Talisman of El

CHAPTER FIFTEEN



Then There Were Five

THE MOON, HALF HIDDEN behind thick clouds, produced a faint bluish-grey glow that broke through the high canopy, hitting the dense forest ground. The morning air was cool and clean. Avaran, Isis and Terra had gone to the surface, and Charlie had waited until he was certain the other villagers had fallen asleep before he sneaked off.

As he sauntered through the forest, his bag on his back, thinking about how Derkein was going to react when he woke up in a few hours to find him gone, he heard a loud crack like a snapping branch that impeded the silence the early morning had established.

He stopped and spun around, his eyes scanning the surroundings, but he didn’t see anyone. Perhaps the eerie darkness had spiked his senses, but he felt eyes watching him. ‘I know you’re there,’ he said.

Strangely enough, two heads poked out from behind a tree. Charlie rolled his eyes and breathed out, more from relief than anything else.

It was Alex and Richmond.

‘Are you trying to kill me?’ Charlie held a hand over his racing heart. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘We could ask you the same thing,’ said Alex.

Charlie narrowed his eyes at Richmond, who lowered his head in guilt.

‘I wanted to know where you were going,’ Richmond said.

‘You didn’t have to tell her,’ Charlie said through gritted teeth.

‘And you thought you’d just wonder off and find Eden on your own, did you?’ Alex thumped Charlie on the arm. ‘What were you thinking?’

‘If you came to stop me then you’re wasting your time.’ Charlie took off in the direction he had been heading. Alex and Richmond fell into step beside him.

‘If we wanted to stop you,’ Alex said, ‘we would have gone straight to Derkein. We’re coming with.’

‘No you’re not.’

‘If you want us to keep our mouths shut, then yes we are. You know Rich can’t keep a secret.’

‘Yes I can,’ Richmond disagreed. ‘I didn’t tell you about Killjoy forcing Charlie to break into people’s houses …’ His voice trailed off, and he lowered his head. ‘Oops.’

‘Yeah, big oops,’ Charlie said.

Alex grabbed Charlie’s arm, forcing him to stop. ‘He made you do what?’

‘I didn’t steal anything –’

A flicker of movement in the trees caught Charlie’s attention, so quick it was gone in the blink of an eye. He was tired of wondering if he was imagining things, perhaps because it often turned out that he wasn’t. They weren’t alone. That much he was certain of. ‘Who else did you tell?’ he asked Richmond.

‘No one,’ Richmond replied. Charlie narrowed his eyes at him. ‘I promise.’

‘Well, someone must have followed you –’

Hearing a cough behind them, the trio spun around and saw Ash leaning against a tree, the silver-studded hilt of a sword sticking out from behind his back. ‘Going somewhere, Dolittle?’ Ash asked.

Charlie scowled. ‘Stop calling me that. I told you, I don’t talk to animals. And it’s none of your business where we’re going.’

‘Well, it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out, so why don’t we just meet you there.’

‘You’re not invited –’ Charlie broke off. ‘Did you say we?’

At the sound of a heavy thud behind them, the trio jumped and swirled around.

‘Hi,’ Oren said, as she straightened up. She was wearing tight, black, knee-length pants, black ankle boots, and a twotone maroon and grey crop top with draped sleeves. Attached to her leather belt was a small, velvet, burgundy pouch. ‘You were leaving without saying goodbye,’ she said to Charlie, a sad look on her face.

‘Stop flirting with the human, Oren,’ Ash mocked. ‘It’s embarrassing.’ His mouth twitched into a crooked grin. ‘Besides, isn’t he too young for you?’

Oren shot him a cold look then glanced back at Charlie. ‘We would like to join you.’

Charlie looked at Alex, her hands on her waist, eyebrows arched. Then he glanced at Richmond, who just looked tired. ‘We could use the help,’ he said.

Alex narrowed her eyes at him for a split second, and then her expression became unreadable. ‘Whatever.’ She turned round and headed off, the others trailing behind her.

A few minutes later, the five of them were walking along the lake bank, heading towards the cabin. The dinghy Charlie had spotted earlier was still there.

‘This is your big plan?’ Ash asked. ‘You’re going to row all the way to Eden.’ His voice dripped with sarcasm. ‘At this rate, we’ll be there next year – oh wait, that’s right, you don’t have a year.’

‘Unless you have a plane, this is the best I can do,’ Charlie said.

‘There’s an idea,’ Oren said. She regarded Ash. ‘We could fly.’

‘Now there’s a plan,’ Ash said.

‘You have a plane?’ Charlie asked.

Ash grinned. ‘I have something way better.’ Removing his sword from around his shoulder, its black leather sheath protected with metal guards on top and bottom, he tossed it to Oren, who caught it with a firm grip, then walked away from the group.

‘Where’s he going?’ Charlie asked.

‘He’s going to change,’ Oren replied.

‘Change his clothes?’

Oren smiled. ‘No. He’s going to shape shift.’

The trio shot nervous glances at one another then looked at Ash. They were aware that Aeons and Lightworkers could change form, but apart from seeing Avaran’s giant frame, they had never witnessed a full transformation. Though, if it was anything like Derkein’s transformation, Charlie thought, it wouldn’t be a pleasant sight.

Ash turned to face the group and got down on his hands and knees. Right away, he started to twitch, and then his body tensed.

It happened in under a minute: the throbbing of his veins, the bulging of his muscles, his fingernails growing into long, sharp claws, his arms, and legs stretching to obscene lengths, and his smooth skin becoming rough and scaly.

The trio froze, their jaws dropped, eyes wide open.

Where Ash had been standing only seconds ago now stood a terrifying monster. Standing nearly nine feet tall and seven feet in length – excluding its tail – it had a head shaped like an acorn with two backswept horns that were the same ivory shade as its claws and teeth. If Charlie hadn’t seen the transformation with his own eyes, he still would have recognised Ash behind the beast’s eyes and its fiery red skin, the same tone as Ash’s hair.

‘Is that a dragon?’ Richmond asked in a high-pitched voice.

‘Yes,’ Oren answered.

‘He’s not dangerous, right?’ Charlie asked.

‘You needn’t worry,’ Oren assured them. ‘It is still Ash. He will not harm you.’

Charlie started walking towards Ash, who set into a crouch as he approached. ‘He can’t talk, can he?’ He glanced behind him at Oren, who was following him.

Alex and Richmond were still standing on the bridge.

‘No, he cannot talk,’ Oren said. ‘When in animal form, Aeons and Lightworkers of the same kingdom can communicate telepathically.’

Charlie moved alongside the dragon, his eyes locked on Ash’s giant bat-like wing. He looked up and saw hard, huge red eyes fixed on him. ‘I think I prefer this version of Ash. Less noise.’ Something thwacked him on the back, and he stumbled forward, dropping onto his hands and knees.

‘Charlie!’ he heard Alex scream. She was by his side in seconds, helping him up. Oren took his other arm. He turned round and saw Ash’s wing extended. He could swear he was smirking – if dragons could smirk.

‘He can still hear,’ Oren pointed out.

Yeah, and I can still bite, a voice echoed inside Charlie’s head. He looked up at the dragon. What are you looking at? What, never seen a dragon before?

‘No,’ Charlie replied. ‘But I guess that’s because dragons don’t exist.’

‘Sorry?’ Oren said.

‘Not you, I was talking to …’ Charlie trailed off. He looked up at Ash, whose incredulous expression mirrored his thoughts.

Charlie said, ‘Did you just …?’ at the same time Ash said, Can you …?

Charlie let out an exasperated breath, throwing his head back as he gazed up at the cloudy sky. ‘What, dreaming the impossible isn’t enough for you?’

‘Charlie, who are you talking to?’ Alex asked.

Dropping his head, he saw that all eyes were on him. He glanced up at the sky again, as if searching for something, then looked back at Alex. ‘No one.’

‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.

‘The usual,’ he replied, failing miserably in his attempt to sound nonchalant. ‘I’m unfortunate. First a sabre-tooth tiger, now a dragon.’

Hey, Dolittle, this ain’t ideal for me, either, Ash said.

‘Stop calling me Dolittle,’ Charlie snapped.

‘You’re communicating with Ash!’ Oren marvelled at Charlie. ‘This is incredible. What else can you do?’

‘Hey, he’s not a dog,’ Alex retorted. ‘He doesn’t come with tricks. I wish you people would stop fussing already. Charlie isn’t the only weirdo on the planet, so why don’t you go find someone else to experiment on.’

Oren studied Alex. ‘I have offended you somehow. Forgive me. I sometimes get overexcited.’ She turned to Charlie. ‘You are the first humans I have met, and yet you, Charlie, are so unlike anything I expected.’

Hey, Dolittle, Ash said, they’re calling you a freak.

Charlie narrowed his eyes at him, though he couldn’t help feeling that Ash was right. He was certain the girls had just offended him, however unintentional it might have been.

Look, as much as I’d like to sit here and chitchat, time’s ticking.

‘We better go,’ Charlie said.

Ash lowered to the ground. Get ready for the ride of your life, Charlie heard him say.

‘I’ll take the next ride, thanks,’ Richmond said.

‘There is no next ride,’ Charlie informed him.

‘But what if I fall?’

Oren placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘You will not fall.’ She leaped onto Ash’s back as if she had bounced off a trampoline and extended her hand down to Richmond. ‘Trust me.’

Charlie linked his fingers together and gave Richmond a boost. Oren took hold of Richmond’s hand and lifted him as if he didn’t weigh a thing.

Charlie turned to Alex and caught her staring at him with half-tired, half-anxious eyes. He remembered how angry she had been earlier, and he still had no idea why. He never did ask her if she had wanted to come to Arcadia in the first place. Then again, who wouldn’t want to explore a world inside the earth? Still, he knew she must be missing her parents, and he wondered if she was starting to regret their decision to search for the gateway. ‘If you don’t want to come –’

‘What, and let you have all the fun,’ she said with a smile. ‘No chance.’ He returned the smile and helped her onto Ash’s back. Ash swung his tail towards Charlie and gave him a boost. Rising, he trotted back through the forest then took off at a gallop, soaring into the sky.

As they flew across the dark lake, mountains rising on either side of them, Charlie glanced back at the silent forest with one thought on his mind: Derkein is so gonna kill me.

‘You know, being able to shape shift for only a certain amount of time is something you might have mentioned before taking us hundreds of feet off the ground,’ Alex snapped. ‘I’m just saying.’

The gang were walking through a forest, rain beating so hard it didn’t matter that there were trees all around them. They had been walking for almost twenty minutes and were drenched to the skin.

It had been almost five hours since they had set off, and they had travelled many miles south of Ardenen, over rocky valleys and mountains.

Oren led the way, a semiconscious Ash slung over her shoulder. When they came to a waterfall cave, Charlie took the head torches out of his bag and handed one to Richmond. As Oren led them deeper inside the vast cavern, he glanced up and saw tiny blue lights on the domed ceiling, which gave off the appearance of a star clustered sky. ‘Are those glow worms?’ he asked.

‘They are,’ Oren replied, ‘although they are beetles, not worms.’

Charlie trailed his hand over the rough wall to direct him along the uneven ground. Although thick moss covered the rocks, the ground wasn’t slippery but instead felt almost like he was walking on sandpaper.

The rapping of water against the rocks was loud and rhythmic, creating a soothing melody to their ears.

When Oren finally stopped, Charlie took two blankets out of his bag – courtesy of Candra – and laid them on the ground. Oren laid Ash down onto a blanket and sat beside him. The trio sat on the other blanket.

‘It’s a good thing we’d stopped when he changed back.’ Charlie glanced at Ash, whose eyelids fluttered like someone who was fighting sleep. ‘Is he okay?’

‘He’ll be fine,’ Oren said. ‘Lightworkers try not to shift too often for it takes a lot of energy out of them. The process is almost effortless for Aeons. As soon as Ash recovers, we will head off.’ She studied Charlie’s face. ‘You look tired. You should get some rest. I have heard that lack of sleep can jeopardise a human’s health.’

‘So can falling out of the sky without a parachute,’ Alex muttered under her breath.

Charlie nudged Alex. ‘Can you shift?’ he asked Oren.

For the first time, Oren looked displeased. ‘Only Lightworkers can fully shift. I would only end up shifting halfway, somewhere between animal and elemental.’

‘Like a centaur?’ Richmond asked. Oren looked at him, confused. ‘You know, half-horse, half-human.’

Oren smiled. ‘I forgot how much humans love to create stories. Fairy tales created to understand the world and how everything was formed.’

‘Yet we still have no idea about anything,’ Charlie mocked.

‘I would have to disagree. There was a time when our world and yours interacted and lived in harmony, but due to war and chaos caused by jealousy and the need for power, we stepped back and pledged an oath not to form relations with mortals. So you see, fairy tales are in most part true accounts that have been moulded and modified to a point where they have lost their credibility.’

‘Are you speaking English?’ Richmond asked. ‘’Cause I have no idea what you just said.’

‘Which language would you prefer?’ Oren asked. ‘French, Italian, Vietnamese –’

Charlie snickered. ‘That’s not what he meant.’ He addressed Richmond. ‘It’s that whole “seeing is believing” thing. Because we can’t see it, we don’t believe it.’ He turned back to Oren and asked, ‘How many languages do you speak?’

‘We speak and understand all languages.’

‘Wow. That must take some time.’

‘It is a birthright. It requires no training.’

‘What was that language you were speaking when the invasion happened?’

‘Arcadian. It is the mother tongue of Earth. Mankind have long forgotten it since their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.’

‘Can you say something in Arcadian?’ Richmond asked.

Oren smiled. ‘I am Arcadian. It would be a great discredit if I could not.’ She looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘Ne kavegur qlati iciu qopl giv.’

Charlie’s head twitched as he felt a burning sensation in the back of his neck that rose to the crown of his head. Even after Oren had stopped talking, the words lingered in his mind. ‘What does it mean?’ he asked.

‘It means,’ Oren said, ‘be careful what you wish for.’

It wasn’t until that moment that Charlie started to think about what he was going to ask for if he found the Tree of Life. He let his mind wander on his parents, and then he thought about Derkein.

‘How many languages do you all speak?’ Oren asked.

Richmond and Alex raised their index fingers.

‘Just the one,’ Charlie replied.

‘He’s being modest,’ Alex interjected. ‘He speaks French and Spanish – interprets them, I mean.’

Charlie glanced sideways at her. ‘How many times do I have to tell you that was a fluke?’

Alex shrugged. ‘Depends … How many more languages do you speak?’

Charlie rolled his eyes and looked away from her.

‘What is a fluke?’ Oren asked.

‘It means luck,’ Charlie answered.

‘Which he has a lot of,’ Alex muttered.

To change the subject, Charlie asked, ‘So how long do you think it’s going to take us to get to Eden?’

‘Five hours at the most,’ Oren replied. ‘If Avaran does not intervene, that is. Derkein was adamant that you return home. He is very protective of you.’

That guilt Charlie had felt earlier gripped him. Not only did he go against Derkein’s wishes, he was also putting the others at risk. If anything happened to them, it would be his fault, and he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

‘Perhaps we should all get some sleep,’ Oren suggested.

Charlie turned to Richmond and saw that he had already fallen asleep. He switched his and Richmond’s head torches off then lay on his back, gazing up at the glowing ceiling.

‘Charlie,’ Alex whispered into his ear. He turned to face her. ‘Bonne nuit.’ Good night.

He couldn’t help but smile. ‘Dormir avec un oeil ouvert,’ he whispered back. Sleep with one eye open.

‘What does that mean?’

‘Look it up.’

Alex snorted, rolling her eyes. She looked away, and for a moment, he could swear her cheek lifted, as if she had smiled. He looked back at the ceiling. It was only now with his mind finally on pause that he realised his eyes were stinging, his lids becoming heavier by the second. All it took was for him to close his eyes once, and he was out.

A noise woke Charlie, and his eyes flashed open. He forgot where he was for a moment, until the distant tapping of water brought his focus back. Feeling warm air against his cheek, he turned his head and saw Alex snuggled against his shoulder, asleep.

He studied her in the limited light, the flutter of her eyelids, the rise and fall of her chest, the curve at the edge of her mouth, wondering what it was she was dreaming about. He was tempted to brush the damp hair out of her face, but he didn’t want to wake her. She looked so peaceful. In that moment, as he watched her, all the craziness he had been through over the last few months vanished. He could lay beside her for the rest of –

Alex budged, and Charlie looked away quickly. Sitting up, he saw that Richmond and Ash were still asleep. But he wasn’t the only one awake. Oren had vanished.

Opening the front pocket of his bag, he pulled out Derkein’s pocketknife and slipped it inside his jeans pocket. He then got up and headed out of the cave.

As he reached the entrance, he stopped, ran his hands under the cold waterfall, and took a sip to sooth his dry throat. The water was refreshing and sweet.

Charlie headed through the forest. The rain had stopped, and the sky was once again a bright blue heaven. ‘Oren,’ he called out. He checked his watch: 10:23 a.m. They had been asleep for almost two hours, which left them with only two days before their automatic expulsion from Arcadia.

The damp smell of the earth was so sharp it made his throat tickle. After walking for a few minutes, he stopped. Bracing his back against a tree, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.

It was a photograph: his parents on the beach.

‘Who are they?’ a voice above him said, startling him. He looked up and saw Oren stooped on a branch, gazing down at him. ‘What is it with you people and trees?’ Oren jumped down, landing in a crouched position.

Straightening up, she said, ‘It allows us to see at a farther distance. Are they your parents?’ She indicated at the photo.

Charlie nodded and handed the photo to her, which she examined then handed back to him. ‘Where are they?’ she asked.

Charlie hesitated for a second. ‘They’re with the angels.’ So

they told me.

‘That is not a bad place to be.’

He studied her with curiosity and then pocketed the photo.

‘If I asked you something you’d be honest, right?’

‘Of course.’

‘Say, by some miracle, I find the garden. Can the Tree of Life grant wishes?’ Charlie sucked in a short breath. Now that he had asked, he wondered if he wanted to hear the answer. Oren wore an odd expression. It was close to pity. She moved closer to him and placed a hand on his chest, her dark eyes penetrating his. A strange yet familiar sensation seized Charlie’s heart. He knew neither what it was nor what he was feeling … happy, anxious, expectant? Nevertheless, it was soothing.

Oren opened her mouth, but whatever she was about to say, Charlie didn’t get to hear it. She twisted her head to the side, her hand still on his chest. He followed her gaze and saw nothing, but the wind shifted, and he caught a faint scent of wet dog.

He and Oren locked eyes. He could tell from the look on her face that something was wrong.

In that same moment, Oren grabbed him around the waist and leaped into the air. The next thing he knew, he was standing on a branch, his back braced against the tree, Oren braced against him. Charlie opened his mouth to say something, but Oren pressed her finger to his lips. Then he heard a deep growl. He glanced at the ground below him, his heart pounding, but he couldn’t locate the source of the sound.

After a pause that seemed like forever, Oren – Charlie still braced against her – leaped off the branch and landed with a thud. She led the way back to the cave.

‘Wake up,’ Oren instructed.

Ash jumped up as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over him.

Richmond sat up, rubbing his eyes. ‘What is it?’

‘Trouble,’ Charlie said. He grabbed his bag and was about to pack the blankets back inside when he noticed something and stopped. ‘Where’s Alex?’ He turned to the others. The look of hopeless despair on their faces said it all. Charlie dropped the bag and took off.

He was about twenty feet away from the cave when Oren grabbed him.

‘It is best Ash and I go alone,’ she said.

Charlie looked at Ash, who had just caught up to them, Richmond beside him. Although Ash was standing up – his sword in his hand – he seemed to sway a little.

‘We will find her,’ Oren assured him. ‘Go back.’ Just as Charlie and Richmond were about to head back to the cave, a sharp, guttural growl erupted around them. At once, Oren dipped into her pouch and pulled out a pair of black gloves with claws instead of finger slots. They must have been what Charlie had seen her holding the night before.

She slipped them on and stood in front of him and Richmond, Ash beside her.

Charlie caught a movement ahead of them and froze. Two piercing red eyes came into view. Something tall began to creep slowly towards them. As it came closer, they saw a large, black, furry creature standing on its hind legs. With a thud, it dropped down into a crouch, its long, thick hands clenching the ground. The beast looked like a wolf, except larger. The creature exposed its sharp cannibalistic teeth as its crimson eyes devoured them.

‘Werewolf!’ Richmond took the thought out of Charlie’s head.

‘No,’ Oren hissed. ‘Archon.’