Chapter VII: Tome Talk
Although the Angels had initially resolved to visit the scene of the sigil, it was already past three o'clock in the afternoon when they finished talking with coach Sigel, and they had to hand the tome over to Bosley. They wanted to get back before the traffic for which greater Los Angeles has long been most notorious became intolerable, even for three longtime Angelinas. Besides, Kelly would see for herself when she talked with Sam tomorrow night, so she scribbled down some potential questions to ask him as Kris drove the Chariot back to headquarters in the early-afternoon traffic.
When Kris pulled the Chariot up to the garage, it was approaching four o'clock. Apparently, the Dodgers were playing at Dodger Stadium tonight, which might have affected the pace of travel. However, none of the Angels felt tired yet. As she had done this morning, Kelly lifted the gate and stood back as Kris drove in. Sabrina, meanwhile, grabbed the tome and her Old High German textbook and was about to leave the Chariot when she noticed Kelly's legal pad with writing on it. "You might not want to forget this," Sabrina remarked.
"Thanks," Kelly replied. She grabbed the pad from Sabrina as all three made their way from the garage to the office where Bosley was waiting. He was eager to find out what the Angels had discovered in their conversation with Sam and coach Sigel.
As Kris hanged up the keys to the Chariot on the appropriate hook, Bosley asked: "So, did you find anything much?"
"Apparently, Sam was shaken up by the flashback of his brother's murder," Kris began, "but he played that day against University High of Irvine and fared well. I guess when something so jarring happens, the adrenaline that follows motivates you to perform."
"He was also going to take this tome home," added Sabrina, holding it up, "after letting coach Sigel examine it. But we convinced the two to inspect it for ourselves, lest there be any clues we might uncover."
Kelly then spoke: "We didn't get around to seeing the sigil for ourselves since we wanted to beat the rush hour. But tomorrow night at eight o'clock, I'm going to talk with Sam one-on-one at the McDonald's where he works and, if possible, inspect the sigil myself. He wanted me to talk with him personally."
"How are you going to do that, Kelly?" asked Bosley. "They won't let you onto the equipment unless you're under four feet tall, as far as I know."
"You do realize they let Sam check out the glow from the sigil, don't you?" retorted Sabrina. "He's almost six feet tall from what I could tell!"
"That's true, but he works there."
"Well, it wouldn't be any more dangerous than the time Kelly got grazed in the head by a bullet," Kris argued. "I was still in San Francisco, but Jill can vouch for me. Not only was she working for Charlie at the time, but our biological parents came from Hastings, Nebraska to visit Kelly in the hospital."
Bosley sighed. "Anyway, what of the tome? If as you say, Sabrina, it may contain clues, we should examine the text and pictures."
"I agree," Sabrina answered, "but let's be careful. It looks very ancient, nor from anywhere nearby."
Kris had the softest touch, so she was tasked with opening the tome to page one. Inside, just as coach Sigel had hinted, were leaves of vellum, inscribed with old-fashioned handwriting. Kris turned the pages slowly, given the apparent age of the tome. "It looks like gobbledygook to me," she remarked.
Sabrina scowled and snapped: "It's too bad you don't know mediaeval handwriting. Can't you appreciate Carolingian miniscule?"
"I might try, though I don't understand Latin," added Kelly. She got up from her barstool—she hadn't been sitting anyway, really—and pored over the writing. As she did so, though, that old pulsation filled Kelly's head anew, and she grimaced. "Yet something tells me this isn't Latin or any Romance language. Sabrina, the words Carolingian miniscule you said caused a clicking in me. Could you look at this further?"
"Why don't you get your reading-glasses in your purse? It's over there."
Kelly rolled her blue eyes and chuckled a fraction as she pulled her readers out. Upon putting them on, she began to read. There were still some difficult markings, but the letters were clear, and Kelly read the opening lines with imperfect but promising pronunciation: Hier biginnit diu crónih des éwartas Managhornas…
"I get the impression that this was written in some Germanic language," she remarked as she looked up at the other Angels and Bosley. "I recognize the first two words as probably meaning here begins. We ought to look at this together more these next few days, but so far, it's surprisingly easy to read."
"Aren't you going to talk with Sam, though?" Kris asked. "You have a lot to ask him. I saw you write down potential questions on the way back to L.A."
"Yeah, I doubt you could decipher this tome in 24 hours," Sabrina added. "Better to prepare for interviewing Sam back in Anaheim."
"Understood," Kelly replied, her posture betraying a shade of reluctance. "What will the two of you be doing these next 36 hours or so while I prepare for and conduct the interview?"
"We'll be reading the tome and doing our best to transcribe it."
"And I'll type up our edition with Sabrina's notes," Kris added. "We obviously don't know which language this is written in, but like you said, it's likely something Germanic."
"Okay, but let me know how far you get," answered Kelly, "since I'm sure it won't be read in a day, even if Bosley pitches in. I would like to help out as much as I can when I get the chance."
"Will do," replied Sabrina. "I am sure there'll be plenty for you to read starting Wednesday."
As Bosley closed up the agency office that evening, he noticed the tome was open on his desk where he and the Angels had been poring over it. He sensed a temptation to peruse it further, but this was offset by fear over being driven mad by its contents. Without the most trifling thought, he closed the tome slowly, stuffed it in his desk drawer and locked it away.
Author's note: The passage Kelly read translates: Here begins the chronicle of the cleric of Manyhorn...