Destiny of Coins

by Aiden James

  Tampara politely nodded to us all after Roderick’s proud announcement, and then cast an uneasy glance toward the woods nearby. Like everyone else, I had been so enthralled by his presence I scarcely noticed the growing din of clicking noises resounding from the woods. The menace from a short while ago seemed to be preparing for a second attack on a much grander scale.

  “Come, all of you!” said Tampara, surprising me that he spoke English, and without an indigenous accent. His voice was rich and mellow, and I pictured a Mount Olympus effect if ever his anger was roused. “We will have time for pleasantries at the Essenes’ castle. For now, we must avoid the charnubis. If we leave now, we will avoid the thousands that will join the much smaller group you recently encountered.”

  He motioned for us all to climb aboard his shimmering air ship, and Roderick moved to help us step onto the platform.

  “Tampara, this is Amy Golden Eagle and her fiancé, Alistair Barrow,” said Roderick, as he assisted them onto the hovercraft. “Next is the CIA agent you almost met last year, Cedric Tomlinson…. Then, last but not least, is my longtime companion I’ve often told you about: Judas Iscariot, or as he seems to mostly prefer these days, William Barrow.”

  “So, you are the father of this man named Alistair?” asked Tampara, as I stepped onto the ship suddenly lurching into the air another twenty feet.

  Everyone but Tampara nearly lost their balance, but somehow avoided tumbling to the floor of the hovercraft. A floor, I might add, glowing with a deeper crimson than the pulsing ocher/golden glow along the ship’s outer shell. Apparently, the vessel could sense danger, as hundreds of our lizard friends poured out from the woods and swarmed the hill below.

  “Yes,” I told him, meeting his amused smile with my own. “He is the hope for my family’s future.” I sensed he could actually feel the deep sense of pride and compassion emanating from me as I said this.

  Dressed in a white tunic and golden sash around his waist, his powerful taut muscles were plainly visible. I caught several admiring glances from Ms. Golden Eagle, and at least one jealous one from my boy. Sorry, son, it isn’t easy competing with a god-like immortal. Especially, one dwarfing everyone else by at least a foot.

  “You share the same perspective as my father,” he said. “Come…we should go quickly before the flying beasts arrive. We shall have time to talk more at the castle of my friends.”

  He directed each of us to move to the sides of the hovercraft. As soon as we were positioned evenly, Tampara instructed us to grab leather straps secured to the hovercraft’s floor, and then wrap them around our wrists several times. When we were all secured, he returned to where he stood earlier and the hovercraft began to move. In less than a minute, we were soaring through the air.

  Chapter 8

  Traveling far above this strange world’s surface afforded an incredible view—one stretching for hundreds of miles in every direction. Disturbing and yet at the same time magical, most aspects of this other world pointed to the prehistoric status Amy had touched on earlier. Not everything that caused our mouths to repeatedly fall open dealt with the variety of prehistoric species we steadily came upon. Indeed, the thing that captured Alistair’s and my attention most was the tropical terrain covering the mountains we had recognized earlier as having glacier caps. Not to mention, a pair of active volcanoes repeatedly rumbled and poured forth lava streams in the distance.

  The planet we were on was most certainly our earth, but either from many eons deep in the past…or, despite how impossible it might seem, a time in the far distant future. My initial assumption was this plane was a reflection of our planet from many thousands of years ago. But, then Roderick explained the Yitari’s realm of existence was part of some bizarre time and space continuum, where time could either speed up or slow down at the literal drop of a hat.

  “It sounds like the research a good friend of my brother, Jeremy, once espoused,” advised Amy, eavesdropping on our conversation. “He’s the inventor of the FGR technology we encountered in Iran a couple of years ago. Understanding how time movement and interpretation work together was the hypothesis for one of Dr. Ethan Langford’s upcoming projects.”

  I believe she hoped this subject might impress our giant pilot, but Tampara gave no indication of what he thought. Instead, Roderick explained a little of how things work here.

  “It’s entirely possible by the time we return to La Paz, we might either gain a week or two and get to relive the Thanksgiving season without stress in the States…or you and Alistair might have to wait until next Christmas to announce your engagement, or settle for a more traditional Valentine’s Day notice next February.”

  “Wait…are you saying the local time can shift that much from just a few days spent wherever this place is?” asked Alistair, turning away from what he had initially, and mistakenly, thought was a second sun to the west of the hovercraft. “Wouldn’t it cause some sort of paradox, or other crazy shit to happen? And, hey, how in the hell did you find out about our wedding announcement plans?”

  My boy glanced at me, suspiciously, but my blank expression must have been convincing enough for him to move on to his beloved lady for the revelation he sought. However, she looked at him with a wounded, accusatory expression matching his.

  “A paradox? Hmmm….maybe. But, don’t act surprised that those of us sensitive enough to read life’s vibrations would easily detect your secret plans,” said Roderick, drawing perturbed looks from them both, along with a slightly amused grin from our Yitari host, whose focus was on the aircraft’s path ahead. Presently, we sped through a valley filled with lush foliage, colorful birds, and the aforementioned dinosaurs lumbering through wooded areas as we traveled a thousand feet above it all. The air pressing against our exposed faces was warm and sultry, and carried the scent of a sweet flower unfamiliar to me. “Instead of wasting energy on what you falsely perceive as an invasion into your personal space, you should celebrate the fact your paths are tightly linked together. Celebrate also that this is obvious on many levels. It’s your destiny to be as one, and this fact was determined long before you, Ali, were an old man falling over yourself to impress Amy, a young woman who is even younger now. The Universe not only knew the two of you would meet and then stumble on the means to continue your joined journey as a youthful couple, but it allowed the realm of the Ancients to broadcast this fact long ago to those sensitive enough to perceive it.”

  “That really smells and sounds like the rankest pile of bullshit!”

  I joined Roderick in glaring at my insolent son. Unlike Alistair, Amy seemed to seriously consider Roderick’s claim, nodding thoughtfully.

  “Well, we can accept Roderick’s take—which I completely believe—or we can follow your paranoid assumption someone gave your silly secret away,” I said, hating the urge to condescend, though it seemed well deserved. “Lord knows, mortals and immortals alike are lined up waiting to spread the good word about your clandestine nuptials.”

  “You don’t have to be such an ass, Pops!” said Alistair, indignantly.

  “On the contrary, apparently I must,” I countered, adding the smirk he has loathed since a young boy. “And all the while, this conversation is keeping you from learning the identity of that other fiery sphere to the south of the sun.”

  I love it when great timing falls into my lap, or strapped hands in this case, since we were all standing and gripping the leather straps as we sped to the northeast. The hovercraft began to ascend as Tampara guided it toward the deeper reaches of the mountains.

  “The flaming sphere you speak of is a protective shield that shelters the glorious city—my home—Paititi!” said Tampara, gesturing with pride as he pointed to the shimmering fireball that hovered above a large body of water, likely this plane’s version of Lake Titicaca. Our host’s unusually lucid turquoise eyes flashed with anger when all we could do was nod in revered silence. It appeared this was an undesirable reaction among the Yitari people.

  I had spent the pa
st half hour trying to figure out how Tampara guided the hovercraft. There were no control panels, and its ultra-quiet ride made it obvious it didn’t contain a combustion engine I was familiar with. Not to mention half the time he had his eyes closed. Cedric seemed to be wondering the same thing, as I caught him surveying the craft as if looking for the same computerized or even motorized aspects I sought. It wasn’t until I caught Roderick chuckling at my perplexed expression that I realized Tampara used some other means to captain the airship.

  Suddenly the ship veered toward the fireball, responding to Tampara’s mental or telepathic thoughts and impulses. He had just crossed his arms across his chest with his palms open and fingers flayed out, and his eyes closed tightly.

  “What in the hell?...”

  Cedric was the only one to say anything, but it certainly mimicked the kids’ expressions as we drew closer to the sphere spanning at least ten miles in diameter as it hovered above the middle of the enormous lake.

  All of us began to sweat from the sphere’s flaming surface as we approached. Dressed in his sweater, Roderick drew my compassion, since he had resisted the suggestion to change when we began our journey into the mountains. His makeup began to run, and I could tell this development bothered him above all else.

  “Is this truly necessary?” he asked Tampara, who merely glanced his way before closing his eyes again.

  The ship suddenly picked up speed, and as it did, it caught everyone off guard. Everyone, I should say, but our host. He flashed a brilliant, mischievous smile when all of us gasped.

  “There—that’s much better!” he beamed, and thrust both hands in the opposite direction. Immediately the craft turned around and raced back toward the mountains.

  “What in the hell was that about?”

  My question this time, and irritated since all of us were dripping sweat…and for seemingly no good reason.

  “It is important to honor the greatest city in all of the world, on every continent and plane,” he advised, pointing one last time, this time behind us.

  “What the hell?” said Cedric, just as annoyed. “Not only are you insane, man, but you’re one rude mother….”

  “What….”

  I couldn’t finish my thought after turning to follow Cedric’s gaze after his voice trailed off. All of Tampara’s guests gasped again. The center of the fiery sphere seemed to have dissolved, revealing the immense, gleaming metropolis contained inside the giant orb.

  I had never seen anything like it in all my travels throughout the earth down through the centuries. Never. But, it seemed as if Roderick had beheld this view before.

  “So this really is Paititi--the Paititi of ancient legend—the true El Dorado,” whispered Alistair, reverently. Amy soon echoed this thought, while Cedric shook his head.

  “Everything’s made of gold,” I said, mimicking my son’s reverence from a moment earlier. “It doesn’t seem possible….”

  “Not everything is gold,” advised Tampara, slowing the hovercraft down to cast an amused look at us over his shoulder. “We have jewels and other precious metals—and roads containing the very same orichalcum in this aircraft. We can quickly transport ourselves from one side of the city to another in under a minute, by your standards. But there are plenty of materials you will find in any of your cities, too. Since we are a civilization without greed and hoarding, there is plenty for everyone. Nothing in Paititi is considered the exclusive right of any one man or woman.”

  “So, how do you differentiate between classes, or is yours a socialistic nation?” asked Alistair.

  I could tell my boy was very reluctant to pull his eyes from the view, and who could blame him? The shimmering city was dominated by hundreds of tall monoliths that looked like tapered golden spikes with glistening diamond windows along their lengths. Thousands of tiny dots moved through the air, which after studying them for several minutes, I realized were likely hovercrafts similar to the one we presently rode in.

  Our vessel veered away and raced toward the Andes once more. The lurch threw Amy and Alistair off their feet, and Cedric joined them on the hovercraft’s floor, cussing like a proverbial sailor and drawing amusement from Roderick and me, although I, too, was growing concerned about Tampara’s erratic behavior.

  “Now that you have seen my beautiful city, perhaps you will be less inclined to disrespect it,” he said in response to a silent musing of mine while we gained higher altitude. We would be crossing the western edge of the Andes foothills in a moment, based on our ever-increasing speed. The resultant wind flapped the snaps from my light jacket against my neck, to where it became uncomfortable.

  “So, that really was you just jacking us around, huh?” Cedric sounded angrier. “And why in the hell do you have to push this thing so goddamned fast?”

  “You saw how beautiful the city is,” said Roderick, coolly, although he still seemed to be taking in the conversation with some amusement. “Understanding Paititi—even only the beginning about what the place entails gives one a clearer perspective about the Yitari people…. And I daresay, it will put certain aspects of the Essenes’ castle in better perspective, as well. Speaking of which, Tampara will have us there in just a few minutes, which more than adequately answers your other question, Cedric.”

  Roderick has never been fond of cussing that borders on sacrilege, regardless of the deity involved. Meanwhile, I admit to some confusion as to what his advisement meant to our present location. I would’ve assumed the castle was much farther away…but that was based on my previous recollections of this region as well as the one thing that has always helped me hone in to where I am: my blood coin’s call. I couldn’t hear it as strongly as I had earlier, and that worried me.

  The hovercraft continued to gain altitude as it raced toward the highest peaks closest to us. As it did, the shimmering brilliant array of ochre to copper to gold of the vessel’s outer shell intensified to where the colors formed a blur bathing us all. Strangely, this phenomenon brought an incredible sense of well being. Then, without warning, the ship shot through the air with blazing speed.

  This time, all of us lost our footing and only our leather restraints kept us from tumbling overboard.

  “What in the hell is this all about?!” I yelled at Roderick, whose leather strap had loosened to where he was holding onto it for dear life.

  “It must be another force pulling us to our destination—it’s the only time I’ve ever encountered this shit!”

  That was comforting. Not to mention the fact my kid, his girl, and Cedric were clinging desperately to their strapped arms with their free hands—offering a mixture of profanity and prayers for salvation that might’ve been humorous if not for the fact the hovercraft was moving at a near vertical angle as it closely followed the contours of an enormous Andean peak. I wrapped my free hand around Roderick’s torso when I noticed his grip on his strap was slipping. My leather strap began to groan from the strain…I prayed fervently it held strong. In the midst of this confusion, I noticed Tampara seemed to be floating. Still at his ‘post’ at the front of the hovercraft, but hanging on to nothing. Nothing I could see, at least. And, yet, he remained upright. He glanced at me, offering an assuring smile and nod that all was well.

  What the… Are you frigging serious?!

  Obviously this wasn’t the optimum moment to chastise him—especially when I glanced below and caught a glimpse of the lush forest that by then was six to eight thousand feet beneath the vessel. Yet, despite our precarious spot, my soul told me that I needed to offer the same assurance he offered me to everyone else.

  “Hold on, Roderick!” I shouted. “Ali, Amy, and Cedric—DON’T Let Go—Hang On!... We’re going to make it through this!”

  It seemed like a small eternity before the ship righted itself again, and as it did, it dramatically slowed. We coasted down the other side of the mountain. As we approached the base, a majestic structure of dark red granite loomed before us, glistening beneath the late afternoon sun.
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br />   The castle of the Essenes?

  It had to be.

  “We are almost there!” Tampara announced. “I will pull over to the second archway, and we will complete our journey on foot.”

  The hovercraft veered toward a pair of oblong boulders nearly identical to the ones we encountered earlier. As before, the two giant rocks leaned against each other to form a shelter offering slightly more coverage than the original one.

  “You know, Mr. Tampara, son of Basshan…maybe you should drive us on up to the front door of the castle after the piss poor driving experience you delivered just now!” seethed Cedric, and ignoring Roderick’s signal to tread carefully. “I’m all out of patience for this shit, and seeing we’ll have at least a mile to travel, I believe the most courteous thing to do would be to just take us on up to the damned entrance and call it a day!”

  Tampara regarded Cedric compassionately, to my surprise, and nodded thoughtfully as he unwrapped his leather strap and motioned for the rest of us to do the same. Then, without saying anything, he guided the craft over to the boulders, stopping just a few feet away.

  “Come to me, Cedric,” he said, his Vulcan-like timber subdued but more noticeable in the relative peace and quiet in this valley. Similar to how it had been when we began our journey in this realm, it felt like a thousand hidden eyes studied us in silence from the wooded areas nearby. “For you to understand why it is best to follow the son of a great king’s admonishments, I believe this will suffice!”

  Cedric laughed nervously, and seemed reluctant to join Tampara at the head of the hovercraft. An understandable response to an eight-foot human with obvious supernatural characteristics, and who at the moment glared at him. But he tentatively stepped up to where our Yitari companion waited. Tampara had pulled out an antique-looking spyglass encased in gold from inside his tunic and motioned for Cedric to take it.

  “Point it toward the castle,” he said, pausing to look at the rest of us. His smug smile enhanced his handsomeness, which surely inflamed his allure to our lone female. “Once you are ready, take a look.”