by Mark Boliek
Chapter 16
JT, Arthur, Jenny, and Michael woke to the smell of fried bacon, eggs, coffee, and toast. It might be hard to get out of a cozy bed on a cold and wintry morning, but a hungry tummy always takes priority.
They rose and found their outer clothes clean and pressed. The mail they had donned after entering Bruinduer was polished and bright. Their host had been busy the night before, making his guests welcome.
“Good morning.” Homer escorted the four travelers to his dining room table. “The snow is high this morning, but the weather has broken a bit. What was once a blizzard is now a nice soft snow falling.”
The travelers tore into the breakfast as though they had not eaten in a while—and, in fact, they had not. At length, they satisfied their hunger.
“Can you tell us more about this land? This kingdom?” Arthur asked, getting very anxious now. He wanted to find Kali and bring her back safe, as did his companions.
“It is peaceful,” Homer stated.
“The king?”
“The king is a very enigmatic man, but one who prides himself on keeping peace.” Homer paused for a second. “Or trying to. No outsiders have actually caused any issues, though I am sure many citizens would be ready to attack you because of this snow.”
“We can't cause it to snow,” Jenny stated. Her voice cut through the small house, sounding much like it had in the courtroom with JT.
“Hmmm. If the right people say that you caused it to snow,” Homer eyed Jenny. “Then you caused it to snow.”
“Can we get to the king to see him?” Arthur asked.
“Why would you want to see him?” Homer pressed. “No one really has a reason to see the king, considering no one has any real problems…besides this snow, of course.”
“We can't make it snow,”' Jenny repeated, her voice more forceful.
“Unh-huh.” Homer smiled.
“Let's just say we needed to assure his majesty that we are not here to cause it to snow. If it is true what you said and those soldiers were shooting at us, his majesty would have questions, don't you think?” Jenny pressed.
Homer thought for a second. “You have a point, my friend. I can see why he might want to talk to you now, come to think of it. I am glad I spoke with you.”
The snow started to fall a little harder as the conversation picked up its pace. Michael remained quiet, though his insides were turned upside down. JT twiddled his thumbs and Arthur jiggled his knee up and down in his anxiety; a bead of sweat raced down his cheek.
“Just go up to the castle,” Homer said. He took in a deep breath and exhaled, hesitating as though it might be a mistake to tell his guests how to reach his ruler, but he told them just the same. “All you have to do is ask.” Homer started to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen. “You'd better hurry. He only sees people at certain times and then, only when it is convenient for him.”
The four travelers thanked their host, gathered their things, and got ready to trek through the snow to the castle. JT hoped that they would not be in Bruinduer too long. They needed to get Kali and go, but something in the back of his mind told him that this trip would not be that easy.
He did not care too much for his own safety, but he had promised himself that he would destroy the mahogany door when this adventure was over and all of them were safe, especially Kali. There was just too much power in this land for him—or anyone, for that matter—to handle. Without his memory, he was most certain that he could not control it. He already had let a madman steal his cane.
Then the door popped and creaked open. They launched themselves into the unrelenting cold, wrapped in their clothes, armor, and thick furs Homer gave them.
They shivered right away, the furs clinging to them just enough to keep the cold from biting too hard. Arthur was the inspiration that kept JT, Michael, and Jenny moving. He plowed through the snow and wind, fighting its every breath with sheer determination and purpose.
They trudged along the streets, passing small houses made of gray stone, their chimneys alive with smoke from the fires keeping the cold at bay.
They made their way to the city beneath the castle. To their surprise, a line of disgruntled subjects and soldiers waited there, dressed in leather armor and furs, armed with lances and swords.
JT recognized the flags that waved through the air. The white, snapping cloth shot chills through his spine. Memory exploded into his thoughts; the sands of the world Michael conjured and the war that raged on that desert painted haunting images in his mind. He snapped back to reality. This flag, a little different, had a symbol across the flag that looked like a small “k” turned upside down.
“Who are you and where are you from?” A loud voice boomed from atop the horse; the speaker carried what looked like some sort of scroll. “You are not from here. I know everyone from here and I do not know you!”
“No one, from nowhere!” the crowd sighed.
“We've come to see the king!” Arthur yelled before JT could say anything.
The crowd turned on them, grumbling.
“Get in line,” someone said just loud enough for the four to hear. “We want the same thing!”
“No person who is not a citizen may see the king. Who are you?” the voice asked again.
“We are from the outland!” Michael spoke up.
The crowd became more restless. They rumbled louder and louder as word traveled from person to person that there were outlanders in their presence.
“These must be the people who brought gloom and snow to our land!” an anonymous subject bawled toward the guard. “They must pay for their crimes!”
The soldier’s horses shifted nervously as the horde yelled at Michael, Arthur, JT, and Jenny. Their anxiety was thick.
JT's body tightened. This felt all too familiar with him. The people of Athens Eden did not want him in their town. Now he wasn't welcome in Bruinduer, the one place he thought he could have anything he wanted. His breathing became heavy as panic grew within him. His head swam; he felt paralyzed as his head swiveled back and forth, eyeing each citizen that jeered at him.
The crowd encircled the four travelers, who only wanted to get Kali and go home. Now they were being blamed for something impossible to fathom; the crowd believed them guilty of changing the world and causing harm when they did not even know what was going on.
The crowd began to fling snowballs and rocks at the four. JT dodged the missiles, knowing one would draw blood sooner or later. He could only imagine what the others felt as the hard rocks pelted them.
The soldiers tried desperately to keep the crowd at bay.
A riot was about to erupt. Emotions ran so high in the crowd that JT could only guess what had angered them. Has it never snowed in this land before? What is Kali's role in this? And is the Munch the one allowing this to happen?
Just as JT and his companions ended up back to back, forced to accept their fate, the wind howled above the crowd in a spectacular snow cyclone. The king appeared in front of the crowd but above, atop of the castle gate's wall.
The crowd immediately stopped their attack and whirled around, shooting their eyes to the sky.
A bellowing voice erupted over them. “My fellow citizens, I promise that we will find the cause of our problems.” The voice was neither angry nor joyful, but matter of fact. “Bring the outlanders in to see me. You will all be heard in this kingdom, as I have always promised.”
Relief flowed through the people and the tension dissolved.
JT lifted his head to look toward the wall, but, before he got a good look at the king, the king had vanished into another twister of snow.
Jenny, Michael, and Arthur looked at each other.
“Seize them!” one of the mounted soldiers ordered. “Take them into the castle before we have pandemonium.”
A group of armored soldiers on foot surrounded the travelers. Just as the soldiers closed in on them, another gust of wind dropped from the sky. The knights around JT, Jenny, Arthur, an
d Michael blew backward, falling to the ground, their swords and armor crashing to the stone courtyard.
The crowd gasped in horror. Kali's apparition appeared before the multitude. Her face calm, she pointed toward a tall structure beyond the castle's gate.
The crowd fled in fear and chaos ensued. People sprinted, knocking each other down to get away from the scene. The knights on the ground struggled to their feet as reinforcements came up behind them.
Arthur, with no thought and only by instinct, drew his sword. The rest of the party followed his lead.
“Where are you, Kali?” Arthur yelled. “I need to find you!”
Kali's ghost waved its hand in a magical gesture. Another group of knights, ready to attack, hit the ground. She pointed again to the structure beyond the courtyard. Her mouth moved, but JT and the others could not hear what she was saying.
Arthur ran to her and reached for her, but, like before, his hand passed right through her image. He grimaced. “Please, Kali.” Arthur gazed into her eyes with inexpressible longing as tears flowed down his cheeks.
Kali's transparent hand reached for his. Just as she nearly touched his hand, a knight came up from behind Arthur with his sword raised above his head. Kali jerked her hand away from Arthur's and thrust with her wrist; the knight fell backward to the ground.
“I'm sorry,” Arthur mouthed. Kali's apparition dissolved in front of him. “About everything.”
