by Tod Eten
‘So does that mean we have powers?’ Demitri asked eyebrows raised.
‘If you mean powers like those of the Neteru then a few humans will have these yes, but for most of you no. But I was forgetting the most important thing! You see it was not just the Neteru or the Demos and Anunnaki that had power. Man had powers as well, yes that is right!’ Toth said looking at the group around him nodding his head slowly. ‘Yes human’s also had their own gifts that were more important than any of the powers that the Neteru possessed’.
‘We had powers!’ Demitri exclaimed.
‘Not did, still do! You see humans are connected to what the Neteru call Erset Tali, the time beyond time. You will understand it better as the spirit world I believe. You see the Neteru, the Demos and the Anunnaki are not able to connect with this place even though they know it is there, for the way is barred to them. What this means is that when one of them was killed in battle or dies in some other way there was nowhere for them to go, no time beyond time. So they would just cease to exist. The Neteru believed that the way was barred because the ways of the Anunnaki prohibited them from entering this place. In order to get to the time beyond time the Neteru believed that they would have to turn their backs on their ways of war and destruction. You know this was the main reason for the birth of the Neteru race’ Toth said stroking his beard. ’So you see when the Neteru first came to Earth and saw the humans they they see that the humans were connected to this time beyond time and that they would travel there after death. This was something that the Neteru desired more than anything! For though the Neteru like the Anunnaki could live for many many thousands of your earth years when they died or were killed that would be the end for them. So the Neteru studied humans closely to see how they too could, like the humans travel to the time beyond time’ Toth paused.
‘And did they find this time beyond?’ Denitri asked intrigued.
‘Well in a way some did, they learnt to find their inner Ka or spirit and some even tried the greatest experiment of all by allowing themselves to die in the hope, now that they had found their Ka, to enter into the spirit world’ Toth answered.
‘Did it work?’ Bridget asked
‘Yes and no. At the time it seemed those Neteru who had allowed themselves to die had been lost, that they had not found their way to the spirit world. But some especially gifted humans who had the power of connecting with the time beyond time told the Neteru that the Ka’s of those Neteru who had allowed themselves to die had been reborn into the offspring of the Sanzeru, but they could not remember who they had once been. Those who were reborn in this way the Neteru then called the Taruti.’
‘Reincarnation you mean, these Neteru were reincarnated’ Hoshi said.
‘Yes as you say reincarnation’ Toth nodded, ‘the Neteru had worked out how to reincarnate their Ka’s but still they had not found a way to the time beyond time’.
‘But why are the Neteru so keen to find this place it seems to me that they can live forever anyway’ Seth said looking at the others.
‘Forever no, the Neteru do live for a long time but even they eventually grow old and die and then there is nothing and it is this that scares them more than anything else’ Toth shrugged.
‘So who are we meant to be? I am getting confused here’ Faith demanded.
‘Well all of you to a greater or lesser extent have some Neteru blood in you but the majority of you still remain mostly human. However ‘ Toth said raising his finger. ‘Many Neteru believed that their only path to the time beyond time was through this reincarnation as you call it. A few others simply did not wish to enter the great sleep again. All of these Neteru chose to become the Taruti and willed their own deaths. So it is possible that some of you may be the reincarnated spirits of the Neteru themselves, the Tatuti, only you will not remember as yet.’
‘As yet! You mean they will remember one day?’ Seth asked
‘Well the Neteru believe that with the return of Nibiru the Taruti will once more remember who they are and all the lives they have lived’ Toth replied.
‘Aiden you had those dreams about Nibiru, right!’ Gagan said and Aiden nodded in agreement, ‘does that mean Aiden is a reincarnated Neteru, a Taruti?’
‘That I do not know and it would not be for me to say as it must be the Taruti who finds out for themselves who their true self is for if they are told by another it could do them great harm and they may forever forget who they truly are. Any of you could be Taranti’ Toth said looking at the group.
‘But if we have Neteru blood in us then do we get powers now that Nibiru is returning?’ Seth wanted to know.
‘Well yes you will have powers not as great as that of the Neteru as I said but you will have some powers’ Toth nodded.
‘What kind of powers?’ Denitri now wanted to know.
‘Well there are many different powers, there are the physical powers of strength, speed and stamina. There are magical powers that will give you some control over the elements and other powers that will allow you to control the pets of the Neteru and the Demos. There are many different powers as I said’ Toth said opening the palms of his hand.
‘But how will we know if we have any of these powers’ Seth asked.
‘You will know when the time comes, or maybe you will not’ Toth said unhelpfully.
‘Why is that we need to find this Eden or whatever it is?’ Faith then asked.
‘Ah Eden yes I should have guessed that was your destination!’ Toth said pleased with himself.
Faith quickly looked at Aya in case she had said the wrong thing but Aya looked unconcerned.
‘Eden, that is a good question. I have read only a few things about this place but it is very much connected with what I have just been telling you. You see the Neteru prophesies of old foretold of this time and the coming of the Anunnaki and they also said that the Earth and with it all of mankind could be destroyed in the ensuing cataclysm. But if mankind was destroyed then how would the Neteru ever find the way to the Time before Time! So it was rumoured that a few Neteru devoted their thoughts on a way to save humans for this coming disaster.’
‘Eden you mean’ Gagan said
‘Yes, it was said that they called it Eden. A place of safety where man and Neteru would be protected from the Anunnaki and the battles that would rage across the Earth. But there were never more than rumours concerning this place.’ Toth looked at Gagan. ‘Simply put, it is said that Eden was created to ensure the survival of the mankind!’
The discussion soon grew into individual conversations with the travellers trying to work out what special powers that each of them could have. Aiden was soon lost in his own thoughts about the dreams he had had and the strange things that happened to him since leaving London. The muses doubled their efforts to pamper the Basilisk slayer each one vying for Aiden’s attention, however Aiden the wine starting to go to his head ignored them turning his thoughts once more to Aya and wondered why she had not told him all this earlier instead of treating him like a child.
‘Why didn’t Aya tell us all this herself’ Aiden asked Toth quietly.
‘She does not want to put any of you at risk that is all’ Toth replied.
‘How would she put us at risk’ Aiden said his anger growing.
‘Did you not hear what I just said Basilik Slayer! If any of you are Taruti it could do immense damage to the to that person if someone else and not the Taruti themselves found out about who they really are’
‘But still you just told us anyway’ Aiden insisted.
‘What did I tell you? All I told you are possibilities I have not told you anything else! It is as I said up to you to find this out for yourself who you truly are’ Toth replied.
‘But why does Aya keep treating me like a child’ Aiden repeated still feeling angry
‘Aiden I can tell you this, Aya worries more about you than anyone else in the group’ Toth now scolded Aiden.
‘Really’ Aiden said not believing Toth in the slightest, �
��where is she now then! This meal is in celebration of what I have done and she is nowhere to be seen’ Aiden waved his hand around the room to show that Aya was no longer present. ‘If she worries about me so much why isn’t she here, tell me that?’ Aiden said slightly slurring his words.
‘Aiden you might be able to use Adar Alal but I fear you cannot see the milk from the cow’ Toth said shaking his head sadly.
‘What do you mean?’ Aiden asked still angry.
‘Aya was here but let me now ask you this, why do you suppose she would leave such a delightful feast such as this?’ Toth said looking at Aiden who just stared back at him blankly.
‘Let me put it like this then, are you enjoying the attentions of my muses’ Toth indicating the beautiful girls surrounding Aiden. Aiden looked at the girls surrounding him and suddenly understood what Toth was saying.
‘Are you saying that Charmneine....‘ Aiden left the sentence unfinished.
‘As I said Basilisk Slayer, you are good at seeing a target to aim your arrow at but not so good at seeing at what is in its heart. Why would you suppose I say to you that Aya worries about you. If I were you I would go look for her’ Toth smiled. Aiden looked at Toth for a moment then much to the disappointment of the muses he got up and left.
Aiden eventually found Aya wandering about in the valley outside.
‘Aya’ Aiden called walking over to her.
‘Aiden, what are you doing here?’ Aya asked in surprise.
‘I came to find you’ Aiden said on reaching her, she looked to Aiden like she was glowing in the moonlight making her look even more beautiful, ‘Why did you leave?’
‘I am surprised that you noticed I had left’ Aya replied somewhat coldly.
‘You mean the muses’ Aiden stumbled, ‘I am not interested in them’
‘Why would I care if you were!’ Aya said trying to sound uninterested.
Without another word Aiden took hold of Aya in his arms and kissed her, as he kissed her he felt her body stiffen for a second then it seemed to flow into his as Aya kissed him back. It was the sweetest kiss Aiden had ever had and he held her as if he never intended to let her go again. Then suddenly Aya pushed him away.
‘No Aiden’ she said with tears in her eyes, ‘we must not do this!’
‘Why not!’ Aiden said angry at her rebuff.
‘Because you must find yourself first Aiden, you must find who you are do you understand’ Aya said taking hold of his hands and looking fiercely into his eyes.
‘I don’t understand what has that got to do with us?’ Aiden said completely confused.
‘If I am with you Aiden it could destroy everything! Just trust me we cannot be together, not as yet anyway!’ Aya said still holding his hands.
‘Toth said something like that to me earlier and it didn’t make sense then either’ Aiden shook his head.
‘Aiden please do you trust me’ Aya said looking hard at Aiden who nodded. ‘Then please do as I ask you’
Aiden again nodded his head with a sigh, ‘can we still be friends?’ Aiden asked.
‘Of course we can be friends, we will always be friends the best of friends!’ Aya said embracing him once more.
Chapter 17 - The Jinni
The following evening the travellers said their goodbyes to Toth and his muses. The muses were especially sad to see the Basilik Slayer go, forcing Aya into once again grabbing Aidens hand in order to forcibly drag him away from their attentions. The group led by Aya set off back into the desert as the first stars appeared in the night sky. Aiden looked up at Nibiru and could see that it was brighter still in the heavens, now outshining everything except the moon. Aiden turned and looked one last time behind him to the hills that hid Toth’s valley by now some distance away. He wondered if they should have taken up Toth’s offer and stayed there. The valley would have provided more than enough food for them all and maybe they could all have stayed there hidden from the world as Toth had said. Then Aiden saw in sudden alarm the hills start to waver before his eyes. Aiden grabbed Aya’s arm pointing back at the hills which were now shimmering in the distance.
‘What's happening?’ Aiden asked worried.
‘I think Toth has started his spell’ Aya answered.
They watched as the hills began to look more like a mirage that could be blown away with the merest breeze and then suddenly the hills disappeared completely.
‘It’s gone’ Aiden said astonished.
‘No the valley is still there we just can’t see it. Toth has created a spell that any who look for the valley will never be able to see it!’ Aya said.
‘Well I guess it’s worked then, do you think they will be safe in there?’ Aiden asked.
‘Maybe but who can tell! I fear however that there are somethings you can never hide away from! Toth holds the answers to many secrets. So many will come looking for him. Let us hope his spell is strong’ Aya said turning back to resume their journey. Aiden took one last look at where Toth’s home had been and looked up at the stars wanting to remember where the valley was even if he could no longer see it. The group trudged on through the sand dunes which by now were starting to diminish in size and after a few miles they suddenly ended abruptly in a final ridge below which continued a flat plain that led on to the horizon. Once out on the plain the hard baked earth beneath their feet made walking a lot easier and they started to cover much more ground.
‘I still think that the meat of the Basilisk could be OK for cooking’ Demitri theorised.
‘But it tasted of ammonia!’ Gagan said pulling a disgusted face and getting agreement from all those who had been brave enough to try it.
‘It should have soaked it in milk that is all, it was a good firm flesh for cooking’ Demitri argued.
‘You do know that that was a Demos pet don’t you?’ Bridget said
‘So what does that matter’ Demitri shrugged.
‘Well only that it must be thousands of years old!’ Bridget continued.
‘Oh god I never thought of that’ Seth now said looking like he was going to be sick.
‘Well the Chinese they eat 100 year old eggs’ Demitri pointed out.
‘Only the mad ones!’ Hoshi replied getting a smile from Li and Long which brought an end to the discussion.
‘I wonder what powers we have?’ Seth broke the silence taking his sword out and waving it in the air in front of him.’
‘Well we know Aiden has some power, that arrow that killed the Basilisk looked more like a bolt of lightning. I don’t know much about what damage an arrow can do but I am certain they can’t do that kind of damage’ Gagan declared.
‘Yes I would agree my friend, but what it was that Toth said, there are physical powers and magical powers yes’ Demitri said scratching his head.
‘Well I don’t feel any different’ Elden said.
‘Nor me’ Aaron agreed.
‘Toth did say that we could have powers not that we would have them’ Bridget said looking at Elden.
‘But we are special!’ Gagan said out loud.
‘Oh why is that?’ Faith asked.
‘Well we all set out on this journey I think that marks us all out as special. I mean why only us! There should be thousands of people doing the same thing as us. I mean that has to say something doesn’t it?’ Gagan said looking at the others.
‘It could mean we are mad’ Seth said laughing.
‘No Gagan is right my friends. All of us’, Demitri waved his hands at the group, ‘we knew I think something more than the others yes, before all this started happening’ Demitri said now pointing up at Nibiru.
‘Yes and now we are walking through the desert in the middle of nowhere!’ Faith exclaimed angrily.
‘We maybe better out here than stuck back in England Faith’ Eldon suggested. 'My guess if things are as bad as we think. It will total anarchy on the streets and when that happens the innocent always are the first to get hurt!'
‘Do you think what Toth said will happen? I m
ean will the world be destroyed, will everyone be killed?’ Bridget asked but no one answered.
They walked on in silence again each one of them again thinking about the family and friends that they had left back at home and what the future would hold.
Aiden’s thoughts soon turned back to what Gagan had said about him. Did he have special powers? It felt more like he was possessed by some supernatural force. Aiden thinking back to when he had fought the Basilisk remembered how he had felt certain that the monster would kill him. How fear had gripped his every muscle, much in the same way as when he had met the ogre in the valley. Yet both times someone or something had taken over his body at the last moment. It was only then that the bow’s power had been unleashed. So did that mean that Aiden was possessed by an alien spirit and what exactly did Nimrod mean that he would find his true name one day. Even Aya had said that he had to find out who he was before she could be with him. He had heard from friends about the strange demands that some of their girl friends had made, but finding yourself before they would go out with you must rank right up there with the top excuses. What exactly was he meant to find? Aiden thought. Like Arron and Elden he felt the same as he always did. Maybe he was possessed by a Neteru! What was it that Toth had called them? A Taruti! Maybe he had one of those in his head and it was trying to take him over. A shiver went down his spine at the thought. But it couldn’t be that, Aya liked him he was almost sure she did, so why would she allow something like that to happen to him Aiden argued with himself. Then again she could be playing games. She was a Neteru an alien being! Aiden walked on more confused than ever now even less sure about who he was than before.
In the early hours of the morning Aya brought the tired travellers to a halt and started looking about the land.
‘What is it?’ Aiden asked.
‘There’ Aya pointed to what looked like a pile of rocks a short distance off.
‘What’s that?’ Gagan said looking at the small mound.
‘Water’ Aya answered simply.
They found a well next to the pile of rocks where a simple hole had been dug in the ground next to which was an old plastic bucket that had a length of rope attached to it.