The Great Talisman (Intersect Book 2)

by M C I Hinchliffe

  “It’s okay, just take your time.” She said trying to ease his burden. “What is it that you lied about?”

  “The true reason for Zardon’s drive to destroy the Earth and mankind, is not as you have been led to believe.” He turned and faced Katie, his expression was of great determination, and it was what he needed to form the next words. “He is after these.” Like an apparition, two majestically ornate gold bracelets appeared on his wrists.

  Katie stared at them, her eyes fixed on their fantastic beauty. It was as if she was under a spell. Physically they were just bracelets, but it was like they had a life of their own. A natural beauty that was beyond what her complex vocabulary could describe. Katie was left dumbfounded, speechless.

  “Behold the Rings of Karn, forged by the Creators own hands and one of two parts that make the Great Talisman, the Creator’s forging tool of the Universe.” His words rang like great bells in her ears, forever imprinting them on her memory. “They possess power beyond your imagination, not even the fiction story writers of the twentieth century could imagine what I am capable off. The second part is in the possession of the Warrian Emperor, and if he were to gain possession of the Rings of Karn, he would be able to control the Universe and all that is in it. He will become a God!” The Rings of Karn pulsed pure white in sequence with his words.

  His testimony was beyond her wildest dreams. The bracelets before her were created by the hand of God! Slowly as his words sank in as she began to peace the past back together; all began to make sense. Katie had to sit down. Ryan’s eyes followed her as she sat on the dais, her stare stayed focused on infinity. Finally she spoke. “Is that how the Warrian fleet was destroyed?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why can’t you do it again?”

  “I was able to because Zardon had received a mortal blow during our battle on board the Kron, until then I could do little.”

  One thing still didn’t make sense. “Why lie about all this, why did you shut us out?! If we knew the truth we could have helped you.”

  “Two reasons; one, power corrupts, and ultimate power can turn good men into something foul. It would not be only Zardon that I would have to stop. Two, Zardon can pick up on thoughts relating to the Rings as can I, he could learn of my whereabouts and prepare a trap. Besides, I can shield a small number of people from Zardon’s probes. Keeping the truth contained makes it manageable, but it also takes great concentration. Isolation was the only way I can focus my thoughts, so when he returned I was strong enough the stop him. I’ve spent the last two years preparing to face him. Last time we were lucky, this time he will be better prepared and I must be the best that I can be to have any hope of success.”

  Katie looked at him as fear dominated her emotions. “Then why have told me the truth?”

  “Because I need your help?”

  “Why would you need my help when you possess such formidable power?”

  “As you now know, Zardon is as equally powerful, and is as we speak fighting for control over my mind. Part of what I have been doing for the past few years is strengthen my mind against such attacks. It requires great concentration and mental strength, to stop him. If I reach out with my mind and search for Doctor Chen, my ability to block his probing will be weekend and he could momentarily take control, or at least discover what I’m doing. But if someone else were to search, he will be too busy monitoring me to notice someone else probing the ether. The mind meld would effectively double my strength.” He knelt at her feet and placed his hands on her knees. “Please can you help me?”

  For the first time in years Katie felt the electricity of his touch, and the warmth within the depth of his soul touch hers. At last he had let her back into his life and the joy uplifted Katie’s heart as her love for him filled her mind. A simile grew across her face and she hugged him. “Of course I will.”

  The relief of the fading fear gave him the strength to return her embrace. “I love you so much, I am so sorry for pushing you away.”

  Katie broke the embrace so she could see his face. “Next time, have a little more faith in me. Now, what do we do to perform this mind meld?”

  He smiled and lifted Katie to her feet, then escorted her away from the dais. Ryan outstretched his arms while keeping hold of Katie’s hands. “When I bring the Rings together, their power will be released into both of us. I will guide you through the search, but be prepared, the initiation is a bit overwhelming.” Ryan slowly brought his wrists and the Rings together while holding Katie’s hands. Light as bright as the sun spewed out from the Bracelets overpowering the darkness about them, and every gloomy corner of the large room brightly reflected the light from the Rings of Karn. Both of their bodies shone like two stars coupled together in a deadly dance of gravity and nuclear fusion.

  Katie felt a massive rush of energy burst up her arms and fill her body as if it were an empty vessel. It hit her like a freight train exploding her senses to beyond her human mind’s limited perception. If it weren’t for Ryan’s firm grip, Katie’s body would have been flung to the far corner of room. Her muscles spasmed as they tried to control the might that was now at their disposal, while her teeth chattered uncontrollably. Her brain screamed from the tectonic onslaught causing her lungs to expel a shriek that would have shattered glass. Through the attack on her mind and body, a familiar voice barely audible spoke to her. “Try to relax, think of something calm.” Before her a face appeared, and it gave her something to focus on; it was Ryan. Katie stared into his blue eyes and found the peace that she needed.

  The throbbing within her head and the shiver in her thews suddenly stopped. A calmness that she could only achieve through deep hypnosis filled her shell-shocked brain, quickly flushing away any memory of the ordeal she had just faced. Katie looked around and saw everything, the walls of the room, the walls beyond the room, and everything beyond that. Katie could focus on anything that she wanted, even if it were a thousand kilometres away and behind a thousand kilometres of rock. She could focus on the noise made by a bird’s wings as they flapped millions of kilometres away on Earth. Katie felt unimaginable strength in her muscles poised for action at the first signal from her brain. This was an insight into being a god, and the sensation was fantastic!

  Katie returned her attention to Ryan, his voice penetrated her sense of hearing with sharp clarity. “You are one of only three to ever experience the power of the Rings of Karn. You must not reveal their existence to anyone, must not even think about them. Zardon can read your thoughts.”

  “One of three? Who is the third?”

  “I am the first and the keeper of the Rings of Karn.” The voice was strange and mystical as if it was from the throat of an ancient wizard, but it contained an air of strength and dominance of a great leader.

  “Who are you?” Katie questioned nervously.

  Behind Ryan emerged a fantastic beast made of crystal. Its body was gold in colour but the eyes were rubies. The face of the beast was similar to that of a bull, with two great horns protruding from its gold encrusted head. But the appearance of the creature did not fuel the fear within Katie, it did the opposite. The creature was a magnificent sight to behold, and made her feel the same way as she did when beholding the Rings of Karin; awe-struck, overwhelmed and yet, humble.

  The sound of Ryan’s voice broke her enchantment. “This is Lord Valour.”

  “You have brought her this far, I must now complete her journey to enlightenment.” He came closer so that Katie could see the countless reflections and myriad of colours coming from his crystal skin. “I will tell you the story that my good friend and loyal patriot Servion use to read to me from the Book of Heaven in times gone by, "In the beginning, before creation, darkness extended the boundless limits of space. The almighty Creator gazed upon this vast darkness and was displeased. In his infinite wisdom, he forged a Great Talisman that will birth the universe of his devise to fill the darkness. The Creator laboured day and night until the Talisman was completed. The Creator
beheld the staff of measureless power and was pleased. With his mighty hands, he broke the talisman into four segments releasing his creation unto the endless darkness and fill it with the new universe. The Creator smiled at his new universe and the angels sang songs of praise to celebrate the birth. At the Creator's feet lay the four segments of the Great Talisman and he foresaw a great ill. If these segments were to fall into the hands of the prevailing evil spirit that inflicted his wondrous kingdom, they could be re-joined by the evil spirit and cause unspeakable destruction. The Creator gathered up the segments and entrusted them into the keeping of his two most valued souls, Lord Valour and Lord Hellion, to unconditionally protect the segments against this evil spirit.

  Unknown to the Creator, the source of this evil was one of the very souls that he entrusted the Talisman segments. Lord Hellion's corruption, moulded his two entrusted segments of the Great Talisman to his perverted design and reeked terrible ill upon the heavens and the new universe. The Creator commanded his loyal servant, Lord Valour to battle against this infected soul and retrieve the precious segments from Lord Hellion's corruption....Here end'th the lesson."

  Valour paused for a moment with his head bowed, then continued. “For a millennium I did battle with Hellion and is evil forces, but to no avail. A stalemate was reached, neither able to better the other, until he poisoned me. As he gloated over my dying body, he re-joined the Great Talisman and paused in triumph. It was then that I saw my chance to thwart his victory. I grabbed the Great Talisman and commanded it before Hellion had his chance to utter his first commandment. I imprisoned us both in our counterparts of the Talisman, to spend eternity spanning the cosmos. Hellion knew as well as I, that if we found someone worthy of reforming the Talisman, we could escape the Talisman’s shackles. He chose his liege and I chose mine. Thus now we do battle once more.”

  Katie quietly absorbed the fantastic tale as Valour’s ruby eyes bore down upon her. “Your journey into the past is now complete. I only hope you now understand the importance of our success.”

  Katie looked at them both and with the inner strength that enabled her to deal with the most adverse of situations, she said. “What are we waiting for, let’s find Doctor Chen.”

  Valour placed his hand upon Ryan’s shoulder and smiled at Katie. “It would appear that the instructor has become the instructed. My concern with your choice was unfounded. She is true of heart and strong of mind. You have chosen well.”

  Ryan said to Katie. “I want you to use my memories of Dr Chen and use them to identify the way he looked and way his voice sounded.”

  Before her, a memory from Ryan was projected. Dr Chen appeared to Katie as clear as if he was actually in front of her. She studied his facial features: the extended flesh of his eye lids that was characteristic of his Asian descent, his thick greying dark hair that stuck straight out from his rounded head, the dark brown of his eyes, the slightly portly stature of his 140 centimetre tall body. She heard the way he slightly mispronounced certain words as his Chinese accent bore though his clear pronunciation of the English language. Katie absorbed it all until she had a clear profile to locate him, then the image vanished.

  “Now concentrate on the image of Doctor Chen.......with his image in your mind, stretch out your senses.”

  Katie did as Ryan instructed. With the image of Doctor Chen in her mind, she scanned the universe about her. It was like watching a movie in fast forward. Images of strange beings flashed before her eyes at a rate that her mortal mind could never follow without the aid of the rings. The blur of images lasted for a few minutes until something caught her eye. A great metal clad being of a huge stature, with fierce looking red eyes that glowed from behind the mask that concealed the aggressive alien face; it was a Warrian!

  This was the first time that Katie has seen a Warrian with her own eyes, and in such intimate detail. Her magically enhanced vision enabled her to see both the armoured suit and the scaly muscles of the creature beneath. Its general appearance was humanoid, with two arms and two legs, but that was where the similarity ended. It had two large ears that stuck straight up like a bat, and a snout that was something between a horse and a crocodile. Its thick skin was green and covered in scales that slipped smoothly over the massive muscles beneath. The hands that grasped the controls before it had only three fingers each, one acting like a thumb. The most menacing part of its appearance was its eyes, the large pupils were bright red and the retina of the eye was lined with a phosphorescence so they glowed. This enabled the creature see in total darkness.

  Katie could smell the pungent unwashed odour that oozed from its skin that stank like rotting flesh, while its brutish language of grunts and wails exposed the sharp teeth from behind its narrow lips. This was not what she was searching for, but he would be close and Katie scanned the area in more detail. Many images of these armoured creatures passed before her eyes, as well as the environment they lived in, then she saw him. His image flashed passed like a bullet passing an onlooker, but Katie’s recollection enabled her to identify him in that split second. She went back to where his image appeared and focused intently on the lone figure.

  He looked very similar to Ryan’s memory of him, but his hair was greyer and thinning. His slight stature was hunched over as if he bore some terrible weight upon his shoulders. His body was garbed in a black cloak that concealed the finer details of his physique, but it was evident he was in poor health. Dr Chen was bent over a small electronic device that was attached to a number of analytical equipment.

  Ryan’s voice startled Katie. “What do you see?”

  “I found him.” Katie replied.

  “Where is he?”

  “They are holding him on a planet a few star systems away, in a stronghold.”

  “Is he okay?”

  “Yes but I would say he has seen better days.”

  “Tell me more about the stronghold?”

  “It is about five hundred metres wide, a kilometre deep and pointed like a cone. It’s like as if it burrowed itself into the planet.”

  “It’s a Tick Station. It can be launched from a mother ship near a planet, then it lands and drills into the planet surface. It can be up and running within a few hours. They were extensively used during the Warrian War. They are very tough to penetrate, and as they can be only breached from above they are easily defended.”

  “Another one of Dr Chen’s inventions?” Katie announced.

  “Yes.” Ryan said with regret. “Note his location and withdraw.”

  Katie’s enhanced vision pulled away from Doctor Chen like a rocket from its launch pad. The Tick Station quickly became a dot on the planet’s surface and soon, the lush vegetation of the planet was nothing more than a green coloured blanket over the planet. Her withdrawal hastened and the planet disappeared into the light of its nearby star, and a moment later she was back with Ryan aboard the Endeavour.

  As Ryan released Katie from his grasp, it felt like something had drained her of all her strength and senses. The experience of immortality was very addictive and the lust to retain it was powerful. Ryan was right to keep it a secret; ultimate power ultimately corrupts.

  The sudden withdrawal left Katie frail and breathless, and her legs gave way from under her and she fell. Ryan’s quick reflexes caught her before she met the floor and his strong thews brought her to her feet again. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. How have you kept your head straight for so long? It’s like the best adrenaline rush ever.”

  “Unlike some drugs, I’m constantly aware of my responsibility. Having the fate of the universe on your shoulders is enough to keep me on the straight and narrow.”

  “As this is a moment for great revelations, I have something to show you.” Ryan was curious. “What is it?”

  Katie called to the ether. “Mac!”

  “For security purposes Mac’s sensors have been deactivated.” He walked over to the dais and pressed a button on the side of the chair. “Security override, password
Carillia.” Ryan said out aloud.

  From out of the air came the words, “I am the Master Access Computer, I am now active and ready to serve. You can call me Mac. Is there any service I can provide for you?”

  “Yes Mac. Can you please show us the data I was just looking at in the Carillia Achieves.” Katie replied.

  A slightly transparent three dimensional image appeared before them showing a page from the National Inquirer dated May 5th 2001, three days from now. The headline read “UFO sighting!” and below was a blurred picture of two objects poised about one hundred meters above a luxurious pool where a beautiful swimsuit model was posing for a magazine shoot. Despite their blurred appearance, Ryan immediately identified them as a Starfighter in hot pursuit of a Warrian Warbird. Below the picture was an article that Katie read out aloud, “While famed photographer Carlos Demingo was shooting his latest work for Vogue magazine, he was knocked off his feet as two alien spacecraft flew by only tens of meters above his head. Carlos said that it was a miracle that he caught them on film as they dashed overhead faster than the speed of sound. It was the combination of the fast film he was using and the multi-shot function of his camera that enabled the picture to be taken.

  The paramedic on the scene said that Mr. Demingo was very lucky that he was in the middle of shouting his direction to the model when the UFO’s flew by. If his mouth was closed, the shock waves from the sonic boom would have burst his ear drums and possibly have killed him. The model was not so lucky, she is now in intensive care at San Remos Hospital with severe internal injuries. U.S. Airforce representative, General Harding denies claims that the crafts were experimental stealth aircraft. When asked if they are not U.S. aircraft, then what are they? He replied - I have no explanation!

  Could this be at last real proof of the existence of extraterrestrials? And if so, what do they want with us?”

  Katie stopped reading out the article and said, “I was thinking why had we not seen any evidence, and it was because we were looking in the wrong place! So I started searching the trash magazines.”