Fly: A PORTAL Chronicles Novel (The PORTAL Chronicles) (44 page)

“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 surrounding 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.

“I know. I am,” he said, feigning cockiness. Grabbing a handful of Victory’s cookies, he popped one in his mouth.

“Ha, ha!” I accidentally spit cracker crumbs.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to talk with your mouth full,” he laughed, wiping crumbs off his shirt.

“Schorry,” I lamented. I finished the crackers in record time before opening a package of peanut butter cups.

“Oh! Those are my favorite!” Sal said, entering his office.

“Want schome?” I asked, offering him one.

“Thanks.” Admiring the peanut butter cup in his hand, he said, “Thanks for inspiring someone to make these, Dad. They’re great.” He then stuffed the entire thing in his mouth, closing his eyes as he slowly chewed.

“Dad?” I asked Everett in a whisper.

“Didn’t I tell you? Dio is Sal’s father,” Everett whispered back.

“Oh!” I suddenly saw Sal in a new light. He didn’t act like I’d expect the offspring of an all-powerful Creator to — not stuck up or entitled in the least.

“Thanks, Sophie. There’s nothing like a mouthful of peanut butter and chocolate. It’s so good that it must be savored,” Sal said.

Following Sal’s example, I covertly shoved an entire peanut butter cup into my mouth and slowly chewed. He was right. I first tasted the chocolate and then the peanut butter blossoming as the luscious flavors enveloped my mouth.

Sal laughed, a lyrical sound that lit up the room. “Good, huh!” he said, spying what I’d done.

I laughed, realizing I’d been caught. “Mmm-hmm,” I hummed, oddly not feeling embarrassed in his presence.

I liked Sal. I didn’t know what it was, but something about him put me at ease and drew me in. He was charismatic, easygoing, and carefree.

“I came to check on you and let you know we’re almost ready,” Sal said, smiling down at Everett and me. His eyes twinkled, looking like the breaking blue waves of the ocean. “We’re just waiting on a few more people to arrive.”

“Okay,” I nodded.

“I’m so excited to awaken you tonight, Sophie. We’ve waited a long time for this.”

“I’m excited, too. After my little sneak peek tonight, I want more,” I admitted.

“Ask and you shall receive!” he said, winking at me. “I’ll see you in a bit.” He gave my shoulder a squeeze before leaving the room.

My stomach finally full, I settled against Everett, curling my knees to my chest. He put his arm around me and I sighed, perfectly happy in the nook of his arm.

“Nervous?” he asked.

“Weirdly enough, I’m not,” I answered, realizing it for the first time. “I think talking to Mom helped. Learning that she loved and trusted Dio put my lingering questions to rest.”

“Good.”

He then fell silent and I watched as he slowly got lost in thought.