Going through a portal was not how I had imagined it would be. It was not instant. Instead, we walked on an extended invisible platform, and all around us were endless stars and swirling galaxies. At the end of the path was another portal.
Dumbstruck, I wasn't watching my footing, and I slipped off the edge. Isaac quickly reached out to steady me. Fear rippled through me as I stared at the bottomless drop of an endless starry sky.
"Careful! " He warned, pulling me back to the center of the walkway and squeezing my shoulder. "You do not want to fall."
"What is this? I didn't see anything like this when I fell through the portal back at the castle." I asked, still in awe.
"It's Divinus, the land of the Gods. Or at least that's what our scholars call it," Isabella chimed in, walking straight ahead with confidence. "The portal Mom used was within Arvora. Only the portals into the Earthly plane are like this. It's one of the reasons travel between is so dangerous. The pathways are unpredictable. Fluctuating. Those who fall never return," she ended ominously.
I gulped as I stared back down. It made me dizzy just thinking about it. "Do you know where this portal leads?" I asked.
Isabella eyed me then chuckled lowly. "Of course! How else do you think I dragged your butt into Arvora?"
We both laughed at that, before remembering the situation. The mood became serious again as we continued to walk forward. Reaching the end of the pathway, Isabella passed her hand over the portal to make sure it was stable before jumping through. We tumbled onto a hard concrete floor into what looked like another dusty storage. The mirror shattered upon our exit, and Isabella helped my father up. The warehouse was cramped and filled with strange magical things.
"I forgot this was here!" Dad exclaimed as he rushed to the shelves, excitingly looking through them. "All this was carried over when Sylvia came here. We had moved it into storage before the fire to keep prying eyes away. I didn't know what to do with it, I couldn't just leave it in Colorado, so I moved it into the Shield Storage place."
I couldn't believe he had a room full of Mom's things. Even if it was all from Arvora, surely there was something in here that he could have given me. I grew up with only stories. It still hurt to think she was gone and that dad had lied all these years, but I couldn't imagine what Isabella was feeling.
"Is there anything useful in here? Maybe something that could help against my mother?" Isaac asked, picking up a jar filled with strange yellow liquid and examining it cautiously.
"No, not really. Mom mostly kept tonics and remedies in here when she still lived in Colorado. This stuff is old. I doubt she even knew the portal still worked in the basement. Until I brought Liz through it," she snickered.
An ache spread in my chest as I picked up an ornate box. Upon opening it, I realized it was a jewelry box. It was filled with many different necklaces. One, in particular, stood out to me. It was a small silver choker with a small rose gold heart. I picked it up and my mind suddenly filled with images of a man with cold blue eyes and long black hair flashed through my mind. He turned and saw me, recognition spread across his face, and he gave me an evil grin.
I quickly dropped the necklace, my hands shaking. He saw me! He actually saw me! What kind of magic was that? Was that my father? A shiver ran down my spine. The look he gave me was like a cat finding a new toy to chew on.
Isaac came up from behind me. "Are you okay, Lisbeth?" he asked gently. His hand came up and rubbed my back, calming the fear that had overcome me.
"Yeah... yeah. That necklace... I saw him. My father. I... I think he saw me!" My voice quivered. Isaac's eyes widened as he looked down at the necklace. Raising his foot, he stomped on the necklace, shattering the heart. Magic tendrils came seeping out of the shards and dissipated.
"That can't be good..." Isaac said.
"Are you guys coming? Or do you need some alone time?" Isabella called, her lips curled up in a cheeky smile. "Because I'm sure I can hold Jeramiah off for a few minutes," she giggled.
My face burned as my father poked his head into the room upon hearing his name. "What's going on?" he asked, oblivious of Isabella's joke.
"Nothing, we're coming!" I hurriedly said, cutting off anything Isabella was about to say then pulled Isaac towards the door. Isaac wore a goofy grin as he chuckled at my embarrassment. The necklace was temporarily forgotten.
I was back in Vancouver. I could hardly believe it. So much has happened since I woke up in the manor. It felt so strange. We stepped out into the foggy morning air. It was a dark cloudy day, and the wind howled around us.
"How are we going to get back to Arvora?" I asked as we made our way out of the small complex. Smack in the middle of Vancouver, we could see the giant swirling portal that glowed ominously. I worried for my friends; I needed to check on Jessica. I don't know what happened after that earthquake. We were not far from her place, probably about a mile or two.
"I know of a portal, but it only leads back to the palace... which would be dangerous," Isaac answered while we walked down the empty streets. The city looked abandoned, and storefronts were shattered and closed, the roads were open.
"I need to check on Jess. She's not far from here. Where is the portal?" I asked, turning towards Isaac.
"Near the school, along with my car," he said, smiling sheepishly. "It leads into the main hall of the palace. It's usually closed off and is only used when necessary. I can activate it from this side. But we need to hurry. I don't know how long it will take Mother to get back to the palace."
"That's not far from Jessica's. Let's go."
"Are you sure your friend is even still in Vancouver? This place looks deserted." Isabella asked.
"Her parents have a storm shelter that's stocked up. The whole of Vancouver is most likely waiting it out to see if it'll go away before they evacuate." I said.
"I'm going to head home. I am no help, and I'd just get in the way." my father said sadly.
I turned towards him " Are you sure? What if we fail? I would rather have you in Arvora than here..." the thought of him getting hurt made me sick to my stomach. I knew Arvora was also dangerous, but I didn't want to leave my father in a city that could be wiped out if we failed.
He wrapped his arms around me and chuckled softly. "I have faith that you will stop Lilith. You and your sister are stronger than you realize. Take care of each other. I will be waiting at home for you. Okay?" he kissed the top of my head and nodded towards Isaac. "You'll keep them safe, right? Can I count on you? Isaac?"
Isaac stiffened but nodded. "I will do my best, sir. I'll have her home by eleven," he joked, giving a cheeky smile.
My father tilted his head back and laughed. "You'll have her home by 9!" He gave me one last squeeze before giving Isabella a quick awkward hug. "Be safe. I love you both."
I watched him walk away down towards our house. I hoped he'd make it home okay. It was hard saying goodbye, I really did not want to leave him here, but it was his choice. My heart ached and tears burned in my eyes.
"You too... dad."
Shaking away the tears, I bolted towards Franklin St.. This part of the neighborhood didn't look bad at all. It all looked normal. Nothing was broken or ransacked. Some of the houses even had lights on. I hopped up the steps and knocked loudly. "Hello! Jess? Are you guys in there?" I called and knocked again. Finally, I heard footsteps approaching the door and then the sound of locks clicking.
The door opened and Jess peered out. I couldn't help myself. I pushed the door open and wrapped my arms around her stiff body. Tears welled in my eyes.
"Jess...I've been so worried and I missed you so much! I... I came back from Europe when I heard about the storm. I was just stopping by to make sure you were okay."
She didn't return my hug. Instead, she yelped and gripped my shoulders, shoving me off of her.
"What the fuck! Who the hell are you? How do you know my name? Are you from school?" She spat out rapidly with surprising anger. "Whatever, just get out of here, we were advised to stay in our homes, and there are all kinds of crazy people out there. Weirdo..." she mumbled the last part and pushed me back out the door before slamming it harshly in my face. I heard multiple locks click into place, effectively locking me out like...like...
Like I was some kind of criminal.
I stood there shell-shocked. What? What just happened? My shoulders hurt from the force of her grip. "No. No, no, no, no!" I said under my breath, a stuffy feeling welling up inside my chest. We had been friends since elementary school. How could she not...?
Isaac came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. My chest burned and tears poured down my cheeks. I hiccuped. "What... I don't understand." I was distraught, racking my head for why such a thing had happened. Anger boiled in the pit of my stomach when a certain image of a dark-haired woman with blazing fire came into mind. "The memory spell... Lilith didn't alter them. She wiped them!"
Isaac stiffened and then trembled. "I'm so sorry, Lizbeth. I should have realized sooner. I should have taken you home." His arms tightened around me. "But if she wiped them, then how is it Jeremiah remembers?"
We both turned toward my sister. Her face fell. "Mother was able to reverse the effects. It was hard getting him to Arvora. We had to knock him out."
Hope surged within me. "There's a way to reverse the spell?" I asked, wiping my tears, I still couldn't stop shaking and my chest ached. Jessica's reaction to me hurt deeply.
Isabella nodded. "But we don't have the time or resources to perform the spell right now. We need to get to the portal and get back to Arvora. We can fix all of this after the portal is closed."
I stole one last glance at Jessica's house. Tears threatened to fall again. I shook them off and followed the rest of the group, heading towards the school.
We skidded to a stop outside the back of the school, near the football field. Our breath was ragged. We had made it! The school looked so sad and abandoned as it sat dark and empty. I was anxious to get back to Arvora. As much as I loved being back home, I had to stop Lilith.
"So, what are we going to do when we get back to Arvora?" I asked between deep breaths, trying to calm my burning lungs. I really need to get into better shape or else I'm not going to survive this madness.
"I'm not sure. Let's just focus on getting out of the palace when we walk through," Isaac whispered.
We entered the school's field house. A thin layer of dust had settled over all the unused equipment, and the lights flickered when Isaac turned them on. Memories flooded my mind of Jess and I sneaking in here to hang out during gym class. Mr. Manson was always cool about it whenever he caught us. No matter how hard Jess and I tried, we were never good at sports or exercise.
"Lizbeth?" Isaac called after me, breaking me from my walk down memory lane. I missed Jess like crazy. When I turned around, Isaac and Isabella were standing in front of an open janitor's closet with a swirling purple portal.
"Quick, we gotta go! The portal won't stay open for long!" Isaac yelled, waving his hands in a come-on motion.
I sighed.
Isabella went through first. Then, Isaac, I took one last glance around the room before following them through.
The portal was much the same as the last. We walked along a narrow glass pathway, the stars blinking in the distance. I was careful not to slip this time, and we made it to the other side without a problem. The path started to flicker, and Isaac rushed us all through the portal before it disappeared and the portal closed.
We tumbled into a heap on the floor in the hall next to the main foyer. The thud echoed down it, and we heard guards coming toward us. Isaac quickly jumped up and pulled us into one of the rooms, peeking through the crack.
"Was this portal always open?" I heard one burly-sounding guard ask.
"Dunno, nobody tells me anything these days. Some are even whispering that the mistress has gone mad. But of course, no one wants to question her," the other one grumbled out.
They had mentioned something about food next, and we heard their footsteps fade away towards the kitchens. We all let out our breath at the same time and left the room. Being back in the palace made my anxiety spike. I didn't want to go back to the tower. We quietly stalked toward the end of the hall and peeked around the corner. I cursed inwardly when we spotted two guards armed to the hilt, stationed by the front doors.
"We need to find another way out of the palace," Isaac whispered, grimacing.
"What about the staff pathways?" I asked, looking behind us to see if anyone was coming.
"That will work, but I don't know where they are. I've never seen the staff come in or out of them," he said, clearly frustrated from the way his voice was strained.
"There was one near my room. I used it to sneak out of here before."
Isaac's eyes widened. "You snuck out of the palace?" he stared at me in shock. Did he think so little of me? I pouted slightly. I may not know much about my magic, but I can handle myself!
I giggled, "Yeah, I had needed to get to Ravenwood Manor."
Isabella snorted. "Too bad that book didn't help you. As I said, it wouldn't help."
My smile fell as I remembered the encounter. If I had only listened to her... We may have been able to save Isaac and get him out of there instead of Lilith taking control of him.
"I'm really sorry about that... I should have believed you."
Isabella looked at me sadly. I still couldn't get over how similar we looked. It was so strange having a twin; there were so many questions I wanted to ask her. I wanted to get to know her. How would we be if we had grown up together? Would we have liked each other or not stand the other?
What would Jess think if she found out I had a twin... The image of Jess standing shell-shocked as I revealed Isabella made me smile. Maybe, after all, this is over, and we bring her back, I can introduce her to the world of Arvora. Perhaps I didn't have to leave everything behind.
After graduation, I could move to Arvora and visit every so often. If Jess knew about it, it would be easier to explain my absence and lack of communication. And who knows what the future holds? Maybe someday the balance would be fixed, and travel between could become more stable.
We had managed to sneak up to the second floor using a side stairwell. The halls were empty and quiet. We ducked into a room as a set of guards turned down the hall towards us. We waited with bated breath for them to pass.
Once they had rounded the corner, we left the room and darted towards the other end of the hall. We paused, and Isaac peeked around the corner. A noise from the opposite end startled us. Isaac quickly grabbed me and pulled me around the corner, but before we could jump into a room to hide, we ran smack into Ember.
©2021 Jessica Powell. All Rights Reserved
****Thank you to my Wonderful Editor Arco****