Guardian Cats and the Lost Books of Alexandria

Chapter 15: The spiral staircase

“I’m not ready,” Cicero answered heavily. “Because I know what’s coming,”

Alaniah hovered over her earthly charges. “He must see for himself,” she insisted gently.

Cicero sighed. “For that we need to take another trip.” He closed his eyes.

“Dear Cicero,” said Alaniah. “We will try a new means of travel, very easy. Follow me.” She raced off. Marco and Cicero both hung back, not ready to leave their friends. Akeel bid them farewell and Chuluum, who had recovered his dignity, came over and ‘nosed’ Marco goodbye.

Alaniah led the two cats into the grand hall, where they had first arrived. The room glittered and she glided among the others, as if they were all exotic sea creatures.

“Okay, Cicero,” she said, startling him as she landed on his head. “Are you ready?”

Cicero wiped his paw over his eyes, as if brushing off worrisome thoughts. “Show me this new method of traveling.”

“We will use the Golden Spiral.” They had arrived at the foot of the staircase and turned to look at the transparent floating steps winding from the floor in an enormous curve upwards to ever-narrowing circles.

“Most unusual, Alaniah,” Cicero said. “I have seen spiral staircases, but none like this. Why is it so oddly shaped?”

“Odd? I think it’s beautiful-iful.”

“I’m wondering why they are so wide at the bottom and so narrow at the top.”

“Oh earthling, this is a transition spiral, used for mortals. Mostly human, not cats. But then, you are not a normal cat, are you?” Alaniah whirled. “Are you trying to delay this journey, Cicero?”

“No. No. We’ll be on with it, but I am curious about the staircase.”

“Like Akeel explained, it is a means to let humans experience what they are too dense to see. It’s also a doorway from your limited earthly world to… well, to other worlds.”

With that, Alaniah twirled upwards, disappearing in what would normally be a ceiling, but nothing was quite what it appeared to be in this library. Then she spiraled downwards and came to face them, hovering in her rippling nature.

“Come, follow me.”

They followed Alaniah up the floating staircase, rising and turning with each step, making Marco light headed, especially when he made the mistake of looking down.

“Keep your head up, Marco,” counseled Alaniah. “Mortals who climb the Golden Spiral get… what do they call it? ‘Dizzy,’ I think. What a funny word.”

Marco grew dizzier as they approached ever-smaller circles of the higher spheres. Cicero kept close to his side and Marco wondered how he, who loved the highest branches of the trees, even when the wind swung him to and fro, could be having difficulty climbing these simple steps.

“This is as far as we can go. Even cats are not advanced enough to travel higher. Please sit and observe,” Alaniah commanded. She raised one graceful wing and pulled back something like a gauzy veil, which had been invisible until then. She held it open so they could enter.

Then Alaniah flew through, and the veil closed behind them.