Parallel Portals

by kelly proudfoot

  The policeman stopped in his tracks.

  “Miss, you’ve…exposed yourself. This is a public park. People bring their children here. If you’re inebriated or under the influence of illegal substances, I’ll have to arrest you. If you leave now, I’ll forget I saw you. Okay?”

  Balo realized that it would be best if he left rather than cause a scene, so he got up and started making his way back to the main road. The policeman was horrified that he made no attempt to lift the left breast back into the bra and didn’t bother to put the sweater back on. He chased after Balo with the sweater and did his best to get in front of him, to shield him from more bemused or disgusted onlookers.

  The Dom’s body was taller and faster than him, so it was a major feat for the policeman to keep up with Balo.

  “It is alright officer. I am leaving. Be gone!” He advised haughtily.

  A carload of hooligans drove past, hooting and hollering out of the windows.

  “Show us the other one, Baby!”

  Balo was completely oblivious to the taunts and what they were referring to. The policeman was now reporting the incident on his radio.

  “Send a divvy. I’ve got a spaced out pro on the loose.”

  Balo made it out onto the main road, but he decided to cross rather than walk along the footpath. After only three steps, he was collected by a huge semi. Multitudes of screams came from the onlookers on either side of the road. Liona’s body was splattered and twisted into a messy pretzel in seconds. The semi screeched to a stop that seemed to last forever, while dragging her body with it, under the front wheels.

  ***

  While Roman continued to plunge into an endless space, he was under the impression that he was having one of those strange dreams he usually had when sprawled out on the rug in front of the TV. Still, he continued to mentally whimper and yelp as he plummeted further and further down. When he finally landed in a fast-moving current, he had no idea that he was caught in a seemingly infinite whirlpool in a dark realm.

  Once again in spirit form, he tried to perform a dog-paddle in what he assumed was the ocean. All he could do was go with the flow, along with countless other spirits who were screaming and moaning as they raced along with him. He heard the human voices crying out like they too were dreaming.

  “Where am I?!”

  “Mummy – Daddy?!”

  “I’m INNOCENT!!”

  “God; Jesus – help me! Somebody – PLEASE!”

  He could barely see in the black, swirling waters. He continued yelping and started to bark loudly. He was confused with the fact that his voice sounded like an echo coming from the outside. Several of the other souls were now trying to grab onto him. He was not aware that, seeing as he was still attached to a living body, his light was brighter than anyone else’s.

  “Help me! Help me – please!” One old soul pleaded as it tried to get a hold of him.

  “I can come back with you! Take me with you!” Another cried out.

  As more and more hungry ghosts flocked to him while they were being swept along the current, Roman heard a familiar voice from higher up.

  “PAULINE! PAULINE!”

  He looked up and saw another bright spirit trying to climb up the face of a steep cliff. Other souls were trying to hang onto him as he clambered and fought the onslaught of bitterly cold rain. Roman lurched himself upwards and was able to propel himself out of the whirlpool and onto the slippery cliff. He noticed several impish creatures pushing souls back into the angry, swirling ocean.

  Without thinking, he leapt towards one of them and was suddenly inside its body. The imp was a grotesque, grey monster the size of a small teenage boy, with jagged fangs and squinted, black eyes. The only thought preoccupying his mind was to get to the bright soul. Somehow he knew that it was his master. When Jon’s spirit looked down and saw the imp coming after him, he screamed and tried to kick it. Roman yelped and barked in his mind, hoping against hope that Jon would recognize his voice.

  The moment was frozen in time. Jon looked into the hellish eyes of the evil imp.

  “ROMAN?! IS THAT YOU?!”

  Roman tried to wag his tail but the effect made him look like a bizarre demon trying to wiggle his hips. He barked again and crept closer to Jon, then began whimpering and yelping as he approached. Jon reached his hand down hesitantly and Roman grabbed it. He saw the black talons enclosing his master’s hand.

  “ROMAN!!!”

  Jon pulled him up and hugged him tightly, then reared back momentarily to double-check. Roman began licking his face with a long, gnarled tongue that appeared to be covered in tiny barbs. Even though Jon was in spirit form, it was obvious that he could feel the barbs scraping him. It didn’t matter to either of them. Now there was hope.

  ***

  At that moment, Pauline was crouching over Lixian’s emanation and slapping her face, while the guard, the servant and the attendant peered from behind her.

  “Lixian! You idiot.” Then she addressed the servant. “How could this happen so quickly? Oh my god!”

  The attendant bowed his head and muttered in broken English.

  “So sorry, Mistress. She crazy for it.”

  She slapped Lixian’s face again but was soon facing the realization that something had gone terribly wrong. When one last, long breath escaped the emanation’s mouth, Pauline knew that she was dead. She jumped up and grabbed the attendant by the shoulders as he grimaced and shrunk back in horror.

  “What did you give her? What did you do?!”

  The servant and the guard managed to pull her away, while the attendant dropped to his knees and bowed so low that his forehead touched the floor. His long, black braid slid over his silk tunic and slumped quietly alongside his body.

  “Only poppy! Only poppy!” He cried, before devolving into a weeping mess.

  “Mistress!” The servant pleaded over her shoulder. “She young. She inexperienced.”

  Pauline watched as the body slumped into an obvious state of demise, like an item of clothing settling after being discarded or tossed onto the ground. The overwhelming sense of loss washed over her.

  She had failed.

  Chapter 17 – Reverberations

  Pauline felt a strange pulse begin in her mid-section, which seemed to repeat every thirty seconds, rippling through her like the reverberations of a bell being struck. Something told her that this was not a good omen but she had no idea what to do. Her mind was scrambling like a beheaded chicken racing through a barnyard. The men were all talking at once, trying to figure out what to do with the body, now that Lixian was permanently eradicated.

  Pauline looked down at the sweet face of the young prostitute, which seemed to be at peace, but she was irritated by the panicked voices over her shoulder, mostly in Chinese. She was now able to understand what they were saying as they argued with each other.

  “This happens all the time. We can dump her in the river. They’ll say it was a suicide.” The guard advised excitedly.

  “So stupid! Even the deaths of sporting girls are investigated!” The servant snapped.

  “They’ll trace it back to us if they find it was poppy!” The attendant stated in a growing panic.

  Pauline stood up and started backing towards the door. Her servant noticed and came shuffling towards her, while the other clients stared in a daze from their floor-beds and chaise-lounges.

  “We will take care of it. So sorry, Mistress.”

  Pauline remembered the higher rank of this emanation and used it in her favor, while trying to ignore the urgent pulses.

  “Yes, do take care of it. I’m counting on you!”

  She turned and charged through the door, deciding to get back to the table, hoping against hope that returning to the initial entry point would open a portal to the library. She assumed that her failure was already known to the emissaries and there was no telling what they would do.

  Once in the room she made her way to the table and slumped down hard in the chair. She coul
d still hear the men arguing and moving about, obviously doing their best to get the body out before anyone else saw. Soon she realized that nothing was happening and the fear began to build. She reached for the wine glass and took a sip. Nothing.

  She frantically rustled the newspaper and tugged at the black satin table cloth in a temper. Still nothing. When the familiar sound of distant trumpets hit her eardrums, she burst into tears and started calling out to whoever – or whatever was listening.

  “I tried – I really tried! Please, it’s not my fault!”

  As the trumpets got louder, the pulse grew stronger and the arguing in the hallway became more urgent. She put her forehead on the table and collapsed into a fit of tears and self-pity, unaware that a butterfly was dancing through the open window on a ray of sunlight. It fluttered over to her and as soon as it landed softly on her exposed neck, she noticed the pulse disappearing.

  When she looked up she was no longer at the table. Confused and enchanted at the same time, over the buoyant feeling that was now permeating her being, she realized that she was flying.

  She no longer heard the threatening trumpets, but the sound of sweet music was distracting. It was like pleasant folk music from an era long ago. Looking down she saw what appeared to be a magical fairyland. Had she died and gone to heaven?

  ***

  At that time, Ka had taken flight on one of his ships with Nazat, his most trusted assistant. They didn’t stop until they reached the invisible mezzanine that was suspended under the realm of the Prism of the Godhead. Nazat was slightly smaller than Ka and was silver. She had a slim, flickering tail and was also featureless. They both had the same characteristics as all the emissaries, in terms of their gestures and movements making up for the fact that they didn’t have faces.

  The lotus-like ship lowered one of its petals, then they alighted and began floating along the mezzanine, on their way to speak with the Godhead’s Viceroy. As they made their way to the upper level, where many assistants floated in and out of the Prism, Ka addressed Nazat in his kind, cottony voice.

  “As you know, we are not often called to the Prism, so something important must have happened.”

  Nazat effortlessly kept up with Ka’s swift pace as she answered in a light, feathery voice.

  “It is sure to be something about Doelanda and her infiltration. Even though she’s working as an emissary for us, her skills leave a lot to be desired.”

  “I understand your concerns, Nazat – however – I stand by my decision to approve her contract.”

  Even though Ka spoke these words in his usual gentle fashion, Nazat felt a pulse of shame for sounding like she was questioning her superior.

  “Of course, Ka. Please forgive my insolence.”

  Before he could respond, an assistant appeared like a spark of electricity escaping a conduit. It buzzed and zapped as its wire-like body glowed electric blue. When it spoke, it sounded like morse code tapping on glass.

  “The Viceroy is waiting.”

  They followed the assistant through one of the many windows of the Prism, then whizzed past the trillions of hexagon rooms and finally zoomed up to the Viceroy’s level. Nazat never grew tired of seeing the busy assistants tending to the rooms and records. It was like watching a swarm of bees pulsing like neon lights. The energy was truly electric in the Prism.

  The Viceroy’s level was markedly different. Endless darkness was only partially illuminated by the brilliant white, pyramid-shaped platform in the center. On the top was a simple, crystalline throne, where the formidable Viceroy waited patiently. Nazat was once again overawed by its presence. Humanoid but completely egg-shell blue, it had a hairless head which displayed multitudes of faces that scrolled like a movie projected on a screen.

  Wearing a simple gown that appeared to be made from white smoke, it looked down as they approached. The assistant emitted a few beeps then flew back out of the level. Ka and Nazat stopped at the Viceroy’s feet and bowed their heads in obeisance, waiting to be addressed by the Godhead’s mouthpiece.

  When it spoke in a voice like a verbal violin – sweet and high pitched in the purest tones – Nazat felt her cells realign themselves in a pleasant fashion.

  “There is a ripple we cannot ascertain.”

  Ka responded quietly, “A ripple, your Highness?”

  A pleasant, feline face hovered over the Viceroy’s head and settled into place.

  “The simultaneous death of an emissary and an emanation has occurred.”

  Nazat knew that this was more serious than they’d anticipated. Ka shuddered and nodded slowly.

  “I understand, your Highness. I am at fault.”

  The feline face disappeared and was then replaced by one of a concerned old woman.

  “It is not your fault. Remember, Ka – blame is anathema to our purpose. What we don’t understand is, how many emanations have been affected?”

  “Your Highness. The emanation was a human from the Earth, on the 5th ring.”

  The Viceroy waved its hand and then pointed to the space behind the emissaries. They turned to see a vast, three dimensional map of the Universe. Nazat could see the Parallel Portals entwining each other like DNA, curling through space and time. It was like looking at millions of threads which were beaded with multi-colored jewels glistening in space. The 5th ring was all shades of blue, with the Earth standing out and glowing as the Viceroy waved its hand again to enlarge the image.

  The colors of the planet shimmered in variations of emerald and cobalt.

  “One of the realms we have been concerned about for a long time.” The Viceroy said with a hint of dismay.

  “Yes, your Highness. All of the entities’ emanations have been wiped out.”

  The face of a weary old dog came over the Viceroy’s face. It waved its hand once more. Many different portals lit up along the threads, to indicate the realms where all Lixian’s emanations had existed. Nazat was disheartened to see this, as she knew it meant that once again, the Godhead had been deprived of knowledge and experience.

  “We are at a loss.” The Viceroy exclaimed sadly.

  Ka and Nazat nodded and repeated the sentence.

  “We are at a loss.”

  Then the face of a grey alien came over the Viceroy.

  “The emissary has been sent to the lower realms, where he will serve a sentence of a thousand years in servitude to the lost souls.”

  Ka and Nazat nodded solemnly. They both understood that this was a light sentence for Balo, after all he’d done.

  “You will send Nazat to apprehend the infiltrator and bring her to me. I understand that you have already sent some of your finest to find her, but they will not succeed.”

  Still exhibiting the grey alien face, it continued to advise the emissaries on what to do.

  “The time for a new paradigm shift is approaching. We will soon send a pulse through the portals, which will bring forth a new renaissance. This is especially important for Earth. No longer will they be ignorant to each other and the Universe. They will finally see the true face of God. It will not be what they anticipated, however it will not matter.”

  Ka and Nazat stood in amazement. They were both speechless. A new face descended onto the Viceroy. This time it struck fear into the emissaries’ hearts. Neither human nor animal; it was more akin to a creature borne from the darkest realm – almost menacing.

  “We will no longer refrain from interference. We cannot afford any more ripples or obliterations. The Godhead is beginning to starve. Now, go forth and do as we bid. Find the interloper and bring her to us. Then the shift will begin!”

  Nazat knew that their meeting was over and she quickly followed Ka after they both nodded, trembling and panicked.

  ***

  In the nether world, Jon and Roman were scrambling to get up the cliff face. Other demonic guards saw this and started flocking towards them. It was now obvious that Roman wasn’t chasing down an errant soul to throw him back in the whirlpool. He was helping him
escape.

  A large demon with long fangs screeched and hissed as he flew closer to the two.

  “What you do, brother? Throw him back!”

  Roman whimpered for a moment but his protective nature came to the fore. He turned to the large demon and began to growl. The combination of his own emanation’s canine personality and the characteristics of the demonic body he’d overtaken fused into a formidable attack. Jon was horrified but also appreciative. He watched as Roman lunged at the demon and sunk his fangs into the dark grey flesh.

  A high-pitched howl filled the airwaves as the demon struggled against Roman’s onslaught. The other demons stopped in their tracks on the cliff face and watched in horror as Roman began tearing the demon to pieces. He or Roman couldn’t have known that another obliteration was affecting the Godhead. All they knew or cared about was getting out of there and back home to safety, however it could be done.

  When Jon raced over to grab Roman’s leathery tail, a puff of smoke enveloped them. Jon felt an instant wave of calm wash over him. He was amazed to see Roman in spirit form to his right. He was like a green shard of light but still obviously a dog. When Jon looked down at himself he saw that he was a bolt of orange lightning. Then he heard Roman’s voice in his mind, speaking in human words.

  “What is happening?!”

  He could also hear whimpering, but there was no time to answer. A flash of pink light distracted them both. The sensation of falling at an alarming rate came over them. Jon panicked and thought that they were dying for real this time. He did not expect to be teleporting into yet another emanation.

  When the sensation of falling stopped and he opened his eyes, the confusion mixed with elation put a smile on what he thought was his own face. He saw a land that seemed to be straight from a child’s fairy tale. Perfect, rolling green hills stretched out before them. Dense forests lined the horizon and sweet little cottages were dotted here and there in the distance. They were in a gorgeous meadow with precisely created flowers and trees. There was a glistening blue lake about half a mile ahead of them and large, colorful butterflies danced in the air overhead.