Talisman of El (26 page)

‘I can’t leave,’ Charlie said. ‘I have to be here.’

‘Avaran has agreed to take you back.’

‘Maybe he’ll change his mind –’

‘No.’ Derkein’s voice was firm. ‘You’re not staying and that’s final.’ There was no point in arguing. ‘That’s final’ in the simplest form translated as, ‘I’m the adult, and whatever I say goes’.

The wooden floor creaked as Derkein got to his feet. ‘You’re a special kid, Charlie. Something tells me you’re going to change many lives, just like you’ve changed mine.’

Charlie watched him walk across the rope bridge and disappear inside the tree house. He knew Derkein was only trying to protect him, but he couldn’t help the burning rage he felt knowing he came all this way for nothing.

‘It’s not fair,’ a sleepy voice said behind him.

Charlie glanced over his shoulder and saw Richmond standing in the doorway of their tree house. ‘Doesn’t anyone sleep around here?’

Richmond yawned. ‘
You
woke me.’ He sat on the deck beside Charlie. ‘Do you think he’ll come see us when he gets back?’

Charlie glanced towards Derkein’s tree house and saw the light go out. ‘He won’t come back. They never come back.’

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.