Tablet of Destinies

by Traci Harding

  The local Leonine residents captured Rhun’s attention next, for he’d never had that much to do with their kind. He saw that many of the Leonine males who passed them by were toying with the tuft of fur at the end of their tails. Thus Rhun fished around behind himself to grab up his tail. ‘I quite like the long nails and the wild red hair,’ said Rhun, ‘but could you please tell me what this tail is for?’

  ‘Dexterity when climbing,’ Brian replied, gazing up to where the steep rocky cliff walls were almost perpendicular. Here, pathways between dwellings were virtually non-existent and the residents just leapt from dwelling to dwelling.

  Rhun began to notice that when a Leonine landed from a jump, it was its tail that twirled around in order to regain its balance. They did not use their arms as a Homo sapien would. ‘I see.’ Rhun let go of his tail and attempted to get a feel for the technique, without much success.

  Brian laughed at the painstaking concentration Rhun gave his endeavours. ‘I do believe it’s a reflex action.’

  Rhun gave up and as he looked behind himself to grab up his tail once more, he noticed a stranger ducking behind a building to avoid being seen. ‘Don’t look now,’ Rhun advised Brian quietly, ‘but I believe we have a tail on our tail.’ He pointed the tuft on the end of his spare appendage in the direction that their mysterious stalker was lurking.

  ‘Well then,’ said Brian, ‘we’d best head away from this public thoroughfare.’ He led Rhun off into a narrow side alley on the opposite side of the street, away from where their stalker was hiding out.

  Leaping up onto the curving, domed roof of the closest dwelling and landing on all fours, Rhun got to experience the reflex action of his tail as it swung around madly to counteract his body weight. ‘Very cool,’ he decided, lowering himself onto his belly and pulling himself up next to Brian.

  ‘Shh,’ he instructed, laying low to view their stalker as he dashed across the main street and crept into the alley down which they’d vanished. ‘When I nod, we jump him.’ Brian glanced aside at his nephew and saw Rhun’s tail raised high in the air for all to see. Brian rolled his eyes and pushed it down.

  Rhun, a tad embarrassed by his oversight, gave Brian a thumbs up for the plan.

  With a nod, they leapt onto the stranger when he walked below, and overpowered him easily. Rhun had their stalker’s arms pinned behind his back and held him up for Brian to question.

  ‘Tyrus-Leon, it is you,’ said the familiar-looking stranger. ‘How did you escape Nabu’s moles? We heard they’d sent you to work in the hell-pit.’

  ‘It’s Robin,’ Brian advised Rhun, rather shocked by the fact himself. Back on Kila this man headed the marine department of KEPA, along with his wife, Jenny.

  Without releasing him, Rhun turned the Leonine to view his face. ‘Well, bugger me … so it is.’

  ‘No,’ protested their captive. ‘It is I, Kesla. Do you not recognise your most trusted friend and ally?’ he queried Brian.

  ‘Oh, I recognise you, alright,’ Brian confirmed.

  ‘Then have your man release me,’ Kesla demanded and Rhun took offence.

  ‘What makes you think I’m his man?’ He tightened his hold. Rhun hadn’t taken any orders from Brian in this man’s presence, nor referred to Brian as a superior.

  ‘Is this a test, or a joke?’ Kesla snarled, pained by the hold Rhun had on him.

  ‘Just answer the question,’ Brian suggested, but was surprised when the answer came from a different source — one that was behind him.

  ‘All our kind are answerable to you, father.’

  Brian knew he was in trouble when he turned to confront the Leonine incarnation of Cadwallon, Chief Justice of Chaliada. Cadwallon had been Brian’s firstborn son during his lifetime in ancient Gwynedd. With the sudden threat of exposure, Brian wasn’t too sure how to react, but was very aware of maintaining a poker face as he mulled over the situation.

  ‘This man has no memory,’ Rhun informed them all, and Brian looked to his Vice, thankful for the invention.

  Wary of where Rhun’s tale was going to lead, Brian jumped in to take over. ‘I was told I had a bad mining accident.’ He immediately conjured a bad scar on his head, and parted his thick chestnut curls to show the Leonine men. ‘I remember nothing.’

  The Leonine who was at libertty produced a sonic pulse blaster from beneath his robes and aimed it at them both. ‘I don’t believe a word of it.’ He looked from Brian to Rhun. ‘Let Kesla go.’

  Rhun didn’t bother complying with the order, as he spied Talynn coming up behind the gunman.

  Talynn dug her blaster into her target’s back to make him aware of her presence. ‘Be a nice pussycat, won’t you?’ she advised.

  Rhun couldn’t believe it when another hooded figure jumped down into the alley behind Talynn, with a weapon aimed at her.

  ‘That makes us one gun up on you, my love.’ The new arrival drew back her hood, and it was the Governor’s wife who stared them back — the Leonine incarnation of her anyway. ‘Tell me you do not recognise my face, Tyrus-Leon?’ She set her sights on Brian and no one dared to intervene as she approached him.

  Brian had personally known two of his wife’s incarnations and met countless others via past-life regression. Beautiful she had always been, but never before had she come in the form of such a fiery little seductress. She must have been around forty years of age; the boy beside her who claimed to be her son appeared to be in his early twenties. Nevertheless, her years were not betrayed by her small, but athletic form. ‘I do recognise you, it is your name that escapes me.’

  ‘Come, come, I feel sure it’s on the tip of your tongue.’ She reached out to hold his face. ‘Allow me to aid your search.’

  Her kiss was such that Rhun suspected the couple might fornicate where they stood, and as his Governor showed no sign of protesting, he thought he’d best interrupt. ‘As we’re all so cosy, I gather it’s okay for me to let Kesla here go?’ He set the Leonine loose and the other Leonine gunman put away his weapon. ‘And you are?’

  ‘Adair,’ Cadwallon’s Leonine persona advised, looking perturbed at his parents’ behaviour.

  Rhun suspected Adair knew Brian was a fraud. Perhaps his mother did too? But if she did suspect, she was doing a fine job of hiding it. ‘How long have these two been separated for?’

  ‘Two years,’ Adair informed and then gave a heavy sigh.

  As their kiss ended, the Leonine woman held Brian’s face so that his sights remained focused on her. ‘Samara-Leon.’ She gave him the name that escaped his memory. ‘And we must get you out of sight.’ Samara looked about, as did her comrades. The sound of marching soldiers reached their ears and they attempted to assess their direction. ‘Let’s go.’ She motioned one and all to follow, as she grabbed Brian’s hand and led him away from the main thoroughfare.

  Lost in an embrace, Noah slowly became aware that he was lying on a stationary surface and so parted his eyelids to see where his action had landed them. The profound beauty and splendour of the iridescent crystal structure that towered around them, lit entirely by its own illumined substance, took his breath away.

  ‘Rebecca,’ he uttered softly, not wanting to startle her.

  ‘I know.’ She raised her head off his chest, her eyes wide with wonder as they explored the little temple. She saw an identical disc to the one they’d left in the crumbling cavern of the dead moon. In fact, this was that same domed chamber, only now it was in perfect condition.

  Rebecca got herself to a seated position and gaped at the solid gold floor of the chamber — which, upon closer inspection, didn’t really appear solid at all. The matter that composed everything herein looked to be unusually loosely bound together, and yet it felt solid enough to the touch. ‘What in the world just happened to this place?’

  ‘I suspect this place might interpenetrate the physical world but is not actually of it,’ Noah commented, frowning as he realised there was no obvious exit — the chamber was perfectly circular, with no windo
ws or doors, only eight or so crystal columns that supported the domed ceiling overhead. He shifted his butt from where it was now resting on top of his techo-rock and retrieved his treasure from the disk.

  Rebecca applauded her husband and gave a cheer as an arched inset in the temple wall vanished. ‘Hey, you’re really good at this questing business.’

  Noah was flabbergasted. His only thought had been to take the rock; this development was an unexpected bonus. ‘Elementary, my good woman.’ He arose and offered his arm to Rebecca before escorting her into the brilliant crystal tunnel beyond the open archway. ‘No doubt we are meant to take the keystone with us,’ he surmised.

  As they neared the end of the tunnel, the vision that Rebecca had seen so long ago, was revealed.

  ‘The crystal city,’ she cried, astounded to find it actually existed.

  Tall towers rose from the four cardinal points of the structure and from the rear these gradually arched downwards to meet and form a cross-section that supported a huge orb that was the central feature.

  ‘So we’ll find one of the Lord Master Enki’s Creation stations here, do you think?’ They approached the open entrance doors to the alien dwelling.

  ‘If this much is true,’ Rebecca commented, still marvelling at the sight of her dream made manifest, ‘I’ll warrant it’s here alright.’

  Inside, stairs led to a massive central platform that was the arena of a stadium-like setting, entirely composed of the beautiful iridescent mineral substance. The only exception were some triangular features in the arena floor that appeared to be made of charichalum. These triangles shot out from a central crystal circle, forming sun-like rays around it. There were twelve of these triangles around the crystal circle, and each pointed to an octagonal mound. These mounds were set into a perfect circle around the perimeter.

  ‘Oh my god,’ Noah mumbled, venturing to wander over the amazing construction. He thought it resembled the sacred stone circles of ancient Britain.

  High above them, in the centre of the massive orb that encompassed the entire site, was another small circular feature of glossy black charichalum.

  ‘Well, Becky, I dare say we might have found one of the Lord Master Enki’s learning devices … now I’m just wondering if he left a manual lying about anywhere?’

  Although she was amused by his droll tone, Rebecca was quick to pull her sonic pulse blaster when a third person was heard to comment: It is the only such construction that Enki ever built.

  Both of them eyed the crystal stairs that rose up around the arena in all directions. Above the doorway through which they had entered stood Gwyn ap Nudd — the Lord of the Otherworld. Neither Rebecca nor Noah had had any personal dealings with this entity since their lifetime in the Dark Ages of ancient Briton, and both were rather honoured to make his acquaintance once again.

  Enki built several doorways in your world but they all lead to the same place in mine, Gwyn concluded, amused by their astonished expressions. By the way, Druid … the Lord jumped down to land in their midst, and placing his hand on the weapon Rebecca had aimed at him, he lowered it to the ground. I am your manual, Gwyn advised, with an encouraging nudge to the scholar’s shoulder that nearly sent him flying.

  ‘Why you?’ queried Noah, as he rubbed his battered shoulder. ‘I didn’t think you were very well disposed towards the human races?’

  ‘I’m not,’ Gwyn admitted, ‘so I am for anything that might improve your behaviour and understanding. And besides, I was persuaded to take a special interest in your case.’

  Amabel, Noah concluded on the quiet. Perhaps the fairy queen still held a little flame for him after all. ‘I think you might be confusing me with a past-life incarnation.’

  No confusion, little scholar, Gwyn grinned, planning to spark Noah’s curiosity. You’re the one Enki chose to take this joyride. You and he had an agreement.

  ‘What agreement?’ Noah’s interest snowballed. ‘Are you saying I knew him?’

  Of course you knew him, Gwyn scoffed. Do you think he’d trust his precious knowledge to a complete stranger?

  ‘He trusted the Delphinus, Durak, with it,’ Rebecca cut in, to settle an argument that Noah and herself were having earlier.

  The Lord shook his head. He never made it past the disk. He couldn’t turn the lock.

  ‘What did I tell you?’ she chafed her husband.

  ‘Then how did Durak know about the legend of the Chosen Ones?’ Noah argued.

  He deciphered the legend inscribed upon the disc he found. Gwyn was happy to flatten Noah’s self--doubt. He was not the one for whom this place was meant.

  A wave of realisation passed over the scholar. ‘That’s why Maelgwn was so disinterested in this quest and why he passed the rock on to me without so much as glancing it over —’

  Because he knew the treasure was useless to him, Gwyn finished off Noah’s train of thought. Destiny has other pursuits in store for the Dragon.

  ‘I see,’ conceded Noah, looking a little green around the gills as he figured there was no backing out for him now. His own destiny was staring him blatantly in the face. ‘I need to know the full legend of Lahmu and I wish to recall that defining time in human consciousness that none of the Chosen can remember.’ Noah outlined his primary concerns, so that he and Gwyn ap Nudd were both clear about what Noah was doing here.

  I know you do, Gwyn replied. And as I see you are eager to get started, we shall. The Lord motioned Rebecca to take a seat in the huge spectators’ area.

  ‘This isn’t going to adversely affect him in any way, is it?’ She hesitated to leave her husband’s side and instead drew close to hold him.

  Adversely … no, replied Gwyn, in a horrible attempt at reassurance.

  ‘You heard the Lord,’ Noah spoke up bravely. ‘Enki and myself had an agreement, which I also wish to know more about,’ he stressed, glancing to Gwyn then back at his wife. ‘I have to do this. Every lifetime that I have ever lived has been preparing me for this moment … it is the whole reason I was brought into existence at all.’

  You’d better believe it, Gwyn mumbled.

  ‘I’ll be right here watching out for you,’ Rebecca vowed.

  Oh please, Gwyn grumbled as the lovers kissed. It seems every time I see you, Druid, you’re sucking face with someone.

  The couple were reduced to laughter, and the tension and romance dispersed abruptly. Gwyn ushered Rebecca off to the sidelines and led Noah into the centre of the playing field.

  Now, we’re going to start slowly, until you adjust to the inwardness of the Sensor-sphere.

  ‘The Sensor-sphere?’ Noah tried to make his apprehension sound as if he were merely intrigued.

  Aye, Gwyn nodded. Here’s how it works. Each one of the octagonal mounds you see around the perimeter contains data relating to different eras of creation. To load data into the Sensor-sphere, just take the keystone and insert the base of it into the socket that is atop each one of these mounds. You do have the keystone?

  Noah pulled the tool from a pocket inside his jacket, as he approached and knelt before one of the twelve mounds. He noted that these crystal formations were also filled with massive amounts of tiny circuitry. ‘How shall I know where to start?’

  Well, it’s pretty much a preset course, Gwyn advised. You start at the beginning and work your way through. But, for your first experience, we’ll just try you out on the introduction to the Sensor-sphere, and see how you fare. Sound good?

  Noah nodded surely. His curiosity was making him game.

  Gwyn motioned Noah to the mound that was at the one o’clock position around the ‘dial’. Place the keystone there, he instructed and Noah complied, eager to see the Sensor-sphere activated.

  This time it was the base of the keystone that locked easily into place, whereupon the electrical current inside it extended down to spark into action the inner circuitry of the mound. The one-twelfth segment of the dial belonging to this mound increased three-fold in brightness compared with the rest o
f the Creation Station, and it lit the way into the central circle, which was also radiating brightly within the black metal feature. This centre spot seemed to beckon Noah hither.

  Your instinct is good, Gwyn urged, as he backed up out of the arena. You should follow it.

  Noah summoned his courage and strode towards the heart of the station. As he stepped into the centre, the small black dome in the roof commenced lowering itself towards him. The points of the triangle features embedded in the floor began to curl and rise towards the ceiling until they formed a sphere. The dome overhead stopped just above the circle formed by the metal arms of this Sensor-sphere.

  A cylindrical tube of pale green light beamed down from the charichalum dome overhead to seal Noah in its fold. Rebecca looked on in horror and wonderment as a second light beam shot out from the black dome above her husband. This additional light field had a much broader beam than the first. Confined within the bowl that the upturned triangles on the floor created, the hazy light matter began whirling with hurricane intensity, until it formed a perfect globe of light around Noah. Her husband appeared overwhelmed by the phenomenon and let loose a cry of surprise when, within the safety of the light-tube, his body levitated into the air and was spun around to face the activated mound. From this source, images began shooting around the inside of the Sensor-sphere and Rebecca imagined it might have been forming a 360-degree picture, although from the outside the visual was very distorted and impossible to make out.

  ‘How long is he going to be in there?’ she asked Gwyn, who stood closer to the action.