Рахма Крамбо - Guardian Cats And The Lost Books Of Alexandria

Grumbling to himself, he ran headlong into Cicero. The absolute darkness of the place made it impossible to see, even with his exceptional sight. Cicero sat immobile, like a statue, but unlike a statue, warmth radiated from him.

Marco took comfort in this, in spite of everything. What on earth was Cicero waiting for? And why did they need to come to this black hole of a place when there was a perfectly lovely library upstairs?

The dense silence was suffocating. A stab of fear gripped him, and he would have bolted if only he could see where he was going. He hated total darkness. The way it closed in on him… the way it grabbed him. His throat tightened.

A sound broke his morbidity; a sound so bizarre it would have frightened him except it was so fantastic.

It was the sound of laughter.

Wisps of flickering light bounced wildly around the hard stone walls, growing brighter, but not in a gradual way. Light and laughter moved down the stairs in bits and bursts. Things could not get any stranger, thought Marco.

“It took you long enough to get here," Cicero said to the still-invisible being.

"I found some old friends.” The voice reverberated out of the darkness. “It’s been centuries-uries,” she said in an echo-y voice.

“We have no time for visiting, Alaniah. Not this trip."

"Patience, my dear Cicero-ero-oh… We have come such a long way-ay-ay… You can wait a moment longer.”

The creature emerged from the darkness and fluttered into the stairwell. Marco was certain he’d seen everything by now, but hovering above him was a shimmering creature with iridescent wings. Its voice sounded like nothing he’d ever heard, sort of singing or laughing. No, maybe it was like bells. Not the big ones, but the small silvery ones.

“I think he sees me now-ow,” she lilted.

“A good sign,” said Cicero. “Marco, this is Alaniah, our tour guide.”

Alaniah flew around his head, inspecting him. "He’s very young,” she said to Cicero as though Marco couldn’t hear.

"Yes, but I believe he's the one," answered Cicero.

"The last one, you believed in him as well-ell,” she said.

Distracted by her beauty, Marco paid little attention to their words.

"Yes,” Cicero continued. “And I wasted too much time on him. Time is not something I can squander now.”

“A bit grumpy aren’t we, Cicero-ero?”

“Dear Alaniah, you know I am getting on in years. Even with your gifts to me, you must remember I am a mortal creature.”

Alaniah responded with a haunted sigh.

“Oh, Alaniah,” breathed Cicero. “I wish not to be the cause of your sadness. Your light expanded my life, and when I have ‘shuffled off this mortal coil,’ as Shakespeare said, I will have no regrets.”

“I do not know the meaning of regret. Explain, please.”

“How can I tell you about something only mortals suffer?”

“This one. You feel he is trustworthy-orthy?”

By now Marco realized something was up, and that something was about him.

“We will discover the truth soon,” said Cicero. “Now Alaniah, please let us in."

"By all means, as you are fond of saying-ing.” Then Alaniah folded up within herself, not unlike a morning glory folding up for the evening, but a soft glow still shone through her translucent wrapping.

Then Alaniah burst open, transforming the dark dungeon into something almost festive, showering them with light glitter like it was the Fourth of July.

"A bit extravagant,” teased Cicero. “Showing off for your admirer?”

“Just being practical, Cicero. Now we can all see.”

It was true. Alaniah hovered in front of an elaborately carved doorway. The doorknocker, a heavy bronze ring, creaked and rose on its hinge as though an invisible hand lifted it. Then the ring fell.

The tiny space reverberated with an earsplitting, echoing sound like the peal of a church bell from inside the tower. The door shattered and fell at the same moment, sheets of small particles cascading into a heap on the floor.

When the dust settled, his ears were still ringing, but Marco could not believe what was on the other side of the door. Now he must surely be dreaming.

Chapter 13: “More things in heaven and earth… “

On the other side of the door was a massive room, although ‘room’ was too small of a word to describe the space. As large as one of the enormous halls above ground, it was certainly not what Marco expected to find at the bottom of some dark, dank stairs. Illuminated by orbs of moving light, which Marco discovered were hundreds of creatures like Alaniah, it was hard to tell where the walls or ceiling began or ended.

Cicero breathed a deep sigh of contentment and stepped over the pile of debris that had been the door. Alaniah fluttered through, and Marco barely made it before the door began magically reassembling itself.

They descended marble stairs into a vast cavernous hall.

"Welcome! Welcome!" Approaching them eagerly was a young olive-skinned man in a green tunic, accompanied by a gray cat. “Welcome Cicero, Alaniah!” He reached down and petted Cicero lovingly. “It is always too long between visits, isn’t it? I trust your journey was pleasant enough, yes?”

“It went well, yes,” Cicero said.

“And who do we have here?” asked the young man, smiling down at Marco.

"Introductions, Cicero." Alaniah bubbled rather than spoke. Marco loved listening to the fairy-like creature, who seemed to take nothing seriously.

"Of course," said Cicero. He scratched his head, and Marco recognized his action as cover for his embarrassment, but Cicero quickly returned to full posture and spoke clearly. “I'd like to present to you the Keeper of The Book of Motion, a noble Librarian, Guardian of the Guardians, Keeper of the Sword of Knowledge—”

"Greetings, Marco,” the man, interrupted, holding his hand up to stop Cicero. “Cicero gets a little carried away sometimes. My name is Akeel." He reached down and scratched Marco's head and neck. "Welcome to our Library.”

“You have a new addition, Akeel,” said Cicero, nodding at a spiral stairway. The stairs were transparent and reflected the colors of the room. They were also not attached to each other—or anything else, for that matter.

“This is our latest addition. I am most excited about it. Come. I will show you,” Akeel said, walking towards the far corner where the stairs began. “They were designed by one of our brightest new mathematicians. It is based on the Golden Spiral, and the invisible support structure is established on principles that would take months to explain. We have been studying Sacred Geometry, and this project was the result of our studies.”

The crystal blocks formed a wide, sweeping curve from the floor. As they rose higher, they turned inwards on themselves in a small circle. Two people stood halfway up the ramp; one, a young boy and the other, an older bearded man. Marco reached out to touch the luminous step.

“They’re made of crystal,” Akeel said in a voice close to reverent. “Magnificent, isn’t it?”

Marco, who couldn’t contain his curiosity, began climbing the steps, but Akeel called him back.

Marco reluctantly obeyed, but he kept looking upwards to see where the stairs ended.

“You are observant Marco, but there’s a reason you cannot see where it goes,” Akeel said. “The Golden Spiral stairs have no end. They continue into infinity. When a climber reaches a certain point… well… they pass into another dimension, but that’s a trip for another time.”

Marco felt light headed just thinking about what Akeel said.

“Come. There are many things to see in the inner Library, and I would love to give you a tour.”

Akeel led them down a hallway of towering doorways and Marco imagined the closed doors hid wonderful secrets. Through one of the opened doors, Marco observed men and women moving in slow, dance-like motions. Through another, he saw bearded men on low cushions, reading or dozing. Several rooms were full of children busily engaged in reading or playing. Marco had to run to catch up with Akeel and Cicero.