Talisman of El (32 page)

Charlie didn’t like the sound of that. If Derkein left Arcadia before he had the chance to revert to his old – young – self, he would have a life expectancy of a mere few weeks, if that. So would George. Even if he did somehow find a miracle cure, knowing now the importance of the talisman, could Derkein trade it for his father? he wondered.

End,
Avaran said, and the image in the globe disappeared.
We need to find out the purpose of your return. Your Majesty, may I ask your mother’s name?

Charlie frowned. ‘We don’t have to go over this again, do we?’

Forgive me.

‘Why don’t you just use my name?’

That would not be possible.

‘Why not?’

Charlie Blake,
Avaran said to the globe. Nothing happened.
You are flesh and blood, but you are not fully human. You see, I am an angel in a spiritual body. I can appear human, but I am not. You are an angel in a physical body. The Akashic Records contains only the history of humans. You are both human and angel.

‘Doesn’t that make me a nephilim?’

No. After what happened with the Watchers, angels could no longer procreate with humans. That was thousands of years ago. You are only fourteen.

‘If you knew this was going to be pointless, why bring me here?’ Frustration welled inside Charlie. He had hoped the Akashic Records would have provided him with answers.

Avaran edged closer to the globe.
Gaia,
he said. Images of the earth hovered in front of them. Charlie noticed a recurrent theme: death.
The greatest difference between mortals and us is that we are fully conscious. Armageddon to a human means ‘The End Times’.
One of the segments collapsed down into the globe, showing the surface world.
In truth, Armageddon is a cleansing process. Mortals are not aware that civilizations come and go.

Charlie saw catastrophes – earthquakes, floods, raging fires …

What you are looking at here is the fifth root race of mankind – the present race,
Avaran went on.
Gaia reacts to the energies that flow through her. Her vibration is out of alignment, which is the cause of natural disasters. Like the previous Atlantian and Lemurian civilizations, mankind is heading towards the brink of destruction. Every twenty-six thousand years, the earth goes through a cycle whereby it eradicates all impurities. We call this the ‘Annus Magnus’ – Latin for the ‘Great Year’. The higher vibrational frequencies will not only destroy demons ...

Charlie’s heart rate quickened when he saw the lifeless bodies scattered across the ground. It reminded him of the graveyard dream he’d had. There had been so many gravestones; it was as if the whole world –

It will also destroy humans,
Avaran finished.

Charlie held his breath.

The Annus Magnus caused the great flood that destroyed the Adamites,
Avaran went on.
Fire destroyed the civilization before that. This cleansing process will continue until Earth’s inhabitants restore its balance. People are eager to live in paradise, but that starts from within. The earth is a living, breathing organism. It picks up on what we feel, the energies we emit.

‘But we can stop this Magnus thing, right? If we got rid of Archons –’

Getting rid of demons will not restore the earth’s balance. There is too much corruption within mankind. They are lost. Sure, we could save a few souls, but …
Avaran paused.

‘But what?’

It makes no sense. You know, or at least you knew, killing Gaddis would not stop the Annus Magnus from occurring.
He was silent for a moment.
What is your mother’s name?

‘Eleanor Blake.’ As soon as the words flew out of his mouth, Charlie caught his breath. The segments hovering before him flicked with images of his mother, of a life he had only ever heard of, perhaps a life his father hadn’t even known. He had been so preoccupied with trying to grasp the reality of being a reincarnated angel that he hadn’t given thought to the fact that he could look up anyone – given they were fully human.

Avaran played a few of the clips. Charlie saw his mum and dad at the beach, his mum lying on a hospital bed, sitting in a library writing a letter, staring out a window at night –

Pause,
Avaran said.

Charlie stepped closer to the globe. For a moment, his heart stopped, and then it thundered a mile a minute. The clip started, and he watched as his heavily pregnant mum sat on a cushioned window seat with a pen and paper in her hand.

‘You’re cutting it a little short,’ his mum said. ‘You forget my due date is August 12.’ After a pause, she sighed. ‘Have you decided?’

Charlie glanced at Avaran. ‘Who’s she talking to?’ The Akashic Records only contained human history, so nothing apart from humans would have shown up in the clips, but Charlie had no doubt she was talking to someone.

Candra, I presume,
Avaran replied.

Charlie looked back at the globe. His mum was so close he could reach out and touch her. A figure moved beneath the bed covers.
Dad!
He wondered if his dad had also known about Candra.

It seems your mother knew a lot more than she ought to have,
Avaran observed. Charlie thought he sensed a note of accusation in his voice. Though he didn’t look at Avaran, he could feel the Guardian’s gaze on the side of his face.
It is fascinating, considering not even angels can see the future – unless you are an archangel, that is.

Charlie looked at him and was glad to see his eyes were gentle. He suspected Terra had told him about his occasional glimpses into future events. Ever since he had read his mother’s last letter, he had often wondered about her psychic ability. He had gone from thinking he was like her, to realising that what she had experienced had been because of him. What he could not understand was that if angels couldn’t see the future, then how and why could he?

‘No,’ his mum was saying. The two of them glanced back at the globe and saw her looking down at her stomach, rubbing it. She looked up again and said, ‘I wasn’t lying to you before. I have seen what was and what will be. He cannot know the truth. Not yet.’

Charlie wrinkled his brow. The reason he had known nothing about Arcadia had been down to his mum. But why hadn’t she wanted him to know?

‘It’s not an issue,’ his mum said, ‘it’s who he is. And don’t you forget it. If you plan to protect him, you must first accept him.’ Resting one hand on the seat, she pushed herself up, caressing her stomach as she did so. She walked to the middle of the room and stopped. ‘I know I’m just a vessel to you, but he is my son, and I care for nothing more than his safety.’

Charlie’s eyes stung; he blinked hard. He didn’t know how much more of the clip he could watch. His mum died a few days after that, and he didn’t want that image imprinted on his memory.

‘He believes in you,’ his mum said. ‘That’s why he chose you. Don’t let him regret it.’

There was a beat of silence.

‘Then put it right,’ his mum went on. ‘Trust me. If he wishes to have any chance at saving mankind, he must first understand what it means to be human. I don’t want him making the same mistake twice.’

‘What does she mean about making the same mistake twice?’ Charlie asked.

Avaran didn’t respond.

Charlie glanced at him. ‘What does she mean?’ he repeated.

His mum’s voice drew his attention back to the globe. ‘Not many people get second chances.’ She looked directly at Charlie, and his heart skipped several beats. ‘You want to change the world. Start with you. You have one shot at this. There’s no room for mistakes.’

The rest of the clip lasted a few more minutes, ending with his mum placing the letter inside the secret draw of the black box he had left on the dresser back at Jacob’s house.

End,
Avaran said, and the globe went black. He and Charlie stood in silence for a few seconds.

‘Why did I die?’ Charlie asked.

For a moment, it seemed as if Avaran wasn’t going to respond, but then the words flew out.
When one of our own dies, we feel a great loss,
he said in a calm voice.
When Michael fought Lucifer, it pained him to see his brother suffer. To this day, it pains us all whenever a righteous falls from the Legion. It is a natural instinct for us to want to save people, especially our own. When we pledge an oath to God, we are not to break it. When we break our oath, we break our connection with the Creator.

‘So I broke an oath? That’s why the talisman destroyed me?’

When we descended to Earth, we swore to protect mankind. That was our main priority. You broke that oath when you decided to save Gaddis.

‘What! I was killed because I wanted to save someone?’

You were so preoccupied with saving Gaddis that you turned your back on mankind.
Avaran’s eyes flared, which was either a sign of excitement or anger.

As if it rose from the depths of darkness, an unbidden memory fluttered inside Charlie’s mind, and he knew to tread carefully, for Aeons of the fire kingdom had raging tempers, which sometimes caused them to spontaneously combust – literally.

Stunned, Charlie’s body went rigid. Whenever Avaran came within close range of him, he inched back ever so slightly, though he couldn’t tell if the Guardian noticed as his spirit form bore no expressions, just an outline of his body and those vigilant eyes.

The archangels coined the talisman,
Avaran went on,
so you could destroy Gaddis and set mankind back on the right path. We warned you not to go against the Creator’s wishes, but you believed you could save Gaddis. We fought Archons for thousands of years. Each time we lost a member of the Legion, you lost an inch of your faith. When Candra finally succumbed to Gaddis’ influence, you, too, started to wonder if humans were worth fighting for.

Charlie clenched his fists. The person Avaran was talking about wasn’t him. He wouldn’t have turned against mortals for a fallen angel.

After your attempts proved fruitless, it came to a point where you decided that the only thing left to do was to punish Gaddis,
Avaran said.
It was no longer about saving him. It was about making him suffer. Vengeance is not an angelic quality.

‘What are you saying?’ There was no mistaking the anger in Charlie’s voice. ‘Are you telling me that I became an Archon?’

We all have choices to make. Sometimes, we don’t always choose the right path. You lost your halo. You lost hope. It is as I said before. It is easy to forget what we are fighting for in a world filled with darkness –

‘No.’ Charlie’s voice trembled. He shook his head in disbelief. ‘No. I’m not one of them. There’s no way I’d turn into one of them. I’m nothing like Gaddis.’

You are right,
Avaran agreed.
You came back to save mankind.

Charlie unclenched his fists and relaxed his shoulders. ‘And how am I supposed to do that?’

We start with the one thing Gaddis needs.

Charlie sighed. ‘You’re going to tell me I have to restore the talisman, aren’t you?’

The four elements must unite,
Avaran said.

‘Okay, we can do that. All we have to do is find the black diamond.’

We are not searching for a black diamond. The black diamond is a formation of four diamonds, which is exactly how many we have to find.

It was as if Avaran had punched him in the stomach, for Charlie felt as though he couldn’t breathe. ‘How am I supposed to find four diamonds when I can’t even find one?’

They will call to you,
Avaran said.
Any Ruler in possession of the talisman will hear its calling.

Charlie paused to catch his breath. ‘So all I need to do is restore the talisman before Gaddis gets his hands on it.’

Yes. You must become Keeper of the talisman to gain its control. The four diamonds must become one in order to ignite the fifth element, which is the only source of power strong enough to defeat the Annus Magnus.

‘What’s the fifth element?’

It is the beginning.

‘The beginning of what?’ asked Charlie.

The beginning of the end.
Avaran must have read the confusion on Charlie’s face, because he added,
The fifth element is Ether, the essence of life. Out of Ether came the other four elements. It is the Creator and the creation.

‘How long do we have before the Magnus hits?’

December 22, 2015.

‘Two years?’ Charlie choked. He looked up at the stars and started laughing. When his laughter died down, an overwhelming feeling of despair took over him. ‘I came here to find a garden,’ he said in a distant voice. ‘I just wanted to fix things.’ His mind wandered, and he thought about Derkein. And suddenly it hit him.

He was King Sol, Ruler of the earth kingdom. ‘I can enter the garden.’ He looked at Avaran. ‘If I can locate the entrance then I can reverse Derkein’s aging.’ A wave of energy, like the kind he had felt when he’d stood on the protection symbol inside the temple, rippled through him. The sensation overwhelmed him. ‘Is it true that the Tree of Life can grant someone their heart’s desire?’

Avaran moved closer to him.
The fate of the world –
he began, but Charlie cut him off.

‘I just want to know.’ Charlie’s words came out harsher than he had intended. ‘Please,’ he pleaded. ‘Is it true?’

Avaran hesitated before answering.
Sephirah acts as a bridge to other realms. There is a place called the Etheric Plane, what you may refer to as ‘The Dream Realm’ because it can manifest one’s thoughts. It is a place where you can have anything your heart desires.

Charlie’s heart sank, and he lowered his head.

I know it is not what you wanted to hear,
Avaran said,
but there are some things we just cannot change.

If there were ever a moment in Charlie’s life where he wished he were invisible, that moment would be now.