Fly: A PORTAL Chronicles Novel (The PORTAL Chronicles) (28 page)

“Hagen just follows the model,” Everett shrugged.

“But back to the story,” I insisted, intrigued. “What happened next?”

“Well, it’s important to know that the Alethians are sensitive beings: highly perceptive and intuitive, but also easily overstimulated due to their heightened awareness, something only remedied by the peace and refreshment Dio’s power and presence provides. Lucian’s darkness unbalanced his sensitive followers, rooting, growing, and festering inside them, then manifesting outwardly as well. Their delicate spirits not designed to withstand such evil, the darkness painfully mutilated and disfigured the once beautiful angels. Failing to see it was simply consequence of turning away from the Creator, Lucian’s followers blamed Dio, crying out for war.”

“How could Dio not know what was going on?” I asked, astounded.

“He did.”

“Then how could he allow it to happen? Why didn’t he destroy Lucian and his followers, stopping evil once and for all?”

“Because they were his creations, Sophie,” Everett answered. “Like a mother loves her child, they were born from him, and he deeply loved them. Each being was a unique vision he’d conceived, stitched together by his very hands and fueled by his breath of life. Because of this love, Dio allows his followers a will and a choice. He wasn’t in the dark. He knew what Lucian and his followers were up to, but withheld judgment, giving them a chance to realize their misdeeds and mend their ways.

“When I think about it, Dio’s reaction showed his true character and integrity more than anything. He wasn’t angry but heartbroken that his creations had turned against him, and more so, that they’d been so ruthlessly tortured and deceived into being ruled like Lucian’s puppets. So in an attempt to prevent war and further destruction of any of his beloved creations, Dio summoned Lucian, knowing truth could set him and his followers free of the dark bondage they’d succumbed to.”

“Okay,” I said, trying to make sense of things. “I understand why Dio didn’t want to hurt Lucian’s followers. But at least kill off Lucian, the heart of the problem. Why give him a second chance?”

“I don’t know. Like I said before, Dio’s ways are different from our ways, and things he does don’t always make sense to us. It’s a double-edged sword as it can be frustrating not to be able to figure him and his ways out, but also something to be thankful for. I mean, who would want to serve a master you could figure out and whose thinking wasn’t higher and more complex than your own?

“Many of Dio’s characteristics boggle us humans, like his strength to not let things anger him easily and to readily forgive even the most outrageous grievances. He also has the ability to remain untainted by evil, allowing him to act out of graciousness, compassion, and love, instead of the hatred or pride we humans are so easily entangled by.”

“In other words, some things about Dio remain unexplainable because our minds don’t have the capacity to fully fathom him or his ways.”

“Exactly!” Everett nodded.

“Did Lucian come to see Dio?” I asked.

“Yes, and Dio told Lucian of his great love for his people, including the ones who’d turned their hearts against him, before listening to Lucian’s side of the matter. Dio then explained to Lucian that he still loved him, but warned that he was on a path of destruction. Dio gave Lucian a choice, offering him and his followers forgiveness and healing from the evil inside them if they changed their ways and retracted the call to war.”

“And Lucian obviously didn’t because he’s still at war with Dio,” I said.

Everett nodded. “Lucian was stunned by Dio’s approach. He was so desensitized by the lies he’d told himself and others that he’d forgotten Dio’s ways, expecting Dio to be upset by his betrayal, attempt to kill him, or, at the very least, threaten him.”

“He expected Dio to react as he would have,” I observed.

“Yes, but regardless of the love and mercy Dio granted Lucian, his heart was hard and he merely saw Dio’s reaction as weakness. He refused Dio’s offer, swearing to call war down upon Alethia, its inhabitants, and even Dio’s future creations. Anything reminding him of the Creator, he’d hate and destroy.”

“So prideful!” I shook my head in disgust.

“It gets worse. Lucian hurled insults and jeered at Dio for loving his people, calling him a weak, pathetic leader whose followers revered and obeyed him because they were forced to. Lucian thought he had gotten the best of Dio, but he had sorely underestimated his opponent, forgetting how all-powerful the Creator truly was and is.

“Dio explained to Lucian how he loved his creations so much that he allowed them a choice of whether or not to serve him, and that his angels loved him of free will — because they respected his compassion and trusted his intentions for them. Since he still did not want war and Lucian had rejected a second chance, Dio figured out a solution. Dio had created Alethia in all of its beauty and perfection, handcrafting each being that resided there, including Lucian and his followers. He would do it again, creating another world where Lucian would have fair chance to rule as he saw fit.”

“And, of course, greedy for power, Lucian readily accepted,” I deduced.

“Yup. Lucian jumped at the chance to rule a kingdom all his own, but no sooner had Dio created Earth for him than Lucian had ruined it. Dio left Lucian to his own devices, but, the embodiment of Truth, Light, and Love, Dio is unable to stand for lies, darkness, hatred, or fear, so it was only a matter of time before Dio’s anger burned against Lucian and the dark, evil kingdom he built.

“Like light obliterates darkness in a physical sense, so it does in the spiritual sense. Dio struck Earth with his Light and glory, consequently casting Lucian and his followers out of it and leaving Earth decimated — a dark hole in the galaxy.” Everett leaned in, adding, “Some say this explains the extinction of dinosaurs.”

“Wow!” I gasped. “But that’s not the end because we’re on Earth now.”

“You’re right. It wasn’t until much later that Dio decided to repurpose Earth for his glory. He redeemed this once desolate place, bringing about light and land and animals. Dio then created humans, the first creations designed in his image, to rule the new Earth. His trust in humans to own and control this new world again revealed his true character, further exhibiting his love for his creations.”

“I bet this upset Divaldo,” I laughed.

“Of course it did. Once again, if anything, Divaldo is prideful. He and his followers had been roaming the galaxy homeless for what seemed like an eternity, and now, Dio was reclaiming the world that once housed his kingdom. This offended his pride, and the message of Dio’s love was again lost on him. Divaldo set about ruining man, this disgusting Dio-shaped creature, vowing to regain dominion of Earth in the process.”

“And did he?”

“It’s the current struggle we are part of today. Time and again, Divaldo has managed to stumble us humans along the way, so Earth isn’t the way Dio originally intended as our failures have opened doors for Divaldo’s darkness to infiltrate, but the war is still being waged. Humans are still given a choice of who they want to follow: Dio or Lucian Divaldo.”

“What is the state of the battle today?”

“Well, Dio remains more powerful, yet Divaldo is still arrogant enough to think he can outsmart, outmaneuver, and overpower Dio. But thankfully for us, Lucian doesn’t have the power to create or restore, leaving his original followers from Alethia awfully tattered after all this time. Our world gets the ideas of ghosts, goblins, and zombies from them. At PORTAL, we simply refer to them as demons.”

“They sound useless,” I said.

“Don’t underestimate them,” Everett warned. “Where demons lack in looks and strength, they’ve made up for in craftiness. They have full authority to effect or possess any human not following Dio. Inducting and deceiving humans is a major way Divaldo accomplishes his work.”

“I always thought that was a hoax to scare people.” I shuddered at the thought of an evil spirit using my body as its host and not being able to do anything about it. “That’s awful.”

“It is.” A horrified look came over Everett. “I’ve seen the effects of possession. It’s very destructive. But Dio offers protection to his followers, meaning no evil thing can touch you unless you give it permission to. These are all concepts you must become familiar with since you are a Seer. We’ve never had a Seer at PORTAL before, but I suspect it means you’ll have the power to see the spiritual realm, like angels and demons, which is something humans can’t normally do.

“One of the major things demons have going for them is that people can’t see them, leaving many ignorant of their existence and presence. But when you see them, you’ll be able to alert PORTAL to what they’re doing, helping the agency stop them in their tracks.”

“So I could quite possibly be the only one on Earth who can see demons and other spiritual things,” I mused. It seemed like a huge responsibility for a teenage girl with no past experience in spiritual dealings.

Everett noticed me fretting. “Yes, but don’t worry. You can trust Dio,” he said, gently grabbing my hand. “When you are awakened, he will give you many gifts, but also prepare you, showing you how to use them.”

I processed this in silence for a while before asking, “What is it like to be awakened? It sounds scary.”

“No, it’s great!” Everett said, lighting up. “But it’s different for everyone, so I can’t exactly say.”

“Then, how was it for you?”

“I can’t even explain it. Most people can’t. Like with attempting to describe Dio, there aren’t words for the things you see or feel in his presence.”

“Can you try?” I asked, desperate.

Everett must have sensed how important it was to me, for he closed his eyes and concentrated. “It was like… warm fuzzies.”

“Warm fuzzies?” I laughed at how ridiculous it sounded coming from his mouth.

“Well, what is the feeling you get here at the portal?”

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the feeling, only then realizing what he meant. There were no words for it. It was hard to describe. Merely focusing on how good I felt brought tears to my eyes.

“Wholeness and happiness like I’ve never known,” I whispered, feeling a tear fall down my cheek. “Contentment, like nothing is wrong or can get me down, and acceptance, like I can just be and that’s enough.”

“What else?” Everett asked, wiping my tear away.

“Peace,” I smiled, opening my eyes. “Peace like I haven’t felt since before Mom died.”

Everett nodded. “All the result of lingering in Dio’s presence. Now, being awakened is like that, but multiplied a hundred times.”

“I don’t think I could take it. My body would explode into a million happy bubbles.”

Everett laughed. “I know it sounds overwhelming, but it’s really not. The more intense version is just as pleasant as how you feel now, yet more healing and long lasting. It’s sort of like… how a flower thrives on sunlight. All beings created by Dio thrive on the love he gives them. It nourishes and fills a void within us, giving us supernatural energy and power. What you feel now in this portal is only a taste, but when you’re actually in front of Dio himself, it’s… ” He shrugged with awe in his eyes, his mouth silently working. Tears formed in his eyes, revealing just how very moved his experience with Dio had left him.

“Indescribable? Unfathomable? Unexplainable? I see a running theme emerging.”

Everett nodded. “Dio is constant and true, the same yesterday, today, and forever, so you’ll find lots of running themes with him. He never changes.”

“So he’s real,” I confirmed, moved by the fervor with which Everett spoke.

“Yes. And greater than anything you could ever imagine.”

Chapter 34

Walk Away

“Everett!” Sophie was understandably surprised to see me standing at her front door. “What are you doing here so early? The sun is hardly up.”

Without a word, I hugged her, our dream from the night replaying in my head. I just needed to feel her in my arms, to know she was safe. But instead of hugging me back, she pushed away, leaving me standing in the doorway. I let it go, knowing she’d had a rough night.

To my knowledge, she hadn’t shared her dreams about the giant with anyone or put two and two together that I was having them too, though she had noticed me there the past couple nights. Being in the dream but unable to protect her while an angry giant pummeled her was agonizing enough. I could only imagine how tortured she felt, forced to endure the brutal beatings night after night.

“I had a bad dream about you,” I hinted, sitting on her couch beside her. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“A bad dream?” Recognition registered in her eyes.

“Yeah. You too?” I fished.

She yawned. “You can’t have dreams if you don’t go to sleep to begin with.”

She lied. I knew she had slept, though only briefly. Her dream of the giant was scarier than before because now, he reached her. Picking her up, the giant repeatedly threw her to the ground with bone crushing force while she struggled to escape, her pained eyes begging,
Do something. Help me. Please!
But I was rooted in place, unable to save her.

“You seemed troubled after leaving the portal last night. I should have stayed with you. What kept you up?” I asked. Refusing to meet my gaze, she wrapped herself in a blanket, protectively pulling her legs to her chest like she so often did. “Don’t shut me out. Talk to me,” I coaxed, pulling her feet onto my lap.

“I understandably have a big decision to make and a lot to think about,” she shrugged. “I thought visiting the portal and learning more about Dio would help with my decision, but instead, it opened Pandora’s Box.”

“Take one thing at a time, Sophie. There’s no rush,” I assured her.

“Yeah, we’re just racing against the clock of my impending demise!”

“Impending demise?” I faked a laugh, desperate to lighten the mood.

“I’m not trying to be funny,” she snapped.

I didn’t like where this was going. I stood. “I take it that’s your low blood sugar talking.”