Talisman of El (33 page)

The reality of being a reincarnated angel had not yet sunk in, but as he stood in the great hall of the Temple of El surrounded by ten Arcadians, who were all down on one knee, it suddenly became real.

‘Does this mean we have to bow, too?’ Richmond asked. He, Alex and Derkein were the only ones who were still standing.

‘No,’ Charlie said. ‘I don’t want anyone to bow.’ He looked down at Avaran, who was in physical form. ‘This is ridiculous.’

Avaran stood up. ‘Forgive me. It is a force of habit. You would think after all these years we would have grown out of it. It will take some getting used to.’ He gestured for the others to stand.

Charlie addressed the crowd. ‘Look, nothing’s changed – at least, not for me. I don’t want you to bow or call me Your Majesty, King Sol, or any other name that isn’t Charlie.’ Hearing someone cough, his gaze shifted to Ash, and he rolled his eyes and said, ‘Or Dolittle.’

Ash smiled and nodded his head in appreciation.

‘Does that mean I can call you Dolittle?’ Richmond asked.

Charlie looked at him, and it was then he realised something. When he had left with Avaran, there had only been five people inside the temple. Now there were twelve, excluding Avaran and himself. He noticed some of the new arrivals were looking the worse for wear, as if they had been fighting.

‘I thought you said three hours,’ Charlie said to Derkein.

‘We had to bring them here for their safety,’ Gemini interjected. ‘We came under attack.’

Charlie gave Derkein, Alex and Richmond the once over. It appeared that they were the only ones without a single hair out of place.

‘We’ve been waiting for ages,’ Richmond complained. ‘What took you so long?’

‘I was only gone for, like, half an hour,’ Charlie said.

‘Make that almost two days,’ Derkein corrected.

Charlie looked at his watch and was shocked to see it was 12:50 p.m.

‘I should have informed you before,’ Avaran said. ‘Time in the Akashic Plane is different than it is on this plane.’

Charlie glanced at Derkein, who, along with Alex and Richmond, had only ten minutes remaining in Arcadia before their automatic expulsion. He studied Derkein’s distant expression and wondered if he was thinking about his father, who was still alive but whom Derkein might never get the chance to see again. Feeling hopeless, Charlie looked away. It reminded him that while the others regarded him as a powerful being, he was more than anything just human. ‘What do we do now?’ he asked Avaran.

‘We wait,’ Avaran replied. ‘When the three hours are up the others will return to the surface, which will make it easier for us to get back to Natvia.’

‘I thought no one could teleport here.’

‘We cannot, but humans do not belong in this realm, so it matters not where they are in Arcadia. When their time is up, they will teleport.’ Avaran looked towards the group of Arcadians, who Charlie noticed were gazing at him with curiosity.

‘Can we talk?’ Derkein asked Charlie.

‘Go ahead,’ Avaran said. ‘I have some explaining to do.’ He walked off towards the group, while Derkein and Charlie headed towards the atrium.

‘Well, things are starting to make sense now,’ Derkein said, as they stepped through the double doors.

‘Nothing makes sense to me,’ Charlie said. ‘Avaran figures we should talk to Candra as she seems to be the only one who knows what’s going on – her and my mum, that is.’

‘What did you find out?’

‘Turns out I came back to save mankind.’

Derkein raised his eyebrows. ‘Saving mankind. That’s … big.’

Charlie wasn’t buying into his bravado. ‘You’re totally freaked out, aren’t you?’

‘Absolutely.’ Derkein studied him with concern. ‘How are you feeling?’

Charlie looked towards the hall, and his eyes locked on Alex, who was standing on one side of the room with Richmond, the Arcadians standing on the other side. Turning back to Derkein, he said, ‘I don’t know. I just … I feel so angry.’

‘That’s understandable. Your whole life has changed. If I were you, I’d probably be screaming at the top of my lungs right now.’

‘But it’s not just about me being different. It’s more than that.’ Charlie breathed a heavy sigh and turned his back to the hall, not wanting the others to see him in the state he was in. They expected him to be in control, to be a leader. ‘Something doesn’t feel right.’

‘This is a lot to take in, but try not to over think things. I know how you get when you’re worried.’ Derkein looked down at the talisman around his neck, removed it, and held it in his hand. ‘It wasn’t a coincidence we met.’ He offered Charlie the talisman. ‘Perhaps it was destiny.’

Charlie shook his head. ‘I don’t want it.’

‘It belongs to you. Please. Wear it, for my sake if not for yours.’

Charlie looked away. It was then he heard footsteps behind him and turned round. Alex was walking towards them.

‘I want to go home,’ she said to Derkein, her face expressionless, her body tense.

Charlie looked at his watch. ‘There’s only five more minutes to go before you teleport.’

Alex looked at him, folding her arms across her chest. ‘Don’t you mean before
we
teleport?’

‘Not me.’

‘You can’t seriously be thinking about staying here,’ she said. ‘You don’t even know these people. Derkein, tell him he can’t stay.’ She didn’t wait for Derkein’s response. ‘This is crazy. What are you thinking? What am
I
saying, of course you’re not thinking.’

‘I should give you two a moment,’ Derkein said, but they barely heard him.

‘That’s not what –’ Charlie began, but Alex interrupted him.

‘You know what, I hope you’re happy,’ she said.

‘What is your deal?’

‘What is
my
deal? I’ll tell you what my deal is. You’re selfish.’ She turned to walk off, but Charlie grabbed her arm and spun her back around to face him.

‘How am I selfish?’

‘All you think about is yourself.’ Alex’s eyes glistened. ‘I’m sorry about your parents, Charlie, I couldn’t be more sorry, but you act as if you have nothing –’

‘That’s because I don’t,’ Charlie retorted. ‘You don’t know what it’s like. You have your parents. You have everything.’ ‘So do you.’

‘What do I have? Oh right, I forgot about Jacob – no, no, the guy just about wanted to shoot us to smithereens before we left.’

‘Forget it. If you can’t figure it out, then I guess it doesn’t matter. I guess it’s not important.’

Charlie opened his mouth to say something but paused when something cool brushed against his skin. Smelling charcoal in the air, his body tensed. He didn’t know when it had happened, but somehow he and Alex ended up outside the temple. He became aware of Derkein’s voice shouting in the background, but his gaze stayed on Alex, whose expression was one of shock. Then everything slowed down.

A noise reached Charlie through the silence: the soft whooshing of something moving fast, getting louder and louder. His gut churned, and his arm shot out before Alex, who, for a moment, froze, her eyes wide open.

When Charlie finally realised what had happened, he, too, froze, his arm still extended, fist clenched around an arrow whose tip was inches from Alex’s left eye.

The erratic thumping of his heart drummed in his ears. Not only had he heard the arrow’s flight, he had also caught it with his bare hand.

He turned his head and saw a group of armed demons at the bottom of the steps. As terrifying as the line of demons were, however, it was the figure on the roof of the derelict building across the road with the bow and arrow pointed at them that drew his attention.

Dropping the arrow he was holding, Charlie dived at Alex, knocking her to the ground, shielding her with his body.

Raising his head, Charlie saw the terrified expression on Alex’s face, and panic struck him. It took him mere seconds to realise the look in her eyes wasn’t that of a wounded person but rather the look of someone whose heart had shattered into a million pieces. Following her gaze, he spotted Derkein standing just outside the archway of the temple, a pained look on his face – the look of a wounded man.

The arrow had lodged in Derkein’s stomach. His gaze locked on Charlie, his unblinking eyes lost in the depths of his wandering mind.

In that instant, Charlie knew. The nightmare he had so long tried to forget was staring him in the face. There was no more denying it. Derkein’s death was finally upon him.

Derkein gasped as the second arrow tore through his chest. Charlie watched in horror as he stumbled back and crashed to the ground.

Beam Me Up, Scotty

EVERYTHING AROUND CHARLIE SEEMED to be moving fast. Muffled yells and screams echoed around him as Arcadians dashed in and out of the temple. Among all the noise, he heard an annoying ringing he couldn’t place – like a thousand whispering voices. Yet, his thoughts never wavered from Derkein, who was lying on the floor of the great hall, groaning in agony.

‘Why isn’t it working?’ cried Alex, her voice muffled under her sobs. She was kneeling beside Derkein, Richmond beside her, and Terra on the opposite side.

‘The barrier around Eden lessens our abilities,’ explained Avaran, who was standing behind Terra.

Charlie’s heart leaped. In all the chaos, he had forgotten about the automatic expulsion. He glanced at his watch: 12:57 P.M.
Three minutes!
He couldn’t bring himself to look into those olive eyes. It was his fault. Had he not run off to find Eden, Derkein wouldn’t have had to come after him.

‘Alex,’ a soft voice choked. It was Derkein. ‘It’s … okay.’

‘No it’s not,’ Alex said. ‘It’s not fair. This wasn’t how it was supposed to …’ Her voice trailed off, her brow wrinkled in confusion as she stared at Derkein. ‘Where’s the talisman?’

Charlie looked away, a lump rising in his throat.
He’s not wearing it because of me.
The talisman had been the only thing protecting Derkein. Now he was dying. If Terra didn’t heal him before he teleported, it may be the last time Charlie saw him alive. Running a hand through his messy hair, he paced back and forth, trying to find a solution, but that annoying ringing was disrupting his concentration. ‘What is that noise?’ he snapped.

‘Charlie,’ Derkein said. Charlie stopped and turned to him. Derkein had his bloodstained hand outstretched towards him. Charlie walked over to him, knelt down beside Alex, and held his hand. ‘None of this is your fault.’ Derkein’s breathing was ragged.

‘But you came all this way for nothing,’ Charlie said.

‘No, not for nothing.’ Derkein managed a weak smile, followed by bouts of coughing. Charlie gripped his hand tighter. ‘Don’t you worry about me. I’m going to be just fine.’

Charlie’s eyes stung. He knew Derkein didn’t believe a word of what he was saying. ‘Yeah, you’ll be fine.’ He glanced at his watch –
two minutes
– then back at Derkein, who looked so pale it was as though he was becoming a ghost right before his eyes. ‘Hang on.’

‘You know me.’ Derkein’s hand trembled in Charlie’s. ‘Not one for staying down.’

‘Promise?’

Derkein gazed intently at him. ‘I’ll make you a promise if you do the same for me. You keep your head up, and don’t ever be afraid of who you are. You write your own destiny, Charlie. Don’t let anyone write it for you.’

Fifty seconds …

The nagging ringing returned, and it was then Charlie realised where he had heard it before. The green diamond in the box of jewels Jacob had been hiding had made the same noise.
Diamond! Oh my God!
‘It’s the talisman.’ He turned and looked towards the double doors then glanced at Alex. ‘Get him to a hospital.’ He slipped his hand out of Derkein’s, jumped up, and sprinted towards the atrium. Alex called after him, but he kept going.

Thirty seconds …

Charlie burst through the double doors. Frantically, he searched the atrium, the ringing loud in his ear.
Twenty seconds …

‘The talisman will do him no good,’ Avaran said behind him.

Charlie ignored him. The talisman had saved Derkein before. It would save him again. It had to.

‘You cannot put the fate of the world at risk for someone who has no hope of surviving.’