Talisman of El

CHAPTER NINE



Land of No Horizon

THREE HOURS HAD PASSED, and the gang had trekked many miles, travelling chiefly through forests. Suspended at the centre, the inner sun was always overhead wherever they went, giving off a softer and gentler light than the surface sun. There appeared to be no horizon in Arcadia. The farther something was, the higher it appeared to be, until it finally vanished in the affinity of the atmosphere.

As they journeyed through a thick pine forest, using the now normal functioning compass to guide them, Charlie looked behind him and saw Derkein walking with his head down, his shoulders slumped. A mixture of gratification and remorse welled up inside him, the latter being the result of the former. Had it been Derkein’s choice, the trio would not be in Arcadia, but for Charlie, the outcome could not have worked out any better. He had to be here. He had to find the tree that could grant him his deepest wish. Perhaps, he thought, it had been his mother’s intentions all along, for him to find the Garden of Eden and get the one thing he had wished for on every birthday for the last four years.

Having not eaten in hours and travelling in a place where the temperature was above twenty degrees Celsius, fatigue and hunger was wearing them down. Still, they pressed on for they had five days – Arcadian time – to get to Eden, find the garden, and get back to the gateway before it closed for another three months.

Having studied the map, they knew Arcadia consisted of five continents: Ardenen, Sedona, Agorah, Ethidor and Koura. They knew Eden was in Koura; they just didn’t know how they were going to get there or where in Arcadia they were.

‘I think we’re safe now,’ said Richmond. ‘Can we stop?

We’ve been walking for ages.’

‘We should rest for a bit,’ Derkein said.

Richmond plopped himself down on a rock, Alex sitting beside him.

Charlie turned to Derkein and saw him gazing up at the sky.

Derkein was the only one without a coat, having left it back at the gateway entrance as a marker. ‘You okay?’ Charlie asked him.

‘I feel’ – Derkein paused for a moment – ‘young.’ ‘You are young,’ Alex pointed out.

‘Yes, but I haven’t felt this way in weeks. I almost feel like my old self. We’ve been walking for miles, and I’m in no pain.’

Derkein’s gaze drifted around the surroundings. ‘I wish I had believed my father when he told me about this place.’ ‘Remember how we reacted when you first told us?’ Alex said. ‘Imagine going back and telling people where we’ve been.

No one would believe us. They’d have us locked up.’ ‘But then we’d be famous,’ Richmond said.

Charlie snickered. ‘Yeah, we’d be the real life Looney Tunes.’ The others laughed.

‘We have to be careful who we trust,’ Derkein said after a pause. ‘We don’t want something as big as this falling into the wrong hands. Who knows what these Arcadians would do if we tried to expose them.’

‘So we say nothing?’ Richmond asked. Derkein raised his eyebrows at him. ‘Fine, I won’t say anything.’ He crossed his arms and stuck his bottom lip out.

Charlie took his bag off his shoulder and pulled out the map. ‘Okay, so we’re definitely, maybe in Ardenen –’ ‘Or Agorah,’ Alex cut in, ‘since there are a lot of forests there, too.’

‘Okay, so we’re either in the north or west of Arcadia,’

Charlie noted. ‘Do we keep heading south?’

‘If we go off course now, we’ll only end up confusing ourselves even more,’ Derkein said. He stepped towards Charlie and glanced down at the map. ‘Since it’s the most wooded area on the map, let’s just assume for a moment that we are in Ardenen. At some point, we’re bound to hit one of these cities, which I hope will give us some indication of our whereabouts.’

‘What if we don’t come across any cities?’ Charlie enquired. ‘Then we’ll have to divide our time. The longest we’ll spend on this route is two days, leaving us with three days to get back to the gateway.’

‘If we get to the sea within two days,’ Alex asked, ‘then do we still turn back?’

‘It depends,’ Derkein replied. ‘Eden is in the heart of Koura.

That could be another long journey in itself. We’ll have to all come to an agreement if we get that far.’ He started digging a hole in the ground with the toe of his shoe. ‘We need to mark this spot.’ His eyes flitted between the three of them. ‘Who’s going to hand over their coat?’

‘Use mine,’ Alex offered. She stood up and untied her coat from around her waist, handing it to Derkein.

‘I don’t want to go back to the cave,’ Richmond said. ‘Those things could still be there.’

‘Let’s just worry about one thing at a time,’ Derkein suggested, as he folded Alex’s coat into a ball. Crouching down, he stuffed the coat into the hole, concealing it with dirt, leaving only a small part of the fabric exposed. He stood up and sat on the boulder next to Alex, Charlie joining him. ‘I’m starving,’ Richmond complained. ‘Do you think they have McDonald’s here?’

The others burst out in laughter.

Richmond frowned. ‘What?’

‘I don’t think this world is like ours, Rich,’ Charlie said. ‘That sucks. I’m gonna die of starvation.’

‘No one is going to die,’ Derkein said. ‘We’re going to get through this.’

Charlie glanced sideways at him, the doubt evident on Derkein’s face. He seemed to deliberate for a moment, and, as if realising Charlie was watching him, Derkein looked at him, his expression twisting from anxiety to something else. ‘You think maybe you can kick start that intuition of yours and point us in the right direction?’ Derkein half smiled, though it was not devoid of worry.

All eyes fixed on Charlie, and at that point, he realised with some chagrin that they were all looking to him for answers he did not have.

Derkein placed an arm around Charlie’s shoulder. ‘You don’t need to look so worried, I’m only playing. You’ve been more than helpful.’ He glanced away from Charlie and took a deep breath. ‘Luck is on our side, I feel.’

Ten minutes later, they took off again.

Charlie and Alex were trailing Richmond and Derkein. ‘Sorry about before,’ Alex said to Charlie. ‘You know, about the whole stalker thing.’

‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘Does this mean you forgive me?’ ‘I’m still mad at you.’

‘Oh, come on.’ Charlie nudged her with his elbow. ‘I wanted to tell you, I just … I didn’t want to scare you.’

Alex rolled her eyes, her cheeks lifting slightly as she tried to hold back a smile. ‘Fine. You’re forgiven.’

Charlie smiled. ‘That was easy. Is it because your mum said I was a keeper?’

Alex’s jaw dropped.

Charlie held his hands up in defence. ‘You already forgave me, remember.’

Alex pushed him aside. ‘I take it back.’

‘You can’t. It’s too late.’

Alex crossed her arms. She lowered her voice when she said, ‘“I don’t speak Spanish,” you said.’

‘I don’t.’

Alex narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Whatever. You’re still an idiot.’ Despite her obvious annoyance, Charlie saw her eyes twinkle with amusement.

They walked on in silence. After a minute, Charlie said,

‘Carla Shu.’ He gave Alex a raised eyebrow look. ‘Really?’ ‘You know she would. She’s been following you around ever since you ditched her party. Apparently, she was going to ask you out.’

Charlie looked away. ‘Whatever.’

‘I swear. I overheard Gabrielle and Jessie talking about it in geography.’ After a short pause, Alex asked, ‘So, do you like her?’

Charlie glanced sideways at her, trying to read her expression, but it was hard for she was looking at the ground.

They followed a trail up a small peak. ‘What’s not to like? She’s nice.’

Alex looked at him. ‘That’s not what I meant –’

‘Hey, guys,’ Derkein called to them. He and Richmond were standing at the top of the peak. Charlie and Alex made haste towards them. When they reached the top, they saw a gleaming creek below. The four of them hurried down the hill.

Charlie dropped his bag on the bank, and he and the others knelt down, using their hands as a scoop.

The water was clear and refreshing. As Charlie lowered his hands for a refill, he saw the shimmering form of a man with crystal grey eyes gazing at him and jumped back, landing with a hard thud on the ground.

‘Charlie!’ Alex cried.

‘There’s someone in the water,’ Charlie said.

The others glanced at the water then back at Charlie, their expressions uncertain.

‘I’m not imagining it. I saw him …’ Charlie paused. The man had been wearing a talisman around his neck. He drew in a short breath. ‘It’s the same guy I saw when I touched the talisman.’

‘You mean there’s a dead guy in the water?’ Alex asked, alarmed.

‘No,’ he replied. ‘I think it was just a mirage.’

‘You never mentioned anything about a guy,’ Derkein said.

He and Charlie locked eyes. ‘What else did you see?’ Charlie thought he saw a suspicious glare in his eyes.

‘Nothing,’ he replied.

‘You think this guy is connected to the talisman?’ Charlie nodded. ‘He was wearing it. I think it belonged to him.’

‘You know, you’re really starting to scare me.’

That makes two of us, Charlie thought.

Derkein was silent for a moment, and then he said, ‘We should get going.’ He helped Charlie up, and it was at that point that Charlie realised something was missing.

‘Where’s my bag?’ he asked. He spun in a circle, his eyes sweeping the forest, but there was no bag in sight.

‘Let’s not panic,’ Derkein said. ‘It has to be here. We’re the only ones … here.’ He shot a tentative glance around the forest. Looking back at the trio, he placed a finger to his lips and motioned with his head towards the nearest tree, which they made their way towards. Derkein lowered his voice. ‘I don’t think we’re alone.’

At the sound of something snapping, they jumped. Derkein pulled out his pocketknife. The gang watched and waited, but nothing appeared.

‘We need to keep moving,’ Derkein said.

‘But we need the map and the compass,’ said Charlie. ‘We can’t stay here. We’ll be all right as long as we keep moving.’ Derkein gave them an encouraging smile, but Charlie saw the pained look in his eyes. Derkein reminded him then of the terrified young man that had appeared in his dream. He had the face of a man, but the heart of a boy.

They walked off in the direction they had been heading before they stopped by the creek. Alex and Richmond were ahead, Charlie and Derkein behind. It was nearing four in the afternoon, and they had been walking for twenty minutes. Charlie regarded Derkein, whose expression was distant.

He hadn’t said a single word since they left the creek. ‘Are you mad at me?’

Derkein looked at him. ‘Why would I be mad at you?’ ‘I lost the compass.’

‘I’m not mad at you, Charlie. You didn’t do anything wrong.’ ‘But we have no idea which direction we’re heading in, and now we won’t be able to find our way back, which means we’re stuck in this place for who knows how long –’ ‘Hey, hey, calm down.’ Derkein rested a hand on Charlie’s shoulder. ‘You’re going to have a nervous breakdown if you keep panicking like this.’

‘But I’m just so mad.’

‘I know you are.’

‘Why aren’t you angry?’ Charlie asked. ‘You might be stuck this way forever, and you don’t even seem upset.’

‘Trust me, I may appear calm, but I am far from it. I mean, look at me. I look like my grandfather, for crying out loud.

Yeah, sure, I may never get the chance to change back, but I don’t know that. I like to think about right now and not what if. Right now, I’m alive. If I spend my time worrying about something I can’t foretell, I don’t know what I’ll do. This isn’t just about me. I dragged you three into this mess, so I need to stay focused. Hope is all I have. I can’t lose the one thing that’s giving me the strength to go on. Just have a little faith.’

He ruffled Charlie’s hair. ‘You know, there was something my father used to say to me whenever I was worried. “Just don’t”.’ Charlie wrinkled his brow.

‘I know. It used to drive me crazy.’ Derkein’s mind seemed to drift, and after a pause, he said, ‘You didn’t do this to me.

If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be where I am now. You’re the last person I would be angry with.’

They had just caught up to Alex and Richmond when they heard it: the mighty roar of something inhuman that made the hairs on their skin stand erect.

They stopped.

Alex grabbed Charlie’s arm. ‘What was that?’

‘It’s probably those things from the cave,’ Richmond said. Charlie’s blood ran cold. From the volume of the sound, he could tell that whatever had caused the roar wasn’t far behind.

They were about to head off when they heard a dull thud of footsteps and glanced in its direction.

They saw a beautiful reddish-brown stag the size of a grizzly bear charging towards them. It was running so fast it didn’t seem as if it had any intentions of stopping; but then it staggered, hurtled forward, and crashed, skidding a few feet away from them.

‘Oh no.’ Alex made a move towards it, but Derkein stopped her.

The trio watched as he walked over to the stag, the pocketknife held firmly in his hand. They saw deep wounds beneath the animal’s blood-soaked fur, its stomach rising and falling slower and slower as it waited for death. Apart from the odd bird and squirrel, the stag was the largest animal they had seen since their encounter with the cave creatures. Charlie knew the monstrous sound they had heard moments before had not been the sound of a stag, and he wondered if the others were thinking the same thing.

Derkein turned to them, and a look came into his eyes – so they were all set for what he was prepared to do. ‘You go ahead,’ he said to them.

Charlie looked at Alex, who had a slight shimmer in her eyes; she looked like she was about to cry. The trio turned and walked off.

Charlie glanced round and saw Derkein kneeling beside the stag, stroking its head. He averted his eyes. Even though he knew what was coming, he was still unprepared for the overwhelming feeling of sadness that overcame him when an agonizing wail ripped through the air.

Alex stopped but didn’t turn round. Richmond touched her arm, and in a reassuring voice, he said, ‘It’s in heaven now.’ A faint smile creased her lips, and she looked at Charlie. ‘I don’t like this place.’

‘Yeah, it gives me the creeps,’ he agreed. He looked back at Derkein, who was making his way towards them.

‘You don’t think we’ll really be stuck here, do you?’ Alex asked.

Charlie was about to reply when a movement at the corner of his eyes caught his attention. He turned his head and was stunned to see a boy, maybe ten, eleven, squatting on a tree branch, gazing at them with inquisitive eyes. He had short, spiky, red hair, wearing black tattered trousers, a maroon sleeveless vest, and half-finger, black gloves. Charlie’s gaze dropped to the object in the boy’s hand.

‘That’s my bag,’ he muttered under his breath. The boy looked directly at him, his expression shocked. If ever there were a reaction Charlie would have expected from an Arcadian, it was not that.

A loud roar, like the one they had heard before, ripped through the silent forest, and Charlie’s gaze shifted from the boy to Derkein, who had stopped about twenty feet away from them, staring to the east with a frightened look on his face. Derkein turned his head towards the trio and met Charlie’s eyes. ‘Don’t move,’ he mouthed. When he looked away, Charlie followed his gaze and was slightly dazed at what he saw. Between the trees, something was moving towards them.

At first, it looked like one of the trees had come to life for the object had rough, brown skin like a tree bark, but as it got closer, he saw that it wasn’t covered in bark; it was covered in scales. The two things sticking out of its sides weren’t branches. They were wings.

‘What is that?’ Alex asked. She and Richmond were also staring at the animal, which waddled from side to side, swerving in and out of the trees, as if intoxicated. Although the creature was a good distance away from the trio, Charlie could still hear the scraping of its wings as they dragged along the ground.

Then its head came into view. First, they saw sharp, white fangs, and then huge, black eyes fixed on them.

No one moved.

‘What do we do?’ whispered Richmond, his voice shaky. Charlie stared at the creature whose oblong head was swivelling from side to side, as if it was as curious of them as they were of it. ‘Maybe if we just stay still –’

The beast let out a loud wail and charged towards them. ‘Run!’ Derkein shouted.

The trio bolted.

As they sprinted through the forest, Charlie heard Derkein shouting some way behind them, but another noise grabbed his attention: the sound of flapping wings. Glancing around, he saw the beast in the sky, its wings widespread as it swooped towards them. ‘Duck,’ he yelled.

Alex was the first to hit the ground, and then Charlie went down. He saw Richmond’s legs collapse, but they barely touched the ground when a loud cry erupted.

Charlie looked up and saw the beast hovering above Richmond, its clawed feet gripping his shoulders. With its arms attached to its wings, it looked like a cross between a pterodactyl and a dragon. As the beast flapped its wings and took off with Richmond, who was screaming at the top of his lungs, Charlie pushed himself off the ground and lunged forward, grabbing hold of Richmond’s legs in an attempt to wrench him free.

Charlie felt his feet leave the ground, and he tightened his grip on Richmond as the beast took off with them. He heard Derkein and Alex screaming after them.

The beast lurched as it tried to climb higher, but the weight of the two boys kept it from soaring off into the sky. The boys screamed as they came within inches of a tree. They must have been about thirty feet above the ground. Charlie clung onto Richmond for dear life. He hoped both their weight would tire the beast so it would release Richmond, but it seemed eager to hold onto its prey.

Charlie’s arms began to ache, and he felt his grip weakening, but he was determined to hang on.

Suddenly, the beast cried out and plunged towards the earth. It spun and rocked uncontrollably, dropping lower and lower until it crashed into a tree branch, releasing its grip on Richmond.

The boys hurled forward and crashed to the ground. Charlie lay on his back for a few seconds, staring at the sunlight streaming through the canopy of leaves above him.

The only sounds he could hear were the wails of a tortured beast, running water, and his heartbeat. He raised his head and looked at Richmond, who was lying on his stomach. ‘You okay?’

Richmond nodded. ‘I think so.’

Charlie saw the beast thrashing about on the ground not far from them. The top half of its right wing appeared charred.

Charlie got to his feet. He could neither see nor hear Derkein or Alex, and with everything in the forest looking similar, he had no idea which direction they had come from. Hearing Richmond wince, he glanced at him and saw him hobbling on one foot. Charlie went over and supported him.

‘Where are we?’ Richmond asked, his voice dripping with pain.

‘That’s what I’d like to know,’ Charlie said. He and Richmond started off, hoping they were heading back to where they had left Derkein and Alex.

They walked for ten minutes – the cry of the beast like a mere whisper in the wind – before coming to a stop. The sound of running water got louder the farther they walked. ‘This isn’t right,’ Charlie said. ‘I don’t remember hearing running water where we were before. We must be going the wrong way.’

‘Please tell me we’re not going back,’ Richmond pleaded. Charlie didn’t get to respond as a familiar noise erupted in the distance. They turned round and saw the beast hurtling towards them at full speed. The boys quickened their pace. Soon, they came upon a river. They stared down at the wild rapids that swelled and dipped, exposing and hiding boulders. Hearing the wail of the beast, they turned around and saw it staggering slightly as it maintained its course behind them.

They hurried along the bank.

‘We might have to jump,’ Charlie suggested.

‘No way am I jumping!’ squealed Richmond.

Charlie glanced back at the beast. It was only a matter of seconds before they became dinner. Just then, an idea popped into his head, and he stopped.

‘What are you doing?’ Richmond asked, panicked. ‘You ever played dodge ball?’

Richmond blinked. ‘What?’

‘We can’t outrun it, so we have to dodge it – make it go overboard.’

‘But what if it stops?’

Of course, there was a good chance it would stop, but Charlie couldn’t think about that. The beast charged straight at them.

‘You go left, I go right,’ Charlie instructed. ‘Ready?’ ‘No,’ Richmond cried.

Just as they were about to dive out of the way, a blaze of fire rose up from behind them. It was in the form of a phoenix, its wings spread wide as it hovered above them.

The phoenix firebird charged at the beast, which roared in pain.

Over the noise, the boyscould just about make out Derkein and Alex’s voices in the distance. They tried to make a run for it, but the creatures were tussling everywhere.

Finally, seeing a clearing before them, they made a move. Almost immediately, they stopped as the beast tumbled before them, its wings fully extended. As it swivelled around, Charlie heard a thump as its left wing struck Richmond.

Then he felt a crushing blow to his chest that sent him flying backwards and over the bank.

The cold torrents pinched him all over as the river swallowed him. He kicked his way to the surface, water gushing into his mouth as he fought for air. The river knocked him into a rock, and he caught hold of a branch dangling from the bank. Coughing and spluttering, he caught sight of Richmond floating towards him. With one arm outstretched, he grabbed hold of Richmond as he swept by.

As Charlie clung to the branch, the water beating hard against them, he thought about Derkein. The last thing he wanted was to give him reasons to turn back and head home, but if they survived through this, he had no doubt that was what Derkein –

A loud crack snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked up. Little by little, the branch started to break. Charlie’s eyes opened wide with fear. Within seconds, the branch snapped, and the river swept them away.

Richmond slipped from his grip as they drifted downstream.

Charlie fought against the flow, trying to get to him, but the current grabbed him, spun him around, and slammed him into another rock. He let out a cry and gripped his arm. The current peaked, almost tossing him into the air before his bruised frame rammed into yet another rock, and he went under.

The river turned him repeatedly, suffocating him as water filled his lungs. The cold waves rendered him stiff, numbing the pain in his body.

He had no strength against the water. He longed to sleep. A rainbow of light flashed before him; and then there was no more river …