

THE MAHOGANY DOOR

By

J. Mark Boliek

SMASHWORDS EDITION

*****

Published by:

Split Rail Books, LLC on Smashwords

The Mahogany Door

Copyright 2013 by J. Mark Boliek

Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com, where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

*****

Illustrations by Lauren Gallegos 2013 Lauren Gallegos Illustrations

Visit www.facebook.com/jmarkboliek for more information

For Jill

Always,

Mark

To Mom and Dad

For your love and support,

Lauren

Chapter 1

(Listen and download the Original Music Soundtrack at www.reverbnation.com/themahoganydoor)

I walked out onto a beach where I hadn't set foot in forty-seven years. As I felt the smooth roundness of the small, chilly grains of sand shuffle gently beneath my feet, I felt a rush of excitement shoot through my body.

The waves, just as I had remembered them, broke gently across the ebbing autumn shore. The wind, filled with the unsullied aroma of salt, blew briskly as twenty young children waited eagerly around a large crackling fire. The amber flames that shot from the center burned as bright as the early afternoon sun. My daughter's oldest son of thirty-three years, nearly the same age that I had been when I last stepped foot here, had built this fire. His uncanny ability to persuade people, especially me, had brought my old bones back to this almost forgotten beach to tell a story. As I saw my grandson through the corner of my eye helping the children get acquainted in his usual good-humored way, I caught a fleeting glimpse in the mirror of a past life.

I came closer to the burning embers. I could feel the children's small eyes widen in anticipation of the words I was about to say - words that had not seen the light of a clear, nippy afternoon outside of my private walls in decades.

I sat on an old wooden crate box that sank a bit in the sand when I plopped onto it, and the children gasped as though I might fall over. I smiled faintly as I heard the popping of the fire, and its warmth surrounded me like a soft, down blanket. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath feeling a slight tickle in the back of my throat as though I might have second thoughts about uttering these words, however; despite enduring a few panicked nervous moments and one hard swallow, I regained my wits. After almost five decades, I told my story to these wide-eyed children no more than twelve years old.

<***>

"I have never been a professional storyteller," I began, not knowing what to expect from the group of kids before me, "but with the way that times _were_ then and _are_ these days, and despite my ability, I feel as though I must at least tell this one." I looked at my grandson who gazed back at me with a wide smile. I had nothing to lose in this ever-taking, never-giving world. I wanted to tell this story not only for the children who came here to learn something, but also for me. I did not want my grandson or this wonderful brood, with their whole lives ahead of them, to wallow in the concerns of things they could not control. I wanted them to remember that hope always exists so that as I enter the twilight of my life, should I forget my wonderful tale, others would know it.

"There was a war going on many years ago like in so many parts of the world today," I continued. "It is true that one war at the time had many of the same characteristics you might see on TV or in the movies - there were the good guys, the bad guys, heroes and villains, good and evil, and destruction.

But there was also another war going on, and that conflict was much different."

"How different was it?" a small voice came from the circle of children.

I already felt nervous as it was and I didn't anticipate any interruptions from my young guests. I had never told a story in public before, much less answered questions - even to myself, especially about a story like this. I quickly wondered if it was worth it. Of course to my old soul, it was.

"I'm glad you asked that question, young lady, and I don't mean to be rude, but if you leave your questions until the end, I promise I will answer them all when I'm finished." She smiled and settled herself in the sand eager to hear more.

"You see, my friend Michael was dealing with that very situation. He was dealing with an inner struggle: a battle between his will and his destiny.

He had not quite been able to live a normal existence since he left his childhood town of Athens Eden on the coast."

"Hey!" one of the children with sandy hair sitting to my right called out. "That's where we live!" The others in the circle smiled and squealed with glee, for it seemed they loved a good story - especially about their own hometown.

"Why, yes it is. Michael loved this little town we live in, here on the edge of the ocean. When he was a kid, he especially liked to walk through downtown with his friends where he could see all of the wonderful people and visit the little shops that line the cobblestone roads. One of his favorite places - and I have to admit, one of mine - is 'Perrywinkles' Hot Dog Stand' right there on Sixth Avenue.

He would also walk into old man Warren's antique store, now owned by his son, just down the street from Perrywinkles' and see how quickly the bald, old grump would shoo him off after he tossed a few fragile globes or glass trinkets in the air. Sometimes, he and his friends walked the old stone roads down to the harbor to watch the ships load their cargo on the rickety docks. There, they would dream about climbing aboard and traveling to some distant land. On rainy days, they would hustle down to Sue Bailey's bookstore on Fourth Street and plop into one of her big plush plaid chairs to read books about some of those distant lands they had heard the sailors in the harbor describe - just like when I stroll past in the misty afternoons and see many of you curled up in those same old chairs flipping pages."

The children looked around at each other and nodded with approval at what I had said and I felt myself finally relax. Maybe we all could go get one of Jeb Perrywinkles' "Slammin' Yellow Dogs" after the story. That would be very nice indeed.

"But now that Michael was older, it was more than just not being able to feel normal. He longed for a past he could never return to and a destiny that he felt he had not fulfilled." I continued, though I have to admit I was thinking of a hot dog at that moment.

"He missed the long walks on the cobblestone streets and the adventures of being a kid. He started to conjure up horrible thoughts about not wanting to live because he felt his life had no meaning. At the beginning of fall that year, about the same time as now, the nightmares he was having were eating away at his soul, and a beast from his past started to dwell and fester within him. Unable to handle the horrible visions that danced in his mind one night, he was shaken awake. He crawled to his desk drenched in sweat. His hands shook as small beads of water slipped from his brow and pelted the paper in front of him. He summoned what energy he had left and wrote a letter to a dear old friend:

Dear Kali,

I know it has been a long time since I have talked to you, some two years or so now, but I don't know where else to turn. I've been having nightmares about that guide, Billy, who was in Old Captain Luke's house. He haunts me, and he begs me to go back. I can't shake the visions. He taunts me with a voice I do not recognize. He has changed and he wants me there. He also wants you and JT there as well, and from the threats he makes, it's almost certain that he won't stop until we return.

Please, I know this sounds crazy and you want to forget about everything that happened there and don't want me to talk about it, but I must go back. If you ever cared for me, you'll return too. It won't be like last time I wrote you, I swear.

I have to find JT. Billy has expressed to me very clearly where to look in my dreams, but it might not be easy. I know JT will never remember again, you know, since his tragedy and his mom, but I must try to get him back there.

Meet me at my sister's diner in Athens Eden in three days. I hope this letter gets to you tomorrow. If I'm not there by five o'clock in the afternoon, I'm sorry to have dragged you into this nightmare, but please, I beg you, for my sake - for our sake, just this one last time, please come.

Always,

Michael

Michael carefully folded his letter, placed it in an envelope and mailed it to Kali."

"There is a lesson here, and I think it's worth explaining if you will humor me... Everything around you, including you, can change in a single moment. It can be like deciding to get up and take a walk in the park. As you walk admiring the flowers and trees, you may run into another person about your age and become very good friends. In fact, you may become friends for life, changing both of your lives forever. You may even change the lives of other people that you run into as the years go by. But you see, if you had never made the decision to get up and take a walk, you would have never met your friend.

The second Michael placed the letter in the mailbox, he knew his life would be very different from that moment on. It was his will that allowed him to write the letter and send it to Kali, and it would be his destiny that pointed him to a little farm 200 miles away."

<***>

"JT Davis, the friend Michael needed to find, was going through his own time of doubt in his own little corner of the world. I know it's hard to think that someone might be living in darkness, but I can tell you that sometimes this is the only way we can find the light.

JT was a tall, meaty kind of guy. I wouldn't say that he was muscular, nor would I say he was fat. He was thick, and if you ran into him on the road, you might be intimidated by him. But I confess he was as gentle as a large teddy bear.

Most days he wore his worn, faded blue jeans and a plain gray T-shirt. He had tried to wear colors on occasion, but he always felt that the bright reds and yellows never really looked right on him.

He was a handsome young man with blue, inset eyes and a mop of brown hair on top of his head. His nose was chiseled and he sported a rugged chin, but the most pronounced features of his face were two unmistakable dimples in each of his cheeks that could light up a room when he smiled. Unfortunately, he didn't smile that often.

JT had lost his father in a terrible plane crash when he was eleven, and only four years later, almost to the day, he witnessed the death of his mother in a horrific car accident. You might be able to imagine the toll that would take on a young man. The thought of losing just one of our parents is sickening, let alone losing them both.

Adding insult to this woe, he had injured his knee as he watched that water truck plow into the side of his mother's car. As he was running and reaching for her, he thrust his leg through the floor of the wooden porch of his home and blew out his ligaments. The six foot, bushy brown-haired kid with dimples in his cheeks and a bright smile was reduced to walking with a cane for the rest of his life.

After this tragedy, he was taken in by a very nice older couple named Louise and Gregory Shorts. They were friends of JT's mother and had helped her get over the loss of her husband. The couple met JT's mom at a church, and together they regularly comforted her. They took it upon themselves to care for JT since no other family member had ever been found.

They were a gentle pair of souls that treated JT as though he were part of their family. In fact, they treated him as though he were their grandson. It is a very special thing to be thought of as a grandchild and JT was lucky.

Louise was slim and tall with white hair atop her head. She wore spring dresses all year long and planted flowers where ever she could find a spot on their land, placing freshly cut blooms all around their farmhouse. She placed flowers on tables, near sinks, and on all of her antique dressers. And even though JT sometimes moaned about it, she would place a big bouquet by his bed on his nightstand. She thought it wasn't right to let such nice things go to waste. The petals filled the farmhouse with an aroma that could make angels jealous.

She always made sure that JT had what he needed - sometimes knowing what he needed before he even knew it. She smiled constantly and loved JT.

Gregory was a large, jolly sort of man who reminded JT of Santa Claus as he walked around laughing and singing. He always had candy in his pockets to give to the children he passed on the streets in town. He was a hard worker on the farm that his family had owned for four generations, and he saved money religiously out of every crop he sold, keeping it safe for JT, even when it meant that he and Louise had to go without. Though Gregory loved his life on the farm, he hoped that JT might one day decide to go to college.

He also loved JT; he and Louise only wanted to make him happy, and JT was just that, but still Gregory sensed that something bubbled in JT - something that was foreign to the young man, far away from his grasp and understanding."

<***>

"I need to go back a little now, and I apologize," I said to the children, who were mesmerized by the story. "But like I said, I am not a professional storyteller. You'll have to forgive me if I get out of order from time to time, but this is important." I hoped the children would accept my mistake. It's true that I had never really told a story in public, and I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything.

"Remember when I said JT had to use a cane because he injured his knee?" I asked, and most of the children nodded. "Well, this was no ordinary cane. It had a special power. Not only did it have the power to help JT walk, but it had the power to open the doorway to a miraculous world.

The cane was long and black and made from the finest ebony wood, and at the top of it was a hand-carved ivory skull and crossbones with deep, red ruby eyes.

JT, however, didn't know of its power while he lived with Gregory and Louise. You see, after he hurt his knee, he lost his memory from hitting his head on the floor of the porch as he fell through and watched his mother die. He couldn't remember anything that had happened to him before the accident, so he thought the cane was just an instrument to help him walk.

When he awoke from his injury in the hospital, the cane lay beside him in his bed. He thought it might have been a gift, and when he found out he was going to live with Gregory and Louise, he thought it may have been from them. When JT asked Gregory about the cane, Gregory had said that he had never seen the cane before so JT assumed it must have been a gift from his doctor.

He loved the way it looked, and even though he didn't quite know who gave it to him, it was his, and he imagined that it came from a faraway place on the other side of the world. He had no idea how close he was to the truth."

Chapter 2

I stood up gently from my little wooden box and stoked the fire. My legs have not been very limber for some time, but after being surrounded by young ones, I felt injected with the thick elixir of youth pulsing through my old bones and I savored the new skip in my step. The burst of life was short, however, and it soon dulled as I felt my knees give way. I was lucky to have a quick grandson, who caught me as I stumbled and placed me back on the little wooden box. I decided to let him stoke the fire the next time it needed it.

The children were only slightly concerned about my small misstep, and I swiftly steadied myself so I could resume my story about JT, Michael, and the mystical cane.

"I have to tell you," I continued, trying not to falter after my buffoonery, "JT had been on the Shorts' farm for some time. He was fifteen when he arrived, and for eight more years saw the sun rise and set from the same little room in their big, old, country farmhouse.

He never wanted anything material, and he rarely asked the Shorts for nonessential objects such as toys or new electronic gizmos. But like I said, Louise seemed to anticipate JT's wishes even before he knew. There would be a fresh glass of cold water at his side after a long day's work, or a clean shirt laid out for him when he thought his closet was empty. His favorite moment though was when she placed hot brownies in his hand as he looked out over the stars on long, summer nights.

Don't misunderstand me; JT was happy that he was with the Shorts on their farm. He certainly appreciated that they cared for him, but Gregory was right - something in the back of his mind ate away at him. The long years alone on the farm thinking about his cane and its origin turned his thoughts upon himself. He began to wonder where he came from, but after his accident so long ago, his mind would not release the memories he so desperately sought. He knew that his forgotten childhood was somewhere to be found, and he wanted to find the path to lead him to it.

JT awoke every morning and did the chores common to people who live on farms: he milked cows and fed chickens; cut grass; pitched hay; and chopped wood. He never complained out loud, but as the years crept by, the monotony of his life weighed on his back and dragged him down.

Gregory, in his wisdom, could see that JT was becoming a lot slower in his daily chores as the years passed. He knew that JT was lonely and had very few friends, if any. He rarely left the farm except for the occasional family errand in town. Gregory and Louise homeschooled him, and with permission from the local school board, they were able to give JT a high school diploma. He framed the piece of paper, which was the only thing that hung on the four bare walls in his room. As you may remember, Gregory wanted JT to go to college but never pushed him to make hard life decisions. JT had been through a lot, and Gregory didn't want him to go down a path too quickly only to find out it was the wrong choice. He would never force something that might end up hurting JT - he could never forgive himself if that were to happen. Gregory had always believed that JT had to make his decisions on his own.

On one particularly boring day, JT lumbered out to the horse barn. He actually liked going out to the horse barn, though he didn't like the smell. George and Gracie, the twin black horses that occupied it, were friendly and well mannered, but their smell still left something to be desired. Despite this, JT could stay out in the barn all day and talk to them. They were probably the only two living things with whom JT could share his deepest thoughts. He couldn't even be as frank with Gregory and Louise. There were many times when JT had tried to talk to the Shorts intimately, but for some reason he could never quite communicate his true feelings. With George and Gracie, however, there was no pressure when speaking to them. Words poured out of his mouth like a rushing waterfall.

JT had hoped Gregory could have taught him to ride, but his knee just wouldn't allow it. He wished he could jump on George's back and whisk down the open fields of the farm, darting through the trees in the woods. He could only dream of feeling the wind against his face and rushing through his hair. JT longed to feel the freedom that riding might have provided, but he knew it would never happen.

He would always arrive at the barn the same time every other day, and this day was no different. It was 9:00 a.m. and JT followed the routine he had always done. He would carefully lean his cane inside the door right against its jamb and go to the closet where he grabbed a broom to sweep the floor. He would then feed the horses and water them - only once a week was he required to brush them and today was thankfully not one of those days. As the two horses fed on the oats, he would clean the stalls, trying to get rid of as much of the smell as possible while talking about life and much about nothing to George

After JT finished cleaning Gracie's stall, he opened the windows as wide as possible. He then decided to sweep up a little more. As he swept his pile of dirt toward the entrance of the barn, he saw a strange little arm reach around the door jamb and grab his cane to steal it.

'Hold it right there!' JT yelled out. 'What do you think you're doing?!' JT had no idea who was trying to steal his cane, but the arm froze in place, firmly gripping the ivory skull and crossbones. There was no sound coming from whoever was attached to the arm on the other side of the door. It was odd. If the person wanted his cane so badly, why didn't he just snatch it and run off?

'I'm talking to you!' JT yelled out once more, and he stomped toward the door as quickly as his bum knee would allow. When he got right up to the opening, a small blonde-haired boy slid into the mid-morning light in front of him and let go of the cane. JT stopped quickly. For some reason, _he_ was the one who felt startled. After realizing it was just a small boy, he took a deep breath and felt a rush of anger toward the young child. 'Who are you and what do you want?' JT announced.

The little boy was dressed in dirty overhauls and a dirty white T-shirt. His mop of hair was level with JT's bellybutton and his feet were as bare as the floor beneath them. His lip quivered beneath his deep green eyes, and his whole body shuddered in front of the now angry JT.

'Notin' sir,' the boy stated with an obvious fright in his voice. 'I mean, I came to tell you... um... forget it, you wouldn't wanna know.' The little boy turned halfway around.

'Fine! Get on outta here before I get _really_ mad!' JT stated firmly. He did not want to show the boy in any way that he had been startled when they first met.

The boy started to walk away but then stopped after a couple steps. He then wheeled around with a newfound confidence and a smile with a few missing teeth as though his first reaction of being scared was just an act. 'You sure are awfully cracked at somethin'. Wanna talk about it?'

JT didn't know what to think and was taken aback again. Who was this strange little kid?

'Um, I told you to get outta here. Leave me alone. I have work to do.' JT turned around and went back to sweeping, hoping the child would just leave. The little boy, however, followed him into the barn. JT felt the child's presence, and the hair on the back of his neck felt prickly as it stood on end. He tried to ignore him, but the little boy was now relaxed and committed. With his new found comfort, the child asked JT three quick questions.

'How long you been up here by yourself?'

'How come you walk that way with a limp?'

'Why ain't you got no friends?'

JT tried his best to keep from responding, but after a few seconds, he couldn't help himself. He felt his skin get warm from his rising blood pressure. He had never felt his temper flare like this before, especially towards a child, but he couldn't help it. Something about this kid was bringing it out of him. 'Why? You been spyin' on me?!' JT barked back with a little frustration, and there was a sudden pause from the little boy as though he knew he had been caught.

'Um, maybe...?' the little boy whispered back humbly.

JT squinted his eyes and answered the boy's questions. 'None of your business; none of your business; and none of your business!'

'My name is Willy by the way.' The little blonde-haired boy stated quickly as though JT might forgive him for spying.

'Willy, huh,' JT huffed. 'Well, what do you want, Willy?'

'I just came to tell you somethin' very important and then I'll leave.'"

<***>

"I guess I really need to say something here too; another little explanation," I said to the twenty children listening to my story. "I know that it might seem strange for a little boy just to show up out of thin air, but trust me, it's important. You see, JT had spent the last eight years on the farm doing the same thing over and over again; hardly anything had changed in his life over that time. It is always wise to notice the things that do change; you know, the _strange_ things - because these are the moments in our lives that really get our attention, the moments that can change us forever. Just like walking through a park and meeting a new, lifelong friend.

For Michael, that moment might have been mailing the letter to Kali. And for JT, it may have been a little boy just showing up at his door step, shattering a dull routine on the Shorts' farm."

I hoped the children understood what I was trying to tell them because I would hate for them to leave wondering where the little boy fit into the story. I had a funny feeling that they would come to understand - if not now, then certainly later, so I continued.

<***>

"JT looked intensely at Willy." I began again, hoping my lesson had sunk in just a bit. "Though Willy seemed to be more of a nuisance than someone who could possibly tell him something of importance, JT listened. He decided the boy wouldn't have come unless he really believed that his information for JT would actually mean something, so JT pacified him.

'Aw'right. Let's hear it,' JT stated. His temper subsided and he was relieved. He didn't want to be angry at a child.

Willy paced around the barn for a second and began to talk as if he were an oracle of some sort. It was as if your pet stood up and started talking to you about how the world was created, or began explaining the workings of the sun. It was very peculiar without a doubt.

"What in the world is an oracle?" a little dark brown-haired boy asked quickly from the group of children who were now huddled closer to my grandson's fire in the sand as the air became cooler and crisper. There was a moan from the others as if everyone else knew what an oracle was but him.

"An oracle," I began, "is a person or being that reveals something of great importance. They are very wise and can even predict the future and tell stories that have special meanings. At least I think that is what they are and Willy was about to fit that description very well." I looked back at the little boy and he nodded his head in approval while a little girl beside him with a red-haired ponytail looked at him and muttered the word, "Duh...."

"Willy took a deep breath and began to tell his tale.

'A long time ago, on the southern tip of Africa, was a tribe of renegade Egyptians called the Vryheid,' Willy began and JT's eyes perked up.

'A little country boy talking about Egyptians – excellent,' JT mumbled, but Willy continued without a pause.

'They left their homeland because they believed that the heathen Pharaohs of Old wanted to betray and enslave them in order to control every aspect of their lives. Worse, the Vryheid believed the Pharaohs wanted to take their children far away and to raise them to think and act in the way they told them.

The elders of these rebel Egyptians gathered what possessions they could and left the only home they knew. They felt that anywhere would be better than the place where they were. They chose never to be controlled by the Pharaohs. They wanted to be free to think and work the way they wanted, and to be able to teach their children to control their destiny.

As they settled in a village around the Cape, the heathen Pharaohs found them and tried to crush them.

After many bloody battles, the Vryheid escaped from the Pharaohs' tyranny once again and moved their people inland to a desert where they were able to live for a while without threat and in relative peace.

With the borrowed time they had and still afraid that the Pharaohs would find them, they began to dabble in ancient mysteries that should not be experimented with by humans. The elders of the tribe had heard of these forces, passed down from older generations. They knew there was danger, but they decided to use this magic anyway. The Vryheid created a world between the living and the dead, one that they controlled where they could flee from the threat of the heathen Pharaohs if they were ever to find them again. They conjured up the ancient spells, magic, and powers from their ancestors and created a space between time. They called this world Bruinduer.

The gap they shaped with their human vanity, however, was too unstable for them to remain for extended periods. To try and control this, they created a way that they could slide between the earthly world and Bruinduer when it might threaten to collapse.'

"JT started to shake his head and snickered, 'You have got to be kidding me.'

'Why you say that?' Willy asked as if JT had missed something he had said.

'Who are you?' JT asked as he put his broom back into the closet. 'That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. What are you ten years old or something? I don't have time for this. Go away you dumb little brat.'

Willy hung his head. 'It's true then. You did forget about everything.'

'What?' JT asked. His suspicion grew. For some reason, this little dirty, blonde haired boy knew more about him than he had expected.

'The renegade Vryheid created a way to slide between this world and Bruinduer by using a door -- a mahogany door, the strongest and rarest of the woods in Southern Africa. And to keep the space safe from unwanted people, especially the Pharaohs, they also created a key.' Willy turned his head toward the ebony cane that leaned against the entrance to the barn. The skull and crossbones handle glowed impossibly in the rising sun and the eyes began to sparkle with tinges of red light. Willy then slowly turned in JT's direction.

JT shook his head vigorously now. 'Nope. Can't be. You're crazy.' He started to laugh out loud.

Willy slid to the opened door. He snatched the cane and walked toward JT holding it out in front of him. JT immediately stopped laughing at the sight of the boy's menacing stare.

'Where did you get this cane, JT?' Willy's voice started to tremor and become a little deeper with every passing word and the little boy actually looked as though he grew a couple of inches. 'You know Gregory didn't give it to you.'

'The hospital gave it to me,' JT stated, gritting his teeth and feeling a shot of excitement rush through him. His heart began to pound in his chest. He backed away from Willy with his hands out in front of him trying to push away the boy that was changing right in front of him. There was no doubt that JT was terrified now.

'Quit it, JT. Stop burying your thoughts and feelings. You know who I am. _I_ gave this cane to you as you lay in that hospital bed.'

'Stop! What do you want?' JT squealed as Willy got closer and closer. He tried to stand his ground but he could feel a menacing presence surround the child, who was growing into a monster, and backed against the barn wall. JT could hear George and Gracie start to kick against their stalls behind him. The wind began to charge through the barn, and the shutters that JT had opened began slapping against the outside walls. The entire barn quaked. It felt as though it would topple to the ground at any moment.

Willy's face looked as though it were morphing into something else and his voice deepened more. 'You have forgotten about me, JT, and I don't like it. You have been reckless with the key that was first given to you by your grandfather. You are the steward of this key. And to think he trusted you... to think _I_ trusted you. Now you have to come back. It is time.'

The monster held the cane out to JT and he grabbed it without thinking. He closed his eyes, never catching a glimpse of the creature Willy was turning into, but he could feel its essence and deep breath panting, every mouthful of air branding JT's cheeks with hot gas. JT pleaded in his mind for it to just go away. He wanted to be alone again.

The eyes on the cane lit bright red and filled the barn. George neighed even louder and thrashed violently against his stall door. The blood in JT's veins became electrified, and he felt as though his body was burning. He dropped to the ground in excruciating pain and blacked out. A booming laugh rang out and then faded away.

Chapter 3

The day went by a lot faster than I thought. The early afternoon had slipped away and I was getting windburn from the brisk breeze blowing off the ocean.

The children, however, were eager to hear more about JT and see where this story from a lifetime past might go. It was a little bitter sweet for me because I knew how the story would end, but I didn't want to stop so I suggested that we move our little group to the upper house from the beach so we could find relief from the chill. I promised them that I would continue to tell the story as we walked up the path and over the dunes. It was no surprise that the little ones accepted, and we started our trek.

"Can you tell us about that cool house up there we're going to?" a little boy with blonde hair yelled out as everyone gathered themselves together and brushed off loose sand from their clothes.

"I sure can," I answered with a big smile. "But, I'll tell you what. If you let me keep telling you the story about JT and his friends, I promise you'll learn everything there is to know about that big, old house up there, agree?"

All the children in the group agreed with excitement and we began our journey up the beach. I continued with the story from where I left JT. He was still lying on the floor of the horse barn on the Shorts' farm, unconscious.

"Dreams are crazy things," I began. "Most dreams come and go and we forget all about them the morning after. Some dreams, though, stick in our minds like glue and when we wake up, we wonder if those dreams really meant something. I can even remember after some of my more memorable dreams the visions that showed me things that might happen in the future or things from the past. Either way, they are very hard to forget. Incidentally, JT was about to have one of those dreams – and it would probably be the first of many."

<***>

"Lights and sounds swirled through JT's mind as he was laid out on the tidied barn floor. He tried to reach out and grab a hold of something to steady his body, but no matter how far he stretched his hands out, he felt nothing. He drifted through the kaleidoscope of colored lights, and just as he wondered how long he might be floating about, he felt an enormous hand grab him on his shoulder and he became still. The colors vanished and it was pitch black.

The hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood up when he heard a familiar but strange deep and burley voice from behind his left ear. 'Do it.'

JT had no idea what this voice wanted him to do. He tried to ask, but no words came out of his mouth.

'Do it,' he heard again from behind and felt hot breath singe his ear. With some unexplained automatic reflex, he knew what to do next.

JT reached his hand out and placed his fingertips on what felt like a wooden object with carvings on it. He pushed the object, but it would not budge. He heard deep laughter behind him as though it approved of his actions, and the chuckle faded into the distance. JT then put his palm flat on the object and pushed with all of his might. A loud crack sounded and white light flooded all around him. He felt a rush of air shoot through the opening. Suddenly he woke up. He knew he had just opened some kind of door.

Gregory stood staring down at JT with his sparkling, jolly eyes. JT was not on the floor of the barn anymore. He was lying in his bed in the farmhouse.

'You gave us quite a scare there son,' Gregory stated, with his hand on JT's forehead. Then Louise placed a cold rag around the back of his neck. 'You OK? You're sweating.'

'I think so,' JT whispered, still shaken from the ordeal. He then thought about Willy, the monster and what it had told him in the barn, and he wondered if it had even happened or not. Maybe it was still morning and he had not even left his room. 'Have I been here the whole time?'

'Nope,' Gregory answered. 'I found you in the barn muttering about much of nothing, passed out on the ground. I moved you up here by myself. Quite a scare indeed.'

'I'm thir-' JT started to say when Louise handed him a glass of water.

'You rest now,' she said in a comforting voice, her smile lighting the room.

JT knew that the encounter with Willy must have been real and the crazy story he told him meant something - but what? He poked his head up nervously and looked toward his night table. He saw his cane leaning against it and felt relieved. It also appeared to him in a different way now. The walking cane he tossed about and threw around seemed more valuable. His hunch that it had come from a distant world seemed much more plausible with the story of the blonde little boy.

Why, though, didn't that monster, Willy, or whatever he came in contact with, take the cane while it had the chance - while JT was passed out? Didn't the creature mention that he wasn't trustworthy enough to keep it anyway?

Certainly, JT thought, if a strange kid that started to turn into some creature wanted it, there was someone, or in this case, _something_ , else that might want to take it back as well. He definitely thought he should keep it safe.

JT ate some dinner and went to bed. He was scared and excited at the same time. The night was different as he stared out the window and watched the moonset. His quiet life on the farm was now shattered. He rolled over and, though his senses were heightened, fell asleep."

<***>

"JT put on his favorite worn-out blue jeans and gray T-shirt. The morning, just as the night before, felt different to him. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he thought something weird might happen this day. Maybe Willy would be coming after the cane again; this time as the hideous creature with the ferociously hot breath. Perhaps another person or thing might be coming as well. Following his own advice, he took his cane and locked it away in his bedroom closet.

He rarely walked without his cane. The pain was excruciating, but just as he wanted to keep the cane away from some mysterious beings trying to steal it, he also thought _he_ would be safer without it.

'Not using your cane today, dear?' Louise asked JT as he scarfed down a fried egg. The house burst with the smell of country breakfast.

'Nope. Don't need it today. Feels weird, but good.' Lying, he rubbed his knee under the table.

After he ate, Gregory grabbed his hat and asked JT if he wanted to go out and work with him in the largest field on the farm. Louise handed JT his hat before he could even agree.

Gregory called the field 'the Ol' 22' because it was twenty-two acres of the toughest land to farm and manage. Gregory told JT that _his_ grandfather never liked working that field, but that the more work you put into it, the better the crops it yielded. It seemed to work because every year the field would give them an abundance of corn and soy beans to sell that kept the farm running and allowed Gregory to put money away for JT.

Gregory's grandfather also left a huge oak tree smack in the middle of the field because the shade provided much needed respite to a farmer working the Ol' 22 during the long, hot summer days. Gregory had cut a dirt service road to the tree from the main road leading to the house so it would be easier to access; he wasn't counting on the teenagers from town to use the tree as a place to gather on those long, hot summer nights, but he didn't mind.

It was the spot where Gregory would take his then-girlfriend Louise when they were younger to look at the stars and talk about their future. He carved his and Louise's initials in a little heart near the base of the big tree the first time they sat beneath it. Ever since, the teenagers that came there would do the same thing. In the thirty-five years of their marriage, there must have been over a thousand initials and names in hearts carved all over the trunk of the tree and Gregory liked to see the new ones; of course, his and Louise's heart was the most special.

JT and Gregory drove two tractors to the big old tree in the middle of the Ol' 22 to plan out the plowing of the massive field for the fall planting of soy beans.

After they parked the tractors, Gregory and JT wanted to investigate the tree to see all the new names that had been written on it for the last time that summer. School was about to start and the kids wouldn't be back. When they walked around the tree to check it out, the weird feelings JT had about that day bubbled in his stomach. His body tingled with excitement.

Gregory smiled his jolly smile at his and Louise's initials, rubbing his fingers across the worn mark. He then panned his eyes up the rest of the tree. 'What in the world is this?!' He yelled out, and the jovial feeling he had just had turned to anger. 'Come here JT, take a look at this!' His smile morphed into a growl.

JT hobbled as quickly as he could to see what Gregory was excited about. He settled beside the large man and followed his thick finger, which was pointing up at the tree. JT's jaw dropped when he saw what was written there. In twelve inch, thick black burned-out letters just beneath the canopy, it read:

I TOLD YOU, YOU FORGOT

ABOUT ME

AND I DON'T LIKE IT. MICHAEL COMES NOW.

Just as soon as JT read the note, he heard a rumble coming down the dirt service road. He jerked his head around, and in an enormous cloud of dust, a big old rusty blue car bounced its way toward him and Gregory. The car, with its worn-out white canvas roof and two big fins off the back, swerved and squeaked on top of the gravel. When it reached the end of the road, the brakes ground and the car slid to a stop. A loud backfire sounded through the field, 'BANG!' Quail quickly lifted from the ground with fright, scattered and then disappeared back into the overgrowth.

JT poked his head around the tree very curiously and a young, slight man stepped out of the old blue car.

'JT, you out here?!' the man asked, loudly coughing through the thick dust he stirred up with the car.

The young man was a little over five and a half feet tall with a red shirt on and baggy jeans. His hair was black and slicked back. The most pronounced feature about him though was the thick, brown, horn-rimmed glasses that were perched on his thin, pointed nose. Through the glasses were cavernous, hazel eyes that were bloodshot and puffy. It was obvious that the young man had had little rest.

'Yeah?!' JT yelled back, in a most uncertain tone. Ideas about how this man knew his name cycled through his mind. 'I'm here!' JT said, and limped from around the tree into the sunlight, swatting and squinting through the thick dust. 'And you're Michael, right?'

'You do remember! It was just a lie! I knew it!' The young man ran and grabbed a hold of JT with a huge hug. 'That's right. It's me, Michael.' The thin man, now out of breath, stated with a huge smile on his face, dust clouding his glasses.

JT didn't know what to do so he hesitantly hugged Michael back. Michael was laughing and seemed very happy. JT didn't want to hurt his feelings, but knew he had to tell this young man the truth and that he had no idea who he was.

'Whoa, OK,' JT said as calmly as possible, taping Michael on the shoulders with his halfhearted hug. 'I'm sorry but I - I don't remember you.' JT felt adrenaline rush through his veins, but wanted to seem as calm as possible. 'I guessed you were Michael by what's written on that tree up there. It was just dumb luck.' JT pointed Michael to the message burned in the tree. 'I was hoping, since I guessed right and your name _is_ Michael, that you could shed a little light on this.'

Michael looked at the tree and then back at JT and hung his head for a second. His brief moment of excitement changed into a hazy weariness. His face turned pink and he felt a little embarrassed now. JT didn't remember him as he had wished. After a few moments of glancing back and forth from the burned-out letters to JT, Michael began to relax a little, knowing that at least he had found JT. He then remembered his letter to Kali and hoped she would meet them tomorrow at the diner. That is, if JT would go with him.

'Who wrote this on the tree?' Michael asked uncertainly, with angst in his voice.

'Like I said, that's what I was hoping you could tell _me_ ,' JT remarked and looked from the ground to the height of the black letters. 'I have a feeling, but I don't know if he can even get up there. I got this strange visit from a little boy yester –'

Michael interrupted JT. 'Name's Willy I suspect?' he asked with hesitation. He then nodded his head and looked warily out over the Ol' 22.

'Huh, that would be the name. You know him?' JT asked. 'Strange little fella. Started to turn into some kinda... somethin'....' JT didn't say anything else. He didn't want to seem crazy so he kept the monster and the story about renegade Egyptians to himself.

'That's not the half of it,' Michael replied and shuddered with the memory of the visit. 'I don't believe he managed to do that.' He peered back up at the emblazoned letters in the tree. Michael then gazed at JT with nervous excitement, and a slightly crooked grin appeared on his face.

JT felt uncomfortable as he caught Michael's expression.

'Hey, my name is Gregory.' Gregory extended his thick hand to Michael, breaking the awkward scene.

'Oh, I'm sorry, Gregory....' JT said.

'That's fine boy,' Gregory stated back. He introduced himself to Michael and walked toward one of the tractors. 'I bet you guys have a lot to talk about. You two take your time and I'll meet you back at the house. We can take care of this field tomorrow. We still have a couple of weeks. Plus, this note on the tree and all this talk is a little too strange for me. I'm sure you'll figure it all out.'

At first, Gregory felt a little untrusting toward Michael, though he remained calm. He really wanted to see how this out-of-the-blue encounter would play out.

The sight of a new person in JT's life, though shocking and uncertain to some extent, was welcome to Gregory. He wanted JT to remember as much as possible about his life before he had come to them, but he felt helpless in getting JT to recover those memories. He wasn't sure, but no matter how perplexed he was about Michael's arrival, he felt that it might provide a clue to the childhood JT had always craved.

Gregory only met JT briefly when he was younger. His mom started going to their church after she moved to their town a year before she died. JT came to church only once that spring and never returned. His mom only mentioned him as a good and decent son; she never told Gregory or Louise about his childhood and they never asked. Gregory felt she would have told them about her son if she wanted. The couple could never have predicted the sudden death of JT's mom, and somehow regretted the fact that they hadn't gotten to know JT better before; they did their best now that he was with them.

As Gregory left JT and Michael panning from the ground to the mysterious note blazed on his grandfather's old oak tree, he couldn't help but wonder about the strange little boy Willy - who he was and why he had entered their lives. He also suddenly had the inexplicable urge to ring Willy's neck.

Chapter 4

"May we sit for a moment?" I asked my band of dedicated listeners, and all gathered around and sat on the stone benches in a grand garden off of the south end of the large house at the edge of the ocean.

"Isn't this garden lovely?" I asked and received a delighted response from the children.

"It was grown in hopes of reminding passersby of the cycle of life; the process where every living thing is reborn and then sadly must die.

You see, every year the showers of spring bring the tulips and petunias into full bloom. The azaleas burst with their own fireworks display, showing off their bright colors of pink, white, and violet. Thick grapevines are heavy with their plump, fruitful bounty. But the roses, my friends, out dazzle them all with their genius strokes of red, white, yellow, and pink that paint a perfect portrait from one end of the garden to the other.

Then, just as the landscape seems to reach its full potential, the twilight of summer dwindles into the past, and fall begins. The garden's colorful scenes give way to the dreadful brown, grays, and black of death and winter. The tulips, azaleas, and petunias wither away. The vines won't produce any fruit, and the roses leave tall, ugly stems that are cracked and littered with thorns. However, just as with all of earth's creations, the garden nurtures hope.

The plants during their spring and summer reigns, secretly spread seeds in the ground where they wait. Those little kernels wait with the promise that the sun and showers will return the following spring so the garden may become brilliant once again."

The children looked around at the fading fall garden, and I could tell that they were trying to picture it in full regalia. Some of the children smelled at the withering plants and tried to catch the last bit of flowery bouquet before the plants finally bent in dormancy. One little girl with auburn hair even picked a dying petunia and placed it behind her ear.

"Michael," I continued as I sat beneath an arch covered in dried out sunflowers, lilies, and grapevines fading with the creeping fall, "was full of nerves and confusion. Earlier, as he wrote his letter, Michael had wished only that he would find JT - but there he was, his friend from so long ago, standing in front of him. His thoughts were racing. Michael wanted so much to just tell JT everything he knew about his life and the path he took to get to the Shorts' farm. His heart wrenched against his ribs and his palms began to sweat.

'I have no idea where to start,' Michael told JT as they stood beneath the tree. He felt faint ready to collapse with exhaustion.

JT didn't know what to say or even think about the situation. He searched his brain for any rational thought, but said the first thing that came to his mind. 'Who are you and what are you doing here?'

'That's fair enough I guess.' Michael's bubble instantly burst and he was filled with assorted emotions. It was a very strange and humbling moment when he heard his best friend from childhood tell him that he didn't remember who he was. He knew he should understand why JT did not remember him, but he was still distraught.

'My name is Michael, you know - I guess - Michael Peterson and we have been -- well maybe -- we _were_ friends a long time ago, before your accident. Basically, we grew up together in a little town on the coast called Athens Eden. I know you can't remember anything since before your mom got killed.' Michael started to calm just a little, and his mood started to improve. The chance to talk to his old friend sobered his soul and soothed his jittery nerves. For a brief moment under the big oak tree, he felt a sense of peace.

It sank in that he had found JT, and surprisingly, it was exactly where Billy, the guide from his past, had led him in his dreams. Was that monster setting him up for more failure in his life, or was he actually helping him? Was JT a part of some unseen destiny laid out for him? The conflict in him grew. Michael suddenly felt a surging burst of emotion and his peace was shattered. His emotions spiraled out of control.

'Gosh JT, there's just so much to say! I mean there's your grandfather and the house, and Billy and Kali, and Charlie! Geez, I almost forgot about Charlie. And there's your mom and dad. I don't know what to say! It's so overwhelming! My mind is so confused, I can't think straight!!' Michael collapsed to his bottom under the tree. He slumped his shoulders over and sat, out of breath.

JT's eyes became wide. There was an actual person in front of him mentioning people that were from his past - the elusive past that he wanted to remember. There was no more fantasy about mysterious worlds far away. Michael could give him what he craved. 'What?! What did you say?!' JT asked with cautious enthusiasm. 'You know about my past? About my childhood?'

'Know about it?' Michael answered, his voice rising to a slight squeak. 'I lived it. I was right there with you.'

'Tell me about it. I want to know everything.' JT seemed demanding, his mouth beginning to water.

Michael scanned the field like a military lookout. 'Do you have it? Do you have the cane, the cane with the skull and crossbones?' Michael's voice faded into a slight whisper.

JT answered with suspicion, 'Yes, I got it. It's at the house. It's strange but...' JT then thought that maybe Michael might be one of those people (or things) like that little boy Willy who wanted to take the cane away from him.

'You have to get it! You have to keep it safe!' Michael jumped up and grabbed JT. He then realized that he acted impulsively. He quickly let go of JT and pretended to straighten out an invisible collar on his shirt. There was a strain in Michael's face, his eyeglasses slid to the tip of his nose; his mouth grimaced.

JT didn't know how to respond. Michael was acting very bizarre, as though he couldn't collect his thoughts. He was acting as strange as Willy when he had changed into the monster in the horse barn. Every step and movement Michael made, JT tried to prepare himself for Michael to grow ten inches and shoot fire from his eyes or start spouting out another strange tale about renegade Egyptian tribes. As JT tried to keep a careful distance from Michael in case he did start to change, he was at least a little relieved that Michael wanted him to keep the cane safe.

JT watched Michael pace around the big oak tree and mutter incoherent messages. The now excited Michael would stop his pacing and swear at the sky, shaking his head. He smiled at the big oak tree and placed his hand on it as though he had missed it. He was a bag of emotions now, and JT thought the scene would be almost comical if it weren't so serious.

After a few minutes of watching him gyrate and swear, JT became convinced that Michael wouldn't turn into some sort of creature. He calmed Michael down and sat him under the tree again. 'It's OK. The cane's in my room. I just haven't used it. That stuff Willy was telling me yesterday really freaked me out. He was all about that cane too. Kinda like you.'

'What did he tell you exactly?' Michael asked with a renewed curiosity.

'He told me all about some tribe called the Vry - Vry-something. He also told me that the cane was first given to me by my grandfather, but that he was the one who gave it to me in the hospital. He said something about me being a steward of the key. He didn't really elaborate.'

'The Vryheid. That is or - eh - _was_ the tribe in Africa,' Michael interrupted. 'The tribe was very ancient. And your grandfather, Captain Luke Xavier Davis, was quite a man.' Michael took a deep breath, and just as Willy had done the day before, he told JT his own little story.

'Your grandfather -- everybody called him Captain Luke -- was a sailor, a Navy man,' Michael began, and JT sat and listened carefully. 'But he was a strange old guy to say the least. When he was young, he was part of a combat unit that sailed over to Africa to fight against a revolt. They chased one of the revolution leaders through some of the deepest jungles on the southern tip of Africa around the Cape of Good Hope and then deep into the continent itself. They went so far that they ended up in the Kalahari Desert. There they found the lost city ruins of the Vryheid called Hopian, where the leader of the revolt was hiding out. When Captain Luke and his team got to the city, they were ambushed and the revolutionaries drove your grandfather and his team of soldiers out of Africa.

After the revolutions in Africa, it was very dangerous to go back. The leaders of the new countries were in total control. It was exactly what the Vryheid were trying to get away from in Egypt: total domination. Ol' Captain Luke never quit though. He told us right before he died that something in the desert kept calling him back. He said it became an obsession to return to Hopian.

After many years and many secret trips back to the desert, he met a man named Jato Bindi who helped him search the desert and find the hidden city once again. There he found the cane and learned the secrets in the story that Willy told you. Here, wait a minute.' Michael got up, went to his car, and pulled an old, thick, brown leather notebook from the trunk. It was only kept together by a string tied around it, and the two bound covers strained to keep the loose papers between them.

'It's in here. This is your grandfather's journal of the trips and his stories of the time he spent searching and finding Hopian. I'm sorry I took it, but I thought it might be lost or destroyed after you left.' Michael took a deep breath and gave it to JT. Maybe he had finally started to let his destiny take over, but something still kept driving him. It had to have been Billy - driving him and calling him - wanting to get him back into the old house, visiting him in his dreams, and taunting him. Returning to the old house had become an obsession for Michael just as it was for JT's grandfather to return to Hopian. He couldn't help himself even though he was dog-tired and scared of the outcome. Could death be the outcome of this obsession?

'Oh!' Michael said. 'There's a house - Ol' Captain Luke's big, ol' house by the sea. It's called Warhead Dale.'"

All twenty children in the group in front of me leapt from their stone benches and pointed at the big, old house on the shore situated behind us. "That house! That's the house! Yeah! That one!" They all bounced up and down as though they were standing on the surface of the sun.

"You're right, children! That's Warhead Dale, now calm down." I had never seen children so excited. "I told you, you would find out all about the wonderful house you came to see today." A few moments passed and the children gathered around once more, listening intensely with large eyes and wide smiles.

<***>

" _What a huge and lovely house it is,"_ I thought. It was at least a football field in length, 100 yards of bright beige brick, concrete, and mortar. It stood four stories tall, and from the bluish-green clay, tile-covered roof popped out ten chimneys -- three on one side, three on the other, and four that were equally distributed across the length of the center. The house was divided into three equal sections, all rising to a point, and the tallest of the sections was the one in the middle.

The front and back of the house were covered with windows, but the most striking quality was the circular staircase that rose from inside but looked as though it were attached to the outside of the center section.

The right side of the house stretched to a somewhat smaller servants' house, and the left side extended to the garden where the children and I sat. The front lawn was five acres of green grass with a large, circular, brick structure in the middle. A brass fountain in the shape of an angel with wings that spanned some thirty feet stood within it, its brilliance gleaming in the cool afternoon sun. A large, stone wall circled the house grounds with a big, black iron gate that opened to a newly built driveway.

The backyard of the house was very short compared to the front and stopped at an outcropping of rocks that were piled to the length of the house. There was a single, wooden walkway that led from the back of the house, over the rocks and down to a crystal-clear, white sand beach. The waves crashed gently on the shore and the ocean went on forever.

I then thought quickly about why we were there. I had almost forgotten. I was so immersed in my story that I, like my audience, was lost in the moment.

My grandson and companion for the day, James, had purchased Warhead Dale from JT's immediate family some ten years ago. He was hypnotized by the stories (much like the children) that JT had told to his family as an older man about the house and his adventures. He thought that the house was worth restoring and sharing with the world. He was granted a historical site certificate from the government, and today was the first day it was to be shown to the public.

As I looked over the shining faces of the children ready to hear more, I noticed that their number had grown by at least five while more little ones were still scurrying down the walkway to the garden. I continued my story with the meeting of Michael and JT.

<***>

'You still didn't answer my other question,' JT sputtered to Michael with a demeaning tone. He didn't want to belittle Michael, but he had become frustrated.

'What was the question?' Michael answered back, fiddling with his hands.

'I know _who_ you are, but _what_ are you doing here?' JT turned and looked out over the Ol' 22 warily, much like Michael had done moments before. The first leaf of fall fell from the old oak tree to the ground beside his right foot.

Michael paused for a second because he didn't know quite how to phrase his answer without being combative. He heaved air from his lungs, and with the last morsel of courage he could gather, he looked into JT's blue eyes. 'I came to take you back.'"

Chapter 5

I convinced the children to go into the house with me. Of course it wasn't that hard. They really wanted to go inside and explore this home by the sea.

We walked up the pristinely manicured walkway to the south entrance and through to the main hall. The only word I could think of to describe the interior was "magnificent." The children were awestruck by the house, the rooms, and the decor and I couldn't have been happier. It had required a lot of money and time from my grandson to renovate the mansion.

The children gathered on top of a large, mahogany colored rug in the main hall and I sat in a comfortable black leather chair to their left. The warmth of the fire my grandson had built in the massive fireplace behind us and the glow of the bright faces on the children energized me again just as the story I was telling had done. After a quick drink of water, I was ready to continue, and to my surprise, the children's parents began to fill in the back of the hall around their kids.

<***>

"JT was astonished at Michael's statement," I began again. "He didn't know quite how to respond to it. Everything seemed to be happening rather quickly. He realized that only a day before he was preparing to clean out the horse barn. Today, he was supposed to wrap his brain around a tale of fantasy told by a little blonde-haired boy who popped out of nowhere and a skinny guy that claimed to know his grandfather and all about his childhood. Now this Michael fella wanted to take him to a big ol' house called Warhead Dale that had supposedly been owned by his grandfather (Ol' Captain Luke). It was quite overwhelming to JT to say the least. I would be lying, however, if I didn't say that JT was more than a little curious to find out where this unbelievable tale might take him.

JT and Michael drove the rusty blue car back to the farmhouse so they could sit and talk more about his past for a while; JT also wanted to try to digest the events of the past day and a half. He suspected a good cup of hot chocolate would help him take it all in. JT also thought that Gregory and Louise might shed some light on all of this information as well. He had never really talked extensively about his past with them. Sadly, the answers he sought from them were just the opposite of what he wanted to hear.

'I wish I could help you, boy,' Gregory told JT as he and Michael sat around after dinner sipping their hot chocolate. 'Your mom never told us about your childhood or many of your family members. But she did talk about your dad quite a bit. Funny, you've never really asked about him before now though.' Gregory reclined in his big green chair in the homey den. He sat in his favorite piece of furniture every night and the cushions molded around his large, jolly frame.

'I guess things have changed a little in the last couple of days.' JT looked over at Michael briefly and then back at Gregory, who nodded in agreement. 'I also figured there was nothin' I could do about my dad being dead anyway so why wonder or even ask about him? But since everything that's happened, I think I want to find out who I am and where I came from. Deep down I've wanted to know about that for a long time, but I really didn't have a startin' place. I guess I got one now.' JT had a sound of uncertainty in his voice as he peered back toward Michael.

'No, no, son. This is what I was hopin' for,' Gregory stated in an assuring tone to JT. 'Don't get me wrong, I wish you were satisfied with your life here with us, but I know there's been somethin' eatin' at ya. You been limpin' around here for years wondering what to do next. Maybe all this stuff that is happenin' to you is a way of tellin' ya it's time to get on with livin' and find out what's out there - who you are... where you come from.' Gregory wiggled in his chair in hopes of becoming a little more comfortable even though it was probably impossible; he looked very relaxed as it was. His initial feeling of alarm when he first met Michael and trying to guess his motives had calmed as well. JT was an adult and could make his own decisions. He just didn't want someone manipulating him.

'So, what _can_ you tell me about my dad?' JT asked with trepidation; he was afraid at what he might hear.

'Well,' Gregory started, 'Your mom came to church one Sunday after she moved here in hopes of finally tryin' to cope with your daddy's death after four years. She said you two needed a fresh start in a new town after times got hard where you were. She was really quiet as she sat in the back row - quiet as a mouse. That is, until Louise went over and introduced herself –'

'That's right, I sure did,' Louise interrupted Gregory. She sat beside JT with a cup of coffee and placed marshmallows in his hot chocolate, knowing he loved them. Her eyes were kind and her voice was soft; it comforted JT as she stroked gently on his back.

'She sat in that back row with her head down flipping pages of her Bible. We'd never seen her there before and I just felt like I needed to talk to her. You were there too, so young and handsome, but very sad.' Louise sat back into the couch and took a deep breath. 'It took her a couple of Sundays after that to really start talking, but after she became a little more relaxed, she opened up a little about Jackie - your dad.

She told us over time that he was a very kind man, and very handsome as well. She said you were the spitting image of him. He worked hard, but wasn't very outspoken. She told us that he never really liked to discuss his family or his past. I guess it's fitting that you don't remember anything then - he kept mostly to himself from what I gathered from your mother. Most importantly though, she knew he loved her and she knew he loved you.' Louise crossed her arms and looked into the distance to collect her thoughts. JT could see her mind was turning round and round thinking of other things to say. 'I really can't remember too much more. We were just so blessed to be able to take you in. Your mom, though, for about five months before she died, just didn't come back to church anymore.'

'Strange, it was,' Gregory continued. 'She just didn't come back. We were so worried. Louise called and called. We even went over to your apartment on Oak Street. She was very distant and disturbed. She just wouldn't talk to us anymore. She acted as though she never even knew us. Then shortly after that, we heard the news that she had passed away in the accident with the water truck and we found you lying up in that hospital bed. It was very strange. But - yes, Louise is right. We have been very blessed to have you here.'

JT shook his head. He couldn't understand why he didn't remember. Louise told him when he was younger that the doctor said it was post-traumatic stress syndrome. JT really didn't understand, so Louise just told him that he had his memories scared right out of him after he hit his head.

Michael sat respectfully quiet during the after dinner conversation. He really wanted to put his two cents in, but he was so very tired and he didn't want to seem ungrateful to the Shorts for letting him eat there and giving him a place to sleep that night. Plus, he really just wanted to get JT alone. Michael still thought he needed to do more to convince JT to go back with him to Warhead Dale.

JT's mind felt scrambled. His thoughts went back and forth and he still didn't know what to think. He had way too many questions for the very few answers that he was getting.

JT and Michael sat by Gregory's roaring fire as the darkness of the night set in and the temperature dropped. As soon as the last logs were burning out, JT grabbed his grandfather's journal and he and Michael went to bed.

There was plenty of room in the farmhouse. JT had his own room with the single diploma hanging on the wall and flowers on his nightstand, and, though they rarely had any, there were still two large rooms for visitors. JT and Michael got to the top of the creaking hardwood steps and Michael quickly grabbed JT's arm, startling him.

'So, can I see it?'

'See what?' JT's eyes widened.

'The cane?'

'Oh, yeah. I'll show you.' Though JT had grown a little more comfortable with Michael, he was reluctant to just hand over his cane. Especially after the story he was told about how valuable it was. He still couldn't be 100 percent sure that Michael was not trying to steal it.

Michael followed JT into his humble room and JT grabbed the black cane from out of his closet. Michael's eyes grew larger than silver dollars as he raked his eyes across the skull and crossbones handle of the cane.

'Can I hold it?' Michael asked with a haunting little laugh.

'Um, sure,' JT said placidly and handed it to Michael. He did not want to seem rude. The calming conversation in the den just a few minutes before suddenly shifted, throwing JT onto an emotional rollercoaster, much like Michael had seemed to feel that afternoon under the big oak tree in the middle of the Ol' 22.

Michael stared at the object and gripped it over and over again. His eyes bulged and JT could have sworn Michael was drooling. He then noticed tears flowing from Michael's eyes.

JT shuffled back a little from Michael as he tightened his hold on the cane. He could see that Michael had a serious obsession with his grandfather's gift, and he wondered about just how deep the story of the Vryheid, Bruinduer, and the ivory-crested, ebony cane went. What was his grandfather really doing with this secret, and why was Michael so driven to go back to the old mansion? What was _really_ there? What had his grandfather known? Maybe he _did_ need to investigate this fantastic story himself and start living like Gregory had advised. JT also wondered whether Michael, his eyes wide and wet mouth with a firm grip on the cane, was going to turn into some monstrous beast. He was feeling much the same way he did in the barn - confused and vulnerable.

'You have to go back with me,' Michael said like a child begging for candy, his voice panting.

'What? - I don't know,' JT said aversely. His mind was still spinning at what seemed like a million miles a second. He wanted to just relax and think about it. 'I don't know - maybe I just need to sleep a little. These last two days have been weird, to say the least.' He sighed and looked Michael in the face as though he were the cause.

Michael carefully gave the cane back to JT as though he were placing crystal back into its case. 'I see. I guess you do need to sleep on it. I just wish I knew what that was \- sleep. It would be so nice.'

'What's wrong with you, Michael?' JT asked, frustrated with his new friend. He was thankful again that Michael didn't turn into a monster, but now he wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery.

'Nothin'. You just go and sleep on it. I got to go back to that ol' house with or without you. I gotta meet Kali tomorrow anyway at my sister's restaurant. I just hope she got the letter.' Michael turned from JT and walked to his room with his head hung low.

As he was walking down the hall, JT fired questions at him, with no response. 'What restaurant? Who's Kali? I want to know about that Willy boy and what you know about him. I have more questions. Don't go.' JT stood and waited for Michael to answer him, swinging the cane back and forth like a pendulum. After a few moments, he heard a bedroom door shut. Michael wasn't coming back."

<***>

"It was late. The moon hung high in the sky and the stars twinkled in the cold, crisp autumn evening. JT grabbed his grandfather's journal and sat on his bed. If he couldn't get answers from Michael or Louise and Gregory, maybe he would get answers from his grandfather.

JT was more nervous than scared at what he might find in the journal. He was just as nervous as when he had asked Gregory about his father. He was finding out about his past and it was an unsettling feeling. He did not know what to expect. He had only heard a very brief story from Michael about his grandfather and how he came across the Vryheid city of Hopian. Apparently though, all of Ol' Captain Luke's secrets were between the pages of the leather journal that sat before him.

JT untied the journal, and as he went to open it, a battered picture of a man with flowing white hair, a short beard, and a mustache fell on his pillow. JT picked it up and studied it intensely for a moment or two. The man's piercing eyes were very deep and dark. Under that small beard, JT could see the jagged lines of a little smirk. His skin looked rough and the medals he wore on his blue uniform covered the entire left side of his chest in every color of the rainbow. The man definitely looked very important. He turned the picture over and in a very faint cursive print it read:

Capt. Luke Xavier Davis, Commissioned; 1939, Retired; 1974

'So this is ol' granddad? - He looks like a wild old madman.' JT chuckled a little under his breath and felt like a kid finding a surprise on Christmas day. He might finally collect some real answers.

He opened the journal and paper fell to his bed. After picking through a sample of the loose pages and then flipping through the still intact book, he quit.

'You have got to be kidding me,' JT muttered, irritated.

JT was attempting to read a very old journal indeed. It was so old that most of the cursive handwritten words on the pages were fading away and seemed impossible to read. He could make out a couple of dates, but the entries were just too faint and messy for him to make out. 'I don't believe this,' he muttered.

Undeterred, JT strained his eyes and stared at the fading letters of one of the shorter passages for about ten minutes and finally made it out. He found a pencil and traced over the letters:

June 12, 1959

It was a long time coming, but I met a guide named Jato Bindi. A very nice man. Says he's from the tribe I'm looking for. Don't know, could be a trick. Met a lot of tricksters on the way here. I just have to trust him I guess. Also says he's not the only guide I'll find, whatever that means.

JT sat up in the bed and really, really wished he could make out the other passages. He strained over other lines but just couldn't read them. He could make out a few words such as, door, sand, deep, and jungle. He even made out the phrase 'Twinkle toes.' There were others, but he just couldn't make sense of them. He could make out little pictures of maps, but they didn't mean anything either. He saw pictures of stars and what looked like constellations and other sketches in the journal. There were also a myriad of animals, numbers, and other bizarre shapes that he could not translate.

He ruffled through all of the pages and in the back of the journal another picture fell out. JT started to laugh out loud despite of himself.

The picture was of his grandfather standing with another man of dark complexion. Both men were dressed in what looked like primitive ceremonial garb. They wore elaborate head dresses and long flowing robes, which looked as though they were made from the skins of lions and cheetahs. Their faces were covered in white, blue, and orange paint. His grandfather and the other man were smiling from ear to ear, their teeth gleaming through the dark blue paint. JT flipped the picture over. It read:

Me and Jato – Purification Ceremony – 1972

JT delicately placed the picture back into the journal and looked for more photos but didn't find any. His head ached from straining to read the words in the journal. He looked at his bedside clock and discovered he had spent a long time flipping through the journal trying to read it. He had been so caught up in the moment, time flew past. The clock read 2:30 a.m., which meant he had been studying the journal for almost three hours straight. Resigned, he got up and went to the bathroom to get a drink of water and an aspirin. As he opened the cupboard on the wall, he heard a strange noise come from Michael's bedroom, 'Thump!' Then there was a wispy silence. A few seconds later he heard a slight rustle and then, 'Thump!'

JT knocked on the door of the room. There was no answer. He knocked again. After a slight pause, he heard Michael's muffled voice through the door. It sounded scared and troubled. 'What do you want?'

JT cracked the door and the light from the hall shone on Michael, who was crouched in one of the corners shaking and sweating. His glasses were off and his face was blue and clammy. He was balled up like a baby and held tightly to his lower legs.

'Go away,' he muttered, agitated.

'What in the world?' JT said, turning on the light and rushing to Michael's side. 'What in the world is wrong with you Michael?' JT asked insistently.

'I can't sleep. Don't wanna sleep,' Michael said as he grabbed his arms and rubbed them, balling himself even more tightly in the corner.

'Why?' JT asked.

'Cause of him?'

'Who?'

'Billy.' Michael's voice shuddered when he said the name.

'Oh, yeah, you mentioned him under the oak tree. I meant to ask you about him; Him and that strange little Willy boy. Who are they?'

'They're the same,' Michael answered, his voice trembling.

'What do you mean they're the same?' JT asked, even more curious than ever. His headache disappeared as adrenaline shot through his body.

'Willy, Billy - Billy, Willy - doesn't matter - they're the same thing. Won't let me sleep. Won't leave me alone. He comes to me. He comes in my dreams. Billy, Willy - Willy, Billy, don't matter; Wants me back in that house, back through the door, back through the Mahogany Door, but he's changed. Wants you back too, that's why I'm here - Got to make him stop. Gotta sleep again.' Michael stared straight ahead with sweat now flowing down off his forehead like water from a gutter spout after a hard rain. JT could tell he wanted to pass out and sleep. 'He finally found you; Came to you as a person. Came to you as Willy. You see, he likes you. He likes Kali too. He hates me. He always did. He's changed. I don't think he ever liked me, but he ain't never been like this. He's nasty now.'

JT didn't know what to say so he tried to keep the conversation going the best he could. Maybe he could get more answers to some of the questions that crowded his thoughts. 'So who is this Billy- this Willy or whatever - anyway? I forgot to ask. Just slipped my mind I guess. And why are you so darned determined to go back to that house if it's like this? All messed up and confused?'

'I have to go back. It seems no matter how much I try to forget about all of the stuff that happened in that old house, I think the only way it's gonna disappear - the only way HE will disappear - is if I face it. If I face him.' Michael tried to pull himself together, but his erratic emotions had taken control of him like some crazy puppet master. He shook even more.

'Well, tell me about this Billy guy, or thing,' JT pressed to calm Michael down.

'Old, very old,' Michael began. 'He came with the whole Bruinduer package. Of course your granddad never really emphasized how serious this thing was. The Vryheid wanted to control the world they had created, but they never perfected the process. Humans can never perfect anything.

'Not only did they have to create the door and key to keep it safe, but they had to create some kind of alarm to get them out of Bruinduer before it was too unstable to stay there (JT remembered Willy telling him about how the world was unstable). It's all real strange. The Vryheid and Billy had a bunch of rules. Too bad we never paid any attention to them.

The tribe believed in spirit guides. Don't ask me how it works. I wouldn't even know where to start. Basically, this guide (in this case, Billy) is the conscience of Bruinduer and of the person who first walks through the Mahogany Door. Billy has changed, though; he's meaner now than he was. That's all I can say.'

The story just got weirder and stranger to JT. He didn't know what to believe and it was very hard to process. Was this even possible?

'It's hard to grasp, I know,' Michael said, shaking his head desperately toward JT and wishing he would remember something, anything. 'You were good at it. Probably the best out of all of us - you were always so even minded and cool. Could get Bruinduer to do what you wanted.'

Michael looked at JT staring back at him with a blank look on his face. 'And that's the catch. If you try to control your own destiny like the Vryheid wanted to do, there was always a catch. Your grandfather used to talk about this stuff for hours.

'The person that goes through the Mahogany Door first controls Bruinduer on the other side. Somehow the world transforms around you. Don't ask me how - but the catch - the catch \- is that the outcome is not always so certain. Somehow, by being in Bruinduer, Billy knows your feelings; from the happiest most satisfying to the deepest and the darkest feelings that you keep locked away and no one else knows. He guides you to do certain things. Some are good and some not so good. Like I said, I really don't know how it works. He actually has a title - he's some sort of spirit being. He also has some long proper name nobody could pronounce - I don't know - I can't remember. We just called him Billy when he was big and Willy when he was small. It seemed simple enough.

It's not like he tells you to do something; it's all real subtle. Ultimately, you have to make the choice on the path he leads you down. But that's what's so strange about this and why I'm so worried about going back. I'm not, and you're not, in Bruinduer right now. So why is Billy after us out here, and how did he get out here? I really gotta find out. I gotta make this stop, and I'm still hoping you'll find out with me. I mean, really, Billy's changed - scary, mean, nasty.'

JT sat on the edge of Michael's bed and tried to understand what he had just heard. 'And I knew all about this? Even knew how all of this worked?' JT was so confused.

'Yep,' Michael stated. He got up and lay in the bed and tried to force himself to go to sleep. 'Every time I shut my eyes, he is there laughing at me, taunting me, wanting me to go back to Warhead Dale - big, dark, scary eyes. I sometimes think Billy is what called Ol' Captain Luke back to that desert after the revolutionary wars in Africa. I mean, why go back to an old dry desert?'

Michael's voice became a little faint as he started to fall asleep. 'I can sleep a little - here and there for minutes at a time. I can usually ignore Billy for a little while, but then he starts yellin' at me and I wake up again.'

JT was getting serrated answers, not quite whole and jagged. He just wished that these answers would have been of the more normal type; not an out-of-this-world tale about spirit guides, mansions, and renegade Egyptians. He had hoped when he learned about his childhood that it would have included perhaps a dog named Spike, and his mom making cookies for him on Saturday mornings; nothing too exciting and certainly nothing like the tale that was starting to unfold before him.

JT was a little piqued at what Billy was putting Michael through, and now for some reason, the big, nasty guide of Bruinduer was after him. He had to think of something, and he had to think fast.

'Well, you try to go to sleep and when Billy comes in your dreams tonight, you tell that thing, guide, or whatever spirit to just come bother me for a little while. I got some bones to pick with him.' JT's breath became shallow, as he had no idea what to expect at his command with such talk; for some reason, he felt emboldened to confront the guide from Bruinduer. For good measure, JT added, 'Gregory's still mad about his granddad's tree.' Then he stood straight and marched quickly from Michael's room.

Michael pulled the covers over his head and smiled as JT walked out into the hallway shutting the door behind him.

As JT flipped off the hall light and made his way to his room, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a glowing red light illuminating his doorway. When he entered his bedroom, the eyes of the skull on his cane beamed an eerie red and then the light faded away. Startled, but undeterred, he climbed between his sheets and blankets and stared at the dark ceiling above him. He took a few deep breaths.

'Come and get me,' he whispered and shut his eyes.

Chapter 6

The children sat looking at me with an excited silence - or maybe it was a perplexing nervousness, I really couldn't tell. It was hard for me to make sense of Billy when I first learned about him too. I mean, a spirit guide? A mysterious being that controlled some alternative, manmade world called Bruinduer? How could this be?

I really hoped they would understand him and what his role was. There was still a lot of story left, and Billy was at its center.

The children looked around the house in amazement, and I paused the story for a moment. I could see in the turning of their heads that they were trying to visualize JT sitting where they sat; maybe on the same rug or on a chair near the fire. You could practically quantify the excitement – mixed with a little fear - by the twinkle in their eyes and uneasy spring in their movements.

Two of the little boys, who had a tendency to fidget through the story as I told it, looked up at the massive heads of deer, moose, and other animals that were mounted on the wall behind us to the North. When they caught sight of the thick, bushy mane of the lion just behind them and saw the animal's penetrating eyes, opened jaw and blazing fangs, their bodies shook with fright. A very girlish squeal shot through the gathering, reminiscent of an unsuspecting shiver down the spine on a cold day.

A little girl raised her hand. "May I go the bathroom?" she asked, and I felt a little relieved because I too thought it was time for a break to collect my thoughts and allow the children to settle. I was still very excited to be telling my tale and as usual, I did not want to miss a thing. Old men's memories tend to slow and fade with age.

Some children stayed behind and continued to look around the great hall while others went to the restrooms. The most curious peered down a couple of the hallways, careful not to venture out of the reach of their parents' hands as they pulled them along.

I got up and stretched my legs. I walked past the great fireplace, went to the huge French double doors and flung open the long, green curtains. The afternoon sun had begun to disappear behind dark, ominous clouds. The wind picked up and danced through the tops of the ocean swells, turning them a foamy white. A few moments later, without so much as a warning, the rain started to come down in thick sheets that swayed back and forth like ghosts in the night lit by bursts of lightning.

Though their power is immense, I loved evening storms; being in the great mansion gave me a sense of safety as nature unleashed its fury.

I had just felt a small smile begin to dress my face when the lights suddenly flickered throughout the house and went out. As silence slammed down you could've heard a pin drop. Then quickly, screeches ripped through the quiet. The children and their parents, some forgoing their need for the restroom, hustled back and gathered in the big hall on the rug by the roaring, safe light of the fire. I plopped back into my big leather chair with some sense of urgency in hopes of trying to continue my story. The younger children were in a frenzy, and the older ones chattered and looked about, not knowing what to do next. I let out a massive whistle and the room hushed. My audience looked at me with alarmed eyes that sparkled in the glow of the flames.

"Just to let you know," I stated to my group to focus their attention to me as my grandson vanished through the west corridor to see if he could fix our little power problem.

The children's eyes widened and I continued the story without missing a beat. Acting calm during this most unfortunate circumstance seemed to be the right thing to do. "I don't want you to think that JT and Michael weren't a little scared at what had been happening to them or at the prospect of what might happen later. Strange feelings and tingles shoot through us when events start to unfold that we don't fully control or understand. During these calamities, we are called to make a decision, sometimes very quickly. With courage, you can accept what is happening to you and face it; with fear, you usually run from it (much like the lights going off around us).

I tend to believe that Michael tried to weigh a similar set of options in his predicament. On one point, he wanted to run from Billy and his unfolding destiny. I have concluded, however, that his will wouldn't let him. His internal pride propelled him forward to face the manifestation of his fear. The human species is best when it is under pressure. I think he just needed a little help from JT. You would have to agree that there are some things in this world you can't do by yourself, and I have to believe that facing an unconventional character such as Billy in your dreams is one of those."

The children became still. They appeared to have temporarily forgotten about the power failure, even as the weather outside turned worse. The rain trampled so hard on the tile shingles of the massive house, its stampede echoed off the walls of its many rooms, including those of the great hall. My story began again with JT wrestling to fall asleep after his run-in with the trembling, exhausted Michael.

"JT closed his eyes and tried in vain to go to sleep. He was plagued by worry about meeting Billy again.

He stared at the dark ceiling trying to think of how to approach the creature if he came in his dreams. Should he be tactful, or should he be blunt? His heart hammered in his chest and he felt his blood course through his veins as the anger he projected toward Billy began to consume him. JT had found a temper he didn't realize he had, and now it only surfaced when he was close to or thinking about Billy. He felt it in the barn as Willy told his Vryheid story. Now it bloomed fresh as he thought of the prospect of facing the guide in his sleep. He had never remembered himself having such a temper, and though this emerging anger could be seen as a negative, it made him feel alive. It gave him a purpose - a purpose to find answers about his past. This was all brand new to him.

He rubbed his feet together and gritted his teeth. He slammed his body back and forth to try to find some position of comfort. His temper was hot and his anger boiled, and he assumed that the combination of rage and excitement that he was experiencing couldn't be good. Over what seemed like a lifetime, he forced himself to calm down and fell into a deep slumber.

Just as he became peaceful, he drifted into a dream and found himself draped in darkness. He stood barefoot on what felt like a wooden platform carefully notched together.

Suddenly, the platform broke way and JT swayed back and forth with the regular up and down tempo of the bobbing sea. The dream was very real. It was even more real than the dream he had had two nights earlier, lying in the horse barn; then he heard a burly voice laughing and persuading him to push open a door.

JT floated through the darkness, its blanket illuminated to a thick, gray, choking fog, then separated like melting sheets of ice on a river at the start of spring. Above, he glanced at five large canvas sails fluttering in a faint wind. Stars started to poke through the thinning fog like pinholes, and the faint moonlight that escaped through the vapor cast uneven shadows over the large ship where he stood.

JT's heart jumped. _'Wow!'_ he thought as his mind searched for another term to express the experience. He saw the remnants of a little brass placard fastened to the ship's wheel a few feet in front of him that read: 'The Mary Maid.' His senses were heightened. He could not tell if it was fear, anxiousness, or a mixture of both that now gripped his insides - it was impossible to express how he felt.

He heard the heavy creak of footsteps on the wooden paneled deck behind him growing louder until he felt someone's breath on the back of his neck. His hair pricked and his spine tingled. Then all became quiet. He wanted to turn around, but the assortment of feelings coursing through his body and his inability to take an even breath rendered him petrified. What was over his shoulders? Would it be the little barefooted boy Willy with the blonde hair from the farm standing on some kind of pedestal, or would it be the creature he thought the child was turning into?

JT gathered his nerves and sucked in a mountain of air. He only flinched for part of a second, and then he whirled around. Standing in front of him, practically nose to nose, was the old man he remembered from the picture in the journal he had studied earlier that night. His grandfather stood rigid in his military uniform. His flowing white hair wisped in the cool breeze, and the jagged line of a smirk was visible beneath his salty beard. Ol' Captain Luke hid his smile and opened his mouth to speak. Just before he could utter a syllable, the ship bellowed violently. The sky swirled about and opened into a menacing, black hole that howled like a large vacuum.

'What on earth? Noooooo!' JT screamed as he reached for his grandfather, who went upside down and twirled toward the vortex.

Everything around him - the ship, the sails, the clearing night air, the pinhole stars, and his grandfather - was sucked into the hole and vanished with a smattering pop. Silence and dark slammed down like a hammer, and JT heard the big, booming laugh he remembered fading away in the horse barn. This time, it was coming closer and getting louder. Adrenaline shot through JT and his palms became clammy. He knew that the spirit guide, Billy, was about to make his presence known.

'Hello, boy,' a low, burly, dark voice echoed through the darkness. JT gazed around the darkness and two huge, red, burning eyes opened in the distance. Their pupils were darker than anything JT had ever seen. The only thing he thought could have survived in them was gloom.

JT panicked - his breath became shallow again, and the back of his throat went dry, but his temper grew. He decided to be blunt.

'I don't know what you're looking at!' JT stuck his chest out and hoped he would appear tougher than he felt. 'I may have been a boy then, but I'm a man now.' JT immediately felt like a fool, but he couldn't let the monster get the best of him.

There was a huge burst of laughter from the eyes, which twitched with each chuckle. 'Ha! You're still a boy to me.'

'What do you want from us?!' JT yelled back at the big eyes. Wind began to howl through the darkness. JT stood as firm as he could.

'Seems to me you're the one that has a - what did that scared little rabbit tell me - oh yeah, a couple of bones to pick with me?' There was another low snicker.

No matter how solidly JT tried to stand, his toughness was meaningless when confronting those awful red eyes. He really didn't know how real this vision was. He hesitated before he became all out vengeful toward Billy. 'Um...,' he started, his voice trembled. He didn't know if lashing out totally to those hideous eyes would cause irreparable harm to himself. That thought lingered for only a second; JT's temper had won. He launched at the monster. 'Michael's had enough; I've had enough; what do you want?!'

The creature behind the eyes coughed. It then growled like rolling thunder to clear its throat. 'Michael's just a scared little man, but he was first and - _he_ has the power.' The eyes scanned back and forth and started to move around JT, studying him like a scientist studying a rat. They were probing, peering, jarring eyes that blazed through him. JT followed them trying to return the intimidating stare, but he was more comical than threatening.

'I told you. You forgot about me and I don't like it. It's time to come back. I'm tired of waiting for you. I want this over so I can have control again.' JT felt the deep bass of Billy's voice, each vowel vibrating, penetrating his insides.

'What's that supposed to mean, he was first and you want control?! Control of what - US? What's this all about?!' JT demanded. The more he stood there facing those eyes, the more confident he became.

'Stop asking questions, boy. You know, but you just don't want to know. All these answers you seek. The answers you think you're owed. Come back. Come back to Bruinduer. Find out for yourself. Don't be such a spineless wimp. Don't be like the rabbit.' The deep chuckle and condescension of Billy's voice started to irk JT.

'Just leave Michael alone!' JT yelled out, his temper exploding through his voice. 'And fix Gregory's tree!'

'Ha! Always the little hothead; taking up for that little rabbit when it comes to me; when it comes to Bruinduer. He just can't let it go. Why do you protect him so?' The huge eyelids shut and the big eyes went dark. The wind fell flat. 'Only if you come back - then _maybe-_ I might leave the little grub be.' JT was somewhat taken aback by the now gentle tone of the monster's voice. 'But it's too late for the tree,' said Billy.

JT jumped straight up and woke from his sleep. His lungs were flooded with air, his heart clobbered his ribs, and his body was logged with sweat."

<***>

"JT sprang from his bed. His injured knee buckled and the intense pain shot through him like lightning. He paused to let the pain settle and then reached for his cane. He looked at the wood and ivory very differently than he had before Michael, Billy, and the story of the Vryheid breezed into his life. It was more than just a walking cane now. It was a piece of a story he could not fathom at the moment.

He remembered he dreamt about it being from another place, a far-off world, throwing it in the air and twirling it about. He knew every inch of the ebony staff and ivory handle, including the deep, cracked groove that started from the top of the skull down the back. He felt guilty of his recklessness - his tossing the cane about without regard.

Now that he had proof that the cane _was_ from a fantastic place, it was fragile, important, worthy of his protection. He was afraid to put weight on it as he staggered down the hall to Michael's room, but even though he was now aware of its significance, JT still needed it to move around.

JT was awake earlier than usual, although every day was an early day on the farm. The darkness outside was fading into white as he cracked opened Michael's door. He remembered how Michael was bunched up in the corner of the room just hours before, trembling and sweating. He was relieved when he saw Michael sleeping comfortably, snuggled under a down comforter with a look of gentle peace upon his face. He dared not wake him. JT knew he was dead tired and needed his rest.

He really wanted to chat with him about his confrontation with Billy the night before. He wanted answers to even more questions. What was the meaning of Michael being the 'first,' and what did the monster want control over? He also wanted to tell Michael that he was correct in that Billy was a nasty bugger.

' _Maybe Billy is giving me some time,'_ JT thought as he shuffled down the stairs and through the back door of the kitchen. It seemed to JT that Michael had been sleeping for more than just a few minutes. Billy was leaving Michael alone, at least for the moment. He then thought that it was probably just a foolish hope. Billy seemed to do what he wanted when he wanted. JT did not get the impression that Billy cared too much for his time.

Gregory and Louise were not up yet, and JT knew it was very early. He was never up before them. He went out the back door quietly onto the grounds of the farm that had been passed down through Gregory's family and peered over the vast property. It was quite peaceful and chilly. The frosted dew thawed and dropped from the green blades of grass as the sun peeked over the horizon. The animals on the farm, ducks, chickens and cows, ambled around in their pens. He heard the rustle of leaves and felt the breeze as it cascaded through the mature oaks around the house, and suddenly he came to a realization. He knew that this was his last day on the farm. He had to go back to Ol' Captain Luke's house with Michael. JT was amazed at how clear it all was. He had it easy there with the Shorts, but his brain bubbled with thoughts he couldn't comprehend. He felt an overwhelming responsibility to protect the stranger that had come to him the day before. Though it was hard to admit, Billy was correct. The only way he could truly find out about his past, his elusive childhood, was to go back.

JT hobbled down to the horse barn, which was clean. All of the floors were swept and the tools were in their proper places. There was nothing left for him to do. He met George the horse and patted him on his moist nose.

'I'll miss you big fella. Maybe I'll get the answer one day on why life is the way it is, but until then, your silent advice makes the most sense. Goodbye old pal.' JT also gave a quick, sweet goodbye to Gracie, and George grunted with indifference as he went back to eating his oats.

JT limped along the grounds, his mind racing. Though he concluded that it was time for him to move on, a voice planted itself behind his ear and repeated to him that it would still be OK to stay. He had had a passive life here. He went past the Ol' 22 and stared at the big, old, oak tree in the middle of the field blowing in the wind like a big hand waving goodbye. His experiences on the farm replayed before him as he burned the memory of this place he called home into his soul. He would never forget it here.

He hobbled to the tree, looked up at the menacing letters Billy had burned into it, and then patted it gently. He started the tractor that had been left the day before, traveled down the service road, and went back into the house. There, Gregory and Louise were in the kitchen eating breakfast.

'You up early, son. Heard you come in with the tractor. Thanks for remembering to get that,' Gregory stated, flipping the pages of the newspaper.

'Yup,' JT gulped. The room felt different. 'Can I tell you somethin'?' JT was looking up at the cabinets, but the question was intended for both Gregory and Louise.

'Of course, JT. What is it?' Louise answered as she placed a piece of jelly toast in front of him.

'I gotta go,' JT said, his eyes starting to squint as though he were in pain. He braced himself for the Shorts' reaction.

'Go where?' Louise asked, setting down a cup of milk that quivered in her hand. A drop of the white liquid splattered on the table beside the toast.

'Gotta go where he's gotta go,' Gregory answered, turning a page of the newspaper. He peered straight at the page as though JT's statement did not faze him; however, the slight crack in his voice betrayed his emotions.

Louise didn't say anything else or ask any more questions. She covered her face and fumbled out of the kitchen. A sense of dread engulfed the room.

'I'm sorry - I can't explain what's going on \- I don't - I don't think I even believe it myself,' JT said with a touch of sorrow in his voice. He slouched down in his seat and tapped the piece of toast on his plate. 'But I can't find out what I need to or what I want - _here_.'

'No need to explain,' Gregory replied. The edges of his newspaper quivered, though the straight tone of his voice remained unchanged.

JT looked toward the living room where Louise had rushed.

'Don't mind her,' Gregory said. 'She knew this day would come. She said she would be ready, but just like anything, you _think_ you're ready for somethin' until it really happens. Then all bets are off on how you think you'll act.' The big, jolly man went slowly into the living room and consoled the crying Louise by wrapping his teddy bear like arms around her. Although Gregory felt very mixed, happiness rushed through his body as he continued to hug Louise. He had hoped JT would make this decision on his own, and, he thought with pride, he did (Of course, the events that happened during the last couple of days had certainly helped in his choice).

JT lumbered past the living room; the only sound was his cane tapping the wooden floors. He did not want to see Louise crying or watch her in pain so he quietly crept up the stairs. He hobbled to Michael's room where he found the bespectacled, rejuvenated man packed and ready to go sitting on the edge of his bed as though he were about to spring through the ceiling.

'I guess you know I'm goin' with you,' JT stated as he looked at his excited visitor. He turned, shook his head and went back to his room to pack his things.

'Sorry, couldn't help but overhear,' Michael smiled, chasing JT from the room, his cheeks aching. Finally, he had gotten some sleep. Most importantly, he wasn't leaving alone.

'Don't forget your jacket! It's getting chilly!' JT heard Louise yell up the stairs as he shut his suitcase, her voice cracking but seemingly calm. He poked his head into his closet and saw his black jacket hanging there. He had forgotten to pack it."

Chapter 7

"But I don't wanna go!!" a young voice screamed from the back of the great hall.

I could just barely hear the little black-haired girl's father explain to her that the storm outside was fierce and that her mother would be very worried if they weren't home soon. She kicked and stomped her feet in dissatisfaction, then began to pout, but as the young father coaxed her close to the door, he whispered in her ear. After his seemingly magical words, she took his hand and off they went into the blinding rain with their jackets covering their heads.

As I watched the sweet scene, I thought about how difficult I found it to leave a place I had discovered to be comfortable and inviting. In its condition now, with its sturdy walls, brand-new roof and immaculate accommodations, Warhead Dale was just that - even with the lights out.

The other children who remained on the rug didn't notice the distraction from the girl and her father's departure, and they invited me back with hopeful eyes to continue my story.

<***>

"JT and Michael packed up the rusted old car and headed out to the main road," I resumed. "JT adjusted his side mirror and glanced at Gregory and Louise waving from the porch of the farmhouse he had called home for eight years. He would miss them so. His heart skipped but he breathed deeply to stay calm. Though this decision was the toughest he had ever made, it was final. He had to leave.

He patted the duffel bag on the floorboard at his feet. Then he slipped his grandfather's journal into the bag on top of a large sum of cash that Gregory had given to him before they left.

Gregory did not trust banks. When he was younger, a handsome banker wearing a gray, pinstriped suit came to the farmhouse to take their farm from his grandfather. He remembered how much it hurt to see his grandfather suffer because he had no control over what the banker man was telling him. Fortunately, his grandfather managed to save the farm but at a very high cost - a cost Gregory never talked about; he swore, however, that he would never let something like that happen again. He kept his money in a safe in the attic far away from any banker man that might want to take it.

Louise would tell him on occasion as he stashed his money away that he was an old stick-in-the-mud. Gregory, despite the teasing, held to his principles. He handed JT all the money that he had saved from the crops for the past eight years as he hugged him. 'Might as well take this with you - you'll get better use of it than if it were sittin' in that old safe up in the attic,' JT remembered him saying.

'But you need to put it in a bank,' Louise added, gently smacking Gregory on the shoulder and moving him aside. She then grabbed hold of JT tightly with both of her loving arms. 'You know you always have a home here.'

JT waved from the open window of the big, blue car and held back a tear. He then took his thumb and flipped the side mirror upward forcing his self not to look back. Louise wiped her face.

He and Michael drove to the highway to begin their journey to Athens Eden. (His cane lay in the back seat under a soft blanket to keep it protected.)

The road was long and winding, and JT quickly succumbed to a case of motion sickness as the car rumbled and bobbed down the highway. He watched the fields and trees pass by in a blur. This was farther than JT had ever traveled from the Shorts' farm during the eight years he lived there. He did go to the store with Louise every once in a while.

On some occasions, he went with the sole purpose of wanting to meet people. Living on a farm in the middle of nowhere did not help him in the friendship department. Perhaps he would meet a person - 'then what?' he would think. 'Who would want to take a slice out of their life to come spend time with him?' He might as well have lived in another country. The closest he had come to making new friends were the times he started a conversation with a checkout person at the grocery store or a waiter in a restaurant, but JT would always run out of things to talk about and the friendship that might have blossomed fizzled quickly. Louise wanted him to make friends, but like Gregory, she never pushed him to do anything.

JT's mind was still spinning from the events of the last couple of days. He was trying to process what Michael and Billy had told him and the carsickness did not help. He kept quiet for most of the first hour during the drive, breathing in fresh air from his cracked window. He refrained from pelting Michael with questions about events and people involved in the stories of his past that would probably only produce more questions.

Between trying to settle his motion sickness and calming the thoughts that were going around like a pinball in his mind, JT panned around the bouncing, big, blue car. He didn't have a chance to prod Michael about anything personal, but in the moments of investigating the interior of the rusted vehicle, he learned at least one thing about his new friend.

There were numerous empty bags of chips, soda cans, and papers of all types strewn about the seats. Small mounds of clothing grew out of the floorboards in the back. The dash board, moldy and dried, had cracked from age under the sun. The windshield was littered with threads of damaged glass that looked like tiny spider webs. Michael looked like a little kid trying to steer the big car and he wiped his runny nose with his bare hand. _'Slob,'_ JT thought.

'So -- wh--- he-- ay?' JT heard Michael mumble through the roar of the engine while pushing his glasses back to the bridge of his nose; then he took a quick pick with his index finger.

'What?!' JT yelled out and pointed at his ear.

'So what did he say?!' Michael bellowed back and JT understood.

'Who?!' JT asked backed.

'Billy!' Michael peered at JT for a brief second as though he should have known who he was talking about. 'He had to have come and seen you last night!' The car jerked and Michael immediately looked forward, gripping the wheel a little tighter. 'When he came in my dream, I told him you had some bones to pick with him! He must have gone, 'cause I slept just fine!' He then took a deep breath and smiled at JT. 'I meant to thank you for that!'

'Yeah!' JT responded, 'basically, Billy told me I needed to go back to Bruinduer. Apparently the only way I'm gonna find any of the answers I'm looking for is to go back myself!' JT tried to sneak a little more fresh air. 'I also told him to leave you alone!' JT continued and Michael nodded his head in agreement. 'I was really ticked though when he told me it was too late for Gregory's grandfather's tree.' JT shook his head and leaned back. He wondered if the letters that Billy burned in the old oak would kill it.

'That's it?!' Michael's voice was full of disappointment. JT said nothing.

There was an awkward silence though the engine still rumbled loudly under the hood of the old blue car. After a long pause, Michael broke in again. 'He had to have said somethin' else!' The car slightly swerved.

JT gaped out of the cracked window into the distance. He tried desperately to control his wooziness. He snapped back to reality when he realized that he lost his train of thought and continued his conversation with Michael. 'Oh! Almost forgot!' JT announced, taking another deep breath. 'Everything's happening so fast!' He looked back toward Michael. 'I wanted to tell you this morning but you were asleep and I didn't want to wake you! He said somethin' about you being first and having control, but he told me that _he_ wanted control again!'

Michael gulped. His face turned as white as a sheet of paper.

'Do you know what that means?!' JT asked, then realized he didn't want to start with more questions. He still felt a little sick.

'I have no idea!' Michael replied quickly. 'The only thing I can think of is that the first one through the Mahogany Door could control Bruinduer – remember?'

'Yeah, I do remember now that you mention it,' JT said. He wished he could have remembered that in front of Billy. It might have made more sense to him if he had brought that up. 'I can't seem to remember anything – short-term or long-term,' JT mumbled under his breath as he shook his head.

'I haven't been back to Bruinduer for years though! I have no clue what he's talkin' about!' Michael shook his head and his face flushed with a look of panic. He thought about the last time he went through the Mahogany Door to Bruinduer. It was many years ago and it was a moment he wished would just go away. He fell silent.

JT waited a moment. He could see that Michael was thinking of events that he did not want to discuss. JT then broke the awkward silence by asking Michael why his grandfather had named his house Warhead Dale.

'That's a good question! Your granddad was a strange guy! I don't think I have ever heard how he came up with that name!' Michael bellowed back with a laugh, and his horrible memory of Bruinduer faded quickly. 'Strange to the bone! But it's still not as strange as the question of how he came to own Warhead Dale!' Michael shook his head. 'I don't even think that story's totally accurate! You see, he never explained simple information like names and dates - just the weird stuff!' JT looked at Michael, puzzled, and Michael continued, 'you know, stuff like how Bruinduer changes around you or why Billy does what he does.' Michael chuckled a bit.

JT was glad to see that Michael had relaxed. His flushing panic had given way to a calmer tone. JT couldn't help but think that Michael was still not in control of his emotions. He had acted the same way on the Shorts' farm.

'Some say,' Michael resumed, 'that he bought the house off some pirates. I think I heard, though, from another story that he won it in a poker game from some crazy professor!' Michael's voice was excited. 'He had that house for decades and we loved it there! That place was great! Not only did we have the adventures of a lifetime, but it was filled with a sense of peace.'

'What else can you tell me about him?! About my granddad?' JT asked.

'It's all in that journal I gave you!' Michael screamed back. 'Didn't you read it?'

'I can't read it! All of the words are fading away! I had to strain my eyes just to make out one passage!' JT yelled back.

'That's weird,' Michael mumbled to himself. He thought it strange because he did not have trouble at all reading the journal for years."

<***>

"The drive was getting longer, and the conversation between the long lost friends suffered. The two remained silent for another hour. JT's head was pounding. He wanted to continue, but there was too much information to take in at one time. He just couldn't talk about Warhead Dale or ask any more questions about his grandfather, Billy, or any other part of the Vryheid. The carsickness seemed to come in spurts, and no matter how much air he sucked through his cracked window, it would not settle.

They rode for a few more minutes and Michael noticed JT's struggle with the motion sickness. He found an exit ramp and pulled off the main highway. They found a little diner and ate lunch. JT did not eat much, but being still for thirty minutes really helped. After the brief stop and bite to eat, they continued their trek and talked about the landscape they were passing rather than the complicated story of Bruinduer. They drove by beautiful pine trees and thick woods full of birch and maple trees, whose leaves were changing from bright green to even brighter shades of orange, red, and yellow.

JT felt a little of his wooziness come back, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He tried to think of things he could discuss besides the story of his granddad. He tried hard to interpret what Billy had said the night before in his dream; but to find the answers he wanted, he had to go back to Warhead Dale for himself. He then realized that he didn't know anything about the strange young man with the horn-rimmed glasses sitting beside him in the car; except of course his tidiness – or lack thereof.

'So tell me a little about yourself,' JT said with reluctance. The motor in the car seemed a little quieter to JT ever since they had stopped to eat. The car definitely had a personality all its own.

'What about?' Michael asked in a distant voice, shrugging his shoulders.

'I mean, you seem to know an awful lot about me and my family, but I don't know anything about you,' JT stated. He stared out at the vast dark fields that dominated the countryside. It reminded him of the Shorts' farm. He could almost feel the smooth, thick ground between his fingers and smell the freshly plowed earth that he had left behind. 'Can't you tell me about how we met, maybe about _your_ family or something?'

Michael looked petrified and squirmed in his seat. He thought he might have to explain some things to JT about himself, but he had hoped to hold that conversation off for as long as possible. He wasn't interested in talking about _his_ past at all, but he didn't want to upset JT. He felt he needed to say something.

'We met each other when you moved to Athens Eden - you were eight years old, maybe nine.' Michael began with a bit of nervousness. 'Your dad moved your family here 'cause your granddad got sick with cancer.' Michael's voice became more definitive. 'You came to school and nobody liked you at all. I don't know why, but all the kids thought you talked funny and kept to yourself. They laughed at you every day.

Anyway, since I'd lived in Athens Eden and everybody knew me, I kinda took you under my wing - showed you around, became your friend. After that, everybody left you alone. You took me to meet 'Ol Captain Luke. After some time, he started telling us about Billy and the Mahogany Door and his adventures finding the lost city of Hopian.' Michael sniffed his nose with confidence, glanced at JT, then looked out toward the road. His right hand trembled.

JT listened politely, trying to fight off the car sickness that was surfacing again. Michael sounded very confident and JT had no reason not to believe him.

'I also wanted to say something yesterday when Louise was talkin' about your mom and dad, but I didn't want to seem rude by interrupting. They were so nice to me.' Michael paused for a second to gather his thoughts. 'Louise was right about your dad. He was real quiet and didn't talk too much. But it wasn't really because he was just that way, like Louise said. It was because he was so mad at Captain Luke for not being there for him when he was growing up. Captain Luke spent all that time on his whacked out adventures searching for Hopian. I overheard your dad arguing with your mom one time. Your mom wanted your dad to get over his hate toward your grandfather, but all your dad wanted to know was why he was burdened to have to come back to Athens Eden and take care of Ol' Captain Luke. Especially since his dad never cared for him growing up.

He was so mad he didn't even move your family into Warhead Dale to live with Captain Luke. You guys lived in a little house across town from it.'

JT laid his head against the door and hated the fact that he couldn't remember anything. He closed his eyes. It helped with the motion sickness.

The two drove on. Nothing Michael talked about seemed to faze JT. Michael told JT that over time, his grandfather got much sicker and that he and the old sailor became very close before he died. Then unexpectedly, Ol' Captain Luke went out of his mind. Michael explained that the few years they spent around Warhead Dale and his grandfather were the best years of his life. He also admitted that even though he was terrified of Billy and despised the way he had treated him in his sleep - lack thereof \- he was excited at the chance to go back and 'relive' some of the good old days.

The apparently endless road continued beneath them, and the conversation went silent. JT dozed off."

<***>

"'Almost there,' Michael announced with an anxious grin. 'About thirty minutes left to go.'

JT snapped out of his trance; the sun had sunk deeper in the afternoon sky. 'What time is it?'

'Um, it's about three o'clock. Perfect timing,' Michael answered, peering through the cracked face of the clock in the dashboard.

'Would it be possible...?' JT began, looking down at his duffel bag, 'I know its short notice, but could we stop at a bank?' JT finished his question, remembering the discussion he had with Louise before they left the farm. 'I want to keep this money Gregory gave me safe.' He picked the duffel bag up off of the floor and tapped it as it lay on his lap.

Michael looked at JT, a little concerned about the time. He then relented. 'Sure. I don't see why not. We still gotta couple of hours before we have to meet Kali.' Michael glanced at JT and then looked back to the road. 'That's if she got the letter in time,' he mumbled.

JT remembered Michael mentioning Kali the night before. He had not asked about her.

Michael then told JT a little more about the delightful Kimberly Abigail Logan (a.k.a., Kali -- at least to her friends)."

<***>

"Like Michael, Kali left Athens Eden shortly after JT's mother was killed. It was said that her family moved due to 'compensatory' reasons, whatever that meant. Michael thought he had an idea but didn't elaborate.

Until then, she had lived in Athens Eden all of her life. Her father was a very important man in the town government and was a member on the board at the local bank. Her family was respected and adored in the sleepy little coastal town. Kali was the smartest, prettiest, and most popular girl at school. All the guys wanted to be her boyfriend. It was strange that her family had just picked up and moved without telling a soul.

Michael didn't leave the town quite as quickly as Kali's family had, but he left just as abruptly. Michael mentioned that he wasn't quite as stubborn as his sister who stayed no matter what people thought of her. From talking to his sister, visiting her over the years, and now living with her, said he knew from her account that the Logans never set foot in Athens Eden again."

<***>

"'Here we are,' Michael snapped. The big blue car screeched to a stop and let out a loud backfire as it pulled into the parking lot of the First Bank of Athens Eden. 'Bang!'

The two got out. JT breathed in fresh salty air and hung his duffel bag around his neck. Whatever remnants of car sickness he had simply disappeared. They walked into the little brick bank (of course, JT limped with his cane. I hope you remember that next time, if I don't remind you). JT fumbled about in the open lobby and flipped through endless pamphlets on a long table in the middle of the ceramic floor. He had no idea what to do, but he would rather look like a bull in a china shop than ask Michael for help.

He had been to the bank with Louise and Gregory through the years, but had stayed in the car as they did their business. The seconds went by like hours. Michael, with his arms folded, looked a little perturbed at JT. He was about to speak up, but a perky petite girl with a blonde ponytail dressed professionally in a blue suit bounded toward them.

'Welcome to First Bank of Athens Eden, can I please help you? That's a cool looking cane!' the girl said with a screechy voice that grated against JT's every nerve.

'Yes, I think you can help me,' JT replied, clasping the skull and crossbones and twisting his cane in his hand. 'I have some money I need to put in an account.'

'Sure, we can help you with that. My name is Jenny, by the way. What kind of account would you like?' Jenny began to count with her fingers as she explained. 'We have savings, money market, small yield, large yield, IRA, short-term bonds, long-term bonds, stocks, annuity, business checking, business savings, permanent or short-term solutions.' She stopped and rolled her eyes to the ceiling for a second as though she knew she was missing something. She quickly cocked her head to one side and glanced back at JT with a large, bright smile.

JT looked at Jenny with a blank face. He had no idea how to reply. 'I just need somewh--'

'Gosh, JT, you're like a rat that was stuck in a cage and then found itself in the woods,' Michael interrupted. 'He just needs a simple checking account, ma'am.' His voice was very gentle towards Jenny and he nudged JT. He pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose.

'Oh!' Jenny said her head bobbing up and down in approval. 'I forgot about that one. We can do that right away; follow me. It should be easy enough.' Michael and JT followed Jenny to a little desk in the middle of the open carpeted area of the bank. Jenny began asking JT a plethora of questions, to which he did not know the answers. He could hardly stomach the whine that came from Jenny's voice. It was even more annoying as she skipped over questions and corrected herself with a silly giggle. It was worse than the car sickness he had during the trip.

Michael decided to take over for JT. He was frustrated at JT's attitude toward Jenny, who was just trying to do her job. He answered all of the questions Jenny asked, filling in information for JT. He smiled and flirted with the girl as she typed the information into a computer. Michael sat back in his chair with his legs crossed and a serious look on his face. JT shook his head. He let Michael take over without even asking about some of the information he was giving the clerk. He knew it was important only because Louise had asked him to get a bank account. He thought then that maybe Gregory had a point in keeping his money in the attic. Jenny, with her bright smile and bouncing blonde ponytail, paid close attention to what Michael said. She seemed enthralled by the answers he gave her.

While Michael and Jenny talked and set up the checking account, JT panned around the bank and suddenly felt strange. He had the eerie feeling of being watched. He peered at a thin lady standing behind the main bank counter; she glared at JT with a gnarly stare and looked away quickly. A small, fat man who stood in line wearing a blue and red-striped tie with his white shirttail protruding from his slacks gawked at JT with an odd squint. One older lady with a slight hunchback grabbed the hand of a little girl in a pink skirt and rushed her out the door of the bank when she recognized the two traveling companions.

Chills ran down JT's spine. What in the world were they looking at? What had he possibly done? Did he have some hideous growth coming out of his head or something? Was it his cane? The atmosphere of the bank turned unexpectedly dark. Though JT felt a since of dread, the joking and jolly rigging continued between Jenny and Michael.

'That's it!' Jenny announced. 'All I need now is the money to make the deposit and you'll be done.'

Michael poked JT, who was still interested in why some of the people in the bank had looked at him in contempt. He snapped out of his daze and handed his duffel bag to Jenny. Michael gave her the address of his sister's diner to mail JT's paperwork and checks. He also gave her the phone number to the diner in case she didn't have plans for the weekend. The two stood up and left the bank.

The strange looks from passersby continued to bombard JT as they got into the old blue car. One small woman grunted at JT as he plopped in the passenger seat and set his cane in the back seat. As they drove toward Michael's sister's diner, JT swore that people in other cars were peering suspiciously toward them. When JT asked him about it, Michael said he hadn't noticed anything bizarre at all.

When they arrived at Parker's Diner, they went in to meet Michael's sister. The diner was a quaint concrete shop with a tin roof, large glass windows, and light blue and white checkered curtains. Michael's sister knew right away that they had walked through the front door when a shiny ring from a small silver bell announced their entrance. JT's nose filled with the aroma of freshly baked cookies and roasted coffee. The inside was warm and inviting. JT felt comforted.

'Hey baby boy!' Michael's sister rushed over and hugged him. 'Oh my gosh!' she yelled out, 'It is you! Look at you JT. It's been so long!' The lady grabbed JT and squeezed him tight. 'So handsome. And what a nice, neat haircut. Wish I could say the same for you, Michael. What's that slick-look thing going on and all this stuff dangling back here?'

'You know he can't remem-' Michael started and the stout woman patted his head and brushed a clump of greasy strings of hair off of his neck. Michael blushed. It was apparent he had heard his sister say his hair was a mess a thousand times.

'I know, but it doesn't mean I gotta forget!' she interrupted, smacking Michael on the shoulder and straightening out his collar in a single motion.

Linda Peterson was a medium built lady with long, bushy brown hair and white teeth. Her button nose twitched as she spoke, and her smile was outlined with fine wrinkles. She wore a blue and white striped waitress uniform that ended just below her knees and she walked on powder blue sneakers. Though she owned the small diner, she still worked as hard or harder than anyone else employed there. She not only managed the money, but also spent many shifts waiting on customers. Her eyes sparkled, and she looked genuinely happy to see Michael and JT. She had cared for Michael for some time; ever since he had moved back to Athens Eden, he lived in a small room in the back of the diner.

She reminded JT of a younger Louise because with every move Michael made, she was there telling him to do something different. If he slouched, she would tell him to straighten up, but he always had whatever he needed directly in front of him. She was never rough when she spoke to Michael, just assertive, and she spoke with a cheerful voice whether she was scolding him or paying him a compliment.

Michael and JT sat at the counter on silver cylinder bar stools with black leather tops that swirled around. Michael watched the clock, nervously twisting from side to side. JT glanced around the diner, and even though the mood was more jovial in the diner than in the bank, he noticed some people peering up and sneering at him, then quickly looking back to their plates. He couldn't fathom what he might have done for an entire town to hate him.

One man paid for his meal and muttered something to Linda that she didn't take too kindly. She briskly handed him his change and pointed to the door. JT couldn't hear what Linda said over the sound of clanging forks and plates, but it was obvious she wanted the man to leave. Michael noticed nothing and continued to look at the clock.

'I guess she didn't get the letter,' Michael said, hanging his head as Linda placed a piece of apple pie in front of him and JT. She told JT not to worry about what he saw at the cash register. She said the man was an old fuddy-duddy, and he might have seemed rude at that time, but he would be back. Linda sensed that JT felt it was his fault that she might lose a paying customer, but her smile and reassurance put his mind quickly at ease.

'It's about 5:15. I told her five o'clock,' Michael announced to no one in particular.

JT sat and said nothing. The thought of what he could have done to make these people look at him with derision ricocheted relentlessly in his brain.

Michael began to fidget more as 5:15 became 5:25. He looked back at the front door and twisted a little faster. A bead of sweat started to roll down the front of his forehead. The time was 5:30 p.m.. The sun hung just above the tops of the trees at 5:40, then 5:41, 5:42. Michael became more and more anxious, twisting back and forth faster and faster with every passing minute. 'I really thought she would come,' he mumbled to JT, rubbing his hands together nervously and eating a piece of his pie. JT shook his head. Michael cleared his throat of sticky phlegm and slowly turned his bar stool toward JT. 'At least I got you.'

JT snickered.

Just as Michael finished a large bite of pie and pulled the fork from his mouth, a loud, shiny ring sounded from the front of the diner. Michael didn't look but poked his head straight into the air. He stopped turning on his stool. JT turned around and Linda smiled. A smooth, soft arm slid gracefully into sight over Michael's right shoulder and paused. Suddenly the arm dropped like a hammer and slammed an unfolded piece of paper into the rest of Michael's uneaten pie, smashing it in.

Michael jumped and whirled around, his glasses shot to the end of his nose. He knew that standing behind him, purposefully late, was the delightful Kimberly Abigail Logan."

Chapter 8

"'You little worm!' Kali yelled at Michael, who threw up his hands to shield his face in case the fuming young lady beside him decided to strike again, this time with her fists."

I reminded the children who sat by the fire in the great hall of Warhead Dale that I had to watch my language when I spoke to them. I also reminded them, in case they had forgotten, that JT, Michael, and Kali were in their early twenties and used adult language. I didn't want to use that language here because I really wanted their parents to let them continue listening to my story. I also said that the word "worm" could be replaced with whatever description they chose.

<***>

The lights suddenly flickered in the renovated mansion and then popped back on. My grandson came running, almost skipping, into the great hall with a large grin on his face. He beamed with a sense of accomplishment. To our astonishment, however, the children and even their parents in the room mumbled. The whispers reached a crescendo and I heard them state that they actually preferred the lights off. My grandson, feeling on top of the world one second, looked dejected the next. He hung his head, but only for a second. As soon as he was about to shut the back lights off, a loud boom of thunder cracked through the stormy sky. The lights wavered and then snapped off once again. Silence raced through the great hall. A few seconds passed, but then a colossal cheer echoed through the house as the warm flames from the fire filled the chamber and cast their dancing shadows upon the walls.

My grandson's cell phone chirped, and he went into an adjacent corridor. After a few minutes and more silence, he came back to the fire's glow and told the group that the roads leading out of Warhead Dale and some of the streets in town had begun to flood due to the storm. He said that the reports on the radio warned of large tree branches and other debris blocking roadways along with the deep standing water.

The group rumbled. Most of the chatter came from the grown-ups, who discussed whether they should take their children home immediately in the bad weather. I saw the children become restless and then slowly turn back to me. "Please keep telling the story," a sandy blonde-haired boy spoke up and the grown-ups became silent. The rest of the children agreed with enthusiasm.

When the lights had come back on just before my grandson's phone call, I was about to suggest that we continue the story tomorrow. Now, I settled back into my black leather chair because it looked as though we might be stranded for a while. With the streets closed and the storm continuing to ferment, I looked out at the children with their eyes begging for me to go on with JT, Michael, and Kali. Before their parents could object, I began again.

<***>

"'What in the world have you done you little, creep!' Kali screamed at Michael. She picked up the crumbled pie from the plate with the letter still buried in it and threw it at him. The pie just nicked his glasses and knocked them crooked on his face.

'Nice to see you, Kali.' Michael fumbled with his glasses and straightened them as well as he could. His quavering nerves after the encounter with Kali made it impossible for him to recover completely, and his glasses remained slightly off center. 'Good way to start after two years. Aren't you even going to say hello?' Michael reached around quickly and twisted his body back toward the counter, hoping his back would give him added protection against any further altercations or inbound food from Kali.

JT tried to hold back a laugh as the interaction between Michael and Kali became more animated. It seemed funny to him, though the two participants didn't seem to think so.

As JT volleyed his head between the bickering, he caught the blazing sapphire eyes of Kali. He almost fell inside them. Michael had mentioned during their ride to Athens Eden that Kali was pretty, but even as the young woman grimaced, ready to pounce on Michael, 'pretty' was a brazen understatement.

Her short, auburn hair that fell just above her shoulders was cut into a bobbed hairdo. Her nose was quite normal and fit her face perfectly, and her complexion was as smooth as porcelain. She wore a pewter green, V-necked sweater with a white T-shirt underneath; a pair of snug jeans and sandals completed her outfit.

JT felt his body tighten as he stared at her. She flipped her hair through the air as she lashed out at Michael again, and as JT caught the whiff of lavender, a tingle shot through his legs. He seriously began to think that he might have feelings for this girl. Even though he understood that he must have known her in the past, he still couldn't remember her. The bond he felt toward her was very strange, and it was one he hoped to explore.

'And you!' the irritated Kali snapped toward JT and punched him in the shoulder with her index finger. 'You actually let this little monkey talk you into coming back here?! Are you crazy?!' She crossed her arms and let out a prolonged sigh.

'Well - I, I...' JT sputtered. He started to feel slightly more frightened of Kali than he had been of Billy when he first saw the enormous red eyes bearing down on him in his dream.

'You know he can't remem-,' Michael started, trying to remind yet another person of JT's condition. Again, he could not express a complete thought.

'I know he can't remember anything. But I can!' She turned quickly toward Michael bowing her chest and clenching her fist as if she wanted to hit him. Linda pursed her lips together and shook her head at Michael.

'And what about the big, bad Billy? How did that monster get out of his _cage_? I just don't believe this. I thought it was over. I thought we were done with all of that. It was fun at first, but nooo - here we go again.' Kali brushed the hair from her eyes. 'And then all the other times, Michael - I swear!' Kali flopped on the stool beside JT. Linda slid a piece of pie and a soda in front of her without batting an eye. The slightly smug glance she shot toward Michael and JT made it obvious that she agreed with Kali. Michael, sitting on the other side of JT, squeezed closer to him in an effort to use his body as a shield in case Kali decided to throw pie rockets at him again.

JT panned around the diner as Kali was finishing her tantrum. Like before, he noticed the diners scoffing and shaking their heads as the young lady wailed at Michael. He even observed one customer get up and walk out without paying. The direct animosity the townspeople projected toward the three was palpable.

Kali stabbed a piece of pie with her fork and started to talk, punching it towards JT and Michael. The two blinked with every sharp motion of the utensil, expecting the pie to fly off the end and hit them in the eye. 'I don't know how you did it.' Kali shook her head and snatched the pie from her fork with her mouth. 'I had no plans to come back to this...' Kali swallowed, whirled around on her stool, and screamed out to the patrons in the diner, not caring who heard her or how they took her announcement, 'WRETCHED PLACE!'

The diner rumbled and Kali swiveled back, facing the counter and Linda. 'I should have burned that letter and took my chances with Billy on the outside instead of coming here... going back into that house; into Bruinduer.'

'Look, I didn't know Billy would figure a way out.' Michael began to pout, his chin buried in his chest. 'I knew you would think this was like before.'

Linda crossed her arms. She noticed the patrons becoming more and more uneasy as their argument grew louder. She motioned to Kali with a quick nod of her head toward the front door of the diner. She wanted them to take their discussion outside. Linda was running a business, and even though she sympathized with Michael, JT and Kali, the manager in her still wanted to provide good customer service. Kali agreed with a quick nod back and the three gathered outside around Michael's car.

Without hesitation, Kali lit into Michael again. 'I wasn't coming here! I swore I would never come back to help you after the last time! All these crazy people in this crackpot place!' Kali plunged her heel into the ground with every syllable. 'That is, until I got a visit from that monster last night! What did you do?! You better be glad I love Linda so much!' Kali pushed Michael, kicked a few rocks toward him, and then lifted her rear onto the trunk of the car.

'I just knew you thought it was going to be like last time.' Michael's voice was low and begging. 'But to tell you the truth, I'm glad he came to you in your dream last night!' Michael looked away shamefacedly.

'GLAD?!' Kali shook her head. 'GLAD?!' her voice cracked.

JT could almost see smoke coming out of her ears from anger. He thought _his_ temper was bad, but it was miniscule compared to the temper Kali was displaying. JT had an idea quickly pop into his mind like the beam from a distant lighthouse on the darkest night. Michael may have had a hand in Billy visiting Kali.

'Look, Billy said he needed all of us to go back,' Michael said hesitantly, with a calm tone in his voice primed for Kali to explode.

'SO YOU DID HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT MONSTER COMING TO SEE ME! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!' Kali slammed her foot on the back bumper of the car and a thick piece of rust fell to the ground. 'OH NO - WAIT! I CAN BELIEVE IT!' Kali hung her head and looked as though she were going to cry. The little energy she had left oozed from her body. She began to mumble to herself, looking up to the sky. 'I really thought you were going to change Michael. All those get rich quick schemes you used to write me about. A sure thing you'd say. What, two years ago it was the ostrich farm? I just don't believe this.

'I thought you sent this last letter because you were mad that I ignored the last one. Since we couldn't find JT all those years, I swore I'd keep in contact with you, but after that stupid letter about the ostrich farm, I'd had enough. I _was_ just going to ignore you again... that is until Billy came screaming at me last night.'

JT had no idea what was going on. His thoughts were racing again. All of the confusion and questions that he had kept pinned deep inside of him erupted. 'Look, I wish I knew what you guys were talking about! This is starting to tick me off! Round and round, no straight answers, real or not!! I know I don't remember anything, but I wish I could. I think I deserve to know what's going on.' JT slammed the tip of his cane on the ground and flopped his body against the side of the big blue car. The serious look on his face masked the fear gripping his insides.

Kali slid off the trunk of the car, looked at the cane and then to JT. She set aside the anger she felt toward Michael momentarily and regained her composure. 'He didn't tell you, did he?' She turned her back away from Michael and JT and faced the diner, a blank look on her face. The breeze delicately danced through her hair. 'You are so lucky not to be able to remember anything.' She looked down toward the gravel lot and brushed the pebbles with her foot. 'Well, if you want to know. You just have no idea.' Kali smirked and whirled back around.

'Tell me what?' JT garnered a look of confusion, one that he had mastered in the last few days.

Michael shrank behind the car and Kali, noticing the skinny man cower, called him out. 'Oh, no - you come out here.' Michael shrunk and tiptoed beside JT.

'Have you even noticed anything going on around here, JT?' Kali continued. 'I mean, I know you can't remember anything, but surely you can see how the people around this town are acting toward you. You know, they aren't acting crazy. It's not like, "POOF" they are suddenly mad at you. I'm not angry at Michael because he's a dupe and can't find a job or tries in vain to promote his silly little get rich quick schemes. It's much deeper than that.' Kali glanced over her shoulder as a patron walked out of the diner; the little, old lady shook her head and snorted at her. 'They're all insane! These stupid hicks! Can't leave anything alone. Gotta stick their nose into places it doesn't belong. Even after nine years!' Kali barked in the direction of the woman.

'How dare you,' the woman bellowed back at Kali, turning her nose in the air, and grunting one more time. She picked up her pace.

'How dare me? How about, how dare you?' Kali raised her arm and gestured to the fat little lady in a most unladylike manner. She then turned to JT. 'You can't tell me you haven't noticed the utter hatred they have for us.'

The plump, little, old lady opened her car door and threw her pocketbook onto the back seat. She revved the engine and peeled out of the parking lot.

JT then remembered the people at the bank. He thought about the strange looks the man in the blue tie gave him and the lady rushing off with a young child as she caught his glance. He then recalled the people in the diner who avoided eye contact and the confrontation Linda had with the man at the cash register.

'I thought they were looking at me because of my cane, or maybe because they just never saw someone new or something, but now that you mention it, I remember that they weren't very nice looks. So what's this all about?'

'Tell him Michael - you ungrateful, greasy, nasty, little blob. Tell him why we aren't even wanted in our own hometown.'

Michael looked at JT as though he had been punched in the gut. He then reluctantly turned to Kali. 'Charlie,' he muttered. His head dropped.

'That's amazing!' Kali interrupted. 'Wow! He finally got something right!' Kali crossed her arms and with a quick flick of her foot, launched a few rocks at Michael. 'Charlie Blackburn; also known as the "Incident".' Kali began to pace back and forth. She shook her head and muttered under her breath as though she were debating with herself about whether or not to continue. She stood still, took a deep breath and like little Willy and Michael, began her own tale. The mention of Charlie's name registered in JT's mind. He seemed to remember Michael mentioning a Charlie at the farm under Gregory's old oak tree.

'I don't know how I started going through that door with you guys. I don't know why I even hung out with you two clowns at all. You were just so stupid. But I guess I got caught up in all the magic that was going on. The adventure of a lifetime, you'd say. The adventure of Bruinduer.' Kali spit on the ground. Her hostility amplified.

'Charlie Blackburn was a sweet kid. He was cute, but he was a little weasel. He always talked about how much he liked everyone and their family when he was around a crowd, but then if you were alone with him, he would talk down about the same people he just told you he liked. He was a master at manipulating this little fool.' Kali motioned to Michael with her head, lips pursed.

'He moved into Michael's and my neighborhood only four months before the "Incident" but made friends very quickly and easily. I guess that's a credit to his slimy weaselness. He talked Michael, you, and me into letting him into our little circle. Then he talked us into letting him go through the door with us. He just couldn't go by the rules. Heck, we could barely go by Billy's idiotic rules ourselves. That monster always had no problem spouting them out. "Rule number one: blah, blah, blah. Rule number two: blah, blah, blah...." No, Charlie had to go and fight with that army he got Michael to conjure up and he got himself killed.' Kali paused for a brief second and sighed, 'I guess Charlie didn't take the rules seriously either -- especially rule number five: If you bleed in Bruinduer, you bleed.'

I mean, we knew if you got hurt after you walked through the door, you really got hurt. It wasn't a game. That's why you don't conjure up war.' Kali lifted her jeans leg and revealed a pink scar that started by her heel and ended halfway up her calf. By the way she looked back up at JT, with eyes ready to release a flood of tears, he could tell that it was a cavernous cut that had never healed completely.

'Among the three of us, I'm the only one that got sliced up that day in the war. Poor Charlie didn't even make it. It was too late. Bruinduer was about to collapse around us. Billy opened the door somehow just in time and we never got Charlie out of there. He died in that place; there in that awfully hot sand.' Kali shook her head as though she was trying to empty herself of the memory, but the memories grew worse, one after the other. 'Why is Billy so mad NOW? He was always crazy, but I don't get it.' Kali wilted back onto the trunk of the car.

Michael scanned the ground, careful not to glance in Kali's direction.

'Why didn't you say anything, Michael?' JT asked, never expecting this. The comfort he had felt toward Michael turned to disappointment and he became even more frustrated.

'It's all a game to him - the little fool,' Kali answered, ignoring Michael's presence.

'You wouldn't have come here if I'd told you,' Michael whimpered as his eyes stayed focused on the rocky parking lot.

'What about Charlie? I mean he died. Did you tell anyone?' JT asked.

'Of course we told people, JT,' Michael answered, picking his head up. His eyes widened. 'We tried to tell people. They didn't believe us. I even showed them this.'

Michael pulled a gold watch out of his pocket. Its luster was gone and the faceplate was cracked. A blood stain crusted the wristband. 'They told us we were crazy.' He fiddled with the watch between his fingers and rubbed the cracked faceplate with his thumb. 'They even went into Warhead Dale. Nothing. Then the theories started after that. Some thought we were trying to cover up that he actually fell off the rocks around the house and drowned in the ocean. Rumors also surfaced that he didn't fall off the rocks but that we pushed him.'

'What? We? There is no "we" in this!' Kali shot back. 'You're the one that still carries around that watch. For goodness sake put that thing away.' Kali turned to JT pointing at Michael. 'They thought he did it.' Kali crossed her arms and bobbed her head up and down. 'Little Mikey was jealous because in his mind everyone liked Charlie better. The sheriff even opened a case against him and wanted a trial. The only reason he's standing here is because they never found a trace of Charlie. Our families were the only ones that gave a flying rat about him. 'If you ever cared about me...?' He wrote in his letter. Ha! We were basically forced to leave Athens Eden after all of the mess surrounding Charlie and little Mikey. My dad even resigned his position - they said on account of compensatory reasons. Yeah right! It was because he cared about this little squib and actually stood up for him.' Kali's temper rose again, her voice wavered and she held back tears. 'My dad decided to pick up our family and leave. The stress and feelings of being rejected in his home after Michael's trial eventually led him to lose his mind. He felt he couldn't do anything right and he felt he let all of us down, including Michael.' Kali breathed deeply. The memories were now taking their toll on her, but she continued.

'I still have no idea how Linda stayed in this miserable place. I'll never understand that. She's a lot stronger than we are. Everything - the trial, Charlie, the speculation - all destroyed us. Somehow she just kept it together.

On top of all that JT, your mom dies.' Kali looked up and grit her teeth with frustration.

Kali pointed at Michael, 'I can't believe I even kept up with the little worm.' She swallowed. 'And what's so funny, JT, is that he knows all of this, and after all that pain, he still doesn't care.'

'Of course I care,' Michael squeaked, his voice cracking. He then mumbled under his breath. 'You guys are the only ones that ever cared for me. I gotta make this right. I gotta make this right.' The lump in his throat was palpable. His hands were wet with sweat."

<***>

"Michael thought about Charlie as he slumped back up against the big, blue car. Kali sat on the trunk shaking her head, her eyes gazing off at the fading afternoon sky. JT stood to the right of Michael, gripping the skull and crossbones handle of the black cane with a glazed over stare.

It was true that Michael wanted to forget about the whole incident. He saw Charlie lying on the hard desert sand in Bruinduer, not moving. He remembered the sudden feeling of emptiness as JT grabbed for him during the commotion that happened around him. He desperately reached for Charlie and was only able to snatch the watch from his still-warm hand that was painted with blood. He lifted and studied the watch he held in the fading rays of sun; the golden body, rusty blood stains, and the wristband. He had reviewed the image so many times since that day in Bruinduer, trying to think of how he could have changed the outcome of that wretched moment. Was there something that he missed?

The hands of the watch never moved. Through the cracked face, it was as if time had stood still since that day. It read 3:16. He took it to a watch shop one random afternoon to see if a watchmaker could get it to work again, but it was beyond repair. Michael kept it to remember Charlie. He felt it was the proper thing to do.

_Kali's right,_ Michael thought to himself. He twirled the watch on his finger and then stuffed it into his front pocket. ' _What am I doing here? I've lost control of myself. Why do I have to even be here? Why should I have to go back through the Mahogany Door to show that I have any will power? Am I trying to fulfill some kind of destiny? What destiny? Yeah right.'_ He shook his head and stared at JT and Kali. Kali rolled her eyes at him and huffed. JT continued his long, vacant stare. ' _I brought them here - and for what - me?'_ Michael, still not uttering a word aloud, opened the driver side door of the car. He climbed into the seat and gripped the steering wheel; his knuckles turned bleached white.

He remembered what Kali had said about him being jealous of Charlie. He guessed it was true. _How could Billy have liked him more?_ Michael threw his head back to the seat cushion. _What does he know anyway? That monster always hated me._

JT and Kali walked over to Michael, who opened his window.

'So what do you want to do?' JT asked, still unable to grasp all of what was happening. His head was dizzy from the thoughts that rummaged through his brain.

'I don't know. What do you guys want to do? I really just feel like going away. It might have been a bad decision coming back here and bringing you guys,' Michael replied as another patron from Linda's diner walked by shaking his head toward the three young people. 'This is too much.'

'Fine,' Kali growled. 'I still don't have a clue as to why I came back to this stupid place anyway.' She walked to her car, a sporty little silver sedan, but as soon as she put her hand on the handle and pulled, she stopped. She looked to her left and then to her right, snapped the door handle back, and flung her pocketbook over her shoulder. She then twisted around and marched back to the old blue car gesturing angrily with her hands.

JT sat in the passenger's seat of the old rusted car and was talking to Michael. 'Well, I still think I want to go to my granddad's house. No hurry now. Since you want to leave and all, you can take me tomorrow if you don't mind. You can just leave me there if you want.' Uncertainty hung from JT's words. Michael had dragged him to Athens Eden on a wild idea to chase some mystical destiny. Only now, he found out, someone had died in his grandfather's house. Though he couldn't remember, he still felt some bit of responsibility. What else had Michael not told him? What else was he lying about? The simple life he had led on the farm seemed so far away. His innocence deflated. Kali, though rough with her retort, was right. It may not have been so bad that he couldn't remember what happened.

Kali opened the driver's door and stood with her leg cocked and her arms crossed, tapping her foot. JT and Michael, stunned by her presence, leapt from the car.

'What are you doing back here?' Michael asked. His face betrayed his astonishment but he kept his guard up. He wondered if Kali was going to barrage him with punches for a few last parting shots. 'I thought you were leaving.'

'I hoped I was, but I gotta go with you, you stupid idiot!' Kali stated brashly to Michael and then looked at JT with a sense of worry. 'There's just no way I can go back home yet.' She cleared her eyes and took a deep breath. 'I said I'd rather take my chances out here than go back into Bruinduer, but then I thought about Billy - and came back to my wits.'

JT and Michael looked at each other over the faded-out canvas roof of the car, surprised and dumbfounded. The whole time they sat there and discussed Charlie and what had happened in Bruinduer, they had forgotten about the real reason they were called to Athens Eden.

Michael and JT nodded their heads in unison. They were, as Kali stated so simply, stupid idiots. Did they really think they were just going to go away from Athens Eden and Warhead Dale and live their normal lives and not experience retaliation from _him_? Why had they not thought about that minor consequence? Surely if they left right then, the rest of their nights would be sleepless. How could they have forgotten about the angry brute that had haunted Michael for so long and now set his sights on JT and Kali?

The three travelers to that sleepy little town they used to call home, where all of the residents now seemed to loathe them (except for Linda of course), were not going to get off that easily. No, they weren't going to be able to run from their destiny this time.

Michael, JT, and Kali looked at each other with wiped, flushed faces. Only one word came to their mind that would make them go back to Warhead Dale and vanquish any thought of running away. The one word that haunted them in their dreams, the one word that would never let them sleep again if they left Athens Eden without going back to 'Ol Captain Luke's house -- **Billy**."

Chapter 9

I stood up from my black leather chair and stretched. The children let me know that they didn't care for my little pause with a penetrating sigh. I had no intention of cutting off my tale, but I suggested that we take a break. The children and some of the parents sighed again. I told them not to fret, and that I would be pleased to continue on about JT, Michael, and Kali after a brief recess.

My grandson looked worried. His head on a swivel, he blankly scanned the ceiling of the great hall. The rain outside pelted the roof and sounded like a symphony of drums on an endless roll. The storm didn't want to break, and we had approximately forty people in the house under our care.

As I mentioned before, the house was huge and safe, but with the power off, it was impossible for the guests to roam around freely. I would have hated for one of the children or any of their parents to fall down a flight of stairs or hit their head on an end table by tripping over a rug. In the blackness, the house could become a terrifying maze. Down the long, dark corridors there were many rooms and secret doors that led to other rooms. It would be very easy for someone to get lost and very hard for someone to be found.

My grandson, James, addressed our guests after thinking about our predicament for some time, "Please, if you don't mind, can we move to the dining room down the hall here to your left?" He pointed toward a huge, oak double door. "Thank you. The staff has prepared a little snack and some drinks."

It took almost two hours to take the guided tour through Warhead Dale during regular hours when it was opened to the public. In a savvy business decision, my grandson opened a quick stop for tourists to grab a snack or a small souvenir. The shop sold soda, assorted crackers, chocolate, pastries and everyone's favorite in summer, ice cream. Patrons could also purchase a small replica of the house or a T-shirt or other knickknacks.

At the end of the summer season, ice cream would normally be scarce, but because of an ordering error and our good fortune, today there was plenty. Since the power was off and we needed to think about our hungry guests (and being that we stored most of the food in refrigerators that now did not function), James yelled out, "ice cream and candy for everyone!" and the group of listeners cheered.

What a dinner it was.

We gathered in the dining room of Warhead Dale. It was easily the size of a gymnasium. The long dining table was made out of solid cherry and was just about thirty feet long. It was roped off so that visitors to the house would not touch the bright, shiny finish, but I figured under the circumstances, it would be OK to relax those rules this time. The velvet ropes that enclosed the table were unhooked and our hungry guests found their seats.

There was a balcony loft that circled the room two stories above the table. People could sit and read the books that covered the cased walls. I heard that JT, when he was older, would sit in the big, plush chairs and read for hours after he ate meals. A blazing fire in another huge fireplace near the head of the table was started by the remaining staff and cast brilliant shadows on the floor and walls, illuminating flags from every country that draped off of the balcony's railings.

The children and their parents sat around the massive cherry slab in antique, hand carved chairs with big, red, fluffy cushioned seats and backs. The children swung their tiny feet wildly back and forth and shoveled ice cream and pastries into their mouths, washing it all down with slightly warm soda. It delighted me to see the vitality of youth.

In a race to drink my soda the fastest, I spilled my drink on the Persian rug beneath the table and started laughing with a small group of children. The warm liquid had found its way through my nose. Our mood, despite the raging thunderstorm outside, lightened a bit.

All things being equal, I would have to say our guests were satisfied, and with the raging storm, this was certainly an adventure to the children. It was definitely an adventure for me. They were eager to hear more of the story, and even though time had flown by, there was still a lot of the story left to tell.

One little boy with ice cream dripping from his cheeks and onto the polished cherry table asked, "Can you keep tellin' your cool story here?"

I thought for a second, and from that point on, the break was over. As the children and grown-ups licked their cones of vanilla, chocolate and chocolate chip (my favorite) ice cream, I continued my story over the massive table.

<***>

"Warhead Dale wasn't always this beautiful," I began, swallowing the last of my ice-cream cone and washing it down with my last drop of soda. "It was a lot like the garden right outside that we sat in earlier. The grass wasn't as plush and green and the tiled rooftop crumbled from age and wear. The windows were cracked, shattered, and so dirty that they could crumble in your hands from being so brittle; their only protection were thick, rotten boards riddled with slimy, burrowing termites. The beige mortar of the house and buffed iron of the gate had turned into the dreadful browns, grays, and blacks of death and winter – nothing like the brilliance you see now. The tables weren't finely finished and polished, and the rugs were not as plush and new (although the ones in the dining room at that moment were covered with stains of ice cream, crumbs, and soda).

Although, as I explained to you before, those flowers in the garden leave their seeds behind during the winter in hopes that the sun and the showers of spring will bring back the brilliant colors of life. Like that garden, this house also left something behind so long ago. Its seed was desperate for life and renewal again, and it could wait no more; so instead of waiting for the sun, showers, and hope that would bring it back to life, it scoured the earth and found them.

It found hope by leaving the majestic, black cane with JT as he lay in the hospital. It found its showers by visiting JT as an innocent boy and sparked his interest with the story of the Vryheid. It found its sun by taunting Michael in his dreams, which led him to write a letter to Kali connecting the three lost friends, bringing them to its aid.

Now, as the hope, showers, and sun (JT, Michael, and Kali) made their way back to Warhead Dale, that seed known as Billy moaned in the bowels of the mighty house waiting to spring back to life."

I hoped this analogy resonated with my dedicated band of listeners, and I began talking again about JT, Michael, and Kali.

<***>

"After a brief argument with Linda about whether they should leave then or wait until the next morning, JT, Michael, and Kali packed a few possessions into the big, rusty, blue car. Linda, after losing the argument and filled with reservations about them leaving so suddenly, made them some sandwiches to take along. They then began their drive to Warhead Dale.

Kali was suspicious of everything around her. She really didn't want to go back to the old house, but after submitting to the possibility of Billy's retribution, she had no choice. Nervous and excited at once, JT had no idea what he might learn from his return to his grandfather's house; furthermore, the feeling that he must protect Michael made him think that the skinny young man still held something from him. Michael, though ecstatic about their return to Warhead Dale, couldn't help thinking ' _There's always a catch... there's always a catch....'_ Certainly Billy would not make facing his destiny an easy task.

Athens Eden was about ten miles inland from the ocean's shore. A main road cut through the town directly north and south and then other roads branched out east to the ocean. The small coastal community had not had many tourists visit its quaint, cobblestone roads through the years, but as the three travelers would find out quickly, the town was experiencing a major growth spurt. New houses and neighborhoods shot up like weeds. Developers, consumers, retirees, and settlers young and old from all over the country migrated to the sleepy town, lured by its magnetic charm.

'Are you sure this is the right way to the house?' Kali asked as Michael turned the car down one of the east running roads. 'I don't seem to remember all of these houses and neighborhoods the last time I was here.'

'Oh, it's changed a lot, but this is the right road. Trust me,' Michael stated with confidence. JT's eyes perked up when he heard the word "trust" spoken from Michael's lips.

The big blue car navigated down the seemingly endless road through a forest of new houses and neighborhoods. Michael told them that over the last few years it seemed as though everyone wanted to move to the beach all at once. The quiet little town, in his opinion, was being jolted awake.

'Maybe that's why Jenny didn't give me and Michael an evil eye when I was at the bank like the rest of the people that noticed us,' JT said, remembering how nice the young girl with the blonde ponytail was to him. 'She's probably new here.' JT leaned all the way back and laid his neck over the crest of the seat with his cane lying gently across his lap as he heard Kali snicker. He peered out of the enormous back window. The sky was still lit barely, but stars had started to pop through the fading clouds like scattered jewels on black velvet. The rumbling engine gently shook the rigid back seat and felt quite soothing to JT's neck.

Over the noise of the engine, JT could hear Michael and Kali mumbling; an obvious argument. Kali's voice would rise every few seconds and Michael would instantly answer her in his annoying high-pitched voice. JT didn't try to make out anything that they were quarrelling about because he was feeling the butterflies creep and flutter in his stomach, wrenching his insides, as he grew closer to facing his past. It was a bittersweet moment for him -- a moment he had wished would come about for so long. His excitement at the prospect of finally finding the answer to where he came from coursed through his veins, but he was still upset. He was distressed that the townspeople shunned him, Michael, Kali, and their families from their own hometown. It was also unnerving that someone had actually died in his grandfather's house, and that he had had a part in it.

Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt and JT's head was forced forward. The car let out a colossal, 'BANG!' Kali, as though the earth itself had been destroyed, screamed at the top of her voice, 'Oh my God!'

There was a slight pause. Then with her elbows on her knees and her face buried in her hands, Kali's muffled voice rang out, 'I told you, you took a wrong turn you moron!'

'What's wrong?!' JT demanded in a panicked, breathless voice rotating his head from side to side.

Michael sat motionless. His face was flushed and he stared vacantly through the windshield. He clutched the steering wheel, knuckles white, the engine still roaring. 'I never saw it,' he said with a whimper. The words barely escaped his lips.

JT jumped out of the car and Kali followed suit. Michael was petrified. JT and Kali gazed behind the big blue car and saw a little girl sobbing and rubbing a black fur ball in the middle of the road.

JT lumbered closer and saw the cause of Michael's sudden slamming of the brakes. They had run over a small black dog. JT knelt down beside the girl, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. She was inconsolable.

'You killed Tuffy.' The girl bawled, looking at JT with somber eyes and still stroking the animal that lay motionless in the street. Her entire universe had been shattered in one, single moment.

Kali stood behind JT with her hands still covering her mouth and JT was at a loss for words. Two women threw open a screen door and bolted out of the new house where the car had stopped.

'What happened?! Oh my goodness! Cherie, what happened?!' One of the women, with long blondish hair and very pretty eyes, yelled out. She fell to her knees beside the little girl.

The woman looked at the dog, which was still motionless. She glanced at the moaning girl and then back up to JT, who was still in shock. 'What, you couldn't see the dog, you idiot?'

JT was startled. He sympathized with the lady, but he had no idea how to respond to her question. He was upset enough that they had hit the dog. 'No...' he started, 'I guess we didn't?' His voice was hollow and faint.

'What do you mean, No!' The woman barked, her eyes not looking as pretty as they had before. 'The dog was right there. Oh my goodness, Tuffy.' She rocked the little girl in her arms beside the still dog.

The other woman stood with her hands on her hips and one leg cocked. She shook her head. 'I know you.' The lady caught a glimpse of JT's face from the faint red of the brake lights of Michael's big old car. 'You need to get on out of here, the both of you. I can't believe you have the gall to come back to this town. Haven't you killed enough people already?! I guess that didn't satisfy you - now you go and kill a dog?!'

Kali stood silent gritting her teeth but not for long. She felt her blood start to boil. 'Excuse me?!' Kali snapped back, flipping her hair from her eyes and pointing at the woman. 'I can't believe you just said that!'

'Believe it missy! This town went through a lot back then. We don't need any more of you people's hijinks around here. We had enough!'

'Now you listen here you two-bit, hick hussy!' (Again, I cannot tell you what she really said) Kali yelled back and the little girl's cries became louder, interrupting the mêlée.

JT quickly grabbed Kali and shuffled her back to the car. Kali continued yelling verbal jabs over her shoulder and the woman emphatically pointed each angry word she spat toward Kali with her index finger. JT stuffed Kali in the passenger's seat. This was not the time to show her strength, or in this case, her stubborn temper.

JT opened the back door of the car and peeked back at the young girl peacefully stroking the little dog. He couldn't believe he had been in town for only a couple of hours, and another living thing he was associated with was dead. This time, unlike Charlie, he would remember it.

Then, as soon as the empty feeling filled his heart with the volume of a black hole, something very wonderful and strange happened from behind the car. The little black ball of fur started to wiggle. Next, its tail started to wag very slowly, and with each pass, the black appendage picked up speed until it was fluttering back and forth like the wings of a hummingbird. Very tenderly, the dog raised its head. In an instant, the puppy bounded into the girl's arms, licking and snuggling her cheek with zestful fervor. The child screamed in delight, 'Tuffy!'

JT glared back at the woman who had belittled Kali and cracked a smug, pompous smile. The woman was not pleased at his insensitive gesture.

'Get on out of here!' the woman yelled, as JT climbed into the car. 'Go back to where you came from, 'cause it don't matter. That old house is getting flattened anyway!'

'She's just crazy,' JT stated as he slammed the door. The car shook and the axel squeaked. 'Let's go.'

'That hick might be crazy, but not as crazy as this one,' Kali said as she motioned a soft nod toward Michael.

Michael was still sitting in the same position when JT and Kali left the car. He started mumbling to himself for a moment and then began to speak loud and clear. 'I can't do anything right,' he began as tears rolled down his face. 'I can't keep a job. I can't even get a girlfriend. Kali's right, I'm an idiot. I'm so stupid. I can't even drive down the road in the middle of nowhere without hurting somebody. I just can't believe this.'

'It's OK Michael,' JT stated as calmly as he could. 'The dog's fine. The little thing just got up. Its tail's wagging and that little girl is just as happy as she can be.'

'Yeah, Michael,' Kali said in an unfamiliar consoling voice. 'There's no way you could have seen that dog jump out in the road. Let's just go. It'll be OK.' Kali looked over the seat at JT with an alarmed gape. She thought it was odd that JT had lied to Michael by saying the dog was alive. She then caught a glimpse of the child laughing and playing with her dog, Tuffy, under the streetlight through the back window. Her eyes became wide and then flashed a surprised smile at JT. JT nodded back confidently.

'It still doesn't matter. I'm still a joke. I just hope things are different in Bruinduer.' Michael lethargically put the car in drive.

The three began down the road again for a little while longer, and Michael got the turn right this time in spite of Kali telling him that it was wrong. The big blue car bounced up Fairway Street. More new houses lined the street until the big blue car passed Greenbay Drive. There, the neighborhoods stopped and the land was empty, with only big, shaggy trees lining both sides of the two lane road that now zigzagged endlessly.

'Are we there yet?' Kali asked. 'This just seems much longer than I remembered.' Kali huffed and rolled her window down. 'I told you that was the wrong –'

The car suddenly stopped with a small screech from the tires and let out a great 'Bang!' once again.

'Here we are,' Michael said somberly. Although on the outside he displayed solemn depression, inside he began to boil with excitement. His thoughts raced. He was finally at Ol' Captain Luke's house again. Michael sprang from the car and breathed in the sweet, salty air of the ocean. It made him feel much better, and his eyes opened wide as the memory of hitting the dog dissipated. JT and Kali, though happy that they had stopped (JT was just about to catch another episode of motion sickness), were confused as they lugged themselves out of the car.

'Here where?' asked JT and Kali as they looked up and down the dark, deserted road. 'I don't see anything.' Their eyes had not yet adjusted to the night.

A streetlight just above them flickered on as JT and Kali strained to make out any shapes in the darkness and a number on the concrete curb appeared. It read 209.

'We're at Warhead Dale,' Michael announced and started to trot toward what looked like thick, smothering woods. 'It's there, trust me.' Michael skipped closer to the thicket. JT flinched again at Michael mentioning trust. 'Just to let you know,' continued Michael, 'this place is old and worn down. No one has been here since you left, JT, nine years ago. No one has taken care of it.' Michael then pointed toward the thick bush. 'These vines and tree branches have grown all over the iron gate of the driveway. You can make the gate out if you look close enough.' Michael disappeared slightly into the branches and started to yank them away. 'Don't forget your cane. We'll need it.' Michael was definitely glad again.

'Alright, I guess if you say so Michael,' JT stated. His trust in Michael was diminishing with every passing second. He couldn't see any iron gate. He grabbed his cane from under the blanket in the back seat and snatched his duffel bag from the floorboard. He and Kali then nervously trudged toward Michael where he was trying ever so hard to clear the brush, vines, and other dense vegetation in front of him.

Michael worked his way quickly through the deep overgrowth, and JT and Kali watched with amusement.

'Is he always like this?' JT asked, shaking his head and wondering what might happen next with Michael.

'Like what?' Kali asked back pulling a stick of gum from her purse and offering a piece to JT.

'No thanks,' JT answered but then continued on about Michael, 'I don't know. The boy has been strange ever since I met him - well ever since he showed up at the farm. He's been so excited and then he's been so sad. Back and forth - happy then sad. Sad then happy.' JT pointed in Michael's direction. 'It's starting to get annoying.'

'Yeah, I know. But he's been through a lot,' Kali explained. 'All of that stuff with Charlie and then you leaving. He was just crushed. You were his best friend.' Kali, smacking her gum, glanced at Michael with sympathy. She knew she had been hard on him and had said some unkind things, but she really did care for him. 'I have no idea how he would've turned out if you hadn't met him and looked after him when he moved to town.'

'I... looked... after... him?' JT asked, distinctly remembering his and Michael's discussion during their trip to Athens Eden. Michael explained how he had taken JT under _his_ wing after the children at school picked on him because of the way he talked. JT said nothing about that conversation to Kali.

'I figured he might not have told you about all that. You know, his parents split and he came to live with his dad. They moved here when he was around eight years old, I think,' Kali continued. As she chewed on her gum, her eyes twinkled as she talked about Michael. 'His dad was an old fisherman, hermit type with this crazy-big, bushy hair and beard, but he was really sick, bless his heart. The kids tortured Michael up and down all around the school.' Kali's voice turned to disgust and the twinkle left her eyes. 'Some kicked him and teased him. It was horrible. It's amazing what eight-year-old kids will do.' Kali then placed her arm on JT's shoulder. 'That is, until you walked through the door.'

JT felt a shiver run down his back from her gentle touch.

'I'm glad you walked through that door,' Kali blushed. She gazed at JT with her blazing sapphire eyes.

JT stood in stunned silence. When Michael told JT the story during their trip, he had no reason to doubt him or his tale. However, considering some of his recent actions, such as leading Billy straight to Kali and holding back the story about Charlie, he had to admit he was not too surprised at what Kali had said. The distrust he felt toward Michael was complete, and his presumption that Michael was holding something back was validated. The comforting feeling he received from Kali through her touch vanished. ' _If he's lied about that, what else has he lied about?'_ JT thought to himself and hobbled toward Michael who was still working diligently to clear away the strangling vines and branches from the hidden iron gate.

'Are you mad at something?' Kali yelled out in the direction of JT as he picked up a little speed and slammed his cane on top of the concrete.

'No!' JT threw his head back to Kali and then fixed his piercing, inset eyes back onto Michael. With a grimace, he stated in a low voice too soft for Kali to hear, 'I just want to ask the little jerk something.'

JT slid closer to Michael and the thick blanket of trees and vines, and he suddenly felt his right hand begin to burn.

'What the -' JT yelped and his cane tumbled to the ground. The ruby eyes in the skull of the handle began to blaze fire red. JT carefully leaned down and picked up the cane by the ebony shaft. He then remembered how delicate and important the cane was. He limped closer toward Michael and the thicket, careful not to use his cane as a walking stick. With the cane held out in front of him, with its eyes glowing even more intensely, the vines, leaves, and branches started to rustle in the wind that whirled and percolated behind JT.

'You've got to be kidding me,' JT snickered. He then walked even closer, amazed at what happened.

The overgrowth of branches and vines flopped up and down and the wind howled. The branches waved back and forth and violently recoiled. JT plainly looked upon the iron gate where Michael now stood, glowing from the red of the ruby eyes, with flapping branches smacking him in the face.

Michael screamed out, 'Hey! What in the world?! Stop!'

JT backed away from Michael and the gate. The eyes in the skull became dimmer, and the thick coppice enfolded instantly around the iron gate and tightened against Michael.
'Come on man! I'm stuck!' Michael yelled. 'What are you doing?!'

JT then discovered himself smiling broadly. It was a smile so grand, his cheeks ached. He began walking toward Michael and the gate once again, this time with an air of confidence and power. For a second time, the wind blew strong and honed. The eyes in the cane beamed as bright as any star of the night and lit the entire area. JT made his way toward Michael, and the thick woods retreated completely, exposing an intact, rusted out, black, iron gate in front of them.

As soon as the last branch shrunk and withdrew, the blazing red lights from the ruby eyes of the cane extinguished as though a gentle breath had snuffed them out. Only the streetlight remained. It took a moment for Kali and JT's sight to adjust.

'Where's Michael?!' JT barked in a panic as soon as he focused on the gate. Michael had vanished.

A few tense moments passed and then a fractured, frightened voice rang out from the darkness, 'Up here!'

One of the branches had caught Michael under the collar of his shirt and lifted him high off the ground. His feet were dangling back and forth below him. 'Get me down!' Michael struggled, flailing his arms and kicking his feet. He overdid it just a little too much - the branch that seized him snapped, and he fell to the ground with a thud. Surprisingly, he bounced up with no injury.

'That wasn't funny!' Michael barked at JT, who grabbed his sides from laughing so hard. He was glad that Michael was OK. Kali turned her back and tried to hold back a chuckle.

'Yes it was. That was hilarious,' JT responded, thinking that Michael might have deserved it for lying to him about the way the two met. He then decided not to confront him right then about the matter since Michael had been slightly humiliated from falling on his bottom.

'Yup - it sure was funny,' Kali said through a small cough as she eyed JT.

Michael wobbled and found it difficult to catch his balance after the fall, but as soon as he regained his bearings, he walked up to Kali and JT. The three stood silent and static in front of a massive, black, iron gate. It was menacing to say the least, and it turned the recent jovial mood cold. There was a worn, faded, brass sign that hung from two chains in an arch above the doors to the gate that read 'Warhead Dale.'

'Well, I told you, we're here,' Michael said and shook the dirt off of his jeans. 'Finally.' His gleeful mood was gaining momentum again and a sense of fulfillment and pride consumed him. He had completed his task of getting JT and Kali back to Warhead Dale.

Under the glow of the streetlight, JT held his cane close to his face and stared at it. 'I wonder what that was all about. Was that strange to anybody other than me? I mean, it was cool how the branches and vines just cleared out like that, but wasn't it weird?' JT asked curiously. He was starting to get used to the strange things that had begun happening just a couple of days before, but he couldn't help but wonder.

'Nope,' Michael said very nonchalantly still staring straight ahead at the massive black gate. Kali didn't say much, but her look implied that she had seen this before. Michael chimed in, 'I guess the cane wants to come home too.'

'Why didn't you say something about the cane doing that before you got all tangled up?' JT asked Michael, perplexed.

'I didn't know if it would work. I mean, it has been a while,' Michael explained. 'Plus, the vines and branches never covered the gate like that before.'

'I just stood and watched you two morons make fools of yourselves,' Kali said and looked away with a snicker. 'It was the funniest thing I've seen for some time.'

'Well, it worked,' JT said and carefully put his weight onto the cane.

'What's this?' Kali asked, catching an odd shape on the ground. She walked over to an old wooden sign that had been knocked down by the vines released from the gate. She plucked off a very formal looking piece of paper that was stapled to the board and walked back to Michael and JT. She handed the paper to JT.

JT brought it under the streetlight to get a better look. He scanned over the document, which had very fine letterhead running across the top. It read:

From: The Planning Office of the City of Athens Eden

To: Residence of 209 Fairway Street, subdivision 4, lot number 49

This memo is to inform you that the building and structures within the lot mentioned above will be demolished in accordance with Section 2 paragraph 3-4a of the city code.

Since no one has made claim to the property here within the time permitted by law, and all means of notification have been extinguished, it has been determined that the city council of Athens Eden shall take full ownership of said property of 209 Fairway Street no later than the 10th day of November of this year.

The property will then be sold to the highest bidder in a public auction on the 11th day of November.

Said trust of the property is hereby granted to J.B.J & Sons Property Management and Construction.

Anyone caught on the property until said auction will be in violation of the law and charged with trespassing.

This summons is final.

JT walked over to Kali and Michael, shaking his head. He handed the memo back to Kali, 'I guess that lady was right. They're going to tear this place down.'

'Do what? What lady?' Michael said as his face flushed.

'The lady we saw out in the road when you ran over that dog. She said she couldn't wait for them to flatten this place,' JT explained with slight indifference. Although he was concerned at what he just read, there was nothing he could have done about it at that moment anyway. Gregory had taught him that there are some things you just can't control at certain times. He had explained that people should take each issue, weigh the circumstances, consider the time sensitivity, and then go from there. November was a couple of months away, JT thought. He had a more pressing matter to attend at that moment - getting into Warhead Dale.

'They can't tear this place down. It's impossible!' Michael stated, 'Your granddad had plenty of money. He had plans. He had his _own_ trust fund in the house to make sure it would never be torn down or sold.' Michael paced back and forth, gesturing wildly with his hands.

'How do you know that?' JT asked. It seemed to be quite a pastime for Michael to keep information from him.

'He told us,' Kali answered back. JT's eyes perked up. She seemed to know more than she led on as well.

JT was getting frustrated.

'He always said the house had to remain in the family,' Kali continued. 'He said it could never be sold or destroyed. He put it in his will. I remember the day he told us. He said the house and its contents could not end up in the wrong hands.' Kali paused for a brief instant as she retrieved her thoughts. 'He emphasized that it could NOT end up in the wrong hands.'

'Yeah, that's right,' Michael started, 'Your dad wasn't too hip to the whole idea. I remember now; your dad believed he should have at least inherited the fortune your grandfather had considering all of the time he missed with him growing up. Your grandfather spent years away from home searching for the Mahogany Door, and from what I understand, the money your grandfather had was considerable, but your dad didn't get any of it. You see, Ol' Captain Luke put his riches in that trust fund to pay all the taxes and insurance and stuff - everything the town needed to keep the house intact.' Michael placed his finger on his temple. 'This makes no sense. He told us about all that at the same time he told us about finding the Mahogany Door. That was at the beginning.'

JT suddenly felt a shock of bright light pierce into his brain. It was as if a sledgehammer slammed on his forehead, jolting him backward. 'AUGH!' JT screamed out. The pain coursed through every inch of his body and reverberated in his soul. He hit the ground with his knees.

'What's wrong?' Kali shrilled. She ran to JT's side.

'I don't know,' JT mumbled toward the sky. His head swam. Images tapped through his mind like an old, antique movie. His surroundings clad themselves in an amber haze. He tried to stand and Kali pulled on his arms. He looked to where the iron gate stood and saw a newer image of the structure in front of him, but instead of the icy, black, distant gate he remembered after the thicket pulled back, the metal looked warm and inviting. The breeze jumped between the gate's bars and tickled the now brand-new, polished brass sign above it that contained the name, 'Warhead Dale', and moaned for JT to enter. Was this a memory from his past?

JT tried to keep the image in his head. Maybe he could get answers that weren't being held back from his so-called best friends; if he could just hold onto the vision a little longer. He strained with all of his strength to keep the memory alive, but in an instant, the picture vanished. The old gate was back, and he sat on his knees beside Michael and Kali.

'Let's go in.' A shot of adrenaline rushed through JT's veins as he caught his breath. The pain was gone.

'Now, that's what I'm talkin' about,' Michael snapped immediately. He pumped his fist into the air.

'What?' Kali asked with alarm. 'We can't go in there. Didn't you read that memo? We need to go and tell Linda about this. I'm not going to jail, especially not for you two!'

'Don't be such a worrywart,' Michael taunted and shoved her with his hand.

Kali pointed her finger at Michael, 'Don't start with me.'

'Come on, Kali. Nothin' is going to happen. There's nobody around here. We're in the middle of nowhere.' JT placed his hand on Kali's shoulder. For the first time since he had left the Shorts' farm, he felt like he needed to take control of his actions. 'I have to go in there.' JT went to open the big, black, iron gate, still careful not to put too much pressure on his cane as he walked, which was proving difficult. 'With or without you.'

'Well I'm not going,' Kali huffed, her arms crossed in their familiar position.

'Fine, stay out here then,' JT stated not looking back, 'I think it's about a six mile walk back or something like that? What you think, Michael?'

'Yup,' Michael said with a snicker, 'and there's Billy too!'

Kali looked around and tapped her foot nervously, then she let out another huge sigh. 'Whatever. Fine, I'll go.' She walked toward the gate following Michael. She popped him on the shoulder and pointed at him again; this time her finger thumped his nose. 'I told you not to start with me.'

JT tried to open the gate with his hand. It wouldn't budge. 'It's locked.'

'Duh...,' Kali scoffed. 'I could have told you that without even trying.' She tried in vain to make herself feel better. Sarcasm bled from her voice. 'Yeah, like you're just going to waltz on in there.'

Michael then perked up and with tense certainty explained, 'The cane... the cane's the key. Give it a try.'

JT took the cane and slid the ivory skull and crossbones into the lock's opening where it fit perfectly. He twisted it to the left and then tried to go back to the right, but the cane jammed.

'It's stuck,' JT said. 'It won't turn.' Frustration built and JT's temper rose. He hadn't come this far to be denied his past. He clutched the shaft of the cane tightly and tried to pry it back to the left. The handle began to bend as he tried to force the lock to break. He then realized what he was doing and calmed himself. He loosened his grip, sucked in a hefty dose of salty air and let it out. The cane would be no good broken. He couldn't understand what he was feeling. His temper, like facing Willy in the horse barn, wanted to get the best of him. He gently pulled the handle back out of the lock. His clear thinking prevailed.

'I guess we're going over,' Michael retorted. Without hesitation, he bounded over the gate from the right side.

JT looked at Kali. He wouldn't let the fact that he couldn't unlock the gate stop him either. His only concern was the pain he would feel in his knee as he climbed over. He passed his duffel bag and the cane through the bars to Michael, grabbed one of the hinges with his foot and lifted himself over. It took a little time, but JT managed to suffer through the throbbing pain and awkwardly fell to the other side.

Kali took a moment. She saw the pain that JT had endured in order to get over the gate. She looked back at the big, old, blue car behind her sitting innocently under the streetlight. She was sure she could get Michael to give her the keys. She could just ride away, no one would care. Of course Billy would. She sighed and groaned, 'I'm going to regret this.'

She didn't make it to the other side without a lot of cursing and screaming. Most of her bad language was directed toward Michael as he stood on the other side gawking at her. Kali finally made it over, and as she punched Michael a few times in the arms, the vines and branches that had revealed the gate swallowed it with a strident 'SWAP!'

The trio was startled. Kali squeaked something incoherent and Michael froze. 'That's interesting,' JT muffled but didn't give the matter a second thought. He knew he had to go to Ol' Captain Luke's house.

The sun dropped completely behind the trees around the gate and night slipped silently into its black cloak. JT, Kali, and Michael made their way anxiously down the leaf-covered driveway of Warhead Dale. They passed timorously under the dark tree branches that draped over them like a long, endless tunnel. The moon with its golden shine popped through the void and cast long, jagged, shaky shadows across the hard ground. The wind blew, and the chill off of the ocean beyond cut through their clothes, as goose bumps sprang from their skin.

They walked another twenty yards, and the smell of salt and grass punctured the air as they emerged from the tree tunnel. The moon's height and brightness in the sky along with the substantial size of the grounds made it appear as early morning. The three panned down the massive yard and gazed on the sheer magnitude of Warhead Dale. The enormous house sat on the edge of the ocean, and its colossal front profile from the moon's light stood like a citadel. Even though the house was now dilapidated, worn from time and neglect, it was still a magnificent site to witness.

JT's heart began to pound like thunder against his ribs and he could see the excitement rising in Kali and Michael as their eyes became wide.

He never could have imagined that the house was as large as it was. Michael had told him that it was big, but that, along with calling Kali merely pretty, was a bold, misguided understatement.

The house was so immense that it appeared closer than it really was, and it took them almost ten minutes to reach the front of it at a heightened, eager pace. Once in front, they stood looking up in awe at the huge chalet and catching their breath. Their minds wandered as they spanned the structure with their eyes. Up and down, back and forth, the image burning into their memory. Time seemed to stand still and hours may have passed in what seemed like moments. They couldn't take their eyes off of it.

'So this is my granddad's place?' JT broke the reverent silence. He felt somewhat comfortable standing there. 'Nice place. A little run down, but not bad. I think he did pretty well for himself, don't ya think?'

Michael laughed out loud and Kali held back a smile. Joy flowed over them like a warm shower. They had made it.

JT nodded his head. He took one last quick look to the left and another glance to the right. He was very delighted. 'Well...,' he paused, 'let's go in.'

JT stepped up the marble stairs that rose to the front door of the house. His knees turned to jelly as he stood directly in front of two massive oak doors. His heart raced again and he couldn't imagine why it hadn't given out by then. A bead of sweat tumbled from his brow, and he could hear his own breath as he reached for the dull, brass doorknob. Just as his fingertips grazed the knob, a faint, low, dark laugh emerged from deep beneath Warhead Dale. JT jerked his hand back and stopped. He took one step back and his foot landed on the last step.

'I know that laugh...' JT peered back toward Kali and Michael over his shoulder. Michael's knees quaked, and his whole body shuddered. He was overcome by the feelings he experienced when he couldn't sleep. It was a sense of hopelessness. Kali's breath skipped. She clutched her fists and shook her head. Dread dressed her.

JT turned and delicately limped back to Kali and Michael. This time he used his cane to help him make a quicker descent. The shaft of the cane tapped the marble with a clean, 'Plink!' with each step, which echoed off the face of the house. After JT made his way to Kali and Michael's side, they blinked at each other, then wheeled around and glared back toward Warhead Dale. The moon's light gleamed off of the tiled roof.

'You know, this trip _was_ getting pretty good. I mean we made it this far without too much complication, right? I mean besides the people in the town; the dog; and the gate; and now -- well never mind.' JT stood still and stared at the house, perplexed. 'But I guess all good things do come to an end.'

'Say it,' the same dark voice bellowed. The shifty, slithering tone vibrated in JT's heart, every syllable slamming home its command. Another droning laugh climbed into the empty night sky.

Kali, Michael, and JT eyed each other all at once. Their faces were washed with fear. The only sound that could be heard was the gentle, soft swish of the waves behind the big old house, lapping against the shore.

'I owe you an apology, Kali,' JT retorted. He then looked back toward Warhead Dale. His mind hurried for a clear thought. What could possibly happen next?

'Why's that?' Kali asked with a huge gulp. She was trying very hard to keep her composure.

'I told you that nothing was gonna happen if we ignored that memo and came through the gate.' He then sympathetically turned again to Kali, who was staring vacantly at Warhead Dale. 'I guess I was wrong.'

Chapter 10

The breaking, honing wind from the storm outside blew a branch through one of the windows and down a long hallway connected to the dining room with a loud "Crash!" Glass rained down and scattered along the floor. All of the children and most of the grown-ups gave a loud shriek. I turned around quickly and also let out a small yelp, but I think I was more controlled than the rest of my dedicated story listeners. At least I hoped.

I think the mere mention of Billy's presence in the old, worn down house gave us the frights because after the window in the hall burst and we cried out, silence echoed hastily from the walls of the dining room and my group eyed each other in synchronicity, much like Michael, JT, and Kali had done when they heard the creature's voice rise and expand from within Warhead Dale.

My grandson, in his most organized way, ran down the hall to see what he could do about the broken window. I stared at my young audience and they back at me. I always thought that I was a poor judge of others' moods, but I could tell by my group's eyes that they wondered if we should stop the story and call it a night. The storm was getting stronger as time went by, and it was becoming more alarming. I would also be lying if I claimed I didn't harbor feelings for the old spirit that used to dwell in this big old house. I had to keep reminding myself that the creature known as Billy once inhabited Ol' Captain Luke's house. Even though the old guide had not been seen or heard from for decades, I kept a sharp eye and attentive ear just the same.

Many of the children's parents were uneasy and understandably so. They tried to call out on their cell phones, but the batteries of the electronics were running very low and there was no power in the house to recharge them. Regardless of the situation with the storm, the lack of power, and the anxious feelings, there was absolutely no way I could let anyone leave the house. The weather was just too bad. I had to think about keeping the children and their parents in Warhead Dale overnight.

My mind and body were jelly. I couldn't possibly foresee what else might go wrong. My grandson's simple idea of having me tell my old story was turning into a nightmare.

After the parents and children had a few moments to calm down from the nerve-racking circumstances, they gathered in a committee. I turned to look at the crackling fire in the dining room and shook my head. I couldn't control this situation, which was the root of one of the reasons I wanted to tell my story. There are just some things you cannot control. I decided that I had to make the right decision, but just as I was about to throw my hands up in surrender and quit for the night, a group of very straight standing young boys pulled on my arm. They let me know that in no certain terms was any spirit guide creature thing going to get the best of them. They felt that if they had made it this far, why shouldn't I continue with the story? I chuckled under my breath so the young boys did not hear me. I realized that they wanted to show their courage to the little girls. Of course I continued the story; however, I didn't want to tell the boys at that time that no matter how much courage they thought they had, or thought they could conjure, Billy _would_ get to them. We all gathered around the great cherry table once again, and I continued the story.

<***>

"'Say it,' JT, Michael, and Kali heard once again from the dark, slimy voice coming from the depths of Warhead Dale. They stood petrified. A few moments passed.

'Say it,' the voice was a little more forceful and abrasive, but this time the laugh was gone. Billy was becoming restlessly impatient.

'Say what?!' JT barked back at the house after a few more edgy moments. Only silence answered. 'What does he want now?' JT whispered in a dry voice to Kali and Michael. His fingers shook.

'Why are you whispering?' Kali asked back in a concerned tone.

'So he won't hear us,' JT answered with the same breathy, dry, serious undertone.

'JT.' Kali looked at him as though he had three heads. She cocked her chin to one side shifting her auburn hair from her blazing blue eyes. The left side of her lip lifted in a huff, 'He can enter our dreams, you idiot. I don't think he's too concerned that he won't be able to hear us.' Her face turned to disgust. 'I'm pretty sure he wants us to say that stupid little poem he made up.'

'What's that?' asked JT. He used a louder voice that rose and cracked at the end of his question.

'The rules,' said Michael. Fear penetrated him. His eyes were sunken and his skin was pallid. Confronting Billy and those large, awful red eyes in his dreams was one thing, but behind those huge oak doors, the creature, breathing and living, manifested in all of his unrecognizable glory. Facing the monster in the flesh and staring into his black pupils, those pools of eternal dread, was almost more than Michael could stand. 'Remember I told you there were a lot of rules with the door and the cane,' continued Michael. 'Well, Billy was the mastermind behind a lot of those rules.'

'Say it,' the dark, hungry, vibrating voice danced on the early evening sky.

'I thought only the Vryheid could establish the rules involving Bruinduer,' responded JT. He could have sworn Michael told him that. 'It would have been nice if you had mentioned this.' JT's frustration swelled. 'Again, that would've been helpful.'

'Ha!' laughed Michael. 'Maybe you can tell him that he can't make up any rules when you _see_ him.'

'So,' snapped JT, 'say it then.'

'One problem.' Michael realized with horror. His hands quaked and the only way he could settle them was by clutching his fists and releasing them. 'We have to say it together.'

'What? Why?' asked JT.

'The rules; I told you,' said Michael. His breath became shallow.

'Would you two stop!' roared Kali. She reached in her purse and pulled out a pen and a little flashlight. She then dug back into her pack and raked around for something to write on. When she came up empty, she reached for JT's duffel bag. She pulled out Captain Luke's journal. The wind swirled around the house. A few of the boards that blocked the windows slammed against the panes. The dying, overgrown grass rustled gently. 'May I?' asked Kali, but was ready to write on the page of the journal regardless of JT's answer. 'Hold this.' She handed the little flashlight to JT, flipped open the journal, and then began to scribble on the back of one of the journal's entries.

'You actually know the poem Billy wants us to say?' asked JT in a surprised, nervous manner. The flashlight jiggled in his hand and the circle of light bounced around the open pages.

'Hmm... JT,' Kali snickered. 'No matter how bad you want to, there are just some things that happen to you in this world you can't forget. And trust me when I say I've tried to forget about all of _this_.' Kali swirled her hands around in the air in front of her as though she were outlining Warhead Dale. She then gripped JT's arm. 'Please hold the light still.'

'Right, sorry.' JT seized the flashlight with both hands and tried to hide the fact that he was anxious. He focused intensely on the page he shined the light on, but as Kali wrote, his mind was fuzzy. The moment seemed blurry and confusing. After a couple of minutes, Kali ripped the loose paper from the journal and handed it to JT.

'Say it,' the voice from Warhead Dale calmed. It knew it was about to receive what it wanted.

JT's mind raced and his heart palpitated in his chest. He felt like each heartbeat was strong enough to jump through his shirt. He held the little flashlight with one hand and tried to focus the light toward the paper Kali had written on. JT tried to act as though he knew what he was doing, but his insides flipped upside down.

'Are you set, Michael?' JT asked, and Michael nodded with a quick jerk of his neck. 'Well, serve it up then.'

JT focused intensely on the page in front of him to remain calm. In his study, he had noticed on the piece of paper what looked like drawings made by his grandfather. It looked like the outline of simple hourglasses around the margins. He flipped the page over curiously to see if he could make out anything else.

Maybe it was the brightness of Kali's little flashlight or his eyes adjusting to the settling darkness, but the handwritten words of Ol' Captain Luke had faded even more from the night before when he had strained to read the journal in his bedroom. The letters Kali wrote on the front of the page, however, were dark and legible.

The moment had come quickly. The eight years on the Shorts' farm and the last three days felt instantaneous. Billy was ready to hear those words scorched on the paper. He had been germinating long enough. It was time to give. A soft, deepening, diabolical laugh echoed through the old mansion out into the night and hung in the sky.

JT had told Gregory at breakfast just a morning before that he couldn't find what he was looking for with them. He needed to find out where he came from. He had to learn about a childhood that was stolen from him by the wheels of a water truck and the failure of an airplane. Now he was unexpectedly, hesitantly, and exultantly in that place for that knowledge: Warhead Dale - the house of his grandfather, 'Ol Captain Luke.

He thought about Michael, who struggled with his destiny, but maybe, just maybe his own identity was staring him in the face. The answers to all of his questions, questions that had haunted and puzzled him for years, were behind the two huge oak doors sealed before him. Fear now engulfed him. He could feel his knees buckle and his thighs spasm. He wanted to run. He leaned away from the house, ready to sprint, but the cane in his hand stopped him. The adrenaline that flooded his body and the dread that arrested him scuttled his brain. He had forgotten about his knee and realized that he would not have made it far. As he leaned back toward the house, he knew the only choice he had was to open those doors.

As they recited the poem, Kali spoke very quietly, almost in a whisper. She hoped that in some dark hidden place in her mind Billy might not hear her saying his poem just as JT had thought a few moments before, but she knew that it was futile. Billy could get into her head no matter what barriers she tried to put up. It dawned on her that it probably didn't matter if she even spoke the words. The fact that she thought about them would be enough for the monster feeding on their fears, waiting for their return to fill his need. She stood as strong, if not stronger than JT. She didn't want to give the beast the pleasure of rummaging around her mind and forcing his will.

Michael focused very differently. His throat dropped. He had craved this for such a long time, a chance to go through the Mahogany Door and back to Bruinduer. It was time for him to have his own sense of control over a life that had stumbled repeatedly since JT had left. He could taste the sweet alluring air of Bruinduer. His destiny seemed only heartbeats away, but his will grew weaker by the second. The endless nights of Billy taunting and hazing him unremorsefully in his dreams smoldered at his very core. The power the monster had over him made him stand with the little strength he had left. He needed to get back to Bruinduer, and he knew going through Billy was the only way it would happen. Mostly, however, he was too afraid not to give the monster what he wanted.

The three stood in the empty, chilly night, nailed to the earth. The putrid smell of wood, plaster, and fear burrowed through their nostrils. There was a slight hesitation while the breeze weaved gently along the grass. The bright, golden moon melted behind ominous, dreadful clouds. The pause lingered; then Michael began to recite the poem Billy had made a part of the rules:

Slip the soul between space and time

Where up is down and five is nine.

Michael felt his heart start to hammer and his hands turned sticky. The breeze halted, and the leaves on the tree tunnel outlining the driveway hung lifeless against their branches.

JT and Kali toiled at the beginning of the poem and stumbled over the first couple of words. Michael failed to let them know he was starting. JT tried his best to keep focused on the paper in front of him, but Michael's hustled pace left him lagging. Time seemed to stop. Anxiety pulsed through their veins.

Place the palm upon the door

Enter the universe upon its shore.

JT lost his focus on Kali's writing. He clenched the journal's page. Despite his initial stammering, he immediately and shockingly regurgitated the words of the poem without help. He had control of his body, but the words coming out of his mouth were not his own. It was as if some mind controller had gained the power of his voice.

The ground and house began to tremble. The boards, tiles, splintered glass, and mortar vibrated. With each passing word that slipped from their mouths, the shaking became more intense.

In a village or on a beach

Nothing there is out of reach.

JT, Kali, and Michael were now in perfect unison. JT's hand, which held the cane, started to pulse and tug toward the house as the mansion rumbled and quaked more forcefully. He strangled the skull and crossbones, laboring to keep it steady.

Take me where I cannot go

Make me a king or let it snow.

Michael's breath was shallow. Kali tried to speak even softer; her futile thought that Billy wouldn't hear entered her mind. The pulsing in JT's hand throbbed, but the cane continued to tug him toward the house. Two bright beams of red light shot from the cane's eyes. The lights focused themselves on the two large oak doors of Warhead Dale. The wind began to howl, and the sound from the vibrating mansion was deafening.

Billy, please hear our beckoning

For in Bruinduer, you are The Reckoning.

They did not hear the last two lines themselves, but after the last word, silence fell like a curtain on a stage at the end of a play. The beam of red lights remained fixed on the doors.

'Did it work?' asked JT with an exhausted voice, breaking the icy calm. 'Should we say it again? It seemed like we were rolling there with the poem for a second, but I think I might have messed up at the start. You never told us when you were gonna begin.' JT looked at Michael still grappling with the cane, and cracked a sarcastic half smile.

A small rumble was suddenly felt beneath Kali, Michael, and JT. JT's smirk vanished with concern. The rumbling turned to distinct, rhythmic thumps deep beneath the ground. The three gaped at each other with eyebrows raised. Instinctively, they leaned their heads toward the ground to study the sound. Then the thumps penetrated the ground a little louder, 'boom.' The three thrust their torsos straight up and looked anxiously at each other.

The sound then intensified again, 'Boom.' It became louder and closer, 'Boom, Boom!' The booming grew with a crescendo and sounded as though thunder was rolling directly under their feet. It was as if the Devil himself was pounding an enormous drum in some sick symphony. The percussion of sound rapping the ground caused JT, Michael, and Kali to bounce up and down. 'BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!'

The house's foundation quaked more violently. Small bits of the clay tile jacketing the roof dribbled down like small snowflakes to the ground.

'What in the world!' JT barked, but no one heard because of the piercing, thunderous, driving, rolling beats.

Kali screamed wildly, but her expanding and deflating chest was the only proof. She clasped JT's empty hand in a natural reaction to her terror. Michael scanned frantically between JT and Kali, then back at the doors. He stood mortified. His thoughts were contradicting - he couldn't decide whether to run or bury his head in the dirt and hide.

Suddenly, there was a fleeting pause that dangled in the chill-bitten night air. The vibrations ceased. The cane's eyes were extinguished and it stopped tugging on JT. The three gasped for breath, still staring at the spot where the beams of red light had been centered on the two large oak doors.

Without warning, there was a loud 'KA-BOOM!' and the enormous doors blew apart. Michael, JT, and Kali dropped immediately to the dirt and covered their heads, trying to protect themselves from the millions of splinters hurling toward them.

After a few anxious moments, the debris stopped raining down on them and they regained their composure. Silently, they returned to their feet and brushed the wreckage from their clothes. They peered into the empty black opening left from the explosion. With trepidation, they wondered how Billy would appear from Ol' Captain Luke's house.

Though they never saw the monster entirely, Michael and Kali knew that the beast that haunted their dreams was not the same spirit guide they once knew as children. He had changed. He was much meaner and nastier. JT, who had also seen only the empty, dark, menacing, bloodshot eyes in his visions of Billy, fully expected the worst. He was certain the monster would not manifest as the cute little blonde-haired boy he met in the horse barn on the Shorts' farm.

Their stomachs tumbled as their skin went white. Their knees turned to jelly. They could never have prepared themselves for what happened next. Slowly, two gruesome hands appeared and gingerly clenched either side of the door jambs where the oak doors once stood; one finger layering itself on top of another. The huge, snow white appendages poked out of ripped, tattered cloth gloves. Emerging from the vast, drained darkness was a shocking, titanic site.

The creature squeezed through the jambs almost banging his head on the top of the crossbeam of the covered porch. When he completely cleared the opening, he stood some ten feet tall. His hair was matted in thick, greasy, red dreadlocks, and a ceremonial lion skin headdress was smashed on top of his motley hair. Feathers, attached to the cover, looked as though had come from exotic birds in a past life; however, now they were faded and ruffled. His face was repulsive and agonizing. Blue and white paint streaked down his cheeks and chin in no recognizable pattern. The monster's omniscient, bloodshot red eyes were even more beaming, scanning, piercing, and barren than JT had remembered from his dream.

He wore a brown, tattered and torn toga that draped over his body from his shoulders to just below his knees. The skin on his legs was drenched in grease and grime. The single-soled sandals he wore were dark burgundy with straps wrapped halfway up his lower legs.

The creature, standing in the open night just outside of Warhead Dale, sucked in an ocean of air and released it with a tremendous sigh. When he straightened himself, a cracking, ripping noise sounded out and echoed across the grounds.

'WOO-HOOO!' screamed Billy. Birds from the surrounding trees previously retired for the night, launched into the night with reckless abandon. 'It's so good to be out in the fresh air,' continued the monster. He exposed a gritty, grisly smile with rotten, yellow teeth that fell out and grew back instantaneously.

Forgetfully, Billy smacked his forehead. 'Oh YEAH! Where are my favorite people in the world?!' He angled down at Kali and JT as the light from the moon peeked through the thick black clouds.

'Where's Michael?' JT asked with panic. The spot where Michael had stood was vacant.

'Heh, heh...,' Billy scoffed in a deep raspy tone, shaking his head nonchalantly. 'Run little rabbit, run.'

Michael couldn't take it anymore. After he saw the horrible sight of Billy emerge from Warhead Dale, his will along with his courage snapped. He turned and ran with all of his capacity toward the arching canopy of trees over the driveway. His legs pounded the ground and his heart battered his ribcage. His arms pumped like shafts spinning a locomotive's wheels at top speed.

All along he muttered in a high, squeak between breaths, 'He's changed too much. I don't remember that. I don't remember that. I don't remember that.'

JT whipped around to follow suit. He clutched his cane, but with one lunging step, a throbbing pain surged through his knee. He fixed himself still. He then caught a transitory glimpse of an enormous hand and arm fly over his head like a slow moving jet. Billy snatched the back of Michael's shirt collar and lifted him off the ground; his legs still churning in place. Billy then returned the very frightened, thrashing, and vocal young man right back to the place he once stood as though he had never darted away. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Michael froze. He could only stare back at Billy sheepishly.

'There they all are now - my favorite people in the world. Where have you all been?' Billy groaned sarcastically with an elastic smile. He looked at JT, Michael, and Kali with admiration. His smile went flat.

The three stood silent and stationary; afraid to even twitch. They could not believe or comprehend what stood before them. It was a sight from all of their worst nightmares rolled and manifested into one. JT could only wish now that the monster had revealed himself in the form of the annoying little boy, Willy, from the farm.

Billy paced back and forth with his arms crossed behind his back saying nothing. JT, Kali, and Michael could feel each vibrating step and a slight burst of air as the gruesome spectacle strolled past. The monster moved with surprising agility. The look on Billy's face was impenetrable, and he seemed strained while gathering his thoughts. Suddenly, an emotion washed over the monster's face as though he planned to crush the three travelers to Warhead Dale at any second. His fists clutched, but the infinite patience that Billy could summon won out, and as he made another turn in front of the trio, his merciless expression abated and his fists released.

'So - I'm guessing you all want to know why I'm out here like this,' Billy growled nonthreateningly. His voice was low and coarse. 'Why I look the way I do.'

The thought had bounced between JT's ears, but like Kali and Michael, he remained astonished and speechless. His eyes were fixated on Billy. The sight, though hideous, mesmerized him. He thought back to the vision of Billy's eyes in his dreams the night before and remembered how he was conflicted about how he would confront the monster then. He couldn't decide whether he would be fearful or commanding on their meeting. In the safety of his dreams, he decided at that point to launch at the creature and demand answers; however, with the monster pacing, breathing, and contemplating in front of him in the flesh, JT felt that discretion and assent was a more favorable course.

'I just want you to see what you have forgotten. I don't like it.' Billy's voice was deep and somber and he continued to walk from side to side. 'Sure two of you can remember a little bit; little rabbit and Kali girl. Sorry, JT, that you are all jumbled up and can't think straight, but you still forgot about me.' Billy's voice was infused with pain and anger. The streaks that ran down his cheeks were more prominent. 'The only way you can understand is if you see; see what you forgot. The mind can play tricks on you. It can make you perceive what you desire. Your eyes... your eyes are different. People believe what they can see and touch.' Billy halted his marching and faced JT, Kali, and Michael. He gestured with his hands toward his body. 'You see me standing right in front of you, torn up and forgotten.' He then placed his gigantic hand in front of the trio. He shook it up and down very quickly as though he wanted one of the three to stretch out and grab it. No one reached their hand out to him. Billy stopped his shaking and retracted his hand. He chuckled faintly, 'Now you gotta make it right.' He peered at Michael and winked. It was as if he knew that Michael had come to the same conclusion in the parking lot of Linda's diner.

Michael wobbled on his feet. He felt as though he was going to pass out.

A surge of adrenaline tainted with rage inoculated JT. His temper rose and he struggled to keep his mouth shut to avoid entering a verbal sparring match with Billy.

Kali tried to keep her head down, but the dreadful site of Billy and the curiosity that gripped her only made her want to gaze upon the disappointed, abandoned, bitter monster.

Billy bent down; his bones cracked. He slithered his head a few inches from Kali, JT, and Michael's faces. Its back and forth motion between them was like a vengeful snake ready to strike; his breath singed their cheeks with a putrid gas. 'And this time, you better not mess it up.' Billy jerked straight back. He then turned on his heels and lazily proceeded up the marble steps and disappeared into the shadowed opening of Warhead Dale. Though the initial meeting of Billy was short, his message was clear.

The three travelers stared at the black, foreboding entrance into which Billy had vanished. After a protracted pause, realization settled back into Kali, JT, and Michael. They started to pan around the old mansion, the vast grounds, and the unyielding night. At one point during this exercise, they turned and peered behind them toward the tunnel of trees. One glaring option was to run.

Their emotions stilled and they concluded that Billy was not going to hurt them. If he had wanted to hurt them, they probably would already have been dead. They then stared back at the empty hole into Warhead Dale.

' _What did he want?'_ JT thought. _'What did Billy want them to correct?'_ He recalled his earlier conversation in the car with Michael about Billy and the Mahogany Door. _'Control of Bruinduer back? Maybe?'_ JT sucked on his teeth and thought about what to do next. The way to his lost memories and childhood was there for his taking.

The clouds quickly swallowed the moon once again, and the wind blew crisply. A low laugh reverberated across the breeze as it began to rain.

'You have got to be kidding me,' JT said and tilted his head upward. The raindrops smacked him on the face and became stronger and thicker after each passing second. He then understood why his temper flared when he was around Billy; the big brute annoyed him.

'I guess we're going in the house,' said Michael as the heavy raindrops pelted his head as well. Though he looked calm on the outside, his insides were a jumbled mess. He was relieved that Billy wasn't going to crush him, but he was hesitant in passing through the gloomy, vacant hole. It was what he had ultimately wanted; to go back to Bruinduer and relive the life he once knew as a child, but the adventures he had as a kid in Bruinduer seemed to come with a much larger price - a price he wasn't certain he wanted to pay now after all that had transpired.

'Entering against my better judgment,' Kali responded to Michael. 'But necessary, I suppose.' She had made the right decision to come to the old mansion with her lost friends and confront Billy. There was no way that she could face the gruesome sight she had just witnessed in her dreams every night. It would be very difficult to gaze into those red and black, seething void-like eyes over and over again.

As the raindrops began to cascade on top of their heads and seep through their clothes, JT, Michael, and Kali picked up their things. They took one last look at the tunnel of trees over the driveway now bleary through the sheets of heavy rain. In the end, they knew what their only course would be. They turned and filed into the unknown darkness of Warhead Dale."

Chapter 11

"Bang!" A loud noise echoed through the great hall and the blast carried into the dining room. Another large tree branch smashed against the back outside windows. Some of my young listeners scurried under the cherry table to hide from the racket. My heart jumped. Fortunately, none of the glass panes shattered.

Everyone immediately wanted to know what had happened and scanned nervously around the room, with only the crackling of the fire breaking the silence. Suddenly, a person appeared at one of the glass French doors of the dining hall. Lightning flashed and lit his dark silhouette. The children still seated at the table, myself included, jolted with fright, and the patrons beneath the cherry slab buried their heads deeper in their arms. The mysterious person then flung the door open and entered from the outside recklessly, rain splattering on the floor and wind howling through the jamb. I have to believe that the titanic, gruesome image of Billy weighed heavily on me and my listeners. For a brief moment, I think we were afraid the forgotten old spirit had decided to make a surprise appearance.

A few anxious moments later, the unknown person flipped his hood from atop of his head. We were very relieved to see that it was only my grandson who was coming inside from the storm. He had just completed the task of latching the shutters from the windows outside of the main hall. He had tried to close them from inside before venturing into the gale, but the wind kept him from pulling the shutters closed. He tried to dry himself as much as possible as he explained his actions. He apologized for halting my storytelling and only wanted to say that he would never attempt that maneuver again. He also needed to speak with the children's parents.

The storm was just not letting up. I thought it strange. There were no hurricanes or any other abnormal weather patterns in the forecast for that day in our region. I then thought that it was probably a very strong northeaster that had just popped up. Those mighty tempests do that from time to time. My grandson took the parents back into the great hall to discuss what the plan for the rest of the evening might be. I continued my story to my dedicated listeners.

"I know it has been quite a long day," I said to the children. Like I have mentioned before, I may be a bad judge of mood, but my new friends seemed frightened. I searched for the proper words to say. "I didn't plan on taking this long with the story. I thought I might have stopped earlier and if you wanted to come back, we could have started where we left off tomorrow. I know this is quite a long tale. I am glad though that you have a chance to listen to the end of the story. It would have been a shame if some of you were not able to come back tomorrow."

I tried to calm the kids as much as possible. With the storm still raging and a bit of uncertainty dangling in the air, the continuation of the story would be a good way to keep our minds off of it.

"I want to keep hearing it," a little black-haired boy said. "I really like it."

The other children, including the ones that found their way back to the surface from underneath the table, agreed. It would most likely only be me and the children for the rest of the story. I believe my grandson would be busy by now preparing their parents for staying the night in the citadel that was Warhead Dale.

"I want to start again by saying that you all have been just wonderful. There is still quite a bit of story left like I said, but I just wanted to take a brief second to express that you all have been very polite and brave." I noticed a tinge of confidence wash over the group's faces. "It's now that we all have to be even braver. For JT, Kali and Michael, even though they had been on quite a journey to get back to Ol' Captain Luke's house, the real adventure was about to start.

If you think really hard, you might be able to conclude that it would have been very easy for the trio to have just walked away from what might be waiting for them through that empty hole in Warhead Dale.

The chance to leave was right before them. I may have alluded to this earlier, but a reoccurring theme through this tale is that people are faced with many, almost limitless choices in their lives; and as just a reminder, JT, Kali, and Michael are not excluded from that group.

The tunnel of trees that led to the black gate leading to Michael's big, old, blue car could have been easily navigated, regardless of the rain. A nice shower never really hurt anyone, right?"

The children's eyes sparkled from the flames of the fire as they listened intently, and I could see the thought of the horrible storm empty their minds. "It may have been the inevitability of Billy haunting them for the rest of their lives that may have made them enter the house, but I believe it was something different. Despite the complaining, whining, bickering, and the obvious confusion endured on the trek in returning to the big house, I think Kali, JT, and Michael were committed to whatever might transpire through to the end, no matter how awful or good it might be. You can decide that for yourself; but nevertheless, their choice was to follow Billy into darkness."

<***>

"JT, Kali, and Michael walked through the shadowy opening of Warhead Dale and found themselves standing in a great hall."

"That big hall in there?" a little voice pierced the air of the adjacent dining room. "The one we were in earlier, right?"

"That's correct," I replied, "but like I mentioned before, at the time JT, Kali, and Michael entered the house, it was very run down; nothing like what you see now."

"JT luckily found some dry logs still stashed in the firewood closet by the big fireplace. He took the small flashlight back from Kali and fiddled about until he found an old pack of matches in an end table. The first couple of matches crumbled as he tried to strike them, but one of the three left in the small box lit, and fortunately warmth would be felt. He had started many fires while living with the Shorts on their farm, and soon the light from his first fire in Warhead Dale illuminated the great room.

Water leaked from cracks in the roof as the rain pounded down. The fat drops created quarter to silver dollar-sized craters in the thick dust that covered every inch of the big hall, including its contents. JT stood up from the fire and was suddenly taken aback. Over the mantle, JT stared at a large painting of his grandfather - the original of the small picture he found in the old man's journal at the farm. The painting appeared lifelike as his grandfather's eyes beamed more fiercely and his white hair waved in the light of the flickering flames.

The three wandered about the great hall and dodged drops of water spitting from the ceiling. Their fidgeting about the space was more about trying to take in everything that had just happened than really investigating their surroundings. It took a while for the words to develop in their minds before they were able to form any coherent opinion or rational thought about the encounter with Billy in front of Warhead Dale.

Eventually bored from poking around, they pulled an old white sheet off of a rather long, musty, old green couch in front of the fireplace. It was the one place where water wasn't leaking. They all wondered where Billy had gone. It was rather strange that the monster now chose to leave them alone after all the trouble it took to get them back to the house.

'I still can't believe I'm back here,' Kali remarked as she stretched her legs out toward the fire to warm her feet. 'I'm still not convinced this is a good idea, but did you get a good look at Billy? What happened to him?'

'He's changed, that's for sure,' Michael said solemnly.

'You think?' Kali said with her ever present sarcasm.

'Can you fill me in a little about that?' JT asked. He wasn't hesitant in asking for more information any longer. 'You know I can't—'

'I know you can't remember anything,' interrupted Michael. Finally, he had the chance to remind someone of JT's condition, even if it was JT himself. 'He appeared a lot more digestible back then, that's for one.'

'Tell me about it,' Kali remarked, shaking her head.

'I don't recall him being quite that tall,' continued Michael, 'and what's with all of that slimy paint on his face?' Michael tried to relax but squirmed impatiently. They all scanned around, spying and preparing for Billy to jump out at any moment. 'Anyway, he's much scarier looking now.'

'He's also much more demanding,' Kali continued. 'I mean, he was never the polite one, but he was never this forceful from what I remember. I can always recall him as the philosophical, mind game-playing type. He always tried to coax you to do certain things. Sometimes, he was even funny.' Kali's chin sunk into her chest. 'I don't know. I'm just curious as to what all of the fuss was in getting us back here.'

Michael perked up. Adrenaline coated his veins. He jumped to his feet. JT was rather tired and wondered how Michael had any energy left from the day's events.

'Don't you want to look around the house some more?' Michael asked JT. His voice trembled and his eyes scanned back and forth around the room. He pointed frantically toward doors that led to other rooms.

JT took a deep breath. Michael's emotions were off kilter again, much like they were at the Shorts' farm under the big oak tree. JT was becoming used to his frenzied shifts, but the mood swings annoyingly lingered.

'Um, it's raining and dark and there's no power," JT answered with a huffed voice. 'I'm not sure I would know what I was looking at or for anyway.' JT laid his head over the back of the sofa.

'I guess you got a point,' Michael said twiddling his hands. He was let down.

'Just relax,' Kali said to Michael. She kicked her feet beside JT and curled into a ball. Her head gently rested on the fluffy, dusty arm of the sofa.

Michael took an anxious breath and his mind raced. He found it hard to relax knowing Billy was somewhere in the house, and he wondered how JT and Kali could be so at ease.

'That's cool,' Michael said in the most soothing way possible, but his voice still squeaked. 'It's good to relax. It's been a long day.' Michael's eyes got big. He rummaged around the great hall and took a few raindrops that pelted him on top of his head. He yanked a dirty sheet off of a small wooden chair, cracked and worn with age. He dragged it beside JT and the couch and plopped down on it. He squirmed around the seat trying to get comfortable.

JT and Kali had no problem being at ease. It was odd that after the confrontation with Billy and discovering they were practically helpless in the situation at hand, along with the rain outside and the uncertainty that lay in front of them, they were quite content. The warm fire soothed their bodies, and the dancing light placed them in a serene trance that broke any thoughts about the monstrous Billy.

For JT especially, it had been a very long two days. In that short time, he had met many interesting people, including Michael, Kali, and now Billy. Just three days before, none of those names meant anything; now, they were the center of his universe. The Shorts, their farm, and his humdrum, non-adventurous years there seemed like a lifetime away. He couldn't keep his eyes open.

Kali, her emotions revved to a fevered pitch, succumbed, and let her fear and anxiety go. It had been a long trip for her as well. She woke up early that morning and debated whether she would relent and answer Michael's letter by returning to Athens Eden. It was about an hour and a half before she actually left her house. That's why she was late to Linda's diner. She was exhausted. Though she may regret her decision in coming, the debate for her was over. She had to make the best of the events that had transpired after she entered her not-so-sleepy, little hometown.

It didn't take long; Kali and JT slipped into sleep."

<***>

"JT, in his slumber, fell into a very familiar dream. The thick white mist around him separated and he stood once again on the deck of the Mary Maid, the ship that had materialized just a few nights before in the nighttime visit from Billy. His heart jumped. The smell of salt, wet canvas, and rope exploded in his nose as he cleared the haze.

A thin mist blanketed the deck as it swayed gently and evenly to and fro. The large white sails fluttered above him and the rigging whipped against their masts. JT heard the noise of creaking footsteps on warped wood behind him. He closed his eyes. His mind rattled. He thought back to the first time when he occupied the same space on the massive ship. He was still so very scared and confused at all that had transpired on his journey to Warhead Dale. He was even more terrified at the endless possibilities that may lie in front of him. He wished in all of his heart that the same person would be standing there as the first time he heard those heavy footsteps.

'Hello boy,' a rough, deep voice behind him coughed.

JT, for a brief second, thought it was Billy, but the voice was very different. When he performed a very neat about face, his wish was answered. Standing in his full military uniform, white hair flowing, medals jingling scratching his thick, bushy mustache, was his grandfather, Captain Luke Xavier Davis.

'Granddad?' JT asked. His stomach launched into his throat. Quickly, he looked up to the night sky in his dream, unable to see pinhole stars through the dense mist, but luckily there was also no vortex that would drain his vision.

'Aye, it is me. It's been a very long time since I last saw you, son,' Captain Luke said with a Celtic accent. JT had never heard a twang like that before. The old man crossed his arms and sighed with disappointment toward JT. 'I'm really worried about you, my boy. Things just haven't worked out quite like I'd hoped.'

JT didn't know how to respond. He didn't remember his grandfather, but Ol' Captain Luke didn't seem to care. JT could see the concern and worry in the old sailor's eyes. 'Um,' JT thought for a moment, but realized that whatever answer he gave would not be the right one. 'I'm sorry?'

'That's not enough.' The old man's arm popped up and scratched beneath his nose. 'Sorry doesn't cut it. You have to go back to Bruinduer before it's too late. It will collapse soon,' Captain Luke said with urgency.

'How did you get here? Where did you come from?' JT said anxiously. 'I have a lot of questions.'

Ol' Captain Luke turned and walked to the aged, treated railing of the ship and peered out across the vast gray emptiness. He beamed as though his eyes burned right through the mist that swallowed them. 'I'm not really sure how I came to get here JT. What's important is that I _am_ here. Bruinduer is collapsing and we can't let that happen. I tried to tell you earlier, but Billy... I don't know what's wrong with him. You have no idea what the consequences could be.'

Captain Luke raised his head and glanced at the flapping sails. It was obvious he tried to gather his thoughts. He then continued. 'If Bruinduer collapses, my existence will be in question.' The old sailor then panned down the mast and stared at JT as though he were reading his thoughts through the air. 'It is hard to know because of the mystery and complexity of Bruinduer. Two scenarios come to mind: First, Bruinduer collapses and nothing significant happens; Second, in a worst case, Bruinduer collapses causing some sort of rip in time and I cease to exist beginning from the time I and my crew first found the cane and the door over fifty years ago. There's just so many unknowns that might happen as a result of that world vanishing.' Captain Luke grabbed his elbows and anxiousness filled his eyes. 'I shudder at the thought. That's why you have to go back through the Mahogany Door.'

'This is all just so confusing to me,' said JT, his voice sinking. 'I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I can't remember anything.' JT felt helpless about his grandfather's plight.

Ol' Captain Luke walked over and placed his firm, aged hands on JT's shoulders. 'I don't know how to get your memory back, son. I wish I did, but you have to find the strength to help me - to help us. You are the steward of the key.' Captain Luke nodded toward JT, his pointed nose angling at his chest, his eyes rolling upward to JT's as if to mentally send his thoughts to him.

JT stared back into his grandfather's dark eyes. His eyebrows lowered and then jumped halfway up his forehead. The old man's suggestion hit him like a ton of bricks. 'I guess it doesn't really matter if I know what to do or not. If you don't exist, especially since the time you found the door, then I guess I won't exist either, right?'

Captain Luke bowed and winked with a quick jerk of his neck. He staggered back over to the ship's railing. 'I wish we would have never found that blasted thing. We should've shredded it when we had the chance.' He pounded his fist down on the wood. 'Now it may be too late.'

'Michael said that you spent most of your life trying to find the Mahogany Door? Why?' JT asked. It was strange that his granddad wanted to destroy something now after he spent such a long time trying to find it.

'It is a fool that says what could have been Sunday on a Monday.' Captain Luke turned back to JT. 'You never see things quite so clearly until after they actually happen. But like I said, it's too late for that. We have to deal with what's at stake now.' He slouched and let out a mammoth sigh. A lifetime of regret seemed to rush through his body. 'I wasted a lot of time. Hopian and that door consumed me. I lost some precious things.' The old sailor placed his right hand gently on JT's arm. Regardless of whether the vision was real or imagined, JT felt Captain Luke's hand tremble. 'I don't want to lose you, too.'

JT dropped his head; it started to ache, which was strange. He had never felt pain in a dream. He decided to change the subject. 'What is this steward of the key?'

'I guess I have to come to the realization that you really can't remember anything. No one told you about that, eh?' Ol' Captain Luke reached his hand beneath his straggly white beard and rubbed his chin.

'Willy, I mean, Billy - whatever, said I was the steward of the key. He said he didn't trust me with it; said you shouldn't have trusted me with it either.' JT tried to keep his focus, but his head still spun with pain. 'How do I know I can't be trusted, if I don't know what it means?'

'The Vryheid were very smart despite their primitive ways, I guess,' Ol' Captain Luke began his tale. 'As I hunted for Hopian and the Mahogany Door I came to understand that the tribe actually tried to pay as much attention to detail as possible.' A cheesy little smile cracked on his face and he nodded. 'After they created this key, they didn't want people to know that it was a key. I theorize that they designed it in the shape of a cane so that no one would suspect it to be an actual unlocking instrument.

From my research in the matter and in trying to think logically, if someone attacked a person with a cane, the attacker would disable the victim by dispensing with the cane, leaving his prey more vulnerable. The perpetrator would have no need for the cane. The cane, or in this case, the key, would be safe lying in some field or ditch, hopefully safe.' JT tried to follow his grandfather, but his head still throbbed with piercing pain.

'Of course,' continued Ol' Captain Luke, 'if the attacker saw the ruby eyes in the skull and decided to take them, it is realistic to think that the assailant would take the precious stones and then discard the remaining cane. Again, this would disable the key. It must be intact to work. But that's beside the point. I'm rambling; I apologize.'

'No, no,' JT responded. It's very interesting. Keep going.' JT became used to the pounding pain and ignored it.

'The steward of the key,' Captain Luke continued, 'is the only person that can delegate the power obtained by the key. He or she is the only one that can unlock the Mahogany Door. You see, the Vryheid played around with powers that should have been left alone. I'm almost certain they couldn't control it. Nevertheless, they put a rule in place for the cane that only the steward could utilize its power. That ability and title can only be passed to whomever the current steward deems worthy. And that, my son, for the time being - happens to be you.'

JT shook his head. He had been the steward of the key and could have opened the door to Bruinduer for eight years but never knew it. He thought that Billy might be right. He shouldn't be trusted with the cane.

'What about Billy? I want to know more about him.' JT skimmed over the deck of the Mary Maid and looked back up at his grandfather. 'Michael told me a little.'

Ol' Captain Luke paused for a moment. His smile disappeared in his beard. 'Billy, my boy, is something that not even I was ready for. Sometimes I wish I could explain the complexities that riddle the definition of the being.'

JT's expression tinted with confusion.

'In other words,' Ol' Captain Luke explained, 'Billy is a tough nut to crack.' The old man then straightened his beard. His eyes rolled to the left and then shot to the sky as he tried to collect his thoughts on the matter.

'Let me see,' the old sailor continued. 'Man has his limitations. When man creates something, he has to create everything that has to do with the object he is producing.'

JT nodded his head. 'O... K?'

Ol' Captain Luke shook his head and took a deep breath. He could see his grandson had a hard time understanding. An idea then popped into the old sailor's brain.

'Just imagine that you wanted to create your own world. Now, try to think of everything you would have to put in _that_ world. It's much more difficult than just saying, hey! I want to create a world. The variables and systems are infinite.' JT's grandfather started to explain, 'Think about it. You would have to determine how the world could sustain life. Would you want an ocean? Would you want plants? Would you need small bugs to decompose garbage and waste?'

JT nodded again. This time, what his grandfather was saying made some sense, but he still didn't know where Billy fit into this grand vision.

'In the Vryheid's case,' continued the old sailor, 'it was a matter of life and death to escape the Pharaohs, so the variables had to be as close to perfect as possible. They had to think of everything. Billy was just one of those many, many variables.' Captain Luke paused. 'He is a larger variable, to say the least, but a necessary one.'

'How, though? Why?' asked JT. He still desired more information.

Captain Luke let out a loud guffaw, throwing his neck back and forth. 'I'm sure when you see him soon he'll be glad to tell you that on his own. You'll find out that he is a little more informed than I, especially when he starts to talk about himself.' The old man appeared as though he was remembering a certain moment, a moment possibly spent with Billy. 'And it's very hard to get him to shut up sometimes.'

JT enjoyed the time he was spending there alone with his grandfather. He was very comforted by his presence, but the time slipped away terribly fast.

'I've been here too long as it is. I think it might be time for me to get going.' The sailor interrupted JT's serenity as he looked up at the misty sky and then back at JT. 'I'm just an old explorer that found a door and a key.'

'Wait though. I have some more questions,' JT said, trying to keep his grandfather with him as long as possible.

'Questions, questions, boy. You know what you need to do now. Remember, it's for our sake. You need to go back through the Mahogany Door and stop the collapse of Bruinduer.'

'But how?' asked JT.

'When you see Billy, he will tell you,' answered Captain Luke.

'One more quick question and then I'll stop. I'll do what I need to do,' JT said abruptly with a begging tone, wanting his grandfather to stay.

HA! Ol' Captain Luke knew JT was stalling. 'Sure, go ahead, but only one question.'

'You said that the Vryheid made a rule that only the steward of the key could unlock the Mahogany Door. If that's so, then why would you ever worry about someone taking the key? They couldn't use it anyway, right?' JT felt it was an honest question. He was also hoping that if that was right, then he would feel better about being so careless with the cane the previous eight years.

'Not necessarily, JT,' answered the Captain very tenderly. 'You still have a lot to learn.' He grabbed JT on the shoulders again and smiled. 'There are many ways in the real world to get you to relinquish your stewardship of that cane; if you won't willingly release your ownership, then I trust someone else will make you.' Captain Luke's eyes twinkled. JT's bubble had burst. It was true. He had been careless.

JT nodded his head and looked at the deck of the Mary Maid in shame. He sobbingly looked back to his grandfather. Ol' Captain Luke started to fade away right before his eyes. His shoulders became lighter as the old man's hands disappeared.

As the old sailor vaporized, he said one last thing to JT. 'Billy was wrong. I would trust no one more than you with the cane. Now go.' Ol' Captain Luke's smile was gone like the rest of him.

'Man, this is just too mu—' JT tried to get out his words but with a tremendous jolt, the ship jerked. 'BAM!'

JT awoke from his dream. He gathered his senses and in a dizzy state he spun his head around. He was still in the great hall of Warhead Dale sitting with Kali on the musty, old green couch. The fire had burned down to its last embers and the rain had stopped. It had cooled the air with a crisp, clean smell. Water still dripped from the ceiling and plinked on the floor and surrounding furniture.

He panned over at Kali who was still deep in sleep. She squirmed a tad and smacked her lips together. She looked very comfortable. JT stood up and stretched. Remembering his grandfather's vision, he reached for his cane. It was gone. He remembered putting it close to his side against the arm of the couch. He frantically danced around the room trying to locate it. He inspected the floor and peeked under sheets. He leapt and seized the wooden floor ignoring the pain shooting up his knee and searched under the furniture. The cane was nowhere to be found. He popped back up and then realized something he hadn't when he first woke up - Michael was nowhere in the room.

'Kali!' JT screamed shaking the sleeping woman's legs. Kali jumped straight up. Her right arm flung around and landed a perfect punch to JT's cheek. JT yelped.

'What...What?' Her voice was frenetic but testy.

'The cane and Michael are gone,' JT said panting. His hair, profile, and most of the clothes that covered his body were dusty and wet from scurrying around the room and rummaging about the floor. His face wiped with fear.

Kali sighed. Her face went flush. 'Oh my.'

Chapter 12

"Well, I guess everyone is set," announced my grandson as he interrupted my story once again. I think I specifically remember him tell me and my listeners that he wouldn't interrupt us again.

James explained to me that he had split the parents and their children into the sixteen bedrooms of Warhead Dale. He let us know that parents were waiting in the great hall to take their children up to their assigned chambers to go to sleep.

The kids ran out of the dining room and met their parents in the great hall as I explained and promised I would tell the rest of the story in the morning. The grown-ups, who were holding candles that illuminated the room, grabbed little hands in a very tightly synchronized, almost choreographed manner as the children effortlessly located their appointed guardians. The menagerie of pairs and some trios filed down the many corridors of the big old house and went to their rooms.

It was a very relaxing, calming sight to watch all of the candles light the walkers' ways up the circular staircases and down the endless halls, their glow bouncing off the walls. I was quite happy that the children were going to be safe for the evening. Even if the old house took a beating some years ago when JT, Kali, and Michael entered the inky black hole behind Billy, I could guarantee now that the house could stand up to any torrential rainstorm, except maybe a few windows, of course.

I labored back to the French doors located in the great hall. My legs were tight from sitting so long. My ancient, fulfilled, sometimes lonely age was catching up to me after the very long, yet exciting day. I stared out at the raging storm; lightning burst through the night air and the thunder cracked and rumbled across the vast blanketed ocean. The doors rattled, but I still felt secure. I was very lucky to be standing in the shell of Warhead Dale that particular night. I knew there were so many other souls out in that frightful, black night that were much worse off than I.

I then turned my thoughts to Michael, as I had so many other times when I told this story to my family. Years later, JT would stress with beaming in his eyes how his skinny friend with the big, horn-rimmed glasses rescued him from a timid life on a farm in such a gracious way, and how the young man he re-met beneath Gregory's big, old, oak tree meant the world to him.

I thought about retiring myself as I continued to stare out the vacant door listening to the falling rain, but retreating to a room would have to wait. I sat back in my black leather chair and gazed upon the tawny light of the fire. I wanted to sit until it burned out. As I became hypnotized by the dancing flames, I suddenly remembered that I had a special cabinet in the kitchen. There, I could get a soothing, comforting snifter of brandy to make the mood complete, and also loosen my old legs. It might even be better than a hot dog from Perrywinkles.

I had just sat down and propped my tired feet up, when I felt a little tap on my left shoulder. A familiar little blonde-haired boy stood there spying me. He then opened up, "Mister, can you keep telling me the story about JT and everything? I really wanna know what's gonna happen. I can't wait until tomorrow morning."

I panned behind him to his left, and then I panned behind him to his right. He was the only other person besides me occupying the great hall.

After a few moments of awkward silence and a very soulful, begging expression from the tyke, I muttered "Hmm." I really didn't know what to tell the young man. I debated myself on whether I was up to the task. I concluded that I had nowhere else to go. I guess the brandy would have to wait. "Sure!" I laughed and ran my hand through the boy's golden locks. "Why not?!"

"OK," said the little boy. He then whirled about and ran down a corridor.

My eyes bulged out and I thought it very perplexing, "That's weird. He wants me to continue telling the story but takes off like a shot."

As soon as the thought evacuated my brain, the little boy returned, skipping with an enormous smile. Behind him were a number of other children doing the same thing; in fact, to my delight, it was the remainder of my dedicated listeners. They came back to listen to the rest of my tale about Michael, JT, Kali, and Bruinduer. I was elated. It did seem they liked a good story about their own hometown.

<***>

"Kali stretched and then grabbed from her purse a sandwich that Linda had made," I continued. The children settled by the fire without making a sound. Their eyes glittered in the wavering light.

"'You're eating,' said JT. He sighed, and tried to clean himself of the dust and soot he gathered while rolling about the floor. He then searched for candles the best he could in the dark since the tiny flashlight Kali had brought had also disappeared.

'I'm hungry,' Kali answered. 'Anyway, where's Michael gonna go? Home?'

'I don't know,' replied JT. 'I don't trust him. There's no telling what he might do. Remember, his emotions are all over the place.'

Kali shrugged and continued eating her sandwich.

JT scuttled about and found some white candles in the back of an antique dresser. Luckily, one of the last two matches in the box JT found earlier struck. After Kali was done with her snack, the two went searching through the house for Michael. They tiptoed down the north side of the house and then shuffled back down the south side. They volleyed from room to room in hopes of trying to discover where their thin friend went. They burned through two of the small candles before JT and Kali stumbled into a room on the second floor. It was just down the hall and to the left from where the large circular staircase ended.

A magnificent light flashed and pain penetrated JT's head. He fell to the floor. Kali immediately tried to pull him to his feet, but it was no use. She screamed at him to respond, but JT couldn't hear anything. He only saw Kali mouth incoherent words at him. He shut his eyes and then reopened them. An amber mist cloaked the room. JT struggled to his knees. Kali still stood silent despite her lip-synced screams. The room and its contents were brand new. He saw a full-size bed made up with a blue, fluffy, down comforter. Posters of his favorite movies hung on the wall. Books of varying sizes and binds lined a grand shelf to his left, and to his right there was a very fine oak desk with a globe and many pads of paper scattered about it. He saw a green chest trunk full of baseballs, footballs, toy swords, and ray guns. Hanging on a hook over the desk, he saw an old black leather pirate's hat, soft and cracked with age. Was this an old bedroom of his? He remembered Michael telling him that he never lived in Warhead Dale.

JT slid over to the desk and saw a picture in a beautiful maple frame. He turned and saw Kali with a very concerned expression dressing her face. The picture on the desk had three people standing on the back deck of Warhead Dale, gazing over the rocks to the ocean. There was an older man that resembled a younger likeness of JT's grandfather with only a mustache; a young boy with the same dimples and smile he had; and to the boy's left, another man. The man's face had very similar features to the other two people in the picture. He was JT's father. JT plopped to the floor. He was jolted out of his trance. Kali was standing, peering down at him.

'Are you all right JT?!' Kali yelled out with excited fret.

'I had another memory, I think.' JT reached his hands down to the floor and pushed himself up. He felt a wooden, splintered picture frame beneath his right hand. He placed it under the candle light. It was the same picture he had seen in his vision; however, it was older, faded, and tattered with folded edges.

'I saw this room. It was mine,' JT said and warily examined the floors and walls. 'I thought I never lived here. At least that's what Michael said.'

Most of the books were strewn about the floor, and the full bed was cracked in two, its center knifing into the floor. Everything was dusty and forgotten.

Kali scanned around the room with JT and her memory seemed to return as well. 'I remember this room too. It was yours. Your family did have a house across town, but you stayed here a lot.' Kali cracked a rare, bright, cheerful smile. Nostalgia covered her. 'We sure did have a few good times in here.'

JT's eyebrows sprinted up his forehead. He had no idea what she was talking about. She walked out of the room.

As she walked out of the room there was an unexpected bounce in her step. She peeked over her shoulder and caught JT's dumbfounded expression. 'Oh, come on JT,' Kali said. Her eyes twinkled. 'I was the first one who ever kissed you, you know.'

JT's face burned bright red, though I'm sure it was hard to see in the glowing candlelit darkness. He felt another little tingle shoot down his spine, which brought a welcome spring to his step.

Suddenly, JT and Kali heard a muffled, distant, and definite 'thump!' perforate the walls. After every few seconds, the sound repeated.

Attracted by the hopes of trying to locate Michael, the hunting duo held their candles out in front of them. The light guided them through the massive house up and down its long narrow corridors and enormous, ornate, ransacked rooms, intent on finding the source of the thumping sound. Kali kept apologizing to JT for Michael as they navigated their course within the house. For some reason, she felt responsible for Michael swiping the cane.

'There's no need to apologize,' JT kept telling her as he placed his ear deliberately to the walls of the rooms they entered, trying to fix the location of the sound. 'I had a feeling Michael was up to no good. I just didn't have any proof.' JT explored each room methodically. He and Kali would trip every once in a while over a ripped rug or an out of place leg from a piece of furniture, but they weren't deterred. 'I realized he was probably scamming something when you told me that _I_ was the one that took _him_ under _my_ wing when we were younger, and not the other way around. Now he takes my cane while I'm sleeping.' JT took his ear off of a wall in one of the last rooms they searched on the second floor. He concluded the thumping might be coming from beneath the house. The thought of Billy keyed into his brain.

'What?' Kali started. Her temper returned. 'What did that little worm tell you?'

'Yeah,' continued JT. 'He told me on the way here in that bucket of rust he calls a car that he was the one that took me under his wing. He said all the kids teased me because of the way I talked or something like that.' JT put the candle close to Kali's face. He pulled it away when he noticed the young lady's snarl. 'That's what I was going to ask him about when he was trying to hack his way through the vines. Remember, you told me it was I that took him under my wing. I never had the chance to confront him when my cane started acting all weird and untangling the vines. Then he got snatched up. Funny. I just wish we could find him.'

'I'm sorry JT,' Kali apologized. JT rolled his eyes.

Kali's blood was scorched and flared. She searched deep into her thoughts. She had been duped by Michael again. After his touching, sympathetic little speech by the car about how he needed to go back to the house and Bruinduer to fix what was wrong, how coming back now was a bad idea. She actually thought that this time Michael was sincere. She felt like hitting herself. How could she have been so blind? Michael had played the pity card to steal his way back to Bruinduer.

'I said there is no need to apologize, Kali,' JT said and limped his way down the huge circular staircase from the second floor.

'I know, but there is something I guess you need to know,' Kali said as she stopped a couple of steps down the staircase. She was obviously nervous as her breath quivered.

JT looked puzzled, but he wasn't surprised. There had already been many twists and turns in his journey to Warhead Dale.

'It's Michael,' Kali stated. 'Look, I'm sorry but I thought he had changed. I thought he was heartfelt. I prayed that he would get over Bruinduer. I was wrong.' She was hesitant.

'What is it?' JT asked concerned.

'You see, Michael never had anything,' Kali started as she plopped down on a step and laid her face in her hands. 'His dad and mom were split up.' Her voice was muffled but coherent. 'He came to live with his dad here to be with him while he was sick, but only a few weeks after Michael moved here, his dad died. He was close to him. He hadn't had the chance to see him as much as he had wanted because his mom couldn't be in the same state, much less the same room as Michael's dad. That's when Linda dropped out of school, moved here, and bought the diner from old man Parker. She was so busy with trying to get that started up, she couldn't give Michael the attention she wanted to. She tried, but I guess that's why she over compensates now.' Kali shook her head and gazed up at JT. 'Michael, aside from the roof Linda provided, basically took care of himself - and at eight years old to top it...' Kali paused a second. 'That is, until he met you and your family. I know that's what drew me to you.

Your grandfather was so refreshing to be around. His stories about Bruinduer only fueled and drove our imagination. You and your family were so nice to Michael; and in fact, I don't think you guys were mean to anyone. When Michael and I would walk home from being here or around your family, he would always tell me that all of this was just too good to be true.' Kali's anger faded away. 'I thought so too, but you were the real deal.'

'So then why is Michael doing this to me if I was so nice to him?' JT asked, perplexed.

'Bruinduer, JT. That's all it is; Bruinduer. He's just so confused right now. It's maddening.' Kali's voice turned melancholy. 'He lost you; we lost you. You aren't the same person you once were,' she finished with a sigh.

'I can't help it. I wish I could,' JT said with frustration. He clenched his fists almost snapping the candle.

'I know JT. I know. But now Michael thinks it's his chance to have the life that was left behind so many years ago. Bruinduer and Billy can give you anything you want.' Kali's voice became more animated. 'We just scratched the surface of Bruinduer's power when we were younger. I thought he was crazy when he told me, but now I'm not so sure.' Kali shivered in the candlelight. 'Michael used to write to me about these get rich quick scams. Most of the time, I read the first couple of lines and realized what it was and just ignored the rest. I would politely write back that I didn't want anything to do with whatever scheme he was trying to cook up.

But one day a couple of years back, I received a letter from Michael that was a lot longer than any of the previous ones he had sent. I held my nose and for some reason I read past the surefire investment he wanted me to make in an ostrich farm. For the first time in six years since I even heard the names, he mentioned the Mahogany Door and Bruinduer. He said he had studied your grandfather's journal and discovered their mystery. He explained that the Vryheid had not even known the full power of the land they had created, but Ol' Captain Luke somehow did. He indicated then that he wanted to go back to Bruinduer. He didn't fully explain the mystery of what Ol' Captain Luke discovered, but I wrote him back and told him that he was crazy. I felt it was just another one of his sad attempts to sucker me into one of his "deals." Now, after all of this and the fact that we're here, I know he was serious.'

'Do you know where the door is in the house? Is it even here?' asked JT. He was as cordial as possible. He had a sneaky feeling - much like the one he felt as Kali jotted Billy's poem down on one of the journal sheets - that she, along with Michael, was hiding a lot of what she knew from him.

Kali glanced at JT and her eyes were wide under the failing candlelight. 'JT, I've tried to forget about this place like I told you earlier. After everything that happened here so many years ago - my family being kicked out of this town; Michael's would-be trial and Charlie's death; my father losing his job and his nervous breakdown.' Kali's voice cracked and her eyes filled with sad, hopeless tears. 'Deep inside, I don't want to go back to Bruinduer, JT. I figured if we scrounged around this big old house and just wasted time, this nightmare would just go away. To tell you the truth, I don't know if I'm not dreaming all of this. Unfortunately though, being here has flooded my brain with memories of this house and all of the fun times and brazen adventures we had.' Kali grabbed her forearm and clamped down on its skin like an angry crab. She grimaced with pain. Her eyes squinted. She paused. 'Well, I'm not dreaming. I don't want to tell you this, JT. Please don't be mad. I know where Michael is.' She turned and walked away.

JT didn't ask any questions. He followed Kali down the circular staircase, through the northern corridor, and into a small closet at the end of it. He couldn't waste his time thinking about or even trying to understand the reasons for why what lay before him were happening, and he felt no answer that Kali could give would satisfy him. He knew Kali and Michael were just as distraught as he. He had to get to Billy and the door, and tracking this destiny would be a lot easier if he could remember more than just a few hazy snapshots.

JT gave no allusion to Kali of the vision of his grandfather he had as he was asleep on the couch. He didn't want more panic or doubt in an already combustible situation. For all he knew, the visit with his grandfather on the Mary Maid was just a dream and meant nothing. He calmed himself the best he could. He was the steward of the key. Michael couldn't go through the door anyway according to his grandfather in his dream.

The closet at the end of the northern corridor was cramped and dusty. Claustrophobia showered over Kali and JT as they maneuvered around the four squeezing walls to get settled. Kali held her candle up to the wall to the right of the opening, and under the floundering flicker she saw that dust had been brushed from a small, wooden panel.

'Michael was here all right,' said Kali. She shuffled her finger to the left edge of the panel and pushed. It flipped open and two buttons were revealed: one green and one red.

Another louder, clearer thump rumbled across the walls of the house, its origin obviously beneath them. 'I don't know what's going to happen from here,' Kali whispered to JT. 'I hope it'll be OK.' Kali pushed the green button.

The door of the smothering room slapped shut, throwing dust into the room and dousing Kali's candle. The little closet jerked and started to sink. The rusted wheels and corroded cables of the elevator screeched and rattled down the neglected shaft. Bits of paint flakes and more dust rained on Kali and JT's head. Kali snatched JT's hand and braced herself with the other. JT tried to buttress himself to the jolting box by jamming his back to the wall behind him. That way he could hold onto his pathetic candle and Kali's hand at the same time.

A few anxious, hopeful moments passed and the elevator came to a relieved stop. Frozen on the walls were panicked, horrified shadows cast by the light of JT's candle. The thumping noise reverberated from the other side of the closet door.

JT and Kali heard the muffled voice of Michael; its tone pitchy and cracked.

'Please let me in. I have the cane. He made me the steward.' Then, 'Thump.'

Kali flipped the little wooden panel and pushed the red button. The door flung open and smacked the wall beside it.

JT and Kali emptied out of the elevator and Michael, sweating and puffing, pounded on a wall illuminated by the fading light of a tiny flashlight who's battery was about to die. He had taken JT's walking stick, but now, frantically and futilely waved it back and forth across the length of the wall in hopes that some sort of magic would happen. He sensed Kali and JT stabbing the back of his neck with their eyes. He stopped and turned very slowly. Billy's low, ominous, dark laugh filtered through the wall.

'Hey guys,' said Michael matter-of-factly with a high, cracked pitch. He gripped the cane tightly. His cheeks flushed. 'Did you have a good nap?'

'Save it,' announced JT. 'What are you doing? What's this all about?' JT's eyes squinted and anger spiked his veins. 'I don't want any crap about you fighting your destiny or any kind of sappy mess about the past and how your life is a mess. I'm tired. All I want is the truth.'

Michael swallowed hard. His heart raced. 'The truth is how you define it.' Michael's tone was demeaning.

JT blew his top. He pounded toward Michael, not caring about the pain firing through his knee. He stared directly into Michael's eyes. 'You tell me the truth right now!'

Michael cowered away from JT. His mind raced. His plan had not turned out the way he had hoped. He was scared of JT. He told him the truth.

'I have nothing out here, JT - nothing at all!' Michael's voice turned somber. 'When I'm in Bruinduer, I can finally have control of my life.' Michael's head directed to the floor and he began shuffling the dust with his feet. 'Just like the Vryheid - they wanted to control their destiny and now I want to control mine. Job after job, dead-end road after dead-end road - that's all I've ever seen and had since you got hurt and left. I have to go back to Bruinduer.' Michael peered back into JT's eyes. His expression turned desperate. 'Whatever it takes.'

Without warning, Michael shoved JT to the ground. He whirled back toward the blank wall and waved the cane dramatically. The light of the tiny flashlight succumbed and went out.

When JT tumbled to the ground, he reached and tugged for Kali's arm in hopes of gaining his balance. He dropped his candle to the floor and the flame vanished. The space was completely dark and the tension was thick.

'Let me in you miserable beast! I'm the steward of the cane now!' Michael barked as loudly and deeply as he could. He tossed the flashlight to the floor, raised his free arm, and banged on the wall in the darkness. Sweat dripped from his brow. 'He gave me the cane willingly at the farm. I ask to be recognized!' Michael's tone suffered and winced in his plea to Billy on the other side of the wall.

JT sprang from the dusty floor to his feet; he grabbed the back of Michael's red shirt and yanked him from the wall. With one swift move, he wrenched the cane from Michael's clamp-like grip and raised it toward the wall. The ruby eyes in the skull and crossbones handle exploded. The red light was so intense that Michael and Kali shielded their eyes.

'I'm the steward of the key!' JT announced with commanding authority. ' _I_ demand to be recognized!'

The strong beams of red light revealed a glowing map and a block of uncommon, strange pictographs. With his eyes unfazed by the brightness, JT gazed at the map with wonder. Michael stood still, his eyes still adjusting, hanging his head.

'What does it say?' asked JT, his voice wide with confidence.

Michael remained speechless and Kali shrugged her shoulders.

'Come on, Michael...' JT paused. He could sense the conflict within Michael. Would his will allow him to fulfill his destiny? 'I know you know what it says; Tell me.' JT stared straight ahead, not taking his eyes off the amazing illuminated map in front of him. 'You know you want to.'

Michael stepped up and beside JT. He felt like a failure. 'It says,' he started humbly and panned up the wall, 'the steward can only unlock the gate of Hopian. The door waits.'

Though it ricocheted relentlessly through his brain that he had probably seen this incredible map before, to JT it felt like the first time. Michael appeared calm though annoyed that he wasn't able to reveal the map first. Kali watched. JT studied the radiant map, curiously paying very close attention to its detail. On it was a village. Around that village there was a large stone wall. Inside the wall there were many buildings and small houses. After a few moments, although he wasn't sure, he discovered what he thought he was looking for - something familiar.

He noticed an outline of a gate, possibly iron, on the map. In the center of this gate there was a bright red circle. It looked as though the handle of his grandfather's old cane would fit perfectly. JT weakened his grip on the cane and placed the tip of the handle on the bright red circle. As he slid the handle into the circle by gently pushing on the shaft, the red burning light vanished, dressing the room in complete darkness.

After a hair-raising pause there was a loud, 'CA-CHUNK!' The room jerked. The map wall split to the left and right of the cane, and as the pressure from the room released, the wind almost put Michael, Kali, and JT on their rears. A bright, white, heated light flooded around them.

When each half of the wall stopped separating, the surprised trio peered into another room opposite of them. Across that room, in a huge arching ornate frame, was the Mahogany Door.

It was twelve feet tall and solid. Its majestic, deep red color clashed with the filth of the room, but it stood soundly in its jamb. Kali, JT, and Michael's eyes bulged as they gazed at the marvel before them. Its power and awe seemed to possess them and place a transparent strangle hold on the trio as they immediately stepped toward it, oblivious of their environment; their eyes were fixed on a large ornamental 'B' donning the top of the elaborate frame.

The door was different, and in some strange way, JT knew it was not the same as it had been. If one looked closer, the single solid, wooden plaque attached to the center of the door possessed a faded, unrecognizable carving. As well, the large tarnished brass handle, worn with time, was cocked slightly with a half turn to the left.

As JT, Kali, and Michael crossed the threshold of the inner room still inattentive of their surroundings, a deep, dark, burly voice burst from their right. The trio froze petrified realizing their blunder. Billy once again greeted his favorite people in the world, 'Welcome.'"

Chapter 13

Back in the great hall, the children sitting before me and the fire that I stoked in the massive brick fireplace had expressions of wonder and amazement draped over their faces. I could feel the wheels turning and grinding in their brains as they thought of JT, Kali, and Michael walking into the mysterious room in the basement of Warhead Dale. The large Mahogany Door and its ornate jamb stood in front of them like an ancient monolith. The mammoth Billy in all of his gruesome, grotesque glory was to their right, eyeing each of their movements with his dreadful red eyes.

The children spied and followed the floor down the long corridors of the mansion. They knew the door's room must still be in the house, hidden in its chamber in the bowels below us. They peered back to me, hoping I would lead them to it.

Without much hesitation and anticipating the question that they might have asked, I answered, "No. We can't go to the basement."

The expressions on the children's faces morphed into disappointment, but I have to admit that I noticed some sighs of relief. I had to conclude that the possibility of facing Billy might be more than they could handle at the moment. I continued my story, hoping it would cool their desires, and I would not have to explain over and over again why we couldn't venture to the lowest floor of the house.

<***>

"JT was the first to enter the room that had opened before them, and Kali and Michael followed. Their hearts skipped a beat and their eyes widened when they caught sight of Billy sitting in a huge, orange chair. He had taken the feathered headdress of lion skin off, which revealed in totality his still thick, matted, red dreadlocks. His face was still mired in an unrecognizable white, blue, and orange pattern with fat black lines streaking down his cheeks. Gritty grime dripped from his legs onto the filthy floor.

'Welcome, my favorite people in the world. Welcome to _my_ world now.' Billy rose from the padded orange chair, his bones cracking and popping as he straightened to stand. JT, Kali, and Michael were nailed to the floor, but their rigid exterior shattered effortlessly as the creature walked toward them. 'I constructed this little room myself. Not too bad I think. Hope you like it.' The massive creature spread his arms out as to show off his creation.

The room was quite large - not as large as the dining room, though one might argue that the many objects and paraphernalia that occupied it made it appear smaller than it really was. Strange ornaments hung from the ceilings. Paintings of old forgotten buildings, shaggy forests, and strange alien symbols plastered the walls. There was a myriad of papers and books scattered over the floor covered by a thick layer of dust.

It is very hard to describe without standing there, and I apologize for my lack of description, but most if not all of the treasures in the room seemed out of place -- especially the large mirror with a dirty, golden frame that hung on the wall to their left, its cracks like many forked rivers on a map.

'I made it for your own protection,' explained Billy. 'So people might not find this.' Billy pointed at the Mahogany Door guiltlessly hanging in its jamb.

JT, Kali, and Michael's thoughts scattered around like a swarm of bees. They couldn't decide whether to engage the monster in conversation. It might have provoked him into unfavorable action. They remained still and silent.

'I'm very tired,' said Billy with a groaning, dull, deep voice. The intensity of his dark, bloodshot eyes were faded in comparison to what JT had remembered in his dream of their first encounter. 'You have forgotten about me and I don't like it,' Billy's voice cracked. The undefined lines on his face suddenly made him look somber. 'Your carelessness forced me to seek you out and return you to this place; but I may have been too late.'

Michael's look turned to confusion.

'Hee, hee,' snickered Billy. He peered at Michael who, after catching the dark, dreadful stare, shivered with fear. 'You thought you could weasel your way back to Bruinduer. You tried to trick JT boy into making you steward. Ha!' Billy shook his head.

JT flexed his chest out and stepped between Billy and Michael. He slammed his cane to the floor. He hated how Billy treated his long lost friend. 'Tell us what this is all about. Why are we here? Why is Bruinduer collapsing?' JT's tone was demanding and he returned Billy's awful, penetrating stare. He knew he had to go back through the Mahogany Door, and he remembered his grandfather telling him that Billy would give him answers. Kali and Michael looked at JT with shock, their bodies slouching and jaws dropped. They had no idea that Bruinduer was collapsing.

Billy jerked his neck back and tried to muster a smirk; he turned slowly from JT and lumbered back to the big, orange chair, plopping down in it. The floor shook.

'Saw your grandfather did you?' asked Billy. He let out a deep, bellowing moan.

'Yeah, I did, and he said you would tell me what I needed to know,' JT said. His temper and blood pressure surged and his face became flushed.

'No need to get all heated, boy,' Billy remarked in a calm, delayed tone. 'We don't have time for any games.' Billy sat up the best he could. His back was losing strength. 'I guess Kali girl and the little Rabbit know whatever their little minds might let them know, but I guess you, JT boy, have no idea about me and who I am,' Billy grunted. His face gave way to pain.

The great monster sucked in air, and like the few before him during the last two precious days, he too told a tale. 'I come from a place that has no rest for the weary.' His breath was slow. 'One day I was minding my own business and these Vryheid people started to call for me. I don't know or want to know how they did it, and I don't know how they picked me, but suddenly I became part of the world behind that door.' Billy gestured toward the Mahogany Door. 'The world these people called Bruinduer.

After numerous spells and enchantments, I found myself bound to do their bidding.' Billy bowed his head. 'I don't take kindly to being bound.'

'What are you?' interrupted JT, 'Some kinda genie or something?'

By the expression Billy returned to JT, JT knew he had upset him.

'Boy, this is not some special school. I don't give any kinds of lessons here. Now listen up.' Billy crossed his arms. 'I'm a little more than that.'

It only took a few days, but JT would finally get a straight answer.

'I'm known as the Essence,' said Billy. He looked melancholy. 'I have been what I have always been.' Billy shifted and slid his bottom closer to the edge of the large, orange chair. His torso straightened and he grew taller.

'The Vryheid couldn't have Bruinduer without me,' he continued. 'I gave the world what they wanted, what they needed: life. It is one thing to create a bird, but the real question becomes, can you make it sing? I don't mean just a few little cheeps and squeaks. I mean, can you make it sing a song that will move a soul?' Billy's eyes blinked. 'Man is too vain for that. The Vryheid wanted to create a world, a world they simply couldn't control. It is a creation destined to fail.' Billy's dreadlocks dangled, their twists and matted orbs bouncing and dropping ooze.

However, what should appear to my wonderful eyes, but you three ready to fulfill that destiny. You three couldn't follow rules if you tried or if you wanted. I told you those rules time and time again. Now I want back the control that was granted to me. I am still bound to Bruinduer. There is nowhere else for me to go. It's mine. I want my power returned, and your carelessness and indifference has brought my world to ruin.'

Billy squirmed and jostled in the orange chair and stared at Michael jabbing him with his eyes. JT saw the monster was very uncomfortable. He noticed an unfamiliar emotion deep in the monster churning and then revealed in his face. It was fear - fear that he would be destroyed and forgotten forever.

'But if Michael has control, can't he just give it back to you?' JT stepped up. He wanted to make sense of this. 'We simply go back through the door, zip bam boom, there you go. Everybody's happy.'

It seemed logical enough to him. He was the steward of the key. All Billy needed really was for JT to unlock the door, Michael to step through it with no problem, relinquish all power he may have back to Billy, and to be done without all of the drama being displayed by everyone.

'Him?' Billy growled toward Michael. 'That little Rabbit? He can't even control himself. How can he possibly control Bruinduer?'

'But Michael was the first one through the door way back the last time we were here. He told me: The first one through the door has control. They can shape Bruinduer, right?' JT tried to persuade a now frustrated Billy.

'That is true, he did have control - at least the control I gave the little skank.' Billy raised his index finger. 'Rule number one: The first into Bruinduer chooses Bruinduer - so yes, he needs to go back through the door first. Then you and then Kali girl, as usual, though none of you can follow the rules. You definitely forgot rule number six \-- the most important rule.'

JT beamed at Michael and Kali with his eyes as though he needed help from them. He thought that they could possibly explain this further. Unfortunately, they stupidly shrugged their shoulders.

'We can't remember everything; besides, Billy just told you we could barely go by the rules anyway,' Michael whispered. JT stared at his skinny friend and shook his head.

'QUIET!' Billy roared. 'I told you. You forgot about me and I don't like it.' Billy launched to his feet. 'Rule number six: Everybody who enters Bruinduer, leaves Bruinduer.' Billy's head dropped.

'But Charlie died,' Michael replied. 'If you're dead you can't be expected to leave, right?'

'Hee, hee!' Billy chuckled. 'You're so idiotic and dumb. To think you could be trusted. The rule is clear.'

JT panned between Billy, Michael, and Kali. He replayed in his mind everything that had transpired to that point. He then figured if they could just go through the door and retrieve Charlie's body, it might be enough to make this all go away. He then thought about Billy inferring that someone else besides Michael had control of Bruinduer, which only meant one thing. The solution to this problem would not be as easy as he had hoped.

JT's eyes popped from his skull. He sucked in a deep breath; his lungs felt like they would explode. His heart pounded in his chest and his hands became wet. In a distinct, clear, excited voice, JT yelled out, 'He's alive! Charlie's alive!'

Michael's face went flush. Kali clasped her hands over her mouth. Billy's laugh boomed and ricocheted throughout Warhead Dale.

'How could that be?' asked Michael. His voice quivered and his teeth rattled. 'I saw him. He was dead. I grabbed his arm and the watch. He didn't move.' Billy's laugh reverberated harder than before.

JT shook his head. He thought back to the little, black dog, Tuffy, that they had hit earlier. 'No,' began JT, 'remember the dog we hit in that neighborhood tonight? We thought we killed it, but then, after a little time, it got up. It seems to reason that, just like that little pup, Charlie was unconscious, not dead.'

'No!' Michael yelled, his tone begging and his breath lagging. 'I would've known. He was dead!'

Billy's laugh halted. 'No. Old boy wasn't dead, and now he has control.' The monster then peered back at Michael. 'You have to make it right.'

'I thought you got the door open for us to leave Bruinduer. We thought the task was over,' Kali spoke up.

Billy sprang out of the orange chair and stomped toward Kali. He was very angry. Kali stood strong (or as strong as her legs would let her). Billy stopped as he came right up to Kali, his breath singeing her cheeks, the smell of his grotesque dreadlocks spiking her nose. He then reached around her head and delicately raked the back of Kali's auburn hair. Chills of ice shot up her back as she felt the rough edges of Billy's fingertips scrape the back of her skull.

'I did get the door open. I felt your need, but you three just bounced on out and the door slammed shut. You yanked out the key; the lock broke; and the key was left on the floor. I was stuck.' Billy flipped his head to Kali's other cheek. 'It took me a whole year to find out how to get through that itty-bitty hole. I found the cane lying on the floor and then I located JT boy lying in a hospital bed and returned it to him.' Billy stood back from Kali and slowly focused on JT. 'You are the steward of the key. It took me another year to get back to Bruinduer. While I was occupied trying to get out of Bruinduer and then looking for you, old boy Charlie took control of Bruinduer. Then I waited for you to return because your destiny had not been fulfilled and everyone who had entered Bruinduer had not left, but you forgot about me. I don't like it. That's when I found out that Charlie and his heathen followers left behind in Bruinduer have no belief. I tried for six of your world's years to get my control and power back.' Billy peered back to Michael. 'But now, you gotta make it right.'

JT strolled over to the Mahogany Door, his cane tapping the floor. He put his hand on the massive wooden structure and rubbed his hand tenderly and nervously across the faded carving on its face. He only made out the outline of a pyramid. It was eerily familiar as the picture felt exactly like what he remembered scraping his hand across in the dream he had as he lay on the barn floor at the Shorts' farm. He then set his gaze on the huge brass lock and door handle. The handle was crooked. The eyes in the skull and crossbones handle burst bright red as he lifted the cane toward the door. He attempted to insert the handle into the lock as he had done with the circle on the illuminated map of the outer wall. About a quarter of the way into the slot, the skull and crossbones stopped with a clank. JT pulled it back out and the ruby red eyes went perfectly dead. JT's eyes widened. He had an idea why the cane did not insert correctly.

He knew the ebony cane with the ivory skull and crossbones like the back of his hand. He had studied it for hours on end at the farm wondering if it came from somewhere special. Now standing in front of the Mahogany Door, and after all that had transpired to him the last few days, he knew it did without any doubt. He remembered when he stood at the iron gate of Warhead Dale that Michael wanted him to unlock the structure with his cane. It didn't work. Thinking back on those hours of study, he placed his fingers on the ivory skull and swiped them across the perfectly cracked groove that ran down its back. He had always wondered why that groove was out of place. JT shook his head.

The ruby eyes burned bright once again as he lifted the cane and gently placed the handle back into the brass lock. When the handle slid a quarter of the way in and clanked again, JT turned it ever so slightly with a little pressure and the groove caught on one of the lock's tumbles. The handle then inserted the entire way. Billy was right. They had broken the lock when they escaped Bruinduer so many years ago. JT pulled the handle from the lock. The eyes on the cane went dark and he then walked back to Kali, Michael, and Billy.

JT recalled what was told to him earlier during his adventures to Athens Eden and he pieced it together. In his head, he finally told his own little tale. He felt very confident that he had figured out what had happened with him and his friends."

<***>

"JT, Michael, and Kali had no idea of the immense power of trekking through the Mahogany Door. Before Old Captain Luke died and after he had told them all of his fanciful tales, he made JT the steward of the key. Shortly after that, the three probably decided to see Bruinduer for themselves. They most likely read through Captain Luke's journal, deciphering all of the old man's tales and figuring out how to manipulate the world on the other side of the massive wooden structure. JT was pretty convinced that he, Michael, and Kali had many grand adventures in the old sailor's discovery.

The three must never have expected Billy and his power. What little information Ol' Captain Luke must have told them didn't do the Essence justice. JT was sure Billy wasn't too accommodating to them at first either, but eventually and fortunately he became an ally and gave them the rules and boundaries of Bruinduer.

JT figured they may have been bystanders and minor players in their previous exploits through the door trying to push and negotiate the limits of the new world they had entered. Over time, they became quite good at navigating their adventures, but Charlie Blackburn would change that. He wanted more. He wanted to join and create action in Bruinduer instead of playing innocent, trivial games or participating in harmless scenarios. Somehow, someway he convinced the naive Michael to give him what he wanted.

The way Michael was acting now, JT concluded that he also wanted more out of their journeys. Charlie probably pumped the frail, insecure, skinny kid with accolades and energy. He couldn't be sure, but Charlie probably convinced Michael that Billy didn't like him. He could use Michael after he entered Bruinduer first to manipulate him.

During 'The Incident', as Kali had put it, there transpired some sort of war involving an army that Michael conjured. Charlie must have seen this as his opportunity to join the fray, but his plans backfired; he was injured badly.

Michael, JT, and Kali were confused and frightened after seeing Charlie lying on the hot desert floor bleeding and unconscious. It would have been easy to presume Charlie had been killed. They naturally wanted out of Bruinduer. Billy, the Essence, the spirit of the world, must have felt this turmoil and fear from the trio and opened the Mahogany Door. The three plowed through the opening and jerked the cane from the brass lock, crashing to the inner room's floor. They never realized the door had not been properly shut, leaving Billy and the unconscious Charlie inside of Bruinduer. JT, Michael, and Kali rolled past the inner room's boundaries, and as a safeguard, the outer map wall shut, leaving the cane trapped. The trio absolutely ignored rule number six: Everybody who enters Bruinduer, leaves Bruinduer. They left and never returned.

The police and investigators of Charlie's death could never have opened the wall of the inner room. They did not have the cane. JT thought it must have been hysterical to the investigators what he had tried to explain to them. He figured that it was a good bet that the men sent to investigate Charlie's death probably felt the same way he did when the little blonde-haired boy, Willy, told him his insane story about a renegade tribe from Egypt called the Vryheid; he was crazy. It was easier for investigators and police to find a scapegoat for Charlie's disappearance, and unfortunately, Michael would take that role and rip the three friends' world apart.

It may also have explained why Bruinduer was collapsing. The rules were changing. The control that Billy had and was now losing was different now. His inability to control 'his' world was literally making Bruinduer and everything it had touched \- the words on the placard over the iron gate, the words in his grandfather's journal, the carving on the front of the Mahogany Door, and the spirit of his grandfather - fade away.

It was also obvious to JT that Billy was vanishing as well; the old worn-out body he displayed was like an old worn-out rag being tossed in the garbage. The spirit that lifted Bruinduer in the past was now broken, twisted, and decrepit \-- lost hopelessly through the small hole of a broken, brass lock.

Billy became desperate in getting back the control of Bruinduer that he lost. At first he may have hated his circumstance by being bound to the land of the Vryheid, but Billy soon relished in the power bestowed upon him by his binders. He was wanted and needed by the Vryheid, despondent and reckless, looking to control its own destiny. Billy knew he could help.

He had to get Michael, JT, and Kali to return to make it right and secure the power that he felt was being stolen from him.

How Charlie had taken control of the spirit and life of Bruinduer was a mystery to JT. The most logical reason would be that Billy focused his energy while trying to escape Bruinduer and that the real world became connected through the broken, brass lock. That explained why Billy could enter their dreams from beyond the Mahogany Door and why Michael was the recipient of most of Billy's wrath; he was first one through the door after all. In the time Billy was consumed, trying to get out of Bruinduer, Charlie must have done something. He must have used that weaselness Kali said he was famous for... but how?"

<***>

"Billy eyed JT as he walked toward him, Michael, and Kali. JT was dressed in an air of confidence. 'You look like you got it all figured out there, JT boy,' said Billy.

'Maybe,' JT answered. 'There are still some questions though. Some things don't make sense.'

'Well then,' groaned Billy, 'maybe I can help.'

'I still don't know how this entirely works. Can you tell me?' JT started. He probably had no business even asking the question. Even if he was answered fully, he was sure he wouldn't understand. 'It's just all confusing. I mean, why Willy?' JT still thought he would put his issues on the table. 'Ever since we came back to Warhead Dale, I've been wondering about that little blonde headed boy that visited me at the farm in the horse barn. Michael told me that Willy was you. He said Billy - Willy, Willy - Billy, it doesn't matter; they're the same.'

'Billy said he wasn't up for games now,' answered Kali, 'but to him, everything that happened here was a game.' Kali sensed Billy's weakness and thought she would get in a verbal punch.

'He used to turn into Willy before we would go through the Mahogany Door,' Michael chimed in abruptly.

'Why didn't you tell me this when I asked back at the farm?' JT asked Michael.

'I was scared, tired, angry, excited -- JT, it didn't matter. Willy is Billy.' Michael still seemed out of kilter to JT. Something just wasn't right with him. His distrust in him was complete. JT recalled his conversation with Kali on the circular staircase and her allusion that Michael had figured out the true power of Bruinduer from his grandfather's journal. He had no earthly idea what Michael might be up to, and though his skinny friend seemed helpless and weak; his thoughts on what Michael may have planned turned sinister.

'I have my reasons, boy,' Billy spoke in his booming voice. 'It ain't just a game. The Vryheid created their world for their children, and the truth comes from the mouths of the young.' Billy shook his head and snickered, 'All you gotta do is say you're ready to go. You'll find your answers.'

Thoughts rattled around JT's brain like someone was shaking a can of screws, with each screw a different length but he couldn't tell the difference. He knew he had to go back to Bruinduer, and everyone he talked to kept telling him he would find any and all answers he was searching for if he just went back through the Mahogany Door.

He thought quickly about walking up to the door, inserting the cane, and locking it. That would quickly end this adventure. It dawned on him after a few seconds though that that would possibly and probably be catastrophic. He might disappear right in front of Michael and Kali, sealing his destruction. His heart wrenched. His breath suffered. His hands turned to water.

'But why?' kept running through JT's mind, like a nervous gerbil on a training wheel in its cage. His head began to ache.

'It's easy boy,' groaned Billy. His voice grew weaker and scratchy. 'It's time.'

JT peered at Michael, and Michael appeared as though he would jump through the door at any second. Kali was more reserved, though her eyes were saying to JT that since she had come this far, they might as well finish their trek and enter Bruinduer.

JT glanced behind his shoulder at the massive door hanging on the wall in its ornate jamb. It beckoned him. His hand throbbed as the skull eyes on the cane burst into a glowing red. It too wanted to fulfill its duty.

JT bowed his head and heaved in a mountain of air. 'I hope to God this isn't a mistake,' he said and panned to the ceiling shutting his eyes. He was peaceful and alone for one second. He buried his head into his chest and then gaped up at Billy, who was smiling from ear to ear, his yellow teeth cracking. With a firm and deliberate voice, JT succumbed, 'Let's do it.'

Billy's deep, dark laugh echoed through Warhead Dale and out into the cold, black night."

Chapter 14

"Aw' right, this is what I've been waitin' for all day!" yelled out a little brown haired boy. The young man leapt to his feet in the middle of my pack of story listeners with his arms raised over his head. The room stayed quiet after the outburst, with only the roar of the fire to be heard and the yellow and orange light from its energy smacking at his silhouette on the far wall. Unable to bottle his excitement, and with no help from his friends, he bellowed out, "Finally - goin' to Bruinduer!"

"That's right," I answered. "But I hope you know and understand why I had to tell you so much before our three friends made it to the Mahogany Door."

The children looked around and nodded. They too, it seemed, knew the importance of a good back story. I heard them faintly chirp about some of their favorite parts of my story so far. Some mentioned the dream JT had about his grandfather after he arrived in Warhead Dale on the couch. Others mentioned JT's dream about Billy. Some liked the poem that Billy made up when calling him, and one little girl even called the creature a stuck-up, mean, old, spoiled brat. One small, strawberry blonde-haired girl felt sorry for the Essence that was bound to Bruinduer. She explained that it would have been just horrible to be taken from your home and made to stay somewhere else doing what someone else told you to do.

One little boy questioned why JT had even left the farm. It seemed to him that JT would have been happier if he had just stayed put in his bedroom and never found himself in trouble. A girl in the back with a bright smile said she liked Kali the most because she threw food at the boys.

Still, most of the crew in front of me questioned Michael. What was he going to do when he got back to Bruinduer? It seemed to them that the skinny, little boy with the black, slicked back hair, pointed nose, and thick, horn-rimmed glasses was all over the place when it came to his emotions. They wanted to know whether he was just going to lose his mind. The children were also interested in knowing if he even had enough strength to continue; would his will let him fulfill his destiny, or would he just be up to no good like JT thought. (I had to agree with this insightful premise; Michael was just up to no good and whatever the outcome, I'm sure it would be unfavorable.)

All of the children established and agreed, however, that they were completely in love with the big old house, Warhead Dale. I had absolutely nothing sour or negative to say about that because I too loved the big old mansion on the shore of Athens Eden.

<***>

"JT was as nervous as any child on their first day of school after he told the great Essence, Billy, that he was ready to go back through the Mahogany Door and return to Bruinduer. This was it. This was the moment that would define him, Kali, and especially Michael, whose look became both serious and staunch.

'Place the cane into the lock,' said Billy with his ever present groaning voice. 'Turn it to the left. And be careful.' Billy's voice was almost consoling. 'I think you might be right when you thought if you locked the door it would be quite catastrophic.' The Essence displayed a crooked grin. Kali was right; he could really get into their heads regardless of any attempt to keep him out.

JT gingerly stepped back to the Mahogany Door and, like he had done before, slid the ivory handle into the lock with the bright ruby eyes going dim as they disappeared. A quarter of the way through, the cane stopped. JT wiggled the shaft a tad until the groove on the back of the skull caught the brass tumble with a slight 'click.' He then inserted the handle all the way into the lock. He couldn't explain the feeling that rushed through his body as he started to twist the cane to the left. It could only be described as a mixture of joy, excitement and, above all, fear. As the shaft of the handle turned, it felt as though something on the other side of the door resisted JT's advance.

He gripped the shaft of his cane with both hands, gritted his teeth, and turned with all of his might. This time, unlike when trying to unlock the iron gate at the entrance, he was not concerned about breaking the cane. Nothing was going to stop him from thrusting the cane in place and settling the door. Electricity poured over him. His muscles ached. His knuckles turned white as the cane's stubbornness broke and gave way. The shaft began to move. After three quarters of a turn, JT's legs cramped. Then with the final quarter, the cane moved quickly and halted with a loud, 'CLANK!' The resistance in the cane stopped, its shaft slid down into a slot in the door, and the skull and crossbones handle faced the inner room. The eyes exploded a bright red. The lock was fully engaged to the unlocked position. Hushed silence remained.

'WOOHOO!' screamed Billy shattering the void.

The outer wall of the room the three had entered suddenly shut with a powerful and intense jolt. JT, Kali, and Michael stood dumbfounded in the middle of the glowing red room facing the Mahogany Door. Without any warning, Billy began a strange dance around them. He bobbed his gruesome head up and down and chanted in a strange, incoherent language that only he could have possibly understood. He gyrated and skipped around them flaying and flapping his arms. The faded toga he wore flopped and swayed, kicking up dust that filled the room with a misty cloud. JT's eyes began to burn. Kali coughed. Michael remained still. After a few more insane moments of the dance had passed, Billy stopped dead in his tracks. He turned his head, his matted dread locks thick with dust, to the three travelers and put his face right to theirs. In a small, uncharacteristic simple voice said, 'boo.'

Suddenly, the inner room went black. A split second later, the cane's eyes cut through the dusty room creating thick beams of light that danced and twinkled about the walls in strobe. Kali grabbed JT's hand.

In the center of the ceiling, a small, blue and yellow spark flickered right above JT, Kali, and Michael. A brisk wind blew slightly and then began to pick up momentum. As the wind became faster and stronger, it circled around the room engulfing the dust from Billy's dance and creating a vortex that surrounded them and imprisoned the now terrified trio. Like the ripples in a lake spreading as a rock breaks its surface, the blue and yellow spark began to expand across the ceiling down the four walls and then ran over the floor.

JT stared with concentrated amazement but his mind and thoughts wavered. He tried to eye Kali, but found it difficult. She swayed back and forth as though she might fall, but she wrenched his hand even tighter to steady her gait. Her free hand covered her eyes trying to keep her flailing hair out of them. Michael's mood immediately turned from solemn and reflective to excited and energized. He jumped up and down and raised his arms as though he had scored the winning point in the big game. He was screaming with all of his might overcome by the spectacle, but no sound could be heard due to the cyclonic honing wind around them. The moment he had been waiting for since Billy came back to his dreams and he found JT had come. His fear of Billy's endless taunting, nagging, ragging, condescending, and bullying turned into pure joy and release. The Essence could not hurt him anymore; on the contrary, it now led him, perhaps not by chance, straight to his destiny.

JT started to feel nauseated as the cracking, dancing light from the blue and yellow spark slithered its way across the floor toward him, Kali, and Michael. In the heat of this excitement, he somehow locked onto a memory of Gregory telling him once that if you felt some sort of motion sickness, closing your eyes was a good remedy. JT gripped Kali's hand tightly and clamped his eyes shut.

The rippling blue and yellow light, which stopped right at the trio's feet, pierced the air like a spike growing from the floor. It swayed back and forth very briefly like a charmed snake and then began to circle counterclockwise to the dust tornado that was still churning. The light swirled round and round, faster and faster until it overtook the dust cylinder. The light tornado expanded and compressed like it was breathing. Huge heaves of light crunched in on the trio and then dispersed, and in an instant the light collapsed into them with great intensity. The cyclone of light died instantly and the dust vanished.

JT stood nailed to the floor, his eyes still shut. His stomach felt as though it had turned upside down, and he tried to keep his balance. _'This feels strange,'_ he thought as he ran his free hand through his hair.

'This is so wicked!' a strange, high-pitched, lisping voice pierced the air.

JT was scared to open his eyes. He didn't recognize the voice he had just heard. Had someone come through the Mahogany Door from the other side?

'NO!' another higher more penetrating voice screamed out. Kali's hand jerked from JT's hand.

'What's going on?' yelled JT in a shrieking, tumultuous tone. The curiosity of what might be happening in front of his closed eyes seemed to get the best of him. He then realized that he did not recognize the more elevated voice that came from his own mouth.

'You have got to see this, JT! Look at this!' the first of the three high voices barked out with its pronounced lisp. A giggle then rang the air.

JT cracked his eyes and then slowly and reluctantly opened them completely. The inner room had totally changed. Instead of every object seeming out of place, everything miraculously looked as though it belonged. The numerous books and papers that had been strewn haphazardly about the floor when JT entered the room were stacked neatly on bookshelves that lined the outer walls, and the ornaments dangling from the smooth ceiling took the shapes of planets in every color of the spectrum and yellow dazzling stars. The cracked paintings dressing the walls lined up neatly, displaying maps of small villages and dense jungles that JT recognized from his grandfather's faded journal. A phrase emerged and danced across the top of the Mahogany Door in faded, twelve-inch, burned-out letters. At first, JT had only seen them as indecipherable symbols. It read plainly 'The universe is but a step away.'

'Howdy!' an annoying little voice cracked the serene silence.

'I know that voice,' JT said. Then, the dirty little blonde-haired boy he remembered back at the Shorts' farm slid into his sight. 'I apologize for the little mess, but you know by now that my power is weak and Bruinduer is collapsing. What you have witnessed is about all of the strength I have left. I too have been waiting a long time for this moment to return to Bruinduer. I hope my effort in getting you three back here was enough and there is still time to save Bruinduer.'

Willy (who was now the transformed Billy) stood with his head buried in his chest. He no longer had the dirty overalls and bare feet that he had during his first visit to JT, but donned a tattered, dusty blue suit, complete with leather shoes, a tie, and a small brown derby hat. His eyes were huge, puffy, and surrounded with black rings. It was obvious he was exhausted, struggling to keep his wits. He appeared as though he were going to keel over at any second.

'I know you remember me,' said the little boy out loud with a weakening crumbling voice as he gazed straight ahead. He then grabbed JT's arm and deliberately led him over to the large mirror with the golden frame that hung on the wall. The mirror had not changed much since JT had walked into the inner room or during the cyclone. It hung ever so gently and peacefully on the wall and its surface was covered with scattered black splotches. From the top right corner to the bottom left corner, it displayed a long, crusty crack. As JT angled his head up toward the mirror, he had a hard time making out the reflection he saw, but as he strained to focus his eyes upon the person staring back at him through the long cavernous fracture, he could do nothing more but open his mouth in dazed astonishment. He didn't know whether to jump with glee or scream with fright. His face went flush. He stood paralyzed, his eyes bulging as though he had seen a ghost.

Willy placed his arm around JT, who was now practically eye level with him. He then said in a very soft, soothing voice, 'But do you remember him?'"

<***>

"I really guess I need to say something here," I said as I lifted myself from my comfortable leather chair and went to stoke the fire in the big hall. The rain still howled outside. "I know you remember that I told you that there are moments in our lives that can change everything." The children all responded positively. "Well, there is no more important moment in life than when we find out that magic exists." I paused, waiting for any questions, but I assumed the children knew all about magic with all of the books out about the subject. "But this was not your ordinary magic, no." I thought about the subject for a moment. "This magic came from necessity - a necessity to survive."

The children looked at me with young, puzzled faces. I had no idea what to tell them. I knew that if I tried to explain my premise in depth that the subject matter would probably take a turn that could lead to disaster. So I thought that I should quickly continue with the story in hopes that they would understand later, much like I hoped they now understood Billy since first hearing about him.

"Let's just say that what happened next is a little hard to accept, but I want you to know that this tale really happened. I just want to prepare you for something that you might find unbelievable - well, hard to believe anyway. I think there is a difference."

I took a deep, relaxing breath. "Sometimes though, yes sometimes, the most unbelievable things can happen to us, and one of those unbelievable, once-in-a-lifetime events just happened to JT and his friends." I lumbered back over to my leather chair and continued with the story.

<***>

"'You have got to be kidding me,' JT said, now realizing why he had not totally recognized the voice that had come from his mouth. He turned around quickly and stared at Kali and Michael, flabbergasted. Kali stood gazing at her shaking hands in horror. Michael, on the contrary was running, bouncing, and screaming around the room maniacally.

'How in the world did this happen? This is impossible. What did you do?' JT turned back toward Willy.

'I told you. Bruinduer was created so the renegade tribe known as the Vryheid could control their destiny. They just went about it a little differently, unlike this world.' Willy sat in the big, orange chair.

JT looked back up at the mirror, studying it curiously. He wanted to make sure what he saw wasn't some trick. Kali glided to JT's side and peered into the mirror without saying a word. A few moments later, the bouncing, rambunctious Michael calmed down as well as he could and stood beside Kali with a huge electric smile, trying to catch his breath.

The three stared into the old, dusty mirror and could not believe that reflecting back at them were three younger, smaller people, no more than fourteen years old.

The three pondered, searching their new young brains in an effort to comprehend what had just happened. The same clothes they wore before dressed their bodies, but now fit them in their smaller versions. JT wore his favorite gray T-shirt and jeans. Kali still donned her white shirt, green sweater, and tight jeans, and Michael had his red shirt, baggy pants, and thick rimmed glasses. The trio prodded their faces and poked at each other's arms. Kali also repeatedly pinched herself for assurance that she was not dreaming.

JT bounced up and down and was taken aback. He then lifted and stretched his left knee a few times. His knee was completely healed. There was no soft, dulling, throbbing pain that had been present as long as he could remember. He hopped around in a little circle. No matter what direction he pivoted his knee, it did not hurt. He was ecstatic. Like Michael, he lost his calm, raised his arms, and bounded about the room screaming and thrashing about. Kali gazed upon him and only shook her head. She couldn't believe he was happy about being young. She certainly was not.

Michael's wits were lost as well and he followed JT, imitating his same wild moves and repeating every incoherent yell. Suddenly, halfway around their second lap of the room, JT felt a jolting slash through his head. He tumbled to his knees. The amber, yellowish mist appeared again and cloaked his surroundings; he was suddenly consumed by another memory.

The inner room looked different in this aura. The objects that were placed around the room and hanging from the ceiling were all brand new but somehow older - more like new antiques. Michael and Kali, still in their childhood forms, watched on without saying a word. A rough, strong hand grabbed JT on his shoulder from behind. He turned, and standing face to face with him, was his grandfather. He was very regal, commanding, and confident in his decorated uniform on the deck of the Mary Maid when they had first met, but now he appeared very weak, sickly, and scared. The old sailor reached out and pointed to the Mahogany Door and to the cane, its eyes still burning bright red in the amber mist.

His grandfather coughed and wheezed. 'You are the steward of the key, go.'

JT jerked awake. He straightened on his knees in the middle of the inner room. The amber aura disappeared, returning the view as it was before.

'Are you OK?' Michael and Kali asked in unison.

'Yeah, I'm fine.' JT labored to his feet, but was energized nonetheless; the trio was still in their fourteen-year-old bodies. JT turned toward Michael. 'Looks like you're gonna get that chance to fulfill that destiny of yours.' JT glanced over to Kali whose expression had turned to shock. She wasn't equipped to return to Bruinduer. She was overwhelmed. 'Let's go.'

Though obviously tired and worn-out from losing his power, Willy jumped up on top of the orange chair and laughed with a second wind. It was a joyous laugh, quite unlike the deep, degrading, droning of Billy's laugh. It was more reassuring. But just as fast as the approving chuckle began, it stopped and Willy yelled out, 'Rule number one: The first into Bruinduer chooses Bruinduer!' The trio was taken by surprise, but JT and Michael prepared themselves and paid attention to the little boy.

'I'm not sure I want to do this,' Kali explained to JT with baited breath. 'I wasn't counting on being a kid again.' She frantically tried to gather her wits, but the action was too fast. 'I didn't like it the first time.' Her heart pounded in her chest. She thought that she was strong enough to face her fear of Bruinduer and Billy, but just like any fear, it is not until we are nose to nose with it that those feelings of helpless terror come to the surface.

'Too late. We have to go back - as kids or as no kids,' JT commanded. 'My granddad depends on it,' JT answered back. He thought that his own survival depended on it as well. 'Don't worry. I'll be right with you.'

'Rule number two: Time has no meaning in Bruinduer.' Willy's voice became playful.

' _What?'_ pondered JT. A weird thought entered his brain that he was unable to control. It was in his own voice, _'You have to keep time while you're in Bruinduer, otherwise you will be lost....'_

JT thought heavily. He paid close attention to the rules being announced because according to Billy, during their previous adventuring they never did. Once he, Kali, and Michael passed through the Mahogany Door, there was no turning back. He then had a flashback to everything he was told or saw about time in relation to Bruinduer during the last two days. He remembered the hourglasses that were faintly scribbled on the back of the journal page where Kali had written Billy's poem, and then the image of a gold, rusty, bloodstained watch burned into his brain. He then glanced over at Michael, his eyebrows raised, and mouthed, 'Do you still have that old watch of Charlie's?'

Michael smirked. He then opened his clutched fist. In his palm was Charlie's watch as though he knew what JT was thinking. The hands on the face were still frozen in time.

JT shook his head and mouthed back to Michael, 'I don't know what you're up to.' JT knew Kali had told him the truth. When they were younger, it was Michael that the children at school had teased.

JT couldn't figure out what importance the watch would play in returning to Bruinduer. He tried to piece something together in his head, but nothing logical followed. He had to trust that he would find out as events unfolded. He quickly lost his train of thought as Willy spoke up in a louder, more animated voice.

'Rule number three: The people of Bruinduer are people!'

' _Whatever that means,'_ thought JT.

'Even if you conjure up an entire village in Bruinduer, the people are real and have their own free will,' Kali explained to JT, as she prepared halfheartedly to enter through the Mahogany Door. 'You can't control them.' The memories she had tried to forget were coming back. Thoughts streamed into her brain; her face was none too happy. Willy jumped up and down on the big, orange chair. His arms flailed about and his mop of blonde hair bounced along with every syllable he bellowed out.

'Rule number four: Your destiny in Bruinduer must be finished!'

'This time it will be!' screamed Michael with a convincing, confident tone despite his lisp. He stepped closer to the large intimidating door. As he nudged ever closer to the wooden structure, a cyclone of wind began to gust like before. Kali and JT looked as though they were about to start a marathon and took a runner's stance, their knees recoiling beneath them.

Willy delighted in his role of calling out the rules and he became more and more excited as each one rolled off his tongue. 'Rule number five: If you bleed in Bruinduer, you bleed!'

Kali reached down and grabbed her calf. Time moved in slow motion. She rubbed the scar and peered over at Michael who was shuffling his feet and edging closer and closer to the door. She felt a slight sharp pain bolt up her leg as she pulled her hand away from the groove in her skin. Her fears and worries intensified as she thought about the pain Charlie must have felt as he lay on the sand.

The sixth and final rule was about to come from Willy's mouth, and after that, they would step through the Mahogany Door for the first time in nine years. Everything felt as though those years had never passed; the years JT had on the Shorts' farm; the years Michael spent failing at life; and the years Kali tried to forget, all vanished. The anticipation was tangible and hung in the air for the taking.

'Rule number six:...,' Willy started, but this time it was in the more recognizable, deep, hollow groan of Billy. The little boy stopped his bouncing, calmly stepped off of the big, orange chair and walked toward Michael who was now reaching out with a quaking hand ready to push open the Mahogany Door. The little boy stopped and then, in a violent instantaneous whirlwind, changed into the menacing Essence once again, his red, greasy, grimy dreadlocks flowing in the increased turbulent wind that now threw papers about the room. He lumbered over to Michael and clutched his shoulder - his yellow smile cracking.

'Do it,' Billy said. Icy, sharp chills rattled up JT's back. He remembered the command from his dream on the barn floor.

Michael stretched farther and stepped just a few feet from the massive brown door. As he took another step, strong stunning electricity flooded the air. The hair on JT's arm and neck spiked. Blue streaks of light began to flicker, and small lightning bolts burst across the room. With every inch that Michael's hand progressed toward the door, the bolts became brighter and more powerful. Michael's palm gently rested on the wooden slab. The door felt warm.

He closed his eyes and thought about the form Bruinduer would take. He knew it probably didn't matter since Charlie was still there, but he remembered just the same. During all of the times that he had entered Bruinduer first, he wanted it to be a mysterious, distant, forgotten desert that he loved to explore. He loved to live stories of finding lost treasures in grand adventures. He would conjure up monuments, pyramids, temples, and kingdoms in hopes of discovering ancient cities just like 'Ol Captain Luke had done. Best of all, he would be in control. He could do whatever he wanted – and he especially wanted to fulfill a destiny he knew he could not obtain in the earthly world.

The blue streaking lightning bounced around the room and the wind became as strong as a hurricane. The bolts of lightning encircled Michael's hand. He did not move as the strikes pricked his skin and the smell of his singed hair penetrated his nostrils. The strange flittering electric light began to carve into the door. The faded outline that was on the solid panel in the face of the door took its original form. The lightning etched the dark outline of the faded pyramid and then carved out a sun that shone above it, the rays reaching to each corner of the panel. The lightning then carved objects that were not there before. The bolts ground in the outline of a flag sprouting from one side of the pyramid and then scratched another outline of a flag on the other side of the pyramid, shading it black.

Michael's eyes perked up, his senses heightened. He did not remember the new additions from the last time he stood in front of the Mahogany Door. It then dawned on him that this time his adventure would be very different.

The wind blasted and honed, causing the three to squint their eyes. The blue lightning danced and bounced around the room slicing into the door, its beams amplified by the dust storm. Billy laughed with delight. Suddenly, the wind and lightning halted and the dust and wood chips vanished. The light from the cane's ruby eyes burst, turning everything in the inner room red. On the door remained a perfect sculpture of a pyramid, flags, and a sun. Michael pushed on the door. Nothing happened. His emotions erupted. He gritted his teeth and summoned what strength he had, then pushed the massive slab with all of his might. The door released with a deafening 'BANG!'

Pure bright white light immersed the room. JT and Kali shielded their eyes. Michael leapt forward through the opening with a large pleased grin on his elated face. Delayed by the onslaught of the blinding light, a few moments later, Kali grabbed JT's hand. JT then pulled her through the Mahogany Door with him. Through the intense light, JT heard the groaning dark voice of Billy echo out the final rule, and then his haunting laugh covered them like a blanket as the Essence entered through the Mahogany Door with them, 'Everybody who enters Bruinduer, leaves Bruinduer!'"

Chapter 15

The rain lashed the exterior windows of Warhead Dale and I was startled by a loud burst of thunder. I sheepishly leapt from my leather chair like an unsuspecting fool confronting a hairy-legged spider. I rushed to the window and looked out, and did not notice the gazes of concern morph over the children's faces. They were understandably a bit frightened at my uncharacteristic, alarmed reaction to the lightning burst from outside. The young ones seemed very eager to hear the rest of the story. I was afraid my actions were misinterpreted.

I stared vacantly at the dark, ominous sky and endless ocean that lit up with every flash of nature's electricity. The waves were much larger than they had been earlier, there was no doubt. _"It must be a gale,"_ I thought. It almost seemed appropriate. Just as the storm raged on us, so did turbulent times await Michael, JT, and Kali on the other side of the Mahogany Door.

I wheeled around from my unscheduled interruption with a more menacing face, and the mood of the room turned rather solemn. I hoped my patrons did not believe I was angry by the serious expression that dressed my face, but I wanted it to be known that the real adventure was about to begin.

<***>

"JT lay flat on the ground with his eyes shut," I continued, my back facing the glass doors. The children instantly became engaged with my continuation of the story and their faces changed from frightened to as serious as mine. I then returned and plopped back down in my black leather chair. "He could feel that he was lying face down in sand; its coarse grains stuck to his lips and sucked into his nose with each breath. Suddenly from behind him he heard a loud 'SLAM!' and then silence.

JT rolled onto his back. Barely cracking his eyelids, he shielded his eyes from the bright sun that beamed in a crystal, clear blue sky. He scurried to his knees and coughed and hacked, trying to expel the small rough grains of sand from his mouth. After spitting up muddied goo, he discovered Kali sitting beside him ever so nonchalantly spitting sand from her mouth and trying to brush the abrasive pebbles from her hair.

'It sure is hot,' JT remarked, not quite knowing what to say or how to act. The air around him was thick, still, and blazingly warm. It was confusing sitting in the middle of parched sand in the open air when only seconds before he was standing in the chilly basement of Warhead Dale. After only a few moments of trying to comprehend where he might be, a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.

Kali continued to brush the sand from her pants and hair, indifferent to her surroundings, and JT stood up. He panned to his left and right, and all he could see was an ocean of sand. There were no houses or trees, no water to be seen, no animals scurrying about, no roads, no cars, no wind, and no ships - just flat, motionless sand. In every direction he could only see a bright blue tint of sky touch the yellow tinted ground of a seemingly endless, deserted desert, and beside him; Kali, oblivious to their plight. He then noticed something else that had not registered with him until a strange and panicked feeling washed over him.

'Where's Michael?!' JT yelled, swiveling from side to side. Just as he awoke in Warhead Dale and found his cane missing; his skinny companion again, had disappeared.

'What?' Kali leapt to her feet slapping her pant legs to remove more sand. 'He was right in front of us, right?'

'Where did he go,' asked JT. He shook his head and looked at Kali suspiciously. His speech slowed. 'You don't know where he is, do you?' JT remembered that when they were in Warhead Dale she actually knew that Michael had gone to the basement, but did not tell him.

'I swear to you, JT.' Kali's expression and tone turned sincere. 'I have no idea where he is this time. And anyway, you don't have to worry,' she continued shaking the sand from her hair and clothes, 'because when I see him, I'm gonna ring his little neck leaving us out here alone.' She cocked her left leg and crossed her arms.

JT peered into Kali's eyes, her deep blue eyes that almost appeared black against the crisp blue, hot sky behind her. He almost lost himself again, but then realized where he was and shattered the image. 'You think he's--?' JT asked nodding his head. He did not want to possess the morbid thought, but he could not dislodge it. 'I mean, did he even make it through the door?'

'I'm sure he made it through,' Kali responded quickly. 'I just have no idea where he went.'

JT glanced at his arm as though he were reading a watch. It was strange because he had barely worn one on the farm. Rule number four popped into his brain like a kernel of corn.

' _Time has no meaning in Bruinduer,'_ he thought. It especially meant nothing without a watch and Michael was carrying the only one he remembered. He then thought that his 'real world' concept of time probably had no meaning in Bruinduer, of course, if that is where they were. A second could be an hour or a minute could be a day in this world. He also remembered a strange thought right before they went through the Mahogany Door that not knowing the time could render you lost. And at that moment, panning around the empty desert, he felt that he couldn't have been anymore lost.

There were a few more tense moments in which JT and Kali stood frozen without making a single noise, contemplating what had happened to them and what had happened to Michael. Questions and possibilities bounced between their ears with no response until one of them thought they had to do something \- anything.

'So what now? JT chimed. 'What do we do now that we are in...,' he paused and scanned across the hot desert sand, sweat now accumulating on his brow, 'Bruinduer?' JT hoped desperately that his companion could remember her past. 'What's the next step?'

Unexpectedly, images and memories flooded Kali's mind like a dam being broken. Embarrassed, she turned her head away from JT. Visions of Warhead Dale and her adventures in Bruinduer erupted with an uncontrolled vigor as though a switch was flipped. She could not control the onslaught. She gripped the bridge of her nose, clamped her eyes shut, and shook her head.

Seeing Kali struggle with the sudden assault of information and realizing he was placing their fate in her hands, JT wondered if somehow he could ease her burden. He shut his eyes in hopes that the amber mist might find him again. His mind swam trying to grab a hold of a fleeting thought, but he could not even grasp a minuscule notion of an idea. He silently stood behind Kali, wishing he could comfort her. He had not appreciated the fact that she was in the same predicament as he. Right before he placed his hands on her shoulders, he heard a small sniffle.

'You OK?' asked JT and realized it was a dumb question. It was obvious that she was not fine.

'Leave me alone,' Kali returned, her voice cracking in a high pitch.

JT tried not to believe what he was hearing or seeing. The tough, stoic Kali that he had first met in Linda's diner, yelling and maligning Michael for being a cowardly weakling, was standing in Bruinduer, crying.

'Why're you crying?' JT asked. He did feel bad.

'Nothing,' Kali said. She wiped her eyes with her hands making the tears abrasive from the sand on her fingers and palm. 'I just didn't know all of these memories would just come flowing back to me so fast and hard.'

'What memories?' asked JT. He thought he was getting good at asking questions, and it would also be nice to know more about what he was searching for.

'Look at me, JT. Don't you think this is a bit odd?' Kali asked, her back still to JT. 'I mean we're kids again - but I still think like a twenty-three year old - back in a place I thought I'd never see again.' Kali's voice became arching and gargling as the tears started to flow freely down her cheeks.

JT wanted to sympathize with her, and in reality he did. He wanted to grab her close and calm her fears, but before them were more pressing matters. 'Look, everything that has happened to me over the last few days is all very weird,' JT tried not to denigrate her feelings, 'but if I stopped to wonder or even understand what was going on, I'd probably go crazy. I'm just going with the flow, and it is a very hard path.' He paused and grappled with his thoughts. 'I mean, this all has to do with my past, so to tell you the truth, it's exciting for me. I don't know anything, but I want to know everything. I don't have time to worry about this because Bruinduer is collapsing. I'm not only going to try to save this place for my granddad, but also for me. I don't want to die.' His thoughts strayed to Michael; _'where could he be?'_ 'I still know very little about all of this and how it works. All I know is that I am good at this according to Michael. He and Charlie are out there somewhere and we need to find them. Remember rule number six? We all have to leave here together.' JT was confident he had explained himself clearly and he hoped Kali would follow his lead.

Kali whipped around. Her puffy, red, tear-filled eyes stabbed right through JT. 'Well let me tell you about your past and what happened back here if you are so gung ho.'

JT suddenly felt a slight breeze tap his face. 'Did you feel that?' JT interrupted Kali. He didn't mean to be rude, just deeply curious at what was happening to him.

'What - that seemingly ever present heat or that thick, musty smell?' Kali answered. Her tears now subsided and her common stubbornness returned.

'No - that breeze.' JT couldn't place his finger on the thoughts and intuitions that were tracking through his mind. 'I don't know what it is, but I think I feel as though something wants me to go that way.' JT pointed to his right. He then remembered what Michael had told him earlier. Could it be him? Could it be Billy trying to direct him where to go?

JT immediately walked to his right, giving no regard to his surroundings. Kali waited behind a couple of steps, shook her head, and then started after him. As she tried to keep up with him, her breath became shallow from keeping up with his pace.

JT intentionally held a few steps between him and Kali as he continued in the direction in which he felt the breath of wind was leading him to go. He knew Kali was upset at the events that had led up to that moment, but realized that he didn't have time to stand in the middle of a burning desert listening to her lament about a past he didn't remember. Precious time was slipping by, and since it had no meaning where he was, every second was valuable. He also wanted Kali to think about something else. He wanted her to put her thoughts and actions toward the moment at hand. He didn't know why, but he was going to need her at her best.

After ten minutes of nonstop walking with the heat getting uncomfortable, JT stopped. He stood with his arms crossed and waited for Kali to catch up with him, trudging tiredly through the hot, dry sand.

'This heat is terrible,' Kali said as she halted her march beside JT. She took off her sweater.

JT scanned over the vast lifeless desert in front of them and shook his head again. ' _Had Bruinduer already collapsed and this is what's left? Are we doomed out here forever?'_ he thought. Certainly there was more to it than this. He then peered at Kali, 'I'm sorry, what were you going to say?'

'Say about what?' Kali returned in a huff, trying to catch her breath.

'When you were mad and everything - crying a while back? You said you were going to tell me about my past and what happened here,' JT said callously, not meaning for it to come out the way it did. Kali gritted her teeth. She was embarrassed that she had cried in front of JT. She wished he wasn't so cold about it.

'Yeah, well, if you could remember all of that, you'd be crying too,' Kali retorted, trying to seem tough again, but her act was not fooling JT. In fact, she was scared. 'It happened so quickly,' Kali began; her voice dropped and her mind focused. 'The battle started, and before I knew it, it was over. It was the most gruesome thing I had ever seen - so much death and destruction.' She tied her sweater around her waist.

JT started walking to his right again.

'It seems as though we might be walking for a while by the looks of this desert,' JT said after a few steps. 'Heck, we might be trudging these sands forever; seems logical for you to start from the beginning. That is, if you want to?' JT's voice became very soothing. He hoped the initial invasion of memories Kali experienced had thinned and the feelings that accompanied them calmed enough for her to stay in the moment. 'I've been wanting to hear what you have to say about all of this.' JT walked on. His pace slowed as the sun beat down ferociously on top of them.

'Like I told you before,' Kali continued, 'I don't know why I really started hanging out with you boys. Maybe it was because I thought you were cute or maybe it was because you stood up to those guys picking on Michael. Either way, I found myself going through the Mahogany Door with you pretty regularly when we were kids.' Kali remembered her young reflection. 'Well, kids a long time ago.' She then continued. 'I even had the chance on a number of occasions to be the first one through the door to shape this place into what I wanted.'

JT blushed when Kali referred to him as cute. 'What form _did_ you make Bruinduer?'

'Ha!' Kali smiled a welcomed smile. 'I always had this fascination with the middle ages and knights, ladies, castles, and chivalry. It was all really fun.' Kali snickered to sigh, 'Of course it was fun only to a certain extent.' She thought of one particular moment when JT was in her Bruinduer and batted her eyes. She dared not say anything about it to him.

'What?' JT asked, his face still pink from Kali calling him cute. He was glad to see Kali in a lighter mood.

'Nothing,' Kali said. She stowed her feelings away and took a deep breath. She then continued. 'Anyway, one day there was a familiar but new face in the basement at Warhead Dale. It was in the unfortunate form of Charlie Blackburn, and you and I were angry. We had promised your grandfather before he passed that you, me, and Michael would be the only ones who knew about Bruinduer and the Mahogany Door, but Michael had to go and open his big, flappy mouth.'

Kali became serious and tense as her story progressed. 'Charlie convinced us that he wouldn't tell anybody. He also promised he'd go by any rules we set for him, which we repeated many times. Like I said outside of Linda's diner, he was a little weasel.

I remember the time he didn't do his homework in class one day. I'll never forget it. He had just started Ms. King's English class and the whole year he never turned in a book report. All you had to do in the class was to turn in one report and you got a "C." At the end of the term, he asked why he had gotten an "F" on his report card. Ms. King told him that she never received a book report with his name on it and that was why he failed. He told her that he turned in a paper, and that she was mistaken.

Amazingly, he strolled over to the small bookcase where the students had placed their reports and moved it away from the wall. Miraculously, there was a book report with his name on it dated one week before the papers were originally due lying between the bookcase and the wall. Ms. King accepted it.' Kali shook her head and huffed, 'I couldn't believe it! It was crazy! To make matters worse, less than an hour later he was bragging about what he had done in the lunch room. He bragged how earlier that morning he slid the book report behind the bookcase and tricked Ms. King.'

JT looked forward, around, and beyond Kali, still curious about the desert and where it might end. Before Kali could ask him if he was paying attention or not, he asked, 'So you're mad at him about a book report?'

'Of course not.' Kali paused and thought. Her temper gripped her. 'Well - maybe... but I'm really mad at the way he treated us, especially Michael. Now, he's still alive in this place and in control. Who knows how that happened. Doesn't that make you mad?' Kali was confused that JT was not as upset as she was.

'I told you, I don't remember anything that happened here, and I don't remember Charlie except what you've told me. So no, I'm not really mad. I have other objectives to take care of,' JT explained. He did, however, think that the way Charlie had turned his book report in was sneaky and conniving.

'Well, you should be,' Kali grumped. She then went on with her story. 'When we first started going through the Mahogany Door - after about twenty times or so testing it out and seeing what we could do in this world, how we could control it, getting guidance from Billy, and trying to shape it - we decided that we needed structure in our adventure making.' Kali paused and snickered again.

Her memory had flourished about Bruinduer and the times she spent with Michael and JT since they had walked through the door. JT, however, still had problems remembering, though a fleeting thought shot through his brain from time to time as the two walked and conversed.

'What's that giggling for?' JT asked. His nerves also calmed, and a sensation grew inside of him as though he had gained skills for combat. He had no idea where it came from, but the presence and aura of an ancient warrior covered him.

'I just remembered that the first time we walked through the Mahogany Door,' Kali answered, 'Bruinduer took the shape of the inner room in Warhead Dale. When we walked through the door we thought we hadn't gone anywhere. We thought we were still in the room. I think we stayed there for a couple of hours trying to open the Mahogany Door _in_ Bruinduer to get _to_ Bruinduer.

What was even funnier was that we couldn't leave until we fulfilled the destiny (or task) given to us, which we never really tried to accomplish, or if we did I don't remember what it was. You were the first through the door that day, so it was you that set the task.' She paused. 'Sorry I don't remember.'

JT shook his head. 'It's OK. I'm the last one that could complain about that.'

Kali pondered for a second forgetting what she was trying to explain. She felt so bad that JT couldn't remember anything. She then jerked back to the moment. 'Anyway, the door opened and we walked right back into the real inner room of Warhead Dale. It was very confusing for some time. We then decided to come up with our structure - the Bruinduer Expedition Commission, or if you will, the BEC for short.'

' _Funny how Michael never mentioned this,'_ thought JT. He then thought that his skinny partner in this venture was too busy trying to finagle him to come back to Bruinduer. Of course, the BEC understandably had slipped his mind.

'The BEC,' Kali continued, 'allowed us to develop and plan our story before we went through the Mahogany Door. That way, all of us knew exactly what destiny or task needed to be complete. We even gave ourselves points for doing extra things like finishing our task quickly or creating new parts of the world like villages, buildings, monuments, and valleys... things like that. Whoever got the most points during certain destinies would go through the Mahogany Door first the next time and choose and develop their own adventure. The one stipulation would be that we could only conjure those things that would do good for the world. That way, we could not willy-nilly conjure stuff up. Billy was very particular about that because the word "good" can be relative. And we obviously tested his patience many times on that.

We gave ourselves titles like, "Captain" or "Lieutenant." After a while, and since you were so good at controlling and shaping Bruinduer, we started to call you "General." Billy caught on to our title-giving game and decided to make his own nicknames for us. He called Michael "Rabbit"; Me - he always called "Kali girl"; and you - he called "Boy," especially when we called you General.' Kali paused and then returned to her wits. 'Anyway, to make a long story short, the BEC allowed us just to get our act together before we walked through the Mahogany Door. It was a good concept I think, especially if we didn't want to end up in a dire predicament. We actually got pretty good at it.' Her tone turned sour. 'That is, until the incident.'

' _Yeah, now I have another reason I get a temper around Billy,'_ JT thought. _'I don't like being called, Boy.'_

'That one particularly nasty, rainy, cold day in July, we went down into the basement of Warhead Dale,' Kali continued, her tone still glum, 'and there standing outside of the inner room was Michael and Charlie, like I said. Right away we reminded Michael that Captain Luke only intended us three to know the secret of Bruinduer, but Michael begged and begged for us to let Charlie go. "It'll be OK," he kept saying. Why we gave in, to this day I'll never know. Of course Charlie became, "Private" Blackburn keeping with the BEC.

Michael, since he began to control Bruinduer, always loved to hunt in the desert for treasure and lost ruins, and this day, despite the weather, would be no different. He had scored a number of points in a previous adventure and saved going through the door first for a special occasion - and this was it. No doubt in order to impress Charlie, he decided to create a difficult task.

After we said that stupid little poem of Billy's to conjure him up, it took an unusual amount of time for the monster to appear. Needless to say, Billy didn't take too kindly to Charlie being there. He didn't like to be surprised. Michael put on his best face and tried to pull on Billy's vacant sympathies. Astonishing us all, Billy was actually ecstatic about the idea. Michael revealed his plan for the adventure. Billy ignored him and started to encourage Charlie. He even gave him a few pointers about how to go through the door and other tidbits. Michael became instantly jealous of the attention Billy was giving to Charlie.'

Kali stopped and gazed into the distance at the endless, yellow, burning sand. Unexpectedly, she became distant. JT felt her presence vanish. He halted and turned in her direction. He could see turmoil wash over her face.

'Right before he stepped through the Mahogany Door, Michael changed the task,' Kali continued, becoming more animated. 'This was Charlie! We never developed a destiny or changed our course without discussing it first together. We were friends for goodness sake.' Kali was winded.

JT relished the information he was learning, but felt it was necessary for him to stay quiet and let Kali finish. Somehow he felt her anger.

'Michael thought it would be fun to have a race with some conjured group of people to the treasure he devised. We had never done that before. We conjured up plenty of people in Bruinduer, but we always made sure they were friendly to us, and certainly made sure that none of our actions made them want to hurt us. Most people helped us.

We were even smart enough to know in the backs of our minds that according to the rules Billy always spat out, the people of Bruinduer had free will. They too could make their own choices. This time though, Michael wanted the other group we conjured to compete with us in finding a rather unique artifact.' Kali shook her head. 'Michael created something no one had ever seen. Michael created a Golden Diamond.'

JT still stood stoic, listening and staring out at the endless desert. He tried to picture in his mind what a golden diamond would look like.

'We entered Bruinduer,' Kali started again, 'and the race was on to find the Golden Diamond. I would be lying if I said that hunting for Michael's creation wasn't exhilarating. We went from ruin to ruin, secret map to secret map, staying one step ahead or behind our competition, but it all changed when we arrived at the pyramid that housed that diamond.

Both groups arrived at the diamond's chamber at exactly the same time, and at first, even with a few verbal shots volleying back and forth, it seemed all was well. It was when it was time to actually retrieve the diamond that everything went wrong. This was the moment I was convinced that Michael's little plan to wow his new friend was about to backfire on him.' Kali looked to the ground and fell silent.

A few moments passed.

'Well, what happened next?' JT asked with excitement, almost demanding Kali to continue.

Kali reluctantly started, 'A fight broke out between us and the competing group. Charlie complained that being in Bruinduer was a joke and that he could have had more fun watching TV. Michael, in response to hearing this, decided to spice up the dwindling adventure and take the diamond for himself. The leader of the other group - don't ask how that was accomplished - had his own plans. He also wanted to take the diamond. It was a very awkward and unproductive hour or so. We had almost arrived at a compromise and had decided to leave the diamond where it was. We'd claim that both groups found it, say the task was fulfilled, and return to Warhead Dale.' Kali eyed JT, and he could tell her emotions were rising to the surface. 'Charlie stole the stone from under everybody's nose.' She tried to hold back her tears.

'I don't know how he did it, but by the time we got out of the pyramid, Charlie started bragging about how he fooled everyone, just like he bragged about tricking Ms. King. Like an idiot, in front of everybody, he tossed it in the air.'

Members of the other group who were marching in front of us just happened to peer back and notice that Charlie had the Golden Diamond. One of the competitors pushed Charlie to the ground, and a shoving and spitting match began. The tension grew and grew, so thick you could have cut it with a knife. Everyone was on edge. Charlie told Michael to conjure up a security detail for them. Michael created the security force, but I'm not so sure he did it for security or just because he was scared. It was rushed and confused. We were all scared.

There were a few men to protect us at first, and then in a matter of moments, those few men turned into ten, twenty, and then a whole army filled with men and women. I'm not sure how the other group formed an army. I think maybe some of the security force Michael conjured up took the other group's side. With that happening, Michael conjured even more troops, escalating the conflict beyond control. Before we knew it, we were two armies of thousands facing each other in the vast sands of the desert, a lot like this one.' Kali's eyes never broke with tears, but she desperately tried to keep her emotions in check. 'We tried to get help from Billy.' Her voice cracked. 'Our task had to have been over, but - the fighting started and before I could - dang that little weasel –'

'Wait,' JT interrupted. He felt another breeze that immediately caused him to turn to his left. 'What the -?' JT erupted, placing his hand to his wet brow to scope into the distance.

'What is it?' asked Kali.

'There,' JT announced. 'Coming in the distance.'

JT pointed to the horizon. Coming toward them was a cloud of dust bouncing and gliding across the desert floor. Waves of heat rose from the cloud and the ball of dirt grew larger and larger and moved faster and faster. Fear seized JT. His knees locked and his chest pounded.

Kali turned and caught the sight of the cloud of dust and grabbed JT's hand. Terror engulfed her.

The rolling, tumbling, bouncing ball of dust was silent at first, but as it came closer to Kali and JT, a distant rumble rose into a roaring crescendo of sound like a train tearing down its tracks. A half a mile away, white ribbons of cloth and huge white flags popped from the top of the accelerating dust cloud flowing and thrashing in the wind.

A quarter of a mile away, Kali and JT saw the thundering legs of a group of horses and the churning wheels of chariots. Riders with determined faces came into focus a few hundred yards later. JT glanced at Kali, then at the band of men, horses, and chariots charging toward them. He quickly peered behind his shoulder. The vast emptiness of sand that had surrounded him and Kali was now his only refuge.

'RUN!' he yelled. Clutching her hand, he pulled and they took off running.

They ran as hard as they could. Their breaths became shallow as they heard the pounding of galloping legs and ripping wheels immediately behind them, ready to overtake them. The sound was deafening as the dust cloud of rushing horses, charging chariots, rugged men, and snapping white ribbons and white flags engulfed Kali and JT.

Two huge, muscular, dark arms reached down and scooped up the newly terrified teens and threw them into the bottom of a chariot with a hard 'thud.' Without so much as a pause, the group of men and horses continued their charge through the empty desert.

JT panned upward and saw a tall, bulky man with tanned skin, a black frizzy beard, and a white head wrap, its long tail snapping in the breeze. His eyes were a burning green. He stood braced against the wall of his chariot with the toes of his brown boots cutting into its golden body. He gripped the reins of the two galloping brown horses powering his vehicle, the veins in his arms bursting through his skin. With enormous strength, the man slapped the horses vigorously against their backs with his thick, black leather reins. He then yelped, and amazingly, the horses accelerated faster. JT's neck jerked back with the increase in speed.

The man turned and gazed calmly at JT with his bright, green eyes and smiled. His teeth were bright white in contrast to his black beard, his tanned skin, and the dust that covered his face. He laughed out loud as he gripped the reins of the roaring chariot. He turned, and without looking, threw JT and Kali each a canteen of cold water, then with a hearty voice exclaimed, 'Welcome to Godwin!'"

Chapter 16

The children, still entrenched in the story I told, hardly noticed the storm that was still brewing outside the house. Lightning cracked and streamed through the sky in long, jagged bolts. Thunder clapped nearby and the percussion rattled the windows of Warhead Dale.

"JT guzzled his water," I continued. "The sun beat down on the faces of JT and Kali scorching their cheeks, and the sand and dust kicked up by the galloping chariot they occupied, dried and cracked the inside of their nostrils.

Every once in a while, JT tried to rise to his feet, but the occasional bump the speeding, rumbling chariot rocketed over threw him immediately back down on his bottom. He wanted to find out more information about the man with the frizzy, black beard that yanked Kali and him from the desert floor. He also wanted to see where they were going.

What seemed like an hour of fruitlessly trying to labor to his feet, he glanced at Kali who was sitting as still and as calm as possible. She blankly stared at the floor of the chariot nervously sipping the water from her canteen. He then panned to the heavens above him.

The sky was a beautiful, bright, crisp blue, and as the time slipped by, it turned to a slightly darker shade, and then after more time, a deep navy blue. The stars of the Bruinduer dusk popped out in tiny dots that mimicked diamonds dancing and twinkling in velvet. Soon after, the sky cloaked in black, and the desert night air chilled.

JT pondered the stars much like he had when he was sitting in the back of Michael's big, blue car on their way to Warhead Dale. His thoughts bounced and jumbled in his mind as an unknown amount of time passed.

He remembered what Kali had said as she stood crying in the desert earlier. She was right. It was indeed odd that they had entered into Bruinduer as fourteen year olds but still had the same thoughts and feelings of someone the age of twenty-three. He didn't want to tell Kali that he thought it was strange too, because he promised and assured her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. He felt if he started to look weak in her eyes, they both could be in serious trouble. He wanted her to have full faith in him and that he could handle anything that might come along during their adventure. Of course, he also didn't want her to know that in his mind he knew he had no idea what he was doing.

He wondered about Louise and Gregory. He wondered what they might be doing on the farm. Were they thinking of him, or were they trying to find someone to help plow the fields under for fall? After a moment, JT snickered to himself because he knew Gregory and Louise would never have believed what was happening to him at the moment.

He thought also that it would have been much easier to deal with his predicament if he was still on the farm; especially knowing Gregory would be there. He could just go to the jolly man and ask him what to do. He thought about the time he lost the keys to one of the tractors out on the Ol' 22 in the dead of summer. Gregory nonchalantly went to the tractor, pulled out his pocket knife, and climbed beneath it. He tapped some sort of metal object and miraculously the tractor started with no problem. Gregory somehow in his wisdom always made everything seem so easy, but this time JT knew he would have to figure out what to do on his own. He thought about George, the horse, and hoped he was OK.

The chariot's wheels screeched and slid across the sand coming to an abrupt halt. JT and Kali were thrown to the front of the chariot with a loud thud; the boards of the chariot's floor scrapped and raked by exposed skin. The man with the frizzy beard laughed out loud and then pulled the two to their feet.

As JT and Kali stood up they were encased with thick, choking dust. After a few moments, the cloud of dirt dissipated and a small eloquent village appeared around them.

The village contained small brick huts and shops that lined the hardened sand streets and was very clean. Strings of small white lights streamed and zigzagged over the thoroughfares illuminating the multitude of people crammed together walking about in a very jovial mood. The women wore fine, colorful dresses of silk. Jewelry of the finest gold and precious stones hung from their necks and arms. The men wore colorful overshirts laden with golden thread draped just past their waists. The cloth of their knickers stopped just below their knees tightly fitted to their thighs, and their brown or black boots hid the rest of their lower legs. The men also wore small, white turbans that were wound very tightly atop their heads, and the women wore flowing head scarves that danced in the brisk breeze with every graceful step.

The town was covered in elaborate waterfalls and large, brilliant golden fountains that poured water out of their various holes. There were jets of water streaming from the blowholes of golden whales. Other streams shot out of the mouths of different characters such as angels, jesters, and a plethora of assorted animals.

There were fountains that were timed to spout water out at certain intervals and the people danced around them with joy; some people counted beats with their fingers and then pointed at the water jet that was supposed to be released. The faces of all of the people were wide with smiles and the cool, illuminated night air was full of laughter.

With some sort of mystical order, the people started to congregate and shuffle in one direction walking away and not acknowledging JT, Kali, and the men, horses, and chariots that had picked them from the desert.

'Where are we?' asked JT. The man with the frizzy, black beard laughed and slapped JT on the back.

'In Godwin of course, my friend,' said the man matter-of-factly. 'The land of fountains and gardens.'

'And who are you?' JT asked the man as his questioning gained momentum. The large man then smiled larger.

'How rude of me.' The man stood very straight. 'I'm terribly sorry,' he answered in a very English voice. 'My name is Leer, Atal Leer. I am the leader of the Bronze Brigade in the army of Godwin.'

'What in the world?' JT became very concerned and confused.

'We can all talk about this later. First we need to get you ready for the celebration.' Atal leapt from the chariot and gently helped Kali and JT down from the transport.

'What celebration is that?' asked JT as though he could not help himself with his questioning.

'Why, the treaty that was signed with Triton. There is peace in the valley tonight. It is time to dance.' Atal kicked his feet in the air and snapped his fingers. He then joyfully led Kali and JT into a leveled, brick home just off the street.

As they passed through the opening, a handful of women dressed in fine silk dresses took ahold of Kali and seemingly glided her into a room on one side of the home. A band of four men donned with the same type outfit as the men he saw in the street earlier, took JT's arm and entered a room on the other side.

The house was quite comfortable with large, red pillows that lined the walls. Fine, elaborate rugs lay about the floor, their colors making the rooms warm and inviting. Strong woven mats where dishes were placed for eating sat in front of the pillows. Golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling lit by candlelight and lush green vines with healthy leaves wrapped around paintings of beautiful landscapes that littered the walls. The sound of water rushing through the walls and out of spouts within the house soothed the senses. The ambiance of the home was welcomed by JT. It was a relief from staring at the vast emptiness of the never-ending wasteland of a brutal burning desert.

JT was taken into a room that was actually a bath. Brown tile covered all lit surfaces. A few mirrors hung from the walls and were fogged by a light, steamy warming mist that filled the room.

The men, a pair of twins who could only be told apart by the fact that one wore a diamond in his left ear and the other wore a diamond in his right ear; a fat man whose overshirt didn't quite cover his large hairy belly; and a skinny man with slanted eyes and a long, pencil-thin mustache, abruptly stripped JT of his clothing and threw him to the middle of the bath's floor. The twins disappeared into a small closet and emerged with two huge silver buckets of water. They doused JT. JT let out a yelp as the scalding water painted his skin. The men all laughed and began to sing a deep enchanting song; the fat man missing a few of the higher notes as his chuckle became even louder.

There was no time for JT to react to any of the men's movements or actions. Everything happened very fast. By the time he wanted to complain about one thing, such as dousing him with hot water, two of the men started something else.

The fat man and skinny man tackled JT and outstretched his arms and legs. They rubbed his shoulders and legs relentlessly. After a few moments of intense pressure, the fat man grabbed a coarse brush and began to scrub JT with a dense, abrasive soap. The man laughed and snorted with every forceful, painful stroke. JT's skin wrenched every time the fat man made a pass with the brush and tears began to well up in his eyes.

The twins then appeared from the closet again, and without so much of a pause to let JT recover from the sting he felt from the fat man's scrubbing, unremorsefully drenched JT with another burning supply of water. The skinny man then scrubbed JT's head with lumpy shampoo that exploded with the smell of raspberries, and then another splash of hot water from the twins.

The men continued their song as they dried off JT. The twins vanished into the closet one last time and then came into the bath with a blue, silk overshirt and white knickers. They dressed JT quickly and then placed his feet into long brown boots. As they led him from the bath they wrapped his head in a fine, tight white turban.

The twins, fat man, and skinny man guided JT back into the main room of the house where Atal Leer was sitting on one of the big, puffy, red pillows with his legs crossed smiling adoringly at JT. He appeared as though he too had been bathed, because JT noticed small red and purple welts upon his shoulders by his neck. It was apparent someone had attacked him with a coarse brush as well.

The four jovial men then turned and skipped out of the house and down the dirt streets of Godwin following where the other people had gone, still singing their enchanting song. JT could hear the fat man laughing with every step.

JT plopped down beside Atal on another large red pillow and waited with him without saying a word. They partook in a fruity juice that JT believed to be kiwi and Atal stared toward the room where Kali had been led by the handful of women.

'I want to know if you know where my friend Mich—' JT began, but then suddenly stopped as Atal gestured his hand toward JT's mouth.

JT turned his eyes in the direction of the room where Atal was staring. A slight rush of wind rustled the plants in the main room from the door opening. A sudden high pitched tone sounded, and the four women that guided Kali into the adjacent room glided into JT and Altal's presence in dance. They swirled about gesturing gracefully with their legs, arms, and hands. Their fine silk dresses flowed with every move their various limbs and hips made. Each body was like a beautiful enchanted snake that slithered from side to side manipulated by the most skilled charmer.

The high-pitched whistle turned into a soothing song that lured JT into a trance. Then Kali stepped through the door. The four women quickly scurried out of the room breaking the concentration of JT and Atal forcing them to focus their attention directly onto Kali. They slid out into the Godwin streets just as the four men before had done; singing and dancing their way to their appointed destination.

As if someone had punched him in the stomach, JT lost his breath as Kali walked into the room. A tingle flew through his body like a runaway spark.

Her skin was milky white, with no sign of a violent brush scraping across it. She wore a long, blue, silk dress and her red hair cascaded elegantly down the middle of her back in curls. Her eyes burned bluer than blue, and JT this time had to catch himself before he completely lost himself. He had never seen such a beautiful creature and then his mind wandered. He could never recall or even fathom a time when he had felt enamored like this.

JT found himself catching a memory or fanciful daydream. He felt himself running barefoot in freshly cut grass. He turned to his right and saw Kali chasing him with a long red ponytail bouncing and twirling with every step. He stopped and whirled to his left and saw Warhead Dale in all of its glory shining in the mid afternoon sun; its body immaculate and its grounds kempt.

'CLAP!' echoed through JT's head. He snapped awake. He was still sitting in Bruinduer beside Atal Leer and Kali flopped on a red plush pillow across from them.

'Are you OK my friend?' Atal looked at JT with a smile on his face.

'Uhh...' mumbled JT.

'What?' Kali announced with frustration. 'I look that bad? You didn't even acknowledge that I walked in the room!'

'Yes - uh, I mean no - no, of course you don't look _that_ bad...' JT's voice quivered.

JT thought about the way he was acting. He couldn't understand that at twenty-three he was acting like a fourteen year old. His thoughts then accessed the fact that he couldn't remember what it was like being a fourteen year old, but now being in a fourteen-year-old body, it was quite awkward. He really wished he knew what he was doing. His mind froze.

'Not _that_ bad, huh, _but_ bad?' Kali barked with concern. She looked toward Atal and mumbled, 'I don't want to be here anyway.'

JT thought hard on what to say to her. What had he done wrong? He then decided that it might be better if he just kept quiet. He turned toward Atal very casually.

'Now that I have your attention,' began Atal with a chuckle. 'I just wanted to welcome you back to this beautiful land beyond your dreams and to the newly formed Godwin.'

'What in the world is Godwin?' JT asked. 'I thought we were in Bruinduer.'

'Yes, Godwin is a new kingdom within Bruinduer, created by his Majesty - The First from Eden,' Atal continued with a still rather large smile. 'He had help of course from the Council of Common in this bold endeavor, but this new kingdom would never have been possible without our gracious friends from the North in the kingdom of Triton.'

'OK,' JT said, 'Well what does that have to do with us?' JT snuck a quick peek at Kali and then back to Atal. 'Do you know where our friend Michael is?'

'Questions, questions my friend. You will find out everything you need to know in a matter of time.' Atal raised his glass of kiwi juice in cheers to Kali and JT.

'What do you know? Like I've never heard that before.' JT shook his head and glanced back at Kali who was piercing JT with an annoyed stare. They both reluctantly raised their glasses tapping Atal's glass. JT and Kali downed their juice, waiting and wondering what they should do next.

A lapse of fifteen hushed minutes passed. During that time, JT awkwardly gaped at Kali and then turned away as though he had no interest. In reality, he didn't want to take his eyes off of her. Kali scanned around the room at all of the pictures of broad, vast landscapes. Atal kept his eyes shut and pointed forward. With his legs crossed and elbows upon his thighs, it would be well assumed that the man with the coarse, bushy, black beard was in deep meditation.

Kali caught JT ogling her and began to shout very unladylike obscenities toward him. JT stuttered, and just as he tried to explain his action by attempting to string words with any morsel of comprehension together, Atal suddenly opened his eyes and announced, 'It is time.'

Atal slapped JT on the shoulder and rose to his feet. JT lurched forward and coughed in pain. Atal then delicately reached for Kali's hand and pulled her to her feet. 'We shall go to the feast!'

Atal led JT and Kali out of the quaint, comfortable home and onto the illuminated streets of Godwin. It was dead silent in the village as they walked away from the parked chariots and horses.

They silently passed by small shops that were open to the fresh air exposed to the elements. Assorted knickknacks and books, bags of peanuts, candy, and tea sat neatly on their stands undisturbed. Cups and pans hung from hooks to be sold. Newspapers in their boxes freshly printed for the evening festivities displayed across their headings, 'There will be Feast and Dance Tonight!'

No one was in sight, but it was peaceful since all was well. They walked past a building that looked like a massive library and a theatre with large, strong, ornate columns and roofs. JT and Kali were in awe of what they saw. The village and kingdom seemed rather prosperous and they could not help but wonder where they were going. Their hearts fluttered with excitement. After some time had passed and more wonderful sights went by their eyes, they reached the outer part of the kingdom.

The overhead zigzagging strings of lights gave way to luminaries that lined the dirt path. The three started to make their way up a hill. After a few minutes, JT noticed that they were walking on the edge of a very steep inclining cliff. To his right, and with his eyes adjusting to his surroundings, he could see the vastness of dark and endless space.

'It is dark, but as far as you can see -- The Desert of Share,' Atal spoke up. The wind twisted about in their silk garments.

In the grand, hollow, black distance through the night sky, JT saw lights that littered a mountainside miles and miles away. About halfway between him and the steep lighted mountainside, two strings of lights strung parallel from each other, both dipping like nontaut wire. Though the ribbons of lights must have been some distance away from him, JT concluded that the illuminated structure was immense.

'The lights you see there in the distance are part of The Bridge of Common. It is a very large and vital structure. The meaning of its importance is too in depth to be explained now,' Atal spoke after noticing JT's eyes glance out at the vast darkness.

They walked on and on, higher and higher up the side of the cliff. Over the crest of the hill they climbed, the sky burst brighter and brighter. Passing the top, JT's mouth dropped open.

In front of Kali, JT, and Atal there was an enormous, ornate, glowing castle. Multiple buildings and huts of clay seizing JT's curiosity lay sturdy and evenly around it. The piers of the castle grew tall in the inky black night and on top, like the heads of mushrooms, domes of gold and ivory blasted in brilliance, shaming the darkness as beams from below shone upon them. As they got closer to this citadel, the night appeared to turn to day.

Larger fountains than JT had ever seen surrounded the castle. Colossal angels and eagles with wingspans of at least 100 feet posed gracefully and reverently with giant plumes of water cascading and exploding over their golden bodies.

When Kali, JT, and Atal reached the bottom steps of the castle, its huge golden doors swung open and a group of fifty men wearing silk overshirts, pristine knickers, dark boots, crisp white turbans, and donning long, black leather sheathes by their sides ran out and lined the entrance on either side down the steps. The two columns of men halted to where Kali and JT stood. Atal motioned for the duo to stay outside and made his way up the steps.

'Attention!' echoed from the distance and all fifty men pulled long, spectacular silver swords from their leather sheathes and formed a sparkling tunnel to the doorway.

Kali looked at JT and JT looked up toward Atal who turned around when he reached the top of the steps. The man who plucked them from the desert motioned his hand for the two to start their assent under the tunnel of swords.

JT placed his arm in a hook and snickered. Kali glared at him with angst and with an obvious ungrateful heavy thrust, locked arms with JT. They gingerly walked under the tunnel of swords, up the staircase, and through the huge golden entrance of the castle.

Standing directly in front of JT, just as he crossed the threshold, he saw a solid line of people of all sizes, shapes, and colors in front of him. The subjects gazed at him and Kali with a devout admiration and sighed and smiled. Their eyes widened as they approached even closer.

JT was over six feet tall when he was twenty-three, but now in the body of a fourteen year old, found himself to be a bit shorter. He couldn't see over the people around or in front of him.

He and Kali shuffled a few steps forward toward the line of people, not really knowing what to do. As they stepped closer, the people began to part to their left and right engulfing what they admired. A deafening, distinct silence fell around them. The duo walked further inside the castle, and the people kept spreading. JT felt his heart rush. He was dumfounded as he discovered the decor of the castle. His brain was a vacuum.

Huge ivory columns rose from the floor and met in arches above his head. Large detailed painted murals of battle scenes, peaceful days of summer, and landscapes danced across the ceiling, including one of a very large and magnificent steel bridge. Immense stained glass windows spread generously across the great hall's walls and a mosaic of colors glistened across them from the artificial light from outside, casting their brilliant strokes over the crowd of people.

Closer and closer to the other side of the great hall, Kali and JT made their way through the myriad of subjects who continued to part bowing slightly with smiles of appreciation dressing their faces. They clasped their hands and pointed them toward JT and Kali; the only sound being heard was the shuffling of feet on polished marble as the people filled in behind them.
Soon, JT and Kali could go no farther. After the last few people spread apart, a small timid boy who sat on a large throne made of gold, silver, and dressed with precious stones, stood from its large, red, plush cushions. As he came to his feet, the crowd in the castle's hall fell to their knees and bowed.

The boy wore a jeweled crown with small strings of black hair poking from beneath it. In his hand he held a golden scepter with red rubies and emeralds scattered about its shaft. On the tip of the boy's nose was the bridge of thick, brown, horn-rimmed glasses.

'Welcome,' the boy announced with a lisp.

JT turned to Kali and then slowly back to the boy standing with an almost countless number of people bowing before him. It was Michael.

JT lifted his chin straight up at the tall arching ceiling and then immediately back to the floor. 'You have got to be kidding me.'"

Chapter 17

"How in the world did Michael become a king?!" a small voice rose from the back of my group of listeners in the great hall, which seemed a little restless.

I really did not want to say because I wanted the story to unwind without giving away too much.

"You see... well," I started with an uncommon pause and stutter. The details are in the pudding.

"How about we take a little break?" I asked the children as I tried to avert their attention. "You can have free reign of the snacks in the shop." That offer was sure to get their minds off of the subject.

The children jumped up and rushed down the hall toward the large dining room, through the kitchen, and out into the shop where they gathered up candy bars and filled cups with the lukewarm soda. I stopped for a brief moment in front of a little cupboard, where I snuck a little of my special brandy into my soda cup. I hadn't quite had the chance before now. I snickered as I poured and thought on what a wonderful time I was having with the children. I never could have thought that these children would love this story as much as I.

I returned back to my black leather chair before the other children. I could not take a seat because there in front of me, nestled in my indention, sat a little girl with blonde hair and the bluest of blue eyes staring up to me with a very concerned look.

"What's the matter my sweet child?" I asked her as she twiddled her thumbs and panned around the great hall at the mounted animal heads and paintings. She then peered at the blazing, glowing, fierce roaring fire. She then gingerly turned in my direction.

"Where's Billy?" asked the girl with a small trembling voice that I could just barely hear. "I thought he was supposed to help them."

I smiled with a smile that hurt my cheeks. Someone was really truly paying attention and it made my old soul feel good.

"I am so glad that you came to hear my story today. Won't you sit with me as I continue it? You are a very attentive and astute listener, and I promise you will find out everything you need to know." As soon as those words passed my lips, the other children galloped through the doors of the dining room and crashed back onto the large rug of the great hall. They had hands overflowing with chocolate bars and cups of soda that were filled to the brim. Wayward drops of the bubbling liquid found their way to the rug, but I did not mind. As the excited crew settled, I and my new friend sat in the black leather chair and continued the story.

"That was a very good question before the break," I started. "How did Michael become a king? I mean he had only stepped through the Mahogany Door seconds before JT and Kali. When I say trust me, I mean trust me in the fact that JT asked himself the very same question as he and Kali stood before the now smaller, skinnier King Michael of Godwin, now one of two kingdoms in Bruinduer.

Michael still stood with his crown atop his head staring down at the multitude of subjects in the giant, open hall of a great castle in the middle of a strange land. What was even stranger, especially to JT, was that these people bowed on their knees before such a small tyke.

'What's this all about?' asked JT with a grimacing, unbelieving smirk on his face. 'How is this possible? How in the world are you doing this? Why do these people bow before you?'

Atal Leer climbed to his feet and shuffled quietly toward Kali and JT. As he settled beside JT, he took off his turban and bowed toward Michael with his hand on JT's arm. 'I'm sorry your Majesty. I did not have a chance to tell them the details of your great accomplishment; the creation of the Kingdom of Godwin.'

Michael nodded his head toward Atal. The crown atop of his head cocked forward. He then turned back toward JT and tried to straighten his crown. 'That's OK,' he continued with his lisp. 'I'm glad I have the chance to tell them myself. I really prefer it that way.'

Atal walked backwards away from Michael. He placed his turban back on his head and disappeared among the crowd. The other subjects in the great hall stayed on their knees and JT shook his head.

'When I first came back to this land, I knew that I would find it in ruin and civil strife,' Michael spoke to the entire hall whether the throng wanted to listen or not. JT felt very quickly that the young king liked to hear his own voice. 'Therefore, I with my powers, helped the people of Godwin gain their freedom from the Kingdom of Triton.' Michael began to walk from one side of his throne to the other. 'I unified the separatist faction under a white flag of peace, and when a stalemate occurred after finding none, there was a great war. After many lives were lost and in hopes of not losing anymore, the Council of Common was established by sanction from the separatist and the King of Triton. This council, in its wisdom and with my guidance, came to an acceptance accord between the two lands. They decided that the land would be divided into two parts; not only keeping the Kingdom of Triton, but also creating a new, free land -- the Kingdom of Godwin.

I then used my powers as the First from Eden to split the desert with the River of Share. The council came to me shortly after with the suggestion that the two kingdoms build a bridge over the River of Share so that we may show that we are willing to live in peace and trade our bounties and goods with each other. With this gesture of goodwill, I and the King of Triton agreed, and the Bridge of Common was constructed. I was immediately crowned his Majesty - The First from Eden, King Michael of Godwin. Here I will sit and reign forever.' Michael pointed his scepter to the ceiling and JT peered skyward. He noticed that separating the great murals of war to the scenes of peace was a large painting of a gray bridge over clear, flowing blue water.

A gigantic roar of cheers erupted from the subjects in the great hall and JT looked at Kali in dismay. Kali's eyes burst wide open and she heaved in air as she gaped back at JT.

The cheers continued enthusiastically and chants of 'Long live the First!' echoed throughout the castle.

JT was speechless. For the entire trip since he first left the Shorts' farm he always had some idea or thought running through his mind that he might want to discuss or explore, whether it was an observation or just a question about his past. At this moment, however, his brain was completely vacant. He had no idea what to say, think, or even ask. By the way Michael commanded his throne and how the crowd in the great hall chanted in reverence to him, it was obvious to JT that he could not just walk up to 'His Majesty' and berate him.

His temper flared, but JT could not help but notice the 180 degree change in Michael. The scared young man he first met at the farm under Gregory's grandfather's big oak tree, whose emotions rose and fell like the tides of the ocean, at least seemed to stand as a confident, serene ruler in control of his kingdom as a child.

Michael raised his gold, jeweled scepter and slammed it to the marble floor twice. His subjects in the great hall rose. 'Let the celebration begin!' the small monarch yelled, and the people exploded with screams and cheers of joy.

The subjects in the hall then spread to one side or the other of the great hall. A lively tune with pulsating drums, violins, and brass instruments penetrated the air. Men and women happily locked in each others' arms and danced around the room. The people that surrounded the created dance floor clapped their hands over their heads, laughed, and bounced to the rhythm of the music. It was a celebration that could only be described as, 'second to none.' It seemed to any outsider, with all of their cheerful singing and rejoicing, that the subjects of Godwin had not celebrated in a very long time. The people released whatever stress, worries, problems, or anxiety they may have possessed, in one magnificent dance.

JT glanced back at Michael as the citizens danced around. Michael smiled at him with a snobbish, arrogant smirk. JT leapt up the six or so stairs toward the King of Godwin. Kali unsuccessfully held the bounding angry JT at bay as his silk overshirt slipped easily through her fingers. JT halted within inches of Michael; their noses almost touching. No one in the great hall noticed the action. They were too busy in their celebrating, but four large, muscular guards that had been stationed on each corner of the raised stage that Michael's throne occupied, rushed to their king's aid and grabbed JT by the arms. The once confident look that Michael possessed changed instantly to horror and surprise at JT's reaction.

'What're you doing you idiot!' JT screamed over the music. The people still danced. His anger flared uncontrollably.

'Fulfilling my destiny!' Michael barked back, spit hitting JT in the eye.

'This is crazy! We have to get out of here! Bruinduer is going to collapse, remember?' JT responded as loud as he could, his voice cracking. Michael did not respond.

Michael noticed that some of the subjects in the hall started to watch curiously at what was going on with their king. He quickly gestured his head to a door that was just to the right of the stage where they were standing.

The guards seized JT's arms and Michael led them into the room. Kali was not far behind them. She could not help but think that even though she thought JT had the right idea by jumping on the stage to show Michael some sense, it looked more like a mistake now.

As they entered the tiny, bare room, Michael instructed the guards to leave them and the large sentries immediately walked back out and guarded the door. As the door of the room shut, JT leapt toward Michael again, this time taking him by the shoulders and throwing him violently against the wall behind him.

'All I have to do is yell and my guards will be in here so fast you'd think it was yesterday,' said Michael very calmly. 'Then you'll really be forgotten; a lot like your memory.' Michael's tone was sinister and cold.

JT breathed deeply and Kali ran to the two and placed her hand on JT's shoulder. 'Just let him down JT,' she said calmingly. They were acting like the children they were.

'I want answers!' JT demanded and released Michael whose crown flew off his head. Along with its owner, the jeweled headpiece tumbled to the carpeted floor. 'What is all of this? You know this place is collapsing. We need to get Charlie and get out of here.' JT turned and stormed across the room away from Michael with his hands on his hips. He tried desperately to control his emotions. Losing control now would not be a good thing. Since he had left the farm, the temper he found was unpleasant at best and horrific at worst.

Kali followed JT. 'It's not worth getting heated over all of this right now. We just need to figure out what to do.' She too could see JT struggling with his temper.

Michael came to his knees, dusted himself off, and reached for his crown. 'Bruinduer's not collapsing, JT. It's a lie.'

'Shut up, Michael!' answered Kali.

JT whirled around quickly and lunged at Michael. 'What? You're calling my grandfather a liar?'

'JT, quit!' yelled Kali. She grabbed around him to hold him back. 'Michael, stop this now!'

'He said he wanted answers Kali. I'm giving them to him, but he won't listen. Stop coddling him!' Michael went to JT.

'No, JT, not your grandfather,' Michael began. His lisp would almost be comical if the subject he was talking about was not so serious. Kali continued to try and hold JT back from the young king the best she could. 'You think the dreams you had were of your grandfather? That monster got in your head and filled it with lies. Just like he got in my head and used me to do what he wanted.'

'Billy?!' exclaimed JT. His thoughts and feelings were now completely out of control.

'Of course Billy. And to think you believe I'm an idiot. He wants his control back.' JT's breath eased. Kali loosened her grips on his shoulders. 'He's not as good as you think He is,' continued Michael. 'Think about it -- why else would he want you to come back here? If he had control of Bruinduer, why would he need you?'

'What about the fading letters on the gate sign and in my grandfather's journal?' JT asked. His temper gave way to confusion. JT wanted to believe that the man that appeared to him was his grandfather and not Billy.

'Tricks, JT.' Michael turned and sat down on a cushioned bench across from JT and Kali. 'Billy is a master at manipulating people. He manipulated me all of those years, and now he has finally found out he can manipulate you too; especially since you lost your memory, and now, you can't see through his deception. I mean think about it. He easily changed into Willy. What makes you think he couldn't change into whatever else he wanted, including your grandfather?' Michael rose to his feet.

JT hung his head and could not think of a word to say. Maybe Michael was right; it was all a lie.

Billy certainly seemed like a creature that relied on the senses, fragile ones at that, to get his point across. JT in the common cause of saving Bruinduer, his grandfather, and himself from the threat of ultimate destruction could be perceived as some sort of sick contest Billy schemed up in order to make sure he would get his control of the Vryheid world back from Charlie. The monster depended on JT returning to Warhead Dale to find what was eating at the back of his mind on the Shorts' farm; the lure of finding his lost childhood. The monster in fact, as Kali put it, could get in their heads. He just upped the ante.

Billy manipulated Kali and Michael because it was easy. He knew Michael wanted to get back to a life he had no control over and hated anyway, and the monster also knew that Kali cared for Michael and would protect him. It was all a means to an end for Billy. It was a perfectly choreographed operation to get the three long lost cohorts back to Bruinduer. JT, Michael, and Kali, in Billy's assumption would rush in, grab Charlie, and leave. Then the beast of Bruinduer would have his world back.

'But how? And Why?' JT asked. 'How did Charlie gain control of Bruinduer if it wasn't his to begin with, and why is having control of this world so great?'

'Come on JT - this is great! Look at this!' Michael held up his crown. 'Name me one place where you can go and just become a king? Where can you have whatever you want? Certainly not back on that farm or out in the real world. It's here. It's in Bruinduer.' Michael carefully placed his golden crown on top of his head and his demeanor instantly changed. His shoulders bowed back and he appeared twelve feet tall.

'But how?' The confusion spun JT's brain like it was in a blender.

'It's in the rules. The rules the big, bad Billy made up by himself. I guess he didn't count on anyone actually listening. He would always say so dramatically that we never paid attention or followed the rules.' Michael stood up and began to pace back and forth, three steps to the right and then three steps to the left. He then stopped and stared at the door. Very confidently with a smug face in a louder than normal voice, he started, 'Rule number three: The people of Bruinduer are people!' Michael paused and turned to Kali. 'Billy always liked to shout out those rules didn't he Kali girl?'

Kali nodded, and felt like she was placed in an argument she couldn't win. Michael had told her that he figured out how to master Bruinduer, but she didn't realize what path he had taken.

JT and Kali said nothing. Michael smiled.

'Free will guys.' Michael broke the pause. 'That's all it is, free will. You see, Billy only counted on us to think that the people of Bruinduer, the ones that we might encounter or the ones that we might conjure up, had free will. We were only bound by the rules he set, "The people in Bruinduer _are_ people."

Well he was right. We are bound by those rules, so if the people of Bruinduer have free will, then it's obvious the people who enter Bruinduer have free will too.' Michael laughed. 'So don't you get it? We can choose what we want as well. In this case, Billy, who wants to tell us what to do - you know that little voice in the back of your head I told you about earlier JT; Billy giving us directions, helping us out in the adventure? Well, we figured out that we have the choice not to listen to that little, annoying, irritating voice. We have the choice to ignore him and live our life how we feel. We can control our own destiny. All we had to do was forget about him.' Michael pointed at his crown. 'That's what Charlie did. That's how Charlie got control. He forgot about him.'

JT stared at Michael and gritted his teeth. He had no idea what to believe. 'How do you know that?'

'He told me,' Michael said matter-of-factly. His head cocked to one side.

'I thought there was a war and you divided up the land,' JT stated.

'There was. I mean we have to have a little fun while we're here,' Michael explained nonchalantly.

'I don't believe I heard you right. War is fun?' JT's temper flared. Maybe it wasn't being around Billy that made his temper boil; maybe it was being around the infamous Michael. JT heeded Kali's advice. He calmed down and gathered his wits.

'That little voice you were just talking about,' JT continued with a reassured voice. 'I believe I _felt_ it in the desert. It told me in a fluttering breeze to start walking to my right. It was Billy, right? He's here in Bruinduer. We thought we had lost you and he guided me here to find you.'

'No, JT -- my very confused and forgetful friend,' Michael said in his most kingly, condescending voice. 'Though that is how Billy worked in the old times, that little voice you felt in the wind was me.' Michael gazed down at the floor and grabbed his right hand, which was oddly shaking.

Kali raised her eyebrows in disbelief. A thought and memory pierced her brain as she saw Michael's quaking arm. She said nothing so not to give away her secret. Dread covered her senses like the sudden onslaught of cold water.

'So you mean to tell me that you,' JT shook his head, 'and Charlie, two morons, somehow figured out how to channel all of Billy's powers?' He crossed his arms.

'Yep. That's right,' replied Michael. 'Wait no - not the moron part, but yes, we have all the power now. Billy is nothing. He is forgotten.'

JT decided maybe he too could be manipulative. Maybe he could use Michael's seemingly brazen arrogance against him. He remembered Gregory explaining one day as they heard a politician speak, "the overconfidence of some meets a swift downfall." 'You know Michael, I just don't think I believe you.'

'Why you say that?' Michael's voice flittered, his lisp became more noticeable.

Kali remained silent. Her foot pounded the floor as though she would explode.

'Well,' started JT, 'Like I said, I think you're a moron.'

'How dare you talk to the King of Godwin that way!' Michael rumbled in a slightly louder more forceful voice. 'Guards!' he screamed out and the door of the small room flung open immediately without hesitation. 'Take these two to their quarters and keep watch on them. I think I have heard enough!'

The two large framed men grabbed Kali and JT's small arms and led them out of the tiny room through the great hall. As the apprehended duo made their way through the crowded hall, the celebrating, dancing subjects settled, one after the other, staring at Kali and JT in astonishment as they were being escorted by the enormous guards. The music stopped playing.

Michael followed behind and leapt to his throne. His subjects fell to their knees immediately. They bowed, touching their foreheads to the floor and their arms reaching forward across the floor. The spry Atal Leer sprinted to Michael's side in hopes that he could calm down his ruler before he blew his temper in front of his subjects. He was too late. The young Godwin king lashed out.

'Fine!' Michael yelled across the silent hall. 'If you don't believe me, maybe you'll believe him!' Michael's right arm shook and his once controlled wits were lost to hate. 'Tomorrow we go see the King of Triton himself!'

A large gasp from the Godwin subjects sucked every ounce of air out of the great hall (possibly the entire castle).

JT wheeled around the best he could hindered by the pull of the guards, resisting the massive men's power. He stared at the boy king, his feet dragging across the floor.

Michael sneered and seethed, 'That's right JT, that's right! Tomorrow we go see Charlie!'"

"Wait! Wait children!" I yelled out trying to calm them. "This is not a game!"

No matter how I tried to settle them, the children continued to bounce relentlessly around the hall pretending to kill each other. One clever little boy, made his way behind my black leather chair, and in his excitement at playing the game of war, rolled on the floor in front of me, leapt to his feet, and pointed his stubby little index finger right at my head. I stared at the fleshy barrel of his gun, and anger cleansed over me. I had not felt intense emotion in a very long time. The children had not realized or understood the anguish that pierced Michael's soul the second he muttered the words to go to war. It then dawned on me that maybe I did not express Michael's feelings well enough to prove my point. It is a very hard thing to read someone's mind.

The young boy, still with his pink finger pointing at me, drew his weapon to his eye and took aim. He winked and smiled at me. He then pulled the imaginary trigger on his imaginary gun and yelled out, "Bang, you're dead!"

"STOP!" I projected as loud as my voice would let me. I felt the rage depart my body like water rushing through a burst river dam. "SIT DOWN BACK IN FRONT OF ME RIGHT THIS MINUTE!"

The children froze where they were standing. The expressions of excitement, as they killed each other and fell to the floor, morphed into fear. They stood petrified, scared that I might lash out at them again.

"Now. Come and sit now," I said in a less ominous tone.

The children hung their heads and placed their arms shamefully to their sides, and very gently and quietly shuffled back to their places in front of the fire on the large brown rug. They peered up at me as though none of the events that had transpired in the last three minutes had even happened, and even if it had, they had no part in it.

With laser eyes, I gazed down at them from my big black leather chair, crossed my arms, and let out a huge rush of air. "I cannot believe that you have not learned anything from my story." The children glanced back with looks of sorrow. "Do you actually believe that Michael's decision to go to war was easy? Do you think just because he went in front of the panel in the Chamber of Common and exchanged a few words with Tickler that the idea of war just popped into his brain?" I paused for a second. "I'm ashamed of you," I explained, but I think I was acting more upset upon my emotions than actually feeling ashamed of my listeners.

The children hung their heads again and I waited. The silence was biting. "Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?"

The children popped their heads up and stared at me with anxious fright and nodded very tenderly. I believe they were afraid I would stop my story. But I would not.

"Well then, I must continue." The children's mood turned for the better and I could see once again that they were eager and willing to listen.

<***>

"Michael was feeling particularly somber after the hearing in the Chamber. He left immediately after he muttered the words that he would go to war with Triton and rushed to his castle while most of the subjects that attended the proceedings still stood in tranquil quiet as they watched the boy king of Godwin depart.

JT sat on his chair trying to comprehend what had just transpired. He brushed the headset from his ears and pondered the floor in front of him. He was proud of his friend in that he stood up to Charlie and his brazen disregard for the people of Godwin, but in some ways he questioned Michael's motive. What did he mean that he was going to war because of freedom?

There _would_ be war between the two lands that were once divided by a large ravine. Now, as the young Godwin soldier announced, the two kingdoms touched, leaving no gaping border to slow the charge of armies and war. Men and women alike, as the conclusion settled in their hearts, emptied the Chamber of Common and returned to their respective territories to brace themselves for the infamous event that was about to occur.

JT purposefully was the last to leave the chamber. It dawned on him right away as subject after subject passed, that no one really cared that he was a fugitive of Godwin and was supposed to still be imprisoned. What he really wanted to do was find Michael, and tell his companion that he would support him in his decision to go to war.

He left the chamber and earnestly walked into the Bruinduer night.

The stars danced and sparkled across the sky, and as he strolled up the winding roads of Godwin, he mysteriously and subconsciously felt at ease. He walked past numerous houses, finding himself peeking through open windows where he saw families embrace each other despite the upheaval of their lives. He saw men toss their sons and daughters into the air and grab around them with complete admiration and love. He saw women kiss there men as though it would be the last time they would see them, and older people laughed and danced as though they had no care in the world; especially the weight of the burden of battle.

JT knew there would be chaos and death in the land when the sun rose the next day over the desert, but tonight there would only be happiness; a feeling of hope and dreams. As he marched his way toward the ivory and golden tower of Godwin, he listened carefully to the sounds of the favored night, and for a brief moment, everything was good in Bruinduer.

Security around the castle was heavy, but lighter than it had been earlier that day. Godwin soldiers spent the night before the war with their families, and what security remained paid no attention to JT as he made his way up the stairs to Michael's castle. It was JT's assumption that Atal must have allowed him to pass even the thickest of security checkpoints within the citadel's walls, for he had no trouble at all as he went to find Michael.

He slipped through the entrance of the castle and the cascades of water that had poured so magnificently out of the mouths of the swans that stood on either side of the large ornate doors when he and Kali first ventured there, stood dry. He walked into the great hall and an unexplained feeling of coldness and death wash over him. He felt empty.

He climbed onto the small stage and up to Michael's throne, and with every step he could hear the echo of his feet as they clogged the stone floor. He ever so slightly grabbed around the back of the throne and clutched the golden back support. He felt a gust of wind spit in his face. An intense pain shot through his head. He shut his eyes and grimaced and felt himself fall forward. He did not feel the impact of his body crashing to the floor, but with pure luck immediately opened his eyes to complete darkness.

JT reached out in hopes of grabbing the throne to pull his body up, but he felt only a void. His legs were light beneath him and he realized that he was floating in mid air.

' _What in the world is going on?'_ he thought and realized everything happening to him was out of his control.

He hovered in the darkness for what felt like forever and then he heard a small thump, then a small snicker behind him. JT tried to swerve around to see where the noise came from, but then he heard it again. The snicker turned into a laugh that JT recognized. He heard that ominous, dark, booming, condescending, and simply outstanding laugh on the Shorts' farm and in Warhead Dale in dreams. He knew exactly who the welcomed laugh came from -- it was Billy, and he had finally showed up to help.

'Where are you?!' JT yelled out. He didn't know whether to feel happy, mad, or scared, but he did feel a sense of relief.

The laugh boomed louder and in the distance, after a brief second, Billy's two large, red eyes in possession of the blackest pupils JT had ever seen, opened.

'I'm right here, boy,' Billy's long growl shattered the lonely darkness around JT. 'Seems like you're in a bit of a pickle.'

'Yeah, with no help from you.' JT was perturbed at the Essence and then felt his feet settle on solid, black ground. 'I thought you were some kind of spirit guide. You know, a little guidance would be good right about now.' With his arms crossed, JT stood staring at Billy's eyes, now circling him.

'Hee, hee,' Billy chuckled sarcastically. 'I told you that these heathens in here had no belief. I can't do too much without people believing in me.'

'Then why are you bothering me? Don't you think you need to find somebody who does believe in you?' JT tapped his foot impatiently.

'It's lonely isn't it?' Billy scoffed and gave JT a minute to think. 'The blackness I mean. It just never seems to end does it?' His huge eyes blinked in a sort of I-know-what-you-are-thinking kind of way. 'Despite the contradicting thoughts I sense, I think I found someone who believes in me, and trust me when I say I had no idea that it would be the furthest person down my list.'

'Really?' JT stated. 'Well why don't you go bother them?'

Billy's laugh boomed. 'Gosh, you amaze me. Don't you see? It's you, boy. Whether you admit it or not, you believe in me. That's why I'm botherin' you. That's why I'm here now. Your belief in me has grown while you've been in Bruinduer. It's as though you are finally coming to grips with me --- and this world.'

JT tapped his foot and looked up at Billy's blazing, dark eyes. He shook his head and glanced away. 'I've seen you, right? I guess I've got to believe in you. You did say that people believe in what they see.' JT sighed. 'I have no one else to turn to but you. Michael is on some crazy crusade, and Kali just wants to get out of here, and I don't want Bruinduer to collapse. That's if it is really collapsing.'

Billy's laugh grew even louder and his eyes shifted in front of where JT was now looking. 'Bruinduer will collapse. That's a fact. But your faith in me and this world is the first step in saving it.'

'Then why don't you do something and end this nightmare now? Why haven't you done the right thing and stepped in and put a stop to all of this? I don't understand.' JT realized that he did believe in Billy no matter how his temper flared when he was around the big brut. There was a feeling of comfort when Billy whispered those lines in his ear while he was tracking through Godwin and Triton. And though he felt his hope fading since time was running out to save Bruinduer from its demise, he felt secure being with Billy now.

'It's hard to interfere in the ways of men. I have tried,' Billy explained. His voice descended a few notches. 'It is especially hard if you are in Bruinduer to learn as you are. Belief is a powerful motivator, and my power grows with belief. When one truly believes, it is then, that all can be revealed.' Billy's eyes began to circle JT once again. 'And all you really have to do is ask.'

JT pondered Billy's remarks and then thought about the times in Bruinduer when he thought Billy was there with him. He particularly thought about being on his throbbing knees in the grimy, dingy, smelly, wet dungeon of the Triton Pyramid. He asked for Billy then, but the only 'being' that showed up was a fat, brown rat. Or was it?

'Wait a minute,' JT said shaking his head. 'That was you? You were that little fat rat that chewed through the ropes as I hung from that hook?'

Billy laughed, 'Yes.'

'Why all the secrecy then, why not just appear and take care of business?' JT's voice became impatient.

'You said it yourself, boy. I'm only a guide.' The black eyes blinked again. 'I need people to believe in me. I need people to remember. They are starting to remember, but, just like you, they forgot.'

JT thought some more tapping his toe. He really wanted Billy to stop speaking in circles. 'Are you the one I've heard some people call Kaida..., Kaidawa..., or something like that?'

'You never could pronounce that name right,' Billy chuckled. 'You and your friends just called me Billy and that is just fine.'

'I thought you might have something to do with being the spirit of Bruinduer after Atal told me the story of the great intellect that once lived here, but I wasn't 100 percent sure. When I first learned about Bruinduer and you, I thought you were only available to guide me, Kali, and Michael; I didn't realize you guided everyone else as well.' JT paused. 'I admit. I was wrong. You are a much larger and a more meaningful variable for this world. Just as my grandfather said.' He hung his head and Billy let out a large sigh as though he accepted JT's apology. 'Well, these people are starting to believe in you, right? I mean, I heard many after the explosion and in the streets of Godwin call your proper name. You should go and do something for them,' JT's voice became excited. 'I saw this young girl with a little boy sitting on an embankment. She said that you would take care of everything. She said you would save them from all of these problems. I really believe she thinks that you will make their pain and sufferings go away.' JT felt odd. He was actually trying to tell Billy what he needed to do.

Billy remained silent. It was apparent he knew that JT was right in that he could end everything that was happening or prevent bad things from happening, but even as JT, Michael, and Kali had to abide by the rules of Bruinduer, obviously, he did too.

'You said this was simple and all I have to do is ask for your help. Well, I'm asking.' Panic seeped into JT's voice. He had to end this conversation and get back to the mission of saving Bruinduer. 'What do we do now?'

Billy's eyes stopped circling and peered down at JT burning a hole through him. 'People have a destiny to fulfill,' Billy began. His solemn, low, dark voice cut through the empty blackness. 'Rule number four: Your destiny in Bruinduer must be finished.' Billy blinked.

'You keep telling me that. I heard it when I was on the floor pummeled by guards here two days ago, in the desert with Joshua, and in the Chamber of Common. Now you tell me here. What does it mean? Whose destiny? My destiny? What destiny? Just tell me!' JT demanded.

'Sometimes we look to fulfill our destiny in the wrong places and at the wrong times. We think we are doing the right thing at the moment, but most of the time it's simple.' Billy's eyes moved higher above JT. 'You must try to think a little differently when I explain this.'

JT prepared himself the best that he could by trying only to focus on what Billy was telling him, though his thoughts wandered to Kali and Michael.

'We all want our lives to be grand. We want to be special and achieve some extraordinary feat or be an important person. In reality, most suffer from delusions of grandeur. Our destiny, in truth, may be as insignificant as opening a door. After that door opens, other events happen, and so on and so on.'

'Can I just get a straight answer?' asked JT. He was tired.

'Just think about your friend, the little rabbit Mikey. Think about why you're supposed to be here, and that everything else that's happening around you really doesn't matter. His destiny needs to be fulfilled.' Billy's eyes went dark and JT's eyes opened. He was lying on the stone floor of the great hall beside Michael's golden throne.

He looked up at the ceiling and gazed at the wonderful murals and stories that danced across it. His eyes wandered about, still trying to gain his bearings, when he noticed the shiny, gold trim of the walls.

He then peered at the glittering jewels that encrusted the borders of the paintings' frames. He then heard a groaning, painful, sobbing voice come from the little room that was to the right of the stage. It was the tiny room where he had almost punched Michael out two days ago.

He couldn't explain what went through his mind or how the idea even formed, but he figured out what Billy was trying to say to him. He knew what he had to do to save Bruinduer and it had nothing to do with Michael's war."

<***>

"JT walked to the door of the small room and placed his ear against it. He heard painful, sad, moaning muffled from the other side. He reached for the silver handle, opened it, and peaked inside the room. As the light flooded into the room from the great hall, it split the darkness and shone on the young King of Godwin. He sat on the small cushioned bench fastened to the wall. His elbows were perched on his knees and his head was buried in his hands.

When the light flickered in front of his feet, Michael quickly poked his face up toward JT. His eyes were swollen red and he was out of tears. His crown and glasses sat nestled beside him in the red pillows and his hair, once slicked back, was now in wretched shambles. He was exhausted and torn.

'What do you want?' Michael lamented in a deep, scratchy voice, his throat dry from his sobbing.

'Just to find you,' said JT calmly. He walked into the small room and shut the door. The room went dark. JT reached around on the wall out of instinct and flipped a switch. Gas lights lit and the warm light flickered gently across the walls.

'I'm not in the mood for any lectures,' Michael said as he planted his face back into his hands.

'I'm not here to lecture you,' JT began. 'I came to support you. I'm here to help.'

Michael's face wiggled in his hands as though he appreciated the gesture, but he kept his face hidden. 'Sometimes I don't think people understand what a difficult decision going to war is,' Michael started, his voice muffled from his hands, but JT could hear him just fine. 'When I left the proceedings in the chamber, I had people surround me and yell that I was going to war for nothing. They told me the men and women of Godwin would die in vain. They said that going to war over water was crazy.' Michael lifted his head and even the glowing gas lights illuminated his tortured face. 'It's not about that though, JT. It's about freedom.'

JT leaned against the wall beside the door and stared at his friend. 'I was wondering about all of that Michael, but only for a second; especially after what I saw in the chamber. When I saw you stand in front of that panel and show your conviction, to tell you the truth, I was inspired.'

'It's about freedom. I don't see how you can't see it!' Michael's voice was huffed.

'OK, OK I hear you,' JT said as he gestured to Michael to calm down.

'Look,' Michael began, 'the people here in Godwin live a certain life. Sure, we have our faults, but who doesn't? We live here because I made it free. I wanted people to be whom or what they wanted. I wanted to make this place like the Vryheid conceived it in their minds; a place where people could choose their own destiny.' Michael touched his heart and swallowed. 'I always had a problem with that out in the earthly world. I promised if I was ever able achieve what I have now, I and the people who would live here would not have that same problem.

The people liked the water that was supplied from Triton. It not only sustained our life, it gave comfort and joy. The citizens could create their beautiful gardens and luxurious fountains. They could take their baths whenever they wanted with as much as they wanted.

But Charlie comes along and betrays us even though he specifically said he would provide what water we wanted. To me, I think it's obvious he does not like our way of life. So, he controls the water supply and cuts us off from it, he destroys the bridge so we cannot trade, and ultimately we cannot become who we were destined to be. We are now at his mercy scared beyond our wits to do anything. We can then only bow down to his wishes. In the end, what Tickler was saying, Charlie's actions aim to destroy our way of life, and as the leader of Godwin, I will not let that happen.' Michael buried his face back into his hands and breathed deeply.

JT continued to stare at Michael. He took in and digested what he said, and he actually could see his point. The people of Godwin had the right to live the way they wanted, and they could not give their freedom to someone who was determined to destroy them and take it away in the process.

'But what's all that talk about freedom and your way of life, if you're all dead?' JT questioned.

'Exactly,' stated Michael. 'I'd rather be dead if I couldn't have my freedom.'

JT was surprised at the words he heard from Michael. This was totally opposite from the young man he met back at the farm under the big tree in the Ol' 22. That person seemed to want to manipulate his way back into Bruinduer to take his throne and live an easy life with no thought of protecting others. Now that same person, but a changed person, wanted to die for it.

'I guess you have to die for something.' JT nodded his head and gave a crooked smile. 'Might as well be for freedom.'

JT waited a moment and let Michael wrestle with his convictions. He hated to ruin the young king's inspired confidence, but explained why he was really there. 'I need to tell you something, and I don't think you're going to like it.'

'What?' asked Michael.

'It's about Billy. He's here,' JT stated.

'I know he is. I told you I knew he was here,' answered Michael. 'He's been trying to get back in my head ever since I walked through the Mahogany Door.' Michael shook his head and wiped away a few new tears he found trickling down his nose. 'I won't let him. I forgot about him.'

'He wants to help you Michael. He wants to help us, and all you have to do is ask,' JT said, but Michael shook his head violently in disapproval. 'Listen!' JT raised his voice. 'He told me that Bruinduer is going to collapse and you and Charlie are wrong, and I believe him; just like I believe my grandfather. I'm going to save Bruinduer and you are too, because Billy said you have to fulfill your destiny.'

'This is my destiny!' Michael barked. 'My destiny is here to save Godwin and live a life I can't have in Athens Eden!'

'Come on Michael, think!' JT became impatient. 'We were what, fourteen? Our destiny wasn't to rule Bruinduer. You said it yourself. We picked an adventure and completed that adventure, and once it was done, it was finished. We walked through the Mahogany Door and had an adventure. We could come back whenever we wanted, but the original task was finished. Don't you get it? You have to complete what you started. You have to fulfill that destiny -- the adventure you chose.' JT paused. 'You have to retrieve the Golden Diamond.' With his back pressed against it, he slid down the wall and buried his face in his hands. 'We can go home and Bruinduer will be saved. I will be saved. We will be saved.'

Michael was silent. He did not answer JT.

A few moments later, JT rose from his seat and shuffled over to Michael. He placed his hand on the back of the Godwin leader's shoulder. 'But I will fight with you Michael. I will fight Charlie to the death if needed.'

Michael glanced up at JT and smiled through his red, swollen eyes.

The door of the room creaked opened and Kali stepped through. She had also, probably at the hands of Atal Leer, been released from her cell. She had a worried but relieved expression upon her face. She slumbered over to JT and Michael. She had been listening to the conversation through the door. She grabbed them both, kissed them on their cheeks, and said, 'Tomorrow, it will finally be finished.'"

Chapter 18

"Will this storm ever stop?!" I heard a child exclaim from the back of the main hall of Warhead Dale.

My grandson emerged from the rear door that led to the western wing of the house. He had unsuccessfully tried to retrieve a chair that had blown off the front porch and bounced into the yard; his only reward for the attempt was that he now shook from the wet, penetrating, abrasive cold from the rain.

His shoes squeaked and squished as he made his way over to me and explained that he had finally received a signal on his small transistor radio and reluctantly informed me and my dedicated band of listeners that the worst of the storm was yet to come.

I nodded my head. In my thoughts I wondered how such a terrible, intense storm could have been created and why, of all days, did it have to churn on this one.

The children, however, seemed surprisingly unfazed by the news. With their bellies full of chocolate and their veins raked with caffeine they were almost ready to burst in total disarray. I felt I needed to use my time wisely, because if I wasn't careful, and my group lost interest, they might come down off of their sugar high and I would be telling the story to twenty-five heavy children in a deep slumber. I hurried along the best that I could.

"The night's sleep was restless for JT as he prepared to meet Kali outside of their adjoining rooms the next morning," I continued. The children were just as wide-eyed as when the first syllable left my mouth earlier that afternoon on the beach.

"No men waited to take him to a bath and dress him. He wore the same clothes that he had the day before, and in fact, he had slept in them. One curious and relatively nice surprise was how good the water was in his room. It was like drinking silk. As soon as the stream touched his lips from the fountain by his bed, it sprang his senses and his eyes were wide. It was very strange. He tried to shake the thought of how good the water tasted, but he was taken over by something that made him want more. Not only did he drink to satisfy his thirst, but he also drank at the point of becoming sick. He gorged himself with the sweet fluid from the walls of Michael's castle. He had lost his desire to control his intake of sustenance and did not care.

The mood of the day had changed despite the moment of ecstasy while drinking water. It had been a night of celebration, but now the mood was uncertain. Of course, and with good reason, JT was unsure about everything that had happened to him since he stepped through the Mahogany Door. But on this new morning he felt much like he did on the first day of fall when he met Michael on the Shorts' farm - he didn't know, and he didn't guess, but something very strange was definitely going to happen in Bruinduer.

'Are you OK?' JT asked Kali as they met and then trudged down the long corridor of the Godwin castle. Four of Michael's guards marched behind the two with their large curved, shining silver swords released from their sheaths and swinging by their sides.

'I told you repeatedly I didn't want to come back here,' Kali replied, her voice in a very solemn tone. She also wore the same clothes she donned the day before and her make-up and hair were atrocious. Her eye make-up streamed down her cheeks from obvious running tears, and her long auburn hair was flat and matted.

'Yeah, I'm sorry.' JT touched her arm and Kali jerked it away. 'Look, I understand why now, and I know you're not going to want to hear this, but I still got to get Charlie so we can get out of this place. I don't believe a word Michael said about Bruinduer not collapsing.' JT's voice was determined.

'I didn't either,' responded Kali. JT was taken aback. The young lady actually agreed with him on something since being in Bruinduer.

'Stop yakking. Let's go,' a dark, low voice came from one of the guards brandishing a sword.

The half dozen continued their march through the winding, richly decorated hallways of the Godwin castle. Some moments later, they met Michael at the foot of the enormous staircase outside its entrance.

Daylight cast a very new and revealing light on the land of Bruinduer.

The world created by the Vryheid and imagined by Michael was vast. Though the internal parameters of the landscape occupied a sort of bowl; an enormous desert surrounded by high mountains and dunes, from his vantage point, JT could see an endless horizon. The air was finely tinted gray, and the farther he scanned across the immeasurable land, the more distant objects became blurred. The Godwin Castle, with its towering ivory and golden domes and magnificent fountains perched on a high peak, stood guard over a bustling village below dotted with clay colored rooftops and winding streets; all flowing like tributaries to the flat desert sands.

The desert surface sat like a newly finished concrete floor where snake-like ribbons of sand wavered in the light breeze, then fell like a freshly draped sheet over a mattress. A farther distance away, a long, black crack ripped through the desert's center, and a small silver structure crossed the ravine, which JT concluded was the Bridge of Common he saw from the lights the night before, glimmered in the faint dawning sun that crested over the peak of a tall mountain across the sea of sand.

JT peered through the gray the best he could. He wanted to see what was across the desert, but only made out the pointed tip of a large, ominous structure that sat on the summit of a mirrored mountain. He panned down to Michael who was standing very sternly outside of his royal carriage.

'We have a long trip,' Michael stated and then climbed into the carriage. 'I don't want the King of Triton to wait.'

Michael had assembled a long rambling, rolling caravan for the apparent daylong trip to Triton. Dozens of horsemen on top of their dark, brazen steeds, lined in front and behind the royal transport dressed in knickers, boots, and thick, blue, silk jackets. Long curved blades lay on one side of their saddles hidden in their sheaths, and long, wooden poles with large white flags that snapped in the wind on the other were lodged in the crook of their arms. Their turbans wrapped tightly around their heads and faces with a two-inch slit across their eyes as their only means to see.

JT and Kali labored into Michael's royal carriage. As JT settled himself into the richly decorated interior, he shook his head.

The carriage was eighteen feet long and was carved from what seemed like one large piece of white ivory trimmed in solid gold. Enormous golden eagles with their wings spread in flight, sat perched on each of the four corners of its roof staring forward with blazing eyes. Golden tigers streaked across the sides of the transport with spiked teeth thrusting from their mouths as though they were ready to sink into the neck of unsuspecting prey. Three drivers strained against the reins of twelve enormous, powerful brown horses restlessly snorting, digging their hooves in the ground, pulling, and ready to perform the duty they were born for; to tow the heavy, elegant carriage with its passengers to Triton.

Not a word was spoken as the carriage door slammed and the three travelers nestled themselves in the plush, comfortable red cushions that lined the belly of the transport. JT mumbled under his breath that his present, mobile surroundings smelled like the inside of a candle shop.

The drivers of Michael's royal carriage barked an unrecognizable order, and the ivory wagon lurched forward with a thunderous jerk. It took just a moment for the lead horses to gain their footing, but very quickly, the carriage traveled at a swift pace. Michael took off his crown and rested it on the seat beside him. The bouncing vibration shook the large ornament from side to side atop his small head.

The caravan winded down the crooked and bent roads through the kingdom's village, passing shops and houses that riddled the immense Godwin mountain. Noticing the royal carriage, the subjects of Godwin dashed from their homes and businesses tossing purple and yellow flowers at the wheels of their leader's carriage and the hooves of the galloping horses. They cheered wildly in reverence at their young king.

JT pondered at the people waving their arms in the air reaching for the ivory carriage with amazement. The loyalty and admiration they showed toward Michael was humbling in the least. Thoughts raced through his mind on how Michael, the emotionally unstable young man he came to know again, succeeded in winning such acclaim. JT glanced over to Michael, curious to see how the young monarch responded to such an amazing show of high regard. His sentiment was muffled as he noticed that the Godwin king showed no interest. Michael looked solidly at the floor of his carriage and did not once recognize the throngs of supporters practically throwing themselves at him and wishing him well as the caravan navigated through the city.

'I sent good men this morning to inform King Charlie that we would be arriving in the late afternoon,' said Michael with a monotone voice interrupting the calmness of the interior of the carriage. 'It takes about a full day of sunlight to get to Triton.'

After another long, awkward pause, JT abruptly broke the silence. 'What is all of this Michael? How did this all happen?' JT rummaged through his thoughts. 'I mean how do you become a king in such a short time? We've only been through the Mahogany Door for less than a day.' Michael did not answer right away. JT then spoke again, 'How long have you been here?' JT was not angry and his temperate tone was welcomed by Kali. He held back the frustration that he could still not remember anything. He gazed out of the window of the elegant carriage as they passed the gate to Godwin; a magnificent golden structure that was a complete contrast to the faded, rough, iron gate of Warhead Dale. As they passed under the arch of the entrance out into the vast flat desert, Michael began to talk.

'Time has no meaning in Bruinduer, JT,' began Michael. 'Remember Billy's pesky little rule number two?'

JT's mind went back to right before he stepped through the Mahogany Door and remembered thinking about the drawings of the hourglasses on his grandfather's journal page and trying to piece together something with the watch Michael possessed.

'I knew that if I could get through the door first with the only watch,' Michael pulled the gold, blood rusted watch from beneath his silk jacket and showed it to JT, 'that I would have all the time I needed to implement my plan; though at first, I wasn't really confident considering I just found out that Charlie was still alive. You see, you'd be lost in Bruinduer, not knowing the time or the day and I could do whatever I wanted – well, the time to try anyway.'

'How?' asked JT.

'You have to have a timepiece to let you keep time in Bruinduer.' Michael smiled at his own genius. An exacting, superior feeling of being smarter than JT washed over him. 'I figured it out when reading your grandfather's journal. When we were younger our keeping time didn't seem to really matter. We were never in Bruinduer long enough for it to make a difference.

Your grandfather in the journal stated that the sun rose and set in Bruinduer, and you could count the days, but without a timepiece, you would never have stability in time. All it took was a couple of seconds for me to pass through the door before you with the watch and you without one, and you would be lost.'

Michael thrust the watch in JT's face. JT noticed the second hand ticking. 'Yeah, I was worried a bit about stepping through the door since the watch was broken and everything, but this is what I wanted. Not even time was going to stop me. To my surprise, the watch started ticking when I came through.' JT's blood spiked, but he kept his cool. 'You'll see more about what I mean when we get to Triton.'

'Well, what happened after you entered this world?' asked JT.

'Needless to say, Charlie showed up within a few seconds. He had control of Bruinduer and he knew that someone had entered through the Mahogany Door. His so called soldiers, more like monsters if you ask me, almost killed me for just standing there. Charlie backed them off suddenly, because he realized I still retained a bit of power for being the first one to enter through the door nine years ago. I am the one that imagined the land he occupied. I guess that counted for something.

I had to figure out what I was going to say and quickly. I thought he was dead if you remember, but once I told him that you, Kali, and Billy weren't far behind me stepping through the door, I was surprised that he really didn't care. It was strange I thought, but I was relieved. He decided that I did the right thing in coming through first alone. He asked me how I got through the door without you and Kali at the same time. I told him that I must have got lucky. He didn't think or ask about the watch at all. I knew he had no idea about how time and Bruinduer worked anyway except for the rule. I then put my quick and ingenious plan into action.'

'I knew you told me that you had figured all this out in the letter, but I had no idea it would actually work,' Kali sighed, interrupting Michael. She crossed her arms and pinched her lower lip with her teeth. _'JT was wrong; he was smart enough,'_ she thought.

'This is the best thing I've ever done. Sure Charlie was still alive, but I'm happy now,' Michael said nervously with confidence. Kali turned her head away from her friends and looked out the other side of the carriage. Michael huffed, 'Fine, well if you don't want to know...'

'Keep talking,' JT lowly growled with a more forceful tone.

'I talked to Charlie at length about my plan and what I wanted to do for so long; have a sense of belonging back. He actually agreed to let me create my own kingdom and stay as long as I wanted. Since I had let him come with us through the door so many years ago, I'm not sure why, but he felt that I was owed his help.' Michael's eyes wandered. 'He told me we had to make a big production out of it all. We had to have a big war with betrayal and political upheaval because his followers were fiercely loyal to him and would never have understood a sudden surrender of territory.

Charlie started rumors of a conspiracy and told one of his new officers, Atal Leer, that there was a faction in the Triton brigades that didn't like his bold, new leadership and that there was a price on his head for his disloyalty.

Without any hesitation, Atal came to me. He wanted me to take lead of a separatist faction and he thought it was unbelievable that his men would question his devotion to them or Charlie. The next thing I knew, with Atal, I had about 5,000 troops ready to fight under my flag against Charlie's army in a civil war.' Michael shook his head as though he still didn't know quite how quickly his power rose. 'The war was really basically a skirmish, not too many people got killed, but it was great. We won our independence from Triton and I was made the king, crowned by Atal. It was all by mine and Charlie's design - mostly mine though.' Michael cracked a devious smile. 'And by the time on this little watch - what makes it sweet is that it is Charlie's - I've been the King of Godwin for over three years now.'

'What!' yelled JT and startled Kali who had still been staring out the carriage window in disbelief that Michael's plan had actually worked.

'That's right JT.' Michael's smile spread wider. 'I don't know how long you felt like you were out in that desert wandering about, but I've been nice and comfortable on my throne for these three years.' Michael longingly looked down at the watch he had slid off of Charlie's wrist as he lay in the desert.

Michael thought about the doubt he had coming back to Bruinduer after he saw Billy in front of Warhead Dale. He almost completely lost his nerve and decided the price he might pay for returning wouldn't be worth it. He may have been safer if he would have just walked away from facing his destiny. He was also disheartened by Charlie still being alive too. As he placed the watch back in a pocket under his silk jacket, the unkind thoughts vanished. He was King of Godwin now -- the price was worth it and his will ruled out over it all!

JT pondered about the time he and Kali spent trudging through the desert on the previous day. All he could really think about was just as it was in the present, the temperature was practically unbearable. 'It probably was only thirty minutes or so, but it felt like an eternity,' JT said. 'It's still impossible that you've been here for three years.'

'Not impossible JT, only improbable,' said Michael with smugness. 'Again, time has no meaning in Bruinduer; that is, if you remember the rules.'

JT felt a rising impulse to lunge toward Michael. He stopped before the feeling overtook him. He then focused on Kali. 'Did you know about all of this?' He needed someone to vent on at the moment. 'I mean you haven't said much of anything since we've been here....'

'Look!' barked Kali. 'I told you I didn't want to be here in the first place. How many times do I have to tell you that! Noooo! The mighty JT, like Michael has said before, had to come in here and be the hero!'

'What?!' JT was beside himself. 'I came in here to stop this place from collapsing like my grandfather wanted me to do. I don't care about being a hero.'

'You're wrong JT. You've always been like this. You always have to be the one to save the day. You never wanted anyone else to have credit when playing in Bruinduer, especially Michael. In your eyes, you never wanted him to succeed at anything here!' Kali started to breathe deeply. It was evident that she had had enough of Bruinduer. Whatever angst she had been holding in since they began the adventure, was now being revealed.

'I told you, JT, it was Billy not your grandfather,' Michael mumbled under his breath. JT looked at him in disgust.

'I thought you were on my side?' JT asked Kali with as exhausted and surprised tone.

'I'm on nobody's side JT, right Michael? Besides who got us out of the desert wandering around like idiots?' Kali glanced at Michael with admiration and chuckled.

'It was me,' Michael answered in a slight hollow undertone wedging his right hand under his right leg, 'of course.' He then looked away.

'See, JT,' Kali started, 'you're out here on a worthless, selfish cause. I bet if we had just locked the Mahogany Door and shut Charlie in here, nothing would have happened. We could all be home.' Kali crossed her arm and bobbed her head toward Michael wanting JT to look at the Godwin king.

JT jerked his head away in disgust. Kali grabbed his arm, but JT pulled away. Kali pointed enthusiastically at Michael as he continued to look away and out the carriage window. She was insistent that JT look at Michael.

JT rolled his eyes and reluctantly peered at Michael to pacify the young woman. The monarch was squirming about gripping his right arm which was shaking forcibly.

'What's wrong with you?' JT asked Michael. His motion sickness started to raise its ugly head and he took deep breaths in order to hold it at bay.

'Um... nothing. Why?' Michael heaved deep breaths.

'You're all jittery,' JT answered emphatically.

'I'm not jittery and nothing is wrong!' Michael barked back.

Suddenly, the royal carriage halted with a shudder. Dust engulfed the carriage and seeped through the cracked windows.

'What in the world?!' JT yelled after he was flung forward and then back, knocking his head on the side of the interior carriage wall.

The three travelers lost their previous train of thought and gathered their senses. After a few short moments, there was a knock on the door.

'My King, my King, are you OK?' a muffled voice sounded.

Michael opened the door and Atal Leer, atop an enormous pitch-black horse that was coughing dust, received his sire. 'I think we are all fine in here. What is the hold up?' Michael tried to use a commanding voice, but his lisp was too prominent to carry any force.

'It's the bridge, my King. It is backed up with traders crossing from the Triton side.' Atal's steed rocked back and forth and the burly man gently tugged the reins to settle the animal. 'I will ride forward and make sure a path is cleared. But as you know I will not cross into Triton.' He galloped forward and Michael faced JT and Kali.

'The bridge is clogged,' explained Michael.

'I heard just fine, your Majesty,' JT returned and pushed Michael aside and hopped out of the carriage into the hot, sticky air. 'I want to see this for myself.'

JT glared into the distant tinted sky and as the last of the dust settled from their screeching halt, before him, appeared the largest structure he had ever seen. The enormous Bridge of Common towered over them 100 yards away. The small glimmering object JT had seen when they started their journey in the hazy, morning light, now shined brightly silver with large beam supports pointing high into the air. On either side of these supports, large intimidating, ornamented gates were flung open.

Carriers, transports, and carriages of all different sizes, some even two to three times the size of Michael's royal ivory carriage and just as elaborate, whizzed to and fro over the bridge being pulled by legions of horses. Included with the carriages, throngs of people marched and trekked their way across the massive bridge lugging packs, boxes, and bags of goods.

Kali lifted herself out of the royal carriage and gazed as dumbfounded as JT on the mammoth bridge; its patrons making their way across in so many different ways.

'What is it?' Kali asked JT.

'It's the Bridge of Common I think,' JT answered. 'I assume this is what Atal explained last night when we were walking up the hill toward the castle.'

'I tell you what JT, you are the master of the obvious,' answered Kali. 'I meant to ask, why is it out here in the middle of the desert?'

'Why don't you ask his Majesty?' JT said annoyingly.

'You're right. It's the Bridge of Common,' Michael interrupted as he stood on his carriage's runner. 'It was created after the war. It was a show of good will between Godwin and Triton. The people were a little disheartened at the fact that the land was split. Some didn't mind though, but the Council of Common was established. The council is a panel of wise men that help Charlie and I come to a compromise on decisions without going to war. They can, however, permit the use of force, but since we live in relative peace now there has never been the need to sanction a war yet.

Anyway, the council decided that a bridge should be built over the ravine which supplies Godwin water from Triton. It is also used in order for free passage between the kingdoms. Mostly, the bridge has been used for trade. Weird, but at first nobody really used it. It has just recently started to see a lot of action. I think more of Charlie's people are coming over here and staying though. We have seen a lot of new building in Godwin. To tell you the truth, I was really surprised that Charlie let the bridge be built. He hasn't really commented, but I think he is upset that his subjects come over here.'

'I guess it's just because you're such a great ruler,' JT told Michael shaking his head. 'This is a little more than I expected.' JT's voice was littered in sarcasm. 'And here I thought this was all just some kind of game. I mean you have some real world seriousness going on in Bruinduer.' JT paused. 'I guess you got it under control though.'

Michael looked straight at the ground and immediately rushed back into the safety of his carriage. He sat back on top of the plush red cushions and crossed his arms. A bit of a pout revealed in his face.

JT continued to peer toward the bridge and saw Atal Leer make his way through the crowds of people coming across the bridge toward Godwin. As he studied a little closer, most of the people were trekking from the Triton side entering Godwin cloaked in long, black robes. A few moments later, Michael's royal carriage was summoned to continue toward its destination.

The trio, secured in the ivory and gold carriage with its caravan of horses, made their way through the separated crowd of traders and immigrants. All of the people bowed toward the carriage as it passed. Michael continued to stare toward the floor of the carriage.

'What in the world, Michael?' JT exclaimed as he saw the throngs of people bowing and cheering in their direction. 'Look at all of this. I can't believe you don't recognize these people's loyalty. I mean, isn't this what you wanted?' There was real sorrow and confusion in his voice. 'Didn't you get what you wanted?'

Michael stayed silent and void as they clambered across the bridge and into the land of Triton.

The sun beamed and crawled across the sky. As soon as the last wheels of the ivory carriage touched Triton soil the mood turned darker. A crisp, cool, biting air filled the carriage and the smell of sweet candles turned to a dank musty odor. JT's motion sickness remained calm, and he caught a glimpse of a far away carriage, or a caravan of marching black robes making their way in the direction toward the Bridge of Common.

'I never really like coming over here,' Michael whispered. His body shuddered. 'And just as you heard, Atal doesn't come over here. He's never been back since he left.' Michael slouched down in his seat remaining unexposed from the window beside him. 'If you don't believe what I've told you about Billy, I hope by taking you into the jaws of Triton and you hearing the words come from Charlie that what I said is true about Billy, then so be it.'

As Michael spoke these words, warriors from Triton on large, ominously, black shining horses flanked the royal carriage.

The soldiers wore all black with only white turbans and carried poles with red flags violently pounding the odious, crisp wind as they escorted the Godwin monarch and his caravan the remaining distance to Triton.

A few more hours passed the travelers and now guests of Triton. The convoy began a climb up a steep, winding hill toward the Triton ruler. They sat as quiet and as still as rocks in the royal carriage. Each unexpected sound, like the squeak of the wheels during a sudden turn, made their bodies tense and their senses heightened. Up they went, passing houses and storefronts that looked three times as old as the shops and houses of Godwin. People lined the streets dressed much like the Godwin citizens, uneasily watching as they trotted and rumbled by them. No subject in this land bowed toward the King of Godwin.

Higher they went and the very last of the sun's heat gave way to a more bitter cold as they plowed through the thickening fog.

JT's heart began to hammer in his chest and he could see his shallow breath. Though he knew he would have to confront Charlie to end this madness, he did not expect what was happening to him. The increased chill and darkening, almost evil surroundings engulfed him. It was almost more than he could take.

He saw Michael shaking violently beneath his silk jacket and Kali's expression could only be described as horrific. She rubbed her hands feverishly against the red cushions, drying them from their clammy sweat.

'Why are we acting this way?' asked JT through a lump in his throat. He took a deep breath. 'The way you described this guy from when we were kids (for a moment he forgot his fourteen-year-old body), it sounds like he's a little jerk.' JT tried to think of something clever to put his mind at ease. 'I am certain I will be standing in front of an annoying, little fool. I suppose he may be a lot like Willy when I first met him.'

Michael's royal carriage rattled and clanked across rough, uneven brick roads and then came to a sudden halt. The windows of the carriage shook as a thunderous horn echoed off the Triton castle to the desert valley below it.

The carriage door flew open and cold air enveloped the interior of the ivory coach. A small, weasely-type looking fellow dressed in a faded-blue silk shirt, brown, cracked leather boots, and knickers too large for him stood rubbing his hands trying to warm them. A slithering, raspy voice grinded his throat as he spoke, 'Welcome to Triton, First from Eden -- King of Godwin.'"

Chapter 19

"Crack! Pop! Wham!" echoed through the halls of Warhead Dale. If the children were thinking about coming down from their heightened sugar rush, the sound of large limbs snapping from bushes and trees and shutters slamming against the outside walls put a swift end to that dreamy thought.

" _Oh my, will this Godforsaken storm ever stop?!"_ I thought to myself as I continued my story. The devastation that must have been happening in the outside world was something I was having difficulty comprehending.

I felt safe and warm in the big old house that sat on the edge of the sea. I knew that the limbs that crashed into the side of the thick, sturdy exterior walls would not compromise the structure. I was also mindful, however, that I could never take anything, not even a sense of security for granted. Nature has an exacting way of humbling us all.

I considered again, but only for a second, that I might stop my story right away and lead the children off to bed. I then pondered that I may have overestimated my vanity and trust in the walls of Warhead Dale. I wanted to finish my tale while we were still safe and still had time, because tomorrow is never guaranteed.

"'So you must be Charlie,' JT said arrogantly. He leapt from the carriage and stared down at the now shaking, horrified little man who was hunched over in fright. He shielded his face afraid that JT might strike him. 'You don't seem so tough,' JT chided.

'No, not master,' the stump of a man said as he backed away continuing to hold his arms over his face. His eyes could only be seen. 'I'm Tickler, my Majesty's humble servant. Please, please, follow me and I will take you to my Majesty. Yesss, yesss, I will take you to him.'

Tickler appeared much older than JT, Michael, and Kali but the top of his head only reached to the middle of JT's neck. His eyes were as large and round as silver dollars and his nose was twice the size it should have been to fit his face. He had a small, bushy mustache complete with a half shaven beard. Strands of his thick, curly, crumbled black hair darted out from beneath his surprisingly crisp, white turban. He lumbered and limped away from JT, Kali, and Michael, and the ivory carriage rubbing his hands together.

'Yesss, yesss, I will take you to his Majesty!' Tickler was extremely excited and as animated as his body would let him be. He tried with all of his might, but to no avail, to bound up the stairs before him. Each hop he attempted was cut short by his heavy, lifeless left leg. His foot caught the edge of the step forcing him to his knees. Undeterred, he crawled with his hands up the cracked, faded marble staircase.

JT panned upward. Another massive structure stood before him. It was a pyramid 300 yards wide and easily 500 feet tall. He concluded that it was the point he could just see from standing outside of the Godwin castle earlier that morning.

Every few seconds, and with regularity, small pebbles and large chunks of the building fell from its sides. JT thought the entire pyramid might crumble at any second. One large piece the size of a tire barely missed his foot as it crashed right in front of him. It burst; the pieces slapping his leather boots.

JT, Kali, and Michael followed Tickler into the great pyramid and the inside appeared to be in no better shape than the outside of it. Guards wearing all black emerged out of the shadows carrying large, unsheathed, curved, powerful swords and red flags. They immediately flanked the travelers from Godwin.

The halls were just as long and imposing as the Godwin castle's halls, but instead of being encrusted in gold and rich ivory, the walls within the great Triton Pyramid were smudged with filth and grime. The once brilliant brass and silver statues and chandeliers that lined the halls and hung from the ceilings were now tarnished and cracked. There were no noticeable ornate fountains of water or plush gardens of green as there was in the kingdom of Godwin.

Numerous servants cleaned and polished the surfaces of walls, fixtures, and statues, but it seemed nothing they did could restore the shine and newness.

Tickler, the guards, and his guests marched hurriedly through a myriad of passageways that twisted and winded through the pyramid. Almost to the point of exhaustion with heavy breaths, they stopped in front of large, oaken, double doors that were three stories tall. A carving decorated its face but the deep, jagged lines that were carved through it rendered it unrecognizable. Someone had not taken too kindly to it.

'My Majesty has been waiting for you,' Tickler said slithering and spitting every word. 'Please show him the respect he deserves.'

JT's temper flashed but he wrangled his emotions. His madness turned to anxiousness as Tickler reached for the doors. _'Show_ _him the respect_ _he_ _deserves indeed,'_ JT thought.

Tickler took both of his small, stubby hands and pushed the oaken doors open as if they were light as feathers.

The hall that opened in front of them was mammoth. It was greater than any room JT had ever stepped in, including any room of Warhead Dale or hall of the Godwin castle. Large, thick columns supporting each of its four corners reached upward and met in a point directly above them. They were standing in the top half of the pyramid.

Triton subjects lined a black carpet aisle that split the entryway. The vacant path ended at a large stage platform draped with an enormous black curtain hiding its secret. The peoples' faces were pallid with sunken, dark eyes. The expressions on their faces, though in some ways lifeless and indifferent, could only be described as pain. JT's heart jumped in his throat. His sudden jolt of confidence in the carriage and anger turned to uncertainty. Michael's face flushed and again Kali grabbed hold of JT's hand. The smell of dank wood like that of an ancient church punctured the cold air that filled the room.

The hunched back of Tickler disappeared, sneaking behind his guests. He pushed and hurried them forward down the aisle. 'My Majesty is waiting for you,' said the thick, little man in an ominous tone through a wheezing laugh.

Horrible silence seeped from the subjects packed in the upper hall, and JT, Michael and Kali, flanked by Triton guards, proceeded toward the curtain in front of them. Their knees became weaker with each step. JT scanned up at the ceiling and observed numerous intense, gruesome battle scenes streaming across each side of the interior walls of the pyramid. The farther these stretched away from the stage, the more faded and fractured they appeared.

'YES!' a loud, rough voice boomed from behind the curtain as JT, Michael, and Kali were halfway down the black carpet.

JT frantically swiveled his head from side to side but no one made a sound.

The group inched their way closer toward the curtain. The voice became louder and more animated. 'YES! YES! I never thought I'd live to see this moment!' The voice then started a strange, incomprehensible song using the word, 'moment.'

JT thought about Billy and standing outside of Warhead Dale ready to recite the monster's ridiculous little poem two days ago. The more he thought about it, the less he grew nervous. His temper fired and his anxiety twisted into a raging anger.

The trio and their escorts made their way to the front of the curtain. The guards formed a human wall a few feet from the stage and lowered their flags. Tickler scurried off to the right, climbed three squeaky steps, and shuffled behind the black curtain and pulled on a flimsy, shredded rope. The curtain opened slowly, its pulleys jerking and whining. When the curtain had finally finished its trek, after what seemed like a nauseating eternity, there before the stunned trio sat the King of Triton.

"You have got to be kidding me," mumbled JT.

Charlie sat lazily lounging upon a throne of gold that had lost its luster for some time. The legs and sides of its back were splintered with jagged cracks; a dark green, thick, moldy crust covered the fractures. The cushions were flat and matted. Their once vibrant red had turned a tinted grayish brown.

Charlie was as young as the day he had stepped into Bruinduer nine years ago. His face, though babyish, took on the ripeness and wear of age. He was pale, and his hair was a muffled brown and gray under a tarnished bent crown. His eyes, practically void of color with only a hint of the original hazel, were sunk next to his round, button nose. His gums were swollen with blood and his teeth were yellow, cavity-filled, and crooked. His once young, soft hands of a fourteen year old were coarse and riddled with calluses, and his fingernails were long, pointed, and stuffed with crusty black grunge.

He wore a tattered outfit that remarkably but distantly resembled the same silk jacket, knickers, and boots that Michael wore.

"Hello Michael, King of Godwin. What brings you and these... these people here to my illustrious Kingdom of Triton?" Charlie was very smug, his breath heavy; gesturing his hand toward JT and Kali.

JT could not take the frustration of being in Bruinduer and his emotions that were swinging like a pendulum. He had had enough of playing this 'game.' He jerked his hand from Kali and split the Triton guards lined in front of him. He bounded directly up the stage toward Charlie before Michael could utter a word.

The crowd in the great hall gasped, and the Triton sentries rushed to aid their king but halted immediately in their tracks as Charlie raised his hands toward them. JT approached unchecked.

'I tell you what we are doing here,' JT began, his voice piercing the succeeding silence. 'We've come to get you, and we are leaving Bruinduer.' JT's nose almost touched the tip of Charlie's nose.

'He doesn't believe —,' Michael began. Charlie waved his hand in Michael's direction interrupting him. The young King of Godwin became silent.

'Get out of Bruinduer you say?' Charlie retreated a couple of steps back from JT. 'Really?' Charlie sighed and for a second appeared relieved. His head then popped up with a yellow smile. 'And why on this earth or whatever earth I'm on would I do that?' Charlie stepped toward the top step to his left and peered over his subjects that crammed his pyramid's walls and gestured his arms toward them. The people said nothing.

'Bruinduer is going to collapse!' barked JT. 'I don't have time for this! This stupid game everyone wants to play is getting old.'

Charlie rushed back to JT slapping his feet on top of the stage. His expression grimacing. 'YOU don't have time for this? Is that what you said...?' Charlie's voice was in rage. The tip of his finger shook as he pointed at JT. 'I don't believe I heard what just came out of your mouth. You! Yes you -- don't have time for this? Let me tell you a little about time.' Charlie jumped off the top step and darted down the black carpet toward the large double doors. His subjects gasped in excited horror. Tickler emerged from around the curtain and with his left foot dragging behind, trotted behind his Majesty trying to catch up with him. Folding his hands and spitting with every forced breath.

'Charlie, please!' Kali yelled after Charlie, begging him to calm down.

'Oh, I'll get back to you and your friends little Ms. Kali. Just hold on for a second.' Charlie vaulted to the doors.

'Yesss, yesss,' Tickler hissed. 'Majesty will get back to you.'

Charlie stood tall at the doors. He turned forcefully around and pointed on either side of the hall at the battle scenes that decorated the walls. He then marched straight back toward Kali, JT, and Michael; his tattered and faded jacket fluttered and danced with each forced step.

'First battle is called,' Charlie halted, but only for a second, and pointed at the massive mural to his left, "The Battle of the Beginning." You guys were here for that - for a little while.' He moved a few more steps toward the stage and pointed to the right. 'Second battle is called, "The Battle of the Breekers." Funny little things Breekers; I have no idea where they came from. I thought after I came through the Mahogany Door, I only had to deal with the world that Michael created. I guess after long periods of time, unexplainable things just pop up like that, but I suspect it was that pathetic spirit guide, Billy, trying to make a play for getting the power back that I took from him.'

'Third battle, fourth battle, fifth battle....' Charlie recalled battle after battle as he continued his jaunt back along the black carpet. His voice rose with each slam of his foot until he came to rest at the foot of the stage. He scanned to JT. He pointed behind his throne to the back wall. The mural's strokes seemed fresh. 'Finally, the last battle called, "The Battle for Godwin." Michael knows it well.' The Triton king exhaled an enormous sigh. 'All spanning, from what I can tell, since time has no meaning here. Let me think, and I've counted each sunrise and sunset; a grand total of 150 years.' Charlie dropped his head and shook it. He then glared back at JT. 'So forgive me if I don't particularly care about your lack of time!' Charlie bounded back up the steps to his right and flopped onto his throne. 'Now...,' Charlie said smugly, 'Why are you really here?'

'I told you. You're coming with us. We're going back. Bruinduer is collapsing.' JT was as serious as he could be. He experienced tunnel vision from his surging anger. Trying to remain calm, he tightened his hands only to have them cramp.

After a slight pause, Charlie laughed hysterically. Some of the subjects in Charlie's court, as though commanded, hooted and chuckled until, like a contagious disease, the entire hall exploded with laughter. Tickler fell to the floor screaming with amused hysteria. Like a little pig in mud, he rolled around the black carpet with snot flying from his nostrils that smacked against JT's boots.

The laughing continued to roar through the hall, and JT crossed his tipping point. JT leapt at Charlie. This time, Charlie did not stop the guards from pouncing on his angered guest. Just as JT clutched his hands tight around Charlie's neck, two Triton guards dressed in black dropped their swords, ruffed up, and then tackled JT to the ground with a thunderous thud. Another guard then pressed his sword against JT's throat.

For a fleeting second, JT wanted the guard to thrust his blade and kill him. He had had enough of Bruinduer and his situation. He didn't want to believe that his grandfather may have lied to him, but with the helplessness he felt, the thought occurred that the old soldier did. He even tried to come to grips that the vision he saw was only that, a hope to see his grandfather. He was tired of Michael and his whining, his fake leadership, and his reluctance to do - do anything to see just his side of the circumstance. And he was tired of Kali's indifference to it all.

He was tired of thinking about Billy and where he might be. If the monster was the so-called spirit guide in this world, why was he not guiding them now? He especially was tired of all the questions that rummaged and scattered his brain while trying to discover someone he finally concluded that he would never meet, himself. He felt it didn't matter anyway. Who would really care if he was gone in the first place?

Then something strange but familiar happened. JT's thoughts scrambled and then his mind went blank. The thought appeared that he had either finally or totally lost his mind, or worse -- the sword the Triton guard brandished had done its work and he lay dying.

An amber mist covered the hall that transformed right before his eyes. It was in immaculate condition. The tarnished chandeliers hanging from the ceiling beamed a brilliant yellow from their polished gold. The carpet was red, and the purple and pressed robes the people wore draped perfectly over their shoulders. He noticed a younger Michael and Kali, maybe not in years but definitely more jubilant in their moods, now running around a decorated, shining throne. He only caught a fleeting glimpse of Charlie who disappeared off to the right. He then heard a strange voice echo through his ears.

' _His destiny_ ,' he heard. The sound of the words glided through his mind like a nightly spring breeze on the farm and put him at ease. As his body released its tension, he heard it again, ' _His destiny in Bruinduer must be finished.'_

JT was confused and curious. Had he died? Who was telling him this? The voice was not familiar. He panned around to see if he could see the source of the voice, but his vision turned pitch black.

A very familiar voice, the voice of Charlie cracked the silence, 'Enough!'

JT felt the blood rush to his head. He jerked awake and found himself face down in the carpet. He inhaled a nose full of dust and sand that smelled like old, molded socks. He coughed and gagged. The Triton soldiers pulled him to his feet. His head dangled lifeless in front of him, his chin planted in his chest.

'I've had enough today!' Charlie folded his legs in his throne and placed his elbows on his knees. His subjects fell to their knees and bowed their heads with reverent affection. 'It is time to eat and rest. Bring the visitors with me and we shall dine in my quarters.' The guards rushed Kali, JT, and Michael by dragging and pushing them to Charlie's side.

Tickler hurried, his leg dragging behind him. He rubbed his hands hard together and labored to the side of the curtain and pulled on the weak rope once more. The curtains slowly closed and JT thought he heard the Triton subjects sob with sadness as Charlie and his visitors disappeared behind the black, draping cover.

Charlie rose from his throne very confidently with a smug smirk. He fronted JT whose arms were held against his back by the guards. JT felt the iciness of Charlie's breath as his sigh engulfed his cheek.

'It's OK, JT. Nothing will happen to you here.' Charlie whirled around and flung his robe to his side. 'At least - yet.' Charlie stomped off. 'Bring them to my quarters and bring the food. They must be hungry.'

Charlie halted quickly and peered annoyingly down at Tickler biting his lip. The small servant was slobbering all over the front of his jacket and rubbing his hands raw. 'And Tickler,' Charlie began, 'try not to spit on our guests' dinner. That is just so... so... well, you know....'

Charlie flicked his wrist. Tickler nodded profusely and he and one of the larger guards rushed to the left. As they scurried off, Tickler panted like a dog.

'It's just so hard to find good help around here,' Charlie scoffed sarcastically and marched briskly through the pyramid.

JT, Kali, Michael, the two Triton guards, and Charlie winded their way through endless, maze-like hallways. All appeared exactly the same. Four tarnished brass oil lamps burned on either side of two doors. Michael noticed a pattern emerge where he counted four lamps, took four steps, and then turned to either his left or his right. (The pattern that appeared was as follows: lamp, door, lamp, lamp, door, lamp, turn.)

About ten minutes passed and Charlie suddenly stopped in front of an ornate door with a gold leaf attached to its center. The young Triton monarch whispered to his guests, 'Here.'

He then reached his hand forward, twisted the doorknob, and flung the door open and yelled. 'Welcome to my humble abode!'

The room was lit by faded, muck-covered crystal chandeliers and was quite large. It felt as though it had been an addition and not an original part of the pyramid structure. There was a large pile of rocks set in a deep pit in the middle of the trapezoidal room. On top of the massive mound of rocks, eye level to the dinner guests, was a thick, stone gray chest.

A circular gap of fifteen feet separated the marble floor that the dinner party stood on and the chest. Polished, marble steps led down to the mound of rocks sitting in the enormous bowl and a spiral, stone staircase wrapped and climbed the heap of rocks to its top, leading to the base of the coffer.

Once magnificent rugs now matted down and grimy covered the top marble floor. Furniture, old and rotted, lay strewn about in no particular design or arrangement. Across the chamber, JT could see a massive, golden bed that was lodged inside of a cubby nook that was draped and stacked with dirty blankets and pillows.

To JT's left waiting for them, were two more Triton guards, long curved swords by their sides, and Tickler still rubbing his stubby, little hands together. They stood beside a long, smooth, stone table that easily sat twelve people, but was only set with four place settings. The plates were heaped high and dripping with food. A surprising number of beautiful flower arrangements, bursting with fantastic colors, adorned the table from end to end.

The room exploded with the smell of cooked beef and vegetables with the underlying fragrance of tulips. JT welcomed the smell, but he could still make out the foul stench of the great hall dancing allusively in his nose.

'Please,' Charlie charmed, 'make yourself at home. You're welcomed here.' The monarch very quickly and gracefully made his way to the head of the table and attacked his seat. Tickler moved just as fast behind Charlie, panting, eager to serve his master. The small man placed a napkin in his Majesty's lap.

'You're still going with me,' JT said; his voice packed with animosity.

'Oh, JT. Where are my manners?' began Charlie. 'Guards, release him from your clutches and let him go and wash up for dinner. I don't want him to think that I'd forgotten about him.'

The guards released JT and motioned him toward the small room that contained the massive bed. JT entered a small bathroom off to one side within the nook. After he had washed and dried his face and hands he glanced into the mirror. For the first time since he had transformed into his younger self, he saw his face clearly and just how young he looked. _'Had he really been that young before?'_ he thought to himself. His thoughts then changed. He couldn't get the sound of the whisper he had heard in the great hall of the pyramid out of his brain, _'His destiny must be finished.'_

He then recalled the issues Michael was having and their earlier conversations. Michael told him that it was his destiny to go back to Bruinduer, but as JT pondered about the voice and its message, he wondered if it was Charlie who needed to finish his destiny. The young Triton monarch seemed to be in a very sad state of sordid affairs. His kingdom was crumbling right before his eyes and he was obviously consumed by the power he had taken from Billy. Maybe it was the young Triton king and not Billy reaching out to JT through his thoughts, secretly hoping that JT would save him from the devouring crush of the stolen Essence's power.

Or, was it Michael sending thoughts to him, reminding JT that it was he that still needed to fulfill his destiny, and in reality needed his help? It was Michael after all that told him he brought the wind that guided him and Kali from the desert into Godwin.

JT shook his head to clear his mind and delicately exited the bathroom. He tripped over a matted, dirty piece of carpet that covered a small section of the floor. He reached forward to gain his balance, and he leaned into a lever. There was a faint clicking sound and the stone wall behind Charlie's bed split and revealed a floor-to-ceiling clear glass opening.

The faint twilight of the set Bruinduer sun illuminated the glass opening a brilliant blue, and JT squinted. He then heard a roar come from his right side. As his eyes adjusted to the tinted dusk, he walked to the glass wall and saw something extraordinary.

Below him was an open courtyard, its grounds and benches, and gardens and paths were battered by time and neglect. The courtyard ran to the very edge of a large crevasse even more magnificent than the crack that split the Bruinduer Desert of Share into the lands of Godwin and Triton. Just behind the ravine, a large beautiful, powerful waterfall poured into it. The water flowed and crashed into the crevasse effortlessly like the wind blowing through a field. JT's eyes widened with amazement and as he put his hands to the windowed wall he could feel its power rumble through the glass.

A mysterious bang rang across the floor and JT woke from his mesmerized state. He walked out of the small inner room and the stone wall slid shut and JT was stopped in his tracks. He turned to face the bed, and all around him, was a very disturbing site.

On the stone walls surrounding the bed were counting marks. The lines were grouped by five with four marks vertical and one mark slashing across the others. After studying the groupings for a few moments, they appeared as though they were in uniformed rows and columns and seemed to have started from the top right corner across from where JT stood and dressed each of the three walls entirely. The neatly stacked groupings stopped to his left just above his ankle directly beside him. The last grouping of marks was only four vertical lines. As each collection of marks receded and labored down the walls, the lines became shakier, jagged, and deep. A sense of sorrow penetrated JT's body. His heart sank and he felt powerless. He remembered Charlie stating in the great hall of the Triton pyramid that he had counted each day he had been in Bruinduer and in his bed chamber is where he had done the deed.

JT remained silent as he returned to the stone table. Charlie eyed him and looked as though he knew what JT had seen on the walls by his bed. His expression told JT he purposefully sent him to that bathroom to wash his face and hands. He wanted him to see the penetrating marks of time that he could not control. JT also thought about Michael and what he had said earlier. He now knew why it was important to have a timepiece at your side in Bruinduer. Charlie had been locked in a seemingly, endless age that would never halt.

'Everything happens for a reason,' said Charlie as he took a huge gulp of water from his cup. A bead of sweat rolled down his pallid cheek.

JT took his place at the table with Michael on one side, Charlie on the other, and Kali across from him. The food was spectacular. Michael politely partook in the dinner and Kali did her best not to burst into tears as she gently ate the food from her plate. JT could see that the events of the day and the silence she displayed had just about taken their toll on her. She was visibly shaken and JT noticed fear in her eyes about what might happen to them in their remaining time in Bruinduer. It was positive they had not expected the time they spent in the Vryheid land to have unraveled the way it did.

JT was hungry and thought that if he was here that he might as well not be shy about eating something. He wouldn't know if it would be his last meal or not. He reached for his goblet of water and lifted it to his mouth. As he took a sip of the crisp, cool liquid, he was taken aback from the taste. The water passed his lips and hit the inside of his cheeks as though skaters on a freshly frozen pond had suddenly stopped and kicked up a fresh trail of ice. He had not tasted anything like it before.

Charlie could see that JT was enjoying his cup of water. 'Pretty good isn't it?' Charlie said with a slight chuckle. 'It comes from that great miracle, the waterfall, you just happened to see when you peered onto my garden grounds from my chamber.'

JT, not wanting to say anything positive about Charlie or the fantastic water he possessed, held his tongue.

'Oh, come on JT! It's just me, your old friend Charlie. You can tell me you like it. The people of Godwin sure like it. It's their only source.'

JT tried not to answer, but the water was tremendous. He couldn't help himself. 'Yes,' JT said. His voice was very low. 'It's quite good.'

The dinner went on for ten minutes or more. Knives and forks clanged against the white porcelain china and the group around the table kept their mouths full of hot, satisfying food and crisp, cool drink while keeping their eyes down and fixed upon their plates. Except for Charlie, who looked around unyielding and laughing talking about battles he had participated in with no regard to his guests about their gruesome description. Besides Charlie, no one said a word.

JT had just about taken his last bite of meat when Charlie started to clink his knife against his golden cup.

'To my friends who are returning to take me back home,' Charlie raised his cup to each of his guests, 'even though their attempt will be futile.' Charlie swiftly took a long gulp of his water and slammed the goblet on the table.

'What an idiot,' Kali mumbled under her breath.

'What was that my sweet, young lady?' asked Charlie as though he were interrogating her. 'What did you say?'

'You're an idiot!' Kali beat her fists on the table. 'If you would have just left it alone, you wouldn't be here - we wouldn't be here. But no, you had to be a stupid idiot and take it!' Kali's exhaustion was evident and she had had quite enough. She had held her tongue long enough.

'Touché, my sweet red-haired beauty, and don't think I had forgotten about what I said later about getting back to you.' Charlie suddenly sat back into his chair and crossed his legs.

'Why I wonder, oh why I wonder why these two are even here?' Charlie peered at Michael whose eyes were still planted into his plate. 'I thought you said you took care of them?' Michael did not look up. He took a long, nervous bite of food from his plate. 'I'm asking you a question, mighty King of Godwin.'

'Yesss, my Majesty is asking you a question,' echoed Tickler.

'I thought they were dead,' answered Michael sheepishly.

JT didn't want to believe what he had heard. Michael had planned for them to die. Kali coughed and choked on her food. She spit out a piece of beef she had just placed in her mouth.

'Apparently you were wrong,' explained Charlie with no concern in his voice.

'Yesss - Majesty knows you were wrong.' Tickler rubbed his hands and bowed up and down quickly toward Charlie.

'I thought that three years wandering in the desert would have been long enough for them to expire. I sent an innocent command on the wind to JT to come to my castle through my powers as the first from Eden (the first through the Mahogany Door) after those three years. I needed to make sure they were dead. I had no intention of them showing up. Certainly my command would have fallen on deaf ears. I was just as surprised as you when they did.' Michael's cup shook in his right hand as he nervously drank from it. He spilled half of his water down the front of his silk jacket. As he placed the cup back on the table, his hand shook so violently that he knocked the goblet over on its side. 'They thought Billy had rescued them.'

Charlie slammed both of his fists heavily down on the table. The force was so powerful that the utensils jumped off the plates and crashed back down on them. 'That name has no meaning here!' Charlie's blood boiled and his face turned bright red as the veins in his neck popped out appearing like flowing streams. It was the first color JT had noticed in him. 'He is forgotten!' Charlie yelled.

'I tried to tell them Most High, King of Triton.' Michael's tone turned submissive. 'But - they didn't believe me.'

Charlie thrust his chair forcibly from under him and bounced down the bowl of marble stairs and sprinted up the circular stone staircase that wrapped around the heap of rocks in the center of the room to the stone chest.

It took him a while, but Tickler followed his king to the top of the mound of rocks, dragging his leg up the staircase. As he came to rest next to Charlie, the small servant struggled for breath and fell to his knees in exhaustion. 'Majesty is the... the... the greatest - huh -- huh -- leader ever to be alive - huh -- huh.'

'Do you have any idea what it feels like to be totally alone?!' Charlie screamed at the top of his voice toward his guests who were still stunned and seated at the stone table.

Kali made a slight huffing sound and JT cocked his head to one side. JT felt his temper spike because he began to feel sympathy for Charlie. He knew exactly how it felt to be totally alone since he sat in his small bedroom, year after year on the farm, staring out the window and wondering who he was and where he came from, with nothing but a high school diploma as his proof. Michael continued to eat the final bites of his meal as though Charlie's ranting was nothing new to him.

'Let me be frank!' Charlie barked. 'My good friend the King of Godwin has heard this before, but let me fill you in on what happened after you left me here to rot!'

'Yesss, my Majesty is really frank,' Tickler said fighting to get to his feet and brushing the rubble from his pants.

Charlie stopped, turned, and penetrated Tickler with an evil stare. 'Would you PLEASE shut up?'

'Yesss, sorry my Majesty. I will do as you command.' Tickler slunk back down the circular path a few steps with his head hung low.

'Now - where was I?' Charlie said as he began to walk circles around the stone chest. JT clutched the tablecloth holding his temper at bay. He felt like jumping down the bowl of steps and up to Charlie's face, but he did not want to risk being attacked by the guards. 'Oh - yes. I believe the painted walls of the great hall call it, The Battle of the Beginning. What a dreadful, wonderful day that was. I remember the heat like it was yesterday.' Continuing his pace and circling around the chest, he clasped his arms behind his back. He swiveled his head back and forth, peering to the rocky ground and then back toward his guests.

'The day was very hot like I mentioned, much like it is everyday in the desert, but the army Michael conjured up to protect us from our competitors, began to pick sides. An argument of some sort ensued and somebody didn't want to do what someone else wanted them to do. It was very confusing like most conflicts.' Charlie stopped and placed his hand on his heart. 'When, in my opinion, without provocation, one soldier in the other army killed another soldier from the one that Michael created. Then war broke out all around us. It was pandemonium.' Charlie grabbed his arms behind his back and stared at the ground beneath his feet. His face turned somber and it was apparent that the events of that day still resonated and lived in the Triton king and he thought about them constantly. After a few moments, he lifted his head. 'To make a long story short, I ended up lying on my back. I saw a hazy white light and heard yelling and screaming from those in pain. I felt my hot blood ooze down my arm. I smelled death around me and then I heard familiar voices; voices of... of... friends.' There was a pause, and Charlie's face turned angry. 'The voices came closer and were panicked. I felt someone pulling on my arm. I heard another scream and then a loud slamming noise like a door closing. My arm fell limp to the ground. Everything around me went black; then -- nothing. It was as though time stopped. I felt as though every part of my soul had been ripped from my body.' Charlie shook his head. 'I was alone.'

'It didn't have to happen that way!' Kali yelled as she jumped from her chair. Her heart pounded and her hands reached for something to grab on to the table, but she could only form fists. 'I told you, if you hadn't have taken –'

'What?!' interrupted Charlie. 'Taken what?' Charlie reached for the stone chest that was propped on its stone pedestal. Charlie pressed a button on the back of the chest, and the lid lifted easily and carefully. Bright light erupted and exploded in the room. Every corner and exposed surface of Charlie's room was illuminated in a golden, yellow light. Charlie began to smile, his eyes widened. 'What? This?' A platform rose from the bottom of the chest lifting something with it. As the hidden object ascended to the top, JT and Michael rose from their chairs.

Michael began to lick his lips and his heart pounded in his chest. His hands quaked with excitement. JT thought he saw Michael start to reach and slightly lunge toward Charlie and the chest.

JT rubbed his eyes. Did he really see what he was looking at? He had heard Kali talk about it when they first made it through the Mahogany Door, but he could have never imagined that the object she named could be so beautiful and have such affect on his emotions. He felt hunger for the object. His jaw dropped. Before him and the rest of the group, on the platform in full view from the stone chest, sparkling, beaming, flaming, and calling was the Golden Diamond.

The stone, itself, was not that large. It was about the size of two hands clasped together in the shape of a pyramid. The four sides of the diamond were perfectly smooth and if it could be considered an imperfection, a jagged ribbon of gold dissected its middle.

'To tell you the truth, Kali,' Charlie began to speak again. 'This little thing you accuse me of taking actually saved my life.' Charlie picked the brilliant stone from its perch not flinching from the intense light it released. He gazed upon the diamond as though he had seen it for the first time.

'Like you, they thought I was dead.' Charlie placed the diamond back on the platform gingerly. 'The cleaners, as they were called then, carried off the dead after the war ended.' Charlie began to pace around the chest blocking the light as he passed in front of his guests still standing at the table casting his silhouette. 'Don't ask me how or why the war stopped, because I have no idea. The next thing I knew I was laying on some sort of stone like altar. My head was swimming and hurting. I regained my senses and out before me, there were hundreds maybe thousands of people gazing up at me.

I would find out that the survivors of the Battle of the Beginning were burning their dead. I also later discovered that they thought I had been dead for three days.

I climbed to my feet onto the altar and I felt eyes piercing and burning through me with wonder and amazement. Though thousands stared, I felt alone.

I then reached in my pants because I felt a lodging pain - I don't know why they didn't search me - but I felt the Golden Diamond by my thigh. I lifted it high above my head.' Charlie replayed the act by snatching the diamond from its platform with both hands. 'The people fell to their knees immediately and worshiped me. It was at that moment I became king.'

Charlie placed the Golden Diamond back onto the platform. He touched the button on the back of the stone chest again, and the lid closed. Charlie, with Tickler close behind him, circled down the stone stairwell and lazily made their way back up to the stone table. Kali, Michael, and JT stood silently. The young Triton king shuffled and slid behind Kali and grabbed her around the waist. He whispered in her left ear just loud enough so Michael and JT could hear him.

'But I waited. I waited for my friends. I even waited for that worthless spirit guide, Billy. I even found myself calling out to him, but he never came -- just like you; no one ever came.' Charlie then addressed the entire room, 'The only thing that came was more war and more pain. You saw those paintings in the great hall.' Charlie then quickly switched to Kali's right ear and whispered again, 'But you know what I did my dear? I didn't only become a king - oh no - I stopped believing in Billy and took his power.' Charlie paused. 'I became a god.'

Kali spun around and slapped Charlie. Charlie stood stunned and amazed. His eyes reddened, bloated with tears. Just as quickly, however, his amazement turned to anger.

'Michael, King of Godwin, leave!' Charlie stabbed Michael with burning eyes that singed his soul.

'Yesss- the King of Godwin must leave at once. Majesty is very displeased,' Tickler hissed and grabbed Michael's arm. Two of the Triton guards brandished their swords and rushed Michael out of the grand Triton Pyramid.

'Take the other two to the dungeon and hang them up. I will deal with them later,' Charlie announced as he snapped his fingers.

JT lunged at the guards who grabbed Kali, but he was no match for the strength of the Triton guards. They roughed JT up and slammed him to the ground, and then yanked him to his feet. They cuffed Kali and JT's hands in front of them in tough, thick rope restraints and led them out of Charlie's chamber.

As they were pushed and prodded out of the room, Charlie yelled in their direction, 'Oh, and JT, don't think Billy is coming for you!' Charlie's anger was now almost giddiness. 'Don't think that Bruinduer is collapsing either. All those dreams you had are just the signs of a sad, pathetic, forgotten spirit that wants its power back. I'm in control here - and you and your little girlfriend won't soon forget it.'

'You're still going back with me!' JT barked back though he was defeated at the moment. 'Whether you want to or not!'

'Keep wishing that JT. The only way I'm going to leave here is if I really die!' Charlie's voice cracked into a high-pitched laugh.

The guards escorted Kali and JT down more winding, bare hallways that all seemed identical, and then stopped in front of two large ebony doors. When the doors were cracked open they exposed a long, black tunnel.

The stench of rotting flesh and sour mold smacked JT in the face. His head flung back in retreat of the smell. Kali gagged and coughed as the odor scorched her nostrils. The guards, not affected by the smell, dragged them roughly down thirty stairs and the bit of light that shone behind them from the cracked open doors dimmed as they went deeper and deeper into the black hole. The guards suddenly opened another rugged, heavy, solid and barred door and tossed JT and Kali inside the cell. Very efficiently, they hung JT and Kali's tied hands onto large rusted, tarnished hooks at the bottom of two long rigid iron rods that hung from the dripping ceiling on either side of the room. The rods of the hooks were just long enough that the two prisoners were forced to fall on their knees into a puddle of rotten, nauseous water after their ropes were hung. The guards then maliciously clasped the hooks together, trapping the ropes making it impossible for Kali and JT to stand up.

The smell was horrible and as JT landed he felt jagged stones slash into his kneecaps. He tried to get comfortable, but the pain became worse as he rolled about trying to find any relief. The thick, chunky water entered through the top of his boots and soaked his feet. He felt tiny bugs crawl between his toes burrowing under them trying to find warmth.

JT tried to leap to his feet immediately, but it was no use. As he tried to stand, the wire that held the hook he was dangling from pulled tight, slamming his knees back onto the rugged floor. He heard Kali start to cry.

The guards left the cramped cell with jesting, apathetic words towards their prisoners, and just before the door slammed behind them, JT heard the memorable sound of a small leg dragging. The sound became distorted as the owner found a small puddle of water, but JT knew it was Tickler.

'Majesty has always done the right thing...' Tickler's hissy voice sliced the stale stench. Charlie must have been right in front of him because there was an instant answer.

'Thank you Tickler. You have always been a loyal servant even though you are quite the bother.'

'Majesty is right to be mad at humble Tickler. I only want to serve you,' he groveled, spittle shooting from his lips.

'That's enough Tickler... Commander, come here,' Charlie called to the Triton guard that was about to lock JT and Kali's dungeon cell.

'Yes, my Majesty,' the guard responded with a deep, rough, groaning voice.

'Tomorrow morning I want you to gather the army; the entire army.' Charlie paused a moment, thinking. 'Then I want you to shut the water off to Godwin.'

'Of course my Majesty.' The guard pulled tightly on the door's handle. Turning his key, the lock sealed with a loud _crack._ JT still heard Tickler and Charlie clearly through the small, barred window.

Tickler laughed and jeered as he hissed, 'Yesss - Majesty wants the entire army.'

Dread filled the damp, musky, cold dungeon as Charlie commanded the Triton sentry. JT's mind emptied as his nemesis's words hit his ears, 'Once the troops are assembled - kill them - kill them all.'"

Chapter 20

After my listeners, still huddled on the mahogany colored rug in the confines of Warhead Dale heard the words, "kill them all," they all gasped and I felt every molecule of air suddenly sucked out of the great hall.

My little blonde-haired friend, sitting with me in my big black leather chair, chimed out with fright and then buried her face in my chest.

With a loud crack and snap, the overhead lights flickered on and illuminated the room. The children gasped once again and covered their heads at the sudden rush of light, but just as soon as the surprise penetrated their little bodies, the lights blacked out again. The only light left as they raised their eyes was from the same fire that continued casting and dancing long shadows on the walls around us.

Without muttering a single word, the children scooted closer together, and I continued my story.

"JT had almost forgotten the throbbing pain he had to cope with in his bum knee while he was on the Shorts' farm, but the feeling of the sting that shot through his limbs when his knees first crashed on the hard, jagged, cold floor of the cell brought that memory back without mercy. In his relief as time passed, the pain dulled. JT knelt as lightly as he could.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and to his delight, a small slit of a window was to his left near the top of the ceiling of his cell. He realized they weren't completely underground. He could just make out the pinholes of light that were the Bruinduer stars splashing over the late evening sky. Their presence was comforting and brought a brief sense of peace to an otherwise terrible situation. Hours crawled like snails, but the black darkness turned into a tint of blue, hinting at early morning. JT heard Kali crying again; this time louder and heartbreaking.

'I told you this was real.' Kali tried to get the words through her trembling voice. Her senses were shot and her emotions a wreck. 'I thought you said you wouldn't let anything happen to me.'

With those words JT felt a tear dribble down his cheek. He didn't understand why he was in this situation. He couldn't believe that Michael wanted them dead, (not to mention Charlie was going to oblige him) and now the one promise he had made to Kali, the beautiful girl he saw walk through Linda's diner, seemed to fade like the pain in his knees.

'I promise nothing is going to happen to you. We're not dead yet.' JT tried to keep a positive attitude. He did not want the new temper he had found since he met Willy in the horse barn to rear its ugly head. It was still a mystery to him why it distressed him. He felt the burning in his stomach.

'A little late for that, right?' Kali whispered, her voice still trembling with fright and sorrow.

JT held his breath and his head became hot. His temper was boiling. He couldn't control his rage after hearing the pain and fear in Kali's voice. JT, and his child hands, thrashed back and forth with a desire he had never felt before. His heart raced and his breath heaved.

JT suddenly released his fear and accepted his temper. He now knew why it rose; he had something to fight for and it was Kali.

The skin on his face shined as red and hot as the surface of the sun. He boiled with anger. His muscles tightened and his veins burst out of his neck and arms like raging rivers, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not break free from the hook. After a few more futile moments and succumbing to exhaustion, he slammed back down to the stone floor on his knees. The pain that had once become numb exploded every nerve in his body.

JT began to cry. He had never felt the gorging of sorrow as he had at that moment. Every cell in his body blistered with sadness. He screamed out to expunge his grief. He was lost; there was nothing he could do. No one came to help him, or, was there?

As soon as he flushed himself of emotion, a complete feeling of relaxation flooded the void and covered him like a blanket. He then heard a familiar whisper,

' _He must fulfill his destiny, and everyone who enters Bruinduer must leave Bruinduer. Remember the rules.'_ The sound was light as a feather and it danced through the cold, dark cell.

JT was comforted. For some reason, one he couldn't explain, he had hoped for that voice to pierce through the air and catch him once again. The mere presence of the voice filled his heart with a sense of happiness. Someone or something _was_ reaching out to him, wanting to help and sooth his soul. He just needed to allow it. He knew who it was.

He didn't want to admit who it was at first, because being around that entity when he was first introduced only filled him with a quick and angered temper. He felt a little bit out of control then, standing out in the cool air of Athens Eden by the beach, but now he had none. The feeling was not anger; it was relief. He knew that Billy was trying to reach him.

With one large gulp, JT swallowed his pride, and as he sat upon his knees, hanging from a hook, he bowed his head and closed his eyes. He said the poem:

Slip the soul between space and time

Where up is down and five is nine.

Place the palm upon the door

Enter the universe upon its shore.

In a village or on a beach

_Nothing there is out of reach_.

JT's voice was shallow, wispy, but sincere. He couldn't believe what he was doing. He had no idea whether his plea would even work. Would the monster that taunted him actually hear and help him even though the Essence repeatedly told him that he, Michael, and Kali had forgotten him? Or, was he scheming, tricking, and conniving just to gain his power back over Bruinduer? Was this Vryheid world not really collapsing like Charlie had warned?

From where he knelt, however, he felt he had no choice. The comfort he felt should not be in vain. Maybe the monster forgave them regardless of their past transgressions:

Take me where I cannot go

Make me a king or let it snow.

Billy, please hear our beckoning

For in Bruinduer, you are The Reckoning.

After he finished the poem he had learned in front of Warhead Dale, there was no magic. There were no banging, protruding footsteps thundering beneath the ground. No doors exploded and the musky, cold, stench-filled air stood still. A blanket of silence covered JT and Kali."

<***>

"Minutes felt like hours as the time passed. JT and Kali still dangled like sides of beef in a meat cooler. The air turned bitterly cold and the pain in JT's knees became common. Charlie had asked him in the great Pyramid if he had ever been alone. If it wasn't true before, it was definitely true now. He felt utterly alone. He again shut his eyes. Billy had abandoned them just as they had abandoned him. He thought powerlessly that the monster was somewhere enjoying his spite.

JT practically accepted the fact that he and Kali were going to die. He would never see the farm, Gregory, or Louise ever again. He would never taste another piece of Linda's famous pie.

Just as he bathed in his self pity, out of the blue, there was a rattling above his head, and after a second or so, he felt a small flake of a rock pop him on the head followed by a steady stream of dust.

' _What's that?'_ JT thought. _'Billy? Had he finally answered?'_ He looked up.

There was a small circular hole in the ceiling beside where the wire that held the hook he hung from disappeared and attached to a beam.

JT squinted his eyes and with a bit of luck and a quick glance noticed a long whisker, then two, then three pop out of the opening. After another second a tiny, pink nose with the remaining whiskers attached to it appeared through the hole sniffing the stale air for something. Soon, a small, furry brown head squeezed through the little hole and JT noticed two large, beaming black eyes stare down at him.

JT then dropped his chin to his chest in disappointment and rejection. He mumbled to himself sorrowfully, 'Stupid rat.'

The rat was not fazed by JT's irreverence and went about his work. It somewhat struggled, but pulled its front little feet through the hole and then eventually poked out its entire plump, brown body. It was surprised as it popped through the opening and just about lost its footing and fell, but somehow gripped tightly to the wire with immense strength. After the small visitor had gained its balance, it very quietly and gently climbed down the long string of metal. Its head on a swivel, scanned the room back and forth appearing to be searching, and every once in a while it jabbed its nose in the air and sniffed.

A few more moments passed, and the rat made its way to the hook where JT's hands, tightly bound with rope, hung. It nipped JT on his thumb with its large, white teeth.

'Ouch!' yelped JT painfully and jerked his head upward to see what had bit him.

He saw the little, brown fuzzy rat and tried to shake the hook and knock it off, but the rat dug its claws into JT's hand and held on tightly. 'Get out of here you stupid little rat! Just go away!' The more JT shook and struggled to shoo the rat away to get rid of it, the deeper the brown rat buried its claws in the soft skin of his hand. JT thrashed and yelled trying to shake the rat off of the hook, but his new fluffy brown friend would not be denied. JT relented.

'Fine, chew my fingers to the bone. I don't care anymore.' JT pouted and then dropped his head to his chest. He didn't understand why bad things were happening to him. He had never had to deal with anything like life and death on the farm. Everything he did there was easy, and if he couldn't do it right the first time, Gregory or Louise were there to fix it.

The little brown rat released its clawing grip on JT's flesh and glanced down at the depressed boy with disappointment and shame. The small rodent shook its head. Without warning, it then opened its mouth as wide as it could ready to chomp down on its prey, its fangs sparkling in the inky black cell. With one mighty swipe, it sank its teeth into the thick rope that confined JT. It chewed, gnawed, and even growled as it fought and murdered its way through the rope. With every hammering mouthful of fiber, the rope became thinner and thinner.

JT lazily gazed upward to see if his annoying little companion had finally left, but he felt a shock of adrenaline and happiness shoot through his body as he noticed the rodent working. The little rat was saving him.

'Keep chewing, little guy!' said JT excitedly. 'That a boy!' His fortune had turned.

Kali raised her head from her somberness and heard JT's elatedness. 'Have you gone crazy?' asked Kali with a pathetic, exasperated tone.

'No, up at my hands!' JT stated with a very loud whisper. His eyes bulged at Kali motioning to the busy, chewing rat.

Kali peered toward JT's hands but could not see the little rat making its way, without haste, through the rope with its razor teeth. She sighed, 'You are crazy.'

Right after the words left Kali's mouth, there was a zipping sound and then a small, ' _rip!'_ JT's hands were free. He plopped to the ground and rolled over on his back to give his knees the relief they desperately needed. He straightened out, breathed deeply, and let out a huge groan.

The little rat gripped the now swinging hook and scurried up the wire and plowed its way through the small hole it had made in the ceiling. Just as it was about to disappear, it poked its brown, fuzzy head back through the ceiling hole and nodded toward JT. It then vanished and scurried away.

JT, still on his back, stomped his hands and feet into the murky puddles of the cell with excitement, forgetting for a second his predicament. The only thing that shot through his brain was that Billy _was_ there, and had acted.

'It would be nice if you would get me down from here,' Kali said with an exhausted tone interrupting JT's euphoria.

'Yeah, right, sorry.' JT wasn't fazed by the large, wet, cold stain on the back of his silk jacket. He struggled just a little climbing to his feet, but shuffled over to Kali. He then untied her.

'You know he's been lying, right?' Kali asked as JT yanked at her ropes.

JT's thoughts scurried about his mind as he pondered the question. At first he didn't know who she was talking about, but after a quick access of his thoughts, he knew obviously that she was talking about Michael.

'Yes, I figured he's been lying. I didn't quite know for sure until you pulled the little trick in the royal carriage traveling to Triton; then there was the little show at dinner - now that sealed the deal for me.' Kali looked at JT as though she wanted confirmation on how he figured out that Michael was lying. 'I first noticed his right arm shaking in his car riding from Athens Eden,' JT started. 'During that time, he told me the story that it was he that took me under his wing and that the kids at school didn't like me because of the way I talked. I thought it was a nervous tick at first. Not a telltale sign.'

Kali smiled.

JT continued, 'You then told me outside the gate of Warhead Dale that it was really me that kept Michael from being beat up by the kids at school. Then - back in the little room in his castle off the side of the stage, and then the carriage ride, really proved to me he was lying; not to mention, that little lisp he has. I guess those kids at school were really mean. You see I'm not so stupid. I can notice and remember some things.' JT then dressed his face with a serious focused expression and then pulled his arms as hard as he could. 'There, I think I got you free.'

Kali fell to the ground and rubbed her knees frantically to get the circulation flowing back through them. She then quickly jumped to her feet and hugged JT. 'I wanted to tell you that when Michael's right arm shook he was lying, but I couldn't be for certain, and the memory took a while to come back. After all, it has been a while since I've seen him.'

For a brief moment, JT forgot about all of his troubles. Though he knew their situation was dire, Kali's body felt warm and safe next to his, and he liked the feeling. He knew he could continue on his mission to save Bruinduer. He had his reasons, and now they were clear; he promised he would protect the beautiful girl with the auburn hair and emerald green eyes; and he also knew that in his vision, his grandfather was not lying. Bruinduer was collapsing.

His tender moment shattered, and his thoughts turned to how they could get out of the cell.

'Is he always this late?' JT asked as he walked toward the cell door.

'Who?' Kali asked curiously.

'Billy,' JT answered, grabbing the bars of the door with both hands, and lifting his mouth to the opening. 'You know he's here, right - helping like you said he's supposed to? He sent that rat to chew through my ropes. I called for him.'

Kali returned not a sound and stayed close behind JT. She then wondered about JT's plan of escape. 'What are you going to do? How...?'

'Hey guards!!' screamed JT at the top of his lungs ignoring Kali.

'Are you crazy?' Kali demanded and made her way to the other side of the cell as far away from JT as possible.

'Hey guards!!' JT barked again disregarding Kali's remark. 'She escaped! That girl I was with, she's gone; she's escaped!!'

'You little egotistical - (Again, Kali said some words I don't think you should have to hear.)'

Suddenly, JT heard large boots splashing and scuffling down the long, dark hallway outside of the cell and the rattling of keys. JT let go of the bars and backed away from the door.

'What's going on in there?' a dark, deep, bellowing voice boomed through the open bars of the cell door.

'It's the girl. She... she got her way off the hook and is trying to get through the little window in here,' JT tried to explain without stuttering. He then felt a smart pop on the back of his head. Kali was not at all pleased with JT's plan.

'Yeah – well, the boy,' Kali started in retaliation to JT's story, 'he says the guards in Triton are nothing but big dumb - dumb - idiots.'

JT turned and stung Kali with his eyes as though he had no idea what she thought she was doing, but it did not matter because the Triton guard had already started unlocking the cell door.

JT pushed Kali back, braced himself in an athletic stance, and held up his fists. The feelings and skill of the ancient warrior he felt wash over him while wandering in the desert became prominent at the surface. 'Come and get me,' he mumbled.

JT's thoughts went black. There was nothing running through his brain; not one single thought. His only purpose at that moment was to stop the guard that was just about to barrel his way through the dark doorway.

The cell door flung open and the Triton guard burst inside. He drew his long, curved silver blade that shimmered in the starlight and charged toward JT.

JT's thought process remained limited. As the guard dropped his sword toward JT, JT grabbed the guard's wrist holding the blade, and with one mighty punch, leveled the burly, muscular man. After the guard hit the hard, cold stones of the cell's floor with the back of his head, he moaned and in an instant, lay motionless.

JT peered down at the limp body and couldn't believe that he just leveled a Triton guard.

Kali rushed to JT's side and stared straight into his face, but JT was still dazed and didn't move. He was petrified in a moment of adrenaline filled victory.

'I hate to spoil your mood,' Kali grabbed JT's arm and pulled him toward the door, 'but we need to get out of here. We need to get out of here in a hurry.'

JT snapped from his trance and pulled away from Kali. Weighing his thoughts, he hurriedly picked up the guard's keys and sword. He then grabbed Kali's hand taking control, and tugged her through the door. They quickly, but quietly made their way through the seemingly endless mazes of hallways of the Triton castle.

At the end of the first narrow passage, they were baffled by the forked pathway. JT had no idea which way to go. His recent feeling of good luck and fortune turned to fear. He egged on suggestions from Kali, but she shook her head. She had no idea either. JT then felt something wonderful and familiar; a very innocent happening, but one of those little things that happen to us that we should notice. There was a breeze.

It was of the same type of breeze he felt as he and Kali wandered in the Bruinduer desert and it whiffed his cheek, turning it right. JT knew it was Billy. He was there helping. He had been with him all along. He smiled just a bit and grabbed Kali's hand once again and headed down the left hallway.

A few more tense moments evading the Triton guards who were posted in several tight spots around the castle were necessary, but with the help of tiny wisps of air guided by Billy and a determination to gain their freedom, JT and Kali escaped from the pyramid castle of Triton. They then ran out into the early morn in Bruinduer

Chapter 21

"Whew!" a little blonde-haired boy yelped from the back of the huddled group of children. "I sure am glad they got out of that."

The rest of the children responded with an enthusiastic cheer. I too was happy Kali and JT escaped from the Triton Pyramid.

"I'm glad about something else though," my little friend still perched in my lap stated as she tugged on my shirt collar.

"And what might that be?" I whispered in a very calm voice.

"I like that Billy's back." The girl's round face beamed with joy. "I was hoping he would show up," I replied and smiled back at her very politely.

"You know my little friend? I wonder, maybe, if he was always there." I returned in an even lower tone and the little girl reacted with a surprised gasp and revealed her pearly teeth. If the fire had doused out at that moment, her grin would have lit the great hall all by itself. "But," I continued in a very bewildering tone, "there is one thing that I have always wondered about, and have never found out or received a very clear answer."

All the children's heads popped up and their eyes bulged with enthusiasm ready to ask me what it was that I was so curious about. I looked down not sure I wanted to tell them, but had already posed the thought, and I gave in just the same. "I always wondered what JT did with all those little creepy crawlies that were squirming around in his boots."

"EW!" the children screeched. I thought it was a relevant question, but I suppose it would have to remain one of life's great mysteries. I continued with the story just the same.

"JT and Kali ran as hard as they could away from the Triton Pyramid; their legs pumped, and their hearts pounded. They did not turn around once, not even for a second, to see if anyone was chasing them. They kept their eyes straight forward wanting to get as far away from Charlie as quickly as possible.

The night air was cold and misty. The smell of mildew and stink permeated the air and Kali wanted to gag as her breath became deeper and stronger with every running stride. The air didn't bother JT in the least. To him, the rotten air was the smell of freedom. Intense, strained minutes passed and the former prisoners found a large outcropping of sand dunes down the long, winding hill of Triton. They climbed behind a couple of the larger sand mounds, plopped to the ground, and took a much needed break.

Kali heaved deep breaths, but JT did not breathe hard at all. Instead his thoughts changed to another subject.

'I just can't believe all of this,' JT stated as Kali continued catching her breath coughing up phlegm and trying without success to get used to the smell.

'Can't believe what?' Kali answered finally able to breathe with a calmer rhythm, 'That Triton guards came to attack us and that this is real, because I told you; even in the rules - If you bleed in Bruin-'

JT interrupted. 'No. None of that. I can't believe that Michael wanted to kill us.' He tightened his fists then released them in disgust. 'I might be able to understand why Charlie wants us dead, but not Michael.' JT searched his feelings. He knew that Michael was obsessed in getting back to Bruinduer, but he had no idea that the power and allure the Vryheid world had, was that strong.

'He didn't have anything, JT. I told you that,' Kali interrupted JT's thoughts. 'You had it all. You had a loving family and he wanted that. He wanted a crazy, old granddad that had a big old house that you could get lost in or travel to a different world. He wanted control of everything he did. He wanted the power that it seemed only you - or even that monster Billy could give him.' Kali sighed because she knew her next words were true. 'Charlie and this place can give him what he wants now. I told you this back at Warhead Dale. This is _his_ chance to return to a time when he thought everything was good; a time when there were no worries. I'm just sorry to see that Bruinduer and what it can give him means more to him than I would have hoped. You're right. He is willing to kill his friends for it.' Kali shuffled beside JT. Her eyes were glassy from the putrid smell, but she could see that JT was still confused. She wanted him to have his memory back.

'Well, he might not get that chance, now will he,' JT broke the silence. 'I mean Charlie said he was going to kill us all.' He hung his head. He could sense an uneasy feeling edging up his spine. He had no idea what to do. Gregory would have known how to handle this situation. He bet his grandfather would have known too.

'That's why we have to go warn him, JT. We have to go tell Michael that Charlie is forming his army and ready to attack,' said Kali placing her hand on JT's shoulder and squeezing it gently.

'What?' JT's head darted toward Kali. 'And get killed? No I don't think so. This may be a trap. For all I know, Charlie and Michael planned all of this. I mean they had a war for fun, remember, to split up Bruinduer?'

Kali didn't know how to answer JT's concern. Everything was confusing to her too. She knew Michael and just couldn't believe deep down that he would kill them.

JT thought as hard as he could. Maybe if they chose to just hide there, no one would miss them and all would be well. Then, after everyone dies in Charlie's war, they would at least survive. His thoughts then strayed to Billy.

Billy had to be somewhere in Bruinduer. JT couldn't understand why he just didn't make himself appear and resolve the situation. Certainly Billy could just take care of Charlie with one punch or use some kind of magic to destroy him. From how the Essence emerged from Warhead Dale, and how much contempt he showed Michael in his dreams, it seemed that the spirit guide of Bruinduer was angry, capable, and powerful enough to remedy himself rid of the young, dangerous Triton monarch. Even if that power was not 100 percent. And where was the big brut now? JT knew that Billy had sent the rat to save and guide him and Kali out of the pyramid. Why did he just leave them alone now? _'Where are you?'_ the thought swam through JT's mind.

A gentle breeze puffed and JT's cheek turned his head upward to the crest of the tallest dune that he and Kali sat beneath. JT crawled delicately up the side of the dune and Kali crept behind him without hesitation. As the pair peered over the top, JT's eyes swelled with intense horror and Kali struggled for breath as she sucked in more moldy air than she could handle and began to wheeze and choke.

Below, it was obvious to JT that this was not a ruse thought up by Charlie and Michael to trap and kill him and Kali. This was something much more serious. The Triton army, under their red flags, gathered at the base of the hill shadowed by the great pyramid. Their multitude outlined in mortifying silhouette from the pale start of the Bruinduer sunrise and the blaze of thousands of hot torches.

Soldiers prepared for battle, shining and inspecting their swords and spears on foot. Others mounted great black stallions that rocked back and forth, ready to explode into battle; large streams of white mist circled the beasts' heads as they exhaled the musty, cold, stinking Triton air.

'This doesn't look good,' JT whispered to Kali who was still trying to calm herself. 'This doesn't look good at all.'

'I told you. We need to go and warn Michael,' Kali said with fright and deep, rhythmic nervous breaths. She grabbed JT's hand.

JT thought for a few minutes as he watched the Triton soldiers preparing to go to war. He knew he had to act quickly but could not help pondering his predicament philosophically. He couldn't believe that the Vryheid would create a world that could be so volatile and full of violence, especially since it was designed for people to fulfill their destinies.

He gazed up at the Triton Pyramid and saw even larger pieces of its walls crumble to the ground and he noticed that the air began to get thicker and more opaque. He had to end this. Did he want to take the chance and just jump down the dune and confront Charlie right here, right now, or should he go back to the Godwin side and tell Michael that he and Bruinduer were in serious danger? _'I know I can take him,'_ thought JT, but he was smart enough to know that he couldn't take the thousands of hardened soldiers ready to do battle.

'Fine,' JT answered Kali as he released her hand. 'We'll go back to Michael and tell him what's going on. We'll tell him that Charlie's crazy and wants to kill us all.' JT had made his decision. 'It's probably the only way to stop Bruinduer from collapsing. We'll fight him, take him, and then finally get out of here.' JT stood and brushed the sand off of his extremely soiled clothes in futility. 'I hope Michael has a big enough army. How are we going to get there in ti—'

JT felt a presence behind him and was startled as he stared over the Triton army. With mustered courage, he spun around and a human wearing a long black robe with a hood blocking his face stood looking at them in total silence. JT jumped into a quick fighting stance dropping the prison guard's sword he had stolen, but the hooded person stood in still study of JT and was noncombative; his hands hidden by his draping sleeves.

As JT rocked in his crouched position with his fists raised, the person revealed and elevated an old, wrinkled pale hand slowly and methodically in JT's direction. JT scanned the hooded person from head to foot baffled, and the pasty, cold, crooked fingers of the person's hand delicately grabbed JT's arm, tugged gently, and led him down the dune. Kali subsequently, just as confused as JT, followed behind the descending pair.

The long, black robe glided and led them off the sand hill, but maintained large dunes between them and the gathering Triton army so they would not be detected. After ten minutes, the silent robed person led JT and Kali to another gathering of robed persons standing in a circle holding baskets, sacks, and cases of goods.

'Do not be afraid of us,' the robed person who led JT and Kali to the group stated and slung a satchel of clothes and food over his shoulder. 'Please.' He then reached up and de-hooded himself and revealed a pallid face with sunken, dark eyes.

JT recognized the man as one of Charlie's subjects in the great hall of the Triton Pyramid. He was the first person he noticed as he walked through the great doors behind Tickler. His black eyes were mesmerizing. 'What's this about?' asked JT befuddled.

'We are subjects of Triton,' the man began. 'We are subjects of Triton who wish to be no more.'

'How did you know we were –?' JT began but was interrupted by the man.

'Word travels fast in Triton, plus there is a greater power at work here. You see we have come to believe again what we were so longed denied.' The man placed his hood back over his head. 'We believe in what you just recently found to be true. Kawaida is here.'

'Who? But -' JT tried to begin again, but the man raised his crooked porcelain hand and hushed him.

'There is no time for this. You must go to Godwin as your companion has suggested and warn young King Michael about Triton's intentions.' Kali appeared perplexed but was caught up in the moment. 'We will not be far behind you,' the man stated, 'and hopefully we will cross the great ravine to Godwin before war breaks out across the land.' The man motioned over his head with his hand. Immediately, two hooded people came from behind the sand dunes leading two majestic, large, strong black horses.

The animals were the most graceful and elegant JT had ever seen. The horses' shiny black coats glistened in the morning dawn and their breaths were a steaming mist. Their bright yellow eyes sparkled with a hint of care and urgency. As they bellowed, their teeth flashed white.

JT's jaw hung open and he became nervous. Every step the horses took closer to him and Kali, his heart hammered his ribs. As he watched the graceful animals approach, his thoughts turned to the Shorts' farm. He didn't want to think that any horse could be more magnificent than his pal George, but he concluded that even George would have been impressed by the elegance of these animals.

'Really? I'm going to ride this?' JT mumbled to himself. He couldn't quite get the words out of his mouth. He was still trembling at the animals' presence. _'Could it be true?'_ he thought to himself.

'Yes,' the hooded Tritonian leading the horse announced to JT as he settled beside him. 'Joshua is most able and honorable. He will run like the wind.'

JT's hand quivered as he placed his palm against the horse's chest. It moved up and down with every deep breath Joshua took. He had so much wanted to ride George on the farm. The thought danced in his head every time he went to clean the horse barn. He knew his injured knee wouldn't let him enjoy that freedom. In Bruinduer, however, he did not have to worry about that problem. In the Vryheid world behind the Mahogany Door, his knee was perfect. He would not be denied that freedom he so longed for.

' _You_ _can_ _have anything in Bruinduer,'_ rushed through JT's head.

He heard a small rustle and thump behind him. He turned to discern that Kali had quickly mounted her horse. 'Gabriel will be fast and true. He knows the way,' stated the handler that had brought Kali's horse.

The hooded man looked at JT who was still reluctant to jump on Joshua.

JT's very large issue was that he had never learned to ride a horse. Would he be able to handle and control this powerful animal named Joshua? What if he did something wrong?

'It will be OK,' the hooded man said as he steadied the horse. 'He will not leave you. We have put some items in the saddle bags in case you may need them. There is water and other things.'

JT had waited for this moment. One of his dreams would come true. He _could_ have anything in Bruinduer. He concluded that he may not find his lost childhood from so long ago, but now, he at least would feel the wind in his hair. A feeling of assurance and skill swelled over him again as it had in the dungeon cell.

He placed his left foot in one of the stirrups and heaved himself onto Joshua. The large commanding horse did not move an inch as JT settled in the black, leather saddle. His hands went wet and his nerves were still on fire despite the surge of confidence. It was foreign to him that he was actually getting ready to go for a ride.

'Go! May Kawaida be with you!' the first hooded Triton man barked and Joshua and Gabriel kicked off running. Kali, JT, along with the horses flew off into the Bruinduer dawn.

The first acceleration JT felt as Joshua shot off was amazing. He felt his neck jerk back and the power of Joshua explode beneath him. They reached full speed in a matter of seconds.

JT briefly wondered who this, Kawaida -- kawasaki or whoever was, but the thought quickly dispersed in his brain as he found himself in a race with Kali.

They cut and bruised through the dunes and down the rest of the Triton hills and off to the flat lake of sand. They yelled, screamed, and laughed. The exhilaration was almost more than JT could take. He was free.

Joshua and Gabriel's hooves beat the sand as they rushed and sped toward Godwin across the Bruinduer desert. The smell of the horrid, nauseous air disappeared as the breeze and adrenaline enveloped Kali and JT.

The sun poked its first born rays of the day over the distant Godwin hills and the desert turned to bright yellow. It was a new day in Bruinduer and the fear of war vanished from Kali and JT's minds as they soared to their destination to meet Michael.

Hours seemed like minutes as they grinded their way through the Triton side of the Desert of Share. The sun climbed higher in the sky and the Bridge of Common became closer and closer. The horses, Joshua and Gabriel, were truer than the Triton handlers had promised. Their endurance and determination did not falter for one moment and JT rubbed Joshua behind his ears as they carved through the sand.

As the Bridge of Common became clearer and larger, the mood of the morning changed very quickly. Dread penetrated the air and deflated the excited enthusiasm Kali and JT felt on the gallop to freedom. JT pulled back on Joshua's reins. The horse halted immediately and Kali and Gabriel blew by at breakneck speed. A few moments later Kali realized she was alone. She stopped Gabriel and trotted back to JT and Joshua.

'What's wrong? We're just about there,' Kali said confusingly resting beside JT.

'Don't know. I feel something strange. Something's not right,' JT explained as he rocked back and forth on Joshua who let out a thunderous sneeze.

'You really think Billy's out here somewhere wanting to help you?' Kali said with exasperation. 'You have got to be kidding me.'

With disapproving eyes, JT gazed at Kali. 'Look, I didn't say it was Billy making me stop but I just got a feeling; a feeling that if we keep going, something bad is going to happen.'

'Well, keep your creepy thoughts to yourself,' Kali began. 'We're almost to the bridge. There we can cross, go warn Michael, defeat Charlie, and then leave this horrible place.'

'So now it's that easy, huh?' JT said now circling with Joshua. 'The way you've been acting, I've began to wonder if you were even paying attention.'

'Well, let's just say I hope it's that easy,' retorted Kali, 'Can we continue on now?' Kali kicked Gabriel and off they went. In a flash, they were at full speed.

Ever so closer as they approached the Bridge of Common, JT's feelings of uneasiness became more intense; its aura as thick as the smell of the Triton morning.

The duo and their horses dramatically slowed their pace and began to trot toward the massive steel structure. Just as the day before, hundreds if not thousands of people were crossing and trading across the Bridge of Common, and just as the day before more of the travelers were crossing from Triton into Godwin. Large caravans of carriages and horses crisscrossed the bridge, and the ominous sound of the creaking, turning wheels of the carriages and the thumping of iron horseshoes on steel, echoed through the valley of the empty ravine beneath the bridge.

'What's up with this?' JT asked as they trotted their way through the long lines to cross the bridge and stopped at the edge of the enormous structure. 'I don't see any water.'

'It was King Charlie,' a familiar black, hooded figure stated in the high, calming voice of a woman. 'He has shut off the water to Godwin.'

JT remembered Charlie standing outside the dungeon cell stating that he was going to shut the water off to Godwin. He just didn't believe he'd do it. The gesture only reinforced in JT that when he heard Charlie say he wanted to kill everyone, he would probably try to keep that promise as well. He then saw the hooded figure with a satchel on her back begin the long, daunting trek over the bridge. He then scoped out the other crowds and carriages that were trudging their goods over to Godwin. Many hooded figures crossed the Bridge of Common. Everywhere he looked he saw the long black robes glide across the metal suspension and hang from the sides of massive transports carving paths to Michael's kingdom. Could this many people really not want to be subjects of Triton anymore? Certainly there were those that still supported Charlie in the mix. His feelings of apprehension became even more prominent and animated.

'We really need to get back over to Godwin. I don't like this. I have a bad feeling.' JT urged Joshua to cross by digging his heels into the horse's sides.

'I think I have to agree with you,' Kali answered with a gentle but deliberate nudge on Gabriel's reins. The cautious duo with their dedicated guides crossed the Bridge of Common.

The trek across the bridge was happily uneventful. The air changed almost instantly as JT and Kali got halfway across the structure. The smell of mold and gagging stench gave way to the sweet smell of lavender and lilies. JT felt as though it was like holding his hand over his nose for a couple of minutes being choked off from fresh air, and then suddenly removing his hand to inhale.

With but one momentary delay, JT, Kali, and their two companions, Joshua and Gabriel, easily trotted across the bridge to the Godwin side. After eight hooves touched sand, the two horses galloped at a nice clip toward the hills of Michael's gold and ivory castle. Just as JT's nerves calmed about his uneasy feelings, pandemonium broke loose behind them.

JT and Kali yanked on the horses' reins and both pivoted around toward the Bridge of Common.

A loud commotion began to build on and around the metal structure no more than a hundred yards away from them. People began to run toward JT and Kali as fast as their legs would carry them. It reminded JT of the start of a marathon; still and then fast. Men, women, and children jumped from their carriages and horses and sprinted across the bridge. The hoods of these people crossing the bridge flipped from the top of their heads to their shoulders exposing expressions of terror and fright. People stampeded over others with no regard for life but their own in an effort to get away from something that was headed toward them from the Triton side of the bridge.

JT was paralyzed at the actions of all the people running toward him and Kali. They had no idea what to do. They sat still on top of Joshua and Gabriel wide-eyed, arms tightening, and hearts pounding.

The people scattered as quickly as they could, but there were still hundreds, if not thousands still on the massive metal structure that joined the two kingdoms across the River of Share.

There is something to be said at the very fraction of a second before an event, good or bad. It is the very last moment in the history of the people involved in that moment, because after it, their lives will never be the same. There was a flash in the corner of JT's eye and then an odd compression of sound where JT could only feel the beat of his heart. An explosion rocked the bridge. KA_BLAM!!

The force was tremendous. A huge plume of black smoke mixed with a burst of fire engulfed the structure in a swift moment, and the shock wave from the blast blazed across the desert blowing Kali and JT off of Joshua and Gabriel.

JT then lie on the ground, his head spinning, and his wits depleted. He felt as though he were in a tunnel. The screams of the people still running about him and the cries of others who were injured were muted and everything around him progressed in slow motion. Dust and debris rained from the sky choking JT; filling his lungs with burning gas. As he struggled to catch his breath, all he could think about was Kali. He had promised her he wouldn't let anything happen to her. He had gotten them out of the cell in Triton's dungeon, but was there anything he could do now? What in the world had just happened - and why?

With abated effort, JT tried to get to his feet but could only climb to his knees. The dust, sand, and metal parts from the bridge that exploded made the air more intense from the already hot environment of the desert. His eyes burned from the smothering soot and he was suddenly blinded. He reached into space around him not knowing why but maybe someone passing would help him. Maybe Kali would be standing right there ready to pull him to his feet. Or maybe, if he had had his choice, Gregory would wake him up and he would be back at the farm in his bed and Louise would be there ready to put a cold rag on his forehead with a large glass of cold milk -- neither happened.

JT tried to yell out for Kali, but his head was perplexed and in pain. All he could hear were the still, muffled screams of confusion from people running by him, plowing over him almost throwing him to the ground.

'Kawaida help us!' pleaded some of the voices. 'Kawaida, please help us all!'

'Kali?!' JT tried to yell out into the chaos. More people ran by shoving him in his shoulders.

Nothing.

'Kali?!' He tried yelling again. There was no answer. He wished he would have told her how beautiful she was.

'Kali?!' He tried again but not quite as loud. His energy faded. Still there was no answer. He then wished he could have asked her why she grabbed his hand during tense moments in the last couple of days. He could see her burning blue eyes. She was all he could think about and hope for.

'Kali.' He couldn't scream anymore. His voice was done. He fell forward and buried his cheek in the hot, burning, black sand. He might as well surrender. Bruinduer had probably collapsed. It was over. He had failed.

A light breeze then blew gently in the air as even the sounds of muffled excited confusion went silent around JT. He heard a soft voice ring in his ears just as he had heard in the great hall of the Triton Pyramid while trapped in the dungeon. It had to have been Billy. ' _Get to your feet,'_ the voice kept repeating. ' _Get to your feet, you are all right. Everyone who enters Bruinduer must leave Bruinduer.'_ It was very comforting. It was not over. There was apparently, more for him to do. Bruinduer did not collapse.

JT tried again to get to his feet. He struggled, but with only now the will to live and Billy's comforting words, he finally was able to stand on his feet as straight as he could. He opened his eyes; this time the scene was blurry. He shook the dust and metal off of his hands and rubbed away most of the caked on soot from his face and hair. Shapes slowly came into focus, and he stumbled toward the ravine. After a few moments, the last bit of debris from the explosion trickled to the sand. He could not believe his stinging red eyes.

There was once a brilliant bridge crossing over the River of Share that connected Godwin and Triton. It was majestic in its sheer magnitude and the last bastion of goodwill between the two kingdoms. Now, there was only needless waste and a huge unforgiving hole; only destruction and bodies remained. Heaps of steel lay at the bottom of the ravine and a thin coat of metallic dust covered the desert for at least a mile on either side of the dry ravine. JT started to cry.

The young man from Athens Eden was knocked to his knees as the extent of the horrific damage hit him like a ton of bricks. He felt totally and absolutely helpless. Who would do something like this?

He panned past where the Bridge of Common once stood to the Triton side and noticed red flags snapping in the distance. Hundreds of Triton soldiers stood ready at attention. It seemed that war had been declared on Godwin. JT did not need any more proof that Charlie was serious about killing them all.

JT reached to the ground and clutched the sand and metal debris in his fists. Rage burned in him and he felt the tortured weight of regret rest on his shoulders. His angered thoughts turned to revenge. In hindsight, he felt he should have jumped down the dune and killed Charlie when he had had the chance. Maybe the destruction of the bridge wouldn't have happened if he would have been braver. He may have died, but he knew Charlie would be dead too.

He threw the tainted sand to the ground and labored to his feet; he seized his fists and screamed at the top of his voice. Adrenaline, rage, hate, and vengeance scorched his veins and he felt as though he could take on the entire Triton army and Charlie by himself. This was going to end. The torment and games had to end.

'J...T...?' a soft voice rang through the air and JT whirled around. His thoughts shifted quickly back to Kali. He rummaged around on the ground amongst the dead bodies and rubble.

'J...T...' He heard again, this time he flung himself to the ground on all fours and scrambled about shifting through mangled limbs and junk. He grabbed a metal beam and threw it to one side as though he were tossing an empty aluminum can into the garbage. Lying in front of him with a gash on her forehead spewing blood was the delightful Kimberly Abigail Logan.

'You're alive!' JT rejoiced with gladness and grabbed her close to his body.

'I'm still breathing.' Kali coughed and spit out the dust in her lungs. 'And I was just getting used to the sweet smell over here.' She cracked a cordial smile. JT laughed with trepidation.

'I thought I had lost you. I thought Bruinduer had collapsed,' JT explained rocking Kali back and forth.

'What happened?' asked Kali as she struggled to breathe.

'From the looks of it, Triton blew up the Bridge of Common and killed a lot of people,' JT answered in a soft, cracking, watery voice.

'Really? Triton? Charlie?' Kali was perplexed and coughed up some more dust and wiped blood from her eye.

'Yes.' JT kept his rage at bay. She was more important than any animosity he felt toward Charlie and Triton at that moment. 'But I'm not worried about that right now. You're still here.' JT stared into Kali's sapphire blue eyes. This time, he let himself get lost.

Her face was battered but even in her state, she managed to smile back at him; this time more meaningfully. 'You came back for me.'

JT lowered his head and kissed Kali gently on her lips.

Kali grabbed his hand, but this time, she did it on purpose."

Chapter 22

The children in the great hall at Warhead Dale gaped at me with empty, blank expressions. The only sounds that were heard were that of the fire still raging and popping, and the rain outside washing the sides of the windows and rooftop with rhythmic drumming. I had hoped the story of the Bridge of Common exploding would have an impact on the kids, but I did not realize how immense it would be.

I searched for the words to stir the children from their horror-struck trance and reassure them that at least at that moment they were all safe. To my delight, however, a small blonde-haired boy who had been making very untimely remarks during the story throughout the day, spoke up once again. After the insertion of his observation, I was able to find those words.

"Aw, man!" the little boy blurted out and everyone turned to stare at him in a very confused, tense nature.

"What's that for?" I asked. My interest was piqued now as well.

"Why did he have to go and do that for?" retorted the boy as he moved his shaggy hair from his eyes.

"And what was that?" I responded still waiting for an interesting answer and wondering why his voice was so snappy.

"Why'd JT have to go and kiss the girl? I mean, that's nasty." The little boy squinted and stuck his finger in his mouth acting as though he wanted to vomit.

A little red-haired girl popped him on the leg. "Because he loves her, that's why you moron."

"Wait now," I stated, but could not help but to snicker just a bit. "I think it might be just a little deeper than that," I said. I then caught myself trying to explain to a group of children and even myself, something deeper than love.

The children suddenly whipped their heads back to my direction. I couldn't blame them. I was also interested in my statement as well. "You see, people after time may feel regret about their past actions. They always ask the question, what if?" I explained more. "For example the thought may enter your head: What if I had just done this or what if I had done that?

Especially after something terrible happens. You see, I believe we have the urge to make our actions right that once seemed very wrong during events in the past. We want to tell the ones we love that we truly love them. We want to do the things that we always promised that we would; like finally trying out for the basketball team, or when you get older, finally graduating college or seeing a far away land you want to visit. In JT's case it was obvious that he wanted to express to Kali how much he felt for her, because after the bridge vanished before his eyes, he knew that life could be over very quickly. He may not have another chance to show her.

So, in an attempt to explain to you what was deeper than proving to her that he had love for her with a kiss, I believe it was JT's way of expressing his human need for having closure. In other words, it is JT's need, and I believe the need in all of us, to complete things that we feel we have left undone."

The children looked up at me and smiled, and I continued with my story. "JT and Kali were lying in the middle of the Desert of Share covered in dust, filth, and remnants of the Bridge of Common.

'Let's get up now, we gotta get outta here,' JT stated and helped Kali to her feet. She was visibly shaken from the explosion and as she leaned against JT and panned out over the devastation, she clasped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes filled with hopeless sorrow.

JT tried to lead her away. He wanted to shield her eyes from the aftermath, but all she could do was stare at the empty hole with amazement.

'How could this happen?' she asked, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. JT was finally able to turn her toward the Godwin Castle.

'I have no idea,' JT expressed with certainty and walked with Kali away from the incomprehensible disaster.

Helplessness and despair rushed through their minds as they saw citizens frantically searching through the rubble. The once hooded figures of Triton and silk donned subjects of Godwin dug through the massive piles of dust and metal, searching, hoping together to find a loved one; to find anyone.

'We need to help,' stated Kali limping and still grasping onto JT.

'There's nothing we can do here,' JT responded. 'We need to get to Godwin and warn Michael.' He could feel his eyes swell with tears but did not release them. 'Hopefully, someone saw the blast and help is already on the way.'

'But these people are suffering,' Kali said. She found it difficult to speak.

'I know, but you're no good on those legs.' JT's temper rose. His anger was focused; focused on confronting Michael and Charlie to end this nightmare.

JT labored with Kali the best that he could. Her weight was not burdensome, but his body only now began to feel pain from the blast. As people rushed by him, their screams bursting with fright, fear, and grief, he kept his eyes straight ahead staring at the Godwin Castle. He did not want to lose his concentration. He felt too much was at stake. If he succumbed to his feelings and charged toward the Triton army on the other side of the ravine, it would be in vain. He would surely be killed quickly. He also could not help the victims of the Bridge of Common's destruction in the capacity that he desired. The information he knew about Charlie and his intentions on killing them may prove more valuable than his immediate urge to take futile revenge on Triton by himself. He had to find Michael and make him aware of Charlie's intentions. Despite JT's untrusting feelings toward Michael, the resources of Godwin, especially an army, would make more sense in taking on Charlie.

A few moments passed then JT caught a flash of black and dusty gray hair speedup beside him. It was Joshua the horse; his companion on the trek from Triton. The great horse was covered in soot and pebbled debris. He wheezed in and out sneezing in order to clear the slimy, paste-like gunk from his nose. Not another moment too late, Gabriel, also covered in dust, marched on the other side of Kali also coughing and spitting.

'Thank goodness you guys are OK!' JT announced. He leaned Kali toward Gabriel and she clasped his matted, powdered mane.

Kali grabbed around the animal's neck, 'I was worried.'

Joshua bellowed loudly and whipped around in a quick circle. He jerked his head up and down enthusiastically as though he too was glad that JT and Kali were still alive.

JT petted Joshua on the snout. He quickly lifted Kali onto Gabriel and then with a shot of adrenaline, mounted Joshua in a single bound. With a quick kick to Joshua's side, the four raced with a thundering pace toward the Godwin Castle.

<***>

Even though JT, Kali, Joshua, and Gabriel were exhausted, they rushed with as much speed as their bodies would let them. Every once in a while with sad curiosity, JT would spy behind him to survey the destruction of the Bridge of Common from further and further distances. No matter how far he traveled away from the broken bridge, the horrific scene of the tragedy and memory never lessened. He could not get the flash of light, the running people, the immense sound of the explosion, or the singe of the hot air that grazed his skin out of his mind.

Time quickly passed, and when they arrived at the base of the hills of Godwin, they only saw more pandemonium.

People scurried about the streets closing up their shops and gathering their children. Soldiers dressed in their Godwin uniform of silk jackets, knickers, and boots armed themselves with various weaponry and equipment and swiftly dodged down the Godwin hill; their white flags snapping in the wind. Large wagons filled with supplies, equipment, and other soldiers, hurried past turning and throwing up dust and sand in their haste.

The faces of the soldiers on horseback and in the wagons morphed into fear as they rushed down the hills of Godwin and headed toward the ravine and the toppled bridge.

'Looks like they are at least aware of the explosion,' JT said as he steered Joshua away from a charging soldier and his horse who were focused and determined to fulfill their duty.

There was an addition to the foot of the hill that was not there before they left for Triton; a building - an enormous, tall spire lifted from the desert floor. It was a cool, foreboding gray which was in pure contrast to the yellow sand and the gold and ivory of the Godwin Castle.

'I wonder what that is?' asked JT as he scanned up to the top of the pointed structure. Joshua neighed and shook his mane.

The four trotted up the winding streets of Godwin. The mood had changed dramatically. The day before, the same roads were happy and full of joy and cheer. People, old and young choked the streets to see their King off to Triton in his glamorous, golden carriage tossing flowers at its wheels. The people danced and sang and walked about peering up at the crystal sky and felt safe. Now, the kingdom was dead silent. People only peeked out of their windows from the sides of their closed drapes. Others worked furiously boarding up their windows as quickly as they could, not even interested in recognizing JT and Kali covered in dust as they sauntered by them.

'I'm afraid,' Kali explained in a sudden, soulful tone.

JT looked over his shoulder and with his eyes, followed two Godwin soldiers who came from the shadows and passed JT and Kali with reckless abandon on top of large, wild, charging brown horses. The soldiers' expressions were wide with excitement, their teeth clenched. JT's heart jumped and Kali yelped from the sudden rush of air blasting by them. JT did not disagree with Kali's statement. He felt a sense of panic rush down his spine, but like he had thought before, this wasn't their time; their time to be afraid.

They reached the top of the Godwin hill and the brilliant castle above the kingdom with its domes of gold and ivory appeared differently. When JT first saw the castle the night before, he felt in awe of the mighty structure that Michael had created. Now there was a sense of inevitable doom that draped over it and the gold and ivory had somehow lost their luster. The smell of flowers and peace had vanished. A mixed smell of smoke and fog danced in the air.

JT and Kali halted Gabriel and Joshua and hopped to the ground stirring up sand. Kali grunted from the pain she still felt from the bridge's blast, but she held herself up high and tried not to show herself as beaten. JT did not try to reassure her, because he could see she was trying to feel stronger than she really was.

The atmosphere of the castle was in a state of confusion. Godwin guards in their silk jackets, knickers, and white turbans rushed from one side to the other. Some looked like they wanted to do something; anything, but their gripping expressions on their faces revealed that they had no idea what to do. One guard suddenly threw his hands in the air and just plopped down to his rear where he stood. He placed his hands over his eyes and shook his head. His emotions were elevated to the point of despair.

JT figured that the Godwin citizens were informed quickly of the blast and destruction of the Bridge of Common. He also concluded they were trying to come to grips with the magnitude of the event and trying to figure out how to respond. He was also curious to see what the young monarch, Michael, was going to say about the disaster.

JT and Kali climbed the ivory steps to the Godwin Castle with no fanfare as they witnessed on the previous night. Most of the soldiers did not notice them pass through the entrance, but some sat and stared with eerie reverence as they saw the two covered with dust, sand, and debris. The onlookers quickly made the connection that their passersby experienced the explosion firsthand.

They walked toward the front of the great hall. They saw a gathering of guards around the small, closet-like room that was to the right of the raised stage and golden, jewel encrusted throne where JT questioned Michael about Billy and Charlie the night before.

JT and Kali stopped in front of the guards who brandished swords and white flags. The guards stood stoically and said not a word as JT and Kali lunged forward to enter the room, but the soldiers did not part.

JT heard a soft, muffled moaning come from the other side of the door. He couldn't be sure, but assumed it was Michael.

'We would like to see the king,' JT announced to the Godwin guards who remained silent and did not move.

'Please?' Kali said futilely. The guards stayed nailed to the floor, stared forward, and did not say a word.

The sound from the other side of the door went totally silent. A few moments later, the door slowly creaked opened.

Michael stood in the opening, his golden crown cocked to one side of his head and his eyes were red and swollen from crying. When he caught the sight of JT and Kali, his eyes sprang open as though he was surprised to see them. He quickly yelped, turned back into the room, and slammed the door.

'What do you want? Go away. You're not supposed to be alive!' JT heard Michael say in a lispy, muffled tone through the door. The guards remained silent.

JT didn't know what to say or think. His mind was racing, and the onslaught of feelings: anger, concern, and confusion left him speechless. All he could do was feel his temper bite beneath his skin and his blood spike with rage. He had had enough of the Bruinduer game and Michael's persistence in pretending to fulfill a destiny that had seemed to have quickly vanished. It was obvious to JT that Michael came to Bruinduer expecting and believing that his presence alone would be enough to gain power over the entire world as well as his life. He realized that Charlie had other plans. The little weasel from Athens Eden was in control of Bruinduer and was not about to relinquish it and he would now do anything to keep it, including killing them. Michael had no idea what to do -- especially after the destruction of the Bridge of Common. It was supposed to be the sign of goodwill, but now every fabric of any kind of alliance between the two kingdoms was unraveling.

'They came this morning!' Michael yelled from the other side of the door. 'Triton guards and that stump, Tickler, came and told us that Charlie was going to destroy us; all of us!' There was a pause. Michael's voice was softer. 'It was my fault, the messenger said. It was my fault because I didn't see to it that you were killed.'

JT stood silent and listened trying to keep his composure. Michael continued, 'He has done this before you know. I've been here for three years now and he always threatens to go to war with Godwin. I told you -- we had the Battle of the Beginning as a game. Charlie gets bored I think. He creates enemies and then wants to destroy them. He just can't leave things alone. He always wants new paintings on his walls in the great hall of the pyramid. He always wants to show his greatness.' Michael shifted back and forth. 'This time I don't know. This time, it's more - more real. He destroyed the Bridge of Common. I guess he thinks that I let you come back from the desert to destroy him so I could get control of Bruinduer.'

'Why did you lie?!' barked JT through the door. His breath was desperate and angry. The Godwin guards remained stoic.

'What do you mean?' Michael asked in a higher, confused tone.

'Why did you lie and say that it was you that brought us back from the desert?' JT continued. His temper was wrestling within his body.

'Because I can't believe that he is...' Michael coughed. The gargling of his voice hinted his eyes were full of tears. 'Billy is really here!'

The doors to the great hall flung open. JT whipped around and saw that Atal Leer was marching heavily toward them with a serious, focused look with two other soldiers flanking him. He had a rolled up document in his hand. He walked right up to the small room. The Godwin guards who had been standing there protecting their king moved to one side swiftly and silently.

Atal Leer knocked on the door.

'I told you to go away!' Michael yelled out not knowing that Atal Leer was outside of the door.

'Sire, it's me!' Atal shouted.

A few seconds later, Michael came to the door and opened it. His crown was still propped to one side of his head, his eyes were still swollen from tears, and his nose was running.

'As you know sire,' Atal began, 'Triton has deliberately attacked us and the Council of Common has been summoned and is gathering in its chamber.' Atal handed Michael the rolled up document.

Michael grabbed the paper, but handed it back quickly. 'I know, I was the one that conjured the council, but what difference does it make?' Michael turned around, his back now facing Atal.

'Sire,' said Atal with a deeper more commanding voice to Michael. 'Triton has shut off the water to Godwin. He means to engage us with his full army. They are assembling across the ravine as we speak. I believe we must take action before they have the chance to attack us. It's the only way for us to survive. We must go to war now. You cannot trust the council's judgment. We must defend ourselves.'

'Everything is falling apart. It wasn't supposed to be this way,' Michael begged. Tears welled up in his eyes again. 'He's made a show of aggression before and backed down from it. Maybe he'll back down this time and leave us alone.' Michael took a deep breath clearing his nose. 'I don't want to go to war, and I don't think the Council of Common will know what to do either.'

In a quiet voice JT heard the voice speak to him, ' _Your destiny in Bruinduer must be finished.'_ JT glanced skyward. He knew Billy was there. He panned around watching others reactions to see if anyone else had heard the voice. No one acknowledged it.

Michael wheeled back around quickly and stared up at Atal. His tone and emotions changed immediately like the weather on a hot summer day. 'Definitely, I've changed my mind now. I don't know why I doubted myself. We need to take this before the council. They _will_ know what to do. I can't be foolish.'

'What?' JT questioned; his voice full of desperation. 'Listen to Atal. We need to end this. You must go to war against Charlie. If you don't, we'll all die and Bruinduer we'll be destroyed. You know it's what you have to do.'

Michael peered over at JT. 'Arrest them and take them to the cells of Godwin.' Michael gestured with his arm toward Kali and JT. 'I think now, yes, I really think the council can help.' He straightened out his uniform the best he could and took a long breath. 'Yes, I was wrong in thinking that the council would not know how to fix this. They will know what to do, yes.' Michael's tone turned to a nervous confidence that made the hair on the back of JT's neck stand on end.

Atal looked toward JT with uneasy helplessness and took him and Kali into custody.

JT shook his head and followed the Godwin guards and Atal without incident or resistance. As he turned for the second time to be led to a cell, once in Triton and now in Godwin, he heard Michael speak softly into the air, 'I'll finish my destiny with no help from you....

Chapter 23

JT and Kali were led by Atal and a group of soldiers down the long corridors of the Godwin Castle. The burning afternoon Bruinduer sun was starting its final descent and rested on top of the Bruinduer mountains. Godwin guards and citizens continued to run about the castle in confusion. It was a myriad of survivors having no idea how to cope with the tragic destruction of the Bridge of Common.

Some subjects voiced that the Council of Common would know how to deal with the situation while others were not so sure that the council would be much help at all. Others, however, voiced the need for help from another source, one JT had heard earlier as the bridge crumbled and people desperately searched for loved ones; Kawaida.

JT and Kali quickly found themselves outside of the castle where they were led down a long embankment. Halfway down, JT noticed a young woman sitting with a small boy. JT recognized the voice. It was the same fair voice that he had encountered at the bridge just before he and Kali crossed back into Godwin. The young woman was hoodless now and her skin was pasty but her eyes were warm and soft. She had the aura of a comforted soul. Her long, black hair flowed gently in the air as she gazed downward at her child caressing the young boy's head.

'Kawaida will help us,' the woman stated with a floating, wispy voice. 'He is here as he has always been. It was foolish for us to think that he had gone.' Her eyes shot up to JT. 'Yes, Kawaida will help us.' She raked her hand one last time through the young child's hair. JT's emotions turned to pity for the woman and her child. He had seen the bridge explode and he knew that no one could have stopped the disaster, and even if Kawaida existed, his help would come too late.

'Kwad..., Kiki..., whatever -- there's that name again. Who's that woman talking about?' JT asked glancing at Kali and hoping for an answer. 'The man who gave us Joshua and Gabriel mentioned that name too,' JT added. Kali said nothing, but looked at Atal in hopes of a possible explanation. Atal stared straight ahead ignoring JT and Kali.

'Gosh,' JT spoke toward Atal. 'You rescued us from the desert. At least give us a hint or something.' JT pleaded. He didn't know why, but he felt a small rush of confidence and certainty run through his body. Though Atal was taking him away, he felt safe beside the man with the black, bushy beard in spite of the fact that he was leading him for the second time to a dungeon cell.

'JT, you're nuts. He doesn't know who that Kada..., Kada..., cockamamie is.' Kali's tone was angry, but JT quickly thought for a second that she was trying the same trick on Atal that she played on Michael to get him to reveal information that usually was difficult to receive. Throughout the adventure, she seemed to be a master on how to push other people's buttons.

'Kawaida is a myth of the people that live here in Bruinduer,' Atal stated as he continued to lead JT and Kali to the dungeon. His voice was solemn and serene as he spoke. 'He was a being of great power and intellect and was believed to have created and aided this world and everyone in it. That's until greed came into Bruinduer.' He turned and leaned into JT. 'But like I said, it's only a myth.'

JT shook his head and thought sincerely. This Kawaida- koo- koo person, or thing then couldn't possibly be Billy these people are calling for, right? The Vryheid were the ones who created Bruinduer.

The trio and guards walked just a little longer and entered a dark, brick building. They marched down narrow passageways past other cells that were empty. Toward the end of one of the corridors, two of the Godwin guards creaked opened two large iron doors across from each another. Atal pointed JT to enter one cell. He then led Kali into the other one. He slammed the great iron doors closed and locked each with two loud cracks. He stood silently between the two cells. He appeared as though he wanted someone to ask him a question, as he looped the keys with his finger and rocked on his heels. The two other Godwin guards left the building. Kali went and lie down on a long, hard steel bench with a gray wool blanket and very thin pillow.

'I could use a bath,' Kali mumbled and then covered herself, 'but at least this cell is cleaner that the last one.' She was very indifferent as to what was happening. She was horrifically shocked at the explosion of the bridge, and at that moment, she was really happy just to be alive. She thought that being in the cell alone meant that she would not have to endure any great moment of adrenaline laced excitement, at least for the time being. She was exhausted and fell asleep rather quickly.

JT continued to pat his hair free of dust as he listened to Kali lament. Atal continued to stand, rock back and forth, and wait between the cells as he stared into space.

JT sat on his steel bench and placed his elbows on his knees and rested his chin in his hands peering at Atal. 'What's going to happen now?'

After he heard JT's question, Atal became still and turned to JT. 'The Council of Common will hear what both sides have to say. You see, King Michael will hopefully go before the council and ask them to investigate why the Bridge of Common was destroyed.' His voice was cynical and he gave JT a sarcastic nod and smirk.

'Yeah, that's all good,' JT responded, 'but Charlie already said that he wanted to destroy all of us. I don't need some kind of council to tell me that.'

'That's why I insisted to King Michael that we needed to attack Charlie first before he had a chance to muster his entire army for an assault on Godwin.' Atal angled his eyes to the floor, placed his arms behind his back, and shook his head. 'It's really quite useless, the Council of Common.'

JT didn't respond. He watched Atal Leer as he stared at the smooth concrete floor of the prison appearing to mull over the purpose of the Council of Common. JT then looked into Kali's cell. She hadn't made a sound. She lay motionless except for the slight movement of the wool blanket as it rose with every gentle breath she took. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to tell her everything was going to be all right, but for some reason he felt the worst was yet to come. He desperately wanted someone to pinch him so that he would wake up from this very intense nightmare and discover that he never left his bed in the Shorts' farmhouse.

A slight burst of wind shot through the hallway of the prison. The breeze brushed through the corridors and cells as though it were hunting for something, or someone. The gust of air tipped Atal Leer's turban off of his head. Atal reached for the turban and JT saw Kali shiver from the coolness of the moving air and she clutched her blanket tight around her neck. As Atal rose back to his feet he wheeled back to JT and placed his face against the bars.

'Come with me,' Michael's loyal subject said in a low whisper.

'What?' JT answered. 'Go with you - where?'

'To the Council Chamber. I'll take you to the hearing.' Atal very carefully, trying not to jingle too loudly, released the cell door keys from his palm. He glared into JT's eyes.

JT swiveled his head to his left and then to the right. The waning night was still and cold. JT gathered his thoughts and pondered why Atal was doing this. His brain was working at light speed as his thoughts shifted into a jumbled mess. He didn't want Atal to have the chance to change his mind.

Quickly, in a voice that matched Atal's tone he answered, 'Yes, I'll follow you.'

Atal smiled at JT. It was a strange smile as though he knew he wasn't supposed to be letting a prisoner free, especially a prisoner his king had told him specifically to lock away. However, with a quick shrug and a wink in JT's direction, Atal released JT.

JT thought briefly back at his intense confrontation with the Triton guard in the great pyramid and how he faced him in hand-to-hand combat to secure his freedom. He wondered if he should attack Atal, free Kali, and then flee, but he suddenly felt as though he had nothing to worry from Atal. It was difficult to place, but he felt no bad intentions from the Godwin subject.

JT quickly glanced over to Kali who was still fast asleep on her metal slab and felt assured that as he left her there she would at least be safe behind bars and no harm could initially reach her.

JT and Atal snuck silently out of the prison and down the winding roads of Godwin. The streets were completely silent. No one was running about trying to make sense of the exploding bridge and the confusion that followed the aftermath. The houses were dark and the curtains drawn. Fear had engulfed Godwin.

'Why are you doing this?' JT asked Atal as they moved in and out of dark alleyways and shadows dodging behind scruffy bushes.

'At the moment...,' Atal began and then stopped. He heard a slight noise and quickly looked to his left. He grabbed JT and they both leapt into a ditch beside the road. As they settled, Atal peered over the edge of the ditch spying down one side of the road and then continued with his last statement to JT, 'I have no idea why I am doing this, my friend. But, you need to see this. You need to make this right.'

'What am I supposed to do even if I don't agree with what the council might say? You're the army commander,' JT stated with a slightly panicked voice. It seemed to him that everything he tried to do, such as trying to get Michael to listen to reason and stop his charade in trying to fulfill some mystic destiny, or trying to get Charlie to leave Bruinduer, only landed him in a prison cell.

'I hope that what it is you're supposed to do will reveal itself soon. For I fear that if nothing is done, we're all doomed,' Atal replied as he grabbed JT, hopped from the ditch, and pulled him down the road swiftly.

Without warning there was a powerful jolt in the ground. Atal and JT lost their balance as though they were standing on a board that was on top of a rolling log. The shaking intensified for another few moments and Atal and JT were forced to their knees by the quake. The ground stopped rumbling. Birds began to caw and fly from their hiding spots as they searched for a safe place to settle in for the night.

'What in the world was that?!' JT yelled.

Atal covered JT's mouth hoping to keep the excited boy quiet, and in a calm voice only answered, 'I don't know. I have a feeling, but we must go.'

JT and Atal continued their way down the winding, ghost town streets of Godwin and passed outside of its border. The air began to cool as the sun disappeared behind the mountains and the two stood before the large, grayish blue, spire shaped building that JT had noticed earlier when he arrived back in Godwin after the explosion. Its hue shined brightly in the early night sky.

'What is this?' asked JT as he panned up to the top of the towering, intimidating structure. 'I saw this earlier for the first time. It wasn't here yesterday morning. I think I would have remembered seeing that.'

'This, my friend, is called The Chamber. It is where the Council of Common meets. It's only conjured when the council convenes. It's a place where Triton and Godwin try to mend their differences,' Atal sighed. 'Since I have been here in Godwin these many years, this is only the third time I have seen the building. The first being right before the Battle of the Beginning, and the last when Bruinduer was split into the two kingdoms.'

Atal strolled confidently up to the building's entrance which was surrounded by Godwin and Triton guards. A piercing silence wedged the two contingents whom stared at each other with burning hate and disgust.

JT crept behind Atal. His heart knocked at a blistering rate. His breath became shallow. He had no idea what to expect. He was still an escaped prisoner.

They trudged slightly up the blue ramp to the two gigantic steel doors of the Chamber. An aura of distinct confidence cloaked Atal as he passed the Godwin guards stationed at the doors. They smacked their heels together at attention and saluted him as he went by them. The Triton guards remained silent.

'Good evening sir,' a large, young Godwin guard dressed in his finest blue, silk jacket said as Atal approached. He peered on JT with only a little concern.

Atal snapped a quick salute back and briskly overtook the men without stopping. 'Carry on.'

The two enormous steel doors parted and Atal and JT walked into a huge space. The inside of the Chamber opened up like a cathedral. The air and everything around JT tinted to a shade of granite blue. He rubbed his eyes as he marched deeper into the chamber thinking that his vision was impaired somehow, but objects and people around him remained the hazy blue, and he continued following Atal.

There were no square walls within the building and JT felt he was standing in a huge, upside down, ice-cream cone. The walls, or better described as sides, were painted with people that sat crunched together in bleachers that soared to the top of the spire. On one side sat the loyal subjects of Triton that were left in Godwin after the bridge's destruction (the two kingdoms did trade, so logically even loyal Tritonians would still be in Godwin). They held red flags and wore hoods that covered their faces. On the other side, subjects of Godwin held white flags and sat silently with very sincere expressions upon their faces. JT realized where all of the people in Godwin had gone and why the streets were empty. The ones not huddled behind their closed drapes had come to the meeting.

JT noticed the patrons of the Chamber staring toward a panel of seven individuals that sat about one third of the way up one of the sides from the chamber's floor in massive, ominous black seats separated by ten foot gaps behind a large, steel table long enough that it started to curve around the chamber's cylindrical body. The tips of their heads were all that could be seen.

The man seated at the far left of the table had long, streaming white hair and his deep black eyes were too large for his head. His nose was long and pointed and he was dressed in a long dark robe. The remaining individuals of the panel except for one to the far right, who looked identical to the man at the far left, were dressed in long robes, but their faces were mostly covered by a hood. The only features of their faces seen were long, pointed chins with a clump of gray hair attached to each one appearing to hang from nothing.

JT and Atal walked out onto the main chamber floor. A mumbling noise from one of the men on the panel broke the Chamber's ambiance and the Triton subjects erupted in the loudest cheer that JT had ever heard. In an instant, the people rose and jumped up and down on the floor. The building rumbled from the vibration.

Atal grabbed JT's arm and flung him into a chair on the last row of the chamber's floor and slid behind him still standing.

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed impossibly over the cheering subjects.

'Order in this chamber! There will be order in this chamber!' The man on the far right raised a large gavel and struck the steel table again, 'WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!' A hush quickly came over the crowd.

Atal reached beneath JT's chair and pulled a strange looking headset from beneath it and strapped it around JT's ears. JT grabbed the headphones and pressed them tightly against his ears. He heard a wavy, hollow rustling through the earpieces and then heard a deep grumbling as though someone cleared his throat. It sounded as if the person was sitting right beside him. JT quickly glanced at the man to his right, but Atal tapped him on the shoulder and pointed toward the panel of seven men. JT saw the man who had pounded the table with his gavel, place his fist over his mouth and cough. JT heard the cough as clear as a bell.

The man who had just coughed began to speak, 'Now that order has resumed, I hope that there are no other outbursts such as that one. This is a serious matter.' The man's voice reminded JT of a very large bullfrog.

JT heard a few groans residually through his headset from the other six men. He also detected a few members of the audience chuckle around him. It was apparent that those subjects didn't feel the council would heed their own sense of seriousness of the situation.

'Now that the chamber has been called to order, this business can now be dealt with as needed.' The man twisted his flowing beard in his fingertips and then slammed his gavel back on the steel table, 'WHAM!' 'Please bring in the sovereign right ruler of Godwin and the right representative from Triton.'

Two huge steel doors from the left side of the panel's table opened and two sets of guards, one from Triton and one from Godwin marched through with their respective red and white flags waving with every high step. Immediately behind the guards came the ruler of Godwin, Michael. He donned his finest royal outfit with a long, flowing silk robe and a larger, jewel-crusted, shiny crown. The crown, though still tainted with the color of blue from the air around him, glimmered and sparkled throughout the chamber. Worry dressed the young King of Godwin's face. JT could tell that Michael tried his best to show a sense of confidence, but his eyes told a different story -- a tale of a young man who was confused.

Behind Michael, the representative of Triton labored through the door. To JT's surprise, it was not Charlie; it was Tickler -- the slimy, little runt of a man that he had met when they arrived in Triton on the previous day. He was hunched over and dragging his left leg behind him while rubbing his hands constantly in front of him; his turban cocked to one side. The only noticeable difference JT saw in the disgusting little man was that he wore a brand-new outfit.

Just as the two representatives turned around the corner to enter the floor of the chamber, the entire hall erupted with approving cheers.

JT scanned around and the people were excited beyond normal. He wasn't sure at first, but he wondered if the subjects were cheering for their respective representatives or if they were cheering the fact that a solution or explanation of the exploding bridge may soon take place.

Guards moved hurriedly into place at the center of the chamber and surrounded two large, padded, metal chairs that sat on bases. Michael and Tickler climbed the few steps to their pedestals and took a seat. Tickler reached to shake Michael's hand, but Michael peered straight ahead at the panel of seven men and did not acknowledge Tickler's presence. A slight rumble of jeers snaked through the Triton side of the audience as they noticed Michael's show of disrespect toward Tickler, but the Godwin side's cheers grew louder and the subjects snapped their white flags intensely.

After a few moments and obviously accepting the adoration of the crowd in the chamber, Michael and Tickler placed headsets on and settled in their seats. The man on the far right of the panel slammed his gavel down on the steel table, 'WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!' 'There will be order in this chamber!' the man barked and JT yanked the headphones away from his ears because of the vociferous pounding.

'This inquiry has come to order!' a scratchy and nasal voice exploded over JT's headset. JT couldn't tell which one of the men on the council had spoken.

'We have been brought here today,' continued the voice, 'to hear about a terrible and horrific tragedy that has happened.' A groan ruffled through the audience. Even the indirect mention of the exploding bridge brought obvious disgust to the people.

The scratchy rough voice continued, but as it spoke there was a sense of sarcasm that rang through its tone, 'The Bridge of Common has been destroyed. Certainly one of our distinguished representatives can give us a reason why.' A deadly silence covered the audience as they sat in anticipation. 'Will the distinguished representative from Triton please let us know anything of value on why the Bridge of Common was destroyed?'

Tickler, with his greasy hair and his scraggly unkempt beard squirmed about in his chair. He cocked his head up toward his right and squinted his eyes as though he were trying to remember something. After a brief moment, he began to speak with his permeating, hissy voice, 'Yesss, yesss, my Majesty believes that the Godwin people look to destroy him and everything he has built.' An eruption of disdains and boos pierced the air from the Godwin side of the chamber. The Triton subjects remained silent.

'My Majesty feels as though Godwin wants to take all of our resources. They want to take all of our water. He feels as though Godwin wants Triton to be gone - wants us to be like them.' Tickler was restless. His lips turned white and his voice suffered. 'My Majesty doesn't know why we are even having this meeting. He thinks it is Godwin who destroyed the Bridge of Common and is blaming him with no cause. He feels as though Godwin did it because Godwin is jealous of Triton.' The Triton side of the chamber exploded in cheers this time, but the Godwin side did not stay silent. They stood up from their chairs and yelled with repugnance at the Tritonians and toward Tickler. They gestured with their arms toward the waving red flags and stomped their feet.

'WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!' the gavel from the man on the far right was relentless.

'Order! There will be order in this chamber!' The man had to pull his robe sleeve almost to his shoulder in order to bring the gavel down hard enough on the steel table for the entire chamber to hear it hammer over the cheers and shouts.

After a few moments the crowd subsided with a rumbled hush. The man on the far left spoke next. His voice was mellow, crisp, and smooth. 'If this is true, then why is the Triton army on the other side of the ravine at this moment?' Fluttering claps came from the Godwin side of the chamber. 'Surely, if Godwin had destroyed the bridge, your king would not have had his entire army waiting in such a short period of time.' The entire Godwin side of the chamber then erupted in applause nodding their heads in agreement.

Tickler squirmed restlessly in his chair and grinded his hands together. He rubbed them so hard that JT could see even in the blue-tinted air that they were turning red. He glanced toward the right and then spoke. His tone was uncertain. 'It was coincidence. Yesss, yesss, coincidence.' His words broke and chopped. 'My Majesty sent those troops to protect. He had information from spies that Godwin was going to do something terrible. He moved the army in case Godwin was to do something. Apparently they did.' The Triton side then erupted in applause and cheers.

Without warning another rumble quaked the ground and the entire building shook. An echoing of screams reverberated through both sides of the chamber. Members sunk their heads in their laps, and JT was jerked back and forth forcefully almost thrown from his chair. The rumble then swiftly halted.

Tickler straightened his headphones back on top of his head after the quake and excitedly stood up and pointed at Michael who remained still and silent as though he had not even noticed the rumbling. 'You see, they want to destroy us. The First from Eden is using his power to close the ravine so he can attack us.' Tickler pointed at the panel and then pounded his chest. 'We need to protect ourselves!'

A panicked murmur resonated through the crowd.

Atal Leer, who had been standing behind JT silent throughout the hearing, grabbed JT on his shoulders. JT turned to see a horrified look on his liberator's face. The man with the shaggy, thick beard quickly mouthed that he needed to leave the hearing and gestured toward the entrance. JT stood up as though he was going to leave with him, but Atal sat him back down on the chair and pulled the earpiece away from JT's right ear.

'You need to stay here. You need to listen to this,' Atal said sincerely.

JT nodded his head and Atal left the chamber. Six Godwin guards departed with him.

The crowd silenced after a few moments of uncertainty. They were now totally reliant on the outcome of the hearing. They hung on every word trying to make sense of the events that had and were taking place around them, hoping their leaders could resolve them.

'Certainly we need to understand what our friend from Triton is saying,' another voice echoed through JT's headphones. It must have been another man on the panel that was wearing a hood. JT could not see anyone's lips move on the panel. The voice sounded as though it emerged from a deep well. It boomed and pounded through JT's head. 'It's obvious that Triton's move is self defense. It seems to me, their sovereign kingdom is only protecting themselves from a throng of people who want to steal their resources and make them fall to their will. Look at what the First from Eden is doing. The ground just shook. That should be proof enough!'

A cheer came from the Triton side of the chamber, and the Godwin side hissed and booed. They couldn't believe someone would say this about them or their king.

'What do you have to say for yourself, our right and noble friend from Godwin?' continued the man with the scratchy voice echoing through JT's head. 'How do you defend this accusation?' Every eye in the Chamber of Common from the bottom to the top stabbed Michael's crown.

JT couldn't figure out but definitely wanted to know what was percolating in Michael's head as he sat silent and still. As JT continued to ponder, a slight breeze popped him in the back of the neck and ran through his hair. Michael stood up from his chair.

There was no describing what JT had seen in Michael as he stood in the middle of the chamber. The young monarch carefully held his robe as he rose, and though the tinted blue air gave everyone in the chamber the same hue, what light was left beamed through Michael's crown and illuminated the Godwin king as though a spotlight shown on him. Proud and distinguished he stood with his head slightly pointed upward. He then spoke.

'It's all lies,' began Michael trying hard to hold back his lisp with no success. 'There is no reason why the people of Godwin would want the Bridge of Common destroyed. We are trying to live our lives in peace with the people of Triton,' Michael sighed with a deep shallow breath. The chamber fell silent. 'We all have a destiny to fulfill in our lives. And the destiny of Godwin is to survive and prosper with its way of life.

We would have no reason to destroy the very thing that helps us protect that way of life. We trade goods with Triton using the bridge, and the ravine flowed with the water we received.' Michael took another deep breath. His confidence grew with every passing word.

'I will not lie, and I will say it is true that we enjoy the water we receive from Triton. We are grateful that they supply us with enough to enjoy the things we like to do such as maintaining our fountains and gardens. Some may say we use too much, but that is our way of life.' The Godwin side of the chamber erupted with thunderous cheers; their white flags whipping the air.

The man on the far right of the panel banged his gavel on the hard, steel table. 'Order will come to this chamber!'

After a minute more of joyous cheers, the chamber fell quiet.

'So, you admit that you want to take the resources of the people of Triton!' the deep, well-like voice rang through JT's ears.

Michael dropped his head. 'I admit only taking what we want to use.'

The Triton side exploded in angry, threatening jeers toward the young Godwin king.

Michael continued over the noise of the Triton people, 'But, there are hundreds if not thousands of Triton citizens that now call Godwin their home. They are free here. Free to make their destiny what they want. They are no longer under the control of a tyrant!' Heckles from the Triton subjects increased with intensity; some jumping out of their seats and throwing their fists toward the panel.

'WHAM!' went the gavel. 'There will be order here!' the man on the far right yelled again. The chamber reluctantly hushed.

The mellow, low voice from the unhooded man who sat on the left swam through JT's ears. 'So, if you say that it was not Godwin that destroyed the bridge, I assume that you believe it was Triton's doing? What do you plan to do, and why?'

Michael stood and shut his eyes. He was silent for a reflective moment, thinking, pondering, and shuffling through all of the options he may want to take to resolve the conflict. JT felt his heart jump from his chest. His left knee began to shake uncontrollably. The fate of Godwin depended solely on what Michael was about to say. In fact, JT felt that the fate of the entire land of Bruinduer hung on Michael's words.

'I will ask this chamber to sanction war against Triton if need be.' Michael bowed his head and breathed a mountain of air. 'But even if this chamber denies my request, I will utilize my option as a sovereign leader, and will go to war anyway.'

JT's jaw dropped.

Silence slammed hard over the chamber.

'Why?' the mellow voice cracked with concern. 'Why would you go to war over trading or even water? And why in this world would you fight for the citizens of Triton?'

'Freedom,' Michael said in a forceful tone without hesitation, his eyes burned with a seriousness that JT had never seen come from his long lost companion from Athens Eden. 'We will not bow down to the will of a leader who has lost his mind.'

The Chamber of Common shook from the thunderous, cheerful roars of the Godwin side and the biting, hateful dissent of the Triton side. JT thought the roof might fall to the ground from the noise. The Godwin side screamed for Michael's name to live forever, and the Triton side screamed for the Godwin king's death. The pandemonium seemed to last for an eternity.

The old man with the gavel slammed it as hard as he could on the steel table, and could only stop after a few minutes due to exhaustion. The chamber would have to fall silent on its own.

The chamber finally went still, and Michael stood in relaxed solace. He had become a leader. JT saw Michael's transformation right before his eyes. He saw the nervous, lost boy turn into a confident spokesman for his people. He couldn't understand why two days before, the Godwin citizens threw flowers at the wheels of his royal carriage, but now he knew why they loved him so.

'You do realize, leader of Godwin,' the deep, well-like voice echoed once again through JT's headset, 'that we will not sanction this war against Triton. We feel there is not enough evidence to warrant one. You will have to work this out for yourself.'

Michael nodded his head. 'We will have to hope then that –," Michael began, but suddenly the doors of the chamber flung open.

A nervous Godwin soldier ran across the chamber floor and stood in front of Michael and Tickler and meekly faced the Council of Common. He scanned around quickly and noticed that everyone was silently peering directly at him. Hot sweat ran and beaded down the sides of his face, and he quickly snatched the turban from his head respectfully and rung it in his hands.

'The... the... ravine,' the Godwin soldier stuttered. 'The... the ravine has... has closed. The Kingdom of Godwin and the Kingdom of Triton touch... again.'

' _His destiny must be fulfilled_ ,' the wispy voice danced through JT's ears. He knew it was Billy.

JT saw Michael look down at the soldier. The Godwin monarch then stoically and thoughtfully panned around at the Bruinduer citizens that lined the walls of the chamber. A tear trickled from his eye. JT didn't want to believe what he heard come from Michael's mouth next, but just the same, the words would ring through every person's headset in the Chamber of Common. 'War it will be.'"

Chapter 24

The night lingered casually in the giant hall of Warhead Dale. The rain continued to pummel the outside of the house painting the exterior walls and unloading its fury on the rooftops like steel ball bearings being poured into a tin bucket.

The noise earlier had made everyone in the house anxious, but now it became just another sound of the night. And in some way, the knowledge that even as bad as this tempest was at the moment, it was comforting to possess the knowledge that the sun would come up tomorrow.

After the children heard that Michael had declared war on Triton, the young boys in the group leapt from their spots in front of the intense fire and started acting as though they were battling with a ghost army. They ran about yelping charges of war shooting bullets from fingers and slashing unsuspecting victims with invisible swords. The little ones that were at the receiving end of the invisible bullets and blades clutched their chests and fell in agony.

Some of the young girls joined in the mêlée, but most sat staring at me, whom at that moment garnered a look of horror over their faces.

"Wait! Wait children!" I yelled out trying to calm them. "This is not a game!"

No matter how I tried to settle them, the children continued to bounce relentlessly around the hall pretending to kill each other. One clever little boy, made his way behind my black leather chair, and in his excitement at playing the game of war, rolled on the floor in front of me, leapt to his feet, and pointed his stubby little index finger right at my head. I stared at the fleshy barrel of his gun, and anger cleansed over me. I had not felt intense emotion in a very long time. The children had not realized or understood the anguish that pierced Michael's soul the second he muttered the words to go to war. It then dawned on me that maybe I did not express Michael's feelings well enough to prove my point. It is a very hard thing to read someone's mind.

The young boy, still with his pink finger pointing at me, drew his weapon to his eye and took aim. He winked and smiled at me. He then pulled the imaginary trigger on his imaginary gun and yelled out, "Bang, you're dead!"

"STOP!" I projected as loud as my voice would let me. I felt the rage depart my body like water rushing through a burst river dam. "SIT DOWN BACK IN FRONT OF ME RIGHT THIS MINUTE!"

The children froze where they were standing. The expressions of excitement, as they killed each other and fell to the floor, morphed into fear. They stood petrified, scared that I might lash out at them again.

"Now. Come and sit now," I said in a less ominous tone.

The children hung their heads and placed their arms shamefully to their sides, and very gently and quietly shuffled back to their places in front of the fire on the large brown rug. They peered up at me as though none of the events that had transpired in the last three minutes had even happened, and even if it had, they had no part in it.

With laser eyes, I gazed down at them from my big black leather chair, crossed my arms, and let out a huge rush of air. "I cannot believe that you have not learned anything from my story." The children glanced back with looks of sorrow. "Do you actually believe that Michael's decision to go to war was easy? Do you think just because he went in front of the panel in the Chamber of Common and exchanged a few words with Tickler that the idea of war just popped into his brain?" I paused for a second. "I'm ashamed of you," I explained, but I think I was acting more upset upon my emotions than actually feeling ashamed of my listeners.

The children hung their heads again and I waited. The silence was biting. "Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?"

The children popped their heads up and stared at me with anxious fright and nodded very tenderly. I believe they were afraid I would stop my story. But I would not.

"Well then, I must continue." The children's mood turned for the better and I could see once again that they were eager and willing to listen.

<***>

"Michael was feeling particularly somber after the hearing in the Chamber. He left immediately after he muttered the words that he would go to war with Triton and rushed to his castle while most of the subjects that attended the proceedings still stood in tranquil quiet as they watched the boy king of Godwin depart.

JT sat on his chair trying to comprehend what had just transpired. He brushed the headset from his ears and pondered the floor in front of him. He was proud of his friend in that he stood up to Charlie and his brazen disregard for the people of Godwin, but in some ways he questioned Michael's motive. What did he mean that he was going to war because of freedom?

There _would_ be war between the two lands that were once divided by a large ravine. Now, as the young Godwin soldier announced, the two kingdoms touched, leaving no gaping border to slow the charge of armies and war. Men and women alike, as the conclusion settled in their hearts, emptied the Chamber of Common and returned to their respective territories to brace themselves for the infamous event that was about to occur.

JT purposefully was the last to leave the chamber. It dawned on him right away as subject after subject passed, that no one really cared that he was a fugitive of Godwin and was supposed to still be imprisoned. What he really wanted to do was find Michael, and tell his companion that he would support him in his decision to go to war.

He left the chamber and earnestly walked into the Bruinduer night.

The stars danced and sparkled across the sky, and as he strolled up the winding roads of Godwin, he mysteriously and subconsciously felt at ease. He walked past numerous houses, finding himself peeking through open windows where he saw families embrace each other despite the upheaval of their lives. He saw men toss their sons and daughters into the air and grab around them with complete admiration and love. He saw women kiss there men as though it would be the last time they would see them, and older people laughed and danced as though they had no care in the world; especially the weight of the burden of battle.

JT knew there would be chaos and death in the land when the sun rose the next day over the desert, but tonight there would only be happiness; a feeling of hope and dreams. As he marched his way toward the ivory and golden tower of Godwin, he listened carefully to the sounds of the favored night, and for a brief moment, everything was good in Bruinduer.

Security around the castle was heavy, but lighter than it had been earlier that day. Godwin soldiers spent the night before the war with their families, and what security remained paid no attention to JT as he made his way up the stairs to Michael's castle. It was JT's assumption that Atal must have allowed him to pass even the thickest of security checkpoints within the citadel's walls, for he had no trouble at all as he went to find Michael.

He slipped through the entrance of the castle and the cascades of water that had poured so magnificently out of the mouths of the swans that stood on either side of the large ornate doors when he and Kali first ventured there, stood dry. He walked into the great hall and an unexplained feeling of coldness and death wash over him. He felt empty.

He climbed onto the small stage and up to Michael's throne, and with every step he could hear the echo of his feet as they clogged the stone floor. He ever so slightly grabbed around the back of the throne and clutched the golden back support. He felt a gust of wind spit in his face. An intense pain shot through his head. He shut his eyes and grimaced and felt himself fall forward. He did not feel the impact of his body crashing to the floor, but with pure luck immediately opened his eyes to complete darkness.

JT reached out in hopes of grabbing the throne to pull his body up, but he felt only a void. His legs were light beneath him and he realized that he was floating in mid air.

' _What in the world is going on?'_ he thought and realized everything happening to him was out of his control.

He hovered in the darkness for what felt like forever and then he heard a small thump, then a small snicker behind him. JT tried to swerve around to see where the noise came from, but then he heard it again. The snicker turned into a laugh that JT recognized. He heard that ominous, dark, booming, condescending, and simply outstanding laugh on the Shorts' farm and in Warhead Dale in dreams. He knew exactly who the welcomed laugh came from -- it was Billy, and he had finally showed up to help.

'Where are you?!' JT yelled out. He didn't know whether to feel happy, mad, or scared, but he did feel a sense of relief.

The laugh boomed louder and in the distance, after a brief second, Billy's two large, red eyes in possession of the blackest pupils JT had ever seen, opened.

'I'm right here, boy,' Billy's long growl shattered the lonely darkness around JT. 'Seems like you're in a bit of a pickle.'

'Yeah, with no help from you.' JT was perturbed at the Essence and then felt his feet settle on solid, black ground. 'I thought you were some kind of spirit guide. You know, a little guidance would be good right about now.' With his arms crossed, JT stood staring at Billy's eyes, now circling him.

'Hee, hee,' Billy chuckled sarcastically. 'I told you that these heathens in here had no belief. I can't do too much without people believing in me.'

'Then why are you bothering me? Don't you think you need to find somebody who does believe in you?' JT tapped his foot impatiently.

'It's lonely isn't it?' Billy scoffed and gave JT a minute to think. 'The blackness I mean. It just never seems to end does it?' His huge eyes blinked in a sort of I-know-what-you-are-thinking kind of way. 'Despite the contradicting thoughts I sense, I think I found someone who believes in me, and trust me when I say I had no idea that it would be the furthest person down my list.'

'Really?' JT stated. 'Well why don't you go bother them?'

Billy's laugh boomed. 'Gosh, you amaze me. Don't you see? It's you, boy. Whether you admit it or not, you believe in me. That's why I'm botherin' you. That's why I'm here now. Your belief in me has grown while you've been in Bruinduer. It's as though you are finally coming to grips with me --- and this world.'

JT tapped his foot and looked up at Billy's blazing, dark eyes. He shook his head and glanced away. 'I've seen you, right? I guess I've got to believe in you. You did say that people believe in what they see.' JT sighed. 'I have no one else to turn to but you. Michael is on some crazy crusade, and Kali just wants to get out of here, and I don't want Bruinduer to collapse. That's if it is really collapsing.'

Billy's laugh grew even louder and his eyes shifted in front of where JT was now looking. 'Bruinduer will collapse. That's a fact. But your faith in me and this world is the first step in saving it.'

'Then why don't you do something and end this nightmare now? Why haven't you done the right thing and stepped in and put a stop to all of this? I don't understand.' JT realized that he did believe in Billy no matter how his temper flared when he was around the big brut. There was a feeling of comfort when Billy whispered those lines in his ear while he was tracking through Godwin and Triton. And though he felt his hope fading since time was running out to save Bruinduer from its demise, he felt secure being with Billy now.

'It's hard to interfere in the ways of men. I have tried,' Billy explained. His voice descended a few notches. 'It is especially hard if you are in Bruinduer to learn as you are. Belief is a powerful motivator, and my power grows with belief. When one truly believes, it is then, that all can be revealed.' Billy's eyes began to circle JT once again. 'And all you really have to do is ask.'

JT pondered Billy's remarks and then thought about the times in Bruinduer when he thought Billy was there with him. He particularly thought about being on his throbbing knees in the grimy, dingy, smelly, wet dungeon of the Triton Pyramid. He asked for Billy then, but the only 'being' that showed up was a fat, brown rat. Or was it?

'Wait a minute,' JT said shaking his head. 'That was you? You were that little fat rat that chewed through the ropes as I hung from that hook?'

Billy laughed, 'Yes.'

'Why all the secrecy then, why not just appear and take care of business?' JT's voice became impatient.

'You said it yourself, boy. I'm only a guide.' The black eyes blinked again. 'I need people to believe in me. I need people to remember. They are starting to remember, but, just like you, they forgot.'

JT thought some more tapping his toe. He really wanted Billy to stop speaking in circles. 'Are you the one I've heard some people call Kaida..., Kaidawa..., or something like that?'

'You never could pronounce that name right,' Billy chuckled. 'You and your friends just called me Billy and that is just fine.'

'I thought you might have something to do with being the spirit of Bruinduer after Atal told me the story of the great intellect that once lived here, but I wasn't 100 percent sure. When I first learned about Bruinduer and you, I thought you were only available to guide me, Kali, and Michael; I didn't realize you guided everyone else as well.' JT paused. 'I admit. I was wrong. You are a much larger and a more meaningful variable for this world. Just as my grandfather said.' He hung his head and Billy let out a large sigh as though he accepted JT's apology. 'Well, these people are starting to believe in you, right? I mean, I heard many after the explosion and in the streets of Godwin call your proper name. You should go and do something for them,' JT's voice became excited. 'I saw this young girl with a little boy sitting on an embankment. She said that you would take care of everything. She said you would save them from all of these problems. I really believe she thinks that you will make their pain and sufferings go away.' JT felt odd. He was actually trying to tell Billy what he needed to do.

Billy remained silent. It was apparent he knew that JT was right in that he could end everything that was happening or prevent bad things from happening, but even as JT, Michael, and Kali had to abide by the rules of Bruinduer, obviously, he did too.

'You said this was simple and all I have to do is ask for your help. Well, I'm asking.' Panic seeped into JT's voice. He had to end this conversation and get back to the mission of saving Bruinduer. 'What do we do now?'

Billy's eyes stopped circling and peered down at JT burning a hole through him. 'People have a destiny to fulfill,' Billy began. His solemn, low, dark voice cut through the empty blackness. 'Rule number four: Your destiny in Bruinduer must be finished.' Billy blinked.

'You keep telling me that. I heard it when I was on the floor pummeled by guards here two days ago, in the desert with Joshua, and in the Chamber of Common. Now you tell me here. What does it mean? Whose destiny? My destiny? What destiny? Just tell me!' JT demanded.

'Sometimes we look to fulfill our destiny in the wrong places and at the wrong times. We think we are doing the right thing at the moment, but most of the time it's simple.' Billy's eyes moved higher above JT. 'You must try to think a little differently when I explain this.'

JT prepared himself the best that he could by trying only to focus on what Billy was telling him, though his thoughts wandered to Kali and Michael.

'We all want our lives to be grand. We want to be special and achieve some extraordinary feat or be an important person. In reality, most suffer from delusions of grandeur. Our destiny, in truth, may be as insignificant as opening a door. After that door opens, other events happen, and so on and so on.'

'Can I just get a straight answer?' asked JT. He was tired.

'Just think about your friend, the little rabbit Mikey. Think about why you're supposed to be here, and that everything else that's happening around you really doesn't matter. His destiny needs to be fulfilled.' Billy's eyes went dark and JT's eyes opened. He was lying on the stone floor of the great hall beside Michael's golden throne.

He looked up at the ceiling and gazed at the wonderful murals and stories that danced across it. His eyes wandered about, still trying to gain his bearings, when he noticed the shiny, gold trim of the walls.

He then peered at the glittering jewels that encrusted the borders of the paintings' frames. He then heard a groaning, painful, sobbing voice come from the little room that was to the right of the stage. It was the tiny room where he had almost punched Michael out two days ago.

He couldn't explain what went through his mind or how the idea even formed, but he figured out what Billy was trying to say to him. He knew what he had to do to save Bruinduer and it had nothing to do with Michael's war."

<***>

"JT walked to the door of the small room and placed his ear against it. He heard painful, sad, moaning muffled from the other side. He reached for the silver handle, opened it, and peaked inside the room. As the light flooded into the room from the great hall, it split the darkness and shone on the young King of Godwin. He sat on the small cushioned bench fastened to the wall. His elbows were perched on his knees and his head was buried in his hands.

When the light flickered in front of his feet, Michael quickly poked his face up toward JT. His eyes were swollen red and he was out of tears. His crown and glasses sat nestled beside him in the red pillows and his hair, once slicked back, was now in wretched shambles. He was exhausted and torn.

'What do you want?' Michael lamented in a deep, scratchy voice, his throat dry from his sobbing.

'Just to find you,' said JT calmly. He walked into the small room and shut the door. The room went dark. JT reached around on the wall out of instinct and flipped a switch. Gas lights lit and the warm light flickered gently across the walls.

'I'm not in the mood for any lectures,' Michael said as he planted his face back into his hands.

'I'm not here to lecture you,' JT began. 'I came to support you. I'm here to help.'

Michael's face wiggled in his hands as though he appreciated the gesture, but he kept his face hidden. 'Sometimes I don't think people understand what a difficult decision going to war is,' Michael started, his voice muffled from his hands, but JT could hear him just fine. 'When I left the proceedings in the chamber, I had people surround me and yell that I was going to war for nothing. They told me the men and women of Godwin would die in vain. They said that going to war over water was crazy.' Michael lifted his head and even the glowing gas lights illuminated his tortured face. 'It's not about that though, JT. It's about freedom.'

JT leaned against the wall beside the door and stared at his friend. 'I was wondering about all of that Michael, but only for a second; especially after what I saw in the chamber. When I saw you stand in front of that panel and show your conviction, to tell you the truth, I was inspired.'

'It's about freedom. I don't see how you can't see it!' Michael's voice was huffed.

'OK, OK I hear you,' JT said as he gestured to Michael to calm down.

'Look,' Michael began, 'the people here in Godwin live a certain life. Sure, we have our faults, but who doesn't? We live here because I made it free. I wanted people to be whom or what they wanted. I wanted to make this place like the Vryheid conceived it in their minds; a place where people could choose their own destiny.' Michael touched his heart and swallowed. 'I always had a problem with that out in the earthly world. I promised if I was ever able achieve what I have now, I and the people who would live here would not have that same problem.

The people liked the water that was supplied from Triton. It not only sustained our life, it gave comfort and joy. The citizens could create their beautiful gardens and luxurious fountains. They could take their baths whenever they wanted with as much as they wanted.

But Charlie comes along and betrays us even though he specifically said he would provide what water we wanted. To me, I think it's obvious he does not like our way of life. So, he controls the water supply and cuts us off from it, he destroys the bridge so we cannot trade, and ultimately we cannot become who we were destined to be. We are now at his mercy scared beyond our wits to do anything. We can then only bow down to his wishes. In the end, what Tickler was saying, Charlie's actions aim to destroy our way of life, and as the leader of Godwin, I will not let that happen.' Michael buried his face back into his hands and breathed deeply.

JT continued to stare at Michael. He took in and digested what he said, and he actually could see his point. The people of Godwin had the right to live the way they wanted, and they could not give their freedom to someone who was determined to destroy them and take it away in the process.

'But what's all that talk about freedom and your way of life, if you're all dead?' JT questioned.

'Exactly,' stated Michael. 'I'd rather be dead if I couldn't have my freedom.'

JT was surprised at the words he heard from Michael. This was totally opposite from the young man he met back at the farm under the big tree in the Ol' 22. That person seemed to want to manipulate his way back into Bruinduer to take his throne and live an easy life with no thought of protecting others. Now that same person, but a changed person, wanted to die for it.

'I guess you have to die for something.' JT nodded his head and gave a crooked smile. 'Might as well be for freedom.'

JT waited a moment and let Michael wrestle with his convictions. He hated to ruin the young king's inspired confidence, but explained why he was really there. 'I need to tell you something, and I don't think you're going to like it.'

'What?' asked Michael.

'It's about Billy. He's here,' JT stated.

'I know he is. I told you I knew he was here,' answered Michael. 'He's been trying to get back in my head ever since I walked through the Mahogany Door.' Michael shook his head and wiped away a few new tears he found trickling down his nose. 'I won't let him. I forgot about him.'

'He wants to help you Michael. He wants to help us, and all you have to do is ask,' JT said, but Michael shook his head violently in disapproval. 'Listen!' JT raised his voice. 'He told me that Bruinduer is going to collapse and you and Charlie are wrong, and I believe him; just like I believe my grandfather. I'm going to save Bruinduer and you are too, because Billy said you have to fulfill your destiny.'

'This is my destiny!' Michael barked. 'My destiny is here to save Godwin and live a life I can't have in Athens Eden!'

'Come on Michael, think!' JT became impatient. 'We were what, fourteen? Our destiny wasn't to rule Bruinduer. You said it yourself. We picked an adventure and completed that adventure, and once it was done, it was finished. We walked through the Mahogany Door and had an adventure. We could come back whenever we wanted, but the original task was finished. Don't you get it? You have to complete what you started. You have to fulfill that destiny -- the adventure you chose.' JT paused. 'You have to retrieve the Golden Diamond.' With his back pressed against it, he slid down the wall and buried his face in his hands. 'We can go home and Bruinduer will be saved. I will be saved. We will be saved.'

Michael was silent. He did not answer JT.

A few moments later, JT rose from his seat and shuffled over to Michael. He placed his hand on the back of the Godwin leader's shoulder. 'But I will fight with you Michael. I will fight Charlie to the death if needed.'

Michael glanced up at JT and smiled through his red, swollen eyes.

The door of the room creaked opened and Kali stepped through. She had also, probably at the hands of Atal Leer, been released from her cell. She had a worried but relieved expression upon her face. She slumbered over to JT and Michael. She had been listening to the conversation through the door. She grabbed them both, kissed them on their cheeks, and said, 'Tomorrow, it will finally be finished.'"

Chapter 25

I stood from my big, black leather chair and as I had a few times before during the evening, labored to the French doors of the great hall to the back of Warhead Dale, and gazed out into the darkness. My knees were very stiff and I couldn't believe what my eyes saw, but the storm outside had actually subsided. The wind did not howl and the rain did not lash the sturdy structure of Ol' Captain Luke's house. The sky was empty of the brilliant flashes of lightning that split the sky earlier and just above the sea's horizon, I caught the hint of small specks of starlight.

I pondered about the afternoon and now evening of storytelling. My grandson as well as I, believed that my telling this story might bring character and charm to this mansion by the sea, but unfortunately I found myself at the precipice of having no idea what to tell the twenty or so kids that huddled in a circle by the fire behind me about war.

I hung my head thinking about how to create a grand battle of the good guys defeating the bad in a scene of blazon glory. I felt, however, that the wonderful children who came to hear my tale and the brave men who actually fought in the war deserved more than that. In my opinion, those victors and losers on the fields of battle and the legacy they produced deserved the dignity of not experiencing the retelling of the gruesome, horrific sights on foreign soil they probably spent a lifetime trying to forget. I knew I had.

I turned back toward the children and smiled a fleeting smile with care. I hoped that they would not feel ill of me if I left particular descriptions out of the rest of my narrative. Even if they did feel ill of me, it would make no difference; I would not change my mind. Those descriptions of pain and death would be left out. Kali was right; it would finally be finished.

<***>

"I am not sure that you are ready for the horrors and pain of war," I stated.

The children stared at me dumbfounded with disbelief, as though they knew what war was like and what it contained.

I am not naive. I had been on the earth for a great number of years more than these young people in front of me, and I knew of the images of violence that had passed across their TV and movie screens. I had seen some of those shows, so I only answered their perplexed, cynical gaze in the most polite way I knew how. "Well, real war anyway."

I paused and most of the boys crossed their arms and huffed.

"No, no," I continued, "You are not ready for the agony of battle or the sights that accompany it. But, I shall not lessen this story or its meaning. I will let you know when the Bruinduer war takes place and I will pause for a few moments. During that period, you can conjure up as many nasty sights and sounds that you wish, but I will not tell you of the cuts and bruises and pain and screams. I will not tell you of the soldiers who die in agony or the vilest of men who relish in the suffering of them. You will have to paint your own picture of that, and I pray that you will never have to see or experience the reality." I took a deep breath and wet my dry throat. "You will know when the actual war takes place, but like I promised; I will pause."

The children eyed each other with uncertainty, but they wanted to hear the rest of my story, and I wanted to finish it.

"Morning cracked the Bruinduer sky and JT opened his eyes. He had found himself in a very comfortable spot in a gigantic bed in the Godwin Castle. He liked that bed. It was the bed that Michael had let him sleep in the first night he was in Bruinduer. He was also happy that Michael realized he was on the monarch's side and did not force him to return to the cold, steel bed of the Godwin prison.

The light of the morning was soft and the window to his room was opened to a beautiful, clear blue sky. JT didn't pay any attention to it or he just didn't notice, but the filmy haze that had covered the Bruinduer sky since JT had been there vanished. It seemed to him that whatever might happen next was becoming clearer. He gazed out of the window from his bed and enjoyed the moment but was startled by a bird that suddenly perched itself on the windowsill.

It wasn't a small bird, maybe a foot tall. It was dark brown and its head shifted from side to side as it examined JT with concern and curiosity.

JT's anxiety about the war and the events of the day before flushed from his body and he studied his new friend that had made its way to his window. What was this bird thinking? What problems did that bird have at this moment? Was it hungry? Had it been in some kind of fight, or had it killed another animal? What was troubling the bird, or was it troubled at all? Maybe the bird was feeling rather well that sunny morning and just wanted to stop by and say hello. The endless scenarios and plights of the bird ricocheted through JT's brain.

He quickly pulled his blanket just to the bottom of his cheek. He did not want to lose the feeling of content he experienced at that moment. It is very rare when one finds themselves in a complete, comfortable spot in their bed, and I speak the truth when I say those times must be savored. He almost fell back into a quick sleep, but the door of his peaceful room flung open with a loud bang. The brown, curious bird scurried away from the windowsill.

JT pulled the covers over his head in a futile attempt to try and disappear. As he heard footsteps rustle on the floor, he heard a very familiar song.

Unable to keep his curiosity at bay, JT threw the covers from his head and in front of him were the twins, the fat man, and the skinny man that had bathed him when he first met Atal Leer after entering Bruinduer through the Mahogany Door.

The fat man sung his song with a voice like an organ, and the tones danced across the room in a celebratory, joyous fashion pitching up and down despite the event of the day. The four men were dressed in immaculate silk jackets, trousers, and boots with bright white turbans. The twins and skinny man pulled the reluctant JT from his bed and led him to another room where he was bathed just like he had been before.

The men laughed, danced, and sang as they splashed JT with hot water and scrubbed the filth that had accumulated on his body since traveling to Triton and back to Godwin. They washed the dirt and grime that had caked his skin after the Bridge of Common exploded and cleansed the sand from his packed pores that accumulated after he fell to the desert floor searching for Kali.

The bath was rather quick, but JT swore it had taken forever. When he was finished, the freshness made him feel like a new man. The happy brothers then wrapped him into a fine, crisp silk robe.

The twins, fat man, and skinny man led JT down the maze of corridors within the Godwin Castle and out into the great hall. They danced and sang and praised JT with every graceful step. They knew what he was going to embark on that day; they knew he was going to war. If he would not see them the next morning, the four brothers wanted his last memory of them to be one of joy.

The bathers led JT past Michael's throne and to the small room that was off to the right where JT found himself during many discussions with Michael. The singing from the men abruptly stopped and the fat man with a deep voice announced through the door, JT's presence.

'Sire, he is here.' The fat man glanced back at JT and then to his three companions. JT bowed very skittishly, and the men turned and sang and danced their way out of the great hall of the Godwin Castle. JT would definitely never forget them.

'Come in, JT,' JT heard the muffled, lispy voice of Michael say through the door.

JT cracked opened the door and peeped inside the room. He saw Michael sitting on his red pillow laden bench. His legs were crossed and he was wearing the same type of silk robe that JT donned.

'It's all right, JT. No arrests today.' Michael smirked and patted the bench beside him.

JT shook his head agreeably, entered the room, and plopped down beside Michael.

A few seconds later the high-pitched voice of a young woman pierced through the door of the small room, 'Sire, she is here.'

The door swayed open, and Kali stepped into the room. She stood very nervous also wearing the same type of robe as JT and Michael. She tried to keep the top of the robe clamped with her right hand and pulled on the bottom of it with her left hand as to try to stretch its covering ability. Her hair was still damp from the bath she had just received.

'Hi,' stated Kali. 'I wasn't expecting this.'

'Sorry,' said Michael. 'I have something important to say.' Michael shooed JT from his perch on the bench.

JT walked over and stood beside Kali. 'You OK?' he asked Kali as she looked upon him with comforting eyes.

'Yes, I'm fine. In fact I haven't felt this good in quite a while. It's weird –'

'OK,' Michael interrupted Kali. He reached for the bench and pulled the seat up. 'I'm sorry I brought all of this to bear on you guys. I should have listened to JT and gotten this over with a long time ago. I should have just waited for you guys after we came through the Mahogany Door, got Charlie, and left Bruinduer forever. Everything that has transpired to this point shouldn't have happened, and now, we have to go to war over my stupidity to fix this.' Michael reached into the bench and pulled out a pile of clothes. 'I kept these clothes after we came through the door and received yours from Atal. I think it's time that we are who we really are instead of pretending to be something we aren't, or at least in my case, something I definitely am not.' Michael pointed at his crown which was lying on the floor in the farthest, darkest corner of the little, gas lit room. 'Let's finish our destiny here like we should've done in the first place.' Michael plopped the clothes on the ground in front of their feet. 'I think we should go into the Battle of the End as the group who started the adventures in the first place. I think it's time to conjure up the BEC.'

JT felt a shot of adrenaline pierce his veins. It felt like a very right thing to do. The trust that lapsed between the two old chums began to materialize once again.

The three dressed (JT and Michael turned away from Kali as she dressed herself since it would not have been a gentlemanly thing to watch her) and stood in the small room as the reunited BEC. They had finally become the team they had created from the beginning of their adventures; the group that traveled through Bruinduer to manage and complete their adventures in Bruinduer.

'General,' Michael clasped JT's shoulder with a shivering, reverent voice. 'Captain,' Michael reached and grabbed Kali's elbow. He then shuffled over to the small bench, sat on top of it, and hung his head. Obvious tears flooded his eyes as he realized that he had betrayed his friends.

JT felt the urge to walk over to Michael, place his hand on his shoulder, and pronounce, 'rabbit.' He suddenly remembered that was what Billy called him as they went on adventures in Bruinduer, but JT mostly wanted to announce the nickname to sting him because the young skinny man from Athens Eden had definitely carried this adventure too far. JT remembered, however, Michael's speech in the Chamber of Common and the passion that seeped from his voice. He remembered that Michael was willing to risk everything, including his life for the freedom of the people of Godwin as well as Triton. He admired him. He remembered he told Michael that he would follow him into battle, no matter what the cost may be to him, so any joking would have to wait.

JT shuffled his feet over to Michael, placed his hand gently on his right shoulder and squeezed.

Michael glanced up at JT; his eyes were red and had a glazed look to them.

'Majesty,' stated JT with a smile.

<***>

The three Bruinduer adventurers stared at each other for a few minutes before they decided to walk out of the little room, out of the great hall, and into the Bruinduer daylight.

It was very hard to understand what they were thinking. Were they doing the right thing, or was this just another in the series of disasters that would finalize their imminent doom?

JT hoped the war would end quickly. He was very squeamish at the prospects of getting injured by a weapon from the hands of another person. The thought of metal piercing his skin made him shudder. Despite this fear, he would do his best to fulfill his promise to Kali and keep her safe during the battle and also save Bruinduer.

Michael rubbed his hands together much like Tickler. His skin turned red, dry, and coarse. He had an idea of what the battle may be like, but he didn't know how it would be for real. During The Battle for Godwin; the first, last, and only war he ever had with Charlie, he was not required to actually put his life on the line. It was the Triton king's game to 'formalize' the formation of the two kingdoms. His nerves were electric and he pondered his past which led him to this moment. Could he put a lifetime of disappointment behind him and lead his army to victory? Whatever the outcome, he was determined to see at least JT and Kali through the battle that he was responsible for starting. Hopefully, one day, they could forgive him.

Kali's tongue remained muted and she emptied her thoughts. She didn't want to be there, it was obvious, but she realized that what was transpiring around her was much larger than any superficial shortcomings she projected onto Michael. She had seen the destruction that Charlie could accomplish firsthand, and she believed that if they did not act, Bruinduer would collapse and she would die. She wanted to go home.

JT, Kali, and Michael laid their apprehensions and concerns aside and walked out of the Godwin Castle. They had to shield their eyes from the blazing rays of the Bruinduer sun which shone brighter than they had seen since stepping through the Mahogany Door.

'Go on ahead, Michael. I need to say something to Kali,' JT stated and tugged Kali gently on her arm and held her back for a few steps. Michael walked slowly ahead of JT and Kali. Every few moments he would spy over his shoulder curious over the secrecy.

'I want to tell you something,' JT said to Kali in a low whisper; his throat was dry.

Kali stopped, lowered her head, and then gazed up at JT's eyes waiting for his words.

With an awkward swallow, JT began, 'I don't know how to say this.' He shuffled restlessly and rubbed his hands together. 'I'm sorry I haven't really had a chance to talk to you since all of this started. You know since we were led off to the Godwin prison.' Michael snuck a peak back at the two talking and JT continued. 'I know this has been real crappy. But there's something I need for you to know.' JT panned to the ground and slid his right foot back and forth in a semicircle. 'I think...' JT couldn't find his words and stuttered 'I... I... think...'

'What JT? Are you going to tell me that you care for me, or that you might even love me?' Kali blurted out in a snicker.

'Well... I don't...' JT scratched the back of his head.

'Forget about it. This isn't you.' Kali shook her head. 'I was just hoping that you would tell me goodbye.' She smiled at JT, and JT's eyes widened. 'That is, if we even make it through this thing.'

JT had no idea how to respond.

'Um,' JT stumbled over the words he wanted to say. He wanted to tell the beautiful girl with the fire blue eyes that he cared for her, but he thought quickly about the response she might have when he told her what he really wanted to say. He turned his body slightly to guard against a possible unwelcome punch. 'I don't want you to fight in this war,' JT got the words out, but they were followed with a long pause; every second that passed, the anger rose in Kali.

'Why JT?' Kali retorted and slapped JT's side that he carefully placed between him and a rogue reaction. 'Is it because I'm a woman?'

'No.' JT's brain locked. 'Well - I mean -' the hole he was digging with Kali grew deeper. 'I thought that you wouldn't want to fight because you want to leave and you were injured in the bridge explosion and last time you were here...' He paused, his thoughts betraying him. 'Plus there is something else I really want you to do. I only can trust...'

'What is it that you want me to do, JT?' Kali stated with sarcasm she hadn't displayed since being in front of Warhead Dale chastising Michael as they scaled the gate. 'You want me to wash your clothes? Hey! I know... you want me to cook you and Michael up a victory meal after the war?' Kali grunted, threw her hands into the air, and whirled away storming toward Michael who had noticed the fight.

'So much for that whole timid, indifferent act since we've been here,' JT mumbled under his breath. 'I just wanted to be caring and all...'

Kali stopped, because she heard the tail end of JT's remarks. She turned back to him and pointed her finger while she placed her other hand on her hip. 'Listen up! I have just as much at stake here as you, and if you really cared about me, you'd know that I would never turn my back on my friends!' She took a very deep and long breath trying to calm her emotions. 'And you'd also know that I don't need to be coddled by some stupid boy!'

JT remained silent and somewhat beleaguered. He didn't feel like fighting with Kali. He tossed his hands in the air and jogged to catch up with Michael. Michael gazed at JT and shook his head. 'You'll never learn.'

'Whatever,' answered JT.

The three stepped down the Godwin palace steps and met in front of a large caravan of troops (certainly not the entire army) on horses carrying white flags that rustled and beat in the wind.

A tall, thick Godwin guard with a red beard and worn, rugged face stood confidently at the bottom of the steps and held the leather reins of a beautiful white stallion.

'You're Majesty, your horse is ready,' the guard stated with a commanding but gentle tone and the horse blew out a heavy breath. Its white hair bounced up and down as though in approval of Michael's presence.

'Good boy,' Michael whispered as he leapt on top of his mount. He nestled comfortably in the saddle as though it was second nature.

'I never knew you rode.' JT looked up at Michael as the young monarch turned the horse in a circle.

'This is Justice,' Michael stated. 'I've been riding now for some three years - since I became king.' Michael petted Justice's head. 'To tell you the truth, I only started to ride because I knew you wanted to ride.'

'I told you, you took him under your wing,' Kali stated and nudged JT.

'Oh yeah, I almost forgot.' Michael pointed back over his shoulder. 'Here come your two rides.'

Kali and JT's eyes bulged. Guided by two Godwin guards, Joshua and Gabriel trotted beside the caravan of soldiers. They gracefully kicked up to the obviously ecstatic JT and Kali. The two horses were brushed and bathed and appeared as though they had never seen an ounce of dirt. Their smooth black coats glimmered in the sunlight and the majestic animals lifted their legs high as they marched confidently to the sides of their riders.

'It's so good to see you my friend,' JT explained to Joshua. Joshua buried his nose under JT's hand and let out a light, happy whinny.

Kali hung her arms around the neck of Gabriel and the horse rocked back and forth with delight at seeing the young woman. 'I thought I would never see you again.' Kali leaned in to the horse and patted him on the neck.

'I'd hoped this would be to your liking,' Michael stated as JT and Kali bounced on top of Joshua and Gabriel. 'Some of the guards told me that these horses were wandering around last night looking for something. They said they were covered with dust and grim that could've only come from the explosion. I guessed you had ridden them last. Not too many horses around here with burning eyes like those.' Michael looked on at the happy reunion with a smile. 'I'm glad I guessed right.'

JT nodded to Michael and jammed his foot into Joshua's side. 'Let's ride.' The caravan rode off to the desert.

The lead caravan wound its way down the roads of Godwin. Women and children lined the rock filled streets to watch their warriors pass. Some children even raced beside the brigade until their breaths gave out, but most of the streets were dead of activity. JT happened to notice surprisingly that the day became more beautiful as the minutes passed, and for some weird reason, he actually felt good about what he was about to do.

The caravan crested over its last turn before the leaders came in full view of the Desert of Share. As they did, JT's mouth fell open wide.

'You have got to be kidding me,' he mumbled as he tried to hide the utter horror that filled his eyes.

In the distance, JT saw the rest of the Godwin and Triton armies facing each other. On the side closest to him, a sea of Godwin soldiers dressed in blue faced an ocean of Triton guards dressed in black on their opposite. The white flags of Godwin and the red flags of Triton rose like hundreds of small sailboats navigating those same waters. JT could hardly see the desert floor through the mass of humanity prepared for battle.

JT peered over his left shoulder where the Chamber of Common had stood the day before, but apparently over the evening, it had disappeared.

'I guess there will be no more negotiating,' JT said as his caravan passed the empty spot where the Chamber once stood.

The Bruinduer sun crept stealthily higher in the sky as JT, Kali, Michael, and the brigade of Godwin guards rode toward the hot, sand laden battlefield. As the sun hung right above them, the team found its way to the Godwin side and the sea of soldiers parted letting Michael, JT, Kali, and the others pass through so they could take their place at the front of the army. As they passed, soldiers erupted in cheers and screams of approval and salutation. The sun shone brilliantly off the metal blades of swords some soldiers waved in the air. Others violently waved turbans and snapped their flags in the Bruinduer sky. Chills ran up and down JT's spine from the outcry, and after a long pass and review, he, Michael, Kali, and the rest of the Godwin caravan from the castle halted at the lead of the army.

JT scanned across the hundred yards that separated the two armies. The Triton army stood as still as a planted forest of stone, and their red flags waved ever so gently in the crisp, warm breeze. He saw Charlie in the lead of his army dressed in golden armor with three soldiers flanking him with red flags mounted on large black horses that looked more like rabid beasts than graceful animals. Tickler, suited in gray armor was mounted on a quite smaller horse on the monarch's left.

In a very arrogant way, JT thought he saw Charlie wave to them from the other side; his golden hand sparkled in the sunlight.

Fifty yards between the armies was a very defined line that once was the large, water-filled ravine where the Bridge of Common landmark had stood. JT panned up and down the length of the line. In the center he noticed that large steel fragments of the former bridge jutted out of the sand where the land closed on top of it forcing the spires of metal, cable, and beams into the air. A bitter cold shot through JT's body as he recalled the memory, the heat, the screams, the chaos, and the pain after the impressive structure had exploded. Now nothing was left but bits and pieces growing from the desert floor pointing to the heavens.

'That shaking yesterday,' stated JT as he glanced back toward Michael.

'Yeah?' Michael answered puzzled.

'That must have been the desert closing together,' JT responded.

'Uh huh,' Michael replied with indifference.

After a few minutes passed, the Godwin side settled and returned to a posture just as statuesque as the Triton army. Michael stared toward Charlie and JT knew that Charlie was staring back at them. JT peered at Michael for a few seconds, and then glanced toward Charlie. He repeated this for nearly five minutes. The suspense was ripe.

'So now what?' JT asked, breaking the tension. He rocked back and forth on Joshua almost as though he were ready to start the war with a charge. For some reason deep within he was ready to fight. The aura of battle and the ancient warrior cloaked over him. He knew what to do. The pieces of metal that punched through the desert sent fire through his veins. He wanted revenge. The fear he felt about the metal slashing his body disappeared.

Michael said nothing.

'We go and talk,' Kali stated.

'Talk?' JT answered angrily. 'He killed all those people.' His mind was fuzzy. The excitement of war now penetrated his body. Hate now engulfed him.

Michael recoiled at JT's willingness to fight.

'JT, think,' Kali stated. 'Maybe we can end this right now without fighting. You're losing your focus. Maybe Charlie really doesn't want to fight. Maybe we can convince him just to go home.'

'Not likely,' Michael stated. 'Remember, it has been 150 years for him here in Bruinduer with his power. It won't be easy. He likes stuff like this. Remember? It's just a game to him.'

'Well, I think it's a chance worth taking,' said Kali. She wanted to be levelheaded about this.

JT gritted his teeth and circled with Joshua. He nodded his head. 'OK, OK!' He calmed the rush that pierced his body. 'We'll go and talk, but I agree with Michael. I don't think we're leaving this battlefield without a war.'

Kali sank her heels into Gabriel's side. JT and Michael followed. They would meet Charlie, Tickler, and three Triton guards in the middle of the battlefield; flags waving."

Chapter 26

"Why didn't they just charge and fight!" a little brown-haired boy who had been pretty quiet most of the day blurted out loud.

I was a little taken aback and assured that he probably didn't pay any attention at all to my last speech about rushing to war.

"I tell you what. You guys certainly are in a hurry to just fight it out," I stated with an aggravated smile, but then quickly returned to my former jovial self. I didn't want my story to turn into an elitist sermon. "I think though if you will permit," I continued, "that it is in every human conscience that we must extinguish every means of diplomacy before we raise the sword against our enemy. All through history, generals who lined up across from each other ready to fight have always met in the middle of the battlefield or in other places before the war in hope that a possible compromise could be reached. This meeting, in my opinion, is the last grasp at humanity that blood will not be shed on that day." I glanced down at the floor and then back to my little brown-haired friend. "I wish I could tell you in my heart of hearts that these meetings worked and that in a single compassionate moment, every difference the nations may have had evaporated. To tell you the truth, I don't know if it has ever happened that way. So, Kali was right in calling for the meeting with Charlie. Maybe this time, just maybe, it would work. If anyone knows of a time when a pre-war meeting has taken place, and no blood was shed, please do not hesitate to tell me."

As soon as I finished my speech, there was a crack of thunder outside and the nighttime heavens opened up again and the storm that seemed to have disappeared returned more powerful. The winds and rain once again raked across Warhead Dale. I continued the story.

<***>

"Kali, Michael, and JT met Charlie along the large crack in the Desert of Share that was the large ravine that trafficked water to Godwin. JT purposefully paused in front of a large piece of metal that once was part of the Bridge of Common that now jutted out; its spurs grew out like large fingers. He wanted to remind Charlie what he had done. He wanted him to see the cold, gray, lifeless piece of steel.

Charlie rocked back and forth on his large, midnight horse; his golden armor, and large silver sword clanged together with every shuffled move. His intense eyes focused on Michael, though he could not help but glance at JT who sat still upon Joshua beside the large hunk of metal.

Charlie did not seem as cynical as he was when JT last saw him in the Triton Pyramid. He appeared more in control and command of his armies behind him; confidence oozing from his pores. It was obvious that he had fought in many wars before as was evidenced by his explanation of the many painted murals in the great pyramid's hall. JT, however, only saw evil, not a great triumphant monarch.

'So,' began Charlie, 'it has come to this.'

'Because of you,' JT chimed in from his stilled perch. Michael flipped his head toward JT and gazed at him as though he were angry at his outburst. It was his duty he thought to do the talking.

'Come on guys. It doesn't have to be like this. Let's just all get along,' Charlie's brazen cynicism returned. 'How about it?'

'Fine. Just tell your army back there to toss their weapons, and we can all go home.' Michael tried to sound forceful and commanding, but his lisp and attire made his attempt seem childish.

'Dressing down for the occasion I see,' stated Charlie in reference to the clothes that Michael, Kali, and JT wore (If you remember, they had changed back into their regular clothes that they wore when they entered Bruinduer through the Mahogany Door).

'I think the way we're dressed is the least of your worries,' JT spoke up once again. 'You're leaving Bruinduer with us regardless of what might be going through that itty-bitty brain of yours.' JT's temper flared relentlessly. For a brief moment he thought about charging Charlie, but then realized again that it would probably do no good. The war would only start early.

'Oooh... tough words there,' Charlie stated. 'I've seen conjured armies better than you in this place, so don't think that scares me.' Charlie continued rocking back and forth on his horse. Though he wouldn't have admitted it, he looked very nervous at what JT had said.

'I want to know what Michael thinks,' Charlie said in a sleek tone and gripped his horse's reins tightly. 'Seems to me, but I might be wrong, he's still the king of that ragtag bunch of people he calls subjects.'

Michael jerked his eyes to Charlie and then to JT. He acted as though he wanted to defer the discussion to JT.

'Don't look at JT,' retorted Charlie. 'I heard about what you did in the Chamber. You stood up, and I'm astonished. Don't listen to the wannabee. You can make your own decisions.' Tickler snorted toward JT. Charlie finished. 'Tell me what you think.'

'I think that you need to leave us alone,' Michael replied without hesitation. 'I think JT's right. I think we need to end this. This has gone on too long. It's time to leave, Charlie.'

'Please,' Charlie began, his voice becoming louder, firmer, and more extreme. 'You didn't seem to think that when you first came through the Mahogany Door.' Charlie circled around on his horse. The beast breathed deeply and small, snake-like strands of smoke slipped out of his nostrils. 'You practically begged me to let you have your own kingdom. You said you couldn't stand the world beyond Bruinduer. What was it you said?' Charlie paused and rocked back on his saddle and lifted his gold wrapped arm toward the domes of the Godwin Castle. 'I think you told me you had nothing in the real world anymore and that this is what you wanted; a chance to control your own destiny, just like the Vryheid.'

Michael took a deep breath. 'That was then; this is now, Charlie.' Michael shook his head. 'We've gone too far. You're right; it doesn't have to be like this. I know you know Bruinduer is going to collapse. JT's right.'

JT glanced at Michael with astonishment.

'If I can feel it in the winds, I am certain you can. You know Billy is getting stronger. He won't let you -' Michael was interrupted by Charlie.

'No!' Charlie yelled. 'Billy is forgotten. I will not let this happen. He will not have this land. It's mine. Bruinduer is my destiny then. I've been in power here for over 150 years. Who do you think closed the ravine?' Charlie, clanging, spread his arms out and gestured toward the dark crack in the sand. Tickler laughed. 'Come on Michael. You know you want to stay here in Bruinduer and live like a king. Look at what you have. JT's pathetic. He can't remember anything so he's pushing it all on you and Kali to do his bidding. He's fighting a lost cause.' Charlie gripped his horse's reins tighter if it were possible. 'We can do this together, Michael; just like we did in the past. We can take Billy together and keep Bruinduer alive. We'll be loved for eternity.' Charlie's expression was almost begging. 'Why remember history when you can be history?'

Michael panned between JT and Charlie. 'I think my destiny lies somewhere else. I don't want to do this anymore. I don't think I can handle eternity...' Michael pierced his lips, 'or the weight of history.'

'Then you're a coward!' barked Charlie his face crinkled into a snarl.

A brittle breeze blew across the sands of Bruinduer and Charlie was almost tossed from his saddle despite the weight of his armor. Charlie's confidence turned to fear.

'Charlie, you're so full of it,' JT started. 'Nobody around here loves you. You just want to destroy this land and oppress your people. Why do you think we ran into a lot of your so-called loyal subjects crossing the Bridge of Common and coming to Godwin?' JT nudged Joshua and trotted beside Charlie across the crack. 'They don't like you.' JT leaned toward the Triton king. 'I think you're just bored. That's why I figure you didn't kill Michael as soon as he came through the mahogany door at the beginning of all of this. You saw in him just another subject for a freshly painted mural on your wall.' JT nodded condescendingly. For some reason, he knew that he was right. 'I think you like causing all of these people harm. I think you enjoy imposing your beliefs on them, when it's obvious they just want to be free.' JT sunk his heels into Joshua and returned to Kali and Michael's side. 'Soon enough though, your Majesty, you'll see some of your loyal subjects, and the blades of their swords.'

Charlie looked at JT and shook his head. 'You have no idea. You left me in this place. This is my destiny.'

'I think you're scared,' Kali began her first interjection into the conversation as she had only been listening up to that point. 'As a matter-of-fact, I know you're scared. You're scared of JT.'

'Him?' Charlie answered pointing at JT. 'No way am I scared of him. Like armies, I've seen better conjured soldiers in this place than he.'

'You were always scared of JT,' said Kali. 'You even had to sneak your way into Bruinduer through Michael because you knew JT wouldn't let you.' She stared at JT. 'JT's not conjured up, Charlie. Even though he can't remember a thing, you do. After 150 years you still know what kind of person he is and you're scared to death.'

The wind wafted and fell still.

'This isn't your destiny,' JT started at Charlie. 'It wasn't even started by you. This is Michael's destiny and it must be finished, so you might as well end this now.' JT had not mentioned the object, but somehow sensed Charlie knew what would end the conflict. 'Just give us the Golden Diamond so we can all go home.' Charlie's eyes squinted.

'Oh, and I do know you're not scared of me,' JT began again. 'Kali's wrong.' He shook his head. 'You're scared of Billy.' Charlie rocked back and forth on his horse, his body tensed. 'You're scared that there's something out there bigger than you, and I'll bet you know that your people are talking about him; remembering him. I'm sure you've heard his real name bounce around your kingdom, probably for a while now. You know Charlie - you can't control what you had no control over in the first place - just like the ocean and its tides.' JT turned Joshua back toward Godwin and talked over his shoulder. 'He _is_ out there and the tide is turning. I would be scared if I was you.' JT began his trot back to the Godwin army lines. Michael and Kali glanced at JT leaving and then back to Charlie shrugging their shoulders. After a few seconds, they turned and followed JT and Joshua.

'Is that what this is about?!' Charlie yelled at JT, Kali, and Michael's backs. 'The Golden Diamond - some old being that has no power?! You'll have to come and take it because I'll never give it up!' Charlie's voice cracked. 'I'll show you how scared I am. I'll show you!'

'Yesss, Master will show you how scared he is!' Tickler echoed.

'Shut up!' Charlie barked at his servant.

'War it is then,' mumbled JT. He, Kali, and Michael plugged their heels in to the sides of their horses and galloped to the front of the Godwin lines and prepared for battle."

<***>

I became silent and fumbled about in my big black leather chair as the war in my story crept ever closer.

"Are you OK?" a little voice pierced the air; then a booming thunder clap echoed through the halls of Warhead Dale. It was the voice of my little blonde-haired friend who had sat with me earlier in the evening and was now at the foot of my chair.

"Yes," I spoke. "I am fine. I'm sorry I'm just a little nervous. As I told you before, war is a serious matter and should never be taken lightly, even when telling a story." I told this story to my grandson when we were both years younger. Thinking back, I should have taken the advice that I am giving to the children, because I remember being a colorful advocate of the romantic, glorified part of war. I became still and reflected on the years that were heaped upon me that have matured my beliefs on the matter, and my tale now would be more delicate.

"JT, Michael, and Kali stood tall atop their horses, turned, and faced the lines of Triton.

Godwin sentries trotted up to the three and readied their bodies for battle with armored vests and steel-plated leg covers. Though Kali and Michael slipped helmets on their heads, JT did not. He tried, but he complained that the helmet obstructed his view. They were handed long, silver, solid, shining sabers with thick, black banded handles. Even though the swords seemed too large for the three soldiers, they were quite easy to handle.

'Hold on a second,' JT said as the last Godwin guard left their sides. 'Where's Atal?' JT just realized that Atal Leer, the Godwin leader of the Bronze Brigade was nowhere to be found.

'I told you,' began Michael. His voice muffled by the metal helmet that was now on his head. 'He doesn't go over to the Triton side. He has never been there that I know of.'

'But this is a time of war. Why wouldn't he be by his king - by his troops?' JT asked and shook his head. He felt safe near Atal, and now the realization showered over him, no matter what type of ancient warrior or secret power he had obtained by being in Bruinduer, Atal might not fight for Godwin. Would they be able to take on the seasoned army of Triton alone? Surely, Atal would not leave them in their greatest need.

'I'm just telling you the way it is,' Michael answered back. His voice was uncertain. He stared at the ground and mumbled something that JT could not decipher.

'What did you say?' JT asked.

'Nothing, forget it.' Michael glared back toward the Triton lines, then back at his Godwin army. The faces were older and more rugged than his was, but they still were very young. He began to have second thoughts about his decision to go to war.

JT still felt nervous that Atal was not there, and he rocked back and forth on Joshua and tried to summon courage from within himself. He even wished in his deepest hopes that Billy would show up and end this nightmare. He then gazed at Kali who tightly held Gabriel's reins. He trotted Joshua to her side and placed his metal glove on top of hers. She looked at him through the tiny slit in her helmet and JT could only see her beautiful, burning blue eyes.

'I still don't want you to –' JT said and then was immediately interrupted by Kali.

'I told you. I have just as much at stake in this as you do. I still have to make it out of here too.' She took her hand away from JT and reached down to her scarred leg and rubbed it gently.

JT didn't know how to respond. He had found out through the whole ordeal that Kali wouldn't do what he asked anyway, but he needed to ask her one last thing.

'Kali,' he started. She looked back at him with her helmet sagging, appearing fed up with what JT was about to say before he even uttered a word. 'Look, it has nothing to do with not fighting or anything. I just want you... well... if anything happens to me, not to say there will be or anything, but if anything does happen to me and I don't make it out of here alive, I want you to be the steward of the key.' JT eyed her as seriously as he could. His bushy brown hair started to drip sweat down his forehead from the hot Bruinduer sun.

'Look JT nothing is –' Kali started but JT for once finally had the chance to interrupt her.

'I know nothing is going to happen, but just in case you are the steward of the key now. OK?'

Kali was quiet for a second and JT would not stop looking at her until he got an answer. His eyes began to pout. 'Oh, OK. I'm the steward of that stupid key. Can we finish this now?' Kali trotted a little further away from JT and panned back to the Triton lines.

Michael rocked back and forth on his horse and started to shake his head. 'I can't do this. Maybe Charlie is –'

'What?!' JT retorted. His eyes burned through Michael. 'Right?' JT galloped to Michael. 'Is that what you were going to say? That Charlie's right?' JT let out a large sigh. 'You have got to be kidding me. You're not chickening out on this Michael; you started this war.' JT performed a couple of spins on Joshua kicking up sand. 'Now you must finish it.'

'But I just think that –' Michael tried to empty his final thought, but JT turned to the Godwin army.

'Today is the day!!' he barked at the soldiers at the top of his lungs. 'When the winds blow through the sands of Bruinduer, let it be known that this day was the day we sacrificed everything to remain free!'

JT lifted his large shining sword to the sky and the rays of the Bruinduer sun gleamed from it. As he moved his eyes toward the tip of the sword he noticed the long brown wings of the bird that was once perched upon his windowsill. Its majestic, undeterred flight was alluring. For that brief moment on the sands of the Desert of Share, it was peaceful in Bruinduer. JT lowered his sword and with Joshua charged toward the Triton lines bellowing, 'It is our time!' The peace was shattered.

The Godwin soldiers responded with a thunderous roar and followed JT.

Across the hot, yellow sands and the jagged, awakened shards of the Bridge of Common the Triton army also responded. Charlie, in the lead, raised his sword as well, and Triton charged toward Godwin.

The clamor of war had begun."

<***>

"And so the war started," I said in a solemn, sad-filled tone, and as I promised, I paused to let the children imagine their own horrors of the impending battle. I knew, however, even their worst images and scenes could never compare to the real memories that were permanently etched in my mind of war, so I waited. I waited for them to conjure up their own nightmares, because I would not.

Chapter 27

The children sat silent; quiet. I stood up, and the only sound besides the crackling fire was the decompression of my leather seat. I walked to the glass doors at the back of Warhead Dale again. I gazed out at the flashes of lightning and listened to the boom of thunder. The light from the fire smacked and licked against the walls whirling a trance filled dance. As I believed that the children thought of a gruesome battle between Triton and Godwin, the real images of the horror of war twirled about in my mind and I felt sick to my stomach.

I hoped with all of my heart that these children of twelve years realized that their desire earlier in pretending to shoot each other and die on the floor was an insane and despicable act in my opinion. No one should ever have to endure such pain and suffering, or be patronized for it.

"Have you finished imagining the glory of war?" I stated and turned back toward the kids that were still circled around my big, black leather chair. I tried to jeer them with a little sarcasm.

I'm not sure if they were horrified by the images of the battle they thought up in their minds or my insisting that acting out the brutality and finality of death by violence was disrespectful to the many that had made that ultimate sacrifice; either way, they looked at me with empty faces. In unison, the children nodded their heads as to tell me that they had imagined their battle, but they were ashamed of it. I really hoped they had learned a lesson. My listeners were exceptional people.

"Well then," I began, "the war raged most of the afternoon. I guess I don't need to tell you that there was a lot of death and injuries during the most intense parts of the battle. Both sides, Triton and Godwin, lost many brave men."

Though the Godwin side did make some advances on Triton, the battle had not turned their way.

JT slashed his way through as many Triton soldiers as he could, but he was becoming very tired. Kali had stayed behind him most of the time, and JT was glad that she finally had taken a little heed at what he had asked of her and remained safe. The closer she stayed by him, the better he felt.

Michael had become a man in the battle. He led numerous charges through the Triton lines, but near the end of the battle, he and his Godwin army were very low; on energy, and especially low on men.

As the combat waned, Michael met JT and Kali in the middle of the mêlée and they were exhausted.

'I'm sorry JT,' Michael began as he lodged his sword into a passing Triton soldier. 'My cause has faded brilliantly.'

JT still fought with all of his might, but no matter what maneuvers or tactics he tried, the Triton soldiers with their curved, silver blades kept coming in droves. Wave after wave the battle seemed to never stop. JT, though he didn't want to admit it, felt that for Godwin the battle would be lost. He almost decided to quit fighting, let a Triton soldier take his life and just let Bruinduer collapse. What would it matter if the Vryheid world was destroyed, ripping time and space like his grandfather suggested might happen and he didn't exist anymore anyway? He would be dead.

JT stopped his slaughter and panned across the blood swept battlefield the best he could. Sweat bounced from his brow and his breath became long and slow. The killing fields were ripe. He glanced back at Kali who continued to battle the best she could, but the Triton guards became unbearable.

He looked across the battlefield and saw Charlie with a bright and wide smile. He knew he was going to defeat JT, Michael, Godwin, and especially his will over Billy.

JT shook his head and dropped his sword by his side. All was lost. He then saw Michael fall from his horse in pain to the hard, hot, dry desert sand.

'No!' screamed JT and leapt from Joshua. Joshua bucked on his hind legs and fought off Triton soldiers still battling their way toward JT and Michael.

Kali noticed what was happening to Michael and jumped from Gabriel and ran toward her friends.

As JT ran toward Michael, reaching for him, he felt a blow to his back. It felt as though a brick wall had toppled on him. When he hit the sand face first, a bowl full of sand shoveled into his mouth choking him. The desert went black, but in an instant after opening his eyes, there was light, and he was in Bruinduer alone face down in an empty desert.

Everything was still. He felt no pain and no war raged. There were no bodies flying to the ground around him; no screams of pain; and no clanging of swords. It was just him and a slight breeze shifting the air.

' _Am I dead?'_ JT asked himself as he scanned around the desert floor of Bruinduer.

After a few moments and sand clearing breaths, he gathered his wits and climbed to his knees. After another brief rest, he rose to his feet. A strange thought danced through his mind, _'what now?'_

JT placed his hand to his forehead shielding the sun from his eyes searching the desert around him in hopes that someone or something might find him and take him to whatever afterlife or to anything that might await him if it was true that he had died. A few seconds later, his wish came true.

He peeled his head back to the sky in response to a deafening screech and discovered the sound came from a very familiar bird. The animal swooped down from the brilliant sun's rays and landed ten feet in front of him. It was the same bird he had seen right before the battle and also perched on his windowsill in the Godwin Castle that morning.

It tiptoed around the golden hot sand, its head bobbing back and forth like most birds do; blinking its eyes and pecking the air. Then something happened to the bird. It turned into a heap of a blob and it began to morph into something else. It started to shrink. In another instant, the blob rounded itself into a little, fat, brown rat; the same rat that had found its way down the metal wire JT hung from in the dark dungeon of Triton and chewed its way through the cutting rope that imprisoned him. The little rat scurried in circles in front of JT and then began to change again. This time the blob grew. It grew taller and taller and started to form into a long cylinder. In another second the long cylinder changed into someone he thought he would never see again. Standing in front of him, was the little annoying, blonde-haired, dirty T-shirt, overhaul wearing, barefooted Willy.

'Hello boy,' muttered Willy in the same annoying twangy voice JT remembered in the horse barn on the farm a few days ago which in some way seemed like a lifetime ago.

'You,' said JT. 'You finally decided to show up.' He shook his head. 'A little late though, don't you think?'

'Sometimes things aren't quite always what they seem,' Willy said, his voice turning hollow and becoming deeper.

'How so? I thought you were supposed to be our guide in Bruinduer, and from my understanding, I thought you were the all powerful being here. This stuff should be easy for you.' JT's thoughts were frustrated. 'Haven't we had this discussion?'

'We have, and it is easy,' began Willy, his voice was the deep, growling, booming sound that JT remembered coming from the deep, dark eyes in his dreams. 'Like I said, I need people to believe in me.'

'I do believe in you,' retorted JT, his frustration turned to pleading.

'I think you do believe in me, JT. That's why I answered you in that dungeon, and that's why I am answering you now,' stated the Essence.

'I didn't call for you,' JT answered.

'Yes, that may be technically true, but I felt that you could use my help anyway.' Willy smiled and nodded enthusiastically. 'But you know, there is another one out there that believes in me. I just think they are having a hard time realizing it.'

'Who, Kali? I don't know who you're fooling, she is –' JT started but Willy interrupted him.

'Kali girl has her own issues of denial she needs to deal with on her own. I think she believes in this but...' Willy paused and caught himself wandering to another subject. 'But this isn't about her. This is about someone else.'

'I guess you mean Michael,' said JT. 'You really think he believes in you? From what I heard he doesn't want to believe.' JT shook his head.

'I saved you and Kali from the desert when you first came through the Mahogany Door,' Willy stated; his eyes beaming. 'But I didn't do it by myself.'

JT thought back. 'What are you talking about? Michael sent Atal out to retrieve us. He told Charlie that we thought that you had saved us because he didn't want Charlie to think that he had betrayed...' JT thought about the dinner in Triton with Charlie. Michael's arm shook so bad he spilt his water, and when his arm shook it was a telltale sign of his deception. 'He was lying. It _was_ you that saved us from the desert,' JT snickered. 'He asked you to save us, didn't he?'

Willy stood smiling and shuffled the sand with his right foot. 'You know, I know you think he hadn't cared about you the whole time you've been here in Bruinduer. You have thought that he had only a lust for power and control.' Willy nodded. 'I think he did in the beginning, but in the three years he has spent here building and structuring his kingdom, and trying to live his good life, all he has really wanted in the end is his friends. That's his true destiny.

He is confused and has lost his focus.'

JT felt his heart sink. 'I guess you're going to tell me then that you're actually...'

Willy stopped shuffling his foot, and looked up at JT. He began to morph once again. Willy shifted into a great ball of shiny liquid and then protruded into a larger cylindrical shape. It grew taller than before. The top of the cylinder began to morph into the round shape of a head and JT noticed that the bottom of the liquid sphere began to sprout the wiry, bushy hairs of a scruffy, black beard. A crisp, white turban then popped on top of the newly formed man's top before him. It was Atal Leer.

'There are others, too,' said Atal with an amusing, light voice. JT's jaw dropped in amazement. 'You told Charlie that he had probably heard people in his kingdom talk about me; heard the name of Kawaida. You've heard it from a few people yourself. Well, they have and they are there, waiting. They are waiting to hear the name come from their leaders. They want to know that those who lead believe like they do.' Atal placed his hand on JT's shoulder.

JT felt calm wash over him. He had always felt safe with Atal, but then realized that he had always felt safe with Billy. The Essence may have gotten under his skin, he may not have liked everything that he had done, but he truly knew that the great protector of Bruinduer cared. He wanted to be needed.

'I'm curious,' JT stated. He had a knack for asking questions by this time in the adventure, but he didn't feel conscious about it anymore. 'Is there a meaning to the name, Kawaida?'

Atal chuckled. 'I never understood why my favorite people couldn't pronounce the name. But, yes it does. Kawaida is a shortened name for Kawaida-ume-fahamu. No matter what shape you may make for this world by being the first through the Mahogany Door, that name will never change and it is always revealed in time; even to the most skeptical. I am known by many names, including Billy, but Kawaida was the ancient name passed to me by the Vryheid. It means something that I hope you may do from now on, "always remember me."'

JT felt ashamed. Billy had kept repeating to them that he, Kali, and Michael had forgotten about him.

'Oh,' Atal spoke up again, this time placing his hand down to his side, 'I, as the leader of the Bronze Brigade of Godwin, never go over to Triton for only one reason.' He straightened his white turban and jerked his blue silk jacket down over his waist. 'I have never been asked.'

JT woke suddenly face down in hot, blood tainted sand. He was back in Bruinduer, the war raging around him once again.

<***>

It took a few seconds, but JT regained his senses and spit sand from his mouth. He then saw Michael lying on the hard, unforgiving desert floor. He panned up to see a Triton guard charging toward the young king, sword flashing ready to strike. The hardened Triton soldier screamed a horrible bloody roar as he brought the sword from over his head down to finish Michael.

JT quickly scrambled to his feet and found traction in the bitter pebbles. He rushed toward the violent scene and as the Triton guard was just about to make his kill, JT tackled the brute to the ground. He stole the weapon from the guard's hand and thrust it into his belly.

JT then felt an awful burning sensation dart up his arm. He turned only to discover that a Triton guard, young and strong, had slashed him just below his elbow. JT faced his would-be executioner grasping his arm as a stream of blood trickled to the sand from the wound.

The guard hesitated. For a split second it dawned on the soldier that he knew that he was about to kill one of Godwin's leaders. His eyes became wide with angered excitement and JT saw adrenaline rush through his enemy's veins, ripping from his arms and forehead. JT forgot about the pain in his arm and attempted to dislodge the sword from the belly of the guard he had just killed, but the blood from his wounded arm covered his hands and he could not gain a grip on the handle.

The Triton guard screamed a mad, wild yell and thrust toward JT with his sword. JT closed his eyes. He knew the end was here. He had made a mistake in plunging the sword too deep into his victim, and now he was about to pay for it. He braced for the unyielding blade to rip his skin, but the scream of the would-be killer suddenly stopped, and wind rustled through JT's hair.

He opened his eyes and the Triton guard was laying flat on the ground, his sword piercing out of the sand only inches away from JT. Another sword waved back and forth in the breeze jutting out of the attacking guard's chest.

'You owe me one,' rang out from behind JT. 'But don't think this hasn't been the first time.' It was Kali. 'That's a nasty cut you got there.' She hunched down beside JT, ripped a piece of cloth from her shirt, and wrapped the wound tightly.

JT felt electricity shoot through his body and he wanted to kiss her again greatly, but then remembered what he had to do. Somehow he needed Billy to show up again, this time outside of his dreams.

He sprinted to Michael who was lying on the ground slipping in and out of consciousness groaning in obvious pain. JT gently grabbed the back of his head and sat him up. 'Michael, you've got to wake up!' JT screamed. 'Billy is here. He needs you. He needs us. Call for him. We're all dying here.' Michael only groaned and slobbered.

JT looked up and caught a glimpse of Charlie, a few other Triton guards, and Tickler. Charlie started to laugh and pointed at JT. He then turned on his great beast of a horse and galloped toward the giant Pyramid of Triton away from the battle.

The entire Triton army began surrounding the rest of the Godwin soldiers. White Godwin flags lay dirty and tattered on the ground stained in dried blood. Bodies strung across the Bruinduer desert floor gaping and heaving their last moments of life. The Triton guards were rejuvenated even though they too had lost a number of soldiers, but still easily outnumbered the Godwin force. They began to move in; beginning their suffocation. The sound of metal swords clanged in the bright, falling desert sun.

JT screamed again at Michael and his eyes began to burn with hopeless tears. Kali stood silent. That was it. Their hands were empty of weapons and their energy was simply and completely gone. They prepared to die.

Then it happened.

Michael coughed up a slurry of phlegm, and in the bubbles he began to mutter, 'Kawaida... ume... fahamu.' His breath became stronger with each passing syllable and his eyes gingerly opened. He said the word again, this time with feeling; deep, remorseful, and thankful, 'Kawaida... ume... fahamu!'

JT blinked at Michael and smiled. Shortly after, a song began to rise from the desert sands. The soldiers of Godwin and its subjects that had taken up arms against Triton began to sing. They sang the name of their Essence in a joyous, bright, waving tune. They sang to the being they knew would rescue them.

'Kawaida-ume-fahamu!' Rose and sank with a growing crescendo. Its effervescent notes danced across the forming clouds that overcast the sun. 'Kawaida-ume-fahamu!'

The Triton guards halted their advance and looked dumbfounded to the sky. Their red flags ripped the air as the wind blew harder. Small white clouds circled above the clashing armies and then almost instantly the gathered puffs transformed into menacing black balls of expanding vapor. A pause lingered as the ominous clouds rolled over Bruinduer. Suddenly a tremendous, 'BOOM!' echoed through the desert.

A collective gasp came from the Triton army and the song of the Essence's name filled the air from over the Godwin Castle. 'Kawaida-ume-fahamu!'

Michael sat up on his knees and Kali rushed beside them and grabbed onto JT. Everyone including the Triton army turned toward Godwin.

Standing atop the dunes at the foot of the castle's mount just before the desert on a brilliant, white horse that gently kicked the sand beneath it, was Atal Leer. He wore no armor, just his blue silk jacket, knickers, and boots. In contrast to the dark clouds that blanketed the sky behind him, the warrior glowed. In his left hand he gripped the pole of a Godwin white flag blistering in the breeze, and in his right, he held the reins of the magnificent white beast. By his side there dangled an unsheathed, ornate golden sword.

With one gentle push from the horse's hind legs, Atal began to charge down the dune. Just as he reached the bottom crest of the dune, the sands from above were engulfed with thousands of soldiers donned in white armor charging on agile horses.

It was an army JT had never seen before. The soldiers were not from Godwin and were no doubt conjured by Billy. He could barely make them out, because the storm of their power moved very fast and their white shells of armor radiated with light. The silver, double-bladed swords they possessed were held high in the air over their heads ready to strike.

It was only a matter of moments before Atal's army of glowing knights was on top of the battle that once raged between Godwin and Triton in the middle of the Desert of Share.

Once Atal and his horse reached the Triton frontline and passed JT, Kali, and Michael, he stabbed the Godwin flag's pole into the ground and tore the sword from his side striking hard on a Triton guard and cutting him in half. The army of white knights and Atal Leer raced upon the astonished Triton army and blanketed them with a fury and justice only witnessed by few. They cut through the Triton legions one by one with extreme prejudice. Then, with what seemed like a blink, the battle was finished. The Triton army was demolished and was no more. Silence reigned again."

<***>

The children in Warhead Dale looked upon me from their rug with petrified, astonished faces. Their eyes were blank and their jaws were dropped. I waited for the scene to sink in for a moment, and then continued.

"JT looked just as you do," I started. "He saw Atal and his glowing white riders decimate the enemy with reckless abandon and his eyes were fixated at the carnage, but his mood was strange." The children leaned in closer than they had the entire day. Their expressions hung on my every word.

"JT felt empty. He had never witnessed such destruction in one single instant that he could remember. It was as if someone cut down a tree. The tree is standing magnificent one moment and in the next moment it is lying on the ground; its life taken in one resounding swoop.

JT panned over to Kali whose hand was covering her mouth and then to Michael who was reacting very differently. His hand was clutched in a fist and pumped in the air.

'We win!' he yelled. 'That was awesome!'

JT stood motionless and silent and just as quickly as the white riders cut their way through the Triton army, Atal now stood beside the trio and the glowing white riders vanished, their demeanor stoic and confident as they turned into mist.

'This is not over,' said Atal to Michael in a commanding but soothing voice. 'You still have work to do. Your destiny must be fulfilled.'

Kali and Michael concluded, and JT already knew that Atal was really Billy in disguise. From the beginning of their adventure, he had been watching over them, and though his three favorite people may have lost their belief in him, only now finding it, he had never lost his belief in them.

JT thought about everything that had transpired before that moment, and it was very difficult for him to comprehend. It seemed as though this adventure had begun a lifetime ago. So many feelings, so many memories had transpired that that lifetime melted away into just a speck of time. Just days before, he was lying in his bed at the farm looking at the ceiling, wondering what path his life might take. Now he stood in a foreign desert wondering the exact same thing. After all that had happened, what next? Where did he go from here?

He thought about Gregory, Louise, George, and Gracie and what a wonderful idea it might have been that he was still on the farm, sheltered from the events that he had endured, but he knew that it was too late for that. Returning to that same innocence would never be an option for him now.

His thoughts drifted to his grandfather and when he met him in his dreams. He then thought about Billy and what his grandfather told him right before he went through the Mahogany Door. His grandfather told him that Billy would have all the answers, so why not ask him the questions?

Michael still had to fulfill his destiny, but to take the next step in that, he didn't need to fulfill his lifelong destiny. All he needed now was to finish what the BEC had begun nine years ago.

'The diamond, we get the diamond now, right?' JT asked Atal as he placed his arm on Michael's shoulder. Michael nearly jumped out of his skin.

'But, why can't you just go get it Atal? This is over. There's nothing more,' Michael whimpered.

'Not true –,' stated JT.

'Charlie escaped,' Kali interrupted JT. 'I saw him gallop off toward Triton. He took some other soldiers with him and Tickler.'

'Why can't you just go destroy them like you destroyed the Triton army?' Michael asked Atal, his voice trembling.

'Because I am finished and you must fulfill your own destiny,' Atal said with a deep, concerning look. He then took Michael's shoulder and turned it toward the battlefield. 'Look at what has happened here. This is not a time to rejoice a victory, but a time to reflect. Do you really want to see more bloodshed? This type of destruction will not help you.'

Michael peered over the battlefield and immediately dropped his head. He was visibly disturbed by the sight of the death before him.

'The people of Bruinduer are people,' Atal stated. 'They have feelings, and their feelings should not percolate joy within you, but yield respect. To give one's life for another in order to preserve someone else's freedom, is the greatest gift that anyone could give or receive. These people that are lying face in the sand have made that sacrifice. There will be no more blood on this field today. Your destiny can only be determined by you. I, keeping with my mandate, have made it possible for you to proceed.'

Atal whistled in the air, and his horse with its beaming eyes and its beautiful silky, white coat stopped beside him and kicked up dust. 'This will end soon,' he stated, leapt onto his mount, and galloped toward Godwin. It was but just a few dozen yards, and he vanished into mist. JT, Michael, and Kali heard only two words from the wavering vapor, 'Now go.'"

Chapter 28

"'I don't believe you Michael,' stated JT. His head was fuzzy at seeing the carnage of the battle and then watching Michael revel in the victory. He knew it was a good thing that they won the battle, but the scene rocked his senses. He believed Michael's leadership had grown when he saw him in the Chamber giving his glorious speech about freedom and how he would die for it. Now, Michael couldn't makeup his mind on whether he was happy, sad, focused, or confused.

It reminded JT too much of the day he met Michael on the Shorts' farm, and his trust waned. Could JT trust Michael in finishing the task at hand – retrieving the Golden Diamond, considering he had wavered right before the battle ensued?

'What do you mean?' Michael asked as they jumped on their horses and galloped toward Triton.

'What do you mean?' retorted JT, 'Are you ready to fight and finish this or what?' JT dug his heels into Joshua.

'We won the battle, didn't we?' Michael stated with a perplexed tone.

'Well, this war isn't over with yet. There's still one thing left to do.' JT focused his eyes forward and tore through the sand.

Kali straggled behind a little as the three raced to Triton. She was exhausted and wanted to get the adventure over with and go home. She had done what was asked of her and she was happy to still be alive, but she had had enough of Bruinduer.

'We just need to get the diamond and then this thing is over,' Michael explained. 'Piece of cake.' Michael had hoped that defeating Charlie's army with Billy's help would have been enough to open the Mahogany Door, but the disdain the Triton monarch had amassed and his unwillingness to relinquish any power was enormous.

This time through the Mahogany Door, Billy's rules would not be denied; Charlie would have to leave with them one way or the other and they would have to possess the Golden Diamond.

<***>

The gallop toward the Triton Pyramid was long, and as the three soldiers got closer to the bottom crest of the pyramid's mount, the mood turned. The smell of mildew and rot pierced the air like an arrow and Kali covered her nose. Great, black clouds began to form over the land of Triton, and Bruinduer became dark once again. The ground beneath them shook.

'We need to hurry!' JT screamed. 'I hope it's not too late!'

The three raced up the streets of Triton which were bare. Subjects of both Godwin and Triton seemed to have vanished. As the ground trembled, the small, unstable houses and shops along the streets crumbled with each vibration. JT could only conclude that Bruinduer was about to collapse. He had to get to Charlie and the diamond before The Vryheid world crumpled.

Up and up they rushed through the stone and gravel streets throwing rocks behind them until they arrived at the great Pyramid. The ground shook violently again and large stones from the pyramid palace fell, pelting the earth.

JT, Kali, and Michael leapt from their horses and raced up the stairs, through the doors, and into the pyramid. They swung the mighty oak doors open and entered the great hall.

Painters on large scaffolding swayed back and forth as the ground wobbled beneath them. JT glanced up and noticed the painters had already started a mural of the battle that had just transpired, showing Charlie raise a red Triton flag in one hand and the Golden Diamond in the other in victory.

The three rushed up the stage and ripped the black curtain down, but Charlie was nowhere to be found. They ran off the stage to the right side and through the maze of twisting halls and corridors of the great pyramid palace.

Round and round they went, turn after turn only to find themselves in futile circles right back in the great hall. The ground shifted, and parts of the ceiling above them crumbled in large flakes to the floor. The painters continued their work.

'Where is Charlie's room, I can't remember?' JT grabbed his heart and knees in exhaustion trying to catch his breath. 'And what in the world is that smell?'

Michael started to point and to tap his finger in the air and mouth something. 'Wait a minute, I know this,' he said and started to walk down the hall. He began counting lamps on the walls of the corridors with each step and then turned left or right. He had remembered the last time he was here that the corridors all looked the same so he had counted his way to Charlie's room.

The ground quaked and seemed to get more violent as time continued its relentless march.

'Can we hurry this up?' Kali stated, fear engulfing her voice. 'This isn't good.'

'Just hold on, I can't lose my... there!' Michael yelled out. He pointed at a door in the hallway, attached to it was a golden leaf. 'I knew I would find it. I knew I was –' Michael tried and wanted to give himself a spirited pat on the back for leading them to Charlie's room, but before he could say another word, JT had pushed him away and began opening the door.

The door wouldn't budge at first, but JT stepped back, raised his foot, and kicked the door in, removing it from its hinges. The three rushed in and JT immediately ran to the open pit in the middle of the room. He scurried down the steps of the bowl shape and then rushed up the path of the mound of earth that was in the middle where the stone case was seated.

When he arrived at the small safe, he reached around the case as Charlie had done before. His hand shook and he felt the sweat bead in his pores. He frantically searched for the lever or switch. After a few panicked moments, he found what he was looking for and pressed on it. The cover of the case grinded off the side slower than JT had hoped, and the stone slab bottom of the case rose only to reveal dust as it halted. It was gone – the Golden Diamond was gone. JT's heart dropped.

'Crap, it's not here!' JT slammed his hands on either side of the stone case and pain shot through his arms.

Kali stood on top of the steps that led down into the pit, but she was still level with JT. Her face went flush. She was devastated. All she wanted was for this to end.

The ground shifted again, and Michael's attention was brought to the small room that was carved out of the bigger one, where Charlie's bed was situated. He ran over and the stone wall was already open to its glass window, revealing the great waterfall and garden below.

'Hey guys?' Michael stated with hesitation and concern, but no one noticed him.

JT and Kali still eyed the empty platform of the stone case.

'Hey guys?!' Michael yelled out more forcefully.

'What?!' JT aggravatingly answered back.

'I think you want to look at this.' Michael gestured with his hand for JT to join him in looking out the window.

JT shuffled down from the mound of earth back up the steps of the pit toward Michael, but hesitantly and cautiously peeked around the room on the floor to make sure that the diamond had not been jolted out of the stone case somehow.

Michael continued to stare out the window. He pointed out as JT settled beside him. JT could only shake his head at what he saw beyond the Triton Pyramid.

'You have got to be kidding me,' mumbled JT.

Outside, Michael and JT saw Charlie standing by the great waterfall and the ravine its water poured into tossing the Golden Diamond in the air like an everyday toy. Tickler, with his greasy hair and smile stood beside his master rubbing his fat little hands together obviously coughing, laughing, and spitting at the same time.

The Triton monarch stared up at the window glaring at JT and Michael. He turned to the great ravine and then back to JT and Michael still staring down at him and pointed to a spot in front of him. He acted like a parent commanding their child to come to them immediately.

JT shook his head and then he heard the distinct crisp swishing sound of swords being drawn from their sheaths behind him. He and Michael wheeled around. There, three Triton guards waved their sharp, curved swords in the air toward JT and Michael, as they clasped Kali's arms behind her back.

Outnumbered and weaponless, their only option was to follow the guards out of the great Pyramid and face Charlie. As JT stepped from Charlie's sleeping quarters, he peered down at the wall to his left. He had remembered seeing the tick marks grouped in fives all over the wall and the last grouping of four. As he marched out of the small nook, he saw that the last group had a tick mark striking through the other four. It was red. JT knew that Charlie may have come to the realization that this day would be the last Bruinduer day of this adventure. And whether the Triton monarch knew it or not, it would be Michael that determined its outcome.

<***>

Michael, JT, and Kali lumbered out into the opening by the great ravine flanked by three Triton guards, their arms firmly held behind them. Beyond them by the ravine, Charlie stood tossing the Golden Diamond in the air with a large smile upon his pasty face; his boyish complexion appeared as though it had aged a few years since the battle and his stubby little servant nodded and bowed at every move he made. As Michael, Kali, and JT came closer, he threw the stone behind his back and over his head, but suddenly returned bobbing the rock in a steady, up and down motion staring straight long toward Michael.

'I don't know how you did it,' stated Charlie. His voice was scratchy and tired but loud enough to overcome the steady stream of the waterfall. 'You were beat.'

'Yesss, you were beat,' Tickler hissed.

The diamond launched higher in Charlie's hand. 'But now look at all of this.' He gestured with his free hand at the crumbling pyramid.

'I told you to be afraid,' JT chimed. 'It looks as though you underestimated the power of faith.' JT pulled his arms away from the guards' grip and marched closer to Charlie. Two of the guards raised their swords and followed after JT, but Charlie motioned for the guards to stop with his stoneless hand.

'It's all right men. He won't come any closer.' Charlie's smile grew wider and the soldiers halted. He then nodded his head over his shoulder. 'Especially if he knows that the ravine there is not but a few paces behind me. I'm sure JT and this band of faithful souls would hate to see this little diamond fly into it.'

'Yes, faithful souls should fly into the ravine.' Tickler stated still rubbing his thick paws together.

'Just stop this Charlie. It's over!' JT demanded. He stopped a few paces from the Triton monarch. 'Just give the diamond to Michael so we can get out of here.' JT reached his hand delicately out to Charlie, but Charlie tossed the diamond high and behind his head. Michael, JT, and Kali gasped as they watched the diamond gain altitude and head for the great ravine. JT wanted to run for it, but his legs would not move; he was petrified. Something in the pit of his brain told him to remain still.

As the diamond climbed higher and then began its descent toward the ravine, Charlie reached out his pasty, dewy hand and snatched the stone out of its dive just as it was going to disappear beyond the cliff's edge. He thrust his torso straight and returned the rhythmic toss of the diamond up and down, this time he chuckled.

'Make no doubt my friends, I am still in control,' Charlie said pointing at Michael, Kali, and JT.

'No doubt,' Tickler spit.

Charlie then pointed his crooked finger into the air toward the great pyramid. JT, Michael, and Kali followed the appendage, and from around the perimeter of the garden they stood in, hundreds of young Triton guards appeared waving swords and red flags in the musky air. They all cheered for Charlie.

Charlie nodded profusely taking in the adoration still tossing the Golden Diamond. After the roars subsided, he spoke, 'You see, I still have the power to control armies. This is my world! This is not your world! You had it all Michael! I gave you a kingdom and now look what you have done to it! You trusted some stupid fool who can't remember his past and some stupid girl?!' Charlie's seemingly joyful expression turned menacing. 'Not to mention you still trusted that played-out, washed-up Essence who left me in here to die! It's been 150 years; you think I have not fought these battles before? You saw the wars I fought in the great hall! I told you, I'm in control here! Look at this! My kingdom will last forever. Look at my soldiers! I can conjure them at will now; I am more powerful than anything this world has ever seen! This diamond is mine and will always be mine! Now, you'll have nothing. You'll have nothing because you will all be destroyed!'

'Nothing! You'll have nothing and be destroyed!' Tickler yelled at the top of his voice punching his raw hands in the air.

'Shut up!' Charlie screamed down at Tickler.

Tickler slumped his head. 'Sorry master, Tickler only wants to serve.'

The Triton guards grasping Michael and Kali forced them to the middle of the opening in front of the ravine now surrounded by Triton soldiers. Feelings of doom washed over them. The three Godwin leaders huddled together. Kali grabbed JT's hand.

The sense of helplessness rumbled through JT's brain. He knew that Billy said that he had guided them and paved the way for their task to be filled, and through all of their meetings in Bruinduer over the past days, he understood why it was up to them to finish it. Nevertheless, he panned around nervously hoping that his salvation would rush through the great pyramid and save them as he had in the war. After a few moments of anticipation, the hope that burned within JT dimmed.

JT pulled Kali and Michael close to him. 'Kali?' He stated firmly wanting her undivided attention. 'I want to make sure,' he gripped her hand tight, 'that you are the steward of the key, OK?'

Kali eyed JT unnervingly. She knew that he was going to try something stupid. 'Don't do anything rash.' She attempted, but knew her gesture would be futile. 'Charlie just likes to give these –'

'No,' interrupted JT, 'This is different. He won't give up the diamond. I thought he might change after Billy defeated him in the battle, but look at what he's doing. He can conjure armies for goodness sake. He's drunk with power. The only way to end this is to destroy him.'

'Remember though,' Kali stated. 'Whoever enters Bruinduer must leave Bruinduer.'

'I know, I know!' exclaimed JT. 'But Billy never said they had to be alive.'

Michael shook his head. He knew they were in this bind because of him. 'I think it should be me. I should be the one to sacrifice for this. It's my fault we're here in the first place.' He hung his head and buried his chin into his chest.

'Although I can't disagree with that,' JT answered, 'you have to fulfill your destiny, remember. You can't recover the diamond if you're dead.' JT took a deep breath. 'I'll get it from Charlie and toss it to you; hopefully that will end this nightmare, for all of us. Just make sure if Charlie and I are dead, you get us out of here somehow.'

JT turned to Kali. 'You're the steward of the key now, right?'

'Yes, I'm the steward of that stupid key,' Kali stated. Her lips trembled as she kissed JT on the lips.

A shot of adrenaline shot through JT's body as he let go of Kali's hand and turned toward Charlie who was still tossing the Golden Diamond in the air. He and Tickler were laughing hysterically at the scene.

Then, without warning, JT dug his feet into the ground and grabbed traction. In an instant he darted toward Charlie. No fear ran through any vein, muscle, or nerve in his body, just the desire to rip the diamond from the King of Triton and wipe the obnoxious smirk from his face.

He gritted his teeth and howled a charging roar. Before Charlie, Tickler, or any of the other Triton guards knew what happened; JT was almost on top of the boy monarch. Charlie suddenly and surprisingly caught sight of JT and his weasely laugh turned into a screech of horror.

The Golden Diamond, glowing in the dank mist, flew into the air just as JT plowed into Charlie. JT shoved the boy monarch clear of the airborne diamond and Charlie desperately tried to save his balance on the edge of the great ravine waving his hands and digging his toes into its ledge. JT watched Charlie without thinking to save himself. He then turned his concentration to the small rock that was careening over Charlie's head. He shuffled closer to Charlie and the stone as both began to fall into the chasm, but just as he reached out with his left hand to steady Charlie and his right hand to snatch the diamond from the fall, Tickler boldly tackled him to the cliff's edge.

JT's head bounced off the hard dirt and then he proceeded to struggle with the surprisingly strong and aggressive servant. After a few moves, the stump of a man pinned JT flat on his back. JT trapped, looked over to Charlie and watched what transpired. It was very quick, almost a flash, but Michael came into his line of sight. Michael reached for the Golden Diamond. As Charlie still tried to get his balance, and as Michael stretched his arm out, the ground shifted under their feet with a hard jolt. Charlie was forced forward and grabbed hold of Michael's body armor. Both young monarchs began to sway toward the opening of the ravine. As Michael also crashed into Charlie, he caught a glimpse down into the vast ravine as mist and water sprayed through the air dispersing any hope of seeing the bottom of it.

Witness to the tragic dance, JT had to act fast. Tickler raised a sword from behind his back and started to slash at JT's head. JT raised his hands, and as the long, curved blade came down, he clapped his hands together stopping it. In one, swift, agile move, he flipped Tickler over and swiped the weapon. He scurried to his feet and dashed toward the weakened balance of Charlie and Michael.

JT's mind went blank. This was it. This was the last moment of the adventure and from what he saw the outcome could go either way. What he and Michael did in the next few seconds would determine all of their fates.

JT rushed to the ledge of the ravine. Michael and Charlie began to tumble head long into the ravine and the Golden Diamond was not far behind. JT thrust the hook of the curved sword toward Michael and latched onto the leather straps that held his armored breastplate secure to his body. He pulled him upward with all of his might. Michael lie flat over the ravine, his feet planted against two rocks buried in the ledge. Charlie now hung from Michael's breastplate, his life in the balance. His feet dangled and kicked in the vast empty space below them.

The Golden Diamond, the stone that began this adventure nine years ago, flew over their heads. Michael reached out and dragged JT closer and closer to the edge and he began to lose his grip on the Triton sword.

JT made his choice. It happened fast. JT wrenched and turned the sword with every drop of energy left in his being. All of his strength was quickly fading, but as he turned the sword, the sharp edge of the blade made contact with the straps of Michael's breastplate and cut it loose. Charlie fell and so did Michael. JT threw the sword down and reached for Michael, and just as Michael was tumbling head first with Charlie, JT grabbed his legs. Michael dangled over the waterfall's cliff with his hands outstretched. Charlie was gone. He fell into the great ravine still clasping to Michael's breastplate with a blood curdling scream and disappeared, never to be seen again.

JT pulled Michael's legs with a second wave of energy that spiked his veins. He reached deep into his soul trying to find the strength to hoist Michael back to safety, but he felt it slipping away from him. He closed his eyes and saw Bruinduer collapse. He then pictured Gregory and Louise bending over his tombstone crying.

He thought he might be dreaming, but he felt a tug on his leg armor, and then a healthy grip on his calves. Miraculously, he began to inch back onto the ledge, Michael following behind him, their grip still true. As Michael made his way to the top of the ledge, JT fell on his back. JT opened his eyes and saw Kali, Tickler, and an enormous Triton guard staring down at him.

Kali helped JT to his feet and Michael struggled to his. JT glanced at Michael who was scrunched over brushing the dirt from his shirt with a free hand. The young Godwin monarch then looked up very quietly and serenely at JT. A small triumphant smile cracked his face. With his other hand, he raised high in the air the Golden Diamond. He had caught it as it was falling into the ravine.

A brilliant glow and resonant shine beamed from the diamond above Michael's head. It was magical. The battle was won. His destiny was fulfilled with sure will.

A second later, another iridescent, pure jolt of light split the air and a doorway opened in front of JT, Kali, and Michael.

As Michael looked toward JT, Kali, and the opening, the Triton guards and soldiers that surrounded the great pyramid's garden instantaneously fell to their knees and bowed toward Michael, their arms pointed forward, heads up praising and chanting his name.

Tickler rushed to Michael's side, rubbing his hands together and bowing. 'Yesss, I will serve my new master.'

Michael felt power and adrenaline rush through his body like he had never felt before. It penetrated his very core as the Triton army bore its allegiance to him. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was in complete control of everything around him. It wasn't like being the King of Godwin where he knew Charlie was always there, this was different. It was his world now. Bruinduer was his.

'This is wonderful, JT!' He yelled not wanting to lower the Golden Diamond. 'This world is mine!'

'Yesss, it is Master's,' Tickler hissed and smiled.

'Are you crazy?!' JT screamed. 'Let's get out of here!' He motioned for Michael to follow as he stepped toward the illuminated breach.

'But we can rule Bruinduer together!' his voice turned to pleading. 'This is amazing. There's nothing out there for us! All of this is ours now!' Michael's mind faded.

'Nothing for you - Master is great,' Tickler responded.

'No!' bellowed JT. 'You sound like Charlie. It's over. We have to go home now.'

'But there's nothing out there for us don't you see! We can control everything here. We can be gods! Bruinduer will never collapse with us here!' Michael held the diamond out to his fingertips. The Triton guards continued bowing up and down toward their newly anointed leader.

'Master is a god!' Tickler barked at JT.

'Michael!' JT yelled out. 'I thought you were my friend. Please, let's just go. Don't be stupid!'

'Master needs no friends. Master can rule everything,' Tickler answered to JT.

'Shut up!' Michael yelled down to Tickler. The small, stumpy servant backed away sheepishly from Michael and bowed his head and said no more.

A hush fell over the scene as Michael lowered the Golden Diamond in front of his chest. Michael stared at the diamond and then panned toward Bruinduer. The wind began to blow. He looked to Kali and JT and his hands began to burn and the diamond somehow started to get heavier. _'The weight of history,'_ Michael thought. He then eyed JT.

'What did you call me?' Michael yelled back. His feelings fell to a depth indescribable only to say he felt human again. He was ashamed.

'I called you stupid. Now let's go,' answered JT. He walked closer toward the opening of light. 'It's over.'

'No, what did you call me before that?' Michael asked, his wits totally returning to a sane level, whatever that was for the young man, and a tear fell down his cheek.

'I called you my friend,' JT said shaking his head and waving at Michael in disgust.

That was the first time Michael had heard that word come from JT's lips directed at him since he found him on the Shorts' farm.

He remembered all of the times and adventures he and JT had shared at Warhead Dale before the 'incident' and before JT lost his memory. He wanted so much to recapture the contentment he felt so many years ago with his lost companion; a feeling that he belonged. The years without JT; the failed jobs; the failed loves; the failed everything had taken its toll on him, and he thought for such a long time that he could only find that belonging in Bruinduer – a place he believed he could make all of his wishes come true. The world beyond the Mahogany Door, as it had Charlie, changed him into something he didn't like; someone determined to force a false since of security and happiness even if it meant going to war to do it. But as JT reached his hand to him in friendship, another feeling washed over him. It was not the power that came with ruling a kingdom, or the power of even ruling a world. It was care, simple care without any expectation of its return. He had not found his destiny in ruling Bruinduer, or in a golden diamond; he had found it in a friend.

Michael glared at the Golden Diamond with disdain and humiliation. It would be for the last time. With the Triton guards still on their knees, the young man from Athens Eden turned, and without hesitation, threw the stone over Tickler's head and into the mist of the ravine.

Michael Peterson, JT Davis, and Kali Logan walked through the opened, blasting light of the Mahogany Door and out of Bruinduer.

As the door engulfed them and their minds swam in the light and wind, JT heard and felt the same deep, haunting laugh that enveloped him when he had entered Bruinduer. This time in addition, he felt the presence of a ghostly spirit, a lost soul that had come to terms with the situation it had found itself in; locked in a world where it did not belong. The shackles of hate, anger, and pride that bound it during this predicament, exploded, freeing it to return to its rightful home, wherever that may be. JT concluded, and justly so, the soul was Charlie's, and the dark laugh of Billy turned into a voice, 'Everyone who entered Bruinduer has left Bruinduer.'"

The children on their rug gazed at me in amazement. The last streak of lightning and the last thunder boom sounded from the massive tempest that dogged us through most of my story. The storm clouds dispersed and the yellow earthly moon in all of its shining wonder broke the deep blue sky illuminating Warhead Dale.

In all of my previous telling of this story I had stopped at Michael, JT, and Kali returning through the opening of light, but since my band of listeners had been dedicated, I continued the story alluding to what happened next.

<***>

"The Mahogany Door slammed behind JT, Michael, and Kali and silence echoed." The children were deeply engaged again. "JT glanced around the inner room that the Mahogany Door possessed wanting to be certain they had returned to Warhead Dale. Billy was nowhere to be found and Michael and Kali stood, staring at JT with shock, awe, relief, and a hint of disappointment. Could the adventure really be over? JT reached for the large, wooden door that stood before him, and he shuddered in pain as the slash above his elbow he received during the battle was still open, his armor had vanished. He brushed the door's front with his hand, and the pyramid and the flags that carved themselves into the structure had disappeared. The smooth circle of dark, redwood only remained.

Bruinduer had not collapsed. They had saved it. JT looked down to the right corner of the door, and there was his cane, its red eyes burning bright inside the skull and crossbones handle.

A suffocating silence filled the inner room in the basement of Warhead Dale and it covered them like the humid heat of a long summer day. They suddenly eyed each other as a rhythmic sound filled the room. It was a faint 'Tick, tick, tick.'

'The watch!' hollered Michael. He pulled the rusted, blood stained object from his blue jean pocket. 'I almost forgot about it.' He shook his head and took a deep breath. 'I wonder if it is correct. I have no idea what day it is or the time. It didn't stop this time. It still works!' In fact no one could honestly say how long they had been gone.

JT thought just a moment about his grandfather and a smile grew on his face. Their existence was secure, though he thought earlier that he was going to fail. He reached for the cane still lodged in its slot and pulled the bottom of the shaft outward. The eyes went dim and as he turned it hard to the left a loud 'CRACK!' rang out and the door locked. JT turned to Kali and Michael. The room cloaked in black and he fell to the floor."

<***>

"He did not know how long he lay on the floor, but after the unknown amount of time, JT squirmed about in pain. His arm throbbed and for the first time since before he went through the Mahogany Door, his left knee ached. To his surprise, he grabbed hold of his injured arm and it had been bandaged.

As he grimaced and held his eyes tightly shut, he felt a finger poke his shoulder.

'JT.' He heard but didn't recognize the voice. It was high, yet deep, 'Get up.'

JT rolled about the floor and came to rest on his back. He felt the poking on his shoulder once again and smelled a rotten breath. 'JT, get up. It's Kali!'

JT heard those words and leapt to his feet. He buckled in pain as his left knee gave way, and just as quickly as he got to his feet, he was back to his knees on the floor. He grabbed his knee, wiped his face, and felt strange. Under his hand was the distinct prickle of unshaven, thick hair.

'What in the world?' JT mumbled and his vision became clearer.

Before him coming into focus, was Michael, but no longer was he the fourteen year old monarch of Godwin dressed in silk or armor. He had turned back into his, short grown form of twenty-three.

JT gingerly climbed back to his feet, and Michael handed him his cane. He steadied himself and walked to the cracked mirror that hung on the wall of the inner room. He peered up, and glaring back down at him was his older self – dirty, broken, and unshaven.

'You have got to be kidding me,' he stated as he hobbled to the big, orange chair that Billy had sat in before their adventure. He plopped himself down and looked up at Michael.

'Where's Kali?' His head hurt, but his knee was absolutely throbbing. He had a hard time focusing on what Michael was telling him as his mind swam.

'That's what I was trying to explain,' the older Michael said; his voice very different since he did not talk with a lisp anymore. 'She's gone.' He then looked toward the open wall of the inner room. Kali was nowhere to be seen.

'What do you mean she's gone?' retorted JT gaping at Michael as though he had lost his best friend. His eyes popped open and his focus returned with a shot of adrenaline.

'I don't know. She's just gone,' Michael stared out of the open wall and gulped, '— out of our lives forever.'

JT hung his head. 'She can't be.' He thought quickly back to when they spoke before they went to war. 'I thought she would have at least said goodbye.'

Michael placed his hand on JT's shoulder. 'I know Kali's gone, and I'm sorry, but I just wanted to tell you thanks.'

'For what?' JT asked as he placed the weight of his throbbing knee on the cane. He had almost forgotten how to use the cane since he was in Bruinduer, but the realization that that freedom from the pain had been temporary.

JT and Michael walked out of the inner room and with no assistance from them, as they crossed the opening, the wall of the room sealed behind them.

'Thanks for helping me realize what was important. I just don't know what it was that came over me,' Michael answered. 'I really thought that I wanted all of that power that the Golden Diamond would have given me. I mean all of those Triton soldiers bowed before me. But then, right there at the last moment, right after you called me your friend...' Michael paused. 'I don't know. I just thought all of that wasn't worth it. I just remembered when we were kids. You and your family were really special to me.' Michael stopped for a moment. His thoughts jumbled. 'But, I would be lying though if I told you I wasn't tempted in keeping the diamond and taking control over Bruinduer.

Something just popped in my brain, and I suddenly pictured myself like Charlie, all alone with supposed control over a world I don't think _can_ be controlled, yelling down at Tickler. I'd seen him yell at his pathetic servant so many times.' Michael shook his head.

'No matter how much power Charlie had or tried to take, he couldn't satisfy his lust for it. I just came to the conclusion that our friendship and Kali's friendship is more important.' Michael's eyes watered.

JT remained silent; his knee and arm were still very painful. He listened to what Michael had to say and appreciated that his new friend had come to his senses, but at the moment he was really more concerned about where Kali may have gone.

They climbed into the rust bucket of an elevator and as it labored to the main floor JT remained distant from Michael. They shuffled into the great hall. The dripping of the outside rain had ceased.

As JT limped across the great hall, he glared up at the ripped picture of his grandfather that hung so delicately over the fireplace. The picture appeared different. It seemed to have more of a glow to it now rather than a dark, gloomy shadow cast across it when they first arrived in the sailor's big old house in the rain. JT almost swore he saw Ol' Captain Luke smile at him.

'Well, you know Michael, I never really had a best friend before,' JT stated but then thought back that he and Michael had been best friends before his mother's accident. 'You know, you were a real pain in Bruinduer. I mean you did want me and Kali dead I recall.' JT's mouth remained flat. He remembered his and Billy's discussion when the Essence revealed during the Battle of the End that he was Atal Leer. JT knew that Michael had asked the Bruinduer guide to save him and Kali, but even if Michael had lied to Charlie in order to protect himself, JT still felt betrayed.

'I'm so sorry about that. I was out of my mind. I don't know what I was thinking. I didn't really want to hurt you,' Michael responded. He still felt very ashamed at his actions.

'I want to think deep down that you'd make the right decision in the end, but I still don't know if I can trust you completely. You really acted like most people do when they get power. I think they believe in some warped way they're better than everybody else. Somehow, their opinions and rules are the only ones that matter or apply. I mean you sound like you still don't know a whole lot about what you were doing even after you took a nation to war.

Don't get me wrong, you changed, and I will give you credit that you were willing to change for the good or at least you imagine that you have changed for the good. I wish out here you could be that same strong leader I saw in the Chamber of Common. Somehow though, I just think it was all an act. I'm still very new to all of this, and I am very tired.' JT jerked his hand around in the air. 'I just wish I knew where Kali went.'

'I'm really sorry,' Michael answered, his feelings of shame deepened. 'I hope we can still at least remain friends, if not best friends. I really thought I was doing the right thing at the time.'

The duo trudged through Warhead Dale and made their way out of the ragged double doors that opened to the back deck. Revealed before them was a beautiful view of the gleaming, peaceful ocean.

As the sun was about to explode over the glassy sea, JT asked Michael, 'What time is it?' The morning air was crisp. 'I really want to know where Kali went. I don't believe she left us here.'

Michael took Charlie's watch and strapped it to his arm. 'It's just about 6:30 in the morning - I suppose. That's what Charlie's watch says anyway.' Michael did wish that Charlie would have walked out of Bruinduer with them alive.

The first morning rays of the sun burst over the horizon and a new day dawned."

<***>

Just as soon as I had finished my tale, the children all smiled at me and piled into the center of the great hall of Warhead Dale on top of the large, mahogany colored rug and fell asleep. The night was halcyon and serene after the tremendous storm had raged through the early afternoon and evening. The white moon cast its restful beams on the shore of the ebbing tide, and the last log of the once roaring fire in the great hall fireplace snuffed out.

I took a deep breath and was happy I told my story. I shut my eyes and sank deep into a dream on my big black leather chair.

Chapter 29

I opened my eyes with a startling jerk. My grandson was looking down into my weary eyes with a sheepish smile.

"Hey old man," he stated with a slight giggle. "It looks like you guys had an awfully good time last night."

I rubbed my eyes removing the crust from the corners and sat upright. My back was very stiff. The children's parents were all rustling their kids up from what appeared to be a very restful sleep. Though I felt a little pain shoot through my joints I had not rested that well in a while. My thoughts were light, and I was renewed.

All of the children wrestled to their feet as though they would rise, only to fall back to the comforting threads of the carpet fighting to go back to sleep.

"I want to hear more of the story," one little girl yawned out.

"I know, but it's time to go home now. It has been a very long night. Your mother is very worried," whispered the young girl's father in her ear.

"Junior," I stated to my grandson. He looked at me as his eyes rolled back into his head because he hated it when I called him that. I thought it only fair considering he referred to me as an old man.

"Yeah, granddad?" he responded.

"Can you be a sport and go and get my cane?" I asked. I tried to push myself up onto my feet but I must have slept a little strangely and stiffened my knee as much as I had my back. I hated using that stupid cane, but I knew that it would be necessary for the time being, especially if I were to see my guests out into the beautiful new morning.

"Sure." I heard, then my grandson disappeared and I watched the children all file out of Warhead Dale.

The parents walked by me and shook my hand and expressed what a wonderful time they had even though they were stuck there overnight. They all mentioned with a giggle that they felt like children again staying over at friend's houses when they were growing up.

Some of the children hugged me as they left, and I felt a sense of bonding to these children no more than twelve years old who listened to my wonderful tale about Michael, JT, Kali, and the Mahogany Door.

Most of the children left with their parent's hands in theirs and a very satisfactory smile upon their faces as others still tried to waken.

My grandson returned, handed me my cane, and helped me to my feet. I would be lying if I didn't say that there were more than a few references to my age from the young one. Of course they were always in a lovingly, joking manner.

My cane crunched on a few crumbs and cups left by the children as I walked out into the morning light. The day was gorgeous.

The wind was crisp that was blowing off the ocean after the magnificent fall storm, and my lungs felt instantly refreshed as I breathed in deeply. I surveyed some damage to the outside of the massive mansion called Warhead Dale and then followed the children and their parents through the front yard, up the long winding driveway, and out to the iron gate. The structure of the house was still very intact, but a few clay tiles had fallen to the ground from the roof. A few limbs and trees had been blown into the yard, but there was very little destruction that could be called severe (Unless you consider a couple of windows that may have been broken by those limbs, severe).

A few of the boys darted off in either direction in the vast yard, making their way to the iron gate pretending to draw swords as JT and Michael and Kali had during the Battle of the End in Bruinduer. Two acted as though they fell and died. The remaining faux warriors caught my straggling stare directed toward them. They quickly remembered my speech about war and then instantly straightened up and rushed beside their parents. I was not mad at them, because I myself have been known to act out a few battle scenes. One of the children eyed back at me with shame in his expression, but I winked. He smiled, grabbed his father's hand, and continued the trek down the driveway.

Soon, all of the children made their way through the iron gate. After a quick goodbye, my grandson turned and walked back toward the mansion. He just wanted to make sure that everyone had made it out of the house all right. Before he left my side, he patted my shoulder and snickered, "You can make sure the gate is locked can't you ol' timer?"

"You sure are making a lot of old jokes this morning," I explained in a perturbed way though I had no intention of seeming as serious as my grandson took my remark.

"I didn't mean too - I mean you have rarely used your cane - I just -" my grandson stuttered about. I knew he didn't want to offend me, but I iced his fears.

"Would you just go back to the house you young whippersnapper? We got a little cleaning up to do if we want to really open this place up." I waved my arm and smiled in his direction. He immediately knew I would never think that he insulted me. "Of course I can lock this gate. You should know that better than anyone."

The last little child walked out of the gate with her father's hand in hers and I grabbed the great iron gate and pulled on it. It was swinging closed with a loud, grinding squeak when the little dark-haired girl let go of her father's hand and ran back toward the opening. Her brown ponytail, matted from the night before still bounced electrically as she skated up to me. I quickly halted the gate from shutting and she tugged on my shirt.

"Mister, I got a couple of questions I want to ask." Her voice was very matter of fact.

I was taken aback a little, but remembered the little girl's face from the beginning of the story on the beach. "That is right my dear, I did promise to answer all of your questions at the end of the story. How can I help you?"

"When can you tell another story like that?" She asked so innocently with large, sparkling emerald eyes. "I really want to know where Kali went."

I placed my finger on my chin as though I had to think about it and then answered very politely, "I have been known to tell more than one story in my life." I really had the feeling that she enjoyed this last one I told. "And I tell you what. If you ever come back and visit me in this big old house here on the coast again, you just might hear one, and you might discover what you are looking for." I patted her head and she turned and started to skip away but I stopped her.

"Dear?" I asked. She planted her foot and wheeled around surprisingly and peered at me as though she had done something wrong.

"Yes?" her voice cracked.

"Questions dear. You said you had questions. That was only one question. What is your other?" I did not feel comfortable confusing her as she glared to the sky searching for another question, but I did not want her to go all the way home, remember the other question, and then regret she didn't have the chance to ask me for we are never guaranteed tomorrow.

It took only a second and then she found her train of thought and final query.

"What's your name? I didn't hear you say it the whole day yesterday or last night." She eyed me with a nod as though she may have caught me in a lie.

I returned her nod and called her over to me with a wave of my hand. I leaned down, placed my palm beside her ear, and whispered.

She jerked back and her eyes became as large as silver dollars and she sucked in what must have been a gallon of air. She whirled around swiftly and bounced back to her father. She tugged his arm and then mouthed something toward him placing her hand over her lips as though she didn't want anyone else to see what she had to say.

I pulled the gate its final few feet. As it clanked shut, I locked the big, old, iron gate with a final, "click, click."

The father of the little brown-haired girl with beautiful green eyes stopped abruptly and looked back in my direction. I stood there alone with the gate, my cane, and the big old house called Warhead Dale in the background, and the waves rocked in the autumn morn. His eyes widened with a gasp.

I smiled at him, waved quickly, turned, and limped down the long winding driveway.

Dear Reader,

There would have been no way possible for me to have completed this book without a lot of help. Therefore, I would like to take this time to thank some of the wonderful people who have made this book become a reality.

To Janeen Free-McKee, without your editing expertise, I do not think that my story would have been readable.

To John Roberson and Laura Roberson, thank you for giving me insight on how to make the story better.

To Lauren Gallegos, your illustrations only took the story to another level.

To Mary Alice Bell and Mom, you are my inspiration.

To Scott Jackson, without you, we would have never sounded so good.

To Jill Boliek, the love of my life, without you, I would have quit a long time ago.

And a very special thanks to the ones who did not believe in me, without you, I would have never found the people who did.

And thank you reader for taking the time to read this story. I hope you enjoyed it, because it was quite a journey to write it.

Thank You,

Mark

You can follow me on Facebook, www.facebook.com/jmarkboliek

A bit more about the Illustrator, Lauren Gallegos:

Lauren Gallegos graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a B.F.A. in Illustration and creates her art from her home in Southern California.

Children's books have been an important part of her growth, her beliefs, and her goals and now she wishes for her art to have the same impact on the next generation.

Therefore, she seeks goodness, truth, and beauty that she may incorporate it into her art for the world to discover. Visit www.laurengallegos.com to learn more.

Stay tuned for the next Book in The Bruinduer Narrative:

Kali's Regress

