“There are seven in total, all of them in fascinating and unique places around Earth.”
Dad. He’d always traveled to the exact same locations, in the exact same rotation.
“Let me guess. London is a portal?”
Sonya nodded. “Stonehenge.”
Which meant Rome, Cairo, Moscow, Auckland, and Lima were all portals to another world.
London was the closest one. But there was no way Dad would’ve had the time to get there, meet us in the morning, and expect us to meet him. As I turned the locations over in my head, I realized they only added to six.
I looked at Cicero. "Where is the nearest one?"
"Bridal Veil Falls."
Seven.
I thought of the portrait in the library upstairs. How ironic. “But how…with that many tourists?” I asked.
“You’ll see in the morning, when we take you to your father.” Cicero climbed to his feet.
Morning seemed so far away, but what choice did I have? They were the ones that had seen my dad, or so they had said. I could be patient for now, but there was just one more thing I needed to know.
“How did you get to my house?”
Sonya knelt at my side. “This,” she whispered. In her hands was an object: a round, bronze amulet hanging by a circuitous bronze chain. Engraved on the surface were strange symbols I’d never seen before, almost like runes.
She continued, “It is a magical device. Your father insisted we keep one in case of emergency. It stores power. Since Earth is not a magical world, it takes a great deal more effort to perform magic here—especially great magic. This item has accumulated power over the years, and even then it was only enough power for the three of us to wrap it around ourselves and use it just this once.”
“For what?”
Her warm eyes stared into mine. “For transporting ourselves straight to you.”
Chapter 5
The Portal
Tap-tap-tap.
The sound echoed in my head. I fought against the haze to open my heavy lids. Moonlight slipped through a crease in the thick draperies. Wait, those weren’t my draperies. I didn’t even own draperies. Where was I? It looked like…
Tap-tap-tap.
The memory dropped on me like an anvil. I was in the guest room at the Andersons. Except they weren’t really the Andersons. Well, they were, they were just from another world, used magic to get to my house, and their last name was actually Del Conte.
My temples wrenched in pain.
The door creaked open, the light from the hallway stabbed through the shadows, and I winced.
“Morning, dear.” It was Sonya.
I tried to answer her but all I could do was yawn.
“Time to go.” She flicked on the lamp beside my bed.
Craning my neck, I looked at the hands of the little, round clock standing on the bedside table. Three-thirty in the morning. I plopped back down on my pillow and stared at the ceiling. I was about to follow them through a portal into a magical world to meet my dad.
It was highly probable that my sanity got fed up and deserted me.
Sonya sat on the edge of my bed. “To your father, remember?”
How could I forget? I glanced at Sonya. I’d never seen her so demure, and a sad humility dulled her eyes, the kind that stems from guilt. She probably thought I had changed my mind and would run away the first chance I got. Truth be told, I was still considering it.
“Clara made fresh maple scones for you,” she said.
Well, there was one thing about my morning that wasn’t disastrous. “That was nice of her.” I slowly propped myself up on my elbows.
At my reply, Sonya seemed to breathe a little easier. “She wanted to help you ease into your …unusual morning.”
I took a deep breath. “Clara knows then?”
Sonya nodded, studying my face with eyes full of genuine remorse. “I know you’re upset.” She touched my hand. “And we understand if you’re angry with us. I wish I could tell you more, but we’ve sworn an oath to your father to not only protect you but to protect certain information. And he’ll share that information with you once he feels it’s safe.”
Her regret was sincere, but I couldn’t rid myself of resentment. How could they do it? See me all these years, knowing things this fantastic existed, and never—not even once—allude to it. And, apparently, they were going to continue keeping things from me.
As if sensing my thoughts, she sighed. “We’d like to leave within the hour. Feel free to go back to sleep till then. I just wanted to give you the opportunity to gather yourself. I laid out some towels for you in the bathroom.” She kissed my forehead and stepped out of the room.
I rubbed my eyes and looked around the Andersons’—Del Contes’ guestroom. I’d slept in this room too many times to count. Things were so different then, and simple. The stained mahogany armoire filled with blankets that Alex and I made forts with, the old school-desk in the corner that would screech in pain every time I wiggled in its wooden chair.
Hanging on the wall above was a painting of an enormous, gothic castle. The castle was surrounded by mountains, but not even they could outshine the magnificence of the stone structure. It loomed over the world it sat upon, daring anyone to disrupt the tranquility of the valley below.
I used to wonder if that castle really existed somewhere in our world, if people really lived there. As a kid, I imagined stories of goblins and trolls and a knight that fought dragons to rescue the fair maiden trapped inside the tallest tower. I didn’t really care much for fair maidens; if I lived in that castle, I’d be the knight. I’d slay that dragon, send the maiden back home, and be crowned the ruler. Alex had laughed at me when I told him that, but stopped when I punched him in the stomach so hard it knocked the wind from him. I would’ve been a just ruler, too.
To dream of a magical world is one thing. To be told one exists is quite another.
Shaking off the memories, I crawled out of bed and went to take my shower. The steam brought back my senses as the hot water ran over me. Was I really about to abandon everything I’d ever known? But abandon what, exactly? My life in borrowed fields? Cadence? Hours spent in solitude while I yearned for adventure? Here was my chance, and besides, what did I have to lose?
The shower ended, I toweled myself off, dressed, and made my way downstairs with wet hair.
I wonder if Alex is awake.
Angry that my mind would think such a thing, I focused on the strong scent of maple coming from the kitchen. I ignored the fact that my eyes kept scouring the rooms for him.
Clara was busy frosting her last batch of scones when I entered. She glanced up and smiled. “Morning, miss. Sleep well?”
I couldn’t be angry at that smile. “No, but I woke up well, thanks to you. They smell fabulous.”
I felt like a kid again, running downstairs early on a Saturday morning, Clara waiting for me with her scones and milk. And Alex would be waiting for me so we could plan our adventures for the day.
Light footsteps moved behind me as I grabbed one of the scones.
“Good morning, Alexander.” Clara smiled past me.
I didn’t turn around. In fact, my jaw froze mid-bite.
“Smells incredible in here, as always,” said that man-voice.
I focused on finishing my bite, trying to enjoy the taste of cinnamon and maple glaze. From the sounds of things, Alex was rummaging through the pantry.
“It does my heart good to see you two together again,” Clara said.
I choked on my scone just as something slammed to the floor behind me. Struggling to swallow my misrouted bite, I met Alex’s gaze right before he bent over and picked up the water bottle that was rolling across the kitchen floor. He left without another word.
Clara watched after him, glanced at me, and then turned her curious eyes back to her cooking.
After I finished my breakfast, I meandered down the hall. Everyone was gathered at the front door.
“
Are you ready?” Sonya asked.
“Yeah, I guess.”
She looked relieved when she smiled. “Great. Let me fetch Clara. Meet us out back?” She turned to her husband. Cicero nodded.
Alex was out the front door before Sonya even started back down the hall. Cicero glanced at me, scratching the back of his neck. It seemed like he was trying to think of something comforting to say but I wasn’t sure. Cicero wasn’t the most delicate with words. In that way he was a lot like my dad.
He eventually just opened the door. “Ready?”
The land beyond was blanketed in darkness. We walked into the chilled morning air and waited on the front porch. My dad’s silver Subaru appeared around the corner with Clara in the driver’s seat, smiling. Alex hopped out of the car and held the door open, motioning for me to climb in back. I caught his hard gaze as I crawled in, but he abruptly looked away, sat beside me and shut the door. He took up more space than when we were younger, and I didn’t remember his frame being so solid and immovable. It was impossible to keep my shoulders from touching his, even though he was conveniently leaning away from me.
Cicero buckled himself in the passenger seat. When Clara shoved down the pedal, I thought the car was going to throw me out the back window.
For such a passive creature, her aggression while driving was shocking.
We reached the end of their long driveway in record time and headed straight for Yosemite Valley. As many times as I’d visited the Andersons, not once had I gone to the Valley.
The sky had lightened and we drove through a short tunnel. When we emerged, my gaze fell captive to the valley. Water glittered over granite cliffs, carving its way through rock, plunging into beds of green. It looked like a big crack in the Earth, the valley a hidden paradise protected by thick walls of stone and snow-covered mountains.
The road wound through a forest of enormous pines. Huge boulders dotted the land, having fallen from the cliffs above. We passed column after thick column of brown bark. Every so often, Sonya would turn and look at me, her smile both sad and encouraging.
I still couldn’t believe I’d allowed myself to accept this. Dad goes missing and I believe he’s gone to another world. Not only that, I was trying to go there myself.
But then there was my traitorous conscience. It was confident this Gaia existed, and was appalled that I wasn’t.
Clara pulled the Subaru into an almost empty parking lot, designated for the Bridal Veil Falls trail, and the strange pull within me strengthened. All of us, except for Clara, climbed out of the Subaru. Alex walked around back, lifted the hatchback, and retrieved a stack of blankets. Maybe this other world was colder than Earth.
If it existed.
It does exist.
I pushed my door shut, silently cursing my conscience.
The roar of rushing water filled the valley. From here Bridal Veil Falls looked like it fell from the heavens. It careened over a cliff, widening as it fell, veiling the ground below with a swirling white mist.
“Everyone ready?” Although Cicero’s question was addressed to everyone, everyone was looking at me.
So I nodded.
Cicero began trudging down a paved trail, Alex right behind him. This was it. My sanity would abandon me forever. I glanced one last time at Clara, who was smiling.
“Don’t worry, miss. It’s beautiful on the other side. Once you see it, you will understand.”
Before I could respond, she rolled up her window and backed out of the parking spot. No Subaru had ever gone from reverse to drive so fast. It was only a few seconds before the car was gone. Maybe Clara was the one that taught Alex how to drive.
“Let’s go,” Sonya said.
Sonya and I hurried forward, the thrum of the falls growing louder and louder the closer we got. After a few bends I could see the khakis and whites of Cicero and Alex’s clothing.
The closer we came to the falls, the more I needed to get there. Like there was an invisible force yanking at my soul, beckoning me forward. At first I thought I was imagining it, but it became stronger with each step. If Dad had been hiding another world from me—for whatever reason—he was smart not to bring me here. In this place, I felt there was something more. Something greater.
The trail disappeared into a mountain of mist, rising and swirling from the base of the crashing water. The thunderous roar reverberated around me, blotting out all other sound. Cicero motioned for us to follow him off the path.
The pull continued and I wanted Cicero to hurry. I wasn’t even sure where we were going, but I needed to move. Cicero led us parallel with the granite wall, our clothing getting soaked with each step. He halted right beside a smooth spot in the granite, scanning the area around us.
He placed his hand on the rock surface. His eyelids closed and his lips moved. I couldn’t hear what he was saying. When he dropped his hand, a faint shimmer caught my eye, right on the rock’s surface. The etchings of a word began to appear on the granite, glittering with a faint glow:
Porta
Then the letters moved, spreading apart until they formed an arch just above Cicero’s head. He glanced back at me and stepped forward, vanishing into the solid granite wall.
My jaw dropped with a gasp. “How…did he just…?”
Sonya grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the wall with the letters shimmering above.
"Hurry before it closes.” She let go of my hand, took a step forward, and disappeared in the wall.
I was frozen in shock, unable to believe my eyes. I had just witnessed two people walk through a solid, granite wall. That had to be a major violation of at least a dozen laws of physics.
Alex stepped forward, pausing beside me. He didn’t speak or glance at me, just stood there staring after his parents. I thought he was waiting for me, letting me go first to make sure I didn’t change my mind and run off. But he walked on, swallowed by the rock.
The golden lettering began to spark and fade. If I didn’t hurry, I’d be stuck here alone taking an unwanted shower. Besides, what was the worst that could happen? I’d run into a rock wall. As long as no one saw me, I could live with that.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and stepped away from my world into the unknown.
Chapter 6
Gaia
I winced, preparing to smack hard into the wall. Instead, my foot landed on solid ground. The air was so damp it tasted wet and my clothes were heavy with dew. I lifted my eyelids slowly. Everything was dark except for a golden haze in front of me. Before I could wonder where I was, I heard voices from the glow.
“Where’s Daria?” It was Cicero, but his voice sounded muffled and distorted, like he was talking underwater.
I took another few steps towards Cicero’s voice. When he spoke again, his words were clear. “You were supposed to wait for her!”
The darkness vanished and I ran into something, hard. My arms flailed as I tried to keep myself from falling. Something gripped my shoulders, holding me upright.
“I’ve got you.”
I glanced up into Alex’s face. Amusement sparked in his eyes but quickly faded back to cold nothing. He released my shoulders and stepped aside, exchanging a quick glance with his father. Cicero’s face was bright red, but when he looked at me his frown disappeared.
We were standing in a large, round stone room with an arched ceiling. The walls glistened and glittered from torchlight that splattered upon moist rock, and the air was stale and heavy with mildew and smoke. Torches hung on the wall, separated by large stone doors spaced at intervals around the room. They all looked exactly the same, no handles or markings, just sheets of smooth rock embedded in the circular wall.
But that wasn’t the only thing I found strange.
There was life to this room—a life force I could feel—and I could hear distant voices. They were coming from the doors, pleading in whispers, begging me to pass through. A shudder ran through me. “What is this place?” My voice echoed in the empty chamber.
; Cicero studied the various doors, his forehead creased in concentration. “The boundary. It’s necessary to keep people from coming in and going out.”
My fingers trailed the surface of the cool, stone door we walked through, trying to find some unique marking—anything that would set it apart from the others—just in case I needed to go back. Intuition told me I didn’t want to be caught choosing the wrong door.
“It doesn’t matter.” Cicero was watching me. “What lies beyond them shifts regularly. If you pass through the wrong door, you may never find a way out, and because of that, only those like myself attempt to cross.”
I knew I never should have followed them in here, but it was too late now.
“One of these doors leads to this…Gaia?”
Cicero nodded as he took a blanket from Alex. I soon realized it wasn’t a blanket at all; it was a cloak. The wool hung to Cicero’s feet, making his broad shoulders look broader and his hidden physique more threatening. It reminded me of the strange man I’d seen in the fields. That was only yesterday, the same day Dad disappeared.
Alex stood before me, holding a pile of wool.
“I don’t need one, thanks.”
The flickering torchlight sharpened the angles in his face. “Put it on.”
I ripped the wool from his hands. He arched a brow but said nothing else.
“We need to hide our clothing.” Sonya was already cloaked. “The style is…different on the other side.”
I hadn’t given much thought to the style attribute of another world.
My cloak was enormous. I bunched up as much fabric as I could at my neck, forced the silver clasp to hold it together and felt completely awkward doing it. Alex was already wearing his. The wool clung to his shoulders, rustling ever so slightly as he moved. The cloak looked elegant on him, natural. It seemed as much a part of him as the dark hair on his head. Not at all what I imagined I looked like.
Cicero stood before a door about thirty degrees to my right. It looked just like the others, was shaped just like the others. But there was something different about it, something I didn’t notice at first. Unlike all the others, this one was quiet.
Gaia's Secret Page 5