The Beholder (23 page)

Epilogue

Evelyn greeted Jason with a hug, wearing the same wide smile she always wore.

“Are you ready to be back with us, honey?” she asked, stroking his shoulder in a motherly way. The creative work at Evelyn & Laurens was flowing again, their office as good as new. It was as if nothing had ever happened.

“Back at full throttle,” he replied, his lips curved in a smile.

“Very good. We’ve got some work for you three.”

Jason’s days returned to routine, but occasionally he got distracted by the memories of the previous week’s events. Debbie caught him staring out the window at one point, not hearing her at all. She came up behind him and squeezed his shoulder.

“Are you thinking about her?”

“What? No, I’m not,” Jason snapped. “It’s just … I’m afraid they’ll come back. I’m worried about you.”

Debbie clicked her tongue. “You aren’t that good a liar, sweetie,” she said and smiled ruefully. “But thanks for worrying about us.” She came around to his front and gave him a hug. “You’ll get over her.”

“It’s not going to be easy,” he admitted quietly, and she squeezed him tight.

A few days later Jason decided to turn things around. He’d had enough of all the pain and misery which had come along with being the Beholder; he needed a change. So he asked Debbie and Matt to join him for a drive out of town. Debbie eyed him strangely, unconvinced, since the weather was cold and gloomy. But Jason wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Just the three of us,” he said, smiling. “It’ll be worth it. We need to get away.”

The disapproving scowl vanished from Debbie’s face, to be replaced by a look of acceptance. “Okay.”

The car waited in the parking lot, and his friends didn’t ask any more questions as they climbed in. By the time they were ready to go, it had started drizzling, but that didn’t bother Jason. Instead, he smiled.

“What’s so funny?” Matt asked.

A ray of sunlight popped through the pall of gray, hitting the hood of the car. A few minutes later the setting sun’s red circle showed from behind rapidly shrinking clouds.

Debbie squinted with suspicion. “What’s going on?”

“I’m just pulling a few strings,” Jason explained, still smiling.

“It’s you?” Matt exclaimed, mesmerized by the changes happening in the sky. “You’re doing that?”

The quickly spreading palette of colors could hardly be considered compatible—not according to a carload of interior designers—but on the vast canvas of the sky they looked divine. It was as if an artist had squeezed oils onto his palette and added surreal shades of topaz and turquoise along with hues of pink and primrose, spreading color through the overall purity of the blue evening sky.

A few miles outside the boundaries of New York, Jason pulled up on the shoulder and climbed out. Warm wind danced around them, tickling Jason’s neck, lightening the mood further.

“Come on,” he said. “I want to show you something.”

They followed him to a clear area, and when they were out of sight of the road, he stopped and stretched his hands to either side. “Give me your hands.”

The three joined together and watched the sun descending, a gorgeous shining body, majestic and dazzling. Jason closed his eyes and entered the Sight. Warmth coursed down his arms and tingled in his fingers. He squeezed his friends’ hands, bringing them a vision of his own making.

Debbie’s beautiful eyes flashed in his mind, changing to an image of Matt relaxing on a chair, his legs on the table as he flirted with Debbie. His strong, tattooed hands waved as he told a story and made them laugh. Then William McAlester was there, greeting them warmly with handshakes and hugs. In the next moment they all rushed through space until they ended up on top of a cliff, the warm, welcome wind ruffling their hair. Jason opened his eyes to watch the amber sun reflecting off a lake surface.

“Wow!” Debbie whispered. “This is so beautiful!”

Matt looked around in disbelief, lost for words, and Jason inhaled the flower-scented air. “Yes, it is.”

He stared straight ahead, focusing on the light of the sun until he saw a small figure emerge from it. Emily stumbled towards him, unseen by anyone else, and gave him a wan smile then waved goodbye. Her face was divine, even within the deadly paleness of her skin. The dark mane of her hair, as fierce as any lion’s, fringed her beautiful face.

Jason closed his eyes, not wanting to see the light any longer. Emily smiled one more time, her expression soft with wistful mystery, then stepped back into the blackness.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Thank you so much for your interest in The Beholder. I hope you enjoyed it. It’ll mean a lot to me if you post a review on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk or Goodreads and let others know what you think of it.

Thank you so much for your time with The Beholder!

Book 2 of The Beholder Series, Path of the Heretic, is to be published soon!

About the Author

Ivan Amberlake is a paranormal/urban fantasy writer, member of Breakwater Harbor Books. In December 2009 he began writing his first novel "The Beholder" and in November 2011 it was selected for review by HarperCollins on Authonomy.com.

Ivan Amberlake loves hard rock music, sitcoms, sunsets and the sound of rain pattering against the roof.

‘THE BEHOLDER is a tight and fast-paced thriller combining the crawling claustrophobia of Stephen King’s “It” and the exciting arcane symbol-hunting of “Celestine Prophecy”’ ~ Joe Kovacs, #1 Amazon Bestselling Author of “Ginger the Gangster Cat”.

For more information about the author visit
www.breakwaterharborbooks.weebly.com
and
www.ivanamberlake.weebly.com

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