The Doorknob Society (The Doorknob Society Saga) (36 page)

I smacked right into another door bumping my head. I quickly reached for the handle and opened that door. It was then I realized that I had opened a portal into the broom closet where James and I nearly had a close encounter

Dad and James stepped out of the closet behind me and I allowed the portal to close. Dad glanced around while James looked at me and sent me a stupid, disarming grin. He didn’t have to say a word I knew what he was thinking. My first thought had been of the time spent with him in the closet and so there was where we landed.

“Do you recognize this place?”

“Yeah, Dad, we should be able to backtrack to the portal from here.” I shifted uncomfortably as I looked back at the closet and bit my lip.

“Let’s go then,” Dad said.

I raced passed Dad and Nightshade intent on getting to the exact spot where we had left the open portal. We turned a corner and headed toward the open foyer. I kept a few feet in front of my dad and Nightshade and as I stepped into the foyer, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Standing a few feet in front of me was Caleb Darker and two other men and behind them was someone I would never have expected to see... Ms. True.

She stood there, regal and beautiful as ever but her lovely smile turned sinister and she screamed “Get her!”

Darker came right at me so fast that I didn’t have time to react. His arm shot up and a blue streak of pure energy hurtled toward me. It was about to pummel my chest and all I could think was...
damn I’m dead meat.

A blast of crimson and blue exploded directly in front of me, the brilliant colors startling my eyes. When my vision finally cleared I saw that James stood a short distance in front of me blocking Caleb’s attack. He raced forward lashing out at Darker like a madman and throwing Darker off balance.

The other two guards made their moves then, but this time I was ready and threw up two portals deflecting their assaults.

“Get that little bitch!”

I wasn’t sure what shocked me more that Ms. True wanted me dead or that she called me a bitch. Either way she was going to pay for it. Dad entered from my other side and locked eyes with my former instructor. Her eyes turned huge with rage and she didn’t hesitate. She lifted her key and aimed it at my dad, tendrils of energy crept from the key and then shot forward like attacking snakes. They snapped around Dad’s arm like a slithering python.

His arm shook violently and then suddenly a blue mist surrounded his entire arm and the bands of red energy snapped off and back toward Ms. True like a rubber band that had been wound too tight, the force hurtling her backwards. She let out an angry screech as she scrambled to her feet and charged at my dad once again.

I couldn’t worry about my dad, besides I knew he could take care of himself just like he knew I could take care of myself. And I proved it going to work on the two guards who stupidly underestimated not only my courage, but my skill.

The energy rushed into me, the power all-consuming just as it had been when I helped Jess fight the gremlin at the Academy. I concentrated on my opponents, my hands working the energy pouring out of them. Instead of focusing a blast of energy I focused on opening portals one after another beneath each guard. Both men closed the first ones easily but as I repeatedly kept opening portals their reaction time began to slow. Until finally the guard to the right fell through one of my portals and I slammed the door closed. I smiled at the other guard and his expression suddenly changed. It was the first time I ever saw someone fear me. He wasted time on fear when he should have paid closer attention. A moment later the fool fell through another one of my portals.

“We need to get out now!” I yelled at my dad still locked in battle with Ms. True. He nodded and I rushed to the opposite corridor. He followed close behind throwing up shields as he went so Ms. True couldn’t finish us off. Surprisingly, she stopped attacking and ran in the opposite direction.

“She’s not running away, reinforcements are probably close at hand,” Dad said and turned to help James.

Darker had gained the upper hand, shattering James’s defenses. Dad and I focused, slamming Darker against the wall though it didn’t take him long to break through the bonds.

“Nightshade we’re going,” I yelled.

James turned to me with a look of rage. I could see that he wanted to stay and finish his fight, have his revenge against Darker, but at what cost... his life?

“Now!” I screamed ready to drag him out of there if necessary.

Maybe it was the fierce look in my eyes or maybe he realized now was not the time, whatever the reason he ran toward me. Relief rushed my already raging adrenaline; I turned and ran down the corridor my father and Nightshade close behind.

One turn, just one turn and we’d be there
. I took the turn into the last corridor that held our escape fast and came to an abrupt halt. Ms. True and more of her goons waited at the other end.

“Kill them all!” She yelled and they raced toward us.

“Keep going,” James urged with a shove to my back.

I did as James said... I kept going.

Waves of energy surged passed me as Nightshade and my father threw shields up in front of me. I didn’t stop; I focused on the portal ahead. Explosions of light and power burst around me but I kept my focus on the portal. It began to glow as I got closer.

I stretched my hand out. Almost there, almost there, my hand closed around the doorknob, power raced through me activating the portal and I swung the door open. A booming sound rocked the building and I tumbled forward into the portal, into darkness, to the screams of battle raging around me.

Chapter 32

Status: Sometimes it helps to be a little crazy

I crashed to the floor and scrambled to move not sure what would follow me in. Nightshade came barreling in backwards with one of Ms. True’s goons on top of him. Dad was next, landing on his feet.

“Chloe, close the portal!” he shouted over the raw energy pouring out of the opening.

I grabbed my knob and twisted it trying to force the portal closed. It resisted. Someone on the other side was holding it open.

“Someone’s stopping me.”

Nightshade swung and connected with a resounding punch to the goon’s jaw knocking him to the ground. He turned back to the portal and added his key to my powers and tried to help me close the door.

An eruption of energy exploded from the portal blowing us all backward and then like a river of unstoppable force an onslaught of people rushed into the room and flanked the portal. Men and women stood ready to do battle with us, each of them members of different orders. I could see some holding doorknobs and other skeleton keys, I even noticed an HVO silver star.

Nightshade, my father and I stood side by side in front of what seemed like armed troops. They didn’t move; they remained stoic watching us.

“What are they waiting for?” James asked.

“Orders I would guess,” Dad replied and then he looked around and smiled at where I had opened the portal. “That’s my girl.” He winked at me.

With precise and sequent steps the army parted at the entrance to the portal and out stepped Ms. True. While her beauty was still evident, her cruel demeanor no longer remained hidden. It was as if she had removed a mask for the entire world to see her for what she was... a bitch.

“Very good,” she said, though it sounded far from a compliment. “You escaped the lockdown, but you haven’t escaped me. You will never escape the First Kind.”

“What a joke,” I laughed at my former instructor.

“What did you say?” Her eyes flared with a fiery anger.

“You heard me; you’re a joke. The First Kind, really that’s what you’re going with? I mean seriously if you were the First Kind you wouldn’t be kidnapping my dad who was searching for your own artifacts, now would you?”

“You insolent little, brat, I’m going to enjoy destroying you,” she said with too much pleasure.

“I don’t think so, True,” my dad said with a smile as he pointed around the room. “You haven’t realized where we are, have you?”

Ms. True took in the room in one quick glance.

The hall of the Impossible Engineers rose up around us. Various devices laid strewn about, design schematics were spread across drafting tables and on the walls hung jetpacks.

“Idiots, she brought us to the Paladin Academy,” True reprimanded harshly as she hurried back to the portal. “Kill them now!”

Her army didn’t hesitate; they attacked. We worked as one creating a defensive shield but knew it wouldn’t hold long against such a massive barrage. The shields cracked and splintered as fast as we replaced them.

“You need to get out of here,” Dad said throwing up another shield.

I looked at him like he had grown a second head over night. “I’m not leaving you.” I mean was he crazy. I didn’t go through all this to leave him to die.

The sound of metal gears creaking resonated throughout the hall and the massive front doors swung open and standing there was Mr. Miller and what looked like an entire football team.

“Elijah,” Levi called out. He reached back pulling a wrench the size of a bat from inside the back of his coat and rushed forward with a fierce glint of determination. The men beside him moved just as quickly each pulling out some different contraption and running full force at the assailants. The three of us lowered our shields and joined the melee, the odds of victory now more favorable.

Mr. Miller swung his wrench sending one of the goons bouncing like a tennis ball until he landed with a thud to the ground. Then he grabbed Dad by the shoulder and hugged him, a big grin spread clear across his face.

“Good to see you, old friend, and as usual you’re in need of my help.”

“Thanks, Levi, and I do need your help.”

“You’ve got it.”

“I found the Legend. I need to get it to the council.”

Two goons raced at my dad and Levi and both men swatted them out of their way like they were nothing more than pesky gnats.

“They’re meeting tonight at the Infinity Library to discuss recent events and to assign blame,” Levi said and nodded in my direction.

I had a feeling I knew which member was ready to throw me under the bus if I didn’t live up to the deal he had tried to strike with me. I couldn’t catch any more of their conversation since some jerk goon came barreling at me. I grew winded fighting through his attack but I’d be damned if I’d let it stop me and just when I thought I might get the upper hand one of Mr. Miller’s friends cropped him with what appeared to be a sledgehammer.

Dad grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side away from the fighting. He leaned over and whispered into my ear and I laughed when I heard what he said.

“Are you kidding me?”

“No, I’m not. I need to stay here and help Levi finish this. You need go get the Legend and bring it before the council. Can you handle that?”

“I’ve spent the last few days fighting monsters and being chased by psychopaths, I think I can handle this.” I took hold of his arm. “But I don’t want to leave you.”

“I’ll be fine and I’ll be right behind you. Levi and I will meet you at the library to talk with the council.” He grabbed me and hugged me tighter then he had in a very long time.

“I’m so proud of you,” he whispered and then turned back to join the fight.

I watched him go and smiled, though a hint of a tear threatened. I had actually done it. I had freed my father just like I said I would. Insane as the plan had been, insane that I had made it up as we went, insane that it would actually work and unbelievably insane that it had worked. Now I needed to not only clear my name, but my friends’ names as well. And then I intended to stick it to these jerks who had been messing with my life.

“Nightshade,” I called out hoping he would hear me over the din of the raging battle.

He turned toward me for a split second, then finished off the guy he was fighting and raced over to me. He stopped beside me, his breathing heavy. “Let me guess, new plan, very low success rate and slightly crazy?” he smiled and with his arm around my waist tucked us into a corner of the room away from the chaos.

I returned his smile spontaneously, which surprised me since he usually had me snarling at him. “Of course, what else would you expect?” I quickly filled him in on what we needed to do and he nodded in agreement. It wasn’t a bad idea either since both of us had been using our powers so much we were nearly drained.

“How do we get out of here?” he asked.

Neither of us could likely open another portal without some rest. My smile grew along with my plan. “I have an idea.”

I took hold of his hand and raced down along the wall until I reached the area where Levi, kept the Impossible Engineers jetpacks. I pulled off a newer model and turned to Nightshade.

“Are you kidding me?”

“Not like we have a lot of options here. Why, are you afraid?” I couldn’t help but tweak him since he had done it to me so many times.

He hefted another jetpack off the wall and slid his arm through the strap and onto his back. He looped his other arm through the second strap and then cinched it across his chest with a tug of buckles locking it in place. “Ready when you are.”

I quickly pulled my phone out and sent a text and slid it back into my pocket. I slid my own pack on when suddenly I was spun around by something smashing into it with such force that I crashed into the wall. The jetpack snapped in half, falling in pieces to the ground.

Stunned, I shook my head and next to me saw that Nightshade was fending off a gremlin. I shook my head again. Gremlin? I knew what I was going to face when I got to my feet and sure enough a large, scary looking gremlin stood in front of me, his arm big as a tree trunk raised and ready to strike. Instincts took over, my hand shot out reaching for anything I could grab. I connected with a metal object and holding it tight I swung out wildly.

The ever expanding wrench is one of the Impossible Engineers more lucrative devices. It expands to wrap around anything and twists until you make it stop. In this case it attached itself to the gremlin’s arm and I almost felt bad when I heard the bone snap. I felt even worse when the device didn’t stop and the gremlin lay on the ground holding its arm and howling in pain.