Pandora's Academy Read online

  He paused, giving me a small smile. "But you already know all that."

  Yes, but I didn't want him to stop talking. I loved listening to him. There was a passion behind his words that made me wish he would never stop.

  "Tell me more," I said simply.

  "No."

  I looked at him in surprise. "Why not?"

  His smile widened. "Because I want you to experience it for yourself. You could read everything I have to tell you in a book, but we're here now, ready to explore. They've already expanded the Library and many of the scrolls are now housed in the Serapheum, but let's take a look at the Mouseion first."

  Rows of tall columns lined the front face of the building, carved with female figurines at the top. The statues looked down at us, some holding scrolls, others musical instruments.

  “The muses,” Seamus whispered, the same awe I felt apparent in his voice. “A reminder that we’re about to enter their domain.”

  My heart beat faster as we walked up the stairs leading to the double gates. They stood open, but several guards were milling around, lazily taking in the crowd. Not many people were entering the building, but there were stalls all around, selling everything from sweets to papyrus. I was so going to do some shopping after we’d visited the Library.

  “Purpose of your visit?” one of the guards asked politely when we reached the gates.

  “I was a student here,” Seamus lied easily, his Greek far more fluent than my own. “I’d like to show my cousin around.”

  The guard took me in, then smiled. “There’s a debate in Zenodotus’s lecture theatre soon, should you be interested. I’m afraid the zoo is closed today, but it will re-open tomorrow, if you’d like to visit again.”

  Seamus thanked him and led me inside. “Zenodotus was the first head librarian,” he muttered when we were out of earshot. We weren’t wearing translators so we’d have to be careful speaking English where we could be overheard. My Koine Greek was passable, but it was easier to stick to English.

  “There’s a zoo?” I asked quietly. “I never read about that.”

  “Ptolemy II Philadelphus had a keen interest in animals and zoology, so he had a small zoo built here for exotic animals. Nothing compared to modern zoos, of course, and only accessible to scholars and royalty. Do you want to go to the lecture, or shall we look around first?”

  My eyes were slowly adjusting to the dim light inside the entrance hall. It was bigger than the Great Hall at the Academy, with a walkway around the edges and massive columns that seemed to reach towards the sky.

  “Although it cannot be done justice with an inadequate description,” Seamus suddenly recited solemnly, “it is so adorned with great columned halls, and statuary which seems almost alive, and a great number of other works, that, apart from the Capitolium, by which the venerable city of Rome claims eternal renown, nothing more magnificent can be seen in the whole world. In this temple were libraries beyond calculation, and the trustworthy testimony of ancient records agrees that 700,000 books, brought together by the unsleeping care of the Ptolemaic kings, were burned in the Alexandrian war, when the city was sacked under the dictator Caesar.”

  “Ammianus Marcellinus,” I whispered.

  He looked at me in surprise.

  I shrugged. “I’ve read everything there is to know about the Library. Well, besides the bit about the zoo, apparently.”

  Something flickered across his eyes, something warm and soft. “I know you’re well versed in Egyptian and Greek history, I’ve read your essays, after all, but I hadn’t realised how deep your passion went. How similar we are.”

  His eyes captured mine and there was nothing I could do but stare into these emerald jewels, deep and full of an essence I recognised. I could lose myself in them. Dive into the depths of his soul. Stand before the mirror that reflected my own passions back at me.

  He touched my cheek, his fingers hovering against my skin, as if he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to. I leaned into his touch, giving my permission, craving to feel his body while I was tasting his soul. He cupped my cheek and everything around us disappeared. There was only his touch, his eyes, his lips that were moving towards me…

  Someone cleared his throat and the spell was broken.

  “Can I assist you today?”

  We broke apart and I guiltily blinked at the man who was staring at us. He was wearing a pale blue toga stained with ink. A wild beard hid most of his face and thick eyebrows towered above stern, intelligent eyes.

  “Aristarchus?” Seamus asked, surprise lacing his words. “Aristarchus of Samothrace?”

  The man nodded slightly. Wow. He was the Head Librarian, the man in charge of this entire Library. I’d never imagined actually meeting him. Wasn’t he supposed to be in the library, working on some of his Homer interpretations or dealing with the daily affairs of the Mouseion?

  “Have we met before?” Aristarchus asked. His voice was raspy and reminded me of the sound of paper tearing. How fitting.

  “No, but I have heard many things of you. It is an honour to meet you.”

  The Librarian shrugged dismissively. “Likely exaggerated. Are you here to study?”

  “We’re visitors to this city. The reports of the grandeur of this Library brought us here.”

  Of course, he couldn’t use the same story he’d given the guard. Aristarchus was an intelligent man, who knew if he could remember all the students that had passed the doors of his institution. I’d read theories that this man had an almost photographic memory, so it was better not to lie to him.

  “The public collection is to our right,” the Librarian said. “Unless you’re looking for something specific?”

  Seamus shook his head. “No, we’d just like to take a look around. Thank you for your help.”

  Aristarchus gave us another shrewd look, then walked away.

  Maybe I should have mentioned what had almost happened between Seamus and me, but instead, I turned into the direction the Librarian had pointed. A door led out of the hall, much smaller than the great entrance gates, but no less impressive. An inscription was carved into the stone above the door and I quickly walked closer to read it.

  Ψ Υ Χ Η Σ Ι Α Τ Ρ Ε Ι Ο Ν

  “Psyches Iatreion,” I read aloud. “Healing place of the soul.”

  Seamus breathed in deep. “How very true. Can you smell the papyrus?”

  I sniffed the air. Yes. There it was, the smell of books, paper and ink. One of the best scents in the world. They should bottle it, or even better, put it in candles.

  A pleasant shiver ran down my back as I entered the room. Rows upon rows of wooden shelves awaited us, laden with scrolls of papyrus. It seemed chaos, yet I knew there had to be some kind of system to it.

  My mouth open, I walked into the library, my eyes flicking from side to side, trying to take in everything at once. Heaven. This is what it had to be like.

  “Are we allowed to touch them?” I whispered.

  Seamus chuckled. “They’re not old yet. Not in this room, anyway. They’re only keeping copies here, with the originals in the rooms reserved for the resident scholars or the Serapheum. I know we’re used to only touch these kinds of scrolls with gloves, if at all, but people here don’t know yet about the damage the acidity of our skin can do to papyrus.”

  Gingerly, I reached out to the closest shelf and pulled out one manuscript. Every instinct in me was screaming at me not to, but Seamus was right, these scrolls were new just now. They weren’t ancient yet. And they likely never would be. In a hundred years, they’d be devoured by the fire that destroyed the library. I shuddered at the thought. So much knowledge lost. All because Caesar set fire to his own ships, which then spread to the docks and parts of the city.

  I carefully unrolled the scroll and gasped. “Hieroglyphs.”

  “Can you read them?” Seamus looked over my shoulder, his breath kissing my skin.

  I shook my head. “They’re beautiful though.”

  Tiny sym
bols filled the papyrus, neat rows upon neat rows. Art and language merged into beauty.

  “They have a lot of curious scrolls here,” Seamus said quietly, still close enough for me to feel the warmth of his body. “One of the Ptolemies introduced a law that forces every ship that docks in Alexandria to relinquish any scrolls it may carry. They’re then copied here at the Library, with the originals staying within the Mouseion and the copies returned to the ships. That way, the Library has amassed a wealth of knowledge from all corners of the known world.”

  “Sneaky.”

  Of course, I knew that, but I want him to continue talking. I want him to get closer, kiss me with more than just his hot breath.

  “In addition to that, scholars and traders are regularly sent out with large batches of money to buy more scrolls on their travels. And then there are the books gifted by other rulers. No wonder this Library has grown to its current size.”

  He sighed. “It’s going to start to decline soon though. By the time the fire devoured the Library, it was nowhere near as grand as it is now. That’s why I chose this year, before the Ptolemy exiles the Head Librarian.”

  Footsteps approached from behind and Seamus stepped back. Cool air hit my back where he’d been warming me before. Damn, I had to stop thinking in this way. Here I was in a moment of history that I’d always wanted to visit, yet I kept getting distracted by Seamus.

  I carefully returned the scroll to its place and continued my exploration of the room. I reached the end of the row and felt my eyes widen. We’d only seen a tiny part of the public part of the Library. The room continued in both directions. There had to be thousands and thousands of scrolls here. I breathed in deep, savouring the scent of knowledge.

  I put a hand against the wood of the closest shelf and closed my eyes. In the distance, men were talking, debating, and shuffling footsteps around us announced other visitors. We weren’t going to be here on our own for much longer. I better make use of the time we had in the Library.

  I chose another scroll from the shelf to my left. It was tattered, looking a lot older than the others surrounding it. The papyrus groaned when I carefully unrolled it. This one was written in Greek, making it possible for me to read.

  The final sound will catch the first woman.

  That was all it said.

  "Seamus?"

  My teacher joined me, and I handed him the scroll.

  "What do you think it means?"

  He stroked his chin. "Where did you find this?"

  I pointed to the shelf. "Amongst the other scrolls. Is it a riddle?"

  "It looks like it, but why would anyone use an entire scroll of papyrus just to put a single sentence one it? It doesn't make any sense. This Library is curated, people don't just put their own scrolls in here. But look at the handwriting, it's sloppy. Definitely not by one of the scholars here."

  He was right, the penmanship was way below the standard of what I would have expected in such a prestigious library.

  The final sound. "Is it talking about the alphabet? Zed?"

  "Remember, they're using a different alphabet just now. The final sound would be Omega."

  "The first woman.... If they're talking about the biblical story, that would be Eve. In Greek mythology it's Pandora."

  "And in Egyptian culture it's X," Seamus added. "That gives us a whole lot of options, but what are we supposed to do with that? Omega will catch Eve? Omega will catch Pandora? It doesn't make any sense to me."

  I stare at the papyrus, willing it to reveal its secret. "I have to say, I didn't expect this."

  He chuckles. "Neither did I. But that's what I love about time travel. Something unexpected always happens. It's up to us how to deal with the challenge. Some time agents would ignore this particular challenge, but I doubt you'd let it go."

  I grinned at him. "You bet."

  "Then I've taught you well. Let's solve this mystery."

  "Eve... Pandora... Omega... X..."

  I muttered the names under my breath as I walked along the rows of shelves, somehow hoping that I might find the answer in this room. To be fair, the riddle could have been written by a student who got bored and there might not be an answer to it at all. But something gave me the feeling that this was important.

  "I have an idea," Seamus said suddenly from behind me. "The Library was recently restructured and is now sorted alphabetically. Before, it was only sorted by book, since many scrolls make up the text of one book, but now, the books are arranged from Alpha to Omega. Let's take a look at the Omega section."

  I followed him to the other end of the room. It was dusty there, as if not many people made it to this corner.

  Seamus looked up at the shelf in front of us, bursting with scrolls. He sighed, then turned to me. "It looks like we have a lot of work to do. If you still want to do this. We could always travel back and attend your graduation."

  I glared at him. "No way. Graduating is so unnecessary."

  Seamus chuckled and pulled a scroll from the very end of the shelf. "How about I start here and you at the other end?"

  I stared at the scrolls. They varied in quality of paper. Some were frayed at the edges, others looked brand new. Some papyrus was thick, others almost as thin as modern paper. "No, that would take too long. I think we need to search for a scroll that looks similar to the first one. An old, damaged one."

  My teacher nodded and we started pacing along the shelves, each of us lost in concentration. I pulled out a few scrolls that looked old enough to be a match, but they were all covered in neat writing from top to bottom.

  "Up there."

  Seamus pointed at a scroll poking out from beneath a pile of others at the very top of the shelf. Too high for me to reach, but he managed to get it by standing on his toes. He was at least a head taller than me, but while I found that intimidating with some men, it wasn't the same for Seamus. He felt...right. Perfect. And totally out of bounds. I had to remember that.

  He carefully opened the papyrus. "Bingo. It's the same handwriting."

  I stepped closer to peer at the scroll. Our bodies touched, just a tiny bit, but enough to make tingles run down my arm.

  Pandora's Hunt.

  "It fits," I whispered, translating the title. "They meant the Greek creation myth."

  Seamus ran a finger along the scribbled words, translating as he read them out. "Her hunt begins. The evil spreads. The path is aflame. Sins need to be found. Death approaches. Pain comes. Hope is the last to remain. The jar is with the boa."

  I sighed. "That's even more cryptic than the last one. What's a boa?"

  "A snake that's for display in the zoo here. It's rumoured to be fifty feet long and can kill cattle by wrapping around their udders and sucking them dry. Obviously, that’s just a legend."

  "Okay then. A cow-killing snake is guarding a jar. Wait... Pandora's jar?"

  Seamus nodded. "Most people nowadays think of it as Pandora's box, but that's a mistranslation. It's actually a jar."

  I grinned at him. "I know, you taught us that in our second year."

  He returned my smile. "So I did. Good of you to actually pay attention in my lessons."

  "Most of this refers to the Pandora legend. She opens the jar and great evil escapes in the form of death, disease and pain."

  "And hope stayed in the jar. I never quite understood what that meant."

  "There are many different theories about that. It may have just been a mistranslation. Why would hope be in a jar with all those terrible things? Is it there to be preserved for future times? Or kept away from us as punishment?"

  I grinned at him. "You're supposed to be the teacher with all the answers."

  He raised an eyebrow. "And you're supposed to graduate today with all the knowledge you need. I'm no longer your teacher."

  That wasn't just a statement. There were undertones beneath those words, innuendos that started small explosions in the chambers of my heart. No longer my teacher. I wasn't his student anymore. We were both adul
ts who could do whatever they wanted. No more rules. No roles we had to adhere to. We were free to...

  I pushed my horny thoughts aside. I had a riddle to solve and I wasn't going to get my libido in the way.

  I cleared my throat and tried to focus. "There was no mention of fire in the jar though, was there?"

  "No. The only connection to fire I can think of is that Prometheus stole fire from Zeus to give it to humanity. In revenge, Zeus gave Pandora to Prometheus. She opened the jar, which was actually Prometheus's possession, not hers. Sources vary on whether she did it intentionally or not. It would make sense for Zeus to have planned this as his revenge, but who knows."

  "You're talking about all this as if it's real."

  Seamus shrugged. "For people here, it's a real story, an account of history. Whoever wrote this riddle probably believed in it too. To understand, we have to get into their mind and that involves taking the myths as reality."

  "But you don't really believe in Zeus and Pandora?" I insisted.

  He wiggled his eyebrows at me. "Don't I?"

  I huffed in frustration. "Sure you're not my teacher anymore? You're certainly behaving like it."

  "Am I?"

  Suddenly, he was close, too close. His hands cupped my face, drawing me towards him, and then his lips were finally on mine, warm and hard, kissing me just like I'd craved. Better than I'd imagined.

  I leaned into him, moulding my body to his while he ravaged my mouth. His tongue nudged against my lips and I opened my mouth with a small moan, letting him in. His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me even closer until I was pressed against the hard planes of his body. And something even harder.

  I returned his kiss as much as I could, but I couldn’t match the wildness of his lips. He was devouring me, claiming me, and I’d never felt anything better.

  “Do you need any assistance?”

  A raspy voice from behind the bookshelf made us break apart, breathing heavy and wide eyed. I bet my cheeks were scarlet red. My lips were tingling with the echo of our kiss. I wanted more, but this wasn’t the place. We kept getting interrupted.