Fly: A PORTAL Chronicles Novel (The PORTAL Chronicles) (27 page)

Chapter 32

Fly

“Have you seen this portal before?” Everett asked Mia.

Piled in Everett’s Trailblazer, Everett, Mia, and I had been riding along in silence for a good thirty minutes.

“No, but I’ve heard a lot about it,” she answered. “How about you?”

“Yeah. My dad has been bringing Benson and me to visit it since we were little. It’s great.” I must have looked like I needed the extra assurance, because Everett seemed to be speaking more to me than to Mia.

“What is a portal like?” I asked.

“Every one is different, but… ” Everett gave me the familiar look that I had learned to read well.

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, joy! Another surprise.”

He laughed. “Trust me. It’s worth the wait. We’re almost there.”

I pouted, but true to his word, Everett soon turned off the highway onto a gravel road that cut across a field, ending at a large hill in front of us. I was surprised I hadn’t noticed the large landform sooner as it peculiarly stood out among its flat surroundings.

Everett pulled under a rocky overhang and rolled down his window. I looked to Mia for a clue as to what he was doing and she shrugged. Reaching out, he touched a piece of rock that protruded from the rest of the stony wall and an electronic keypad appeared. He swiped Mia’s key card across the pad and, with a beep, a wall of rock in front of us rose like a garage door, revealing a dark, ominous hole. I watched, speechless and a little fearful, as Everett slowly drove into the darkness and the door shut behind us, sealing us in and all remaining daylight out.

“Come on,” Everett said, getting out of the car.

Not budging, I looked to Mia. She seemed stunned, yet not scared like I was.

“Does anyone else get how creepy this is?” I asked, half expecting someone with a chainsaw to pop out of the darkness at any moment.

The lights from Everett’s car shed just enough light to reveal we were parked on a large cement slab suspended in the air. From here, a set of stairs led to a long row of metal railing that eventually disappeared into darkness.

“Trust, Sophie,” was Everett’s only reply. He grabbed a flashlight from under his seat, slammed his door, and headed down the stairs. Realizing that neither Everett nor Mia were waiting for me, I quickly jumped from the car and blindly raced after them through the darkness for fear I’d lose sight of the bobbing light in Everett’s hand.

“Where’s Mia?” Everett asked once I’d reached him.

“Right here,” her voice came from somewhere behind me, surprising me that I’d unknowingly passed her in the darkness.

“Okay. Stay together,” he said, grabbing my hand. Grabbing Mia’s hand, we went on this way until Everett stopped. “There’s a step here,” he warned, helping me up and then Mia.

Everett turned off his flashlight, submerging us in darkness. My hearing was immediately heightened and I noticed the sound of my footsteps had changed from the ruckus of walking on metal to a muted thud. We were on a different surface now.

“Everett?” I called out, my eyes blindly searching the dark.

I jumped as something moved behind me, but then heard his voice in my ear. “It’s okay,” he whispered, his breath tickling my neck and sending goose bumps down my spine. “I’m right here.” Placing his hands on my hips, he gently pushed me forward.

“I’m scared.”

“Don’t be. This will be fun.” We walked a few more steps and he asked, “See that light above us?”

Leaning against him, I looked up. My eyes slowly adjusted and I soon saw a small ray of twilight streaming in from a small hole overhead. The darkness messed with my depth of field, leaving me wondering if the ceiling of the dark cavern was close and the hole was small or if the opening looked small because the ceiling was high.

“Yes, I see it,” I answered him.

“Following that ray of light, look down.”

Doing so, my heart dropped. I stifled a scream and clutched tightly to Everett realizing we stood on a polished stone ledge jutting out into hollow nothingness below and all around us. The rickety metal railing we had just walked on lined the walls of the large, cave-like space in a suspended semi-circle, merely secured by nuts and bolts.

Wrapping his arms around me, Everett whispered, “It’s okay. I won’t let you fall. What do you see below us?”

“An endless abyss,” I answered. “What are we doing out here? This is crazy.” I panicked.

“Shhhh. Take a deep breath,” Everett said, tightening his hold around me. “Everything’s okay. I’ve got you.” I deeply inhaled the smell of his cologne, feeling myself melt into his arms. “Relax. You’re safe here.”

“Okay,” I mumbled, feeling a little less afraid.

Mia boldly walked to the ledge’s edge with an awestruck look on her face. “Can you feel it?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Everett answered. “What about you, Sophie?”

At first, I rationalized that I had warm fuzzies because Everett’s arms were around me, but as I concentrated on the feeling, I accepted that it was more than that. A warmth familiar to what I felt earlier in the park coursed through my veins, empowering me and chasing away my fear. While the feeling was nice, it also came with a heaviness that was increasingly hard to stand under.

“I feel it,” I smiled, savoring the feeling. “What is it?”

“Dio’s presence,” Everett whispered. Letting go of me, he talked as he backed up to the ledge’s edge until the heels of his feet dangled over. “Dio is very powerful and has the ability to create things, hence one of his many names, The Creator. His first creation was a world called Alethia. He ruled there before creating Earth. Portals, like this one, are places where two worlds connect. This particular portal links Earth to Alethia.”

“But… that’s impossible,” I blurted.

“Is it?” Everett asked. I suddenly felt foolish considering the sensation I was experiencing. “Dio creates all worlds with their own complex set of rules. A rule on Earth is gravity: what goes up must come down. Alethia has its own rules, too, like no gravity. When two worlds connect within a portal, the stronger world’s rules manifest there, overruling the lesser world’s rules. In this case, Alethia’s rules trump Earth’s rules.”

“But gravity still seems to be in effect,” I said, jumping up and down to prove my point.

Everett only laughed and said, “Feel your chin.”

Doing so, I shrugged. “There’s nothing there.” Everett smiled, patiently waiting for it to dawn on me. “There’s nothing there!” I couldn’t believe the scab from sledding the sidewalk on my face was gone.

“One of Alethia’s rules is supernatural healing. And gravity — at least as you know it — doesn’t exist there.” With that, Everett kicked off the ledge, leaping backwards into the darkness.

I screamed, instinctually reaching out for him.

But he didn’t fall. I couldn’t believe my eyes. He floated in mid-air in a sudden burst of blue light streaming from the bottom of the abyss. I cautiously approached the edge of the ledge, looking for some sort of hidden netting or footing.

“There’s nothing there,” Everett said nonchalantly, like he floated in mid-air all the time. “But it’s okay. I won’t fall. You can trust Dio and you can trust the rules of Alethia.” He reached out for me. “You’re next.”

“No way,” I said, backing away from the edge.

“If you won’t, then I will,” Mia said, already running.

With a majestic leap, she flew into the air, held in place by nothing. As she did, pink light burst forth, mixing in with the blue like the aurora borealis.

“Wow! It’s beautiful,” she breathed, taking in how the two lights danced off the crystal formations now visible on the rock walls.

“This isn’t happening,” I whispered, shaking my head.

The floating snow tunnel and hearing voices in the wind were one thing. But this. There were simply no words for it. I’d never seen anything more beautiful in all my life.

“Come on, Sophie. Take a leap of faith,” Everett vexed.

“Very funny.”

“Just take my hand.”

I glared at him and, careful to keep my hands to myself, peered over the ledge again. I was confused as I was unable to find the source of the light or the bottom of the cavern.

“Don’t think. No matter how much you try to make sense of this, it won’t compute. You’ve been raised to believe certain truths, like that gravity makes everything fall, but Dio’s ways are different from ours, meaning some of his rules simply don’t make sense,” Everett said, still reaching out. “Like with all things in life, you have to listen for Dio’s voice and jump when he tells you to, having faith he knows what he’s doing and that he has your best intentions at heart, as only he can see the bigger picture.”

With a hesitant sigh, I shut my eyes and concentrated. The more I focused on the warm feeling, the more it welled up inside of me, increasing and growing heavier by the minute until the air felt thick in my nose. I let it soak me through; hardly able to breathe as it filled my lungs with its heavy air, permeating every dark thought and fear. I sensed it was healing me, filling in holes that had once been there, and soon felt light as a feather — held down only by the weight of this intense feeling. And then, when I thought the weight was more than I could bear — about to crush me to pieces — the voice from the snowy field came back to me, whispering just one word in its lyrical way.

“Jump!”

Without another thought, I ran and jumped before my fear caught up with me, again feeling Everett’s arms embrace me. Adrenaline surged through my veins as I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. Purple light joined the dance of blue and pink and I felt myself relax, marveling at how secure I felt.

“I’m not falling,” I mused.

Everett laughed. “No, you’re not falling.”

Looking up into his eyes, I realized how close our faces were. We both froze and for the second time today, I felt the undeniable heat emanating between us and longed for him to kiss me. Against the wash of breathtaking colors, the prisms emanating from the walls and the deeply therapeutic feeling within me, there had never been a more perfect time. Besides, I loved Everett. I gasped at the revelation. I hadn’t known exactly what the feeling was before, but in this place, I had exceptional clarity.

“Whoo-hoo!” Mia’s voice was far away, close, and then far off again. A gust of wind swished past us as her voice faded away. Everett and I looked around, searching for her. She flew in fast circles around the metal railing’s edge. “Come on!” she cheered, her voice growing louder as she gained on us. “This is great!”

Everett pushed away from me, grabbing my hand. I stared in awe at my dangling legs before looking into his excited face again.

He smiled, saying, “Let’s fly!”

Chapter 33

The Beginning

“That’s exhilarating!” I gushed.

Everett collapsed next to me on the floor of the small cave high above the metal railing. “Flying tends to be,” he laughed.

It wasn’t until I’d caught my breath that I noticed the stunning beauty around me. Rays from the look-alike aurora borealis sent jewel-toned sprays of light ricocheting off the gems and crystals lining the cave’s ceiling and walls.

“It’s beautiful here,” I breathed, admiring the glittering rainbow of colors.

“Yeah, this is really something else,” Everett replied, reclining beside me, his arms folded behind his head. “Dio does good work, huh?”

“Yes!” I smiled at him. “What sorts of things has Divaldo created?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Nope. Dio is the one and only Creator. In fact, he created Divaldo.”

I gasped. “Really?”

“Divaldo is simply a copy-cat-wannabe when it comes to creativity. But he does a heck of a job counterfeiting Dio’s ideas.”

“What’s the story between Dio and Divaldo?”

Everett laughed. “Where to even begin?”

“At the beginning.”

“Okay,” Everett said, realizing I was serious. He rolled on his side to face me. “I already told you Dio created Alethia, right?” I nodded. “Well, after creating it, he created beings to live there, which we know as Alethians or angels. It was — and remains to be — a perfect society. Regardless of his power, Dio is a kind, just, and wise ruler with great integrity. The same then, Dio was good to the Alethians and greatly loved them, and in return, his people loved and respected him.”

“So far, so good,” I nodded.

“Well, one of Dio’s creations was Divaldo, known then only as Lucian, and he was special — supreme above all other Alethians and second only to Dio. Lucian was a stunningly beautiful and charming being who was popular with the Alethians. He had great favor with Dio as well, who loved him like a son. Lucian thrived for some time because of the favor and great knowledge Dio bestowed upon him, but eventually, his divine wisdom and good standing with the Creator went to his head, causing him to believe he knew better than Dio.”

“And pride was born — the conflict of the story. I was waiting for it,” I said.

Everett nodded. “Dio had given Lucian a will, and he turned that will against the Creator, making the grave mistake of thinking he could do things better on his own. He resented Dio, which soon grew into something worse, causing Lucian to despise Dio’s control and reign altogether. The condition of his heart bred darkness, and his judgment was clouded with selfish intentions. Lucian’s love for the Creator soured and, figuring he could be like the Creator — or even better — he plotted a mutiny.”

“Wow! That’s pretty ballsy.”

“Yeah, it was a dark time. Through Lucian, pride, greed and envy were born. His allegiance no longer to Dio, he was ruled by his own hatred. As the evil in his heart took root and grew, so did his obsession with gaining power, and he planted malicious rumors and lies in the hearts and minds of anyone who would listen to discredit Dio. Due to his position, the other angels trusted him, so many believed him and were deceived. One by one, other angels also turned their wills away from the Creator, pledging their allegiance solely to Lucian.”

“It makes sense that Hagen works for Divaldo,” I thought aloud. “It sounds like you’re describing him: the lying, gossiping, pride, and maliciousness.”