The Fifth Portal: a supernatural urban fantasy action adventure (Cards of Death book 5)

by Tamara Geraeds

  After I’ve shaken the drops from my face, I try again.

  The card is the only thing I see. I imagine the water rising and rising. It does, and this time, I keep my focus. Slowly, I turn my eyes to the symbols on the card. There’s five of them. One in each corner and one in the middle. Every time I look at them, the small pool of water descends, and I shift my attention to keeping it in the air.

  Now my energy is draining fast. Brief glances will have to do. I memorize the symbols and let go.

  The water splashes back onto the card. Cold drops land on my arm and on Vicky’s cheek.

  She wakes with a start and glances from me to the cards in my hand.

  A smile creeps onto my lips.

  Vicky pushes herself up. “Did you do it?”

  “I did. Now all I need is a pencil and a piece of paper, before I forget.”

  With a proud but incredulous look on her face, Vicky reaches into the back pocket of her pants and pulls out what I need. “How did you do it?”

  I quickly scribble down the symbols and fill Vicky in.

  Her mouth falls slightly open. “That’s amazing, Dante. You’ve just rediscovered your powers, and you can already do this? We might not be as lost as I thought we were.”

  “Really?”

  She bends over and kisses me on the lips. “Really.”

  We huddle closer together and study the symbols I drew.

  “So, there’s wings, a tree, a thimble, a sun and a green dot,” I explain.

  “A fairy,” Vicky says.

  I shrug, not sure if those even exist.

  “It could also be someone who works in a park,” Vicky says. “What about the other card? Maybe we can figure it out after our little…” She throws me a mischievous look, “… nap.”

  The cold leaves my body in a second, and I grin. “Maybe.”

  I put away the water card and hold up the other one. “We’ve got two red scratches and a lightning bolt. One indicates anger, because that’s the sin of the fifth circle. The other points to the way this soul dies, right?”

  Vicky nods. “It’s probably not literally lightning that─” She falls silent as the doors on the other side of the church open with a soft creak.

  D’Maeo steps in. He looks at us, scratches his beard and closes the doors behind him.

  “Everything okay?” I ask when he approaches with a flashlight in his hand.

  “Sure.” He drags an old chair to the end of the bed and sits down. “How are you doing?”

  “Not bad,” I say. “Although, I still don’t remember anything new.”

  He smiles, but somehow it doesn’t feel right. It’s no longer affection I see in his eyes, but malice. When I focus on it, his shadow seems to grow while D’Maeo himself shrinks.

  When he speaks, it’s as if his voice comes from behind him. His words make no sense.

  I shake my head and blink.

  Everything is back to normal. Although, normal isn’t what it used to be.

  “Have you gotten any further with the cards?” the old ghost asks.

  “We were just working on that,” I say, keeping my eye on every move he makes.

  He leans closer, and I watch his shadow. Did it move a fraction later than the ghost did, or was that just my imagination?

  He holds out his hand. “Can I see them again?”

  “Sure,” Vicky says.

  But before he can take the cards from her, the doors swing open with a squeak, and Maël appears in the doorway. “What are you still doing here? You are not even dressed yet?”

  I’m so baffled that I don’t know what to say.

  But I don’t have to, because Maël turns to the old ghost. For the first time since I woke here, she sounds angry. If looks could kill, he’d get beamed up to Heaven right now. “What happened, D’Maeo? You went in to get them, and now you are sitting here as if we have all the time in the world?”

  Without wasting time, I jump out of bed and put on the clothes I find on a chair next to it. I manage to do it without falling over, glad to find my legs have their strength back.

  On the chair, I also find two books, an athame and something I don’t recognize. After a quick questioning look at Vicky, she nods, and I put everything in my pockets and behind my waistband. Strangely enough, it doesn’t feel uncomfortable at all, but there’s no time to figure out why that is. Maël is still standing in front of D’Maeo, fuming like an angry dragon.

  The gray-haired ghost shakes his head as if to lose an unpleasant thought. “I’m not sure, Maël. I hurried over here, and when I stepped in, I somehow forgot why I came.”

  “You came here to tell them another army of those foul creatures is coming. We need to leave before they reach us.”

  “Why?” Vicky’s voice rings out from the other side of the bed. She joins the others and gestures at me. “You saw what he did last time. I think he can do it again.”

  “This army is a lot bigger than the two we fought before.” Maël’s grip on her staff tightens. “You know, the ones that killed you.”

  Vicky’s skin gets more transparent as she swallows. “Yes, but Dante can kill them all with hail before they reach us.”

  The queen shakes her head. “I do not see how. He barely has any knowledge of what he can do.”

  “He practiced, and he just did some things I think he couldn’t do before.”

  Maël frowns at me. “You did?”

  I chuckle nervously. “Well, I don’t know. I have no idea what I could do before.” I turn to Vicky. “But I can’t imagine being able to crush a whole army of monsters with hail. How did I manage that?”

  “Well…” She fiddles with the zipper of her leather jacket. “That was because…” She looks up for help, and Jeep, walking in, finishes her sentence. “That was because your girlfriend got killed, Dante. You got really, really angry.”

  “Which is why I do not expect a revival of that incident,” Maël continues. “And we should not risk losing anyone again. We are very fortunate to have Vicky still among us, as well as everyone else. I wish to keep it that way.”

  “Me too,” I nod. “So let’s get out of here.”

  I stroll out of the building and into a gray, foggy day. From every direction, I hear the creaking of branches and the moaning of something ancient. The sound gives me the chills, even more than the cold does, and I rub my arms.

  “What is that?” I ask Vicky when she joins me.

  “We’re in some kind of ent forest. These are the creatures that healed us.” She weaves her fingers through mine and leans closer. “I’m grateful they did,” she whispers, “but to be honest… they freak me out a little.”

  I smile and kiss her. “Me too.”

  When the heavy doors close behind Maël, I turn around. “Does anyone know the way?”

  Charlie points at the sky, where a whirl of sand drops from the heavy clouds. “That does.”

  My eyes follow every movement of the phenomenon while every last brain cell in my head tries to grasp what all of this means. “Is this that beach you were talking about?”

  “It is. And since it got us this far and led us to these ents, we thought our best shot would be to follow it again.”

  My head goes up and down without my consent, and my feet move on their own. Instinct must have taken over, and it feels good. It means my brain has time to wrap itself around everything I’ve just learned. Magic is real. Magic… is… real. I say it over and over in my head, and the evidence is right in front of me, but still I don’t believe it. “I’m dreaming.”

  Cold fingers squeeze my hand. “No, you’re not.”

  I turn my head and take in Vicky’s beautiful face. “What?”

  “You’re not dreaming.”

  Did I say that out loud? I didn’t mean to.

  She pulls me closer. “As strange as this is, even for me, it’s all very real. So are we, so are your powers.”

  “And the D
evil.”

  Her face contorts into a mixture of sadness and anger. “Yes, him too unfortunately.”

  “Did you… did we ever… meet him?”

  “You did, just a couple of days ago. And you have premonitions about him sometimes.”

  “Premonitions?” If my head spins any faster, I’ll tumble over. “What about?”

  She wipes a dark lock of hair from her face with her free hand. “Don’t worry about that now.”

  Don’t worry about that now? It must have been really bad if she doesn’t want to tell me.

  A cheery voice pipes up in my other ear. “You saw our defeat. Or actually, Taylar did, when he had your powers.”

  I turn my head to find Jeep grinning widely at me. “We lose?”

  “Not necessarily,” Maël joins in. “Your premonitions give you possible outcomes in order for us to prevent them or make them happen. What Taylar saw does not have to happen at all.”

  “Wait.” Vicky stops dead in her tracks. Her eyes scan every face in our group. “Where is Taylar?”

  “He’s right behind…” Charlie turns and falls silent. “He was behind us when we went to see what was taking D’Maeo so long.”

  Vicky throws her hands in the air. “And you didn’t keep an eye on him?” Her voice is shrill with rising panic.

  Although I don’t know much about this world, or about magic, and I don’t even remember who Taylar is, something dark slithers through my stomach at the thought of him getting left behind. Who knows what hides between these unmoving trees?

  CHAPTER 17

  When we turn back, a strange sound is added to the moaning and creaking. It resembles a heavy drumroll, interrupted by a slapping noise.

  My heartbeat quickens as I take in Maël’s worried face. “Is that the army you were talking about?”

  “It is. We must find Taylar soon, or it will be too late to run.”

  “Where did you see him last?”

  She walks past me and beckons us. “In the Tree Hall, this way.”

  On the other side of the church, there’s a giant tree. The trunk is so wide you could fit a front door and two big windows in. When I look up, I can’t even see the top of the tree.

  Maël taps the side of the trunk three times and places her hand on the white bark. Part of it moves back, and she steps inside. I follow behind the others.

  To my surprise, I find myself in a narrow hallway, with wooden doors on each side. High above us, stairs float. Where they lead, I can’t tell. It’s too dark in here.

  My friends step into the first room to our right, where a boy of about fourteen, with white hair and see-through skin, is lying on a bed. I kneel down at his side. He’s so transparent I can barely see him.

  “Is this normal?” I ask Vicky, who crouches down next to me.

  “No, he’s fading because of his unfinished business.”

  I frown. “That’s a real thing?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  “Dante?” Taylar’s voice is a hoarse whisper. “Dante? Is that you?”

  “Yes.” In a reflex, I grab his hand. “I’m here.”

  He lets out a heavy sigh and becomes a bit more visible. “Thank goodness. I thought we lost you.”

  “Never,” I answer with all the confidence I can muster. “And you’re going to be fine too.”

  “No.” He curls up his lips into a vague smile. “No, I’m done. I’m joining Lleyton. You go on without me.”

  Lleyton? I mouth at Vicky.

  “His brother,” she whispers.

  A pang goes through my heart. “I’m sorry, Taylar. You’ll see your brother again, but not today. And not tomorrow either, if I can help it. We’re getting you out of here.”

  He waves his hand vaguely. “It’s too late. There’s no energy left inside me. Let me go, Dante. Save yourself. I’m not important.”

  “Yes, you are!” Jeep’s stern voice is loud, and the tree we’re standing in stirs uneasily. I can see the walls moving.

  The tattooed ghost kneels down on Taylar’s other side and picks him up as if he doesn’t weigh a thing. Maybe he doesn’t. “Come on, we’ve wasted enough time arguing. We’re getting out of here, all of us.”

  And with that, he strides out of the room, through the tree’s open door and into the white woods, away from the growing noise.

  “This unfinished business,” I say to Vicky after a couple of minutes. “You know what it is?”

  “Yes.” She stares off into the woods. “His brother was killed by a pixie that was sent by a powerful man named Shelton Banks. Taylar spent the rest of his life searching for him, to get revenge, but he never did.”

  “And this man is still alive?”

  Vicky shakes her head as if to get rid of an uneasy feeling. “Apparently. He must be really old now.”

  “And weak,” I say eagerly. “Easier to kill.”

  “It doesn’t always work like that with magical people, babe. Sometimes they grow stronger with age.”

  “But you know where to find him?”

  “No, but we haven’t really tried yet. There was no time.”

  I clench my jaw. “Well, we’ll have to make time now, or Taylar won’t make it.”

  “None of us will make it if we don’t get out of here,” she says softly. “Which is what we’ve been struggling with from the beginning.”

  I wrap my arm around her and pull her close. “We’ll be okay.”

  She barely reacts. Her eyes are locked on the unmoving figure in Jeep’s arms. “I hope so.”

  While I search for more words of comfort, the whirl of sand comes to a halt in the sky in front of us. Next to it, I can make out a bright blue line.

  “Is that a portal?” I ask with a frown. “I imagined something more like a… doorway.”

  Vicky stares at the line with fascination. “Portals come in all shapes and sizes, but to be honest, I’ve never seen one this small either.”

  The Beach of Mu changes into the shape of a staircase, and one by one, we climb it, D’Maeo leading the way with Jeep close behind.

  At the top of the stairs, the two of them hesitate.

  “What is it?” I call out.

  “The portal emanates a lot of heat,” the old ghost answers. “I’m not sure it’s safe.”

  His last word is almost drowned out by the stomping of a thousand feet that suddenly grows louder and is joined by a deafening howling.

  When I look over my shoulder, I forget to breathe. Gruesome monsters with fat bodies and spiked tails fill up the path behind us at an alarming speed. Their large mouths are wide open, releasing howls that make the hairs on my arms stand up.

  “Time to go!” I yell, pulling Vicky along as I make my way to the stairs.

  The ground trembles, and the stench of dead meat wafts our way. The sand moves under our weight as we hurry to the top of the stairs. Now I can see the portal is much more than a blue line. We were just looking at the side of it before. From up here, I can see the entrance, a circle the size of a large dining room table, lying flat in the air. Steam rises up from it, and blue flames lick the edges. It might be dangerous to touch those, so we’ll have to go through the portal one by one.

  “Jump!” I tell D’Maeo and Jeep, and to my surprise, they obey without objecting.

  They’re swallowed by the steam in an instant, and I can only hope they’re okay.

  Before I follow them, I wait for Charlie, Gisella and Maël to catch up.

  “Go, go, go!” my best friend urges me from the bottom of the stairs, and after a deep breath and a nod from Vicky, I jump into the steaming hole.

  The heat envelops me, and I’m afraid to open my eyes. The cold from the world I left behind is just a vague memory as flames wrap around me.

  I clench my fists to withstand the pain surging through me. We’re all going to die in here. I made the wrong decision.

  Somewhere between the raging of the flames I hear two v
oices yelling. At first, I can’t make out what they’re saying, but as I get closer to them, the syllables start to make sense.

  “Watch out!”

  “Open your eyes!”

  Struggling to even breathe in this scorching heat, I force my eyes open. They burn and start watering, but I focus on D’Maeo and Jeep, standing under another portal, which is drifting inches to my right in a sea of boiling lava. If I don’t manage to steer a bit to the right, the lava will swallow me whole.

  “Use this!” D’Maeo calls out to me, and he picks up a wooden board and places it in the waves of lava.

  A second later, I land on it. My momentum carries my feet and the board forward while my upper body tumbles the other way.

  “I’ve got you,” D’Maeo’s voice says close to my ear, and I feel his hands around my waist.

  He pulls me through the portal safely, but there’s no time to catch my breath. Vicky and the others will jump soon, and the lava carries the portal further and further away from the one we fell through.

  CHAPTER 18

  I step a bit further away from the edge.

  D’Maeo takes in our surroundings with clenched jaws. “I don’t like this one bit.”

  Jeep nudges me. “Turn the lava to ice.”

  I straighten my shoulders. “Right.”

  I can do this. I have to. If I fail, my friends will be swallowed by this raging heat.

  With a sharp shake of my head, I get rid of the thought of warmth. It’s cold I need, lots of it. Nice thick layers of ice that cover everything in sight. And a soft layer of snow on top, to break their fall.

  Ice, ice, ice. I repeat it over and over in my head and imagine it popping up in blocks from the sea around us.

  “That’s it, keep going,” D’Maeo urges me.

  “A little faster would be great,” Jeep mumbles, and I nudge my power core harder.

  Images of large slabs of ice fill my inner vision, and I quickly cover them with loads of snow.

  There’s a thud, and I fight the urge to open my eyes. I have to keep my focus, wait for everyone to arrive here safely.