Fly: A PORTAL Chronicles Novel (The PORTAL Chronicles) (39 page)

“—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 outdid 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.”

“Unfortunately, Vinny is… indisposed… this evening,” Gino answered. “He and his mother suddenly came down with something this afternoon, but he saw to it that I personally attend to your every need.”

“He sounded fine when I talked to him this afternoon.” Mia made no attempt to hide the skepticism in her voice.

Gino smiled and straightened a bit. “Miss Veracruz, is it?” he asked politely, though the arrogant look in his eyes negated the formality.

“Yes,” she answered with matching dignity.

“I can assure you that I am most capable. I will do my utmost to give you the finest care. In fact, our best table awaits you and your party. May we proceed?”

Mia glared at him indignantly. “Certainly.”

Without another word, Gino spun on his heel, the group following close behind him. Everett started after them, but I quickly grabbed his sleeve.

“See! Mia senses it too. Something is terribly wrong.”

He sighed, seeming irritated. “Sophie, you’re being irrational.”

I suddenly felt like I could cry. He had raved about how discerning I was and urged me to listen to my instincts, yet now that I was, he wasn’t listening. He didn’t believe me. “Please, Everett,” I pleaded, panicking.

His face softened and he took me by the arms. “Okay. A compromise.”

It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but I nodded for him to go on.

“We go in, make an appearance, but if at any time you feel uncomfortable, we leave and I take you anywhere you like. Deal?”

“But, Everett I—”

“Mia has worked on this all afternoon. She’ll be crushed if we bail now. Just a little while. For me.”

The fact that he was overlooking my feelings angered me, but I understood his reasoning and also didn’t want to hurt Mia’s feelings. She was passionate about planning outings such as this one and I understood it was a way for her to express her love for me.

“Okay,” I whispered.

Everett nodded, escorting me through a swinging door that opened to a beautiful indoor courtyard. Winding our way through grasses and flowering plants, the feeling within me intensified with every step until I couldn’t go any further. Spotting a concrete bench nestled among some bushes, I planted myself there.

“Sophie?” Everett asked, watching me with a strange expression.

“I think I’m having a panic attack,” I said, struggling for breath. A cold sweat covered my face and arms.

Everett quickly sat and rubbed my back. “Just breathe. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked, growing more upset.

He put his arms around me and we began to rock. “Shhhh… just breath.” I obeyed, focusing on totally deflating my lungs before filling them up again. Once I had calmed considerably, he leaned back, taking my hands in his. “What’s this really about? You’re starting to scare me.”

“I don’t know. I wish I didn’t feel this way, but I do. The closer we get to the restaurant, the stronger the feeling gets that we’re not supposed to go in.”