

I'm not going to lose myself, Mom, and I'm not going to forget about you or Kaitlyn. I'll be careful. I will. I kept reassuring her until I felt her stiff shoulders relax. She finally pulled away and left the room, sniffling, without uttering another word.

I sat back down on my bed, staring vacantly at the pictures of Anna. Kaitlyn slipped in, gently shutting the door behind her. She sat down on the bed next to me, looking over the photos and information reports. You're really going to do it. You're going to leave and be a Watcher? she asked softly.

Yeah, Kaitlyn. I am. But I'll still come see you, and you can visit me. I travel so much as it is, this won't be a huge change.

Yes, it will, Kaitlyn argued. This one is forever. Well, as close as they get to forever anyway.

My family seemed determined to point out all the worst parts of this commitment. It wasn't like there was a thing I could do about it. The stronger the Talent, the sooner they seemed to ascend. Anna only seemed to have a little Influence, so maybe I wouldn't have to deal with that for a very long time. Maybe I wouldn't be all that affected by her either.

We've both grown up around Talents. It's not like this is my first assignment. I know what to expect, and I know to keep my guard up. Mom's overreacting because of Dad, but I'm not like Dad, I said belligerently.

I know, Daniel, Kaitlyn answered calmly. She's pretty, she commented, changing the subject as she slid the photos around on my bedspread. Kat picked up a piece of paper from the stack. I knew that I shouldn't let her read any of Anna's information, but I couldn't bring myself to take it away from her either. I didn't want to exclude her from this.

Kaitlyn's big brown eyes met mine after she'd spent a few minutes looking over the documents. You know, there's a chance she might be different. She's not an underwear model or one of the sickening pop star types. She seems pretty normal, on paper anyway. Please don't go into this planning to be miserable. At least give her a chance. Even if she acts like a spoiled brat, you might be able to work with her and convince her to use some of her Influence in a good way.

My sister, the optimist. That was new. I appreciated it though. I really needed something positive right now.

We'll see, Kat. I have to leave to meet Henry tomorrow. It's all the way in Indiana, but I'll have my cellphone and I'll keep in touch. Please try to keep Mom from worrying about me?

Right. Would you like me to cure cancer and end world hunger while I'm at it? she smirked. I'll talk to her. I can't make any promises though. You know how she feels about the Talents. She's probably convinced that we'll never see you again.

You'll see me again, I promised, tousling her hair and poking her in the ribs as she jumped up and dashed out the door giggling. I should have known that Kat would understand. She'd be a Guardian herself if they allowed women to join. I was secretly glad that we didn't, because I suspected Mom would snap if she thought she might lose Kaitlyn, too.

I reshuffled my papers and returned to learning more about Anna.

chapter two

My mom let out a piercing shriek and started waving the piece of paper I'd handed her from my printer around like it was a winning Powerball ticket. Anna! Oh my gosh, you got the job! Oh, I knew you'd get it!

Mom scooped me up in a crushing hug, while my friends clustered around congratulating me and reading the email themselves. Mom had dropped by to check on me, even though it was about an hour drive from home to our campus. She did that pretty regularly, but I didn't mind. She always brought me food and other goodies, so what was there to complain about?

My friends were gathered in my apartment to hang out and work on all the upcoming projects we had going on. Okay, this was actually the first time I'd had anything of importance to work on. Usually, I did homework while the others worked on their most recent displays of brilliance.

Brian, my best guy-friend, reached out and playfully tugged on my ponytail. See? Aren't you glad that I made you fill out the application? he teased.

YOU filled it out, Brian! What am I going to do if they figure out that everything on that application came from someone else? I asked, exasperated. Brian had taken the few mumbled remarks I made in response to the application questions and turned them into something that sounded polished, intelligent, and inspired. That summarized Brian, not me.

Actually, it described most of my friends. I have no idea how I ended up being surrounded by a group of geniuses. Sure, they're probably not geniuses in the scientific sense, but they all have ten times more going for them than I do. I usually feel like the only one who isn't gifted in some way.

Brian is the writer. He's had more short stories published than I can keep track of and has already finished his first novel. I'm sure it will be an enormous success, even though he based it loosely on a weird dream that I had one night and tried to explain to him the next day.

Samantha, the photographer, has been my friend since we played on the teeter totter together on the first day of second grade. She has an exhibit coming up at the Indianapolis Museum of Art featuring her amazing photographic collages. One of them is an image of me sitting on a bench in the park, made from thousands of tiny pictures of birds. I wouldn't pose for her camera and threatened her that if she wanted an image of me she'd have to find another way to get it because I hate to have my picture taken. I have to admit, she only did as she was told and it kind of grew from there.

Frankie moved into our school our freshman year of high school. She spent most of that year trying to convince me that I needed to wear something other than blue jeans and graphic t-shirts. She hasn't been very successful with that, because I still can't put together a decent outfit unless she dresses me. Her drive to make me look less like the awkward nerd that I am led to her choice to major in fashion design. Fast forward about a year and she's already got her own line of clothing and a summer job as an apprentice designer at Calvin Klein.

Compared to the rest of them, well, I really didn't have anything that could compare to the rest of them. I'm average. Plain reddish blonde hair, average height, average weight, average grades, nothing that I could really grab onto and claim as my own. I hadn't even picked a major. Technically, it was still undeclared.  I had all of two design classes under my belt. I shouldn't have even let Brian fill out the app, but I didn't think it would actually go anywhere at the time.

I was totally surprised when my application turned into an interview, and I was stunned when the interview turned into