Talisman Of El (Arcadia, Book 1)

Chapter Ten - Blast from the Past

A FLASH OF PAIN woke Charlie. He opened his eyes and saw a thick canopy of trees above him. He felt more than one pain: the stabbing pain in his right arm, the throbbing left temporal pain and the pain in his entire body where the cold waves had used him as a hockey puck.

Everything came rushing back: the beast, the phoenix firebird, the river ... Richmond!

'He's awake,' he heard Alex say. He watched as she tossed wood into the fire near him. Relief flooded through him when he saw Richmond – wrapped in a blue blanket and eating what looked like black grapes, except they were the size of apples – sitting on a log beside Derkein on the other side of the fire. Looking up at the tree above him, he saw a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt hanging over the fire on a stick supported by two branches. When he tried to move, which was a mistake as any movement was a fuel for pain, he felt something soft enclosed around him.

'What am I wrapped in?' he asked in a husky voice. Moving wasn't the only thing that caused him pain. Every word he spoke made his eyes sting.

'It's a blanket,' Richmond said. 'It was lying next to you when we got here.'

Charlie let his gaze drift over the dark forest. The trees looked different, the surroundings denser than he remembered. 'Where is here?' he asked.

'Why don't you tell us?' Derkein sounded angry. 'What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how worried we were?'

'What are you talking about?' Charlie tried to move but to no success.

'I'm talking about you running off. It was by some miracle that we found a log lying across the river. It took us two hours to find you. When I saw you lying there, I thought ...' Derkein sighed in frustration.

'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'You ran off and left us.'

Charlie looked at Alex and Richmond, who both nodded in agreement.

'If it hadn't been for the tracks you left behind,' Derkein said, 'we probably would never have found you.'

'I swear,' Charlie began, but he paused, wriggling like a worm as he tried to sit up. After two failed attempts, Derkein got up and helped him into a sitting position. 'Look, I don't know how I got here. The last thing I remember is falling into the river, and then I woke up.'

'Then how do you explain the fact that we saw you running off?' Derkein asked.

'Yeah, or the footprints that led us to you,' Alex said as she sat on the lower end of the twisted tree stump Charlie was leaning against.

'And the blankets,' Richmond interjected.

'I don't know ...' Charlie paused. One word came to mind. 'Candra,' he breathed.

'Who?' Alex asked.

'My stalker,' he replied. 'She must have brought me here.' He glanced at Derkein and was glad to see his frown had faded. The last thing he wanted was Derkein to start regretting having taken him along. 'I think she saved my life.'

Derkein rested his head in his hands. After a moment, he looked up and, in a calmer voice, said, 'This is just too much. Nothing makes sense.' He started massaging his temples with his fingers. He regarded Charlie with concern. 'How are you feeling?'

'I'm okay,' Charlie lied.

'Charlie –'

'I'll be fine.'

'You almost died because of me.'

'How was it your fault?'

'I brought you to this place.'