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

by Tamara Geraeds

  “That sounds scary. We should keep an eye on him.”

  I nod. “I’ve asked Charlie to do so.”

  She stops dead and gives me an incredulous look.

  “What?” I ask carefully.

  “You asked Charlie? Why didn’t you just ask me?”

  “Well, I…” I stutter, raking my fingers through my hair.

  The others catch up, and Vicky waves them past impatiently.

  “I get it,” she says when we’re alone again.

  My mouth opens to tell her she doesn’t look like she gets it, but I swallow my words.

  “You don’t trust me.”

  “What? Of course I trust you! You’re my girlfriend.”

  “Yes, but you don’t remember that, do you? You know I am because I told you.”

  I shake my head. “No, it’s not just that. I feel it.”

  She crosses her arms, and I have to admit, she kind of scares me. The look in her eye is murderous.

  But my love for her is stronger than my fear or my doubts, so I reach out and grab her hands.

  She tries to pull away, but I won’t let her. “Listen to me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m about to pour out my heart to you, that’s why.” It comes out blunt, a bit angry and way too loud, but maybe that’s what dissolves her bitterness.

  I bring my head closer to her, and the energy between us crackles. “Do you feel that? That is our love, our connection. It doesn’t just come from you. It comes from both sides. When I woke up in that church, I didn’t know you were my girlfriend, but I did know how I felt about you.”

  She closes her eyes and takes a couple of breaths. “Then why didn’t you confide in me about this?”

  “Because…” I struggle to find the reason. “Because I’m just very very confused right now. It’s all a bit too much, and I’m trying to stay strong. Nothing is as it should be…” I pause and wait for her to look at me. “…except for us.”

  The right corner of her mouth moves up a bit. “That sounds almost plausible.”

  I kiss her on the lips and whisper, “I want us to be perfect.”

  She grabs the back of my head and pulls me closer. When our lips meet again, electricity courses through my body, and everything around us is forgotten. That is, until something pushes me so hard I almost tumble over. When I regain my balance and look up, the sand eagle is hovering in front of me, looking rather angry.

  “I’m sorry,” I say, holding up my hands in defense. “We’re coming.”

  After a curt, irritated nod, it returns to the top of the arc.

  I clear my throat and try to act natural while I walk up to the portal where my friends are waiting. “So, let’s go see what’s on the other side, shall we?”

  I’m grateful when no one comments, not even Charlie.

  Maël holds out her staff to prevent us from stepping through the portal. “Give me a second to check for anything dangerous first.”

  “Great plan,” I mumble, still flushed from shame.

  I expect her to step through, but instead she pierces the greenish light with her staff and closes her eyes.

  Nothing seems to happen until suddenly she stumbles back and clutches her wand to her chest. She stares at the moving green light inside the arc. “That does not feel good.” She looks up at the Beach of Mu. “Do we really need to go through this portal?”

  The eagle’s head moves up and down without hesitation.

  When Maël sighs, the bird drops down from the arc and lands on her shoulder. Then it turns its head to us and whistles again, as if to say, ‘Gather around! We should stick together!’

  We obey and when the ghost queen walks through, we follow in one straight line.

  I push Vicky through to make sure she’s safe and close ranks.

  CHAPTER 22

  Everything is dark and chilly in here, and it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust.

  “What a gloomy place,” I say, looking around and breathing in the musky, steely smell.

  Then my heart almost stops. Above us, three rivers decorate the dark sky, like giant moving ribbons. In the distance, there are two more. The sky seems to be never-ending.

  “Tartarus,” I mumble.

  “What?”

  The others turn around and stare at me.

  “We’re in Tartarus. I’ve been here before.” I point at the sky. “Those are the five rivers of the Underworld.”

  Vicky’s face lights up. “You’ve got your memory back!”

  “No,” I correct her with a shake of my head, “it’s just this I remember. This world.”

  I scratch my head and turn to Maël. “Didn’t you say Purgatory is a part of Tartarus?”

  She leans on her staff and nods. “I did.”

  “So, the beach is going home.”

  Gisella is turning round and round to take everything in. “I think it is, but why is it taking us with it?”

  The sand eagle pushes itself off from Maël’s shoulder, soars high into the sky and whistles.

  The ghost queen beckons us with a determined expression on her face. “I think we will find out soon.”

  We walk until our feet are numb from exhaustion and cold. After several hours the three rivers and the portal are far behind us, and the other two rivers rage on above our heads. I’ve stopped looking up, because the movement in the water gives me the creeps. If you look closely, you can see arms, claws and torn faces, wide open mouths screaming for help without sound and eyes shimmering in the pale light of an invisible moon.

  Charlie drops back a bit to talk to me. “D’Maeo seems normal again.” He smirks. “Not that walking around in Tartarus and being a part of the chosen one’s Shield is anything resembling normal, but you know what I mean.”

  “Good,” I say. “Let’s hope he stays that way.”

  Charlie rubs his arms. “Is it getting colder, or is that just me?”

  Vicky leans over from my other side. “No, I feel it too. Also darker and…” she shivers, “ominous.”

  As soon as the last word leaves her lips, the shivers running through her get stronger. At the same time, Jeep utters a moan and drops to his knees.

  “What is it?” I ask and hurry over.

  When I reach out to help him up, his muscles all tense up. The tattoos on his arms and neck wriggle under his skin.

  He lifts his head and shows me his teeth. “Get away... from me.”

  I back up so fast I trip and fall. My head connects hard with the cold, rocky road. Halfway to the back of my head, my hand freezes as my gaze locks onto Vicky’s. There’s a murderous glint in it that makes me afraid to move. This must be the start of one of those fits she was talking about.

  She opens her mouth and spits out a string of vicious syllables I don’t understand. Her head tilts into an impossible angle, and she licks her lips.

  Two hands grab the fabric around my shoulders and pull me back a millisecond before Vicky leaps.

  She misses my feet by an inch when I pull them in, and growls like a rabid bear. She’s about to charge again when Jeep knocks her over.

  At first, I think he’s protecting us, but soon, I realize he has turned into a raging beast himself.

  “This can’t be real,” I pant when Charlie helps me up. “What are the odds of them having a fit at the exact same time?”

  D’Maeo steps up next to me and rubs his beard. “Actually, it’s not very surprising. Jeep has been having more and more trouble keeping the souls trapped inside his tattoos, and Vicky’s fits are getting worse. On top of that, walking around in Tartarus, every step bringing us closer to Purgatory, breathing in the evil molecules floating around… These things will only make their conditions worse.” He steps back as Vicky and Jeep roll our way, scratching, kicking and clawing at each other wildly. “And don’t forget that everything is out of balance. That isn’t helping either.”

  I suddenly remember Ma�
�l telling me about particles inside people being pulled in the wrong direction. I’ve felt okay since the white ents healed me, but D’Maeo is right, it was only a matter of time before we’d find ourselves in this situation.

  We move back further, but the two ghosts only have eyes for each other. The sounds they make are awful. Jeep keeps moaning as if he’s in terrible pain─which he probably is–and Vicky snarls and growls, emitting angry, incoherent words in between. Both are trying to bite the other’s limbs off, but thankfully, they seem to have equal speed and agility.

  “Is there anything we can do to stop them?” I ask Maël.

  She shakes her head. “If we knew how to do that, we would not have to be afraid of these fits.”

  The two ghosts bump against each other at full force. Both tumble to the ground in a daze, and I crouch down next to them.

  “Enough of this!” I yell, imitating the tone of every drill sergeant I’ve ever seen in movies. “Get a grip, both of you! You are stronger than any curse or imbalance.”

  Both heads turn to me. Although their teeth haven’t changed, they somehow look sharper now. Their eyes are dark, and rage contorts both of their features.

  “Snap out of it, I mean it,” I say threateningly. “Stop this, or I’ll banish you from my Shield.”

  I hear Taylar gasping behind me and Gisella hushing him.

  With balled up fists, I stare Jeep and Vicky down.

  They don’t move, but I’m not sure whether they’re listening, fighting on the inside, or just thinking of the best way to rip me apart.

  “Come back to us,” I say, gently now, sending them both a pleading look.

  They tilt their heads in unison, as if to size me up. I force my feet to stay where they are and keep telling myself, they won’t hurt me, they won’t hurt me.

  Jeep’s wrinkled forehead slowly relaxes, and I sigh with relief. But I let down my guard too soon. Vicky’s eyes glisten with malice as her lips curl up further to form a manic grin.

  “Vicky…” I say, but the weight in my voice is gone. I sound as scared as I feel. “Listen to─”

  The rest of my sentence is lost when she hurls herself at me with her mouth open and her fingers stretched out like claws.

  I want to dive out of the way, but my feet don’t move. Nothing moves anymore, except for the fear inside me.

  Come on! Do something!

  Vicky is about to knock me down and swallow me whole when I remember the power within me. I can take her down with a hurricane or a wave. If only I had more than a millisecond to conjure something.

  My brain freezes. I’m out of options.

  “Remember who you are,” I say, looking her in the eye.

  Then I brace myself for impact.

  It doesn’t come.

  At the last moment, a tattooed arm pushes me aside, and Jeep’s body takes the full blow. The two of them tumble to the ground again, grunting and struggling.

  Vicky lurches for his throat, but Jeep moves his hand to the side of her head, and with a well-aimed blow to the temple, she goes down.

  I snap out of my frozen state and kneel down next to Vicky. She’s out cold.

  I look up at Jeep. “Thanks.” I narrow my eyes. “Are you back?”

  He holds up his thumb.

  “Good. Just checking.”

  When I push myself back up, Charlie steps up to me. “That was tense. And that last part!” He places his hands on my shoulder and stares into my eyes.

  “Remember who you aaare,” he breathes, and then collapses into a fit of laughter.

  Gisella elbows him in the side with a scowl. “Don’t mind my boyfriend. He can act like a jerk sometimes, as you might know.”

  “Come on, that was funny,” Charlie says, rubbing his side. “Such a beautiful imitation of Mufasa.”

  “Who’s Mufasa?” D’Maeo and Maël ask at the same time.

  Charlie’s mouth falls open. “Really? You’re kidding, right? Mufasa was Simba’s father.”

  He holds up his hand when they open their mouths for the obvious question. “No, don’t ask.” He sighs and shakes his head. “You should really teach your Shield more about contemporary art, Dante.” With a smile, he turns back to the two oldest ghosts. “You’ve never heard of the Lion King? It’s a classic.”

  Gisella’s elbow shoots out again.

  “Ouch! Stop that!”

  “I’m sorry to interrupt,” Gisella says, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “but we’ve got more important things to do. Like find out why Dante froze like that and move on to see what the Beach of Mu wants.”

  All eyes turn to me.

  “What happened, Dante?” Jeep wants to know. “Why didn’t you step away or try to stop her?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know. Is it that uncommon, to freeze? I didn’t want to hurt my girlfriend and…” I shrug again, realizing I have no idea why I couldn’t just step aside or block her attack.

  “I saw something,” Gisella confesses. “A dark shape climbing onto your back. I wanted to help, to get it off you, but somehow, it dazed me too.”

  A dark shape? I exchange a quick look with Charlie. “You mean like a shadow?”

  She nods. “Something like that.”

  “Was it…” I force myself not to stare at D’Maeo. Inside, I nudge my power core. “Was it attached to someone?”

  Gisella bites her lip. “Eh… I’m not sure. I didn’t pay attention to it. I was just trying to move. But then Jeep knocked Vicky out of the way, and it was all gone: the shape, the daze.”

  Taylar clears his throat. “I saw it too.”

  “And?” I ask, dreading the answer.

  “It was attached to someone.” He turns slowly to where D’Maeo is watching quietly. “It was attached to you.”

  CHAPTER 23

  In a matter of seconds, we’ve all pulled out our weapons and created distance between us and the old ghost. I pull Vicky, who’s still unconscious, with me as I join my friends.

  “Wait a minute,” D’Maeo says, holding up both hands. “I don’t know what you think you saw, but I am not the enemy. I could never hurt you. Any of you.”

  Maël narrows her eyes at him. “I am not certain anymore.”

  “Something is wrong with you, D’Maeo,” I say. “I saw it in the church and later with that mouth monster. Something isn’t right.”

  A soft groan makes me look down.

  “Keep an eye on him,” I tell the others while I bend over Vicky. “How are you feeling?”

  She rubs the side of her head with a frown. “Tired, and my temple hurts a bit.”

  “Sorry about that,” Jeep says without turning his head.

  “I heard you,” Vicky tells me. “I tried to come back. I fought. I really did.” Tears flow from her eyes.

  “Hey.” I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault.”

  “I don’t want to hurt anyone, but it’s so strong.”

  “I know. You didn’t hurt anyone, don’t worry.”

  I wipe the tears from her cheeks and eyes and help her up.

  The others keep their eyes on D’Maeo, who is waiting with his hands in the air for us to continue the interrogation.

  Vicky drops the hand still rubbing her head. “What’s going on?”

  After a quick summary, she gives D’Maeo a once-over before crossing the distance between them.

  I reach out to stop her, but Maël pushes her staff against my chest. “She will be fine. She will use her power to read his feelings. If he wants to hurt her, she will know in time.”

  “Okay,” I say, but I’m not convinced.

  Vicky comes to a halt in front of the gray-haired ghost. “Look at me,” she orders.

  He does, and for several tense seconds, she falls silent.

  “How do you feel?” she asks him then. “Different than usual?”

  “No.”

  “How do you fe
el about being a part of Dante’s Shield?”

  D’Maeo shifts his feet but doesn’t break eye contact. He knows Vicky will sense it if he doesn’t tell her the truth. “I am proud and nervous about it.”

  Without pausing, Vicky interrogates him further. “Do you have the intention to hurt any of us?”

  “Of course not.” He sounds a bit impatient.

  “Are you carrying something that could be dangerous to any of us, including yourself? On or inside you?”

  He shakes his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”

  Vicky turns to us, but it’s not with the smile I was hoping for. “He’s telling the truth, but there was a tiny disruption in his eyes when he answered the last two questions.”

  “What does that mean? What kind of disruption?” I ask, rubbing my arms against the sudden cold that takes over my bones.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it before. It was like a ripple in his eyes. It went by so fast I almost didn’t catch it. But there was also a small blind spot in his emotions.” She shakes her head. “I’m not explaining this right. But I’ve never experienced this before, and it’s hard to put into words.”

  “I think you did great,” I tell her, forcing a smile onto my lips. “Your questions were spot on, and now we know that D’Maeo doesn’t mean us any harm, but that there’s probably something inside him that doesn’t have good intentions.”

  The old ghost stares down at his body when we all look at him. “I don’t feel any different. All I know is that I sometimes lose time. Not much, just a couple of minutes.”

  I turn back to Vicky. “You know a lot about spells, right?”

  “Sure.”

  “Is there a spell that can draw out whatever is inside of D’Maeo? Or keep it locked inside until we can figure out a way to get it out?”

  Vicky scratches her head. “I think there is, but I don’t know it by heart. You could check your father’s notebook.”

  Maël points at the sky. “Maybe we should do that later. The beach is getting restless.”

  She’s right. The sand eagle soars over our heads, whistling loudly.