Call of Adhara

By Kara Bartley

For most people, leaving home is a tremendous undertaking, but for
Holly Kenzington, it was all about returning to a life she had left behind.
A cryptic presence appears in her world and begins to tug at her precious
memories as she is unknowingly drawn from her home in England to a
small town in southern Ontario.
Shortly after her arrival in Canada, Holly discovers that a mysterious
old house and a town with hidden secrets are slowly eating away at her
desire for a normal life. Painful memories resurface around her as Holly
and her friend, Valerie, fi nd themselves in the middle of a treacherous
historical event.
Holly soon learns the importance of compassion and acceptance, and
finds that through time, helping others in need can truly be a
source of healing

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483618425

Kara Bartley

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kara Bartley has always been interested in animals, so it comes as no surprise that her world is surrounded by them in both her life and imagination. She has a bachelor’s degree in Biology/Earth Science, a post-graduate diploma in Geographic Information Systems and a master’s degree in Vertebrate Paleontology. In the spring of 2002, she began writing her first novel, The Siamese Mummy, while on a dig for fossils in Kansas. Kara is also the author of The Unearthlings, Call of Adhara and The Moon In Habock’s Mirror. She lives in Niagara Falls, Ontario, with her three Siamese cats Apollo, Achilles and Agamemnon. Her horse, Dapplynn, is her biggest companion and anxiously awaits the day that she too, will have a guest appearance in one of her mother’s books.

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Copyright © 2013 by Kara Bartley.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 04/04/2013

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

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Contents

TIME FOR CHANGE

SEARCH, AND YOU WILL FIND

TIME TO GO

LAST VISIT

TO SOMEWHERE NEW

THE HOUSE ON BLACKBIRD LANE

ENTER ALL

UPSTAIRS

FINAL DECISION

ELLIOT CREEK

THE STARS ABOVE

FIRST NIGHT

LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS

SOMETHING DIFFERENT, SOMETHING NEW

POP’S DINER

CAR FROM OUT OF TOWN

END OF THE DAY

VISITOR FROM FAR AWAY

SLEEPLESS

INTO THE WOODS

GRAVE CONFUSION

FACT OR FICTION

BELOVED

HILLSIDE CEMETARY

SECRETS OF A YOUNG MAN

TIME CHANGE

HIDDEN LIES

MIND TRAVEL

TIME WITH OLD FRIENDS

RANDALL

OCTOBER RAIN

FOREST OF MASKED ILLUSIONS

DARK SIDE

LUCY

MIRIAM

ELLIOT

CALL OF ADHARA

PLIGHT OF AN ENEMY

MEMORIES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

THE PALEO TWINS

For Jasmine

TIME FOR CHANGE

H olly Kenzington was moving. Her life up until this point, at least the last twenty-one years of it, had been spent in Westchester, England. And until recently, her plans were to stay. But everything had changed. The love of her life—the man she’d been engaged to—had taken off with another woman, leaving her completely bewildered and heartbroken.

Holly was a beautiful woman with long black hair, a ballet dancer’s physique and a voice that could charm even the most untamed animal. She was not one to flaunt her good looks, but the compliments that she did receive, she was quite thankful for. Her signature colours were black and red and her favourite kind of people were honest ones. Never ostentatious, her most beloved shoes were her black All-Star Converse high tops. That’s just who she was.

Holly was kind, modest and extremely innocent—never one to see the bad in people. So when she had met her future fiancé, she never once thought that his intentions would turn sour and that his eyes would be drawn to another.

This story however, began long before that event.

Four years ago, Holly had made the decision to move back to Canada to see the beautiful land and experience the diversity that the country offered. Her heart was longing to go there.

Her family was originally from Canada. Both parents were Ontario natives, as were all three children. Holly and her two younger sisters were all born in Niagara Falls. Her father had taken a job in Westchester the year Holly turned twelve. That was the year the family packed everything up and moved to England. Although the majority of Holly’s life was spent in England, she always felt the Canadian part of her reaching out. It was because of her first twelve years of life in Ontario, so many things had happened there. And in her heart, she truly felt that it was the place she should return to.

Holly was prepared to leave her hometown of Westchester to make the journey, when one day she met Jonathon Brinks in Cartwright’s bookstore. It was inside this small, darling bookstore, in amongst the travel section, that she met her romantic fate. Holly was shopping for a map of Canada, while Jonathon was searching for a map of the world. She should have known there that his eyes were too big for monogamy.

It was in this bookshop that they met, fell in love and extinguished any future thoughts of travel. But Holly didn’t know that Jonathon’s heart would turn to another. Had she known, she never would have trusted him.

Now, four years later, with only a broken heart to show for her dedication to love, she was leaving. She had to. Holly knew that what she needed now was to put her own desires first.

She had chosen to begin her new life in southern Ontario, but wasn’t quite sure of what city or town, specifically. She was looking for somewhere quaint and small—a creative and cultural town with an affinity for artists. What she really wanted eventually was a gallery of her own where she could display her artwork, but that would come later. First, she just needed to find a place that would welcome her artwork and enable her to survive off of it.

Then she found out about Elliot Creek. It was a small town with a population of approximately twenty-two hundred. Holly was immediately drawn to it, but didn’t know why. There was a problem, however. There didn’t seem to be much information about it anywhere. It wasn’t even on any of the maps. It was only by means of an odd encounter that Holly learned about the town. This impactful meeting took place the day she returned to Cartwright’s bookstore. There was no forgetting it, not for Holly.

It all began with the opening of a door.

The day had started out hot and squelching, with rain-coated clouds looming overhead. It was one of the last few days of August and the weather had been threatening to storm. A slight stir in the wind now echoed through Holly’s ears as she stood in front of the bookshop with her fingers wrapped around the door handle.

She knew that her future awaited her on the other side of the door. So, with all of her mental strength, she opened it and stepped inside.

Five minutes later, she was standing in amongst the travel section. She was reaching for a folded map on the rotating metal rack in front of her, when a tall man in his thirties approached from behind.

"You will never find what you are looking for there," he said.

Excuse me? Holly replied, feeling slightly disturbed by his statement.

You can buy all the maps you want—but you will never find what you are looking for, he said, peering over her shoulder.

She turned to face him. Is that so?

Yes, the man said, matter-of-factly.

And how could you possibly know what I’m looking for?

It’s simple. I just know.

Holly was shocked at the man’s boldness. She didn’t recognize him, and was starting to think that his motive behind the conversation was more deliberate than accidental. She quickly surveyed the man’s wardrobe. He was dressed in a muffled gray suit that looked somewhat tousled. And he himself appeared disheveled, scruffy, and ungroomed. But his confidence level was confusingly deceptive. This was not just anyone off of the street, this man had a purpose.

Great, this is just what I need, Holly thought. A stalker following me! But there was something mysteriously alluring about his eyes; they were drawing her in. He was in some unknown way, familiar. Goosebumps formed along her arms when for a brief moment, she felt like she knew him.

Shaking her head, she returned her focus to the metal rack. It was not in her plans to get side-tracked. Well, thank you for your insight but I’ll be just fine.

The man was brazen. He leaned over her shoulder and pulled a book off of the shelf beside her. Here—read this one. I think you will find it… most interesting, he said, handing it to her.

Holly stepped back from the man. She contemplated calling the owner over to have him removed from her presence. He was acting so strange and standing too close—beyond her comfort zone.

Well, she said, quickly gazing at the book in her hands, I appreciate the help, but really I just want to be left alone, if you don’t mind. Holly then placed the book back on the shelf. When she turned back, the man was gone.

Looking around, she saw no sign of him. She walked away from the shelf and scanned the other aisles, but saw no trace of the man. Where did he go so fast? Holly was starting to believe that she was imagining things.

Returning to the travel section, she stood in front of the metal rack. There was no man, he just wasn’t there. Maybe he never was, she laughed to herself.

Just as she was about to pick up another map, her eyes were lured back to the shelf beside her. Suspiciously, she watched as one of the books slowly pushed its way to the edge. Holly looked around but saw no one else in the aisle. The book then leapt from the shelf onto the floor. Holly’s eyes widened in surprise. She was hesitant to touch it. It lay still for a moment before she decided to pick it up. Reaching down, she carefully lifted the book. It was dark forest green in colour, with gold embossing on the cover. She recognized it immediately. It was the book the man had handed to her, an encyclopedia of maps entitled, ‘Towns of southern Ontario, Canada’. A frosty chill instantly shot through her body. How did he know what I was looking for?

Opening the book, Holly gently flipped through the pages. Then oddly, her fingers uncontrollably stopped. The page numbers which represented the years started at 1869 and continued on from there. The page that she stopped at was numbered 1904. It was a map of the Niagara region.

Many towns and cities were listed on the page, but only one caught her eye. It was a small town located in the heart of Niagara, known as Elliot Creek. Holly didn’t know why exactly, but she was immediately interested in the town.

She closed the book, placed it under her arm and walked towards the register. When she reached the counter, the old man behind it asked her if there was anything else she needed help with.

No—thank you. I think I found what I was looking for, she said, placing the book on the counter.

Hmm, he grumbled. Wolvenhang Press, I don’t remember ordering that book. I must be getting old when I can’t remember things like that.

Holly laughed. What do I owe you? But then something out of the corner of her eye distracted her. She turned her head towards the window and there, standing in front of the bookstore looking in, was the man who had suggested the book. The grin on his face sent shivers up her spine.

Then, she watched in utter surprise, as his body slowly faded out of view until all that was left was his smile.

SEARCH, AND YOU WILL FIND

A fter Holly’s bizarre encounter at the bookstore, she decided to research the town name on her computer. For some unknown reason, she was fascinated with Elliot Creek and wanted to know why. Oddly though, the more she researched the name, the less information she was able to find. Holly knew that it was absurd to base her move solely on the existence of one book, so she continued searching. But the more she looked, the more her heart sank.

She desperately wanted to find more information. Something about Elliot Creek was calling her there. She tried to explain that to her family, but they were all in agreement when they collectively said, Find somewhere else. Holly ignored them.

She attempted to make the most of the information that she found. But it wasn’t until she neared the end of her search, when she’d almost given up, that an unknown website appeared on her computer one day. Silently, she sat curled up in the computer chair inside her bedroom, brimming with excitement. With her eyes glued to the screen, she read and scrolled through the site. It pertained specifically to Elliot Creek, but most of the