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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Part Two,Chapter 1
Epilogue
The Seven Rules Of The Talisman
1. When used as a whole, the Talisman will carry its holder forward and back through time.
2. The Talisman must be in physical contact with its holder to function.
3. The Talisman is made of two halves, each of which opposes the other. When separated, one half will travel forward to the future, while its opposite half can only travel back into the past.
4. A Talisman half used on its own is unreliable and needs a ‘key’ to link it to the time it is travelling to. A ‘key’ may be any object created at the time the holder of the Talisman wishes to travel to.
5. The holder will stay in the time the Talisman is set to so long as they are in physical contact with the ‘key’. If the ‘key’ is removed, the holder will return to the time from which they came.
6. The Talisman halves seek each other out. They also seek previous holders or ‘keys’. This is part of the Talisman’s unreliability, as each half will transport it’s holder to the time they deSire but it may not deliver them to the expected location.
7. Whoever wears a Talisman half cannot be harmed by it so long as they carry a ‘key’. If the setting on the Talisman is changed before the ‘key’ is removed, the holder will not return to their time. Instead their physical and spiritual being will be torn between times and they will cease to exist.
Chapter One
Central America, Late 16th Century.
Käpu’n sat hidden in the shadows of the undergrowth as he watched the Priests guards go by. He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye as the man next to him surged forward. Käpu’n grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back.
“No Acan. Stay here!” he hissed.
“Why?” said Acan looking agitated. “There are only five of them. We can take them easily enough and get the information we need.”
Käpu’n shook his head.
“We already have people inside the Priests palace looking. Yes we can take these few guards, but they are only guards. What will they know? And then many more will come and we are too few to fight them all. Be patient.”
Käpu’n watched Acan anxiously as the big man weighed up his options. The other warriors were watching too. It was a test of his leadership. Käpu’n was younger and smaller than Acan and many of them thought the bigger man should have been their leader. The elders thought otherwise recognising Käpu’n’s cunning and skill.
Finally Acan shook his head and smiled.
“Yes,” he said as he patted Käpu’n on the shoulder. “But we only have a short time to act. The High Priest will sacrifice the future boy and the children soon. Your spies in the palace have been good in the past, but this time they are too slow.”
Käpu’n looked around the group as he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. His leadership appeared safe, but Acan had made a good point.
“I agree, Acan but...”
Käpu’n stopped talking as Acan tapped him on the shoulder and pointed back towards the path. A lone priest was strolling casually along, without a care in the world. Käpu’n bristled at the man’s arrogance as he watched him pass by.
“I can not believe he is travelling without body guards,” Acan said.
“Perhaps those guards we saw just before were his,” a warrior from behind added.
“He must not fear death if he let his guards get so far ahead,” said another.
Käpu’n turned to Acan.
“I think we have just found the source of the information we need. What say you Acan?”
“I think you are right!” Acan said with a sinister smile as he stepped forward.
Acan stalked the priest silently, and then took a swing at the man from behind. His huge hand smacked the priest around the side of the head, stunning him as it knocked him to the ground.
“My friend and I would like a word with you little man,” Acan said as he grabbed the priest by his hair and dragged him back towards the trees. Acan was in a dark mood. This man would talk. He would tell everything and then he would die for his sins.