Fountain of Secrets (The Relic Seekers) (28 page)

He grinned against her lips. “Slow down before you tear off a part we both need.”

“Sorry, you’re just moving too slow.” She felt enflamed with desire. That gave her pause. What kind of phrase was that? She managed to get his pants off, but they got stuck. “Boots,” she gasped. “Take off your boots.”

He rolled to the side and kicked them off, and then his pants. Kendall pushed his underwear down and wrapped her legs around him. “I can’t wait any longer. Please.”

“Are you sure?” he asked again.

She shoved his shoulders and he rolled over. She straddled him. “I’m sure.”

When he entered her, images flashed in her head like reflections on a broken mirror. She saw the forest again, and the couple making love. She stopped moving.

Jake gripped her hips. “God, don’t stop now.” Then he looked up at her. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry. I keep seeing the man and woman in the forest.”

“It is us?”

She nodded.

He rolled over, putting her underneath him. “It must be one of your visions telling you that you belong with me.” He started making love to her again, slow, and then fast, and then slow again until she didn’t know what was present or what was past.

When it was over, and her senses and her mind and her body had come back together again, he stayed above her, fingers gently brushing back her hair. His eyes were dark, filled with things spoken and unspoken. “I don’t usually do this.”

“Have sex?”

He grinned. “Usually it’s… well, you know.”

“No. What?”

“Scratching an itch.”

“Have you scratched a lot of itches?”

“More than I should have, but not for a long while. I’ve been too preoccupied.”

“Are you scratching an itch now?”

“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. But it feels good.” He frowned. “It feels like I’ve known you a lot longer than a few days.”

“I know.” More like a lifetime.

“I didn’t tell you I saw your lovers in the forest the first time we made love.”

“You did?”

He nodded. “I wasn’t sure what to make of it.”

“It’s like being in someone else’s body, but it’s my body,” Kendall said. “I know that doesn’t make sense.”

“Actually it does.” He wound a strand of her hair around his finger. “Do you believe in fate?”

“Maybe.” Was he saying they were fated? Was that why she felt this ingrained trust for him when on the surface he had
seemed all wrong for her? Was it possible that she had known him before? She had never believed in past lives and reincarnation, but after all the things she’d experienced lately, she wouldn’t rule anything out. “Do you?”

“Not until now.” Someone knocked on the door. “You expecting anyone?” Jake asked.

“No. Maybe it’s Nathan.” Kendall jumped up and started throwing on her clothes.

“It’d be just like him to show up now.” Jake pulled on his underwear and jeans and went to the door. It was Halle.

She looked at Jake’s chest and blinked. “Uh, I wanted to see if you’re all right,” she said.

“Shaken,” Kendall said. “That poor caretaker. Such a terrible thing. Has everyone gotten settled? Alice seemed troubled.”

“They’re fine now.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you who we were,” Kendall said.

“I understand. Someone with that kind of money has to be on guard. I hate to ask you this, after all the unpleasantness, but do you think you could make the séance tonight?”

“You’re going ahead with it?”

“The group wants to, and I really need to keep them happy. I know death and all this negative energy has an effect on the psyche.…”

Kendall started to say no, but Halle looked so desperate, and they did need to explore the abbey. After seeing her father there, Kendall was certain there was a connection to the Protettori, and she was going to find it. “I’ll be there.”

After Halle had gushed her thanks, she left.

“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Jake asked.

“Maybe I’ll see King Arthur again. If this chalice is the Holy Grail, he might have the answers we’re looking for.”

“I thought you might want to go to the hotel.”

“No. I want to stay here. There’s a mystery to solve. I’ll touch every stone in the place if I have to.”

“Start with the ones in the cellar. The woman said some of the stones were from the abbey. I don’t want you running around outside more than you have to. Don’t frown at me. I’m trying to keep you safe. There’s a killer out there.”

And she was afraid it was Nathan.

“Even Brandi warned you,” Jake said. “Did you try to pick up anything from the letter?”

“I didn’t get anything from it before.”

“We both know how fickle your gift is. How about we try again? I’d like to know where the threat’s coming from.”

Kendall picked up the letter and opened it. She rested her fingers on the paper and closed her eyes. She waited, but nothing came.

“Are you falling asleep on me?”

Kendall opened her eyes. “No. I’m not getting anything. Other than my apartment.”

“What would your apartment have to do with the letter?” Jake rubbed the paper between his fingers. “Unless she stole the paper from you. Not that your apartment is easy to break into.”

“That’s not my paper. I don’t see how there could be a connection.”

“A psychic glitch?” he asked.

“They happen a lot,” Kendall admitted.

“Or does it just appear to be a glitch because we don’t have all the pieces to the puzzle?”

“I don’t know.” Kendall took the paper Jake had laid down. “I wish I knew what she was up to.”

“Trying to find the relics before Nathan does,” Jake said.

“How did she know about this place? We fell here,” Kendall said. “We didn’t come by choice.”

“Maybe she fell through the maze too. If you remember, when she pulled that gun on us at the castle, we weren’t far from the maze. She could have already discovered its secrets.”

“She must know something that we don’t, since she says I’m in danger.” Kendall sighed. “I’m in danger. Nathan’s in danger. Where the hell is he?”

“He could be anywhere. Paris, Africa, the room next door.”

“Do you think he did it?”

“Nathan’s not a killer, but…”

“But if he lost control, he could have hurt someone.”

“If he did, he’s going to need our help,” Jake said softly. Kendall didn’t think he realized he’d spoken aloud.

“Let’s go explore the cellar,” Kendall said. “I’d like to see the stones.”

As soon as they stepped into the hall, Kendall heard a familiar whining voice. “But it’s a cellar. Cellars are cool.” The red-haired boy and his mother were walking up the hall.

“Arthur, we’re not going to the cellar. The manager warned you not to go prowling around again. Do you want them to ask us to leave? Then you’ll have to go back to your father in New Hampshire. Is that want you want?”

“Yes. I’m bored.”

“Well, I’m not. I deserve this vacation. So march yourself right back to the room.”

“I’d pay for the flight if she’d send him back,” Jake said.

The stairs leading to the basement were narrow. The chapel was small, with a stained glass window and a stone table holding several candles.

Jake moved up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. “Ever made love in a cellar?” he asked.

“No.”

“Want to give it a try?”

Kendall reached back and pinched his waist. “Behave. We’re in a chapel.”

The stones on the wall looked just like the ones in the abbey ruins. Jake poked at one. “If walls could talk, I bet these have some stories to tell.”

She smiled and touched the wall near the stained glass window. The room faded. A cold fear settled over her skin as the scene before her unfolded. Four monks hurried across the abbey grounds to the Lady Chapel. It looked different. The buildings weren’t ruins. One of the monks led the way and one brought up the rear, while the two in the middle carried a trunk between them. From their bowed backs, it appeared to be heavy. “Make haste,” the one in front whispered. “The hour grows near.” They hurried inside the church and made their way to the front. They set the trunk down and knelt on the floor. Were they praying? Then she saw a stone in the wall move, opening to a set of steps. The four monks carried the trunk to the steps. Kendall couldn’t move. It was as if she were watching from above. They were hiding the treasure in the secret tunnels. As one of the monks moved, a cross swung at his neck. Just like the Protettori’s crosses. Just like the one around her neck. He cast a worried glance over his shoulder, and Kendall recognized the angled cheekbones and the set of her father’s mouth.

She let go of the wall with a gasp and the vision disappeared. “Oh my God.” She stumbled and Jake put his arms around her. “I know where the entrance to the tunnel is.”

“Here? This house isn’t that old.”

“No, it’s in the Lady Chapel.”

“And the wall told you where the secret tunnel is?”

“My father did.”

There was a gasp from the stairs. Kendall and Jake looked over and saw a redhead with a freckled face staring back at them.

“It’s that kid.” Jake started toward the stairs.

Arthur yelped and ran away.

I
F WE DON
’
T
stop him, he’ll tell everyone in the place,” Jake said, running after the kid.

Kendall followed him up the stairs.

“Where’d he go?” Jake looked around but didn’t see the kid anywhere. “He must have gone back to his room.”

“Let’s just find the priest hole before he has a chance to tell anyone. We’ve got half an hour before the moonlight tour starts.”

“You’d better wear your séance dress,” Jake said as they hurried to their room. He opened the door and Kendall stepped inside. She came to a dead stop, staring at their uninvited guest.

Raphael sat in a chair, flipping through one of the books in the room. “Half this stuff is wrong,” he said, putting the book down.

Jake pulled his knife from his boot and put Kendall behind him. “How did you get in here?”

Raphael glanced at the knife and shrugged one shoulder. He wore jeans and a dark shirt, not his ninja monk outfit, but he still looked deadly. “Does Nathan know you’re sleeping together?”

Kendall glanced at the bed.

“It’s none of Nathan’s business where we sleep,” Jake said.

“I doubt that Nathan would agree. Have you seen him? I need to find him.”

“No, we’re looking for him too,” Jake said.

“He didn’t mean to kidnap you, or at least not to hurt you,” Kendall said, stepping around Jake. “He needed answers. And we’ll return your cross. I’m sorry we took it, but we thought you were dead.”

“You were dead,” Jake said, putting Kendall behind him again.

“I already have my cross.”

“You got it from Nathan?” Kendall’s eyes widened. “Oh my God. Did you hurt him?”

“No. He’s in danger, but not from me. From the Reaper.”

“The Reaper is here?” Jake asked.

“He’s trying to come through the gateway. His men are probably already here.”

“You mean a portal?”

Raphael looked weary. “Our order has many secret places. There are gateways, or portals, between some of them.”

“Is that what those lights on the Tor are, the Reaper coming through one of the gateways?” Kendall asked.

Raphael nodded. “I must stop him, or there will be catastrophic results.”

Kendall stepped closer to Raphael, and Jake put out an arm to stop her. “Is the fountain inside the Tor?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Can you tell us how we fell through a maze in Italy and landed in England?” Jake asked.

“It’s not for outsiders to understand.”

“Kendall isn’t an outsider. Her father was one of the Protettori,” Jake said.

Raphael looked at Kendall. “How did you find out about your father?”

“I saw a vision of my birth in the tower room.”

“I shouldn’t have put you there,” Raphael said.

“I didn’t see the vision until later. You knew who I was?”

“Not at first. I started putting the pieces together after I saw the cross.”

“Can you tell me anything about my father?”

“He broke our rules. Women aren’t allowed. The order needs to be fully focused on their task. Women are distractions.” Raphael looked at Jake as if he understood just how distracting Kendall was to him. “So he was forced to leave the group.”

“Is there anything else you can tell me about him?” she asked. Her voice was level, but her eyes were afraid.

“Not now.”

“What about the tunnel to the Tor. Is it in the abbey?”

“How did you know about that?”

“I had a vision,” Kendall said.

“I can’t speak of it.”

“Then can you tell me about the chalice?” she asked.

His eyes narrowed, making him look almost reptilian. “What chalice?”

“I don’t know. King Arthur told me to find the chalice.”

Surprise replaced the harsh expression. “Arthur told you that?”

“In a vision. Do you know Arthur?”

“You have a lot of visions.”

“Too many,” Jake said.

Raphael stood, his relaxed demeanor gone. “Do you have your cross?”

“We each have one,” Jake said.