Fly: A PORTAL Chronicles Novel (The PORTAL Chronicles)

by Melissa Aden

  “In other words, the tide won’t change until the new generation masters their gifts, but that can’t happen without instruction from Dio on how to use their powers, which can only come from me,” I said.

  “It’s why you bring hope to so many,” Mia said. “PORTAL hasn’t had open communication with Dio since your mom’s death, explaining why the sooner you’re awakened, the better.”

  “Then let’s do it. I’m in,” I said, determined to help any way I could. I was sick of Divaldo’s bullying tactics and hearing about the countless lives he’d taken. It was time for somebody to stop him, for PORTAL to take back control. “If I have anything to do with it, Divaldo’s fun is over.”

  “Wow! Look at you, Miss Confidence,” Mia beamed. “That’s great!”

  Everett was a little less thrilled, grabbing my hand with concern in his eyes. “Are you sure? You can wait if you don’t feel ready.”

  “I’m ready,” I assured him. “Like you said before, this whole thing is bigger than me and my stupid insecurities. If agents’ safety and ability to protect themselves depends on me, then it’s a no-brainer. The sooner we figure out our powers, the stronger we’ll be and the faster we’ll defeat Divaldo.”

  “I thought you two dating was great news, but this is even better. This calls for a celebration!” Mia squealed.

  “And what are we doing now?” Everett asked sarcastically.

  “This is breakfast. I’m talking about a real celebration,” Mia said, bouncing with excitement. “A nice dinner! I know just the place.”

  “No, that isn’t necessary,” I said, smiling. Mia’s enthusiasm was contagious.

  “Are you kidding me? You’re joining PORTAL and Divaldo is going to get his butt kicked! This is definitely worth celebrating. And I have the perfect idea.” Mia ran to her room and emerged with a fancy black dress before throwing it at me, hanger and all.

  Everett snatched it right before it fell into my syrupy plate of French toast, laughing, “What’s gotten into you?”

  “Sophie, wear that dress. Everett, wear a suit. Be outside the dorms at seven p.m. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some serious strings to pull.” With that, Mia ran to her room and slammed the door.

  I looked to Everett, a bit shocked. “What was that?”

  “You have a knack for inspiring the troops,” he said. “See. You are the one after all.”

  Chapter 45

  Surprise

  “You’re nervous,” Everett stated, watching me.

  I turned my back on him, for once irritated by his gift of reading me. I didn’t want him to know something was wrong because I didn’t know how to explain it should he ask. How did I define the odd, senseless sensation I had experienced all afternoon and struggled with now?

  “Something’s wrong,” he said, rubbing his hands down my arms. “Tell me.”

  I sighed. Even without my face to read, he put his finger on it. Maybe it wasn’t my expressions that he read but my body language. Chalking it up as yet another unexplainable thing, I watched for Mia’s arrival from Harmony Hall’s doors questioning what to say. “I don’t know how to explain it,” I admitted.

  “But something is wrong?” Everett asked. I remained silent. “Is it something I did?”

  I turned, raising my eyes to Everett’s. He looked dapper in his navy blue suit with his hair slicked off his face, bringing the focus all the more to his mesmerizing green eyes. I decided then and there that I preferred his everyday look as it made him seem a smidge more approachable than the look-alike male model standing before me now.

  “No.” I forced a smile, feeling bad Everett was taking this personally. “I just can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong, like something bad is going to happen tonight. I’ve had the feeling since we left Mia’s this morning.”

  Everett took my face in his hands. “We’re only going to dinner. What could possibly go wrong?” I shrugged. “It will be fun. Besides, we’re celebrating more than your awakening.”

  “Like?”

  His eyes sparkled. “You and me.”

  “That’s definitely worth celebrating,” I agreed.

  Everett dropped his hands to my shoulders, letting his fingers trail my arms until they clutched my hands. “Did I mention you look gorgeous?” he asked, his eyes showing open approval.

  “Yes,” I smiled feeling my cheeks warm. “About twenty times.”

  I had to admit, I felt quite stunning in the elegant dress Mia lent me. The black gown draped in an X across my chest and cinched at the waist before cascading beautifully to the floor. Add a pair of too-tall stilettos, some makeup, and a simple bun, and I almost looked like I belonged with Everett. Almost.

  “How do you survive under this kind of pressure?” I asked. “Between concern over Mia’s wacky plans for the evening, Divaldo’s death threats, and the nagging feeling that something is terribly wrong, I feel like a wreck.”

  “Let go, Sophie. No hard thinking tonight. Promise me? There’s time for seriousness later. Let’s enjoy ourselves for once.”

  I again raised my eyes to Everett’s. If I was forced to stand here, I might as well ogle something aesthetically pleasing instead of a concrete parking lot.

  “This coming from the serial analyst of all things serious?” I snickered. Everett smiled. “Fine. I’ll stop overanalyzing and live in the moment tonight if you do the same.”

  “Hmmm. That’s a tall order.” It took me a moment to realize he was being serious. “I’m still on duty.”

  “Are you ever off duty?”

  “Not when it comes to you.”

  “That’s no fun.” I turned my back to him again.

  “Oh, it’s lots of fun,” he countered, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. “I get paid to hang out with my girlfriend. I couldn’t have more fun.”

  Girlfriend! I liked the sound of that. “Sounds like your job has lots of perks.”

  “Yes! Like this.” He kissed my shoulder, sending happy shivers down my spine. “And this.” He kissed my cheek. “And this.” Tilting my head back, his mouth found mine. I leaned into him, feeling myself melt.

  “I like this,” I whispered against his lips.

  “What?” he asked, leaning back to look at me.

  “This. Us. Finally being able to say how we feel. It feels so—” I stopped, unable to find the word.

  “—right?”

  I nodded as it was close enough. “I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”

  Everett’s arms tightened around me. “Me too.”

  I faced him and we kissed again, lingering this time, but not long enough. I couldn’t worry when he was kissing me. There was no room for doubt or fear then, only joy and peace. I’d never felt this way, so utterly euphoric — exultant even.

  Everett leaned away but I pulled him back by the lapels of his jacket. I didn’t wait for him to kiss me, but reached on my tiptoes for another brush of his lips. He gave in, kissing me longer this time. Electricity surged through my body — synapses and nerve endings crackling and popping. It was a pleasant feeling and an insatiably happy one.

  “Feeling better?” he asked.

  “Mmm… hmm,” I hummed with my eyes closed, committing yet another delicious moment to memory.

  “Good, because your chariot awaits.”

  I looked to find a beautiful vintage stretch limo pulling into the parking lot. It was white with the chassis of a genuine 1930s car right down to the spoke rims, black and white tires, and spare wheels secured at the front.

  I gasped. “I’m not much of a car person, but that limo is beautiful.”

  Everett chuckled. “I am a car person, and I agree.”

  He escorted me to the curb as the limo pulled up. The driver promptly opened the back door and out popped Mia.

  “Ta da! You like?” she beamed, showcasing the car in perfect Vanna White fashion.

  “Oh, Mia! I love,” I gushed, hugging her. “You shouldn’t have. You ou
tdid yourself.”

  “Nonsense. I can’t find a better reason to celebrate than your awakening.”

  I felt so special in that moment. So loved. I scolded myself for being nervous. What could possibly go wrong around people who loved me and whom I loved?

  “Thank you. I’m really looking forward to tonight,” I said.

  “Good, but don’t thank me yet,” Mia replied. “I have lots in store for you. Also, I took the liberty of inviting some fellow agents along. They’ve been dying to meet you.”

  “That’s great.”

  Everett opened his mouth to say something, but Mia cut him off. “And before you ask, Everett, yes, I got the evening’s agenda cleared by Sal.” He snapped his mouth shut and nodded. “I told you I had a lot of strings to pull. Now, let’s get a move on. We’re on a tight schedule.”

  Everett helped me into the limo. Eight other people sat inside, all of whom I didn’t know well, but recognized as Brightman classmates. All this time at Brightman, I’d been surrounded by protection and hadn’t known it.

  “Congratulations!” they all shouted.

  “Thanks!” I responded. “I look forward to getting to know you all.”

  They all nodded and smiled before talking amongst themselves again, and soon, the limo was moving. Upbeat music blared over the speakers as colorful lights flashed in time to the beat.

  “It’s like our very own mini nightclub,” I laughed to Mia.

  “Yes, complete with drinks,” she said, holding a champagne flute of bubbly liquid out to me. “Sparkling grape juice?”

  “Thanks.”

  She handed a glass to Everett too before scooting off her seat. “I’m going to mingle. Are you two okay over here?” We nodded and she left.

  I leaned into Everett and stared out the window beside me. This was all too good, which left me pondering when it would end. When would it all come crumbling down, crashing to the floor? I hated thinking this way, but it was my experience that all good things inevitably came to an end — and always in painful fashion.

  “You promised,” Everett said in my ear.

  “What?”

  “You look sad. Are you overanalyzing again?”

  I looked up to his concerned eyes staring back at me. “I was thinking you’re too good to be true.”

  He smirked. “Just get to know me better.” Then his eyes narrowed. “You’re not telling me everything. Spill.”

  “What?”

  “I tend to internalize things a lot… like someone else I know,” he said, nudging me. “When Mom notices, she tells me to ‘spill.’ In other words, talk or I’ll hound you until you do.”

  “No, it’s stupid,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Put it on me,” Everett said, grabbing my hand and kissing it.

  “Well, I feel silly because this is all too new to even be thinking this way, but… I keep wondering when it’s all going to end.” Alarm settled in Everett’s eyes. I quickly clarified, “I mean, spending time with you, Mia’s fun adventures, and finding out that I’m somehow special — it’s all so great that I’m afraid something is going to happen to take it all away. I’m on this amazing high, but it’s only natural to prepare for the impending nosedive to the ground. Maybe that’s what the strange sense that tonight is doomed is all about,” I said, trying to explain it away.

  “It may be natural given all the hardship that’s been thrown your way, but it’s not healthy,” Everett said, frowning. After a moment, his face lightened. “But you’re in luck.”

  “I am?” I asked, desperate for resolution.

  “You have a well-trained, karate-fighting, butt-kicking undercover agent on your arm,” he said in a deep macho voice. He sounded so ridiculous I couldn’t help but laugh. He lit up. “There’s that smile! This is what you should be doing tonight. Smiling. Having fun. Enjoying yourself. Not analyzing the complexities of life.”

  “You’re right,” I agreed.

  “But on a serious note—” Everett grew somber. “Please trust that I won’t let anything bad happen to you. You mean so much to me… and to the agency. I’ve already lost Benson. I couldn’t bare it if anything ever—” His voice caught, and he quickly cleared his throat and looked away.

  “Thank you,” I said, squeezing his hand. “I do trust you.”

  He looked to me with glistening eyes. “I know it’s hard not to think that way. I also struggle with negativity. It’s a defense mechanism. Especially after losing someone close to you, it’s hard to let people in. You think getting close to someone is pointless because you’re just going to eventually lose them also. But you soon realize you have to let people in, because living life alone with all your walls up is no life at all.”

  “Well put,” I said. It was a truth I had also discovered through the self-imposed loneliness I’d only recently emerged from.

  We sat in silence a while until Everett said, “Spill!”

  “What?”

  “There’s still something troubling you.”

  I laughed. “It’s not a lighthearted topic.”

  “So.”

  “It’s about Benson,” I warned. Everett shrugged to show he didn’t mind. “This feeling that something bad is going to happen has raised a question in my mind. You said that Divaldo can’t touch me as long as I’m serving Dio, right?” Everett nodded. “If Benson followed Dio, then how could Divaldo’s thugs beat and take him?”

  Everett fidgeted with my fingers for a while before answering. “I’ve thought a lot about that, too. Just because someone chooses to follow Dio, they’re not suddenly perfect. We’re all flawed, and sometimes Divaldo uses those flaws — those shortcomings — as a foothold to trip us up. In Benson’s case, he stopped trusting Dio and tried to do things in his own power. Dio had given him access to supernatural wisdom and power, but Benson refused it, thinking he knew best, which, in the end gave Divaldo an open door to deceive him.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, Divaldo is sly. He deceives you subtly, always taking you further than you intended to go. Divaldo planted the seed of an idea in Benson’s mind and Benson then allowed himself to obsess over it until that obsession led to action. Though, when the thought to open the portal door first dawned on Benson, I doubt he could imagine ever acting on it.”

  “So Benson was in the wrong because he obsessed over promoting evil, preventing Dio from protecting him and allowing Divaldo to grow that thought into something bigger than Benson ever intended it to be, something that ultimately harmed him and everyone around him,” I said.

  “Exactly. It’s not like Dio wanted Benson to be harmed. Rules are set in place so that, if we follow them, there’s nothing hindering Dio from protecting and helping us, not to deprive us or make us miss out on something good. Dio’s plan for us is to walk in total freedom and victory in this life, but we’re often our own worst enemy.

  “When you disobey Dio, you find it not only hurts you but others around you. Like you said, Benson opening the portal door and getting taken didn’t just affect him, but also me, Mia, my parents, all of his friends at Brightman, and everyone who knew him at PORTAL. That one mistake unleashed an unending series of pain and complications.”

  “That makes sense,” I said, snuggling into Everett’s warmth. “Thanks for explaining it.”

  Sighing deeply, he put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. I’d been so caught up in my deep thoughts today that I’d forgotten how little I’d slept the night before. Exhaustion overcame me and my eyelids grew heavy.

  “Sleep,” Everett whispered. He stroked my cheek. “I’ll wake you when we arrive.”

  Comforted by the warmth of his body, his scent, his arm around me, I abandoned worries of what might lie ahead and slept.

  Chapter 46

  Light Headed

  “Sophie, wake up,” Everett cooed in my ear. I stirred to the caress of his hand on my cheek. “We’re here.”

  Opening my eyes, I blinked against the harsh light flooding the
limo’s interior. The door beside Everett was ajar. Our group talked excitedly outside the car.

  “Ready?” he asked. Still groggy, I nodded. “Come on.” He scooted out before helping me up.

  I emerged to find us standing beneath a huge sign, its giant red bulbs flashing obtrusively. “Vino’s Italiano,” I read aloud.

  “Vino is a nickname for Vinny, a PORTAL agent we know,” Everett said in my ear. He gestured to the building beside us. “He owns the place.”

  “The guy who turned you on to the Italian grape sodas,” I recalled.

  “Yeah. Good memory,” he said.

  “Good evening!” A tall handsome man in an expensive-looking cream suit greeted us in a thick Italian accent. “Welcome to Vino’s Italiano. My name is Gino. I will be taking care of you this fine evening — a special request per Vinny himself.” He smiled, his teeth huge and white in his mouth.

  I turned away, somehow revolted by the sight of him, and just like that, the eerie feeling was back, now worse than before. I reeled feeling lightheaded. “Everett,” I tugged at his sleeve. “We need to go. Now.”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, studying my face. “Are you feeling alright?”

  Trembling, I didn’t speak for fear I’d vomit. I closed my eyes and focused on taking deep breaths of the cold night air into my lungs.

  “If you’ll follow me, I’ll escort you to your table now,” I heard Gino say.

  The group’s receding footsteps told me our group was slowly shuffling off, leaving Everett and I behind.

  “Something’s off,” I heard Mia say somewhere near us. I opened my eyes to see her frowning at Everett, hands on hips. “When I talked to Vinny today, he said he would personally greet us.”

  “I agree,” I managed. “Something’s up. That guy gives me a weird vibe.”

  Everett watched me with troubled eyes. “Ask Gino what’s up,” he suggested to Mia, his eyes remaining on mine.

  “Gino,” Mia called, quickly moving to the head of the group. “Is Vinny here? He specifically said he’d greet us tonight.”