Talisman of El (21 page)

Charlie sat with his head hung low, pretending to study the black and crimson floral rug. The frustration he’d felt had faded, but a feeling of shame weighed heavy on him.

‘You all right, Charlie?’ Derkein’s voice was calm.

Charlie nodded. The sudden outburst had been unintentional, but it had felt good. For weeks, he had wanted to scream. Nothing was making sense in his life anymore, and no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that he was the same person he had always been, he knew it was a lie. He wasn’t the same.

Avaran said, ‘We did not all turn against you.’ Charlie didn’t detect any animosity in his voice, but he still refused to look at him in case his eyes revealed something else. ‘It was the Archons who broke their covenant with God.’

‘Archons?’ Alex said.

‘Demons. They turned against the Legion. Darkworkers – once Lightworkers – seek to destroy mankind, while we seek to protect. Mortals have no power against demons, which is why we are surprised that you survived.’

Derkein removed the talisman from around his neck and held it in his hand. ‘To be honest, I would have died if it hadn’t been for this.’

Charlie glanced at Avaran, waiting for a change in his expression, the way the others had reacted when they first laid eyes on the talisman, but he didn’t even flinch. Isis, however, recoiled.

It was only when Avaran said, ‘The Talisman of El, I presume,’ that it hit him.

‘You’re blind!’ Charlie blurted out.

Avaran said, ‘It seems we have a lot to learn about one another.’

Trading Secrets

‘SHUT UP!’ ALEX EXCLAIMED, her eyes wide with excitement. She and the others were staring at Isis in awe. They had been sitting in the temple for the last twenty minutes. The double oak doors were open, and they had a clear view of the campfire where a group of Arcadians sat in a circle. A soft, sweet melody drifted into the room that sounded like wind going through pipes.

‘How did you do that?’ Charlie asked.

‘Aeons of the water kingdom are truth bearers,’ Isis explained. ‘We can discern truth from lies through spoken words.’

‘Could you try it on me?’ Alex volunteered.

‘Are you certain you want me to?’

‘Is that a trick question?’

‘It is not.’

Alex hesitated a moment, and then she said, ‘Let’s do it.’ Isis shared a secret smile with Avaran before turning back to Alex. ‘What is the name of your father?’

‘Matthew Dench,’ Alex answered with confidence. ‘That was way too easy.’

‘Second question,’ Isis said. ‘Do you have any siblings?’ ‘Oh come on, these questions are too easy. Give me a challenge.’

Isis raised an amused eyebrow then dropped it. ‘If you insist.’ She flashed a look at Charlie then back to Alex so quickly that untrained eyes couldn’t have noticed.

Charlie, however, did.
Why did she look at me?
he wondered, and his palms started to sweat as a feeling of dread swirled in the pit of his stomach.

‘Human emotion has always fascinated me,’ Isis went on.

‘There is one in particular I have often wondered about …

Love.’

Charlie felt Alex stiffen beside him. A sound escaped her throat that resembled a hiccup, and she shifted in her seat, fiddling with her hair.

‘Emotions are a human trait,’ Avaran explained. ‘While we do experience feelings of sorrow and joy, our essence of love is not an emotion but rather an act of will. Elementals have a better grasp of human consciousness than Aeons do. They have resided on the earth realm since the beginning of its existence and share similar characteristics to mortals such as eating, sleeping and procreating.’

‘So Aeons have never been in love?’ Sadness clouded Alex’s voice.

‘Not in the way mortals perceive love,’ Isis replied. ‘You on the other hand. What do you make of love?’

Alex started fidgeting again. ‘I dunno. I, uh … I’m only fourteen.’ She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. ‘I love my parents and stuff, but that’s only natural, right. I mean, they did conceive me, so it’s the least I can do.’

Reading the desperate plea in Alex’s voice to change the subject, Charlie asked, ‘If you’re here to protect us, why are you hiding?’

‘We are prohibited to disclose our identity to mortals,’ Isis said. ‘We are to have no influence or interference with human evolution. Our duty is to protect you. Avaran and I visit your world every surface day. We get reports from Lightworkers – those not in hiding – regarding demon attacks.’

Alex looked grateful that the attention had shifted from her, but she still seemed awkward. ‘Why are the Lightworkers hiding?’ she asked. ‘Aren’t they immortal?’

Avaran answered, ‘Elementals have a lifespan of a thousand years. Only Aeons are immortal, though we can still die in battle. Our immortality lies in the sense that we regenerate when we die. Our sun is a birthing house for incoming and outgoing spirits. If I were to die, for instance, my spirit would return to our sun to regenerate, allowing me to resume my role as Guardian on Earth.’

‘You just keep reincarnating?’ Charlie asked.

‘We were aware of our obligations before we descended to Earth. Only Rulers, who are interdimensional, may pass on their duty and leave Earth upon death. Guardians and Elders remain, unless we move up in authority and become Rulers, which can only happen if a Ruler chooses not to return.

Demons, however, are cast into Tartarus.’

‘What’s Tartarus?’ Richmond asked.

‘It is the lowest region of Hades, what humans refer to as “Hell”,’ Avaran said. ‘Tartarus is a place of darkness for our fallen brothers and sisters.’

‘You said you visit the surface every day,’ Charlie said. ‘Don’t the gateways only open every five days?’

‘Yes,’ Isis said, ‘but we do not travel via the gateways. We teleport.’

This didn’t surprise Charlie, for he had witnessed Candra teleport twice.

‘You mean you can beam up?’ Alex asked, staring at Isis in amazement.

‘Oh, like they do in Star Trek,’ Richmond joined in. ‘Beam up?’ Isis said. ‘I’m afraid I am not familiar with that terminology.’

Alex sat forward. ‘You know –
“Beam me up, Scotty”
. They have this really awesome machine …’ Her voice trailed off, her gaze shifting between Isis and Avaran, who were staring at her with blank expressions. ‘You’ve never seen Star Trek?’ Charlie sat forward and placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder, relaxing her back into her seat. ‘I think they’re a little too busy for Star Trek.’

‘Oh, right.’ Alex nodded in realisation. She addressed Avaran and Isis. ‘Sorry, I forgot about the whole death, chaos, destruction thing you have going on. Ignore me. I’m just babbling.’

‘She does that a lot,’ Richmond said.

Charlie and Alex glanced at him. Although Charlie couldn’t see Alex’s face, he could guess from the way Richmond shrank back into his seat that her expression wasn’t amiable. Charlie looked back at Avaran and Isis. ‘Can all Arcadians teleport?’ he enquired.

‘No,’ Avaran replied. ‘Only Aeons have the ability to teleport. Lightworkers use a teleportation device known as the Ascender, which you will find in the ascension headquarters in Koura. The Ascender is a direct link to the four gateways that bridge Arcadia and the surface world.’

‘There are four gateways?’ Derkein asked.

‘That is correct. They coincide with the four elements, transporting Lighworkers to their rightful watchtowers on the surface.’

‘Koura,’ Derkein pondered. ‘That’s where Eden is, right?’

Avaran nodded. ‘How long would you say it would take us to get there? We have four and a half days …’ His voice trailed off. A flash of worry had crossed Avaran’s face, and he turned to Isis.

The gang had come to realise that it was never a good sign when he and Isis shared silent glances.

‘Is something wrong?’ Derkein asked.

Before Avaran could respond, footsteps resounded on the platform outside. Charlie glanced over his shoulder and saw the red-haired boy. His hair was a clear giveaway of the kingdom he belonged to; his fiery red eyes were a bonus. If Aeons could reproduce, Charlie would have guessed he was Avaran’s grandson.

‘I believe you have met Ash,’ Avaran said, ‘Lightworker of the fire kingdom.’

Ash walked up to Charlie, holding out a bag. ‘Yours, I believe.’ He looked a little smug.

Charlie snatched the bag from him and started rummaging through it to see if anything was missing. To his surprise, the two blue blankets he had left by the campsite near the ruined palace in the woods were inside the bag. He looked up at Ash. ‘You shouldn’t leave your belongings lying around like that,’

Ash said.

‘I didn’t figure Arcadians for thieves.’

‘I was curious. Sorry about the river, by the way.’ Charlie wasn’t sure what Ash meant, until he added, ‘I was aiming for the dasaga, that winged lizard that was about to kill you.’ Charlie’s jaw dropped. ‘The fire phoenix! That was you?’ Ash put his hands up. ‘Guilty.’ To Avaran and Isis, he asked,

‘What’s the verdict? Is he human or not?’

Charlie frowned. ‘I
am
right here.’

Ash looked at him, puzzled. ‘I
can
see you.’

‘As far as we can tell, Charlie is human,’ Avaran said. Charlie sighed inwardly. It always seemed an insult whenever they singled him out.

‘Why not find out the easy way,’ Ash suggested. Charlie didn’t like the sound of that.
Easy
for Arcadians could mean impossible for humans. ‘Just cut him.’

Charlie’s eyes widened.

‘You can’t cut him!’ Alex wailed.

‘Avaran,’ Derkein said, ‘I won’t let you harm him.’ ‘I have no intentions of harming Charlie,’ Avaran assured him. He locked eyes with Charlie, who shuddered. That a blind man could stare so intently at him gave him the creeps.

‘Just a small cut. We will have our healer patch you up. You won’t even see a scar.’

Yeah, but what if I see something else,
Charlie thought. The fact that he was abnormal was no secret.
No worries,
he told himself,

it’s just a cut. Just like the time …
Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t remember a time where he had injured himself.

He couldn’t even remember ever being ill.
Is that even possible?
‘Charlie?’

Charlie locked eyes with Derkein.

‘You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,’ Derkein said.

‘It’s okay,’ he said. ‘I want to.’
I need to know.

Isis stood up and walked over to the corner of the room. On the shelf of a wooden display unit that hosted a selection of leather-bound books sat a spiral, mahogany vase. She picked it up and dropped it. The vase shattered as it hit the floor. Charlie glanced at Avaran, who didn’t even blink at the sound of the broken glass. He looked back at Isis, who picked up a piece of the vase, walked back over to the chair, and sat down. Using the sharp edge of the vase, Isis cut a line across her palm.

Alex made a soft hissing noise. Isis, on the other hand, didn’t even wince, for the piece of vase snapped in two in her palm.

‘There’s no cut,’ Alex observed.

‘No,’ Isis said.

‘Because it is not copper or steel,’ Derkein said. ‘Those are the only things that can harm you.’

‘I must meet this friend of yours.’ Avaran beamed. ‘He is well versed in our existence.’

Derkein smiled. ‘I’m sure Thomas would be more than honoured to meet you.’

‘You are quite right,’ Isis said. ‘Any material not of copper or steel does not penetrate our skin.’

‘Speak for yourself,’ Ash interjected. ‘What Isis means is that it doesn’t harm Aeons.’ He moved forward and retrieved a piece of the glass vase Isis was holding. With it, he cut his palm and blood seeped out. ‘Elementals aren’t so lucky.’ He opened his palm wide for all to see. The gang watched in awe as the wound healed, leaving nothing but a smear of blood.

‘We heal faster than humans.’

‘No kidding,’ said Charlie.

‘A steel dagger,’ Isis said, drawing their attention back to her. She removed one of the daggers from its sheath, its metal blade glinting, reflecting Charlie’s worried eyes in its curve. Isis held the dagger to her palm. This time she looked nervous. Taking a deep breath, her lips pressed in a tight line, she sliced the dagger across her palm in one quick swipe. A muffled groan threatened to escape her throat, but she kept her mouth closed. She opened her palm, and they saw a silver liquid seeping through the cut.