Talisman of El (37 page)

‘Hey.’ Charlie reached out to touch him, but his hand went right through Derkein, and a warm tingle ran up his arm.

Derkein’s body shuddered, and he shook his head, as if snapping out of his reverie. He glanced at Charlie and smiled. ‘Charlie. What are you doing here?’ He scanned the surroundings, a bewildered expression on his face. ‘Where is here, exactly?’

Charlie’s gaze shifted to the crowd who were parting from both the front and the back of the queue.
Go east, through the woods and over the bridge,
the voice in his head said. Once again, it was as though his mind wasn’t under his control. Every so often, Sol managed to escape the pits of darkness, filling his mind with memories he had long forgotten.

Glancing towards the east, Charlie saw the woods. ‘I’ll explain later,’ he said to Derkein. ‘Follow me.’ He ran over to the railing, climbed onto it, and jumped onto the low-cut grass three feet below. Derkein appeared beside him, and they ran off towards the woods.

‘Come on,’ Charlie urged Derkein, who had stopped to admire the view.

‘This place is amazing,’ Derkein said in a dreamy voice.

‘Yeah, yeah, it’s beautiful, let’s go.’ The two of them bolted through the woods, passing a great waterfall.
Left,
the voice in Charlie’s head said, and he did as instructed. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that they were still alone.

‘How did we get here?’ Derkein asked.

Charlie was about to respond when he looked ahead and came to a sudden halt, Derkein mimicking him.

Two angels were standing before them. Charlie could just about make out a bridge some way behind them. He turned round and saw two more angels approaching.

‘This can’t be good,’ Derkein muttered.

Instinct took over, and Charlie slipped his hand inside the front of his shirt, took out the talisman, and removed it from around his neck. The angels eyed the object and inched back. ‘I don’t want to hurt anyone,’ Charlie said. ‘Just let us through.’

‘You may pass,’ one of the angels in front said, ‘but he stays.’ She directed her attention at Derkein.

Charlie clenched his jaw then turned to Derkein and whispered, ‘Follow me.’ He moved towards the angels in front, who, to his relief, backed off. ‘Come near us and you’ll get hurt.’ He sounded braver than he felt. With the angels obeying his orders, he and Derkein took off.

Shortly after, they came to the steps of the arched bridge that had a stream running beneath it. Halfway across the bridge, Charlie realised Derkein had stopped and turned to him. He watched as Derkein gazed at his reflection in the water, running a hand over his face with a look of shock and bewilderment gracing his features.

‘I don’t understand,’ Derkein said in a low voice. ‘How is this possible?’

Charlie glanced over his shoulder at the hill then looked back at Derkein, catching sight of the six glowing shapes in the distance. ‘I promise I’ll tell you everything, but we have to go.’

Derkein hesitated, and then he followed Charlie up the hill. When they reached the peak, they froze.

Standing on an island surrounded by water and woodland was the tree Charlie had seen in his vision. It was even bigger than he remembered, its silver branches extending to great lengths.

Wasting no time, they hurried down the hill, through the woodland, and stopped on the bank of the water.

The island was a good fifty feet away, but there was no way across the water. Charlie looked back at the woods. ‘I can do with a little help here, Sol,’ he muttered. He could feel Derkein’s gaze on him, but he kept his eyes on the woods. Any moment now, the angels would surround them. Though he had seen what the talisman could do without the black diamond, he wasn’t confident he could fight them off and protect Derkein at the same time.

He glanced at Derkein, who was still staring at him. It seemed Derkein had figured out what he was thinking, for he said, ‘I’ll go first.’ Before Charlie could protest, he plunged feet first into the dark water, disappearing beneath it.

When he didn’t resurface, Charlie panicked. ‘Derkein.’ He waited. ‘Derkein!’

‘Why are you yelling?’

Charlie jumped and looked at Derkein, who was standing beside him. ‘What did you see?’

Derkein furrowed his brow. ‘What did I see when?’

‘When you jumped in the water.’ Seeing the perplexed look on Derkein’s face, Charlie realised he had no recollection of what had just happened.

Derkein glanced down at the water then back at Charlie. ‘Do you want me to go first?’

Charlie didn’t get to respond as a noise behind him made him turn around, and he saw a glowing figure approaching. One by one, eight angels emerged from the woods.

Tightening his grip around the talisman, Charlie inched back.

‘Charlie!’ Derkein’s voice held shock.

Charlie glanced at him, but Derkein was looking at the ground. Following his gaze, he looked down and blinked, astonished.

He was standing on the surface of the water.

It made sense now why there wasn’t a bridge. Looking up, he saw the angels hurrying towards them. ‘Grab onto me,’ he demanded.

Derkein reached out, placing his hand on his shoulder, and they started across the water. Though he couldn’t feel Derkein’s hand, he felt a tingle of warmth in his shoulder. He looked back and saw the angels lining the bank, their expressions both eager and frustrated, and he realised then that they couldn’t cross. Only Rulers had access to the tree, and for the first time, he was thankful for being who he was.

Standing on the island, he and Derkein craned their necks as they gazed up at the silver trunk of Sephirah.

‘Wow,’ Derkein breathed. Charlie headed around the tree, and he pursued him. ‘I think now is about the time you tell me what’s going on. What is this place?’

Charlie climbed over a tree root. ‘It’s a garden.’

‘Hold on,’ Derkein demanded. ‘Are we talking about the Garden of Eden?’

Charlie stopped and turned to him. ‘Yes. We’re in the Garden of Eden.’ He continued around the tree. ‘We have to find a doorway.’ Realising Derkein wasn’t following him, he stopped, but he didn’t turn around.

‘Only Rulers can enter the garden,’ Derkein said in a faraway voice.

Charlie didn’t know how to respond. He had hoped to find the Etheric Plane before Derkein figured out the truth.

‘We were in the library storage room,’ Derkein said. ‘There was so much noise. And the light –’

Charlie interrupted him: ‘I’m going to fix everything, I promise.’ He turned round, and his legs almost buckled beneath him. The man with the giant black wings he had seen in the hospital on the day of his father’s death was standing behind Derkein, his eyes – all three of them – fixed on him.

A lump formed in Charlie’s throat. He was not so much afraid of the third eye on the angel’s forehead but more of the fierce look in his pupil-less, black eyes.

‘Who dares defy me?’ the angel said in a deep, cold voice.

Hearing the voice, Derkein turned around. Charlie wasn’t certain if the dead required oxygen, but Derkein’s face was turning from pale white to pale blue.

‘You must be Azrael, the archangel of death.’ Charlie’s voice shook. According to Candra, Azrael was the governor of the garden.

‘Death?’ said Derkein. ‘As in the Grim Reaper?’

Charlie noticed the scowl on the archangel’s face. ‘I don’t think he likes that name.’ Addressing Azrael, he said, ‘Look, I’m not trying to defy you or anything –’

‘What is your rank?’ Azrael demanded.

‘My rank?’ Charlie exchanged a glance with Derkein.

‘He wants to know your position,’ Derkein said. ‘To establish your authority, perhaps. Tell him you’re Sol.’

‘Oh, er, I’m Sol.’

‘You could try sounding a little more assertive,’ Derkein suggested.

Charlie tried again. ‘I’m King Sol, Ruler of the air –’

‘Earth,’ Derkein interjected.

‘Earth,’ Charlie corrected, ‘Ruler of the earth kingdom. Who knows, we could have even been friends in the past.’ Seeing the hard look on Azrael’s face, he added, ‘Or not.’

‘The mortal stays,’ Azrael ordered.

At that moment, Charlie felt a cool air on the back on his neck, and then a bright light engulfed him. He heard Derkein gasp, but he didn’t shift his gaze from Azrael. Lowering his voice so only Derkein could hear him, he whispered, ‘On three.’

Azrael’s eyes narrowed.

‘One,’ Charlie began.

The archangel clenched and unclenched his fists.

‘Two.’ Charlie gripped the talisman as a glow of white light formed in Azrael’s palms. ‘Three!’

Azrael fired two energy balls at Charlie, who held the talisman out before him. The first ball came within three inches of the talisman and deflected off into the distance, but the second ball deflected back at Azrael, hitting him in the chest, knocking him off his feet and sending him into the woods on the other side of the water.

‘Go!’ Charlie yelled, and he and Derkein jumped through the doorway. The image of the garden disappeared, as did all sounds. Charlie felt himself falling, but all he could see was a bright white light around him. He could neither hear nor see Derkein, but he felt his presence.

The next thing he knew, he was lying on soft grass, staring up at a blue sky. Sitting up, he saw that he was beside a pond, surrounded by trees. The colours around him were so bright and vibrant it was as if a watercolour painting had come to life. Floral smells assailed his nostrils, and he felt as if he could lie in the grass forever. But even in a place as beautiful as this, the real world never wandered far from his mind. Realising Derkein was nowhere in sight, he jumped up and scanned the surroundings. ‘Derkein,’ he called out.

‘Over here,’ Derkein called.

Slipping the talisman around his neck, Charlie followed his voice out of the forest and found him standing in a tulip meadow.

For a moment, he wondered if they had entered the right realm, but when he saw what Derkein was staring at, he was certain they were in the Etheric Plane.

The beam of light shining out of the never-ending sea was just how he had seen it in his vision. Two crystal palaces sat near the bank of the water, other crystal structures scattered around them. He could see why they call it ‘The Land of Dreams’.

Derkein turned to him. ‘You came to the garden for me, didn’t you?’ He gave Charlie a pained look. ‘Why?’

‘I’m just keeping a promise.’ Seeing the puzzled looked on Derkein’s face, Charlie said, ‘I’m writing my own destiny, just as you said I should.’ He paused for a moment. ‘My dad once said that destiny is something we choose to go after, and fate is something that happens to us. Fate might have brought us together, but destiny is what keeps us together.’

Derkein averted his gaze. ‘I’m going to get you killed.’

‘No you’re not. Look, all we have to do is enter the water. The light will take us back to the surface. You’ll be back to your old self –’ Charlie broke off at the sound of a voice behind him. He knew to whom it belonged. The same voice had lured him away from the maze. He spun around, and she was standing before him – the woman in the white gown. ‘Mum,’ he choked.

His mum smiled. ‘Yes, dear, it’s me.’ Her musical voice echoed all around him.

Charlie blinked. She’s not real, he told himself.

‘Don’t be afraid,’ his mum said.

He blinked again, but her ghostly figure remained.

‘You’re not dreaming, Charlie,’ Derkein said. ‘I see her, too.’

A glow of light materialised beside Charlie’s mum, and his heart stopped. He stared at his dad in shock. He blinked a third time to see if they would disappear like they usually did in his dreams, but they didn’t. ‘Dad!’ Tears filled his eyes.

‘Hoot,’ his dad said, smiling. ‘I’ve missed you, son.’

Charlie recalled what Avaran had said about the Etheric Plane: ‘It’s a place where you can have anything your heart desires.’ Ever since he found the entrance to the garden, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his parents, but he still couldn’t fathom how they could be standing in front of him. Once assigned to a realm, a soul couldn’t leave it, so how did they?

As if reading his mind, his mum said, ‘We’re really here. We’ve been waiting for you. We knew you’d come.’

Charlie couldn’t help thinking about the memory Terra had shown him, the one with the drawings. ‘You knew, didn’t you?’ he said to his dad. ‘You knew about me.’

‘I knew you were different,’ his dad replied, ‘especially when you started talking to your invisible friend. I knew you were special, yes. I meant what I said that day.’ He glanced at Eleanor. ‘Your mum and I are proud of you.’

Charlie hung his head. ‘But I let you die.’ A warm tingling feeling tickled his chin, and he looked up. His mum wiped the tears from his eyes.

His dad rested a hand on his shoulder. ‘You have nothing to feel guilty about.’

‘You can’t come with me, can you?’ Charlie asked, but he already knew the answer.

‘No, dear,’ his mum said. She glanced at Derkein. ‘But you’ll be just fine.’

‘You can’t leave. I need you.’

‘We’ll always be with you, Hoot,’ his dad said. ‘Don’t you ever forget that.’

A noise like a mighty wind reached Charlie’s ears, and he stiffened. That niggling feeling he hated so much gripped him. The air was cold, and he smelled a musty scent that seemed out of place in this world.

‘We’re always here when you need us,’ his mum said, drawing his attention back to her. She held a hand over her heart. ‘Nothing will ever change that.’

The wind grew louder, and Charlie caught a movement in the forest behind his parents. The leaves were trembling, and the trees started to sway.

‘You have to go,’ his dad said, his voice urgent. ‘Now.’

Charlie didn’t move. Emerging out of the woods, uprooting the trees, was a giant whirlwind. He fixed his eyes on the dark figure standing in the centre of the tornado.
Azrael!

‘Charlie, go,’ his mum demanded. ‘Now.’ His parents started to fade.

Charlie turned to Derkein. ‘Get in the water.’

‘Not without you,’ Derkein said.

Charlie looked back at his parents. He could barely make out their faces. ‘We love you,’ his mum’s distant voice said. ‘Always.’