Chapter Six
Sera found the five-story neoclassical structure with sandstone columns and climbed the granite stairs leading to the Cleveland Public Library. Once inside the massive double door entrance, the marble floors inside echoed footfalls. Above her stood the Terrestrial Globe lighting which held a simulation of a DaVinci map. The entrance felt quiet, soothing, welcoming. Talking a deep cleansing breathe, she headed to a librarian’s desk. Sera cleared her throat. The librarian looked up from her book raising one eyebrow. Her hooked nose was the largest Sera had ever seen. She tried not to stare at it. “Can you tell me where I can find information on the...” Sera lowered her eyes then gazed at the stacks behind the woman. “Books on the supernatural? I mean rare books, old texts on myths and legends.”
For a moment, the woman only stared at Sera, a startled appearance in her dark eyes. A. quick shake of her head and her gaze turned thoughtful as she slowly stood up, came around the counter, sniffed the air, and stood before her. She was oddly petite. Thin trunk, paunch of a stomach straining against a long skirt stained a deep blue. “Sorry. Lost in thought. What was it you wanted?”
Sera felt a tug of something familiar, a déjà vu as she interacted with the librarian. “I’m searching for information on ancient texts on legends and mythologies. Do you have such a collection?”
The librarian smiled wanly returning to her perch at the desk and her book. Without glancing again at Sera. “Supernatural section on the sixth floor,” She waved her hand. “See the reference librarian on that floor in order to gain access to the collection. Much of it is locked up.”
Sera stood stock still for a moment then shook it off, mumbled a thank you and turned to the stairs. Her feeling of comfort evaporated. She felt like walking, not using machines where her body could do the work.
As she stepped away, the woman lifted her head to watch the woman’s back noting how her legs moved, how she carried herself. She stared intently until she could hear Sera round a corner for the next flight of stairs. Grabbing her cellphone, she dialed a number speaking softly in the phone. “You won’t believe what just walked in our door. I’ve never seen one before.” She listened for a moment. “Yes. You’ll know her by her aura, slightly tainted but still. Sent her to the sixth floor.” Holding her phone away from her ear until the woman stopped yelling, the librarian pocked her phone and veered toward the elevator.
When she reached the fifth floor, Sera stopped to take a breath. When she felt replete, she lifted her eyes to stare at a door, open in front of her. Stairs led up another flight. Sera stumbled realizing the map of the building showed five floors. The librarian was right; there were six floors. Filling her lungs, she started up the stairs. At the top, Sera surveyed the stacks neatly laid out on the sixth floor but saw no librarian. Curious, she ambled down the aisle of books listing the occult, the supernatural, beasts, demons, witchcraft, searching for anything that might be helpful in stopping this thing from pursuing her. The longer she read the titles, the more she feIt restless, alone. She hadn’t encountered anyone else or a specialized locked room. Scanning the selves once more, the book almost glowed when she touched it. Curious, she retrieved it. Flipping through pages musty with age, she padded to a small desk with a book light. She set the book down and sat. It fell open to a chapter which she proceeded to read. It was a book on folklore explaining about dogs and the supernatural. One passage grabbed her. The black dogs that presaged disaster or death, although sometimes they protected sacred spaces or lost travelers. The Baghest or Grim. Then she noticed its weakness: it couldn’t cross rivers. Was this book heaven sent? But Sera hadn’t encountered a dog. Slowly, Sera started to glow with wonder. Since falling, she had not one word from that realm. Would she ever be forgiven? Was this a clue?
Behind her, she heard shuffling like hair on rice paper. A mixture of odors drifted closer to her, a lavender scent on one, Dial on another, muddied shoes, a rosy perfume. When she turned her head, they stood in a half circle around her. Sera stood up to face them. They only stared. Keeping her eyes on them, she quieted her mind trying to ascertain what they wanted. Her fear drifted away. “Can I help you?”
The women tittered covering their mouths with their hands. One woman stepped forward. Her gray hair falling down her back, the edges of her mouth held laugh lines. Her blue eyes, intense. “No. No.” She touched Sera’s sleeve. “But we might be able to help each other.” With that the women turned as though they were ants heading into their hill gliding to the stairs and down the seven steps.
The last one turned at the last moment. “Keep the book.”
Standing stock still, Sera murmured, “What on the heavens and earth.” She tiptoed to the steps, peeked around the corner. They were gone. When she turned back, the shelves were covered in shadows. They drifted toward her. She closed the door, hustled down the stairs working to gain the door to the outside and the sunlight.
TO BE CONTINUED