Page 77 of Protector Unmatched

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The portal, as Pearce had called it, was located on one of the lower levels of the compound and at first looked like an ordinary stone wall. All Daphne could make out was the symbol of a dagger etched into the surface. There was no door, no way to access this supposed teleportation device.

“You’re saying this is it?” She couldn’t help but be skeptical.

Yet, both Enya and Pearce nodded earnestly.

“Just watch,” Pearce said, and laid his palm over the etching.

The spot started to glow as if it was heating up. She focused her eyes to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating, and then the wall was gone all of a sudden. Where the heavy stone wall had been, an opening had appeared. Behind it, there lay only darkness, and despite the light that shone into the space that seemed no larger than the average elevator, Daphne couldn’t make out any instruments or panels on the inside.

Pearce took her hand. “Come.”

She hesitated, suddenly not as brave as she’d been earlier. The idea of teleporting to another city far away intrigued her, but she couldn’t shake the memory of an old movie she’d seen, where the process had gone horribly wrong, melding a perfectly normal man with a fly that had accidentally gotten trapped in the teleportation device with him.

“It’s perfectly safe,” Pearce said. “See, Enya is already inside.”

Indeed, Enya looked at Daphne somewhat impatiently. “You wanted to come. Have you changed your mind?”

“No, no, I haven’t,” Daphne said, not wanting to act cowardly in front of the petite blonde who seemed to be a veritable wonder woman. To prove that she wasn’t afraid, Daphne walked through the opening, Pearce on her heels, still holding her hand.

“You’ll need to keep holding on to me,” Pearce said, “or you’ll be lost.”

Darkness suddenly descended on them, and like magic, the opening was gone, replaced by, she assumed, the stone wall, though she couldn’t see it.

“It might feel a little disorienting at first, but that’s normal. Don’t worry,” Pearce said.

She wanted to ask what he meant by that, but didn’t get a chance, because in the next instant, she felt weightless. Floating aimlessly as if in outer space. A gasp escaped her, and she felt Pearce’s comforting arms around her, holding her tightly.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “We’re almost there.”

He wasn’t lying. A moment later, she felt solid ground under her feet again, and a second later, colored, subdued light streamed into the portal. She refocused her eyes and realized that a stained-glass door or window was right in front of them, blocking their exit.

“Stay here,” Pearce said. “I’ll check if the coast is clear.” He vanished, and Daphne could only assume that he’d made himself invisible and had then stepped through the stained glass. A moment later, he reappeared as if he’d never been gone.

“It’s empty. Let’s go.”

Pearce pushed against one side of the stained glass, and it swung outward. Daphne followed him and was stunned to see where they were.

“A church? You have a portal in a church?” She looked around. The altar was straight in front of them, and beyond it were the wooden pews with Bibles and hymn books stacked at their ends.

“We don’t always get to choose where the portals are. This is one of the lost ones,” Pearce explained as he ushered Daphne and Enya to follow him to the exit. “When the stone or wood the portal is carved into gets moved to another location and used to build something else, like this church, for example, the portal moves with it.”

“That’s amazing,” Daphne said.

“It’s pretty neat,” Enya said. “Now, time to be invisible.”

At the door, Pearce turned around. “You know what to do. I’ll take your hand and guide you to where I want you to go. We’ll need a car first. Ready?”

Daphne nodded, and both Pearce and Enya disappeared. She felt Pearce taking her arm, and pushed the heavy church door open to step outside into the bright light. It was close to midday, and the street that ran along the church was moderately busy. Adjacent to the church was a cemetery on one side, and a parking lot on the other.

Pearce tugged her into the direction of the parking lot.

“The silver Toyota,” he whispered to her, and steered her toward it.

Nervously, Daphne cast a look around, but nobody seemed to notice her. Then she heard a clicking sound coming from the car’s driver’s-side door.

“Got it,” Enya murmured close to her. “Get in.”