Talisman of El

CHAPTER THIRTEEN



Change of Plan

‘AVARAN,’ A YOUNG GIRL called. She looked about fifteen, but her dark eyes were mature beyond her years. Her short pixie hairstyle suited her perfect heart-shaped face. ‘Frightening our guests with tales, are we?’

Avaran smiled. ‘Of course not. I am only informing them on what they need to know. I would like you all to meet Oren. She is one of our best hunters.’

‘Hunter?’ Alex said. ‘But she’s a girl.’ As though she remembered something, she shook her head and said, ‘But she’s not a human girl, Alex. I need to write this stuff down.’

‘Join us,’ said Oren, her eyes on Charlie. ‘You must be hungry.’

Richmond was the first on his feet.

‘Go ahead,’ Avaran insisted.

The trio looked at Derkein. ‘I’ll join you in a bit,’ he said.

They went off to join in the festivity. The villagers greeted them with warm welcomes, offering them plates of food consisting of various fruits and some brownish green thing that looked like mashed potato but tasted like strawberries and chocolate mousse. Charlie could not tell where the music was coming from, but everyone was dancing along. He, Alex and Richmond sat on a log around the campfire, watching the merry people.

Charlie spotted Oren sitting on the opposite side of the fire. Her dark skin and silver hair glistened under the dancing flames. She was glowing. He blinked, but she still glowed, and she wasn’t the only one. The people of Tohu were all glowing.

Charlie looked at Richmond, wondering if he was seeing the same thing, but Richmond didn’t seem to notice anything other than the plate of food on his lap. Charlie’s eyes then locked on Alex, who stared at him with an inscrutable expression. A shadow passed over him, and he looked up and saw the moon melting behind the clouds. Looking back at the villagers, he saw that they were no longer glowing.

A short while later, the trio brought food to Derkein, who was now sitting on the platform deck with Avaran.

‘I see someone’s made a good impression,’ Derkein said to Charlie.

‘We might have to get him a bib so he doesn’t drool all over himself,’ Alex remarked.

Charlie crossed his arms and shook his head, half-smiling. Alex rolled her eyes at him and stormed off towards the campfire. ‘What did I do?’ he asked.

‘She’s probably just homesick,’ Derkein murmured.

Charlie noticed a peculiar look in his eyes, but before he could confront Derkein, Richmond pulled him away, leading him back to the campfire. Charlie kept glancing back, but he was too far away to hear what Derkein and Avaran were discussing. He had a nagging feeling that something wasn’t right.

The boys sat on a log beside Alex, who was looking at the ground, her arms crossed over her chest. Hearing a voice, Charlie glanced round and saw Oren. She smiled at him, revealing a gleam of white teeth and cute dimples. She was tall and slender, wearing a short, halter neck, green dress with holes around the torso (it was as if the grass had jumped off the ground and wrapped itself around her body), which made Charlie feel overdressed in his t-shirt and jeans.

Oren sat beside him, engrossing him in a sweet floral scent. ‘Enjoying yourselves?’ she asked.

‘Yeah, it’s great.’

‘It’s brilliant,’ Richmond agreed, food flying out of his mouth. Charlie wondered how he had managed to rustle up another plate of food so fast.

‘To which continent on the surface do you reside?’ Oren enquired.

Charlie’s gaze shifted back to her. ‘Europe. I live in West Sussex, in England.’ His palms started to sweat. ‘Have you ever been?’ He spoke more to the ground than to Oren. He found it uncomfortable looking into her eyes now that everyone thought he had a crush on her. Even if he did, it wouldn’t matter, for she happened to live in another dimension, had powers, and wasn’t human. Not that he’d mind.

‘I have never been to the surface.’

‘Never?’ Charlie asked. Oren shook her head.

‘Do you go to school?’ Richmond asked.

‘We do not require schooling,’ Oren replied. ‘Our duty is to safeguard the future of mankind.’

Charlie started to wonder if that was Tohu’s motto.

‘We train for combat,’ Oren went on, ‘to prepare ourselves to become Lightworkers.’

‘Does that mean you fight with swords?’ Richmond asked. Oren nodded. ‘Awesome!’

‘Why haven’t you been to the surface?’ Charlie asked. ‘Can’t you just teleport?’

‘Elementals cannot teleport,’ she replied.

‘Oh yeah, Avaran said you have to use the Ascender. Can’t he teleport you?’

‘He can, but I have not received my calling.’

‘What’s that?’

‘It is the mark of a Lightworker. Elementals become Lightworkers when we receive our calling, which allows us access to the surface world. It used to be that no mortal or elemental could pass through the gateways, but ever since the destruction of the Rulers, the earth has been out of sync with the universal harmonic cycles. Now elementals can come and go, and sometimes humans wander through the gateways unknowingly.’

‘Why couldn’t elementals go to the surface?’ Charlie asked.

‘We are not qualified to fulfil our roles. To become a Lightworker we have to unite with our element. Without being able to control our powers, we can cause the most terrible destructions. We also face the problem of being hard to detect without a mark. Lightworkers can locate one another through their marks. If in danger, they can call on one another for aid, which we cannot do. Avaran feels it is too risky.’

‘I think you should take the risk,’ Alex said, her eyes amused. ‘I mean, if you die you don’t stay dead. What do you have to lose?’

Charlie looked at her, dumbfounded. Alex met his gaze and held it. The pain in her eyes shook him, and he looked back at Oren, who was still smiling. If she had sensed Alex’s hostility, she did not show it.

‘Only Aeons are immortal.’ Oren’s voice was calm. ‘When we die, we move on. You also forget our lack of control is dangerous. It would be possible to evade danger if the gateways stopped shifting. There was a time when they were always active, but, as you know, they only open four times a year now. If we use the Ascender, we have no idea where it would take us. I could end up at the bottom of the ocean, and for an earth elemental, that would be disastrous.’

‘Well, you know what they say,’ Alex said. ‘There’s a first time for everything.’

‘I get the sense you don’t like me.’

‘Are you a mind-reader?’ Alex said sarcastically.

‘No. Whatever gave you that impression?’ Clearly, sarcasm wasn’t one of Oren’s traits. Alex glared at her. ‘Perhaps I should go.’

‘No, don’t go –’ Charlie began.

‘It’s all right, Charlie,’ Oren said with a smile. ‘Avaran has many books on human behaviour. This is a clear sign of aggression.’ She regarded Alex and started marking off a list with her fingers. ‘Defiant. Temperamental. Enclosed –’

‘Hey, quit psychoanalysing me,’ Alex snapped. ‘I get enough of that from my mum.’

Oren addressed Charlie. ‘If I am correct, one should walk in the opposite direction. Though, I am not certain for how long.’ She stood up and sauntered off – in the opposite direction.

Charlie turned to Alex. ‘What was that about?’

‘What, she was being nosy,’ Alex replied.

‘She was being friendly. You were being rude.’

‘You were a little rude,’ Richmond agreed.

‘I was not rude,’ Alex said. ‘How would you like it if someone analysed you, huh?’

‘I think you should apologise,’ Charlie said.

‘You should apologise,’ agreed Richmond, who was not paying attention to them but merely repeating what Charlie was saying.

‘No.’ Alex stood up. ‘If you’re so worried about your girlfriend, why don’t you go and apologise.’ She stormed off.

‘Alex,’ Charlie called after her, but she kept going. He turned to Richmond. ‘What just happened?’ He watched Richmond lick food off his fingers and nudged him.

‘What?’ Richmond whined.

Charlie sighed. ‘Never mind.’

Richmond got up and walked off to refill his plate.

As Charlie sat with his chin in his palms thinking about Alex, something Oren had said suddenly occurred to him, and he sat up. ‘The gateway shifts,’ he muttered to himself. He drew in a short breath and jumped up, as if someone had kicked him in the back. He spotted Avaran sitting on the platform and rushed over to him.

‘Charlie,’ Avaran greeted him.

‘How did you know it was me?’

‘We are a lot lighter on our feet. Lucky guess.’

‘Where’s Derkein?’

‘He’s inside.’ Avaran nodded at the temple behind him.

Charlie heaved himself onto the platform and headed towards the temple. He was about to open the door when it pulled away from him, and he saw Isis standing before him.

‘Charlie,’ she said with a pleasant smile.

He stared at her, forgetting for a moment his reasons for going to the temple, until Derkein came into view behind her, and it all came back to him. ‘The gateway shifts,’ he blurted out. ‘It shifts, which means we can’t go back through it because it won’t be there, which means we’re stuck here.’

He had no idea how Derkein would react to the news, but whatever he was expecting, a lack of response was not it. Derkein showed no emotion whatsoever.

‘Did you hear what I said?’ Charlie stepped around Isis and advanced into the room. ‘We’re stuck here.’ At the sound of a click, he turned round to see the doors closed and Isis nowhere in sight.

‘Did you hear what I said?’ Charlie repeated. When Derkein still did not respond, he deduced that he was in shock. ‘Now I get why Tom could never find the gateway. What are we going to do?’

‘Charlie –’ Derkein said, but Charlie cut him off.

‘What are the chances of us finding the gateway again? It could be anywhere.’ He started pacing between Derkein and the door. ‘Alex is going to go mad.’ He stopped, facing Derkein. ‘I think you should tell her, you know, since you’re the adult.’ And she wouldn’t hit you. He was about to start pacing again when he spotted the paper and pen in the chair behind Derkein and paused.

Something was wrong. Derkein was way too calm for someone who had just found out Arcadia had become his prison. And what was up with him and Isis? Okay, so he’s a guy, she’s somewhat of a girl – a stunning, jaw dropping, and car crashing type of girl – What was my point? Oh yeah … Derkein was not a secretive person. If there were something bothering him, he would have told them.

Lost in thought, it took Charlie a moment to realise Derkein was talking.

‘Maybe you should sit down.’ Derkein’s gentle voice was almost hesitant. It reminded Charlie of the time he had woken up in hospital after the tornado attack. The doctor had the same sullen look before she told him his dad had ‘gone with the angels’. Then there was the guilt, the ‘I’m so sorry’ look, as if she had been the angel of death who had taken his dad away. But what did Derkein have to be sorry about?

‘What’s going on?’ Charlie demanded.

‘I made a promise to myself that I would get you back safe,’ Derkein said.

Charlie’s stomach churned with anxiety as he realised the reason behind Derkein’s serenity. ‘You knew, didn’t you? Avaran told you about the gateway. That’s why you were acting weird before. I knew something was up.’

‘Charlie, you have to understand. I didn’t want to do this.’

Charlie blinked, confused. ‘Do what?’ His eyes drifted over to the pen and paper. ‘Do what?’ he repeated, his voice shaking with anger.

‘Let’s be realistic. If Avaran can’t find the garden, we have no chance. Eden is swarming with demons, and I won’t risk taking you there.’

‘So we just give up? You said there was a reason why we’re here.’

‘It’s not the first time I’ve been wrong. I thought there was a chance of us finding the garden, but I realise that I’ve been selfish. It was wrong of me to take you. I see that now.’

‘No it wasn’t. You promised.’

‘Since we don’t know where the gateways are going to open,’ Derkein said, as if Charlie hadn’t spoken, ‘Avaran has agreed to teleport the three of you back to the surface.’

The floor under Charlie seemed to collapse, and he felt as if he was falling through endless emptiness.

Derkein continued, ‘It turns out the longest we can stay in Arcadia is three days, after which we’ll automatically return to the surface. I have to find out what happened to my father before I leave.’

‘Then take us with you.’

‘I can’t –’

The door opened, and music poured into the room. Charlie turned round and saw Alex and Richmond standing in the doorway.

‘What’s going on?’ Alex asked.

Charlie said, ‘Derkein’s leaving us.’

Richmond and Alex looked shocked.

‘I’m not leaving you,’ said Derkein. ‘It’s not safe for you to be here.’

Alex closed the door.

‘But what about Eden?’ Richmond asked. ‘You said we could come.’

Derkein looked up at the ceiling, as if he wished he could fly off into the mirage. He looked back at them, raking a hand through his grey hair. In those few seconds, he seemed to age a few years. ‘Look, I’m no guardian. I can’t even take care of myself –’

‘We don’t need a babysitter,’ Charlie retorted.

‘What would you have me do? Get you killed?’

‘What’s the point in worrying about something that hasn’t happened? Think about right now and not what if. Isn’t that what you said?’

Derkein sighed. He could not argue.

‘What if something happens to you?’ Alex cried. ‘Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine,’ Derkein assured her. ‘But you said –’ Charlie began.

‘I know what I said.’ Derkein’s voice was calm.

‘Then why are you quitting?’

‘I’m not quitting, Charlie. Things have changed.’ ‘No, you’ve changed. You lied.’

The last words hovered in the silence. The door opened again.

‘It’s already been arranged,’ Derkein said.

‘Fine,’ Charlie said through gritted teeth. ‘Go. We don’t need you.’ He whirled round and stormed out of the room, passing Avaran and Isis, who were standing in the doorway. He stomped across the platform, his feet making a clack-clack noise against the wooden surface.

‘Charlie,’ Derkein called after him, but he didn’t stop.

Soon, he was out of the clearing and heading through the forest in the opposite direction of the tree houses following a trail of glow rocks. The gang had been in Arcadia a mere few hours, and so much had gone wrong already: two attacks, Alex’s tantrum, and now Derkein abandoning them. Charlie was so full of anger he was shaking.

The music had become fainter, and an eerie silence was creeping up on him. His mind was so far away that he only realised how far he had wandered when he found himself at the edge of the forest staring at the dark waters of a lake. He turned to go back but stopped when a shimmer of colours caught his eye.

He saw a square cabin sitting on the water, a dozen pillars raising it five feet above the surface. Draped over the oriental roof was an array of sparkling material that looked like a cluster of gemstones. A wooden bridge stretched from the bank to the cabin, a dinghy boat stationed beside it.

Charlie hesitated before continuing towards it. As he approached the cabin, a sudden shaft of light burst through the windows, and he stopped.

Then the door creaked open.