Destiny's Gate (22 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Meet Michael

Trudging through the snow, across the stone bridge, I sensed something was off. I stopped and scanned the dwarf-like castle with its turret, half expecting to see the wolves monitoring the grounds. A hint of apprehension flowed through my body. Not one light poked out through the guest house windows, and as I drew closer, I noticed the front door was slightly ajar. My heart palpitated and then I performed a ritual that I had not done for awhile — ‘In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’, making the sign of the cross on my chest, as I spoke aloud. I pushed the door open, and had another flashback to the last time I opened the heavy oak door, of Dexter lying in a pool of blood. I shuddered at the recollection and quietly entered, glancing into the kitchen, the dining room, and then the living room. I found no one. I walked past the bedrooms, and then I overheard harsh whispers coming from the second
floor.

“I don’t want to tell Paige what’s really happening here, Trixie! She’s not ready yet. Paige has to accept her destiny and I don’t see any signs of that yet. She is caught up in her human emotions and fear! You and I both know until she gets past this, she cannot end the battle over the evil that is gaining strength on the estate. This conflict is tied to her heritage, and thus it is her battle to lead. Sadly, she does not trust in her inner strength or intuition, or any of us assigned to help
her.”

Silence befell the guest house. I did not want to move for fear that Allan and Trixie would hear me.
I was beginning to understand my destiny. But, how exactly was I supposed to overcome my fear
? I could not understand how I ended up in this supernatural battle and with my parents living halfway around the world. I was seventeen years old and on the brink of saving the souls of my family. Hmm...where did that come from — souls? Then, I overheard a third, authoritative
voice.

“Do not worry, old friends. Paige will step up to accept her responsibility in all of this. She is an old soul that has the skills and knowledge to resolve this desperate battle. All she needs is for someone to awaken those skills. Sadly, I understand Allan that you thought you were the one to do it. I have now asked my friend Raphael to come and help. His healing powers will awaken
Paige.”

Trixie added, “Oh daddy...you have done all you can for Paige and her family. Thank you, Michael. Trust in whom he has chosen, father. We will gladly accept
help.”

“Thank you, Trixie. What about you, Allan?” Michael
asked.

“Of, course! I have faith in you and will support Paige in any way I
can.”

I smiled as I heard Trixie say, “Me too! I believe in Paige for
always.”

As I turned to sneak back to the entrance, I heard an ominous growl and spied a black dog guarding the front door. His nasty stench of dried feces and blood preceded him. I froze until I heard someone behind me and whirled around to see Blue-Eyes bounding past me and landing on my enemy. They rolled over and over, out through the oak door, and I heard haunted growling, a yelp and then silence. Trixie bounced past me in her canine form and returned dragging her dad by the throat. Blood spilled from his gut. A statuesque man, who I assumed was Michael, burned past me, and knelt down beside Allan’s bloodied body. Michael held his hands over the wounds and the squeals of delight coming from Trixie led me to believe that the bleeding had stopped.
Did this man just heal Allan in front of me
? Curiosity overrode my fear and I moved closer to see what was happening. Michael turned to me as I fell onto my knees next to him. He grabbed my hands and placed them just above Allan’s open wounds. I watched in amazement, palms facing each other, as the energy in my hands caused pulsating movements, and then began to tingle, and felt hot. Michael placed my hands palm sides down over top of Allan’s body and as our energies united it felt like my hands were on fire. I stared at Michael in disbelief, and then back down at Allan’s wounds. They were entirely healed. I fell back on my elbows unable to understand what had just
happened.

Michael smiled and said, “Well, now. We no longer have to worry about Paige becoming aware of her special gifts. You healed Allan, Paige!
Hallelujah.”

I could not take my eyes off him. He had a striking presence — long, flowing, sandy brown hair, and perfectly chiselled facial structure, glowing skin, and riveting blue eyes. I knew he was not from our realm.
Who is he
? I was in awe of the man I had knelt
beside.

Without hesitation, he answered, “I came to help awaken your natural abilities. It seems to me, you have taken care of that all by yourself. Your love for Allan and Trixie was the catalyst and I know you would do anything to protect them.” Again, he
smiled.

“Who are you?” I asked,
naively.

“Michael is my name, but that is not for you to worry about right now. I am happy that you have seen the power within you, Paige. You can do so much more than you realize. You have been born into a family that has existed for centuries living alongside the Otherworld. You see what others cannot — spirits. It is your lineage. You cannot deny or reject it. It is your destiny to end the battle on the O’Brien estate, between good and evil!” Then, poof, Michael
vanished.

I sat still, mesmerized by Michael’s presence, as if in a dream. I did not notice Trixie had moved her father until I heard Allan moaning from his bedroom. Somehow I knew everything was going to be okay. In fact, I had never felt
better.

Jumping to my feet, I ran into my parents’ former bedroom and asked, “Can I do anything else to help,
Allan?”

Allan nodded his head from side to side and proclaimed, “You’ve done enough, Paige. Thank you! Go find Jonathan. You’ll know him when you see him.” He passed
out.

Trixie added, “It’s okay, Paige. I’ll look after my daddy. Go and seek your destiny!” She turned back to Allan and wiped his forehead with a cloth. “Thank you so much for healing him. We are indebted to you and will do anything we can to
help.”

I smiled and intuitively transformed into my inner spirit wolf, Journey. Running like the wind felt invigorating. I loved it. I seemed to run for hours and enjoyed watching the animals frolic in the forest. I spied a deer, a moose, and a momma bear and her cubs playing in the river, and came to a halt when I reached a cliff’s edge. Looking down at the river below, I felt empowered. I instinctively began to howl. It came from a gut level and riveted throughout my entire body, from head to toe, and was a beautiful sound to behold. It was a transcendental experience that made me feel invincible; my senses finely tuned more than I could ever have imagined. I could see and hear for miles and could smell many things at once. The flowers, the trees, the animals of the forest, nothing could escape me. I resumed howling until I grew tired. Lying on a rock, in the sun, my senses told me Jonathan was on his way. Closing my eyes, I pictured a white wolf with blue eyes and strawberry markings behind the ears running to me. I fell asleep knowing I had to conserve my energy. When I awoke, there seated next to me was the most beautiful white wolf I had ever seen. He nudged me to get up and we ran together for hours. It was a peaceful, serene feeling, and more natural than I could ever have dreamed
of.

I was overjoyed as we ran gracefully to the guest house. Standing outside were my loyal friends, Allan and Trixie. Coming to an abrupt halt, I transformed into my human form and surprisingly, so too did Jonathan. He was handsome with white-blond hair and blue eyes and looked to be about my age. I believed he was family, somehow. Jonathan held my hand and I heard telepathically,
I’m so happy we have found each other once again, Paige! We were siblings in another lifetime
. I did not doubt him. I was comforted by his presence and experienced no fear, for the first time in a long
time.

Closing my eyes, I wanted to remember this experience for the rest of my life. However, when I opened them, we stood atop a cliff overlooking a mountain range, as if floating on air. Glancing over at Jonathan, I was unnerved as I assumed he was holding my hand — in fact, he was not; I was floating solo. It startled me until Jonathan beamed at me and messaged telepathically,
see, you never did need another’s support — you can do so many things on your own, sister
. I returned the smile and managed to calm down, wanting to savour the experience. Eyes closed, I could see angels surrounding us, there was one, then two, then four, until I counted eleven. It was magnificent. They had astounding wings of varying sizes in colours from brown to light beige. Upon opening my eyes, I was back on the cliff’s edge, standing alone. Fear stirred in my body and I felt like I was free-falling. Jonathan clutched my hand and I snapped back to the present.
It’s all right; we need help from one another, now and again, Paige. Don’t be afraid to ask. Michael can come to your aid at any time. That’s his
duty
.

Straight away, Jonathan and I were back talking to Allan and Trixie.
Did it really happen? Had I truly been on the edge of a cliff with Jonathan
? It was surreal until Jonathan handed me a white eagle feather, and said,
what a wondrous mountain
top
.

Life was unfolding in a way I never expected.
Run like a wolf, float like an angel, really?
This was too much, even for me. I had been through so many random experiences lately, when it struck me — could I even identify which ones were real and which were dreams? My gut told me that as long as it was a positive and holy experience, did it really matter? For now, I had to concentrate on how to banish evil, once and for
all.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Enlightenment by Uncle Kyle

Cozy and warm in my bedcovers, I held my hands up high against the backdrop of the moon’s intermittent rays, streaming in through my tiny bedroom window. I examined their outline and noticed how small my hands appeared, not the kind that would be attached to a healer. What did Carole tell me about her uncle? Oh, right — he was an elder. I picked up my cell and Googled it. Elder:
an individual who’s older and therefore wiser by reason of right living and spiritual exercises; to possess wisdom. Elders are keepers of the tribal encyclopaedia and keepers of wisdom and culture
.
They encourage faith in the Creator.
Great! This was someone who could enlighten me as to what spiritual forces were at work on the
estate.

I envisioned Allan and Trixie, Michael and Jonathan. So much was changing all at once. I was having a flashback of floating above the mountain range with Jonathan next to me, and must have drifted off to sleep, when I jerked and felt as if free-falling, once again. It was pitch-black in the room, yet I sensed another presence. Violet perfume permeated my nostrils — it was my mom’s preferred designer
fragrance.

“Mom? Mom, are you
there?”

Not a word was spoken. I broke out into a profuse sweat and wiped my forehead. The temperature in the room rose to what felt like ninety degrees. How could it be so hot in the middle of winter? I threw off my covers and began to breathe slowly in through my nose and out through my mouth to calm myself. Now the room was ice cold. I quickly grabbed my duvet and pulled it over my head. Someone was messing with me. I recited the Lord’s Prayer over and over again until I fell
asleep.

Much to my annoyance, I was roused by my alarm at six in the morning. At least I’d managed to sleep through most of the night. Grabbing my cell phone off the night table, I texted Carole to let me know when she was ready for the day, and then fell back against my fluffy pillows, and drifted off to sleep again. I was startled by the vibration of my cell. It was Carole announcing she was dressed and coming over to see me, with her Uncle Kyle; she knew I needed assistance and was happy to help. I jumped into the shower and heard softly,
everything is as it should be
. I thought,
really?

Quickly drying off, I heard a loud rap on my bedroom door. I glared at the mirror and yelled, “Just a minute. I’ll be right out.” Ignoring my plea, the rap became louder and more intense. “I’ll be right there,” I shouted from the bathroom, annoyed at myself for not being
ready.

I zipped into my new green Guess jeans and a red cable knit sweater Peggy had made me for as a Christmas gift. Opening the door, I was stunned as my gaze met a man’s; Carole’s uncle had a strong presence. I shivered momentarily. I thought it was rather odd that she had brought him directly to my
bedroom.

Uncle Kyle nodded his head in greeting and asked, “Where can we speak in
private?”

I responded, “My photo lab in the basement would be the best
place.”

The three of us did not speak again until we reached the lower
stairs.

“So nice to finally meet you, Paige. I understand you know who I am?” Uncle Kyle asked. “And I’ve been informed that you are having trouble with interference from the spirit world. In fact, I’ve had a vision showing me so. Call me Kyle. I am honoured to help you in any way that I can. Please tell me what’s happening to you
now?”

Kyle waved his hand, allowing me to enter the lab first. I stumbled in and sat on a bench situated against the far wall. He insisted to Carole that she should enter next. Carole grabbed her chest and then she motioned for me to carry on. I wondered what that was all
about.

“Apparently, there is an evil force brewing on the estate. It holds my family and my ancestors responsible for something that happened several generations ago. That’s the gist. I also have been attacked by black savage dogs and
wolves...”

“Whoa, stop right there! Black dogs — how
big?”

“They vary in size — one, in particular, keeps showing up. The last time I saw him he was in the flesh, before that...it was as if he was a
ghost.”

Kyle paused, reflecting on what was said. “Oh, my, you aren’t talking about hellhounds, are you? Why, it can’t be...in folklore, they are often the gatekeepers to something; it could be a
graveyard...”

“That’s it,” I interjected. “The cemetery with the angel, Carole, you remember — we ran by her on
Halloween.”

Carole nodded, a look of fright on her
face.

“Well, that could be a good thing, or not,” Kyle explained. “Did you smell something like a fire burning, because they’re known for that, or did you notice their growl? It is often described as loud and then low, like thunder rumbling...just before they
attack?”

I studied Kyle’s face, and noticed his pupils were dilated. Fear seemed to show itself, briefly, and then he seemed
fine.

“Come to think of it, yes, I guess I’ve smelled a smoky odour, and definitely, the growl is exactly as you’ve described. What do you mean...good or not?” I asked
exasperated.

Kyle paced the lab as he spoke. “I’ve been very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel through most of the United States, as I am often called upon to consult, as a spiritual counsellor. One day, I was on my way to a healing ceremony when I found myself stranded in an airport in Missouri. I met a man, who sat next to me, a Doctor Jolly, who struck up a conversation, talking about the blasted weather, as he put it. It was thunderstorming and our flight was delayed. He asked if he could tell me a story. Now before I begin, I just want to say up front, I don’t believe in hellhounds. With that being said, this is what the man told me, Paige. While he was riding his horse one night, crossing a stream near a cemetery, I think it was called Baysville Cemetery, he saw a figure of some sort. As he rode closer, he saw it was a dog, but much larger. Imagine his shock when he noticed it was walking on water, with no sound or ripple effects. Doctor Jolly claimed he saw it many times; the most memorable sightings happened once in the daytime, and once in bright moonlight. He went on to explain, contrary to the myths, hellhounds can be used for a common good, not just bad, depending upon the circumstances. It’s not like everyone thinks. For instance, hellhounds can be sent to bring back lost souls wandering the earth invisible to most people. These are nasty souls not meant to inhabite this good earth. So for the common good, hellhounds send them to the Underworld. They may also safeguard a cemetery according to the wishes of the originator of the cemetery — to protect the family buried there — from evil spirits. I do believe that the good doctor had no doubt his story was true. He also added one can enlist the aid of hellhounds under certain circumstances. They can also be the protector of a woman, or, their worst enemy.” Kyle emphasized, “You will have to make up your own
mind.”

Kyle had a medium-sized build and dark brown hair, pulled back into a long braid down the middle of his back. His weathered face became more expressive as he pondered his last few sentences. Kyle fixed his gaze on me for some sort of reaction — I gave him nothing. At this point, I was numb from his confirmation that these horrible dogs existed. As far as I was aware, from horror movies, they were just downright evil working for the devil to serve his selfish
desires.

“The funny thing is, I’ve always wondered why Doctor Jolly picked me to tell his story to. Now I get it. I know this is difficult to hear, Paige, whatever is haunting you...you need spiritual help.” He patted his braid and I noticed a small feather in the leather hair
band.

I explained that I already had a mentor, and she was the one to help guide me, and some help from the spirit world. I added a quick thank you to both Kyle and Carole and whispered an excuse that I had to get back upstairs to help my grandparents. Carole looked down, grabbed her uncle’s arm and led him out of the room. I guided them back up the narrow staircase, feeling rather sheepish, and said goodbye. I watched Carole and Kyle head down the hall to the east entrance. Kyle’s boots echoed down the corridor followed by a loud
bang.

I wheeled around to lock the three quarter door when something touched my hand. An immediate jolt of electricity shocked me. I recoiled and gasped; when I turned around there was nothing visible. I was growing tired of the earthbounds’ childish games. More importantly, I hoped deep within my heart that I had not ruined my friendship with Carole or insulted Kyle. I had been told by many that Peggy was my spiritual guide. She had been a guide to the O’Brien clan for
years.

As I approached my bedroom, I spied Jonathan in the hallway in his beautiful white wolf form, waiting for my return. He trotted into the room ahead of me, and transitioned in the flesh with his white-blond hair and electric blue eyes. “Paige, you had visitors today. Remember they are only trying to help you, as are Peggy, your grandfather, Carole, Allan and Trixie. Now Archangel Michael has enlisted too! What a lucky soul you
are!”

“Archangel Michael. What are you talking about?” I dropped onto the bed and put both hands on my head disbelieving my own
ears.

“Many do not remember that Michael was a healer first, before he was known as the protector of all souls. He is here to help awaken you to your true self on a soulful level. You are a healer and protector, as well. We can never have enough helpers, especially when we do not know what we are battling, yet.” Jonathan held my hand and said, “Listen to me, sister. I lost you in the last lifetime and I do not want to lose you in this one. The next time you are speaking with Carole, please thank her for her offer, and for her uncle’s, and ask that they say a protection prayer for you. It will be more powerful than you can imagine. Carole’s ancestors come from a long line of medicine men and chiefs. They know answers to questions that most do not even have the knowledge to ask. It wouldn’t hurt if they made a medicine bundle for you to heal your soul and any physical ailments. It must be blessed by many chiefs, or shamans, and First Nations peoples. It will take time to create it. Just know that I am with you in spirit, Paige. It is my turn to leave now. Know who you can trust and who you cannot. Listen to your gut. Not all are who they appear to be. In fact, sometimes, the nicest person can be the betrayer of
souls.”

As Jonathan revealed this last warning, he began to fade away until I could no longer see him. I rolled onto the floor and leaned against my bed wondering how I was going to figure this all out.
Am I to wait until my parents return in June
?
Is mom supposed to help me
?
It is her bloodline after all
. I bowed my head and asked for help from Creator. It was merely seconds until I heard loudly and clearly,
you will know what to do when the time comes. Live from a place of love. It conquers all that is evil
.
Everything is as it should
be.

Grabbing two pillows from my bed, I got comfortable on the floor and fell asleep until lunch time. I stirred as I heard a loud bang and sat upright to watch the clock as it digitally displayed 12:00 p.m. Surveying the room, I wondered what the noise was. I began to twist my hair around my index finger, like mom loved to do, and thought,
oh joy, another mother-daughter trait
.
When did the change occur?
I giggled aloud only to be jolted back into reality with another loud bang. It was coming from the bathroom. I manoeuvred my way, stepping lightly, over clothes strewn about the floor and rounded the bathroom door. Inside, I spied a white orb that transformed into Mackenzie. She wore the same white eyelet dress and blue ribbon tying back her long, blonde hair, from my first meeting with her. Mackenzie pointed to something on the ceramic counter. I studied her wondering why she would not speak to me, and then noticed the angel charm Dexter had given to me. I looked at Mackenzie quizzically, who smiled, and then faded
away.

As I picked up the precious angel, I wondered why everything seemed like one giant puzzle that had split into a gazillion pieces. Why was it my responsibility to fit them all back together and solve the mystery? What in the world did my ancestors do to deserve such a plight? Instantly, I experienced an overpowering feeling of nausea and a flashback to the little boy tortured in the basement ice vault. Could it be all about him? And who was he, really? These were questions for my grandfather. Again, a wave of nausea hit; wrong answer. Perhaps, it was a question for Peggy. The nausea lifted; now, I was beginning to master my
gift.