The Call of Mount Sumeru

by Elyse Salpeter

  “I thought you lived in a world of figures and facts, and didn’t believe in magic.”

  He clicked his tongue. “When it keeps hitting you in the face, you start to believe, Kelsey. I’m not stupid.”

  She considered this. “Let’s talk about the Yetis. You don’t think they’re from this plane of existence?”

  “No, of course, I don’t. Why, do you? You really think they’ve just kept themselves hidden for all these centuries across the world, residing deep in caves? That they have some sort of hidden population living happily ever?”

  She stared at the nugget and squeezed it in her palm. “No, I don’t think that at all, I was just asking. I believe they’re from another realm and have moved through the portals. You know, I really should be concentrating on the Yeti at this point, and not Sitaula. If they’re jumping realms, maybe they can tell me how to get to Desmond. Sitaula is just a man. Nothing he can do himself can influence anything here.”

  “You don’t know that. There are things going on with him, too. He’s not aging. He killed his wife and did something to his daughter. He’s killing kids and he’s doing it for a reason.”

  “Will you stop jumping to conclusions? You have no proof of any of that. You know what? You’re too close to this case because of Bianca. It could be the Yeti who’s killing them. The one I met was covered in blood. There’s been no evidence Sitaula did anything. You need to keep an open mind until we figure this out.”

  They went back and forth the entire afternoon without resolving anything. It was a leisurely stroll back to meet Charlie. His car idled just ahead of them and she could see the smoke curling upwards lazily from the muffler. Kelsey was thinking she was actually a bit chilled and would enjoy warming up in the car. Suddenly, she thought she heard arguing. That’s when they also heard a gunshot, and Ari threw himself on her and shoved her violently to the ground.

  #

  Nearly two hours later, Charlie got up from the log and made his way back through the woods towards the car. He loved the Alaskan woods and knew them as well as he knew his own mother. Suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck prickled. Something wasn’t right in the woods and he sensed danger. The air had stilled and the insects had quieted. He sniffed the air and froze. Something was near. A glance through the trees spied a large creature moving silently through the forest.

  With a nimbleness that defied his age, Charlie went after it.

  He kept pace with the creature. At the moment, he could only glimpse its large, brown form through the brush. Suddenly, it stopped. Charlie inched closer and peeked around a tree trunk. His heart leapt in his chest. No, this can’t be.

  The “creature” stood there. It had the body of Kushtaka and the head of a surprised human. A human that now pointed a gun at him with one hand and held the head of a costume in another.

  “You don’t know when to leave well enough alone, do you, Charlie?”

  Charlie’s face contorted with rage. “You’re the one who’s been killing the kids? I knew it wasn’t Kushtaka. How dare you? You won’t get away with this.” He balled his fists.

  The gunman raised his brows. “And who’s going to stop me? You?”

  Charlie glared and took a brave step forward. “If I have to. You don’t scare me.”

  Charlie was met with an expression mixed with pity. “There’s your mistake, old man. You should have been more scared.”

  The shooter fired.

  #

  Another gunshot followed and the bullet shattered the outside rearview mirror of Charlie’s car and showered Kelsey and Ari with splinters of glass. The sound practically deafened them as it echoed across the pristine woods. Flocks of birds exploded from the trees as another shot hit the ground next to them and ricocheted off the car. Kelsey and Ari ducked around the side of the cab, and Ari pulled out his pistol, stood, and fired back.

  A commotion erupted in the trees. Ari fired again and they heard the sound of a car tire squeal as it tried to find traction. Ari raced in that direction

  Kelsey stood to check on Charlie.

  No one was sitting in the idling cab.

  She took off into the woods and found him.

  Oh, Charlie, no…

  He lay on his back on the cold earth, blood pooling from a bullet to the chest. His jacket had also been torn to shreds as if a great beast had attacked him.

  He was alive and stared up at her. “It’s not what you think. It’s not Kushtaka.” His chest heaved and blood spurted from his mouth.

  “Please don’t talk, Charlie. We’re going to get you help.”

  Kelsey took off her scarf and applied pressure to his wound.

  Charlie grasped her hand, covering it in his blood. His voice held a desperate urgency to it. “No, you don’t understand. Kushtaka did not…”

  But that’s all he got out before his body seized.

  Kelsey yelled at him. “Charlie, no! Stay with me!”

  But he was gone. His sightless brown eyes stared upwards towards the sky.

  Ari ran back to her side and bent down to the old man. He fingered his torn jacket. “So we’re talking two killers here. Sitaula with his gun and the Yetis with their nails. They’re working together and they’re upset that we’re getting close.”

  Kelsey shook her head. “Before he died, Charlie said it wasn’t Kushtaka. That we didn’t understand.”

  “Then who was it, Kelsey? The Yeti was the one that lured you up here with that gold nugget, and Sitaula knows you’re getting too close and needed to take you out. AYeti didn't just take off in that Jeep. You know that. It has to be Sitaula. I told you that he’s dirty. His carefully guarded secret is threatening to be exposed and now he’s getting desperate. You don’t listen to me when I tell you things are dangerous. This man does not want his secrets out and he’s now killing to keep them hidden.”

  She ignored him. “Did you see the car? Are you sure it was a Jeep?”

  “I didn’t get a look at the car, but I’d bet my life on it that it’s him. Who else could it be?”

  Kelsey tenderly closed Charlie’s eyelids. “None of this makes sense. Why would the Yetis and Sitaula team up together? Why would they kill Charlie? What did he ever do to them?” She eyed Charlie’s notebook, which lay on the ground and leafed through it. It was filled with information on Kushtaka, the locations where children had gone missing, and notations from authorities regarding the circumstances.

  “Maybe they weren’t after Charlie and he simply got in the way. No witnesses.”

  Kelsey bit her lip and eyed the book. “In the way. From this, it looks like he knew there was more going on than what everyone else thought. We’re still missing something crucial. I’m not certain Sitaula is the bad guy here. We still don’t have a motive. Something’s not adding up.”

  For the first time that day, Ari agreed with her.

  Chapter 16

  It had been a long afternoon and evening. Kelsey and Ari had driven back to town with Charlie in the car with them, and then the local police had gone back up to Dyea to do an investigation. They called in units from neighboring towns that would be there in a few hours. Charlie’s murder hit the town hard. Everyone loved him, and no one could understand why he’d been killed.

  Later that evening, Ari had found Sitaula drinking tea in the temple kitchen. When Ari asked him where he’d been all day, he recounted the same story he’d told the police. He’d been taking care of Flora during the time Kelsey and Ari had been attacked. She’d fallen and needed someone by her side for the afternoon.

  Ari wasn’t buying any of it. “Where were you late last night?”

  Sitaula blinked. “What do you mean? I was here, in my cabin.”

  Ari grit his teeth. “Enough of your lies. You may think you’re shrewd and can trick the locals, but we’re on to you.”

  Sitaula bobbed his head between Ari and Kelsey, his forehead creased in confusion. “On to me? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Kelsey put he
r hand on Ari’s arm to calm him, then spoke to Sitaula. “Venerable Sir, I took a walk last night. I saw you doing your prayers in the woods of Dyea.”

  Sitaula jumped from the table and his chair fell over in his haste. “You saw me?” He was visibly shaken.

  “Yes, she did. And she collected this.” Ari dumped the contents of a small test tube on the table next to his teacup. “Who is this? Is it the boy you kidnapped and are pretending a Yeti did it all along? Are you in league with them and you’re both doing this? Tell us now and stop your fabrications, because I’m getting these tested. We’re going to find out one way or the other who you killed and dumped in the woods in Dyea.”

  Sitaula moaned and tottered on his feet. Kelsey reached out to steady him, and Ari rolled his eyes. “Let him fall, Kelsey. He’ll have a lot more of a fall in the eyes of the Buddha after what he’s done.”

  Kelsey helped Sitaula sit back down and gave Ari a pointed look, willing him to stay quiet. “Sir, what were you doing in the woods?”

  Sitaula grimaced and tried to take a sip of tea, but his hands shook too much and he put the cup back down. His voice was barely a whisper. “I was praying.”

  Kelsey pursed her lips. “I’m unaware of any true Buddhist prayers that have sacrificial offerings to them. We practice Ahimsa, sir. To not injure or do any harm.”

  Sitaula blew out an exasperated breath. “You don’t need to tell me what Ahimsa is. I’m quite familiar with it. I told you I’m a terrible monk.” He chewed the inside of his cheek. “Did you know I was a Hindu before I became a Buddhist monk? So was my father and my grandfather’s father before him. I learned that all of them dabbled in black magic, and when I acquired the affairs of my grandfather’s collections, I discovered his old prayer books. The entire collection was a trove of spiritual teachings on Hindu black magic. After what I’d been through with my daughter… well, I felt compelled to read it.” He paused. “I’m not proud, but after Bobby disappeared, I thought to offer a sacrifice to the gods who had him. A sacrifice to bring him back. I was just trying to help.”

  “So you’re saying the bone fragments in the ash are not Bobby’s?” Ari asked.

  Sitaula frowned and it was a strange expression to see on his face. He seldom seemed angry. “Of course not. What you found were the bones of a Willow Ptarmigan. There’s so many of those birds this year in Alaska, they’re easy enough to catch. Feel free to conduct your tests. I’d never kill anyone.”

  “A bird is still a life, Sir,” Kelsey said quietly.

  Sitaula said nothing.

  Ari took a step towards him. “You know what? You’re a liar. I’ll bet you killed Charlie, too, didn’t you?”

  Sitaula’s jaw dropped. “Why do you say such things?” Suddenly, a strange look passed over him as he stared at Ari. “Wait a moment. I do know you. Under all that hair… you’re the boy that went to prom with my daughter, aren’t you?” He looked from Ari to Kelsey and raised his voice. “What is going on? Why are you here? Did you come here to make trouble for me? Accuse me of things I didn’t do?”

  “That depends on if you’re looking for trouble,” Ari said. “We’re here to find Bianca. Where is she? What did you do with her?”

  Sitaula gasped.

  Kelsey yelled at Ari to be quiet and turned to Sitaula.

  “Don’t listen to my brother. He’s letting emotion get in the way of his good sense.”

  Ari scowled. “Kelsey, you’re making a mistake. We’re not playing good cop, bad cop here. This man is a killer and he knows it. He’s just hiding it all behind his ‘woe is me’ facade.”

  “Will you just shut up, already?” she hissed.

  “Wait, this man is your brother?” Sitaula’s asked. “This isn’t your boyfriend? I don’t understand. Why would you lie about that?”

  Kelsey exhaled loudly. “No, he isn’t my boyfriend and I’m not sure why he lied. I guess he felt it would bother me and get under my skin. Venerable Sir, I’m so very sorry for what you’re going through. I honestly came up here to simply ask you a few questions about your grandfather’s collection and then leave. My brother came along to stir up trouble. He has a tendency to do that. But there are some things that are not adding up, and we’re hoping you can help us.”

  Sitaula heaved a sigh. “I’ll do what I can to help. One does not need to come all the way to Alaska to stir up trouble. We have enough of it here already. Although I can tell you that you may look all you wish, and accuse me all you want, but you will never find my Bianca. I’d give you everything I owned, my very life, if you could bring her back to me, but you can’t. She was taken from me and now she’s as far away as she can possibly get.”

  Ari balled his fists. “You’re talking in riddles. Now where is she?”

  Sitaula pursed his lips into a thin, tight line and then turned his stare on Kelsey. “Tell me what you’re looking for and maybe I can help. I have all my great-grandfather’s things in a single suitcase under my bed. I’m more than happy to share them with you.” He turned back to Ari. “As for you, I don’t know what I need to do to convince you that I had nothing to do with Bobby’s, Charlie’s, or my daughter’s situation. You accuse me of things with no proof.”

  He took them back to his cabin and pulled out a medium-sized valise from under his bed. “This is everything I have.”

  Kelsey eyed the bag, which was only just slightly larger than her own backpack that she’d brought to Alaska.

  Sitaula unzipped it, and she could see it was filled with pictures, articles and artifacts, all stored in clear plastic bags.

  “May I?”

  He shrugged and she bent to the valise and slowly removed each bag. She gently opened one and sifted through pictures of Yetis, the margins covered with the swirls, script and symbols of the Voynich Manuscript. There were stacked containers of small ceremonial and Tibetan singing bowls, some with their rims stained a disturbing deep red. Other small bags held talismans of the Buddha, mala beads, and arrays of pendants.

  Kelsey picked up an old, frayed prayer book, worn from years of use. She rifled through it, noting it was filled with notations and stains. She studied the cover of the book, realized it was made of human skin, and quickly put it down. A wooden box peeked out from the bottom of the valise, and she removed it. It was simple and there were no notations on it. When she lifted the lid, she stared at Sitaula questioningly. The box held many tubes with rubber stoppers securing them. Some were clear and she could see what looked like seeds in inside.

  Ari leaned in and sucked in his breath. He reached for one of the vials and held it up to the light. “Why do you have these? What are they for?”

  Sitaula shrugged. “I have no idea. They came with my grandfather’s things. I assume they’re seeds from native plants in his area and were used for rituals.”

  Kelsey didn’t want to admit she was disappointed. This entire trip had been for naught. He had no information to help her get to Desmond, and they knew now that Bianca was also gone. “Thank you, Venerable Sir. I appreciate you showing me this.”

  She was about to replace everything when Ari stayed her hand. He held one hand over hers and with the other, discreetly filched three of the vials. Then he quickly released her and helped Kelsey put everything else back. Sitaula never knew. He was too busy staring out his bedroom window, seemingly in deep thought.

  Kelsey glanced at her brother questioningly, but Ari shook his head to remain quiet.

  She decided to let this transgression go. She replaced the final pack, and then her eyes spied an envelope. It was addressed to Sitaula and the return address was from London. She opened it and saw it contained a few drawings. She paused to examine one crude image in particular. A man stood in a small pool of ankle deep water. Little golden pebbles filled the bottom of the tub in which he stood. His brown hair was long and wild and he held an object in his grip. Kelsey couldn’t make out what it was, but it appeared to be some kind of weapon. The drawing wasn’t clear enough to tell.

&nb
sp; Curly scripts of text, clearly like that of the Voynich Manuscript, were written above and below the man, with a message scribbled along the top and bottom margins. Kelsey held up the picture, questioning, “Where did you get this?”

  Sitaula turned to her. “A company in England contacted me and told me they had acquired a few of my ancestor’s things. As the only surviving heir, they thought I should have it. They mean nothing to me, so I just keep it with the other artifacts.”

  Kelsey stared at the picture. “May I have this to scan? I promise to return it.”

  He waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t bother. Just keep it. I really don’t care. I have no use for any of these material things any longer. I only held on to these out of respect for my grandfather. I’ve tried hard to give up on all material things, as you can see.” He spread his arms wide at the bareness of his cabin. “Still think I had a hand in killing any of these people, young man? To what purpose? To what end? What on earth would it get me?”

  Ari remained silent. Except for his two questions and filching of the vials of seeds, he’d said nothing during the entire exchange. He just stood in the corner with his arms crossed.

  When Kelsey had packed everything away, Ari finally spoke up. “Let’s get out of here.” He appeared troubled.

  It had grown late and they returned to their cabin for the night.

  “Want to talk about it?” she asked, getting into bed. “It’s obvious something’s bothering you. Having second thoughts about Sitaula?”