by Phil Maxey
“Cave?” I said.
“It’s Latin. It means beyond this door there’s no going back.”
“Lets do this.” I didn’t really mean that. I wanted to turn and run back to the elevator and get the hell out.
He knocked three times and we both waited. The sound of a mechanism played out within the uneven walls, and with a creak the door swung towards us. A series of odors hit my senses at the same time. Paper… dust… oil?… and another scent that I couldn’t place.
Fortacan looked at me then pulled the door all the way open. My eyes widened at the enormous cavern before us. We stepped forward onto the topmost step of a staircase that wound its way down hundreds of steps, to columns of books. Walls and mounds of them, creating a small village of volumes.
The door slammed shut behind us, the sound echoing out amongst the rocky cave walls and stalactites. At the center seemingly a mile below was what looked like a Greek temple. A replica of the Parthenon that was entirely in the wrong part of the world.
We started to descend again, being careful to stay to the right side of the smooth looking steps.
“It’s said that it was an Atlantean prince that brought her to the new world, and he built this temple for her.”
“Under New York?… wait, Atlantis is real?”
“It was not under anything when it was erected.”
The lower we moved, the cooler the air became, and the volumes started to tower above us. A sea of leather and parchment skyscrapers. We stepped out onto the stone slabbed floor, and I tried to remember what the paths were when we looked down from above.
“This way,” said Fortacan moving into a narrow passageway.
We quickly made our way past walls of old volumes, packed together like bricks.
“You sure this is the way?” I asked.
“I… think so yes…”
Something rattled catching us both of us off guard. We stopped. It was approaching us through one of the channels between the books. I stood in front of the professor. “Don’t worry I got this.”
Fortacan went to speak, but I readied myself for whatever foul creature was about to descend on us.
A brown dog about the size as one of the larger books scampered forward and looked up at me. It snarled and let out a timid bark.
I stood my ground. “That’s going to turn into a dragon, isn’t it?”
Fortacan looked at me, unsure.
“What’s that on it’s back?” I said, then leaned in closer. The small canine took a step back but continued it’s growling.
“Why’s it got a camera on its back?”
“I don’t know…”
The dog turned and disappeared down the narrow lane between the books. I chased after it, the professor doing his best to keep up, and I weaved my way past the paper and leather until finally the pillars were gone and we were standing in front of gray-white steps, and a temple, at least three stories in height. Torches burned on a few of the huge pillars at the entrance. The dog merrily hopped from step to step and disappeared inside.
I looked at the professor and we walked up the steps. I had visited a few temples in my time, in Greece, Italy and Turkey but this was more akin to stepping into a Greek temple theme park because there was no wear and tear. No worn stone bricks, or decay, but simple immaculately carved walls, with statues embedded in them. It felt more like we had entered a Manhattan art gallery.
We walked into a huge room, the end of which was a throne with a figure seated upon it.
She was slender and draped in a fine white lace dress, but that was not what struck us both, for upon her head was a large black box. In her hand was a cigarette holder with a cigarette protruding from it. She moved it to her mouth, causing it to burn brightly for a second, then took it away allowing a coiling puff of smoke to escape from her lips. Her head rotated in our direction. As did a series of cameras I now spotted attached to the pillars.
The professor went to speak.
“You dare return here, Fortacan?” she said.
I looked at him, but he remained fixed on the woman with the strange helmet. “Umm… return?”
I thought I heard her sigh. “Yes, old man. This is your second visit here. You will not remember the first because that is the price all must pay for stepping forth in my home.”
He scrunched his face and rubbed his chin. “I do not remember…”
“Yes, that is the point.”
He walked forward a few steps. “Can you tell me why I came here before?”
“You brought a volume written regarding the Knights of Exile, you wished to have it translated. But you refused my terms, so you left. And now you are back, although I do not understand why, seeing you already have one of the seals.”
“What?”
My eyes flicked between the professor and the Gorgon.
“The demon standing next to you has it strapped to his wrist.”
Fortacan looked at my watch, his eyes growing wide. “Your grandfather’s watch…”
I shook my head with the best forced smile I could muster. “This thing? This was made in the 50s.”
“She doesn’t lie… Did you know?”
“Look, I don’t know where she get’s her information from—”
“You question me demon?”
I whirled around to the ancient creature on her throne. “What me? No…”
The professor was stepping backwards. “You lied to us! Perhaps you are already working with our enemies…”
“Uh?” This situation was going sidewards quickly. I needed to act. I sprinted forward, grabbing the leather case from the old man, and ran to the middle of the huge room. “Can you translate it? We...” I looked back but there was no one there.
Shit.
“I pulled the book from the case, and laid it on the bottommost step. I need to know where the other seals are.”
She puffed on her cigarette. “I will translate one chapter and in return I will take one memory. Is that a price you are willing to pay?”
“Do I get to choose what you take?”
“You do not. Answer demon, or leave.”
The inked words from my grandfather came back to me. I had to protect the seals, and at this point I didn’t care about the past. Only the future mattered. “Yes, take what you want.”
Long black nails gripped the arm of her ornate chair and she got to her feet, then walked forward down the steps with the grace of a catwalk model. She stopped at the bottom step, towering over me, being at least a foot taller. Despite being fascinated by her, I couldn’t help take a few steps backwards. The camera’s tracked my every movement.
She walked past the book and stopped in front of me, blocking out the light from some of the torches. In one swift movement she pulled the modern device from her head, revealing a rich main of black hair, but a face that looked as old as she truly was. Before I could react the world around me started to lose focus, my body feeling as if I was under water. She placed her long slender fingers across the top of my head—
I was back in the underground vault, beneath my childhood home. The candles worked harder to stay alight as the huge arched door continued to open in front of my seven-year-old self. Surrounded by stone sarcophagi I looked for gaps to hide, while stepping further and further back. I wondered what monster was about to pounce, when suddenly a gust of wind blew the door fully open revealing nothing on the other side. Just another candle lit tunnel, but this one came with voices. My waking memory had never revealed what was beyond the door, or what happened next.
I took one final glance back at the staircase I had descended, then crept forward. These walls were mostly smooth, but had large stone squares with ornate scenes carved into them. None of them made any sense to me, but appeared to be filled with people fighting actual monsters.
The narrow cold walls echoed to the sound of arguing. I knew the voices and my heart leaped at not being lost anymore, but stopped before pushing the final door open, hearing how angry th
ey sounded. Instead I crept to it and looked through the gap.
My mouth fell open on seeing a cavern from a fairytale. Statues of knights which soared to the roof stood between arches and walls which belonged in a castle. At the back, which to my young self appeared to be a world away was a grander door, surrounded with ornate stone carvings. But that wasn’t what drew my attention, for not far off, standing in front of a huge fireplace, with roaring flames, was my father and grandfather standing opposite each other.
“You can stay down here with all this madness, but I will not let you infect my son like you wanted to do to me!” shouted my father.
My grandfather, a proud man standing almost a foot above my father in height, sneered. “Look around you! Do you think all of this is my imagination? Your mother stopped me giving you the ceremony, but soon I will be gone, and there will be no one to protect the seal! The Octavian seal was destroyed over a hundred years ago, and recently we lost the Groves one. Evil has already claimed two of the seals, Michael, releasing the first two Horseman. If you won’t accept our family’s legacy, another will be set free upon the earth! Do you want that? Do you want the evil which exists beyond the veil to be let loose upon the earth? If you won’t take the ceremony it has to be Sebastian!”
My father walked forward until he was just a few inches from the white beard of his senior. “This is the twenty-first century! Knights, demons, it’s all nonsense. I will never allow you to use him like you wanted to do to me! I will send him away. Far from here, you, and all of this insanity! And I warn you father, if you persist on this path—”
A creak came from behind me and they both looked in my direction. I took a step back into—
I was standing inside the rattling elevator, which promptly stopped and the door slid open. Statues of knights and roaring flames flickered then faded from my mind.
A man wearing a Hawaiian shirt stood looking at me. “Coming out? Or going back up?” he said.
“Uh… out.” I walked forward into the lobby, wondering if I had actually taken the elevator anywhere. Then I remembered I was missing the professor.
“Sebastian!” shouted Fortacan from the sidewalk outside.
I moved through the lobby doors, into the fall sun.
“What happened?” he said.
“I… don’t know. Do you remember anything?”
“I remember we got into the elevator, and then I was back in the lobby. I’m glad to see you have the case still. Please tell me the book is still inside?”
I hadn’t realized the case was slung over my shoulder. “Umm… sure.” I pulled it open and hid my relief when I saw the old volume.
“Did it work? Did she translate it?”
“I don’t know…” I pulled the book out and opened it. There appeared to be no difference. I quickly thumbed through the pages, then stopped at the start of chapter four. There was a piece of parchment, with some ornate writing.
I read the message aloud. “Do not return.”
The professor pulled the book from me. “This chapter, it’s been completely translated. She did it!” He slammed the cover closed and slid the book into the case around my shoulder. “We need to get back!”
CHAPTER TWELVE
We hastily moved in the direction of the parking lot which housed the stingray. I had learned it was shared between the professor and Alyssa. Its use being allocated according to who was active during the day or night.
I pulled my jacket open to try and cool down. The first signs of fall were making themselves known on the ground, but to me it might as well had been the height of summer. Sweat was beginning to crawl down my neck. It made sense why paranormals came out after the giant ball of fire disappeared beneath the horizon.
“I doubt I’ll be getting any sleep tonight,” said Fortacan excitedly.
We passed large glass front stores. I glanced at a few of them. “Do you think the translation will give you what you need?”
He nodded. “It’s a start.”
I stopped and looked in a men’s clothing store. Tweed suits and an assortment of hats sat were laid out in front of me.
“Come now. We need to get back as soon as possible!”
In the reflection, I watched a black sedan on the opposite side of the road with blackened windows. It was there when we entered the apartment block, and started moving again when we left, slowly following. “I need a hat.”
Before the confusion had left the professor’s face I had entered the shop, with him trying to keep up.
“We have no time for this!”
I eyed a few classic styles, eventually grabbing a light brown Gatsby and took it to the counter, where I remembered I had no money. I looked at the professor who sighed.
“Yes, fine.” He pulled a fifty from his wallet, handing it to refined looking man on the other side of the counter.
While Fortacan waited for his change, I glanced out of the large windows to the street. Two men in black suits and sunglasses were trying to make their way through the traffic, to our side.
I grabbed the coins for him, the hat and dragged the professor towards the back of the shop. “Hey is there a back way out of here?” I shouted back over my shoulder.
The store owner looked confused. “Not for customers!”
Fortacan tried to brush off my grip which remained on his arm. “What are you doing?”
I leaned in closer to him. “We are being followed, they are—” The front doorbell rang out. “— here.” We waded through blazers and overcoats, and opened a door to a small corridor. Rushing past another man who shouted something in our direction we arrived at the exit and pushed it open to more bright sunshine.
We stepped out to a wide alleyway with graffiti covered walls framing it. My hearing picked up heavy footsteps quickly moving towards the door behind us. What I needed was just a few yards away. A dumpster full of masonry and refuse. I grabbed the front of it and heaved, pulling it across the greasy surface and jamming it up against the door, just as its wood splintered from an impact. It made no difference though as the dumpster almost covered the door completely.
We made our way out of the alley to the chimes of grunts from the back of the clothes store, and covered the distance back to the car as quickly as the older man could jog.
I moved to the driver’s door as did he. “I’ve driven sports cars my entire life. I should—”
A black SUV drove into the end of the tree-lined street.
The professor passed the keys to me and we both got in. The stingray burned rubber and we sped away. I took a quick left, then right onto a busier road. The SUV pulled into it as well.
The professor’s eyes grew big at the red light we were approaching fast. “Watch out!”
Being around paranormals for decades, I thought he would have realized I can look in multiple directions before he’s looked in one, and I knew there was enough of a gap for us to fit through. Not so much for the larger, slower vehicle of our pursuers. I pushed down on the gas and we accelerated in front of a semi, which let us know with its horn. Other traffic surged across the junction, and I took the next left, leaving the SUV in our rear mirror.
I looked across at the professor who had one hand on the dashboard and another clutching the case. “Who were they?” I said. “They didn’t look like the damned.”
“Probably the same group behind the attack on you in Monaco.”
I swung the car around another tight bend. “Maybe I should stop and me and them have a chat.”
He tapped the case. “The most important thing is we have another clue to help us. We should get back.”
We were soon walking down the tunnel towards the bunker’s entrance, which was already open.
“How’d it go?” said Alyssa.
“Have no idea,” I said, moving inside with the professor while she closed the door behind us.
“It seems we did something right, for chapter four has been translated!” he said.
“Cool,” said the vamp
.
“We were followed, but we lost them,” he continued.
“Phantoms?” she said with concern.
“Garden variety human’s, except bigger,” I replied.
The professor was already lost to the pages of my grandfather’s book and he walked into the nearby corridor.
Alyssa’s gaze followed him with a frown.
I looked at the walls around us. “What’s stopping them from coming down here right now and trying to take it back?”
“If they’re paranormal, the wards. And humans usually aren’t that stupid.”
“So it was just coincidence they just happened to know we were at the Librarian’s?”
“They probably have people watching the exits of the old school upstairs. Who knows. Anyway I’m beat. I waited up. I need to sleep.” She went to walk away then stopped and looked back. “Don’t let him leave without waking me.”
“Sure.”
*****
I awoke with a start, my hands briefly swiping at monsters that weren’t there. I was covered in sweat, but it wasn’t because of the dying embers of the fire that I had fallen asleep in front of, but from whatever my mind had conjured up within my dreams. I looked around the long busy room. All was quiet. I leaned back in the comfortable leather chair and—
A boom rang out in the distance. I sat waiting for it to happen again, and it did, just as quiet as the first time. The strange thing was I couldn’t place it. I had become particularly adept at having an idea of where in the world around me noises were located, but this I couldn’t get a baring on. I took my boots from the chair in front of me and sat up blinking a few times. I wondered if the subway noise would travel this far.
Another bang, or was it a mini-explosion? The sound appeared to be coming from everywhere but nowhere. It repeated and was slightly louder. The front door behind me rattled making me turn in my chair to face it. The bolts jostled with each new boom. I slowly stood and walked across the rug, then flat stone floor and stopped a few feet from the door to the outside world.
