Fountain of Secrets (The Relic Seekers) (20 page)

“You must love her to lie for her.”

Marco had probably told him Kendall found it. “She thought you were dead and wouldn’t need the cross. Why aren’t you dead?”

Raphael glanced at the grave, then glared at Nathan. “Who are you?”

Raphael was angry, but he also seemed puzzled. Nathan frowned. “You know who I am.”

“Who are you really?” Raphael grabbed Nathan by the shirt and yanked him closer. Nathan felt the heat rushing through his veins. He tried to stop the change, but his insides felt like they were cooking and his eyes were on fire.

Raphael’s eyes narrowed. “Damn Marco. That’s what I was afraid of.” Raphael slipped the cross over his head. “Now we can go.”

That was the last thing Nathan remembered before he woke up on a stone floor. Raphael leaned over him and pulled out a dagger. He cut his own wrist and then he grabbed Nathan’s. Nathan tried to pull away, but Raphael was too strong. The dagger sliced across his wrist and Nathan felt the sting. A line of blood welled up and Raphael touched their wrists together.

Nathan’s head felt thick, as it had in the maze. Immediately, memories pounded at his brain like a jackhammer. An airplane,
flames, someone grabbing him, dragging him out of the flames. Then an explosion and blackness.

“This way. We must hurry.”

The voice beside him was weak. He didn’t know where they were, but he could smell the earth and trees. A branch slapped his face, and he threw up his hands to protect it. “I need to rest.” His head and legs ached, and fire flashed behind his eyes even though he couldn’t see.

“We’re almost there,” the voice said. “He’s meeting us at the rock.” His breathing was ragged, and it sounded like he needed to rest too. After he had stumbled for a few more minutes, the hand guiding his arm dropped. “You’ll have to go alone. I’m sorry, Adam,” the voice rasped.

“Go where?” He didn’t know where he was. He didn’t know anything. Something cold was placed in his hands. He heard a harsh, rattling breath, then a thump. The forest was quiet except for his panting. “Where are you?” He stretched his hands in front of him, feeling blindly for the man. His foot hit something solid but soft, and he knelt, fear gripping him by the throat.

He put the cold object in his pocket—it was a cross—and patted awkwardly with his hands until he felt an arm. He followed it to a chest. It was still. No heartbeat. He felt a crushing sadness, even though he didn’t know the man. He was sure he should. He sat down beside the dead man, surrounded by darkness, as lost inside as he was out.

He tried to remember… anything, but the only image he saw was a girl with blond hair. Her face wasn’t clear, and the memory faded as quickly as it had come. His head burned, and he touched the rough bandage, trying to recall what had happened. He felt the stickiness of fresh blood; then his hands slid lower, touching nose,
lips, jaw, searching for something familiar. Adam. That was the name the man had called him. He didn’t know what to do, so he clutched the cross in his pocket, pulled his jacket around him, and waited for someone to find him.

Nathan opened his eyes and saw Raphael standing over him, frowning. He knelt and tied a cloth around Nathan’s bloody wrist. “Leave this on for now.” He turned and started walking out.

Nathan rose to his feet, but his head was spinning.

“Wait. Where are you going?”

Raphael kept walking. “I have something to do.”

“Tell me where we are.”

Raphael turned, giving him a look like one might give a flea. “A sanctuary.”

“What sanctuary? Where?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Are we in England? Italy?” And how the hell had they gotten there?

“We’re where we need to be.”

“Bloody hell, I want answers. You’ve kidnapped me, brought me to… I don’t know where.”

Nathan heard a rumbling sound and realized it came from Raphael. He was laughing, but it was a harsh laugh. “It isn’t pleasant, is it?” Raphael asked.

“I told you, I didn’t have any choice.” Nathan was getting angrier by the second. His heart started to pound.

“Neither did I. You need to calm yourself. Your power is still out of control.”

“What power?” Nathan asked.

“The change.”

“You mean my curse?”

“Curse?”

“The fact that I’m not normal.”

“You aren’t supposed to be.”

“I don’t want this, whatever it is.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

“There must be a way to get rid of it.”

Raphael studied him. “There is, but it would be severe.” He moved his hand toward Nathan, and Nathan felt his legs weaken and his eyes closing.

“Who am I?” Nathan asked, trying to fight sleep.

“I’m not sure. Sleep until I figure out what to do. You’ll be safe here.”

“Have you found them?” the Reaper asked the man on the other end of the phone.

“Yes, they’re here.”

“And the chalice?”

“They haven’t gotten it… yet.”

“You must get it before they do.”

“They haven’t made a move toward it. I’m not sure they even know of its existence.”

“Then why are they there?”

“I haven’t figured that out. Even if they do get the chalice, they might not have discovered where the fountain is hidden.”

“If they haven’t, Kendall soon will. Her talent is extraordinary.” He felt a twinge of pride.

“Do you want me to bring her with the chalice?”

The Reaper hesitated. He had considered it. Kendall’s gifts were so similar to ones he’d once had. He could put them to great use. He sighed. “Not yet.”

“Are you certain this chalice is the Holy Grail?”

“No, but the only way to find out is to try it. Keep an eye on them in the meantime. And watch out for Raphael.”

“I’ll stay close.”

“Not too close.” He let the warning settle. “I know you’re attracted to her.”

“Who wouldn’t be?” the man said. “She’s a beauty.”

“Don’t let her beauty distract you. I can’t take extra risks now. There are already enough obstacles.”

Jake was quiet when they got to their room, not the fast talker she’d seen in the dining room. It was disconcerting how easily he put on an act. A handy talent for a mercenary.

“I don’t like that look on your face. You’re not planning to steal the chalice, are you?” she asked.

“Not if they show it to us soon enough.”

“You could stay here and look for it while I do the meditation.”

“I’m not leaving you alone, even with a group,” Jake said. “We’ll look for it later tonight when everyone’s asleep. If that doesn’t work, we’ll wait until they’re out of the house looking for Arthur.”

“I’m worried about Nathan.”

“You’re always worried about Nathan,” Jake said.

“Why hasn’t he let us know if the fountain worked?”

“He’s probably trying to find something else to try. If it had worked, I think he would have let us know.”

“I think something’s wrong. I don’t know if it’s Raphael or the Reaper, but I sense danger.”

“I’m sure neither one of them is happy with him,” Jake said. “Did you talk to him?”

“He didn’t answer. What if the curse backfired or something?”

“If we don’t hear from him soon, we’ll go back to the hotel and make sure he’s OK.”

Kendall changed into the long dress Halle had provided—to put the group
in the mood
—and then she and Jake made their way to the Chalice Well Garden.

The meditation would be held in the part known as Arthur’s garden. Appropriate, if one was trying to contact King Arthur. She felt guilty, knowing she would have to pretend to make contact.

“Do you want us to sit in a circle?” Sandy asked.

This felt more like a séance. She didn’t like séances, and she hated deception even more, but as Jake said, this was survival. “Yes, in a circle and join hands.” They all sat on the stones and linked hands. Rhonda hurried to sit beside Jake.

Kendall kept feeling as if someone were watching her. She turned but didn’t see anything other than the Tor rising behind them. She hoped it was Nathan that she sensed, but it left her with an eerie feeling.

Kendall reached for Jake’s hand. “OK, close your eyes, clear your minds, and focus on Arthur.” Everyone closed their eyes. Moonlight-bathed faces turned up with expressions of reverence and anticipation. Then she turned to her side and saw Jake watching her. His look was not reverent. She nudged him with her knee and mouthed, “Close your eyes.” It was going to be hard enough to fake this without him watching her.

He rolled his eyes and then closed them. In the spirit of camaraderie—or maybe guilt—she also cleared her mind and focused. She didn’t know whether King Arthur was real, a legend, or a legend based on a real king, but she thought of what she knew from the stories of Arthur. She imagined Merlin, the sword Excalibur, the Knights of the Round Table, Camelot, and Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail.

A blast hit her so hard she at first thought there had been an explosion. She couldn’t breathe. She stood outside a castle in the middle of a battlefield. Snow fell gracefully as horses taller than her head rushed past her, carrying men yelling out battle cries as they swung huge swords. One man sat taller than the others. At first she thought he was Nathan, that she was mixing dreams and reality, but she felt the bite of cold and the frozen ground beneath her feet. This was no ordinary vision.

The knight was King Arthur.

A
HORSE GALLOPED
past and grazed her shoulder. She fell on her back on the frozen ground. The stars shone above her. A massive black horse came into view, and the tall man looked down at her. He looked regal, and somehow familiar, though she had never seen him before. He spoke, but she couldn’t hear him for the other voices calling her name. His face grew blurry. She blinked and saw it was Jake, not King Arthur.

Over his shoulder, she saw the others watching with wide eyes. “I’ve never seen anything like that,” Rhonda said.

“Kendall, can you hear me?” Jake patted her face.

She grabbed his arm and sat up. No battlefield. No King Arthur. No snow.

Jake continued to frown. “That was a little too real,” he whispered in her ear.

She couldn’t yet speak.

“Was it Arthur?” Alice asked.

She nodded, and there was a gasp.

“What did he say?” Sandy asked.

Kendall tried to stand, but her legs felt numb. “Help me up,” she said to Jake.

He put a hand under each arm and lifted her to her feet. “You’re cold.”

She was still unsteady, so she clutched his arm. “I need to leave,” she whispered.

Jake took charge. “Kendall’s encounter with Arthur has left her weak. She needs to restore her energy. Then she’ll explain her vision.”

There were disappointed groans as Jake led her away from the garden, finally carrying her after she stumbled twice. He carried her inside the house to their room, where he shut the door and set her on her feet. “Talk about starting off with a bang, but I thought you’d drag it out a little more. The whole thing didn’t last a minute. They might feel cheated.”

Kendall grabbed his arm for support. “It wasn’t an act.”

“That was real?”

She nodded and moved slowly toward the bed.

He helped her to the bed and took off her shoes. “Your feet are cold.”

“It was snowing.”

“Huh?”

“I was on the battlefield. It was snowing. There were horses and knights and swords.”

Jake lifted that sexy brow.

“I saw him. I saw King Arthur.”

The other brow rose.

“He said something to me.”

“He talked to you?” Jake’s surprised look turned a bit dubious. “Is this retaliation for the dead-presidents thing? I had to build up your reputation.”

“No, I’ll owe you for that. King Arthur rode his horse right up to me and looked into my eyes. He said something to me.”

“What?”

“I don’t know. I was yanked back into my body.”

Jake stared at her. “How do you know it was King Arthur and not some other sword-toting knight on horseback in the middle of a battlefield?”

“I felt him. I know it was him.”

“Damn. Has this happened before?”

“A few times, but more like what you saw when I touched Raphael. Like a vision. This time it felt like I was there. You didn’t see anything?” He had been holding her hand.

“No. You flew backward like you’d been checked by a hockey player and lay there with your eyes open. At first I thought you’d hit your head on a rock and died.”

“Then you wouldn’t have to work with a
skirt
anymore.”

Jake’s eyes narrowed. “That’s a dumb-assed thing to say. You know how I feel about you.”

Did she?

“So when Marco said to find Arthur, he meant
the
Arthur,” Jake said.

“It would seem so. He mentions Arthur, and then we end up here, where Arthur supposedly lived.”

“And now you’ve had a vision of Arthur. What did he look like?”

That was an odd question to ask. “He’s hard to describe. He reminded me of Nathan in knight garb.”

Her answer seemed to trouble him. “We need to know what King Arthur said. Hell, I can’t even believe I’m saying that.”