The Bibliophile (The Librarian Chronicles Book 3)

by Christy Sloat

  He looked at me and smiled faintly. He had told this to me before but I struggled with believing that I could do anything important enough to be inside books like these.

  “Women like me do not become historical mentions, Adam. My desires are small and reckless. Women like that are not worth remembering.”

  His mouth fell open and his eyes grew big. “What is it?” My cheeks grew hot as I blushed.

  Shaking his head he said, “Are you kidding me right now? That’s exactly what happens to women with fire inside of them like you! Look at Helen Keller, Rosa Parks, and Florence Nightingale. They are just some examples of women who never backed down or gave up.” Taking my hand in his he locked eyes with me. “Rose, never say you’ll never make a difference. You’ll break my heart if you give up right now. We can do this, together, I know it. And I have the perfect idea of how we’re going to do so.”

  ***

  Adam 1765

  After everyone went to sleep and the house became dark and quiet, Rose slipped through the door of my makeshift room wearing nothing but her white nightgown. Her dark black hair hung down loosely around her shoulders as she bent low and kissed me. The taste of her gave me goosebumps and I took her into my arms. Ravaging her like I did before I consumed myself in her and all that she was. Exploring her body in ways I never imagined, I made her feel all the things a woman should feel when naked with a man. After we were finished and laying together in complete silence and satisfaction, she looked up at me from her low thick lashes and said, “Can we go to your time? If things get too awful here? If they kill my family.”

  I wrapped my arms around her and she rested her chin on my chest. The thing was, I didn’t know how to even do that. Not being an expert on this time travel thing made me clueless on how this worked when it involved others.

  “I wish I had answers like that but I wouldn’t even know how to do that. I told you, I have a plan. Are you scared?”

  She trembled slightly, perhaps at the chill in the room, and maybe from fear. I know I was scared and I wasn’t afraid to admit it to anyone. Telling her father how frightened I was to lose her and them, even though it had been a short time. When you bond with people you grow a fierce protection over them, and I felt that way for Rose and her family instantly. Of course, with Rose it was stronger but her family had told me I was now a part of theirs.

  It felt good knowing that I had a family to protect; a family that now wanted to protect me.

  “I literally stumbled across the book that brought me to you, Rose. And I will not let anything happen to you. My plan, the one I mentioned earlier, is to research any people who took in other families during the war, and made a safe haven for them. I think that house is where we are meant to stay, and that we’re to keep people safe during this war. We could offer refuge to those who do not wish to fight this war. I didn’t finish reading that paragraph out loud, but I think that those people are us. We’re the ones meant to do this.”

  Her face twisted as she grasped what I was saying.

  “You mean hide? With whom?”

  Sitting up I once again grabbed the book from earlier. I dog-eared the page with the house on it and showed it to her once more.

  “This is that house,” I said, pointing to the abandoned house on the edge of the forest. “The difference is they boarded up the windows and they let the trees grow up all around it. They made it a hideout. And they took in Cherokee children and kept them safe.” I told her, pointing to the next page where it displayed a drawing of the survivors. “This painting was taken of the children only. I could do some digging to try to find out who the couple was, but I think I already know who they were.”

  Sitting up she grasped the sheet to her bare chest. As modest as she was, she struck me as confident in that moment.

  “No, we will not find out. I will not ruin our path in this life. We know what we must do, Adam. With or without that book, our lives have run together for a reason. Surely, you feel it too, that you were sent to me.”

  I nodded.

  “When you told me that you staying here could possibly ruin my future, I didn’t think it so. I thought surely you were meant to be here. And you explained that a man invented the ability to travel through time, what was his name?”

  I had to think for a moment before his name became clear in my mind. Harry, Henry, oh that’s right… “Harold Lockhart. Yes, what about him?”

  “I wonder, just a thought really, if you could travel here, can you find him somewhere in time and ask him if you are truly meant for me. Meant to be in this time.”

  I did struggle with this quite a bit. It was instilled into The Librarians codex that one did not interfere with the past, no matter what. Angela would surely lose her mind if she knew I was planning to stay and to mess with history.

  “I could try, I guess. But that means leaving you. Are you okay with that?”

  She bit her lip and then asked, “When would you return?”

  Shrugging, I merely had no answer to give her.

  “You could return right away couldn’t you?”

  “I will try to come back as soon as I can. But in the meantime, if I am to do this, you work on getting your mother and father to stay with us. To not go and fight a losing battle. And I will try my hardest to come back to you as soon as I can.”

  ***

  I left three days after that. She gave me the brooch that I told her I wouldn’t need. Turns out I lied. When she placed it on the table in front of us, neither one of us could take our eyes off of it. We knew what it meant and that it meant goodbye.

  Her eyes teared up and a loose tear dripped down her cheek. Wiping it away I couldn’t help but hold her as tightly as I could.

  “If I knew how to take you with me to my time, I would. But you don’t belong there. New York City in my time is not a place you would like. I have to find Harold and make sure this is meant for us.”

  “Is it worse than war?” she asked innocently.

  “No, but it would be a warzone to you. Lots of sounds, people, and shocking things you’re not ready for.”

  I pulled away and took one last long look at her.

  “Work on getting Helen to be on the side of reason. She must try to get the Cherokee people to see how awful this could be.”

  Nodding, she said, “And to prepare I will get the new house in order. Our house, and make it ready for hiding. Father has agreed to help me with that. I’ll begin gathering food and storing things for what is to come. You get back to me when time allows.”

  Before I could change my mind, I grabbed the brooch and squeezed. Hoping that this wasn’t a mistake I felt the familiar rush that came with travelling back in time.

  Thirty

  Adam 1932

  Standing alone in the middle of a New York that was absolutely not my New York, it felt oddly familiar. I knew the landscape, the scenery seemed off but it was by all accounts New York City.

  Leaning against an empty building I looked at the blazing lights that shone in the distance, I could hear the sounds of the city but from far away. I was no doubt in the past, but not my past.

  Suddenly the grueling scent of a cigar hit me and I looked around for the smoker. He stood in the street puffing away, wearing a brown derby hat and thick wool pants. His shiny shoes and hair looked almost perfect. Alone in the shadows wearing clothing from the wrong century, I stayed quiet hoping he wouldn’t notice me.

  I had done this all wrong and had no idea how to get back to my time or Rose’s. I guess they were all the same now but that was what I got for messing with the timeline.

  “Don’t you just love the sounds of the city?”

  Looking around, hoping he wasn’t talking to me, I realized that I was the only other person present.

  He turned and looked right at me compelling m
e to answer. “Um… yeah who doesn’t?”

  “You look lost, kid. You lost?” he asked, tipping his hat. The darkness of the city night surrounded him, giving him a mysterious quality.

  “You could say that,” I replied. “Gotta get back to my girl. Do you know the nearest bookstore?” Grasping for any way back, it was the only idea I had really. Find a book and try my best to locate Rose. It was a shot in the dark and I knew it.

  “Kid, there is no way that’ll work. You know why?” he asked as he puffed his cigar.

  “Why?”

  “Because the only way you can appropriately travel is through the plain pages of a book, with the formula I wrote on it. And I have none of those in bookshops, that’s for sure.”

  Confused I shook my head. “Wait, who are you?”

  Smiling he pulled the cigar from his mouth, “Well I am the man you are looking for I believe. And you are Adam, correct?”

  I nodded and bound down the steps completely in shock that the man I needed was standing in front of me right this very moment.

  “How is this possible? How did I get to you if I wasn’t using a book to travel?” Had I performed some sort of miracle? They did say that only women had the ability to time travel, maybe I was special in some way.

  “Don’t get too ahead of yourself now, Adam. You must remember that you left behind the blank pages of a book with your protector, Angela. And she is watching you fill those pages with words. Words of the story that you are making about your intended target, Rose. She knew you were travelling and well, let’s just say I intervened.” He smiled again and tipped his hat appropriately. “All a protector needs to do to pull you from time is to merely think of you. They hold all the cards really. It is their influence that helps you do what it is we teach the Librarians to do. Except that you my young sir, were almost thrown into this life.”

  Well, that made much more sense than my idea, surely. Feeling foolish but still happy to see him, I fumbled over what I came to ask him. I had so many questions for this man of great inventions. He’d invented the ability to travel through time, proving so many people wrong. And never abusing it he decided to record the correct findings of history. He was a hero one could say, and he stood in front of me.

  “Adam, you know I have one very strict rule and that is to never intervene with the past. And if you know anything about my life, you’ll know that I realized after meeting the man I admired, that I had a gift. Not only to travel through time periods but to meet our histories finest leaders and mentors throughout the world. I could see all things built, the wonders of the world even. But I couldn’t keep this gift secret. I had to share it and teach others to preserve these stories about these fine people.

  “It was important that we find the truth in their histories and their lives. I knew we had to preserve the books in such a way that no one could just simply grab them off the shelves. They had to be kept in pristine condition. So I created The Librarians and their libraries. I trusted my dear friend, Grace Bailey, to keep my secret. She tried to travel and I was pleased that she could do it. I attributed that to her fine family upbringing and something I like to call, magic of old. I trusted her to help me find others in her family who would do it as well. And we had our Librarians. The Bailey family women were the only women I trusted who could hold this gift. Bailey women are strong but you young sir, are stronger. As our first male ever to experience time travel you now hold a power within you to travel. It is what you are meant to do that will be a true shock to you today.”

  He stopped talking and put the cigar into his mouth once more. He began walking down the street and I blindly followed him. Knowing not where we were going I looked at the scenery around me and tried very hard to figure out the time period.

  “Where are we?” I asked finally.

  “Ah, yes. The 1930’s are one of my favorites. I picked New York due to your upbringing. And also because I know a wonderful Librarian here and we’re working on tweaking some histories and making them perfect. This one historian did quite a bang up job on his findings. Do you enjoy cigars, Adam?”

  He pulled one from his shirt and I took it without question. I’d puffed a few in my time, but never really loved it much. Cigars were much better than pipes, that was for certain. Not wanting to disappoint him, I leaned in as he lit it for me. I suppose I have the need to impress people, and that may be my downfall. Perhaps I did have father issues.

  “Ah, a man who tries new things, I like it. Now, Adam tell me your questions and I will do my best to answer them.”

  I had so much to say but the time seemed struggled and short. I was leaving Rose in the past and trusting that she would do her best to get things in order for us.

  “Well sir, you mentioned you have one rule and it’s not to intervene, but I feel compelled to. I am not even sure that Rose is the target, as you referred to them. All I know is, I love her and I want to stay. As a reader and lover of the written word, I appreciate history. And I have been reading about this family that took in people who didn’t want to fight in the Revolutionary War. They hid in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I just… I feel like it’s my destiny. Does that make any sense?”

  Harold kept walking and puffing, not once looking at me. All the while I stared at him hoping he would answer me. The cigar burned hot and lit up the dark night, creating a smoky haze around me. All I came here for was answers and the man stayed silent for so long, I felt as if I would go crazy.

  Thirty-One

  Rose 1766

  A new year had passed and winter turned swiftly to spring, all without a sign from Adam. I had known he would be gone for a time but that had not changed the loneliness and despair that came with each passing day. As night came I cried, wishing he was just outside in the shed, but he wasn’t. With the rising sun came hope and busy days drying and preparing food for the coming doom that lay ahead. Mother and Father heard more word about the revolutionists and the crown that threatened to take them down. Both sides came to the village we traded in, and some sided with the crown. Others formed a militia. Knowing the future greatly impacted Father’s choice, but Mother grew ever so stubborn, thinking her clan could change everything. In her mind, the Cherokee would never let their land go, and would never lose. Even after proof was thrown in her face, she remained the same.

  Father would go where she did and would never part from her side. With his leg, he would not fight but he would help aid them as much possible. Tensions grew in our household to a point of breaking and finally Mother left for her tribe, leaving me alone. Father had stayed behind to help me move my belongings to the new house, which would always be Arthur’s house. The place his family died.

  Together we readied the stores and secured the house to be able to hide inside it. Taking down tree after tree and piling them on top of one another we tried to create distraction.

  To hide it from sight, we had the home completely blocked from an outsider’s view. As he cut the trees, I destroyed the road in which we traveled, creating a chute that forced anyone coming this way to have only one way to travel. The chute would force them toward the north woods and away from this one completely. Unfortunately, I could not prevent them from finding the Cherokee. For now, they had no knowledge we existed on this mountain. We were ghosts and would remain that way.

  “You know the garden is ready,” Father said, coming up behind me as I stared out of my new homes only visible window. My view was of the road, so I could see anyone arriving from the village or otherwise. It gave me time to prepare and go outside into the mountains to a cave we found two miles off. Inside the cave we might encounter a bear but it was better than being hung as traitors. At least I could shoot a bear, an army was a different story.

  “When it’s time to pick we will store as much as we can until it’s time,” I said, not looking him in the eyes. “When you leave, I will not know what else to
do.” His hand rested on my shoulder and he squeezed. Without saying words, I knew what he conveyed. He wished me well and knew I would be fine. It was him and Mother I worried for.

  “If I could only talk to her one more time.” Hoping to regain some sort of headway with her, I held onto this. If she’d just hear me, and if Hacateyena would at least hear my words, I could convince them to save themselves.

  “We will be with you always, daughter.” He kissed my forehead and walked around me. He took to the woods where my mother was presiding. I was alone, utterly alone.

  “Oh, Adam, where are you?”

  ***

  Adam 1932

  I followed Harold down the quiet streets of New York City for what felt like miles. All the while he puffed his cigar and stared directly in front of him. I had thrown my cigar out tiring of the soggy mess it had become.

  “Sir?”

  He nodded, acknowledging my existence and then waved me on. Frustrated I growled and continued following him like some sort of fool. He turned abruptly into a building where a doorman held the door open for him like he was royalty.

  “Good evening, sir. Did you pick up a stray?” The doorman laughed and then tipped his hat to me. What was it about the hats that these guys needed to touch them? I saluted him with my finger and tried hard not to roll my eyes at the stray comment.

  “Oh, ignore Edward, he’s new here and thinks he funny. Someone ought to tell him that’s not a funny joke but we’re all too nice to say a word. Welcome to my apartment building.” The elevator dinged and we walked inside. “I’ll answer all your questions, I promise, until then we have to visit someone first.”