Fly: A PORTAL Chronicles Novel (The PORTAL Chronicles)

by Melissa Aden

  Gasping, he sat up abruptly, then grabbing me in a tight embrace. “Sophie!” he breathed. “You’re okay. We’re okay.” He rocked me in his arms.

  “Yes, but now what?” I asked.

  My question was instantly answered as the snow about us began to swirl, fiercely blowing like a blizzard. Everett and I clung tightly to one another. Closing my eyes, I buried my head in his shoulder.

  That’s when I saw them, and with my eyes closed of all things. Huge beings stood all around us, heavy armor covering their muscular bodies. Some hovered in the air by flapping mighty, metallic contraptions connected to the back if their chest plates. One such being landed near me, and upon closer inspection, I realized the flying devices were connected to them — a part of their body — and looked iridescent, feathery, and soft up close, but somehow like metal weaponry from far away.

  “Wings!” I gasped aloud.

  The one I stared at looked down at me then. I froze in fear. “What did you expect?” He laughed warmly. “We’re angels.”

  “You’re angels!?!” I blurted, not knowing what to do or say.

  Others now turned and looked at me, too. I didn’t know what I had expected for angels to look like, but it definitely wasn’t like this. They were massive, ripped warriors, suited and ready for battle.

  “Sophie?” Everett asked from my side. I kept my eyes shut for fear of not being able to see the angels again if I opened them. “Who are you talking to?”

  “Angels,” I said, matter-of-factly.

  “Oh.”

  “Oh?” I had expected him to freak.

  “I will gift her, and lead her, and show her the way,” Everett quoted.

  The angels finished his sentence in unison with him, “A Seer, Heeder, Sayer will keep the enemy at bay.”

  I gaped, unable to believe what was happening, but somehow still believing it, sensing this was how things were meant to be.

  The angels laughed at my stunned expression, like a friend laughs in a shared joke. “We’ve been sent here to protect you and Everett,” another angel said, casually extending his huge hand. “The hordes are coming. Come on.”

  “Ezrafil!” I stared in awe, recognizing the beauty of his kind face.

  “Hi, Sophie.” The great, dark being smiled down at me. “Last time I saw you, you were eight years old. My how you’ve grown.”

  Taking his hand, he nimbly lifted me to my feet. I pulled Everett up behind me.

  “What’s happening? Can you speak to them?” Everett asked.

  “Yes,” I nodded. “They were sent to protect us from the hordes that are coming.”

  “That can’t be good.”

  “Fear not, for Fear is coming. He feeds on the fear of those who are afraid or unbelieving, growing bigger and more powerful,” Ezrafil said.

  “Everett, remember the giant in my dream?”

  “Yes,” he answered.

  “He’s coming. He is the demon Fear that my mom spoke of. She mentioned the time would soon come for us to defeat him and that we must overcome him if we’re ever to move forward in victory. That’s what this moment is. We’re about to face Fear,” I explained, the puzzle pieces coming together.

  “And cut his head off,” Ezrafil added.

  “What!?!” I asked. Ezrafil nodded like he’d said something perfectly normal. I gulped and turned to Everett. “We must defeat Fear by cutting off his head. And we can’t be afraid because it will only make him more powerful.”

  “Okay,” Everett said. “Let’s do this.”

  “My kind of guy,” Ezrafil said. “Here, hand him this sword.” He chuckled, adding, “And open your eyes now and again. You look crazy walking around with them shut. You won’t lose your gift.”

  I too laughed, testing it out. Blinking, sure enough the angels were still there every time I closed my eyes.

  “Do you know how to use a sword?” I asked Everett.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Because the angel would like to give you one.”

  “Okay,” he said, holding his hand out.

  I took the sword from the angel, about dropping it on the ground, its tip delving deep into the muddy earth. “Geez! How much does this thing weigh?”

  “It’s manageable for the one who’s meant to wield it,” Ezrafil answered. “Dio’s burden is light for those who obey.”

  “Everett, take this thing,” I said.

  Opening my eyes, I led his hands to the sword’s hilt. Grabbing it, the sword appeared in Everett’s hands.

  “Wow!” he breathed. “This thing is a slick piece of work,” he said, skillfully whipping it through the air.

  I closed my eyes again. Ezrafil smiled in approval. “Your gifts are one of the many ways you and Everett fit together. When in battle, Everett can protect and warn you of things happening in the physical, while you can alert him to things in the spiritual realm. You will have to learn to communicate, but once you do, you’ll be unstoppable.”

  I was about to relay what Ezrafil said when the angels stiffened, keening their ears on something in the distance.

  “They’re here. Move!” commanded Ezrafil.

  “Yes, Ezrafil,” boomed the other angels, instantly forming a barrier around us.

  Grabbing Everett’s hand, I pulled him along as we ran down city streets, soon entering a park.

  “Duck!” Ezrafil called.

  Pulling Everett down, we both hit the ground as Ezrafil drew his sword and struck a fiery object out of the air, slicing it in half and sending fragments flying in various directions.

  “Nothing like the smell of burnt demon,” said an angel beside me, shaking his head in disgust. Noticing my confused expression, he explained, “They burn their own, using old demons who are useless as fireballs to throw at their enemy.”

  “Aren’t there more… renewable… items they could use?” I asked, a little shaken from the thought.

  “Yes, but they’re… well… them. Not the brightest bunch apart from Dio’s infinite wisdom.”

  “Oh,” I nodded, feeling enlightened.

  “Oh, what?” Everett asked.

  “The hordes are throwing balls of flaming demon at us,” I explained the best I knew how.

  “Gross… but interesting,” Everett said, lighting up like an amused little boy.

  “Dominick, Tartus, cover Everett and Sophie. The hordes approach,” Ezrafil yelled.

  Two especially lethal-looking angels came to where we hunched on the ground, and, placing their backs to us, extended their huge metallic wings, again forming a barrier around us.

  “I wish you could see this,” I whispered to Everett.

  “I’ll probably get to in your dreams,” he said.

  “Hopefully.” I smiled.

  More fireballs then fell about us, so many that the sky looked like it was raining huge drops of fire. I clung to Everett as many touched down around us, splattering mud and snow every which way.

  “Whoa! What was that?” Everett asked.

  “Fireballs,” I answered, peeking through the angels’ wings to watch as they shredded ball after ball with their swords.

  “So I can’t see what’s happening in the spiritual realm, but I can see the effects those actions have in the physical,” Everett mused. “I can handle that.”

  I then remembered. “Ezrafil said our gifts work in unison, you warning me and leading me through the physical realm so I can focus on the spiritual realm, warning you of what’s happening there.”

  “Amazing!” Everett breathed.

  “Well, not until we learn to communicate better, but yeah.”

  I started then as a maniacal cry pierced the air. “The demons,” I immediately knew. “They’re coming.”

  Sure enough, “the hordes” were just that, a scattering of hundreds upon hundreds of demons descending like ants upon the angels at once. As if that wasn’t enough, trailing them slowly was the giant, Fear, looking sinister and deadly as ever.

  “The hordes of demons are surrou
nding us, but the angels are fighting them away,” I reported to Everett. “And… Fear is here.”

  “I figured. I could feel him,” Everett replied, standing.

  “Wait! The time’s not right,” Ezrafil called to us. “Help is coming.”

  “The main angel wants us to wait,” I reported, pulling Everett back down.

  “Okay,” he nodded. “Just give me the signal and it’s go time.”

  “Ahhh… ” an angel cried as demons overcame him. They swarmed him, beating him with their taloned hands and pulling hair and feathers from his body. I covered my mouth in horror and disgust.

  Fear then grew at least ten feet taller. Bellowing, he pounded his fists on the ground.

  “I told you to fear not,” Ezrafil yelled. “You’re causing the giant to grow, only making him harder to defeat.”

  “I’m scared, Everett,” I said, grabbing his hand. “And it’s making the giant grow.” I shuddered as another fireball managed to hit ground quite close, sending sparks flying and covering us in mud.

  “Then stop. Focus on something else,” he said, grabbing me by the shoulders and looking me in the eyes. He thought aloud, “Fear is of Divaldo, and the opposite of that is love, which is of Dio. Focus on love.”

  The giant again pounded the ground so hard that everyone, even the demons, paused a moment to catch their balance.

  “But how. Every time I close my eyes I see the demons and the giant. It’s too much. And regardless of whether my eyes are opened or closed, I can hear them and the warfare all around. Maybe we can’t kill Fear after all.”

  “No! We must. He’s ruled over us for far too long. It’s time we took back control, took back what he’s stolen from us,” Everett said, a small fire kindling in his eyes.

  I nodded, now seeing the truth. “Yes. We can do this,” I agreed. “With Dio’s help and power, anything is possible.”

  “Yes! Keep your eyes on him and it will be alright,” I heard Ezrafil yell.

  “On Dio?” I asked.

  “Yes, but also on him,” Ezrafil said, pointing his sword at the sky.

  I closed my eyes to see a handsome man approaching on a cloud. I blinked at the crazy sight.

  “Sal?” I heard Everett say. “How is he doing that?”

  “You can see him?” I asked in awe.

  “Yes, on that cloud is Emmanuel Salvatore, PORTAL’s director.”

  Once directly over our heads, the cloud slowly lowered, taking us up in it. Everything was suddenly peaceful and quiet.

  “Sal,” Everett said, somehow running on the cloud material to embrace his friend.

  “I got here as fast as I could,” Sal said. “The warfare is thick even miles off. Divaldo has planned this attack well. We are completely surrounded,” he then smiled and looked at me, “but we have a weapon he wasn’t expecting.”

  “Me?” I asked.

  “I know you’re wary of being put to the test so soon, Sophie, but I’ll be with you every step of the way. You can trust me. I’ll help you,” Sal said.

  “Okay,” I said, somehow knowing that he’d fully care for me. “What do I do?”

  “Just follow my lead,” he answered with a wink. “You ready?”

  Taking a deep breath, I nodded, and the cloud dissipated, plunging us back into the midst of warfare. I looked about at demons being sliced in two and the courageous angels being attacked on all sides, their armor taking a major beating.

  “Remember what your mother told you about focus, Sophie?” Sal asked, turning me to face him. “Don’t look at them. Focus on me.” He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Trust me.”

  I looked into his eyes and was immediately breathless from the complete love and acceptance I found there. Warmth flowed through my body, so much different than the mind controlling power Hagen had waged, filling me with energy and vitality. I realized I was crying uncontrollably. Placing his hand on my head, I felt power surge through my body, heavy but heavenly, filling me up from my feet until overflowing from the top of my head like glowing, red lava.

  “Now face them and release the power I’ve given you,” Sal’s voice boomed over all the noise.

  Somehow knowing what to do, I turned and faced the horde. Lifting my hands, a tribal scream escaped my lungs like nothing I’d ever heard, my fierce cry releasing with it all my grief and fear and doubts. “I believe! I believe! I believe!” I screamed unabashed with arms outstretched.

  A deep rumbling began, as if the earth’s mantle was shifting under our feet, and then an explosion of power pulsed through me, sending the red lava power surging into the hordes from the tips of my fingers, my eye sockets, and mouth, and straight up into the air from the top of my head.

  Demons ran in terror as the power disintegrated every evil thing it came into contact with — except for the giant. Tipped and fallen, he lay frozen on the ground, slowly shrinking as his power was reclaimed.

  “I can’t hold it much longer!” I called, struggling to keep my arms outstretched. Releasing the power was exhausting.

  “I’ll help you,” Sal said, standing behind me and holding my arms up and out. “Now, Everett! It’s your turn. Behead the thief who has stolen so much from you and your family.”

  “Gladly,” Everett said.

  Now clad in armor, Everett must have been allowed to see the beastly giant, for he ran straight for him, sword drawn, a battle cry on his lips. Though the giant had shrunk significantly, he was still looming, forcing Everett to sheath his sword to climb the giant’s great belly. Snow fell freely, soaking Everett through, but he persevered, finally standing triumphantly on the mountainous belly of the beast before he stopped, head bowing and shoulders shaking as he cried.

  I too cried, overcome with emotion as I thought of how Fear had cost me a mother and nearly prevented my relationship with Everett — something I now understood was a life-giving gift from Dio himself. Recalling my dreams, I remembered the fierce hatred in Fear’s eyes as he brutally beat me night after night, attempting to kill my destiny so that I’d never fly.

  “Do it, Everett!” I yelled.

  He looked up at me — anger, terror, and grief written on his features — and it dawned on me just how much Fear had stolen from Everett, just how much territory of his heart he’d lost to the ugly giant, too. Fear had also tortured him, telling him he was insufficient, unlovable, a failure, and that he would never again see his brother alive, never see his family heal.

  Sensing what a monumental moment it was for him — for all of us — I yelled, recalling my mother’s words, “Fear not, for that is only what Fear wants!” Fear bellowed and struggled in protest, nearly knocking Everett off, but I continued, no longer afraid. “Fear longs to intimidate you. To shake you. To distract you. Anything to prevent you from achieving your destiny. Finish him off! Let us be done with Fear.”

  With a feral, tormented cry, Everett lifted his sword and brought it down on the giant’s neck. Fear howled in agony, growing ever smaller as Everett brought the sword down again and again, yelling, “You will not claim my family. You will not claim those I love. You will no longer control me. I will live — freely and fully and loving to the fullest, fearing not what might happen to me or how I might get hurt in the process. You will haunt us no longer for we are overcomers and have overcome you! I will not fear.” And with the final death blow, “I WILL CHOOSE TO LOVE!”

  What was left of the giant burst into black ash and Sal released my hands, leaving me panting as the red power withdrew into my body. Everything was perfectly silent and still. A short distance away, Everett kneeled in the ashes with a dazed but happy look on his face.

  Meeting my gaze, he rose. “We did it!” He laughed as I ran into his arms.

  I also laughed, already feeling lighter, freer, and more at ease now that Fear’s reign was over.

  Sal approached us then, putting a hand on each of our shoulders. “Well done on the first of many battles to be fought and won.”

  “Thanks for your help,”
Everett nodded.

  “Yes,” I agreed. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “Anything for you two,” Sal said with a smile. “Come on. I think it’s about time someone is awakened.”

  I smiled, meeting Sal’s gaze. “Let’s do it.”

  With a nod, he took off for a set of official-looking SUVs parked along the edge of the severely mutilated park. Everett and I followed close behind as the remaining warrior angels again fell in line around us.

  A rain of gold shimmers began to fall from the sky, showering the war-torn land and miraculously mending the earth in its wake.

  “Dio,” I mused, recognizing the feeling of his sweet presence. Tilting my face to the sky, I closed my eyes, letting his peace, freedom, and love wash over me.

  Grabbing my hand, Everett kissed my cheek, then saying, “His love is more than enough.”

  Epilogue

  After the angels escorted us back to PORTAL headquarters, Everett and I were rushed to the medical wing for physicals before given clearance to hang out in Sal’s office until my awakening in a few short hours.

  Sal thought it best to awaken me before the night’s end as a precaution in case of counter attack. Supposedly, the power I’d experienced was only a taste of what was to come once I was awaked. So we waited.

  I cuddled close to Everett’s side on a couch, contentedly munching on a peanut butter and banana sandwich — yet another one of my favorites.

  After missing dinner, I was quite famished and made the mistake of telling Everett I was craving peanut butter. Within the hour, Victory arrived bearing sandwiches, peanut butter cookies, and a peanut butter pie. As if that weren’t enough, Everett hoarded a nearby vending machine, returning with his arms full of peanut butter cups, peanut butter crackers, and other peanut-inspired goodies.

  “Good?” he asked with an amused smile, watching me stuff the last of my sandwich into my mouth.

  Normally, I’d be too self-conscious to inhale food in this manner, but I was too hungry to care. “Yesch!” I answered, peanut butter stuck to the roof of my mouth. He flashed a satisfied smile that made my hungry stomach flip. “You’re the bescht!” I said, kissing his cheek before tearing into a bag of crackers.