**** Chapter Eighteen: THE HIDDEN LIBRARY

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Chapter Eighteen: THE HIDDEN LIBRARY

Far ahead in the distance at the edge of the castle grounds, rimmed with a thick forest, Demon was playing with his flying horses. It was a neat game. The horses rose up in the air circling the sky, then Demon cracked his whip and they swooped down one after the other, like cascading snowflakes, and hovered over the ground just before landing to get a good pat over the head from their Master. It was endearing how each of them vied for his attention and waited patiently for his caressing touch.

And I wondered – how can a man be so affectionate to animals and yet be so cruel to people?

I moved away from the window and plopped on the bed again. As I lay there, wondering about Demon, a few words found their way down my memory –

Khalil Gibran. I had no idea who he was thinking of when he wrote this and it didn’t fit all that well for me either. But I wondered what Demon’s true face was like.

I had never met anyone like him. He was charming yet repelling, enigmatic yet obviously wicked. Above all, he could send my heart racing with a twitch of his mouth and have my mind up in flames with a single syllable the next minute.

So it was safe to say he was driving me completely crazy!

Azure had said I should be making peace with him. Why did it have to be me? Why couldn’t he just be nice to me and request me to help him! Uhm – well he had asked me – as nicely as he could but it wasn’t enough.

I got off the bed to steady my pounding nerves. Something was amiss. Something didn't feel right. A nagging feeling was chewing at me like a pesky little bug. I think it was Azure’s naïveté or blind loyalty to his Master. He sounded so sure of my ability to charm Demon into submission. As if all I had to do was smile and trill and the damn monarch would offer me his heart and loyalty on a platter.

How could I forget that if Demon could have had his way, he would’ve killed me in a heartbeat the first night we had met?

I stayed the whole day shut in my room, more because of childish stubbornness than anything else. I continued to peep through my windows at Demon, then at the empty fields after he retired inside. I didn’t join him for dinner and had my food sent up in my room where it lay cold and untouched.

The events of the past few days were finally catching up and I was mentally exhausted. Plus every time I got up, I ended up breaking something. I looked at the bathroom doorknob, one of the curtains and part of the bed’s headboard; all neatly stacked in one corner of the room. There was also a neat little hole on the wooden floor in front of the door. I didn’t even know when I did that! I wondered how long before I was able to control these Hulkulean powers.

I went to bed finally, but couldn’t sleep. My wandering mind was making me restless. It was time to go exploring – again. A stroll outside would be nice at this hour, I thought. I glanced at the bags Kara had brought, but went out in the bathrobe anyway. I’d probably rip a garment while slipping an arm in a sleeve or something.

Hence, in the dead of night, I hopped over the hole on the floor and silently slipped out of my room to take another stroll around this mysterious castle. I stared down the long, deserted corridor dimly lit by oil lamps. Hmm, I’d gone to the left in the morning and to the right before that. But I hadn’t ventured downstairs. Rumir had said there was a staircase that led into the lounge below and then out of the building. So, that would be the way to go then.

Everyone had definitely turned in for the night as there was not a single sound. I cautiously walked along the dark hallway, not wanting to bring the house down and destroy everyone’s sweet dreams. I went past Demon’s room, warm hues playing with the walls of that amazing room with a delicious television that –

A few more steps and I was at the top edge of a massive marble staircase spiraling down into darkness. I took a deep breath and set a foot on the first step. Surprisingly the marble wasn’t cold. It was very nicely toasty – and oh – yes, I had no shoes on. But I was fine. The cozy warmth of the marble was all I needed to begin feeling fresh. It was like instant spa-ness.

I stretched out a hand to feel the wall that ran down the staircase for support in unfamiliar territory lest I slipped or something. As I neared the end of the stairs the lighting began to fade. The lounge below was almost dark. At the far end, I could see a foyer lined with a huge window wall that allowed scanty light from the starry night outside to drench the space in pale silvery tones.

I decided to use the main door to go outside but didn't let go of the wall I had my hand on. Just in case there was a table placed in the center somewhere with a huge vase or something – I didn't want to be the one to break it and face Demon later.

Hmph! So much for the super vision Azure had talked of. I felt more impaired than a blind bat flying into the sun!

As I walked further, I noticed the walls were no longer smooth but seemed to be hung with some sort of embossed wallpaper. I put my hands on it and walked on feeling the rise and fall of the design that I couldn’t see clearly but sense. It felt therapeutic and seemed to calm me. After a few minutes when my fingers had become used to the roughness of the wallpaper, I felt a dime sized protrusion.

I stopped and ran my finger over it again. It was clearly not part of the wallpaper pattern. But I had no business being curious. The window walls and the main door were clearly in sight now and I should really be heading out.

But I didn't.

Instead I pushed the protrusion slightly. I shouldn’t have. I know. And when the secret door silently swung open in front of me, I should not have gone inside either. But old habits die never in my case! My curiosity got the better of me and I held the door – thinking of what I might find. Maybe I would find old dead rotting corpses of people

Demon had killed. Hoping to find some dirty dark secret to use as leverage over Demon, I pushed the door further and stepped in.

It was dark. I couldn’t see a thing but I could sense a lot of room. I could feel air, breathable and plenty of space that smelled of – fresh wood!

Oh no! Was I at the edge of another cemetery or forest perhaps? Dare I enter now? The vibes I got from that unseen space were positive. Besides, I had already placed one foot inside without realizing and felt warm, smooth and solid flooring that was further invitation to proceed. And so I did.

As I gripped the doorframe and ran a hand to locate the wall inside the darkness, my fingers hit a switch. I flicked it on. And stood bewitched for more than a few breaths.

Or maybe it was one breath but who was counting? I’m not sure I was breathing at all.

There, sprawled before my incredulous gaze, was the largest collection of books I had ever seen in my entire life in a house! It was a library! But not just any library – I’m talking about row after row and shelf after shelf and wall after wall lined with reading material – all soaring all the way to the sky high ceiling made accessible by stairways.

I drew in a huge breath and looked up at the sky, which wasn’t a sky but a skylight – again the biggest I’d seen ever. A star filled night smiled on the other side of its glass but the library wasn’t dependent on that light for illumination. There were chandeliers, lamps, bulbs – you name it. Just one minor flick of a switch and an entirely new world had come to life there.

Books were a passion of mine so I wasn’t simply excited at the sight. I was near dizzy. The ocean of knowledge in this room was enough to make me want to stay in this castle forever! Okay, maybe not forever, but at least a month. That would be fabulous.

I took cautious steps to reach the books. I wouldn’t want to break anything here. That would be sacrilege. And for as long as I stayed in the castle this would be my sanctuary. Every time Demon made me mad and I wanted to vent I’d come here and bask in this amazing, delicious, heavenly retreat.

I cruised through the aisles. The books were sorted and shelved just like in a regular library and upon close inspection they seemed to be mostly first editions. I saw Dracula, Wuthering Heights, War and Peace, Animal Farm, Pride and Prejudice, Tess of the D’Urbervilles and – God – the Twilight series!

I took one out without the slightest hesitation and gasped and giggled with relentless joy. It wasn’t that I was so in love with Cullen but the mere glimpse of something fresh from my world was just awesome. I felt like a kid in a candy shop who had just stumbled upon a rainbow lollypop the size of her head!

I put the book back. I had to explore more before I could finally set my mind right to actually be able to read something. I walked out of the first cluster of shelves into a small reading space. Well, it wasn’t exactly a reading space as there were no chairs but just one table, rectangular and old and solid wood.

I rested a hand on it, wondering about – nothing – when I spotted another arched doorway within the library. It was a little to the side behind the massive bookshelves but not exactly hidden. Intricate leafy patterns framed the arch and the wood stain seemed faded as if with age.

It looked interesting. So of course I went to it. Besides, that’s why I was up at whatever hour of the night it was anyway; to explore.

As I neared the archway, I felt a whisper of fresh air, the kind that is peculiar to trees. Yes, very leafy fragrance. The entire library was drenched in this perfume but it seemed to be stronger there. Perhaps it was originating from there. An indoor garden perhaps? Thinking and walking I went into the annex and was – ah! It was becoming so tedious to even be surprised or stupefied since I was so obviously running amuck in Pan’s Labyrinth!

So yes, yet again surprised out of my living mind, I was standing among trees. Tall trees. Sparkling, gleaming, unreal looking real mammoth trees carved in from roots to roof to carry books! I mean what in the world was this world? One tree was so huge it broke through the skylight there.

The books here were bigger and taller, thicker than normal. I scanned through. Some of these were in Latin, French, Persian, and some in languages I did not recognize. One thing that – I’m sorry – another thing that struck me as odd here was that all the books were bound in black. A thick velvety black dust jacket with the Demon’s claw on the spine. There were no titles on the books themselves. However, they were categorized by names I had never heard of. One section was dedicated to the Storytellers; another to Memoirs of the Demon Kings of the past; and another, perhaps the biggest section, to the Realmics.

I picked one out from the Storytellers. It was heavy even to my newly super strong hands. It was a large book, the size of my arm, and had collected enough dust to make me cough. I placed it on the floor, kneeled beside it and opened it to a random page. It read –

This is a book on myths and legends surrounding our little district of Sepharvim, dubbed an island a few years ago for geographical purposes though we were very much part of the land. Our region was rich in lakes, forests and hills, which provided the perfect backdrop for myths about powerful monarch warriors battling demons and warlocks to gain control of the land.

The most famous and favorite tale is that of the Demon of Volttus: a dark king ruling over a vast kingdom whose insatiable lust for power changed history of the Realm.