In the Shadow of His Wings

By Bridgett Lopata

Kate is lost and broken after her sisters death. Now she is fifteen years old and trying to find her way through the guilt and hurt that surrounded that horrible day. Nothing changes until she walks through a door that leads her to another world.

The world in which she entered is cruel. Voices that whisper in the air confirm her worst fears and thoughts. They attack her and deceive her. Soon Kate learns that voices belong to creatures, and that the creatures are more than just beings. They are in fact concepts in living forms: lies, guilt, and hate.

Just as Kate starts to believe that all hope is lost, she hears another gentle voice; a voice full of love and promise. Finally Kate asks for help and her journey begins. Viktor (who portrays Jesus) guides Kate into Orus, a world full of other creatures. Along the way Kate meets redemption and grace and love along with many other beings that show her the way of truth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490858890

Bridgett Lopata

Bridgett Lopata lives in Colorado. She grew up in a Christian home where animals where often her best friends. Bridgett loves to read and draw. Many of the characters in this book are inspired by her drawings, including the image for the cover art.

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In the Shadow of His Wings

Bridgett Lopata

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Copyright © 2014 Bridgett Lopata.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

All Scripture quotations in this publications are from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-5888-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-5889-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014919595

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/26/2014

CONTENTS

Chapter 1: The Door

Chapter 2: The Whispering Voices

Chapter 3: The Light of Grace

Chapter 4: Viktor’s Kingdom

Chapter 5: Across the Chasm

Chapter 6: The Pool

Chapter 7: Precious Gifts

Chapter 8: Knowledge and Wisdom

Chapter 9: Crossing the Bridge

Chapter 10: The Silver Basin

Chapter 11: Malachi 3:3

Chapter 12: Ilyana’s Story

Chapter 13: Redemption

Chapter 14; To the Shore

Chapter 15: The Writing in the Stone

Chapter 16: Sins in the Sand

Chapter 17: The Mansion

Chapter 18: The Fruits of the Spirit

Chapter 19: Unconditional Love

Chapter 20: The Secret to Joy

Chapter 21: Into the Picture of Peace

Chapter 22: Pearls of Patience

Chapter 23: The Gift of Kindness

Chapter 24: Goodness in an Empty Pot

Chapter 25: The Miracle of Faithfulness

Chapter 26: Understanding Gentleness

Chapter 27: The Power of Self-Control

Chapter 28: Miracles in the Sea

Chapter 29: Leaving the Mansion

Chapter 30: The Fork in the Road

Chapter 31: Back to the Pool

Chapter 32: The Puzzles

Chapter 33: The Beginning

Epilogue

Works Cited

To Kat,

Because without you

This book would never have been

Can you remember who you were,

before the world told you

who you should be?

~Danielle LaPorte

CHAPTER ONE

The Door

Ecclesiastes 3:11

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (NIV)

K ate wiped sweat from her face. She had just gotten done with an hour long martial arts class. Last week she had tested for her first degree black belt. More was expected from her now, but she reveled in it. She liked the challenge in training and the sense of accomplishment.

Kate grabbed her bag, ducked into the restroom and quickly changed back into her jeans and long-sleeved shirt. The days had started to cool down, and she planned to walk back to her house. She slipped her shoes back on her feet and pushed the door open.

It was barely 4:00 in the afternoon. Kate had gotten out of school at 2:30 and come straight to the dojo. She’d already finished her homework. She was a sophomore, and her second year of high school had not yet proved to be any more difficult than her first. She walked along the sidewalk trying to decide what to do with the rest of her day. It was Friday, and the whole weekend stretched out before her. Kate wondered what her family was planning for the weekend.

Her dad, she thought, was probably working. He was CEO of a company downtown. He was hardly ever home as he worked, on average, eighty-hours per week. This meant that they had money, but poor relationships.

Her mom, Kate remembered, had a meeting for the boys’ school function. She couldn’t remember what the topic of discussion was, but she was certain that it would be a several hour event, it always was. Her mom was also a real-estate agent. She often worked on weekends and evenings to accommodate her client’s schedules.

It was starting to look like the four of them (her, her twin sister, and two younger brothers) were on their own for the weekend.

Kate’s brothers’, Reed and Justin, were 9 and 11. They were both into sports, their top favorite was football. Kate was sure that they had games to play this weekend. When they were not playing, however, they were usually at their friend’s house absorbed in video games (if there was not a professional game on TV that they wanted to watch). She wouldn’t see much of them for the next couple days either. Kate got along with them alright. Sometimes she joined them in shooting baskets or throwing the football in the yard.

Her twin sister Kelsey would certainly spend the weekend with her friends. The only thing that Kate and Kelsey had in common was their birth date. Kelsey was tall, thin and blonde. Kate was several inches shorter than Kelsey, and had dark hair that was cut to just above her shoulders. Kelsey had blue eyes, just like their parents - but Kate’s eyes were green.

It wasn’t only their looks that were different. They had different personalities too. Kelsey was outgoing and popular. She was on the varsity cheer team at school. Her friends, mainly the other girls in cheer and the football guys, idolized her. She was rich (well just because of their parents) and gorgeous. Their dad, who had been a football quarterback in high school, and their mom, who had been head of the cheer team, were both elated by her success.

Kate was the odd one out in her family. She preferred solitude. It was why she loved martial arts so much. She pushed herself hard, and there was no team to try to please or befriend. Kate was invisible in school, always cast into shadow by her sister. It didn’t often bother her, but sometimes she wished that she could just have one friend in whom she could confide.

Kate turned the corner now, tugging the hair thing out of her short, brown hair. Maybe the gentle wind would dry it. She had another ten minutes to walk before she reached home. They lived in one of the big houses on the outskirts of town. Her family had land, a small basket ball court, and a swimming pool.

Her mom, who used to love horses, owned three. Kate was the only one that rode them now. They, along with their dog Chase were Kate’s best friends. Everyone in her family thought that Chase was ugly. Kate, however, loved him. He was a mutt with soft, thick white fur and lots of patches and spots of brown. Otherwise he looked a lot like a husky.

Kate sank down a bench. The memories that she tried so hard to repress broke through her thoughts. Grace, her youngest sister had been only seven when she’d drown in the pool. Kate placed most of the blame on herself. Her parents had gotten into an argument in the den. Kelsey had been talking on the phone with her boyfriend, and the boys had been in the game room playing X-Box. Kate had been on the back deck reading a book, unwilling to stay in the house and listen to her parents yell.

She was the one who found Grace in the pool. The paramedics had been called, but nothing could be done. She missed her little sister so much. She had been so sweet and so full of life. The days that followed Grace’s death had been a blur, Kate remembered the funeral and the service, but little else. Her family had never been the same again. They hardly spoke of Grace anymore.

Kate got up off the bench, deciding that she would ride Liam, her favorite horse to Grace’s grave. She spent a lot of time there drawing and reading. Chase always came with her, his quiet presence comforting her broken heart.

She quickly walked the last five minutes to her house. Chase greeted her at the door, and she knelt down to rub behind his ears, then she ran upstairs and grabbed her book. She then scribbled a quick note to her mom, letting her know that she was out riding - although she doubted that her mom would even care.

Chase followed Kate to the barn. She decided that she’d ride bareback as usual. Thanks to martial arts Kate was strong and had good balance; she knew how to fall too, though she hardly ever did. Riding bareback was not a challenge for her.

After a fifteen minute gallop they reached the cemetery. Kate slipped off Liam’s back and sat down in the grass next to the headstone. They were alone. Kate pulled out her book and leaned up against the tree, wishing she’d thought to bring a coat. Chase curled up next to her. They stayed there, at Grace’s grave until Kate’s fingers were so cold that she could not longer turn the pages.

She mounted Liam again, and started for home. As the house came into sight Kate saw that no lights were on, no one else was home. Deciding that she wanted Chipotle for dinner, Kate grabbed her coat and left the house locking the door behind her. She was only fifteen so she could not drive yet. It was only a ten minute walk though; she would make it back before dark.

Just as Chipotle came into sight Kate heard a car in the distance. She turned and looked. Kate recognized the first car as Kelsey’s boyfriends. It looked like most of the cheer team and football team were following them. Having no wish to see any of them, especially in torn jeans and with messy hair, Kate turned into the ally between two shops. At the end of the ally was a door. Kate didn’t remember ever seeing a door there. She must have missed it all the times she had walked by. She stared at it for a minute before her curiosity got the better of her, and she walked toward it.

Kate turned the knob, expecting that it would be locked, but it wasn’t. She opened it and looked in. It was two dark to see anything, so she took a step inside. The ground seemed to disappear beneath her, and she plummeted down. She hit the bottom with a hollow thud, smacking her head on a rock. She felt something sticky on her forehead, and then all went black.

CHAPTER TWO

The Whispering Voices

Isaiah 59:9

So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. (NIV)

K ate woke up slowly. It was hot and extremely stuffy. The air felt thick. It wasn’t normal. She was standing in the middle of dirt field and she heard quiet voices. They did not make the kind of sound that voices would make if someone was speaking out loud, and they were not the kind of voices that talk inside your head. These voices seemed to pass by, almost like a bodiless whisper in the solid air. They weren’t nice to listen to, sharp, grading and cruel.

She rubbed her head, wondering what had happened. When nothing changed she began to wonder what was wrong with her. Where was she? Was she dreaming? She remembered walking through the door and turned to find it. There was nothing there. There was nothing anywhere. By now she was sure that this was not a dream. It felt too real. The dark place and the thick air with the bodiless voices actually existed.

She looked more intently at her surroundings. As Kate looked to the left she saw a burning red light illuminate a thin streak in the darkness. It was bright, but its light did not spread out. It shone only enough that she could see the faint shadows of rocks and hills. Kate was in a barren wasteland. There was not a tree, or a plant, or blade of grass anywhere. A strange, oppressive gloom filled the space. It was impossible to differentiate between the place where the land ended and the sky began. They were both the same shade of black.

Nothing else happened in the ten minutes that she stood there. All was still. The land was silent. The voices had stopped. Unsure, Kate began to make her way toward the red streak. She had to weave in between the large rocks and around the small hills. She stumbled frequently over the smaller, loose rocks that covered the ground.

The red streak widened as she walked toward it. It was just like a river that appears to expand when you draw nearer to it. Kate’s eyes were fixed ahead. Unknown to her, a large cat was perched atop a boulder watching her every move. She only realized its presence when it jumped down.

The cat landed and walked toward her gracefully, its motions were sinister. The cat’s fur was jet black. Its eyes shone orange. They were both frozen and accusatory. In that moment Kate wondered if it would rip her to pieces with its claws and teeth; but it made no further movement. The cat, or panther as it was, spoke in an empty distant voice that she recognized. It had been one of the whispering, bodiless voices.

You belong here in this place, it said. You deserve to suffer. Here, in this place, you will pay for your mistakes and your sins. You are a failure. You deserve this. You have messed up too much. You have disappointed everyone too often. There is no way out now. This is where you belong.

This was the voice of guilt. But it was more than that. Kate wasn’t sure how she knew it, but somehow she knew that this was guilt itself in the form of a panther. She said nothing in reply. Her head told her that every word the panther said was true; but something in her heart was fighting against them.

She continued to walk on toward the red line. The cat’s orange eyes watched her, but it did not make any move to follow her as she walked slowly away.

Kate went on, and it may have been mere minutes or several hours later (time was very strange here) that she saw something shining on the ground. She cautiously drew closer. It was a snake. Kate feared snakes almost as much as she feared spiders. Its body was curled in coils and its eyes were trained on her. She froze, hardly daring to breath. The snake spoke. Its voice too belonged with those she had heard in the air.

I don’t bite, it said. The poison that I spread is much more harmful then venom.

Kate didn’t know what to say in reply to that ominous statement. She stayed perfectly still, scarcely daring to look at the snake. The creature was terrible. She glimpsed its bright red eyes with slit pupils. It was large, and she supposed, very long too. Its body was mostly black, but there was an unfriendly pattern of glimmering silver and blood red diamonds running along its spine. The snake began to speak again in its low, hissing voice.

The panther was right, it said. You are a failure. You are such a worthless creature. Everyone would be better without you around. You have no value, no significance. You are a mistake. Why do you burden others with your presence?

The words of the snake stung. They would have been easy enough for her to believe, but again something inside her fought against them. Kate, able to move again, ran on past the snake. She wished that she could somehow escape being herself. She wished that she could fix the past. She wished she could change who she was. Certain by now that the snake could not catch her, she slowed to a walk. Then she began to wonder, Could those harsh words of the creatures be true of me? Maybe