Talisman of El (19 page)

A few short steps later, they came across the doorway, or rather the ruins and the only part of the wall still standing, just about. What was once a twin-arched doorway was now a single arch, enclosed by shrubs, vines, and trees.

‘You just saw this in your head?’ Derkein asked.

Charlie nodded.

Derkein’s face displayed a mixture of shock, disbelief and confusion. ‘Just now? Since we started walking?’

Charlie nodded again. He couldn’t tell whether Derkein believed him or not, but he was starting to feel as though he had no control of his own mind.

‘It could just be me,’ Alex said, ‘but you seem to have gone up on the weird scale since we entered Arcadia.’

‘Look, maybe we should go back to the campsite,’ Derkein suggested.

As Charlie stared at the remnants of the past, the strangest thing happened. The world came alive.

The twin-arched doorway materialised before him, the stone wall on either side. Charlie’s jaw dropped. Climbing the steps, he walked through the doorway, the view widening out before him, and his heart fluttered.

The rich floral smell was more than welcoming; it was mouth watering. He saw flowers, large mushrooms, trees, peacocks, tigers, buildings … people. Everywhere he looked he saw merry folks dressed in elegant gowns and robes.

He knew right away that the people weren’t human, but it still surprised him when he saw a young boy sprinting so fast he couldn’t keep his eyes on him, a girl travelling thirty feet in one leap, and an eagle transforming into a man.

He had no idea what paradise looked like, but he was willing to bet every penny he had that this was it.

Heading up a set of stone steps, he came to a raised, circular pavilion with a fountain in the centre and vine-covered pillars around the sides. Beyond the fountain were more steps, which led to ancient Greek architecture surrounded by columns that supported pyramid roofs. Charlie turned round to admire the view below.

A voice behind him said, ‘Your Majesty.’ It was a woman’s voice, soft and familiar. Whirling around, he saw a woman in a long russet gown, her auburn hair tied back, descending the steps.

Your Majesty?
Charlie pondered. The woman smiled at him and bowed. All it took was one look at her alluring green eyes for him to realise it was Candra. His breath caught in his throat as he gazed at her scar-less face. She looked so different, so happy. He returned the smile without realising what he was doing. His eyes followed her as she continued down to the garden. He was about to go after her when a splashing noise behind him made him stop and turn round.

The water from the fountain swirled upwards like a whirlpool and transformed into a woman.

Charlie stared in awe at the woman who had just climbed out of the fountain, her gown dry. She bowed to him.

There was a note of frustration in Charlie’s voice when he asked, ‘What’s with the bowing?’ The woman just smiled and walked away. He turned back to the fountain and walked over to it.

When he looked in the water, he saw the white-haired man he had seen in the lake.

‘What do you want from me?’ Charlie asked. He paused when he noticed the man mimicking him. He found it even stranger when the man wrinkled his brow, for he felt as confused as the man looked. It was then, as he stared into the man’s grey eyes, that he realised something. At the same time, the wrinkles on the man’s forehead vanished, and he looked shocked –

The image vanished, and Charlie found himself staring at Derkein, who was standing in front of him, gripping his shoulders. ‘Charlie, can you hear me?’ Derkein asked.

Charlie blinked hard. He looked through the single-arched doorway behind Derkein, but all he saw was the forest.

‘Hey,’ Derkein said, ‘talk to me.’

‘There used to be some sort of a palace here,’ Charlie said.

‘Doesn’t look like a palace now,’ Richmond observed.

Derkein let go of Charlie, his expression anxious. ‘All right, I think it’s time we got back to the campsite.’

They started to head off when Charlie suddenly stopped.

‘What is it?’ Alex asked.

Charlie’s eyes swept the forest. ‘I heard something.’ He expected Candra to pop out of her hiding place, but instead, he saw the red-haired boy he had seen earlier that day watching him from behind a tree. ‘Hey. Where’s my bag?’

The boy’s eyes widened in shock, and he took off.

‘Hey.’ Charlie chased after him.

‘Charlie,’ Derkein called. ‘Charlie, get back here.’

Charlie didn’t stop. With the burning stick still in his hand, he raced through the forest after the boy. ‘Stop!’ he yelled. ‘I just want my bag.’ The boy was a good thirty feet ahead of him.
What do they feed this kid?

‘Charlie,’ he heard Derkein call. It wasn’t until a loud cry reached him that he stopped.

It was Alex.

He turned round but saw no sign of the others. Panicked, he looked back at the boy, who had also stopped, and then he turned and ran back the way he had come.

It didn’t take him long to spot Derkein. When he got closer, he saw Richmond, who was now on his feet, Alex’s burning stick slowly fading on the ground beside him. But where was Alex?

Seeing Derkein and Richmond glancing up into a tree, he followed their gaze and spotted Alex trapped in a rope net.

‘It could be worse,’ Richmond said. Charlie and Derkein glanced at him. ‘What, it could.’

Derkein’s gaze shifted to Charlie, and the lines on his forehead smoothed out, his expression stern. ‘Didn’t we just have a conversation about you running off ?’

‘I know,’ Charlie said, ‘but I was trying to get my bag back.’

Derkein looked confused. ‘It’s not just going to fall out of the sky.’

‘What? No, that kid –’

‘Ah, hello,’ Alex said hotly. ‘Girl in a rope here. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m thinking whoever set this trap might come back.’

Charlie looked up at her, her body bent in an uncomfortable sitting position with her legs reaching high above her head, and a faint smile crept onto his face. ‘Hang in there, Alex,’ he called up to her.

‘You just wait till I get down, Charlie Theodore Blake,’ she threatened.

Richmond snickered. ‘Your middle name’s Theodore?’

Charlie looked at him, his smile fading. ‘Shut up.’

Derkein cleared his throat to refocus their attention. ‘How are we going to get her down, boys?’ he asked.

Charlie glanced back up at the tree. The distance between Alex and the ground was at least twelve feet, twice Derkein’s height. To get her down, Derkein would have to hoist Charlie onto his shoulder, and then some.

As Derkein pondered a strategy, Charlie’s focus shifted to the thudding sound he heard coming towards them. Before he even had time to panic, the sound died almost as soon as it had begun.

He turned round and froze, his heart thrumming in his ears as he stared at the line of people armed with shiny blades and arrows pointed at his head.

Snare 

CHARLIE GULPED. THE SEVEN people surrounding him were frightening enough to trigger cardiac arrest. Perhaps it was because they were busy planning how to get Alex down, but the others hadn’t noticed the company gathered around them.

Charlie tried to speak, but when he opened his mouth, nothing but dry air came out. The warrior-like beings stared at him with incredulity, as if they couldn’t believe their eyes. As his gaze swept over the group, he couldn’t help but wonder if Alex had been right about Candra all along. Had she lured them here to meet their doom?

The red-haired boy he had chased was the youngest among the group. The oldest, a muscular, dark-haired man, looked in his late twenties. Then a bright blue light materialised beside the red-haired boy – no, not a light, a being.

Charlie felt his pulse quicken. He couldn’t tell whether the being was male or female because the light acted like a haze, so all he could make out was an outline and its eyes, which were looking directly at him.

My eyes deceive me,
a soft female voice said inside Charlie’s head.

The bag thief whispered something to the being, whose gaze never left Charlie. The boy was either a fast talker or a polyglot, for he spoke in a language Charlie did not understand.

Hearing a gasp behind him, Charlie glanced over his shoulder and saw the look of utter disbelief on Derkein and Richmond’s faces. He didn’t need to look up at Alex to realise she’d also caught sight of the people around them; her silence said it all.

What are you?
a sharp voice demanded.

Charlie turned back to the Arcadians, his gaze fixed on the light being. ‘What?’

You appear mortal,
the light being said.
But are you?

Charlie didn’t know how to respond. What an absurd question, he thought. ‘Look, if I can just have my bag back, we’ll leave. We don’t want any trouble.’

The red-haired boy smirked, but it was completely devoid of sarcasm.

Trouble will seek you whether or not you desire it,
the light being said.

Although it was warm, a cold chill ran down Charlie’s spine. It was how she said it: not threatening, just matter-of-fact.

It is in your best interest to return from whence you came,
the light being went on.

‘We can’t. Not yet.’

‘Charlie, what are you doing?’ Derkein demanded.

Charlie turned to him. ‘It’s okay,’ he whispered. ‘I don’t think they want to hurt us.’

Derkein’s gaze shifted, and then he looked back at Charlie. ‘Who are you talking to?’

‘The light,’ Charlie answered. ‘I think she’s in charge.’

Derkein glanced at Richmond, who shrugged, then looked back at Charlie. ‘What light?’

Charlie paused, and his eyes locked on the shimmering being. If she shone any brighter, he was certain her light would blind him. He turned back to Derkein. ‘She’s standing behind me.’ He addressed Richmond. ‘You see her, right?’

Richmond scanned the surroundings, but like Derkein, he, too, looked bemused.

‘She’s right there,’ Charlie said, pointing at the light being. ‘Great, next you’re going to say there was no fire phoenix.’

‘Fire what?’ Richmond asked.

‘The fire phoenix,’ Charlie reminded him. ‘That big blaze back at the river. It saved us from the beast that was about to eat us.’

Richmond looked at him as if he had lost his mind. ‘There wasn’t a fire. All I saw was the beast rolling around.’ He shrugged. ‘I thought it was happy it had caught us.’ (Naturally, since Richmond associated happiness with food.)

‘Look,’ Derkein said, ‘let’s just try and get out of this alive.’

‘You believe me, don’t you?’ Charlie asked.

They are not aware of my presence,
the light being interjected. Charlie looked at her.
Mortals cannot perceive me with the physical eye whilst in my pure form unless it is of my choosing, for it would result in fatality, which leaves the question as to why you are an exception.
Her inquisitive eyes bored into him, making him feel uncomfortable, but it also gave him an idea.

He turned back to Derkein. ‘Show them the talisman.’ Derkein hesitated, and Charlie inched closer to him, lowering his voice. ‘If the thing that attacked you – you know, the invisible thing you couldn’t see, kinda like how you can’t see the light – if it was after the talisman it must be important.’

‘Charlie –’ Derkein began.

‘Please,’ Charlie pleaded. ‘Just trust me.’

After a short pause, Derkein surrendered. He put his hand inside his shirt and grabbed the silver chain of the talisman, pulling it out.

At first, nothing happened. Then a chorus of gasps erupted from the Arcadians.

Charlie listened to the muffled voices and managed to catch three words:
Talisman of El
. ‘You know what it is,’ he said. He took a few steps forward and stopped when the people around him drifted back, almost as if they were afraid of him.

I last saw that object over twelve thousand years ago,
the light being said.

Charlie blinked a few times, uncertain if he had heard her correctly.

The light being went on:
The Talisman of El is the most powerful device on Earth.