Through the Portal (eBook)

Chapter One

I stared at him, struggling to make sense of his words. He couldn’t be my half-brother, could he? Surely I would know if I had any siblings, would have learned about them when I was growing up. But here this man was, in the middle of my bakery, claiming that we were related. I pulled off my apron and called back to Felicity that I was going to take a short break and would be back in a moment.

Turning back to the man in front of me, I examined him, searching for any similarities between us. His skin was ghostly pale under the lighting. He was tall, much taller than I was, maybe 6’ 3”, and I guessed him to be about thirty. His black hair was cut short at his ears, and was a little longer where it was parted away from his strikingly blue eyes. When he spoke, it was with a low, gentle voice.

I beckoned him to follow me outside, and brought him onto a slightly less busy side-street that was on the opposite side of Ravenfield Baked Goods, the shop I owned. From there I would be close enough to Felicity in case she needed anything, but would be away from any prying eyes and wouldn’t disrupt the customers.

“What do you want?” I snapped at him when we were safely tucked away. I had maneuvered us so that I was the closest to the main street in case I needed to make a speedy exit, but could still see Ravenfield out of the corner of my eye.

My supposed brother grinned at me. “What, no ‘I’m happy to finally meet you’? This family really isn’t very welcoming.” His face slowly turned more serious. “I need your help.”

“Oh, so for all twenty-four years of my life you don’t show up once, and now suddenly you’re here, asking me to help you. Well, if it’s money you need, let me warn you, I don’t have any!” I turned to walk away, knowing that I had never had a brother and never would. If I had, I would have been told. While my mother and father weren’t always the most forthcoming, they wouldn’t have kept something this big from me. They wouldn’t have been able to keep it from me, since as a child I had gone through their rooms and anywhere else I could think of to try to find out more about our family.

There was a noise behind me, and I heard the clatter of pebbles as he caught up to me. He laid a hand on my shoulder as he said, “Please, just hear me out.”

I reacted instantly, my instincts taking over. I had him over my hip and flying into a wall before he even knew what was happening to him. I had made quite a name for myself a year back when I was jumped in the street by two guys, and they discovered firsthand that I had been taking self defense classes since I was three.

I was ready to throw some follow-up kicks so that he would stay down long enough for me to get away when I froze with shock. He had never hit the wall. Instead, he was levitating a few feet off the ground and had a shield of purple fire surrounding him.

“Hey!” he called. “I was trying to be friendly! You didn’t have to attack! I promise I’m not going to do anything.” He slowly lowered himself to the floor, but didn’t drop his shield.

Breathing heavily, I looked around, wondering if anyone else was seeing what I was. However, the street seemed to have cleared in the short time we’d been standing here. I’d need to go to the main road if I wanted to ask someone other than him if I was seeing things. With nowhere else to look, I stared at him. “W-what…? H-how…?” I stuttered, forgetting all my questions as soon as I thought of them. After a moment, I managed, “Who are you?”

The man in front of me ran a hand through his hair. Sighing, he responded, “It’s complicated. But I guess you can already see that.” When I still looked at him questioningly, he continued, “Well, for starters, my name is Zovior.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You said that when you walked in. And you’re sure you’re my brother?”

Zovior nodded. “Cooper Hawkes is my mother, though I guess her last name is Ravenfield now?” At my nod he continued, “I don’t know who my father is. He is said to have disappeared before I was born, and many say he is probably dead, but I don’t think so. No one ever found his body, and rumor has it he was a master of illusion and deception, so he could easily still be out there.” There was a far-off look in Zovior’s eyes, as if he was lost in thought. Then he glanced at me again as if he’d forgotten I was there. “But that’s not exactly relevant right now.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if I could trust Zovior, and I still didn’t know what to think of the shimmering purple shield that he had now thankfully lowered.

“How do you want me to prove that I’m telling the truth?” He asked, staring into my eyes with a rather sincere expression. “Ruby, what do you want me to do so you’ll believe me?”

I half jumped. “How do you know my name?” I asked cautiously, trying to remember if he’d used it before.

“I told you, I’m your brother—or half-brother, I should say. I would know my own sister’s name! Anyway, all the Ukeuzi know who you are. We’ve been waiting for you for years.

I felt faint, and sat down on the pavement before I could fall. “Years! But—why me? Who are the Ukeuzi? What’s going on? Who are you? Why can you do that?” I questioned, indicating the soothing, light blue glow that had started to creep across his hands like a glove.

“Whoa, are you okay?” Zovior asked, concern darkening his blue eyes.

“Do I look okay?” I snapped, feeling nauseous and dizzy. I put my head between my knees as I tried to calm down.

Suddenly, a cool, calming stream ran through my arm, slowly trickling into the rest of my body. I stayed in position until I was sure that I’d calmed down, then slowly looked up. Zovior was kneeling in front of me, touching my hand with his blue-coated fingers. The soft light was moving from his hands into me, helping me to think straight and soothing my aching head and stomach.

“Thank you,” I croaked, transfixed by the light thrown off by the blue fire.

Zovior rocked back on his heels. “You’re welcome,” he responded, his cheery voice a sharp contrast with the creases of worry on his face. “What happened?”

“I don’t always react well to stress,” I whispered, hoping he wouldn’t ask me to explain what exactly I meant by that. I didn’t really want to tell a perfect stranger—even if they were my brother, of which I still wasn’t convinced—about my anxiety.

After a moment’s hesitation, I prompted, “You were saying? About Ukeuzi and waiting?”

He grinned a little. “Well, the Ukeuzi are a species of people similar to humans who live in another dimension called Etaz and—”

I cut him off. “Another dimension?” I gasped. I instinctively felt that this was a lie, but then again, how else did you explain the weird shimmering—it could only be called magic—that he had produced.

“Like I was saying, the Ukeuzi live in Etaz.” Zovior held up a hand to stop me from speaking when I opened my mouth to ask another question. “Yes, I’m a Ukeuzi,” he said, already guessing what I’d been about to inquire. “You still haven’t answered my question pertaining to what I can do to prove that I’m really your brother,” he reminded me.

“Couldn’t… we just ask my mother?” I suggested hesitantly, recoiling at the idea of speaking to her after so many years. “She could either confirm or deny your statement.”

Zovior sighed. “Do we have to? She’s not my favorite person.”

Shaking my head, I started walking out of our little side-street and back toward my shop. “Do you think I want to go see her? We haven’t been on speaking terms since I was a teenager. But I need someone to confirm this before I’ll trust you. Besides, you didn’t have to live with her for most of your life. Or, well, did you? I guess you must have at some point, but I don’t remember you.”

Rubbing his temples as if he had a headache, Zovior responded, “I lived with her until I was about five. Then she met your father, Caleb, and left for Apapala—the human dimension. I went to live with an aunt. But I still remember Cooper vividly, even though I was young. She was terrifying!”

Laughing, I told him, “At least you didn’t live with her for as long as I did. Are you up for taking the subway, or do you Ukazi have other means of transportation?”

“Ukeuzi,” Zovior corrected me automatically. “And yes, I can do that. Portals wouldn’t take us there properly, anyways, and might not be safe for you.”

“You guys have portals?” I asked, feeling my curiosity kick in again. When he didn’t react, I added, “Just a second, I need to go tell Felicity what’s going on. Or, as much as I understand of this, anyway.”

“I’ll come with you,” Zovior volunteered. “It would be nice to see her again.”

“See her again? You mean you know her? How?” I asked as I opened the door.

Before he could answer, Felicity came up to us. Enthusiastically, she hugged Zovior. “Is something wrong?” she finally questioned, pulling back so that she could study him. She was forced to tip her head back, as her mere five feet of height made it difficult to meet his gaze.

“We’re going to Cooper’s house so that she can assure Ruby that I am indeed her brother...