Fallen Masters (63 page)
Authors: John Edward
“I’m not a control freak,” Rae Loona said, her eyes closed tightly and teeth clenched during the takeoff. “I just like things to go the way I want them to.”
“I’m sure that’s true, Nurse Loona,” John Travolta said. “And I’m sure you usually get your way in the end.”
“Yes,” she replied with a bit of a hiss through her teeth. “I usually do.”
Fast forward
Rae Loona stood beside Dr. Tyler Michaels, and both admired the sign that he had just hung up over this small building, which would be an inspiration for education as well as healing. In a remote area of South Africa, Dr. Michaels would begin his new life, inspiring “his” adopted kids in the worlds of both science and faith. He would teach and heal them. He had come to understand his calling in a new way.
Rae told him he needed to add a new wing to the building. “I think the ‘Rae Loona Pavilion’ has a nice ring to it, don’t you?”
He pretended to ignore her. “When are you going back to the hospital?” he asked.
“I’m going to follow in my sister’s footsteps—at least for a while—working with one family, taking care of all their needs. It means I’ll be on call 24/7,” she noted.
“It means they will be very well off, if they can afford you,” he chided her.
Both laughed, and they hugged.
“Will you see me off, Mikey?”
“Don’t call me that! How many times…?”
She pulled him closer to her once again. “I’ll call you that every damn time I see you. You’ll always be my Mikey, you big white ape man.”
They walked outside, arm in arm, in the sweltering African heat. In the distance on a makeshift runway, Rae’s new boss awaited her, standing beside his private plane. He called out to her: “You ready, Nurse Loona?”
Tyler laughed and waved as Rae sauntered up the steps to a shiny new private jet … with Academy Award-winning actor and producer Mr. John Travolta himself in the cockpit. Rae turned and yelled back to Dr. Tyler Michaels, “I told ya, Mikey. We are going places.
Go-ing pla-ces!
”
Tyler climbed into his jeep as the jet took off. He had to run into “town”—a village just a few kilometers down the road—for some supplies. As he drove, he passed a new hand-painted sign that read: S
T.
J
EREMY’S
H
OSPITAL,
S
OUTH
A
FRICA.
* * *
Charlene St. John McAvoy Rask and Dawson became accustomed to working together every day in her company’s studio to record the theme song for the movie version of Dawson’s record-breaking
New York Times
bestseller, titled
Fallen Masters
. It was an inspirational novel based on the incredible story of how the two had fallen in love during the tumultuous events that challenged the entire world, now only a memory—though a vivid, life-changing one for them.
Charlene was expecting their second child. Their first, a boy born less than a year ago, had been christened Clive Stapleton Rask. He was a healthy, beautiful child, asleep now in a nearby room outfitted for him, while his parents worked.
Dawson rose from his worktable and went to her as she stood by the watercooler and looked out of a tall sun-splashed window. He put his hand on her full, burgeoning belly.
“Do you ever think what it would be like if we had never met?” he asked.
“I never think about things that are impossible,” she replied. “Or that which never was. I can now see clearly that every moment in our lives up until we first saw each other put us on the path to be together. And our adventure together—” Charlene and Dawson called their time in L.A. their “adventure.” She paused and turned to face him fully. “The Lady brought me to you, and your master brought you to me. Both brought us to the place where we could help Marcus share his message with the world. Now
that
was impossible!”
She smiled her billion-dollar smile that would one day grace another Super Bowl show. He pulled her to him gently and kissed her on the forehead—and then on those lips he loved so much.
Charlene thought briefly of the other loves in their lives–those here and those gone on. She thought especially of Ryan, and Dawson’s late wife Mary Beth … and she knew in her heart that the happiness they had with their lost loves would never truly go away and that somewhere they understood this new joy and were happy for both Charlene and Dawson. And as love finds love and all the paths of light seek each other out, they would all someday join in each other in joy.…
* * *
Marcus Ellis Jackson delivered the valedictory address upon his graduation from William and Mary College, where he graduated at the top of his class—two years early. Bobby Anderson sat in the audience at commencement ceremonies next to Marcus’s mother.
To no one’s surprise, he used the occasion to announce his intention to run for political office sooner rather than later … maybe even against the ever-popular ex-TV news anchor Dave Hampton, now a second-term Congressman from Virginia.
“All of us graduates have a lot of people to thank for helping us get through our college education. My mom, Win Jackson, has never been far from my side—even when I didn’t really want her there, so close—every step of the way. And my dad, though he was taken away from all of us, has always been there, too. Always.
“I want to say a special word to my dad, because I know he is here, and he is listening. I can feel his presence and almost see him.
“Dad, you and Mom not only gave me life, but you saved my life when I was most in trouble. And you not only saved me, but, in a very real way, you saved the whole world. We are all in your debt.”
Tears filled the eyes of everyone in the audience.
Bobby Anderson, who had known Marcus Jr. from when he was a boy, felt his heart fill with emotion—and pride. He felt Win’s hand enfold his, and both squeezed hard. This was a family truly worthy of being called America’s First Family.
Marcus Jackson waved to his mother from the podium and gave Agent Anderson a big thumbs-up and a smile.
“That young man is going places,” Anderson said, half-aloud. But Win could not hear him amid the cheers and applause.
About the Author
Internationally acclaimed psychic medium JOHN EDWARD has captivated audiences worldwide, using his unique abilities to connect people with loved ones who have passed on. Deeply compelling, often startling, and occasionally humorous, Edward’s down-to-earth approach has earned him a vast, loyal following and guest appearances on many TV shows, from
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
to Anderson Cooper’s
Anderson
. He is the
New York Times
bestselling author of
Crossing Over
and
What If God Were the Sun.
John Edward resides on Long Island, in New York.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
FALLEN MASTERS
Copyright © 2012 by John Edward
All rights reserved.
Cover photographs by Getty Images
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
ISBN 978-0-7653-3271-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 9781466800724 (e-book)
First Edition: September 2012
