THE HAUNTED KINGDOM 3 by CHARLES E.J. MOULTON (best books to read now txt) 📖

to his left and his right, he turned around and looked up and down.
It had been the eagle. He had seen him open the beak and say it.
“Say it again.”
No answer.
The eagle looked around as if waiting for something.
Slowly, Alexander Winsletenna began walking away from the eagle and took the first step up to the porch. He heard a fluttering of wings, fabric hitting the ground, a swooshing sound.
He did not turn around but he assumed … what?
He took another step up to the porch and then heard the voice.
It was warm , familiar, friendly.
“Hello, Alex!”
Slowly, Alexander turned around.
That was when he saw the angel.
He was back.
Michael was back, smiling, beaming at him
He had been the eagle, coming for one last time to say hello.
The angel seemed to look through the king in a way that made him feel strangely happy. It felt good that this spirit was able to see though him like he did. There was a half smile that emerged upon his lips and Alex had no chance but to respond back to his friend with the same half smile.
“Good morning, Michael!”
He took a step forward toward his majesty and stopped, cocking his head and sighing. There was satisfaction there. The resolved happiness of a redeemer who had spent eternities hunting a brother down and who had finally been … what? Hunted down? He did not know what had happened, but he knew when he embraced the angel that he saw the two blood brothers making an oath on a beach somewhere in Eden and that there was pain there. Vanquishing Lucifer was more than crushing evil for Michael, it was simply helping family.
He felt warmth, hugging Michael. There was warmth there and happiness, even thankfulness.
As they let go Alexander’s eyes drifted across the garden lawn in front of the main entrance and realized that this was all a part of his life again and that he had fought for this.
He looked at Michael.
“We all tried to reach you for years.”
Alex sighed. “How do you mean?”
”We tried to reach your soul.”
“I was blocked, was I not?”
Michael nodded. “When Lucinda disappeared she left a mark in your soul that had you being scared of everything. Life, death, everything. You spent years trying to redeem the fact that you had lost time and were losing time worrying. Lucinda left making a promise that you saw to that she kept by constantly worrying … about being worried that she would come to hunt you.”
Alexander looked at his guardian angel and shook his head. He looked down.
“I should not have been so scared, I called her to me by having these feelings, I know. There was always a spiritual connection there.”
Michael caressed Alexander’s cheek, who felt a glow there when the hand left him.
“That is all over now.” He beamed. “You have made yourself proud.”
Alexander felt a tear slowly trickling down his cheek.
“And us?”
”Yes?”
”Yes” the angel chuckled.
“Michael.”
”Yes?”
”I never thought I would make it. I gave up so many times. I still can’t believe all of that happened.”
“Believe me, it did.”
”I still have trouble grasping all of that.”
”I know.”
Alexander pleaded with Michael to answer him. “What lies ahead, Michael? I worry right now that something will …”
Michael raised his hand and right at once Alexander felt compelled to listen to his advice on stopping to talk. “You have saved your own life and other people’s as well. Your future is securer than ever. Nocturania is gone. The magic has happened.”
Alex nodded.
“Look at this garden.”
Michael put his hand around the king’s shoulder and started walking with him around the roses, begonias and chrysanthemums, the tulips and the daisies.
“You are a strong oak protecting these roses” Michael said. “Your problem is that you haven’t stopped to realize that you must stand by your choices. You spend all your time regretting that you threw Lucinda out. You hope that you hadn’t spent so much time discussing with your representatives from the committee before the attacks got worse or you would’ve been there when Morgana seduced Steven before the merger.” Michael shook his head. “You went to Alliland, you had your affair with Madeleine, you spent your time in hell. Now relish in the choices. You keep wishing you had been somewhere else, you keep wanting to be …”
Alex interrupted him. “Am I unthankful, Michael?”
“Why?”
“You give me all this and I thank you by being scared.”
Michael shook his head. “No, you are just restless. Learn to live with that.” He smiled so sweetly that Alex had to nod and smile back. “You have to be happy in the here and now. Don’t change the past, you can’t. Fix the present.” Michael giggled. “You should learn that at your age.”
The king chuckled. “Yes, I should, should I not?”
”Just be calm enough to enjoy the ride across the bumpy terrain. Pain and crisis is over for the most part. You have done great things. The rewards have only begun to arrive. Wait, be patient, and just have faith that what will happen will be good.”
Alexander looked across the roses. “I have a great task to accomplish.”
Michael shook his head and grinned. “You have already accomplished great tasks. You have saved 36 people from hell and you have rescued the world from evil domination. That is pretty good, isn’t it?”
Alex smiled. “You make it sound so easy. I still can’t get over the fact that I stood on that balcony and was tempted to take Beata in my arms and …”
”Hey” Michael said. “My brother was the dark part of my own star, we were once one star. I know about darkness.”
Alexander nodded. “Adnicul said the demons know a lot about souls from being in hell.”
Michael shrugged. “Angels might know about demons from hunting them.” Michael sighed and caressed Alexander’s back. They walked around the roses to the daisies. “Alex, be what you are. You can’t blame your own imperfection. Leave the past and be happy you made the choices you did. You can always fix the present.”
”I have a lot to be proud of.”
Michael nodded.
“Your world will be fabulous from now on.”
“What about the alternate reality?”
The angel shook his head. “Here in your life you will find that if you make your own world better it will influence everything. The truth is in the eye of the beholder.”
“Will everything happen the way it was foretold to me?”
Michael smiled. “You make your own future, but count on the fact that our support is endless.” Michael pointed at Alexander’s heart. “Your destiny lies embedded in there and within it you find all the answers you need. If your heart tells you to trust destiny will make your country great that will happen. We let you know through your emotions.” Michael smiled. “Your instinct will lead the way.”
”Thank you.”
”Thank you! After all, you managed to manifest the victory that we needed. You are responsible for the triumph that your country so needed. From now on all will be well.”
Alexander watched his friend’s long hands and thought about all those evenings by the campfires.
“Mercutio.”
”You miss him?”
Alex nodded. “I realize that he arrived in a time that already was fantasy, but I still miss him.”
Michael nodded. “Be proud that you are who you are. And take care of your grandchild.” He looked up. “I have to leave. You know you can always talk to me. I cannot always answer you in words, but your life will tell you as will your soul what I find is best and it will always make your heart sing, because we love you. Thank you for saving the peace of Eden. We needed that.”
”Thank you for saving my soul.”
Michael gave his friend a kiss on both cheek, lifted into the air, started flapping his large robe. That was when Alexander realized that he saw transparent wings behind him. They were hardly visible, but they were white, undoubtedly white. Happy, he realized that Michael was shining from above in a light that loved him so much. It brought tears to his eyes. Those were wings. Yes, he was sure of it.
Michael flapped his robe and as he did he said: “I will always be there for you!”
Slowly, he turned into the eagle and flew away into the sun, singing a song that he, the king recognized: “What will it be when you love me?”
Slowly, Alex turned his back to the garden and walked in to his palace.
As he did, with all the worry that had haunted his life in the past, he realized then and there that there was nothing to worry about. For the first time in his life, he knew that things were going to be fine. Nocturania was dead and gone. It was as surprising as it was logical. Now, the task was to make it a part of the Greater Empire of Light.
Alexander walked into his palace, looking once again behind him before closing the door.
He looked at the garden and remembered all the times that he had spent there worrying and thinking.
He could recall …
But now everything was fine. Why think of the past?
And so, King Alexander closed the door to his own garden and walked up the staircase to join his family for breakfast. He was on the brink of hope and surrender. He heard the music from the Grand Hall as he ascended the steps. He heard Belinda’s laughter and his wife’s insistent babble. He heard Morgana’s bubbling wobble of a laugh, He heard Patricia’s applause and knew right away that she was applauding her brother again dancing on the table like he had done yesterday after his fourth wine bottle and Erica’s apple cake. He heard Maria and Ellie singing with in Bantrard’s songs.
He smiled for he knew that this day, September 25th 1425, marked the end of his own haunted kingdom and the beginning of his own inner glory of worriless effort: his own triumphant land of the never setting sun. He was entering the faithful inner land of his own self. He realized then and there, walking into the Grand Hall and hearing the cheers of his family welcoming him, that “if God is for me who can then be against me”. It was his own soul accepting wonderfully rewarding and imperfect life, at last far away from the haunted kingdom. Words came to mind: “And at last there is peace”.


CHAPTER TEN

„AND AT LAST THERE IS PEACE“


Morning, October 18th 1430

Belinda had known he really wanted to join them and she could not tell him how important it was that he did. If he hadn’t done so, they would’ve had to find another way to prepare the surprise. After all, the 62-year-old man had spent many years now talking of an old horse that, as he said, “had taken him through hell successfully as through a storm”.
Regardless of the fact that the strange old reality had been windless, according to his own accounts, he was like many older men who relished in reliving old victories. This was now an old victory to many people.
To Alexander it was as if it had been yesterday.
Greater Prosperania was now a vast Empire with an Atlantic coast and a very easterly located capital and five neighbours. Alliland, Vindobon, Neapolitania, Hispania and Daneland had