PART 38

Katherine turned her nose into the pillow her head was lying on and inhaled. The scent that stroked her nostrils was intoxicating. And she knew that smell. Katherine buried her nose into the material and breathed deep. The smell spread through her whole body and relaxed her. She felt warm and safe. Katherine reluctantly opened her eyes.

She saw that she was lying on a huge bed, dressed entirely in a rich dark blue. She snuggled her face into the comforter, it was heavenly. Katherine sat up slowly, and she felt her hair pull at her scalp as it stuck to the back of her neck. She ignored it and looked around. The apartment that she was in was richly furnished, decked out entirely in dark mahogany wood. Elegant sheer cream curtains dressed the windows to her right.

Across from her was a huge bookcase that took up the entire wall. She slid from the bed, gracefully, and walked to the bookcase. Her eyes danced over the titles, and she recognized every single one, classics. Shakespeare, mythology, poetry, romance, mystery, humor, you name it, it was in front of her. Katherine turned, and something caught her eye. Something from her past that was way too familiar.

Her hand stretched out and she touched the worn rotted spine. The book was hundreds of years old. Dust fell from the top as she withdrew it from the shelf. She heard the pages crinkle as they moved. She smiled as she recognized the worn cover. Ancient or modern, it was one of her favorites. But this one was not Jane Austin. This one truly was one of the originals, belonging to an original no less. The first she'd ever seen. The book's color had lost much of it's brilliance. It no longer shone deep burgundy as it had on that sunny day in the garden so long ago.

Katherine closed her eyes and she could hear Elijah's voice, clearly.

"…Seeing as how, I am reading it at the moment, that would be a little difficult, don't you agree?" She smiled as the memory finished playing itself in her head. Why would he have kept it? She scanned the other books to see if any of them were in the same condition. None of them were as old as the one she held. There was no reason why it should still exist.

She shoved it back into the book shelf roughly. The other books fell around it, all but one. Katherine eyed the mysterious book. Why had it not fallen? It looked just like any of the other books, although a bit thicker, quite a bit, actually. Katherine reached for it, and she found it was also a lot heavier than the others. She placed it on the desk in front of her. The book had no title, and it was dressed in a beautiful evergreen color. She reached for the cover and lifted it slowly. The cover opened to reveal a beautiful array of gold pages. She flipped through the pages, excited to discover what lay inside. All the pages were blank. She turned page after page, and always she found nothing.

The gold shone up at her as she searched for any writing. She finally found some and stared down at the words in front of her. They were written in her birth language. She traced the words as she read them. They were inscribed in a very elegant hand. The letters curled and crossed easily, gliding along the page.

"Моята най-голяма слабост," she read. Katherine scrunched her nose in confusion. That didn't help her at all. She may have understood the words, but they were still gibberish. What was "My Greatest Weakness" supposed to mean? Katherine stared at the words, waiting for them to make sense.

"My Greatest Weakness…" it meant nothing to her. And she had no clue why it was written in Bulgarian.

Katherine reached for the next page in frustration. There was something about this book that she just had to figure out. The page did not turn easily, it stuck to several bottom pages and Katherine reached for them all to turn them at the same time. What she found next surprised her. The next unattached page was blank, like all the others. But in the center was what looked like a hinged door. Understanding dawned on her and she smiled. That explained why the book was so heavy. It was a secret hiding place. What could Elijah have that was so important to him he had to keep it in a book safe? Katherine's curiosity peaked and she reached for the hinged flap. It did not budge. She groaned in frustration.

Katherine leaned over the book to examine it more closely and she found what she was looking for. There was a key hole, barely visible, on the bottom of the door. Katherine turned and looked around the room before she spotted what she was looking for. She crossed the room quickly to grab Elijah's coat. She picked it up and reached into the inner pocket. She pulled out several large wads of cash, clasped together elegantly by a money clip. She tossed them aside, money wasn't what she was looking for. If Elijah was going to keep something under lock and key, there was no way he wouldn't have the key with him at all times.

Katherine's fingers closed around something metal, and she smiled. She pulled it out and gripped it tightly in her fingers. Katherine hung Elijah's jacket back on the chair, placing the money back into his pocket. Funny that she didn't have the inclination to pocket it. Katherine shrugged as she finished her task. She checked to make sure that everything looked as it had before she'd messed with it. Elijah was a very observant man.

Katherine looked at the key. The eye was strung through on a velvet green ribbon, the same color as the book. She admired the elegance of the gold as it twisted and turned into a beautiful design.

"Bingo," she said, holding the key out in front of her eyes. Katherine crossed the room back to the book. The key slid in easily, and she turned it.

The hinges creaked as she lifted the door. It was easy for her to surmise that it had not been opened many times. Katherine stared down at a beautiful dark wood ornate box that lay inside. There were scrolls etched along the top at each corner. The sides were dressed with golden brown details. Katherine reached her hand out and traced the pattern slowly. Whatever was in it was ancient. The box itself looked to be hundreds of years old. She admired the beauty as her fingertips framed the lid of the box, lifting it up. Light reflected off her face as she opened it. There was a mirror on the lid.

The inside was lined with dark black velvet. Nestled in velvet, in the middle, sat a small glass bottle, corked up at the top with a bottle topper. Katherine's fingers moved along the grooves etched into the glass. It looked almost like carved crystal. The small bottle was kind of familiar to her. As if, she had seen it before, but she couldn't recall where. She was drawn to it. She could not stop touching the surface. Her fingers continued to glide along the details as she traced a swirl to the top. She gripped it softly in her hand, afraid it would break, and lifted it slowly from where it was cushioned by the velvet.

She moved the bottle in front of her face and examined it. It truly was a small work of art, beautiful and elegant.

Katherine jumped when she heard a noise behind her. She cradled the bottle to her chest as she calmed her breathing down. Katherine glanced at it, afraid she had somehow broken it. She breathed a sigh a relief when she saw she'd not even scratched it.

Katherine worked quickly, slowly placing the bottle back into it's cushion. It fit perfectly and she suspected the box had been made especially for the bottle. She slowly closed the lid, careful not to make a sound with her movement. When the lid was in place she put it back into the book, locking it tight with the key. Katherine put the book back on the shelf, right next to the book she remembered. Just as it had been before she'd looked at it. With the book safely in place, she crossed the room quickly, and put the key back into Elijah's pocket.

Katherine sat down on the bed, with her heart pounding. Someone she knew that what she'd just been messing with was sacred. She shouldn't have been nervous as she'd held it in her hands, but she was. Katherine was glad that it was wrapped up tight, and safe. She looked up when the bathroom door opened and Elijah strolled in.