Destiny's Gate (23 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY

Sasha Grace Returns

Texting Carole as fast as my thumbs could manage, I offered humble apologies for my rude behaviour to her and especially to her uncle. I followed it with another text asking for a protection prayer to be said on my behalf, and for a medicine bundle for healing, as guided. Awaiting her response, I exited the estate using the east wing and was drawn to the rose garden, where Dexter and I had first talked about the danger at O’Brien Manor. Standing next to the bench he shoved me off, when Allan was casing the manor, I smiled. I would always cherish the memory of Dexter bestowing his sacred angel charm to me, pressing it tightly into my hands. I recalled his strength and encouragement to help me overcome evil, and then Carole’s text appeared. She sent a smiley face and texted,
Uncle Kyle is happy 2 help in any way he can
. The next text said,
he understands this is new 2 u & did not judge your reaction 2 his suggestion re spiritual guidance
. Her third text said,
my uncle wishes u had asked about wolves — his main area of expertise
. That admission startled me. And then the fourth text said,
Uncle Kyle knows u r in good hands & everything will turn out as it should
. There were those words again —
turn out as it should
. That and
everything is as it should be
is what I seemed to be hearing from spirits. As thankful as I was to know Kyle was going to help me I thought,
how about a little more obvious help here,
please
?

Quite honestly, I was not convinced I was as evolved as I should be at this point. I was certainly no expert on the spirit realm, or how it really worked. And on that self-doubt came,
you know more than you are willing to accept. Just open your heart to love and have faith in yourself. It will come to you when you need it most — the skills to battle the evil that surrounds you and your family
.
No forethought is
necessary.

An overwhelming sense of grace and peace descended upon me, and again, I sighed with relief. Well, if that’s all I have to do, then love and faith it is. I remembered something mom said to me on my thirteenth birthday.
Paige, the only thing in life to be feared, is fear itself
. And with that, a light bulb went off.
Who puts fear into our hearts and souls? Hmm...lost souls,
perhaps?

I flopped on the snow-covered bench and visualized Allan crouching near the forest, studying the estate. Thinking back to that day, I skipped a heartbeat when I remembered how I declared he was the evil one trying to hurt my family. How wrong I had been. Next, I wondered how the medicine bundle was made and what rituals would be performed to bless it. A bright, red, male cardinal landed on the opposite end of the bench. I froze, not wanting to scare him away. It warmed my heart as he chirped. I looked up to the cloudless, sunny, indigo sky and felt the warmth on my face. One thing I was beginning to appreciate was living in the now, taking in precious
moments.

I spied a white wolf standing at the edge of the forest and knew it was Jonathan saying goodbye. I jumped up and waved at him; he howled a soulful howl that touched my heart. I was overjoyed knowing he was a kindred spirit and family, after all. Again, I felt empowered and happy to know that I had great supporters when I needed them
most.

Allan, and Trixie in her human form, appeared from the brush and I ran to greet them. Hindered by a deep snowdrift, they laughed, as they watched me slowly fall backwards onto the pillows of snow. While I lay there, I decided to make a snow angel and felt like I was five again as I flailed my arms and legs to my sides and back again. Allan and Trixie joined me, creating angels of their
own.

After our playful interlude, we helped each other up and proudly gazed at our beautiful snow angels. In the middle of our artistic endeavours, Mackenzie, Conall and their mother appeared. My pulse quickened. I was delighted to see them, especially the mother. I never thought I would see her again. Allan and Trixie took several steps backwards as she approached me and put her hand on my
head.

“I am just a reminder to you, Paige, that you are being watched and guarded zealously from those appointed. We are always with you, child. You are never alone, even on the days you think you are. We are here to help you, at anytime. Just call out my name, Sasha Grace, or ask for Archangel Michael. We will be here immediately to fight by your
side.”

Feeling humbled, I glanced away and when I looked back, they were gone. Allan and Trixie were seated on the ground with stunned looks on their
faces.

“Whoa! I’ve never seen one before!” cried Allan. His hand was on his head; Trixie smiled ear to
ear.

“One what? An
angel?”

“No! A guardian angel. You are so lucky. She is powerul. Her spirit is so bright... I could not look at her. Could you,
Paige?”

“Of course. She looks no different than the two of you,” I responded. “Could you see her children? Mackenzie and
Conall?”

“Not at all. Trixie, could you see them?” asked her
stepfather.

“Nope, but I felt an overpowering, serene presence and that’s all I need to
know.”

“Well, I guess I am lucky. Another blessing on this precious
day.”

“Tell us, what does she look like?” inquired Allan, his voice
child-like.

I spoke in a soft tone and cleared my throat, “Picture the most divine angel with a long, flowy gown and hair, her radiant wings outstretched behind her, floating in mid-air. She looks youthful and of course, she’s all in white. Her name is Sasha
Grace.”

“Sounds beautiful,” Allan said. He smiled and gave me a pensive glance. “I have something I need to talk to you about but it can wait until
tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Allan. I really want to hold onto this moment,” I
pleaded.

“Yes, father. You and I can do what we need to do today and maybe, Paige, we can talk another day? Meet us at the guest house, when you
can?”

“For sure, Trixie. I’d be happy
to.”

Stepfather and daughter made their way through the snowdrifts, goose-stepping to navigate the knee deep snow. When they reached the treeline, they broke into a gallop and transformed in mid-air to the canines they truly were — a beautiful alpha male with grey fur and reddish highlights across the shoulders and behind his ears, and a black lab. It was a touching sight to
behold.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Possession

Scrambling back to the manor, I tiptoed into the kitchen, and was disturbed to see Hanna standing in the darkness, staring off into space. She seemed to be murmuring to herself or to someone I could not visualize. I leaned in to eavesdrop, accidentally knocking an empty candy dish off the kitchen counter. It smashed into a gazillion pieces. Grabbing the dust buster, I glanced at Hanna; she turned, and for a brief moment, her eyes appeared black. I tumbled backwards through the unlatched kitchen door and spilled outside onto the patio. Hanna darted over to me. As I got up and brushed off my elbows, I looked into her eyes again, and her hazel eyes, light golden brown with a hint of green, had returned. I recoiled as she tried to help me. She glowered at me and as I blinked, she forced a smile. Recalling Jonathan’s warning about the nicest people sometimes can be a host to the evil, I quivered. Dark energies can sneak in and influence the best of us, if we are not
careful.

“Paige, dear, come back inside and I’ll make you a cup of white tea with a dash of ginger. It will help you recover from the shock of your fall,” Hanna said. She grabbed the dust buster, bent down and vacuumed the floor for several minutes. As she stood, Hanna said in a low, guttural voice, “How nice to see you again,
Paige!”

I broke out into a cold sweat as I recognized the voice from the bonfire and it scared me half to death. “Hanna, are you okay?” I pleaded, as I stepped around her, and moved towards the hallway. A blast of cold air crossed my body and I gulped,
here we go
again
!

She latched onto my arm, and repeated, “I said, so nice to see you again, Paige! Remember your recurring nightmare back in Scarborough?” Hanna continued; her eyes wild. “Who do you think put those nightmares into your head? Remember my voice now?” She stood with hands on
hips.

I continued backing into the hallway and fled to my bedroom, locking the door behind me. Whoever was speaking, it was not Hanna. She had been hijacked by a lost soul, one I was all too familiar with. Footsteps resonated down the hall and a brisk rap on the door made me flinch. When I did not respond, the rap escalated and became so aggressive, the whole door shook. Scared out of my mind, I heard a squeal and then nothing. I collapsed onto the floor in a clammy sweat. I stayed still as a cat about to ambush a mouse, yet I was the mouse afraid to move or make a sound. When I was sure the coast was clear, I snuck into the bathroom and screamed aloud as I saw a message written across my mirror, in what looked like blood — ‘I’ll get you yet!’ I texted Carole with one word —
Help
— and threw up in the
sink.

Paralyzed with fear, I found myself experiencing hearing loss and the world moving in slow motion. I was cognizant of the fact that Carole’s face was in front of mine, and wondered not only how she opened a locked door, more importantly, what was she saying. Next, Hanna appeared, standing aloof in the background, while grandma pushed past her with a cold cloth and placed it on my forehead. It was entertaining, in a strange way, as they fussed over me. Something drew my attention towards the doorway and as I looked past Hanna, a pang exploded in my heart. I watched as grandpa entered. He had a dismal frown, and his dark brown eyes looked enlarged against his rusty complexion, white hair and beard. He looked so sad, and I knew this was serious. Carole must have helped me onto the bed, so it was surprising when grandma took charge and judging by her flailing arms, demanded that everyone leave the room. They left in a hurry, and she sat next to me on the edge of the bed, gently stroking my long, auburn, curly hair. I watched as she retrieved a brush from my nightstand and began to brush my hair rhythmically. It reminded me of something mom would do for me when I was quite young. As touched as I was, all I could do was stare off into space as if in a trance. I could not snap out of it, so I remained calm, hoping it would soon be over. In times of trouble, dad had often said,
this too shall
pass.

Shadows danced across the bedroom walls, and judging by the shapes, they mimicked the dance of the branches blown about outside my window. I knew on some level that the sun was setting and was disheartened I could not break from this spell. Eventually, grandma grew tired and grandpa stepped in to watch over me. It was so kind of him after all he had been through. He pulled up a rocking chair next to me and began to read the newspaper. I was comforted by his
presence.

When I awoke in the wee morning hours, Carole was seated in the same chair grandpa had last been seen in. My eyes fluttered and then blinked open, one by one. Carole smiled at me not saying a word. She grabbed my hand and tapped it twice. I wondered what she was doing and then Kyle entered the room. He was dressed in a costume of sorts, with a rainbow coloured vest, tan suede pants with fringe and matching moccasins. Carole rose and let her uncle sit in the chair. He laid out a multi-coloured bag next to me on the bed. Both Carole and Kyle began to dance to the sound of drums which I knew must be in my head. Kyle raised his arms upwards on several occasions and Carole would follow. Then he touched my forehead with some sort of marking. I fell back to sleep and when I awoke, Carole was sitting on the ground next to me with her eyes closed, surrounded by granola bar wrappers. The sound of my giggling roused
her.

Startled, Carole cried out, “Oh, thank goodness you are awake. Uncle Kyle did it. He had the medicine bundle urgently created and blessed and came over two days ago to present it to you. When we arrived, you were catatonic and he gave you a healing blessing. How are you feeling?” Carole jumped onto the bed and hugged me
tightly.

“How, how...many days have I been like this?” I asked, hesitantly, overjoyed I could hear again. “My mouth is dry.” I studied Carole’s face awaiting an answer. Her brown eyes appeared soulful, against her tanned face and slight
frown.

“Since it began, you mean? Uhhh...three days, I think,” Carole responded, while lifting a glass of water to my lips. I took a huge gulp then hurled it across the duvet. I was so embarrassed. Carole’s trim body shook as she laughed and picked up the duvet, running it into the bathtub. I heard the squeaky sound of the taps as she yelled, “Finally! My uncle said you would throw up, as part of the healing process. It’s the negative energy leaving your
body.”

“Well, I feel okay...I guess. I won’t be running a marathon. My grandparents, where are they? The last thing I remember...” I stopped talking. I had a flashback to Hanna speaking to someone in the kitchen, but whom? And the banging on my door! That was the key to this episode. Carole sat gingerly on the bed next to me. Grabbing her hand, I asked, “Have you noticed anything off about
Hanna?”

She nodded her head from side to side and her shoulder-length black tresses tickled my face as she leaned over to whisper, “Why? Tell me, Paige. What is going on? Hanna’s acting like a soldier guarding you...she’s just down the
hall.”

“Quick, lock the door,” I
gasped.

Carole jumped up and tried just as Hanna barged into the room to ask how I was doing. I pretended that I was still sleeping. Carole made up an excuse — she thought she saw me wake up, and apparently was mistaken. My heart raced as I tried not to move my eyes. Hanna started for my bedside until she heard grandma’s voice calling her name. Thankfully, she turned on her heels and
disappeared.

Carole locked the bedroom door and turned on the music on my alarm clock radio. “Now we can talk. What’s up with
Hanna?”

“I don’t know. All I remember is entering the kitchen and she was talking to someone I could not see...and when I tried to listen in, I knocked a candy dish off the counter that shattered on the floor. She stared at me — and her eyes. Oh, no! Her eyes were black before returning to normal. Carole, is she possessed?!” I threw my hands up and fell back against the
pillows.

Carole hesitated before she spoke, “Uncle Kyle told me that someone close to you is going to harm you. I didn’t believe it at first, but, now I’m thinking he’s right. First it was Dexter, now Hanna? Oh no, Paige. What are we going to do?” Carole held my hand
tightly.

The fear binding me to the bed dissipated. I sat upright and declared, “We’re going to fool this evil that’s haunting me! I will play the victim and stand up and fight when the time is right!” Then I collapsed back against the pillows and drifted off to
sleep.

Tossing and turning, I had a recurring nightmare. Yellow eyes surrounded me and I heard the low guttural growl that made my skin crawl. I was semi-conscious when my arm fell over the side of the bed. I snatched it back in case what I assumed was a nightmare was actually
reality.

* *
*

My soul arose from my body; I felt weightless and peaceful. Looking down, I saw the hellhounds had surrounded my bed. They revealed their serrated teeth, saliva dripping from the sides of their mouths as it cascaded to the floor. It looked like they were waiting for something or was I actually dead? I was unsure what was happening until I saw a bright light appear, next to the window, and watched as an angel floated over top of my bedridden, physical being. Light descended towards my body. It looked surreal and as the light hit — a rainbow of colours projected onto the bedroom walls. It was a breathtaking sight and what seemed more amazing, the hellhounds bowed, as a sign of respect, as the angel floated over each one of them. I could not believe my eyes as the hellhounds were no more, one by one they became human
spirits.

I knew in my soul, in this instance, the hellhounds were enlisted to help me. Instead of feeling comforted, I obsessed about what had these ferocious beasts so upset that they had to join forces with me, my spirit wolf, Journey, and the spirits from the
Light?