Chapter 10 - The Sovereign Light
One year after the rainy June afternoon a room full of millionaires laughed when Nathan Vance paid $3.2 million for an abandoned mansion, the Ostrander estate was alive with the vibrant, joyful sounds of a real family home.
It was an exquisite Sunday evening in late August. The golden sunset painted the waters of the Atlantic and the rolling emerald lawns in breathtaking strokes of violet, amber, and molten gold.
A long cedar dining table was set upon the wide stone terrace overlooking the water, decorated with fresh hydrangeas, platters of fresh local seafood, sweet roasted corn, and bowls of freshly churned peach gelato.
Warrick Hollis, Detective Whitaker Doyle and his family, our dedicated dock supervisors, and our closest friends sat around the table, their cheerful conversation and acoustic guitar music drifting through the open French doors of the drawing room.
Down on the emerald grass near the garden pavilion, Gideon—his black coat sleek, healthy, and shining in the golden light—was trotting peacefully across the clover, sniffing the salty evening breeze before walking up the stone steps to lie happily beside Clara’s chair.
Clara smiled warmly, reaching down to gently stroke the mastiff’s broad head, letting out a soft sigh of absolute, unburdened peace.
Nathan stood by the limestone balustrade, watching the sun dip slowly toward the western horizon.
He wore an ordinary linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up, holding a glass of chilled sparkling cider, feeling the cool ocean air against his skin.
Warrick walked over, leaning his arms against the railing beside him, looking out at the white sailboats glided peacefully across the sound under a cloudless sky.
"What are you thinking about, Nathan?" Warrick asked softly, a warm, proud smile touching his weathered face.
Nathan looked down at the photograph in his hand—the old picture of Clara holding baby Gideon on the lawn—then looked over at his aunt, his dog, and the family who had survived the dark.
"I was thinking about the laughter in the ballroom, Warrick," Nathan answered softly, a warm, peaceful smile touching his lips. "How they thought three point two million dollars was an extravagant price to pay for a curse... and how it bought us the greatest sanctuary in the world."
Warrick chuckled, raising his glass gently against Nathan’s with a soft, resonant chime.
"To the house," Warrick said.
"To the light," Nathan replied.
May you like
Gideon lifted his massive head from the stone floor, looked out across the vast, glowing ocean where the evening light met the endless sky, and rested his chin against Nathan’s boot with a deep, contented sigh.
The false walls were gone forever, the fires of the past had dissolved into dust, the traitors were locked in the dark, and the sanctuary they had reclaimed with their own hands stood strong, open, sovereign, and filled with an eternal lifetime of love, truth, and unbroken peace.
