Page 57 of Rekindled Prophecy

Happy to have completed his errand, the bride’s father opened the door and hollered, “She’s coming back!”

As the door shut behind him, Greylyn gave strict instructions for Jasper to call her the second any nefarious activity began. As soon as she could ascertain that the danger for Kelly, Matthew, and the baby was over, she planned to extricate herself from the festivities and join him in DC. After all Sofia and her friends had done to help, she was not about to leave them to the mercy of a demon squad.

He ended the call with “I can’t believe you brought up Belgrade. That’s low.”

Before heading back out to the gazebo she glanced in the mirror. Worry was stamped on her every feature – lines appeared in her forehead, blue dots grew in her irises, and she had chewed off the last of the peach color on her lips. Determined not to let on to the others that something was amiss, she applied a fresh coat of lip balm and prayerfully meditated for a couple of minutes.

I walk upon heaven and earth.

I walk through hell with ease.

All is suffering, all is love.

I embrace it all with serenity,

When my heart is at peace.

As an afterthought, she rifled through her overnight bag and found an ancient Gaelic blessing coin that she had held onto ever since leaving the country a long, long time ago. It was the Irish Portrait coinage of Henry VIII with the king’s portrait on the obverse side and a cross and pellets on the reverse side. Even though it had long been decommissioned when she left Ireland, it had been among the effects in her dress pocket when she first woke up in the coffin. It had not become blesseduntil some years later by a wise woman recluse living in the hills of northern England, just outside of Newcastle.

Greylyn kept it with her always. The old woman had said that one day she would know when it was time to pass along the coin and to whom. Now she did, as it vibrated softly in her palm. It had never done that before.

With the coin tucked away in a pocket of the dress, along with her phone, she took a deep breath and walked back out the door to rejoin the wedding festivities.

A lively crowd greeted her return. The rain had stopped but continued cloud cover foretold more showers, perhaps a storm later. The bride and groom were glowing, with eyes only for each other. Everyone else could have disappeared into thin air and they probably would not notice.

Kael snapped the last pictures of the couple with the koi pond and the majestic Shenandoah Mountains in the background. If he were as good a photographer as his early photos indicated, Kelly and Matthew would have an incredible wedding album.

He blatantly winked at her return before hustling everyone around to the front of the main house for a few shots from the porch to showcase the manor. They decided to go through the house since everyone might get a bit muddy walking in the grass.

Inside everything was set for a cozy, but elegant dinner. Soft orchestra music played over speakers set up throughout the main floor. All overhead lighting had been dimmed, and fragrant candles flickered on every table surface, along with delicate crystal vases containing yellow and purple calla lilies. Crème colored lace tablecloths covered the tables. The innkeeper truly had outdone herself prepping the inn for the reception. It truly felt as if she had stepped back in time.

As the group filed out the front door onto the covered porch, Kael waited for Greylyn to pass and gently touched her arm to get her attention. She read the quizzical look in his eyes. He sensed something else was wrong. At this point, she could not be sure if she could trust him with that information. Quite honestly, she was not certain that he was not involved in the whole debacle. Maybe it was his idea to divert her attention away from Kelly and Matthew by besieging Sofia’s apartment building. He had lulled her into believing he was there to be helpful.

She smiled up at him and mouthed the word “Later.” With a slight nod, he let go of her arm, and they both exited the inn as swaths of sunshine streaked between thin slits in the clouds. However, tremendous heat still simmered over her skin where they had touched.

With Kael back in photographer mode, she was able to observe him in action. He was all business, but charming, even when the groom’s errant niece kept wandering off to pull flowers out of their pots. Overhearing the child’s mother and grandmother talking, Greylyn realized she had missed the child’s earlier near swan dive into the koi pond. Somehow, Kael had managed to grab the tyke just in time.

Guess he likes playing the hero.

Standing a little away from the crowd, she found it entertaining to eavesdrop on the bride’s single lady friends whispering amongst themselves about the hunky photographer. Apparently, there was a contest brewing for who could snag him for the night, or even longer. The buxom blonde appeared to be the frontrunner as she batted Hollywood starlet long eye lashes at him, pursed her lips, and used every opportunity to bend over so her cleavage showed even more. “He’s mine. One of you so much as winks in his direction, you can …”

Disgusted, Greylyn tuned her out. Strangely enough, a twinge of jealousy flared upon hearing their various designs on Kael. Reflecting on the situation without bias, she admitted that if she had a bet, she would have put her money on the busty blonde as well. Certainly, all the men at the wedding had taken notice. The best man cast glances her way every few seconds, but she ignored him. Too bad, he seemed like a nice guy. Even though Kelly had worried about her college bestie, Griffin, getting snared, he was happily occupied by his super-model tall girlfriend.

Then she heard the oddest thing. The brunette friend commented, “Personally, I think none of us have a chance. He’s hooked on the minister, or is she a justice of the peace? Whatever she is … He couldn’t take his eyes off her the entire ceremony. I should know because I didn’t take my eyes off him.”

Greylyn tried her best not to laugh. It made her stomach hurt to stifle the giggle. The entire idea was absurd.

After a lengthy photo shoot, the wedding party moved inside for a scrumptious traditional Irish dinner. Kael was still busy taking pictures while everyone else ate their meal, but Maureen made sure he had an open seat sandwiched between Greylyn and the groom’s sister.

In between snapping pictures, he would come by for a quick bite of food, sip of wine, and a quick smile or wink at her. This apparently upset the blonde – Greylyn tried to recall her name, maybeKayla – whose mood deteriorated each time Kael came near her. Between the irate looks her way and the melodramatic pouting, the young woman was not very subtle.

Everyone else appeared in high spirits, especially the exultant bride and groom. It did not take guardian angel senses to realize that the happy couple were looking forward to the guests departing so they could be alone.

Her angelic hearing also caught Kelly’s whisper to her new husband, “Would it be rude to ask them to leave?” as they held hands.

The dinner party eventually broke up, and everyone retreated to the gazebo for some music. In lieu of the usual DJ party club dancing found at most weddings, the couple opted to keep things simple, to play soft music while the guests mingled, but have the gazebo area available if anyone really wanted to dance. Considering how much the happy couple wanted to be alone, it was a good strategy not to provide too much entertainment to prolong the party.

Greylyn’s cell phone rang with Jasper’s rock-and-roll song ringtone as she exited the main house. She excused herself to take the call, but Kael followed her into the foyer of the Carriage House.

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