Dragan's Redemption Book One of the Manor at Echo Lake Trilogy (35 page)

“Miss Amira?  Miss Amira can you hear me?”  Amira heard the voice as if from far off. 
Trying
to focus on James
’s
voice, her head turned weakly on the pillow. 
A
hand slapp
ed
her wrist
, the voice now filled with excitement.  “That’s it
,
Miss Amira, you can do it.”

Weakly opening her eyes, she moaned
again.
  It took her eyes some
time, but soon she was looking up into James
’s
old face
,
which was grinning down at her.  “Oh, Miss, you gave us such a fright.”

She felt so tired.  Closing her eyes, she heard the bedroom door
open
as James ran out of the room.  It seemed like an eternity but
it was only
minutes later she felt someone grab her head.  Trying to move away fro
m
the
strong
touch, she made a face.

“Amira, please open your eyes.”  Hearing
Aaron’s
thick accent
,
she again tried to open her eyes.  “That’s it sweetheart, you can do it!”

Looking into dark eyes, she saw relief reflected in them.

“What happened
,
Aaron?  I
do not
feel so good.  I need Dragan.”

She watched as Aaron’s eyes filled with tears before she succumbed again to sleep.

“Sir?”

Aaron lowered his head in relief.  “She is going to make it
,
James.   The son of a bitch did it.”  James
looked
at Aaron confused.  “If I am correct old man, Dragan healed her.  Please get Dr. Kingsley out here to take some blood.”

“Of course
,
Sir.”

James turned the handle on the door.  Turning back around
,
he looked down at the man
now
kneeling at the side of the bed holding Amira’s hand.
A mournful howl came from outside.  Both men looked towards the window.

“
W
e have p
laced
his body
in his beloved chapel.  Shadow still will not eat or leave his side
,
and no one can get close to
the wolf
.”

Nodding
,
Aaron held back the sob until he heard the click of the latch on the door. 
P
ressing Amira’s hand to his
lips
,
he
wept
into
her warmth
.

Amira
woke
several hours
later feeling better than she had her whole life.  L
istening
to the sounds of the house, she shifted in the bed.  Startled
,
she looked at Aaron as he slept sitting in the
chair next to her
,
his head resting on his folded arms
on the
mattress
.  He looked tired even in sleep.  Brushing his hair with her fingers, she watched him wake quickly.

“Hi ya
,
Aaron.  Where’s Dragan?”

She watched as tears filled his eyes
,
m
aking no attempt to hide them from her, her hea
r
t
pounded
painfully in her chest.

“Aaron, where is Dragan
?
”

Struggling to remember what happened, the only thing she could remember was making love.

“Amira, I am sorry, but he is gone
.
”

“
What
do you mean
,
gone?”

Hearing a loud howl come from outside, her startled look scanned Aaron
’
s face.

“He is dead
,
Amira.   He died, to give you life.”

“No.  Please, no
,
Aaron.
  Please tell me this is a joke.”

Shaking her head in denial, she jumped
out of the
bed
hurrying
to
the
window
.  Looking out of the glass toward the
chapel
,
she saw
Shadow standing
forlornly
facing the door
of the old building,
his nose almost touching the ground, shoulders sagging in grief
. 
Every few moments he would lift his giant white head and let out a long howl.

Her heart broke in two watching him grieve alone
,
and she screamed out to him.
“
Shadow
!”  Feeling her legs give away, she started to fall.  Aaron was there to catch her.  “Help me to dress
,
Aaron.  I have to go to Shadow.”

“Amira, you need to rest, and no one can get close to him right now.  He snarls and tries to bite anyone that does.”

Amira gritted her teeth tightly trying to hold herself together as a physical pain ripped through her heart.  Dragan was dead! 
“Take me to that poor wolf now!
Or I will do it myself.”

Several minutes later, Aaron stood on the balcony watching Amira as she stepped
across the manicured grass
towards the
little
chapel.
Shadow
, hearing her approach
turned snapping and snarling.  Recognition burst from him
at seeing her
,
and he immediately started whining
,
running at her. 
Amira
met him half way
as
both wolf and human
dropped to the ground
attempting to console
each other.  Feeling the tears filling his
eyes
again
,
Aaron turned and walked back into the house giving them the privacy they needed.

Dragan
did not
know how much time had passed and suspected that where he was time did not matter.  He had attempted to speak to the three figures
,
but they only would look at him saying nothing.  It seemed to him that they were waiting for something or someone, but he was not sure what.  He wished that he could see Amira or his brother wanting to know if his sacrifice was worth it.

Feeling a
shift
in
energy,
he watched curiously as they turned away from him
,
looking through the mist as if they could sense something that he could not.  After a
period of time
,
Dragan s
aw him.
This one was n
ot like the others
,
and he definitely seemed younger in spirit.

Nodding his head to the
angels,
they stepped
aside
as he walked through them and directly towards him. Dragan liked him immediately.

“I know you, but I don’t know why.”

“Hello
,
Dragan.  We have never met, but I have been with you since you were born
, so I probably feel familiar
.
.
.”

“Are you my guardian
angel?
”

Sebastian
laughed easily.  “I am
definitely
not an angel.”  Turning
,
he pointed to the three standing guard over
them
.  They are angels
,
and they have been watching over you until I could return to you.  You are either an angel or you are not.  In your
world,
many people believe that when you die some become these great heavenly beings but it is not possible.
Our
F
ather created these beings to serve
,
s
ome as messengers, some as protectors
,
but all to serve the Alpha and Omega.  They judge
no one
and do nothing without his permission.”

“And you?”

“I was as you were
once - a
human that died.  Each soul has a purpose
,
Dragan
,
when it is placed in human form.  Some live for only seconds when the sperm reaches the egg
, s
ome for days, some for
years
.  All predetermined.  Your journey as a human is not to be taken lightly
,
and no matter what challenges you face, it is hoped that the human spirit recognizes the gift that was bestowed on them
,
and that they live their life with purpose.”

“And what is that purpose
?
”

“To love unconditionally
,
not only others
,
but
themselves
.”

“Then I have failed.”

Sebastian
paused.  “How did you fail
,
Dragan?
”

“I have hated who I was
almost
my
entire
life.”

“No
, y
ou have not.  You hated who you were forced to become. 
There is a difference. 
You loved greater than
most.
”

“But I am undead.”

“
You
were
undead. 
T
hat
small difference
is why you have been suspended for so long here.  Your faith did not go unrecognized all of these years my son.  Normally,
the dark angels would have taken you to
their lair.  For some reason, they could not touch you.  We were unsure what to do with you as you are unable to enter the gates of heaven, or hell
,
because you were soulless
.”

Sadness enveloped his heart as he listened to
Sebastian’s
words.  “So there is no hope for me?”

Sebastian
placed a gentle hand on Dragan’s shoulder.  “I have learned through watching you all of these years, that there is always hope
,
my young friend.  It seems that your unselfish act of love was the determining factor for the One that sees all
,
and h
e has read your heart.”

Not understanding, Dragan searched
Sebastian’s
face wondering why this spirit was smiling.

“You are to prove yourself worthy of entering the gates of heaven.”

“How am I to do that?”

“Well, the only way we see that you can is by allowing you to return and proving it to us in human form.  You are graced with the opportunity to be resurrected back in human form
,
and your soul is intact
once again
.”

Dragan looked
incredulous
at the man before him
,
barely comprehe
nding his words before feeling
a bolt of lightning strike him.
  It felt like every part of his body was being ripped apart and put back together.  Feeling a warm light surround him, he dropped to the ground losing all sense of consciousness.

Amira woke with a start, her heart pounding frantically.  Catching a movement in the
darkness,
she saw Shadow walk to the French doors trying to peer through the window whining.

“Amira, what is it?”

Throwing the sheets back, she jumped out of bed walking
hurriedly
to Shadow.  “I don’t know
,
Aaron
.  Something has Shadow all worked up.
”

Aaron and Amira stared out the window, searching the darkness.  “What the hell?”  Aaron stepped through the doors leading outside.  There was a light
shining
through the stained glass of the chapel windows.  Before he could say
anything
, they watched stunned as the heavy door slowly open
ed
.
  Shadow growled, every hair on his body stood straight up in the air.

“If someone messed with my brother
,
I will rip their heart out.”  Both vampire and wolf jumped over the balcony ledge racing to the figure now staggering out of the building.