by Mark Boliek
Chapter 2
“It’s not like I have never heard that question before. After JM wrote his book about the time I told my story those years ago, he came by many times, trying to obtain the story of Kali’s regress. I have to admit that I began to tell the story a couple of times at Warhead Dale. Enthusiastic young folk gathered around my old black leather chair, but, without a storm stranding my guests for an adventurous night of storytelling, most of my listeners had to leave before I could get to the real crux of the plot. Not that I want anyone to be stranded, of course.
“That’s the worst thing about telling stories, I think; sometimes there is just not enough time. Each time I sit down in the great hall of Warhead Dale in that now famous black leather chair, the faces in front of me are, sadly, different. It would be bad form for me to start the story in the middle with new listeners. Only a real artist can start from the middle of a story and keep a listener's attention. I’m not such an artist. Most of my recent tellings only got to the part where her father…”
“Is this a bad time?” The voice rang in my ear; I realized I’d fallen silent. Brandy sounded concerned.
I shook my head and came out of my semi-trance. I didn’t realize that I had zoned out on my young companion.
“Oh, umm.” I had no idea what was wrong with me. I snapped back to reality. “Of course not, my dear. I’m sorry that I am fuzzy-headed and not paying attention. It seems this old man has a hard time getting the brain going in the morning.” I rubbed my hands together, because I knew, or at least hoped, that this time I could tell the entire story of what transpired after the events of the Mahogany Door. Brandy’s eyes showed her sincere interest; there would just be no way that I could curtail the story.
I dug my feet into the chilly sand and, instead of making my way back up the wooden stairs, I continued away from Warhead Dale as I began Kali's story. Brandy eagerly walked beside me.
“Trust is a very complex concept. I like to think of it as an emotion,” I said. “It can be either fleeting or adhesive. You can trust someone at all costs, no matter how things seem, or you can trust others as far as you can throw them, as the saying goes.”
Brandy’s eyes widened. I sensed her muscles tighten as she began to rub her arms again. I had to believe that the idea of trust made her uneasy. I cannot be sure, but, at that moment, her trust in her parents was probably shaken at best and shattered at worst.
“I only bring up the trust paradox because it is important to remember. It is the underlying conflict between JT Davis and Michael Peterson after their last adventure together.
“I will try not to be long-winded or rehash the story told in The Mahogany Door. I know you came to hear all about Kali and I am happily going to tell you her story, but I think it’s important to remember where her story starts.”
Brandy looked at me with a little concern, then nodded her head.
“I am sure you remember, but Michael and JT returned from their exploit through the mahogany door, saving it from collapse after their nine-year absence. Afterward, they stood on the back deck of Warhead Dale and gazed out over a beautiful, new morning. The crisp air had the fall coolness that usually doesn’t show up until mid-October in these parts. It was in the air early at the beach that year. Something familiar and peculiar rummaged through JT’s mind. He thought, what now?
“No more than an hour before JT had asked himself that same question, but in the middle of a raging battle on the sands of Bruinduer. It is odd if you really think about it. You may make it through a grand adventure or reach a goal that you thought you would never reach and then not know where your life will take you from that moment on. It reminds me of a description I once heard. It seems there was a very young presidential candidate who had many grand ideas, dreams, and thoughts about how he would make things different for his country. He really didn’t have a lot of experience, but he never thought he would get elected. To his surprise—and everyone else’s—he was voted into office and found himself in the unexpected position of actually having to govern.”
Brandy looked at me as if I had grown three horns out of my head. I tried to explain just a little more.
“I know that might sound a little confusing, but I only tell you that because, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, I advise you to gather the right people around you, ones you can trust. Someone entrusted with the power that comes from certain positions, like being president or being the steward of a key to a magical land, needs all the trustworthy and loyal help they can get.
“So, you see, JT was in a very unyielding situation. He had become part of a fantastical tale and wanted to talk it over. The only people he thought he could rely on completely were Kali and his grandfather. But, if you remember, his grandfather came to him as a ghostly visitor; JT couldn’t know for sure if his visions of the old sailor were real. And Kali had left Warhead Dale without so much as a good-bye.
“That left Michael and, after what had transpired just a few days before he and Michael gazed out at the morning sun from the porch at Warhead Dale, JT could not summon any feeling close to trust for his friend—or the friend he thought he had.
“About a week before they went through the mahogany door the second time, Michael showed up at the farm owned by Louise and Gregory Shorts. They let JT live there, doing manual labor and basking in a life void of any memory of his childhood—or anything else, for that matter.
“You may remember that JT lost both of his parents when he was young. His mother died when a water truck plowed into the side of her car. Unfortunately, JT saw the whole thing. He fainted, smashing his head on the porch floor and losing his memory of everything that happened before that moment.
“Michael talked JT and Kali into returning to JT’s grandfather’s old house—Warhead Dale. Once at the house, they returned to Bruinduer, where Michael secretly made a pact with Charlie Blackburn, who had lived in Bruinduer since the last time they walked through the mahogany door nine years ago.
“To make a long story short and keep my promise of not talking too long, Michael wanted a life for himself in Bruinduer, one he couldn’t make happen in our world. He would have done anything to claim it, even agreeing to have his friends, JT and Kali, killed.”
“Yeah,” Brandy spoke up. “I remember all of that and it was really well told in the book, too.”
“Really?” I asked. “You read the book?”
“Everybody read the book,” Kali answered.
I have to admit, the book JM wrote does a good job telling what happened when JT, Michael, and Kali returned to Bruinduer and had their grand adventure.
“Well, then, I hope you can understand why JT would have a hard time trusting Michael. I think it would be very hard for someone to get over the fact that someone who called you a friend wanted you dead.”
Brandy agreed and I was glad.
"They took her in the night."
Brandy's eyes grew wide and she breathed in a mountain of salt air.
"There were no usual signs of forced entry—no broken windows or doors, not even a miniscule amount of metal debris left from a key or screwdriver picking the lock. Nothing of that sort. The police did not even find a partial fingerprint or a trace of thread from any article of clothing. In a freak, blinding snowstorm Kali disappeared from her warm, inviting home outside of Baltimore, Maryland.” I paused a little. ‘'Of course, the roof had been torn off, but that is hardly a usual sign of forced entry."
“Oh my gosh! Who was it?” Brandy asked, her breath shallow. I could see the fright in her eyes. “And how?”
“I know—exciting, right? But before I get into the real details of how Kali Logan was snatched from her bedroom through a hole in the roof, I need to go back to Michael and JT the morning after they returned from their most recent trip through the mahogany door, this time after nine long years.
“As JT looked over the bright ocean, feeling the brittle air hit him in the face and the smooth salt penetrating his nostrils,
a small sort of idea pinged his brain. Maybe Kali just left the house. Maybe she did not get very far. He remembered that, right after they had come in at the gate, the vines that had grown over it, sealed it shut, making the cold metal entrance impossible to climb over. Maybe the gate trapped Kali.
“JT searched his thoughts, then turned, plowed through Warhead Dale's halls, and went out the hole left when Billy blew apart the large oak front doors. He hobbled as fast as his bum knee and cane would let him. He rushed down the marble steps and across the front lawn, even lifting his cane for a moment. He took his full weight on his wrecked knee for as long as he could take the pain of each step. His heart pounded and his chest hurt as he made his way through the tunnel of trees to the iron gate at the entrance of Warhead Dale.
“JT wasn't alone, to his surprise. Michael followed him up the winding driveway, pestering him. Michael kept trying to get JT to acknowledge him. He tapped his shoulder, asking over and over again, 'Um, JT, where are you going?’
“JT and Michael came to the small opening at the entrance. It looked a little different in the daylight, small and regular rather than the dark, dangerous place from the night before. If they looked closely enough, they could make out the iron gate under the vines that smothered it. Unfortunately, Kali was not standing there. JT was devastated.
“Maybe she made her way through the vines somehow, JT thought. His own thoughts sounded somber to him. He lifted his cane toward the curtain of trees and branches. Last time, when he stood on the other side of the gate trying to enter, the eyes of the ivory skull and crossbones handle exploded into a red glow. Today, nothing happened. The vines stayed tightly wrapped around the cold black iron of the gate.
“The barrier between JT and Kali now was even more impossible to surmount.
“Michael and JT stood at the empty area around the gate, gazing into the sky, dumbfounded.
“JT's head felt fuzzy; his arms shook. He had no idea what he should do next. He had no interest in his own well-being, only Kali. No matter how hard Michael tried to distract JT from worrying about getting her back, JT could not stop thinking about the girl he had met at Michael's sister's café, the girl with the burning blue eyes.
“’JT, I wish I could tell you…,’ Michael tried once again, but JT turned and made his way back down the long driveway, through the tunnel of trees, through Warhead Dale, and back out to the wooden walkway to the beach.
Brandy looked backed as we made our way a little further from Warhead Dale, shuffling through the sand.
“Yes,” I said, answering her thought. “That walkway we just came down is the same walkway—though I would be lying if I said it was the original wood. That wood has been replaced quite a few times over the years, I do believe.'
Brandy chuckled a little and I was glad.
“JT walked with his head down, sulking, until he noticed something in the sand. A trail of wet footprints led along the walkway toward the ocean.
“JT walked along at a gingerly pace. When he landed at the edge of sand, he saw a few shoe prints. Then those shoe prints turned to bare footprints, as if the walker took their shoes off as soon as they reached the sand. JT did the same thing, kicking his shoes off his feet and digging his exposed soles into the cold sand. The feeling shot through his body like a bolt of lightning, relaxing his body. A complete sense of peace washed over him like a warm breeze. He felt as if he had been searching for that feeling all of his life. He couldn't explain it, but he had found it somehow.
“He started to follow the footprints out to the ocean, placing his feet in them. Somehow he knew the footprints were Kali's. He felt completely connected with her as he walked up the beach tracing her every step.
“He walked closer to the ocean's edge. After a hundred yards or so, the footprints became further and further apart, as though Kali had gained momentum. The footprints became too far apart for JT to walk in them. Kali had started running.
“JT pursued the footprints as far as he could, but, after a few dozen yards, they disappeared, the ocean swallowing them with its waves breaking on the shore. JT felt a lump in his throat; his heart hurt. At that moment, he felt he would never see Kali again.
