Talisman of El (38 page)

‘Follow your heart, Hoot.’ His dad’s voice was like a whisper in the wind. ‘No matter the consequence.’

‘Mum, Dad,’ Charlie cried.

They were gone.

Charlie locked eyes with Azrael, and his nostrils flared. The angel had taken his parents away from him. He wasn’t about to let him take Derkein, too.

He and Derkein took off towards the sea. They were about twenty feet from the water when the wind picked up, dragging them back. They tumbled to the ground, crawling against the wind.

‘The mortal stays!’ Azrael’s deep voice boomed.

Seeing Derkein falling behind, Charlie pushed himself up, and the wind took hold of him, dragged him back, and slammed him against the ground. Flipping onto his stomach, he pushed himself up again, and the wind pulled him towards the tornado, which swallowed him.

He landed a few feet in front of the archangel. Charlie stood up, and despite being two heads shorter, he held his stance, his rage matching Azrael’s. ‘Let him go,’ he demanded.

‘All souls must arrive at their rightful destination.’ Azrael’s expression was unreadable, but when he glanced at the talisman, there was a small flicker of fear in his eyes. Then it was gone, and the coldness returned. ‘You will comply with my order.’

Charlie looked down at the talisman around his neck then back at Azrael, who seemed a little hesitant. Again, he found himself thinking over what Avaran had said about the Etheric Plane. There was only one thing left for him to do. ‘You can’t have him,’ he said. ‘Now leave.’

‘How easily you forget. This realm caters only for human desires.’

Charlie smiled. ‘I guess it’s my lucky day, then.’ The perplexed look on Azrael’s face was priceless. Charlie wished the moment could have lasted a little longer, but as the white spark burst out of the talisman and the tornado dispersed, he felt himself flying through the air, his heart jumping to his throat as he fell.

In a strange, semiconscious state, he hit the water.

A Visitor Calls

THE FRIES ON CHARLIE’S plate had gone cold by the time he remembered them. His housemates and the head of Alpha Children’s Home, Marz Gabler, had returned to the bowling lanes for round two of their match. All eight kids from Alpha were present. Five boys teamed up against three girls (Gabler on the girl’s team).

‘I could reheat those for you,’ a familiar voice said, startling Charlie. He looked at Candra, who was sitting on the stool to his right.

‘Will you quit doing that,’ he snapped. ‘You can’t keep popping up all over the place.’

‘Need I apologise for the bathroom incident again?’

Charlie cringed and glanced around him. ‘Don’t say that out loud.’

‘No one can see me.’

‘So, I look like I’m talking to myself. Yeah, that makes me feel so much better.’

Candra leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. ‘Are you going to sit here all day while everyone celebrates your birthday?’

Charlie sighed. He hadn’t been looking forward to this day: his fifteenth birthday, the fifteenth anniversary of his mother’s death and the fifth anniversary of his father’s death. All in one day. To change the subject, he asked, ‘Aren’t you boiling in that thing?’ He indicated at her crimson cloak. ‘Why don’t you try something more summery?’

‘I’m a Guardian. This is our dress code. And no, I’m not boiling. I can alternate my body temperature.’

‘Lucky for some.’ Charlie wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. Although he was only wearing jeans and a vest top, it was still too much for the heat wave. ‘I hate hot climates.’

‘Of course you do, you’re from the earth kingdom. We prefer colder climates.’

‘Wait a minute. You’re from the earth kingdom, too, so how comes you can control the wind and turn into a flying horse? Beings from the earth kingdom don’t have those abilities.’

‘You’re finally starting to ask the right questions.’ Candra started to trace a symbol on the table with her index finger. When she finished, he saw a five-pointed star engraved in the wood, smoke rising from it. ‘Do you know what this is?’

He had seen the same symbol inside the Tower of Pir. ‘It’s a pentagram,’ he replied. ‘It represents unity of the four elements.’

‘Correct. All members of the Legion have the symbol of their element imprinted on the back of their necks – like a birthmark.’ She turned her back to him and parted her auburn hair with her fingers, revealing a pentagram symbol on the back of her neck.

Charlie thought about the birthmark on his neck. ‘Kinda looks like a star,’ Richmond had said. Now that he thought about it, it looked like a pentagram. ‘Are you saying my birthmark is a symbol of my element?’

‘You catch on quickly,’ said Candra, a small smile on her lips.

‘But that’s the symbol of all the elements.’

‘Exactly. You can control all four elements, and as your Guardian, I, too, share the same abilities.’

‘Are we the only ones who can control all the elements?’

‘Yes. As a human, you are more liable to damage, so you needed to survive long enough to fulfil your covenant. With the powers of the four elements, you can fend off any attack. But, of course, you would first have to know how to control the elements, which requires training.’

‘Hey, you’re the one who kept this a secret for fourteen years,’ Charlie retorted. ‘Maybe I wouldn’t be so useless if you’d told me the truth a long time ago.’

‘You know that wasn’t my decision.’

‘Yeah, but it wasn’t an oath. You didn’t have to do it, so why did you?’

‘Because …’ Candra trailed off, her green eyes clouded with unexpected melancholy. ‘Your mother trusted me. And she was right. If I had told you the truth years ago, you would have been different. Angels and humans aren’t the same. We don’t think the same. Your mother wanted to separate the human from the angel, to make sure your past self didn’t cloud your judgement. I did what she asked. Now we have to do what we must to stop Gaddis.’

Charlie turned away from her. ‘And what if I can’t? What if I lose and he gets the talisman? I can’t save billions of people.’ His voice lowered. ‘I can’t even save one. I have no living relatives, Candra. Either I have bad luck or I’m an angel of death. Either way, people drop like flies around me.’

‘I hate to say it, Charlie, but people die every day, and it has nothing to do with you. Your mother, she had a terminal illness. She lived longer because of you. You didn’t cause the tornado, and you didn’t attack Derkein.’

‘Can we not talk about this?’ Charlie’s body was shaking. Ever since he returned to Alpha eight weeks ago, he hadn’t been able to get the image of Derkein out of his head. Every day he wished it had all been a dream, that he had never went to live with Jacob. Life would have been easier that way. Losing Derkein had been like losing his parents all over again.

‘I didn’t mean to upset you,’ Candra said, ‘but time is running out. We have little over two years to put things right. We made a covenant –’

‘Since
God
decided to take my memories away, you’re going to have to remind me what that is.’

‘To restore the talisman before Gaddis does. If we fail, it will be the end of human civilisation, as we know it.’

‘What do you mean, “As we know it”? I thought when one civilisation ended another one began. That’s what Avaran said.’

‘That has been the case in the past, but not anymore. This is the last straw.’ After a short pause, Candra said, ‘You need to learn to use your abilities, because if you die, Charlie ... the world dies with you.’

Charlie glanced away from her and sat back, deep in thought. Some birthday it was turning out to be. Not only did he have to think about the losses the day carried with it, he now had to add to that in the region of billions. The world truly was on the brink of extinction.

‘Hey,’ Gabler said, as he sat in the seat to Charlie’s left. ‘You seem as if you’re miles away.’

Charlie turned to him and noticed Gabler looking past him. For a second, he thought he could see Candra, until he turned round and saw that she had vanished. What Gabler was looking at was the small, metal treasure chest on the table. Charlie spotted a card beneath it, picked it up, and read it:

I thought this would be a better storage place than in the floor.

He pocketed the note and the treasure chest.

‘From an admirer?’ asked Gabler, a grin on his face. ‘Far from it.’ Charlie didn’t know what Candra was. A friend, his Guardian, his enemy … Avaran had warned him against her, but he still didn’t know how he felt about her.

Gabler leaned forward. Taking a handkerchief from the pocket of his Burberry t-shirt, he dabbed at the sweat beading from his clean white scalp. ‘I know this day brings back horrible memories for you, but it wouldn’t be wrong if you wanted to enjoy yourself. You needn’t feel guilty.’

‘I’m fine. It’s just one day. No big deal.’

Sadness swept over Gabler’s gaunt face. ‘You know you can talk to me, don’t you?’

Charlie nodded.

‘Good.’ Gabler pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small, black leather case. ‘Happy Birthday.’

‘Thanks.’ Charlie opened the case and pulled out a brass spotting scope, corroded in places but in otherwise good condition.

‘When I first moved in with my adoptive parents, I used to have nightmares,’ Gabler said. ‘It was always the same one. I was stuck in an empty house in the middle of nowhere. Every time I tried to run away I’d end up back at that same empty house.’ He looked off into the distance, as if lost in his past. ‘It happened night after night, until it came to a point where I’d go days without sleeping. After moving from foster home to foster home, I didn’t think there would come a time when I’d have a stable family, so when it did happen, I was afraid they’d disappear. My father gave me that scope and told me that if ever I got lost all I had to do was look through it and it would guide me home. He said it was a magic map.’ He smiled.

‘Did it work?’ Charlie asked.

‘It did. Of course, it had nothing to do with magic. The scope belonged to my father’s granddad. It meant a lot to him, and that he gave it to me made me feel as if I was part of the family. No matter what happens, I want you to remember that you’ll always be part of this family.’

‘I can’t take this.’ Charlie put the scope back inside the case and pushed it towards Gabler. ‘It means a lot to you.’

‘So do you. Look, we may not be the most conventional group, but we are a family. I’m sorry it didn’t work out with Jacob.’ Of course, Charlie could not share his grief on that matter. ‘I don’t want you to give up hope.’ Gabler pushed the scope back to him. ‘I found my perfect family. You will, too. Besides, you don’t want to stick around here and turn out like me, do you?’

Charlie half smiled. It was the first smile he had managed in weeks. ‘You’re not that bad.’

Gabler returned the smile. ‘Thanks. You aren’t too bad yourself. So, how about we finish this game? The girls are killing you.’

‘That is embarrassing. I’ll be there in a sec.’

Gabler got up and started to head back towards the group when Charlie called to him. Holding up the scope, Charlie said, ‘Thanks.’

‘You’re welcome, kiddo,’ Gabler said, and he walked off.

Charlie slouched back in his seat, thinking about what Gabler had said about not giving up, and he wondered what his parents would have thought had they been there –

With a jolt, he sat up. He realised that he hadn’t thought about his parents for some weeks – eight to be exact. All that had been on his mind were Derkein, Alex and Richmond. At that moment, a strange feeling overcame him that caught him by surprise. It wasn’t guilt. It was relief. He felt as if a long weight had suddenly lifted off his shoulders. All he had ever wanted was to be with his parents, yet the only people he wanted to see at that precise moment were his friends, and he felt his heart leap with joy.

‘Hey, Space Cadet,’ his housemate, Peter, said. ‘What’d you get?’ He sat down. Charlie looked at his trademark toothcomb wedged in his afro, and a horrible thought struck him: What would happen if he fell on his head?

‘Yeah, Chaz, what’d you get?’ Jeff asked, planting his thick arms on the table as he sat in Gabler’s seat. His round face was ghastly pale, and his spiky, red hair only made him stand out more. Wherever Peter was, Jeff would also appear. They were like inseparable twins, except they weren’t brothers, just best friends. They were both sixteen, born in the same month, and had parents who had an insatiable addiction to recreational drugs. Both were also completely head over heels in love with themselves.