Finding Grace: The Guardian Chronicles Book One

Synopsis

Synopsis for The Guardian Chronicles, Book One: Finding Grace by Michele Regan

Dr. Evan Whitman is a talented young emergency trauma physician in a busy Saint Louis, Missouri ER. Because of her secret gift, she has lived a solitary life, unable to become close to anyone. One winter night, her life is changed unexpectedly when a man carries an injured boy into the ER. As she fights to save the boy's life, she uses her talent for feeling the life energy in the boy to know he will live. This gift has allowed her to save countless lives, while stealing hers away from her.

The man who brought the boy, Nathan, to the ER perplexes her. He is the first person she has not felt any energy flow from. She finds this odd, because the only people she cannot 'feel' are dead. It turns out the boy was reported missing, and through the poignant reunion of parent and child, Evan sees something in the stranger that draws her to him.

Emil Drozdan is a long-time resident of the city, and has worked his entire life to protect the humans who live there. After fighting to save Nathan from the monster that had attacked him, Emil brought him to the emergency room. The redheaded doctor who took the injured boy from him was different from other humans. Her aura was pure and shined brighter than everyone else. Torn between wanting to fade into the night and figuring out what made her different, Emil found himself drawn into a human drama he worked hard to avoid.

He is different. He is a vampire. After being bitten in 1915, as a young doctor, he had committed his life to proving he did not have to turn into a mindless killer because of the curse. Through the century, Emil had developed a friendship with Jean Gault Tourneau, a gentleman vampire who shared his views on their existence. Tourneau was pivotal in bringing Emil into the elite ranks of the Guardians.

The Guardians are a select group of vampires who protect humans and supernatural creatures alike from those who would choose to wreak havoc in the territory. They are led in the region by the Brethren, and are located in downtown Saint Louis, hidden in a modified warehouse. Emil's job is to be hunter, judge, jury and executioner to those who are brought to the Council's attention.

Struggling to uphold the rules of vampire society, first to hide their existence from humans, second to kill or convert those that discover them, Emil allows himself to be drawn into Evan Whitman's world. He is alone now, as his close friend, Tourneau left him ten years earlier, in hopes of finding more to his existence. Emil had turned down Tourneau's advances, feeling betrayed by one he thought of as a brother or father.

Evan's usually boring life seems to take a turn for the chaotic after she saves Nathan Clark from his horrific injuries. After an accidental meeting with the stranger who brought the boy in, she if grateful when Emil comes to her rescue. An overzealous, predatory co-worker corners her in the locker room, and presses her for affection. Unable to deter Matt Thomas' advances, she tries to fight him off. Emil hears her struggle when he was looking for her in the Emergency Department, and drags Dr. Thomas away. This is her first glimpse of his dangerous identity.

Emil promises to help a shaken Evan home, and sits with her for hours, talking and enjoying her company. Through deduction, after seeing a picture in the hospital hallway labeled E. Drozdan, class of 1915, Evan figures out that Emil is a vampire. He is shocked when she is not horrified or scared of him. They work through his differences and her acceptance of him. He promises not to hurt her, and to protect her, finally convincing her to report the other doctor to her employer.

Evan reports Matt Thomas to Dr. Smith, her boss and mentor, which results in disciplinary action. While at the hospital, she checks in on Nathan Clark, to see how he is progressing. She is surprised how quickly he is healing, but otherwise pleased with his recovery. As she is leaving the hospital, she is confronted by an angry Matt Thomas, which sends her into a panic. She calls Emil and asks him to pick her up, as she does not have a car of her own.