Talisman of El (39 page)

Charlie took the scope out and showed it to them.

Peter grabbed it out of his hand. ‘Captain Jack Sparrow, at your service.’ Charlie and Jeff laughed. Extending the scope, Peter held it up to his eye and scanned the surroundings. After a few seconds, his head stopped moving, and he grinned. ‘Hello, pretty ladies,’ he said in what sounded like a Russian accent.

Charlie and Jeff followed his gaze and spotted four girls in a lane not far from them.

‘You’re such a perv,’ Charlie acknowledged.

‘A man’s got needs,’ said Peter, a smug grin on his face.

‘Ain’t that the truth.’ Jeff snatched the scope from Peter and spied on the girls. ‘The brunette’s mine.’

Charlie and Peter locked eyes and snickered.

Jeff lowered the scope and looked at them. ‘What? Brunette’s and redhead’s complement each other. Look, she’s hot, I’m hot, the end.’

‘Which one you talking about?’ Peter asked. There were two brunettes, one with black hair, and another who had dyed her hair every colour of the rainbow.

Jeff turned his attention back to the girls. ‘The one with the straight hair.’ The girls noticed the boys watching them and started whispering to one another.

Charlie locked eyes with the girl Jeff was talking about. Her loose hair, parted in the middle, fell down to her shoulders, covering most of her face. She reminded him of Alex. Averting his eyes from the girls, he grabbed the scope from Jeff and put it back inside its case.

‘I fancy me some Skittles,’ Peter said, licking his lips as he stared at the rainbow girl. ‘Oh, yeah, she wants me.’ He nudged Charlie as he got up. ‘Let’s go.’

Charlie glanced at Alex’s look-alike, who was staring at him. ‘I’ll pass.’

‘Oh come on, mate,’ Peter pleaded, ‘team work.’

Charlie shook his head.

Jeff stood up. ‘We don’t need the chick magnet. The ladies love us.’

‘Yeah, the ladies love us,’ Peter mimicked. ‘Watch and learn.’ He and Jeff headed off towards the girls.

Charlie watched, though he knew what the outcome would be, for he had seen it many times before. Despite their cockiness, the boys were entertaining. They went and sat beside the girls, who, from Charlie’s viewpoint, looked both wary and unimpressed.

After a few minutes, the boys headed back over to Charlie, a defeated look on their faces.

‘Too frigid,’ Jeff said.

‘She looked different up close,’ was Peter’s excuse.

Feeling a great desire to laugh, Charlie bit his lip. ‘Their loss,’ he said. ‘Come on, we’re losing, big time.’ Pocketing the scope, he got up, and the three of them rejoined their group.

Situated in the quiet Thameside suburb of Brentford, Alpha Children’s Home (aka Never Land) was a home for kids aged between ten and eighteen who had suffered great losses or whose parents had neglected them. The house was large, and for the most part, noisy. There were fourteen rooms and a huge back garden.

Charlie was sitting on his bed, holding the treasure chest Candra had given him four days ago. ‘Goal,’ someone shouted from outside. He placed the chest down on the bed, got up, and walked over to the double casement window, which overlooked the front of the house. Some of the Alpha kids were playing football with the neighbourhood kids in the small quad area across the street.

As he watched the kids playing, he thought back to the first day he arrived at Alpha – how they had to restrain him to get him out of the car. For days, he had refused to talk, eat, or sleep. Day and night, he would stand at the window, watching and waiting for the day his dad would come for him. Now, five years on, he neither watched nor waited.

Turning his back to the window, he surveyed the room. The wardrobe on the left, the desk and chair beside the window, the wall shelf above his bed, even the 1955, silver Porche Spyder poster on the door next to his bed was just how he had left it. The blue wall held no photos. They never had in the two years he had been living at Alpha.

He walked back over to the bed and knelt down beside it. Ducking under the bed, he opened a floorboard and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He unfolded the paper and took out the talisman. Opening the treasure chest with the key he had found inside it, he placed the talisman inside the box, locked it, walked over to the desk, and placed it inside the draw. Dangling the key by its shoelace chain, he placed it around his neck and tucked it inside his shirt.

He stood by the desk for a moment, thinking about the conversation he’d had with Candra. He hadn’t spoken to her in a few days, but he hadn’t stopped thinking about the fact that the fate of the world rested in his hands. Just a few months ago, he was a semi ordinary boy starting a new life, and now, he was an avatar with a mission he didn’t want but knew he couldn’t walk away from.

Heading back to the bed, he plopped down onto it, gazing up at the ceiling. His parents were gone. Derkein was gone. His mind ran on Alex, who was back in West Sussex, and Richmond, who … well, he didn’t know where he was. His bedroom door burst open, interrupting his train of thought, and Peter and Jeff entered.

‘Hey, Chaz,’ Jeff said, ‘you gotta see this. It’s sick.’ He and Peter dashed over to the window. Charlie rolled his eyes. He didn’t have enough fingers to count the amount of times they rushed into his room insisting he had to see something. Most of the time they swore they spotted a UFO, though it always disappeared in the few seconds it took Charlie to look out the window.

‘You should put up a welcome sign so they know you’re friendly,’ Charlie teased.

‘Fine, don’t look,’ Peter said. ‘But if he gives us a ride, you’re not invited.’

Charlie jumped up and hurried over to the window. Looking over Jeff ’s shoulder – for Peter was too tall – he spotted a grey Aston Martin SUV Lagonda outside the house. ‘Whoa!’ he said.

‘Double whoa,’ said Peter.

Gabler hadn’t mentioned anything about visitors, so Charlie was curious as to what a car like that was doing in a place like this. ‘Relative?’

‘In our dreams,’ Jeff said.

The kids that were playing in the quad had now surrounded the car.

Charlie heard footsteps on the stairs, and within seconds, his bedroom door opened. Turning around, he saw Kylie standing in the doorway. She and her twin sister, Kayla, shared the room opposite his. They were the only other orphans in the home, twelve years old, and only the parting in their blond hair differentiating them.

Charlie caught a glimpse of his housemates in the hallway before Kylie shut the door.

‘You have to be the luckiest person I know,’ she said, her blue eyes sparkling. ‘Gabler wants to see you.’

‘Why?’ Charlie asked.

Shock crossed Kylie’s face. ‘Parked outside is
thee
best car I have ever seen, which means the owner’s loaded, and you want to know why Gabler wants to see you. I wish he wanted to see me.’

Peter cocked an eyebrow at Charlie. ‘You got some rich uncle you ain’t told us about?’

Charlie sneered. ‘Yeah. I also have an aunt who rides a flying carpet.’

‘He’s probably just a counsellor,’ Peter said.

‘Or maybe he’s an undercover reporter who wants to see if you’re real,’ Jeff teased. ‘You know, the boy who vanished.’

‘And still won’t tell his friends the truth,’ Peter interjected.

‘Who are you to say he’s not telling the truth?’ Kylie said in Charlie’s defence.

‘Are you still here?’ Peter said. Kylie narrowed her eyes at him then turned round and stormed out of the room, closing the door behind her. Peter returned his attention to Charlie. ‘Well?’

Charlie headed towards the door. ‘I told you, I don’t remember.’

‘Oh come off it. You disappeared for three months and then turned up out of nowhere. You must remember something. I thought we were mates.’

Charlie stopped, his hand gripping the doorknob. He let it go and turned to them. ‘You won’t believe me.’

Peter and Jeff exchanged curious glances. ‘The aliens took you, didn’t they?’ Peter asked.

‘Will you quit with the alien stuff,’ Charlie snapped. He hesitated a moment and then inched away from the door. ‘I wasn’t abducted.’

‘It was that Willoughby bloke,’ said Jeff, his eyes wild with anticipation. ‘He kidnapped you, didn’t he? That’s why the police are after him.’

‘No, I ...’ Charlie glanced over his shoulder at the door and then advanced farther into the room. He lowered his voice. ‘I went to the centre of the earth. There’s another world there. Guys, angels live below us.’

A short silence followed. Then Peter and Jeff doubled over in laughter. Charlie rolled his eyes, turned round, and headed for the door.

‘Stick with the amnesia, Space Cadet,’ Peter called after him.

When Charlie stepped into the hallway, there was a sudden hush, and then everyone started talking at once. He got to the bottom of the stairs and paused outside Gabler’s office. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

‘Come in,’ Gabler called.

Charlie went inside. He saw Gabler at his desk and the visitor standing by the window with his back to him, dressed in black trousers and a white shirt.

‘Don’t look so worried,’ Gabler said. ‘You’re not in any trouble.’

Charlie closed the door, but he didn’t sit down. The office was the warmest room in the building with antique oak furniture. He inhaled the aroma of lavender-scented candles. The large bay window to the right of Gabler’s desk overlooked the front garden. Apart from the stuffed stag head that hung on the wall behind the desk, it was a hospitable room.

‘As you can see,’ Gabler went on, ‘we have a visitor.’ He gestured at the man by the window. ‘You might be wondering why I called you. This gentleman contacted me a few weeks ago enquiring about you. I believe you know him.’

Charlie stole a glance at the man out of the corner of his eye. He was tall, medium built, with shoulder-length black hair.

‘Your father and I were old friends.’ The man’s voice was low. ‘I hadn’t seen him in a few years, and I only recently found out about his passing. I’m very sorry for your loss.’ Something stirred inside Charlie at the sound of the man’s voice. Less recognition than a fleeting sensation of acquaintance, he told himself. ‘It’s been a while since I last saw you, so you might not remember me.’ The man turned round, and Charlie gasped.

Derkein?
he thought, and then he said it aloud. The shock came out in his voice.

Derkein smiled. ‘Yes, Charlie. It’s me.’

Charlie stared at Derkein, the young man from his dream, with probing intensity. Derkein started to walk towards him, but he stepped back, and Derkein stopped.

Derkein’s expression was unreadable but for the flicker of hope in his olive eyes. ‘I know it’s a shock,’ he said in a soft voice. ‘But I’m all right now.’

Charlie clenched his jaw, his conflicting emotions making it hard for him to think straight. His heart said one thing; his head said another. He didn’t know what had happened to Derkein in the Etheric Plane. All he remembered was hitting the water then waking up in a hospital. For a moment, he considered ignoring his doubts. He was in shock, not thinking rationally. Then he snapped out of it, reminding himself that fallen angels could appear as anyone. Candra had said there was a difference between humans and Arcadians, and that he could tell them apart if only he knew how to tap into his abilities. Nevertheless, there was one other way he could think of to discover the truth.

‘Wait here,’ he said and dashed out of the room. His housemates, who had been eavesdropping, parted an aisle for him as he ran upstairs. He entered his bedroom, dashed over to the desk, opened the draw, and took out the treasure chest.

When he returned to the office, he found Derkein and Gabler in the same position he had left them. He went over to Derkein and held his hand out. ‘You gave me this.’

Derkein looked down at the talisman. ‘You kept it.’

Charlie smiled. ‘It helped me a lot. But, since you’re here now, I don’t need it anymore. So I want you to have it.’

Derkein hesitated. ‘No, you keep it. It belongs to you.’

‘I just want you to hold onto it for me. Just for a little while.’

Derkein inched closer to him, his intense gaze burning into Charlie. Resting a hand on Charlie’s shoulder, he whispered, ‘You’re always so thoughtful.’ Had it not been for the twinkle of amusement in his eyes, Charlie might have felt intimidated.

‘Of course I’ll hold onto it.’ He took the talisman from Charlie and placed it around his neck.

Charlie’s heart leaped. ‘I knew it!’ He threw his arms around Derkein. ‘It worked. It really worked.’