Dark Guardian

by Ammar Habib

  Dark

  Guardian

  Dark

  Guardian

  Ammar Habib

  DARK GUARDIAN

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.

  Copyright © 2014, 2016 by Ammar Habib

  This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited without the express written permission of the author(s).

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Edition: July 2014

  Second Edition: October 2016

  ISBN: 978-0-692-80218-2

  For more information, please visit:

  www.ammarahsenhabib.com

  Other works by the author include:

  Memories Of My Future

  Crossroads: The Story of Hope and Love

  Dark Guardian: The War for Peace (Releasing February 2017)

  Dedicated With Love To:

  My beautiful mother, Farah, for always picking me up when I’m down

  My incredible father, Ahsen, for teaching me to never quit

  My fantastic brother, Nabeel, for being my best friend

  My awesome family and friends for their continued support,

  All the aspiring authors in the world,

  &

  The amazing characters that brought this story to life

  List of Major Characters

  Main Characters:

  Ethan Daniels

  Katrina Weaving

  William Jones

  Ethan Daniels’ Family:

  Jonathan Daniels (brother)

  Brett Daniels (father)

  David Daniels (paternal grandfather)

  Cathy Daniels (sister-in-law, Jonathan’s wife)

  Ethan’s Business Associates:

  Charles Bradshaw (law firm)

  Bradley Green (real estate)

  Crown City’s Bureaucracy:

  Richard Dawson (chief of police)

  Julio Chavez (mayor)

  Eugene Hendricks (police officer)

  Members of Cartel:

  Anthony Griffin

  Victor Sanchez

  Jutu

  Peter Jennings

  Jacob Potts

  Nicholas Putin

  Table of Contents

  A Message For The Reader

  Chapter 1: The Return

  Chapter 2: Ethan’s Light

  Chapter 3: Anthony Griffin

  Chapter 4: Preparations

  Chapter 5: Forsaken Graveyard

  Chapter 6: Ready For War

  Chapter 7: First Blood

  Chapter 8: Naira

  Chapter 9: Ethan’s Past

  Chapter 10: Jacob Potts

  Chapter 11: Daken

  Chapter 12: Unlikely Alliance

  Chapter 13: Vengeance

  Chapter 14: War

  Chapter 15: Battle Scars

  Chapter 16: Repercussions

  Chapter 17: Breaking Point

  Chapter 18: Collateral Damage

  Chapter 19: The Right Thing

  Chapter 20: Storm’s Passing

  Chapter 21: A Beautiful Light

  Chapter 22: Quest’s End

  Chapter 23: Times of Change

  Chapter 24: Turning a New Leaf

  Chapter 25: Freedom

  Chapter 26: Nightmares

  Chapter 27: Den of Wolves

  Chapter 28: Face-To-Face

  Chapter 29: Destiny

  Chapter 30: The Guardian

  A Message For The Reader

  Dear Friend,

  I’m truly honored to share this second edition of Dark Guardian with you. With the upcoming release of the sequel, this edition contains some revisions which I am very excited about, but the story itself is essentially the same.

  Being my first novel, Dark Guardian holds a very special place in my heart for many reasons. The characters, although fictional, have in a way become friends of mine. They are all very near and dear to me and I often like to revisit this novel to connect with them again.

  I have found that the creation of Dark Guardian has been a personal quest that has been every bit as transformative as Ethan Daniels’ own journey. I was just out of high school when I began working on this novel and the process of writing it and navigating the business side of the writing world swept me out of boyhood and into adulthood.

  All my novels and works take place in a shared universe, meaning that they all happen in the same timeline. For readers, this means that sometimes a character from one novel or series may briefly appear in another work. Dark Guardian essentially kicked off this “shared universe”, making the novel even more special to me.

  I’d like to end by thanking you. An author is nothing without his readers and I truly appreciate your support. If this is your first reading of Dark Guardian, I look forward to hearing your thoughts someday. And if you are revisiting the story, I welcome you back and thank you for your repeated support. Enjoy!

  Your friend,

  Ammar

  October 2016

  Chapter 1

  The Return

  In an alley, near the corner of 52nd and Cherry Street, Nicholas and his two armed thugs stared at what towered above their dead comrade.

  A hooded figure wearing a dark grey cape looked in the direction of the three remaining thugs. Under his cape, he wore a thick, burgundy and black tactical suit. A black belt wrapped around his waist and was full of knife sheathes of varying sizes. Through his mask, he heartlessly stared at the scum in front of him, waiting for them to make their move.

  Nicholas took a step back, horrified and momentarily stunned by the appearance of the prowler. After a couple of long seconds, both his subordinates charged the figure, their switchblades in hand and curses flying from their mouths.

  The hooded man did not move until they were right on top of him. With a fluid motion, he drew out a long, bloodstained dagger from under his cape and grabbed the wrist of the first thug. Before the other one could strike, the masked man powerfully kicked him in the stomach, sending him sprawling. Turning back to the first goon, he quickly twisted the wrist, forcing the switchblade to fall out of the thug’s hand, before he mercilessly stabbed the goon in the neck.

  Swiftly, he violently wretched out the dagger and whipped around just in time to dodge the next goon’s knife. As the first thug’s corpse collapsed, the intruder elbowed Nicholas’s last subordinate across the face, causing him to spit out blood. Without any hesitation, he grabbed the goon’s shoulder and plunged his long dagger into his stomach. The dying man’s body momentarily lifted off of the ground before the blade was yanked out and he fell with a loud thud.

  The intruder turned around and leapt to the side with lightning speed, dodging Nicholas’s loud bullets that lit up the alley. While in midair, he let loose a small blade which pierced Nicholas’s hand, causing him to drop the gun.

  Before Nicholas had time to even let out a cry of pain, the hooded man was upon him.

  ***

  A few weeks earlier:

  Death had become an intimate part of Ethan’s life over these past few years.

  It had been a companion to him for far too long. Nearer to him than any friend. Sown into his very making.

  Ethan never thought that this day would come. David had always seemed i
mmortal; he had been the one steady rock in Ethan’s life. But now he was gone. Forever. And the worst part was that Ethan had not been there to see him put to rest.

  Dark grey clouds blocked the sun from reaching the city below. Ethan could hear the cries of the seagulls as they soared above the dock and waters. A strong wind was blowing from the ocean, causing small waves to form and crash down onto the pier, rocking the moored boats back and forth.

  As he stood on the curb, he could see that the road leaving the dock had been neglected for the past few years. Cracks and potholes covered the entire street. However, Ethan’s own clothes weren’t in any better condition. His ragged jeans were filled with countless holes and cuts and his tattered jacket failed to protect him from the breeze that blew through the streets. As the gust steadily picked up, his shoulder-length hair began to fly in the wind causing some of it to get into his face.

  As another car drove by without stopping, Ethan readjusted the strap of his bag. Maybe Jonathan had decided not to come after all.

  Almost twenty feet down the sidewalk a few people were standing in a circle. One man was distributing brown bags to the others while they handed him some money in return. Earlier, a police car had stopped and the officer had spoken to them before being given some money by the dealer and then leaving. The group had glanced several times in Ethan’s direction, but they weren’t paying him any heed now.

  As Ethan looked away from the group, a red van slowly drove by and came to a halt a couple feet away. His eyes followed it as the van slowly reversed until it was right in front of him. The window rolled down to reveal Ethan’s brother sitting in the driver’s seat. He squinted his eyes at the hitchhiker trying to distinguish if it was really his younger sibling standing before him after so many years. “Ethan?”

  Ethan slightly nodded. “Thanks for coming.”

  A silence fell between the two brothers for a few seconds. Ethan could tell that his older sibling wasn’t quite sure how to greet him. Of course, that was understandable considering that they had not departed on the best of terms. Finally, Jonathan broke the silence as he hit the button to unlock the doors. “Well, come on in.”

  Wordlessly, Ethan opened the Cadillac’s door and settled down on the leather seat. He placed his bag on his lap before closing the door.

  As the doors locked, Jonathan spoke once more, “I can’t believe you’re actually here. I mean, I can hardly recognize you.”

  There was no reply as Ethan buckled his seat belt.

  “God, you’ve changed, man. You’re not that little eighteen-year-old kid anymore.”

  “Times change, and so do people.”

  “Last week when you called me I honestly didn’t think that it was you. You’d been gone for four years and Cathy and I thought that you had disappeared for good.” Jonathan shifted the van into drive.

  “You and Cathy are still together?”

  “We got married two years ago.”

  The car began to pull away. “Congratulations.”

  There was a brief, awkward silence as Jonathan seemed to contemplate whether or not there had been sarcasm in Ethan’s voice. “We were both sorry that you weren’t there.”

  Ethan continued to look straight ahead, not even glancing at the driver. “Did Brett pay for the wedding?”

  Jonathan paused before saying anything, knowing where this was leading. “Yeah. Dad picked up the tab.”

  “Then I wouldn’t have been invited anyway.”

  Jonathan moved his hand to turn up the A/C. He turned to glance at his long lost brother. “When he found out that you were gone, he didn’t speak to anyone for days. Not even me.”

  Ethan let out a short snicker. “So he finally cared about me when he thought I was dead. What a nice thought.”

  Jonathan didn’t reply to his younger brother’s cynicism.

  The van had left the worn out road and was now cruising down the highway. As they began to pick up speed, Ethan leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry Jonathan. I shouldn’t have said that to you. It’s not your fault.”

  Jonathan was silent as he attempted to change lanes.

  The roads were nearly empty this Sunday afternoon. With his eyes still closed, Ethan reached over to close his vent. “Did you guys go to David’s funeral?”

  “Cathy and I were both at Grandpa David’s funeral. Dad arrived in time for the burial. He kept his distance though.” Ethan nodded slightly as Jonathan continued by changing the subject. “May I ask you how you got back into the country?”

  Ethan opened his eyes, but kept his head glued to the headrest. “I called in a favor with a friend of mine who runs a cargo ship. He had to make a stop at the dock so I hitched a ride with him.”

  “Well it helps to have friends…it’s a good thing you came back though. If you had taken too long the city would have absorbed everything grandpa left for you in his will. When somebody leaves as large an inheritance as he did, the government is always trying to get their hands on it.” Jonathan paused for a slight second. “But Charles has been working hard to make sure that they’ve kept their hands off of it.”

  Ethan slightly smiled. “Well, one thing he was always good at was giving bureaucrats a hard time.” Looking outside, Ethan could see the skyline of Crown City. It looked the same as when he had left it. At least on the outside.

  “When we get back to my house I’ll call Charles and set up a meeting so he can formally read Grandpa David’s will. Grandpa ordered his will to be read either six months after his death or whenever you came back; whichever happened first.” Jonathan turned to look at Ethan, who was still staring out the window. “You’ll be staying at my place tonight.”

  Without looking back Ethan replied, “Sounds good.”

  Jonathan’s gaze returned back to the road. “I know this might not be the best time to ask, but do you mind telling me where you’ve been for the past four years? I mean, we all thought you were dead.”

  Staring at the thick layer of clouds, Ethan could only see one place where a beam of sunlight was peeking through the blockade. Looking intently at the view of the heavens that mirrored his soul, he slowly replied. “…maybe another time.”

  ***

  Upon seeing his brother’s house, Ethan immediately recognized it. “Is this that one place that you and Cathy always talked about buying?”

  “Yep.”

  The two men stepped out of the van and began to head towards the front door. Ethan once again had the strap of his bag slung over his right shoulder. The sun was now in the final phase of its descent. The grip of the cold front that had held the city hostage had now grown even stronger. Ethan tugged at his jacket’s collar, trying to protect himself from the wind, but to no avail.

  The double-story house sat in the middle of a freshly cut lawn. Two large trees rested on either side of the circle driveway. Outside of the front door of the pearl-white residence was a large porch that carried a few cushioned seats and a large swinging chair.

  As Ethan went up the steps the front door swung open to reveal a pretty, blonde lady. Speechless, she stared at Ethan as he and his brother marched towards the entrance. Her hand moved to cover her open mouth as she let out a gasp. As Ethan finally came within reach she suddenly reached out and embraced him. “I can’t believe you’re back!”

  Ethan lightly returned her hug with a smile. “It’s good to see you too, Cathy.”

  She let him go and took a step back as she clasped her two hands around his right hand. “How have you been?”

  “I’ve been better, but I’m glad to be back.”

  Jonathan walked up behind Ethan and put his hand on his younger brother’s shoulder. “It’s getting cold. Why don’t we talk inside?”

  The group moved through the doorway, past the thick wooden door, and into the warm foyer. Atop of the white tiled floor lay a beautiful Persian rug. Two large wedding portraits were displayed on the walls. In each one, Jonathan sported an expensive black tux while Cathy wore a
beautiful white gown. They stood under a massive oak tree in the middle of a beautiful park under a sunny sky. In the background, Ethan could see a lake and immediately recognized the place to be Swan Park.

  Ethan continued to look at the pictures as his brother came up from behind him. He put his hand on the strap of Ethan’s bag. “Why don’t you let me take that?”

  Ethan turned his head slightly to look at his brother. “I’ll keep it.”

  Jonathan nodded. “If you insist.”

  As Ethan’s gaze left his brother, it fell upon a third picture hanging on the wall. This one had a newborn baby boy in a crib. He was sleeping on his back and covered in a blue blanket. On the front of the blanket was a green dinosaur with overly large eyes. Surrounding the baby in the crib were countless stuffed bears, horses, and dinosaurs; all of varying shapes, sizes, and colors. Seeing what Ethan was staring at, Cathy spoke, “That’s our son, Ben. He’s almost two months old now.”

  Ethan slowly took a few steps closer to the picture as he stared at the baby’s face. As the awkward silence passed, Jonathan and Cathy exchanged glances before he spoke to his younger brother. “He reminds me a lot of you when you were a baby, Ethan.”

  Ethan looked away from the photograph before replying. “Except his dad didn’t give him up for adoption the day after he was born.”

  Another uncomfortable silence encompassed the room before Cathy broke it, trying to change the subject. “Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?”

  “No, thanks. I’ll just go ahead and get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow.”

  Jonathan glanced over at Cathy to explain what his brother meant. “I called Charles on the way over here. He said for us and dad to go over to his office tomorrow afternoon so he can go over Grandpa David’s will.”

  Cathy nodded in understanding.