Portal Readers

Chapter 3

"Have a nice day!" Joslyn chirped, waving to the customer as they left without returning the remark. With a shrug the young teen continued her work... which consisted of munching on mini chocolate chips and nestling farther into her adventure in the jungles of Nicaragua with the fearless Captain Julius Barbond.

"Is that any good?" a familiar voice asked as a bob of curls poked above the pages.

Joslyn set it down and began a monologue of the story: "Deep in the Nicaraguan jungle, an adventurer struggles through the undergrowth. His mission is to find the lost Fowl Temple that had been swallowed by the plant-life so many centuries ago-"

"I didn't ask for a synopsis I just asked if it was good," the boy brought his voice to a high, nasally, whistle. This particular voice sounded like one of the antique dealers that often came to the Emporium – usually to try and swipe one of the older volumes.

"You're getting good at that," Joslyn giggled as she slapped him a high-five.

"Lots of practice."

"So, what is the great Warren West doing today? Hunting for buried treasure? Exploring the Arctic with his team of dogs?"

"Trying to catch up on homework?"

Joslyn sputtered, not believing her ears. "Did I just hear the word 'homework'? Because I'm pretty sure I didn't, not on summer vacation."

"Summer school, sorry Jos, it's just how my parents roll." Warren shrugged, "I deal with it."

"You need to tell your parents to lighten up," Joslyn poked her friend in the chest, "just because they're smart doesn't mean they have to ruin your summer by making you smart."

The boy snorted, "have you met my parents, they want me to be some big-wig lawyer or doctor."

"Like them."

"Yeah."

A heavy silence followed the conversation. Joslyn knew all about the awkward home situation Warren was in, but she still hadn't found a way to resolve it.

"Well if you can't find an adventure alone, we'll just have to find one together!"

"Jos, we aren't kids anymore-" Warren started.

"I'm sorry, do you know where we are? We are in the best book emporium this side of town." Joslyn hooked an arm around Warren's neck and comically pulled him across the desk, so they were cheek-to-cheek. "Anybody is a kid if they come into this shop!"

Letting go, the giddy teen, slid over the top of the counter and dragged Warren into the stacks, guiding him deeper and deeper into the maze of shelves and musty books. Warren protested till they reached the back of the Emporium where some of the thickest, oldest, dustiest books sat. Unused and unadorned, except for one.

Joslyn hefted an enormous novel from its place on the shelf, sneezing as a fine cloud of dust poofed out of its place. She let it thump to the floor and sank to her knees beside it, tugging on Warren's sleeve.

"C'mon, just for a few minutes, your homework can wait."

Glancing at the front of the store, then back to the floor, Warren finally sat, gazing down at the ancient book. "What do you think it's about?"

"Pirates," Joslyn answered, with a flourish of her hand she swept a hand shaped line through the grime on the cover to reveal spirals of gold and silver embossment. Each swirl carefully dipping into another elegant spiral, the indent of a ship seemed to shift in and out of view, like the whole cover was alive.

"Whoa..." Warren quickly wiped the rest of the leather clean, marveling at the workmanship. "This is amazing."

"Let's see the story now, shall we?" Every time Joslyn opened a new book, it felt like opening a present, but this time if felt different. Powerful and invigorating, as if she already knew what was going to happen.

Warren grabbed the cloth book mark, inspecting it before flicking it to the ground. Instead of nothing, the cloth let out a soft clink as it hit the wooden flooring. Confused, the teens looked at each other then back to the strip of fabric on the floor.

"Strange... I didn't think bookmarks made noise." Joslyn frowned, then lifted the object and let it slip through her fingers again, it still made a clink sound as it hit the floor.

Confusion was replaced by intrigue as Joslyn and Warren took turns trying to figure out what the bookmark was hiding. A logical comment finally passed the boy's lips when he said: "Go get some scissors."

Ignoring the fact that it would lessen the price if the novel was damaged in any way, Joslyn dashed to the front, then returned – not as quickly – with a pair of scissors.

Like a surgeon, Warren plucked a few of the seam line strings away, he stuck his finger inside and searched for whatever was making the noise. His fingertip finally brushed something cool and he worked it out.

A clean bronze key, about the length of a stubby pencil, sat in his palm. It was an old-fashioned, skeleton-like key with three prongs at the end, each varying lengths.

"A key?"