The Darkness in Haden

By Nina Rae

Hope has been drawn to Haden, a very dark and mysterious village. There she finds a kindred spirit, but is she a real friend or is she just using Hope to save herself.

Jason, the owner of Wallace house and the village of Haden, desires great power and will go to any length to get it.

Hope knows to stay in Haden is dangerous for her, but if she leaves, Carole could die and the people of Haden will be in jeopardy of being taken over by the darkness.

So many lives hang in the balance, what will Hope’s choice be? Can Hope stop Jason in time to save the people of Haden? The bigger question is, can she save herself?

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Light Within Publishing
• Release date: Jan 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9780993373664

Nina Rae

Nina Rae is a mystic living in Norfolk who through her spiritual connection brought these books into being ~ her constant devotion to the other side brings hope and understanding to many. Living in the Highlands of Scotland, gave Nina great inspiration for her books.  Now that she has moved to Norfolk a new inspiration has developed and with it new stories. She loves to read and has now gone one step further and written her own books, which started out as a short story.  Nina is a working medium and teacher of holistic healing, spiritual & personal development.  Her belief is that we are spiritual beings experiencing a human life. Her book has some of the experiences she has had in life and how she overcomes them. She has studied with several great mediums / teachers and has used that knowledge to help others with their spiritual development.

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Acknowledgement

I would like to thank all my fellow authors who have helped with advice and encouragement and all the people who have stepped in on this book to help put things right.

About Haden

Haden started as a small farming community owned and controlled by the Wallace family. Their main crops were seasonal vegetables. As the farming industry flourished, there was need for more workers and cottages for them to live in and so the estate grew. There were free range chickens, which no one in particular owned, it was the younger kid’s job to collect the eggs and share them out with the workers and a few goats to keep the grass down. The whole estate was set back off a main road, so not many outsiders found it, only those using the back road, would see the sign post.

As you took the road to Haden, there were trees on both sides, the road opened out to a small road, with a row of shops on one side. Originally, there were the usual shops, butchers, bakers, farm shop, hardware and grocer. All that was needed for the community it supported. It was a small community and that is how they liked it. The butcher bought his meat from another farmer, who in turn bought his vegetables from Wallace farm.

When the farming market started to fall, there weren’t the jobs for the young lads leaving school and so they started to look outside of Haden for work. As there wasn’t any public transport, it was hard for them to travel and so they moved away. Living so remotely and being a small business, it was hard to get any large contracts. With the big supermarkets and larger farms being able to produce more products, the Wallace estate suffered. More and more of the workers were laid off and so moved away, until eventually the town was dead, apart from a few of the workers and grounds men. The only shop left open was the grocer and that was only for a few hours a day. The school and church had closed due to so few people living on the estate now and this had all happened quite suddenly.......

Prologue

Hope has thwarted Alana’s attempt to take her back to the past — Alana had accidentally killed An Carla’s seer Akira and tried to rectify her wrong doing by persuading Hope to go back to her timeline. What Alana hadn’t told Hope was that by going back she would erase the future she knew now completely. However, Hope had come to her senses and through sheer mental strength and willpower sent Alana back to her own timeline and sealed the portal forever.

Douglas had confessed his feelings to Hope and had asked her to come back to London with him, in the hope that one day they would settle down and get married. Although Hope knew she loved Douglas, her destiny was still urging her to travel to wherever she is needed to help others. Going to London was not Fate’s plan. Hope’s destiny once again takes her down a dangerous path.

It was time for Hope to go off on her travels once again. Not knowing, what or who might lay ahead of her. All she knows is, destiny awaits and she much follow her calling….

CHAPTER 1

Hope had only been travelling for a couple of weeks and all she could think about was Douglas. She knew she loved him, but couldn’t get rid of the feeling there was something else for her to do. Nothing had presented itself, so she decided to go home for a visit, before she went on to Maple and Stan’s to help with the wedding preparations. Hope arrived home to find Douglas was spending the weekend with his parents. By the end of the weekend, Douglas and Hope were planning their lives together. Douglas had phoned work and got time off so he could go with Hope to the wedding. He was so happy Hope had decided to go to London with him. Even though she'd said she couldn’t promise she'd stay long, as she didn’t like the hustle and bustle of big towns and didn’t know if she'd be called upon to help someone, somewhere. Douglas agreed and he was happy she was coming home with him; he'd take each day as it comes.

Maple and Hope had been like two school girls, giggling and playing tricks on Stan and Douglas. It's just as well, they both had a good sense of humour. Stan loved seeing Maple happy and would put up with anything to just to see her smile. He liked Hope and knew Hope was a true friend to Maple. His main concern before asking Maple to marry him was if she'd choose going back on the road with Hope—Maple and Hope had met at a craft show, they had got on so well they’d decided to travel around to the different craft shows together. Hope had grown up in Springfields and hadn’t been anywhere else. Maple had taken Hope under her wing and taught her about living on very little and enjoying it. Stan had loved Maple for some time and it had taken a lot of courage for him to announce those feelings, for fear of being rejected. Maple hadn’t realised she had felt the same until Stan asked her out. Stan’s farm was the next one over from Maple’s parents, and she loved the idea of being close to them.

Maple’s parents—Josh and Skye—looked like 60’s hippies. The farm was overgrown and untidy to anyone else; however, they felt it was natural. They had a large vegetable patch, there were chickens, cats, and dogs roaming around, none of which they admitted to owning. As far as they were concerned, they had chosen to live with them and so they fed and looked after them. Their whole way of life was their ideal lifestyle and they loved it.

~~~~~~

Maple and Stan’s wedding had been a wonderful event. It had taken place at Maple’s parents’ farm, with the ceremony outside under a gazebo covered in summer flowers. Maple had worn a simple, but beautiful wedding dress. Made from a vintage dress Maple found at one of the craft shows she'd visited. She'd transformed the dress into something amazing. Maple had the same flowers in her hair as was on the gazebo and she looked stunning. Hope felt quite envious of how lovely she looked. Hope looked at Douglas, he smiled and the love that came from that smile filled Hope up. She was glad she'd changed her mind about going to London with Douglas. She wasn’t looking forward to the chaos of London; however, she was looking forward to spending some quality time with Douglas.

Seeing Hope and Douglas together tugged at Maple’s heart. The love they displayed for each was felt by all. Quite a few comments had been passed onto Maple, asking if theirs would be the next wedding and what a lovely couple they made, but Maple wasn’t sure. She knew they both loved each other, however, Maple had a feeling in the pit of her stomach, something was about to change, and not for the better she feared. She kept a close eye on Hope all night.

The following day, Hope and Douglas were sitting out in the garden talking about the wedding. As they started talking about going to London, Hope felt something creep into her psyche. She felt the calling, a cry for help. First came the shiver, as if someone had walked over her grave. Then it was like something had attached itself to her abdomen and was tugging so hard, she felt like she would topple over. Her ears started to pop and she could hear a thousand voices at once, all calling for help. As much as she wanted to, she was unable to ignore it and it was at that moment Hope knew she had to go back on the road. She looked at Douglas; he gave her a broad smile. The smile faded as he looked into Hope’s eyes and the feeling in his stomach became an aching he couldn’t describe, he felt he was going to cry and he didn’t know why. He knew as he looked at her she wasn’t going to London with him, and at that moment he felt sick. His whole life was being ripped apart and he didn’t know how to fix it or what to do next. Hope got up and walked back to the house, she couldn’t bear to see the look on Douglas’ face, and she knew she was breaking his heart into a million pieces, but she had no choice but to follow her calling. Hope went upstairs to pack.

Douglas followed; as he opened the bedroom door Hope turned to face him.

I’m sorry Douglas, but I must go, said Hope. She continued to pack her case.

Why? asked Douglas, totally bewildered by the complete one-eighty Hope just pulled.

I don’t know, all I know is that I’m needed somewhere and soon, Hope looked sad and it was obvious she was close to tears from the quiver in her voice. She didn’t want Douglas to see her cry, because if he came over to comfort her she may change her mind, and stay. Douglas just stood and stared at Hope, he was finding it hard to believe, he had wanted Hope for so long, and thought he'd finally got her, and now she was leaving. He was numb, his dream was shattered and there was nothing he could do about it. He almost wished it was another man because then he could fight to keep her, but he was weapon less in the fight against fate.

Isn’t there something we can do after we go to London, what’s so urgent? Douglas was grasping at straws looking for some way to persuade Hope to stay.

I must go now Douglas, surely after everything we have been through you must understand, I must do this now. We talked about this happening and you agreed if I needed to go, you wouldn’t try to stop me Hope couldn’t wait to get in her car and drive away, it would be easier on Douglas, once she had gone. Like ripping a plaster off.

Douglas you have to understand this is my life; this is what I was born to do. I can’t change that, even if I wanted to and believe me I do.

You can do whatever you want, life is all about free will and you are choosing ‘the calling’ as you call it, over me Douglas was getting angry.

Hope picked up her case and walked past Douglas without saying another word.

She was getting in her car when Douglas appeared again. I’m sorry Douglas, perhaps it’s for the best if you find someone else to love, someone normal. Who will settle down in London with you, and have your children, you deserve that kind of love. I don’t think my life will ever involve settling down, as there will always be someone or something which needs my help and once I get the calling I have to go. Good-bye Douglas Hope got in her car and drove off down the drive. The quicker she got away the better for both of them. Or at least that’s what she told herself.

This had been the happiest week of his life and now Douglas stood, watching Hope’s car pull away from Maple’s parent’s farm. The wedding had been beautiful, and all the way through it Douglas’ heart had swelled, thinking his and Hope’s wedding would be next. The last thing he expected was for Hope to tell him she wasn’t going to London with him, she was heading north in search of her calling. Douglas didn’t know how long he stood there, frozen to the spot in shock, his heart broken into minuscule pieces. So shocked he couldn’t even cry. Then the anger came.

Well, damn her to hell, he screamed.

Stan found Douglas in the middle of the drive, just staring up the drive. He walked up to Douglas and put a hand on his shoulder.

Come inside Douglas, there’s nothing you can do now; you have to just let her go. Said Stan. Stan felt for him, he knew how he would have felt if Maple had turned his proposal down.

Douglas looked at Stan. What? She’s gone Stan.

I’m sorry Douglas, let’s go inside.

Douglas let Stan guide him back into the farmhouse, Douglas was shell-shocked, and Stan could have guided him anywhere. Stan walked Douglas up the upstairs to the bedroom, until now, he and Hope had shared. Stan stood in the doorway, he watched Douglas lie on the bed, and close his eyes, and Stan closed the door and walked away. He heard Douglas’ sobs and his heart broke for him. Douglas wasn’t sure if they were tears of sadness or anger, he was swaying between them both. He didn’t know how long he lay there, but staying entombed in bed wallowing in his misery wouldn’t bring Hope back, so he decided to go home. He packed his things, said goodbye to everyone, and set off. Not such a good ending to a great week or a good lasting memory for Maple and Stan.

He got home and put his bag on the bed, it wasn’t that late, but Douglas decided to shower and have an early night, he was exhausted. He got into bed and turned to the middle of the bed and once again the tears ran silently down his face, remembering only a day ago he was expecting Hope to be lying next to him and looking forward to their future together. Now all he felt was emptiness inside and didn’t know what the future held and didn’t care.

When Douglas woke in the morning he had a fire burning inside him, he'd never felt before. What he hadn’t realised was, it was anger and because of that anger he decided he had waited long enough, and it was time for him to move