Courageous: Afterlife Book Four Read online

  They were sitting in the living room talking in front of the fireplace. I stared at them, startled. The bottles and pills were all gone from the coffee table. My father's seedy looks had completely vanished. They seemed happy and were laughing as we approached.

  My mother saw us first. She froze and lifted her head.

  "What's wrong, dear?" my father said. Then he lifted his head above the couch and stared directly at us. He was at a loss for words. My mother stood and ran towards me crying. "It wasn't a dream," she said. "I knew you'd be back as you promised."

  She gasped and stared at the baby. Then she burst into tears. "My sweet little baby. You're a mother now?"

  I nodded while tears piled up. "This is little Mick," I said and lifted him in the air.

  My mother clapped her hands with a shriek of joy. "Oh he is gorgeous," she exclaimed. Then her eyes set on Jason.

  "This is Jason," I said. I smiled. He was trembling.

  "Well hello there, Jason," my mother said.

  My dad was still staring at us from a distance not knowing how to approach. I looked at him and smiled. "Your mother ... Your mother told me you came to her, but I didn't believe her," he said shakily.

  "Oh you have to forgive your father," my mother said and walked towards him. She grabbed his hands and pulled him closer. "It's a little overwhelming for him."

  "You look great, Dad," I said.

  "He’s been much better lately," my mother said. "I have no idea what happened to him, but a couple of weeks ago something happened to him, that suddenly changed him. No more beers, no more pills, no more depression. The doctor calls it a miracle. I'm beginning to think they're right."

  "That's so great to hear, Mom."

  I floated towards him, and then stopped. He was trembling, but still smiling. "So you're okay?" he asked.

  "Better than that, Dad. I'm perfect."

  He reached out and tried to touch me. His hand went straight through and he pulled back with a gasp. I leaned over and grabbed a hold of his hand, then lifted it in the air. Then I kissed him gently on the cheek.

  "It's alright, Dad," I whispered. "You can let go of me now." I handed him a map where I had Rosey help me mark where she had buried my body. "This should give you some closure," I said with a thick voice. I kissed him again, and then floated towards Jason.

  "Wait," my dad said.

  I turned. He reached out his hand and touched me on the cheek. "I love you sweet-cheeks," he said while tears rolled across his face.

  I sniffed and smiled widely. "I love you too, Dad. I love you too."

  A few days later Abhik went back to be with Mai and I saw him off. He kissed me on the cheek and then kissed little Mick gently.

  "I'll miss the both of you," he said.

  "I know. We'll miss you too, but it's time you live your own life. It's only about to begin. We'll see you there later on. I'll find you."

  Then we hugged one last time and said goodbye.

  Jason and I stayed together at the Academy until he graduated. Little Mick was almost two years when we finally could put the school behind us and start our new life together. Jason got his file back and once he realized how much I had been there for him, he cried and held me tight, and then we both laughed our hearts out.

  When the day finally arrived and we were supposed to leave, Rahmiel, Salathiel and all the teachers gathered to wave us goodbye. They brought us up above the castle and through the clouds. We stood on top of one of the rainbows as we said our goodbyes. Rahmiel hugged me tightly and tickled little Mick on his tummy till he laughed.

  "It's not really a goodbye. We'll see each other on the other side," Rahmiel said with a tear in the corner of her eye. "I go home ever so often. I'll make sure to come and see you. All three of you," she said and tickled little Mick again.

  Little Mick whined with joy. I put him down, and then smiled at Rahmiel. "I'll look forward to that," I said. Then I grabbed little Mick by the hand, while Jason took the other one. We smiled at each other, then looked down at little Mick between us.

  "Ready?" I asked.

  "Ready," Jason nodded.

  Salathiel smiled. Then he lifted his hands and the clouds beneath us opened up like a zipper opening it and a bright light shone up from it.

  I looked up at him. "We're going down?"

  He nodded, then he lifted his hands again and something appeared in front of us.

  "A rollercoaster?" I asked surprised.

  Salathiel nodded again. "You're in for quite the ride," he said and winked.

  I shrugged and looked at Jason, and then we both smiled. "Why not?" I asked as an old hand-carved wagon rolled up in front of us.

  "After you," Jason said and held the door for me.

  We strapped ourselves down and I tried to look down into the hole but the roller-coaster seemed to go on for an eternity. I couldn't see the end. I shrugged again, then turned and kissed Jason just as the wagon began moving towards the big fall.

  Filled with joy and expectations of the wonderful life awaiting us, we were carried towards the hole in the clouds and the bright light coming up from it. As we came closer I heard music that sounded like angelic singing coming from it. Just before we went through the opening we both turned and waved at the many people waving back at us from the rainbow. I took one last glance at the marble castle and its many towers, then turned and looked down into the brightness ahead.

  As the wagon pulled forward down through the cloud all three of us screamed with pure joy.

  THE END

  Dear reader,

  Thank you for purchasing the last installment in my Afterlife-series. What a journey it has been for me as a writer to follow Meghan, Jason and Mick's lives in the Academy. During the process they have all surprised me, given me sleepless nights and both Meghan and Mick have managed to make me so angry that at times I found it hard to write their story. But now it is done and I truly hope that you have enjoyed it as much as I have.

  Thank you for going on this journey with me, I hope to be able to continue to entertain you with some of my other books and series. Please keep reading. On the next pages follows an an excerpt from Willow Rose's International Bestselling Scandinavian Mystery/Horror Novel:

  ONE, TWO ... HE IS COMING FOR YOU (Rebekka Franck #1).

  Take care,

  Willow Rose

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  BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

  MYSTERY/HORROR NOVELS:

  ONE, TWO ... HE IS COMING FOR YOU (Rebekka Frank #1) - http://www.amazon.com/One, two ...

  THREE, FOUR ... BETTER LOCK YOUR DOOR (Rebekka Frank #2) - http://www.amazon.com/Three, Four ...

  FIVE, SIX ... GRAB YOUR CRUCIFIX (Rebekka Frank #3) - http://www.amazon.com/Five, Six ...

  SEVEN, EIGHT ... GONNA STAY UP LATE (Rebekka Frank #4) - http://www.amazon.com/Seven, eight ...

  ITSY BITSY SPIDER (Emma Frost #1) - http://www.amazon.com/Itsy Bitsy Spider

  MISS DOLLY HAD A DOLLY (Emma Frost #2)- http://www.amazon.com/Miss Polly

  RUN RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN (Emma Frost #3) - http://www.amazon.com/Run run

  EDWINA - http://www.amazon.com/Edwina

  HORROR SHORT STORIES:

  EENIE, MEENIE - http://www.amazon.com/Eenie, Meenie

  ROCK-A-BYE BABY- http://www.amazon.com/Rock-a-bye

  NIBBLE, NIBBLE, CRUNCH - http://www.amazon.com/Nibble, Crunch

  HUMPTY, DUMPTY - http://www.amazon.com/Humpty, Dumpty

  CHAIN LETTER - http://www.amazon.com/Chain Letter

  PARANORMAL ROMANCE/SUSPENSE/FANTASY NOVELS:

  BEYOND (AFTERLIFE #1) - http://www.amazon.com/Beyond

  SERENITY (AFTERLIFE #2) - http://www.amazon.com/Serenity

  ENDURANCE (AFTERLIFE #3) - http://www.amazon.com/Endurance
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  COURAGEOUS (AFTERLIFE #4) - http://www.amazon.com/Courageous

  SAVAGE (Daughters of the Jaguar #1) - http://www.amazon.com/Savage

  BROKEN (Daughters of the Jaguar #2) - http://www.amazon.com/Broken

  A GYPSY SONG (The Wolfboy Chronicles) - http://www.amazon.com/A Gypsy song

  I AM WOLF (The Wolfboy Chronicles) - http://www.amazon.com/I am WOLF

  BOX SETS:

  REBEKKA FRANCK SERIES - http://www.amazon.com/Rebekka Franck

  DAUGHTERS OF THE JAGUAR - http://www.amazon.com/Daughtersof the Jaguar

  THE AFTERLIFE SERIES - http://www.amazon.com/Afterlife

  HORROR STORIES FROM DENMARK - http://www.amazon.com/Horror Stories

  THE WOLFBOY CHRONICLES - http://www.amazon.com/THE WOLFBOY CHRONICLES

  Emma Frost Mystery Series - http://www.amazon.com/Emma Frost Mystery Series

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  WILLOW ROSE is an international Best-selling author. She writes Mystery/Suspense/Horror, Paranormal Romance and fantasy. Originally from Denmark she now lives on Florida's Space Coast with her husband and two daughters. She is a huge fan of Stephen King, Anne Rice and Isabel Allende. When she is not writing or reading she enjoys watching the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Her books have been downloaded in more than 400.000 copies.

  Connect with Willow online:

  http://www.willow-rose.blogspot.com/

  www.facebook.com/willowredrose

  https://twitter.com/madamwillowrose

  The following is an excerpt from Willow Rose's International Bestselling Scandinavian Mystery/Horror Novel: ONE, TWO ... HE IS COMING FOR YOU (Rebekka Franck #1) .

  ONE, TWO ...

  HE IS COMING FOR YOU

  Rebekka Franck #1

  PROLOGUE

  ONE, TWO … the song in his head wouldn’t escape. Sure, he knew where it came from. It was that rhyme from the horror movies. The ones with the serial killer, that Freddy Krueger guy with a burned, disfigured face, red and dark green striped sweater, brown fedora hat, and a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams and take their souls, which would kill them in the real world. “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” that was the movie’s name. Yes, he knew its origin. And he had his reasons for singing that particular song in this exact moment. He knew why, and so would his future victims.

  He lit a cigarette and stared out the window at a waiting bird in the bare treetop. Waiting for the sunlight to come back, just like the rest of the kingdom of Denmark at this time of the year. Waiting for spring with its explosion of colors, like a sea of promises of sunlight and a warmer wind. But still the winter had to go away. And it hadn’t. The trees were still naked, the sky gray as steel, the ground wet and cold. February always seemed the longest month in the little country though it was the shortest in the calendar. People talked about it every day as they showed up for work or school.

  Every freaking day since Christmas.

  Now, it wouldn’t be long before the light came back. But in reality it always took months of waiting and anticipating before spring finally appeared.

  The man staring out the window didn’t pay much attention to the weather though. He stood with his cigarette between two fingers. To him, the time he had been waiting ages for was finally here.

  He kept humming the same song, the same line. One, two, he is coming for you .... The cigarette burned a hole in the parquet floor. He picked up the remains with his hands wearing white plastic gloves and carefully placed them in a small plastic bag that he put in his brown briefcase. He would leave no trace of being in the house where the body of another man was soon to be found.

  He closed the briefcase and went into the hall, where he sat in a leather chair by the door to the main entrance.

  Waiting for his victim to come home.

  He glanced at himself in the mirror by the entrance door. He could see from where he was sitting how nicely he had dressed for the occasion.

  He was outfitted in a blue blazer with the famous Trolle coat of arms on the chest, little yellow emblem with a red headless lion—the traditional blazer for a student of Herlufsholm boarding school. The school was located by the Susaa River in Naestved, about 80 kilometers south of Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. As the oldest boarding school in Denmark, the school took pride in an array of unique traditions. Some of them the world outside never would want to know about.

  The blazer was now too small, so he couldn’t close it, but otherwise he was looking almost like he had been back in 1986. He was, after all, still a fairly handsome man. And unlike the majority of the guys from back then, he had kept most of his hair.

  His victim had done well for himself, he noticed. No surprise in that though, with parents who were multibillionaires. The old villa by the sea of Smaalands farvandet in the southern part of Zeeland was big and admirable. It could easily fit a couple of families. It was typical of his victim to have a place like this just as his holiday residence.

  When he heard the Jaguar on the gravel outside, he took the glove out of the briefcase and put it on his right hand. He stretched his fingers and the metal claws followed.

  He listened for voices but didn’t hear any to his satisfaction.

  His victim was alone.

  CHAPTER 1

  “WE’RE GOING to be too late. Do you want me to be fired on my first day”? I yelled for the third time while gazing up the stairs for my six-year-old daughter, Julie.

  “Go easy on her, Rebekka. It’s her first day too,” argued my father.

  He stood in the doorway to the living room of my childhood home, leaning on his cane. I smiled to myself. How I had missed him all these years living in the other part of the country. Now he had gotten old, and I felt like I had missed out on so much and that he had missed out on so much of our lives too. It was fifteen years since I left the town to study journalism. I had only been back a few times since and then, of course, when Mom died five years ago. Why didn’t I visit him more often, especially after he was alone? Instead I had left it to my sister to take care of him. She lived in Naestved about fifteen minutes away.

  Well there was no point in wondering now.

  “You can’t change the past,” my dad would say. And did say when I called him crying my heart out and asking him if Julie and I could come and stay with him for a while.

  I sighed and wished I could change the past and change everything about my past. Except for one thing. One delightful little blond thing.

  “I’m ready, Mom.”

  Her.

  Julie is the love of my life. Everything I‘ve done has been for her and her future. I sacrificed everything to give her a better life. But that meant I had to leave it all behind—her dad, our friends and neighbors, and my career with a huge salary. All for her.

  “I’m ready.” She ran down the stairs looking like an angel with her beautiful blond hair braided in the back.

  “Yes, you are,” I nodded and looked into her bright blue eyes. “Do you have everything ready for school”?

  She sighed with annoyance and walked past me.

  “Are you coming or not?” She asked when she reached the door.

  I picked up my bag from the floor, kissed my dad on the cheek, and followed my daughter who waited impatiently.

  “After you my dear,” I said as we left the house.

  I found a job at a local newspaper in Karrebaeksminde. It wasn’t much of a promotion since I used to work for one of the biggest newspapers in the country. Jyllandsposten was located in Aarhus, the second biggest town in Denmark. That was where we used to live.

  When I had a family.

  I used to be their star reporter, one of those who always gets the cover stories. Moving back to my childhood town was not an easy choice, since I knew I had to give up my position as a well-known reporter. But it had to be done. I had to get away.

  Now, after dropping off my daughter at her new school and smoking two cigarettes in anxiety for my daughter’s first
day, I found myself at my new workplace.

  “You must be Rebekka Franck. Welcome to our editorial room,” said a sweet elderly lady sitting at one of the two desks piled high with stacks of paper. I looked around the room and saw no one else. The room was a mess, and so was she. Her long red hair went in all directions. She had tried to tame it with a butterfly hair clip, but it didn’t seem to do the job. She got up and waddled her chubby body in a flowered yellow dress over to greet me.

  “I’m Sara,” she said. “I’m in charge of all the personal pages. You know, the obituaries and such. People come to me if they need to put in an announcement for a reception or a 50-year anniversary celebration. Stuff like that. That’s what I do.”

  I nodded and looked confused at all the old newspapers in stacks on the floor.

  “You probably would like to see your desk.”

  I nodded again and smiled kindly. “Yes, please.”

  “It’s right over there.” Sara pointed at the other desk in the room. Then she looked back at me, smiling widely. “It’s just going to be the two of us.”

  I smiled back, a little scared of the huge possibility of going insane in the near future. I knew it was a small newspaper that covered all of Zeeland, and that this would only be the department taking care of the local news from Karrebaeksminde. But still … two people. Could that be all?