Nephilim Quest Book 1: Shadowhunter

28. Grandma and the Book of Watchers 1/4

"This library is in the upper levels of the buffer zone, and we work constantly to keep it located there too. If you see people just sitting here with their eyes closed, they aren't sleeping! They're doing energy work to keep the library afloat in the higher levels of the buffer zone. It in a way floats in the mist, and it is not likely the creatures of lower levels could find it, as long as we manage to keep it up. Its existence has seeped into legends, though, and some call it the Akashic library," Grandma explained to me when I tried to take in the vastness of the library, swirling around like a dervish almost. "These books come from every age of history. We have saved many irreplaceable books from destruction. When we know there was a major fire in history, for example, that could destroy valuable texts, our teams travel back to try to reach the books before their destruction and bring them here. They do not belong in the physical world anymore, but they are kept safe here in the buffer zone."

We were walking through the library. Each apparently endless corridor was lined with bookshelves from the ceiling to the floor.  

"Don't you ever run out of space here?" I asked

"No. We create more space whenever necessary."

 "How?"

"That's something we teach to all our groups. How to master the material of the buffer zone with your thoughts. It is moldable energy after all. You just need to learn to use your mind as the tool to shape what you need."

"Really?"

"Yes. What you create, remains solid, as long as you keep on paying attention to it. That's it in a nutshell, but of course there is lot more to it, which you will learn with time, I am sure."

That sounded so sci-fi I thought I'd better not probe any further. Not now. To me thoughts weren't material. They were just... thoughts. How could they have substance? How could they create anything solid?

"Can you show me?" I asked Grandma.

"Of course - that's the best way..." She stopped and bent down so her palms touched the floor. She remained there, concentrating with her eyes closed. I noticed a slight smile on the corners of her mouth and at the same time the solid floor under her hands changed - it looked like plastic putty almost. She scooped it into her hand and straightened up. Then she put her other hand over the putty-like material and smiled, at her inner joke it seemed. The little hole on the floor slowly disappeared and soon the floor looked like it had never been touched.

I could see the material moving between the palms of Grandma's hands, changing color too. Then she opened her hands and there was an ornament - a little red cat sitting on her hand. It looked just like Nugget. I took it in my hand - it was perfect.

"You concentrate on what you want to create, take enough material to make it, and then think about your chosen object. It may not turn out what you want it to be, though. Depends on your emotions at that moment," Grandma wiped her hands on her jeans.

"Amazing... you even managed to create the exact look in Nugget's eyes!" I lifted the little ornament up to my eye level. Did I even see whiskers?

"Oh well, it's nothing much..." Grandma belittled her creation but I could see she was pleased at my reaction, "Now, let me show you something interesting."

She led me further into the library.

"Here is a part of the library we are especially proud of," Grandma pointed as we proceeded deeper into the library. "See all these scrolls?"

Indeed there were rows upon rows of scrolls on the shelves. Ancient looking in their shape, but not worn or crumbled with age as truly ancient manuscripts would be.

"These are from the library of Alexandria in Egypt."

I stopped in my tracks.

"Really?"

"Yes. The library demanded that every scroll that entered Alexandria was to be copied and put into the library collections. Every ship that came to the harbor had to comply. Scribes copied the texts and created one of the most fabulous libraries in the world, filled with knowledge from all the surrounding ancient kingdoms. The library burned down, and there is a saying circulating that you know you are a historian if the thought of the burning of the library in Alexandria still makes you cry."

I could relate to that.

"And you managed to save the scrolls?"

"Not all the scrolls, but these ones, yes. It was very dangerous - that was the farthest we have ever gone in history, and that's when you discover that the phrase 'the mists of time' is not just a meaningless one. Reaching back so far is full of issues, but we sent one of our most experienced Time Walker teams to the scene and managed to get there. Local people were trying to save the scrolls, and they joined in the effort, dressed in the clothing of the time. They took as many scrolls as they possibly could, and brought them here."

"But shouldn't these scrolls be given back to the world?" I bent closer to see the scrolls nearest to us, not daring to touch them.

"That could change history. Besides, they look too new to convince anyone they are ancient, for the obvious reason they were brought to the buffer zone when still relatively new. No radiocarbon dating would show they are old.

"We only take books when they are about to be destroyed, and bring them here. And we bring many of them here because in some book or scroll, somewhere, there has to be something written about the location of the Book of Watchers. We need to find it."

"Lilith said that you were the one who found out about the Book of Watchers. That you hunted down a shadow and..."

"Yes... You see, Dana, I have been a Huntress since I was a teenager. I was invited to join the Time Walkers just like you - given the same dream book as you. It appeared one night on my desk and I thought it was my mother's - she was very interested in dream interpretation. So I read it and passed the lucid dreaming test. My skills were obviously in the hunting of shadows, and that is what I have been doing ever since. I suppose I have somewhat of a reputation in the world of shadows, and that is why I was so surprised a shadow had crept into your garden... they fear the Time Walker Hunters so much, and me especially, that I would have expected them to wait until I was somewhere else before approaching you."

"Approaching me? Why would they want to approach me?"

xxxx

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