Free The Secret of the Ancient Alchemist by Yasmin Esack Page B

he saw in an altered state?”
    “ According to one account, he saw a place where rivers
flowed through gardens lit like Christmas trees, a kingdom of love
and happiness. His ancestors told him his kingdom would end. He
knew the Spanish were coming long before they actually
did.”
    “ Fascinating, that’s absolutely remarkable. It’s not easy to
enter altered states. Few can. It takes years to achieve it, to
open up a new consciousness. How old was Athualpa when he
died?”
    “ Thirty
six.”
    “ He was
very young.”
    Hart picked up
his knife and fork. The stares coming from female diners at a table
next to him hadn’t lessened. He was beginning to feel
uncomfortable. Olsen wasn’t bothered one bit.
    “ The nice
lady to the left fancies you,” he said, his eyes
twinkling.
    “ Maybe
it’s you. You seem to have the knack for the opposite
sex.”
    “ It’s my
legs. It works all the time. You should wear shorts sometimes.
You’re always so dressed.”
    “ By the
way, how’s Myrtle doing?”
    “ Tired of
me working all the time, I guess. I’m almost through and I’ll have
a lot of time to spend with her. She’s pregnant.”
    “ What?
You’re going to be a father?”
    “ I guess.
I’m twenty-nine and it’s time I laid down some roots.”
    Olsen looked as
if he was just about to give Hart a lecture on women. Hart
certainly didn’t want to hear any of that and neither did he have
any desire to mention Jude.
    “ We must
really start looking for the ancient text,” he reminded Olsen
again.
    “ It’s
going to be tough. You’re bent on finding it, aren’t
you?”
    “ I have
to.”
    Olsen wiped his
mouth with a napkin and checked the time on his diving watch. It
was 1.55 PM.
    “ We can’t
put this off any longer, Tom. I know a great place to start
looking.”

Chapter 26
     
     
    Yale’s School of Divinity Library was miles away in New Haven, Connecticut. It
consisted of three major libraries, the Trowbridge, Sneath Memorial
and Day Missions. The centre began its operations back in 1919 and
grew to be the most important theological centre in the
world.
    It was past
five when they stared at the ground floor of the library and headed
to the circulation desk.
    “ Hi,”
they said approaching a stern-faced librarian.
    She didn’t
immediately answer but stared at them, her eyes scanning the knee
length grey coat Hart wore and the antique watch that hung from its
lower pocket. Resting on his top pocket were a gold plated
Schaeffer pen and a silk handkerchief. Olsen was still in
shorts.
    “ Something I can help you with?” she asked finally, noting
urgency in their eyes.
    “ Problem
is we’re not sure of what.”
    “ You’re
not?”
    “ Maybe we
could take a look at the manuscripts of early
Christians.”
    “ Mr.
eh?”
    “ Olsen.”
    “ Mr.
Olsen, we have thousands of references. You can check through the
index in the computer room. It’s on your right.”
    Two doors down,
they entered the compact room. Hart typed ‘Christian Egyptian Era’
on a keyboard and waited.
    “ Elumine?” he frowned as a site came up.
    “ It means
to illuminate text with gold and silver, Tom. Scroll down.” Halfway
along, Olsen spoke again. “Wait a minute. The Monastery of St.
Catherine. Might that lead us to something?”
    “ It dates
back to the sixth century and it’s located at the foot of Mount
Sinai between the Desert El- Tih and the Gulf of Aqaba.”
    “ It’s
known as the Monastery of Transfiguration. Its chapels and ruins
date from the time of Exodus. There’re quite a number icons
associated with this monastery. One shows the Prophet Elijah
looking at an illuminated Christ. Okay, scroll further.”
    “ Document, document,” Hart mumbled staring at the screen.
“I’m not seeing anything remotely connected to a kingdom
within.”
    “ Maybe we
should visit this monastery, Tom.”
    “ It’s
probably just rocks and stones. I’m looking for a manuscript with
specific reference to a realm