Guards of the Shadowlands

A week ago, 17-year-old Lela Santos’ best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance - hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn’t just anyone - she’s determined to save her best friend’s soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife. As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she’s captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city’s endless streets.

In the week since Lela returned to Rhode Island, local news has been dominated by chilling sightings of human-like creatures running on all fours. Lela knows there’s only one explanation: The Mazikin have arrived in the land of the living. Needing to maintain the appearance of a normal life, Lela returns to Warwick High along with Malachi. At night they hunt for the Mazikin nest along with two new Guards. Jim, one rogue recruit, repeatedly challenges Lela’s authority. Lela struggles to keep all her Guards on the right side of the law, but their mistakes come at a terrible cost.

With Juri in control and everything in absolute chaos, Lela plunges into the depths of hell to free Malachi from creatures that have waited decades to exact their revenge. But the Judge has her own way of doing things, and Lela must work with Ana, the new Captain, who has a very personal mission of her own. Together, they infiltrate the most horrifying realm either has yet encountered in the Shadowlands - the bitter landscape ruled by the Mazikin.